View source for Shroud of the Apocrea (Mission)

{{MissionInfo
|name          = Shroud of the Apocrea
|event         = yes
|event name    = Shroud of the Apocrea
|type          = prestige
|host rank     = 4-1
|combat floors = 5
|depth range   = Depends on [[Player Rank|rank]]
|stratum       = 
*Monsters: {{Monster_Icons|Fiend}} {{Monster_Icons|Undead}}
*Status: {{status|freeze}}
|NPCs          =
*[[Apocrean Harvester]]
}}

==Overview==
{{MissionOverview
|description = Several capable knights have gone missing in a seemingly normal area of the Clockwork Tunnels. Spiral HQ suspects foul play and has assigned you to investigate the level.

|objective = Investigate the area of the Clockworks where several knights have gone missing.
}}

==Gate Map==
{{:Shroud of the Apocrea/Gate Map}}

==Notes==
The player must be at least [[Player Rank|ranked Soldier (4-1)]] to host this mission.

{{Token|Apocrean Sigil|16px}}s obtained from activities in {{location|Shroud of the Apocrea|The Grasping Plateau|1.3}} can be exchanged with [[Lost Soul (Apocrean Item Trader)]].

This mission's maximum depth is 30, making it the deepest in the game.

{{location|Shroud of the Apocrea|The Grasping Plateau|1.3}} is notorious for crashing the game or otherwise causing issues due to the large area the map takes up and the amount of monsters that can appear.

===History===
*{{release|2013-10-23}}: Mission introduced during the first [[Shroud of the Apocrea]].

== Recommendations ==
=== Strategy ===
{{Note-Strategy}}

The general goal of this mission is to collect [[Apocrean Sigil]]s. This is accomplished by breaking [[Breakable Tombstone|tombstone]]s, randomly releasing purple souls, and breaking the chains off the souls. Breaking their chains by attacking them rewards sigils. Players can also earn sigils by solving puzzles. All this is done in The Grasping Plateau, with the other combat floors offering standard clockworks loot.

This event is enjoyed by the playerbase for a variety of reasons - it's something different and presents a decent challenge for many players. Not only does it provide tokens required to make Obsidian items at the [[Mysterious Alchemy Machine]] (or [[Obelisk of Creation]]), it also brings [[arena]]s that are deep enough to have a decent chance of dropping [[Radiant Fire Crystal]]s from their treasure boxes. As such, there are several "goals" that players may have, so it's important to establish what everyone wants to do before starting this mission.

Successfully completing Shroud of the Apocrea solo can be difficult due to the nature of the plateau and its inhabitants.

Your party will lock after using the elevator in the Mission Lobby, so plan ahead and make sure everyone knows what to do. The Grasping Plateau does not have an arsenal station, so whatever gear you had the previous floor is the gear you will take to the plateau. 

'''Goal''':

Usually plans fall into one or a combination of the below:
:Arena Farm
:Sigil Farm

=== Loadout ===

{{Note-Loadout}}

Remember, the plateau does not have an arsenal station. Gear up in the previous floor if the party plans to farm here.

See the [[Apocrean Harvester]] page for details about its behavior and how to deal with it. 

{{Showhide|If in a team farming sigils:|content=
*{{equip|Electron Vortex}} and/or {{equip|Shivermist Buster}}
:Plant a bomb next to a tombstone, one tombstone at a time. The detonation will break the tombstone, and any souls that come out will be trapped in the vortex or mist and take some damage. The shock of the vortex can help slow things down and works for anything that comes out of a tombstone - just don't let monsters inflicted with shock wander off and break other tombstones. Shivermist buster works well with souls, but not Freezing Bombies or Pale Scarabs. Take care of whatever spawns before breaking the next tombstone.
*{{equip|Blitz Needle}} and/or {{equip|Glacius}}
:Charge up and let loose when scarabs or souls come out of a tombstone (do not attack if Freezing Bombies spawn-just get close enough to trigger them and walk away). The [[freeze]] potential of the glacius charge helps keep souls from wandering off, while its damage helps with all things released from the tombstone. The Blitz Needle should be able to take care of spawns, just make sure stray bullets don't break nearby tombstones before the current spawns are dealt with. For the initial charge vs. souls, use whichever is most comfortable for you and your team. In general, the blitz is best, assuming the charge lands. The glacius could be used to "chase after" any loose targets if the blitz's charge fails. 
*{{sprite|Maskeraith}}
:Use this sprite to cloak if things get too hairy. The damage boost of the [[Deadly Shadow Cloak]] can also help free souls every once in a while.

Each person on the team should have these tools to help farm sigils. Roles might have to change depending on how events unfold during the mission, so if everyone has these tools, everyone can be flexible. Establish who bombs, who damages, and who distracts the Harvester. Two people can break soul chains if there are 4 in the squad, but if there's only two people, then the player with the "farmer" role must both bomb and damage while the other kites the harvester. Whomever kites the harvester should be on the other side of the plateau from the players searching for souls. Go up and down the columns, or side to side along the rows (agree on what to do as a team), popping each tombstone on the way. The process is slow but steady and reliably yields a large number of sigils in a reasonable amount of time. It is important to not deviate from the plan, as the true enemy in this mission is the persistent nagging feeling of time lost.

If your role is to bomb and/or free souls, consider wearing (chaos for the bomber):
{{Loadout/Glass Cannon|collapsed}}

Otherwise, stick with items providing [[Shadow]] and [[Freeze]] resistance as well as movement speed buffs for the plateau. It is important to consider other areas in this mission when loading out. There is a large variety of hazards. See the [[Shroud of the Apocrea/Gate Map|gate map]] of this mission for more details.
}}

==See Also==
{{mission see also|loadout=yes}}