My son, it is time for you to rise
Time to become who you were meant to be.
Wake up, battle on, never think twice.

The journey awaits you; swiftly, time flies
And now you must see.
My son, it is time for you to rise

Take your sword, fierce but wise;
Your shield, noble and free
Wake up, battle on, never think twice

Never forget your past allies
Honor them, thy future’s key
My son, it is time for you to rise

Never break your earthly ties
Fly, fly through the wispy sea
Wake up, battle on, never think twice

Hark! Do you hear the Dragon Emblem’s cries?
It calls for your name, heroic thee.
My son, it is time for you to rise
Wake up, battle on, never think twice

~The Dragon Emblem (Jofer Serapio)

Ever since I heard the news about HoDET, I was ecstatic. I was never around for the previous installments of this tournament so this one, the 2008 run, will be my first.

Let me first refresh your mind about the tourney:

The Heroes of the Dragon Emblem Tournament has 3 parts in its entirety: the Quarter Finals, the Semi Finals and, of course, the Finals. 8 Contender Teams will duke it out on the Quarter Finals. On the Semi Finals, 4 teams will be left standing and 2 will battle it out on the Finals until one team will be left standing as the HoDET winner. If you’ve watched any tournament, then you’ll easily get how this thing works

Taking territorial pride and what not to mind, the Visayan half of me was rooting for Legion while the Caloocan-born half rooted for The Pink Paradise. Ironically, the two teams I was torn between, duked it out in the Quarter Finals with The Pink Paradise getting the win. On a side note, I still associate Rekta with Siakol of OPM fame.

Rekta, on polls, seem to be the fan favorite of this year’s installment, garnering a hefty 61.90% of the forum votes. The Pink Paradise, or TPP, follows them closely for 52.38%. Legion is on the third place with 30.95%. Of course, the polls aren’t necessarily a factor in winning a battle, although they’re fun to look at. I mean, it’s allows for interactivity for the crowd’s part, in the end it’s how you played the game that matters.

The Quarter Finals are almost over with only one more spot remaining. That spot will be contested for by the Sayote Republic, representing Iblis, and Viper’s Finest, of Bubble fame. Since my characters’ from Iblis, here’s rooting for Sayote Republic. All in all, I believe this is going to be one great battle between the two teams.

Some Flyffers have already shared their verdict on the Flyff Forums. Some of them view the Finals as the battleground for TPP and Rekta to meet once again. If their dominance continues coupled with their experience on the top of things, then maybe we shall see a rerun of past battles for the crown. We all know that TPP was last year’s champion and Rekta has its share of Finals glory. Will we find déjà vu in the Finals’ battleground or will new blood finally take over?

The schedule of events runs from August to October 19, where LU Live 2008 will find common ground with the HoDET Finals. Not only that but LU Live 2008 will also be the stage for other tourneys like the RPC 2008, the NEST (RF Online), Freestyle All-Stars and PCW (Perfect World). Side Events like Cosplay and Art Contests are sure to be there. Excited? So am I.

Be sure to check the official HoDET site for more updates and news.
You can find polls and more discussion on HoDET on Flyff’s official forum.

Keep Flyffing Flyffers!
And Much Luck to the HoDET contenders!

**The opinions and viewpoints published in this article are not necessarily those of Level Up! Inc, its games and its licensed products or services.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 6th, 2008 at 10:27 am and is filed under Community. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.