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ok Amazing posted:I'm about 10 hours into FFTA2, and the thing holding me back is how slowly the story is moving. I was enjoying it, it improved a lot of things gameplay-wise over FFTA, but the slow story makes things feel a bit more boring than they really are. But i'll have to go back to it sometime. I honestly can't remember- is the main story really that slow, or are there just so many sidequests to do that it FEELS slow?
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Oct 4, 2013 03:05
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Update #14: A look around the Sky Saloon. Soundtrack: Rabanastre        "I've got big plans. Big. Let me show ya around."          "We'll help run the stores, too. Right, Llyud?"   Welcome to the Sky Saloon! Built on the deck of our airship, the Sky Saloon contains lots of new goodies.    "Hi, Vaan. (sigh)" "You don't look so good, Filo. You feeling all right?" "I'm just tired. Don't worry, i'll be fine." "Listen up, everyone! I'm making my special soup for dinner tonight, so save room!" "Yuck. Now I think I am feeling sick."Lets go through the stalls in the order Tomaj pointed them out. We'll start on the lower left.  "After all, who can fight on an empty stomach? I'll take care of the kitchen.  "I know i'm not the greatest chef, or even a halfway decent cook for that matter, but still." "Don't sell yourself short! I'd love it if you cooked for us." "Speak for yourself, Vaan."Like most videogame food eateries, Penelo's cafe doesn't actually sell food or anything. It's rather a place that you sometimes see characters hanging out and shooting the breeze. There's also a few sidequests that relate to the cafe. Let's talk to Kytes, and find out how he really feels. "I dunno, Vaan. This talk about Penelo cooking has me worried." "She cooked for us all the time in Rabanastre. I don't remember anyone complaining then." "We just didn't want her to feel bad. But up here, we're trapped!" "I'll let you in on a little secret, Kytes. If you swallow it without chewing, you don't taste a thing!" "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"Alright, moving north, we find this blue guy near Llyud's shop.    "I'm afraid a dozed off a moment and awoke in this curious place. I've a penchant for ascribing names. Might I inquire whether you harbor such inclinations? Perhaps I might tempt you to rename your ship... What do you say?" No thanks! You can change your ship name here, but I don't think anyone here wants that. Just tap Done without making changes.  And he walks off. Namingway likes to hide behind things, but he's never hard to find. Namingway appears in other Final Fantasy games, most notably in FFIV.  Here's what he looks like in FFIV, in case you didn't know. He is a rabbit-eared creature who can change the name of the playable characters. In the 3D remakes of FFIV, he can no longer rename characters, and is re-purposed as a sidequest character who travels throughout the land changing his own name in order to seek his purpose. He looks kind of like an Ivalice moogle, doesn't he? So, naturally, in a game set in Ivalice, he becomes a Sahagin. Naturally.  Tomaj runs over.  "Here you can sell materials you find in battle, or buy new ones. Come by whenever you need that last hard-to-find material you've been looking for. " "He's as entitled to work here as anyone else. I couldn't very well deny him the honour, could I?" "I would not protest." "Don't be modest! You've earned this privilege! Okay, back to work!"And Tomaj runs off.  Let's chat, Llyud. "What is there to talk about? There, now we have talked."O... kay. Let's check out the shop.  Well, there's sure some materials As Tomaj said, this place is best used to buy materials you're missing. Like, if you just need one more material, rather than doing a whole melee battle just for one material, you can just buy one. It's helpful sometimes. Well, it's time. To find out what these materials do.  Tomaj runs over again.   "Master artificer. And I must object to you calling me 'Cu Sith'. I do not call you 'hume'." "The difference is there are lots of humes here, and only one of you. Stubborn thing, but with the right materials she can make weapons better than most you'll find. She'll ask you some questions before starting, so be sure to pay attention." "So you summoned this, uh... Cu Sith just to man the forge?" "It's not so simple as that, but I do answer to Master Tomaj. That's all you should need to know." "It's a long story, and not a particularly interesting one. If I were you, i'd worry about getting the right materials to Cu Sith. It's worth the trouble!"And Tomaj runs off again. A bit of Tomaj and Cu Sith's story was told in the logbook from last update, so go back and give it a read if you're curious.  "I owe Master Tomaj more than you can know! If there is any way I can help him, I will try!"Soundtrack: Shop Menu (Rabanastre Downtown)  This is it, the crafting system.  To demo it for the let's play, i've decided to make Filo a new  Each material comes in three grades. Rare material is the best, obviously. It will give you bigger stat boosts. The stat boost from Medium grade material is fine, but the stat boost from Low grade material is only worth it if you're starving for a new weapon.  This is what's going into the new skybandit. Next, is the quiz...  The quiz indirectly asks you what where you want your stat boosts to go. Some questions, like this one, are pretty obvious about it.  And a few questions are a bit obtuse. You can tell these things will affect other things, but the relationship is hard to determine exactly.  Cu Sith can also ask something about the person receiving the weapon! Sometimes, entire quizzes can be made up of questions like these. It's really hard to tell what they'll do for the final result.     This weapon is really good, the attack boost alone is more than twice that of a Mythril Cutter you can buy from Tomaj. The quality of material also determines it's sellback value, so if/when this weapon becomes a bit obsolete, it can be sold back for a nice price. We're also given the option to name our weapon.  In a casual playthrough, i'd name all my weapons. For now, i'll be using the default name, for clarity's sake. Anyway, what are Cu Sith's other quizzes in the Starter Manual? Let's take a gander.  Who would this sword protect?
What will drive the sword?
Are you worthy of this sword?
 What do you think of Penelo's dancing?
Is Penelo's cooking any good?
What do you like about Penelo?
 What magick impresses the most?
What would you use this rod for?
Bless the rod!
 How can you recognize a true warrior?
Name your rival.
Do you consider yourself a warrior?
I'll be posting one recipe book full of quizzes every update, as long as we have new books to post quizzes of. Anyway, there's one more shop to check out, but before we go there, let's talk to some of the NPCs wandering around the saloon. Soundtrack: Rabanastre   "Of all the mutinous - ! Grragh! What gives those petter ne'er-do-wells the right to cut me out! Without me, they're nothing! And that's all that'll be left of 'em when i'm done!" "If you ask me, you're getting all worked up over nothin'." "Quit your jabberin', boy! When I want your opinion, i'll beat it out of ya!"Yikes. How are the aegyl holding up?  "My people harbour no love of disorder. Even should the sky pirates fail to steal the Stones, they've already robbed us of our peace." "All auracite derives from the auraliths. The astral crystal left when the auralith was destroyed is a rare variety of auracite. You can channel the power that accumulates in the crystal to fortify your Yarhi." "We ought be thankful we escaped with our lives, but what life have we without our home? Aegyl are not meant to travel the skies in these crude vessels."Right, onto the last shop.  "Rare aegyl and sky pirate equipment at prices you wouldn't believe." "Actually, I wanted to ask you about that. How come you charge us for all this?" "Do you think these wares are going to stock themselves? It's simple: You make money, I sell you weapons, take that money, and buy new, stronger weapons. So have a look at the notice board, get out there, and make some money!" "Right..." Actually, I just wanted to talk, Tomaj. "You don't think anyone's expecting to get paid for working here, do you?" "I doubt Llyud does, but Penelo might be a different story." "Hmm, I better think about that when setting my prices..."When we talk to him a second time... "This kind of reminds me of working at the Sandsea back in Rabanastre. I hope I have a job waiting for me when we get back..."Tomaj's shop functions the same way it did before. Except there's some new items! New items will be unlocked periodically.  We've got some okay armour upgrades. If enemies are ever kicking your rear end, it's nice to be able to buy this, but you should be able to find a lot of armour in treasure chests too.  And there's some new accessories as well. This one, the Goblin Pouch, was brought up in the thread in particular. I find it handy to take on Melee battles, as it increases your chances of getting a rare material. Otherwise, use it with restraint, it might be more practical to take an accessory that can help you win a battle in the first place!  To the south of the sky saloon, there's the exit to the bridge.  Since this update is fairly long as it is, i'm going to call it an update here. Next time will be a time for sidequests! (and the update after that will explore the new territory) ok Amazing fucked around with this message at 06:10 on Oct 4, 2013 |
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Oct 4, 2013 03:37
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quote:And there's some new accessories as well. This one, the Goblin Pouch, was brought up in the thread in particular. I find it handy to take on Melee battles, as it increases your chances of getting a rare material. Otherwise, use it with restraint, it might be more practical to take an accessory that can help you win a battle in the first place! Yeah, this is true, but still my extra rewards  I really like this place. Seeing all the characters manage the shops is pretty  I'm amazed that Toriyama manage to churn out something like this. The plot is light, comprehensible and doesn't have skeevy sexist poo poo. Did he hit his head on something during the game's development?
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Oct 4, 2013 04:07
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Schwartzcough posted:I honestly can't remember- is the main story really that slow, or are there just so many sidequests to do that it FEELS slow? I really liked the sidequests - they were so varied and cool. I think the main story was really just slow, but I guess having a lot of sidequests would slow it down, so it's hard for me to say. SSNeoman posted:Yeah, this is true, but still my extra rewards The Sky Saloon is pretty neat, I like how blunt Llyud was in this update I don't think you can say this game doesn't have skeevy sexist poo poo when one of the characters actually wears bikini battle armour.  Although that's the fault of the original FFXII I s'pose. It's weird Toriyama couldn't think of anything to contribute to that, but weird in a good way.
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Oct 4, 2013 07:01
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Maybe he's able to keep his skeeviness in check when he's working on a "children's game." You know, it's kinda ironic that the "original" Ivalice games (FFT, FFXII, maybe Vagrant Story) tend to be aimed at a more mature audience, while all the Ivalice spinoffs like FFTA and Revenant Wings seem aimed squarely at young kids. You'd think they'd try to go for some sort of thematic and tonal consistency within the same world/franchise instead of bouncing back and forth between basically polar opposites.
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Oct 4, 2013 07:18
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Update #15: More sidequests! Baubles and Banditry + Easier Said Than Done + Harmony in Discord + The Trodden Past Soundtrack: Airship 1 (Near the Water)  We'll be heading out on the sidequests unlocked by entering Chapter 4. But before leaving the airship, we'll have to talk to Filo first. The optional conversations, and the new folio/logbook entries, will be covered next update.  "It's a fold-out canoe! This might come in handy on the skysea. Speaking of setting sail, guess who's at the helm? That's right - me! Ready when you are, Cap'n!"   We can now travel to Port Marilith, on the skysea.  However, a new location opens up on Tormelados. There's no plot-advancing mission here (as the lack of a flag would suggest) but there is sidequest here in this update.  Soundtrack: Field 1 - Battle 1 (Giza Plains)   "Hold it right there!"  "Who do you think you are!?"  "A wise leader uses what resources are at hand. There is no shortage of aegyl here. Why not put them to some use? Or... is that a problem?" "Yeah. A big one!"  - Objective: Destroy the enemy soul crystal! Your soul crystal must survive. -   Since all but one enemy leader here has a weakness to fire, bring lots of firepower! And chocobo, bring chocobo.  These foes like to use immobilise. There's an accessory you can buy from Tomaj, the Winged Boots, that Vaan can equip, and that will prevents immobilise from affecting your party. Equip it, it makes the fight a lot easier!  Summoning Espers that clear out large groups of foes, like Bombs, might help. Lamia can confuse foes, and that may buy you some time. Otherwise, you could summon Golem, and go on your own immobilise-fest.  The slopes here tend to be pretty bad catching points for the AI, and coupled with immobilise, they're really deadly. Prolonging this battle may get everyone caught on the slope, and it becomes an uphill stalemate.  But why bother with strategy, this is a soul crystal battle! Capture a summoning gate, and get yourself some chocobo!  Then tap the soul crystal, and we're two-for-two when it comes to cheesing the soul crystal battles. Soundtrack: Penelo's Theme    "It's the thrill of exploring new places, the adventure!" "I don't quite understand." "Just give it some time. You'll catch on before you know it!"  - Easier Said Than Done: The aegyl that have taken shelter on the ship mentioned a cache of materials in the temple gardens on Tormelados. It's guarded by the usual nasties, but nothing you can't manage. -Soundtrack: Field 3 (Dalmasca Eastersand)       - Objective: Find the treasure! At least one ally must survive. -  The most dangerous foe here is the Minotaur. (The blue level II Esper) He is a melee type, with no nature, weakness, or resistance. To add to this, he's at level 36, twice the level of everything else, including your party! To counter him, i've brought Diabolos, who is a flying type with a similar lack of any nature. Since this map has no summoning gates, i've brought both flying leaders along, to get the maximum amount of Diabolos.   Our target is the northmost node. But there's a material node right behind the starting point, so nab it.  The enemies don't wait for our approach to dogpile, coming down to us!  On the upside, this is a fight where you know if you've won or lost quickly, no painful stalemates like the last fight. You might keep Llyud out of the skirmish, so he can heal fallen members, but it's not necessary.  Once everything's cleared out, there's nothing left of the field, and you have a straight shot at the material node you need to mine to win.  Soundtrack: Rabanastre   "Something worth having is worth fighting for." "Is that something you learned being a sky pirate?" "Yeah, I guess I did. But it didn't happen overnight. It took a lot of hard work." "Hard work? Don't you mean supervision?"  - Harmony in Discord: The auralith chamber in the shrine on Tormelados teems with monsters. Hardly the proper respect for so sacred a place. I think a hunt is in order. -Soundtrack: Field 5 - Battle 5 (Challenging the Empire)   "Think it's those sky pirates again?" "Your guess is as good as mine. Either way, we need to clean this mess up!"- Objective: Defeat all enemies! At least one ally must survive. -   Let me be perfectly honest. This is a glorified melee battle. It's really easy, which is reassuring considering the last couple of battles honestly.  Walk around, kill things, and catch summoning gates.  Enemies spawn themselves out of summoning gates pretty quickly compared to anything seen so far, so there's an extra incentive to capture the gates.  The final challenge is an uphill battle against a whole lotta flans. Push ahead, try to make it to the summoning gate, to stop it spitting out new foes.  Soundtrack: Rabanastre    "I think that's precisely what happened."  "Their destruction distorts those laws, which in turn gives rise to the unnatural."  "Well, i'm just glad we got to meet Llyud." "Me too!" "But I guess you'd be happier if none of us sky pirates came here at all, huh?" "I wouldn't say that..." - The Trodden Past: Sky pirates have been raiding a ruin on Tormelados known to aegyl as the shadow of Paharo. It's a special place they've protected for centuries. It wouldn't do to let it fall to sky pirates now. - Soundtrack: Field 3 (Dalmasca Eastersand)    "What splendid pieces! I absolutely must have some. No, no, wait... I must have them all!"   "Barbarians?" "You make a companion of an aegyl? You've poor taste in friends boy. " - Objective: Defeat all enemy leaders! At least one ally must survive. -   This is a really bad battle for Fire Espers. Oh yeah, it's possible to take less than five Espers. I took this amount, so I could start the battle with Cactoid on the field.  Soundtrack: Field 1 - Battle 1 (Giza Plains)  Cactoid are important, because of this summoning gate. The Appraising sky pirate, the Bangaa on the foe's team, will try to capture it straight away, and bring an army of Raiden along.  Raiden are Flying natured, and weak to Earth, making them really weak to Cactoid. Have your flying type units capture the gate, while Kytes deals with the other Espers here. Kytes' magic demolishes them quickly, but leave Penelo with him, or he'll die quickly.  It's possible to die really quickly in the initial skirmish, but the rest of the battle is pretty simple once it's over. Observe what Espers your foe has summoned in droves, and bring something to counter it.  Capture summoning gates when you can survive doing so, not when all the foes are clear. The summoning gates replenish foes quickly, and you'll have a hard time until you stop them.  This Viera here is our last foe. They can cast Vanish, so you might forget they're here. Anyway, there's a bunch of ranged units, and a treasure chest behind them.  To nab the chest, i've sent my flying units to sneak up behind it, and distracted the Viera and the Lamia espers with my other characters.  The chest contained a rare material, so... more effort than I needed to put in for it, but still neat. It's a strategy you can use for other treasure chests in the game.  Soundtrack: Rabanastre  "Llyud, don't let what she said bother you." "I have come to know that you are different from the others." "But there are lots more like us. If you don't believe me, you should come see for yourself!" "..." "Trust me, you'll have a great time." I just realized, as I was writing this update, i've built up quite the little army of Espers. Including unlocking a few Level II Espers. But i've never showed you my collection! Well, here's who i've got so far.            There are so many ways to go along the Ring of Pacts, and it's possible to have quite a different set of Espers at this stage of the game. Since a lot of monsters at the start of the game are weak to Fire or Earth, most people will probably have quite a few of those, if they're unlocking based on need. I've also taken a note to myself to unlock a flying Lightning esper. Next time we give a hearty thumbs up to Llyud. No, wait, we already did that, so let's bring in some more minor FFXII characters. But which ones? 
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Oct 6, 2013 08:09
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I really like that item-forging mechanic. The quiz makes it feel very... artistic, I suppose?
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Oct 9, 2013 05:18
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On the other hand, those questions reek of Guide Dang It. Maybe the stat variances don't matter that much in the grand scheme of things, but for min-maxers there're typically only a few stats you care about for each character/weapon. Having no idea where you're throwing precious, precious stat points seems frustrating.
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Oct 9, 2013 17:42
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Glazius posted:I really like that item-forging mechanic. The quiz makes it feel very... artistic, I suppose? I like how every response to the quiz is like something you can imagine Vaan saying, and just picture him going through the options in his head. It does make the end result seem like something personally forged for it's owner, and the fact you can name them just reinforces that. Schwartzcough posted:On the other hand, those questions reek of Guide Dang It. Maybe the stat variances don't matter that much in the grand scheme of things, but for min-maxers there're typically only a few stats you care about for each character/weapon. Having no idea where you're throwing precious, precious stat points seems frustrating. Min-maxers are the few and hardcore. There's probably some way to improve it to make it nice to casuals and min-maxers, but I don't mind that the quiz isn't geared towards a minority of players. You're never going to get something egregiously bad, and you can always reset and try again if what you get really bugs you.
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Oct 11, 2013 07:55
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Magicks and Abilities! I know it's been a longer than normal between updates, but don't worry, it's on it's way. But one more bit of housekeeping before moving into Chapter 4's story, is explaining all the Magicks and Abilities. All my characters now know 3 Abilities each, but i've only highlighted a few. So here's a post about everyone's Magicks and Abilities. Each of these abilities were learned at levels 3/7/12, and are put in the order under which they're learned, for all units. Vaan's Abilities:  Dual Attack (Recharge time: 10 seconds) Deals two successive hits to one foe.  Sprint (Lasts for: 15 seconds. Recharge time: 30 seconds) Increases Vaan's movement speed by x1.5.  Steal Speed (Lasts for: 15 seconds - Recharge time: 20 seconds) Gives a speed boost to Vaan, and a speed penalty to his foe, as well as does a bit of damage. Because Vaan can already reliably buff his speed with Sprint, Steal Speed is useful for slowing down your foes, and also when Sprint is recharging. Penelo's Magicks:  Curaga (Recharge time: 10 seconds) Restores HP to all allies in range.  Mystic Dance (Lasts for: 20 seconds - Recharge time: 40 Seconds) Gives the Faith buff to all allies in range. Faith raises unit's Magic by x1.4. Penelo's Magic stat raises the potency of her healing, but the same stat raises Kytes' damage output. Those two will benefit the most from the dance, so try to get them both in range for it whenever possible.  Esunaga (Recharge time: 10 seconds) Removes debuffs from all allies in range. Kytes' Magicks:  Firaga (Recharge time: 20 seconds) Deals Fire damage to all foes in range. In case you were wondering, it is always Fire elemental damage, regardless of whatever Kytes' nature is.  Blizzaga (Recharge time: 20 seconds) A Water damage version of Firaga.  Bio (Lasts for: 10 seconds. Recharge time: 30 seconds) Will inflict Poison on all foes in range. Poison takes away 2% of max HP of those afflicted, and lasts 10 seconds, meaning it takes 20% of a foe's max HP away. It's not a huge amount of damage, but it can give you a bit of an edge in some situations. Filo's Abilities:  Sonic Wave (Recharge time: 10 seconds) Deals damage to multiple foes, in an arc in front of Filo.  Defense Snare (Recharge time: 30 seconds) Sets a trap. Upon being triggered, it lowers the Stamina and Mind of the foes unlucky enough to step into it, to x0.8 for 20 seconds. Stamina and Mind are the two stats which monitor Attack and Magic Defence, if you didn't figure that out.  Glide (Lasts for: 15 seconds - Recharge time: 30 seconds) Increases the movement speed of Filo and those standing near to her, by x1.2. Llyud's Abilities:  Jump (Recharge time: 15 seconds) Leaps at enemies from a long range away, and does damage. It does have a small hit radius, so it will hit a couple of foes if they're standing on top of each other. (more common than it sounds) There are some clever ways to use it sometimes, but it also works fine as a do-more-damage ability.  Revive (Recharge time: 15 Seconds) Consumes 25% of Llyud's max HP to revive a fallen ally. Revive is one of - if not the most useful ability at this stage of the game, in my opinion.  Lancet (Lasts for: 20 seconds - Recharge time: 40 seconds) Drains 80% of the damage Llyud inflicts with any of his attacks. Helpful when recovering from using a Revive. Ba'Gamnan's Abilities:  Wild Swing (Recharge time: 10 seconds) Deals damage to surrounding foes. Yeah.  Drain (Recharge time: 5 seconds) Absorbs 80% of the damage it does as HP.  Berserk (Lasts for: 20 seconds - Recharge time: 40 seconds) Berserk doesn't make you lose control entirely of a unit in this game, but it does restrict them to their basic attack. It also sharply raises speed, movement, and attack. So that's it for Abilities! A few things I didn't bring up, but worth keeping an eye out for is how long the animation for each ability lasts. It's normally not something to factor in, but use common sense and don't try to do a run-and-gun for an attack with a long animation. Battles move very fast and have a lot going on, the time it takes to select an ability in the first place could be valuable time wasted, so before getting into a big skirmish, check Gambits are at their most useful. For most of my units, their first ability is what I use as their Gambit, as it's usually their most basic one. Some abilities don't lend themselves to being Gambits at all, like Filo's Defense Snare which requires being positioned in a good place, or situationally useful spells like Penelo's Esunaga. Sometimes, the AI has different priorities than you, like Llyud continuing to attack foes rather than using Revive as a Gambit, or Penelo not using Curaga as a Gambit when allies HP is mostly full. Which is why I emphasise rests in battle, they give you a good chance to review your abilities and Gambits, as well as time to use abilities and buffs and stuff with no stress. So, yeah. Chapter 4's story missions start next update, for real this time. ok Amazing fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Oct 12, 2013 02:43
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Schwartzcough posted:On the other hand, those questions reek of Guide Dang It. Maybe the stat variances don't matter that much in the grand scheme of things, but for min-maxers there're typically only a few stats you care about for each character/weapon. Having no idea where you're throwing precious, precious stat points seems frustrating. Of course, you never notice this because the game doesn't give you damage numbers. Clever.
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Oct 12, 2013 03:09
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Quick show of hands, is anyone reading this Let's Play not familiar with FFXII? As in, haven't played it, haven't watched a let's play of it, and don't know anything about it that isn't on the box? Or even those who've played it, but haven't beaten it, and have had only limited experience with it. I'm not sure there is, but i'm curious enough to ask.
ok Amazing fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Oct 12, 2013 05:19
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I only know the barest of information, so yeah. 
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Oct 12, 2013 06:06
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The only things I know about XII are: * It involves some kind of crystal called nethicite. * Vaan has a dead brother named Reks. * The Summons. * Fran is vulnerable to Mist (but only in one scripted segment and not in areas where there actually are Mist). * Gabranth is full of hatred. And I only know that last one due to Dissidia. 
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Oct 12, 2013 06:43
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Haven't played FFXII, took a little bit of a look at an LP of it before getting bored and stopping before any real plot happened. Most of what little knowledge I have of the later plot comes from beating THIS game, since I picked it up without realizing it was significantly tied into it.
FishOnAPiano fucked around with this message at 16:15 on Oct 12, 2013 |
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Oct 12, 2013 08:03
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Woah really? Nifty! A few late-game terms from FFXII have been offhandly mentioned already, and a few namedrops of FFXII character who haven't appeared and that kind of stuff, no big deal. (If you have any questions, don't feel bad asking though) But there's going to be a few lategame spoilers floating around in a few update's time, but only in a logbook. (And i'm not going to mark FFXII spoilers that appear in Revenant Wings, because spoiler warning the content of the game you're playing sounds too silly.) Chapter 8 is where Revenant Wings decides to just spoil lots of FFXII things for you. If you ever want to experience FFXII as spoiler-free as you can right now, he're a long heads up. You'll need a long heads-up, because even a cutscene compilation of FFXII takes over 5 hours, not to mention that a playthrough usually takes 70+ hours, it's a long game no matter how you try to cut it down. You might not even care though, like, I played Revenant Wings first and I still enjoyed played FFXII, it was interesting to see how things that happened in that game lead to things that happened in this game. You also still don't need to know what happened in FFXII to understand Chapter 8, and as usual, i'll explain the references and what's going on. Just, yeah, I remembered I hadn't given people a heads up, and you might want it!
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Oct 12, 2013 08:16
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Level 2 Espers For most level 2 Espers and beyond, they'll have a standard attack with no cooldown for damage, and a secondary ability with a coolodown that they'll use as a Gambit. I'll put a * next to those attacks. Again, these are in clockwise fashion around the Ring. Sagittarius (Lightning Ranged) - Requires Ixion ~Plasma Arrow: Shoot a lightning projectile at one foe. ~*Triple Shot: Fire three arrows which spread out, damaging any foe they hit. Amazing Esper for shutting down mobs of foes. A group of Sagittari will overlap any weak spots in each individual Triple Shot, the result being a hail of arrows that decimate Flying units and also deal good damage to anything else. Immunity to Confusion is also fantastic, and unlike Wyverns, have little problems with overcrowding since they're Ranged. Ixion (Lightning Melee) - Requires Sagittarius, Remora or Raiden ~Hoof Kick: Deal damage to one foe. Bad Esper all around. Its immunity to Confusion, fast movement and attack speed is its only use, as it doesn't even deal any status effects. Stick with Golems unless fighting Fire enemies or you really need a fast attack force. Raiden (Lightning Flying) - Requires Ixion or Tonberry ~Silent Storm: Deal damage to one foe and inflict Silence. Useful against enemies that use Magic, but there are usually better options, like Sirens or Wyverns. They also have poor Stamina and will fall quickly against physical units. Tonberry (Neutral Melee) - Requires Lamia or Raiden ~Knife: Deal damage to one foe and inflict Stamina Down. ~*Karma: Deal damage to one foe based on the number of kills the target has done in the battle. While Stamina Down is a handy effect, Filo is a more reliable applier of it, and Karma is generally very situational. Not a terrible Esper, but there are usually better options. Lamia (Fire Ranged) - Requires Tonberry, Djinn or Wyvern ~Fire: Shoot a fire projectile at one foe. ~*Entice: Inflicts Confuse on one foe. A good Ranged Esper and Confuse is a very nice effect. I personally prefer Sagittarius, but Lamia has high Magic, making her just as good on a single boss. Being immune to Disable is a limited but very useful trait to have. Wyvern (Fire Flying) - Requires Lamia or Balasa ~Gnaw: Deal damage to one foe. ~*Fire Breath: Breathes a wave of flame back and forth, dealing damage to multiple foes. One of the better Flying Espers due to its Fire Breath, allowing it to handle mobs of foes, especially in groups. Suffers a bit of problem when summoning lots of them in overcrowding, but on large opens maps will likely be the Flying Esper of choice. Balasa (Fire Melee) - Requires Wyvern or Carbuncle ~Fire Fist: Deal damage to one foe and inflict Slow. Has only a single attack, but a potentially useful one - while Slow isn't the best effect, it can stunt offenses and weaken fleeing enemies. I'd personally stick with Golem, though. Carbuncle (Neutral Healing) - Requires Balasa or Atomos ~Cure: Restore HP to one ally. ~*Ruby Balm: Restore HP to all allies in range. The Healing Esper for the rest of the game. Despite its slow speed and frail defenses, you'll be using Carbuncles from the moment you get them to the end. Ruby Balm acts like Penelo's Curaga, which is brilliant. Penelo starts out with two of them on every map, making her gold on maps without summoning gates. Get it early on. Atomos (Earth Flying) - Requires Carbuncle or Cu Sith ~Uppercut: Deal damage to all foes in range. ~*Drain: Deal damage to one foe and heal itself. An odd Esper, in that it uses both Strength and Magic and its default attack is area of effect in nature. Wyverns are still better for taking down groups of foes because Fire Breath has better range, but Atomos could have some limited use if you're very concerned about healing for some reason. I'd use Wyverns most of the time but Atomos is worth a consideration. Cu Sith (Earth Ranged) - Requires Atomos or Golem ~Stone: Shoot an earth projectile at one foe. ~*Bedevil: Inflict Blind on one foe. The most limited of the four ranged Espers, as Blind is the least useful status. There are better choices elsewhere. Golem (Earth Melee) - Requires Cu Sith, Gnoam, or Diabolos ~Wild Charge: Deal damage to one foe and inflict Immobilize. Note: Golems are immune to Poison, Blind, Silence, Sleep, Confuse and Stop. Despite a slow movement speed, the best Melee Esper due to its amazing defenses and plethora of status immunities. Wild Charge is also great for preventing enemies from moving. They like grouping with Filo since she can raise her group's speed, too. The Melee Esper of choice. Diabolos (Neutral Flying) - Requires Golem or Shivar ~Nightmare: Deal damage to one foe and inflict Sleep. ~*Gravity: Deal 25% of the target's current HP in damage. Does not work on most bosses. On one hand, Sleep is a great effect and Diabolos is the only wielder of it. On the other hand, having it on a melee attack isn't so great. Gravity is useful against level III Espers but that's really it. It's a shame because I like the guy's design. Shivar (Water Ranged) - Requires Diabolos or Siren ~Blizzard: Fire a Water projectile at one foe. ~*Absolute Zero: Inflict Stop on one foe. Note: Shivar is weak to Fire instead of Lightning. If you can ignore his counterproductive weakness and poor defenses, Shivar is brilliant simply on the grounds of Absolute Zero. Stop is a very, very good effect and summoning multiple Shivars can shut down an enemy force near completely. However that requires some very strict micromanaging on large groups, in which case Sagittarius is better. Siren (Water Flying) - Requires Shivar, Sahagin or Cuchulainn ~Kickline Dance: Deal damage to one foe and inflict Stop. Their poor stats are backed up by Kickline Dance, which is a great standard ability. They work very well with Filo to increase their speed and later their defenses. Ranged units will crumble them very quickly; either have a countermeasure or use Llyud's Vanishga to allow them to sneak in and Stop them first. A bit too much micromanagement for my tastes, but a more patient player can do well with them. Cuchulainn (Water Melee) - Requires Siren ~Malaise: Deal damage to one foe. ~*Blight: Inflict Poison on one foe. Poor Cuchulainn. He's the only guy from the original Ivalice Espers to be demoted to a lowly rank II Esper, and not even that good of one. Poison is a pretty crummy effect, so the only real reason you'd be using him is if you're facing lots of Fire Espers.
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Oct 12, 2013 20:32
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Update #16: Port Marilith New Folio entries: The Murac Cahuac Skysea
Bwagi, Gijuk, and Rinok
New Logbook entries: The Leading Man
Comeuppance
Unappreciated
New Cu Sith quiz - Artificer's Handbook:  Tempestblade What must a sky pirate remember above all else?
The quiz for the Mythril Staff is the same as the previous quiz for Penelo, the Cherry Staff. Rod of Lightning What color do you like your chocobos?
Detonator
Mythril Lance How long should this weapon be?
Luckily, the dialogue on the Sky Saloon doesn't change up as much as the dialogue on the bridge. Soundtrack: Airship 1 (Near the Water)  "Do you think we could restore an auralith if we found a way to return that energy?" "I cannot say." "They're really important to the aegyl, aren't they..." "Yeah. That couldn't have been easy for him. We have to stop the Judge of Wings before this happens again." "We will. We can't be the only sky pirates out here trying to help the aegyl. If we find any others, we should bring them onto the airship. Strength in numbers, right?" "I say it's better to think first, charge second. Haven't seen your name in the log lately, Vaan. Don't forget, you promised Penelo!" "So say it." "About this skysea... Apparently, hordes of sky pirates are descending upon it as we speak, no doubt in search of the auralith. Meaning we'll be fighting every step of the way. Sure this is where you want to go?" Soundtrack: World Map (Cerobi Steppe)  Just south of our destination, is a small island with a waterfall.  And this is our destination itself, the skysea.  To cross the waters, Vaan and Penelo take the canoe.  Soundtrack: Pleasant Conversation (Clan Headquarters)         Instead of a combat mission, we get a little town to run around and explore. It's a pretty small place, so lets get right into it.  "They being your lackeys, i'm guessing?" "Bite yer tongue! This is no concern of yours. I don't need lackeys to handle your sort. Lucky for you i've got other scores to settle." "Still, that they walk among us in peace is more than can be said of those on the other islands." "It is a display of humility in honour of the shrine that lies beneath its waves." "Don't worry, I can take care of myself!" "A good time?" "Oh, right, I forgot. This probably isn't the aegyl idea of fun. Sorry!" "What a strange manner of being you humes are." "How's that?" "Your facial expressions change so greatly from one moment to the next." "I guess you can see right through me." "You don't think it's a trap, do you?"  "Aye, maybe too fast. I wrecked our ship bringin' her in t'port. Thought i'd make the money needed to fix her in Rikken's tourney, but then I heard about the fee..."  "After our pilot's so-called landing, i'll be lucky to sell her for scrap." "If I had that kind of money I wouldn't need auracite in the first place. I don't suppose you've any gil to lend a fellow sky pirate, eh?" "But don't get carried away, Vaan. We still have the Judge of Wings to look for."    "The up-and-coming sky pirate has up and come. Good to see you, Vaan!"  "My guess is he met them during the war."  "Word travels fast..." "Actually, I wanted to ask you about something."  "We're holding an auracite gathering tourney. A grand scavenger hunt, as it were."  "That's a mouthful." "So cynical for one so young. Pity. You'd think being on a legendary sky continent would find people in better spirits." "Arr, you'll not find treasure with that attitude." "Consider yourselves on holiday. Enjoy!"   "I'm waiting." "What I know is that I wish I didn't know what it is I knew. In fact, i'd rather not discuss it."      Soundtrack: Balthier's Theme (Destiny)  "A black mark on every honest pirate's name." "A sadder sight were never seen!" "If it be auracite they're after, let 'em find it themselves!" "A treasure worth finding's worth finding yourself." "Precisely! And that's the truth our friends have forgotten."Soundtrack: Pleasant Conversation (Clan Headquarters)     Now we've got control of Vaan again. Let's put this to good use, by talking to the people directly in front of him.  "A proper sky pirate, that's what I see before me." "You can't see anything from down there!" "What's there to see from up here?" "The eyes. It's all in the eyes. You've got dreams in yours." "If i'd eyes like that, i'd surely be competing for Rikken's Cup!" "Now I see where this is going..."  To advance the plot more, talk to Penelo. Soundtrack: Penelo's Theme  "Maybe it'll help us learn more about being sky pirates!" "Yeah, I like the sound of this!" "What do you think, Vaan? Maybe we could talk Rikken down a bit on the entry fee." "There's nothing sayin' being a sky pirate means we can't have a little fun."       "We just let our eyes off him for a minute..." "This can't be good." "What do we do?" "If he comes back looking to start trouble, we'll put him in his place."  Soundtrack: Pleasant Conversation (Clan Headquarters)    "I'm out fully five hundred thousand gil. Generous to a fault, that's what I am." "Where'd you learn to bargain like that, Filo?" "It was easy. I learned it by watching you, Penelo!" "One small detail we've neglected to mention: We'll be entering, too." "Clock's ticking! No time to waste!" "May the best pirate win!"   Next time, it's time to join Rikken, Elza, and Raz on their treasure hunt. But, who the heck are these three in the first place?  Rikken, Elza, and Raz, are returning characters from FFXII. Rikken is a comrade to the temporary party member, Reddas, and Elza and Raz are Rikken's pals. Most of their dialogue in FFXII revolves around Reddas, so they almost entirely exist to give you a bit more info on your temporary party member. They all appear in the last major town your party will find, the port at Balfonheim. Well, we found them at a port town here too, that's kind of neat. They're also a part of a footrace minigame, a mash buttons to win kind of thing. It's the sort of thing you wouldn't do more than a few times unless you were a completionist.    A nice screenshot of them from FFXII proved elusive, but I found some renders of them, so... until I get a screenshot, there's this.
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Oct 14, 2013 05:15
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I like how Rikken appears to be borrowing Elza's outerwear thong. Also, how is thing Cup any better than what the "bad" sky pirates have been doing? "We're still going to barge into the Aegyl's place like we own it and steal all their holy treasure rocks, but we're doing it because we want to and not because some Judge told us to!"
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Oct 14, 2013 07:23
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It's not sacrilege because some of my best friends are aegyl.
ok Amazing fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Oct 14, 2013 |
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Oct 14, 2013 07:34
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I love how Raz's airboard is a teeny little airship.
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Oct 14, 2013 10:03
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Update #17: Pirates in Peril! New Folio entry: Rikken, Elza, and Raz
New logbook entry: A Hard Bargain
New Cu Sith Quiz - Primary Principles:  Flametongue What makes an adventure an adventure?
The quiz for the Vesper Pole is the same as the previous quizzes for Penelo, the Cherry Staff and Mythril Staff. The quiz for the Storm Wand is the same as a previous quiz for Kytes, the Rod of Lightning. Trident Why is the sky blue?
 A new area has opened up! However, Port Maralith has closed now. Soundtrack: Airship 1 (Near the Water)   "Well, good riddance. I'll take Cu Sith over him any day." "What, this isn't adventure enough for you? I'm not sure you could take much more than this." "It's all right, I know how to handle myself." "And holding an auracite scavenger hunt of all things." "Still, it was nice to see them again. Up until now, it seems like we've just gone from one battle to the next. We wouldn't want Kytes and Filo to think that's all there is to being a sky pirate." "I've got me a nose for treasure, and it's high time we went lookin' for some!" "Who're you supposed to be? Raz?" "How'd you guess? I think I picked up more than the accent from talkin' to him, though. I think he's got the right idea about being a sky pirate. It's about adventure!" "Great. Now all you need is a parrot."With Kytes in such good spirits, let's check out Isshu, Jewel of the Skysea, and what mission it's got in store for us. - Pirates in Peril! The party tracks the Judge of Wings to the shores of the Muruc Cahuac Skysea, where they happen upon Rikken and his band of pirates. They know something... or at least look like they do. -Soundtrack: Lighter (Naivety)    "This treasure's ours!"  "This treasure's ours!" "This is no time to show off! I know those aren't your Espers."  Soundtrack: Battle 1 (Giza Plains)    "Sahagin are vulnerable to lightning attacks. If you attack their weakness, you can make quick work of them." "Right. Thanks for the advice." - Objective: Open all of the treasure chests! At least one ally must survive. Rikken, Elza, or Raz must survive. - The 'special rules' are basically we can only take two of our party members into this fight. I'd ignore Llyud's advice, because although he's correct, Sahagin won't be a huge threat in this battle. Because you can only use two members, and there's no summoning gates, you should have Level II Espers with types matching your leaders. I'll actually be going through this battle twice, to show off two polarized strategies here.   First up, completely pacifist. For the pacifist strategy, i'll be using Penelo and Llyud. This strategy will involve grouping with Rikken and his crew early on, and letting them to all the hard work, and following them around with cure spells. Llyud will protect Penelo until the two groups meet, and also has Revive. Along the way, I will try to mine as many Material Nodes as possible.  Soundtrack: Field 1 - Battle 1 (Giza Plains) This battle plays the battle theme whenever you or Rikken and crew are engaging a foe, so it's not often you hear the field variation.   The yellow arrows on our map are Rikken and crew, so let's head over there.  And there's a material node down there too! Walking close enough to the crew will prompt them to speak.     Well, they're not very trusting.  They'll first head across the beach shore, north, to the soldier, and engage him. I'm going to follow them, and heal them. (Note: This is the plan for the rest of the battle.)  Some treasure chests are mimics! It can be a bit of a shock. Anyway, Rikken's crew are as strong as your party, so it doesn't take a long time for them to down these foes.  Now, back near the starting point, they'll open the chest we starter near to, and pick off a couple of Shivan.  Another glimpse at the map, to see how things are going. We're going to the southernmost treasure chest, while Llyud goes to mine the Material node to the southwest.  The Shivar here are the most dangerous Espers on this field, and will make quick work of Flying type units. Llyud can still help, he probably can't die with these many White Rabbits to heal him!  This chest is a mimic as well!  Anyway, Rikken approaches the last chest, and...  Good for them. But they were kinda rude to us, so let's try another strategy.  For the aggressive strategy, i'll be using Vaan, Kytes, as well as Sagittarius and Tonberry. I might have chosen Balasa over Tonberry given the opportunity, but the fact is i'm not close enough to it on the Ring of Pacts to unlock it, so I had to improvise. It happens. I would not use Filo or Llyud, because due to the Shivar, they are all too frail for this strategy. Also, make sure Vaan has the Sprint Shoes equipped. Right, let's begin!   This strategy will aim to open every treasure chest, except those containing mimics.  Send Kytes down to open the treasure chest closest Rikken's crew. Vaan should open the treasure chest right next to the start, and go fight the Soldier.  Once you get the message that Kytes has opened the chest, send him up to help Vaan. Rikken's crew will still fall for the Mimic, so that should give you enough time to race down to the southern chest.  Have Rikken engage the foes near the southern chest, and run past the combat to swipe the treasure. Then, start making your way to the northmost chest.  The Shivar, and a mimic chest, will distract Rikken's crew. You will pass close enough to the Shivar for them to try and engage you, just ignore them. This gives you plenty of time to swipe the chest.  Because Vaan had low HP, he died, but his Espers were still alive and Kytes could open the chest.  These two strategies are completely polarized, a casual player may prefer a compromise between the two. All the treasure chests here contain materials though, which perhaps makes material nodes just as valuable. So, If you're trying this mission yourself, here's a few handy charts for you.   And as another bonus, every party member says something different when beginning battle. The Cache also changes colour when different characters hold it, probably some sprite palette limitations thing. Because Llyud always plays second fiddle, I don't think he's got his own line, but here's what Filo and Kytes have to say.   No matter how we go through the battle, the aftermath is the same. Soundtrack: Suspicion (Auditory Hallucination)     Soundtrack: Pleasant Conversation (Clan Headquarters)  "You've got to keep your eye on the prize. The cutter. The shiny stuff. The treasure!" "This is going nowhere."  "Leap before you look, yes? And now we best be leapin' off to the next spot of treasure!"Rikken's crew follow him.  "Looks like we'll have to find the treasure on our own." "More treasure hunting?" "You promise?"   Filo and Kytes follow Vaan off.  Next time: We chase Rikken down and get some useful advice!  Mimics in Final Fantasy usually take the form of a sharp-toothed treasure chest. So, why spiders here? In FFXII, treasure chests looked like urns. A traditional looking treasure-chest mimic would make no sense, and mimics were changed to look like the treasure chests of FFXII in their resting state, unfurling into their spider-like forms when the player tried to open the urn. So in Revenant Wings, they took the design from FFXII, but put them inside regular treasure chests. It's a bit of an unappealing compromise in my opinion. In Vagrant Story, another game set in Ivalice, mimics were insects living under regular chests, and that would have been cool for this game. But, y'know. That's not the way things are. Mimics aren't deadly, they only have a basic attack, the threat with this mission is the time they take to kill when you could be plundering treasure! ok Amazing fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Oct 18, 2013 |
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Oct 17, 2013 07:49
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Rikken just trying to bullshit his way into being part of the pirate gang was beautiful.
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Oct 17, 2013 21:34
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The solution to my sound troubles was turning the computer off and back on again. So i've gone and edited the soundtrack into the last update. As well as adding a bit about Mimics, you know, just because.
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Oct 18, 2013 04:22
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So this whole competition is an auracite hunt to see who can collect the most, but none of the treasure chests that everyone was racing around to get had any auracite in it, only materials? Neat.
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Oct 18, 2013 22:33
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Update #18: Pirates and Parrot in Peril! New folio entry: Bounty of Lemurés
New logbook entires: Hmph!
Like Phon Coast
Like a Shark
Like a Dog
Like the Idea!
Like Solid Ground!
Like Sky Pirates!
New Cu Sith Quiz - Secondary Principles:  Icebrand What's the best way to see the world?
Rod of Ice What keeps friends close together?
The quiz for the Wavefront is the same as a previous quiz for Filo, the Mythril Cutter.  The chase continues, in a new area just unlocked on the world map! Soundtrack: Airship 2 (Secret Practice)  "She calls it a 'memento'. Don't you think it'll look great in here?" "What's it do?" "Well, nothing really. It's just for decoration. Cu Sith said she'd make one for us each time we performed some kind of feat. Like when you've fought so many battles or enlisted so many Yarhi. It should be fun seeing what sort of things she considers 'worthy'. If she gives you any more, just ask and i'll put them on display for you." Mementos are kind of like an achievement system, I guess. They let you deck out your sky saloon, giving you new decorations when you've achieved certain things in this game. The Mementos you start off with are going to vary based on how much you've done in the game up to this point, obviously, but it would be really hard to start off with none. Let's see what i've got.      Because the ingame description is a bit flowery about it, these crests are unlocked as your mission percentage completed increases. (The Clan Titles thing is also just flavour text.)    There's one more memento type I haven't unlocked yet either, so we'll see that when we see it. I'll post new mementos as I unlock them. While we're up on the Sky Saloon, let's see how Penelo's cafe is doing.  "You don't mind, do you?" "I know they lost their airship, but i'm still not sure Penelo should've invited them to come with us." "Haven't seen you since Port Marilith. We're Rikken's mates, aye. With no ship an' nowhere to go, it's a passenger's life for us. Not to worry. You won't even know we're here. Quiet as a dormouse, that's what I am. That lass o' yours cooks a fine meal, I must say. Seconds? Aye, don't mind if I do." "We met in Port Marilith. Don't tell me you've forgotten already, kupo! And lucky we did. If Penelo hadn't invited us aboard, we'd still be stranded there! Not only is she nice, but she's quite the cook, kupo. Don't let that one slip away! Food like this a body could get used to. Kupo!" Has Kytes stopped being a stick-in-the-mud yet?   Let's get down to the bridge.Soundtrack: Airship 1 (Near the Water)  "No glossair rings or engines, no skystone... it's a wonder it flies at all." "It started moving when we brought the Cache onboard, so it's probably from Lemurés." "I'd still feel better know a bit more about how it worked." "It hasn't let us down so far." "That's one way to look at it. I've got to hand it to Rikken. This scavenger hunt was a brilliant idea. With the entry fees alone, he's probably made more than i'll see in a lifetime." "They're friends of Rikken's. How bad could they be?" "But they actually like Penelo's cooking! They can't be normal. Have you been keeping up with the log, Vaan? It's probably time I made an entry myself." "You don't meet people like that just anywhere." "They're dyed-in-the-wool pirates, that's for sure." "With their heads in the clouds." "You should know." "Yeah. Hey, wait..." "Oh, I meant to tell you I invited some sky pirates from Port Marilith aboard. They were shipwrecked, and they didn't have anywhere else to go. Hope you don't mind." "I guess the aegyl wouldn't get much use out of an airship." "Only rarely do we even travel between islands." "Really? You seem to know a lot about everywhere we've been so far." "As a warrior it is my duty to know. And I confess I have always been curious about how others live. I have seen airships before, but never had I set foot on one before meeting you." "You shouldn't be in such a hurry all the time. Remember, getting there is half the fun." "But if we're not going anywhere, we're not getting anywhere!" "All right, I get the message." "Isn't Elza great? That's exactly the kind of pirate I wanna be when I grow up!" - Pirates and Parrot in Peril: In the end, Rikken had little new to say, so the search for the judge is back where it started. Rikken wastes no time finding trouble again.Soundtrack: Pleasant Conversation (Clan Headquarters)    "You again? Keep your nose in your own business! Though as long as you're here, maybe you can help." "Well, which is it?" "Need us to save your skins again?"  "We wouldn't want too much help, though. We've our pride to consider. I should think two of you ought to about do it." "Fine, as long as we get to keep whatever treasure we find." - Objective: Destroy the enemy soul crystal! Your soul crystal must survive. -   Bring Vaan for the Sprint Shoes. I bring Kytes, because I think the espers summoned alongside him at the beginning will be most useful, but if there's somebody you want to gain EXP or something then do what you feel like. Soundtrack: Dungeon 3 Field - Dungeon 3 Battle (The Beginning of the End)  "Try and remember that, eh?" This is a soul crystal battle, so the usual strategy of selecting everyone and tapping the goal applies.  Although the preamble here hinted at treasure, there are only material nodes here.  Rikken's crew will distract foes early on, and having Level II Espers will stop foes from demolishing them in a few hits as you ignore them en route to the soul crystal.  Yeah soul crystal battles woo. I somehow get the feeling they weren't quite tested for difficulty properly. Soundtrack: Pleasant Conversation (Clan Headquarters)  "Then whaddaya call that?" "You're far too literal. Until next we meet!" Soundtrack: Rabanastre     "I've hit the jackpot this time. Found a temple below this very island." "Not bad. I have to admit, i'm impressed." "Those streetears in Archades could learn a thing or two watching ol' Tomaj at work. What can I say, I have a knack for this sort of thing."  "The judge, yes, but not just that. There's treasure to be had!"     Next time: We follow up Tomaj's lead, and Filo gets an opportunity to walk a mile in Penelo's shoes. ok Amazing fucked around with this message at 11:54 on Oct 22, 2013 |
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Oct 22, 2013 09:31
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He doesn't want to use Espers, huh? I wonder if it's just because he doesn't have any auracite.
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Oct 22, 2013 10:52
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 Sketched a question from a recent Cu Sith quiz.
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Oct 23, 2013 07:42
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I always suspected Vaan was dressing up in Fran's outfits when no one was around.
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Oct 23, 2013 08:11
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Schwartzcough posted:I always suspected Vaan was dressing up in Fran's outfits when no one was around. It was Basch.
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Oct 23, 2013 18:49
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FactsAreUseless posted:Unlikely, since Vaan didn't need to be any prettier. Come on guys.  We all know the one who secretly wears Fran's clothes is everyone.
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Oct 23, 2013 23:24
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Cu Sith is already a girl right? It seems unfair to make fun of her for wanting to dress up all pretty like Fran. Also, holy crap, I never realized how small those sprites were until you blew them up to the size where I could count their pixels. That's like SNES-sized spriting right there. (Not actually a complaint, I rather like SNES-sized sprites, just haven't seen them in so long in a title by a major company.) Also: This thing. This thing right here is just so... d'awww 
DjinnAndTonic fucked around with this message at 04:45 on Oct 24, 2013 |
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Oct 24, 2013 04:42
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Update #19: Unrelenting Nemesis New Logbook entries: Clear Skies
Passing Time
There's no new Folio entires or Cu Sith quizzes this time.  Soundtrack: Airship 2 (Secret Practice) There is one itty bitty piece of dialogue up on the saloon i've been neglecting to show off though.  "Oh, sorry. I forgot you actually like Penelo's cooking."And now, it's down to the bridge. Soundtrack: Airship 1 (Near the Water)  "He didn't have a ship, so he's probably still stuck on the skysea." "For all we know he could be passed out dying of hunger..." "You're not worried about him, are you?" "Not really, but I hope he's okay. Maybe Ba'Gamnan went looking for those other bangaa friends of his." "I gotta admit, you really came through for us this time." "Whaddaya mean this time? When have I ever been anything short of indispensable?" "Sorry, didn't mean to ruffle any feathers." "We're not the only sky pirates headed to that temple, y'know. Don't let them beat us to it!" "What, like Rikken? No, he's... one of a kind. But I guess it's more common in Ivalice than Lemurés. You aegyl are all so... quiet." "Are we?" "Don't you have festivals, feasts, anything like that?" "No. We gather only when there is a need. Idle chatter hods no lure for us." "Now that you mention it, you're the most talkative aegyl i've met. And that's not saying much." "Kytes and Filo have really hit it off with Rikken and the others." "All battle and no play makes for gloomy children." "I just hope they don't forget that this isn't all fun and games. The Judge of Wings is still out there." "Leave it to me. I won't let anything happen to 'em." "I knew I could count on you, Vaan. You don't suppose we'll see Rikken again anytime soon, do you?" "I wouldn't get my hopes up. Tomaj is the one who told us about it, after all." "Heh, I hadn't thought of that. Well, if there's not treasure, there better not be any Judge of Wings, either!" "You've got it backwards. We're here for the Judge of Wings, not the treasure." "Oh, right... of course! I think I like treasure hunting more than judge hunting." - Unrelenting Nemesis: While the others were busy with Rikken, Tomaj had his ear to the ground. His efforts discovered an underground shrine the party now moves to explore. Familiar foes and a fantastic find await.Soundtrack: Suspicion (Auditory Hallucination)   Soundtrack: Dungeon 1 Battle       - Objective: Find the temple! At least one ally must survive. - Despite appearances, no Espers will be summoned in this battle, not even in the beginning. There's no warning for this, but here's a heads up now: don't bother with your Esper Troupe. Anyway, as usual, Sprint Shoes come recommended for Vaan. For Llyud, equip the Mythril Gloves, as those prevent confusion. A few foes here will use confusion, so nip it in the bud. Also, equip Filo with Terra Earrings, as there's a few material nodes to collect, and collecting them fast helps. You may be tempted to equip the Silver Earrings, that boost speed, but I feel Vaan's Sprint Shoes are enough on their own. Make sure Kytes Gambit is set to Blizzaga, and equip units with things that give them a water nature if possible, as the foes here are either weak to water or weak to nothing. Phew, what a mouthful. Let's commence. Soundtrack: Dungeon 1 Field - Dungeon 1 Battle  Yeah, definitely no espers.  Foes are sparse though, and Rikken's crew will back you up.  'Backing you up' means killing everything as you run ahead and grab treasure, naturally.  Your slower units tend to fall behind in the winding course. Kytes and Penelo will fall back easily. Your ranged units may also attack foes on the cliff above them, which is helpful, but there's not many foes there to kill.  There's an out of the way treasure chest to the east. I send Vaan out to get it, while Filo and Llyud nab the chest and material node to the south, while Penelo and Kytes catch up. It's about when you reach this south part of the map that a cutscene interrupts the fighting.   Soundtrack: Boss Battle 1 (Slash of the Sword)     "I'd as soon consort with sharks. Let's nab such treasure as we can and be off!" - Objective: Defeat Ba'Gamnan! At least one ally must survive. -  Right, back into the battle! The goalpost flag will still be shown on the map, but it won't do anything. This screenshot is of a material node to the far east, which is where i'll get everyone to regroup after cleaning out the area they are now in the south.  Up the path! This level is a winding narrow corridor, so traps prove useful here.  After regrouping at the eastern node, my party is low on HP, so I take a breather, use some cures. Although I didn't think to do it, here would be a good place for a trap, for reasons you'll see in just a sec.  There are 3 more chests in the north. Nab 'em, but remember the fight with Ba'Gamnan is coming up soon, so don't let yourself lose too much HP.  Speaking of Ba'Gamnan, he's got himself an army of espers. He gets them, but we don't. Who expected Ba'Gamnan to play fair though? They die easily, and their main threat is being a distraction.  When you close in on Ba'Gamnan, a bunch of Lamia spawn behind you. (This is where the node was, and why it might be a good idea to set traps here)  Rikken and his crew will make this fight easier if they made it this far.  Lamia are the biggest threat to your ranged units, as they stand back and attack, and the Lamia spawn closest to them. Penelo actually dies here, I revive her with Llyud, but even so you might be able to beat Ba'Gamnan at a damage race if you've already started dealing out pain to him.  Case in point: Ba'Gamnan and Vaan fall within seconds of each other here. I didn't even notice Vaan died during the recording, only when I took these screenshots did I notice.  Soundtrack: Vaan's Theme (The Mosphoran Highwaste)   "What should we do? Tie him up?" "Doesn't seem right, just tying him up like that."Soundtrack: A Villain (Feywood)     
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Oct 24, 2013 07:27
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> Not cool, Ba'Gamnan. Until you did that, you still had a shot at being a permanent PC. I don't like you spoiling my chances for finally having a playable Bangaa character with a name!Seriously there are like 5 Ivalice games since Bangaa were introduced and Ba'Gamnan is the only named one of the bunch who even gets to be playable for a little while, I think?
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Oct 25, 2013 06:35
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I know, it's so unfortunate the only playable Bangaa are generic units in the Tactics Advance games. I mean, Ba'Gamnan hated the party and everyone in it, so he couldn't have possibly stayed, but he's still the closest we got and there's something to be said for that. Cid in Tactics A2 gets Bangaa jobs, but he's not a Bangaa so it doesn't really count. At least Ba'Gamnan has the good grace to leave early, so you can't spend lots of time leveling him.
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Oct 25, 2013 10:47
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ok Amazing posted:I mean, Ba'Gamnan hated the party and everyone in it, so he couldn't have possibly stayed, Eh, since when has -that- been a barrier to someone joining your party? I recall Magus doing quite a bit more than just hating the main cast of Chrono Trigger. There could have been some narrative convenience that made him come around... but I don't think you get forgiven for abducting little girls in a happy feel-good game like this so easily...
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Oct 25, 2013 12:04
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I always felt a little iffy having Ba'Gamnan on our team with the threat of violence keeping him in line. Honestly glad it's over with.
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Oct 26, 2013 01:49
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Remember kids: enslaving someone under threat of torture is perfectly fine, as long as he's one of those dirty "lesser races."
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Oct 26, 2013 05:04
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Schwartzcough posted:Remember kids: enslaving someone under threat of torture is perfectly fine, as long as he's one of those dirty "lesser races." He's also a bloodthirsty bounty hunter who tried to kill the party a few times in FFXII (he heavily implied he was going to torture them to death). He's described as a ruthless sadist even by other bounty hunters. After all he's done, he's getting off light here. You're right though. There needs to be more heroic Bangaa in the Ivalice universe. I can so far only recall the Clan Centurio Bangaa who helps you take down Ba'Gamnan and other hunts in FFXII. And he isn't even voiced! Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Oct 26, 2013 |
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Oct 26, 2013 05:43
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Really, what we need is playable Miguelo. He has the awesome-est voice in FF12, too (John DiMaggio!). I wish he was playable in Revenant Wings or even Tactics Advanced 2 (he DOES show up in some of the mission logs there!).
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Oct 26, 2013 06:11
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