My Version of a Hytale-themed Hunger Games (Adventure Mode)

DISCLAIMER: This post is pure personal imagination and has very little to do with any officially confirmed information in Hytale.

(Then again, if Hypixel Studios gets ideas from this post, I’d be extremely flattered to the point of my mind exploding.)

We know Hytale will have a dynamic, story-driven world. As such, I expect a Hytale-themed Hunger Games to be playable as more than just a simple minigame—I expect drama, action, and some emotional moments. Not to mention, tactics.

Note that when I say “magic weapons”, I refer to wands, tomes, and staves, not the magical elements. A character who’s proficient with any element or school of magic is also proficient with all magic weapon types.

Rules

Basic Rules

• This blog post is designed for my Hytale team’s Adventure Mode playthrough. As such, all my team members will be tributes and the Hunger Games are run by NPCs. I may also sprinkle stuff based on my experiences with other games like Dungeons & Dragons and Fire Emblem.
• The winner is the last tribute standing. Teaming is allowed, but multiple tributes cannot win as a team and must kill each other at the end.
• All tributes must start with no items, including armor and weapons.
• Player characters that die can respawn but are eliminated from the Hunger Games. NPCs that die are dead forever.
• Tributes can attack each other at the very beginning of the game. There is no invulnerability period.
• Two tributes per humanoid NPC faction or species will be randomly chosen and will have their base stats scaled to roughly match an unequipped player. (True bosses like the Colossus Outlander cannot be chosen due to the nature of their special attacks, but King Mooks like the Trork chieftain can. Non-humanoid creatures like Scaraks cannot be tributes because of their unfair advantages or disadvantages against humanoids.) Four generic NPCs belonging to playable humanoid races (human, elf, etc.) will also be randomly chosen and will have their AI and weapon specializations randomized. Important NPCs like Tessa cannot be chosen as tributes.
• Faction members are allowed to send gifts to any tribute (not just their own faction members or allies). A sent gift instantly “teleports” to the tribute’s inventory.
• Because this is Hytale-themed, magic items and weapons, such as potions and tomes, are allowed.

Game Maker Rules

• The game makers are allowed to be cheating bastards to a small extent akin to the fireball traps in the actual Hunger Games. This helps establish their characters, assuming the game makers are important NPCs.
• The game makers know almost nothing about the tributes besides their species (i.e. human, Kweebec) and names (i.e. Tessa, BoltOLightnin), if applicable. Unlike the actual Hunger Games, weapons of choice are not guaranteed to appear; for example, bows may not spawn at all even if there is at least one archer.
• Tributes can revolt against the game makers. If enough game makers are incapacitated, killed, or captured, the Hunger Games will be canceled and a new warfare quest will start (detailed in the “Rebel Against the Game Makers!” section).

Obvious Rule Patches

• To prevent early-game sweeping, high-level items do not spawn in the Cornucopia.
• Fists and magic require gloves and magic weapons, respectively, to use. They cannot be used while unarmed. (Unarmed attacks can only break specific blocks.)
• Magically summoned creatures are allowed but can only be summoned during the Hunger Games, not before. The mana cost of summoning magic is also increased.
• Mounts cannot be brought to the start of the Hunger Games. All tributes must start as infantry units (or armored units for tributes with sturdy natural armor).
• Once an NPC is chosen as a tribute, it becomes invulnerable but can’t attack players until the Hunger Games starts. If it dies outside the Hunger Games for reasons like falling out of the game world, it respawns. This prevents players from inflicting unfair disadvantages on the NPC tributes before the Hunger Games.
• Magically-inflicted buffs and debuffs are dispelled at the start of the Hunger Games. However, buffs and debuffs from natural causes, such as hunger and low/high morale, still apply.

Optional Rules (for server admins and crazier game makers)

• An invulnerability period after the start of the game can be implemented to prevent immediate kills.
• Only high-level items, such as the equivalents of the Minecraft regular golden apple and the Fire Emblem Heroes Slaying Edge+, can spawn.
• Boss enemies that drop high-level items spawn but do not participate as tributes. They do not move from their “mini arenas” and only engage nearby tributes. They do not follow the same restrictions as the tributes (as such, a nerfed Varyn clone may be a boss).
• Mounts can spawn, allowing tributes to become cavalry or flying units. However, mounts have a stamina meter that prevents them from sprinting and flying when empty, allowing infantry and armored units to counter. (If mounts already have stamina to begin with, their maximum stamina will be reduced.)
• Weaker tributes from the same faction or species can count as one tribute and can win as a team. However, their individual power will be reduced to, say, Elite Mook level to balance them out with lone tributes. (Does not apply to players.)
• The Cornucopia can re-stock after 5 to 10 minutes. High-level items may spawn from this.

Introducing the Tributes!

Name	Weapons of Choice	High Stats	Low Stats	Tactics
LunaticTactician	Fists, Spear	HP, Str, Spd, Def	Skill, Res	Back Stab, Limit Break
BoltOLightnin	Dark, Ice, Lightning	Mag, Skill	Def	Long-Range Fighter
YoSquid	Bow	Skill, Luck	Spd, Def, Res, Cha	Leeroy Jenkins
HeadsHoKer	Light, Sword	HP, Str, Skill, Cha	Luck, Def	One-Man Army
Kweebecs	Spear	Luck, Def, Res	Str, Spd	The Power of Friendship
Ferans	Spear?, Wind	HP, Res	Luck, Def
Trorks	Axe, Bow, Fists, Spear, Sword	HP, Str	Skill, Res (Shamans have moderate Res)	Attack! Attack! Attack!
Goblins	Bludgeon, Explosive, Fists, Sword	Spd	HP, Res, Cha	Zerg Rush, Combination Attack
Outlanders	Axe, Bow, Dark, Sword, Water	All stats except Luck	None	Back Stab, Confusion Fu
Generic Humanoids	Random x2	Random x3	Random x1	Random

Why do you not include the Fawns and the Slothians in your blog posts?

Because the so-called “Slothians” in the trailer and one of the zone 4 screenshots were “taken” (by an-in-game camera) from a far distance and most Hytale content is 1080p, I don’t think it’s worth making guesses about their culture and biology until more details are revealed in at least the level of detail of the first Feran concept art. (Y U no give 4K screenshots!?)

As for the “Fawns”…well, I’m too lazy. They seem to be native to zone 3 and Hypixel Studios has been hyping up zone 3 with “Snowfall”, “Old Craft”, the zone 3 visual tour, and the Outlander reveal, so I’d give them a 20% chance of being revealed in more detail within the next 3 months.

If I had to take a guess, I’d say Slothians have high HP but low Mag/Spd, while Fawns have high Str.

LT’s Tactics

Pre-Hunger Games: Reputation-Building and Destruction

Gift-receiving practically turns the Hunger Games into less of a perception- and survival-based game and more of a reputation-based game, so I need to use this to my advantage.

Though I don’t consider myself a good leader or charmer (I know I still have loads to learn), I have a bit of an edge with my bishōnen appearance and Lightning Bruiser stats. I just gotta find opportunities to join weightlifting competitions, play the role of a ninja in a theater, or be a test subject in a physically painful experiment.

At the same time, I have to tarnish the reputations of the other tributes. Perhaps I can put wanted posters for the evil tributes or, in an evil playthrough, frame good or neutral tributes for crimes they didn’t commit. If I’m doing a non-evil playthrough, I can spread rumors about the other tributes like “Trork Tribute #1 has fake muscles”.

As a rule, though, I will never attempt to tarnish the reputations of any of my team members regardless of playthrough alignment unless they do it to me first.

Pre-Hunger Games: I’mma Trash Your Morale!

Just because tributes start out with no items at the beginning of the Hunger Games doesn’t mean I can’t sabotage the other tributes before the game in other ways.

One simple way of doing so like I usually do as a Young Conqueror is: RAID THEIR BASES! Without their bases, they can’t get their precious rest and relaxation and they’ll be deprived of nutritious food ‘cause I’mma steal ‘em all like the Big Eater rogue I am. Also makes for good training if there’s such a mechanic in Hytale.

Alternatively, I can do it the turtling way and start small by stealing their toys first, then their food, then assassinate their friends and family, then BURN DOWN THE TOWN! They’ll think bad luck is on their side…and it’ll only get worse!

Of course, I’ll only do this to evil factions in a good playthrough.

And again, no damaging my teammates’ morale even if they’re technically my enemies in the Hunger Games. I don’t want them to hate me in real life.

Cornucopia

I enjoy tanking hits, so I’ll go straight for the Cornucopia and swipe at least a physical melee weapon and a piece of food. (If light armor does not have restrictions similar to how D&D monks can’t use Martial Arts while armored, I’ll pick up light armor as well.)

If I get a physical melee weapon, I’ll quickly hit-and-run the fastest, smartest, and/or most charming tributes, starting with HeadsHoKer and the Outlanders. I plan to mainly use my speed to defeat the other tributes so I can’t have them negating my highest stat with their own speed or brains.

When I’m low on HP, have no physical melee weapon, or after I’ve killed at least two tributes, I’ll leave the Cornucopia and scour the arena for scattered supplies.

(I say “physical melee weapon” because I’m a Magically Inept Fighter and ranged weapons are not suited for quickly killing from short range.)

Teaming with Other Tributes (NOT!)

No, I don’t plan to form a temporary team with any tribute, including the players I command.

As an edgelord, I can’t trust anyone. BoltOLightnin and HeadsHoKer are extremely smart and powerful and can back-stab me when I’m not looking. YoSquid is an unpredictable jokester who might kill me for fun. Ferans may mistake me for someone who acts like a Scarak and take “revenge” on me. Trorks are too violent-looking. Outlanders are master survivalists who trust almost no one and use dark magic possibly for evil. (Kweebecs are the friendliest, but I still don’t dare trust them just in case.)

It also clashes with my Back Stab play style since, while I’m laser-focused on a single enemy, my “teammate” could either make noise to reveal my location (either intentionally or due to Artificial Stupidity) or simply back-stab me.

Hopefully, though, I don’t get hit by something like charm person or geas.

Vs. BoltOLightnin

Because BoltOLightnin is a Squishy Wizard, he is very weak to Back Stabs and early-game rushes. In such situations, I can overwhelm him 95% of the time with my great strength and speed.

But I know for a fact BoltOLightnin will not make it easy—as his teammate, I think he knows my fighting style very well (especially considering I’m an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy). He can negate my speed advantage with ice spells or paralyze me with lightning. Area-of-effect spells are also very difficult to dodge, and even if I did dodge them all, I imagine he’d have incredibly fast mana regeneration since he built his Skyrim character to have high magicka.

In a roleplay battle, he was a Wyvern Rider with magic while I stayed an infantry unit. I think I’d have an easier time if he’s a flier rather than an infantry unit because I can hit large fliers like the Ender Dragon reasonably well even with my Stormtrooper aim. Plus, bows are super effective!

I watched the REACT video where WWE superstar Xavier Woods played fighting games with some of REACT’s reactors. I think he’s good at fighting games to begin with, but Xavier Woods looked to me like he improved his chances by talking to the reactors about their personal lives; one reactor was a teacher so Xavier Woods talked about his teaching experience. This divided the reactors’ attention between the game and the conversation, preventing them from focusing on one over the other since both are so fun and interesting.

I plan to use the same talking tactic with BoltOLightnin to keep him distracted, especially when I’m going for a Back Stab.

However, talking is only effective with voice chat since, if the player can’t move while text-chatting just like in first-person shooters and Minecraft, the player I’m talking to will be more likely to see replying as a waste of time since Hunger Games is a fast-paced game. Voice chat allows players to talk and fight at the same time.

If voice chat is not an option (for reasons such as “sleeping parents/neighbors” or “studying siblings”), I’ll fake a “let’s stop playing” order to my team before the Hunger Games so “we can rest in real life”. This tactic is extra effective at night but ineffective in the morning or if we started playing less than an hour ago.

Alternatively, I can fake something work-related and say “let’s play again when all four of us are ready”. I think it’s more fun when all four of us are in the game from start to finish so we don’t lag behind, and I wonder if Hytale will have some kind of punishment for not participating in the Hunger Games.

If all else fails…LEEROY JENKINS! Because if I run, I’ll get hit anyway by BoltOLightnin’s accurate AoE magic. If I rush him with melee attacks, it becomes a bit more of a gamble on who will survive.

You do know that your teammates can read your tactics since you publish them in a blog, right?

Yes, I’m aware. But I doubt they’ll keep my tactics in their heads for very long. They have bigger life priorities than nerding out about Hytale…like dealing with mountains of college assignments, debt, and subpar housing.

Vs. YoSquid

Though Improbable Aiming Skills is his superpower, he is otherwise comparable to a non-Badass Normal Muggle. As such, he is very weak to melee attacks and his ranged attacks deal mediocre damage to me unless they’re headshots.

The key to fighting YoSquid (and most ranged attackers) is to not be seen at all. Once he sees me, I’ll most likely be dead unless we’re at close range.

However, unlike BoltOLightnin, at medium range, I think I can take a handful of headshots before getting into melee range. He also lacks slowing attacks unless he has ice arrows.

Damaging his in-game vision such as with a Hytale equivalent of a “Splash Potion of Blindness” will greatly reduce his ranged weapon accuracy, but throwables usually have poor range and accuracy. Hopefully, though, he doesn’t have a “Potion of Echolocation” or “Potion of Truesight”.

YoSquid has the lowest Charm stat, which, combined with his lack of magical ability compared to other tributes, makes him the least likely to receive gifts, even among the Red Shirts I recruit.

Should I wear a pot or something to cover my whole head so I can’t take headshot damage? lololol

Vs. HeadsHoKer

Even though HeadsHoKer is a melee-focused fighter, he’s still dangerous because of his secondary ability to use offensive light magic.

Though his magic is only effective at medium range, he wears heavy armor and I graduated from the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy, so I can’t plunk him with arrows or throwables. Magic would work slightly better for me but is still impractical.

His lack of range combined with his slowness (compared to me, though he’s still faster than an unarmored Muggle) means I can actually run from him, unlike YoSquid and BoltOLightnin with their insanely accurate arrows and AoE spells compensating for their lack of speed.

In a melee battle, though, we’d be neck-and-neck. I can pound plate armor and rip apart chain mail with my fists while dodging his sword strikes or out-ranging him with my spear, though I need to be careful with him using a move with “smite” in the name like Divine Smite because it hits for both physical and magical damage—I do NOT want to be stacked by his Super Strength and my weakness to magic.

(I could disarm him but I’d be toast if he has gloves to fistfight with because Divine Smite can also be used with unarmed strikes in D&D.)

HeadsHoKer, I think, is the most likely of all the tributes to get the most gifts thanks to his immensely high Strength and Charm, his paladin class, and…his Unwanted Harem. He’s basically the ideal Knight in Shining Armor. Taking him down as early as possible while he’s empty-handed is top-priority.

Vs. Kweebecs

I’d say I’m average with axes, so I can stack super effectiveness and a weapon triangle advantage on the Kweebecs with a little difficulty.

They run about as fast as a Muggle, if not slower. I doubt they’d be accurate with ranged weapons either since I imagine them to be Red Shirts…unless they get Improbable Aiming Skills as enemies because The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard.

They’re the friendliest of the tributes and are the most willing to team up with non-monster humanoids, so it’s hard to Back Stab one without alerting the other. I can take them down in the early game to prevent them from building a huge team, but if I can’t, I might stalk them until they enter a forest or similar flammable area, at which time I will start a fire to burn them alive.

Vs. Ferans

Besides their magical ability and their wind affinity, there’s little we know about the Ferans’ combat capabilities and it’s hard for me to imagine them. All I imagine them to be is a Squishy Wizard race since they’re typically depicted in concept art and in-game clips as wielding long sticks that resemble either staves or spears. They don’t look ruggedly built either, unlike a Badass Normal humanoid.

While I don’t imagine their wind magic to deal a lot of damage, it can still blow me away if I try to get to close range, and can do the same to light projectiles like arrows (but not much to heavy ones like rocks and chairs). Therefore, I think Back Stabbing is the only option.

If I somehow make it to close range, I still have to deal with their shields, so I’d probably use up my Anti-Armor Limit Break on them. (In real life, I’d probably just jitter-click the attack button if Limit Breaks don’t exist in Hytale. But hey, FINAL FANTASY VII was Noxy’s favorite game as a kid.)

Vs. Trorks

The Trork sentry, warrior, and chieftain look relatively easy for me to fight since I imagine them to be Dumb Muscle Mighty Glaciers (at least, compared to my speed).

The challenging archetypes are the hunter, which tames wolves, and the shaman, which uses magic.

I imagine wolves can’t climb like monkeys, so I can simply perform Le Parkour and climb onto treetops or similar high ground while I get free hits on the hunter with a bow or spear.

As for shamans, I don’t imagine their magic to be as ridiculously powerful and accurate as BoltOLightnin’s. This makes their magic easier to dodge and tank with my high HP. However, it’ll still take patience to take them down without getting hit because they have higher HP and Defense than other spellcasters. (Man, I really struggle with spellcasters. Screw my Stormtrooper aim preventing me from being a Mage Killer.)

Trorks are Blood Knights (and possibly Ax-Crazy) and are willing to pick fights even with members of their own race, so I imagine they’re unlikely to team up with any tribute.

Vs. Goblins

Finally, for once, I get to analyze a faction that uses neither Improbable Aiming Skills nor magic! (At least, as far as I know.)

Judging by their D&D personality and a portion of the Hytale trailer, I imagine goblins to mainly attack in groups. This makes them a little more dangerous in melee combat (though I can take them just fine regardless of how many there are). If Hytale stays true to D&D, goblins may even be cunning and stealthy.

Goblins apparently love to throw bombs, so I shouldn’t immediately assume I’ll fight goblin tributes who only use melee weapons. Unlike magic, though, I imagine I can parry bombs with a shield, karate chop, or hopping side kick. (Side note: Shane Fazen of fightTIPS successfully kicked a basketball from the free throw line into the basket.) Alternatively, I can throw them back like in the Call of Duty games if they take time to explode like frag grenades do. Also, bombs don’t regenerate like mana does so I can wait until the goblins run out of bombs. (I’m guessing magic weapons have similar durability to tools and melee weapons so they can last for several skirmishes before breaking.)

Hopefully, though, Hytale doesn’t make goblins as smart as the Harry Potter ones. They can intentionally use magic without wands, so giving them magic weapons would make them extra deadly.

Vs. Outlanders

Probably the toughest tributes. They combine all the strengths of many of the tributes: LunaticTactician’s speed and stealth, BoltOLightnin’s magical power, YoSquid’s bow skill (but downplayed), HeadsHoKer’s charisma, the Kweebecs’ camaraderie, and D&D goblins’ cunning. Because of their Master of All skills, they’re also the second most likely to receive gifts, especially from NPCs who are evil or who disregard alignment in favor of winning a bet.

If I don’t take these fools out at the Cornucopia part, I’ll have to avoid them as much as possible unless I find them at a weak state. One split-second of eye contact and I’m toast.

In my Minecraft days, I once did an Assassin’s Creed-style assassination on a player who won a fight but was severely weakened. He raged at me a little afterwards. I plan to do a similar technique on the Outlanders.

But I think Outlanders can wipe the floor with most tributes because of their many strengths, so I might use a pincer attack instead while they’re busy fighting other tributes. Hopefully, the preoccupied tributes don’t suddenly start ganging up on me…especially if at least one of them is one of my teammates.

Rebel Against the Game Makers!

(Music: “Magnificent Dark Family” from Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories)

I think Hypixel Studios wants players to think of creative ways to complete quests akin to, say, how D&D bards would seduce the Big Bad instead of killing it.

I know it’s weird, but to start this quest, the game makers’ hideout has to be somewhere accessible in the arena. I suppose I can justify it by saying that keeping the hideout inside the arena makes it faster and easier to control the game with magic or a fantasy equivalent of Wi-Fi as opposed to placing the hideout outside. The game makers also think it’s pointless for the tributes to attack their hideout because they think it’s well-defended…which is subverted because the defenders are actually Elite Mooks who need to pair-up to be equally matched with one tribute.

Starting with the hiding place, I keep thinking the hideout should be placed underground like many Minecraft bases. However, I don’t think Hypixel Studios would want to make it such a secret that detectives can’t find it without blind digging, so maybe there should be a subtle hint to its location like strange markings in a cave or a large empty area in an otherwise dense forest. The blocks hiding the hideout should have their tool requirements (like Minecraft iron ore requiring a stone pickaxe or better) removed so any tribute can break them with unarmed attacks.

Upon discovery of the hideout, new social interactions may be unlocked allowing the player to attempt to convince NPCs that a hideout exists. If the player succeeds, the NPC tribute will stop fighting in the Hunger Games, join the player as an ally, and may even convince other tributes.

Upon entering, the hideout will be akin to a portal dungeon, except it’s littered with Elite Mooks and traps controlled by the game makers. This encourages the player to “recruit” tributes who specialize in different skills: fighters to fight the mooks, wizards to detect the traps, and rogues to disarm traps and pick locks.

There are at least two secret rooms that control traps within the final room. Taking over these territories can either stop traps from activating in the final room or have an ally use the traps against the game makers.

The final room is a huge control room with a boss fight and a console to control the Hunger Games as a whole, as well as stop the Games. The boss may vary, though I imagine a boss at the difficulty of, say, a D&D beholder (floating eye monster) which shoots eye rays that cause a variety of harmful status effects. The traps in the room are akin to D&D legendary monsters’ lair actions, though taking over the secret rooms is inspired by the Airbuster boss fight in FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE where Cloud’s gang takes off parts of the Airbuster to weaken it before the fight.

Convincing Tributes

As I said in my Hytale play style part 1, I plan to research about Hytale…to the point of becoming Crazy-Prepared. This means I will know right off the bat if there is indeed a hideout in the Hunger Games and where it is.

Before the Hunger Games, I’ll ask what my teammates prefer: Play the Hunger Games normally, or raid the game makers’ hideout immediately? This ensures that, if the team unanimously agrees to raiding the hideout, the chance of one of us dying to other tributes is significantly lower since we get to team up normally if we need to defend ourselves. (I plan to play the Hunger Games normally for my first co-op playthrough, but I’m okay with raiding.)

Friendly factions are the easiest to convince, so, naturally, I’d attempt to convince the Kweebecs first. Their high defensive stats make them suitable for the front lines, though they can’t sunbathe indoors.

I want a greater focus on bulky melee fighters due to my team having two ranged attackers with low Defense so I might recruit the Trorks next. This way, they can serve as cannon fodder while I disarm traps that activate during combat. Thing is, I need to shower them with gifts of meat.

Depending on whether I’m playing a good or evil playthrough, I may protect some factions more than others. In a good playthrough, for example, I’d have Trorks charge in with little regard for their safety while I protect the Kweebecs…unless the Kweebecs forget we’re no longer playing the Hunger Games and Back Stab me anyway.

*Cue Fight Woosh* A wild ELITE MOOK appeared! (Fight Rooms)

Video game RPGs and some Dungeon Masters sure do like to fill their dungeons with this kind of room (and no other significant features), so, for lack of a better idea, I’m sticking with this trope.

I imagine the average-size fight room to be about as big as a small school auditorium to balance out freedom of movement and the general physical restrictions of indoor battlefields. This gives importance to marching order while still allowing Le Parkour.

Speaking of marching order…

New Lunatic Blade-Only Marching Order (top = front, bottom = rear)

LunaticTactician

BoltOLightnin

YoSquid

HeadsHoKer

As a Lightning Bruiser rogue, putting me in front helps me dodge incoming attacks and traps while tanking for the group if I fail. This also makes enemies focus fire on me.

Putting HeadsHoKer in the rear sandwiches the ranged attackers in case of a Back Stab. This also puts him within easy reach of his close friend YoSquid when YoSquid needs healing.

BoltOLightnin specializes in offensive magic, so putting him directly behind me allows him to safely blow up enemies while I Draw Aggro.

YoSquid is sandwiched between BoltOLightnin and HeadsHoKer since it doesn’t matter if his aim is partially obstructed—his Improbable Aiming Skills can save the day.

As for a marching order with NPC tributes…

Marching Order with Factions
(Stone Wall)	LunaticTactician	(Stone Wall)
HeadsHoKer	(Stone Wall)	Goblins
Ferans	YoSquid	BoltOLightnin
Outlanders	(Stone Wall)	Trorks

In this formation, the Long-Range Fighters and spellcasters are sandwiched in-between usually tanky Close-Range Combatants. It follows a similar principle as the previous marching order: protect the squishier characters from the Leeroy Jenkins and The Sneaky Guy.

The left and right files (columns) were arranged in such a way that they can cover their “teams” with a variety of magical elements. HeadsHoKer controls light, Ferans control wind, and Outlanders control dark and water, making for a good elemental balance. Meanwhile, BoltOLightnin uses three different elements, so being sandwiched by less magically-oriented fighters is viable. Plus, each file has a healer so they can support themselves or the middle if necessary.

YoSquid was placed into the middle of the middle file because, unlike mages who can defend themselves from close range with spells like the D&D cantrip shocking grasp, YoSquid has the close-range equivalent of Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy. This placement means he can’t be hit from the front, the side, or the back (while he can be hit by attacks from above and below, such attacks usually come from traps which I can deal with).

Now, you may be curious: Why are the humanoid tributes’ slots filled only with Stone Walls? Well, I hate Artificial Stupidity and some Mighty Glaciers are also Glass Cannons. Stone Walls are just here to soak up damage without dying too quickly so my healers have time to react and my powerhouses can smash stuff without worrying about Counter Attacks. Ideally, I’d put in Lightning Bruisers, but I think they’re too powerful to randomly spawn.

If Glass Cannons and Fragile Speedsters are my only options, here’s how I would arrange the army:

Marching Order with Factions, Glass Cannons, and Fragile Speedsters
(Fragile Speedster)	LunaticTactician	(Fragile Speedster)
HeadsHoKer	(Glass Cannon)	Goblins
Ferans	YoSquid	BoltOLightnin
Outlanders	(Fragile Speedster)	Trorks

Glass Cannons have a chance to overlap with the Mighty Glacier trope, so I placed the Glass Cannon behind me. Being in the second rank allows the Glass Cannon the freedom of movement to fight in close range (since I tend to advance the farthest) and a solid amount of protection when fighting from long range.

The remaining slots have Fragile Speedsters since…well, their evasiveness lets them Draw Aggro like I can. Bonus points if they’re also rangers or rogues.

Convincing hostile tributes, especially Ax-Crazy and/or chaotic evil ones, can be almost impossible, though, so here’s a marching order with only friendly and neutral factions:

Marching Order with Friendly and Neutral Factions
(SW or FS)	LunaticTactician	(SW or FS)
Kweebecs	YoSquid	HeadsHoKer
BoltOLightnin	(Any role)	Ferans

SW = Stone Wall; FS = Fragile Speedster

Thanks to YoSquid for helping with this marching order!

Following the same tactics as the previous marching orders, the Stone Walls/Fragile Speedsters are in the front lines to divert enemy attention away from the squishier units.

The rear can be taken on by any role since it’s unlikely that anything that’s poor at stealth can successfully sneak-attack. Stone Walls and Fragile Speedsters can Draw Aggro as usual while Glass Cannons and Mighty Glaciers can potentially One-Hit Kill rogues who are usually Fragile Speedsters.

If I keep YoSquid in the middle, I have to stay close to the pack to avoid opening him up to melee attackers. Alternatively, if the (Any role) unit is a melee attacker, I can switch their position with YoSquid’s.

Dungeon Features: Doors, Traps, Parkour, Secret Valuables, etc.

Right off the bat, I’m the most useful team member for manipulating dungeon features with my technical skills and ability to pick locks. In real life, I fix technical problems the most often in the family and sometimes do mechanical work like fixing my bike. Because of my high Defense, I can handle an army of physical attackers that wait for us on the other side of a door whose lock I just picked.

BoltOLightnin, being the mega-talented mage, is best suited for magical traps, locks, and puzzles that can’t be solved by physical means. Crossing paths that are otherwise impossible is possible through magical creations like ice bridges.

YoSquid is the parkour specialist in the team. His accuracy lets him reliably shoot faraway buttons or similar triggers that can’t be approached up close.

HeadsHoKer is for tasks that require brute strength. Barriers and traps that can’t be destroyed by anything except light magic are his job as well. He also notices things much faster than I do, so he can spot hidden points of interest without slowing down the team.

Except for the unit performing a non-combat task in the dungeon, marching orders will stay the same since both the fronts and rears are protected almost equally well. There may be situations where attempting to manipulate dungeon features will spawn additional mooks while preventing the “worker” from fighting until the task is finished.

My Inspiration for Fighting the Game Makers

As someone who is of a chaotic alignment, I enjoy having many ways to play video games and achieve the same objective. I don't enjoy playing by "rules" sometimes--I like being edgy. I ain't gonna roll with whatever the heck the game makers want us to do! I don't like killing Kweebecs or my teammates just because they're my "designated enemies"!

Okay, that's only a small part of the reason. The main reason is that I was inspired by the recently introduced SNAP mode in Yandere Simulator where, if the yandere protagonist Ayano Aishi gets a game over, she brutally murders everyone in her way while finding a knife before using the said knife to kill her Senpai then herself.

(Midori Gurin's voice) "LunaticTactician, LunaticTactician! What does SNAP mode have to do with you fighting the game makers?"

See the first paragraph in this section.

Let's just say...I've got a big personal beef with the game makers. Buggers won't let me enjoy my Orbis life in peace.

As for me putting "Magnificent Dark Family" from Disgaea 2...

I feel like it's appropriate for me snapping. It sounds ominous and scary at the beginning, but instead of scary foes, I'm the scary one.

In Disgaea 2, this track plays in the Dark World which has generally harder versions of the normal levels and a Dark Sun that, more often than not, helps the foes and harms the player. In the context of fighting the game makers, this makes me feel like both sides are no joke in combat. I'm tough and so are they, so we need to give it everything we've got. (Though I would strongly prefer to defeat them in a Curb-Stomp Battle to get it over with. Just kidding--make the game makers moderately difficult.)

The Dark World also has a red-and-black theme which I associate with brutal murder.