This episode was very reminiscent of World of Warcraft boss raids where multiple parties attack the boss. I really like how this episode reflects real tactics used by good parties to beat dungeon bosses. I also liked how the kobold boss moves like a true MMO boss complete with accompanying kobold mobs.
Now I’d like to discuss about three things. First is Diabel. Diabel was also beta player like Kirito but unlike him, Diabel helps others in clearing the first floor. He dies after carelessly charging at the boss when its HP drops to the red because he’s after that awesome coat in which the others doesn’t know about. While the anime paints him as a good guy beta player, I see him as a guy who just wants a rare item that nobody knows of and tried to get it on the pretext of helping other newbies clear area 1 and he got what he deserved.
Second is Kirito’s actions at the end of the episode. I guess that he acted that way is to keep the good beta players on the safe side and thus he earns the horror of others as a new kind of player, a beater, a beta player who cheats.
Finally, this episode was a wonderful display of Kirito’s plot armor.
