Raid Chaos and Voice Chat

[Party/YearRound: Hey~ I’m the healer~]

[Party/PotteryMaster: Welcome!!!]

[Party/OneHitForTheLord: Counting on you, healer.]

[Party/YearRound: Lolol tank’s firewood this time, huh? I’ll keep you alive.]

[Party/PatchNote: Do you all use voice chat?]

Voice chat, huh?
I hesitated.
For a blind raid with scarce info, voice chat would help coordination, but…
I felt uneasy about strangers hearing my voice.
Everyone else seemed eager for smoother leading, though.

[Party/OneHitForTheLord: Voice chat’s great. Especially for tanks and healers to sync.]

[Party/PatchNote: I’ll set up a room, wanna join?]

[Party/Beta: Yes, I prefer voice chat too ㅎㅎ Let me know when it’s up~~!]

“Ugh…”

[Guild/DontOrderMe: Not really into it…]

[Guild/Beta: Oh right, you don’t do voice… ㅠ How about just listening?]

[Guild/DontOrderMe: That’s okay?]

[Guild/Beta: You can hop in, listen, and talk only if you need to ㅇㅇ]

[Guild/Beta: Don’t stress too much.]

While chatting with Beta, PatchNote set up the voice channel.
Hesitating, I recalled her suggestion to just listen and joined.
Creating a random ID, I entered, hearing voices.

– Welcome, I’m YearRound.
– Hey! PotteryMaster here!
– Healer Beta here! Wow, PotteryMaster… you’re a girl…?
– Yup! Bit surprising?

[Party/SoonToDie: I’m not using my mic, just listening.]

Half-listening to their chatter, I typed.
Like in old raid groups, voices in my ear felt distracting.
That’s why I avoid voice chat.
Sighing deeply, I checked my gear when a low, pleasant voice came through.

– Mic settings were off… Hey, I’m CameToDie, aka PatchNote. Nice to meet you.

“Ahem…”

Scratching my ear at his smooth baritone, I thought, *His voice is killer.*
Everyone finished intros and urged to start the raid.
Done staring at my gear, I hit enter.

Dreamy BGM played as the camera panned a dark, eerie background.
A boss in an elegant dress descended from the sky, wielding a scythe, ending the short cutscene.
The design and visuals were top-notch—unlike Valhalla’s knockoff vibe.
Getting ready, PatchNote’s voice cut through.

—

(2)

– Boss opens with an AoE. Healers, watch for damage reduction and heal-up. After, a cast bar will show—it’s a tank buster. If you get the burn debuff, see the swamp back there? Dip in to cleanse. Boss stays centered unless using specific skills.

– Wow, you’ve run this already?

– Nah, haven’t tried. Watched a streamer’s live run.

That alone was huge.
DPS like me? Just blast damage and feel it out.

As the raid started, OneHit, the main tank, rushed to pull boss agro.
I charged in with a dash skill, chaining combos with my opener.
PatchNote’s dazzling skill effects flew from behind.
But the boss’s HP barely budged—high defense or massive health pool?

The first AoE hit, and healers quickly topped us up.
The boss’s free hand glowed red, a cast bar appearing: *Hell’s Terror Flame*, a tank buster.
As the boss slammed her glowing hand down, OneHit’s HP dropped fast.

Even with a shield, 80% of his HP vanished.
Healers kept healing, and as advised, OneHit hit the swamp, cleansing the burn debuff.
His HP, drained by DoT, stabilized.

– Wow, it worked? Who called the tank firewood? Still firewood?

– Firewood’s right. Whoosh! Crackle! Fwoosh!

First raid, first time syncing, but it went smoother than expected.
PatchNote’s timely callouts were clutch.

– Cast bar’s up, looks like an AoE. Healers, prep heals.

– How do you know from the cast bar?

– Hell’s Terror Flame was a tank buster, so Hell’s Scorching Flame’s probably an AoE.

“Pfft.”

Ridiculous, but he nailed it.
*Hell’s Scorching Flame* hit the party, leaving a burn debuff.
Watching everyone sprint to the swamp made me laugh.

– Looks like a stampede. Add a shepherd, and we’re sheep.

– Lord, another lamb heads to you today.

– OneHit, you Christian?

– Nah, Buddhist. Namu Amida Butsu.

Buddhist but calling for the Lord? Call Buddha!
Chuckling, I nearly missed my skill timing.

It’s my big DPS combo—missing it tanks my output.
Cold sweat ran down my back.
Focus, no tank-level or healer-level DPS here.

[Party/DontOrderMe: No joking.]

[Party/DontOrderMe: Break my combo—]

[Party/DontOrderMe: You taking responsibility?]

– I’ll take responsibility.

– Man, isn’t this guy in love? When’d you two start dating?

– *Cough*…

PatchNote’s bold claim sparked guildmates’ teasing.
I heard laughter—short and faint, maybe my imagination.

Focusing solely on DPS, I brushed it off.
Funny chat makes you laugh, right? I just did.

The raid neared its latter half.
At 50% HP, the boss summoned undead seasonal adds.
Assuming I’d sub-tank, I went for agro, but PatchNote dumped skills on the adds.

– I’ll take adds. Focus boss DPS.

Wouldn’t I be better?
My warrior class has higher defense and HP than his mage.
A geared, high-DPS Battle Mage like him hitting the boss is more efficient than a coffin-bound Berserker.

I bit my lip, debating.
Typing now wasn’t smart—breaking combos would lose DPS.
Talking’s faster than typing.
Tsking, I opened voice chat and turned on my mic.

“Wouldn’t I be better for adds?”

– Huh? Who…

“It’s SoonToDie. Me for adds, you for boss? Even in a coffin, my warrior’s tankier than a Battle Mage. You had me sub-tank in Valhalla.”

– Oh… SoonToDie…

“Yeah? Should I take adds?”

– Hold on, hold on. *Ding-ding*, passing through. He’s buffering, I’ll lead. He’s right—adds are his job. This boss’s DPS check is brutal. During add phase, you need DPS on the boss for Critical Point management. Don’t waste high DPS on adds.

No wonder this raid’s called hellish.
Nodding at YearRound’s chipper explanation, I hadn’t expected a DPS check in a specific phase.
What a brutal raid.
Should’ve checked more guides.

– Man, I’ve known SoonToDie for years, first time hearing him on voice.

– Right? Didn’t you say no voice? Thought you were listen-only.

“Planned to just listen, but I had to speak—it was urgent.”

Won’t do it again.
Firmly ending, I refocused on the boss.

A combo landed with critical hits.
Checking the boss’s Critical Point gauge, we had breathing room.
But as I prepped another combo, the phase shifted, and the boss ascended.

– What? Why’s it going up?

– Oh, crap…

– Look at this guy. Slacking on DPS got us here… not too late, cover it.

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

—