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   Shiny shiny. My shinies... Previously:  Chapter IX: I Think I’m allergic   You here from Athlum? Uh, sorta. Ahh… how ya like seeing a real city? Celapaleis ain’t anything like your backwater hole. At least you make a good guard dog, haw haw! ‘S thanks to Athlum that those Ghor scumbags don’t try anything. Or at least, if they did, they’d have to go through you first, haw haw! I don’t like you. Heh, well, keep up the good work, Athlum schmucks! His Highness, Lord Qubine may look young, but he is quite adept at mystic arts. I have heard there are rabble-rousers within the Ghor castle guard who are so afraid of his strength that they spread rumors about it… Outlandish claims like Lord Qubine is an alien or some Academy-produced magickal boy or something… Ridiculous. Of course, what else could be expected to come from a town like that? Those uncouth boors are lucky to be able to string two sentences together… It’s certainly not worth worrying about what they think. Who was that? Uh… *ahem* Yes... a messenger from Celapaleis, sent by the Duke of Qubine. He wanted to warn us of some unidentified troops invading Blackdale. He believes they’re troops from the Duke of Ghor. We are to look into it immediately.  - Dungeon Video: Heroic Ramparts Music: Swirling Sands   We’re finally moving on to where the main plot wants us to go. Sort-of. Also, I’ve changed the way I encode the videos. Let me know if you can see a difference for better or worse.  Heroic Ramparts: A massive castle wall built by an ancient Lord of Nagapur. It is often referred to as the Ramparts of Shame by those opposed to its existence.  The Heroic Ramparts are another connecting dungeon. It’s short, and sunny and open and there’s not much to say about it. There are two exits to the world map.  Finally… at last we are on the road to Nagapur. I’ll lead the way, Dave! It’s east, right?   The wall stretches off into the distance. FAR into the distance. We’ll be in Nagapur in two shakes of a yama’s tail, Dave! - Town Video: Ghor (Tour) Music: The Crumbling Fortress (Ghor Theme)   Ghor: The Duke of Ghor rules over this town that shares its borders with the main powers of the world. Ghor - Warrior Town: A town built at the foot of an old fortress, founded as merchants relocated to service the soldiers stationed there. Huh… I could have sworn…  … Umm… so, let’s look around!  Many brave soldiers are gathered here, sworn to follow the valiant Duke of Ghor. Uh, I’m from Athlum, I guess. You hail from Athlum!? That must mean you take orders from that toddler, Duke Qubine. If you have no business here, I suggest you leave immediately. Not very friendly around here. This town, with its ruin aesthetic, is pretty neat. I wish there was more to explore of it. There is only this one map plus the usual tiny castle room. Is this your first time here? It's like a maze, isn't it? It’s not.  Darn it. Ever since our lord made this place his home, strong warriors from all corners of the world began to show up. Which is how I ended up here as well. The shops are all in the back alley, sadly, the least scenic and least interesting place possible in this town.  Though our lord does keep the Bilqis at his side. It has the power to bring out the best in people - the powers they hold inside. That big axe represents our lord's presence and the power he holds. I bet you can't find a fine weapon like that anywhere else in the world. This is pretty interesting. Every town we’ve been to so far, including Athlum, has had a huge, can’t-miss-it Remnant as its center. Ghor does not. It is probably not a coincidence that Ghor is also mostly a huge pile of rubble.That said, it also says something that Ghor is considered a formidable power on the world stage. At the start, it was suspected that Ghor was behind Wagram’s men. Ghor may not have a weapon of mass destruction, but it probably has a lot of troops, and the Bilquis probably makes them a formidable force.  Another guild we can’t open yet. This one has a particularly nasty and unintuitive requirement to get. On my first playthrough, I had to reload to before… a rather nasty section to get it.  The lords of Ghor have been faithful servants to the Hermeiens of Nagapur for the past three generations. Don't tell anyone this, but I think our lord is much more competent than Lord Hermeien. The local pub is called the Den of Heroes. Blocter has his own personal quest to do, but that will wait until the next update. You know why the gang in Nagapur can rest easy? It's because of us! I don't think they see that. I feel like they take us for granted! Our lord is too noble for his own good. Just because he feels indebted to Lord Oswald, the previous Nagapur leader, he shouldn't feel he has to repay his gratitude to that punk Wilfred. Hey there! The Den of Heroes here to serve you! Sir! What do you think of this? Men are always on a journey to find out who they really are. Almost done with the tour. Ghor - Ghor Castle: A castle which also doubles as a stronghold. Its exterior is interesting, as it has the appearance of both.. Who are you? You don't look familiar... The Bilquis is one cool-looking axe. Hmph. You're friends of the marquis. Why have you come? I thought Nagapur was this way. It is not. Okay, we’ve got a quest to do, so let’s get at it… This guy looks important. - Quest Video: Slumber of the Lost Fragment …Uhhh, sure? Oh! Me thank! In... in Blackdale... There was six... I dropped them, in the secret, secret passage. But, they was present, from tiny friend... Shiny shiny. My shinies... my treasure. Find them? Uhhh… Accepted quest: Slumber of the Lost Fragment Music: Into the Depths   This freaky, huge white yama lost his six treasures, and wants me to find them. They're somewhere around the other Blackdale entrance. So, we’re in Blackdale. But it is not the same Blackdale as from way back in chapter 10. This is the Second Entrance, and has its own spot on the world map. Like the other Blackdale, this is mostly narrow pathways. This one has an interesting shape at least. After the next plot point, I’ll get some quests that can recruit some party members. My BR is 22, their base BR is 33. Because my BR is generally lower than expected, I am okay with fighting most enemies in this dungeon, but don’t worry, I’ve edited all of the uninteresting fights out of the video. Hurry up and learn Spark V already, David. Sheesh. The morale bar is in the middle at least, which is fantastic because I am sick of the low morale music. This first fight brought me up to BR 23, by the way. Obtained First Treasure! First Treasure – A shiny marble polished to perfection, given to the white yama by a child. …The hell? Obtained Second Treasure! Second Treasure – A piece of white chalk for drawing, given to the white yama by a child. learned  Nimble Resonance Edge III! class changed to Master Mysticknight! learned  Wind Shear IV! I hate Vultures, mostly because it’s not safe to run by them. learned  Revitalize! Okay, NOW I learned Revitalize. What I said before still applies. Revitalize is still a fantastic healing ability. It doesn’t matter much now, with all the unions having pretty low HP, but once we get a lot more HP, AND our other unions gain Revitalize as well, then it’ll be super-powerful. That will take a while, though. Rush does have the Ragnarock equipped for +2 Arts Growth. Not only is there a treasure chest, but also one of the quest items, so we’re definitely fighting.Music: Flamedrop  That’s a lot of Vultures.   Pagus doesn’t finish them off, and that will matter. Because every. Single. Vulture on the field has targeted David, and they’re all faster than Rush and Emma’s unions. But now I can actually introduce these properly!Massive Strike  An extremely rare situation, which occurs when a union surrounded by four unions and at Rear Assault stage gets attacked by a fifth union. They receive a Morale boost, and a massive bonus to attack. Very rare because very few enemies can withstand being attacked four times, and those which can usually are capable of a Multi-Deadlock.  But the Vultures are so weak that even with minimum morale and a Massive Strike, they can’t even break 800 damage. Not that it matters when six unions attack one union at the same time. This is a second Massive Strike. Finally, my other unions get a chance to move. Any enemies which still stand – I shall cut them down! Yeah, let’s kick some tail! And the morale is nicely fixed again. Nothing interesting happens in the rest of the fight. class changed to Master Cavalier! class changed to Scout! learned  Vivification Herb III! What the poo poo, Blocter? I turned Herbs off for him completely back in Chapter 13. (Note: I have now renamed that chapter to Soldiers of Athlum do not bow to threats -OR- I didn’t expect such a large party) I did turn Herbs off because Blocter was only a few uses away from becoming a Monk, which would have guaranteed him being a scout… but seriously, Blocter still only has Restorative Herb II. He started with herbs, too, so he leveled up Herbs ONCE, that’s it. And despite me turning his Herbs off ages ago, that one extra level of Herbs was enough to kick him into the Scout line. loving unbelievable. …So I guess the lesson is that if you don’t want Blocter becoming a Scout, turn off his Herbs IMMEDIATELY as soon as he joins the party in Gaslin caves, and never turn them on, ever. Because all he did under Rush’s control before he would have become a Monk was in Gaslin, Dillmoor, and a little bit of Robelia. There’s no real way to get him out of it either – short of waiting until he learns Hexes and turning off anything else he could use. That has an obvious drawback, and I’m not going to restart the entire game for that, so he’s staying put.  Obtained Third Treasure! Third Treasure – A pretty ribbon once on a doll, given to the white yama by a child.  learned Swift Devil’s Due V! Our first Swift art. The prefixes are on a sliding scale thing.More Strength <------Peerless------Mighty------No Prefix------Nimble------Swift------> More Speed Any combat art can get any prefix. The specific weapon you’re using (not the general type) determines which you’ll get. Going from Nimble to Swift means this costs 2 extra AP to use, but the amount of damage it does goes up a rank.   Three dead ends, so where the treasures are is easy to guess. Obtained Fourth Treasure! Fourth Treasure – A small cog, given to the white yama by a child.  Oho, a Rare monster… Let’s clean all this up. - Video: Rare Monster - Madman Music: Clash of Opposites  The spiders aren’t even a factor in this fight.     learned  Bluff IV! learned Spark V! learned Nimble Bladedancer IV! class changed to Lordly Monk! About time. We’ll get to see why I’ve been waiting for Spark V next update. This fight kicked us up to BR 24. We want to go left here.  class changed to Cavalier! The treasure chest just has the map. These are for Jorgen, but probably not the class the thread decided he’ll become. Obtained Fifth Treasure! Fifth Treasure – A small, silver bell with a pleasant jingle, given to the white yama by a child. This is in the tiny nook off the main path. And no boss at the end, so I might as well show this fight.Music: Flamedrop  Hopefully this caustic Blast will take out more than one union. (It didn’t, because the union was killed before David could fire it off.)  All right! Looks like that hurt!  This doesn’t matter for David’s union, thankfully. Revitalize I healed for 3250 HP, more than double Restorative Herb V.  And that does it for the fight. learned  Nimble Flash Strike III! class changed to Lordly Monk! learned Wind Shear! learned  Crossbreak II! Obtained Sixth Treasure! Sixth Treasure – A piece of white chalk for drawing, given to the white yama by a child. The chest contains an Ondine’s Pear, a gem for crafting something or other.  Eh? Heyyy, what's this? Nice ta meetcha, tiny customer! What can I do ya for? Need some heads busted? Some annoyances erased? I gots an assassination special goin': buy one, get one one-half off! - 'Dat's a pun, get it? Yeah, I bet ya do, har har! Yeah, so like I always sez, Zuido's is the place to have it your way every day. How you want it done, kid? Sliced and diced? Splatterpainted on the walls? Smashed flat like a pancake? I takes pride in what I do, so all my contracts come with a lifelong guarantee. Now, come on, spit it out, my wimpy little mitra friend! ...I found your treasure? I asked for this junk? Were you dropped on the head as a kid? (As they say, the jury is still out on that one.) Ah hell, it was him. Dammit, not again, that worthless idiot! Argh! Goddammit, I finally wake up and I'm already pissed. I gotta kick some asses until I feel better. Piss off, kid, or I'll start with you. Reward: 4000 G Obtained Aen Salia! Aen Salia – A red stone known as the roc’s feather. Completed quest: Slumber of the Lost Fragment The white yama went psycho on me! He didn't even want his stuff! And I went through all that trouble... Salia Count: 8. Just one left. Next update should cover the final two sidequests, and then there will be a bonus update showing off our benched party members, then some main plot.New Arts Summary learned:
learned Nimble Flash Strike III! class changed to Master Mysticknight! learned:
learned Nimble Bladedancer IV! class changed to Master Cavalier! learned Crossbreak II! class changed to Scout! learned Vivification Herb III! class changed to Lordly Monk! class changed to Cavalier! class changed to Lordly Monk! learned Wind Shear! Dungeon: Heroic Ramparts Ghor (Tour) Quest: Slumber of the Lost Fragment Rare Monster - Madman Alternate Dialogue ...Uhhh, no? Oh... ohhh... *sniffle sniffle* You forgot me already? Hey hey hey, whatchu talkin' 'bout? I never forget a face, 'specially not a face what wants me to beat in the face of others. Huh? Heyy, what's the big idea? I take money, not trash, kid. You asked me to find this stuff. I asked for this junk? Were you dropped on the head as a kid? Ah hell, it was him. Dammit, not again, that worthless idiot! Argh! Goddammit, I finally wake up and I'm already pissed. I gotta kick some asses until I feel better. Piss off, kid, or I'll start with you.Discussion question: Is anyone seeing a pattern here? I'll try to get another update this week, but the timing will be tight. It will also cover two side-quests... I hope. The good news is that there are only 4 battles and no dungeon, so I can dedicate essentially all the space to covering the battles. I'll just have to try and only cover the highlights, though. Next Time: How can that not get your soul burning? Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Apr 10, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 18:49
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I loved the mechanics of this game, but it was just too massive to finish. I've been mulling around with the idea of picking it up again and giving it another shot. Worst case scenario, I might use your NG+ save file to get through it faster.
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Apr 7, 2015 23:32
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drat it Blocter really? Stabbey just change his class with the Trainer. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qookkhtgdg6q0kq/AADferGDLVvk3Qk7eKhc7ntea?dl=0 Also it'd be cool to open that up anyway since you could get the visual representation on everyones art XP and such for the thread. If anyone is interested in how the game is internally levelling and not actually showing you anything. Also something weird I encountered one time  The enemy did not seem to load its triggers so it just... stares at you, blankly, you can't fight it either. This was on the PC version by the way.
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Apr 7, 2015 23:55
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Huh, I never thought to examine the White Yama's treasures. Poor guy forgot such nice presents. Also, never seen a massive attack before either! I'm learning so much!
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Apr 8, 2015 00:32
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Huh, I suspect Mr. Big And Pink might have different identities. Or something more sinister could be afoot... That is a pretty sweet axe that they kind of just let you walk in and see though. I couldn't help but snigger at having Ghor be the name for the major warrior's town. Since it sounds like gore. Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I think at one point I had hoped that it might be useful to help people decide how I should configure my unions, but I suspect that at this point peoples eyes would just glaze over if I asked them to vote on union configurations, so I bet "Just do it yourself" might be the winning option in any future party config votes.
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Apr 8, 2015 04:15
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EponymousMrYar posted:I couldn't help but snigger at having Ghor be the name for the major warrior's town. Since it sounds like gore. It might be a reference to Gor: quote:Gor is the parallel universe Counter-Earth setting for an extended series of novels by John Norman that combine philosophy, erotica, and science fiction. The series has been variously referred to by several names including: Chronicles of Counter-Earth, Tarl Cabot Saga, Chronicles of Gor, and Gorean Saga. The customs, terminology and imagery depicted in these books inspired a Gorean subculture, with lifestyle adherents online and off.
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Apr 8, 2015 04:28
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I've added Zuido to the cast list. He said his name in dialogue after we got back from Blackdale, so that's fair game. My aim is to finish off the last two sidequests in one update. There is no dungeon crawling, so I think I might be able to pull it off.EponymousMrYar posted:Huh, I suspect Mr. Big And Pink might have different identities. Or something more sinister could be afoot... That is a pretty sweet axe that they kind of just let you walk in and see though. Ah, well right now, there isn't a huge amount of difference. Mainly, it's starting stats and arts. For instance, Loki, Nora, and David have pretty close levels of STR and INT, whereas Pagus, Maddox and Leshau have a larger difference between STR and INT. And higher level arts are much more powerful, and starting with them is a pretty big benefit. Even units which join at the same time can be pretty different. Look at Violet and Gabriel. He only has two fewer STR than she does, but she's a lot more effective. Another thing that makes some units better than another is what arts they have the potential to learn. Remedies, Hexes, Psionics, and Wards are good. Item arts are not that great. Some party members like Caedmon start out with a variety of arts already learned (and will learn two more), which makes them better than party members who start with two and learn two more. But Disc 2 changes things up a bit. For example, only Rush and David get unique attacks now, but on Disc 2, other unique leaders will get unique attacks and special items. How is a spoiler, though. Plus, our party members will start to unlock some of their higher tier stuff and some offensive item arts... which I'm not sure I'll really use. Now that I've hit BR 24, Loki is due to learn Hexes (good), and Torgal Potions (not that useful). As more of our unique leaders get unique arts, competition for the 5 leader slots will heat up - and we still have a ton of party members to recruit. My goal is to recruit almost all unique leaders - but most of them will just sit on the bench forever. I think I'll probably end up rotating a few of the special leaders in and out for different quests and dungeons.
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Apr 8, 2015 05:14
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Huh. Do yamas have multiple personalities that take turns being awake? Or are we just incredibly yama racist?
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Apr 10, 2015 05:00
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Glazius posted:Huh. Do yamas have multiple personalities that take turns being awake? That's unique to Zuido.
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Apr 10, 2015 05:15
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Yeah, Zuido's problem is Zuido-specific. I'm not a Yamologist, but perhaps the injury which cost him his left eye also caused some kind of injury to his brain as well? I dunno. It doesn't really matter. The good news is that I think I will indeed have an update ready for late this afternoon or this evening. It's over 90 images, though, because I tried to get two sidequests done in it. But this is the last side-questing we needed to do. Main plot resumes soon.
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Apr 10, 2015 15:05
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I'll be honest - I can't wait until we actually return to the main plot. I want to know more about The Conqueror, what David's hidden agenda is (or to learn if he even has one - I think he does, but also seems quite honest about his wishes for his land and people, so maybe not), if Rush and Elina will be reunited. Those sidequests are really massive and I can't imagine actually going through them all.
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Apr 10, 2015 15:36
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Images are uploaded, videos are encoded, uploading is starting now. This update will be special and will introduce a new tool in our arsenal.Szurumbur posted:I'll be honest - I can't wait until we actually return to the main plot. I want to know more about The Conqueror, what David's hidden agenda is (or to learn if he even has one - I think he does, but also seems quite honest about his wishes for his land and people, so maybe not), if Rush and Elina will be reunited. Those sidequests are really massive and I can't imagine actually going through them all. Yeah, I totally understand that feeling. Even I'm feeling it too. This was/is the longest stretch of sidequests that will appear in the LP. The good news is that if you don't count the Khrynia quests (which aren't big anyway), we are past the halfway mark for sidequests in the entire game. Disc 1 has most of the sidequests. The pacing will probably be better later on, although I do anticipate one additional large block of side-questing because of a game mechanics reason. Most of the game's content is sidequests, but this game does at least acknowledge if you do all the sidequests with more than just a token achievement. Doing all of these does make an actual difference.
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Apr 10, 2015 16:45
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How can that not get your soul burning?  Go for it! Heh. Of course. Because I reached BR 24, some of my units have unlocked the ability to learn new arts. Actually, I’m turning Potions off, but because I CAN turn them off, there’s not really any harm in letting him learn them. Guess I could learn  Hexes, but it sounds like a waste of time… No way – go for it! Huh. Guess I’ll see if it’s useful after all. They are, but the high-level ones take a lot of practice. learned  Red Potion! learned Poison Gas! Heya boyo. Reckon we might have the time to look for some Thick Mystic Fiend Fur? Sure, let’s go. I won’t yet, but after this update I probably will. Also, Emma upgraded her weapon again. Oh, Rush. If you’ve some free time, why don’t we fight a bit outside of town? Sitting around all day isn’t good for you. Yeah, let’s hit it! As I expected from you! Let’s be off! Man, we only need one more Crimson Shard to save Royotia! Heya, Rush! You lookin' for some action, too? Heyyy, I got it! You're just itching to get in on that tourney, right? What tournament? "Calling men of honor to the Heroic Ramparts—Welcome to the stage of history." How can that not get your soul burning? I kinda like my soul non-burned. Come on, don't try to hide! Plus, this's a historic tournament—you don't hafta worry. Anybody'd kill to be in it! Back then there was this incredibly brutal monster that lived near the Ramparts. Anybody who came close, it'd eat 'em! Eventually the most valiant warriors across the land showed up to face the beast—they weren't gonna let it get away with anything else! And after a fearsome battle, their powers combined were enough to take it down! Ever since, anyone wanting to really prove themselves have held this competition at the Heroic Ramparts. Basically, it's a fight to the death against the monsters that gather around the Ramparts. And whoever beats the strongest baddie gets the title of Hero Exemplar! Whooooooop!!! Just telling that story's got me raring to go! Hell yeah, Rush—we're gonna kick this tourney's rear end! We'll show 'em all that real heroes come from Athlum! Woah, hold up… Plus, you’ll never guess what the top prize is! The Tak Salia – “A red stone known as the roc’s torrent”! Are you serious? Yeah! I'm on it! I know it's not just lip service with you... Awright, let's get to the Heroic Ramparts! An' we're gonna come back to Athlum as Heroes! Accepted quest: The Standoff  If instead of going west, we headed east, we would have passed through this area on the way to Nagapur. It’s a little fortification. - Video: The Standoff, Round 1 (Wild Dragon)  That’s right, folks, I hope you’re not wearing your finest clothing, because it’s about to get bloody in here! Who will be the band of warriors that makes it through all three tiers to earn the title of Heroes Exemplar? Let's get to the first round! Entering the arena is... Oho, new challengers! Hailing from far-off Athlum, Team Blocter!!! They'll be facing the Wild Dragon! This is a tough challenge for the first round. It sure is, Jimma. Remember what happened to the team from Melphina in the second-round match last year? Ha ha ha, I don’t think we ever found all their spleens! So, is Team Blocter up to it? Either way, it should be an interesting show! Looks pretty strong... Should actually be a worthwhile fight! Let's do it! Mission: Defeat the Wild Dragon!Music: Struggle Eternal  Looks like Blocter’s Squad will be charging the Wild Dragon head on, while the other two groups take on the lesser Weredragons! That’s not a bad choice, Bobba. Blocter’s squad is the toughest, and most likely to survive for upwards of 30 seconds before being viciously torn limb from limb.  Unfortunately for Rush’s troop, Jimma, looks like the Wild Dragon has other ideas. Nah, that was just a li’l love bite. Acid was not a great choice against these Weredragons. Even though it hit two of them, it didn’t even slow down anyone. Ouch, and Gabriel goes down! That’ll be a serious blow to Rush’s Troop! Actually, from all I hear, Jimma, Gabriel’s just dead weight on the squad, and Rush is looking at trade offers. Bobba, you do realize that the whole stadium can hear you, right? Do you require assistance? Oh, here’s the Wild Dragon’s signature move now! Oh but it looks like everyone just shrugged it off. That’s gotta be good for Team Blocter’s morale! For the pride of the Falcons! How’s it look after the first round of play, Jimma? Well, Bobba, Team Blocter has a marginal lead, but at this point it’s still anyone’s game. Oh, and Weredragon Group C goes down! What was that, Jimma? That looks like Poison Gas! I heard that it’s a brand new move that Loki has just added to his repertoire, and I can tell it already looks very promising! We’ve got some more action on the field. Looks like Rush’s Troop is providing some healing! That’s a wise idea. Things can change in a hurry on the field, and if you don’t keep your strength up, you could wind up in real trouble. It looks like Blocter’s Squad is bringing Gabriel back to life. I’m not sure that’s the wisest move, as it leaves them wide open for a Raidlock counter-attack. And here it comes now! Give it your best, boys! Oh, Emma blocks and Baulson dodges! Nice moves there! But on the other side of the field… ouch, Rush’s Troop will feel that in the morning! Assuming they live until the morning, that is! Right you are, Bobba! Right now, it’s a dangerous time for Team Blocter. They’re still in it, but their morale is at rock-bottom. If they take a major hit, it could be all over for them. You said it, Bobba. The best thing Team Blocter could do right now is to try and get the momentum back on their side. Rush gets the team’s morale up with a well-timed Bluff, but OH! Gabriel goes down again! Blocter’s Squad finishes off group B with a series of powerful arts! They’ve got some moves! I have to agree there, Jimma. But I can’t figure out why David’s Division is just standing there, doing nothing! Maybe they’re saving up their energy? Torgal! Another of Rush’s Troop goes down! That Surefire move has been the most effective thing the Wild Dragon has done all game! I’m not sure that’ll be enough to give the Wild Dragon the win, though, Bobba. He’s really hurting out there! And down he goes! Haw haw haw! Those guys couldn’t hold a candle to us! We reached BR 25 from that fight. After each round you get a break and can go do whatever. Once you’re ready, just go back and talk to Blocter again. Blocter asked me to join him in the Tournament of Heroes at the Heroic Ramparts. We breezed through to the second round. Heya, Rush! So, you ready for our next match? I was born ready. Awright! To the Ramparts! - Video: The Standoff, Round 2 (Ferocious Lion) Last round sure saw a whole lot of monster slaying! We sure did, Jimma, but it wasn’t all one-sided. Our condolences go out to the families of the fallen. But they sure put on a great show, didn’t they, folks? Our next challenger is...the force from up north, Athlum's Team Blocter! They performed well enough in round one, but was it luck or skill? I’d say luck, Jimma. They didn’t do too badly, but I’ve seen much better teams than them get torn apart in here. And speaking of getting torn apart, they'll be facing the Ferocious Lion! The battles here are beginning to heat up, folks! Looks pretty strong... Should actually be a worthwhile fight! Let's do it! Defeat the Ferocious Lion!Music: Struggle Eternal  Imported all the way from Nagapur’s famous Aquaducts, we’ve got groups of Torpedos and Bune, led by the Ferocious Lion itself! In the first round, the Ferocious Lion tore one unfortunate member of the Balterossan team into six pieces and threw them into the stands! That sure was a spectacle to see, Jimma, but at least five lucky fans left with a truly memorable souvenir!  Brilliant! Did you see that? Rush’s Troop just dissected those Torpedos! It’s a good thing for the splash guards protecting the audience, because that was really messy! Loki’s Poison Gas hex is still pretty effective! It certainly was on some of the fans in the front row of yesterday’s match, Jimma. Once again, our condolences go out to their families. Remember folks, to always read your safety pamphlets! Gas masks are under your seats. Interesting, looks like they’re setting up Blocter’s Squad to do a powerful attack. It probably would have been better if they’d just attacked on their own, though, Bobba. And down goes the Bune Group! David’s Division didn’t even bother wasting power on mystic attacks for that one. Violet lands the setup… Oh, and Blocter executes the move perfectly. That was some fine teamwork at play! You said it, Jimma!Music: Reversal  Team Blocter is really firing on all cylinders now!  This one’s gonna knock you into next week! What’s this? Looks like the kid’s got some special moves of his own! Astounding! I’ve never seen anyone move that fast before! Neither have I, Bobba! And that’s the game! What a finishing blow! The crowd is on their feet! Just listen to them, Jimma! That’s the most impressive end to a match we’ve seen in quite a long time! learned Spark IV! The second round was a joke! Now it's time for the finals, baby! Haw haw haw! Those guys couldn’t hold a candle to us! Heya, Rush! So, you ready for our next match? I was born ready. Awright! To the Ramparts! - Video: The Standoff, Final Round (Hero Killer) And of course, who will be going home in a lot of packages no bigger than an apple! You said it, Bobba! Should be a lot of fun to watch! And now the final challengers enter the arena! And they are... Oho! Defying the odds, blasting past our admittedly low expectations of them, it's the Wrathlums from Athlum, Team Blocter!!! They'll be facing the bane—and end—of many a would-be hero's existence... The Hero Slayer! If they can take it out, Team Blocter will walk away as heroes! But if they can't...they won't be walking away at all! Whoa, that's a nasty one... Let's see how it holds up against the burning soul of Athlum! Come on, Rush! Let's show 'em what we got! Mission: Defeat the Hero Slayer!Music: Struggle Eternal  Team Blocter will be facing a nasty pack of Demons and Demon Kings, led by none other than the infamous Hero Slayer! The Hero Slayer is a dangerous foe, having slain upwards of 60 people in his last four appearances, and that’s not counting the fatalities among the capture teams just sent to bring him to the matches. Team Blocter will need to pull out all the stops if they don’t want to make him 5-0. Oh, and some nice moves from the leader of team Blocter, taking out the Demon Kings! His squad has really worked well together in this tournament, Bobba. They’ve been hitting all the right moves at the right times. Interesting move from David’s Division. I was expecting something a little more aggressive. It certainly is odd. Looks like the Demons are powering up for a bigger attack! I just hope that Team Blocter is ready for it. They certainly seem confident to me, Jimma. They didn’t even flinch when the Hero Slayer tried his best move on them! Rush’s Troop is really laying the hurt down on the Hero Killer! It’s too early to count out the Hero Killer, Bobba. They gave him that name for a reason! Ouch! All of a sudden, Two-thirds of Team Blocter are in trouble! This is the kind of situation where all a team’s training really pays off. They’ve got to make some pretty quick decisions if they want to stand a chance of surviving this match. Looks like Rush made a wrong call there. You said it, Bobba. It’s always risky to keep fighting when you can barely stand. Even Blocter’s squad is showing signs of fatigue now. It’s even money on either side at this point, Bobba. Well fought! But that crucial takedown might just have shifted things back into Team Blocter’s favor! It’s a close match for sure, just the way we like to see them!Music: Reversal  This could be Team Blocter’s last stand! David’s Division comes in with a crucial Revive and Heal. They’re hanging in there, Bobba! And Blocter’s Squad is following it up with more healing. They sure don’t want to take chances! That’s smart play at this stage of the match. The Hero Slayer is heading in for a Raidlock! OHHH! And he Flubs it! That was a prime opportunity to do some serious damage, and it didn’t work! Team Blocter is giving the signs for their next round, but… what’s this? It seems like they’re not going to press the attack? That’s an odd choice, Jimma. Best I can think of is that they’ve got something planned. Guess we’ll just have to see how it all plays out, Bobba!  Well, whatever it is, they’ve better act on it soon. They can’t take hits like those forever! I think whatever it is, they’re getting ready for it now! - Video: Arcana - Blackout  Oh, what’s this?! They’ve synchronized their Invocation spells! It’s the Blackout Arcana! Wow! Jimma, I don’t think we have seen any Arcanas in the tournament so far this year! Not a one, Bobba! That was a pretty spectacular move, I have to say. But it still wasn’t enough to take down the Hero Slayer! Maybe not, Jimma, but I think the tide is now firmly on Team Blocter’s side! They’ve been conserving their energy, and they look ready to let it all go.  The Hero Slayer is in trouble now, and I think he knows it! He needs a miracle to save him now! I think that it’s too late for miracles, Jimma! Good effort! And down he goes! The Hero Slayer is dead! Blocter himself gets the final blow! Wow! What an amazing finish!! learned:
class changed to Expert Scout! learned Spark II! Team Blocter, the underdogs of the tournament, have proved themselves worthy of the crown! The title of Hero Exemplar will be awarded to these warriors of Athlum! Congratulations! Haw haw haw! Those guys couldn't hold a candle to us! We—we won! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!! Whoo! Wait'll the young master gets a load of this! Ah, oh yeah. Here's your part of the prize money, split even-Steven, don't worry. Reward: 3000 G Obtained Tak Salia! Tak Salia - A red stone known as the roc’s torrent. Obtained Basic Customization! Awright! For Athlum...for the young master... Let's get going and get this stuff taken care of! We certainly have come a long way, my town and I. But nothing pleases me more than seeing my friends happy, and I thank you for that, Rush. Completed quest: The Standoff Me and Blocter totally kicked rear end! We brought the title of Hero Exemplar home to Athlum. Pfft, like there was any doubt! Dave! We’ve got all the Crimson Shards! Now we can save Royotia from… uh… that thing which was endangering it! *sigh* I suppose you’re right. To Royotia, then! So, while we’re on our way there, let’s talk briefly about  Arcana .Arcana are special Mystic Arts, that are cast not by an individual, but by a group casting certain spells on the same turn. They are extremely powerful, but also extremely difficult to learn, and require certain circumstances to trigger. Arcana will hit the entire battlefield, regardless of range or deadlock. Only the current leader of a union can learn the Arcana, and they can’t be inflicted with any status effects which would prevent casting (in addition to the obvious ones, this includes Poisoned and Cursed). BlackoutBlackout is the simplest Arcana to learn and to use. It also technically does the least damage, but that’s like saying “it’s just a small nuclear bomb”. Blackout I’s Conditions are:
 Arcana also don’t level through use – instead they get upgraded when the leader learns the next tier art. Invocations progress in power like so (from lowest to highest)
To learn Blackout II, the leader has to use Wind Shear V, Caustic Blast III, Permafrost II, or Wildfire. To learn Blackout III, you need Caustic Blast IV, and so on… (Grenade Impact is not used for Blackout on the PC version, it is instead used for the brand new Crimson Flare Arcana instead. There will be a special bonus post on Arcana later, in which I mention the other different Arcanas and explain why they are harder to get. We might not see any others actually used in the game except the Remedies one. In fact, if I switched around the union composition, Rush could probably learn it right away! I think I’ll do that for the final battles of the act, though. In the meantime, we’re here… but that’ll have to wait a little while because I am actually over the character limit.Thanks to The Dark Id for the Bobba and Jimma portraits (and the inspiration for their use). New Arts Summary learned Red Potion! learned Poison Gas! learned Spark IV! learned:
class changed to Expert Scout! learned Spark II!The Standoff, Round 1 (Wild Dragon) The Standoff, Round 2 (Ferocious Lion) The Standoff, Final Round (Hero Killer) Arcana - Blackout I should also talk about Basic Customization, since we "just got it", but that carries over in NG+. It basically lets you upgrade certain special weapons. There are additional levels of Customization you can get as well that allow for further upgrading and upgrading of even more powerful special weapons. Vote: Who should lead a fourth combat union?  Right now, our party looks like this, but soon stuff will happen, party size upgrades, so it's probably a good time to look into getting a fourth combat union. And we'll need someone to lead that union.  - Torgal (Quad-wielding Sovani) - Blocter (One-Handed/Power Grip Yama) - Baulson (Two-Handed Yama) - Caedmon (Dual Two-Handed Sovani) - Gabriel (One-Handed Mitra) - Violet (Two-Handed Mitra)Don’t worry about who will be in it, I’ll take care of that, just tell me who you want to lead it. Next Time: To master the flames, it gave him its soul Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 17:44 on Apr 9, 2017 |
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Apr 10, 2015 19:07
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Does the game itself ever indicate you can learn Arcana? Because I recall triggering one by accident and then obsessing over trying to fix the rest of my units to permit Arcana triggering.
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Apr 10, 2015 19:43
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Oh the tournament commentary. Always a charm  Torgal seems like a good level-headed quad-armed blender of fur and composed rage to lead a union with. Gotta get some non-mitra representation going.
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Apr 10, 2015 20:19
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:
Heh. Hell of a mental image. I like Caedmon. I vote for him.
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Apr 10, 2015 20:23
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Put in Torgal, the Chillest of the four-armed murder engines.
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Apr 10, 2015 20:59
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Why is Gabriel getting owned so bad? Also, let's put Violet in charge.
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Apr 10, 2015 21:26
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Clearly, Gabriel needs to get out of Rush's shadow if he is to shine. Edit: fyi,Gabriel was strangely terrible for me as well. I had in Rush's Troop too, and he spent the game being pretty much a glorified Herb-thrower.
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Apr 10, 2015 22:11
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 To master the flames, it gave him its soul Previously: Chapter XVIII: Good Luck, Rush Sykes. My country is in your hands.   *bird of prey shrieking from overhead* This is… It seems I must request a task from you. That roar you hear is the call of this town’s protector, the Flame Guardian. I know not why, but it seems you are being summoned.  I am the Flame Guardian. I am the watcher of Vespalia, that which would lavish destruction upon Royotia. I have called you here to perform a task for me. To protect Royotia, will you destroy Vespalia? Our time grows short. Vespalia has struggled for lifetimes to break free from its seal. Soon it will succeed. Once the bird awakens, it will destroy all of Royotia. Vespalia is not only strong, but possesses incredible fortitude. It would take a miracle to defeat it. Nevertheless, we are not without recourse against it. If there is to be any hope of destroying Vespalia, all nine Crimson Shards must be assembled.   Sure, I'll go. I see. Then, go.  Here, I got all of them! Do I kick rear end or what?! Undoubtedly, this is one of the Crimson Shards. I can sense the power throbbing within it. Takshend, the shield of flame. This shield was forged with prayers to protect its bearer from harm. Even the strongest of blows will be softened by this shield of wings. Vespe, the sword of flame. This blade is made from the talons of one split by the contrary emotions of anger and sorrow. Its bite is as harsh as the pain of those feelings. Manrynell, the flame bangle. Fire is controlled only by fire itself. This bangle is made of a proud soul, pure as the flames' crimson light. You have collected the shield, sword, and bangle now. Thank you very much. For the first time since the opening dungeon, I’m equipping Rush with something other than Katanas. This is actually completely optional – you don’t need to wear this stuff at all. But what the hell, I may as well get into the spirit of the thing.The sword’s stats are higher than my Samurai Katana’s, especially the ATK stat. The Shield gives me a 15 EVA chance to both Physical and Mystic attacks, which I guess is a percentage? Other than the items themselves, your reward is… a text dump. At least I found this on the wiki so I didn’t have to type it all in by hand.  Of the living, only I am left who knows this story. Long ago, in what would be eventually called Royotia, there were twin birds. One was called Vespalia, the other, Pivasalia. The twin birds were as old as the world itself, and the pair had fought for longer than memories existed. After an eternity, it seemed their conflict was to come to a conclusion. Vespalia was about to take Pivasalia's life... Through some stroke of luck, Pivasalia was saved by a young man passing by. Indebted to the youth, Pivasalia began to grant him wishes. He needed a weapon, so it gave up its talons. To shield the youth from fire, it gave its wings. To master the flames, it gave him its soul. By shaving away at the life the man had saved, Pivasalia allowed him to destroy every obstacle in his path. Thus, the youth became the first ruler of that land, and named it Royotia. By that time, Pivasalia had given almost all it was to the man. Without the ability to even defend itself, it was confronted by Vespalia.  Pivasalia finally had regained its strength. At that instant, Vespalia's fangs ripped the man in two. Seeing this, Pivasalia felt a bottomless sorrow matched only by its endless rage. This strength let it seal Vespalia within the flames. However, the seal was not complete. There was still not power enough to completely seal Vespalia away. Knowing that far in the future, the seal would break, Pivasalia looked at the man's corpse and swore to dedicate itself to his town. Thus, in preparation for what it knew must come, it plucked its feathers, cut its talons and transformed them all to small, red stones. That finished, the bird's spirit flew deep beneath the man's kingdom, to stand vigil over where Vespalia was sealed. And there the story ends. By now, it seems no different from any other tale. Still, it pleases me that it could finally be told. Thank you. Once you are fully prepared, please let me know. You are the only thing standing between Royotia and certain destruction. Are you prepared to face Vespalia? You can alter Rush's equipment, or go back to town. Ready as I'll ever be... Understood. If that is what you decide, I will stand by you. Then, go! Accepted quest: The Firey Revolt - Boss Video: Vespalia Mission: Defeat Vespalia!Music: Sliver of Hope  This looks like a Spiritlord type enemy. I’m not sure if it will follow the usual pattern and cast Curse on its first turn so I have everyone stand by.  Are you all right? Nope, it doesn’t cast Curse, instead it casts Grenade Impact. That is the highest level Invocation Art in the game. I think we only survived because of the Flame Defense bangle I equipped.It’ll take us a long time learn it, and even then we probably won’t see it much due to the amount of AP it needs (and it being overkill for trash mobs).  Take care of yourself! Luckily I had Emma standing by to heal. Nothing exciting happened this turn. Emma took 504 damage, but that was it. Not much. I’d rather get more art XP than do an Omnistrike. Here’s what David’s union is scheduled to do. Earthrender is a horizontal slash with one of the weapons, which leads into a leaping vertical slash with the other. That “little bit” of damage Emma took was enough to kill her. If she had been at full health, she would have barely survived Grenade Impact. Oh yeah, that’s right. Wind Shear IV also can trigger Blackout. Mystic Arts area attacks are great for hitting multiple unions, but they’re not so good on single targets, and most of the tough enemies are single targets. Still, this does a lot more damage than a critical chain of regular mystic attacks. This is just the cherry on top.Music: Struggle Eternal Turn 4 was mostly spent reviving and healing. Vespalia built up some AP with Mana Well, so a Grenade Impact is likely soon.  Stay strong! Loki describes a beautiful arc through the air. I think a change in strategy might be in order. Things aren’t going too badly for us, though. I just have to try and keep everyone alive. I’ll try and stall for time with Emma by having her defend. Stand your ground! That worked. Rush brings back David’s union and heals him with Revitalize, Gabriel heals Rush’s union up. And now, a series of poor decisions: I decide to have Rush’s union cast Confuse from long range, which is terribly dumb because Grenade Impact is the real threat, and it is a Mystic art unaffected by Confuse’s Paralyze, I have David stand by to heal, and I have Emma continue to defend, even though her health is not good right now. Young… Master… Violet did heal, but it didn’t help. Thankfully, David’s union came in on the same turn and immediately revived her. For the next turn, I finally decided to have the Flame Resistant Union be the one tanking the Fire Boss.  Don’t let me down, Gabriel. (It did 800 damage. He let me down.) Stop slacking! That one seems like it would have been neutralized by Paralyze, but bosses usually recover from ailments at the end of the turn, so it already wore off. Okay, don’t let me down, Violet. That was good. Emma is going to go next, so we’ll be at 2522 HP before the Grenade Impact happens. Pull it together! Be careful! Ha ha, that was so close. I think that maybe I should have used that Omnistrike after all. I underestimated this fight. Rush will be tanking, everyone else healing themselves.  Speak of the devil… actually, since all my unions are at full HP again, I may as well go for the art XP.   BOOM! And that is how we do THAT! learned Revitalize II! learned Vivification Herb III! learned  Nimble Knee Splitter III! learned:
 My job here is complete as well. For your help, please take this. Obtained Pivasalia! Pivasalia - A red stone similar to the Emeth Tag. Flames dance inside the stone. Completed quest: The Firey Revolt For all that stuff - 10 quests in the making, our only reward is a stone in memoriam of what we’ve done, and the knowledge that we’ve saved a town from destruction. Yeah, but the guardian lady left. The guardian disappeared as well? Ahh.... She, too, will forever have our thanks." Vespalia's been purged. Royotia is competely safe! The girl seemed really happy about that before she went off somewhere. Next time: I’ve been putting off looking for upgrade materials for some time, but I think it’s overdue, so I’ll be doing that. Most of it will be off-screen of course, but I think there will be enough material for an update, and some videos showing off the new party members in action. After that, it’s Nagapur!New Arts Summary learned Revitalize II! learned Vivification Herb III! learned Nimble Knee Splitter III! learned:
Boss: Vespalia That’s it, we’re finally done with the longest continuous chain of sidequests in the game. Back to the main plot at last. Vote: Who should lead a fourth combat union? Right now, our party looks like this, but soon stuff will happen, party size upgrades, so it's probably a good time to look into getting a fourth combat union. And we'll need someone to lead that union. Don’t worry about who will be in it, I’ll take care of that, just tell me who you want to lead it. - Torgal (Quad-wielding Sovani) - Blocter (One-Handed/Power Grip Yama) - Baulson (Two-Handed Yama) - Caedmon (Dual Two-Handed Sovani) - Gabriel (One-Handed Mitra) - Violet (Two-Handed Mitra)Next Time: viii: Arcanas (Plus bonus party member action!) Next Time: Auf wiener schnitzel, Nagapur!
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Apr 10, 2015 22:27
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Torgal should lead the new union. Sassy four hands cat man is the best.
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Apr 10, 2015 22:43
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Torgal or Caedmon I mean Torgal will win out later because of.... reasons, so if you want to expereince Caedmon at the front, go with him for now.
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Apr 10, 2015 23:56
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Torgal I have to say, it took a while, but the game is finally looking like it can be fun. No offense to you, OP, you're doing god's work and everything is aces with the LP. I just know that this game would have frustrated the poo poo out of me if I was the one playing it.
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Apr 11, 2015 00:48
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Caedmon for now, since apparently Torgal can wait a little?
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Apr 11, 2015 00:52
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Caedmon because I'm curious.
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Apr 11, 2015 01:23
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Caedmon, because hail the Silver Falcons! Also, a question: why is Blocter going into the Scout class as opposed to a Monk a bad thing?
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Apr 11, 2015 02:00
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Verant posted:Caedmon, because hail the Silver Falcons! Scout is a dead end class and its commands are generally very bad for Combat, which is Blocters focus. You can still beat the game just fine, but it just makes him worse.
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Apr 11, 2015 02:24
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Once the main plot gets started again, oh, there's some pretty exciting stuff happening, soon. *** I wanted Blocter to get into the Warrior class, which offers bonuses to critical hits and normal damage (although the wiki says that part is bugged and doesn't work anyway). In fairness though, above level 3, it's hard to find classes that a unique leader qualifies for, due to the requirements. Blocter could only really get into Warrior, Scout Someone on the Steam forums commented that Gabriel can eventually become an Assassin, but that requires using him a lot. The thing is that to me, it seems like his damage output is so crappy and he seems to learn arts so slowly. (I think this is partly my fault, because Rush is the leader and he has more powerful arts for his level, thanks to the Ragnarock.
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Apr 11, 2015 02:52
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Looking over my views stats, main plot stuff and boss videos get views, but Dungeons and Rare monsters no so much. That's totally fair because there isn't really much interesting most of the time. So I don't think there's much reason to spend time on those unless there is a point of interest. It'll save some pain too, because some of the later dungeons are really big, and I didn't really want to record them anyway. I'll still record them to capture screenshots from, but I probably won't upload them. I've basically finished the bonus stuff I needed to do, so I can start recording the main plot soon. Technically, I think there's only enough main plot to fill one update before more sidequests open up, but I'm sure everyone is tired of sidequesting for the moment, so instead, I'll just continue on to the next main plot beat (and there are some good reasons for doing so instead of sidequesting). Trust me though, the next main plot sequence is really, really worth the wait.
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Apr 14, 2015 19:20
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Onmi posted:Torgal or Caedmon I mean Torgal will win out later because of.... reasons, so if you want to expereince Caedmon at the front, go with him for now. Seeing this, I'll go with Caedmon.
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Apr 16, 2015 22:59
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viii. Arcanas Arcana are special Mystic Arts, that are cast not by an individual, but by a group casting certain spells on the same turn. They are extremely powerful, but also extremely difficult to learn, and require certain circumstances to trigger. Arcana will hit the entire battlefield, regardless of range or deadlock. Only the current leader of a union can learn the Arcana, and they can’t be inflicted with any status effects which would prevent casting (in addition to the obvious ones, this includes Poisoned and Cursed). There is one arcana for every Mystic Art school except for Wards, which is purely a line of buffs. Arcana also don’t level through use – instead they get upgraded when the leader learns the next tier art. Example: Invocations progress in power like so (from lowest to highest)
To learn Blackout II, the leader has to use either Wind Shear V, Caustic Blast III, Permafrost II, or Wildfire. To learn Blackout III, you need Caustic Blast IV, and so on… (Grenade Impact is not used for Blackout on the PC version, it is instead used for the brand new Crimson Flare Arcana instead. Arcana videos may contain SPOILERS for future units. Blackouthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oGNdQ_tdvA Blackout is the simplest Arcana to learn and to use. It also technically does the least damage, but that’s like saying “it’s just a small nuclear bomb”. Blackout I’s Conditions are:
 Whiteouthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RMaAEC2hNE Whiteout is the Evocations Arcana. It does more damage, has a higher AP cost. It requires the leader to cast Mystic Missile V / Flash Arrow IV / Silencer III / Eclipse II / Snare Shot, plus three other units (up from Blackout’s two) to cast any Evocation or Invocation art. If you have a group focusing on Evocations, it should be possible to get someone to cast this. The trouble is that Evocations tend to be weaker damage-wise, so they’re less popular than Invocations. Unfortunately, in my playthrough, I’ve disabled Torgal and Caedmon’s Evocations because they were interfering too much with the Combat Arts commands. I can probably still show it off, but later. Animalculehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORRg0Fr4yYg Animalcule is the Hexes Arcana. More damage, higher AP costs, but the really great thing is that it can inflict Paralyze, Silence, Poison, and Blacked Out status effects. It requires the leader to use Poison Gas V / Paralyze Gas IV / Smoke Canister III / Silent Gas II / Dispirit, plus three other unions can use any Hex. Hexes are pretty good, so finding enough people who can use Hexes shouldn’t be a problem. You just need to put them all into one group. Rejuvenating Waterhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kucXt3bMDM Rejuvenating Water is the Remedies Arcana. It restores a substantial amount of HP and AP to all allied units on the battlefield who are not KO’ed (and probably clears any status effects). That’s actually the biggest problem with it, in fact. Most of the time you get this, you’ve taken enough damage that one or more unions are dead, and this does nothing for them. The leader needs Restore V / Refresh IV / Rejuvenate III / Revitalize II / Support, and three other units need to cast a Remedies art. Fatal Eclipsehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHbCflBFUpQ Fatal Eclipse is the Psionics Arcana. The AP cost is about the same as Animalcule, but it does extreme damage. The conditions are harder to meet, though. The leader has to use one of Confuse V / Enrange IV / Addle III / Maledict II / Mixed Message, and one other unit has to use an Invocation, one unit has to use an Evocation, and one a Hex art. So that’s pretty tricky. Crimson FlareCrimson Flare is a new Arcana for the PC version. The leader has to use the Grenade Impact Invocation, and one other unit has to use an Invocation, one unit has to use an Evocation, one a Hex, and one a Psionics art. So, yeah, that’s really hard to do.   This must be some kind of mistake! Music: The Seat of Vulcan Before I go to Nagapur, though, I’ve been putting off getting upgrades for my party members, and doing guild tasks for long enough. I did want to at least wait until opening up Blackdale Second Entrance, though.So this isn’t really a full chapter as such, it’s a grab bag of a few things. I’m taking this opportunity to get some more Unique Leader talks done, as well as showing off our benched party members. Because in theory, most of the combat should just be killing mostly trash mobs, I’m reconfiguring the party temporarily. ALL our established leaders, Rush, David, and Emma, are being benched. Rush and Emma for having the most experience and not really needing more, and David because I have 6 Mystics users and David has the highest ranks in mystic arts. Instead, I’m putting Rhagoh in as the leader of Emma’s union (making it Rhagoh’s Crowd), because he is needed for a quest later on, and so I’d like him to not be dead weight as a union leader.  This must be some kind of mistake! No really, that’s his actual line. Even he knows he’s worthless. Nora is going in as the leader of David’s union because her Mystics are less developed than Loki’s and her quest is harder than Loki’s. Be warned: I run a tight ship. Maddox and Leshau are coming off the bench to join Nora’s Fellows, bringing it up to 5 members. I also shift Violet over to Caedmon’s Team – promoting him and benching Rush. I shall do my best!  This configuration has several weaknesses that did not become apparent until I actually found a dangerous opponent. I went by the Union of the Golden Chalice to check on any guild tasks that I could possibly turn in. It’s the same as before. And I only have that one listed as completed because Maddox is in the active party. In order to unlock new guild tasks, I have to increase my guild rank. This is done not through completing a certain number of tasks, no that would be too easy. Instead, you have to do one specific task and then you are promoted.I’m not going to do every guild task or show them off, but I am going to show off the ones that get you promoted to higher guild ranks. I think I remember where this one is: There’s a Monsterslayer one asking for the head of Dominator, and I recall people complaining about that guy. In retrospect, I should have taken that as a warning sign. We’ll be bouncing all over the map, so posting it might help. This is a bonus update so I won’t be doing play-by-plays.  (Click for larger)  Yes, we have not visited Nagapur yet, but I’m putting it on the map anyway. Spoilers, that’s where Nagapur is on the map!  Enter Blackdale (first entrance). On the PC, with the draw distance set to maximum, you can immediately see where Dominator is. If you don’t see him you leave and re-enter. He’s perhaps one of the easiest rares to find. And he’s a Spiritlord type too. I’ll be dragging these spiders into the fight with me.Music: Clash of Opposites - Blooper Video: Rare Monster Dominator (Failure 1) This guy is a lot nastier than I was expecting for this dungeon. He’s got a lot of powerful attacks and damage-over time. At this point, I realize that I have actually benched three good healers, including the only Mystic who could revive, plus Rush had the only Psionics that boosted morale. No one in Nora’s union can revive the other two unions, and only Pagus can heal.  - Blooper Video: Rare Monster Dominator (Attempt 2) We will not lose! Poison is a deceptively nasty status. This party doesn’t have the healing to easily power through it. Let’s give this one more try. - Video: Rare Monster Dominator (Success) This is not an easy fight. Things might look bad here… But they turned out all right. learned Double Time! learned Double time! class changed to Adept Marauder! learned  Cascade Strike! learned Rejuvenate! learned Mighty Thunderclap III! Yeah no, Pagus. But the rest of it is good progress. class changed to Expert Marksman! class changed to Marauder! class changed to Adept Healer! learned Spark IV! learned Smash! learned Nimble Focus Strike II! Before leaving the dungeon, Rhagoh learned a combat art, making him marginally less useless. But seriously, all he starts with is healing, and not even much of that. Restore II is not a high bar to clear. Rush, your Vespe is impressive, but it would be more so in my possession, wouldn’t you say? …Sure, you can borrow it. You have my eternal gratitude. It shall be used spectacularly. Say Rush, would you could lend me your Elite’s Rod for a bit? Sure, no prob. Ho ho ho. You have my gratitude. I guess maybe I shouldn’t have given Gabriel the good sword from The Fiery Revolt, since he’ll probably get benched sooner or later, but Rush wasn’t going to use it anyway, so who cares. And I suppose anything that helps his damage is good. Vespe boosts his ATK from 52 to 70, which is actually pretty high compared to everyone else. If I do decide to bench Gabriel, it might be later, since he’s one of only 4 people who can revive. For now, we’re off to Celepalais to turn in the Golden Chalice quest and check in on the Sword of Three Realms guild.  Music: Glittering Gold  …That’s why I hated my husband. I resented everything he was… Why? I knew he cared for me. But how could he know how it felt to fall from grace? He wasn’t one of us. He could never understand my rage… or so I thought. Thinking on it now, it’s I who didn’t understand… Let’s just turn that in and… Obtained Union of the Golden Chalice Rank 1! And immediately we get a bunch more Guild Tasks, some of which we can already turn in. I also obtained Sword of Three Realms Rank 1 from killing 5 Vultures. Actually yeah, I do. Unlike that arrogant harpy of a mother, Charlotte is a gentle and delicate flower… a true desert bloom. I wonder how I may pick that flower and raise it in a garden of my own… …You want to kidnap her? …Perhaps not my best metaphor. Anyway, I think she’s seen way too much boyfriend trouble. Trust me on that. I went to Dillmoor to try and get some Purple Divain Rawhide for Violet. The only way to get it is to first capture a Divain, and then there’s a 3% chance you can get some when splitting the captured monster. - Video: Rare Monster Urraco I also fought a rare monster. This was about as threatening as he got (which is admittedly pretty dangerous). Not too tough most of the time. Try something new! Hmm! I always have loved learning. Pagus’s magical healing already is far ahead of his Herbs, but I’m having Pagus learn these up until Vivification Herb, and then I’ll turn the other crappy herb off. Hmm… Shall I learn Hexes? Or continue with my current studies? Which is the wiser choice? Try something new! If you say so. I’ll do my best to make it worthwhile. Hexes are good, but Violet is built for combat. I’ve got far better mages than her sitting on my bench, so I’m turning these off. Music: City of Heroes  Hey. …Hey, kid. A while ago, you were telling me about your village? So I left the village, and started making a name for myself as the fierce bandit Loki. Killing people, hunting 'em down, hating them... Every day, that's all I did. And that was all I wanted to do. But one day I met this kid... Frackin' changed everything. How so? I'm finishing up a job - casing this house - when I realize there's a little girl there. I don't screw around, I go on and pull my knife. That’s really messed up! But right at the part where they usually start screaming and wailing, she pops out and says hi, all cheery-like. Says she just wants to talk...says she wants to be friends. Turns out the girl's blind. 'Course, I didn't believe it at first. I figured she was like the rest, tryin' to pull one over on my. But turned out she just wanted a friend. It was the first time that'd ever happened...the first time I'd come across someone who was actually happy I was there. The first and only... I mean, hell, my own parents don't want poo poo to do with me, and this random little girl - Reya's her name - wants to be pals. Ain't that a trip... And that made you decide to change? ...Seriously, she saved me. Who knows what I would become... That's why I been searching for something to fix her eyesight all this time. She's done so much for me... I wanna at least try to pay her back. If you ever need any help, just ask. I’m working on it! Sorry for taking a little time off! There's gotta be some job we can take... Patrol duty, monster hunting, even a blorging fetch quest... Throw me a bone here! Urgh, I'm sure the Ladies're scrambling for cash even as we speak... They understand the concept of needing a place to live and food to eat... I can't understand you people at all. You know what, fine. We can probably use some weapons components. Hey. I was telling my sister about our travels, and she seems to have taken a liking to General Blocter... Sure he's a good guy and all, but as her brother, I'm not sure how I feel about that...  Sounds like a plan. Excellent. Then, let’s not waste any time. I got all the stuff Violet needed for her upgrade, so let’s get some other stuff. I looked up what most people wanted for components, and cross-referenced them, and Blackdale Second Entrance actually has a lot of what I need, so this is my next stop. The Rare monster “Silver Ape” is between me and a harvest point, so I’ll take him out. He makes like a linebacker and plows through my units. learned Blue Streak! About time, Gabriel. Blue Streak is a one-handed art which does two quick slashes. Finally, Gabriel can put up some acceptable damage. Not really great damage, but it’s better at least. There’s nothing too exciting about harvesting stuff, so it’s not worth any screenshots.  This has been on the books for a while, so it’s overdue. Should I learn Remedies? Or continue to refine what I already know? What do you think, Rush? Try something new! As you say. It should be helpful knowledge. I might turn this off, as Caedmon’s Herbs are so far ahead of his Remedies that it’s little contest. Music: Free and Easy  … B-but, anyway, from now on I'm totally committed to doing anything to help out Baaluk! So go on, gimme an order! I'm all ears! I'm all ready to go, so just say the word! We’ve actually got almost all the upgrades that we can reasonably get right now. A lot of people are asking for “Meteorite”, which can’t be harvested from anyplace we can currently access, which means they are up to date. So all that’s left is to go after two more monsters who we need to kill for a promotion in Guild rank. - Video: Rare Monster Prometheus To obtain Golden Chalice Rank 2, we need to go to this spot deep in Lavafender and fight Prometheus (upper left). The conditions are pretty lenient for him to spawn. Spinning Lariat is his primary threat, and it does a lot of damage.Music: The Seat of Vulcan  What’s going on? … Well, so long as we're to be fighting together, there's no need to keep hiding this from you, I suppose... I don't know if you know it or not, but I was once a general in the Celapaleian army. I'm not the strongest of people, but my pride and devotion to my position is still unmatched by anyone. However... Everything changed after... After what? Hum hum? That yama over there - did he just move? He did, didn't he? I didn’t see anything. ...I'm sorry, this is all I can say for now. Constant vigilance, after all... For now, please let me alone. Well, thanks for that, Maddox.  Ruler of the Dawn will get us a promotion in the Sword of Three Realms guild. The conditions to get him to spawn are tougher, but it’s easy to know when they’re wrong. First, one of the Raptors at the entrance must be asleep. If they’re both awake, you can immediately leave. Secondly, only Raptors and Roseflies can be present. If you see anything else on the map, like a Wyvern, Demon, or Evil Eye ahead, leave immediately. Even so, that just means that a rare monster has spawned. There are several who can spawn under those conditions. One of them is Royalguard. Apparently their normal attacks have a rare chance of causing Instakill. But Ruler of the Dawn is the real target here. It’s not much of a threat. Another combat art for a magic user. Nora’s STR is actually higher than her INT. I forgot to turn Switchback off for her. We’re done faffing about. Let’s head to Nagapur!Music: Swirling Sands - Video: Heroic Ramparts 2 / Rare Monster Dragon Rana This time we’re heading for the east exit. Down by the water there is a hidden Rare monster. There’s a guild task to kill it later, but while we’re here…. Dragon Rana is a Leap Frog type enemy. Its attack is pretty dangerous. This is why Art management, and not mixing combat and mystic units is important. I forgot to turn off Nora’s Switchback, and now the mystic union is getting options to use combat arts.  Poison is actually decently effective in this game.  And Gabriel for the win. We have to pass through the arena used in The Standoff to get to Nagapur.  And here we are, after… two months of nothing but sidequests. But don’t worry, things are going to pick up really soon.New Arts Summary I wasn’t specifically grinding – I only gained two BR total – but combat happened, and here are the results. I wasn’t recording all the battles, and sometimes I recorded a battle but loaded a game and ended up not fighting those battles, so I got these changes from a pair of Before and After videos. class changed to Expert Mysticknight! class changed to Lordly Mysticknight! learned:
class changed to Expert Scout! learned:
class changed to Master Healer! learned:
learned:
class changed to Marauder! class changed to Adept Scout! class changed to Scout! learned:
class changed to Expert Cavalier! learned:
class changed to Master Healer! learned:
class changed to Adept Marksman! learned Smash! class changed to Adept Marauder! learned:
Baulson became a scout, which was not a surprise – I expected he would become a scout, because I needed him to use Herbs. He was supposed to be the Sacrificial Scout, so Blocter wouldn't have to. Well, THAT worked out. Gabriel become a Scout, which is actually perfectly fine. He does have another class he can advance into from there (if I use him enough). Pagus learned Revitalize, which is helpful, and he’s made some progress towards Vivification Herb. Violet and Rhagoh are also getting closer to Revitalize as well, although Rhagoh doesn’t matter so much. Also, it turns out that units on the bench, while they don’t make progress towards gaining Arts, do slowly gain stats while on the bench, which is helpful. Blooper: Rare Monster Dominator (Attempt 1) Blooper: Rare Monster Dominator (Attempt 2) Rare Monster Dominator (Success) Rare Monster Urraco Rare Monster Prometheus Heroic Ramparts 2 / Rare Monster Dragon Rana Discussion Question: As a "behind the scenes" update, was this worthwhile? Did you enjoy seeing the benched party members in action, or was it not enough specificity on them (and you want the benchees to have more focus)? Would you be interested in seeing more updates like this, or no more updates like this again? I’ve recorded material for the next two updates. Some really amazing stuff coming next week. Next Time: Auf wiener schnitzel, Nagapur! Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 02:13 on Oct 16, 2015 |
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Apr 17, 2015 00:17
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Well, Gabriel doesn't look that useless now. Let's see what has been waiting for us to appear while we were side-quest around the world. SIGSEGV fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Apr 17, 2015 |
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Apr 17, 2015 01:31
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I enjoyed seeing some fresh faces.
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Apr 17, 2015 02:55
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Hmmm... without any fighting to scour for choice screenshots, and with basically all the dialogue existing in a script dump on the wiki, work on Chapter 35 is going pretty smoothly. If I work hard enough and we get another page, I might even have it ready tomorrow. That's good because I really, REALLY want to get to Chapter 36 as soon as possible.asymmetrical posted:I enjoyed seeing some fresh faces. We're getting close to seeing another batch. Things really start to pick up on Disc 2, though, as you start getting showered with new guys. That's when we'll have to start making some harder choices, like whether to stick with one main crew with better stats and arts, or a larger crew you swap in and out, but have lesser stats and arts due to less usage.
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Apr 17, 2015 04:27
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Wait.... I could have sworn there's Damien who can already be recruited now.
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Apr 17, 2015 04:36
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Okay, so we didn't want Blocter to be a Scout because we wanted him to follow a different track, right, while Scouts are, in and of themselves, okay to have. I guess having three when you're aiming for more variety can be a bummer.
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Apr 17, 2015 05:09
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And how on earth did Pagus learn a two-handed tech? Did he learn it from watching Baulson? Is there some of that Final Fantasy style JP bleed over, where if enough of your party members practice a school of techniques you learn one too? Could that be why Blocter got tecs you didn't want?
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Apr 17, 2015 05:20
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Lotish posted:And how on earth did Pagus learn a two-handed tech? Did he learn it from watching Baulson? Is there some of that Final Fantasy style JP bleed over, where if enough of your party members practice a school of techniques you learn one too? Could that be why Blocter got tecs you didn't want? No earthly idea, I think there's a slow buildup or Art XP just so you'll eventually learn stuff Lotish posted:Okay, so we didn't want Blocter to be a Scout because we wanted him to follow a different track, right, while Scouts are, in and of themselves, okay to have. I guess having three when you're aiming for more variety can be a bummer. It's also that for Blocter, Scout is a dead-end class that's very unsuited for him. Since you can't control what items your party equips and they have limited arts trees, there's limits to where they can class up. as you would think, this can severely gently caress up characters since you have so little control of them.
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Apr 17, 2015 05:34
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I can understand why that makes characters feel more like characters on their own, more organic, but drat that would frustrate me so bad when they're making the wrong moves like this. You could have been something, Blocter.
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Apr 17, 2015 05:39
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Could Blocter make it into Assassin if we keep using him? He's already a one-handed type. I mean I guess that may not be suited to him either, but it could be something? Also, if I counted right (hard to keep count with all the scrolling through the updates that burst the character limit), we should be good for a new page. marshmallow creep fucked around with this message at 05:53 on Apr 17, 2015 |
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Apr 17, 2015 05:49
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