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Achievement Guide and Roadmap


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Achievement Guide and Roadmap

 

Overview:

Estimated achievement difficulty: 5/10

Offline: 12 (145http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg)

Online: 4 (55http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg)

Approximate amount of time to 200http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg : 30-50 hours, depending on skills and upgrading characters and equipment.

Minimum number of playthroughs needed: 2

Number of missable achievements: 4

Glitched achievements: None.

Cheats disable achievements: No Cheats.

Does difficulty affect achievements: Yes.

 

Introduction:

Welcome to Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, the first Arcade title in the Castlevania series that includes 6-player co-op and 5 different characters to choose from and level up.

 

Lets get to the basics. This is a timed game with 6 maps played in Normal and Hard Modes. What I mean is that you have a set amount of time to hurry through each of the 6 maps in the game to find and eradicate the bosses within (The Target for said map). It obviously takes much more time by yourself, but it is completely possible to beat all 6 Normal levels alone. Hard, however, depends on the level of your character's ability as well as your ability to play. Most people, including myself, would recommend joining an online team to tackle these very difficult levels. But this guide is about achievements, so lets get on with helping, shall we?

 

Step 1: Normal Playthrough

Whether you choose to do this alone or with a friend, there are a couple achievements you can actually get by yourself. On your first play of Chapter 1, you can easily pick up Bone Cold Justice and Grasshopper. Grasshopper is the easiest to get on the first boss, as he is large and very slow. If you're daring, you can also try getting Slick Kick on the same boss (Preferably at a different time). Other than that, defeating Dracula on your first runthrough and unlocking Vampire Hunter will be about your only achievements if playing alone.

 

With Teammates:

If you're playing with friends online, there are a few achievements that you can get. First off, Lifeguard is one that should come naturally, as someone on your team is always bound to die at some point. If you save up your magic, you can use the Duel Crush with a team mate a couple times in a row on Chapter 1's boss for Grim Synergy. Chapter 1's boss is also an easy place for pulling off Boned, as long as you have a 6-player team and 5 of those players die. Finally for Team-based achievements is Poetic Justice. This achievement requires one of the female players to become seduced by Dracula and for you to kill this seduced teammate. Timing must be quick, as the spell only lasts so long, but if you boost it, it can be pretty easy.

 

Step 2: Hard Mode

This is what will separate the decent players from the good ones. Even well equipped and leveled up characters can die easily on Hard Mode. You can NOT rush into the opposition like you could in Normal. You must use proper strategy, and I truly recommend playing with friends and using solid teamwork. Like in Normal Mode, the hardest bosses are still going to be the Puppet Master and Dracula. Puppet Master's coffin/puppet technique will literally kill you in one go, so you must work on killing the puppet before he places it in the coffin. Upon defeating Dracula, you will unlock Hunter Legend.

 

Step 3: Clean up and Grind, Grind, Grind

The last 3 achievements require you to grind for kills, items, and money. Fortunately, Slaughtervania doesn't require you to have 10,000 kills with one character, and Pack Rat doesn't require you to have 300 unique items in your inventory at the same time. For Pack Rat, you can sell all of your goodies, because all of your received items are placed in your Item Compendium. This makes saving up for Wicked Deep Pockets much easier, as you can make a lot more money by selling everything you don't need. These three achievements will definitely take the longest, but it isn't a horrible grind, as this is a very enjoyable game.

 

Conclusion:

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is a blast and a real tribute to Castlevania fans. It isn't your normal Castlevania-style game, but it sure is a welcomed addition to the series. So grab a friend (Or 2-5) and take these castles by storm and show Dracula who is boss!

 

Controls:

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/ls.png - Directional Move

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rs.png - When Zoomed, moves the map. Clicking http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rs.png zooms in and out.

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/a.png - Jump, twice for Double Jump

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/x.png - First Weapon Attack

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/y.png - Second Weapon Attack

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/lt.png - Use item

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/lb.png - Back-dash

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rt.png - Confirm Action (Duel Crush, Enter Inventory section, Revive Teammate, etc)

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rb.png - Personal Skill

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/b.png - Magic/Spell/Secondary

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/updpad.png+http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/b.png - Magic/Spell/Secondary 2

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/downdpad.png+http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/b.png - Magic/Spell/Secondary 3

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/leftdpad.png/http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rightdpad.png+http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/b.png - Magic/Spell/Secondary 4

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/back.png - Phrases

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/start.png - Open Menu

 

Unlockable Gamer Pics:

Soma - Begin the adventure.

Alucard - Complete Chapter 6 (Normal or Hard) in Singleplayer.

Edited by UCB Disco
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Achievements Guide

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/eL/vc/0ICLiGJhbC9FFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzEAAAAA5+fn--O7Yw==.jpg Lifeguard - 10http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Bring a comrade back from the dead.

When playing an online game, make sure to find a blue treasure chest. These contain a Water of Life, which you need to have in order to resurrect a fallen teammate. Once a teammate dies, go to them and click http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rt.png when prompted.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/zb/L9/0oCLiGJhbC9GFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzIAAAAA5+fn-dKy1g==.jpg Slick Kick - 10http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Defeat a boss using sliding.

Best performed on Chapter 1's boss, Gergoth. Make sure when you first arrive at him to push down and attack at his feet with either primary or secondary/magic attacks. This will eventually break his anklets and help you to cause a lot more damage to his legs. Once he dashes towards you and jumps back to break the floor of the top level, continue to attack him normally until you do about 200-250 damage. From there, begin to slide kick back and forth. Make sure you bring some Healing Potion just in case your HP is low, because slide kicking him will take damage away from you too.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/Xk/od/04CLiGJhbC9HFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzMAAAAA5+fn-DJKRQ==.jpg Bone Cold Justice - 10http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Defeat an enemy by hitting back a skeleton's bone.

The normal skeleton enemies have one attack; bone throw. This achievement requires you to deflect a bone back at the enemy or a different one behind them. This is best acquired by quickly coming up to the skeletons on Chapter 4. If you play by yourself, you will spawn on the bottom left corner where a row of skeletons and knights are located. Just approach them normally and as soon as you see his arm come back, jump and attack with your primary attack weapon. This bone must be hit on the way up, as you will destroy the bone when it begins to come down. This achievement will unlock after the skeleton's bone hits the same skeleton or even an enemy behind him.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/p6/G-/1oCLiGJhbC9AFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzQAAAAA5+fn+ZChvA==.jpg Grim Synergy - 10http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Defeat a boss using a Duel Crush.

Best performed on Chapter 1's boss, Gergoth. After you cause him to charge you and jump back on the top floor, breaking the floor out from under you, deal about 200-250 damage while he is on the bottom floor. This should be plenty of damage for you to be able to kill him with Duel Crush in 1 or 2 shots. Sync up with a teammate by going to them and clicking http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rt.png when Duel Crush is prompted. Once they also click http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/rt.png, you'll perform your synchronized attack. Repeat if necessary.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/NF/lf/14CLiGJhbC9BFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzUAAAAA5+fn+HBZLw==.jpg Poetic Justice - 15http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Defeat an ally who has been seduced by the enemy.

Dracula can only seduce Shanoa and Charlotte. To get this achievement, make sure one of your teammates is one of the girls, and when Dracula performs his "hearts" technique and hits Shanoa/Charlotte, go to and attack quickly before the spell wears off. Can be boosted easily with a weak Shanoa/Charlotte.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/gV/B+/1YCLiGJhbC9CFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzYAAAAA5+fn+lFQmg==.jpg Vampire Hunter - 15http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Destroy the Lord of Castlevania.

Dracula is the final boss in the series of Chapters in Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. The achievement requires you to defeat him, whether that is in Single Player or Multiplayer. The good news; even if you are dead and in bone form, this achievement will unlock for you.

 

Dracula has three forms. His first form is the easiest, but don't be fooled, he can still deal a lot of damage:

 

Form 1: Dracula will start out as his normal self. He'll teleport to different areas of the room and throw fireballs, cast fire from under your feet, or throw meteorites. The difficult thing about the meteorites is that sometimes he will combine the fire from the ground with the meteorites. Good timing between the fire and jumping over the meteors will keep you safe from this attack. To defeat Dracula in this form, attack his head. The best strategy is to jump kick off of his head as soon as he appears to get behind him. This will make his attacks useless against you and gives you free range at his head. Continue this strategy until he begins transformation.

 

Form 2: The second form is Dracula as a demon/devil like monster. His attacks are varied once more, as he will spit a fireball on the ground that paths across the screen, throw poison on the ground while jumping back or forth, shoots a giant beam equivalent to Gorgoth (Chapter 1's boss), and throws Ghost Chasers that will curse you (Completely depleting your MP). There are two strategies that you can use;

First requires you to have a character with long-distance attacks, as you can sit in the left corner of the screen and be safe for a majority of this form. You only need to watch out for the Ghost Chasers, fireball attack, and giant beam, which can all be avoided with a simple jump.

Second strategy requires a heavy hitter. If you can deal 30+ damage with your primary attack, you can sit at Dracula's front foot (As close as you can) and just attack his feet continually with your primary attack weapons. When he releases the Ghost Chasers, just run to the opposite side of the screen. If he jumps forward to do poison, dash behind him (Or else you will be poisoned). The only other attack that can get you is the giant beam, which can also be avoided by running to the opposite side and then double-jumping.

Continue to attack from your desired side, and this form will go down in no time.

 

Form 3: Dracula's final form is a crazy-looking 3-headed beast. His attacks are varied and all very strong. If you are playing as a girl, he'll do a possession spell where a circle of hearts appear. This will take control of your character, and can be extremely dangerous, so time your jump and avoid these as best as possible. Demonic Mechidome and the purple laser attack can both be avoided by crouching in the left or right corner. He also does a fireball technique identical to Form 2, but Form 3's is two fireballs that go both directions. Again, a simple jump will avoid this danger. He also does a fire from under technique similar to Form 1, however this time he spawns about 6 that tend to follow your movement. Slide kicking across the screen is the fastest and safest way to avoid this. Randomly, he will do this melee/claw attack back and forth across the screen. Sitting in the corner is still safe from this. Lastly, his Triangle Attack. This one is the most deceiving and can be the difference between defeating Dracula and dying. He throws out about 6 prisms/triangles that target your location. Best to stand in the corners and time your first jump to jump the first two, then duck the second two, and then jump the 3rd two.

 

To defeat Dracula in this final form, you have to attack his head(s). Shanoa's Lightening ability, Jonathon's boomerang, and Charlotte's Ghost Chasers are great for this Form, as two of these abilities actually home in on the target, and they can all simply hang out in the corner and avoid much harm. If you were rich enough to buy Soma's RPG, he can do the same thing by spamming the attack in the corner. Only problem with that is you will only hit once every 3 shots or so. Lastly, the brave attempt of going into the middle of the beast and attacking head on. This is the quickest route, but also the most dangerous. As soon as Dracula grunts to signify his next major attack, slide kick into a corner to be safe, and then return after the attack has subsided.

NOTE: When attacking, Form 3 will glow a light blue and a darker blue at random. When he's light blue, only melee attacks damage him, and when he's dark blue, only magic attacks damage him.

Edited by UCB Disco
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http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/Eq/ie/1ICLiGJhbC9DFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzcAAAAA5+fn+7GoCQ==.jpg Grasshopper - 20http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Jump kick 30 times in a row without touching the ground.

Best performed on Chapter 1's boss, Gergoth, since he is really slow and pretty big. From the start of the left-side ledge, jump onto his back with any character (Excluding Charlotte) and push http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/downdpad.png+http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/a.png while in the air to perform a jump kick. While on his back, just keep holding down and pressing http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/misc/a.png repeatedly.

Also, this can more easily be obtained via co-op by doing the same action on your partner's head.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/HL/y5/14CLiGJhbC9MFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzgAAAAA5+fn+Ja8Bw==.jpg Boned - 20http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Defeat a boss with 5 players in skeleton form.

Best performed on Chapter 1's boss, Gergoth. Simply form a team of 6-players, and once you are to the boss, request that all players (Besides you, obviously) purposely die during the boss battle. Once everyone but you is in bone form, simply finish off Gorgoth and everyone in the game gets the achievement.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/j0/RZ/1oCLiGJhbC9NFQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wLzkAAAAA5+fn+XZElA==.jpg Pack Rat - 20http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Collect 300 different types of items.

You must collect 300 different items throughout the game. However, they do not have to be in your inventory for the achievement to unlock. You simply just had to have the item for it to be recorded in your Item Compendium. Some people have reported that the achievement didn't unlock until their Item Compendium recorded 314 items, so don't be discouraged if you have 300 items and no achievement. Remember that each some characters have unique items, so playing with each character will give you more unique items from chests, as well as magics, powerups, and secondaries.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/Tq/nn/1YCLiGJhbC81FQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wL0EAAAAA5+fn+sipVQ==.jpg Wicked Deep Pockets - 20http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Amass 1,000,000 gold.

Collect gold, sell items, and rinse and repeat until you have 1,000,000 gold in your billfold.

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/+6/DG/14CLiGJhbC82FQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wL0IAAAAA5+fn+Omg4A==.jpg Slaughtervania - 20http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Rack up 10,000 enemy kills.

Castlevania is about killing enemies, and this one is no different. You'll be killing enemies left and right, and fortunately, all the different character's kill-numbers tally together. Meaning you don't have to worry about getting 10,000 with one single character.

 

 

http://tiles.xbox.com/tiles/aF/gm/1oCLiGJhbC83FQUXXFJRbjdBL2FjaC8wL0MAAAAA5+fn+QlYcw==.jpg Hunter Legend - 30http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/../images/site/gp-g.jpg

Complete Hard Mode.

Finish the game on the second runthrough, Hard Mode. This will require a lot of time and patience. Try to form a solid team of players. While you can try to finish it by yourself, it will require so much time and dedication that you are much better off fighting with others.

 

Forming a team, if anyone has a high leveled Shanoa, have them use her. If someone has a high leveled Charlotte with high-level healing abilities, she is a must. These two are essential for a comfortable run on Hard Mode.

 

Make sure you go into Hard Mode well equipped, well leveled, and well prepared. Whatever character you tend to play with, you must have them to a position where they can hold there own in any given room. You can not rush into Hard Mode like Normal. You must try to use strategy and comfortably take out one enemy at a time. This will help reserve health (As well as potions). Sticking together is also key, as this will help you to do more attack damage on the enemies you are attacking. Also try finding all of the hidden food in the levels, as these will boost certain stats for the rest of that Chapter, making it that much better when fighting certain enemies and bosses.

 

As for the bosses, learn their moves and learn to avoid them. In Hard Mode, their attacks do double (If not more) in damage, meaning the Puppet Master* from Chapter 2 can pretty much kill you in one hit (Puppet/Coffin). If you are playing with a team, form a strategy and follow it. As long as you know how to avoid the bosses' attacks and work together to heal each other and attack the boss, Hard Mode's bosses are very doable.

 

*For Puppet Master, just have a Shanoa using lightening (Or Soma with an RPG) on him from a distance to get rid of the mini-puppets as well as deal damage to Puppet Master. When Puppet Master spawns a puppet to put in the coffin, have everyone focus on attacking that doll. It's not the amount of damage that counts, it is how many times you attack it, so attack the doll quickly and as much as you can to take it out before someone dies. Continue to attack like normal and follow Puppet Master if needed, and you should be fine.

Edited by UCB Disco
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I like the guide man! great job! I just need my slaughtervania then I have 200 so i'm getting close myself but just one little thing i noticed. In the boned achievement you write just have everyone die then kill him.... you might wanna edit that and put make sure one person is still alive to finish him off :) Just a suggestion but great guide! Any tips on locations to grind out kills? cuz medusa heads are soooo tiring lol

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I like the guide man! great job! I just need my slaughtervania then I have 200 so i'm getting close myself but just one little thing i noticed. In the boned achievement you write just have everyone die then kill him.... you might wanna edit that and put make sure one person is still alive to finish him off :) Just a suggestion but great guide! Any tips on locations to grind out kills? cuz medusa heads are soooo tiring lol

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I just reworded it to derail from confusion. ;)

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Oh and as for Pack Rat it needs to be 300 Different Items that you earn from Chest's, Souls and Absorbing Spells . Picking Items up like Food in levels do not count towards this achievement hence why people have over 300 items in there compendium

 

and as for Boned you do not need to be the one alive as long as you are in that game you get the achievement

 

Thanks a lot, bro. Editing things right now.

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if you are really bored, you could do a quick overview how to play and "level" the different characters or just link to the corresponding threads if there are already character guides out there.

 

another nice goodie would the item list from the compendium and which items are received with either male or female chars.

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Umm... doesn't "Missable Achievements" = 0?

 

I put 4 for missed achievements, because there are a few achievements that might be hard to get without putting proper effort into them. For example; Boned, Poetic Justice, Grim Synergy, and Slick Kick. That's why I put 4, because you wouldn't naturally do much of these, with the possible exception of Grim Synergy. However, most of the achievements can be considered "Missable" outside of just completing the game and grinding.

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if you are really bored, you could do a quick overview how to play and "level" the different characters or just link to the corresponding threads if there are already character guides out there.

 

another nice goodie would the item list from the compendium and which items are received with either male or female chars.

 

This took me a while to put together, but it seems as if a lot of people have already started threads on certain characters and how to better level them. As soon as I see that they are finished, I'll apply them to the Roadmap section. The Charlotte one, in particular, is looking really good.

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Me too. My friend got it with Alucard right after I got it with Shanoa. Definitely possible.

 

interesting my friend did it and i was with him 2x and he didn't get it. :/ weird.

Well anyway thanks for proving me wrong. :p

Edited by icky2049
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i made a 300 item thread and confirmed in it that you didnt need all items on hand and my total compendium items were 314 which i posted in that thread. you sure you didnt get that from me lol :)

 

http://www.xbox360achievements.org/forum/showthread.php?t=249594

 

i also made a guide for the pack rat achieve on true achievements.

 

Nice guide! if i had anywhere near perfect grammar i might of tried to make one for this awesome game.

Edited by jeffy x360a
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It may just be my opinion, but this game is nowhere near as difficult as a 6/10. I would say 4/10, because grinding =/= difficulty. Honestly, aside from Slaughtervania, you really don't have to grind much (possibly aside from 1mil gold), and the rest of the achievements are extremely easy if you're organized correctly. For hard mode, just find a Heal-Charlotte and anyone can finish it.

 

Just my opinion, and you're free to keep it at 6/10 of course, considering the difficulty is the writer's opinion for the difficulty of the average player. :)

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It may just be my opinion, but this game is nowhere near as difficult as a 6/10. I would say 4/10, because grinding =/= difficulty. Honestly, aside from Slaughtervania, you really don't have to grind much (possibly aside from 1mil gold), and the rest of the achievements are extremely easy if you're organized correctly. For hard mode, just find a Heal-Charlotte and anyone can finish it.

 

Just my opinion, and you're free to keep it at 6/10 of course, considering the difficulty is the writer's opinion for the difficulty of the average player. :)

 

Thanks for your input. I'm still going to leave it at 6/10, because playing on Hard is still difficult, especially for newcomers to the series. The grinding, as you said yourself, is not necessarily difficult as it is time consuming. 4/10, for me, makes it sound like this game is a piece of cake, and although it's not really difficult, it's definitely not simple to 200/200.

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Apologies I ment to add that you should also put in that Soma and Alucard have alternate melee attacks that consume mp. For those that haven't played other castlevania's this isn't an easily stumbled upon find.

 

Weapons that soma and alucard can equip usually with a hint at some sort of elemental property have an alternate attack. By doing a directional move like a Haoduken (down to forward on control stick) and pushing the button with the weapon equiped will perform an alternate attack usually draining 10 MP in the process. Couple good examples is the Dainslef(purchased in shop once hard mode is unlocked) and Osafune(Chapter 4 Hard Mode chest). Dainslef's alt is an hp drain as the Osafune is a mimic to the Crissaegrim (Valmanway I believe in this game).

 

Also Alucard's Hellfire spell when set to the :bbut::dright: and executed like a Haoduken will turn it into a Dark Inferno. I'm still testing other spells and abilities with these two characters so there may be more, I'll post if I find anything else.

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