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 A Rotten Nation So, Grus is... gonna start off with a bunch of paths but one of them leads to a locked door. Welp, that's one written off.  Since this IS a lazy Delphinus recolor, there're conveyor belts here. Lots and lots of conveyer belts. We'll go left here, because sure why not.  Also, SURPRISE! The entirety of the actual exploration part of Grus is one gigantic teleport maze!  And I loving hate it. It's not that it's difficult per se... though there are A LOT of teleports and keeping track of all of them is misery...  But that it's constantly broken up with conveyer belts that drop you on teleports, conveyer belts that drop you next to teleports... Thankfully there aren't any teleports onto conveyer belts.  There's also a bunch of hidden doors, just in case it wasn't quite tedious enough. Thankfully none of them are mandatory.  They just let you get to some extra items here and there. ...So, remember how a while ago forums poster Petiso posted his map of Eridanus' teleport "maze"? Y'know, this thing: Petiso posted:Good old Eridanus, I made sure to scan this for future reference and still shiver every time I look at it: Yeah, good times. Grus makes this look tame. So, I'm gonna distract you from how little of that I'm showing because there are like 30 teleport destinations on this floor alone and it's REALLY stupid. The Fear of God We used Anzu before, and I think that basically sums him up. Nothing here you can't already see. Titania meanwhile is fun and wacky. She's weak to Gun but resists Fire, Ice, Elec and Wind. She's 300% weak to Charm, and her physical attack can also do a charm. At a 10% base chance. And Luck is her second best stat. And her Source gives Thunder Reign. And her Magic is a base 47 with a 19% Growth Rate. Really, the worst thing about Titania here is that it uses her poo poo Devil Summoner design.  Ammut is a solid, good demon. She's a competent enough Strength demon even though she's as simple as he looks. Her Source gives Tyranny...  And the earliest Victory Cry. As you'd expect, it only affects whoever has it rather than everyone which is a shame but understandable. The next demon with Victory Cry at all is level... 78 and the second source that guarantees it? Level 92. Ammut punching WAY above her weightclass with this one.  Girimehkala is potentially a dangerous big boy alright. He's, well, he's an SMT Girimehkala. Reflects Phys, doesn't Reflect Gun but Drains it. Those weaknesses ARE all weaknesses, by the by. He DOES in fact take 125% normal damage from Fire/Ice/Elec/Wind.  Persephone and Guedhe are a bit more interesting. Persephone we saw as a random NPC forever ago in Bootes (remember that? Probably not!) but here she turns up with a predilection for casting Binding Cry. She's weak to Elec and immune to Wind, Expel, Curse and Charm. Guedhe is simultaneously more fun and more annoying and boring. His main stat is Agility (boo), and he has a 10% chance to inflict Sleep with his basic attack. Resistance wise, he's got no weaknesses, resists Expel and nullifies Curse and every ailment. Except Rage but that really doesn't matter at this point. A Rotten Nation Okay, but for real let's actually kind of talk about Grus' design here. Eridanus was really honestly kinda clever with that; it had 2 really big sprawling areas that didn't really feel all that large until you actually stepped back and looked at them. They weren't the tightest designed or anything (I could've easily accepted about 75% less pointless Sleep tiles, for example) but they were functional enough.  Grus is a giant goddamn mess. It's considerate enough to give you plenty of terminals for when you inevitably get sick of its drab color scheme, the walls being literally made of garbage and the hellscape of one hundred teleports.  Like, there is one thing both this and Eridanus' teleport maze has in common; the actual chambers were just empty crosses that had a designated landing point or two and anywhere between 1 and 3 teleporters at the other ends.  Somehow, though, Grus manages to just completely mess up something so simple. Like, just think about that for a second. There is basically nothing to making this work. If you're going for a minimalist thing, this should be really simple and effective and easy to achieve.  Thankfully, Grus has a dark secret. These stairs leading down are all you need; stumble across any stairs leading down to B3F and you're done with the entire sector for all intents and purposes. ...Complete aside, but that enemy search right there?  Pale Rider again, obviously. You have a 5% spawn chance. Leave me alone, goddammi-- wait i just unlocked the magic incense without having to grind for it so i wont need to track his arse down later okay we're even  This also totally reminds me, hey Red Rider. You're going to contribute here by having no real weaknesses, being immune to ailments and just Helping in general. Should definitely get rid of that Void Curse though.  So, anyway, B3F real quick. This is a single giant room. That's it. That's all it is.  There are damage tiles in the bottom left corner just because. Oh, and you see how those two doors there are one-way doors?  Funny story about that. B3F is a one-way door maze. It also has a couple sections with sleep tiles just because.  I don't even get that one here, since you have to cross it to get to a healing spot anyway. Notably missing down here is a Terminal, by the way. Odd decision that.  There's 5 staircases down here, and while this one is the most important later, it's not progress.  But it does let you open up a... shortcut...? Kind of? Back there if you need it.  Hey there's another thing Eridanus got right. It was a giant area, that checkpointed you reasonably well. It could get a little ridiculous at times, sure, but at least you always felt like you were making progress and getting somewhere. And during the countless trips back and forth, getting back to where you needed to was always quick and painless.  Grus on the other hand is a giant teleport maze that only lets you doubleback at two points: when you're finished, and when you're finished.  That's not even a coy clever wordtrap or anything. Remember, we get to Maya by going to B3F. Which is a single giant room. Then using the correct staircase to go up. Which is in the center of the giant room.  We get the first shortcut by using exactly one of the wrong staircases back up to B2F. We get the second shortcut by reaching the end of Grus.  This is just a kind of bafflingly terrible decision. As much as I ragged on Fornax for being boring and empty at least it broke up its bad ideas by interspacing them with Jack's Squad loving things up.  Grus just frontloads its plot then throws you in teleport hell and waits for you to be done. ...Anyway, we finally found the Carina palette swap. That means we get a couple new random demons to talk about. Thank God, because I'm running out of ways to say basically the same thing but pretend like I'm not. The Fear of God Gemori here is kind of an unusually bafflingly bad idea. She has Lullaby, but her source doesn't give it. Her source gives Eternal Rest but nothing that can inflict Sleep. She has a special skill when you use her called Laplace Curse. Laplace Curse is a free Debilitate on all enemies you have fully analyzed. This is as useless as it sounds. Like, it's great that you can get Auto-Debilitate for 0MP in a niche situation; it might very well have its uses. Except the things you'd want to Debilitate don't have Analyze gauges in their fights so its a wasted skill. Enemy Gemori doesn't have it for obvious reasons; instead, she opts to go with Baitsa Dasuto. Almost feels like a stepback after Taotie in a way. Anyway, she's resistant to Expel and Nullifies Curse, Strain, Charm, Mute and Sleep. No weaknesses in any way.  Erlkonig is a cool demon that is real and my friend and I like him.He is a treeman so he is weak to being burned by Fire. He's also resistant to Expel, Nullifies Curse (...man, even the resistances are laze here) and Reflects Gun. His source gives Drain Elec. A Rotten Nation That's it; that's all the interesting stuff in the Carina section. The only thing over there right now is a... teleport back to the start of B1F. loving christ.  Anyway, yeah, like I said before, the obviously correct stairs lead to B2F in an Antlia area. That's different. It even has a terminal AND a heal spot so it's clear that it's where we want to be.  ...Which is why we're immediately leaving to go anywhere and everywhere else. There's still a lot of Grus to try and find something useful or relevant in.  I'm not quite sure if we're succeeding or not, since even though the changed graphics for the area here SHOULD signify progress they just mean you can get jumped by a man what is a tree and a woman on a camel.  Meanwhile if we really want to make ""progress"" with pretending Grus still matters, there's still about half the teleporting to deal with.  At least they fully expected you to get constantly lost, hence why there are so many terminals in this area. This makes 3 in this part of the sector alone.  It's an odd mercy that I am definitely not complaining about.  Really, the biggest problem with about... 60-70% of this place is that there's minimal incentive to bother. Like, sure, they expect you to get lost a fair bit, but once you get to B3F you know you're almost done anyway so...  It might not even be so bad if it just, I don't know, actually placed the items around the floor reasonably rather than dropping almost all of them in this one spot? Just a thought.  Oh and the Criticker is a really bad Sword. Fixed 2 strikes is nice but it's added effect is Poison. Which is second only to Strain for ailments that are not worth it.  The good news about this, is that the "main" path has now been properly done and dusted. What about this way, then?  It sure has a lot more conveyer belts and a few more teleports for good measure. Nowhere near as many of them, though.  It even has exactly one terminal just to trick you into thinking that it is progress, I guess.  There's three more items down this path and that's all. There are four you can see during the conveyer belt stuff but only 3 can be obtained right now.  Thankfully, the first two that you see are good and an actual non-super-hidden Bead of Life is a nice surprise as well.  The other two are down a different starting point, and the one on the left here (right on the map) we can't get at the moment.  It's still good, but it's not A Bunch of Beads and Also A Bead of Life good.  But that's... finally... just about everything in Grus done and dusted. It's probably a good indicator of how much of Grus as an area just blurs together that I'm still mentally sometimes going "okay but where's the Black Box guy" even though we found that one right at the start of the sector!  I dunno, that's something that is like such a small and simple thing but I just keep forgetting it. Is that just me? That might just be me. For all I know, you don't even care that much about the actual boxes themselves.  ...Oh, uh, there's a rare forma somewhere in here apparently. We missed it. Um, where is it... where...  Oh. Right here. By the stairs leading directly to where it becomes mandatory. HEY SPEAKING OF RARE FORMA! Notice how Grus never had a single dark room? Now I'm not saying I actually want one or anything, but thus far Visualiser B has been completely useless. A+ idea right there. Prayer Sloth is really blatant about being that whole "idle hands are the Devil's tool" thing. Acedia itself is more of an apathy kind of thing than actually just being a lazy piece of poo poo, though. It's a very thin like separating them, but acedia means "without care." It is also kind of a sluggish mental process that even if you can bring yourself to care about something, still not actually do it necessarily and therefore very similar to tristitia in that regard.  Sloth being a sin is that way is kind of hosed up if you really think about it. It's a thing that is based on considering someone as one of the most evil things they can be based on their physical, mental and emotional state. So, uh, yeah. There's that.  So, new things! Reaper Colt is a pretty drat good weapon, honestly. Garudyne, Agidyne or a straight Gun attack what can instakill a dude. AT Grusite x2, Reaper Fruit x1 (Persephone) and Yoma Mask x3 (Xiuhtecuhtli) needed for this, so it's quite easy to make.  The Cromwell isn't a very good gun, really. It's basic attack is fine and interesting-ish, but its sole skill is Gun Getsu-Ei. Weak. AT Grusite II x1, Reaper Tux x3 (Guedhe) and Haunt Skin x3 (Kudlak) to make this thing so it's worse than the Colt AND harder to make.  Hey, it's a neat piece of armor! The Scanner Vest is on-paper not very great but it's quite handy for Grus. No weakness makes it nice, and it's super easy to get: DF Grusite x2, Vile Goggles x1 (Pachacamac) and Beast Scales x1 (Ammut).  Four incense down, and only Vitality to go. I really don't get the unlock order here. You START by getting access to Strength (and Agility...), which is amazingly useful and handy. Then you get Luck which is the best. Then you get Magic here which is very nice itself. And then you get Vitality. At least it's not pretending Agility is worth a drat, I guess. ...Anyway, we just got Unlock C so before we use it in Grus we'll see what it opens elsewhere.  Like this door in Carina. It's been taunting us for a while, so I'm sure it's going to lead to something useful and worth our ti--  the hell is this poo poo?? gently caress it, never mind, back to Grus! A Rotten Nation Second and last shortcut in Grus is opened now. Yes, really. Can I just copy/paste what I said before about how bad this is?  ...What? If Grus gets to be lazy as poo poo and just reuse things from earlier, why shouldn't I?  Free Dekunda Stones are nice, but uhh... this isn't gonna be helpful for what lies ahead.  Also that Gold forma off to the side that we can see? That's a fixed forma. That is only obtainable in NG+. I don't even know either.  Last regular ol' item we can get in Grus is just a single Amrita Shower. At least we didn't actually NEED Unlock C for this one.  Coulda just walked around to the stairs from the center of Grus. Not really much point to doing so before getting Unlock C though.  Thankfully, it's really obvious what lies beyond this Unlock C even if I hadn't unsubtly mentioned it several times.  It's Maya. Hi, Maya!  Oh and this makes the heal spot and terminal in B2F's center irrelevant. The heal spot was also kind of irrelevant anyway, but the terminal is at least useful for leaving quick with the Remedium. Silence ...Not gonna lie, I kinda like this background. It's pretty cool.  In The Master's Name ...I also really kinda like Maya's design here. She's pretty neat a gigantic eye-less woman who's also like half-series required Tower or skyscraper or something. I'unno, I think it looks pretty neat. ...Except the hair. I don't like the weird slicked back combed hair that she has. That just looks... so wrong and off.   Have you acquired a taste for matricide and now turn to me? What a filthy, foolish species yours is... I, too, once had a dream. A dream where humans had a prosperous future... This land of illusions is also the birthplace of the future. But what do the humans show me now...? Dreams of decay. Rot. Destruction! Humans have lost the power in their dreams and can no longer build a beautiful future! ...Now come, one without a future. You will fall and die at the hands of my dreams and illusions! Night Maya Vehement Rage So, Maya! Maya's a... simple and straightforward fight, really.  She's weak to Guns but she isn't (it's base 100%/Neutral damage). This exists just so she can get Co-Op'd. She DOES have an actual weakness though. You'll see...  But first, Maya has a boring gimmick! She "doubles" her Agility, which means she just gets two Sukukajas that... don't count as Sukukajas. So you can't formally dispell them, but you CAN just buff yourself or debuff her two stages to completely negate it. So, technically, yeah this means that Maya might very well be the only fight in which Fog Breath is kind of maybe usef... No wait, Debilitate does this but better. Never mind!  Ultraviolence is a pretty simple skill, depsite its kind of awesome name. It's just straight forward "hit everyone once for some decent Phys damage" and that's it.  Evil Vortex is a little bit more interesting, at least. It's pretty weak Almighty elemental damage but it has a sneaky added effect: it can Petrify you. It's like a worse Disaster Cycle, while also being a more terrifying Disaster Cycle. ...Fortunately, it's really easy to just never give Maya a chance to use this one. She can only do it at low HP and that's a stage of the fight that is very skippable.  She has all the Dynes. Just their single-target versions though!  She also has these weird spells. Agi/Bufu/Zio/Garu Gate SOUND from their name that they should do something fancy or special, right? Especially when you know the OTHER gimmick in this fight. But nope. They're just "Dyne but stronger" and that's it. What a goddamn missed opportunity!  So, resistance wise, yeah she's weak-but-neutral to Guns as mentioned above. And that is, in fact, it. Her only other resistances are the usual boss immunities to potent/all ailments and Expel and Curse. Bu she's Neutral to Fire, Ice, Elec and Wind. This means she takes 200% damage from them. This is half of her other gimmick. She is super weak to elemental damage.  If you use any skill that isn't an ailment, support, healing, Phys or Gun? She auto-counters with an undodgable, unblockable instant kill. This is such an awful idea; I don't even understand the logic here. Why give her a major real weakness and punish you for using it? Oh, THAT I can answer! Because that weakness applies to the usable version as well. Remember, boss vulnerabilities are almost always a 1:1 with the usable version.  But the actual "oh you did a Spell? Game over" is just such a shockingly awful idea that I don't even understand it. ...I thought for a while this was what the Gate spells was for, by the way. If you matched the one she just used, then she WOULDN'T do this. Or maybe the one that's its weakness or whatever. But nope, that doesn't happen. That'd be kind of clever. Oh and Maya has 6000HP which is a decent step-up from before. She might take a while if you decide to, I don't know, not buff and use Charged Grand Tacks (for ~1000) or Riot Guns (for ~2500-3000).  End In The Master's Name But even I am merely one of that Mother's children... Mother Mem Aleph will surely... > The distortion of the landscape stopped. Like, the cool Dali painting aesthetic was obviously an illusion, fair. But remember how the game explicitly told us that the reused assets WERE the illusion?   Alright, now strap in. The post-sector scene here gets looooong... Malevolence and Benevolence  With the Exotic Matter we obtained from Maya, we... should... we... shoul....... What the...? Arthur, what's wrong!? Answer me! ...... Silence What's going on!? There weren't any signs of a malfunction! Fear What's that...? Is someone on the viewscreen? Look! Something's coming up!> Three silhouettes are displayed on the viewscreen...   Maya has fallen, and the false visions of this land have been dissolved... The time to reveal everything to you humans has come.  Behold now the vision of the path that all humans... nay, all life on Earth should take...> One of the crew interrupted.   Careful, everyone! They're... going t...> The crewman's voice faded into silence...   The reincarnation of cultures beyond salvation. There was a time, long ago, when this land was populated with creatures other than humans... A time when those creatures prospered, their civilization covering the earth. They, too, were a race who spoiled the earth. Little realizing that their actions brought about their doom... They remained set in their ways, transfixed by their civilization. All of them disappeared into the Schwarzwelt. We are here to build a just civilization spiritually. We have no wish to see this cycle of ruin repeated. Law Theme ...is to bury the evil soul, leaving only the holy spirit... ...and make of this earth a single, unified, holy spirit. While the fallen humans whose wills are weak shall be eliminated. With the power of the Scwarzwelt, and the power of that song... the project will reach its goal. Humanity's charge of uniting all life on earth as one will at last be fulfilled. If the holy spirits are in harmony with each other, there will be no desire... And the absence of acrimony or hostility will prevent the Earth from ever again being put at risk. Humanity's spirit shall sing His praises daily, as they are directed, and shall nourish the Earth. That is the song under which humanity will become as one. In doing so, they will exist as a solemn creation for the rest of eternity...> The Three Wise Men were interrupted by another voice...  Chaos Theme  How can a planet that doesn't even blink be said to have any "life"? Is this the salvation He has promised you? I'll tell you what these humans who threaten the life of the Earth need...  A time of death and birth, destruction and creation... Bring back to the land that spirit of freedom. Quite unlike humans as they are now... living off the fat of the land, alienated from nature. I say let the Schwarzwelt loose! That's the way to regain your freedom, your harmony with the earth... Your days will be beautiful ones, where you polish your souls in a world led by free gods. And if a spirit among you in that world becomes depraved, may you bid him adieu. Right now, you are bent on earning a chance to escape certain death so you might change the future. But what form should that future take...? Do not neglect that... Malevolence and Benevolence  It seems they were trying to tell us something... something about a vision... A civilization on the brink of destruction... their vision of a new world... And it's up to us to decide what we should do...? The ancient days, filled with freedom... She wants us to go back to that? I could kinda see what she was getting at, but... What are we here for? To save mankind from the Schwarzwelt! Or have you forgotten!? ...... ...... This crew's being pushed to its absolute limits... Do we have an update on Arthur yet!? Is he still down!? He'll need more time, though. Let's tell the others to wait...One fade to black later... Law Theme > It seems she has returned to the Red Sprite...   Just as the Wise Men said... The question of how we should lead humanity has been put to us. I am here now to tell you my feelings on the matter. Not my feelings, precisely... More like my calling. The time of judgement is near, and I cannot remain idle. Hitonari... thank you for all that you have done for me. If He wills it, we will meet again. I pray that everyone on the Red Sprite awakens to His guidance...> Zelenin prayed for you and left...   I'll help you! I know you can save me--I know you will! I understand now what I should do for my sake... for all mankind's! Teach us how to free ourselves of suffering! Zelenin... your song... When I heard it, I felt like I was one step closer to Heaven.It was a nonspecific fancy song, not 14 words of power... I want to see the highest of highs! The real light of salvation! Please let me join you!> A few of the crewmen followed after Zelenin and left the Red Sprite... Chaos Theme  > It seems he has returned to the Red Sprite... Gee, I wonder where this is going.   Those ancient assholes and their stuck-up lecturing pissed me off, but I'll tell you what... What the chick after that said really hit home. A free life, where if you die it's your own fault... That's not too bad. So it's time I said adios to the Red Sprite. From now on, I'm a free man. But hey, don't you worry about me. The Schwarzwelt's probably better for a man in my condition anyway. I thought I wanted to kill you all for what you did to those demons, but... I guess I shouldn't expect much more from a bunch of humans. You guys are scarier than demons. But you're always welcome if you decide to live with the demons. I'm doing it... You can too. Later, Tadano. We'll meet again if Fate would have it...> Jimenez left with a casual wave goodbye...  I know now... humans can't do anything on their own! The world we knew is never coming back! It's time we turned toward the power of the demons! The gods of old! I want that freedom we've lost! I always did envy you, Jimenez... I wished I could be true to myself like you are. I can't stand being tied down. It's not like there's any guarantee of salvation! I'm going with you!> A few of the crewmen followed after Jimenez and left the Red Sprite... Silence  I will now assess the situation and devise a course of action. Malevolence and Benevolence It didn't take much for them to hack in and shut you down, Arthur. You don't really stand a chance against them, huh? Maya's defeat has evidently made it easier for them to act. The Three Wise Men seem to possess powerful information manipulation abilities. Maya's disappearance has allowed them to put these powers to full use. You have seen the effects with my shutdown and the visions you saw. ...Looks like we'll have to sleep with one eye open for a while. The situation should change once we depart this sector. Crewman Hitonari, you have yet to turn over the Exotic Matter, correct? I will take receipt of it now. We will send this to Engineering and begin preparations to move to the next sector. Now, as to the treatment of Jimenez and Zelenin. Both have abandoned the mission and left the Red Sprite. I was trying to think if there was any way to stop them... But the way they acted... Never mind them being part of the crew, I'm not sure they're even human. Well, we're down a lot of crewmen. Though if we tried to stop them, it probably would've gotten bloody. I hope there aren't any other crew members on the fence... Yeah... However, I will continue to suggest what I consider to be the best course of action. Hitonari, judging by the report of your encounter with Gore... Mem Aleph... The core of the Schwarzwelt, right!? Yes. The next sector may indeed be the core of the Schwarzwelt. Let us hope it is the final area we must investigate. We might be able to make it back home if we get the next sector's Exotic Matter, but... Hitonari, do you think that's all we're meant to do? That kind of thinking might be a sign you were brainwashed by that vision, y'know? We've done enough investigation of the Schwarzwelt. The fate of the Earth is on our shoulders... It's too big for us... That concludes the briefing. Begin preparations to plane shift to the next sector. We will again go by performing a continuous jump through the Vanishing Point at Eridanus. All hands, to your positions. Hopefully the last time we get this filler scene...  All hands, prepare to begin field investigations. Our workload will increase with the AWOL crewmen, huh? Wonder how many we'll lose here...  That's what Arthur says. I give him a 50-50 chance of being right. I mean, either it is or it isn't. Roger that. Patching the camera feed through to the main display. Fear  This must have been what it was like when the earth was new... So why are we seeing it here, in this sector? Speaking as a strike team member, I'm wonder if we'll be able to operate in a place like this. Arthur, can we really go out there!? There is nothing intrinsic about this sector that would hinder our operations. So not everything is as it seems... Fornax, Grus, now this place... That's how every sector past the Vanshing Point has felt. Places where you can't tell what's real and what isn't... Horologium, the grandfather/pendulum clock...  Horologium is a fairly small constellation discovered in the 1700s by... Nicolas Louis de Lacaille. That guy again, yeah. It's located adjacent to Eridanus, once again. It's even part of the same family of constellations as Fornax and... Antlia. Unlike every other constellation used as a sector, Horologium is seemingly some kind of a go-to for things that aren't the Zodiac? I mean, it gets used in Fairy Tail and that's not exactly a beacon of the most imaginative ideas. still think its pretty great though Our main objective is to obtain the Exotic Matter we believe to be in this sector. I am issuing a new official mission, designated "Horologium's Exotic Matter." Your mission orders haven't been very detailed lately. It'd be nice if you could dig up any info on Mem Aleph. ...Maybe we should reevaluate this mission before we start investigating. I know we're all hoping this will be the last sector we visit, but... With our reduced crew, we should probably avoid wasting time. Well... Shouldn't we leave that up to each one of us? ...It's probably because we're in such dire straights that people followed Jimenez and Zelenin. As we commence the investigation of Horologium, I must caution you. I know that your resolve is being tested by the demons and this new, unexpected information. Do not allow it to interfere with your mission. That makes sense intellectually, and it's what I've been trained to do... But I feel like I can't help getting distracted if I don't have something to believe in. What is it we're missing...? Silence It seems to be a transmission from someone! Crisis What!? Did someone get here before us!? I'm getting errors in the administrative system! We're... We're being hacked! poo poo... No! No! Arthur...!  "Your" crew, huh? Hmm... nope, I have no idea who this could be.  You've done well in clearing a path here with your own hands. This is where your... rather, our investigation will bear fruit. Leave your ship, and come. I will speak of the things I have been witness to. And mankind's intended path will be made clear... Arthur's still offline! What do we do...!? It's only Arthur that's down. The rest of the Red Sprite's systems are fully functional! I know it sounds dangerous, but see if you can get close to him! It seems like Gore's trying to tell us something.. Think it's safe to approach? Are you sure he won't attack us!? We're not having any luck yet pinpointing the source of Gore's transmission! I don't think it's nearby! Get ready, Hitonari! We're scrambling!
Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Mar 15, 2017 |
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Mar 1, 2017 02:12
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Horologium is the reason I keep trying to replay SJ. I love this sector so much because the gloves are completely off at this point.
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Mar 1, 2017 02:48
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BFC posted:Horologium is the reason I keep trying to replay SJ. I love this sector so much because the gloves are completely off at this point. You just have to slog through so drat much to get there. While Delphinus and Eridanus weren't too awful - though I still insist that Eridanus is "beginning of the end", there - Fornax and Grus are just abysmal and the payoff isn't even nearly worth it. Also, huh. I forgot Louisa actually showed up there. Lucifer is usually much more active in these games than "three unconnected, rambling scenes where they go 'yep, God sure is poo poo' and then vanish".
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Mar 1, 2017 03:30
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Horologium actually does some interesting things, yeah, I don't mind it though the last time I played I was just so exhausted I straight-up followed a map through it. Grus, though. Grus, man. I don't know how people forget it because it takes up so much time just to go through that.
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Mar 1, 2017 04:18
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My memory of Grus was worse than I thought. I even forgot about Maya and thought you just headed straight to the 'everybody splits off to do their own thing' scene. Maybe Tiamat just left that much more on an impression. Anyhow, things can only get better from here though! Mostly.
eternaldough fucked around with this message at 12:55 on Mar 1, 2017 |
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Mar 1, 2017 04:56
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neongrey posted:Horologium actually does some interesting things, yeah, I don't mind it though the last time I played I was just so exhausted I straight-up followed a map through it. Aside from it's awful layout, there's nothing that happens in Grus between dealing with Libertarian Squad and Maya. Have to agree with Dragontrix's comment on Maya: overall good design, but her hair should be wild and loose, not slicked back
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Mar 1, 2017 05:44
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I mean sure, nothing happens. But it's so long.
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Mar 1, 2017 06:58
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oh so the sector represents laziness by reusing previous assets, thats clever if kinda meta
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Mar 1, 2017 08:12
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The designers aside though, I can't think of how any of the characters expressed sloth in their actions during this sector? Nobody really seemed like they were being lazy to me during that old debacle about whether to murder
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Mar 1, 2017 12:55
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Honestly, I really don't remember having much in the way of issues with Grus. That said, I don't really remember Grus at all. It's just...forgettable, eminently forgettable. Horologium, though? Oooooh, boy. 
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Mar 2, 2017 19:50
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Dragonatrix posted:Ammut is a solid, good demon. He's a competent enough Strength guy even though he's as simple as he looks. His Source gives Tyranny... Ammut is a she  I'm surprised at the dislike for Fornax around here. Delphinus, Eridanus, Grus, even Horologium I can understand, but after Eridanus such a straightforward sector felt like a nice breather for me. Boss battles are usually my favourite thing in these games so I enjoyed refighting the bosses as pathetic as they were.
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Mar 2, 2017 22:11
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Petiso posted:Ammut is a she You'd think I'd remember this, given all the Egyptian mythology stuff I've been reading over the past several months. And yet! (thanks, fixed)
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Mar 2, 2017 22:34
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Gore is the best faction leader, imo. Neutral is really good in this game. It normally is in Megaten, but it's even more reasonable next to Ayn Rand with Demons or Mind Control Kink with Angels.
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Mar 2, 2017 23:15
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Also, Gore and Arthur seem like cool dudes so far. Them and the Red Sprite's crew will be the heroes humanity needs!
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Mar 3, 2017 03:27
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mandatory lesbian posted:i really like zelenin going from "angels are cool i guess" to "submit wholly to god's will" in the course of this dungeon It's because the game is as un-subtle as can be about how much humans suck. All the bosses go on and on and on about how terrible we are...but then they prove to be infinitely worse. Remember how Morax gives you the chance to say you agree with him? Well I did agree with his condemnation of humanity. Problem is, he's even worse. So, if humans are out, and demons are out, who's left? Maybe the nice divine people who do nothing but help you all game? Who aren't weak like humanity or cartoonishly evil like Chaos? Law was the only answer that made any sense to me in this game. It really doesn't help that Jimenaboo is the biggest hypocrite in the game and he learned absolutely nothing from his "good friend" Bugaboo.
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Mar 3, 2017 05:20
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the nice divine people who brainwash people
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Mar 3, 2017 05:24
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Nothing wrong with wanting to take the humanity out of humans. For who doesn't want to be a meat puppet?
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Mar 3, 2017 05:32
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mandatory lesbian posted:the nice divine people who brainwash people Yeah, this is the biggest problem with the Law people in SJ. They don't want allies and partners, they want servants and slaves. If the only way angels help humanity is utterly subjugating the entire planet, then they are just as bad as their fellow demons. Humans don't need them! Also, if deities from other pantheons are demons, then so too are the "angels". They can call themselves whatever they want, but I bet that their "Almighty God" is probably just another final boss fight like any other powerful demon would be.
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Mar 3, 2017 06:00
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SweaterGear posted:Also, if deities from other pantheons are demons, then so too are the "angels". They can call themselves whatever they want, but I bet that their "Almighty God" is probably just another final boss fight like any other powerful demon would be. And he was the final boss in SMT2 in fact.
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Mar 3, 2017 06:24
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Robindaybird posted:And he was the final boss in SMT2 in fact. And in SMT IV Apocalypse.
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Mar 3, 2017 06:26
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Prayer Time to take a break before we step into Horologium. Gonna use this opportunity to talk to the crew first though. The truth behind the Schwarzwelt, our course of action, the future of Earth and humanity itself...! It's like he knew it all... ...But I'm convinced. Call it a gut feeling, woman's intuition, whatever... But that really was Gore, and he's trying to tell us something. Please... go meet him. Find out what his true intentions are. ...Huh, there's no Maebe or Wolf here. That's pretty weird!  But when I heard his call, I realized... that's not the issue here. ...Go to him. We have an obligation to hear what he has to say--even in death. Alright, so let's see what SubApps we're going to get from having trashed Maya with minimal effort.  A very strong start with an inexplicable Beatles reference, I see. More EXP is never a bad thing, and it might prove useful later. There is a non-zero chance that I'm just gonna leave this equipped.  Shusendo is, uh, not a good SubApp since it gives you more Macca from fights. How boring. It's name is clever though, since "shusendo" is Japanese for... "miser." That's pretty clever, I like that.  What I don't like are the Garnishes.  They require you to either do a negotiation for a demon to join in OR for one to try and join willingly at the start of combat.  That's it; that's the only time they proc. They are straight up the Friend SubApps but flatout worse.   C'mon! Commander Gore's waitin' for us out there somewhere! Now git, Tadano. I'll leave it up to you how much forma ya wanna collect on this trip.  So whatever information he has is also not of this world. We have no way of finding it ourselves... But what does that mean for us? Should we be hopeful, or...? I think whatever he knows really might swing the balance. Oh, sure, we COULD go into Horologium which... takes up almost the entirety of the bottom screen... but we're of course not going to right now.  Instead, we're going to talk to Dent I guess? Since Blair is also not around. Bizarre.  We've almost reached out main objective... Like I told you before, we can do anything! And I'll be supporting you to the very end. Good luck! Real quick before we deal with anything else is that we've got Abaddon in Grus B3F semi-rarely I guess? He never turned up last time for some reason which isn't helpful. On top of what you can see here, he's 300% weak to Mute. Crushing Wave is an enemy-only skill that I'm PRETTY sure is meant to be Madness Crush instead. 1-4 random NoHs nothing super fancy here. A Squandered Nation Gonna start off the sidequests by picking up a new one for sensible reasons.  You put that weapon I made to good use? A nice bit of business, eh? But I ain't satisfied with that... I'm aiming to forge a real work of art. Willya do it for me? Yes. That's the spirit! I'll make the greatest weapon there ever was! That oughtta light a fire under you, eh, boy?You're probably wondering why we'd bother to pick this up right now, right? Pattern recognition says that the Onogoro Stones are gonna be in Horologium in fixed spots, right? Wrong. They don't appear in fixed spots anywhere at all. They only spawn via pure chance in Silver forma. They CAN appear in Horologium (and there is technically the easiest spot for it in there anyway) but they CAN also appear elsewhere. I don't know everywhere they can spawn but there is at least one other...  But first, let's make that Murakumo Clone. This is a loving pain in the rear end to get despite being a slightly worse Cursed Sarai. Weaker but controllable at least. It requires... AT Grusite II x3, Wood Sceptre x8 (Erlkonig) and Genma Bugle x8 (Heimdall) because who wants it to be quick and easy? Now for the most important thing:  The Onogoro Stone CAN spawn in Grus which is all that matters. This spot right here, on B3F next to the heal spot? It has a 100% Forma spawn rate and will never give you an Enemy Search. The one catch is that you have to use those stairs in the bottom-right next to the sleep tiles. So, use Medic and then walk a simple pattern from those stairs to here and back again. It takes a bit of a while because Onogoro Stones are rare, but it's the second easiest way to get Onogoro Stones.  What!? You got 'em all already!? You're amazing for a boy your age, sonny! Well, you deserve it... I'll make you the ultimate weapon! It'll take a long time, though. Mind waiting until I'm done?And by "a while" he means that it's 10 full moon cycles. Again. We'll be back for this later... So in the meantime, we're gonna go and clear out a whole bunch of sidequests! Encounter Gonna do this in some kind of vague order that makes a degree of sense, I guess? Starting with this since it's been waiting for way, way too long.  I'm willing to listen... Tell me.> Hitonari told Gemori about Anthony... I... see. Now I know why I heard a voice. Amidst the sharp, metallic tang of the wills possessed by the humans here on a mission... I had felt a different, unfitting will; one strangely pure and innocent. That's most likely him... This man called Anthony. Yes, that is my mission. Though he seems to desire not love itself but an answer to a certain hesitation he had... Though in truth, this is not much different than my usual practice. In either case, I am a teacher. I must go, then, to this man I am to love...> The demon left... And back to Anthony we go. He's only been waiting since... Delphinus? Prayer > You reported to Anthony...  ...What? Are you kidding me? Th-Then... Just now... That was...!  It was just so sudden, and she talked like a normal girl, so... She gave me a lot of good advice. I thanked her, and she said, "You're welcome." And then before I knew it, she was gone. Man, what a waste, huh? Well... I wouldn't hit on her. Definitely out of my league.Character... development...? Almost??? Ohhhh, yeah. I almost forgot. That goddess actually gave me a message to pass on to you.  But the stuff she wrote don here doesn't make any sense. It's just a bunch of letters. Or is this what that stuff looks like in the divine realms?...And there we go, again. Improvement to backslide in less than 30 seconds. Well, well... looks like a goddess has taken a liking to you... Maybe you're the luckiest guy around, huh? Oh yeah, while I'm at it... Hey, Hitonari. I figure I might as well ask... No! C'mon, man, you heard what that goddess said... share the love...! I'm counting on you!So, great news about all this: we never have to see Anthony ever again!  Oh and as you probably expected, that note is just a password.  The password here is part of this incantation of the names of God: quote:I (N.N.) do Conjure thee (O Spirit N.N.) by the virtue of the Great and Holy Names of God, that immediately and without delay thou art to appear unto me under an agreeable form, and without noise, nor injury unto my person, to make answer unto all that I shall command thee; and I do conjure thee herein by In particular, it's an extract from The Grimoire of Armadel. It's a tome from the 17th century that, like many of its ilk, was translated into English by Samuel Lidell MacGregor Mathers.  It... just gives us a Gemori who's 3 levels higher than normal. And has the same stats and skills as a base Gemori. What the everloving gently caress is this? That's not a reward. That's a goddamn punishment. Anyway, let's see... Next should be that Laevateinn demon, but we still haven't met them and they're not in Grus. So, hmm... A Scorched Nation This is next on the list, I suppose. It's the one remaining one we haven't finished yet outside of Thoth's thing.  Thank you so much! I'll have Goblin show them around.    Fare thee well.> Oberon and Titania left.  Thank you... Without you, this village would never have been established. You helped make a home for us... We'll welcome you here anytime. It sure is a good thing this is a decoy fake reward otherwise finishing the Faerie Village would not be worth it. There are two more things you get from this that are far more worth your time.  The first one is in the back here; gotta talk to Oberon for it.  I have heard some say you played a central role in this village's founding. In praise of your work, you shall receive our kingdom's traditional armor. You have done well, very well. This is some semi-decent armor for sure, but...  It's biggest issue isn't so much that Elec weakness as it is that there's no Phys/Gun resistance. It's a big ol' defense upgrade, immunity to both Expel and Curse, resists Wind for good measure.. Hard to not use this for a little while at least, really. We'll get to the second reward, that makes the Faerie Village the most worthwhile sidequest chain later on. It's very special. But first we gotta start some new ones, so let's see... Prayer Just because we have nothing left to do for Anthony, at long last, doesn't mean Dent can't hook us up with someone else. I'd encourage you to get more details from him. Will you grant Tanaka's request? Yes.  I'm Tanaka, on the supply team. ...I realize I'm kind of an odd duck for a Supply man... To tell you the truth, I find the forma here more interesting than the fate of mankind.Not that weird; you'd definitely get along well with Irving. Hahaha... I probably shouldn't go around admitting tha,t huh? But enough about that. Let me get right to my request. It's a tough job, and probably only someone who's survived so many battles could do it... Yes. I'm glad you're willing. Allow me to explain. ...Can't say that we do actually, huh. It's categorized under the Drake family, but I have my own private race for it... Yeah, you heard right. Fafnir is a draconic demon with a mechanical body. Doesn't that set your mind reeling? Just think... what kind of parts is he composed of? That's my first interest, the parts themselves and how they work. After that, I'm interested in the possibilities. I mean, just think of the kind of equipment we could develop using that stuff... So, Hitonari, you heard my story, right? I bet you're ready to run right out and find Fafnir! Good luck with the hunt. I'll start prepping the analysis for when you get back. Oh, and one more thing! Every component from his body is precious research material. I don't want to see any scratches or dirt. Don't worry, if anyone can do it, it's you!Gonna have to put this one on the backburner for now, I suppose. So, what's next... Oh, right! Of course! To Eridanus! A Land Controlling Roads We have Gate Search C, so we can get to the 3rd rooms on the outer edges here at long live last.  Oddly enough, the door after that one isn't locked or hidden or anything. It just... doesn't open.    As before, there are laws governing this match. This is a relatively difficult one to deal with. Not because it's super-mean or anything but because it basically makes it slightly harder to prepare for. Not by much, though. The trial will be harsh, make no mistake, but you shall gain an even greater power. Will you take the trial? Yes. Then we shall begin. En garde...! Herald Kazfiel and Herald Aniel Vehement Rage So, in practice, Kaz and Aniel aren't really that much different from before. They have more HP, hit harder, etc. etc. but there's no resistance changes or anything.  I don't remember if Kazfiel could do this before, but he can slightly increase defense. That's... something, I guess?  Aside from that, they're basically identical to before in movesets as well. Pretty simple, pretty ho-hum.  They both have 2500HP in this fight, for reference.  And we unlock both of them at once from this fight, oh my.  I sure hope they're worth using after jumping through that many hoops. It'd be a weird decision if they weren't, huh? End A Land Controlling Roads That we two could be so defeated... And by a son of man, no less... We yield to you.  We have waited for someone to grow so strong. Though we expected that your spirit would emulate more closely the Holy Spirit... There's a secret-not-secret alignment check here. If your alignment isn't Law then you can't continue this quest chain. Therefore, we shall issue you a final challenge. The trial given to the saints since days long since passed into myth... Getting into some biblical apocrypha with this one, I see. What's next after that, the Harrowing of Hell? You have seen the drastic changes in this world for yourself... We have managed to capture one of the demons who wrought these changes. You shall defeat it for us.  Will you accept this trial? Yes. I have unlocked the door. Now go... We'll go through that door in a moment. First, though, gonna use another special password for a unique demon. ALCARMOR gives us a demon at level 61(+) who is...  Completely loving awful! Alciel is quite possibly the worst demon in SJ, excepting like I dunno... Maya? His Phys and Gun weaknesses are only 125% as per normal thankfully, his resistances to Ice and Wind are... but that Expel weakness? That's one of those rare 300% ones. Y'know, the ones that thus far have only been on Slime and Doppelganger? Yeah, those. Oh and he's weak to Almighty. Like, he's not weak-weak but every demon in the game takes 100% flat neutral damage to Almighty. Alciel doesn't. He takes 110%. Oh and his source is Retaliate and Life Surge. God, just gently caress right off Alciel. You're lucky I'm going to use you against this here dragon.  ...Oh, right. The Cleric Robes. These are very nice, honestly. That Curse weakness is really annoying and obnoxious though. I did consider using this in our dragon fight at least. Really, they might be more worthwhile if they weren't alignment locked. Silence In The Master's Name A seven-headed beast, with ten horns raised from its head, huh...  O grand warrior, sent by the angels... You were told to slay my dear dragons, were you not? To look down upon me so and yet contriving to use me toward their own ends... What a selfish and self-righteous justice theirs is.  Human... I bear no grudge against you. But if you turn your blade against me, I will respond in kind. Rise, my dear dragons... It is time to feed. Devour the poor lamb being used as God's pawn! Fiend Mother Harlot Vehement Rage So, our denouement boss fight for this quest chain is the Whore of Babylon and oh my. Level 93, huh? How exciting! ...On paper.  In practice she has a grand total of 3 moves she can do. That is including her basic attack. Yes.  Resistance-wise, she's weak-but-neutral to Wind, immune to Phys (but does not resist Gun...), and she drains Electricity.  In terms of skills, she has Maziodyne which is why you might want to bother with the Cleric Robes here.  Her second and final skill is at least a unique one. Babylon Goblet deals Almighty damage (hence why Alciel takes more than everyone else by a noticable margin!); it has a base 300 power like Megidola, costs more MP than Megidolaon and compensates for that by inflicting Charm. With a base 25% rate. Why yes, it does cost 25MP more than Megidola, why do you ask?  OH and incidentally, Mother Harlot? Does not have anything to remove buffs or debuffs. At all. Not even Sunset Melody or anything similar. She has 3500HP, which is on the higher end of things for an optional boss but pretty low for a fight where the gimmick is that it has no gimmick.  ...Also she is the second worst Fiend we will get. Yes, really. She is only better than David. That is loving shameful. End A Land Controlling Roads Hohoho... The angels have chosen a frightening champion. And now, the finishing blow... Worry not. I trust that you will carry out your own justice. Well, let's think... Mother Harlot... is ironically not a Mother as far as we care. Maia Ouroboros, Tiamat, Maya, Mem Aleph is literally just MA... Do you mean that I am free to go? You know this, and yet you spare my life... Humans are peculiar creatures. Son of man... Rather than give you my thanks, I will give you a piece of advice. But if your spirit is aligned with those hated by God... The "Mothers" shall look upon you with affection. The decision is yours. Whatever you choose, I shall bear witness to it... No reward immediately, huh? Guess we gotta go back and see what Aniel and Kazfiel have to say about this.  You have vanquished the dragon! It is regrettable that you let the demon escape, but your deeds are none the less praiseworthy. But so long as you remain, the future need not be a bleak one. We pray for the Holy Spirit to live within you... Alright, so the Amanomi Sword... might just be the best sword in general.  Like, sure, it's a really boring weapon. Single really powerful hit, but targettable and no added effects or anything. On paper, very ho hum and not something that I'd normally use but it's absurdly powerful so it makes up for it by having the highest base attack of all swords.  So, what about the other side of the floor?  We Four Devas have come in response to the restoration of a world full of energy. Thou, too, hast come to this land prepared for death. If thou dost desire power to reinforce thy resolve... I am willing to train thee. Even if thy spirit matcheth not our stance. Thou must fight and defeat me, son of man. But this be no ordinary battle. There are conditions. This is basically a level cap, rather than anything else. Fortunately, I have the perfect setup for this... Thou mayst under no circumstances change demons once te battle has begun. If thou dost accept these terms, let us begin. Wilt thou train? Yes. Now, let the battle begin! Kishin Jikokuten Vehement Rage So, Jikokuten... is a Deva fight, alright. He really likes to punch dudes really hard. Really, really hard. Sometimes he uses Berserker God and sometimes he remembers he can cast Garudyne.  That's it. He's a Deva fight. The HP limit isn't an issue because you can just casually use Matador and Doppelganger to Taunt > Reflect Phys for an easy win. Taunt twice to make it slightly quicker though, it's really down to how often he hits Doppelganger. Girimehkala's HP is way too high, unfortunately! End A Land Controlling Roads Shouldst thou desire even more strengh, open thou the door behind me and enter. This door can only be opened by one who hath bested the trials of we three pillars. The last of the Four Devas awaiteth thou within. Honestly, I really kind of like the Monarch Vest. Sort of.  It has a giant weakness in that its a rare thing that removes our natural immunity to Expel and only resists Gun but it's a very high defense and there IS a way around that Expel weakness. But it's Chaos only so we can't use it and I probably wouldn't seriously use it anyway.  With all three Devas beaten, we can open this door. No alignment lock here, huh?  And once we're through this door, we've mapped out all of Eridanus. We might just never be back (on-screen) after this, huh...   Thou hast done well in coming, you who defeated the three pillars. I would like to begin the final trial, but... 'Tis a shame that thy spirit's flow is different from our own... Alack, I had hoped to entust thee with that sword, but... So long as our paths diverge, the trial endeth here. ...Thou mayst leave.Well, that's a shame. We can get into the room but Bishamonten doesn't give us the time of day if we're not Chaos aligned... A Scorched Nation So let's go back to the Faerie Village. Now that we've finished the village, at random the Goblin here can have something obstructing his digging.  We can choose to help out with getting through this quicker or we can just... leave it to the Goblin to deal with.  Regardless of which happens, he finds a low-tier recovery item (either Medicine, a Life Stone or a Chakra Drop) and then we can either let him have it or take it for ourselves.  Regardless of context, these are both alignment affecting decisions: Watch: Chaos Help: Law Let Goblin keep the item: Law Take it: Chaos  And this event is repeatable infinitely. It's just random on whether or not it happens. As a result, this is how we can make our alignment change when by all accounts its not really going to any more.  Alright, now that we've spent about 5 minutes here we've gone from a blue name to a red name. This means we CAN go back to Bishamonten, but first... A Land Controlling Roads Back to Grus real quick! There are two Chaos alignment locked doors in here. Let's see what we get out of this, shall we?  The Strength Incense at least makes sense, but I really think that at this point the Megido Stone should be a Megidola Stone.  Alright, so let's go back to Bishamonten and this is a marginally annoying limit but I once again have A Plan. To change demons in the midst of battle is, of course, out of the question. Now... if thou dost accept these terms... let us fight. Wilt thou take the final trial? Yes. Let the battle begin! I, Bishamonten, shall bear witness to thy final trial! Kishin Bishamonten Vehement Rage Oh, Bishamonten... how are you the easiest boss fight we've had to date? Out of like, all of them?  He's weak (neutral) to Fire, resists Phys and immune to Ice.  Attack-wise he sometimes uses Glacial Blast, I think? Maybe? I dunno, he doesn't really live long enough to get to do much of anything. He has somewhere between 1250-1300HP. Yes. This makes me question the data I have for boss HP since it lists his HP as 2000 which is still ludicrously low but also visibly and provably wrong. End A Land Controlling Roads Thou hast bested me, a god of war. The trials of the Four Devas are at an end. But so long as thou livest, thine own trials shall never cease. I look forward to our next meeting. Honestly, the Kurikara Blade is pretty good for how hilariously, absurdly simple it is to get!  It's let down somewhat by its seemingly low attack power. It's random NoH from 1-4 doesn't help it much unfortunately. It does have the opportunity to outdamage the Amanomi Sword (and thus everything else) but it's really inconsistent about it. Now there's just one last thing... A Squandered Nation I finally finished it! Here, boy... it's yours. I never thought I'd live long enough to make a beauty like this. Longevity has its perks. But I owe it all to you, boy. Thanks for giving me the chance. Prayer The Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi is basically just the Amanomi Sword except kind of worse. It makes up for it by not being alignment locked, at least. And with that, we're done here. Let's just take a trip to Irving for the last time before we get into Horologium...  The Mortal Knife is a crap ol' weapon that I'm kind of amazed we never got at the very beginning of Grus. When you're expected to have it; AT Grusite x2, Fairy Helmet x1 (Oberon) and Jirae Mud x2 (Gogmagog).  The Azathoth Knife is just the Mortal Knife but with More Power. Neither are very good, yes. AT Grusite II x1, Drake Board x2 (Kingu) and Fairy Dust x3 (Titania).  Jestcost's all that's left for the guns. It's... okay, I guess? Only has an instant kill skill which is nice and it's basic attack is a multitarget chance to Fear which is fancy. Probably wouldn't bother though, because its's AT Grusite II x2, Tyrant Tongue x3 (Abaddon) and Cold Scythe x1 (Pale Rider).  Tenma Vest exists solely to out me as a dirty hypocrite because it's the Monarch Vest, right? But it has poo poo defense, so it's awful and worthless. It's also functionally way harder to get because it doesn't require beating up exactly one guy by... having him beat himself up: DF Grusite II x2, Avian Wing x3 (Garuda) and Fallen Crown x3 (Gemori).  Oh boy another one of these loving things! +25max HP. That's it. gently caress this. AC Grusite x2, Raptor Jar x3 (Anzu) and Yoma Bridle x2 (Valkyrie).  The Wizard Ring is the best of a bad lot by a loving mile. It's only +25MP as per the above but it also grants an immunity to Expel. Normally that is completely worthless, but since there is a tiny handful of armor that makes that a weakness instead... still not worth it though AC Grusite x2, Night Choker x3 (Succubus) and Nymph Robe x2 (Peri/Sarasvati).  Et finalment, the items what aren't the Magic Incense. Both Mirrors are a bit tedious to get and aren't really worth it for the most part since they usually just make bosses angry. Ironically, Attack Mirrors are REALLY REALLY good for a fight in the future. Since you're more likely than not to do that in NG+ though, they aren't worth farming for. Attack Mirror: DF Grusite II x2, Jaki Tusk x5 (Girimehkala) and Genma Bugle x5 (Heimdallr). Magic Mirror: DF Grusite II x2, Fairy Dust x5 and Avian Wing x5.  Now this is nicer in general. And it's relatively easier to make to boot: AC Grusite x1, Reaper Tux x3 (Guedhe) and Tyrant Tongue x1. And with that, we've made everything we can make. There are unknown items in every category still, but they're all special. And the Vitality Incense. And pffft Vitality Incense is maybe the worst incense, so who cares? Anyway, yes, Horologium. Hopefully the denouement is approaching! Are you excited? 
Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Mar 15, 2017 |
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Mar 3, 2017 07:22
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On one hand, it doesn't feel right how easy it is to shift the player's alignment. But on the other hand, I'm really glad that goblin exists. This whole thing with the angels and devas have been pretty underwhelming all throughout though
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Mar 3, 2017 07:38
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You have a broken end-tag for the Encounter link when Gemori appears, Dragonatrix, as well as a random [i] on the Mortal Knife.
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Mar 3, 2017 16:14
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Mother Harlot looks so great and yet she's such utter trash. It's a crime against humanity that's she's not godly.
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Mar 4, 2017 00:36
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BFC posted:Mother Harlot looks so great and yet she's such utter trash. It's a crime against humanity that's she's not godly. She was pretty great in Nocturne. I would have had her in my final party if not for friggin' Lucifer.
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Mar 4, 2017 00:45
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Why on god's green earth would they make a late game demon weak to almighty? Almost every boss from this point on, and a decent amount of random encounters have some kind of almighty skill, rendering Alciel worthless.
Robindaybird fucked around with this message at 05:06 on Mar 4, 2017 |
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Mar 4, 2017 05:04
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 Horologium... is a sector I am very torn on. On the one hand, it's probably my 2nd favourite sector. On the other hand, it's pretty darn terrible. A Scorched Nation There's some kind of magma-like substance flowing, too... Is this a preview of how Mem Aleph plans to rebuild the Earth? Can we get there in the first place...? I wonder what happened to the guys who left with Jimenez and Zelenin... Maybe at times like this, I should be looking at your will of steel as a role model. Alright, so let's check out Horologium, shall we?  There's a very big, wide-open area at the start with two doors in it. One leads to this that we can't do anything with at the moment. Disappointing, really.  The other leads through a linear path that ends with an elevator, huh...  Which takes us... to B9F. Jesus christ, 10 floors?? Horologium, please. Silence  My journey through the Schwarzwelt... ends here. Morale Can you sense it? She is beyond this door... We are upon the root of the Scwarzwelt... You must burn the figure of the final enemy attempting to destroy mankind into your eyes. Now, let us go...  > A huge, unknown entity is sitting here... So you cannot see her true form... Mem Aleph's fluctuating energies prevent those without power from seeing her.  ...It's dangerous to loiter here. She will notice. ...Y'know, for once I really cannot disagree. We should leave. Mem Aleph's rage can only be calmed with the sacrifice of the billions of humans on Earth... You have grown much during your trials in the Schwarzwelt, Hitonari. But... your power has bent too far in the direction of those who would bind the souls of humans. Just like Zelenin, your crewmate who shed her humanity to become an angel... It does not come from one person alone. Those who came before, those who have yet to be born... We gained that potential when history became a spiral of chained spirits.Infinite energy... and a spiral, huh... I sure hope Horologium is going to get as awesome as this implies.  We have the infinite potential... to learn from the past and pass our knowledge to the future. Take me to Arthur, Hitonari. I'll go into the details of my plan there. Malevolence and Benevolence  The Commander's back on the Red Sprite...! It's me, Gore... Commander Gore of the investigative team.> Gore held his hand over the console...  Beginning normal system restart...> It seems Arthur has regained functionality. ...Arthur restarted? Is Gore doing this!? I'm sorry for that, Arthur. I was a bit rough on you. I'll share everything I know... ...Welcome back, Gore. As ordered, I will establish a data link through the specified channel. Thank you... Arthur's... receiving data...! What the... are these from the Commander's brainwaves!? Is this right...!? The Commander, he's... well, he's dead! He's a freakin' zombie!  Tyler... you showed me a photo once. I remember your daughter's face. Maebe! I haven't forgotten your love for your father. That love will be rewarded. ......! The Commander's back... He's reclaimed his humanity...! And apparently... he knows our future... Men, I must ask that you trust me. I am... still Commander Gore of the investigative team. Silence With all you've seen and learned about the Schwarzwelt... I have to know whether you're up to the job of risking your life to save mankind. The End So, at this point? This is the alignment split. Except, whoops, you don't get a choice (except when you're Neutral then you kind of do). That one decision midway through Grus? That's it. That's the one actual alignment route decision you get. Your actual route is determined less by consistent play, actual decision making and a denouement but rather how much time you have to bother a single Goblin. This is so dumb. Added bonus: you can bug the Goblin to shift alignment after this as well.  Your heart already belongs to the god of law, who'll brook no human independence. In The Master's Name Because you have become the true threat to mankind... I have returned to the world of the living... to put a stop to you!> Gore attacked! Meta UberGorestalt Vehement Rage ...I really do not like the Gore fight. It's not a difficult fight, or anything. It's actually really boring and simple. It's just absurdly stupidly long.  Resistance wise, Gore is weak to Wind, reflects Phys and Gun and is also weak to... Poison and Paralysis. Odd choice that. The wiki also says he drains Almighty which is hilariously wrong.  He has an absurd number of skills, starting with Jack's Rain Strike. I feel the need to point out at this point that a lot of things call Rain Strike, Pure Blue and Sunset Melody skills that are unique to Jack. I have no clue.  Heaven Strike is, uh, it is Rain Strike. But it does Phys damage instead of Gun.  E.N.D. is a powerful Phys skill and also it has a chance to inflict Fear. E.N.D. does not stand for anything. It's just like the skill F.A.I.R.Y. in IMAGINE in which its just going for the acronym more than actually BEING an acronym.  If buffs or debuffs are at +/-4, he'll sometimes cast Silent Prayer. Not very often, but it's added to his rotation at least.  This is a bad sign in isolation, since he usually follows it up with one of two things:  This fuckin' thing which exists solely to oneshot Hitonari, because it's powerful Phys, single target and only ever used on him. And this damage is through a Guard AND at +4 Def. Granted he only ever does this after a Charge and never any other time, but still. Or if he doesn't do this, he does Silent Prayer. I've had him primarily use Silent Prayer at this point more than any other, helpfully.  Gore's penultimate skill is a bit of a letdown here, all things considered. It's Diarama+Tarukaja wrapped into one mildly inconvenient package. Now, I haven't mentioned this before but he has 7500HP. With the world's biggest asterisk because:  Gore's last skill is Power Overflow which is just Enduring Soul but way, way worse. It's Enduring Soul + Amrita + Dekunda. loving christ. So, yeah, major boss HP, for a brief comparison: Morax: 700 Mitra: 1200 Horkus: 1800 Asura: 2000 Ouroboros: 2300; 3200 Jack: 2016 Tiamat: 4500 Maya: 6000 Gore: 15000 what the everloving gently caress  And he doesn't even change after that full heal or anything. He just goes back to full HP so the fight takes twice as long. No new moves, no resistance changes, no new gimmick, nothing. It's just DO EVERYTHING AGAIN. At least he's one of the fights that I do know the exact EXP amount he gives - it's 507,000. This is the total split across everyone, for reference. Oh, and you may have noticed that all of his attacks are Phys and Gun. All of them. Even Adaptation. Funny thing about that... End ...I do like this, though. In theory that fight was so awesome that we trashed the Red Sprite. In practice, uhh.... Sorrow  Either way... mankind's time... is finished... ......  At this rate, all functions of the Red Sprite will be unrecoverable. All hands. Good... bye. I wish you all. Good luuuuuck... ...... ...  It's her... Zelenin's attacking the Red Sprite! ...... ...Hitonari!? What's with that cold look on your face!? Law Theme  ...will... wi... ...... Dammit! Stop her! Stop Zelenin from sing... ing... Ugh... ...... Zelenin, Messenger of God... Lead us... To the side... of the light... Come... Let us greet her... let us greet Zelenin... I come to share with you the will of the Lord... They have been made perfect. Now they will attend to the way of the Light. Hitonari... Gore came to you with a method of saving mankind, did he not? The two of us, working together, can make this world a perfect one which glorifies Him. Listen to me, Hitonari. I must tell you about our benefactors. Those three gentle spirits... Thankfully, they never DO get named beyond this. Namely because Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar (which you may remember more from Chrono Trigger anyway) are NOT the names of the biblical Three Wise Men. In fact, they don't even have known names. Or an exact known number. Three gifts is a known quantity; number of Magi is not. Ah...! They're... they're here... > The light envelops you...!  We are the Three Wise Men, who have watched over the growth of the Earth's spirit. We are the Three Wise Men, who have watched over the growth of the Earth's spirit. We are the Three Wise Men, who have watched over the growth of the Earth's spirit. The foolish Mem Aleph wishes to release the Schwarzwelt's power on Earth and overrun it with demons... We must do our utmost to stop the world's destruction. To deliver Earth into their hands would result in destruction as surely as it would in Mem Aleph's. It is fortunate for us that the Schwarzwelt contains an infinite amount of energy. Hitonari. Collect the artifacts we tell you of now. Once this is done, the Earth may finally be illuminated with the purifying light... The Cosmic Eggs contain power enough to create and swallow an entire space-time continuum. This power that Mem Aleph hopes to use to create a world of demons... We will harness it to create a world of order and light. With our guidance, that power shall become the power of light, and reshape a better Earth.  Now go, and begin your journey to create a world of light. We will also need the final Exotic Matter to open the Vanishing Point. If you feel you have the strength, then go and defeat the crazed mother goddess Mem Aleph. ...We shall give you this to aid your journey. Clear the path to the new world. All rests with you, Zelenin and Hitonari. All rests with you, Zelenin and Hitonari. All rests with you, Zelenin and Hitonari. We shall show ourselves again when everything is in hand... We shall show ourselves again when everything is in hand... We shall show ourselves again when everything is in hand... The final battle to bring about a world of order and light is beginning now. We have been given two orders.  We must act immediately, but let us start with the simpler of the two tasks. And even before that... we must research the forma the Three Wise Men have endowed to us. Please take the forma to the lab. You will help me, and I will help you... Together, we will succeed. We must.
Lotus Aura fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Mar 15, 2017 |
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Mar 6, 2017 02:01
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Oh look, an extended bad ending.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:11
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I actually rather like the Gore fight, if only because of how out of nowhere it is. We're just chatting happily one second, everyone is celebrating his return, then the music fades out, and boom. "I'M GONNA FUCKIN' KILL YOU." I remember him being teh hardest boss in the game when I played it. But it looks like things are going well. I always hated the crew so this was a marked improvement when I had to continue dealing with them for weapon upgrades or whatever.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:14
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GeneX posted:Oh look, an extended bad ending.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:17
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Oh, doing the best ending first? Ballsy, but it will make the rest of the LP kind of lackluster. I hope you surprise me by not doing what I expect by not rewinding back to Neutral next update, but we'll see! Gore is easy after you know his Power Charge->Adaptation trick, because you can stop it by simply using an Attack Mirror.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:24
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GeneX posted:Oh look, an extended bad ending. Looking back over the updates, Dragonatrix kept a fairly steady "Law" Alignment across the game. Barring the Devas and the Chaos aligned doors, I kinda saw this one coming. Either way, lets hope he doesn't wind up losing his poo poo like Luisfe before him if he intends to do all three routes.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:26
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Dragonatrix plays IMAGINE. He has a high tolerance for SMT-related bullshit.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:27
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GeneX posted:Oh look, an extended bad ending.
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Mar 6, 2017 02:27
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Tallgeese posted:Oh, doing the best ending first? This is the best way to confirm that it is, in fact, a goddamn dumb and terrible ending.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:01
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The Mattybee posted:This is the best way to confirm that it is, in fact, a goddamn dumb and terrible ending. That implies this game has an ending that isn't. mandatory lesbian posted:yeah, this game has more of a "least bad" ending then a "good" ending kvx687 fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Mar 6, 2017 |
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Mar 6, 2017 03:18
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kvx687 posted:That implies this game has an ending that isn't. yeah, this game has more of a "least bad" ending then a "good" ending which i like about it, good endings are for squares
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Mar 6, 2017 03:28
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kvx687 posted:That implies this game has an ending that isn't. No, I said it was a dumb and terrible ending, not the dumb and terrible ending.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:29
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I like this ending, by which I mean I find it horrifying and the game sketches out that horror fairly well for me.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:30
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The law route does a very good job of luring you with a false sense of security and pretending to be a reasonable option until the very end when you realize it is arguably the worst of them. If I wasn't sure this is entirely coincidental, I'd call it good writing.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:47
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