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Time Piece - Cortes

Introduced in v9.5, all Time Piece (aka Time Paradox) missions come in 2 versions - normal and broken. You can select which type in the room creation window. Broken Time Piece mission is easier, but rewards less crystals from its roulette.

This raid mission is mainly for collecting Strata Devil Weapon materials and for making Evil Weapons (ATK Rating 34) - blunt, sabre, great sword, crescent, or tonfa.

The following monster statistics are from Broken Time Paradox (v18.07.08). Bosses and mini-bosses in (Normal) Time Paradox tend to have more hit points (about 30-40% more) and ATK/DEF Rating.

It is also needed for Piece of Cortes (quest item) in Recruit Beatrice quests. You must be alive and near Stone Cortes when he dies to acquire the quest item.


Mission Information
Location: Viron (E7)
Frequency: 2/day
Duration: 60 minutes
Participants: 1-12
Entry Cost: Free (1/day), 200 Shiny Crystals (2/day)
Requirement: Must have [Time Crystal] Cortes quest to receive roulette reward

In v23.63.43, you can redo the mission by paying 200 Shiny Crystals. The maximum number of participants for Time Piece missions was reduced from 24 to 12.


It is recommended to have a tank for this raid mission. It is not necessary to have wizards using [Whole Cancellation]. All monsters (except Eva Sharon) deal physical damage, so use [Protection Field] if needed. If you want to destroy Rationality of Cortes (see below), there must be melee attackers in the squad. Stone Cortes' DEF is quite high, so it is recommended to have Lisa and Battle Smith Idge to inflict [Physical Break] and [Broken Armor].


A. Start Point
You start the mission at this area. Move back into the small room to buff up first. At the start, a series of zone notices will announce: Cortes is waking up. Destroy his rationality and instinct before he wakes up. You can only destroy his rationality and instinct with melee attack. You can delay waking up Cortes by attacking him.

There are several monsters running around the entire map. The tank can provoke them, while the attackers finish them off. The skeletons and archers have low DEF, so finish them off first. Skeleton Gunners can inflict [Expose] status, similar to the one from [Flintlock] stance, while Kobold Crusaders can inflict [Armor Crash] status. If the tank received [Armor Crash], he can keep moving to lure the kobolds until the status wears off. Alternatively, bring Elisa or Veronif to remove the status.

Skeleton Gunner from Hell • Lv.130 Undead • Soft Armor • None • Small
HP 2,704,800 • ATK Rating 68 • ATK 45,900 • DEF Rating 63 • DEF 25
Penetration 150 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 0 • RES - Fire 70, Ice 70, Lightning 70, Mental 70

Kobold Archer Master • Lv.130 Wildlife • Light Armor • None • Small
HP 540,960 • ATK Rating 68 • ATK 54,000 • DEF Rating 63 • DEF 75
Penetration 50 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 0 • RES - Fire 90, Ice 90, Lightning 90, Mental 95

Kobold Crusader • Lv.130 Wildlife • Light Armor • None • Small
HP 1,352,400 • ATK Rating 66 • ATK 40,500 • DEF Rating 66 • DEF 225
Penetration 50 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 0 • RES - Fire 90, Ice 90, Lightning 90, Mental 95


B. Rationality & Instinct of Cortes
This step is not entirely necessary. However, destroying Rationality and Instinct of Cortes will prevent area C from being bombarded by Petrify Gases and Fallen Rocks respectively later. If the squad does not have enough melee attackers, simply skip this part and clear the area of monsters until Stone Cortes wakes up.

To destroy Rationality of Cortes, only melee attackers can attack it. J.D is especially good at this. Magic and range attackers should clear off any nearby skeletons and kobolds. If Stone Cortes wakes up (see below), the remaining Rationality/Instinct of Cortes will disappear. If uninterrupted, the awakening usually takes slightly more than 3 minutes. You can delay the awakening by attacking Stone Cortes at area C.

Rationality/Instinct of Cortes • Lv.140 Object • Heavy Armor • None • Small
HP 7,257,600 • ATK Rating 68 • ATK 0 • DEF Rating 68 • DEF 200
Penetration 0 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 50 • RES - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0

Hell General Marsha • Lv.130 Undead • Light Armor • None • Medium
HP 16,887,688 • ATK Rating 73 • ATK 37,800 • DEF Rating 63 • DEF 150
Penetration 50 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 50 • RES - Fire 70, Ice 70, Lightning 70, Mental 70

Hell General Veil • Lv.130 Demon • Heavy Armor • None • Medium
HP 12,374,460 • ATK Rating 73 • ATK 24,300 • DEF Rating 63 • DEF 225
Penetration 50 • Magic Penetration - Fire 30, Ice 30, Lightning 30, Mental 30
Immunity 50 • RES - Fire 70, Ice 70, Lightning 70, Mental 70

Hell General Combs • Lv.130 Lifeless • Heavy Armor • None • Medium
HP 14,453,369 • ATK Rating 73 • ATK 35,016 • DEF Rating 63 • DEF 255
Penetration 50 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 50 • RES - Fire 70, Ice 70, Lightning 70, Mental 70

When Rationality of Cortes is destroyed, a zone notice will say: The last rationality left to Cortes has disappeared. There is no more falling stone around him. Instinct of Cortes has appeared. Try to destroy it. Instinct of Cortes will then appear, along with one random Hell General. The tank should provoke the Hell General, while the other melee attackers destroy Instinct of Cortes.

If Instinct of Cortes is destroyed before Stone Cortes wakes up, a zone notice will say: Cortes is just awake. There is no stone gas around him. Try to destroy him. The Hell General will disappear as well. If Stone Cortes wakes up before you can destroy Instinct of Cortes, Hell General will remain, and you will have to kill him first.


C. Stone Cortes
Before Stone Cortes wakes up, there will be a timer displaying: Cortes is starting to awake... 0/300. The number will count up from 0. He can be attacked, and does not attack for now, but there are usually some skeletons and kobolds nearby. If you do not want to destroy Rationality of Cortes, you can ignore him for now.


When the number reaches 300, a zone notice will announce: Cortes is just awake. Kill him. At this point, Rationality of Cortes (if not yet destroyed) in area B will vanish. Stone Cortes will become active and attack anyone within reach.

If Rationality and Instinct of Cortes are not destroyed, this area will be bombarded by Fallen Rocks and Petrify Gases after Stone Cortes wakes up. The rocks deal damage and can inflict [Stun] status as well as knock characters down, while the gases inflict [Petrify] status. Fallen Rocks have "casting time" gauge bars and area effect circles. The attackers can either move out of the areas, or use area damage skills, such as [Flame Dance] or [Defiant Aura], to disrupt the "casting".

Stone Cortes • Lv.140 Lifeless • Heavy Armor • None • Large
HP 54,432,000 • ATK Rating 73 • ATK 92,851 • DEF Rating 69 • DEF 296
Penetration 150 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 20 • RES - Fire 80, Ice 80, Lightning 90, Mental 80

Now that Stone Cortes is awake, there are 2 easy ways to tank him.

The first method is for the tank to accumulate enough "hate" and then run out of reach into the corner. Using the tank only (MCC1 control), move up to Stone Cortes and spam [Provoke] and [Defiant Aura] skills for around 5 minutes. If needed, use Blue Lollipop or any other buffs that adds DEF. The tank cannot die during this time, or else his accumulated "hate" will reset.

Everybody else stay away and wait below the stairs (or kill off any remaining kobolds). Once the tank's [Principal] and [Melee Enhancement] buffs are nearly gone, the tank should move to the left corner of Cortes (see screenshot below) and stay there.


The attackers can then move into the indicated position and attack. Since the tank has accumulated a fair amount of "hate" from Stone Cortes, he will remain the target. As Stone Cortes cannot reach the tank in that corner, he will quite literally "stone" there and do nothing.

However, he is not actually bugged per se. Therefore, the attackers should avoid using too much damage skills, as damage skills tend to accumulate more "hate". Once the attacker's "hate" is more than the tank's "hate", Stone Cortes will turn around and attack the damage dealers. When in doubt, just use normal (spacebar) attacks.

Alternatively, the second method is for the tank to hide in Stone Cortes' circular shadow. This is a small area below Stone Cortes that he cannot hit with normal attacks, so the tank cannot move at all. (See screenshow below.) The tank continues to spam [Provoke] there, while the attackers move in shortly after. Avoid using [Defiant Aura] as the skill will move the tank (slightly). However, he can still activate area skills at the tank, so if this method is used, the squad must lock his skills by using [Whole Cancellation].


For the attackers, there is also a small corner on the right side, which is safely out of attack range and Fallen Rocks. Damage dealers can leave their scouts there, if desired.



When Stone Cortes reaches around 25% hit points, Eva Sharon will appear in front of him. She can receive various statuses, such as [Shock] and [Mortal Wound]. Kill her first.
Eva Sharon • Lv.130 Human • Soft Armor • None • Medium
HP 4,392,595 • ATK Rating 66 • ATK 33,048 • DEF Rating 66 • DEF 90
Penetration 75 • Magic Penetration - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0
Immunity 30 • RES - Fire 0, Ice 0, Lightning 0, Mental 0

After Sharon is defeated, a zone notice will announce: Rationality of Cortes and Instinct that are supported by Sharon has disappeared. There are no more falling stone and stone gas. Thereafter, Fallen Rocks and Petrify Gases will no longer bombard the area, allowing you to finish off Stone Cortes in peace.

To summarise, the basic process is:
  1. Kill the skeletons and kobolds.
  2. Tank (MCC1) goes forward to Stone Cortes, spamming [Provoke] for 5 minutes.
  3. Tank moves to left corner out of attack range.
  4. Damage dealers move up to attack Stone Cortes.
  5. Kill Sharon when she appears.
  6. Resume attack on Stone Cortes until he is dead.
Update: Cortes' attack range has been modified by IMC. You can no longer hide into his shadow. Keeping the tank in the corner will not prevent Cortes from attacking him. You can still do so, but the tank will need to use potions to keep his HP up. Use Sirius' range skills to aggravate Cortes, while the attackers hit him from the other side.



Reward
Stone Cortes may drop White Gold Bars, Lv.92/96/100/Veteran Enchantment Chips, Lv.92 Elite Equipment, Le Noir, Pieces of Naraka, Artisan Accessory Recipes, and 1-3 of each Cortes' Strata Devil Weapon materials (e.g. Ambition of Cortes, Desire of Cortes).

The roulette will spin immediately upon the death of the boss for players with [Time Crystal] Cortes quest. Bonus roulette costs 1,500,000 Vis.


Roulette Reward Broken Normal Rate
Portable Ancient Star Orb Box (10,000) 1 1 1.5%
Time Crystal: Cortes 1 1-3 5.5%
Time Crystal: Cortes 2 4-5 92.0%
Time Crystal: Cortes 3 6-7 1.0%

In v23.63.43, the boss drops only 1-5 Desire, Ambition, Murderous Intent, Delight, and Sorrow of Cortes. Once the boss is dead, roulette chest will appear where the boss first appears. Broken Time Piece mission rewards 1-4 Time Crystals, while normal Time Piece mission rewards 2-8 Time Crystals. Portable Ancient Star Orb Box has also been removed from the roulette. The amount of Time Crystals required to make Evil Weapon has been reduced from 600 to 150. Bonus roulette still costs 1,500,000 Vis.


Comments

  1. For soloing, you can use tank + JD + Cath Summoner. If you are dying to the mobs due to [Armor Crash]/etc., you can use tank family attribute setting to clear them. Switch back to DPS after the tank has finished provoking Cortes.

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  2. v20.81.80 Update - Cortes' attack range increased to 25m, so the tank-in-the-corner trick above does NOT work anymore. You have tank him normally with a dispel team to disable his area attack skills from wiping the DPS.

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