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PJOmega
May 5, 2009

Gerblyn posted:

I'm terrible at Demon Souls, so I can't offer much advice, except that being in Soul Form is pretty normal and really isn't anything to be worried about. Somewhere hidden in 1-1 is an item (a ring I think) that gives you a buff while in Soul Form, so you may want to run back and get it.

To add to other advice. If you can beat 4-1 (which will not be easy, but completely possible to do 1-1 > 4-1) 4-2 is one of the best places to grind souls. Get a bow and snipe the reaper, keep doing this until you feel comfortable with your character.

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pigdog
Apr 23, 2004

by Smythe

Kid Moe posted:

Any tips for playing Amnesia: The Dark Descent? If it helps i am terrified pretty much the whole time

Tinderboxes and oil are fairly abundant. There's enough to light about every other or every third fixed candle in the game.

Whenever you start hearing cricking insect sounds, it means your sanity is dropping so low as to become a liability. In that case, presuming there isn't a cosmic monstrosity in the line of sight, light the lantern for a couple of seconds until your vision settles down.

If you're looking for one missing machine rod early in the game.. remember when something crashed against the window in one area and nearly broke it? Poke that window further.

Later in the game when you need to fix the machinery to open two big doors near someone... LISTEN.

pigdog fucked around with this message at 08:43 on Oct 12, 2010

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


Thanks for the MoO2 tips, I think I'm getting the hang of it ever so slightly. What's a good beginner race to start as? I'm guessing not the Silicoids because they're repulsive, and I tried the Klackons but their research penalty is pretty poo poo - with the other races I seemed to get multiple techs per project, they only got one. I'm still not completely sure how the tech tree or research system works but I'm confident that that's a Bad Thing. I'm leaning away from custom races because you can't make them on easy and plus I had a gander at the selections just for fun and immediately quit out of confusion.

What should I be doing on my homeworld? I'm guessing I want to be producing enough food to break even with shortages everywhere else, but is it better to put the rest of my people on science or production after that? Or some kind of compromise?

I get that I want to be specializing my colonies (the way the game works, it seems like you have no choice) but when picking my first colonies, should I be thinking more about production or food first? Production would be handy for building more colony ships and spreading around sooner but you're obviously going to want a lot of food before you do that. I guess I'll dick around some more and figure it out for myself but maybe there's some obvious answer I'm not aware of yet. I'm not the greatest 4x player but I always play them anyway.

Ainsley McTree fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Oct 13, 2010

ToxicFrog
Apr 26, 2008


lordfrikk posted:

Hey, I'm looking for some tips on Space Rangers 2 (Reboot).

If you don't like the RTS sidequests, say "I'm not interested in this sort of mission" when they offer you one and it won't give you any more (on that character). If you are interested in them, rocket launchers and repair systems are the poo poo.

The game has a search feature. This can be used to, for example, search for all Human or Faeyan hulls with at least 800 capacity, or all weapons with a range of at least 60 and a minimum damage of at least 30. If you're trying to find some kickass equipment, or need stuff of a specific race to go with your micromodules, this is a godsend.

Early on in the game you can make good money by scavenging Dominator battle sites. Just make sure you have enough fuel to jump out of the system as well as into it - drop tanks (cisterns) help here.

Dominator equipment and processor nodes can be sold to science labs, which will also hasten their research on the dominators. It is highly recommended that you do this to get the research rewards, at least the first time you play.

Unlike the RTS missions, you'll need to do at least one wormhole fight to complete the game, so you might as well get some practice in and get the rewards for doing so.

Repair droids are awesome and if you find yourself jumped by hostiles you can often land on an uninhabited planet and repair if the system edge is too far away to run to.

al-azad
May 28, 2009



Something to understand about Space Rangers is that technology improves with time. The first year has a bunch of junk for sale but each year equipment becomes smaller and more efficient. I usually wait until a bunch of guys gather together to attack a system, warp in, then scavenge the junk because in the first 2 or 3 years everyone will be getting their asses kicked. Don't test your luck because the dominators will tear you a new whole early game.

GuavaMoment
Aug 13, 2006

YouTube dude

Ainsley McTree posted:

MoO2 tips

The repulsive and uncreative traits are really, really bad ones for new players. Stay away.

Generally you want new colonies to be production ones, since it's hard to find a good farming world. You want your homeworld to be the farming planet for a long time, and then balance whatever workers you have left into science or production. Whatever you need most at the moment.

With enough freighters you can eventually have one or two planets feed your entire empire. Only build food upgrade building on those worlds. Don't build hydroponic/subterranean farms though - the maintenance is insane (like +2/+4 BC a turn IIRC).

pigdog
Apr 23, 2004

by Smythe
MOO2 tips:

Load your first combat ships with missiles. Early game they give a lot of bang for the buck.

The next important technology are ion cannons. They ignore armor altogether, and as long as your targeting computers can actually hit the enemy and the enemy haven't researched strong shields yet, they wreck poo poo up. They're useless against antarans though - oh well.

Best overall weapons in the game are plasma cannons. Perhaps not at the very first moment you get them, but miniaturization and tech lets you bolt LOADS of them on your ships. Add in Achilles targeting units and other neat stuff eventually, and they pack a punch. I purposefully don't research phasers or whatever the gently caress come after them in the tech tree, so that my space stations will remain fully armed with sweet sweet plasma cannons.

Primitive Screwhead
Dec 11, 2007
Yes sir, listening. No sir, no touching.

21stCentury posted:

I started playing Medievil (PSone classic). I beat the first boss so far. Seems pretty straightforward but, any specific thing I need to watch out for?

I played it when it came out and got 100% on my run without really trying so I think you should be OK. Sorry but this is pretty much all I remember

Fangz
Jul 5, 2007

Oh I see! This must be the Bad Opinion Zone!
Psilon is good for beginners: the creative trait gives you a good opportunity to figure out what all the techs are and which ones you want.

The trick with weapons is that it's the multiplier effects that make weapons really good. Like MIRV for missiles, Auto-fire for mass drivers, enveloping for stuff like plasma. Then subsystems like achilles targetting, structural analysers..... It is usually best to not take bleeding edge weapons, because you can jam these multipliers on to make your old weapons so much better.

Personally I prefer phasers/disruptors to plasma cannons. Auto-fire is better than enveloping vs shielded opponents, because you hit only one shield instead of all four sectors. Also going plasma cannons means you miss out on plasma rifles - the best infantry weapon. Also actually phasers come before plasma. And the big range dissipation penalty is irritating. Phasers also get shield piercing, which is awesome.

Fangz fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Oct 13, 2010

Brown Moses
Feb 22, 2002

lordfrikk posted:

Hey, I'm looking for some tips on Space Rangers 2 (Reboot).

During the RTS sections if you are using the longest ranged weapons you can directly control a unit and take out defense systems just outside their firing range, which makes taking over enemy bases simple.

Gynovore
Jun 17, 2009

Forget your RoboCoX or your StickyCoX or your EvilCoX, MY CoX has Blinking Bewbs!

WHY IS THIS GAME DEAD?!

Ainsley McTree posted:

Thanks for the MoO2 tips, I think I'm getting the hang of it ever so slightly. What's a good beginner race to start as? I'm guessing not the Silicoids because they're repulsive, and I tried the Klackons but their research penalty is pretty poo poo - with the other races I seemed to get multiple techs per project, they only got one. I'm still not completely sure how the tech tree or research system works but I'm confident that that's a Bad Thing. I'm leaning away from custom races because you can't make them on easy and plus I had a gander at the selections just for fun and immediately quit out of confusion.

Here's how research works. There are eight fields of research, each with many levels. Each level contains 1-4 techs. When you choose what to research, you choose one tech within that field. When the research is complete, you get that tech, then the next level in that field becomes available to research. You cannot go back and research techs you have passed by, although you can trade or spy for them.

The Klackons are Uncreative. That means that only one tech per level is available, chosen at random. This is bad.

Custom races can choose the Creative ability. This gives you _all_ the techs available at each level. This is very good, although Creative is expensive to buy. Psilons are _not_ Creative as of the latest patch. (patching up is highly recommended, early versions have balance issues and are somewhat crashy).

Good starting races are Psilon (research), Gnolam (money and luck), and Elerian (telepathy, which gives bonuses to diplomacy and spying). Bad races are Klackon (lovely research), Silicoid (no diplomacy) and Bulrathi (ground combat bonuses are almost worthless).

Ainsley McTree
Feb 19, 2004


Gynovore posted:

Here's how research works. There are eight fields of research, each with many levels. Each level contains 1-4 techs. When you choose what to research, you choose one tech within that field. When the research is complete, you get that tech, then the next level in that field becomes available to research. You cannot go back and research techs you have passed by, although you can trade or spy for them.

The Klackons are Uncreative. That means that only one tech per level is available, chosen at random. This is bad.

Custom races can choose the Creative ability. This gives you _all_ the techs available at each level. This is very good, although Creative is expensive to buy. Psilons are _not_ Creative as of the latest patch. (patching up is highly recommended, early versions have balance issues and are somewhat crashy).

Good starting races are Psilon (research), Gnolam (money and luck), and Elerian (telepathy, which gives bonuses to diplomacy and spying). Bad races are Klackon (lovely research), Silicoid (no diplomacy) and Bulrathi (ground combat bonuses are almost worthless).

Ooh, thanks. I didn't know that you couldn't go back and research the techs you skipped at all. I think I'll stick with the unpatched psilons for a little while until I figure out what's what.

super late edit that people might not see but I don't want to bump a thread that I had the last post in: I thought of another question - what are the most important traits that I should be looking for in Heroes? I'm guessing that once I fill my hero pool (is it 4 commanders and 4 administrators?) I stop getting offers, so I don't want to waste any picks, but I'm also not sure which skills are great and which suck. Farm and Labor leader seem like nice ones to have, as well as the science one, but what else? Are there any specific heroes I should be excited to find or ones I should avoid? I'm following the master of magic LP thread and there's a chorus of voices lampooning the dwarf, but his flaws might not seem so obvious to a new player, so if there's a MoO version of him, I'd like to know about it.

Ainsley McTree fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Oct 14, 2010

Gynovore
Jun 17, 2009

Forget your RoboCoX or your StickyCoX or your EvilCoX, MY CoX has Blinking Bewbs!

WHY IS THIS GAME DEAD?!

Ainsley McTree posted:

what are the most important traits that I should be looking for in Heroes? I'm guessing that once I fill my hero pool (is it 4 commanders and 4 administrators?) I stop getting offers, so I don't want to waste any picks, but I'm also not sure which skills are great and which suck. Farm and Labor leader seem like nice ones to have, as well as the science one, but what else?

Always always buy Megawealth leaders - 10BC per turn, free! Try to always keep at least 100BC on hand in the early game to hire one. Buy a labor leader if you have a big production planet, science if you have a research planet, etc. Assassin leaders are good if you are in contact with other races; they have a % chance to kill an enemy spy each turn. Other races _will_ try to spy tech, even if you are best buddies.

Don't hire ship leaders, unless they're assassin/megawealth. It's just not worth the cost.

Corridor
Oct 19, 2006

Started Gothic from GOG. What should I know, aside from the ridiculous meatstack doubling bug?

And am I right in assuming that joining one faction makes the other camps hate you...? I wanna go with the rogue mercenery dudes chillin' with the water mages, but not if it cuts off the Old Camp for me. Sleeper Camp looks like it's for losers though.

al-azad
May 28, 2009



Corridor posted:

Started Gothic from GOG. What should I know, aside from the ridiculous meatstack doubling bug?

And am I right in assuming that joining one faction makes the other camps hate you...? I wanna go with the rogue mercenery dudes chillin' with the water mages, but not if it cuts off the Old Camp for me. Sleeper Camp looks like it's for losers though.

The faction you join determines your class advancement and what trainers are available. You can still freely run around all the camps and NPCs will talk to you normally plus no matter what you'll piss off certain camps near the end for story related reasons.

I joined the water mages because I wanted to be a spell caster and they give you a bitching set of robe armor near the end.

Dr. Quarex
Apr 18, 2003

I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA
Can I just say this is one of my favorite threads ever on the forums? Other than the fact that people have an uncanny knack for asking "Hey can somebody maybe give me some hints for a game discussed on this page or the last one? I'm not going to read through a hundred pages."

Does anyone have any hints for what to do when wanting to buy Dead Rising 2 for the PC but being unable to get Games For Windows Live! to give a username? Thanks! Mostly kidding.

Caufman posted:

Dragon Age Origins question:

When I play an RPG like this, I like to go through all the dialog options with my party mates as soon as I get them. Am I going to burn through all their dialogs at the start, or will more options be available as the story progresses like in Mass Effect?

This is an old post. But if nobody else gives this THING YOU SHOULD KNOW, I am going to hit it, because I wish I had known it going into the game:

Whatever the name of the priestess lady is, if you (like I did) give her too many gifts and get her approval up too high before some arbitrary part of the game, then you completely miss her romance quest. Which was funny, because since I found Morrigan so unforgivably repugnant of a character and thus I ditched her as soon as I could, my character was thus unable to be interested in love. He did have a world to save, though!

Captain Scandinaiva posted:

The better voice actor.

Also, please, everyone who has not already picked a side in the war, do not believe the way these assholes set things up. There is no definitively better voice actor of the two. If you were specifically talking about her voice being better for a renegade, then I apologize for calling you an rear end in a top hat--because she sounds a lot ruder than does the male voice actor, who therefore naturally works better for my always-paragon-no-I-am-not-tempted-to-randomly-murder-people-like-you-sociopaths-are character.

systran posted:

REGARDING: King's Bounty: Armored Princess
The game is extremely loving hard when you start playing and somewhere like 8-10 hours in it will become so easy that you might stop playing (I stopped playing).

The new King's Bounty games have quite possibly the most awesome revival distinction of all time: being an expert at the original King's Bounty (yes, from 1990) actually gives you an advantage in these remakes/revivals, since the fundamental gameplay is rather similar. Archdemons even still have the old demon ability to cut a troop's numbers in half! Wooo!

The best hint for this game, like the others (including the original), is that if you get good at "maneuvering around enemy units on the overworld map" you can collect huge amounts of gold, character-enhancing shrines and fountains, and even maps to other islands (where you repeat the process). In my game, for example, after about a dozen hours of doing this, I had unlocked all but the last game map, and had about a 10-level equivalent head start on where I was supposed to be, which made the whole game very easy. But I realize not everyone likes to play this way.

If you actually want to, you know, do things the normal way, pay attention to the units your class is good with--there are humanoid/military-unit bonuses on two of the three classes, and they are usually in ready availability. There are a billion spells. If there is an obvious "cheese your way through the game" route, it is through building up dragon dive or fire phantoms with your dragon, and then just trying to have enough rage (and mana for awaken dragon) to do it twice in the opening round. Combine that with some damage-everything-on-the-field units and you will probably be killing half the enemies before they even go.

Thwack! posted:

Just starting Wizardry 6. Anything I should know before starting this?

It was made at one of the wonderful awkward times for PC gaming, where IBM was winning the computer-of-choice war but most people still had poor graphics and sound capabilities. Oh, well, you probably already know that.

Wizardry 6 is a very difficult game, which is good to know going in so you do not think you are doing everything wrong. Other than the fact that you can import your characters to Wizardry 7 and Wizardry 8 and might feel cheated from a lack of variety overall, I imagine the best party would be a very uncreative mix of like three fighters, a ninja, and two bishops. But I am sure someone will tell me that bishops suck because they never get maximum-level spells (though I am not sure if that is true). There are a lot of little things you will probably miss throughout the game, including some things that would probably make it unbeatable, if you do not know about them--so I would find a FAQ somewhere and just look for "IMPORTANT!" or "GAME-BREAKING BUG" or similar headings.

Beyond that, you should know how much fun Wizardry 7 will be after you finish Wizardry 6.

I wish I had a game to ask about. But every game I am going to start playing soon has not actually come out yet. Unless someone really wants to tell me something about Siege of Avalon, which I just picked up for $1 at Gen-Con this year. Or if there is something about Civilization V that makes it somehow vastly different from the first 4.5 games, 3.5 of which I have played through all the way.

Dr Snofeld
Apr 30, 2009

Quarex posted:

Does anyone have any hints for what to do when wanting to buy Dead Rising 2 for the PC but being unable to get Games For Windows Live! to give a username? Thanks! Mostly kidding.

If you don't care about multiplayer or achievements just make an offline GfWL account when you get the game.

quote:

Also, please, everyone who has not already picked a side in the war, do not believe the way these assholes set things up. There is no definitively better voice actor of the two. If you were specifically talking about her voice being better for a renegade, then I apologize for calling you an rear end in a top hat--because she sounds a lot ruder than does the male voice actor, who therefore naturally works better for my always-paragon-no-I-am-not-tempted-to-randomly-murder-people-like-you-sociopaths-are character.

To be fair, Mark Meer is considerably less bland in ME2 than he is in ME1.

Dr. Quarex
Apr 18, 2003

I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

Dr Snofeld posted:

If you don't care about multiplayer or achievements just make an offline GfWL account when you get the game.

Well, I signed up for Games for Windows Live! when I found out I would need to do it--or, I should say, went through the motions. It will not let me use Quarex as my name, and every time I e-mail tech support about inquiring as to what the problem is I get a form letter response that is not, in fact, addressing my question. Yes, there is an XBox Live account named Quarex, but A. I think that was me too even though I cannot figure out how to sync the two and B. Why should that matter for an entirely different system?

Edit: Yes, snarky response man, I know--"USE SOMETHING THAT IS NOT QUAREX DERRPAAAAA" but sorry, I am not nearly interested enough in Dead Rising 2 to so debasedly compromise my e-integrity.

Dr Snofeld posted:

To be fair, Mark Meer is considerably less bland in ME2 than he is in ME1.

Well, I suppose I did not hear about this argument before I had played through the second one. I do not remember having a problem with him in the first game, but then, there is so much just-plain-bad main-character-voice-acting out there in the CRPG world that I probably would not have noticed.

pseudorandom name
May 6, 2007

Quarex posted:

Yes, there is an XBox Live account named Quarex, but A. I think that was me too even though I cannot figure out how to sync the two and B. Why should that matter for an entirely different system?

It isn't an entirely different system, it is the same system. You don't sync them, you log in with the same email and password.

Dr. Quarex
Apr 18, 2003

I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

pseudorandom name posted:

It isn't an entirely different system, it is the same system. You don't sync them, you log in with the same email and password.

You are wiser than any thousand Microsoft employees and FAQs I tried to consult to figure this out. Thank you! Now, to figure out what e-mail address I used.

Edit: While your solution made me feel better, it still did not solve my fundamental problem: I have no idea what e-mail address I signed up with, considering I have had dozens in the past few years, and I cannot figure out how to enter the ID as the "forgot password" data, rather than the e-mail address as the "forgot password" data. Is there a way to do this? Or, more specifically, I guess I am looking for a "forgot e-mail address" link, but that certainly does not seem to exist.

On the plus side, after mentioning that I would not be buying Dead Rising 2 in my last e-mail to tech support, I magically got a response from a real person!

Dr. Quarex fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Oct 16, 2010

pseudorandom name
May 6, 2007

I suppose you'll have to try any email you may have used until you get the right one. Start with any active Windows Live IDs you may have now.

Or you might be able to talk a Microsoft support person into telling you which Windows Live account is associated with the Xbox LIVE account.

Pr0phecy
Apr 3, 2006
For Final Fantasy Tactics, I've been grinding my knights and chemists but don't know what to do with them. Any hints?

edit: poo poo on the first few pages there's some help.

Pr0phecy fucked around with this message at 09:19 on Oct 16, 2010

Argon_Sloth
Dec 23, 2006

I PLAYED BATTLETOADS AND ALL I GOT WAS A RASH IN MY ASS

Pr0phecy posted:

For Final Fantasy Tactics, I've been grinding my knights and chemists but don't know what to do with them. Any hints?

edit: poo poo on the first few pages there's some help.

If only they were the same unit...

I love the builds that break things at a distance. Knight skills take weapon range, which makes them great for gun users.

al-azad
May 28, 2009



Choose female Shepard not because the voice but because there's pretty much no decent female leads in any RPG ever.

Dr. Quarex
Apr 18, 2003

I'M A BIG DORK WHO POSTS TOO MUCH ABOUT CONVENTIONS LOOK AT THIS

TOVA TOVA TOVA

pseudorandom name posted:

Or you might be able to talk a Microsoft support person into telling you which Windows Live account is associated with the Xbox LIVE account.

I will work with this. Thanks for the encouragement! Carpe diem!


al-azad posted:

Choose female Shepard not because the voice but because there's pretty much no decent female leads in any RPG ever.

That actually sounds like something I should be posting in this thread, so I am sad now that that never dawned on me. I even complained somewhere in the Dragon Age thread about how I want just once for game designers to include a powerful female fighting character--though for the record, Drakensang: The Dark Eye did have an amazon who was about as tough as anyone else in the game.

...of SCIENCE!
Apr 26, 2008

by Fluffdaddy

al-azad posted:

Choose female Shepard not because the voice but because there's pretty much no decent female leads in any RPG ever.

Not counting every major RPG released in the past 5 years that has a character creator, of course.

Quarex posted:

I will work with this. Thanks for the encouragement! Carpe diem!


That actually sounds like something I should be posting in this thread, so I am sad now that that never dawned on me. I even complained somewhere in the Dragon Age thread about how I want just once for game designers to include a powerful female fighting character--though for the record, Drakensang: The Dark Eye did have an amazon who was about as tough as anyone else in the game.

You should play Fable 2. The Hero of Strength is a huge warrior priestess and if you specialize in melee your characters gets almost freakishly buff.

Nate RFB
Jan 17, 2005

Clapping Larry
Going to start Digital Devil Saga 1. What should I know before I play it?!

al-azad
May 28, 2009



...of SCIENCE! posted:

Not counting every major RPG released in the past 5 years that has a character creator, of course.

I would count them if said player created characters were fully voiced and not just a mute avatar who's called a generic gender-neutral descriptor in every NPC's dialog like "Warden" or "adventurer." Although surnames are gender neutral, I think Mass Effect is the only game where the player created character is actually a part of the story and not just a vehicle to tell someone else's story. Saints Row 2 is the only other game to come close but you're still given that gender-neutral descriptor by the NPCs.

al-azad fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Oct 16, 2010

21stCentury
Jan 4, 2009

by angerbot

Nate RFB posted:

Going to start Digital Devil Saga 1. What should I know before I play it?!

You probably know this already, but... what the hell.

This applies to every Shin Megami Tensei series game: Buffs, debuffs and status ailments are completely necessary to master.

You might be used to thinking that spells that strengthen your attack or that lower your opponent's attack are a waste of a turn (If I attack both turns, i do more damage, right?). if you think spells that buff/debuff are useless, you won't last very long.

As for more specific advice, this game really really rewards exploiting weaknesses and really, really punishes using wrong elements. If you use an attack/spell that exploits a weakness, you get a bonus turn. If you use an attack/spell that the enemy is strong or immune to, you lose an additional turn. The same applies to enemies. If you meet fire enemies and have a resistance to fire, you'll cut down on their turns. If you exploit their weakness to ice, you'll get up to double the actions in a combat phase.

This applies to all of the SMT games on the PS2, except maybe the Raidou Kuzonoha series.

Really, this game rewards strategy over brute force. And the insta-death spells work. They work often enough that you can exploit it, but also often enough that they can really do you in. Keep that in mind.

Kruller
Feb 20, 2004

It's time to restore dignity to the Farnsworth name!

al-azad posted:

I would count them if said player created characters were fully voiced and not just a mute avatar who's called a generic gender-neutral descriptor in every NPC's dialog like "Warden" or "adventurer." Although surnames are gender neutral, I think Mass Effect is the only game where the player created character is actually a part of the story and not just a vehicle to tell someone else's story. Saints Row 2 is the only other game to come close but you're still given that gender-neutral descriptor by the NPCs.

Mass Effect even uses gender specific pronouns, and it stands out since most don't.

Spuzzz
Mar 27, 2005

I have hit my head some many times I am surprised I can remember my own name.

21stCentury posted:

You probably know this already, but... what the hell.

This applies to every Shin Megami Tensei series game: Buffs, debuffs and status ailments are completely necessary to master.

You might be used to thinking that spells that strengthen your attack or that lower your opponent's attack are a waste of a turn (If I attack both turns, i do more damage, right?). if you think spells that buff/debuff are useless, you won't last very long.

As for more specific advice, this game really really rewards exploiting weaknesses and really, really punishes using wrong elements. If you use an attack/spell that exploits a weakness, you get a bonus turn. If you use an attack/spell that the enemy is strong or immune to, you lose an additional turn. The same applies to enemies. If you meet fire enemies and have a resistance to fire, you'll cut down on their turns. If you exploit their weakness to ice, you'll get up to double the actions in a combat phase.

This applies to all of the SMT games on the PS2, except maybe the Raidou Kuzonoha series.

Really, this game rewards strategy over brute force. And the insta-death spells work. They work often enough that you can exploit it, but also often enough that they can really do you in. Keep that in mind.

Also, you want to take the heroes down the elemental path they are weak to, that way you can end up with the elemental-immune skill at the end. Try to keep everyone skilled up since there is a little swapping. Two of the most important skills to get on someone are Dekaja and Dekunda to take care of the buffs and debuffs.

RagnarokAngel
Oct 5, 2006

Black Magic Extraordinaire

Kruller posted:

Mass Effect even uses gender specific pronouns, and it stands out since most don't.

KOTOR 1+2, Neverwinter Nights 2, Jade Empire... They call the characters generic names like The Exile, (KOTOR1 spoiler): Revan, Warden etc. But Shepard is just as much of a "placeholder name". It's just an actual name instead of a title, plus a lot of characters will call you Commander too. It's just as gender-neutral as any other WRPG.

Seriously a lot did.

RagnarokAngel fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Oct 16, 2010

Ciaphas
Nov 20, 2005

> BEWARE, COWARD :ovr:


Anyone have anything for Red Dead Redemption? Got it today, and it and Demon's Souls are officially fighting for my time.

Random Stranger
Nov 27, 2009



Nate RFB posted:

Going to start Digital Devil Saga 1. What should I know before I play it?!

People have already given you the basics but in DDS you need to get your consuming skills early; you get extra experience if you kill an enemy by eating them. Obviously you're going to want something that gives you more XP as soon as possible.

Alris
Apr 20, 2007

Welcome to the Fantasy Zone!

Get ready!

Ledneh posted:

Anyone have anything for Red Dead Redemption?

Do the missions for the woman at the ranch first, at least until you get the Lasso.

In towns assholes will sometimes come up to you and challenge you to quickdraw duels. If you want to maintain a good reputation, you can win these by shooting their gun hand. They'll live and you'll gain fame. edit: only applies to random duels in town, not mission-scripted duels (that I know of).

The game is broadly divided into three main areas. When you start the second area you'll be dumped in the wilderness and told to go to a certain town a good distance away. Do not fast travel, ride there normally on your horse.

Alris fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Oct 17, 2010

NeilPerry
May 2, 2010

Alris posted:

The game is broadly divided into three main areas. When you start the second area you'll be dumped in the wilderness and told to go to a certain town a good distance away. Do not fast travel, ride there normally on your horse.

Furthermore, do not get off your horse.

Woffle
Jul 23, 2007

Anyone have anything for Prinny: Can I really be the hero?

Alris
Apr 20, 2007

Welcome to the Fantasy Zone!

Get ready!

The Capm posted:

Anyone have anything for Prinny: Can I really be the hero?

The first six stages can be done in any order you like. The layout, level boss, reward and dialogue changes per time of day, so it's worth going back and redoing them. Avoid doing the Lava and Resort stages last on your first playthrough.

If you can get yourself positioned correctly, your jumping slash does a lot more damage than normal (from your the blades and the long-range attack both hitting the enemy).

The green, red, black and white Orbs are all found in the second tutorial stage, and you can get them all very early on.

Timed correctly, you can butt-stomp bosses as they are rising from stun to take off one or two free skulls.

Every hour you are in the hub area, climb up high and try to get the letter pickup. A lot of them require some tricky jumps, look up a Youtube guide if you're having trouble. Also, Etna has additional dialogue if you visit her.

No, you're not that bad, the games final boss is just a tremendous dick. Take a break if your wrist starts hurting and come back to it later. Literally the only weakness he has is that his attack pattern never, ever changes, so after enough deaths you'll have it figured out.

Brian Fellows
May 29, 2003
I'm Brian Fellows

NeilPerry posted:

Furthermore, do not get off your horse.

What? Can you spoilerize why? I literally just did this the other night, definitely went to the town on my horse, and have no clue what you guys are talking about.

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Alris
Apr 20, 2007

Welcome to the Fantasy Zone!

Get ready!

Brian Fellows posted:

What? Can you spoilerize why? I literally just did this the other night, definitely went to the town on my horse, and have no clue what you guys are talking about.

Don't click if you haven't played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGuYQ-VtfFY

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