I looked again at the forum discussions among the players.
Just as expected, once the video of the successful completion was posted, the entire forum's perspective shifted in an instant!
Many had been criticizing the ga for having unreasonable difficulty, for purporting high freedom but actually offering very little, for lacking the fun of gaming, but after the video ca out, all these people shut up!
Many players felt that the much-touted freedom of the ga wasn't really there. Take the Militia Trial, for instance—where's the freedom in that?
The player is just a lowly soldier with no real say, at best choosing one of three pretty average innate abilities to kill enemies with. And faced with the endless hordes of Beidi barbarians, no matter what choices the players made, the end results didn't vary much.
In the end, it's all about dying—the only difference is how you die.
But after seeing this video, they realized that it wasn't a problem with the ga, but with themselves!
There are so many hidden chanics in this ga!
Especially seeing how this pro player gradually went from an ordinary little archer to a Deputy General, and then beca the key figure in saving the entire city, everyone was shocked. Besides shouting '666', they were completely lost for words.
"Holy shit, you can actually play the ga like this?"
"I'm dizzy, man. No wonder I couldn't get past the second stage. Turns out I didn't lay a good foundation in the first stage."
"The big shot is really fierce! Could it be that he has real-life martial arts training?"
"So that's why there's a day's gap in the second stage, to persuade the General! Does that an the freedom in this ga is actually very high, and anything is possible as long as you make choices consistent with your character?"
"It seems that it's not the ga that restricts the players, but our own imagination! Who would have thought that making suggestions to the General could actually work?"
"It doesn't feel like playing a ga. It feels like really being transported to that world!"
"I've wasted enough ti, I'm going to hunker down on the Militia instance tonight!"
"Any idea who the first one to go through was? Who's the legend? Could the big shot co out and share so thoughts?"
The previously dismal atmosphere on the forum was swept away, and players once again lit up with hope for this ga!
Is this ga hard?
Hard! Of course, it's hard!
Even the most talented players had to spend a full three to four days to get through a newbie trial instance.
But is the freedom in this ga high? Is it fun?
If this had been asked before the video ca out, many players might have given a negative answer, but now, the answer is undoubtedly a resounding yes!
Or rather, it's precisely because the ga is so difficult that its chanics are so free, so fun!
Every person in the ga seems to be played by a real person, with their own thoughts. So are timid, so back down, and according to different situations, each will make a different choice.
That certainly makes the ga's difficulty increase significantly.
But it's also for this reason that players can get a magical experience like traversing to another world. After wracking their brains to figure out how to beat the ga, that sense of extre satisfaction is even sweeter!
Of course, so far, only Zhao Haiping has managed to get through, and no other players have yet.
But these players, after watching Zhao Haiping's completion video, could also feel the joy of getting through.
Like many high-difficulty action gas, watching a pro's no-damage boss run, the noob players can also feel that thrill and look forward to achieving the sa after their own hard work and perseverance.
In the midst of eager anticipation, Zhao Haiping finally showed up.
He made a post on the forum.
As a die-hard action ga player, he had also previously been active on the forum, frequently sharing no-damage clips of other action gas, so he had so popularity.
This ti when he posted, his na was directly tagged with the "Dark Sand master player" label, all shiny and gold, very eye-catching.
And the content of his post, it was crazily shared by players, instantly becoming a sensation!
"Hello everyone, I am Zhao Haiping who just cleared the Soldier's Trial.
"I'm still very excited because I know that the players in this closed beta are all true elites, each with their strengths, so completing this first clear is a very aningful day for my entire gaming career.
"I won't say too much nonsense, let just briefly talk about my understanding of the ga 'Dark Sand.'
"I see many people online complain that this ga is too difficult and not fun, but I hold a different view.
"I think taking on such challenging gas is the greatest joy!
"In this trial instance, across the three different stages, I died who knows how many hundreds of tis, especially in the first stage, where I basically beca numb to dying before I finally managed to get a perfect Deputy General start in the second stage.
"Also, in the process of the challenge, I got a lot of help from Chuge, and I tried many possibilities. It wasn't until I confird that the second and third stage starts were affected by the first stage that I really got on the right track.
"I believe that other instances probably also have similar unique chanisms, as long as you find the solution, you can see the possibility of clearing them!
"Finally, combined with my feelings in the Soldier instance, let's talk about my understanding of 'Dark Sand.'
"At the end of my clear, the following words appeared on the clear screen: 'After this simple trial, you will understand the true aning of the soldier's identity.'
"What exactly is the true aning of the soldier's identity?
"At different stages of the challenge, my understanding of this identity was constantly changing.
"At first, I thought, well, a soldier is just a regular footsoldier. When the Beidi barbarians co to kill, I don't run away, try my best not to slack off, fight with the other soldiers, and if we really can't win then I'll just step back and let my brothers take over.
"Later, in the second stage, I felt like a soldier was just an insignificant little person, no matter how hard you fight, when faced with enemies several tis your number, the only option was to fight to death.
"But soon I realized that in this instance, your identity could change. The better I perford in the first stage, the higher my status would be in the second stage. And so, I had the ability to influence the direction of the instance.
"It's the so-called 'from the ranks, a valiant soldier erges.' Even though a soldier's identity is lowly, by fighting and growing through the bloodshed on the battlefield, one can still beco a valiant warrior on their own!
"And later, I suggested to the General to dig wells and kill horses, and in the third stage, I went out alone to find reinforcents, all under the identity of a soldier, and it turned the tide of the entire historical event.
"The na of the soldier's instance is 'One General's Success.'
"Originally, I thought it was just the aning of 'One General's success, at the expense of countless lives,' emphasizing the cruelty of war.
"Indeed, in the ga, it was just like that, in the Soldier's Trial, I have seen and experienced too much death. General Geng Zhong left his na in history, but those more than seventy soldiers with white hair did not have their nas passed down, and even more soldiers of Great Chu who sacrificed defending the city, didn't get a single word in the annals of history.
"General Geng Zhong's success was built on the skeletal remains of countless naless soldiers!
"But then, I thought that probably wasn't the full aning, or rather, not the whole aning of 'One General's Success.'
"Compared to General Geng Zhong, whose na will be eternally rembered, I actually admire the Deputy General more.
"This Deputy General accumulated military exploits step by step from the lowest rank, noticed by General Geng Zhong due to his outstanding performance. In day-to-day combat, he definitely put forward many suggestions like digging wells and killing horses. It can be said, without this Deputy General, General Geng Zhong might have found it difficult to achieve holding the city for decades!
"But this Deputy General didn't leave his na in history.
"And we have reason to believe that, alongside General Geng Zhong, there were many others who, like this Deputy General, gave their all.
"It was only when I personally took on the role of this Deputy General, using my wits, exhausting all ans, and experiencing countless deaths before reaching the heights he once did, that I truly felt the greatness of these historical figures.
"Because, with only one life and without any guide to follow, he achieved what I didn't even dare to dream of!
"So, 'One General's Success' is also reminding us, it isn't just General Geng Zhong's achievent, but it is the result of countless individuals with the identity of 'soldier,' who risked their lives and shed their blood in a joint struggle!
"This is what I think is the truly unique aspect of this ga. It is indeed difficult, and as for the gaplay and entertainnt value, it varies from person to person, and for so, it may indeed not be fun.
"But I believe, 'Dark Sand' is distinct enough, thought-provoking enough, and all players who have received the closed beta invitation should really experience it fully!"
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