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It's not a war. The name of the event is "The War Between Shadows".

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Has the new Z-Token package not been released yet? I see it on the "today's event" page but it doesn't appear to be on the Z-Token storefront

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Make sure you have either END stat points or an item to give you some, otherwise the bleeding effect will be the end of you since this boss is not nuke-able and will take 0 DMG from Harm/Void.
Also, it seems like it doesn't qualify as an undead despite its appearance, so no healing from Paladin gear.
Get ready for a dragged-out fight and make sure you have plenty of healing

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I was actually able to beat the boss without any END investment by abusing Invincible Star and using the Ultraguardian Scythe in tandem with subrace and healing pets/guests. Having a 4-hit attack helps mitigate the damage cap against the boss.

Story-wise, I was pleasantly surprised to see Falerin (the character) to make another appearance. I was honestly half-expecting him to not appear again, given the circumstances with his real-life counterpart's passing.

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It's nice to see a lot of characters return. Falerin, Erebus, the likes. So we've learned that Erebus clearly knows something, and that this... whatever collective and cult following someone wants to get at Erebus for the sake of achieving their aims. But Erebus, not liking what we did to him in the past, is not going to help us straight up, because he has his own objectives to achieve.

So at the end, the Mysterious Stranger says he wants revenge. I cannot think off the top of my head whom would possibly want revenge so badly that they would orchestrate such underhanded means. The only one I can think of on the top of my head is Absolix whose current status is unknown.

Maybe the Evil form of Artix, Xitra? Or someone else who seems to escape my mind but comes from some other dimension that we have wronged in the past.

So on the weapon, it's a pretty interesting premise to say the least. Earth Hammer that pays SP + MRM in order to paralyze the enemy. It should pair very well with the Umazen shield and other forms of paralyze potence.

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As of a certain character's appearance -- Falerin had planned to retire his character for quite some time. Unfortunately, real life disrupted his plans a painful number of times before his tragic passing. I intend to give the Loremaster the farewell he would have wanted. Doing it justice will take some time given the pending stories involving Erebus and Entropy, but I am committed to delivering quality content -- And the team has been consistently great at bringing my ideas to life.

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It seems to have very low accuracy? Even my no dex character was blocking most of its hits

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I think it's like the Paladin Avenger's Maul, but versus Paladins and armored foes instead of Undead creatures and Dark vs Light on the empowerment. http://forums2.battleon.com/f/fb.asp?m=22380383

Loved all the throwbacks, can't wait to see where this goes! [/spoilers]

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The only one I can think of on the top of my head is Absolix whose current status is unknown.

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Notice how this storyline is called "the war between shadows?"

That's almost definitely not a coincidence. Erebus was revealed in the Bizarre Flecks saga to be a shadow. And it just so happens that there's one other notable villain in AQ history who's from the Shadow Universe, who might just have some choice words to say the Chosen specifically.

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Then in that, I suspect it might either be Seekrat or Ultimon in some ways, as I haven't been really attentive of lore so I cannot at this time remember who else is from or connected to the Shadow Universe that we have wronged at some point. Or it could be Xitra.

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I'm pretty sure the other Shadow is the ShadowScythe

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Ever since this Order of the Mantle started popping up I had a feeling we'd see the real Mysterious Stranger return. Not that pretender that we saw during the Dragonlorn Keep Saga and certainly not Erebus wearing his cloak, when he went by the name Dhows long ago.

Speaking of which, I'm sure that's what he means when he says he wants revenge. I remember seeing Erebus seemingly destroying the Mysterious Stranger before stealing his identity (I can't begin to recall which quest this is from, it's the one where we learn about Erebus' origins so probably towards the end of the Bizarre Flecks). He's supposedly back through some Void-related timey-wimey stuff judging by that portal the ritualists pulled him through.

I'm personally looking forward to seeing him take the entire Order of the Cosplayers to school on how a real unknowable entity of Doom gets things done.

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Forget END enhancements or blocking, the Haunted Dragonlord set is where it's at. It's Bleed stacks are dependent on it dealing damage, so just keep using the barrier on the shield and it's a cakewalk.