Basic Overview - Requirements - Prep for entry - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3 - Stage 4 - Stage 5 - Stage 6 - Bonus - Suggested Party Composition - Joining/Recruiting - APQ Etiquette - Mulestory? - Known Bugs Quick Links - Stage 2 Chart - Bonus Spawn Requirements - Married (I like this wedding guide: https://royals.ms/forum/threads/simplified-wedding-guide.116189/) - Lvl 40+ - 40 mins (experienced, fast parties) - 1 hour of your time Return to top Prep for entry - Collect 40 Lip Lock Keys from Purplewood Forest 1 or Purplewood Forest 2 (recommended) a few maps right of Amoria. - Need 10 keys per run, each APQ set is 4 runs. Spoiler: Have a priest/bishop in the party? The greatest quality of life improvement to Royals for me was fixing the use of Nearest Town Scroll and Doors in Amoria maps. Kindly ask your priest/bishop to door you, the door will spawn in the top right corner of Amoria. A run is USED when you receive an entrance ticket from Amos and use it to enter the PQ lobby. Therefore, if you enter the lobby and leave, you will waste one run. The norm is to do 4 runs consecutively, if you have less than 4 runs available you must inform your party. Not doing so is arguably blacklist-worthy. Because the norm is to do 4 runs consecutively, having less than 4 runs available will severely limit your ability to find a party. IMPORTANT: The party must have at least 1 bride AND groom (stage 1 cannot be cleared otherwise). Leaders should do a bride/groom check prior to the party entering the PQ Lobby. Spoiler: How do I know if I'm bride or groom? The person who proposed is the Groom. Your character's gender does not matter, it is simply based on who created and used the engagement ring. Return to top Stage 1 Everyone will spawn at the top of the map. After the leader talks to Amos, three green portals will spawn. Find the correct green portal that will bring you down the map. Spoiler: Tip It's common courtesy to write in party chat which portal it is. Common conventions: < / > / m or l / r / m. Avoid talking to Amos after the green portals spawn as it will change which of the portals is the correct one. After being teleported down, brides and grooms are separated. Brides go left, grooms go right. Press up on the rock on your respective side to be taken to the mobs. After teleporting down, clear all the mobs. Leader will talk to Glimmer Man, and if all mobs on both sides are clear, a Magical Fairy will spawn. Spoiler: Tip for leaders I like to stand next to Glimmer Man and hold down NPC chat, so as soon as the last mob is cleared the fairy will spawn. Spoiler: Tip It will always spawn on the top right groom side, so having someone waiting in that corner saves some time hunting down the fairy after. The fairy drops a hammer, that has to be dropped in front of the mirror, cracking it resulting in a piece of the cracked mirror. Spoiler: Tip If you kill the fairy near top side (where the leader is visible on your mini map), it's faster to /trade the leader to pass them the hammer. Otherwise, walk back to the rock and press up on the middle portal to get to the mirror, drop the hammer there. If you have pet loot on, jump or walk off the platform so your pet doesn't auto loot the mirror piece. The leader takes this piece and talks to Glimmer Man, clearing the stage and gaining 6400 exp. Talking to Amos will take you to the next stage. Return to top Stage 2 The party (minus the lead) will all start on the left-most rope at the beginning (500). This is a good time to haste the party. Each digit of the three digit combo signifies the number of people that should be on the rope. Leader checks the combo by speaking to Amos, who will say whether the current combination is the same or different. Based on that, follow the chart to know the combo to try next. The leader will tell the party the next combo, and the party will have to move accordingly. To get on the rope, press up on the portal, then jump, and hold up. You don't actually have to be hanging on the rope for the combo to be considered a valid attempt if the leader clicks as you're falling through the rope area (so no need to redo that particular combo if you forget to hold up). If the combo requires two people to move to different ropes, the first person to move should wait on the small platform (before jumping) to inform the other person which rope they need to move to. Otherwise, both people might move to the same rope. If you are a sair and are using wings to move to the other rope please let the leader know when they can click. Spoiler: Why this order? If you've led APQ before, you might know that there are different orders you can try the rope combinations. At the end of the day, they will successfully clear the stage, however I like this order as it involves only one or two people moving from rope to rope. Once clear, press up on the green portal to the right of Amos to proceed to the next stage and gain 12800 exp. Return to top Stage 3 Each party member stands on a platform (minus the leader). Leader talks to Amos, and if the combination of platforms is incorrect, mobs will spawn. This is where mages/drks shine! Those with good mob clear abilities should stand on 2 or B platforms. When the mobs spawn, count and clear the mobs immediately to prevent people getting knocked off their platforms. The number of slimes indicates the number of platforms of the combination is correct. I.e. 3 slimes spawning means that 3 out of the 5 platforms are correct. Spoiler: Tip for leaders I like to stand where Amos is just barely visible on the left side of my screen, so that I can accurately count the slimes while being able to click on Amos without moving. If you are too far left, you might miss slimes that spawn near the 3 and 5 platforms. The convention is to start as seen above, with everyone on the top platforms and bottom left platform. Please remember there is server delay, pick and commit to a platform. Trying to be 'nice' and continually moving to different platforms will only confuse those trying to climb up to a free platform (think of it as doing the awkward sidewalk shuffle while the leader watches and cries). As the leader tries the combination, Yellow will move one platform to the right and the party will count how many slimes spawn each time. After trying all the bottom platforms, you should have the number of slimes that spawned each time, and taking the higher numbers of that combination indicates which bottom platforms are correct. For example, if C = 3 6 = 2 D = 3 9 = 3 5 = 2 Then the bottom platforms that are correct are CD9. In the above picture, Yellow, Blue and Green would move to CD9. It is recommended that the top platform people move down to the bottom platforms based on who is farthest right. It doesn't make sense for Red to move down to CD9, because then Green/Blue would have to move to A to take their place. Server delay also means that any unnecessary movements can cause confusion and wastes time at this stage. Now, the leader checks this combination. If incorrect, the top platforms now move to try every possible combination. In this example, you would need to try A2, AB, A3, 2B, 23, B3. Spoiler: Shortcut In the case where your combo is comprised of 2's and 3's, so something like: 23332, you might be able shorten the top platform combo attempts. Because we know that the 3 correct platforms are the 3 bottom ones (in the example 6D9), then if only 3 slimes spawn after trying any top platform combination, the correct top platforms are the unoccupied ones. So if 3 slimes spawn after trying A2, the complete correct combo is B3 6D9. If you see that someone can't hop on the platform from the bottom in one jump, that means they need haste. Hasters please don't just stand on your platform watching the rest of your party struggle to climb up. Once clear, proceed to the next stage by taking the green portal to the right and gain 19200 exp. This is the stage that most people struggle with when they first learn how to APQ. It's fine at first if you don't quite understand what to do, just let your party know that you may need some guidance to know where to go. If you APQ daily and still refuse to learn this stage, like needing to be told to move right one platform each time, don't be surprised if no one wants to APQ with you!!! Return to top Stage 4 Clear mobs to collect 10 Cupid Code Pieces and drop them for the leader, for a collective amount of 50 pieces from the whole party to proceed to the next stage and gain 25600 exp. Spoiler: Tip I like to ~mapowner, usually if everyone stays at their respective spots in the map and continue killing mobs/looting until about 40 seconds, the whole party will have gathered 50 pieces. Alternatively, you can also count about 5-6 waves of mob respawns. This is faster than waiting for each person to gather 10 as mobs don't spawn evenly across the map. Please stay in one spot of the map (yes, even that small platform), there's no point in moving around since there isn't enough spawn to support multiple people collecting in the same part of the map. Return to top Stage 5 Everyone's FAVOURITE stage. Actually braindead, all you have to do is walk right, and break the gates with basic attack in the process. You will constantly get hit by lava and mobs. If you take too long to walk right, rombots are following behind and they will deal up to 11k touch dmg. If you have the HP to tank them, you may walk left, which means you don't need to do the full walk right (which takes about 2-3 minutes). However, only one member of your party can do so as this stage is only cleared with 5 members of the party at the end platform. This also means that if anyone has disconnecteded/died prior or during this stage, the person who walked left must then walk right to the end. Once this stage is clear, talk to Amos to proceed to the next stage and gain 28800 exp. DO NOT JUMP after going into the boss map, as the leader cannot click in to start the stage unless 5 people are registered on the platform. Jumping means you are not being registered as being on the platform. Return to top Stage 6 Boss fight consists of three forms of rog. First two forms of rog are easy. Third form, Geist rog however, is very annoying and is capable of: - Dispel - Cancel weapon attack - Cancel magic attack - Disappearing and reappearing throughout the map Having some good attackers or crash in your party is important as to clear this stage quickly. Mages should be careful of dispel. Spoiler: Tip During CWA, mages should be attacking rog (he is holy/ice/fire immune, so use magic claw/chain lightning) if they deal more than 2k dmg/line, as it will stunlock rog in place until CWA is over. Buccs are op as their Barrage skill will stun the rog in place (even during CWA!). When Geist rog is killed, a Geist Fang will drop. Leader takes this fang and talks to Amos, clearing this stage and gaining 35200 exp. After this stage is bonus stage. At this point, you want to equip the fastest weapon you have (i.e. a fruit knife from Lith Harbour weapon shop, or for some classes, maple weapons + booster). Haste and SI if applicable should be used. Once the leader clears boss stage, if any other member of the party tries to click Amos, he will either take you to a lobby or say that only the leader may speak to him. In the former, the leader must wait until the entire party has entered the lobby before talking to Amos to enter the bonus map. In the latter, the whole party will be teleported directly to bonus when leader talks to Amos again. Return to top Bonus The only reason people do APQ. You can get a variety of goodies here, but what you're really looking for are Onyx Apples. As with other PQ bon stages, you will break boxes to get loot, and you have 1 minute to do so. The general rule is that for the first 45 seconds, if you are on a platform, others should avoid breaking boxes on the same platform. You are only entitled to apples that drop from your boxes. this might come as a surprise to some people I've APQ'd with :^) Below are the possible spawn points in the bonus map: Spoiler: Some guidelines for map division - WIP Some guidelines for map division (keeping in mind that many times multiple people will spawn in the same spot). If you have teleport or flash jump please try to spread out to an unclaimed section. Spending 10 seconds to walk elsewhere in the map is better than fighting over the same boxes for the entire minute. Box breakdown per section: #1: 7 doubles (8 for mages), 1 single (0 for mages) = 15-16 boxes total #2: 7 doubles, 2 singles = 16 boxes total #3: 6 doubles (7 for mages), 3 singles (1 for mages) = 15 boxes total #4: 6 doubles, 3 singles = 15 boxes total #5: 6 doubles, 3 singles = 15 boxes total #6: 6 doubles, 2 singles = 14 boxes total Special thanks to @faerieskater and @EZFebreezy for sourcing the map and giving input on how best to divide up the map If you leave pet loot on for this stage, please make sure you are paying attention to how many apples you had entering bon, and how many apples you got during bon. Many times your pet will loot someone else's apple and you aren't always aware due to how pets behave when they teleport to you. If you do not keep track of your apple count and keep pet loot on, it is your responsibility to give up an apple if someone in the party claims a pet looted theirs. Keep server delay in mind. It may appear that a member of your party is contesting your boxes when on their screen, they got to that platform first. Here's what exactly you can get from the boxes. Return to top Suggested Party Composition - Minimum level to APQ is 40, however, it's recommended that most of the party is lvl 120+. - Haste is a must, to speed up moving between stages and for bonus stage. Speed Infusion (SI) is also coveted as it allows you to break boxes in bonus stage faster. - One bride and groom mage with genesis/blizzard/meteor OR dk/drk with dragon roar OR sair with airstrike for clearing mobs in Stage 1. Also good to have a mage for Stage 3 to clear mobs and preventing people from getting knocked off their platforms. - At least 2 strong attackers or one strong attacker + crash. Return to topJoining/RecruitingJoining: - Reply to an APQ recruitment smega When you reply to an APQ recruitment smega, please state your JOB/LEVEL/BRIDE OR GROOM. Sometimes recruiters get a barrage of messages, so it's easier if you just send job/level/bride or groom in a single PM. If you don't get a reply back, it's likely because the party is now full and the recruiter had too many PMs to reply to all individually. If you have a hard to spell or confusing IGN, please clarify the spelling for the recruiter. I'm looking at you, L and i folks. - Wait in channel 1 APQ area, one map right of Purplewood Forest 2Recruiting: - Smega, asking people to PM job/lvl/br or gr Some examples: R> 3 for APQ, pm job/lvl/br or gr R> 1 haster for APQ, pm br or gr R> 1 bride mage 120+ for APQ- Check channel 1 APQ area - Ask your friends/guild/alliance The benefit of doing APQ a lot is that you find other regulars who you can trust to be fast, responsive, and honest. Plus, you save money on smegas! Shoutout to my regular APQ crew @newduhls @AdventFlash @Pockee @Gamjaroni @Iaora @qPhantom @marblesoda (when he remembers to haste ) @Shimeji @faerieskater (who also helped me learn Stage 2 and contributed the exp values for clearing each stage!) It's a good idea to check the community blacklist to see if there are people in your party who are constantly involved in APQ drama.Return to top APQ Etiquette It is frustrating that I even need to include this section, because I feel like it's having a basic level of respect and consideration for your party. But after having experienced what feels like the worst of the worst of the APQ crowd, I figured it needs to be said. - If you are the party's haster, please do your best to make sure everyone has haste up in Stage 2, 3, boss, and bonus. Nothing feels quite like being a 100% speed warrior trying to move to the next stage. - If you are a lvl 120+ mage, using your ultimate (genesis/blizzard/meteor) to help your party farm keys prior to starting is appreciated. - Similarly, use these skills to fast clear mobs during the PQ. If you whine about the cost of potions I will soft blacklist you ^_^ Pick up a few earrings during bonus to NPC and you have potion money. - If someone is kindly helping you farm keys, let them know when you have 40 keys so they're not wasting their time. I once helped someone who was half afk watching Netflix while I spammed genesis, ignoring me when I asked how many more keys they needed, and finally letting me know that they had enough keys for 6 days worth of APQ. - Pay attention and be quick to respond/move between stages. There are far too many people who are doing something on a different client but not prioritizing their APQ client. I don't care if you're farming stoppers, if you're incapable of multitasking effectively, don't multitask. - Don't cut people off in bonus. Sometimes it takes the same effort to move to an area that doesn't cut someone else off, it just requires a little bit of planning and thought on your part. If you have mobility skills, don't force immobile classes to move if you spawn in the same spot. - Be mindful of what your pet loots if you leave pet loot on. - Don't slack/afk. This goes for any PQ, APQ is no different. If you're not willing to put in the work, you don't deserve the rewards. Sometimes things come up IRL, just let your party know. 'brb' is 3 letters, unless someone is dying next to you there's no reason why you can't take the time to type it. I have no qualms about calling out people who refuse to pull their weight and I implore you to do the same. Don't enable this kind of behaviour. - Don't ask to cc after one run because it was dry for you. I personally don't believe that channels make any difference on the probability of apples dropping. Even if you do, asking to cc after one run ESPECIALLY when the rest of the party got a fair amount of apples is short-sighted and selfish. - Be honest. If you're a washing attacker please let the recruiter know in advance. If you're a hermit, don't tell the recruiter that you're a NL because one is an attacker and the other is not! Recruiters build parties in a certain way to make the runs faster and smoother, by pretending you're something that you're not you're just wasting everyone's time. Return to top Mulestory? What is Royals without mules? I define mules in APQ as characters that are unable to do much damage to the mobs/boss (or if you're a mage without genesis/blizzard/meteor). Usually this means they are < level 120. In my experience, mules in APQ are fine but can struggle to find a party that will accept them. If you would like to create mules for the purpose of APQ, I would suggest haste mules as you will be useful starting at a very low level. You can also learn to lead APQ, as the leader does not need to kill many mobs, keeping in mind that that means there is one less slot for a class that provides utility or dps for boss. Return to top Known Bugs ... What is Royals without bugs? nervous chuckle - Instant disconnect upon entering the PQ Lobby (thankfully, when you relog, you will still be in the lobby). Leaders should be careful if they tend to click in as soon as the whole party is in the map (whoops I'm guilty of this one). - The whole party except the leader will get kicked out of the PQ upon going into Bonus Stage (sad to say this has only happened to me once as leader ). - Clicking on any NPC will prevent you from looting. Very annoying trying to loot code pieces when someone drops them late, or fang after boss dies thinking you looted it but really someone's pet sniped the fang first. - Leader disconnecting when entering boss map (after clearing stage 5) will boot out the whole party. - If a party member has the change channel window open, the leader clicking to start the PQ will disconnect them (due to the map change). - Starting the PQ resulting in the entire party being kicked out to the exit lobby. Return to top
Finally a detailed guide featuring etiquette I can finally stop flaming people and risk getting banned 4 times a day now
Tip on Stage 2: If you are a Gunslinger/Outlaw/Corsair, you can use Wings to move between each rope, instead of going down and pressing up on portals (with Haste, of course, duh).
In addition to this; usually if this is done, it should be informed to the party leader that you're a "floater" and/or say "ready/r" when you get onto the rope because the party leader would otherwise not realize anyone moved at all.
Skem chart. After 113 is "same" you move straight to 014 not 023 cos there's no way it is 023 if you followed the previous things. Also there's no way it's going to be 014 after going 500-311-122-032-023. Angela skem pls NO TIME WASTERS ALLOWED. (just nitpicking to annoy her)
