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I'm catching up and I can't believe that you just threw shade on my best pal the Fairy. She gives me healing items, clears status effects, uses resistance potions on me for scary boss fights, points out secret walls, makes me functionally immortal so long as I have at least one life apple edit: second best pal is the sword, solely because he yells SLICE
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Jul 29, 2018 08:45
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 21:39 |
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 Episode 17 - Less Comically, More Tragically
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Jul 30, 2018 22:07
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The Gravity Boots are actually rad as hell despite not being super useful. Shame that the game doesn't tell you the input, though.
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Jul 30, 2018 22:59
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Familiars gain Exp regardless of who kills the enemy. Alucard also gains Exp for monsters his familiars kill.
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Jul 30, 2018 23:10
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While we all adore the shield rod, as a weapon itself it? Not so hot. When you're not a high enough level to beat a boss to death with your bare hands at least  Until you get some shield that let you pull some serious bullshit, you will be better off using something that doesn't make one swing every five minutes unless you are feeling merciful to your enemy. PS Bat best familiar 
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Jul 31, 2018 03:49
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The bat can attack enemies for fairly mediocre damage (The Shield Rod is a pretty bad weapon by itself, and still massively outdamages the bat). The Fairy can use healing items on you (several of which are explicitly listed as unique to her) and tells you where the secret walls are Fairy is objectively a better familiar.
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Jul 31, 2018 04:09
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That's a whole lot of wasted potions and not nearly enough bats. "But it's bad damage" is also hardly damning compared to no damage at all 
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Jul 31, 2018 04:26
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I haven't been liking the fairy much because I want to decide which items to use and when, and she seems to vehemently disagree with my priorities. But I suspect I have hoarding tendencies and that the potions may have been better off used... still, it feels bad. I used the shield rod for quite a long time (I don't think I took it off until I got into the second half of the game), in part because number-wise its damage looks better than a lot of other weapons and I didn't mind the swing speed, and in part because I really didn't want to give up the defence boost. It may not be the best weapon but it works well enough.
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Jul 31, 2018 04:33
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As an aside, I'm loving the number of people that have picked up and are playing through along with us.
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Jul 31, 2018 14:22
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Hell I managed to get the motivation to pick up my old blind playthrough save from like, 4-5 years ago and finish it. Aesthetically this game is amazing and I can certainly appreciate that even if it was overall it's the second least engaging Igavania to me (though I haven't played Ecclesia yet). e: I forgot Harmony of Dissonance existed.
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Jul 31, 2018 15:20
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Natural 20 posted:As an aside, I'm loving the number of people that have picked up and are playing through along with us. I'm this close from booting this up for another playthrough myself. This game never gets old to me, and it always carries the fondest of memories.
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Jul 31, 2018 15:26
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 Episode 18 -Why does a skeleton have a pork bun?
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Aug 2, 2018 01:05
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Natural 20 posted:Why does a skeleton have a pork bun? Well how would you suggest it get some meat on them bones?
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Aug 2, 2018 01:14
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*finds Icebrand, looks at stats, completely ignores it* Why do I get the impression that we may have done this song and dance before? Welp, your loss.
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Aug 2, 2018 01:51
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The item you picked up and then started talking about the Ankh of Life was something else: the Herald Shield, which should be an upgrade for you. You seem to have glossed right over it a couple of times. Also, speaking of the Ankh of Life, I used it a lot. Then I looked up what it does and found out it only works on Potions and High Potions, it doesn't affect any other healing items and I hadn't been using those so I'd been completely wasting the equipment slot. Hooray? I don't know if you guys are actually overlevelled for the area you're in specifically; I've noticed in my own run that there are times the difficulty just disappears, and that just killing what crossed my path as I went places (and using what equipment I found) eventually made me too strong, so I'm not convinced there's any kind of balanced level curve. There are definitely places I still find the game can be hard, and occasional difficulty spikes, but I find myself wishing it didn't have a level-up system because it doesn't seem to benefit from it. I'm kind of curious if you're getting the same feeling at all? Edited to add: Okay, I definitely think you were overlevelled for Scylla, considering how early I fought her. The above was more about the mine and catacombs areas.
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Aug 2, 2018 02:18
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Much like Pokemon, exploiting weaknesses is a big thing in SOTN. Some things are strong against swords but weak against maces or vice versa, and elemental weaknesses are sure a thing that exists. Now that your weapon options are expanding beyond "sword", "slower, heavier sword" and "crappy sword", you may find yourself switching away from the venerable shield rod. And since the only things you can sell are jeweled rings, you'll always have these attacks available, on the off chance you want to try Basilarding a boss to death. This has been enjoyable to watch throughout most of your whole run (That Doppelganger fight was painful but I look forward to the next one), but now that you've gotten some core competency the entertainment value is rising. Also, talking about this LP with my friends has reminded me this exists.
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Aug 2, 2018 02:33
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Now you know how those "useless" boots you picked up before are situationally better than the bat. They can break things if you accidentally trigger them with no idea you did so. As an aside, I completely forgot that
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Aug 2, 2018 02:42
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The thing is that level doesn't have a huge effect on the overall difficulty in this game, especially since the game level scales experience to keep levels from going out of control (as in there is eventually a point at which no matter what you kill it will only give you 1 EXP). What actually matters is equipment. That Holy mail (and now the Spike Breaker) combined with the Shield Rod and a shield is what's keeping you alive more than anything else. I do find it odd that your Shield Rod is 3 points ahead of the Icebrand in your game (Icebrand is probably better anyway just because of attack speed) because in mine the Icebrand pulls ahead by 9 ATK.
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Aug 2, 2018 03:55
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Head Hit Keyboard posted:The thing is that level doesn't have a huge effect on the overall difficulty in this game, especially since the game level scales experience to keep levels from going out of control (as in there is eventually a point at which no matter what you kill it will only give you 1 EXP). The shield rod is boosted by your shield. I THINK better shields boost it more, but I'm not sure.
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Aug 2, 2018 04:00
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Head Hit Keyboard posted:I do find it odd that your Shield Rod is 3 points ahead of the Icebrand in your game (Icebrand is probably better anyway just because of attack speed) because in mine the Icebrand pulls ahead by 9 ATK. Each weapon has a hidden stat that determines a sort of scaling with your current strength, sort of like a reverse stat scaling in Dark Souls but (even more?) needlessly obfuscated. If your strength is equal or greater to that weapon stat, your listed attack is equal to your strength plus that stat. If your strength is lower than the weapon stat, your listed attack is equal to your half your strength plus the weapon stat. For example, the stat on the Shield Rod is 11 by itself and 16 with a shield equipped, and on Icebrand it's always 25. If we have a shield equipped... At 25 strength, the Rod has 41 attack, and Icebrand has 50 attack. At 24 strength, the Rod has 40 attack, and Icebrand has 37 attack. This is the higher end of a narrow window where the Rod is stronger than Icebrand, and what we see in the video. At 12 strength, the Rod has 28 attack, and Icebrand has 31 attack. At 10 strength, the Rod has 21 attack, and Icebrand has 30 attack. It's kind of janky because as we see, even a few points of strength will make the gap between weapons vary widely and unevenly, to the point where some are briefly better than others despite usually being not as good. EDIT: Ugh, I'm probably explaining this in a clumsy way because the whole thing is so unintuitive to me. I guess it's more that weapons have a strength requirement to access the better damage formula? And that requirement is equal to their attack bonus. Man that throws me off for some reason. Hunter Noventa posted:The shield rod is boosted by your shield. I THINK better shields boost it more, but I'm not sure. The Shield Rod's "scaling" stat is boosted to exactly 16 regardless of which shield it's paired with. It also offers 2 defense by itself, and increases its paired shield's defense bonus by another 2. FrankZP fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Aug 2, 2018 |
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Aug 2, 2018 04:39
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Hunter Noventa posted:The shield rod is boosted by your shield. I THINK better shields boost it more, but I'm not sure. FrankZP posted:Each weapon has a hidden stat that determines a sort of scaling with your current strength, sort of like a reverse stat scaling in Dark Souls but (even more?) needlessly obfuscated.
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Aug 2, 2018 06:05
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Gnoman posted:As an aside, I completely forgot that Aria of Sorrow didn't copy the map but they kept enough of its general feel and layout (entry hallway to an area over a lake full of fishmen for example) that I keep doing double-takes. The waterfall's rather infamous for example, and I could've sworn that switch had a picture next to it. Bruceski fucked around with this message at 06:25 on Aug 2, 2018 |
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Aug 2, 2018 06:22
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Nat: Oh God, there's so much more now, I can't keep track! Entire thread: 
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Aug 2, 2018 08:36
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it irrationally bothers me that Nat keeps going out of his way to collect hearts when he's full on hearts. And doesn't bother using his subweapons 99% of the time anyway. It's like a cruel time wasting joke to watch him faff about hitting torches and jumping after hearts that he can't collect cause he's full and doesn't use anyway.
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Aug 2, 2018 12:05
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Jade Star posted:it irrationally bothers me that Nat keeps going out of his way to collect hearts when he's full on hearts. And doesn't bother using his subweapons 99% of the time anyway. It's like a cruel time wasting joke to watch him faff about hitting torches and jumping after hearts that he can't collect cause he's full and doesn't use anyway. I have played a lot of Zelda in my life.
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Aug 2, 2018 12:35
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Jade Star posted:it irrationally bothers me that Nat keeps going out of his way to collect hearts when he's full on hearts. And doesn't bother using his subweapons 99% of the time anyway. It's like a cruel time wasting joke to watch him faff about hitting torches and jumping after hearts that he can't collect cause he's full and doesn't use anyway.
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Aug 2, 2018 12:39
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That's how I do it too. I gotta have all the hearts.
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Aug 2, 2018 14:35
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 Episode 19 -The Bingo Laser!
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Aug 4, 2018 00:33
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I have no idea why they translated Legion as Granfalloon in this game, but I find that hilarious. That thing seems a lot more impressive in this game compared to later appearances too, just because it's so huge; I'd fought it in other Castlevania games but they didn't prepare me for seeing it here. Your reaction to the demon familiar was amazing and I honestly have no words. I guess your avatar makes sense now? Speaking of familiars, I've gained a new appreciation for the faerie after making this discovery: with good timing, you can get her to use life apples without keeping her as the active familiar. All you have to do is pause the game right before Alucard takes a lethal blow and make her active in the relic menu. She'll immediately use the life apple and revive him (the game doesn't care what familiar you had out before or what it was doing, and there's no downtime involved in switching). This is pretty much equivalent to being able to use life apples to heal from the menu, which is especially nice since we can't do that otherwise. And it works no matter what level the faerie is.
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Aug 4, 2018 01:03
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Hm, a switch!
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Aug 4, 2018 04:15
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Lazy Bear posted:Hm, a switch! 20 years ago I was playing this game with a couple of friends, and our reaction was about the same as Nat's was for that line.
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Aug 4, 2018 05:41
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Walk Armor is great once it gets rolling. Something I always forgot about it in past playthroughs I found it rather early. Then in my recent replay, it was was already edging out Spike Armor by the time I picked it up. It should beat out that Diamond plate sitting unbought in the library by the time the bottom of the map is dealt with. Main problems are the lack of any passive perks ("Mist Could Pass" leads to one of my favorite status armors) , and a huge INT penalty if you actually like spell spamming. Demon is my second favorite familiar. But it's no bat. MOD EDIT: Spoiler'd this whole post just to be on the safe side. Somebody fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Aug 5, 2018 |
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Aug 4, 2018 08:10
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On my second go through the game, I went to the underground section asap because like N20, I had put that off for more exciting stuff the first time around. It was still not very hard, including Scylla. It's also kind of dumb because you can't really do much down there, as you cannot (or maybe juuuust and you have one shot at it) go to the room on top of the waterfall where the switch is to release the gorillas, and you can't go up the waterfall anyway. So you end up doing Scylla for no real gain, waltz through a bunch of Toads and...well, we'll see, but it's again a kind of underwhelming reward. Because to use that, you'll have to go back to the beginning of the area, and without Bat Form, you have to loop around half the castle to do so!
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Aug 4, 2018 13:55
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Section Z posted:Walk Armor Somebody fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Aug 5, 2018 |
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Aug 4, 2018 14:05
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Pierzak posted:Actual spoilers On the other hand, Your reaction isn't possible without knowing the very spoiler you are stating 
Section Z fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Aug 4, 2018 |
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Aug 4, 2018 16:19
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Simply Simon posted:On my second go through the game, I went to the underground section asap because like N20, I had put that off for more exciting stuff the first time around. It was still not very hard, including Scylla. It's also kind of dumb because you can't really do much down there, as you cannot (or maybe juuuust and you have one shot at it) go to the room on top of the waterfall where the switch is to release the gorillas, and you can't go up the waterfall anyway. So you end up doing Scylla for no real gain, waltz through a bunch of Toads and...well, we'll see, but it's again a kind of underwhelming reward. Because to use that, you'll have to go back to the beginning of the area, and without Bat Form, you have to loop around half the castle to do so! Guess who had a lot of time one summer and thought that the bat form was in the basement. This Guy. You can cross that gap with the double jump and the extra body length that the mist form gives you. I can't remember if you can make it back, but its doesn't take much time if you got nothing to do on a summers day. Also, check out the library video of how to defeat Legion. Its the only time I've ever seen someone use the boots to defeat a boss.
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Aug 5, 2018 03:23
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 I want to be helpful and gently guiding, but I don't know if this constitutes a spoiler: You've figured out the command for the Shield Rod bloop thingie. You may have other things on you that respond to commands of a similar nature.
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Aug 5, 2018 05:44
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Dareon posted:I don't know if this constitutes a spoiler It does.
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Aug 6, 2018 16:00
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This has been amazing to watch and catch up with! Thanks for putting it on! Subweapon chat: When I was in school, my friends and I always called the Rebound Stones "the sex stones," because, compared to the lightning and other subweapons, they were just a bunch of loving rocks.
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Aug 6, 2018 21:22
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 21:39 |
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 Episode 20 -How is this so amazing? Royal W posted:This has been amazing to watch and catch up with! Thanks for putting it on! And thanks very much for watching and catching all the way up!
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Aug 6, 2018 22:31
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