Verona Nova (Tactics)

Verona Nova is the ninth encounter in the Vryllon Citadel raid, serving as the second and penultimate encounter of the Index of Imagination wing. After the destruction of Black-Red, Verona, out of options and time, armors herself up to take on the adventurers and Andro Mikael in earnest, to not only defend the citadel, but her status as the world's greatest mind.
Verona's battle involves the players following specific mechanics correctly to avoid potential wipes, as well as some puzzle elements. Her entire battle is three phases, and part of her battle involves ensuring Andro doesn't fall to her barrage of attacks, as he acts as a threat attractor. The first phase of the fight involves shutting down her room defenses, the second destroying the conveyor belt reinforcements, and the third phase she activates conduits which must be destroyed before she gathers too much power. Her final phase on Rising difficulty involves dealing with swathes of Solvrynn that come in the adjacent doors before Andro finishes her off, also foreshadowing the following fight.
==Background==
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==Abilities==
=== Phase I: Gravity Falls ===
Verona immediately armors up and engages Andro. Her upper network begins forming sentinels that attack the raid, and deploys special Manipulator Golems to assault the raid.
* Verona Nova - The innovator, the Shard's Star.
** Lance Blast: Deals 76,982 - 79,201 damage to the target, and 30% of the damage dealt to all enemies within 15 yards of the target.
** High-Frequency Swathe: Hardens the lance with powerful blades, slicing into the target, dealing 126,502 - 134,109 damage, and increasing damage taken by High-Frequency Swathe by 100%. This stacks.
** Hunter Seeker Drones: Fires fierce drones that target all players on the lower level, dealing 35,609 - 36,981 damage to them and knocking them back.
** Reflective Umbrella: A powerful canopic shield, reducing damage from enemies on the upper level by 99%.
** Emergency Barrier - Alpha: When Verona reaches 70% health, an emergency barrier spawns, reducing damage taken by 100%.
*** Focused Wave: After activating the barrier, Verona deals 104,413 - 107,982 damage to all enemies and begins her next phase. Doing this also deactivates all Golems.
** Disable: On Rising difficulty, Verona disables Andro, depleting his threat generation by 1000% for 10 seconds, and increasing damage dealt to him by 50% for 6 seconds.
* Manipulator Golem - Golems that can attract and repulse players.
** Gravity Blast: A powerful blast that sends enemies backwards within 10 yards, dealing 42,322 - 45,422 damage to them and reducing movement speed by 10% for 5 seconds.
** Gravity Reach: Pulls all enemies within 10 yards and slams them, dealing 35,000 - 37,981 damage and stunning them for 3 seconds.
** Gravity Core: The Golem violently erupts at death, dealing 20,000 irresistible damage to all enemies and leaving a core which can be picked up. Deploying the core acts as a lift to the top platform which expires upon a single use.
* Magnetic Sentinel - Harriers that attack the raid from above.
** Piercing Blast: Deals 16,981 - 18,932 damage to the target, reducing damage dealt by 5%.
** Bombard: Bombards an area, dealing 78,222 - 82,123 damage split amongst all enemies.
** Focused Disintegration: Deals 100,000 damage to the enemy over 12 seconds.
** Keen Intelligence: Every 15 seconds, the Sentinel gains a 10% damage increase. This stacks.
* Andro Mikael - Your ally in the battle.
** Threat Generator: Andro increasingly generates threat against his target.
** Missile Barrage: Periodically barrages the target with missiles.
** Swipe: Andro swipes Verona with his lance, knocking her back.
** Overload: If Andro reaches critical condition, his armor detonates, dealing 1,000,000 damage to all allies and enemies within 100 yards.
=== Phase II: Conveyed Sentence ===
Verona activates her conveyor belts, which can only be interacted with by constructing levers to short-circuit it in time.
*Verona Nova - The innovator, the Shard's Star.
**Lance Blast: Deals 76,982 - 79,201 damage to the target, and 30% of the damage dealt to all enemies within 15 yards of the target.
**High-Frequency Swathe: Hardens the lance with powerful blades, slicing into the target, dealing 126,502 - 134,109 damage, and increasing damage taken by High-Frequency Swathe by 100%. This stacks.
**Blink Mines: Fires teleporting mines that target all players on the lower level, dealing 155,609 - 158,981 damage to them and knocking them back. Damage can be avoided by leaving their blast radius.
**Reflective Umbrella: A powerful canopic shield, reducing damage from enemies on the conveyor belt by 99%.
**Emergency Barrier - Beta: When Verona reaches 40% health, an emergency barrier spawns, reducing damage taken by 100%.
***Focused Wave: After activating the barrier, Verona deals 104,413 - 107,982 damage to all enemies and begins her next phase. Doing this also deactivates all weapons from the belt.
**Disable: On Rising difficulty, Verona disables Andro, depleting his threat generation by 1000% for 10 seconds, and increasing damage dealt to him by 50% for 6 seconds.
*Nova Glass Cannon - Cannons that form on the conveyor's belts to assault the raid.
**Glass Beam: A powerful, superheated beam that deals 134,321 - 138,991 damage to all enemies caught in its blast area every second for 12 seconds.
**Splitting Beam: A strong beam that deals 48,982 - 53,211 damage to all enemies and burns them over 30 seconds for 20% of the damage dealt. This stacks.
*Superheated Mine Thrower - Catapult constructs that deal heavy damage to tanks and enemies alike.
**Erupting Mine: Rains down mines in areas that detonate after 4 seconds, dealing 208,192 - 224,291 damage to all enemies caught in the blast radius.
**Spike Mines: Mines that explode for 65,498 - 68,981 damage when they make contact and 128,982 - 131,982 damage split amongst all enemies. The mines can be soaked to avoid raid-wide damage, but deal double damage on contact.
***Dislodged Spike: A spike trap, superheated that forms in the ground. Burns nearby enemies for 5% of their health every 3 seconds. Enough of these spikes can be collected to slow the belt down.
*Andro Mikael - Your ally in the battle.
**Threat Generator: Andro increasingly generates threat against his target.
**Missile Barrage: Periodically barrages the target with missiles.
**Swipe: Andro swipes Verona with his lance, knocking her back.
**Overload: If Andro reaches critical condition, his armor detonates, dealing 1,000,000 damage to all allies and enemies within 100 yards.
===Phase III: Replication of Disaster===
Verona harnesses the power of her conduits with distinct markings to assault the raid. No more adds are present in this phase with the exception of her Protector Sentinel.
*Verona Nova - The innovator, the Shard's Star.
**Lance Blast: Deals 76,982 - 79,201 damage to the target, and 30% of the damage dealt to all enemies within 15 yards of the target.
**High-Frequency Swathe: Hardens the lance with powerful blades, slicing into the target, dealing 126,502 - 134,109 damage, and increasing damage taken by High-Frequency Swathe by 100%. This stacks.
**Conduit Calamity: Fires teleporting mines that target all players on the lower level, dealing 155,609 - 158,981 damage to them and knocking them back. Damage can be avoided by leaving their blast radius.
***Runic Devastation: Implodes the power of all conduits, dealing 88,543 - 98,123 damage to all players four times, dealing double damage to players located near the wrong one.
***Empowered Intelligence: After harnessing the power of her Conduits, Verona's attack speed and damage increase by 25% for 30 seconds. This is reduced by half if no one fails to reach their marks.
**Deploy Sentinel: Deploys a Protector Sentinel to assault the raid.
**Emergency Barrier - Gamma: When Verona reaches 10% health, an emergency barrier spawns, reducing damage taken by 100%. (Only on Rising)
***Focused Wave: After activating the barrier, Verona deals 104,413 - 107,982 damage to all enemies and begins her next phase. Doing this also deactivates all weapons from the belt.
**Circulating Supercharge: Verona's chambers are entrenched with dangerous orbs that deal 113,431 - 116,782 damage to targets on contact and 46,542 - 59,091 damage to the rest of the raid. This damage increases with each contact made by 10%, and stacks.
**Disable: On Rising difficulty, Verona disables Andro, depleting his threat generation by 1000% for 10 seconds, and increasing damage dealt to him by 50% for 6 seconds.
*Protector Sentinel - A mobile assault weapon that deals heavy damage to raiders.
**Plasma Cannon: A frontal cone that deals 306,493 - 308,922 damage to all enemies caught within the beam.
**Solium Artillery: Fires artillery around the room, dealing 95,430 - 109,232 damage to enemies struck within the blast radius.
**Lance Slice: Severs the target with the lance, dealing 45,421 - 53,421 damage to them, and an additional 25,000 irresistible damage over 3 seconds.
*Andro Mikael - Your ally in the battle.
**Threat Generator: Andro increasingly generates threat against his target.
**Missile Barrage: Periodically barrages the target with missiles.
**Swipe: Andro swipes Verona with his lance, knocking her back.
**Overload: If Andro reaches critical condition, his armor detonates, dealing 1,000,000 damage to all allies and enemies within 100 yards.
===Phase IV: The Last Dance (Rising)===
Verona, out of options, deploys her defensive countermeasures and unseals the airlocks, allowing Solvrynn to enter the fold and assault the raid.
*Verona Nova - The innovator, the Shard's Star.
**Lance Blast: Deals 76,982 - 79,201 damage to the target, and 30% of the damage dealt to all enemies within 15 yards of the target.
**High-Frequency Swathe: Hardens the lance with powerful blades, slicing into the target, dealing 126,502 - 134,109 damage, and increasing damage taken by High-Frequency Swathe by 100%. This stacks.
**Novahedron Shuri: Verona deploys a ring of heavily explosive mines around her, leaving a space open. She then sends the mines flying outwards towards her enemies, dealing 348,982 - 356,982 damage to all enemies who make contact with a mine, and leaving a static Supercharge on the ground.
**Sigma Generator: A pulsing blast that deals 345,392 - 368,981 damage to all players over 10 seconds.
**Circulating Supercharge: Verona's chambers are entrenched with dangerous orbs that deal 113,431 - 116,782 damage to targets on contact and 46,542 - 59,091 damage to the rest of the raid. This damage increases with each contact made by 10%, and stacks.
**Disable: On Rising difficulty, Verona disables Andro, depleting his threat generation by 1000% for 10 seconds, and increasing damage dealt to him by 50% for 6 seconds.
* Solvrynn - Giant, airborne constructs that assualt the raid in groups of three.
** Bombardier Solvrynn: Rains down a hailstorm of bombs, dealing 168,922 - 178,993 damage to all enemies caught in the blast radius.
** Sweeping Solvrynn: A sharpened variant that sweeps through the room, dealing 198,092 - 202,322 damage to all enemies caught by its blades, knocking them back.
** Defense Solvrynn: A deployable Solvrynn that attacks the raid with similar abilities to that of the Bombardier and Sweeping variants.
** Nova Lock: The airlocks open, draw in players that are too close, throwing them out of the raid, killing them.
* Andro Mikael - Your ally in the battle.
**Threat Generator: Andro increasingly generates threat against his target.
**Missile Barrage: Periodically barrages the target with missiles.
**Swipe: Andro swipes Verona with his lance, knocking her back.
**Overload: If Andro reaches critical condition, his armor detonates, dealing 1,000,000 damage to all allies and enemies within 100 yards.
==Strategy==
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==Quotes==
Intro
Multiple machines deploy in response to Andro's machinations.
*Andro Mikael: Verona is growing desperate. This is our chance. Wipe the floor with her machines. I'll accompany you.
After destroying the machines, the Shardstar MK. X is deployed.
*Andro Mikael: My, my, that's an actual threat. Let's dispose of it like the rest.
After the Shardstar falls, Andro gets harrowing news.
*Andro Mikael: This is Andro. Insano, what did you report?
*Insano: The flying machines we tried to access? They're deploying.
*Andro Mikael: Deploying?
*Insano: Yes. Large anomalous events are appearing outside as well. Seems these machines are in response to them.
*Andro Mikael: Or to us. We're approaching Nova.
*Insano: You'll be alright?
*Andro: <silent for a moment> Yes. I have a plan.
Verona appears, holding vials in one hand, and a remote in the other.
*Andro Mikael: Stand down, Verona. This ends now.
*Verona Nova: Oh, Andro... no more "Nova"? Like you used to?
*Andro Mikael: Spare me the past. You know unless you surrender, there is no going back. The atrocities you committed, in what you name, science, are unfathomable.
*Verona Nova: For the benefit of the planet, so to speak. You lacked... vision, Andro. You lacked that which I find with the Shard of the Sun.
*Verona Nova: The machines I devised, with his help, and a few others, we've liberated worlds, saved civilizations. And you call these... atrocities.
*Andro Mikael: You've killed thousands with the push of a single button.
*Verona Nova: And I'd do it again to preserve a point. I am after all, the greatest mind this world has to offer. Maybe, second to... <Verona points up> him, but...
*Verona Nova: Killing me won't do you any good, or the world for that matter. Instead of my surrender, perhaps you and your heroes should show fealty. The Shardlord is quite... ennobling.
*Andro Mikael: I believe my party and I are well past that. It seems you leave us no other alternative.
Andro looks around the room.
*Andro Mikael: Be on your guard, champions, I suspect...
*Verona Nova: You analyzed the room, didn't you?
*Andro Mikael: To an extent. You got gadgets with you... and I'm sure those columns there aren't just for show.
Verona powers up her suit.
*Andro Mikael: I'll take her on. Just follow my lead.
*Verona Nova: This will settle who has the greater mind. Step forward, Andro Mikael of the Golden Oculus.
Aggro
*You will bow before my brilliance!
Phase I
*Andro Mikael: Take care of those golems, and use their parts to attack the machines she is deploying above us!
*Andro Mikael: I'll take care of her. Help me cut her down while she strikes me, and kill those blasted golems up above!
Hunter Seeker Drones
*You cannot hide from me!
Disable
*Even you, Andro, are no match for this!
Phase II
*Verona Nova: Not bad, champions. But that was just an experiment.
*Andro Mikael: The conveyor belts. We'll need to slow them down somewhat. Her forces fire too fast for us to retaliate.
*Andro Mikael: Craft some parts from the machines she brings to disable her belts!
*Andro Mikael: Your belts must be a prototype, but the guns on them are not. Adventurers, we must find a wrench in her plans!
Blink Mines
*Think fast!
Machine appears on belt
*See how quickly our tools of destruction reform themselves!
Phase III
*Verona Nova: Your counters are admirable. But pointless. Now you will witness the limits of my patience, as my imagination knows no such bounds!
*Andro Mikael: The conduits! Champions be careful. Whatever she has planned, be ready!
*Andro Mikael: Watch out for her lance! She seems to have upgraded it as we fight!
Conduit Calamity
* Verona Nova: My patience begins to wear thin!
* Andro Mikael: Run to the conduits, champions!
Sentinel deploys
* Verona Nova: Protector, dispatch of these insolents.
* Protector Sentinel: Protector online.
Phase IV (Rising)
*Andro Mikael: Not bad, Verona, not bad. Harriers from the roof, gravitational weapons from the belts, and conduits with markings befitting runes of ancient times. Your imagination is quite inspiring. But what is up your sleeve is the real party.
*Verona Nova: Andro... you knew?
*Andro Mikael: Yes. And now, your suit will now display countermeasures designed for this encounter, because we prevailed against everything so far. You'll have enemies coming from the ports to the west and east. And those Solvrynn... the ones I spoke of with Insano, are coming to us right now aren't they? Fortunately, I knew of such a plan.
Andro deploys mines to the west and east sides, and casts a spell on the players.
*Andro Mikael: Oh, and before I came here, I modified the CODEXes of the champions so you couldn't infect them through Black-Red. You tried, but that only made it more difficult to listen to, and now there's a barrier around this room that only we can't escape from, unless you kill me.
*Verona Nova: It hasn't even been ten minutes, let alone an hour since you've been here. You couldn't have known what I was going to do, in that short period of a time.
*Andro Mikael: But I did.
Andro readies his lance.
*Andro Mikael: That's why I'm here.
*Verona Nova: So be it. Let this be our last dance.
Novahedron Shuri
* Begone from my sight!
Sigma Generator
* I will watch you fall where you stand!
Killing a player
*A feeble mind!
*Worthless!
*You died in the name of science.
*Attached to such bitter mortality.
*My brilliance knows no bounds!
Defeat
*No! This cannot be, I am... the Shard's Star...
Outro
Andro and Verona duel with their lances, and Andro gets the upper hand, swinging her aside.
*Andro Mikael: So, is that it?
*Andro Mikael: The most brilliant mind there is, and nothing else left? Come on now, show me.
Verona drags Andro forward, skewering his suit with gravity spikes. He begins to cough up blood.
*Verona Nova: Satisfied?
*Andro Mikael: No...
Andro beckons his lance to his hand.
*Andro Mikael: Just disappointed.
Andro impales Verona.
*Andro Mikael: I'm sorry.
Verona's suit goes offline, and she dies shortly as well. Kaboom and Insano rush in to follow up, and are horrified at their colleague's predicament.
*Kaboom: Andro! Your suit...
*Andro Mikael: Built in healing apparatus... but...
*Insano: You'll need medical attention... you...
*Andro Mikael: I just need a <coughs blood> moment.
Kaboom lays a hand on Andro's shoulder, and winces at Insano to move away. Andro begins to sob, then sighs a breath of relief.
*Kaboom: We'll have to tend to his wounds. We'll have to notify the champions.
*Insano: Yes. Those Solvrynn that Verona deployed... the rest of them are on the next level... and they're in our way.
==Loot==
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==Achievements==
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==Notes==
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