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Leraika posted:I'm pretty sure I just stalled out messing around with synthesis and actually didn't finish anything of note. Sounds like the last couple times I tried replaying the game. Synthesis is just so addicting.. stronger monsters! Ever stronger!!
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Aug 26, 2017 03:43
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I haven't played this game in Years, I'm looking forward to you showing the stuff I've forgotten.
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Aug 26, 2017 05:20
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Part 11: Dead Island Last time, Euchre finished off his business on Palaish Isle and made progress with the Monster Scout Proficiency Test and the Xeroph battle arena. This time, he'll be heading to the only new island available to him: Infern Isle.  Before that, though, he picks up a Skelegon from Xeroph Isle. It goes into his substitutes in the hopes of getting it up a few levels. Music: Appearance of the Town   "They say a terrible catastrophe once befell this island. Beware of zombies."The jetty leading to Infern Isle is conveniently right next to the one leading to Xeroph Isle, making it easy to head between the two. Music: None  Infern Isle is to the northeast of Domus Isle, according to the map. Just looking at it zoomed out like this, there don't appear to be any defining features. Music: Frozen World  Upon arrival it turns out that there isn't even a scoutpost here. How about asking that thug over there for directions?   Ah mean, aye, a few poor wee folk scrape a livin', but it's nothing' tae the bright lights o' Domus! If ye dinnae believe me, look for yersel'. But it's deadly dull - don't say Ah didn't warn ye!As it turns out there isn't really anything on Infern Isle. People mostly just pass through here on their way to the last two islands. Incidentally, I think this is the only character with a Scottish accent in the entire game. None of the other residents of Infern Isle share his dialect, and we've now seen all the settlements in Green Bays aside from a couple of scoutposts.  The nearby panel replaces the scoutpost's healing service for Infern Isle, but it doesn't act as a Zoom point. As such there's no way to Zoom to Infern Isle, which can be annoying. At least the place is small.  How about checking out some of the houses, then? There might be someone who can direct Euchre to the next island, after all.  You wouldn't think a man of his age - Well anyway.Somehow I don't think that's what the groaning is about. It's definitely something to check out, at the very least.  It's said there was once a terrible catastrophe here, see, long ago. But no one knows exactly what happened, or even who it happened to.You'd think that someone would have made a record of such a huge disaster, but apparently nobody did. It's strange to say the least. In any case, it's probably what left the island in such a sorry state.  There's no scoutpost, and nothing in the way of events like there are on Xeroph Isle, see. So we don't see any MSO representatives, or merchants...or arena folk...or anyone at all really.You have to wonder why people are still living out here in such a hellhole. The shambling hordes of the undead are right outside, for goodness' sake! In any case, there's one more place that has any people in it on the island. Maybe they'll provide a clue on where to go.  This ominous-looking gate is right in the middle of the island, and Euchre can just head on in.  Inside is another door presumably leading to the north side of the island, as well as a couple of people. The place kind of looks like an abandoned temple what with all the candles.  I suppose I should head for the eastern jetty and Celeste Isle before I die of boredom. But maybe it'd be worth my while to explore the north side of the island first.Advice at last! It's always best to explore an island thoroughly before leaving, of course, but now we know that Euchre should go to the north first.  There's a hill on the north side that offers a view of the wastelands.And here's how to get there, too! Of course, there won't be any need to with this handy door here to the north side, right?  Er, no. This particular door isn't opening any time soon.  If Euchre goes back to where he landed on Infern Isle and follows the coast to the west, he reaches this crossroads. The option is there to head right here, but that would lead away from the north side of the island. Instead, he goes straight on... Music: Monster Battle  ...right into an encounter! Flyguys exist primarily to support other monsters, but they only have one ability.  That ability just happens to be Kafizzle, a spell which attempts to seal the spells of all of Euchre's party.  It's especially annoying when Wildcard gets Fizzled, because if that happens he can't cast Oomph. The team's going to have to go without that attack buff when scouting a Flyguy, sadly. Music: Frozen World  This one still doesn't stand a chance, though. It's banished to storage for its insolence.  Euchre continues along the path that he was treading before being so rudely interrupted. After the crossroads it's only a short walk to the north of the island, in fact. The split is denoted by this grey rock and an area transition.  What's immediately obvious upon entering the north side is that there's another split in the path. There's no real benefit to starting with either side, but Euchre heads left first.  To go along with the new area, there's a new monster too. Music: Monster Battle  Skeletons essentially fulfil the same role as Geno does on Euchre's team.  As such they can attack with Weakening Wallop...  ...or Stupefying Strike. Weaking Wallop is by far the more dangerous ability - as has already been demonstrated, attack debuffs quickly make monsters useless. Between them and the Flyguys they could theoretically shut down a team entirely if they stick around for too long. Music: Frozen World  The only reason they should stay for any reasonable length of time is if they're being scouted, though, and even then they're not all that likely to use Weakening Wallop. This one doesn't get any debuffs off and gets put in storage.  At the end of the path lies a chest containing a Seed of Magic. It goes into Euchre's bag, never to be used even though it really should be.  Back at the crossroads Euchre finds a scout who wasn't there before. Presumably he spawned in after one of the battles.  Battling him seems like a good idea, since he's here. After all, these fights tend to give out a decent chunk of experience and gold as well as potentially useful items. Music: Boss Battle  Unsurprisingly Wingle's team contains multiple winged monsters. Only the Shadow was a real threat in this particular fight, doing about 50 damage with its normal attack. Music: Frozen World  Eventually they get taken out, but the Shadow got a lucky crit on Wildcard and did more damage than his maximum HP. At least Euchre gets an Insulade out of the fight.  After going back and healing, Euchre heads to the right at the crossroads in the hopes of finding more treasure.  Again, the path doesn't have any branches, but at the end there's that hill we were told about. There's a ramp leading up the outside of it.  At the top there's a very worthwhile bit of treasure:  A piece of darkonium! There are only three more left to find now before Euchre can enter the finals.  Unfortunately entering the darkonium cutscene despawned the scout up here, so we'll never know what her team would have been. Oh well. One thing of note here, of course, is the view from this hill - there doesn't seem to be much in the middle of the northern section of Infern Isle. It looks like maybe there would be no point in going through that gate in the first place. Music: Scoutpost  It's at around this point when Bonus hits level 11 (after a small amount of grinding, of course), making him eligible for synthesis. Remember what I said about synthesising a Skelegon with a Beast family monster like Dedede?  It results in a Jumping Jackal! This is actually generic fusion and not a special recipe, since Jumping Jackals don't have one of those. Skelegons have an ID one below that of Jumping Jackals - 58 and 59 respectively. Combining one with a Beast monster with an ID lower than 58 will bump the result's ID up to that of the next Beast family member, which is 59.  The Skills are pretty much unimportant, since Wolverine won't be used in battle, but it's going to be working on Crack & Zam in case I want to synthesise it or one of its descendants with Dragoon. Music: Island  This gives Euchre a good excuse to go back to Scoutmaster Shuffles and hand in the eighth solution.  Wolverine, being a Jumping Jackal, is perfect for the job.  The reward for this one is a Plus Sceptre, an extremely helpful weapon that, like the Phoenix Sceptre, modifies the result of synthesis. Instead of changing the resulting monster, though, it forces it to have a positive charge. This drastically cuts down on the number of resets needed to get a reasonable monster. It's also possible to get a Plus Sceptre from a chest on an uncharted island, but it's reasonably unlikely. This is a much better source, and only one should ever be needed.  This here is question number nine, and it costs 800 gold coins to attempt. These money requirements are getting pretty steep, but the questions themselves aren't all that difficult.  I'd honestly completely forgotten about this question, but it's a good thing that Monarch is still around. If he'd been synthesised into something better earlier on Euchre would be in trouble.  The reward for this one is Positive Puller, a single-use item that guarantees that the next monster fought will have a positive charge. These things are really rare and honestly not worth the bother - if you really want a monster to be positive, its polarity can easily be changed using a combination of the Plus Sceptre and the Phoenix Sceptre.  This next question costs 1000 gold coins and is a bit out of Euchre's league right now. It's not obnoxious like question 8 was, but there isn't really much that can be done to solve it right now outside of grinding up to Rank A manually. It's going to be left for now, but it'll be solvable soon enough.  This being question number ten, of course, means that it's the last task that Shuffles will give Euchre as part of the proficiency test. He's almost there! That's enough of getting sidetracked, though - Euchre's still got to explore the rest of Infern Isle. There isn't much left to go. Music: Frozen World  Back on the beach, there was a branching path off to the side which Euchre didn't go down earlier, and now it's time to explore it. There's a helical ramp leading up to the cliffs of the island, and that's the only way to get over to the east side of the island.  Up on top of the cliffs, there's a new monster wandering around. Music: Monster Battle  These are Walking Corpses, and they're big sacks of HP. They have over 100, I believe, which is a considerable amount for a wild monster right now.  Since they have lots of HP, their strategy involves stalling, specifically so that they can rack up poison damage. Poisonous Poke is the first poisoning ability they have.  The other one is Poison Breath, which does what you might expect.  Poisoning the whole party can be annoying, but since all status effects outside of death are cleared after battle it's not all that much of a threat. If they used Envenomate instead there might have been a problem, but as it is they're just a nuisance. Music: Frozen World  This one is dumped unceremoniously into storage.  Despite the cliffs on either side of the island not being connected by land, the gate in the middle of the island makes a perfect bridge to cross over. How convenient!  On the other side of the bridge is a new monster. This one's a bit of a rare spawn, though, so some searching may be required. Music: Monster Battle  Metal Slime Knights are very misleading monsters. They are not, in fact, metal slimes - they don't have the Trait Metal Body and they don't give out all that much experience. They also don't run away, which is very helpful.  Their first trick is that they like to use Helm Splitter. The defence drop on this can be fairly nasty, though, because...  ...they also have Multislash.  Multislash is an all-targeting physical attack. A series of slashes zigzag across the screen, in case it wasn't clear. The damage that this does is a bit worse than a normal attack to each monster, but it can still really hurt if Helm Splitter lowers a monster's defence. Oh yes, and Euchre now has a second King Slime. It's currently being trained up for synthesis purposes. Music: Frozen World  Metal Slime Knights are actually surprisingly frail, though, and this one joins up without too much trouble.  On the easternmost point of the cliffs, there's a load of rocks which lead down to a secluded beach.  This being the last unexplored part of Infern Isle, other than the northern wasteland, it contains the jetty.  Unsurprisingly it leads to Celeste Isle, or at least the southern part of it. But Euchre's not done with this place yet - there are still things to do here at night. Music: Ambiance of the Night  Replacing Metal Slime Knights at night is this thing. Music: Monster Battle  Dark Slime Knights are probably the strongest monsters on Infern Isle, but not by much.  They have Zam, which does a surprising amount of damage despite being a tier 1 spell. In fact, I believe it's around the same power as Zap.  It looks pretty cool, too.  Then there's Shade Slash, which is a Zam-elemental physical attack with 10% extra power bolted on. Neither attack is particularly threatening to Euchre's team, but this might be fairly nasty to someone unprepared. Music: Ambiance of the Night  This one joins after a while. Take note of its Rank - these guys are Rank B, which is considerably higher than pretty much everything else so far. In fact, Dark Slime Knights are the third best Slimes available through generic fusion. These guys, like Angel Slimes, can give a big boost to a team's average Rank.  He seems to be in the grip of a terrible nightmare.Remember how the old man could be heard moaning at night? Well, this is what he's so concerned about. Maybe the gate in the centre of Infern Isle should stay closed, as it has for centuries. Who am I kidding? It'll get opened at some point and unleash an unspeakable evil upon the world or something. These sorts of things always do. In any case, that's actually all there is that's different about Infern Isle at night compared to the daytime. There really isn't much to see here, as the residents said. Music: Scoutpost  Since there's no scoutpost Euchre can't even synthesise monsters here! Truly, this is the worst of islands. In any case, back on Domus Isle, Monarch is finally getting synthesised into something new.  This is the synthesis recipe I've been holding out on. King Cureslimes are very good healers, as well as the second best Slimes available through generic synthesis. Yes, this isn't the only way to get a King Cureslime - combining a Dark Slime Knight with basically anything else at this point will also result in one of these. Its stats and growths will probably be worse, though, because that particular monster is pretty awful at magic. The King Cureslime's main draws are its high MP, its Trait, Health Professional, and its relative tankiness compared to other Health Professional users. All in all, this is a ridiculous monster when it's first able to be obtained - fresh off Infant Isle, if you're willing to grind for it, it's available as a fourth-generation monster. What's more, if a healer isn't to your taste, you can synthesise it with something else in order to possibly obtain a Rank A monster.  Li'l Green here is going into the team and won't be coming out for a long time.  Oh, and King Cureslime's Skill is Cure-All, which contains multi-target healing abilities. It doesn't get Multiheal quite as early as Cleric does, but it's still nice to pick up for now. But that's not all for synthesis today!  Geno is getting combined with Grimdark to raise its Rank to B.  And so a Mimic is born. It's also not going to be moving off the team for some time.   As usual, Diminisher is the only Skill that matters at the moment. Maybe I'll eventually find something to go with it. And, well, that's it for this update. Next time, Euchre will be travelling to Celeste Isle and seeing what he can find there. Extra: The Monster Library Metal Slime Knight   Metal Slime Knights have the Skills Darklight Slashes and Agility Boost when scouted, and just Darklight Slashes when synthesised. They have the Trait Counterstriker, allowing them to counterattack when hit, and are immune to paralysis. Darklight Slashes is a Skill that advertises itself as teaching Zap- and Zam-elemental physical attacks, but it also teaches Crack-elemental physical attacks as well. For tier 1 slashes there's Hallowed Slash, Shade Slash and Frost Slash, and for tier 2 slashes there's Sacred Slash, Shadow Slash and Blizzard Slash. It's worth mentioning that there are only two tiers of slashes, so this Skill teaches the best of the these types of attacks. The final ability that Darklight Slashes teaches is Uncarnate, which does more damage to Incarnus monsters. Overall this Skill is nice if you want to give a physical attack-focused monster some more power and the ability to hit weaknesses, but since higher tier abilities overwrite their lower tier counterparts when learned the Skill only really teaches four abilities at maximum level. Also, Uncarnate is almost entirely useless now that the online battling is defunct. Another thing to note about Darklight Slashes is that it's a compound Skill; it can be learned by putting a certain number of points into other Skills and synthesising the monsters with them together. In this case the requirement is 26 points in Wind Blower, 12 points in White Knight and 11 points in Dark Knight. Dark Slime Knight   Dark Slime Knights have the Skills Dark Knight and Agility Boost when scouted, and just Dark Knight when synthesised. They have the Traits Zammeister, increasing the power and decreasing the MP cost of Zam-elemental abilities, and Psycho. They're also immune to Zam. Dark Knight was on Drackies way back in Part 3. King Cureslime   King Cureslimes have the Skill Cure-All and can't be scouted. They have the Trait Health Professional and are immune to both Whack and Fizzle. Cure-All is a Skill that specialises in multi-target healing and status effect removal. In fact, the only single-target ability it teaches is Heal. As for everything else, there's Tingle for curing sleep and paralysis, Kabuff for increasing defence, Multiheal and Omniheal for restoring either some or all HP to allies, and Wave of Relief for removing all status ailments. Finally there are the abilities Amor Seco Rain and Song of Salvation, both of which take two turns to cast instead of the usual one. The former is a standard heal, and the latter is a revive. Overall Cure-All is a good Skill, but it's hamstrung by the lack of single-target healing much like Cleric. Heal just doesn't cut it at the point when it's possible to get Cure-All, although it's still viable outside of battle. That's not all that bad of a problem, though, and it can easily be worked around with other Skills. Skelegon   Skelegons have the Skills Crack & Zam and Attack Boost when scouted, and just Crack & Zam when synthesised. They have no Traits, are weak to Zap, and are immune to Whack. Crack & Zam is an excellent double element Skill. Crack is multi-target, while Zam is single-target. That's really all there is to say about this one that hasn't already been said about the other double element Skills. Just remember to get it up to Crack & Zam III quickly, otherwise you'll be stuck with low tier spells. Jumping Jackal   Jumping Jackals have the Skill Speedster and cannot be scouted. They have the Trait Able Ambusher, giving their team more common preemptive strikes, and are immune to Dazzle. Speedster is a Skill that teaches abilities which increase agility and evasion. Firstly there's Accelerate and Acceleratle, which increase agility for either a single target or the entire party. Then there's Dodgy Dance, to increase the user's evasion, and Sandstorm, to decrease the enemy's accuracy with Dazzle. The final agility-related ability in Speedster is Mercurial Thrust, which is an attack that is weaker than usual but always goes first. There are also three abilities that have nothing to do with agility: Heal, Gust Slash and Gale Slash. Heal is self-explanatory, and the others are the first and second tier of Woosh-elemental slashes. Overall Speedster is a bit of a weird Skill that probably won't be too useful. Sure, having high agility is helpful, but you can't get extra turns from it like you can in, for example, Final Fantasy. Dodgy Dance and Gale Slash are pretty good, though; it might be worth taking this Skill if you like that sort of thing, and Mercurial Thrust can be situationally good. Mimic   Mimics have the Skill Nightmare and can't be scouted. They have the Trait Critical Massacre, increasing their chance of landing a critical hit, and are immune to both Fizzle and Whack. Nightmare is a Skill that focuses on debilitating monsters, specifically with Sleep, Drain Magic and Whack. Firstly it teaches, well, Drain Magic which helps in replenishing MP reserves and getting rid of MP on opponents. Sleep Sock and Sweet Breath handle the sleep side of things, with damage on a single target and hitting multiple targets being their main draws respectively. For Whack, meanwhile, there's Death Dance, which causes instant death in multiple targets. As for other miscellaneous abilities, there's Spooky Aura for lowering magic resistance, Sleep Guard and Drain Magic Ward to protect against those particular effects, and finally Wave of Panic. Wave of Panic attempts to lower all four stats - attack, defence, agility and wisdom - of a single target, which is incredibly good if it hits and is usually reserved for final boss-level monsters. Overall Nightmare seems to be a pretty good Skill, with a good range of status effect magic, a way to replenish MP if it gets low and, well, Wave of Panic. Flyguy   Flyguys have the Skills Seal and Drain Magic Ward when scouted, and just Seal when synthesised. They have the Trait Artful Dodger and are weak to Frizz. They're also immune to sleep. Seal was on Winkies back in Part 4. Drain Magic Ward is new, though. It's another Ward Skill, so it conveys increased stats as well as two Guard passive abilities of the Skill's type and Magic Scrooge. No Magic Miser for this one, though. In this case the stats it gives are +30 MP and +10 Agility and the Guard abilities are Drain Magic Guard. The same sort of things that applied to the other Ward Skills apply to this one, too. Skeleton   Skeletons have the Skills Enfeebler and Attack Boost when scouted, and just Enfeebler when synthesised. They have no Traits, are immune to Whack and Inaction (Shock, Dancing etc.) and are weak to Zap. Enfeebler was on Goodybags back in Part 8. Walking Corpse   Walking Corpses have the Skills Bad Breath and Attack Boost when scouted, and just Bad Breath when synthesised. They have no Traits, are immune to Whack and Poison, and are weak to Zap. Bad Breath is mostly made up of multi-target ailment-inflicting abilities, but there are some other utility abilities too. Poison Breath and Venom Breath inflict Poison and Envenomated respectively, Sweet Breath inflicts Sleep, Bemusing Breath inflicts Confusion and Burning Breath inflicts Paralysis. Then there's Blowback, which reflects enemy breath attacks when used (the user is still hit by the relevant attack), and Brake Wind, which reflects an enemy breath attack without the user being hit. The final ability in Bad Breath is Poison Guard, which passively reduces the chance of Poison being inflicted. Overall Bad Breath seems like a pretty good Skill for inflicting status effects, and Brake Wind is very useful for countering enemy breath attacks. Extra 2: Synthesis Recipes Skelegon + Skeleton = Demonrider (Rank E, scoutable, available through generic synthesis) This is a terrible idea. Demonriders have been available since Xeroph Isle, and are common enough there to be absolutely not worth the trouble. King Slime + King Slime = King Cureslime (Rank B, not scoutable, available through generic synthesis) In contrast, this is amazing. Go get one and don't look back, because they're amazing healers. Hell, you can just get one from generic synthesis too, and it'll still be really good.ser Epicmissingno fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Jan 9, 2018 |
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Aug 26, 2017 10:33
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I know it's probably way too early to decide, but have you thought about doing an LP of Joker 2, as well? I'd love to see what kind of secrets I might've missed in that game as well.
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Aug 27, 2017 00:07
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As much as even I, a die-hard Toriyama fan, like to rag on him for Same Face Syndrome with his humanoids, even there he is careful to give all of his characters unique silhouettes, and it's his monster and vehicle designs where he really shines as an artist. (His manga also have the most ridiculously detailed backgrounds I've seen from most artists, but that's an advantage won through a small army's worth of assistants.)
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Aug 27, 2017 00:09
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serefin99 posted:I know it's probably way too early to decide, but have you thought about doing an LP of Joker 2, as well? I'd love to see what kind of secrets I might've missed in that game as well. I'm definitely considering it. It helps that the second game is much better documented than this one - I actually already have one particular source in mind that I used when I first played it that has a lot of stat data.
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Aug 27, 2017 00:16
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dotchan posted:As much as even I, a die-hard Toriyama fan, like to rag on him for Same Face Syndrome with his humanoids, even there he is careful to give all of his characters unique silhouettes, and it's his monster and vehicle designs where he really shines as an artist. (His manga also have the most ridiculously detailed backgrounds I've seen from most artists, but that's an advantage won through a small army's worth of assistants.) Toriyama didn't do the unique human designs for the Joker games (though he did do the generic npc designs by virtue of them being reused from DQ8), some guy involved with dragonball GT did
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Aug 27, 2017 00:23
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So you don't get something special by having four king slime grandpas?
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Aug 28, 2017 03:20
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Glazius posted:So you don't get something special by having four king slime grandpas? Not in this game.
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Aug 28, 2017 03:34
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Epicmissingno posted:Before that, though, he picks up a Skelegon from Infern Isle. It goes into his substitutes in the hopes of getting it up a few levels. Epicmissingno posted:You'd think that someone would have made a record of such a huge disaster, but apparently nobody did. It's strange to say the least. In any case, it's probably what left the island in such a sorry state.
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Aug 29, 2017 03:17
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Part 12: Metallic Madness Last time, Euchre started (and finished) his business on Infern Isle. This time, he'll be heading on to the only new island he can reach right now: Celeste Isle.  "The mighty ruins that tower over this island imbue it with an air of ancient mystery."Like so.  Celeste Isle is the northernmost island in Green Bays, with two rather prominent spires as its main feature. That makes the only island that Euchre hasn't visited yet Fert Isle, over to the northeast. Music: Island  Unlike on Infern Isle, there's a scoutpost here. How about checking it out? Music: Scoutpost  The island is divided into two halves, north and south. Only this southern half has a scoutpost. If I were you, I'd stay near the scoutpost for now, until you get your bearings.The receptionist, as usual, is the first port of call. The idea that Euchre should stay near the scoutpost is, of course, laughable - after all, the shrine is right in the centre of the island, and that's his immediate destination.  They say you need the sun and moon to get there! Who're "they"? Why, the talking mirrors of course!It's always a good idea to explore everywhere thoroughly, so this is welcome information. Trying to get to this smaller island without first consulting talking mirrors would just be silly.  Well, I don't know any shrines, but this island does have some enormous ruins. Two great towers loom over them. It's easy to get lost inside! There's an entrance to the west. You can use that to get in and explore.Those towers must have been what was visible from the Green Bays map. Even if the ruins and the shrine have nothing to do with each other, it'll still be worth it to visit them. Everyone knows that ruins always house treasure, after all.  Hmph. No prizes for guessing which contestant is best at treasure hunts. But the finals are a different story. That's when the REAL scouts prove themselves.Actually, didn't Euchre meet someone with that name? Madame Rummy from Palaish Isle didn't seem the type to enter the monster scout challenge, though, so perhaps this is some relative of hers.  Looks like he needs a lot of it for his research.We've already established that darkonium is made of dark matter, which is what makes monsters what they are. What could Dr Snap be researching that requires so much of it? In any case, since Euchre is in the scouts' den, why not take a look at those rankings?  They haven't changed since Euchre checked it last, despite his near-complete collection of darkonium. Of course.  So what's in the shop this time? Well, there isn't actually anything new this time in terms of consumables. More's the pity.  Meanwhile the weapons on sale are of equal or higher quality than those for sale at the Domus Isle department store. The Holy Lance is the highest power weapon here, so Euchre buys one. It goes on Li'l Green in an attempt to get his attack power up to a respectable level. Music: Island  With his shopping done, Euchre heads south out of the scoutpost and up a ramp to find the bulk of the island. Here, off the south edge of the island, is that smaller island that we heard about. There doesn't appear to be any way over there right now, unfortunately.  Turning to the west in place puts a sizable chunk of ruins in view, as well as a new monster. Music: Monster Battle  This particular encounter is very favourable, since it contains a Metal Slime. Metal Slimes are immune to all magical damage, all breath damage and all status effects. They're also ridiculously defensive, to the point of taking either zero or one damage from pretty much any physical attack. Fortunately they only have three hit points. Why is this important? Well, Metal Slimes and their ilk are the monsters that give the most experience points out of anything in the game. These ones in particular give about 3000 experience points each, so about 1000 when split between all three of Euchre's monsters. Compare this to the 100-ish that other monsters around here give out, and that's a pretty significant amount. Oh, and the other monsters in this encounter? Mecha-mynahs can cast Acceleratle, raising the agility of their team, but I couldn't catch any of them using it on camera. Great Sabrecubs, meanwhile, have a couple of tricks.  First off there's Mercurial Thrust, which always goes first. It even has higher priority than defending, so doing that won't help protect against its damage. Fortunately said damage is pretty underwhelming.  Then there's Sandstorm. It's as underwhelming now as it was back at the beginning of the game. Now that that's dealt with, what's the best way to deal with a Metal Slime?  Use normal attacks on it, of course! This may seem a little counter-intuitive, since other attacks could normally do more damage, but it's really not since they, too, would do miniscule damage, with one exception. It's best to save the MP. There's one near-surefire way to beat a Metal Slime, though:  Get a critical hit. This is, obviously, easier said than done - it's completely at random, after all, and I was lucky to see any at all. Using the ability Hatchet Man, though, guarantees either a critical hit or a miss, ramping up the chance for this to happen significantly. Why do critical hits work against these monsters, you may ask?  They work because critical hits ignore defence, pulverising whatever metal monster is on the receiving end. This is doing over 50 times this Metal Slime's maximum HP. Sadly scouting any monsters in an encounter prevents Euchre's monsters from gaining any experience points at the end, so the Mecha-mynah and Great Sabrecub have to be put down this time. Don't worry, we'll be coming back for them. Oh yes, and Metal Slimes are absolutely not feasible to scout at this point due to their nasty habit of taking almost no damage. Eventually it's possible to out-damage their sky-high defence stat, but that's a long time from now. Music: Island  Getting back to exploring, the southern side of that ruined wall has an entrance leading to this place.  Directly up the stairs is a chest with a horribly outdated weapon, but at least it's something.  There's also a junction, allowing Euchre to go either left or right. In this case he goes left...  ...resulting in another treasure chest. Somehow the loot in this one is even more unremarkable than the last.  Heading back to the junction and going the other way results in some more stairs up and then another monster along the only path. Let's have a look at these guys, shall we? Music: Monster Battle  Headhunters don't seem to do anything of interest. All I ever saw them do was attack. Of course, since there's a Metal Slime here, no scouting will be taking place this time. Just like with the previous two monsters, a Headhunter will be picked up later. Music: Island  A little past the Headhunter is this chest. The items in these get better, I swear.  Backtracking down to ground level again, the southwesternmost part of this ruined building has yet another staircase.  This one only has a short way to go before reaching a dead end with a chest. At least this one gives Euchre more money than the sale of a Medicinal Herb would.  Meanwhile, tucked away in a corner near that last set of stairs, there's a chest which coughs up a higher quality of item than the others so far.  There's yet another in the northeast corner of the ground floor. These things, at the very least, can't be bought yet and heal for more than Li'l Green can manage right now. Fortunately that's it for this ruined building. Now what? Music: Monster Battle  How about showing off why Metal Slimes are immensely annoying? They will flee completely at random, denying Euchre their experience points. It's always a race against time to beat one, and it's made worse by the fact that they're stupidly fast, sometimes escaping on the first turn before they even have a chance to be targeted. Music: Island  Getting back to the task at hand, Euchre manages to find some encounters without Metal Slimes in them, obtaining the monsters from earlier. This makes a Headhunter...  ...a Mecha-mynah...  ...and a Great Sabrecub, all going to storage.  To the north of the previous section of ruins, there's the start of a trench which runs all the way to the westernmost part of Celeste Isle. It's pretty unremarkable, and Euchre won't be taking it.  That's because there's a bridge which leads to the same place and it has a new monster on it. Music: Monster Battle  Hunter Mechs are pretty obnoxious enemies if they stick around.  They specialise in attacks that cause status effects, starting with Confusion here.  There's also Envenomate, which is probably their least threatening ailment...  ...as well as Dazzle. These guys are priority targets, but thankfully they don't have all that much HP. Music: Island  That Anti-Metal Skill is actually a nod to their purpose - they're always described as trying to hunt metal monsters, and often appear in the same area as Metal Slimes or their variants. Sadly there's no game mechanic where wild monsters fight each other, so they never actually get around to doing that. One thing that is consistent with that, though, is that they drop Obsidian Blades, powerful weapons that also do extra damage to metal monsters. There's a guaranteed one later, but they're very much ahead of the power curve right now.  Past the bridge, this wall bars Euchre's path. At least, it would, if it couldn't be walked around. Euchre heads over to the left...  ...and into the building behind it. Thankfully this one is only one room.  There's also a blue chest up against the wall here.  That makes eight darkonium crystals. Almost there!  Heading up the ramp guarded by the Hunter Mech leads Euchre outside once again.  Just behind him is this non-restocking chest, which contains a new item. Elfin Elixirs are the improved version of Magic Elixirs, restoring all MP to a single monster instead of just 30. They're also stupidly rare, so using one lightly is not advised.  Turning around yet again, Euchre finds the door to the shrine. At least now we know where it is so that Euchre can go in once he's finished exploring the outdoor part of Celeste Isle.  Right now, though, it's getting ignored in favour of those stairs just beyond it.  At the top lies this door, which isn't budging right now. It's sure to open up eventually.  Near the door are some more steps down, leading Euchre over to an area just north of that bridge from earlier. Convenient!  Before heading back to the scoutpost, there's just one more monster that appears on Celeste Isle during the daytime. It appears on the westernmost edge of the island, just past the exit of the trench. Music: Monster Battle  Great Sabrecats are essentially Great Sabrecubs but better. Their stats are decently better than their young counterparts, and they share one of their abilities.  First off, though, they have War Cry, attempting to shock Euchre's team into inaction for a turn.  Meanwhile, while Sandstorm is gone, they still have Mercurial Thrust to fall back on. With their decent strength stats this might actually be a threat compared to their cubs. Music: Island  They're essentially the "strong" monster of Celeste Isle, but that doesn't really mean anything any more. Now that Euchre has met all the monsters that appear in the day, it's time to head to the scoutpost and rest. Music: Scoutpost  But first, it's time to show off the last feature of the scoutpost - the bank. This place lets Euchre withdraw and deposit his gold.  Unlike other Dragon Quest games, where the bank only allows deposits in thousands of gold coins, this one allows any amount of money to be deposited. What's the point of this, then, if Euchre can just carry around all of his money? Well, when all of Euchre's team falls in battle, he loses half of his on-hand cash. Putting money in the bank makes it safe from any unfortunate accidents. Music: Monster Battle  Back outside, some new monsters appear at night.  The first of these, the Restless Armour, likes to use Hatchet Man. This makes it pretty dangerous, since a critical hit can spell disaster for pretty much any team.  Thankfully none of its attempts managed to connect, making it easy to scout.  Nardragons, meanwhile, have one of the worst abilities in the game: Body Slam. This does a proportion of the target's current HP - about 90%, I believe - in damage, but also damages the user for the same amount. The reason why it's awful is because it has a fairly good chance to miss entirely, only doing damage to the user.  At least Body Slam can't be used to commit suicide, since it draws from current HP. If it could, scouting a Nardragon would be incredibly annoying.  The final monster that appears only at night is the Lesser Demon.  Dazzleflash is a real annoyance, making them difficult to hit.  They follow that up with Frizzle, the first tier 2 spell that wild monsters have used.  It looks pretty nice compared to its tier 1 counterpart, too. Being a Frizz spell, though, the damage is pretty underwhelming.  Of course, the most dangerous thing they can do is cast Bemusing Breath. Confusion is a pretty nasty status effect, and if it's cast party-wide it can theoretically completely wreck a team.  Diablo gets sent to storage for his transgressions. Overall Lesser Demons can be pretty annoying to deal with, so they should be dealt with first in pretty much any formation. And, well, that's it for the southern part of Celeste Isle. Next time, Euchre will be heading into Celeste Shrine and maybe even finding the next Nexus Chamber. Extra: The Monster Library Before we begin this entry in the monster library, I feel that I should bring something up: rank thresholds. You see, a monster's rank in this game is entirely dependant on its ID number. Here are which ID numbers correspond to each rank: Rank F: 1-30 Rank E: 31-52 Rank D: 53-85 Rank C: 86-113 Rank B: 114-137 Rank A: 138-163 Rank S: 164-185 Rank X: 186-200 Rank ???: 201-210 Strangely enough, there's no way to sort monsters by ID number in the in-game monster library. Instead, everything is either sorted by monster family and then ID within that or by alphabetical order. Nardragon   Nardragons have the Skills Martyr and Attack Boost when scouted, and just Martyr when synthesised. They have the Trait Psycho and no resistances. Martyr is full of abilities which either damage the user or lower their defence while also having other beneficial effects. Double-Edged Slash, as the name suggests, does significant damage to both an enemy and the user. It's not proportional, though, unlike the next ability on the list: Body Slam. It and its improved version, One-On-One, lower the HP of both the user and the target - to 10%-ish of current HP for the former, and to exactly 1 HP for the latter. Both have a good chance to fail, though, dealing damage to just the user. Then there's Blowback, which counters breath attacks when the user is hit, and Double Up, which does a lot of damage but increases all damage taken on the turn it's used. Then there's Kamikazee, which sacrifices the user to deal massive damage to all enemies, and Kerplunk Dance and Kerplunk, which both sacrifice the user to fully heal and revive all allies. Overall Martyr isn't all that good a Skill, since the constant damage to the user will probably get them killed quickly. Body Slam and One-On-One are especially guilty of this, given how often they seem to fail. Don't bother with this one. Great Sabrecub   Great Sabrecubs have the Skills Naturalist and Defence Boost when scouted, and just Naturalist when synthesised. They've got the Trait Psycho, and are immune to having their agility lowered. Naturalist has been available on Platypunks all the way back in Part 2. Great Sabrecat   Great Sabrecats have the Skills Speedster and Defence Boost. They have the Traits Psycho and Early Bird, ensuring that they always go first, and like their younger counterparts are immune to having their agility lowered. Speedster was on Jumping Jackals back in Part 11. Mecha-mynah   Mecha-mynahs have the Skills Bird Brain and Defence Boost when scouted, and just Bird Brain when synthesised. They have the Trait Artful Dodger and are immune to both instant death and turn-skipping abilities like War Cry. Bird Brain is a Skill with a good variety of abilities. Firstly there's Accelerate and Acceleratle for increasing agility, then there's Woosh and Swoosh for tier 1 and 2 magic damage. Insulate and Insulatle, both very useful spells for reducing breath damage, also feature, on top of Brake Wind to nullify it entirely. Sandstorm also appears, as well as Multislash for multi-target physical damage. Overall Bird Brain appears to be a pretty versatile Skill, with pretty good abilities for both physical damage and buffing. Where it falls down is with offensive magic, since maxing out at tier 2 makes the fairly random AI a bit of a liability. Otherwise, though, this is a recommended Skill. Hunter Mech   Hunter Mechs have the Skills Anti-metal and Defence Boost, with just Anti-metal when synthesised. They have the Trait Metal Beater, which adds one onto any damage inflicted on metal monsters, and are immune to instant death, poison and paralysis. Anti-Metal is exactly what it sounds like - it teaches abilities that help in taking down metal monsters. Accelerate and Acceleratle are there to help outspeed enemy monsters, as well as the Agility + 30 passive that's taught a little down the line. Metal Slash increases all damage towards metal monsters by one when it's used, and Metal Beater does a similar thing but is passive. Hatchet Man is, of course, here, being the most effective measure against metal monsters. Oomph is also there, just in case it helps with overpowering their huge defences. The final ability on the list is Magic Frailty, which reduces all enemies' resistance to magic. I'm not sure whether this works on metal monsters, but if it does then it makes them very easy to beat them with magic. Overall Anti-Metal is a pretty great Skill, since metal monsters tend to be incredibly difficult to take down without something like this. Recommended. Headhunter   Headhunters have the Skills Berserker and Attack Boost when scouted, and just Berserker when synthesised. They have the Trait Metal Beater and are immune to instant death. Berserker is similar to Martyr in that it has a lot of abilities that hurt the user, but there's a much greater emphasis here on doing lots of damage and it's arguably a better Skill because of that. The shared abilities between the two are Double-edged Slash, Double Up, Body Slam, One-on-One and Kerplunk Dance. Other than these, Berserker teaches Helm Splitter and Hatchet Man, both of which are very good abilities, as well as Whack Guard. Overall, Berserker is a fairly good Skill that's unfortunately held back by Body Slam and One-on-one. Lesser Demon   Lesser Demons have the Skills Diabolist and Confusion Ward. They have no Traits, and they're immune to Bang-elemental spells and abilities. Diabolist is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand it's got good spells and abilities like Kafizzle, Sap, Sag, Magic Frailty and Magic Barrier (which increases resistance against magic for the entire party). On the other, it's got awful ones like Frizz, Zam and Whack, and the tier 2 versions of these don't feature at all. Overall it's a decent disabling Skill that's unfortunately dragged down by the presence of lacklustre attacking abilities. Confusion Ward is another Ward Skill, with its primary draw being two instances of Confusion Guard. For stat boosts, there's Maximum HP +30 and Defence + 10, and instead of Magic Scrooge it teaches Able Ambusher. This passive ability increases the chance of getting a preemptive strike. Unfortunately, because of the absence of Magic Scrooge, Confusion Ward isn't quite as useful as some of the other Ward Skills. It could still be helpful for patching up weaknesses, though. Restless Armour   Restless Armours have the Skills Anti-Dragon and Attack Boost when scouted and just Anti-Dragon when synthesised. They have the Trait Psycho and are immune to instant death. Anti-Dragon is a bit of a strange thing to call this Skill, since it's actually closer to Anti-Breath. The only ability here that's specifically for taking down Dragon monsters is Dragon Slash, which obviously does extra damage to them. As for the other abilities, there's Insulate and Insulatle for lowering damage from breath attacks, Gobstopper, Breathtaking Bash and Brake Wind for attempting to stop them entirely, and Blowback for countering them. On top of that there's Fire Breath Guard and Ice Breath Guard as passive abilities. Overall Anti-Dragon is pretty good for countering breath users in general, not just dragons, but since most of its abilities essentially do the same thing it lacks versatility. It's still useful, though. Extra 2: Synthesis Recipes Great Sabrecub + Great Sabrecub + Great Sabrecub + Great Sabrecub = Great Sabrecat (Rank C, scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) By the time it's feasible to get four Great Sabrecubs, Great Sabrecats are available to scout. Just do that instead and save yourself the hassle. Lesser Demon + Beast Family = Gargoyle (Rank C, scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) Gargoyles will become scoutable relatively soon, but this isn't a difficult recipe by any means. It might be worth it anyway, although they're not all that higher in the rankings than Lesser Demons. Restless Armour + Demonrider = Grim Rider (Rank B, not scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) Grim Riders are pretty important monsters to get a copy or two of, since they're part of a couple of synthesis chains to get the top monsters. This recipe is a near necessity if you want the best monsters. Epicmissingno fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Sep 30, 2017 |
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Sep 2, 2017 17:08
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Holy crap, Great Sabercubs are the cutest damned thing I've seen come out of the DragonQuest franchise!
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Sep 2, 2017 17:38
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AltaBrown posted:Holy crap, Great Sabercubs are the cutest damned thing I've seen come out of the DragonQuest franchise! Dragon Quest 5 has you rescue a little baby sabercub. There's quite a lot of cute stuff in DQ though! Slimes in particular tend to be really cute, but plenty of beasts, materials, or undead are cute too.
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Sep 2, 2017 18:38
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PUCKLE I always name the cat puckle.
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Sep 2, 2017 22:01
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Anti-Dragon is named as such because, to most people, the first fire-breathing monster that comes to mind is almost invariably some form of dragon. In other words, it's not named for its effect, it's named for the most prominent users of what it's meant to counter. Anyway, that aside, I like how you named both the sabrecub and the sabrecat after named ones from previous games.
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Sep 3, 2017 02:13
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Are metal slimes even scoutable? Would you need a bunch of dudes with Metal Beater on to connect enough times, or would a sufficiently impressive amount of damage also just murder the poor kid?
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Sep 3, 2017 04:16
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Glazius posted:Are metal slimes even scoutable? Would you need a bunch of dudes with Metal Beater on to connect enough times, or would a sufficiently impressive amount of damage also just murder the poor kid? Scouting is based on how much damage one could do with standard attacks, but on a turn you spend trying to scout no actual damage is dealt to the enemy's hp. Now that that's clear, scouting metal slimes requires epic level attack power (because 1 damage equates to a 0-1% chance of scouting), and isn't feasible until the postgame, endgame at earliest.
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Sep 3, 2017 06:01
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MightyPretenders posted:Scouting is based on how much damage one could do with standard attacks, but on a turn you spend trying to scout no actual damage is dealt to the enemy's hp. Getting lucky with one early could be a game changer, though, since they're used to make such good stuff.
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Sep 3, 2017 13:55
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Chronische posted:Getting lucky with one early could be a game changer, though, since they're used to make such good stuff. The problem with that is that you need multiple Metal Slimes to be able to get said good stuff, since the synthesis recipes that Metal Slimes are used for all require at least two. It might be possible to scout one, but since scouting difficulty increases if you already have a copy of the monster you're trying to scout it's going to take even more luck to get another. Edit: As it turns out there's a mechanic later that lets you get some of the good stuff with only one Metal Slime, but it has to be negative. Have fun with that ~50% chance! Epicmissingno fucked around with this message at 23:53 on Sep 22, 2017 |
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Sep 3, 2017 14:29
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Part 13: Praise The Sun Last time, Euchre explored the southern half of Celeste Isle, discovering the elusive Metal Slime and finding the door leading to what is probably Celeste Shrine. Music: Island  This time, Euchre will be heading through that door and finding out just what is behind it. Music: Seeking Treasure  To begin with there's the same hallway that's been in every shrine so far. Again, there's nothing in it, so the only option is to head through the door in front of Euchre.  Immediately we're treated to a cutscene showing one of the gimmicks of this dungeon...  ...arbitrary gates blocking progress through the place! There are a large number of these throughout the dungeon, and the vast majority are closed the first time that Euchre comes to them.  The aesthetics of the place are pretty unique, at least, with these smiling moai heads everywhere. Sadly they don't do anything mechanically. The whole dungeon is in the shape of a circle, with Euchre currently residing right at the south end. The way to the left is cut off by a gate, but how about the right?  Thankfully it's not blocked, but there is another gate of the same type leading further into the circle. It's also closed, so Euchre's not getting through right now.  Further along there's a gap in the wall large enough to see into. That glowing orange object on the pedestal is sure to be in no way important.  Press the button?The final thing along this path, right at the end, is this button. Who wouldn't push it? Euchre presses the button. It opens up both those gates that Euchre passed by earlier. That was relatively painless, wasn't it?  Past that first gate that was left of the entrance is where the encounters start - the only monsters that appear right now are Lesser Demons, which could also be found outside at night.  It's not long before Euchre comes across another locked gate, though this one has a different design. It leads further into the circle, and there seems to be a plate of some description on the other side. Perhaps it can't be opened from this side?  Regardless of that, at the end of the path there's a brown chest. The potential treasures in this one probably aren't all that great if this is anything to go by.  Backtracking to the other recently opened gate, Euchre comes across a crossroads. The doorway to the right leads to a tiny room containing nothing...  ...and the door in front is locked.  That would make the only way forwards the stairway up.  This immediately leads to another crossroads. I know for a fact that turning left leads to progress, so the right seems like a more sensible choice. There's also a small section past the wall immediately in front of Euchre, but it also contains nothing.  Going right leads Euchre past this large chasm. It's impossible to fall in, even in places where the railing has crumbled, since that would skip large portions of the dungeon. Oh well.  There's a never-before-seen monster guarding whatever's down this path, though. What's the chance that it'll be more valuable than whatever it's guarding? Music: Monster Battle  Wrecktors are absolutely priority targets. They only have one ability as far as I can tell, but it's a really mean one.  Remember when those Lump Mages back on Palaish Isle cast Zing? Well, this is the improved version.  Instead of a chance of bringing an ally back to life with half their maximum HP, Kazing is a guaranteed revival with full HP. If Wrecktors don't get taken out in rapid succession it's possible to end up in a loop of Kazing use until they run out of MP. They can also bring back more dangerous monsters, giving everything else in their group extra staying power until they're taken out. Music: Seeking Treasure  Scouting one is a bit of a pain due to being unable to permanently get rid of any additional monsters in the battle, but this one joins up without too much trouble.  At the end of the path guarded by Wrecktors is a red chest containing a Seed of Wisdom. This is probably the worst of the Seeds, so Wrecktors are almost certainly more valuable. Who'd have thought?  Back at the last junction, heading left instead of right leads to this chamber containing what appears to be a mirror.  This is one of the talking mirrors that we heard about back at the scoutpost. They're actually monsters called Devil Glasses, but they're not available to use for whatever reason. Have you come to see the Temple of the Sun? A shrine? Perhaps you mean the old ruins on the little island?As it turns out this isn't the location of Celeste Shrine, which is unfortunate. Based on what was said at the scoutpost, though, there's probably a way to get from here to there.  The Great Looking Glass is at the top of these ruins. To reach him, you will have to go through the Temple of the Moon. This is the secondary gimmick of this dungeon - the dual temples. The Temple of the Moon is a mirror image of the Temple of the Sun in terms of basic architecture, although the route through each is noticeably different. There's no way forwards other than by warping there, so Euchre accepts the mirror's offer...  ...and immediately the screen starts spiralling as Euchre teleports to the Temple of the Moon.  Once there, the main aesthetic difference between the two is made obvious: while the Temple of the Sun was decorated purely in reddish tones, the Temple of the Moon is bluish.  Right behind Euchre is a second Devil Glass, who has something a little different to say. If you wish to reach the temple's upper levels, you should continue on your way. As this guy says, there's no reason to go back. Turning down the offer is the only sensible thing to do right now. Yes, I understand. Some people just don't like to be warped.The next thing for Euchre to do is to have a look at the equivalent of that empty room on this floor of the Temple of the Sun.  Sure enough, there's a chest here, and its contents aren't bad either. Despite the Temple of the Moon being a mirror image of the Temple of the Sun, there are a few treasure chests in different locations.  The chasm is a constant, at least, and the area on the other side is similar too. Both have a single intact staircase, and they're the same one when viewed as mirror images.  The equivalent to the Wrecktor section has a gate blocking it, too, stopping Euchre from fighting the monster on the other side as well as preventing access to whatever else is in there.  The only option, then, is to head downstairs and see what's changed on the ground floor.  As was demonstrated on the first floor, the monsters change between the temples. Let's have a look at this one, shall we? Music: Monster Battle  It turns out to be a familiar face: the Hacksaurus! Remember when Euchre saw one of these from a distance way back at CELL HQ? It's possible for him to get one of his own now.  First, though, he'll have to weather the storm of damage that is Thunderbolt Slash. Being a second-tier elemental slash it comes with 150% of normal attack damage on top of its Zap-elemental effects. Hacksauruses aren't slouches with their attack stats, either. Music: Seeking Treasure  Team Euchre is probably a little bit overpowered right now, though, so they shrug this sort of thing off easily.  The same door is in the way behind Euchre as the one in the Temple of the Sun, so the only way forward is through this convenient hole in the wall.  Heading right from here leads to the very same window as the one in the other temple, down to the same sort of item within the room.  Again, just like the Temple of the Sun, there's something at the end of this path. This time, instead of a large button, there's a brown chest with a pretty good payout. Something else that's different about this place compared to its counterpart is the design of the moais - they have sad faces instead of happy ones. They're still just an aesthetic thing, though. Music: Monster Battle  Going back along the path results in Euchre facing off against a Gryphon. These guys can't be found wandering around, and only appear in battles with other monsters. They've not got much going for them.  Their only trick is Kafizzle, making them decently annoying, but Li'l Green is immune so I don't care. Music: Seeking Treasure  Wildcard is still vulnerable to it, but he got his Oomph off just in time to easily scout this one.  Right at the other end of the hallway to that brown chest from before is another gate blocking Euchre's way. Presumably he'll have to find a blue button to open these.  Heading back to the middle of those two locations, though, results in Euchre finding a way into the inner circle once more, but this time on the eastern side.  Inside is a similar gate to the one from the Temple of the Sun's ground floor, but this time the pressure plate is on Euchre's side (though it's obscured by the text box).  Sadly stepping on it does nothing. Perhaps something else needs to be activated first.  The only other option is the stairs in the southern part of this room.  They lead to the far side of the first floor's chasm, as well as a treasure chest in plain sight.  Despite the stairs to the left being well and truly wrecked the right staircase is still fine. Again, it's the only way forwards.  The second floor is probably the smallest of the lot, with only two rooms - this one contains some Restless Armours, which we've already seen, and the other isn't accessible right now.  What is accessible, though, is this door directly to the left of the stairs. Music: Island  It leads outside, to the midpoint between the two temples.  As well as the doors leading to each temple there's this sun door to the south...  ...as well as this moon door to the north. Unsurprisingly they're both shut, although we've actually seen the sun door before. It's that door that wouldn't open at the highest point of the southern part of the island. Of course, I'm not addressing the rather large elephant in there room here. That is, of course, the Great Looking Glass.   Not for 300 years have I seen the sacred beast. Know that it is my duty to send you to the holy place you seek... Without the blessing of the sun and moon, my once shining face has become clouded. Return me to the light once more, and I shall guide you to your destination.Well, that was decidedly unhelpful. Maybe if Euchre heads over to the Temple of the Sun through that huge red door he'll find one of those so-called blessings.  It's surprisingly ornate for a simple door. Back inside we go! Music: Seeking Treasure  This being the a mirror image of the Temple of the Moon there are also two rooms on the top floor of the Temple of the Sun. The more pressing issue, though is that there's a new monster here. Music: Monster Battle  Skeleton Soldiers are rather surprising monsters. Based on their appearance you might think they have some Whack spells, maybe some Zam-related abilities, but that's not the case.  They are, in fact, healers! They're a bit of a step up from the last healer monster that Euchre met in the wild, since Midheal isn't completely worthless right now.  They've also got Buff to make their healing duties easier. Magic and breath attacks bypass Buff, though, so those are the best options for taking care of them. Music: Seeking Treasure  I have no idea why Skeleton Soldiers are what they are, but I'm certainly not complaining. As it is they're pretty easy to take down.  The other room on this floor isn't blocked off like the one in the Temple of the Moon, so it's simple to get into. All there is inside is this lever, and pulling it is a no-brainer.  It opens that closed door all the way back on the ground floor, letting us see just what's on the other side. Unsurprisingly it's that room that we could see into earlier, but now we've got a better view of the object on the pedestal.  Behold! The answer lies at your feet. The lights will guide you on your path.I don't think this voice is ever attributed to anyone, and it disappears again after this dungeon, so this is essentially the game talking directly to the player.  Whatever it is, these lights have appeared on the ground. It's probably best to follow them, just like the voice said.  They go down the stairs...  ...past a chest with an itemised Multiheal...  ...down some more stairs to the ground floor...  ...to a room where a new monster should have spawned but didn't...  ...past a brown chest...  ...and to one of these gates. This time, standing on the button has a different effect.  Stepping on the switch now that the lights are on opens the door, allowing Euchre to pass through. It's also nice enough to stay open.  Now Euchre's back in familiar territory, and it's only a short trek to his destination.  This part of the dungeon consists of a fair amount of backtracking, sadly, and this is only the start.  Take the tablet?Looting priceless treasures is almost certainly part of the monster scout job description, so Euchre takes it.  A disembodied voice speaks... If you would climb higher, follow the shining path...Yeah, that means exactly what you think. Euchre now has to climb all the way back up to the Great Looking Glass, following the same path that he just took to get down. Of course, it's possible to go through the Temple of the Moon again, but that path is even longer. Ugh. One nice touch, though, is that the light coming from the pedestal fades once the solar tablet is taken. Music: Island  Quickly now. Place it upon the altar!Back outside, the Great Looking Glass won't accept the solar tablet directly.  Instead, it has to be placed in the right altar. Not the left, though, since that's where the inevitable lunar tablet will go. Music: None  As Euchre puts the solar tablet in its rightful place...  ...a portion of the floor next to the Great Looking Glass lights up, giving it strength. ...But still it is not enough. The sun casts but half the light I need. Give me the moon! Enter the temple on the north side of this Celeste Isle. Companion of the Incarnus, give me the blessing of the moon!That's going to be more than a little difficult, seeing as the northern half of Celeste Isle is currently inaccessible. Music: Island  Fortunately Euchre won't be left without a way onwards for long. The camera pans over...  ...to reveal a familiar face.   Your papa, 'e was saying, maybe you feel a leetle 'omesick, eh? Hehehe... So ze challenge, it goes well for you, eh, my leetle chum? Quickly, take zis letter. Euchre reads the orders. That...doesn't sound good. Isn't Commissioner Snap one of the best scouts in all of Green Bays?  (shrug) It is long in ze past, but we should not underestimate zis Snap man. And you 'ad best move quickly - zere is no time to dawdle. No funny stuffs, either! Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what zat might be... I will only say zat maybe it is something zat will 'elp you win ze challenge. Now, I must fly like ze wind, and bid you adieu!And with that, Black Jacques disappears. Presumably he used a Chimaera Wing or something similar to leave, although he could also have gone back through the door to the Temple of the Moon. Either way, he's gone now.   That man works for your father!? ...There is more to you than meets the eye, it seems. But never mind that now. We each have our secrets. This time, I shall accompany you on YOUR mission. Who would have expected CELL to show up now? Fighting Commissioner Snap will certainly be a challenge, even with Euchre's overpowered team. In any case, that's enough for this update. Next time, Euchre will be attempting to beat Commissioner Snap at his own game and maybe even picking up that reward that was mentioned. Extra: The Monster Library Before anyone asks, yes, I'll be getting that monster that I missed on the revisit to the twin temples. Hacksaurus   Hacksauruses have the Skills Dragon Lore and Attack Boost when scouted and just Dragon Lore when synthesised. They have the Trait Critical Massacre and are immune to confusion. Dragon Lore is the same as it was on Green Dragon back in Part 9. Gryphon   Gryphons have the Skills Antimagic and Drain Magic Ward when scouted and just Antimagic when synthesised. They have no Traits and are immune to Fizzle. Antimagic is a two-tiered Skill. Antimagic only requires 75 Skill Points to reach the cap, whereas Antimagic II requires the full 100. The two share some abilities: Magic Frailty, Magic Barrier, Stupefying Strike, Bounce, Dim Guard and Fizzle Guard. Antimagic's unique abilities are Dim, Ping and Fizzle, whereas Antimagic II has the Ka- variants of those spells. Overall it's an alright Skill, although its usefulness is greatly diminished against an enemy who doesn't use magic. If you want to use this Skill it's probably best to get a magic-oriented monster to benefit from the buffs and debuffs this Skill provides. Drain Magic Ward is the same as it was on Flyguys in Part 11. Wrecktor   Wrecktors have the Skills Bang & Woosh and Wisdom Boost when scouted and just Bang & Woosh when synthesised. They have the Trait Wooshmeister and are immune to Fizzle. Bang & Woosh is the same as it was on Lump Wizards in Part 10. Skeleton Soldier   Skeleton Soldiers have the Skills Healer and Attack Boost when scouted and just Healer when synthesised. They have no Traits, are weak to Zap and are immune to instant death and skipping their turns. Healer was on Healslimes back in Part 5. Extra 2: Synthesis Recipes Hacksaurus + Undead Family = Skelegon (Rank D, scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) Skelegons will always be available on Xeroph Isle, and this recipe will actually decrease the Rank of your Hacksaurus from C to D. Don't go for this one. Skeleton Soldier + Skeleton Soldier = Phantom Swordsman (Rank B, not scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) This is a very good synthesis recipe. Not because of Phantom Swordsman, which actually has an ID one lower than Skeleton Soldier, but because of what Phantom Swordsman can be synthesised into. Synthesising one of these with a Hunter Mech results in a Rank S monster. There's one other recipe for that particular monster, but the non-Hunter Mech monster that it requires is considerably harder to obtain. Epicmissingno fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Sep 10, 2017 |
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Sep 9, 2017 13:12
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If that mirror hadn't just told us we had to get into an otherwise inaccessible location, I'd suspect we were being deliberately distracted by The Beej.
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Sep 9, 2017 22:53
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Epicmissingno posted:I don't think this voice is ever attributed to anyone, and it disappears again after this dungeon, to this is essentially the game talking directly to the player. Epicmissingno posted:...past a chest with an itemised Multiheal... Epicmissingno posted:That...doesn't sound good. Isn't Commissioner Snap one of the best scouts in all of Green Bays?
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Sep 9, 2017 23:41
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Commander Keene posted:Is this supposed to be a "so"? I was thinking more that it's to distract snap while our evil organization is up to no good under his nose.
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Sep 10, 2017 00:03
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Commander Keene posted:Ygg Dew is a Multiheal in this game? IIRC, in most DQ games it's equivalent to Omniheal (full heal to entire party). Yeah, it's a bit of an anomaly. The item description says that it heals 100 to 120 HP to all party members.
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Sep 10, 2017 00:22
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Part 14: Make It Snappy Last update, Euchre went to the the twin temples of Celeste Isle, only to find his way blocked. This time, he'll be going back to Domus Isle in order to attempt to battle Commissioner Snap. Music: Scoutpost  Before that, though, it's time to get suitably prepared. This combination of monsters results in a familiar face...  ...a Golem! Remember when one of these was a boss fight? Well, Euchre has one now, and it's the first Rank A monster he's obtained. This'll be going towards the Monster Scout Proficiency Test soon enough, but for now Commissioner Snap is much more important.  It's getting Darklight Slashes from the Metal Slime Knight, but no points will be put in for the foreseeable future. Diminisher is just too important.  After grinding Brickman up to a respectable level, it's time to check the challenge leaderboards. Lo and behold, they've changed! Rummy is still up there at the top, but Euchre's risen a couple of places on account of his eight pieces of darkonium.  There's also a notice about Commissioner Snap that's unique to the Domus Isle scoutpost's noticeboard. Wasn't everyone barred from entering last time Euchre checked? Music: Appearance of the Town   Breaking news! Scouts flock to Domus Isle to meet Commissioner Snap! First opportunity in years to shake hands with the Great One himself!As it turns out this isn't a routine thing. It's strange that this happened just as Euchre was instructed to challenge Snap, though.  The snooty guy she replaced wouldn't let ANYONE see Snap, so she's definitely an improvement.Presumably this new receptionist is the one behind the new initiative. With timing this convenient, though, I have a sneaking suspicion that she was planted by CELL.  I mean, he was the first ever challenge winner, the top scout in Green Bays!We've heard about Snap's previous victory before, but the first ever challenge? That's new. Music: Contest Castle  But when he laughs, he doesn't laugh with his eyes, if you know what I mean. It's not surprising. If great men weren't different, they wouldn't be great.That doesn't seem right. Surely even great men should do that much. Maybe there's something wrong with him?  He was in front of the Commissioner's office going "ahem" this and "don't you know" that.That guy was called Suit, right? Or, rather, he was in one cutscene and then lost it for some reason. In any case, his mysterious disappearance is sure to be tied into whatever CELL's plan is.  Sure enough, as everyone's been saying, he's been replaced with a female member of MSO staff. How about talking to her, then?  Excuse me!? A battle with the Commissioner? Hmm, I don't know about that. He's a very busy man, you know. He barely has time to see anyone, let alone battle random scouts!Wait, wasn't it supposed to be easy to see Commissioner Snap now? What happened to that?  Oh. She's trying to be funny, unsuccessfully. Hm? This is too easy. Why is she helping us...? What a clever monster! It must have taken you AGES to teach it to do that! Anyway, let's go and see the Commissioner, shall we?And so, unsurprisingly, Euchre goes in to see the Commissioner.   Oh, do I have guests? Now, who could it be?  Why would Snap be even slightly surprised by this? Hasn't he been beset by requests to battle all day? Ah...I see you have a most unusual companion. Hm... Haven't I seen you before? Oh, of course! I treated your monster in the scoutpost on Xeroph Isle. Well, that settles it. You HAVE to let him challenge you now, sir. I'm in the middle of some rather important research, you see- OF COURSE you are, sir! But didn't you say that you were a bit stuck? Hm? Now this is just silly in how unsubtle it is. This is far too forceful for there to be no ulterior motive. And what better way to refresh yourself than a battle at the arena?  And here that motive is - Snap needs to be out of his office so that his new assistant can do something-or-other. Frankly I'm staggered that he doesn't call her out on anything. Besides, look at the strange monster he has. Aren't you even a little bit curious? Very well. I shall go to the battle arena. Come on, young man. You shall have your battle!And so Euchre and Commissioner Snap go off to Xeroph Isle, and nothing interesting happens along the way. Music: None  Despite being one of the most important people in Green Bays, he doesn't bring along any escorts. Perhaps his monsters fill that role.  Office has its privileges. The arena managers were kind enough to lend us their facilities. You're taking part in the challenge, aren't you? Well, how about this... Four battles in a row. If you lose, it's the end of the match. In the finals, you would fight four different opponents, but today you fight only me. Righty-ho, then. Let's see how you do against these fellows!Music: Boss Battle  The format of this bout reveals itself: four fights against Commissioner Snap, with no healing in between as well as no item use. Since Euchre was only asked to challenge Snap, not win, losing at any point in these battles will continue the plot with no repercussions. That would be boring, though, so Euchre's going to win this thing. This first fight has two monsters that we've seen before and a single new one - the Scissor Beatle. All of these guys are pretty terrible, being below the challenge level of random encounters on Celeste Isle. They don't get a chance to show off their moves before they get taken out. Interestingly enough, all monsters fought in this set of battles have randomly generated names - save before the fights, start the first one, reset and repeat and you'll find that the names change each time. Music: None  Beating any of Snap's teams doesn't even give out any experience points or money, so that makes the only reason for winning this set of battles the satisfaction of taking out Commissioner Snap.  Righty-ho. I think I've warmed up now. It's been quite a while, you know. But you might find this one a trifle more challenging. Tally-ho!Music: Boss Battle  This one's pretty simple, too. The main threat is the Treeface in the middle, since it's incredibly bulky compared to anything else here. Just remember that the Lump Wizard is immune to all offensive magic.  To supplement the Treeface's bulk it recovers some of its HP every turn, just to be extra obnoxious. In the face of Euchre's team, though, it crumbles within a couple of turns. Music: None  Now then, young Euchre. Let's see how you do against these fellows.Music: Boss Battle  This time there are two monsters that we haven't seen yet. The one in the middle is a Mechan-O'-Wyrm, and the one on the right is a Beetlebully. Both are highly-ranked monsters that are pretty rare, all things told. Also, this where the fights start to get difficult.  The first thing that needs to be watched out for is Kasap from the Restless Armour. Since this particular party uses exclusively physical attacks, anyone hit by that won't be surviving very long.  Compounding the aggravation is the Mechan-O'-Wyrm's War Cry, which can buy the rest of its team turns to beat Euchre's monsters into submission. The Beetlebully has a healing spell, I think, but it didn't get a chance to use it before it got flattened by the sheer might of Wildcard and Brickman. You might think that Euchre's team is far to strong for this, but you'd be wrong. Very, very wrong. Music: None  It's time for the fourth and final battle. Were this the real final, a victory now would give you the championship. Tally-ho!Music: Boss Battle  This, ladies and gentlemen, is the hardest fight in the game. The jump in competence from the previous round of this endurance battle is huge, and these monsters are far more powerful than Euchre's in terms of pure stats - the Living Statue on the left, the Gigantes in the centre and the Black Dragon on the right can deal more damage than any previous boss has managed individually. The only advantage that Euchre has for this fight is that Commissioner Snap's team is controlled by the AI, making them act randomly, while he can control his monsters manually. So of course the first thing that I make Euchre's monsters do is fight without giving them orders, thereby leaving them to the whims of the AI.  Thankfully Wildcard leads with the ability I want him to be spamming in this fight, Lightning. Lightning is the second-tier form of Spark, the Wulfspade-exclusive ability, and it's very powerful right now.  This damage can't be resisted except by a Wulfspade, and it's high enough to wipe out a fair few random encounters right now. It barely scratches these guys, but it's the best that Euchre's got.  Brickman just attacks, which is a grave error and the reason why leaving him to his own devices is a bad idea. Basically anything else would have been more helpful.  Meanwhile Li'l Green casts Midheal in order to fix some of the damage from round three. Remember, there's no healing between battles.  Team Dr Snap starts out with a Bemusing Breath from the Black Dragon which thankfully misses everyone. Confusion would have been incredibly debilitating in this fight and would probably have given Snap the win if it had hit anyone.  The Living Statue does pretty bad damage for this team, all things considered, and doesn't have any utility either. It's definitely the weak link here, though it's still pretty nasty.  The Gigantes, meanwhile, is more of a threat. Again, it doesn't have utility, but does it really need any with that much damage?  Starting the second turn, the Living Statue defends, which is probably the best thing it could have done. That's fifty less damage to worry about.  Unfortunately when Wildcard uses Lightning again the Living Statue takes half normal damage because of its previous action. Still, it's not much of a problem.  Since I'm actually giving out orders on this turn, Brickman uses Weakening Wallop on the Gigantes in order to attempt to make it a non-threat.  It works, so the Gigantes is effectively locked down for a few turns.  Li'l Green heals off the damage from the previous turn...  Only to get even more HP taken off from the Black Dragon's attack. That thing is absolutely the highest priority target in this fight, with both very damaging physical attacks and very debilitating ailments at its disposal.  The Gigantes is now safely out of the way, though, comparatively speaking. It's safe to ignore it until the attack debuff wears off.  Moving on to the third turn Lightning does ridiculous damage once again. It would be incredibly difficult to take Snap's team down without a source of damage as good as this.  Gigantes finally goes down from this, making it only very slightly less of a concern in this fight than it was after Weakening Wallop.  Speaking of that ability, it gets used on the Black Dragon this turn. After that 89 damage last turn it needs to be neutralised, and fast.  The RNG is merciful and grants an attack decrease. The Black Dragon isn't entirely useless, yet, though.  After yet another Midheal from Li'l Green...  ...it shows why it's not to be trifled with by launching a Burning Breath.  The RNG giveth, and the RNG taketh away. We haven't seen paralysis before, so here's a quick reminder - paralysed monsters can't take any actions until it wears off. Wildcard can still pull this off, though, right?  Er, no. The Living Statue gets a critical hit at the worst possible time...   And it takes out Wildcard. There was no way to survive that. So now everyone's paralysed or dead and there are still two monsters left to take out. This is a horrible situation.   It gets even worse when Team Dr Snap decides to start exclusively attacking Li'l Green in an attempt to deprive Team Euchre of their healer when the paralysis inevitably wears off.  It's at this point that the Black Dragon decides that it's going to throw Envenomate around.  Thankfully it only hits Brickman, but that won't matter for long. .png) Brickman loses 1/8 of his maximum HP when he takes his turn, which happens to be right after Venom Breath comes out. He's still paralysed, by the way.  Immediately after that, the Living Statue decides that now would be a good time to attack Li'l Green...  And because of the lack of healing that's just enough to nudge him down to no HP. Now I'm on a turn limit, because Envenomate won't wear off on its and item use is prohibited so Brickman can't heal.  Thankfully the paralysis wears off, and Brickman is free to punch the Living Statue in the face.  It wasn't very sturdy, so it goes down. Not it's one-on-one. A few turns pass with not much happening other than a simple trading of blows. I'm sure you already know how that goes given previous showings. Until finally...  ...the Black Dragon goes down.  This left Brickman on 19 HP, only two more turns away from being defeated by the venom.  And that's how you take down a boss. Music: None  But the level of scouting these days is much higher than it was in my time. Beating me doesn't mean much. I was a champion, yes - but many years ago. Well then... I'm not as young as I used to be... Let's have a little rest, shall we, before returning home?Music: Ambiance of the Night  In fact, the rest is so long that it stretches well into the night.  It's all thanks to monsters that we can enjoy ourselves like this. ... Their home is another dimension, a place we call the "dark world". Extraordinary thought, isn't it? What a place it must be. A paradise for monsters... Oh, how I would love to go there. If only it were possible. It is time we returned to town. I have much work to do...And so Euchre and Commissioner Snap returned to Domus Isle, again without incident. Music: None  Before they can reach MSO headquarters, though, they're stopped by one of Snap's subordinates.  Oh, never mind! The thing is, something terrible has happened! We've been robbed, sir! Robbed!Well, it looks like CELL has made their move. I wonder what they stole?   Music: Scout Battle  I left my receptionist to guard it! What the blazes happened to her? She seems to have, er, disappeared... A lot of us think she might have been involved. Well, that's certainly put a spanner in the works. Presumably the "it" they're talking about is the Scout's Mark, but really it could be almost anything.  Returning to MSO headquarters, Euchre is left to his own devices. How about asking some of the employees what happened?  I'd hate to think it was one of my colleagues, but if it smells like a slime...Somehow I don't think she was working alone. Just a hunch.  Did you see? She would smile at EVERYONE who came to the Commissioner's office. Nothing is more valuable to Dr Snap than those notes.He seemed more concerned with something singular, though, rather than his plural research notes. At least we know what was taken now.  They guessed that someone would be sure to lure him out of his office sooner or later. Giving them a perfect chance to raid it.You might think there would be safeguards in place to prevent this sort of thing, but no, apparently Commissioner Snap's personal assistant can just walk out with all his research notes without anyone preventing it. Then again, the security here was already shown to be pretty lax when Wildcard broke in without anyone capturing him.  Had I only done my job, this tragedy would never have occurred. I became ill and took to bed with a slight fever. Oh, what a fool I am! A fool, I say!Another huge security question is how exactly the CELL agent managed to get into the position of personal assistant to the Commissioner and enacted huge policy changes when the true holder of the position was off work for, at most, a couple of days.   Ah, Euchre. Did you come to check on me? Well, don't you worry, my boy. I'm quite all right, I assure you. All the bounders took were my research notes and a diary. The important thing is that no one was hurt. Well, then. Let's put this unpleasant incident behind us, shall we? The Scout's Mark is still safe and sound. I've taught you some of my finest tricks. It would be a shame not to see them put into practice in the finals!Frankly Snap's tactics weren't anything special, other than having some of the better monsters with ludicrous stats. Then again, that's usually enough to get through anything the AI can throw at you.  I don't know who you are, but you must leave right away. From now on, this area is off-limits to everyone except authorised MSO staff. No one gets in to see the Commissioner - no one!Music: Contest Castle  At least they're doing something sensible now and kicking out a potential security risk. Then again, this is really too little too late. There's nothing to do now but leave MSO headquarters entirely. Music: Appearance of the Town  Our timing was...unfortunate. Why did your father order you to duel with the Commissioner? And did we complete the mission by fighting him at the arena? If so, were you not promised a reward? ... "Mission accomplished. The gate to the bridge on Infant Isle has been opened as a reward." Does this mean we are closer to reaching the finals? ... ... The decision is yours. With that, Euchre has his new objective: check out the gate on Infant Isle to see whether it leads to anything needed for his further progression. Next time, he's be doing that as well as completing a few loose ends. Extra: The Monster Library Golem   Golems have the Skill Materialist when synthesised and can't be scouted. They have the Trait Psycho, are immune to instant death, and are more likely than average to be sent to sleep. Materialist was first found on Muddy Hands back in Part 6. Incidentally, since Golem was a boss fight, the Sleep weakness is just as relevant there as it is here. The same goes for all monsters that double as boss fights. Extra 2: Synthesis Recipes No new recipes are available using any combination of Euchre's monsters.
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Sep 16, 2017 11:57
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What a refreshing conceit for a game to have you be a terrorist sleeper agent!
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Sep 16, 2017 13:50
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Deceitful Penguin posted:What a refreshing conceit for a game to have you be a terrorist sleeper agent! Sleeper agent yes. Terrorist? They certainly seem menacing, but what have they actually done besides steal some notes probably?
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Sep 16, 2017 17:07
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So, funny story: when I first played this game, my team got trashed by Snap's second team. Like, I didn't manage to beat even one of his monsters. And all this time I assumed you were supposed to lose at the second team. So fidning he actually has more monsters, many of which are pretty high level, was a bit of a surprise for me.
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Sep 16, 2017 18:20
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Congrats on beating Snap with that team, that's certainly no easy feat.
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Sep 16, 2017 22:28
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RNGesus was merciful today on this day of days. It won't happen again
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Sep 16, 2017 23:22
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Dr. Snap is surprisingly humble and lovable.
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Sep 17, 2017 02:17
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Part 15: Northern Sights Last update, Euchre defeated Commissioner Snap in a very close battle, accidentally acting as an accomplice to theft in the process. This update he'll be continuing on with his quest to help Wildcard and collect darkonium. Music: Appearance of the Town  First off, though, some more things have opened up on Domus Isle. Let's take a look. You'll really see a different side to this town. There's an entrance down by the west gate, if you're interested.This information is, indeed, correct. Before this point the entrances to the sewer were blocked off by crates or, in one case, a thug. Now that they're open Euchre is free to rummage around in dirty water to his heart's content. Incidentally, the reason for this is apparently that the MSO wants to search the sewers for the culprit of the theft. Why it wasn't open for any of the sewer residents beforehand is beyond me.  A lot of my success was down to the fact that I wasn't afraid to experiment. You should try it. Why not mix a monster of the undead family with a green dragon? You might be surprised?We've already covered this synthesis recipe, but as a reminder it creates a Skelegon. It's absolutely not worth it because Green Dragons aren't available in the wild any more and Skelegons are.  I bet he's a great, big brute of a scout!Euchre's actually met everyone on the current leaderboards apart from Rummy and one other scout. We probably won't be learning who either of them are until the finals, although I think the other scout can randomly show up in scoutposts like Slimon did early on.  Over at the department store, a new service has opened up. We offer an introduction service for monsters that belong to differents scouts. Remember that you will lose the monster you offer for matchmaking. If you're having problems synthesising powerful monsters, we can help.Basically what the monster matchmakers can do is provide one half of a synthesis pair. The problems and benefits to this will be seen shortly.  We're here to help scouts find the perfect synthesis partner for their monstrous companions. We're the cupids that make monster romance a reality! ❤ We understand that every monster has his or her own likes and dislikes. It's our job to find the ideal monster match, so let us take the confusion out of monster fusion! ❤If that symbol isn't showing up for you, it's a Unicode love heart. I can't think of a single other character who uses those in this game, which is a little surprising, and also convenient for me because I probably won't need to transcribe any more in later dialogue.  Here's the menu for the monster matchmakers. There are a couple of big problems with this: firstly, there's no way to check the other person's monster's stats in detail. Secondly, the requirements for Euchre's contribution are sometimes fairly strict, and it's often not worth doing because it'll only make a very low-rank monster. There are some monsters that show up here that are incredibly useful, though - for example, sometimes a Metal Slime will show up that requests another Metal Slime, and that will always result in a Liquid Metal Slime. Most of the monsters here are part of special synthesis recipes, in fact, although sometimes there are traps which don't. It's all trial and error unless you have a guide. Also, the monsters that appear here often have fairly different Skills to their wild counterparts. It might be worth taking a look at the results just for that. Note that not all of them unlock immediately, and the list of available monsters shuffles every time you enter and leave the menu.  Back outside, it's time to catch up on the news with our good friend Canasta Croupier. Crisis in the MSO! Commissioner swears: "The challenge will go on!" Scouts make dash for the islands in desperate bid to find final pieces of darkonium!Sadly there's nothing here that we don't already know. Euchre won't be rushing anywhere much today, though - there are sidequests to be done.  Make sure you read the advisories in the scouts' dens.The noticeboards in every scouts' den have now been updated with information about pirates. They've actually been displaying a very vague notice about them up until now, but it's only now that they mention exactly where the pirates have been sighted. We'll get to that later.  While Euchre's in the area, how about checking on Igor Folds? Surely he's invented something by now.  My great invention is ready at last! It vill make ze vorld forget bout ze stupid scout ring! Do you vant to know vat it is? Ja, ja, of course you do! Very vell. I vill share zis magnificent invention vith you, my friend. Oh dear. I think he's a bit senile. You eat zis grass and it cures ze poison, see? Ah, you are speechless with amazement, ja?No, that's just Euchre being a silent protagonist. Music: Scoutpost  Over at the scoutpost, checking the leaderboards reveals that they've changed yet again. This time, Euchre's dropped down to fourth place. Also, Bob A. Job has been forced off and Slimon is back on. Good for him!  Here's the notice about pirates, by the way. At the very least it confirms that there's a seaway between Celeste Isle and Fert Isle. Music: Appearance of the Town  Going over to the piers leading to Xeroph Isle and Infern Isle, it's time to head into the sewers. That thug was blocking the way in before, but now he's moved out of the way. Music: CELL Headquarters  The inside of the sewer is mainly made up of wooden planks and bridges, with a few tents around the place.  The MSO don't make us leave, but they don't offer no 'elp neither.Pretty much everyone down here is in a sorry state. They'd have to be if they had to resort to living in the sewers. At least the place appears to be relatively clean for a sewer.  In any case, how about going inside one of the tents? This one is accessible by heading right from the entrance, or the one that Euchre went in, anyway; there are actually three entrances to the sewers.  I know! Yer the spittin' image o' that researcher! Trump, I think 'is name was. 'E was researchin' 'ow to communicate with monsters...but there was an accident. 'E was 'urt summin' awful, 'e was. No one knows if 'e survived.So Trump was a researcher before founding CELL? Perhaps he knew Commissioner Snap back then - after all, he's a monster researcher too.  Going left from the sewer's entrance results in the discovery of a shop down here. This is, I believe, the only source of the top three items in the game. We've already seen Positive Puller, and Think Negative has the opposite effect - any monsters scouted in the next battle will automatically have a negative charge. I can think of maybe one or two situations where that would be at all useful, and those are a while off.  The rest of this merchant's items are weapons. They're pretty much the best available at the moment, besides those available through monster drops. Euchre gets a Zombiesbane for Brickman, which does more damage to undead monsters on top of its high power.  Inside a nearby tent is this monster, who's hopping around the place.  Its companion seems to be rather sick of its company.  This means that Euchre gets to take it with him. Of course he's accepting this.  As it turns out the monster is a Dancing Devil. These are actually available to scout right now on the northern part of Celeste Isle, but it's nice to get a free one.  Heading over the bridge to the other side of the sewer results in the discovery of this treasure chest, which unsurprisingly contains a pittance. This is where all the poor people of Domus Isle live, after all.  That's basically it for this section of the sewers. Heading through this hole in the wall leads to the other part.  Surprisingly there's solid ground here instead of the planks of the first section. Heading right immediately, though, puts Euchre straight back onto those.  Poor little thing, probably lost 'is scout master.Well, now we know that there's a reason to come back here at night. Euchre will definitely be revisiting this place after giving it a once-over.  That treasure chest that can be seen in the background contains a Seed of Defence...  ...and there's another one right next to it that has a Gold Nugget, which can be sold for lots of money. It makes you wonder why it's here in the sewer. Suffice to say that I completely forget about it for a while.  The final thing of note in the sewers is this door, which won't be openable for a very long time - in fact, it won't be until the postgame. There's something very special behind it, though.  Returning at night, there's a monster here that wasn't there before.  Er...yes? Somehow, Euchre has managed to scout a satyr. Now he must give the satyr a name... Well, that was certainly something. Unsurprisingly Satyrs aren't all that good, but Euchre doesn't have one yet so it's worth picking up. Besides, it's a free monster! What's not to like? Music: Scoutpost  Speaking of monsters, I remember to spend Dragoon's skill points. This lets him master Frizz & Bang by putting 50 points into it.  The logical thing to do at this point is to synthesise him with something. I choose a Wrecktor because it's a reasonably-ranked monster and I don't really want another King Cureslime. Besides, the result of this is going to be important in a few bosses' time. .png) Said result is a Dark Slime, which is a decent spellcaster. He gets an appropriate name for his appearance.  Because Dragoon mastered Frizz & Bang, Frizz & Bang II is one of the Skills that can be passed down through synthesis. It's pretty much a straight upgrade, so much so that it overwrites everything learned through Frizz & Bang. Music: Island  The reason for this synthesis is that Euchre's going to enter Rank C of the Xeroph Isle arena challenge. Music: Monster Battle  We've seen the first two battles already, so let's skip straight to the third. This fight used to be too much for Team Euchre, but not any more.  The Fencing Fox likes to use Lightning Slash to increase its damage a bit as well as putting the hurt on monsters weak to Zap.  It also has Mercurial Thrust, which is actively detrimental to it because it always goes first anyway. Remember, Mercurial Thrust does less damage than a normal attack as its trade-off for going first.  The Chainine has Blinding Blow, which is kind of annoying if it hits. Be careful of that one. Incidentally, I don't know what the Phantom Fencer can do in this fight. It died too quickly to find out, which tends to happen in the arena. Music: None  Speaking of the enemy dying, that's exactly what happens to the rest of the team. This is easy compared to the fights against Commissioner Snap. Here's ya prize then. A piece of highly sought-afta darkonium. You've qualified for Rank B now. Have a burl at it, why dontcha? Come back soon. We're lookin' forward to seein' ya fight again... Hooroo!Euchre won't be challenging Rank B just yet. It's probably a good idea to wait for a bit before that, and he's got things to do anyway.  Whatever he chooses to do now, that's almost all the darkonium crystals collected now. This is also all the darkonium it's possible to collect before the fights with Snap, so Euchre can't qualify for the finals before that point. Music: Ambiance of the Night  Since Euchre's doing sidequests right now, why not pay Scoutmaster Shuffles a visit to show him Brickman? He's on the way to Euchre's next destination anyway.  ... A Rank A Golem? You've done well, young scout. Here is your reward - a rather dangerous-looking pair of metal talons. Euchre recives a pair of metal talons!Metal talons are a great weapon right now, being a straight upgrade from the metal claws. They're the strongest weapon available at this point that doesn't require a random drop and they also do extra damage to metal monsters, so they go on Brickman. Well then, young Euchre. You've solved all ten problems. I'll need to prepare a new test. Come back later, young man.You didn't think that was the end of Scoutmaster Shuffles' questions, did you? There are more available later on, but they won't be available for a long time. Some of them are pretty nasty, too.  Right next to Shuffles' tent is a bridge that was blocked off until now.  Approaching it starts a cutscene.  It seems that your father is a man of his word. Now we can reach the north side of Celeste Isle from this island. Why do you hesitate? We can go there now, if that is your wish. You're not afraid of heights, are you?Well, that was pointless. I suppose it's there to remind the player that this is the way onward if they stop playing, forget where to go and start wandering aimlessly.  There's not all that much to note across the bridge, but the most obvious thing is that blue treasure chest sitting there. Much like all blue chests... Music: None  ...it contains a darkonium crystal.  All Euchre needs to do now is go to MSO Headquarters and he'll be in the finals! Of course, he should first make sure he's fulfilled his promise to help the Incarnus.Having all ten darkonium crystals gives Euchre the right to enter the Monster Scout Challenge finals...but if he tries to, Wildcard will force him not to. It's impossible to proceed without taking him to all the shrines. Let's get to that, then, shall we? Music: Island  Alternatively, Euchre can continue amassing a collection of monsters. This one is a bit tricky to fight - it swoops down from the sky to attack, but that means that it's only possible to get into an encounter with it when it does so. It ended up becoming daytime before Euchre could fight it. Music: Monster Battle  When they're actually in battle, though, Hades Condors are decidedly terrible. They only have one ability that I could see...  ...and it's Heal. At least get Midheal or something! Music: Island  They're the other source of Cure-All outside of King Cureslimes, though, so it might be useful to synthesise that onto something if you haven't already got it.  At the back of this part of Infant Isle is a ladder that leads downwards.  In fact, it leads straight to a treasure chest! The contents aren't anything to write home about, sadly.  The real thing of importance down the ladder is, er, another ladder.  This one leads down to the beach, as well as a jetty.  "The northern half of the island, divided from the south by towering ruins."Unsurprisingly it leads to Celeste Isle. Music: None  The map of seaways is really filling in now, isn't it? There's only one more to go, in fact, that being the route between Celeste Isle and Fert Isle. Music: Island  Upon Euchre's arrival to the northern part of Celeste Isle, he's greeted by a lack of a scoutpost. In fact, compared to the southern part, this place is pretty barren.  If your monsters get hurt, you can use that medical console over there to heal them. I only just made it out of the ruins. The monsters in there... Well, just be careful, okay?We've already seen one of these medical consoles on Infern Isle, but it's nice to get a reminder just in case. The lack of a scoutpost means there's no convenient Zoom point right at the start of this section. Euchre would have to walk all the way across Infant Isle to get to this point after Zooming.  Or would he? There are actually two jetties here, and the other one leads to an island with a scoutpost.  "A jungle island thick with trees and vines. Powerful monsters lurk here."More specifically, it leads to Fert Isle. It's worth it to go there and briefly go into the scoutpost to set it as Euchre's Zoom point. So that's what I do. No, you don't get to see any of Fert Isle yet. Music: None  You do get to see what happens on the way back, though - an uncharted island shows up! Music: Island  This one is a little different. See how all those Drackies are out during the day? That's because this is a Dracky island, and no other monsters appear here. Sort of.  After looting the chest (a Seed of Life, if anyone's interested), Euchre spots a Dracky that's somewhat bigger than the others. Music: Monster Battle  This is a Great Dracky, and it's a very important monster to scout. Why? Because it's not able to be synthesised for some reason. Not even grandparent synthesis with Drackies results in one, unlike in this game's sequel. They're also only available on uncharted islands which only contain Drackies, making it one of the two monsters that have this property.  As for its abilities, they aren't all that impressive. Bang doesn't do all that much damage any more.  And, of course, Crack is even worse in that regard since it only hits one monster. Music: Island  Appropriately, they have Bang & Crack as a Skill. Interestingly, Vlad's level is fairly overblown for monsters at this point, but that just means that he doesn't need any training. Into storage he goes!  Back on Celeste Isle, there's some exploring to be done. The whole northern part of the island can essentially be boiled down to a series of plateaus connected by ramps. This is the first plateau, and while it appears to be free of monsters that's not actually the case.  Just like on Infant Isle, monsters swoop down to attack. They're just as annoying to get into a battle with as the Hades Condor. Music: Monster Battle  Gargoyles have a surprising number of abilities at their disposal.  Mercurial Thrust can be an annoyance, but it's probably the nicest thing Gargoyles can do besides their normal attack.  Multislash is pretty annoying, as are all multi-target attacks, purely because healing the damage tends to be more MP-intensive. Random encounters are designed to wear you down, after all.  Gust Slash is simple enough - it's the basic Woosh-elemental slash, so it does exactly what you'd expect.  Finally, Kasap can be painful if it's used at the start of a battle and it actually hits anyone. Music: Island  Overall, Gargoyles aren't all that bad...unless they come with a certain other monster that'll come up later. That one only appears at night, though.  Heading up the next ramp, Headhunters start appearing on the field. We've seen these before on the south of the island, so there's no point in giving them another write-up.  The second plateau has a few grass huts scattered around, but they're just for decoration.  The Jumbo Insulade in this chest is essentially Insulatle in item form - it lowers damage taken from breath attacks for the entire party.  There are some other monsters mixed in with the Headhunters around here: Dancing Devils! This is where to get them from if you want more than the one in the Domus Isle sewers. Music: Monster Battle  Even though Euchre already has one, we're still looking at what wild ones can do in battle.  Unsurprisingly they specialise in dance moves. Sultry Dance is basically just a delaying tactic.  Weird Dance, though, is incredibly annoying. It drops its target's current MP by around 20 if it hits, which is obviously a bad thing. In, say, Brickman's case, that's about 1/3 of his maximum. Music: Island  That's enough dancing for now. Instead, Euchre heads up to the final plateau. This one has fires burning everywhere which, like the grass huts, have no mechanical effect. They're just there to make the place look less barren.  Straight ahead is a door leading to the Temple of the Moon...  ...and to the right of that is a door leading to to the room where the Great Looking Glass resides. Unfortunately Euchre still can't open it, or indeed the one on the other side. Since the sun is setting, though, why not go over the monsters that can appear at night? Music: Ambiance of the Night  First, and last, is this monster. It crops up on a decent amount of northern Celeste Isle. Music: Monster Battle  Night Emperors are the hardest monsters that appear in the outside areas of Celeste Isle, and that's because they're support-focused. Thankfully they sometimes enter battle asleep.  Their moveset starts with Kasap, which is obviously a bad thing to be hit by. It makes physical attacks hit Euchre's monsters harder, after all.  Then there's Oomphle, which has more of an effect than Kasap since it always hits and attack buffs tend to have more of an effect than defence debuffs.  The final spell that they can cast is Kasnooze, which has a pretty good chance of sending all of Euchre's team to sleep. It also cancels all of a monster's tension if it hits, for reasons that should be obvious, making scouting a pain. Music: Ambiance of the Night  Thankfully that's all they have. If they're paired with a physical attacker, like a Gargoyle or a Headhunter, they can really pile on the hurt. Otherwise they stall but not much else. And that's it for Celeste Isle! The north side is surprisingly small. Next time, Euchre will be heading back into the Temple of the Moon to help the Great Looking Glass and find the next shrine for Wildcard. Extra: The Monster Library Dark Slime   Dark Slimes have the Skill Muspell and cannot be scouted. They have the Traits Artful Dodger and Zammeister, are weak to Zap, and are healed by Zam. Muspell is a Skill that is mostly given over to Frizz and Zam spells and abilities, so much so that it teaches the exact same abilities as Frizz & Zam for the first 42 skill points - Frizz, Flame Slash, Frizzle, Zam, Shade Slash and Zammle. On top of those it teaches Whack, Uncarnate and Magic Burst. Magic Burst is particularly notable because Muspell is the only Skill that isn't named after a monster and teaches it. What Magic Burst does is simple - it drains all the user's MP and does damage proportional to the amount of MP that it used. Unfortunately this Skill isn't very good for a few reasons - the offensive spells only go up to tier 2 out of 4, the elemental slashes are only tier 1 out of 2, Uncarnate is basically useless outside of multiplayer, and Magic Burst is just bad considering its cost. Muspell might do better in high-level multiplayer, but by that time Skills are available that are just better. Hades Condor   Hades Condors have the Skills Cure-all and Defence Boost when scouted, and just Cure-all when synthesised. They have the Trait Artful Dodger and are immune to ice breath. Cure-all was on King Cureslimes back in Part 11. Satyr   Satyrs have the Skills Dancer and Attack Boost when obtained in the Domus Isle sewers, and just Dancer when synthesised. They have no Traits and are immune to Sleep. Dancer was on Mud Mannequins back in Part 10. Night Emperor   Night Emperors have the Skills Bad Breath and Wisdom Boost when scouted, and just Bad Breath when synthesised. They have the Trait Artful Dodger and are immune to Sleep. Bad Breath was on Walking Corpses back in Part 11. Gargoyle   Gargoyles have the Skills Bird Brain and Attack Boost when scouted, and just Bird Brain when synthesised. They have the Trait Artful Dodger and are immune to Inaction (skipping turns due to shock, dancing etc). Bird Brain was on Mecha-mynahs back in Part 12. Dancing Devil   Dancing Devils have the Skills Dancer and Ban Dance Ward when scouted, and just Dancer when synthesised. They have no Traits and are immune to both Drain Magic and Fizzle. Dancer was on Mud Mannequins back in Part 10. Ban Dance Ward is good for monsters who have mainly dance abilities, and not much else. It conveys four Ban Dance Guard passive abilities, giving the recipient full immunity to the ailment as long as they aren't naturally weak to it, as well as Agility +20 and Able Ambusher. The latter is pretty awful, increasing the chance of gaining a preemptive strike on wild monsters, and doesn't fit with the rest of the Skill - I've never seen a wild monster use Ban Dance, so it's really a Skill for multiplayer use. Get this Skill for a dedicated Dancer, but only if you plan to do multiplayer. Great Dracky   There's no official art for Great Drackies that I could find, so this Dracky art will have to do. The only aesthetic difference is their size, anyway. Great Drackies have the Skills Bang & Crack when scouted, and cannot be synthesised. They have the Trait Artful Dodger, are immune to Bang and healed by Zam. Bang & Crack is yet another dual-element Skill. This time, the elements are both multi-target. Basically, see what I've said for every other dual-element Skill and apply it to this one. Zam Ward is another Ward Skill. This one grants two Zam Guards, Magic Miser, and Magic Scrooge. As for the stat boosts, there's Wisdom +20, Maximum MP +20, and Maximum HP +10. Again, Magic Scrooge is a very nice ability to have. Regardless of that, this is a good ability for monsters weak to Zam. Extra 2: Synthesis Recipes From now on, I'll be noting whether a recipe can be made using the Monster Matchmakers. Sometimes this can save a lot of time. Dancing Devil + Imp = Dessert Demon (Rank D, scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) Dessert Demons have technically been available since Xeroph Isle, but they're harder to scout than both Dancing Devils and Imps. If you have any spare, this might be a good recipe. This recipe is available through Monster Matchmaking. A positive Dancing Devil is offered, and a negative Imp is required. Goodybag + Goodybag = Cannibox This synthesis recipe has been described before in Part 8, but it's now available through Monster Matchmaking. A positive Goodybag is offered, and a negative Goodybag is required. Demonrider + Restless Armour = Grim Rider This synthesis recipe has been described before in Part 12, but it's now available through Monster Matchmaking. A negative Demonrider is offered, and a positive Restless Armour is required. Dragonthorn + Undead Family = Snapdragon This synthesis has been described before in Part 9, but it's now available through Monster Matchmaking. A negative Dragonthorn is offered, and a positive Rank E Undead Family monster is required. Puppeteer + Wrecktor = Fallen Priest (Rank B, scoutable, not available through generic synthesis) Currently this synthesis is only available through Monster Matchmaking, though Puppeteers are available through generic synthesis - their ID is 110, making them a Rank C monster. Fallen Priests won't be available to scout until the final dungeon, so this might be a good synthesis to do, especially through Monster Matchmaking. If using Monster Matchmaking to make a Fallen Priest, a negative Puppeteer is offered, and a positive Wrecktor is required. Epicmissingno fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Sep 24, 2017 |
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Sep 23, 2017 16:17
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7KwJzPEY10
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Sep 23, 2017 19:24
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Oh, interesting. I guess that's like the NPC traders getting you trade evolutions in the Pokemon series?
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Sep 24, 2017 00:51
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Glazius posted:Oh, interesting. I guess that's like the NPC traders getting you trade evolutions in the Pokemon series? Kind of. Some of them don't tell you the exact requirement, only wanting something of a specific Rank, and some of them aren't even part of recipes. For the most part, though, yes. On an unrelated note, I'm probably not going to be updating as regularly from now on since my first university semester is starting next week. Something else starting from next week (hopefully) is that pretty much every update from the next one will be using different graphics settings on my emulator - the previous configuration I was using can't draw fog, and for some reason it removes the black lines around all the character models. Hopefully that'll make everything easier to make out.
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Sep 24, 2017 01:20
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Epicmissingno posted:What you're not seeing here is that this monologue is sprinkled with love hearts. Sadly there's no way to transcribe these. For what it's worth, you can use ❤ to get a Unicode heart.
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Sep 24, 2017 21:02
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FredMSloniker posted:For what it's worth, you can use ❤ to get a Unicode heart. Oh, thank you! I've put them in the update now.
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Sep 24, 2017 21:22
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As it turns out, I completely forgot about doing a bio for Headhunters back in Part 12. That's been fixed now. On a totally different note, there's an update incoming later today - it's not finished yet, but it will be in a few hours. Can we get to a new page by the time it's done?
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Sep 30, 2017 17:48
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choo choooo
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Sep 30, 2017 17:52
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Yeah, how about them Monsters?
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Sep 30, 2017 18:10
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