Deactivating N.O.X.

Deactivating N.O.X.
Section	Zinn's Task Quests
Campaign	Zinn's Task
Required campaigns	Prophecies, Factions and Nightfall
Given by	Image of Zinn in Golem Tutorial Simulation
Part of	Zinn's Task
Type	Secondary quest (Difficulty: Master)

This is one of the three quests given by the Image of Zinn from the Golem User Manual. In this quest, N.O.X. threatens Prince Bokka during a re-enactment of the Asuran settlement of the Tarnished Coast; the golem was also programmed to assassinate Prince Ahmtur and Prince Mehtu.

Quest information

Objectives

• Speak with Attendant to the Prince in Resplendent Makuun.
• Defend Prince Bokka. He must survive.
• Deactivate N.O.X.

Reward

• N.O.X.'s Power Crystal

Environmental changes

• Once this quest is completed, Attendant to the Prince will no longer spawn in Resplendent Makuun.

Walkthrough

Head into Resplendent Makuun and follow the quest marker to the Attendant to the Prince who bring you to Bokka Amphitheatre, just in time to save Prince Bokka from getting killed. The fight against N.O.X. has three stages.

1. The first stage begins as soon as players enter the quest; it consists of defending Prince Bokka as N.O.X. attacks. Bit Golems will spawn on the map.
2. The second stage begins once N.O.X.'s health has been reduced to approximately 80%. Bokka will declare his intention to flee, but you have to make sure he actually leaves through the portal. Afterward, N.O.X. will summon reinforcements (see below) that will continually spawn in the area.
3. The third stage begins once N.O.X.'s health has been reduced to 50%. All remaining reinforcement golems will explode (damaging adjacent party members) and those that appear from now on will explode for 150 AoE damage as soon as they spawn.
4. Once you reduce N.O.X.'s health below 25%, it will be defeated.

The various Bit Golems can pose a bigger threat to Bokka (and the party) than N.O.X. itself, so ensure that your team can handle them quickly and safely. The tactics are slightly different during the three stages, so be prepared for each.

Stage 1

The Bit Golems are stationary; at this point, they do not threaten the party directly, but activate an AoE whenever they are approached. Your party can easily avoid them, but Bokka is not as clever: in his panic, he will run straight into them. You can either attempt to destroy them quickly or focus just on the ones that the Prince gets stuck on.

Stage 2

Three of the golem types will amplify NOX's special attacks, to the point that N.O.X. will eventually be able to defeat the party with a single hit. However, all its skills during this stage are spells with long casting times; use interrupts, skills that daze, or other counters to his casting; this will allow you to defeat him while ignoring most of his reinforcements. Destroy Rectifiers that are in casting range of NOX to stop his healing, and destroy Breakers that are in attack range of the party to stop their conditions. Because of these golems, during this stage it is advantageous to keep NOX and the party still and use as little space to fight as safety allows. However, as you approach the threshold for the next stage you will want to clear out a larger area of golems and spread your party out.

• Phantom Bit Golems (increase the power of N.O.X.'s N.O.X. Phantom skill),
• Thunder Bit Golems (increase the power of N.O.X.'s N.O.X. Thunder),
• Fire Bit Golems (increase the power of N.O.X.'s N.O.X. Fire),
• Rectifier Bit Golems (heal N.O.X.), and
• Breaker Bit Golems (inflict random conditions on the party)

Stage 3

Spread out to avoid getting overwhelmed. The golem spawns are random, not targeted, so it does no good to move around. Doing so will just decrease dps and drag out the fight, increasing pressure on healers. During this stage, N.O.X. will switch skills again, to N.O.X. Knuckle, N.O.X. Field Dash and N.O.X. Divider Drive. Continue to interrupt these skills.

Skill recommendations

• Skills that cause Daze (e.g. Broad Head Arrow) and interrupts are extremely helpful.
• Skills that reduce casting speed such as Migraine, Frustration, and Arcane Conundrum.
• To prevent N.O.X.ion Buster, you must interrupt N.O.X. between the end of Countdown and activation of ion buster.
• Party-wide heals are very helpful in countering the AoE damage from the bit golems and protecting Bokka during phase 1. Party-wide damage reduction is also useful for this, especially Union or Shelter.

Other recommendations

• Divide your team into two groups: those that focus on keeping the Prince (and party members) alive and those that can quickly take down the Bit Golems and/or N.O.X. In teams with seven heroes,
  • Flag two or three healers in between the seats and the stage and allow the others to follow you.
  • Force dedicated hero healers to lock on Bokka; call targets for the others as you move around.
• If you can damage quickly enough, have one or two party members focus on N.O.X., one or two to keep Bokka alive, and the remaining members are free to take out the Bit Golems (and can help damage N.O.X. whenever they are few in number). If you are quick enough, the big golem will never pose any threat to the party.

NPCs

In Bokka Amphitheatre:

Allies

Humans

• 20 (20) Prince Bokka
• 20 (20) Vabbian Actress (dead)
• 20 (20) Vabbian Actor (dead)
• 20 (20) Vabbian Theater Manager (dead)
• 20 (20) Vabbian Stagehand (dead)

Foes

Golems

• 20 (26) Bit Golem
• 20 (26) Breaker Bit Golem
• 20 (26) Fire Bit Golem
• 20 (26) Phantom Bit Golem
• 20 (26) Rectifier Bit Golem
• 20 (26) Thunder Bit Golem

Bosses

Golem

• 29 (29) N.O.X.

Dialogue

Initial dialogue

Zinn

"Prince Bokka purchased the N.O.X. golem for a re-enactment of the Asuran settlement of the Tarnished Coast. However, N.O.X.'s true purpose is to assassinate Prince Bokka as well as Prince Ahmtur and Prince Mehtu. Save the prince and deactivate N.O.X. before the golem assassinates the leaders of Vabbi and destabilizes all of Elona. Make haste to Bokka's Palace in Resplendent Makuun. One of Bokka's attendants should be more than willing to take you to the prince."

Intermediate dialogue

Attendant to the Prince

Prince Bokka is in grave danger. You must tell me where he is at once!

Danger? Ridiculous! Prince Bokka is loved by all. No one would ever think of harming him. Now be gone and speak no more of this supposed danger.

The prince's new toy, N.O.X., is programmed to assassinate him. Take me to Bokka before it's too late!

You mean that golem that arrived this morning? Preposterous! It came from a most reputable source, the great Asuran inventor Zinn. I assure you, Prince Bokka is quite safe.

Zinn sent me to protect Prince Bokka. Take me to him NOW unless you want to be blamed for his death.

Alright, I'll take you to Prince Bokka. Are you ready to leave?

We were ready when we got here. If you're finally ready, we're ready. (sent to Bokka Amphitheatre)

Wait, I won? You'll take me to Bokka? I wasn't ready for that...

Thanks for the chat, but I have to run.

Thanks for the chat, but I have to run.

When entering Bokka Amphitheatre:

Prince Bokka: :"Don't just stand there! Save me! Save me!"

N.O.X.:: "*AC-QUIR-ING TAR-GET: Prince Bokka*"

When N.O.X. reaches 75/80% health:

Prince Bokka: :"Women and princes first. No. Wrong. Princes first!"

N.O.X.:: "*TAR-GET ES-CAP-ING, ACT-I-VATE RE-IN-FORCE-MENTS, RE-MOVE HOS-TILES*"

When N.O.X. reaches 50%:

N.O.X.:: "*DA-MAGE EX-CEEDS EX-PEC-TED RE-SULTS, DIS-EN-GAGE LIM-I-TER, IN-CREASE CORE OUT-PUT*"

Reward dialogue

N.O.X.

"N.O.X. appears fully deactivated. You reach out and open up his control panel. Inside lies the golem's power crystal. It emits a strange buzzing sound and vibrates erratically, almost as if something is trying to escape. This is the object Zinn requires. You only need to reach out and take it."

Notes

• You can back up through the portal and attack N.O.X. through the wall although its massive attack will hurt you unless you back up all the way to the back of the closed area behind the portal.
  • Alternate to above - Through the portal and lure N.O.X. into the courtyard and fight him there.
  • Golems will appear on the other side of the portal if you go through it.
• There are exploitable corpses of Vabbian civilians strewn around the theatre. The enemies you face here do not leave any corpses.
• M.O.X. is not required to be in your party for this quest.
• This quest is obtained automatically after accepting Zinn's Task. If it is abandoned, it can be re-obtained by asking Image of Zinn about the Zinn's Task quest. The initial dialogue can only be seen in the quest log, and it has no accept, decline or when asked about dialogue.
• Even if N.O.X. is not within range heroes and henchmen will not attack the smaller golems unless a player does.
• The attendant does not spawn if Til Death Do Us Part... is active and uncompleted.

Anomaly.If you fail this quest, you will be teleported to Honur Hill, even if you started from another outpost and have not yet unlocked it.

Trivia

• This quest was credited to Linsey Murdock.
• The dialogue with the attendant implies that the player must be taken to Prince Bokka; however, Prince Bokka will be standing right in front of the attendant if In Defense of Theatre is active.