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I'm still catching up too, just finishing watching episode 5. To react to a statement earlier about Elliot's new sleep-inducing craft only having a proc chance of 30% being bad, it's not THAT bad. Cold Steel is all about bombarding enemies with as much status inducing attacks to which they're not completely immune as you can and take advantage when one piece of crap you threw at the wall sticks for a turn. Hitting a sleeping enemy guarantees a critical attack, so the ailment itself is pretty good. I do appreciate you walking around campus and getting to know people. While Cold Steel 1 has its fair share of flaws (the prologue dungeon being considered one of them, actually), the NPCs in Trista and Thors are probably one thing they pulled off better than any other localized game in the series. NPCs changing dialogue after each plot point is a Trails hallmark, but Cold Steel 1's structure of having you return to the same hub after each chapter allowed Falcom to spread their mini-arcs across the entire game instead of having to put it all in one chapter. Even if many of them are stereotypes, they're amusing ones. You missed one NPC, btw, Linde; the pink-haired girl with braids painting in the art room. She was kinda hiding behind her painting when you barged in. All of the action at the fencing club, unfortunately, takes place off-screen. You learn how the first match between Patrick (the Draco Malfoy-expy) and Loggins (the coarse jock-like second year) went when you return there the next day. In case you missed it; it ends up as a tie, much to Loggins' chagrin. Patrick may be an arrogant git, but he's not incompetent. Much of the stuff on the upper floor of the library is stuff you'll already know if you played the Sky games, or even just the first one. One of them does make mention of an event that happens late in Sky Second Chapter. And YES, Phantom Thief B is the guy who likes to leave notes with riddles lying around. You briefly met him in FC during a sidequest, but since he was in disguise you didn't know it was him until he made his getaway. If you've played Second Chapter, even part-way through, you'll definitely know what he's all about.  Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I was hoping someone else would reply because I've only been reading this thread for two days and I already feel like I've been posting in it too much. I do like all the interesting speculation that a blind LP produces. Not just alternate dialogue, the person you didn't defend ends up leaving and the person you sided with joins the party for the rest of the dungeon, so you it actually affects the boss fight at the end. Neither one has a lot of options at this point yet, of course. Jusis' STR and ATS are slightly higher than Machias' and his first craft has delay, but Machias can attack from a distance, leaving him less vulnerable to some of the boss' attacks and his first craft decreases defense. Both their first crafts can impede to deal with the boss' Aerial-shenanigans, so neither option is bad. Erpy fucked around with this message at 08:04 on Dec 11, 2018 |
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Dec 11, 2018 07:10
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If it helps, Laura does get a bit more fleshed out than 'I am entirely a machine devoted to swimming and swinging a large sword around.' I wound up quite liking her. And Fie, which was a surprise after my initial reaction. I do give the game credit for not going any skeevier with seeing Laura in a swimsuit than a 'why are you staring?' as when I played I was afraid it leads to Rean saying the wrong thing and Hilarious Misunderstandings.
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Dec 11, 2018 16:08
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Just caught up with Episode 6. - If you thought Rean was bad at dissing on Sara, wait until a certain other classmate gets going. Although to be fair, poo poo-talking Sara is like Class VII's favourite pass-time. - Recipes in Cold Steel work differently than in Sky, actually. You don't learn recipes by eating food items anymore. Instead, you get them by talking to certain people at certain times, similarly to how you got those Carnelia/Gambler Jack books in the Sky games and Red Moon Rose in this one. And like Red Moon Rose, any recipe you missed has a chance of randomly popping up at the pawn shop. Also, the book store in town occasionally has books for sale that teach you recipes. - Poison actually isn't that bad. I think it does like 10% of damage per turn or so. It's definitely the mildest of the three damage-over-time ailments that exist in the game. If there's an ailment you REALLY want to guard in this game, it's Faint, because fainted characters now take critical damage from everything that hurts them, meaning they're usually dead long before the ailment has worn off. - The bonding events are why a lot of LP-ers usually download a clear save before starting, since it allows them to play with maximum bonding points. If you don't feel like restarting and still want to be fairly thorough, just save before a bonding event and reload afterwards.
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Dec 12, 2018 18:02
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I think my biggest issue with the poison is that the enemies in Sky that can poison you will do it all the time with a chance on every loving move they have. After a while it just got so obnoxious, and so cheap to counteract, that I decided to just cut it out of my life. No regrets yet. I'm keeping all the saves so we can go back and do the extra events if there's enough demand. I'm not exactly blown away by them so far. Level 1 Thief fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Dec 13, 2018 |
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Dec 13, 2018 00:29
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Erpy posted:Not just alternate dialogue, the person you didn't defend ends up leaving and the person you sided with joins the party for the rest of the dungeon, so you it actually affects the boss fight at the end. Neither one has a lot of options at this point yet, of course. Jusis' STR and ATS are slightly higher than Machias' and his first craft has delay, but Machias can attack from a distance, leaving him less vulnerable to some of the boss' attacks and his first craft decreases defense. Both their first crafts can impede to deal with the boss' Aerial-shenanigans, so neither option is bad. Yes, which should have been clear in the video, which included the alternate dialogue for the boss fight. I just didn't bother posting the whole boss fight. Level 1 Thief posted:I'm keeping all the saves so we can go back and do the extra events if there's enough demand. I'm not exactly blown away by them so far. It's a safe assumption that there will be demand. The characters and story are the big draw of these games, after all. (Consider this a request to see all the events. I do have a clear save file uploaded. I wouldn't expect you to want the hassle of replaying all that time, but someone else might.) Yes, these early events aren't incredibly deep character revelations. Of course they aren't. These people have only known each other for two weeks. Just like in real life, you usually get to know people first on the surface, and only later get to understand what they are like deeper down. Character development takes place over time, and the bonding events too have an arc to them. On that note, it's a safe assumption that characters will grow and change from how they were in the prologue. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Dec 13, 2018 |
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Dec 13, 2018 00:47
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Is there any difference in the scenes or the characters you can choose from in NG+? Right now all I'd have to replay to get them is the combat area in the next video and that won't take long at all.
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Dec 13, 2018 01:34
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The scenes aren't any different, but one of your NG+ options is unlocking the bonding points so you can see all of them without having to reload.
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Dec 13, 2018 01:37
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Level 1 Thief posted:Is there any difference in the scenes or the characters you can choose from in NG+? Right now all I'd have to replay to get them is the combat area in the next video and that won't take long at all. There are no new scenes in CS 1's NG+, except an additional extra option for an event at the end of the game, but - how should I phrase this - people are unlikely to be enthusiastic about seeing that one. There is some additional content for CS 2 on NG+, but that's a long way off even if you want to do that game.
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Dec 13, 2018 01:59
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There's one more difference… a special late-game event has one particular extra bit if you pick a certain character for it. It's relatively minor, though just SLIGHTLY spoilery. Oh, and New Game+ of any kind removes the chapter-based unlocking of fish in the Trista waterholes, meaning it's possible to get advanced fish way earlier, which is either handy for picking up rewards from Kenneth or controller-smashy because trying to catch advanced fish with a basic rod causes CARPal tunnel syndrome. Other than that, no difference. Until the end of the game, you can see all bonding events (which I would recommend/request) by just saving/reloading, but when the final bonding event comes around characters you saved/reloaded will have been locked out. So playing on New Game+ with max bonding events is still recommended.
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Dec 13, 2018 07:10
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Finally got caught up with episode 7. - Mint's hair is green "for some reason" because it's mint-colored. Hence the name. - If you like making horse-talk innuendos, keep talking to Lambert (the riding club captain) throughout the game. It doesn't take long to conclude that that guy is probably waaaay too much into his horse. - Various characters have some pretty neat lines when you use them to cook. If you ever need to cook while in Trista, just enter the old schoolhouse in order to get access to your classmates. The first recipe also has the obligatory Trails-unlimited-money variation where the meal you cook sells for more than the sum of its ingredients, allowing you to grind for extra money whenever that character is in the party. - The Sceptre Master Quartz isn't exactly top-tier, though it comes in handy for grinding sepith if you equip it on Gaius or Fie. (whose normal attack animations hit twice) George has a new Master Quartz in stock every chapter though, so it pays off to frequently check back because some of the optional MQ, expensive as they can be, are really good. - Multiple lines now aren't all bad anymore in Cold Steel. In the Sky games, one line gave you lots of EP and a greater arts collection. In the Cold Steel games, arts are now directly tied to quartz, so anyone can use any spell as long as they have the right quartz equipped. All long lines are good for in these games is boosting your EP reserves, which is handy, but no longer the major game changer it was in Sky. Multiple lines in Cold Steel have the benefit of allowing you to stack status and debuff quartz. Sky only allowed you to equip one type of status quartz (like Petrify or Freeze) per character. The Cold Steel games allow you to equip one type of status and debuff quartz per line, turning characters with lots of lines into debuffing machines.
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Dec 14, 2018 13:37
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Erpy posted:- If you like making horse-talk innuendos, keep talking to Lambert (the riding club captain) throughout the game. It doesn't take long to conclude that that guy is probably waaaay too much into his horse. I knew it. Thank you.
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Dec 14, 2018 20:41
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Erpy posted:- Multiple lines now aren't all bad anymore in Cold Steel. In the Sky games, one line gave you lots of EP and a greater arts collection. In the Cold Steel games, arts are now directly tied to quartz, so anyone can use any spell as long as they have the right quartz equipped. All long lines are good for in these games is boosting your EP reserves, which is handy, but no longer the major game changer it was in Sky. Multiple lines in Cold Steel have the benefit of allowing you to stack status and debuff quartz. Sky only allowed you to equip one type of status quartz (like Petrify or Freeze) per character. The Cold Steel games allow you to equip one type of status and debuff quartz per line, turning characters with lots of lines into debuffing machines. Okay, that rules. I'll definitely be taking advantage of it later.
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Dec 15, 2018 06:23
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Fie was my random battle clearer of choice. It's so easy to turn her into a dodge tank with high attack and with the million ways to top off CP by the end of the game, she'll kick everything's rear end. Until the sequel when all the enemies start dodge-tanking as well so everyone needs Hit Quartz.
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Dec 15, 2018 14:01
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Gaius makes for the better dodge tank in CS1, honestly, because he’s got a weapon with range and Fie only starts using the gun part of her gunswords to counter in CS2.
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Dec 15, 2018 16:36
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B0. Library, 2nd Floor Some light reading music.  Welcome to the Thors Military Academy library! Here in this fine institution you'll find all the information you'll need for a successful and productive school year.  And guess what you'll find on the second floor? If you said "books," sorry, but that's wrong. They may look like books, but if you inspect one, Cold Steel fails to open up the book interface and it's not added to your list of collected books. Let's open these ... strange bricks of backstory and find out what there is to learn.  The Great Collapse quote:The destruction of the ancient Zemurian civilization is estimated to have occurred 1,200 years ago. While the Great Collapse is commonly attributed to a natural disaster, this theory remains unconfirmed. The Septian Church quote:The Septian Church is the most widespread religion in Zemuria and is based on the worship of the Sky Goddess, Aidios. Its High Seat is in the Holy City of Arteria. Septium quote:The word 'septium' encompasses seven types of precious stones mined across Zemuria. Artifact quote:Artifacts are essentially ancient orbments. While both run on orbal energy, they are operated very differently.  Erebonian Empire quote:The Erebonian Empire is located on the western side of the continent of Zemuria and represented by the emblem of the golden stallion. The current emperor is Eugent Reise Arnor III. Calvard Republic quote:The Calvard Republic lies to the east of Crossbell State, and was established after a democratic revolution roughly a hundred years ago. Its current head of state is President Rocksmith. Crossbell State quote:Crossbell sits on the western side of Zemuria, between the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic. While established as an autonomous state seventy years ago, its two neighbors still dispute its ownership.  Leman State quote:Home to the Epstein Foundation and the birthplace of Professor C. Epstein himself, Leman is a state in the center of the Zemurian continent. Holy City of Arteria quote:A city-state housing the High Seat of the Septian Church, Arteria is located at the center of the continent and acts as a gathering place for believers and church officials alike. Liberl Kingdom (note: broad spoilers for Trails in the Sky SC) quote:The Liberl Kingdom is situated in the southwest part of the Zemurian continent. Rich in nature and history, the kingdom is ruled by the long-lived Queen Alicia II, a staunch advocate for peace. Nord Highlands quote:The Nord Highlands are located northeast of the Empire and surrounded by the Eisengard Range. Despite their harsh natural environment, they are populated by a tribe of nomads with their own unique culture.  Orbal Revolution quote:The Orbal Revolution was a technological revolution that saw its inception in the year 1150 with the invention of orbments. Orbment quote:'Orbment' is a general term for devices that operate by drawing orbal energy from septium. This technology was invented by Professor C. Epstein. Quartz quote:A quartz is a circuit with a crystalline structure made by refining and processing septium fragments known as sepith.  Orbal Arts quote:Orbal arts are a kind of magic which can be activated by inserting a quartz into a battle orbment -- a combat-ready orbment developed by the Epstein Foundation. Orbal Network Project quote:The Orbal Network Project is an effort by the Epstein Foundation to develop a network in which vast quantities of information can be exchanged between computers using a series of orbal cables. Epstein Foundation quote:The Epstein Foundation is an organization dedicated to continuing the work of Professor C. Epstein. It researches and manufactures orbments, specializing in information processing and communication.  Reinford Company quote:The Reinford Company was initially a gunpowder-based weapons manufacturer based out of the Erebonian Empire and is known for its cannons and heavy firearms. Verne Company quote:The Verne Company is a massive company headquartered in the Calvard Republic. ZCF quote:The Zeiss Central Factory, or 'ZCF,' was founded as the 'Zeiss Engineering Factory' in Liberl Kingdom's Zeiss City by Professor A. Russell, a disciple of the great Professor Epstein.  Bracer Guild quote:The Bracer Guild is a non-governmental organization acting to keep the peace and protect civilians wherever its numerous and continent-spanning branches reach. Its members are known as 'bracers.' Jaeger Corps quote:Incredibly skilled mercenary groups which can be found all over the continent are known as 'jaeger corps.' IBC quote:The International Bank of Crossbell is a large banking organization which manages the vast quantities of money flowing into Crossbell and supports the economies of nations across the continent. Imperial Chronicle quote:The Imperial Chronicle is a news organization headquartered in Heimdallr. It has built up a reputation as the Empire's most trustworthy news source over the course of its 120-year history.  Four Great Houses quote:'The Four Great Houses' is a collective term for the storied families who rule the four Erebonian provinces. Each controls a private provincial army and commands respect second only to the Arnor family. Hundred Days War quote:The Hundred Days War was a war of aggression waged by the Empire against the Liberl Kingdom in 1192. The name is drawn from the hundred days between the start of the war and its church-mediated end. Non-Aggression Pact (an event in Trails in the Sky SC, it'd be a stretch to call it a spoiler) quote:The Non-Aggression Pact was an international treaty proposed by Queen Alicia II and signed in 1202 by the Liberl Kingdom, Erebonian Empire, and Calvard Republic in Liberl's Erbe Royal Villa. Phantom Thief B quote:B is an elusive thief who has stolen everything from jewels to orbal tanks from people and organizations across Zemuria. His strange, almost beautiful methods have given rise to a small, dedicated fanbase. -------------------- And that's everything! Please remember to return all items to their proper shelves before leaving. I'll be doing a roundup of the actual books/newspapers we collect at the end of each chapter. Please let me know if we miss any in the videos, especially Red Moon Rose or any other Zemurian hidden classics. Level 1 Thief fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Jan 15, 2019 |
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Dec 16, 2018 14:54
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Level 1 Thief posted:I'll be doing a roundup of the actual books/newspapers we collect at the end of each chapter. Please let me know if we miss any in the videos, especially Red Moon Rose or any other Zemurian hidden classics.
A while ago I made a spoiler-free mini-guide to missables, which contains as little information as possible for people who don't want spoilers. I should make that into an actual Steam Guide one day.
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Dec 16, 2018 15:19
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 08. Sidequest Club: Links, Awakening - F1. Ch.1 Bonding Event Wrap-Up The boys go get their first taste of a deep dungeon, over the course of which they learn about combat links while I gradually remember what "crafts" are.
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Dec 18, 2018 02:25
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While you said you were getting used to Crafts again, I can recommend Rean's Motivate as a good attack buff.
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Dec 18, 2018 18:04
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Pretty sure Elliot's link attack call is "I'll back you up!" The other reason Gaius has been countering a lot is his Master Quartz's ability, which gives him a couple free turns of Insight (accuracy/dodge +50% each, offhand) at the start of battles.
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Dec 18, 2018 22:00
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- Generally speaking, you should always use any provided orbment charging station to refresh your health and EP before delving into a long dungeon, and again after finishing it. - Crafts CAN unbalance, and in fact many of them have an increased chance of causing an imbalance (as noted by "Unbalance chance +X% in the description). Arts, however, cannot. Crafts also offer other bonuses like debuffs on enemies. Gaius's Gale Stinger has a good chance of sealing an enemy, which means they'll be unable to use physical attacks or crafts. That's very powerful since a lot of enemies have no magic attack. - Buffs in this game like +STR are +25% for one use and can stack to +50%. Any fiurther use of a buff refreshes the duration. - Elliot is a casters, casters should rarely be physically attacking or even using crafts. Instead they're best served using arts. Physical attackers are bad at using offensive magic, but buffs are good and healing is reasonable. - I don't really consider it cheating if you're only carrying over bonding points. A clear save lets you choose what to carry over, it doesn't give you anything extra you didn't pick. All selecting Max bonding points does is gets you is a bit of extra link XP, and that isn't going to have a substantial effect on the game's difficulty. You're also playing on Normal, which is quite easy already, so extra link XP won't matter. - It really feels like the only reason bonding points are limited is to force players to play a second time to see all the content (That's ESPECIALLY the case for CS 2), and frankly my backlog is just too darn big to subject myself to that kind of pointless time wasting if I can avoid it. - There's also the possibility of unintentionally locking yourself OUT of one or more of the character's whose endings you want to see by not spending enough bonding time with them or not seeing a specific chapter's bonding event, and there's no quick way to remedy that. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 02:10 on Dec 19, 2018 |
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Dec 18, 2018 23:44
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Hey guys, no video this week -- hit a technical snag recording the next one (since resolved, I think) so it'll take some extra time to sort out in editing and, well, it's Christmas it can wait. We'll pick up next Monday with the dreaded practical exam, then start off 2019 strong with the first trip outside Trista's borders. We'll be back before you know it, have a good and (hopefully) relaxing holiday!
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Dec 24, 2018 09:00
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Also good news, I've re-finished Lightning Returns, so I'll stop comparing everything to it in videos. The bad news is I just installed Disgaea 2 and Cyberdimension Neptunia though. Look forward to that.
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Dec 25, 2018 03:15
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Level 1 Thief posted:Hey guys, no video this week -- hit a technical snag recording the next one (since resolved, I think) so it'll take some extra time to sort out in editing and, well, it's Christmas it can wait. We'll pick up next Monday with the dreaded practical exam, then start off 2019 strong with the first trip outside Trista's borders. We'll be back before you know it, have a good and (hopefully) relaxing holiday! No worries, holidays are probably why this thread is so quiet. If it helps, I'm liking your commentary. Lots funny little MST3K-isms there which are timed very well.
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Dec 25, 2018 04:30
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 09. Summer Reading List The real life year draws to a close, and so does the first free day. We check in with the inhabitants of Trista one last time before retiring to do some rad sword tricks in preparation for the exam.
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Jan 1, 2019 02:09
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Sure, the catchy title grabs your attention, but then you start reading and discover it's actually just an inquisitive retelling of the New Testament.
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Jan 1, 2019 10:46
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- Theresia, the 2nd year noble in the lacrosse club, is actually the most easy-going and laid-back person in the club. (of course, that's not a big achievement when the only other members are a sentient sugar buzz, a stuffy-yet-hypercompetitive noble and Alisa) - Yes, Mint and Instructor Makarov are awesome. Even if you stop the "talk to everyone"-routine at some point, it's still worthwhile to keep up with these two. - Congratulations on finding your first hidden sidequest. The pizzas may not be much in terms of reward, but you also get an AP bonus by doing these, meaning that finding them allows you to get good AP rewards sooner. Every chapter has 1 hidden Trista quest during the evening and one hidden quest at some point of your outside-world trip.
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Jan 1, 2019 14:55
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- I'm certain that Edel is a first name, so the same first name in different countries is probably unrelated. You didn't ask if Dorothy and Dorothee were related, did you? Edel in Erebonia is wearing the white uniform of a Noble. - Oh, and you were wondering if spending time with Towa has any benefit. I could answer that if you want to know. Personally, I find her events to be pretty much the same as Elliot's - very repetitive and pretty dull. - Mint was in the Janitor's room before you went to the old schoolhouse, wondering why it wasn't the faculty lounge. - Peculiar and Attack quality dishes are the same thing. Some are edible by the party, attack-type are only useful to attack enemies with. I'll also note that Peculiar is not the same thing as useless. Many peculiar dishes have special benefits that are worth using. - Only one person is capable of making a Unique variation of a dish, but you won't know who until they make it once. They might not always make it the first time. - If you fill your recipe book with all the different variations on the recipes, it can give a good reward at the end of the game, but don't worry about that, you don't really have cash to spare at this point. - I definitely recommend talking to Vive, Linde, Becky/Hugo, and Sariffa (purple-haired maid) at every chance, they're all great. - You can fish at the stream and pond in Trista once per Chapter. I usually like to do that after the old schoolhouse to fill up CP before a practical exam. But before entering the old schoolhouse or leaving Trista on an excursion to refill CP before the dungeons are also good ideas.
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Jan 2, 2019 02:29
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Adding to Stabbey's last point, most of the floors in the Old Schoolhouse have a fishing spot somewhere in them.
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Jan 2, 2019 03:05
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I'll note that unlike Trails in the Sky, crafts here reign supreme as the strongest things around. Resounding Beat and Motivate are both insanely strong, for example, and the attack crafts are generally solid as well. Taking into account that CP also seems to regenerate a lot quicker (plus Master Quartz bonuses), use them freely. This won't really come up for a good while, but despite Elliot's staff (and Emma's) being considered magic damage, their damage is based off the character's Str stat.
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Jan 2, 2019 10:18
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Cyouni posted:I'll note that unlike Trails in the Sky, crafts here reign supreme as the strongest things around. Resounding Beat and Motivate are both insanely strong, for example, and the attack crafts are generally solid as well. Taking into account that CP also seems to regenerate a lot quicker (plus Master Quartz bonuses), use them freely. Some other things to know about crafts: All Crafts and S-Crafts deal non-elemental damage, even if the animation or status they inflict is elemental in nature. So a character might use a craft which has a fire animation and inflicts Burn, but the actual damage of the initial attack does not care about the efficiency of Fire Damage on the enemy. (The damage from the inflicted status might be a different story.) The vast majority of crafts are physical in nature, which means they get a benefit from bonuses to STR. However, certain Crafts and S-Crafts are magical in nature, and they get a benefit from ATS. These crafts have "Magic Attack" in the description instead of just "Attack". STR has no effect on them - they are boosted by ATS. You can check all crafts in the Status tab of the Camp Menu. It’s not terribly important for this first field study, due to lack of magic options, but Alisa is a caster like Elliot and Emma. Her physical attacks are unimpressive, but her arts damage is good. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 15:12 on Jan 2, 2019 |
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Jan 2, 2019 15:09
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everyone posted:useful tips and tricks I know I haven't been responding to a lot of these, but I do appreciate it! I spent (probably too much of) the break playing a lot of SC and between that game and this I think I have a much better handle on the battle system now. It's never gonna be masterful play but it should be less tragic at least. Eventually. Maybe not right in the next few parts. As for fishing and cooking, I really doubt I'll even try for 100% on either. That's gonna be an "if we see/remember it" thing for sure. Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- I'm certain that Edel is a first name, so the same first name in different countries is probably unrelated. You didn't ask if Dorothy and Dorothee were related, did you? Edel in Erebonia is wearing the white uniform of a Noble. Yeah, that was a dumb thing for me to say but also what if Dorothy and Dorothee actually are related oh my god  10. The Get Along Gang Optimal Blade strategy:
Level 1 Thief fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Jan 3, 2019 23:53
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Sara is a master of the Troy and Abed tactic of "just pretend like you're asleep."
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Jan 4, 2019 01:33
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Level 1 Thief posted:Optimal Blade strategy: This is where I would offer actual Blade strategy tips if it wasn't clear that you hate playing it. - Rean and Alisa are now on friendly terms for good. - Good idea to unequip all the stuff from Gaius, this early even the low-level quartz are important. - Thelas and Athelas still heal when used on living characters, so it can still be helpful. - It's best to buy weapons at your destination. Funds will be limited this early, so prioritize physical fighters. - I think spending U-Materials to upgrade weapons is more of a NG+ thing, they're not easy to come by at this point, and there are other uses for them. - You might want to consider items which cure and protect against Faint. - You can delete saves in case you use all your slots, I guess. - You should be able to get everyone's Master Quartz to level 2 before the end of the field study, which might be helpful.
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Jan 4, 2019 01:37
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:- It's best to buy weapons at your destination. Funds will be limited this early, so prioritize physical fighters. If funding is ever an issue, there's a cheap trick for money that can be used if you're willing to do grinding offscreen. Nah, the uses for U-Materials are really just "upgrade weapons" and "cosmetics". There's an alternate use, but I think that's only in NG+. Faint is definitely the most dangerous effect for how common it is. Technically Petrify and Deathblow are worse, but they're so much less common it's not really worth the effort to play around. Also, I like Blade. 
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Jan 4, 2019 08:31
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Elliot will never be getting many link attacks in since you need two factors for one to trigger reliably: the enemy needs to be weak to a certain attack type and the attacking character must have a high rank in that attack type. (or have crafts with a high bonus to unbalancing) Elliot's orbal staff has low ranks in every type, so he'll never do a lot of unbalancing. Specialized characters like Rean, Gaius and Alisa will be the ones to trigger lots of link attacks when used on the right monsters while Laura's first craft has a whopping +30% unbalance odds which in practice means an extra star for both attack types she dishes out whenever she uses it) You probably started suspecting this already, but the game really likes to play up the benefits of link attacks plot-wise compared to how they contribute in actual battle. They're nice, but not the game-changer the story likes to make them out to be. That said, Emma's not wrong in saying combat links were the key to beating the combat shell effectively though. The combat shell had a whopping three stars for all attack types, so characters with combat links nearly do twice as much damage per round against it. That's extremely rare and most strong enemies later on will be the exact opposite of what you just faced. The drinking age in any JRPG is always the same as it is in Japan; 20. All the people in Class VII are 17 years old aside from Elliot, who's 16 and Fie who's 15. Drinking age of the party will come up in practically every scene where Sara takes part in, so it's good to get that out of the way early.  About the salon at the top floor of the student union building; as you might have noticed on the map, there's not even an in-game room for it. That door's just painted on, so you never actually get to see it. Cooking can actually get some pretty neat results like an instant guard status on someone or a combination of healing, buffs and status curation. But you won't find out what those special recipes do if you don't cook them, so it's worth trying to fill the recipe book at least, just to find out about the options you have. Money's tight during pretty much this entire game unless you cheat with Elliot's dish. Those anti-poison accessories and gear in Trista were actually wasted money, unfortunately. As you noted, deliberately going for a draw in Blade is generally a bad idea unless your hand is extremely crappy. If you make it even and the resulting reshuffle immediately requires you to play another card due to the opponent drawing a higher value, you'll be behind in cards, which is a major disadvantage. If you want to win, you generally want to conserve special cards for late-game. And yes, you're gonna get crap from people over the card game-allergies. Because Blade is pretty nice, even if it's more luck-based than I'd like mini-games to be. The reason deleting save-game data is an option is because if you ran out of savegames (the number of which was artificially raised for the PC version, the console version only had 99 slots or so) is that overwriting existing savegames doesn't change the save's position on the list. Most people like their save-lists to be in order of play-time, so deleting a useless early save to make room for a late-game one won't park that late-game near the top of the list among early-game saves. Cyouni posted:Nah, the uses for U-Materials are really just "upgrade weapons" and "cosmetics". There's an alternate use, but I think that's only in NG+. U-Materials can also be used to create advanced quartz at the pawn shop. Most people only use it for weapon upgrades, which is generally still a good use for it since upgraded weapons give you various misc bonusses aside from increased attacking power and it's especially handy for characters whose upgraded weapons come with evade boosts. You'll never have enough U-materials to upgrade everyone's weapons unless you grind a lot, so cosmetics are generally the worst thing you can spend them on. And yes, faint sucks horned monkey balls and can rapidly kill you if you let it.
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Jan 4, 2019 11:42
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Cyouni posted:If funding is ever an issue, there's a cheap trick for money that can be used if you're willing to do grinding offscreen. You're forgetting "Upgrade Accessories" and "Upgrade Quartz". Those are a lot more useful. - It should have been clear from the tutorial, but I'll say it anyway since this seems to be info sharing time. Elliot/Emma's staves increase their damage based on STR, but enemies defend against them with their ADF (magic defense) stat instead of DEF (physical defense). - You need at least a B rank in a certain attack rank to have a decent chance of unbalancing an enemy. Think of the star ratings and letters approximately like this: 4 Stars = S Rank = 100% chance to unbalance. 3 Stars = A Rank = 75% chance to unbalance. 2 Stars = B Rank = 50% chance to unbalance. 1 Stars = C Rank = 25% chance to unbalance. 0 Stars = D Rank = 0% chance to unbalance. I don't know exactly how the staves work - whether they actual deal all four damage types at once, or whether they randomly pick one of the four they have to deal damage. If it's the latter, that further decreases the chance of unbalancing because then there would be an additional 50% chance to pick a damage type which the staff inherently has a 0% chance to perform an imbalance. Really, to get paired battle quotes with Elliot and Emma, you need either someone else to initiate the attack, or you need the staff user to attack an enemy who is asleep or fainted, both of which automatically crit, and criticals guarantee an unbalance. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 20:07 on Jan 4, 2019 |
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Jan 4, 2019 16:23
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:You're forgetting "Upgrade Accessories" and "Upgrade Quartz". Those are a lot more useful. Some of the upgraded quartz are really nice (I think Shining's a good example, just as another possible source of evade), but I don't recall many of the upgraded accessories being standouts. I guess we'll see when they start actually popping up in the LP.
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Jan 4, 2019 17:34
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Level 1 Thief posted:
Wow, you really sound like you hate Blade because you wanted to hate it. Is there an actual reason you don't like it? I personally found it to be an enjoyable diversion.
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Jan 4, 2019 17:36
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AFancyQuestionMark posted:Wow, you really sound like you hate Blade because you wanted to hate it. Is there an actual reason you don't like it? I personally found it to be an enjoyable diversion. While I cannot speak for my co-host, I feel I can sum up a very similar mindset with the example of Gwent, in the Witcher games. It's not required, but it's got just enough mechanics tied into it that you feel obliged to do it and if you're not into the base concept, but suddenly have to do this irritating busywork to unlock quests/social scenes/whatever, you go from "Well, maybe sometimes" to "gently caress OFF with this GAME god drat" real quick.
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Jan 5, 2019 13:09
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AFancyQuestionMark posted:Wow, you really sound like you hate Blade because you wanted to hate it. Is there an actual reason you don't like it? I personally found it to be an enjoyable diversion. I don't "want to hate it," c'mon, give me some credit here. That's ridiculous. If you really want me to get into it, what you're seeing is tempering my expectations based on decades of not particularly liking RPG card minigames. Blade, based on this particular train ride and assuming you don't get other decks during the game (entirely possible), is a game of leapfrog. No matter what's on the board, and even if you play a special card, there are only three possible results of each turn: you beat their score, you match their score, you lose. There aren't any combinations of cards or any particular highs or lows. No overwhelming victories or crushing defeats. It just ... continues at the same pace until it stops. It's FAR from the worst RPG card game (*cough*Tetra Master). It's perfectly functional and it lets you apply some amount of strategy within your limited set of options. But I found it to be a completely middle of the road example of a trope I'm already not fond of, with really repetitive (unskippable, even in turbo mode) voice samples. Even with the link points in question I'd probably just never touch it again if I hadn't figured out a way to lose quickly. Basically, if Gwent wasn't gonna turn me around, this didn't stand much of a chance either. It's also like 0.05% of the game so I'm not holding me not liking it against CS or anything. Level 1 Thief fucked around with this message at 14:18 on Jan 5, 2019 |
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Jan 5, 2019 13:47
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