Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Locked thread
NextTime000
Feb 3, 2011

bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
<----------------------------


Contents:
Episode 2 Thread
2nd Post: Goon Guides and Builds
3rd Post: Goon Team(s?)

JP server: Ship 2
NA server: Vaporware
SEA server: Is poo poo do not use it

Chat on IRC!:
Nol Vacancy/Support Channel:irc.synirc.net #risa (Mibbit)
General Goon Shenanigans Channel:irc.synirc.net #psobb (Mibbit)
Having problems? ask IRC first!
Mumble Server: Camping The Stairs; This is VERY useful for Challenge Quests!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/0euv8yjz3jkl78Ry it's like skype but less bad
SA Phantasy Star Steam Group

System Requirements:
code:
Item    	Operating environment
OS      	Windows Vista / 7/8 /8.1 32bit · 64bit Japanese version
CPU 	    	Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 or more
Memory  	Vista / 7/8 / 8.1: 2GB or more
HDD free space  20GB or more (NTFS format)
Monitor       	1280x720 dots or more recommended
Graphics card   NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT / AMD RADEON HD2900XT
Sound card      DirectX compatible sound card (DirectX 9.0c or higher)
DirectX®        DirectX 9.0c or higher
Getting Started:
Official Client Download
Arks Layer: A website that hosts an All-In-One program that will install, update, apply the English patches, troubleshoot errors, and more!
While the game is installing/updating, which takes an unreasonably long time, work on these other things!
SEGAID website: Go here to register for a SEGAID account. (Google Translate will help you here, and use this to solve the captcha)
Go here to accept the Terms of Service so your account can login to PSO2
English Patch source: in case you want to download and install the English patches yourself

Quick links:
Bumped.org delivers the latest PSO2 news!
Guide and Download for PSO2es, the Android/iOS app/game! PSO2es works perfectly fine on any ISP, and is the easiest/cheapest way to buy ARKs Cash for the full game
List of Error Codes, what they mean, and what you can do about them.
Skill Tree and Stat Simulator: really great way to plan out your character. alternate skill tree simulator
Item Affixing Simulator
Symbol Art editor/creator

English Databases and Japanese wikis: (If you click an item (or select it with the arrow keys), you can hit CTRL+C to copy it to the clipboard, then search one of these places for it.)
PSO2 English Database under construction/tentative title
http://pso2.swiki.jp/ probably the best database right now, but you gotta run it through Google or something
http://pso2es.swiki.jp/ Japanese database for the android game

StalkWatch other people play live on Twitch.tv! (I have no control over the quality of the people playing, so click at your own risk!)
also Hitbox.tv

Phantasy Star Online 2 is the 3rd main game in SEGA's Sci-Fi Online Action RPG Franchise, converted from a single-player Turn-Based RPG series from the Master Drive / Genesis era. This game has no direct ties to the previous games (yet) and this iteration is free to download and play

Gameplay
The PSO series is known for being a lot more action-oriented than other Online RPGs; here you are not furiously right-clicking on enemies as fast as your character's attack speed stat would allow, hoping the enemy life bar depletes before your own, but rhythmically timing your button presses, and actively dodging or blocking enemy attacks. While this entry into the series was developed primarily for PC, it lends itself to play just as easily with a controller as with a mouse and keyboard; where the latter only has the advantage in menu shortcuts and using the subpallet (quickbar).

Parties and Multi-Parties
A normal party consists of 4 people, but most of the quests in the game have "Multi-Party Areas" where up to 12 players from multiple parties can play alongside each other.

Player Progression:
In this game, your character does not level up, Only your current main class gains experience. Your current class level dictates your character's base stats, and how many Skill Points you have available for that class. You gain experience by killing enemies, completing quests, completing Emergency Trials that appear mid-quest, and completing Client Orders; this game's term for sidequests. As you progress you will unlock new missions and client orders that you must complete in order to unlock the next areas of the game; but once you unlock an area, it stays permanently unlocked. So even if you change classes you don't need to do everything all over again.

Races:
Human :spergin:

The original race, creators of the CASTs and Newmans, they are more well rounded statistically.

Newman :anime:

Initially created by Humans as a forced next step of evolution, although really intelligent they came out rather physically frail, but now they co-exist peacefully with the rest of the ARKS. Basically space-elves.

CASTs :awesomelon:

Gundams. While strong in body, they are not the best using Techs.

Dewman :devil:

Some scientists took weird dragon fossils and jammed them into people for some reason. This resulted in the most anime race of them all. They are good at all offense, but lack in defense and still have more max HP than Newmans.

Racial/Gender stat modifiers:
code:
               	 HP S-ATK R-ATK T-ATK DEX S-DEF R-DEF T-DEF
human male     	105   104   103   100  105  105   100   100 
human female   	104   100   103   104  106  100   100   105 
newman male    	 95   100   102   108  104  100   105   100 
newman female  	 94   100   102   110  104  100   100   105 
cast male      	107   105   104    96  107  105   100    95 
cast female    	106   104   105    96  107  100   105    95 
dewman male    	 96   107   104   105  105  100   100   100
dewman female 	 95   106   105   105  106  100   100   100
You can basically get away with any Race/Gender/Class combination, so feel free to be that Robo-Mage you always wanted to be.

Classes:
After you create your character, you can change your class anytime you are in the lobby at the class counter for no charge.

Hunter :hist101:

Hunters use large, slow weapons that hit hard or have good AoE. Hunters can use Swords, Partisans (spears) Wired Lances (think God of War meets Sonic Unleashed) and Gunslashes
Notable Hunter Skills:
Fury Stance: Gives you bonus melee and ranged damage, but you take slightly more melee damage.
Iron Will: Gives you a percent chance to be left with 1hp when you take otherwise fatal damage.
Never Give Up: After an Iron Will activation, gives you a sizable S-atk boost and temporary invincibility.
Hunter image gallery

Ranger :hellyeah:

Rangers are a range-damage class that has a wide array of tools and ammunition for their weapons. Rangers have access to Assault Rifles, Launchers, and Gunslashes
Notable Ranger Skills:
Weak Bullet: Loads your Assault Rifle with ammo that marks your target with a giant reticle that removes resistances and lets all players lock-on to deal 250% more damage to that spot.
Bullet Keep: After loading an ammo-skill, allows you to switch to a different Ranger weapon without wasting the remaining ammo. (Ranger Main Class only)
Gravity bomb: An active skill that lets you toss a grenade that sucks nearby enemies into it.
Ranger image gallery

Force :science:

Forces are typical mages who wield Technics (Spells) to deal elemental damage and inflict nasty status effects in the process. Forces can use Rods, Talis (or throwing cards that act as the origin of casting when thrown then casting a spell while it floats) , and Gunslashes.
Notable Force Skills:
Charge PP Revival: Allows you to regenerate Photon Points while charging a Technic.
Bolt Tech PP Save: Reduces the PP cost for Lightning-element Technics.
Tech Charge Advance (1 and 2): Increases damage from fully-charged Technics.
Force image gallery

Braver :japan:

Bravers wield the most Honorable Katanas and "Bullet Bows" in battle, giving them a fair amount of versatility to attack from any range. Gunslashes.
Notable Braver Skills:
Katana Combat: increases attack speed and causes your basic attacks to make you dash at your enemies. Activate the skill a second time to unleash a devastating AoE attack.
Combat Escape: Grants invulnerability at the start of Katana Combat. At max rank, you are invincible for the entire duration of Katana Combat. Braver main class only. (so you can't use it with Limit Break)
Rapid Shoot: Reduces the damage on your basic Bow attacks, but allows up to three arrows to be fired.
Braver image gallery

Fighter :black101:

Fighters are a melee class that focuses on speed, skill, and maneuverability. Fighters can use Twin Daggers, Doublesabers, Knuckles, and Gunslashes
Notable Fighter Skills:
Brave Stance: Increases damage when you are in front of your target.
Wise Stance: Increases damage when you are behind your target. Stronger than Brave Stance.
Limit Break: for a set duration, grants a damage bonus, but reduces your max HP to 25%. Fighter main class only. (so you can't use it with Combat Escape)
Fighter image gallery

Gunner :commissar:

Had to put the gunslash picture somewhere...
Gunners use their Twin Mechineguns to do crazy john-woo style action stuff. They can Just Attack off of their evasive flip to do deal insane amounts of damage. Gunners also have access to Assault Rifles as their Mechguns are more medium-short ranged weapons. Also Gunslashes but do I even need to denote that at this point?
Notable Gunner Skills:
Chain Trigger: your next attack starts a chain, everybody attacking the marked target builds the chain; which grants you a short-duration damage bonus to the target when you use a Photon Art or Technic on it.
Zero-Range Advance: Boosts ranged-damage against targets that are in point-blank range.
Perfect Keeper: grants a damage bonus so long as you are at maximum75% HP or more.
Gunner image gallery

Techer :flame:

Techers are front-line support mages. Their Wands can deal a technic-based explosion in melee combat, but can also use Talises and Gunslashes (why) if they need to.
Notable Techer Skills:
Shifta Strike: Shifta grants an additional damage bonus on everyone you apply it to. Techer main class only.
Wand Reactor: adds a % of your currently equipped wand's T-atk to your S-atk. up to 40%
Elemental Weak Hit: Increases your damage against your target's elemental weakness.
Techer image gallery

New in Episode 3...

Bouncer :goku:

Bouncer is a melee/magic hybrid class that sports Dual Blades that summon floating phantomphoton blades that they incorporate into their attacks. Their Technic weapon of choice is Jet Boots, which let you double jump, auto-cast support techs on some Photon Arts, and they change your melee attack element based on the last tech you manually casted. oh yeah there might be Gunslashes too but really who the gently caress cares.
Notable Bouncer Skills:
Photon Blade Fever: For a duration, doubles the amount of Photon Blades you throw at an enemy.
Critical Field: For a duration, grants Critical Hit chance to you and nearby allies.
Jet Boots Strike: Changes Jet Boots from using your T-atk to using your S-atk for attacks
Bouncer image gallery

Subclassing
You can mix and match classes to your desires! After reaching Level 20 in a single class, you unlock a Client Order to enable Subclassing! (like main class, you can change any time you are in the lobby for no charge.)

Benefits your subclass provides:
  • 20% of that classes base stats, if your subclass is higher level than your main class, then you get 20% of the sub-classes stats at the main classes level (example: level 20 Hunter with a level 5 Force gains 20% of Force's level 1 stats, but a level 5 Force with level 20 Hunter sub gains 20% of a level 5 Hunter's stats)
  • The sub-classes currently active skill tree
  • The ability to use the sub-classes Photon Arts or Technics; this does NOT give you access to the subclasses entire arsenal, so you have to use a designated "All Class" weapon. one of the earliest examples of an all-class weapon are the Eight Ouncers
  • Subclasses also gain about 10% of the EXP you are earning on your main class until the subclass is level 50

Mags

Mags, for those not familiar with PSO, are little floating companion robots that you can feed weapons and items to. As you feed it, it gains stats that are in turn passed onto your character. As your Mag levels up, it begins to evolve new functions like occasionally attacking an enemy for you, or healing and buffing you and so on. Eventually your mag can produce a Photon Blast, a powerful attack that can be chained onto other player's PBs to increase their damage or effects. :siren:you only get one free mag per character, so don't mess it up:siren:

Support Partners

You can keep a small person in your room to do item collection client orders for you, even while you are logged out :pedo:

Crafting

Weapon/Unit Extending:
You can disassemble your unwanted rare items and use the materials to upgrade the weapons and units you do want to use! however, Higher-end weapons may see an overall decrease in damage if you try to "upgrade" them; so this is really more about bringing lower-grade weapons back into the spotlight than anything.
This image shows how a Crafted weapon can have higher stats, but lower DPS due to the hidden damage variance penalty:


Tech Crafting:
You can also craft Technics to suit have slightly different stats to suit your own needs! do you push the damage farther but risk it costing more PP per cast? or do you reduce the charging time but also gain a Status Effect bonus? It is all up to you!

Timed Abilities:
The latest crafting craze, it lets you create tickets that apply a buff to one of your units for a certain number of days. But these buffs are only active in the specific area you choose when you made it, so choose wisely!
these items are used for making timed abilites:


Special Quest Types

Emergency Quests (EQ)
Once every few hours at 15 minutes to the hour, there may be an announcement of an incoming Emergency Quest; a special mission that is only available for usually 30 minutes once the hour comes. These can be great for leveling up and finding rare items, because they are usually multiparty areas with lots of enemy spawns and Emergency Trials.

Interrupt Rankings (IR)
Sometimes in place an an emergency mission, an announcement for Interrupt rankings will occur. Rankings are small contests lasting one hour that will see either what group can do a time attack in the fastest time, or who can commit genocide the fastest by killing the most of a specific enemy. During this time, any quests selected for time attack will have increased experience rates for the entire duration. If the target of a ranking is a specific enemy, that enemy will have a boosted 25% chance of appearing in its rare form and a 400% boost to its rare drop chance.

Time Attack Quests (TA)
Time Attack Quests test not only your ability to murder things, but also have some puzzles and stuff (they are kinda bullshit though unless you know what you are doing)

Advanced Quests (AQ)
These quests that are single-party only, and can be used to collect items that upgrade some weapons themed after each area. You need to use a certain item to play them but they can be earned in the quests themselves, you really need to be screwed hard by the Random Number Generator in order to not find even one of the item to run the next mission, but you can buy them for an obscene amount of in-game money if you need to. Recently SEGA has been giving these missions 200% exp and drop rate bonuses, so they can be useful for helping a class through levels 45-55.
Super Hard versions of these quests, or SHAQs, are also available.

SHAQs will be updated soon to have enemies on par with enemies on the Extra Hard difficulty.

Extreme Quests (XQ)
Extreme Quests are endgame quests that have you fight through a tower-type area with mixed enemies and special rules to each floor like "no healing for 120 seconds". You can't bring back everything you find on these missions, and enemies do not drop their normal rares here anyway. You can also collect a set of items that can be traded in for some High-end gear.

Ultimate Quests (UQ)
Remember Ultimate difficulty in PSO1? Well that is what this is, minus the part where you had to leave it for 20-40 levels past when you can actually first access it because the word "miss" is no-longer in PSO's vocabulary. A type of "Bad Future" where a planet has been corrupted by the darkers to the point of no-return; Ultimate Quests feature upgraded version of old enemies, and you will learn to hate them for new and exciting reasons! Designed to be played with a full multiparty of 12 people, it would be a fools errand to go in alone. Ultimate home to some of the strongest gear to-date; but the creatures give out very little experience, so don't expect to gain many levels if you only play ultimate!

Challenge Quests (CQ)
A Revival of PSO1's Challenge Mode. Everybody is stripped of their inventory and forced to play the "Challenger" class; Challenger can use any weapon or skill; provided that you find them! But with 11 other players around, someone should be able to hook you up with what you really want to use. You can drop any item you find in a CQ to share with everyone else, loot is still instanced; so pick up everything that drops for you! If you are playing with fellow goons (or good friends too), I would highly recommend using a VOIP program (like mumble on the Camping The Stairs server) to talk to people instead of typing.

Later in Episode 3...

code:
Fall 2015:
New Story Quest
New Dark Falz
New 12 Person Boss Battle
New Anime Collaboration Scratch
Limited Quest

Winter:
New Video Game Collaboration Scratch
New Time Attack Quest
New Mining Base Defense
Extreme Quest Expansion
Coming in 2016: "Reborn: Episode 4!" with a new logo!

Also coming to Playstation 4! Playable at TGS!

Screenshots, Gifs, and Other Media
http://imgur.com/a/MogkH

Rare Hunting explained:

NextTime000 fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Dec 7, 2015

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

NextTime000
Feb 3, 2011

bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
<----------------------------
Useful Non-Goon Guides:

An in-depth look at mags and how to raise them
Support Partner Basics
Item Crafting mini-guide

Goon approved builds: :thumbsup:

BUILDS GO HERE

:goonsay:

Goon Guides:

Not sure how useful this is anymore but here you go:
PSO2 Vita guide by kirbysuperstar

kirbysuperstar posted:

So hey, here's a PSO2 Vita guide I've written up.

Preface

So, PSO2 is available for the Vita. Vita users can play with PC users (though only on blocks 201-236) and can use both wifi and 3G data services to play. There’s no offline mode, but you can freely mess with the character creator and take augmented reality photos of your space elf while not connected to the internet.

The game itself is still free to play, no change there. You can download it from the PSN store and play without paying a yen. The initial download is 3GB, and as of the Episode 2 update there's another 2GB to come down, so make sure you have enough space - shell out for a 16GB or 32GB card if you can. However, due to the Vita only supporting a single account, you have to have a Japanese PSN/SEN account to do this. And, due to recent firmware changes, you now have to format your system (and memory card, unless you have another to devote to a Japanese account) to switch between accounts. A huge pain in the rear end. It also means the game's trophies will be on your Japanese account, rather than your EU/US account, if that's important to you.

There is another way, however. The game was released on a physical game card as a "Premium Pack". By purchasing and using this, you can play the game on any region account you wish. It also comes with some stuff - a month's worth of premium, some CAST parts, some outfits, a couple of weapons. It is a bit pricey though, Play-Asia have it listed for $50 sans delivery costs.

Also, it should be made clear that when you sign in to your PSO2 account, the Sega and Sony accounts will be bound to each other, so you can't log in to another Vita that has someone else's PSN account active. Only recently has Sega started letting people unbind, and even then you have to explain to them why you would like to do so (i.e., "I was trying it out on a friend's system and didn't realize that would happen").

Getting Set Up

Either download the game or buy the premium pack. On the LiveArea screen, hit the refresh button and begin the long, arduous process of updating. Depending on your connection, you might want to just plug it in and let it do it overnight.



When the update is done, either hit the update button again or start the game to install the update.



Upon the first boot, it’ll create some save data..



Then you’ll get the title screen. Hit Start, agree to the TOU as usual and you come to the start menu.



From top to bottom, the options are:

  • Login
  • Change Sega ID details (loads a page in the browser)
  • Augmented Reality mode
  • Character creator
  • Credits
  • Online Manual (loads a page in the browser)
  • Return to title screen

Augmented Reality mode allows you to take pictures of your character standing around on your desk or whatever. To use it (with anything but the default characters), you have to sign in and use the last option (ポートレート用データ保存) at the visiphone. You can save three characters for AR use, but they’ll only have the costume you’re wearing when you save them.

Hit Login and you’ll be asked to choose your ship.



After that is the login prompt. Reminder! - this will bind your PSN and Sega ID accounts if you proceed.



Once that’s done you just take the first option and select your character..





And you’re in!

All the menus are the same, with the exception of things like item and CO lists being paginated instead of scrolling - you can switch pages with the d-pad, and use square to mass mark things for sale/storage/etc.

If you bought the premium pack, you can redeem your items by inputting the codes on the included sheets at the Visiphone (Item Code option).

Playing

The controls are a little different to the PC version, due to having less buttons, but if you’ve been playing with a gamepad they should be fairly familiar for you.

X - Jump/Cancel
O - Dodge/Confirm/Pickup
Square - Attack
Triangle - Photon Art
L/R Analogue sticks - Movement/Camera
D-pad Up/Down- Weapon/Subpalette switching
D-pad Left/Right - Autorun/Over-the-shoulder-zoom
Start - Menu
Select - Quick Menu
L - Lockon
R - Modifier (Guard/Second PAs/etc)
Subpalette items are used by touching their icons on the screen. You can also tap on other players to view their info/imitate etc (like clicking on them on the PC).

There’s a couple of preset control schemes, and you can customize it yourself also.

Vita users have blocks to themselves, and blocks 201-236 are shared with the PC client for cross-play. Vita blocks have a lower capacity, so keep that in mind.

Obviously, you can't use the English patch on the Vita version of the game, so I'd recommend getting used to menu and shop items on the PC client beforehand. It also makes Client Orders a bit tricky, unless you can read Japanese, so expect to need Cirnopedia or something accessible. Buying items you want from the player shop would also be trickier.

Communication

You want to talk about how many Adamans you got todaychat with all your goon buddies, right? Of course you do. As the Vita doesn’t quite have the screen real-estate of your PC, the chat window is generally hidden. Tap the little bubble icon in the lower-right (sorry it’s hidden by the PSO2 logo), and you bring up the quick communication menu.


You can quickly use your chat shortcuts and symbol arts from here, press triangle to change what channel they go to. Tap that icon again though and you bring up a big chat interface that shoves the game into the corner, not unlike PSO1 did in menus.



Here you can build your obnoxious chat message with cutins, outlines, graphics, etc. The button near the tabs up top changes the destination channel, the orange button does something - I'm not sure what. The big one sends, and the lower-right button brings up the chat log. Note that by default, the chatlog is in reverse to the PC version - new messages are on top.



You can change this by hitting Start, going to the Gear (settings) icon, pick the third item (Options), then the fourth item in this menu (Communication Settings). Go to the second page with the d-pad, the last option changes the chat order.



You can also bring up a small, permanent chat log window by tapping on your own character. It does eat a bit of space, however, and it isn't transparent.

For reference, the channels are:

  1. All
  2. Nearby
  3. Party
  4. Team
  5. Whisper
  6. Character
  7. System

Also, the built in macros like /ci7, /toge, /symbol$, /la etc all work in both the full chat and your shortcuts, so go hog wild.



How does it look/play?

Obviously it can't look as good as the PC version, but all in all, not too bad. It doesn’t run at the Vita’s native resolution, and they tend to overdo the bloom effects. The game can run at 60fps at times, but is more likely to be around 30fps, with huge dips when lobbies are packed with people (Falz o’clock). Funnily enough, though, all the hair and clothing physics are intact.

The controls take a little bit of getting used to (and lock-on defaults to lock instead of hold), but it’s very playable and pretty impressive.




Closing

That’s about the basics of PSO2 for Vita. If anybody has any questions, please feel free to ask me.

NextTime000 fucked around with this message at 19:26 on Jun 1, 2015

NextTime000
Feb 3, 2011

bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
<----------------------------
Play with Goons: use IRC! irc.synirc.net #risa (Mibbit)


Hivac posted:

So!

There was a round these past hours where there were four Elders!

Here's what it's like!



:negative:

NextTime000 fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Jun 1, 2015

Cuntellectual
Aug 6, 2010
Not a card C.A.R.D game?

PSO 2 dissapoints again.

dragon enthusiast
Jan 1, 2010
That's what PSO2es is for

I think they removed the penalty for Brave/Wise Stance so you can get rid of that part.

kirbysuperstar
Nov 11, 2012

Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

dragon enthusiast posted:

I think they removed the penalty for Brave/Wise Stance so you can get rid of that part.

They did, yeah.

PaletteSwappedNinja
Jun 3, 2008

One Nation, Under God.
How the Monhun clone for Vita?

Delsaber
Oct 1, 2013

This may or may not be correct.

I guess now would be as good a time as any to ask if Delsabers are still leaping at people from out of nowhere in 2014.

Shady3011
Oct 21, 2008
New peeps might want to make a second character right away even if it's just one of the default looks to get those sweet reset skill passes when they get handed out. You can always delete and remake them later when/if you ever get around to it.

kirbysuperstar
Nov 11, 2012

Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

How the Monhun clone for Vita?

Nova? It's not bad: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?goto=post&postid=433422028#post433422028

Saagonsa
Dec 29, 2012

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

How the Monhun clone for Vita?

I thought the demo was kinda fun. Much too short to say anything about how the game's overall quality will be though.

Herb Stencil
Oct 22, 2012

Bonafide Homosaxual

Delsaber posted:

I guess now would be as good a time as any to ask if Delsabers are still leaping at people from out of nowhere in 2014.

No delsabers, but we've still got Gilnachs gyrating and jumpin' and causing annoying status ailments. :roboluv:

Protocol 5
Sep 23, 2004

"I can't wait until cancer inevitably chokes the life out of Curt Schilling."
A quick note about reallocating skills for melee classes: it would be a good idea to throw at least 2 points into Step Advance on whichever class(es) you have the points to spare. Previously, you needed to put 3 points into it to unlock Step Attack, but that's now free for everyone. You might think this means 3 free points, but the base invincibility time for Step is a pathetic 0.03 seconds. Up until now you've probably been rolling with .11 from 3 points, and will consequently totally gently caress up dodging a lot of stuff and get crushed without those extra frames. A 2 point investment gets you .09 seconds, which is the point where you get diminishing returns in terms of extra frames per point. Granted, the exact amount per point may have changed with Ep. 3, but check it first and give it some thought. This also applies to Dive Roll for Rangers as well.

Pointsman
Oct 9, 2010

If you see me posting about fitness
ASK ME HOW MY HELLRAISER TRAINING IS GOING
I really wanted to love this game since I had sank so many hours into the original.
The progression in this one just felt off for some reason and it made everything feel more repetitive. I think I was level 30-something when I had stopped playing (just before Ep. 2 dropped). On the plus side, the gameplay itself is a huge step up from PSO.

Saagonsa
Dec 29, 2012

Looking good

Mr. Sunabouzu
Nov 13, 2009

The face of true terror.
Oh no the NolVac proxy is busted, how will I gamble away all my money now?

Hitlersaurus Christ
Oct 14, 2005

Um ACTUALLY it's spelled Deuman.
:goonsay:

I've been offline for weeks but I'll be back in sometime this next week. Or, well, whenever I figure out what I'm doing with the tweaker and proxies and stuff.

TerminusEst13
Mar 1, 2013

I pretty much loving grew up on PSO1 for the GC and loved the poo poo out of it, with the world and the story and the music just sucking me in and pulling me back for a new adventure each time.

How's PSO2 in comparison? Story still good? Music still beautiful? Still decent for singleplayer play if I don't have any friends? Any especially bullshit things to watch out for?

LiquidRain
May 21, 2007

Watch the madness!

TerminusEst13 posted:

How's PSO2 in comparison? Story still good?
Nope.

quote:

Music still beautiful?
Nope.

quote:

Still decent for singleplayer play if I don't have any friends?
Yup. But you're missing out on a 40% XP bonus by going solo so grind baby grind.

quote:

Any especially bullshit things to watch out for?
Other than Sega themselves? Nope.

The core gameplay is light years ahead of PSO1 though for fun factor, and it retains the PSO visual aesthetic quite well. The fun factor increase can't really be expressed well enough, all classes are more fun to play as, but I especially find Gunner and Braver to be very fun.

I was quite disappointed in the music, there's always special event lobby music going on rather than anything PSO-ish, and most fields have generally boring music with few exceptions. Nothing comes close to what PSO1 Ep 2 offered for musical delight. What I'd kill for a new Jungle-quality theme, oh god.

kirbysuperstar
Nov 11, 2012

Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

TerminusEst13 posted:

Story still good?

Yeeaaah not really. I mean, leagues better than PSU, but still. It got much better at the end of Episode 2 by nature of diving headfirst into "stupid poo poo incredibly ridiculous".

quote:

Music still beautiful?

Different, but very good still and takes the dynamic music function of PSO1 up to 11.

Falz Arms
Dark Falz Loser
Bal Rodos
Mothership Depths
Seabed Combat
Biol Meduna

There's still plenty of fun to be had alone, and you'll be with other people not in your party for Emergency Quests and Multi-Party Areas, and there's usually a fistful at least of goons on to lend a hand with whatever you want.

Hitlersaurus Christ
Oct 14, 2005

TerminusEst13 posted:

I pretty much loving grew up on PSO1 for the GC and loved the poo poo out of it, with the world and the story and the music just sucking me in and pulling me back for a new adventure each time.

How's PSO2 in comparison? Story still good? Music still beautiful? Still decent for singleplayer play if I don't have any friends? Any especially bullshit things to watch out for?

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to PSO1 and I love PSO2. It's a bit of a departure from the original, though.
The basics are the same, but it's more action-based now. You can run, dodge, and even block now. The combat feels sort of like Devil May Cry, with a lot of dashing around and juggling enemies. The TP bar now automatically (and quickly) refills so it acts more as a stamina bar. In addition to techniques there are photon arts, which are special attacks that different weapons can use. You can string these together with normal attacks to make your own combos. Each weapon has its own subsystems and way of fighting.

Maps are randomly generated and can usually have up to 12 people in them. Various events will happen at random, ranging from an NPC appearing to help you out or even a boss (or rare boss) appearing. There's a ton of these "interrupt events" and it adds a lot to the game.

The story, while interesting in (unfortunately few) parts, is extremely anime-y and can make very little sense at times. While PSO had you exploring an otherwise empty planet and uncovering government conspiracies and ancient space-coffins, PSO2 is essentially anime Star Trek. Players are a part of the ARKS, who are basically militarized hunters that live on a massive fleet of ships that sails through space discovering new planets and fighting dark enemies. You still have your exploration and conspiracies and such, but there's a lot more interacting with other ARKS characters and races that live on each planet.

The music is generally good, but the stages use a procedural music generating system that changes depending on what's going on. It's more ambient than before, but while there's some forgettable tracks I find it to be pretty good. The boss tracks are still great. There's a lot of call-backs to previous PSO tracks in both the stages and boss music.

Solo playing is more feasible here than in PSO1. You can summon story characters to use as npc partners, or use ai versions of people from your friends list to do the same thing. More than half the time I've spent playing has been solo.

It has its downsides, but I find that as a PSO fan there's far more to like than to dislike. Now's the perfect time to join, too.

Hitlersaurus Christ fucked around with this message at 07:57 on Aug 27, 2014

fuepi
Feb 6, 2011

by FactsAreUseless
The new cast navigator's robot voice is so jarring.

fuepi
Feb 6, 2011

by FactsAreUseless
Myau appeared while I was testing to see if partisans are good, I broke his sword so he flipped out and punched me in the dick a million times.

Also partisans might own, with just Fury stance I'm hitting like 12.5k with Speed Rain.

Samurai Sanders
Nov 4, 2003

Pillbug
I guess I'm supposed to be saving the galaxy from the ultimate evil or whatever but I'm sitting at a slot machine losing and winning pocket change. I guess it's all in a day's work for an Arks member.

edit: the music for the base defense gets progressively more badass as it goes on, in the last wave it's up there with the best. Also, I have the Yakuza 5 final boss music running in my room and sometimes forget that isn't PSO music.

Samurai Sanders fucked around with this message at 09:10 on Aug 27, 2014

Jowy
Dec 4, 2007

Jesus Christ, it's a Pyro!
Bouncer looks so loving cool but the game keeps crashing randomly all of a sudden and I haven't even gotten a chance to check out the PA buffs yet and gently caress :negative:

Also yeah the base defense music in Despair or whatever the final one is called is amazing towards the end.

kirbysuperstar
Nov 11, 2012

Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.
Quick thoughts from playing 5 mins on the Vita - seems to run better, Jet Boots own hard, new movement speed and UI changes are great.

Protocol 5
Sep 23, 2004

"I can't wait until cancer inevitably chokes the life out of Curt Schilling."
They added a "My Set" feature to the class counter which lets you save a bunch of different main/sub + gear loadouts. It is amazingly convenient and you can register a set just by picking a slot on the list and clicking Yes when it asks to save it.

nerdz
Oct 12, 2004


Complex, statistically improbable things are by their nature more difficult to explain than simple, statistically probable things.
Grimey Drawer
Ranger Impressions:

Bullet keep only works if you change weapon types, so even if you change between rifles, you'll still fire a weak bullet. Bullet PP save won't work unless you're equipping the weapon with the bullets loaded so keeping a jellen shot while using a rifle does nothing.

It's really worth the 8 points to get gravity bomb, stun grenade and tactics trap. Tactics trap restores your PP by 20% for each enemy you hit with a grenade/trap, so by instantly unloading a gravity bomb and stun grenade (takes around a second to throw both) you have crazy CC and PP regen, not to mention guaranteeing you'll have a full PP bar to unload on the grouped mobs. The stun grenade right after the gravity bomb not only will regen your PP, it stops any possible attacks you might take by getting too close. I'm doing the gravity bomb, stun grenade then diffuse shell up close and nothing so far has survived it, pretty effective.

Cosmos breaker seems to have been hit hard. It's doing really low damage compared to what it used to do. When I tested it before the patch, it one shot most enemies in the seabed, now it takes 2 to 3 shots to kill them.

Overall I feel rifles got way too far ahead of launchers again, there was no need for the cosmos breaker nerf and the other launcher buffs don't really justify it.

The new field and bosses are really, really great too. Sometimes a shitload of giants will spawn and things get really crowded.

Edit: Also it seems like they did a significant buff to One Point. Now it's reliably hitting at least as hard as diffuse shell, so now it's a good and safe PA to use against bosses to keep your distance and on the move.

nerdz fucked around with this message at 13:13 on Aug 27, 2014

Tengames
Oct 29, 2008


New daily orders range from killing 30 of an enemy for 9k meseta rewards to killing a single super hard zeshrydia for 130k meseta.
Klotho is also going to pay you :siren: 1.2 million Meseta :siren: to run 5 extreme quests, and it is repeatable(it even rewards you with extreme passes). money is going to get a lot more interesting and easier to get from now on.

dragon enthusiast
Jan 1, 2010
Have to earn 3.15mil to buy the new Risa voice before prices hyperinflate.

Captain Keene
Dec 20, 2012

Tengames posted:

New daily orders range from killing 30 of an enemy for 9k meseta rewards to killing a single super hard zeshrydia for 130k meseta.
Klotho is also going to pay you :siren: 1.2 million Meseta :siren: to run 5 extreme quests, and it is repeatable(it even rewards you with extreme passes). money is going to get a lot more interesting and easier to get from now on.

Nerf TACOs to cut down on inflation, and then promptly introduce even more ways to get ludicrous amounts of dosh. Never change, Sega. :allears:

Surprise Noodle
Aug 25, 2011
They didn't nerf TACOs to cut down on inflation, they nerfed TACOs because running the same poo poo every day is bland and boring and bad design.

Dabir
Nov 10, 2012

It works if you assume the main goal was people not just grinding TACOs over and over and still getting rewarded for it.

year199X
Oct 9, 2012
Grimey Drawer

Jowy posted:

Bouncer looks so loving cool but the game keeps crashing randomly all of a sudden and I haven't even gotten a chance to check out the PA buffs yet and gently caress :negative:

Run a file check either through tweaker or the launcher. Every time the game has crashed on me right after an update it's usually because the patch hosed something up and that's always fixed it.

NextTime000
Feb 3, 2011

bweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
<----------------------------
besides if you were worried about meseta inflation you should ask Mr. Sunabouzu about the casino

Jowy
Dec 4, 2007

Jesus Christ, it's a Pyro!

year199X posted:

Run a file check either through tweaker or the launcher. Every time the game has crashed on me right after an update it's usually because the patch hosed something up and that's always fixed it.

Yeah this did the trick. I've never actually had PSO2 completely poo poo the bed within 5 minutes of logging in so much so I was afraid it was something way worse.

The changes to hunter PAs look pretty amazing, haven't tried all of them yet but I actually feel like I'd want to play hunter main at some point instead of as a sub or not at all.

The Taint Reaper
Sep 4, 2012

by Shine
So is it possible to do everything in the original Phantasy Star Online for the Gamecube Solo? Or is a party mandatory to 100% the game. I have not tried 2 but I do have 1 but never got through it.

Eigo
Mar 21, 2010
The daily mission rate scares me a bit, what are some scratch items I could buy that'd probably hold their value? I haven't been playing for a while and I only remember a few things like hero scarf and I don't want all my eggs in one basket.

e: I have invested in a hero muffler, wild muffler, fox ears and a couple other small ones. I will probably regret this when they have a revival scratch within a month for no reason. :v:

Eigo fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Aug 27, 2014

LiquidRain
May 21, 2007

Watch the madness!

A couple things I noticed:

1. Old matter board murder requirements are down. I was 1/3rd the way through Blu Ringhadas for a 10* katana yesterday, and today the murder requirement bar was full and I got my drop.
2. The new matter board allows you to target multiple items at once.
3. Boss kill requirements for skill point unlocking client orders are now 1 across the board. No need to kill 3 Vardhas anymore! Only 1.

Daily order meseta rewards are higher. Today's was 120k for doing an Amduscia SHAQ and 80k for killing an Org Blan. SHAQs are worth it anyway!

Klotho now hands out big rewards for extreme quests. This is a million times better than TACOs since at least extreme quests have an end game with the stones and 11* weapons. A huge boon to the non premium player here. We are disincenticized to run boring pointless doritos and incentivized to run the more fun, more rewarding, often neglected missions. You get your money and your spell stones!

The new running speed takes a second to kick in. You get walk -> original run speed for 1 second -> new run speed. It won't help you escape a quick attack, really, but it is wicked fast once going. A game changer for Loser and Mining Defense. It's faster than dagger dashing, at the very least, not sure about the macro dashing.

On top of all that, you got the balance changes, XP boost increases, UI changes, gameplay changes for underpowered classes, and skill tree changes. Sega has removed a lot (if not all) of the stuff that made me go UUUUGH about PSO2. They removed a lot of the grind!

Sega done good this time! Holy poo poo!

LiquidRain fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Aug 27, 2014

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

fuepi
Feb 6, 2011

by FactsAreUseless
I just got 1st rank in tower defense as a 70hu 11bo by spamming best partisan PA ~Slide Shaker~

Slide End seems sort of pointless now.

  • Locked thread