GoldS Senior Guild Member



Join Date: 28th Dec, 2005 Posts: 513

AFH Presents: Jack-in-the-Box spading. What?

The jack-in-the-box is a familiar that was released when the Crimbo Tree activated. It's one of five items that can be obtained from the Crimbo Tree. As a gift item, it can't be bought from the mall or flea market, though it can be procured through gift packages and kBay.



How does it work?

The Jack-in-the-Box takes 3 combats to activate. Note that you must finish and win the combat to make the Jack-in-the-Box charge up -- running away won't do anything. The brass crank handle, its familiar equipment, is not required to charge it up. On the third combat, fully cranked, the Jack-in-the-Box will reveal its sinister contents, a grim visage of a clown's head swaying back and forth as though dancing to some horrific composition.



The Jack-in-the-Box has no effect on those turns it takes to charge up. The third turn, however, is where things get interesting.



What does it do?!

When the Jack-in-the-Box activates, it acts as a 2x Volleyball/Fairy. And by 2x, I don't mean 2x weight. I mean that it's a 2x power Volleyfairy. The bonus is multiplied, not the familiar weight.



For example, say the Jack-in-the-Box is 55 pounds. The item drop bonus for a 55 pound fairy is 107%, so the Jack-in-the-Box would have an item drop bonus of 214%. Likewise, a 49 pound Jack-in-the-Box would give 14 substat when it activates.



So what is it good for?

Well, I'm no speed ascender, so I can't really make a verdict on whether or not it's good in a run. What I can say is that it's excellent for getting Hobopolis / Mother Slime boss consumables. Just charge it up for two turns prior, then let it open up and rake in the drops.



For Hobopolis, be aware that you won't be able to defeat all 6 of the bosses with the Jack-in-the-Box if you're using the standard amount of +item buffs. For instance, cyclops eyedrops only lasts 10 turns, meaning that even if you charged up the Jack-in-the-Box before using the eyedrops, you could only fight 4 of the bosses before running out of the buff. With a Platinum Yendorian Express Card, you can extend your +item effects to be able to fight an extra boss, leaving 1 boss that you couldn't use the Box for. I'm guessing Zombo?



For Mother Slime there's really nothing to worry about, so hooray for that.



And I guess it has some use for when you're not farming.



Conclusion

Jack-in-the-Box acts as a 2x power, not weight, Volleyfairy every third combat you use it in. It only charges if you win the combat, so you can't use free runaways to charge it up.



Speed ascension relevant? I don't know. Aftercore relevant? Oh yes.

__________________ Last edited by GoldS; Fri, Jan 22nd, 2010 at 07:16 PM .