-280- Can't handle it?

About five minutes later, the beta testers formed new teams.

There were a total of four teams, and under Rozen's guidance, the team compositions underwent some changes.

"First is Team 1, with me as the team leader, along with many agile players skilled in hit-and-run tactics led by Argo."

"Next is Team 2, with Kirito as the team leader, including one-handed sword users, two-handed sword users, one-handed axe users, and two-handed axe users—all skilled in dealing damage."

"Then there's Team 3, with Agil as the team leader. The team members remain the same, but they need to equip shields collectively, preferably tower shields with the highest defense."

"Lastly, Team 4, It includes players with long weapons like spears and polearm, and their task is to hinder the boss since most polearm skills have a delay effect that can restrain the monster when our side needs time to recover."

Rozen's rearrangement not only changed the team compositions but also made most of the skilled players understand.

They understood Rozen's reasoning behind these team formations.

Team 1 was obviously the hit-and-run team, responsible for support and assisting the vanguard players.

Team 2 was clearly the damage output team, responsible for attacking and mainly reducing the monster's HP.

Team 3 was obviously the tanking team, responsible for defense and drawing the monster's aggression while resisting attacks.

Team 4 comprised players with long weapons, responsible for disruption. The goal was to exploit the delaying effects of polearm skills to restrain the boss when necessary.

This was clearly a standard boss-fighting composition in most games, quite simple.

"Is this approach sufficient?" Diabel expressed a slight surprise at Rozen's approach.

Not because Rozen's arrangement was outstanding, but because it was too straightforward.

Indeed, the method Rozen used was a typical strategy for boss fights, simple yet effective. If Diabel were in Rozen's position, he would probably do the same.

However, Diabel had expected Rozen to come up with something more unexpected, hence his surprise.

But...

"Just like Argo mentioned, the boss information is only from the beta test period. After official launch, the Floor Boss could change slightly, or even be replaced by a different creature. So, since there's so much uncertainty, planning for the Floor Boss now doesn't make much sense. It's better to start with a simple formation that can be changed anytime and replace it once we confirm the boss's information."

"Switch strategies during battle?" Diabel hesitated. "Is that feasible?"

"What's the matter? Can't handle it?" Rozen raised an eyebrow, half-smiling. "Adapting to unexpected changes is the most fundamental aspect of being a commander. If all battles could be prearranged, there'd be no suspense."

It was because of this mindset that Rozen was dedicated to learning, continuously honing his tactical and strategic abilities to adapt and change as needed.

"Alright." Diabel didn't take any issue with Rozen's approach. He smiled generously and said, "I'll give it a try as well."

Saying that, Diabel began to adjust his team.

Rozen didn't say anything in response. He simply gazed at Diabel's figure.

In this situation, Diabel had also finished adjusting his squads.

Due to the presence of six squads, Diabel organized a tanking squad, two damage output squads, one hindrance squad, and two hit-and-run squads.

After setting up this formation, even before Diabel could speak up, Rozen took the lead in explaining.

"The Floor Boss's attacks will be blocked by both tanking squads, but you need to arrange the order. The damage output squads should coordinate their rhythm to deal damage to the boss. When to engage with the hindrance squad is up to the two squads themselves, but remember, no more than two squads should be engaged at once. One squad should be tanking while the other is a damage output squad."

This arrangement had three purposes.

One was to control the boss's aggro. If there's excessive damage output, the boss would stop targeting the tanks and go after the damage dealers instead. Thus, it must be avoided.

The second purpose was to prevent interference among players. Unlike typical online games where you simply aim your mouse at the boss, here, if you didn't precisely target the boss, not only would it hinder the attack but it might even hit your allies by mistake. Therefore, the number of players going in at once couldn't be too high.

The third purpose was coordination.

After all, players' HP would inevitably be reduced, but recovery potions worked similar to skills, with cooldown times and delayed healing, not instant recovery. When HP was reduced to a certain point, including tanks, players would need to rotate to replenish HP. If both tanking squads went in together, then when they needed to retreat for HP recovery, there would be no one to replace them. The other players would have to endure the monster's attacks, disrupting the battle's rhythm. This had to be avoided.

This was what they called "Rotation."

Rozen explained this to Diabel.

"We'll start the battle rhythm from our side. When our team needs to rotate for recovery, we'll swap to your side. Same with the damage output. We'll start, and when the tanking squad rotates in, your squad can take over. The hindrance squad will wait on standby. If a situation arises where hindrance is needed, we'll handle it first and then rotate. In the end, it depends on who manages to deliver the final blow to the boss."

Killing the Floor Boss meant harvesting the spoils of battle.

In SAO, experience points, col, and loot were handled differently when defeating monsters.

Experience points were obtained by the squad that killed the monster. In battles where multiple players contributed to the monster's defeat, the experience points would be divided based on the damage each player dealt, hindrance effects, and the amount of time they were targeted. It was often described in terms of "contribution." Regardless of being tanks, damage dealers, or hinderers, as long as a player contributed, the monster's experience points would be divided among all players. High contributors received more experience, while low contributors received less.

Col, the in-game currency, would be evenly divided among all participating players, even if they formed joint squads.

As for loot, it was distributed randomly.

In other words, no one could know who would receive the loot. Thus, during boss fights, players often fell into conflicts and disputes over loot distribution. Even if they wanted to divide it evenly, the players who received the loot had to be willing to give it up.

However, landing the final blow on the monster increased the chances of getting loot. Even if that didn't happen, the player delivering the final blow would still receive a rare item reward, which players referred to as "LA (Last Attack)."

"As for the hit-and-run squads, since we have three squads, they can each deal with one Kobold Sentinels and wait for their next move after taking them down."

Rozen then looked at Diabel and smiled slightly as he spoke.

"But make sure to control the behavior of your squad members well. We don't want players fighting over the last hit just for 'LA,' leading to unnecessary sacrifices, right?"

This statement caused a slight change in Diabel's expression.

Shortly after, Diabel awkwardly forced a smile.

"I'll keep that in mind."

With that, the plan was set.

"Alright!"

Diabel raised his weapon high.

"Let's go!"

Upon hearing this, players raised their weapons and responded with resounding cheers.

The battle to conquer the Floor Boss of the 1st Floor had officially begun.