Chapter 478: The Fourth Apocalypse Forecast
A total of eleven people participated in this episode's recording. Besides XB and Qingbai Wild Sake, there were three top-tier pro players who had been eliminated from the main event—enough to form a sort of "Avengers" team.
Among them, Zhou Ning was more familiar with Cottonwood, the meteorology expert, and Bighead Fish, a wandering gunslinger who had risen to prominence during the Darkland regional qualifiers.
"Greetings, dear viewers. This is Apocalypse Forecast, guiding your Apocalypse gameplay with precision."
After a brief, awkward round of Pictionary, the show focused on the progress of the first Apocalypse League.
"Because the prize pool for the first Apocalypse Pro League has surpassed 180 million, all major guilds have shifted their focus to Apocalypse. It has now overtaken the former Destiny as the online game with the highest player count in history."
Almost all the pro players beside him had come from Destiny, and XB looked particularly pleased.
"After a month of competition, the full main-event roster is finalized. Thirty-six teams and individuals across ten divisions will compete at the Sepharic Glory Arena for the championship."
"Based on win-rate statistics across all divisions, Wandering Gunslingers—though a small sample—achieved a 60.34% win rate in Darkland, ranking first. Warriors ranked second with 56.96%, knights third with 53.8%, and meteorologists fourth at 50.92%. The rogue class remains at the bottom with less than 38%."
"The current seeded players for the singles event include Alex, a warrior from France's Nirvana Club; Jinse, a wandering gunslinger from Deep Blue Club; Sunken Star Beneath the Water, a wandering gunslinger from Star Moon Club; Big Wave of Heat, a wandering gunslinger from Elegy Club; and Purple Arthur, a knight from the UK Crusaders Club."
"Some of you may not know the last one—he's Arthur, the world's top mid-laner from Destiny. But because the knight name was already taken in the UK, and he joined late, he had to pick a unique name after trying Black Arthur, White Arthur, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue… all failed."
Cottonwood interjected, "Don't be fooled by the name—he's very strong. He masters the high knight's Three-Chase, Three-Slow, One-Stun combo, and his hidden quest grants an extra stun skill. He's a nightmare for ranged players."
The chubby host nodded. "Exactly. That's why he edged out Ultra Blue Cat as a seeded player. Also, our national favorite Sunken Star Beneath the Water was originally the top seed, but because the Phoenix Battle Suit he bought from Wayne Sturwell might be deemed illegal, he dropped to third."
"Alex, originally second seed, became the top seed because of his strong strategies against Wandering Gunslingers—winning 17 scrimmage matches without a single loss."
"Who do you predict will win the singles championship? XB, let's start with you."
The host looked at XB with a mischievous grin. XB returned the same grin and said, "Sunken Star Beneath the Water. He sometimes plays like a clown, but with the Devil Fruit, the Phoenix Battle Suit, and full top-tier gear, he shouldn't lose. They wouldn't really ban the Phoenix Battle Suit, right?"
You're the true clown champion, the host thought, twitching his mouth, before turning to Bighead Fish.
"Fish, what do you think?"
"Jinse, obviously. She'll hit level 50 soon. The next highest is 49.1. I don't see how she loses with an extra specialization."
Bighead Fish was clearly a Jinse fan and voiced a different opinion.
Cottonwood believed Alex would win—he truly understood Wandering Gunslingers and had a Devil Fruit hidden.
Qingbai Wild Sake voted for Big Wave of Heat, since he was co-owner of Elegy Club and knew the player's strength firsthand.
Each guest had a different prediction. The chubby host clapped, "Everyone has different opinions—this proves that class balance in the current version is fairly good. The voting channel for the singles champion is open. Feel free to leave your opinions on the Apocalypse Forum in the Apocalypse Forecast section."
Next came team-event predictions. The vote split 4:1. Four voted for Super Sweet Candy, due to their double-meteorologist strategy and the absurdly strong Lanling King Mask.
The pro players also continued their discussion of class strengths.
With most players now level 40+, warriors had developed multiple playstyles: heavy-armor duelists with shields, medium-armor weapon masters switching weapons depending on the situation—a true bloom of diversity.
Priests' win rates were rising fast, with strong potential for a comeback.
Wandering Gunslingers split into three styles:
1. Traditional ranged-focused like Jinse, with alchemy as a sub-class.
2. Post-transfer Demon Hunters using new skills like Double Serpent Sleeves, Explosive Flame: Wave Sword, Tempest Kick, Finger Gun, Iron Body, and the hybrid gun-combat skill Psychic Counter—perfect for close combat. This style was new but already had a 55%+ win rate against traditional melee.
3. Hybrid melee-ranged like Wayne Sturwell's style. Relatively weak midgame due to spread-out experience and skill requirements.
"Whether ranged or melee, Wandering Gunslingers are too overpowered," most pro players agreed. Cottonwood even believed both branches had top-tier potential.
On the level leaderboard, Darkland players still dominated. Jinse led at level 49.7, Alex followed at 49.1, and Sunken Star Beneath the Water was third.
For NPC popularity, Wayne Sturwell still led by a huge margin. His central role in the drama series, combined with his four identities—class mentor, mysterious merchant, story protagonist, and quest giver—was unshakable. Zhou Ning was pleased.
Second place went to Emlyn, the Scourge Spear and Child of the Plane from the Byron Republic. After returning, he destroyed a cult compound on a small island. Cultists included the Wolf Worship Cult, the Curse God Cult, and even a remnant giant tribe. They controlled the weather, attempting a drought at Flower River. Though the drought persisted, Emlyn's performance was astonishing—nearly sinking an island with a single spear strike.
Zhou Ning could have done it himself, but there was no need.
Third place was Leandro, the former Darkland Child of the Plane. He advanced steadily and, together with Sherlock, purged the Curse God Cult. His attacks were visually impressive, which pleased Zhou Ning. Leandro had always been Zhou Ning's internally chosen future ally; he hoped that by the time he returned to Darkland, Leandro would have grown significantly.
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