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my dad posted:There's a final payoff for it all. It's very much worth it.  Also, I'm genuinely struggling to remember any Lotus Assassins without hosed up faces.
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Mar 28, 2017 18:31
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stone cold posted:
Considering how hosed up their hands are I'm pretty sure that being mutilated is part of the promotion ceremony or something.
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Mar 28, 2017 22:53
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I wonder if the flying mission summaries and rewards really change based on your performance.
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Mar 29, 2017 03:26
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Xander77 posted:I wonder if the flying mission summaries and rewards really change based on your performance. afaik, the rewards don't change but the flavor text might. I'll defer to anyone who does know otherwise though.
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Mar 29, 2017 07:15
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Episode 23: Silver Phoenix Last time, we spent most of our time going through the wonderful flyer missions Jade Empire has to offer. We also met with the Lotus Assassin Inquisitor, who wants us to make sure Judge Fang does not get Minister Sheng's report on what happened in Tien's Landing, as that might cause problems for the Assassins. Judge Fang (who actually opposes the Lotus Assassins, but is such a horrible person that nobody listens to him unless he gets some solid proof on the Assassins' activities) spends his time watching fights at the Imperial Arena, so we're going to start our investigation there.  Looks like a couple of gentlemen are having a bit of an argument atop the stairs there, let's find out what's going on with them.  Despite appearances, I did not skip a line of dialog here. I thought I did as well, but I went back to check the recording and this really is the first line Lucky Cho (the guy with the headband and beard) says in this scene. We don't know why his men brought this other person to him. Maybe we'll find out.   Don't even try to make this better. You should have won that fight, Zhang, but you suddenly developed that blind spot, didn't you? Did the glint of silver get in your eye?   Well, that is one way to settle a dispute. Apparently, Lucky Cho here didn't find this fighter's performance satisfactory, so he ended up knocking the guy down the stairs. A bit harsh if you ask me, but I guess that's how things work around here.   I see everything is going well behind the scenes at the Arena.  At least Zhang somehow managed to avoid breaking his neck.    You couldn't see for yourself? I was just "retired" from the Imperial Arena. Guess my spot in the roster is yours if you want it. Go find Qui the Promoter if you think you can fill my shoes. He‘s always upstairs in the third room over or so, and looking for new blood. I'm taking what I have left from my winnings and leaving.All right, looks like we can join the ranks of the fighters if we want to. I'm pretty sure they'd accept someone of our skill even if their roster was full, though.   This scroll lists some of the recent arena champions. Raging Ox and Kai Lan the Serpent (not Kai Leng, thankfully) seem to have retired from active competition, and while this doesn't explicitly mention it we can assume "The Ravager" is the current champ.  This guy looks like a merchant, hopefully they've got something useful for us.   Marvelous. Let's see the wares.    That's all I need for now.Unfortunately, Taoran's got nothing we'd need, just a bunch of (presumably overpriced and low quality) merchandise, so we'll just bid farewell to him. We could ask him about the arena, but I assure you we will find out everything there is to know about the arena over the next couple of updates.  Spoiler: The Ravager does not wear a hood.  That's enough shoddy merchandise for now, we have a job to do here. Two jobs, actually, since we're going to do the job for the Inquisitors as well as fight in the arena. We don't need to do both to progress the plot, but surely you don't expect me to say no to all that wonderful EXP and silver, as well as bonus items?  Oh, hello there. This must be the Executioner.   Seriously, all these guys have hosed up faces. I always thought there was something odd about the Executioner here that I couldn't quite put my finger on, but then I realized he is the only Lotus Assassin with a full head of hair (aside from Grand Inquisitor Jia, I suppose).   Well yes, they are, but I'm sure the Lotus Assassins could teach us all kinds of fun new tricks.   I will be here if you wish to petition me further, but I don't acknowledge anything less than the best. Return when you are worthy, and no sooner.Does every fighter who wants to join the Lotus Assassins have to become the Silver Division champ at the arena before they're accepted into the Executioners? If so, does that mean every champion of the Silver Division since who knows when had to forfeit their title when they joined the Lotus Assassins? I'm guessing the Iron Soldier wasn't one of the Assassin hopefuls, since he's still here.  If we're going to fight, we should update our quick styles to include some more variety. Now, I'm still playing on a controller so I only have four styles available for quick select (there is a tactical pause option which may let you use other styles, but I forgot that existed until after I recorded this session so I don't know if it actually lets you do that. It may just give you the opportunity to switch styles without the danger of getting punched while doing so), but since I do have the keyboard handy I might as well assign some of these styles to the hotkeys. You can switch between the controller and the keyboard on the fly, so we can use all these styles just fine.   Really, you'd think the tavern would be busy all the time. Wonder what's going on there.  Great, thanks.  I bet this gentleman named "Lustful Lao" has incredibly engaging stuff to say.   Why am I picking this option? I shouldn't be picking this option.  Good lord, this guy is creepy. The stuff he says is dumb but generally harmless, but that wandering eye of his is kind of freaking me out here. It's probably just a glitch because we've seen a few NPCs with a similar problem, but it's still rather unpleasant.  Screw this, we're out of here.  Oh, his eye seems to have fixed itself. Good for him!  Why is everyone at this arena a weirdo, an rear end in a top hat or both?  Speaking of which, let's see if we can convince these guards to let us have a chat with Judge Fang. We can just about see him in the background between the guards.   Yes, I can see how that might ruin someone's day.  Seems like a wonderful person. I see only the best and brightest of the Empire are allowed to become judges.   Yeah, let's just leave him be for now and see if there's anyone else around here we could talk to. In hindsight, I should have told them that Fang sounds like a sick and twisted man, because they would've said that'd be an insult to folks who are actually sick and twisted and Fang is so much worse.  They also bring up some poor woman named Breezes who has to put up with all kinds of horrible poo poo from Judge Fang, and obviously this would be her.   Unless you're into something twisted. Then he might want to watch. Fang's always looking for some new perversion to make his little soldier stand at attention. Err... I just wanted to ask some questions, that's all. Gentle Breezes is obviously a courtesan, currently on Judge Fang's payroll, and the good judge is clearly into some weird poo poo. That's great to know and all, but is it going to help us with our assignment?  Fang's my... benefactor, if you know what I mean. I do all the things that make him happy. Filthy, nasty things. But at least that sick bastard pays well.This is entirely too much information, but... hm. Maybe Breezes here could actually help us deal with Fang.    Removing him sounds good. The Inquisitors aren't common thugs, so killing the man might not be the greatest of plans even though he does seem like quite a piece of work.  But as much as I want to see his bloated corpse floating in the gutter... Fang is a dangerous man and he keeps my pockets lined with silver. I hope Fang gets what he deserves, but you'll have to do it without my help.Oh no, we're not giving up that easily. Getting rid of Fang seems like something that should be done for the sake of everything decent. If we can gain the favor of the Inquisitors in the process, that's just a bonus. I'm sure our persuasion skills are up to the task.   Well, dammit. Convincing her requires at least 71 Intuition, and while we have a lot we don't have quite that much. Maybe I could've boosted the stat to a high enough level with gems, but it's too late now because you only have one chance to pass the Intuition check.  Still, we have other ways to persuade people to do things for us. Maybe a bit of silver will bring her around to our way of thinking.  I'll help you. You wanted Fang dead, right?No! Does nobody ever listen to a word we're saying?  Oh for... was Silk Fox not listening either? We very clearly said that all we want to do is remove Fang from office, the only one talking about murdering the man and leaving his body in the gutter was Breezes herself. I guess this exchange is here to really drive home the point that killing Fang will ruin your chances of impressing the Inquisitors, just in case you weren't paying attention earlier. Because it really will gently caress up your chances.  It'd be easier to kill him. Fang's reputation is already as dirty as it can get. As long as it doesn't get in the way of his job, everybody just turns a blind eye. There's got to be some way to bring him down. Well, every document Judge Fang approves has to be stamped with his Imperial Ring. Losing the ring is a major offense. And if it was revealed he lost the ring during one of his sexual escapades... even Fang wouldn't want that to come out. Well then, let's see how this goes. I'm sure Gentle Breezes can find a way to get the ring without actually having to go through any terrible poo poo, because otherwise this will get very uncomfortable very soon. As long as Fang loses the ring to a courtesan, his reputation should be shot even if...   ...oh, I guess she's going to go all out with the plan.  Ugh. This is rather unpleasant.  I do not want to know what happens during that fade to black.   I remembered that you could convince Breezes to steal the ring, but I totally forgot she had to do horrible, horrible things with this hideous goblin of a man to get it. At least she won't have to put up with that anymore once we're done here.  Show the ring to his guards, and they'll let you through. I better disappear for a while, but make sure you tell him where you got it. He'll be sorry he ever touched me! I guess you could call that a success. We got the ring, and now we can use it to blackmail Judge Fang to resign his post. Mission accomplished, right? Well, yes, I suppose so, but somehow this doesn't exactly feel like our proudest moment. I guess that's just what working for the Lotus Assassin Inquisitors must be like.   Let's just show this thing to the guards so we can get this over with.   How did you get... no, forget it. I don't want to know. You better go talk to Fang about that ring. Yeah, we don't want any part of this.  Or are you here to offer your services for later? Normally I prefer women who reek of the gutter, but I'm willing to branch out... if you beg me.Wonderful.  Breezes said she wanted us to tell Fang exactly how we got the ring, so let's honor that wish. Hopefully it doesn't mean Fang will go after her.  Well, it seems you have me in an awkward position. I can't let it be known that I was foolish enough to let a whore steal my ring... I would lose my position. So, what is it you want from me? Silver? An Imperial posting? What? A cushy Imperial job would be great, but we'll settle for relieving Fang of his.  I should have known something like this would happen. They tried to bend me to their will, but I am not easily broken... or so I thought. Are you proud of yourself? Bowing and scraping at the feet of your Lotus Assassin masters? Helping them to bring me down? Well, getting him out of office is a good thing, even if the Lotus Assassins put us up to it. The fact he opposes the Lotus Assassins is seemingly the only redeeming quality Fang has.  The Lotus Assassins destroyed me. But now that I am gone, I wonder where their attention will turn next? Keep a close watch over your shoulder... *friend.* My resignation is on the table. Take it and stamp it with my Imperial Ring yourself! This should be enough to get our foot in the door with the Inquisitors, so technically speaking we are done here. But as I said, we're still going to do the arena fights because it'd be a terrible shame not to. Besides, impressing the Executioners along with the Inquisitors won't exactly hurt our chances.  Well then, time to go see what the arena has in store for us. This seems to be where the fighters hang out.  Lucky Cho is at it again. Since he called this other fellow "Qui", we can assume this is Qui the Promoter, who sets up all the fights and... well, promotes them, I suppose.  Enough. Find a solution, and leave me alone.From the interactions we've seen between Lucky Cho and Qui the Promoter, it's obvious who actually pulls the strings around here. Maybe we can find out more if we go bother Qui.   Wait a moment. You... you have the look of a fighter about you! Those hands, that stance... even your eyes. I'd know that look anywhere! You must be here to join the most glorious contest in the Empire! Isn't it fortunate that Lucky Cho and I were just discussing how this place needs an emfusion of new blood!You may have noticed that Qui the Promoter has a tendency to mangle various words, so don't be alarmed when you see odd spelling mistakes in transcripts of his dialog. Those are in the game.  Silk Fox acting as a tour guide to the Imperial City here, not that we exactly need it right now. We're quite well aware of the purpose of the arena.   I like the reaction here.    I'll bet. If you call Qui a moron for butchering the language, he actually tells you everything he says is perfectly cromulent and also recommends you embiggen your vocabulary.  So, how about those fights, then?  Frankly, it's weirder when he doesn't mess up any words.   I may not have heard your name before, but you walk like one who has seen many battles. You are indeed mysterious, stranger.Yes, thanks, BioWare, I did the arena fights in KotOR so I get your little reference. It's not particularly funny or clever, but I get it. (If you don't, "Mysterious Stranger" is the terrible ring name the promoter gives you in that game)   That's what we have been trying to do for the last five minutes, and if we could just stop droning on about all this nonsense we could get out there and start fighting already.   Using our real name isn't necessarily the greatest idea since it might be connected to our exploits back in Tien's Landing, so we'll need to come up with something else. I'm sure someone at BioWare thought that comedy option at the bottom was the most hilarious thing ever, but I think they were trying just a tad too hard there.  Think of something that would sound engaging ringing from the rafters. That‘s how we'll bill you! Not exactly the most exciting selection of names, but at least they're an improvement over Mysterious Stranger. Silver Phoenix is the one I like the most, as Raging Dragon sounds too angry and Tiger Lifts the Mountain seems like a better fit for a powerhouse character. Silver Phoenix sounds more stylish and graceful.   We can still change our mind if we want to at this point, but we've made our choice. The Silver Phoenix is ready to fly.  Since you're new, you'll start in the qualifying rounds. The money's small at that level, but it's there. Any other questions? That's all I need to know? One other thing. You should talk to the other fighters now and then. They will be watching you. and you should get to know them, as well.Seems like a good plan. Knowing your opponents is always helpful.    Great. Let's see if Qui can tell us something about the champion of the division we're starting in.  I like Hapless Han, personally. He never quits trying. Reminds me of a young me trying to clamor my way up from the streets. He'll go far, you rest assured. Tell me about my next fight.Let's get this show on the road.  Even our great champions start out against the ogre. Take Raging Ox, who danced around the beast singing drunkenly to earn the crowd's favor, or the Ravager, who defeated him in a single blow.An ogre, you say? Hmm. A slow opponent, weak to weapon styles. I believe I have just the thing to handle such a creature. Maybe not the most graceful or stylish thing, but we'll have plenty of time for that.  Yes, please explain the procedures here. I like to keep things simple and organized. Any other way, and things get more convultated than the Celestial Court on the Emperor's birthday. When you're ready for your match, ask me about it, and I'll give you a quick summary of your opponent. I'll be setting up your matches, of course. Various enchantments woven in this place keep the fights from being deadly, but they're no less real. You'll feel the pain if you don't keep your defense up. Are you ready to get started?I decided to send Silk Fox home and bring The Black Whirlwind to the arena, because I bet he likes watching some good old-fashioned bloodsport.  Excellent. Follow me and we'll get you ready for your next match. Here is our first look at our new Dragon Sword, which as you can probably see has those rings attached to the blade. That seems like it'd make the blade completely useless, but when I took a closer look at the animations I noticed you actually hit opponents with the other edge of the sword, the one without the rings. All of this is academic, though, because we will not be using the Dragon Sword in this bout. EDIT: Bloodly has informed me that the Dragon Sword is actually based on a real blade!  Bloodly posted:It's a real weapon. Look up 'Nine Rings Broadsword'. No one seems to be exactly sure what the nine rings were actually for. Some say ornamental, some say sound to cause fear, some say to catch weapons. None agree. I don't know very much about weapons.   Instead of using our sword, we'll find out what Sir Roderick's "strange firework" can do. VIDEO: Mirabelle vs. Ogre  Your movement is severely compromised while using Mirabelle. Aiming it and reloading after a shot take ages, and you can't move at all while doing either so you generally don't want to use Mirabelle against fast-moving enemies. This ogre, though, is the perfect opponent to test her on. Now, I have not upgraded Mirabelle at all, but one quick (A button) shot already takes off about a third of the ogre's health.  Since it knocks the already sluggish beast down, we don't need to worry about reloading too much.  Some purists might consider it cheating to show up in a fighting competition with a firearm, but I doubt the crowd at the arena has ever seen anything like Mirabelle so we'll let it slide this time.  Three shots. The last one was a power (X button) attack, which takes even longer to aim but does even more damage than the normal shot. Not that we really needed that, because the third shot probably would've dropped the ogre regardless.  A shrug is the perfect way to cap off this match. Well, technically that's just one of the starting frames of the bow animation you do after every fight, but we shall ignore that minor detail in this case.  You've caught the eyes of the other fighters, as well. Go ask them if you don't believe me.  Iron Soldier is just jealous he doesn't have a blunderbuss.  One fight does not make a champion, though! There are many more opponents ahead of you. Let's move on, shall we? Indeed, many strong men (and women, and beasts) await us. Next time, we shall find out what kind of shenanigans the arena has in store for us as the Silver Phoenix begins her rise up the ranks. ----- DMorbid fucked around with this message at 10:04 on Mar 29, 2017 |
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Mar 29, 2017 09:14
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quote:
It's a real weapon. Look up 'Nine Rings Broadsword'. No one seems to be exactly sure what the nine rings were actually for. Some say ornamental, some say sound to cause fear, some say to catch weapons. None agree.
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Mar 29, 2017 09:44
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That's a great start to the arena.
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Mar 29, 2017 09:47
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If you pick the Egregious Prevaricator line I think he just calls you out on it immediately because he's already had a bunch of young scholars try to pull that one on him and you have to pick from one of the three choices (Silver Phoenix, etc). If you pick your actual name I forget what exactly what he says but I think it's along the lines of "that's not interesting enough, pick from one of these three names..." and you can guess what three you have to choose from 
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Mar 29, 2017 17:15
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quote:I don't know very much about weapons. Nor do I. I'm only aware of it via fiction using it, looking it up "Oh, that's interesting."
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Mar 29, 2017 17:46
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I was complete garbage at the flyer sections so I'm interested to see where this all goes.
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Mar 29, 2017 18:15
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Double Plus Undead posted:I was complete garbage at the flyer sections so I'm interested to see where this all goes. Mostly to more flyer sections.
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Mar 29, 2017 18:29
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Episode 24: Gonna Fly Now Last time, we disgraced Judge Fang and blackmailed him to resigning from his post, earning us the favor of the Lotus Assassin Inquisitors. While we could technically continue the plot now and don't need to impress the Executioners, there is absolutely no reason not to do the arena fights so that's what we'll spend our next couple of updates on. We got off to a good start when we shot an ogre with Mirabelle, and this time we shall find out what else the arena has in store for the Silver Phoenix. If you just want to see the fights, I've got you covered! VIDEO: Arena Qualifiers & Bronze Division (every match from this update) We were told to speak with the other fighters and learn more about them. Crimson Khana is right there, so we'll go introduce ourselves to her first.   Crimson Khana has apparently been here for some time, and she is enough of a pro to recognize we're not some random scrub who just walked in off the street. We ought to ask her what she knows about the other fighters at the arena.    I can tell you about myself, of course, and I know Hapless Han relatively well. I could also tell you something of the beasts they have here. I'd like to hear about you, Khana. I am from Phoenix Gate, the largest city in the Prosperous East. There I developed my own techniques of weapon combat. I have vowed to teach them to anyone who can best me. Why have you come here, specifically? Every city has its masters. I came here to compete against the Empire's best and I have managed to hold my own. Is there anyone else you wish to ask about? Tell me about Hapless Han. Han's... intriguing. While his skill is small, he shows no envy and learns from every encounter. I wonder if he stays in the qualifiers so he can face *every* new fighter. That's an interesting way to go about it, but I suppose fighting a whole lot of opponents would help you learn quite a bit. Of course, if you're going to be a professional fighter, you'd probably want to earn some silver and I doubt losing to everyone is going to help with that too much.  What can you tell me about the beasts? I've heard rumors, though, that the arena organizers are planning on bringing demons into the ring, somehow. I suppose we'll see in time if there's any truth to that.Demons? Pft! Preposterous. That's enough from Crimson Khana for now, let's go have a chat with Han next.    See, I look on the bright side of things, even if my losses make people call me "hapless." Are numbers really that important? In my mind, it's trying your best that counts. You know what I'm talking about, I'm sure. Things aren‘t exactly glamorous here in the qualifying round, are they? Now, what can I do for you? Tell me about the people who fight here. It‘s always good to know who's competing at the higher levels. You're looking to the future. I know a little about Soldier, if you want to hear my take on him. We could also talk about Khana if you're curious about her. Let's just start by having him tell us about himself. It might be interesting to hear how he got started as a fighter in the first place, because it clearly wasn't because he wanted a taste of championship glory.  My blades would be brittle, and even simple iron work would be clunky. Eventually, I had to leave home. Why did you have to leave? My father is no longer my father. More precisely, I'm no longer a son in his eyes.Disowning your son because he's not great at smithing like you are? Well, I suppose that is one way to deal with that problem, but perhaps a bit on the overly drastic side.   l was never properly trained. I've learned what I have from watching the fights here. Practicing hard and staying focused. That's my story. One day, I'll make it here. and my father will have to be proud of me. This is my chance to be someone great, and I'm sticking to it! Tell me about Soldier. He's one of the most experienced fighters here, but he‘s hardly a mentor. He's boastful, insulting, and a general pain. The fans love to hate him, though. He is an exceptional fighter; years of military training will do that to you. He's currently the champion of the Silver Division, which tells you something about his skills. That's all I can think of regarding Soldier. He keeps to himself, most of the time. Soldier brings up a fair point, but we'll have plenty of time to talk to the man himself later.  I really respect Khana. She's undefeated, did you know? Made it all the way to Bronze Division champion without a loss. I know she's from the Prosperous East, but for an easterner, she's very reserved. Easily the most disciplined of us all. She's going to teach her style to the first person who can best her in the arena. People have been really excited about that, because her sword is so deadly.Interesting. All right then Soldier, let's hear what you've got.   So you've earned the right to talk to me. Lucky you. Iron Soldier's the name, though everyone just calls me Soldier. You may as well do the same. If I waste time talking to you, it's because I can respect that you're prepared to lose terribly in the arena.Well, gently caress you too. We'll go talk to Qui the Promoter instead, maybe he can tell us more about the arena.  Certainly, go ahead. The first thing to know is that this arena was founded under the auspices of Sagacious Tien himself. The Emperor's blessings rest upon this place as the one true test of martial skill in the Empire. Interestingly, while we call it "the arena" commonly, its full name is "The Trials of the Seven Gladiatorial Schools of Beneficent Light."I can see why we just call it the arena.  How does anyone keep track of that many rules? No one knows them as well as I do, and that's likely for the better. Technically, we're supposed to lead a donkey around the fighting surface before each match. I consider that to be one of the traditions best... overlooked. Enough asses wander the streets around this building these days that I expect my predecessors' spirits will be satisfied. Does the Emperor still play an active role in the arena? Many emperors have graced this place with their presence from a secure private viewing room. Our current Emperor has not shown as much interest in the past decade or so. When he was younger, Emperor Sun was a regular attendant, but I'm sure the years have stolen away the time he once made for us.Qui's dialog here ties into the loading screen blurb we got when we first entered the arena: "Emperor Sun Hai's withdrawal from the public eye leads some to wonder if he is truly still in control at all." That seems like something that should've come up in dialog earlier, but so far Silk Fox hasn't mentioned a word about her father having withdrawn from publicity (if he was sick or something, Silk Fox would certainly know and would have informed us by now). Maybe it's supposed to be common knowledge in the Empire that the Emperor hasn't been seen much in the last decade or so, but it seems like a detail the player might want to know. It might have been mentioned by Old Ming in his 20-minute-long info dump (which we ignored) back in Two Rivers, but certainly not anywhere else.  Well, it's kind of a mouthful, isn't it?  Besides the name being unwieldable by the tongue? Largely due to inaccuracy. There are far more than seven schools recognized across the Empire now. Further, the Order of Beneficent Light disbanded hundreds of years ago. They are no longer the governing body of martial education, so these are not their trials anymore. Still, we hold on to the name as a reminder of the glory days.All right Qui, let's quit yammering and set up our next match.  I've got four boys from some school west of the city who've been bothering me for some tougher matches. I'm giving you all of them at once. It'll wow the crowd and teach them a lesson at the same time. Remember to watch your sides and back.Four students from the Black Leopard School, then. Should be an interesting fight.  Obviously, these guys have the numbers advantage, but we've faced worse odds before so this should be a cinch.   The Dragon Sword absolutely annihilates these chumps.  Well, this one still felt like trying a bit of Storm Dragon. Good on him. Speaking of which, we can't use harmonic combos in arena fights because of the anti-murder enchantments they've got set up. Wonder how those enchantments work anyway, seems like they might be useful in all kinds of situations.  Let's just send these boys back to school. Better luck next time.  The crowd‘s starting to catch on to you, have you noticed? People like you, and now I'm going to make sure they pay attention. I'm going to have a roughly hewn statue hauled into the ring. I want you to discomtructulate it. Destroy the statue quickly enough, and I'll give you a shot at Hapless Han. Our next challenge is an inanimate object. If you've played one of those bonus minigames in Street Fighter II, you know how this works.  What you might not realize is that the hitboxes on this thing are very particular. Once you've smashed up the front of the statue like we've just done here, you have to move to the sides because that's where the hitboxes are. If you just keep standing in one spot, you'll just waste all your time whiffing your strikes.    As long as you know which parts of the statue you should be hitting, this round is not a problem at all and you have plenty of time to smash the thing.  I think you're ready to face Hapless Han. Show me you‘re ready for the big time, and I'll make sure you don't have to dance with the children anymore.That was quick. Not that we're complaining, though, we've spent enough time in the rookie tier and it's time for bigger challenges.  Bring it!  Okay, he got a hit in first. No problem there, it happens.   Gah! We might have slightly underestimated Han here, it's hard not to do so when everyone calls him Hapless. Of course, the only reason he's got any of these hits in is that I've been loving up my timing, so once we get going this won't last very long at all.  It's also more interesting for the crowd when the underdog gets a couple of good shots in before getting pasted. That being said, we're done playing around.   The front flip attack doesn't come across very well in screenshot format.  Han might have thought he was in with a chance when he had such a strong start to the match, but obviously we've proven him wrong in about five seconds. Keep at it, buddy.   I bring you a message from my employer, Kai Lan the Serpent. He is impressed with how far you have come in such a short while. The Serpent wants you to know that he is watching your progress very closely. He is most interested to see how you fare in the Bronze Division. Qui, you may breathe again. That is all I had to say.Oh, that's nice of him.  Tell me more about Kai Lan the Serpent. He has a distinct interest in the proceedings here. He is an ex-champion, you see. He retired some time ago, even before Raging Ox, who was the champion before the Ravager. Kai Lan couldn't leave the arena alone, though. He has become a very important man here, with the help of a group called the Guild.Oh. Of course. Gao the Greater was a high-ranking member of this Guild until his unfortunate demise, so we have a pretty decent idea what kind of a group we're dealing with here.   Kai Lan "oversees" things here in the arena, and the Guild ensures that the authorities leave us in peace. Enough about what Lucky Cho said. Can you tell me more about the Guild? The Guild is the organization that controls all of the betting in this place. That gives them considerable sway. It is good that they are happy with your progress. Between us, the Guild is also involved in more illicit activities. They are very sensitive about remaining an "open secret." Many know about them, but few acknowledge that fact. Right now is a particularly dangerous time, as one of the leaders of the Guild has recently been... inhumed. Kai Lan sees this as an opportunity. Do not discuss them openly. The Guild has many ears. You may ask some of the others in the arena about them, if you wish, but I would not bring it up to just anyone.Talk to everyone about The Guild, got it. Well, not really, we're only talking to a select couple of folks.   For the sake of your career, I suggest that you limit any questions you have to your fellow fighters.Will do, thanks.   With all the pure water pouring from the palace you'd think they might have learned how to make wine that didn't taste like goat piss. There may have been a reason I brought Whirlwind along.  So you won't be...? No. Leave it alone, Qui. You know better than to bring this up. Just mind your business, Promoter, and I'll mind mine.The Black Whirlwind obviously has some history here at the arena, and we'll be finding out more about that as we progress through the fights.   I know him, yes, but I know better than to contravicate *his* wishes. If you want to talk about it. ask him. I'm staying out of it.That may be the smartest thing Qui has said all day.  If Qui isn't going to tell us anything, maybe Whirlwind himself will.   Sadly, he's not exactly forthcoming either. The one time we want to hear all the undoubtedly horrifying details, he refuses to share them.  I don't know. Hopefully nothing, but I'm keeping my eyes open. You just carry on and know that the Black Whirlwind's got your back. Not literally, of course. I respect you too much to go grabbing anything posterior. Forget it. Let's move to something else. Good idea. You've got bigger things to worry about than me, anyway. Not much bigger, mind you.I give him a lot of poo poo at times, but Whirlwind's not all bad. Since Whirlwind's not going to tell us what happened with him and the arena, let's go see how Hapless Han is taking his most recent defeat.   I like how he actually flails around like a moron while saying this.  You know, that's a good idea. I tend to focus on myself more than others. Perhaps I can learn some new tricks. Thanks for the encouragement. That's all I need from you. It's always nice of you to stop by and chat. A lot of people who move past me in the arena never look back.Still got that positive attitude, I see. Han is not the only person we want to talk to right now, as there is someone we've ignored completely until this point.  I guess this is where we get patched up after a fight. Speaking of which, our health, chi and focus are automatically restored in between matches, so we don't need to worry about that. You can try again immediately if you lose, but since there is a reward for never losing a match at the arena you'll generally want to save between each round just in case things go south.   In any case, this is Dr. An. Yes, the only doctor at the arena is blind. That's probably something that the folks in charge might want to address at some point.    What I do know is that several of the techniques pioneered by what we call the "new schools" would have astonishing effects on one with your energy. Allow me a formal introduction. I am Doctor An, acupuncturist. You are one of the arena‘s contestants, are you not? I hear talk that you are one of the most promising new contenders. But I should not prattle on at you. What do you need from me?Dr. An sells some techniques that apparently involve her stabbing us with acupuncture needles, but we're a bit short on silver at the moment because the pay in the scrub division is lousy.  We'll be back later on. Right now, I think it is time to get started in the Bronze Division.    Now that you have qualified for the Bronze Division, your challenges will be more difficult, but you'll earn greater rewards. The stars themselves need to hear of Silver Phoenix if you're to make it in this division, so I've prepared a match to remember. The guards rounded up a group of sub-human... things around the Great Southern Forest. Were going to release them into the ring in groups for you.A group of... wait. Surely he can't mean those things.  Turns out that's exactly what he meant, so we're having another meeting with our friends from the Pilgrim's Rest inn. Nice to see they found gainful employment after that whole Mother business.  This shouldn't be too big of a deal, we killed the cannibals in the forest easily and now we're much stronger. The camera could play nice, though.   As usual, the mage-type cannibal is the only one here who is even slightly threatening. He's using Tempest and causes the "Diseased" status with his attacks. I can't find any information on what that status ailment actually does (the wiki doesn't even mention it, and gamefaqs isn't of much help either), but its effect isn't very dramatic regardless.  That'll take care of them.  No, they really aren't, to be perfectly honest. Before we start our next match, let's have another chat with Crimson Khana.  Lucky Cho mentioned the Guild. I need to know your thoughts on them. The Guild has made this a place of spiritual trials. Kai Lan the Serpent heads their activities here. It is but one part of their larger operation, but their practices disgust me. What can you tell me about the Serpent? He is the real power behind Qui, Lucky Cho, and all the rest. He bends the fighters to his will but I will not be his puppet. The Serpent will *never* guide my sword.Khana obviously has some strong opinions on the Guild. I'm sure Kai Lan isn't at all pleased by that. Anyway, time for our next fight. This one is a bit different.  The arena floor will be set up with ancient magical devices. They will attempt to fry you to a crisp, much to the crowd's delight. Your job is to stay on your feet for the course of the match, while they fling deadly projectiles your way. I'd suggest dodging, but that's just me.Noted. Let's go see how this thing works.   Well, that's kind of rude.  Welcome to the PIT OF PAIN. Our job is to stay alive for 50 seconds while fireballs and ice projectiles fly in our general direction from every which way.  Jade Empire's controls were not designed for this kind of thing. Yes, it's simple enough to dodge projectiles when you're fighting another opponent, but when there are this many of them coming in from all directions it gets a bit wonky to say the least. The fixed camera angle also doesn't help matters, and makes it very hard to estimate where you're supposed to stand.  As we saw in the intro, the grate in the center of the arena has these spikes popping up every so often. On their own they're easy to dodge, but you'll still want to be careful.  Half a minute left, so far so good. This hasn't been too painful yet. That won't last.  If you get hit by the ice projectiles, you don't lose health (at least any noticeable amount) but you freeze in place. This is the single worst thing that can happen to you in the PIT OF PAIN.  Welp, got blown up there while we were frozen, but we can heal up just fine. We're still doing okay, no panic yet.  Okay, now this is where everything starts to go wrong. The PIT OF PAIN ramps up the projectiles and they're now flying at us at an immense rate. This means that if you get frozen once and then get hit by a fireball...   ...you pretty much have no chance to recover. As soon as you get up from being knocked down by the fireball, the next ice projectile freezes you and another fireball follows.  As such, we are stunlocked and can do precisely gently caress all about that. Now would be the time to panic.  By some miracle, I managed to break free with two seconds left on the clock and no health whatsoever.  If I gently caress up this dodge, I'm done even though the clock has run out already. Just so things don't get too easy for you, the pillars will obscure your character. You also can't get any further back than this, as there is an invisible wall between the pillars. That's kind of what screwed me over earlier, because I thought I could dodge closer to the edge of the screen and just rolled right into a projectile. Fortunately, I did not gently caress up that last dodge, and we've just barely made it through the PIT OF PAIN. This is easily my least favorite part of the whole arena sidequest, and I'm glad it's over with.  Yes, wonderful.  I'm sure you won't mind if I take a moment to pass a message to Silver Phoenix. Kai Lan the Serpent has, as promised, been watching you intently. You have impressed him so far, and he is interested to see how you fare in your next match. The Serpent foresees your victory in the next match. and he has backed his prediction with silver. He sincerely hopes that his faith in your skills was not misplaced. That is all. If you will excuse me, I have some people who need to be spoken to.Well, apparently our less than stellar performance in the PIT OF PAIN hasn't caused The Serpent to lose faith in our skills, so that's nice at least. Maybe even he realizes what a load of bullshit that whole challenge is.  Ah, yes... your next fight. There's... been a bit of a change in plans. Not that it will affect you too much, of course. It's all part of the traditions of the arena, you see. As long as it's less annoying than the last tradition we saw, bring it on.   I was originally thinking that you‘d done well enough to face Crimson Khana for the Bronze Division championship. Things change when the Guild is involved, though. Very well, I'll deal with this Guild thug. I'm certain it will be a small thing. Best to just finish it now.Looks like Kai Lan the Serpent has decided to meddle with the fights a little bit. Of course, he's the one who actually calls the shots around here, so there's not much we can do about that right now. Better to just see what Kai Lan's got planned so we can get on with it.  Is that the opponent we're facing?  It actually turns out to be Kai Lan the Serpent himself, but surely we're not fighting him even though he's talking about returning to the ring.   Sounds fun. Let's see it.       Crimson Khana wasn't mistaken when she said there might be demons showing up in the ring soon.  Even though we're a lot stronger than we were last time we fought one of our froggy friends, this time we're doing it alone. In Heaven, the fox spirits pretty much destroyed toad demons in two seconds and we also had Whirlwind whacking away with his axes, but now it's just us and this guy.  The main problem is that our attacks don't stagger him. So, when we get close, we can get some good hits in but he'll also get us a few times and poison us. Nothing we can't handle because we have a ton of health and chi to work with, but still a bit of an annoyance. We probably could've used Mirabelle in this fight and saved ourselves some trouble, but oh well.   Since we're being aggressive in this fight, the toad demon manages to hit us with things that we'd normally avoid easily, such as his tongue and his fatty charge here. Still, it's only a matter of time until we wear him down.     No one questions your skills; that is why you were allowed to fight that beast. I'm convinced that you deserve a shot at Crimson Khana. Your victory has sealed the deal.All right, now we're talking.  I'm sure that will be enlightening.  He didn't say, and when I asked, he gave me that glare of his. Go, speak with him now. The sooner you do, the sooner I can return you to the ring. Since it appears we won't be getting back in the ring until we go see what Lucky Cho wants, let's do that right now.   Fortunately for you, my employer, Kai Lan the Serpent has a vested interest in your success against Khana. Of course. What's this arrangement, then?  Sweet Poison, standing before you is Silver Phoenix, the one we discussed.  Unless someone is going to teach us the Viper style (they're not), we don't care about the toxicant arts in the slightest. By now, you can probably guess what the offer is going to be, and it's not the kind we'd be into.  Crimson Khana's rise to Bronze Division champion has been good for business, but she has become troublesome of late. She believes that the Serpent runs the arena with little concern for honor, and she's right. The problem is that she cares.   Obviously, we're going to refuse their offer, but we might as well hear the full extent of their plan.   Those 700 people we've murdered on our journey so far don't count, that was all in self defense.   When Cho approached me regarding this matter, I felt that it might be in the best interests of the greater Guild if I were involved. If you accept, the Guild will cover half of Lyn's usual fee. The remaining cost would be roughly half of your winnings from defeating Khana.Right. And if I refuse, I'll defeat Khana fairly and keep all my winnings.   I strongly advise you not to bring this up to anyone. I hope my point speaks for itself. You tell 'em, Whirlwind.  In a minute Cho, I still need to talk to somebody.    Sweet Poison Lyn is surprisingly cordial with us considering the fact we just told the Guild to go gently caress themselves, and she'll actually be available as a merchant from now on. She doesn't really sell anything we'd want, though, mainly just some generic gems and the Thousand Cuts martial style.  Thousand Cuts is the default starting style for fast characters, and I don't think it's very good. Sure, the strikes come out at a rapid pace to compensate for the lack of hitting power, but the range is woeful. As if that wasn't enough, the hits in the basic combo knock the opponent back, so you tend to whiff a lot of your strikes. Yeah, not a fan of Thousand Cuts at all. I picked it on my first playthrough and had a miserable time until I got better styles.  Are you ready to face Crimson Khana, the finest sword this august arena has seen in five genritations?Erm, actually... no. We need to have an important talk with our opponent first.   You don't have to warn her about Lucky Cho's shenanigans, but it's the polite thing to do.    The Guild does not operate so overtly in the rest of the City. I wonder if the organization condones such actions. But such musings are useless. Why have you told me this?Hm, apparently Kai Lan and Lucky Cho may not be working entirely with the blessing of the Guild here, although Sweet Poison Lyn seemed to be fine with the plan.   I have long promised that I would train anyone who defeats me. My skills with the sword are imperfect but there are things I can teach you that no other could. Should you emerge the victor of our fight, I will train you in some of my more advanced techniques. You have shown the purity of spirit to wield a weapon with the required precision.Sounds good to me!  A warrior knows that training is more valuable than silver. Thank you again for your warning. It will be good to know that our fight will be fair.There we go, now we're ready to start the fight for the Bronze Division championship.  I would like to tell you that this is a battle for the ages, a dramatic back and forth affair with one fighter just barely coming out on top.   Alas, that is not the case. In fact, the fight's over in 30 seconds and Crimson Khana never gets a hit in.  Are we sure we didn't accidentally poison her after all? That was way too easy after all the buildup. Oh yeah, I guess we won the Bronze Division championship as well.  I don't know if you've heard. but Khana has proclared that the first fighter who extriciates her from her championship will learn the secrets of her technique. Come talk to me when you have a moment.Is it just me, or is Qui's grasp of the language getting worse every time we speak to him?  Never mind that, let's demand a pay raise. As a fan-favorite rising star who, I might add, destroyed the previously undefeated Crimson Khana in 30 seconds, I expect to be compensated accordingly.   30 seconds.  This arena sucks. I'm not sure if it's even possible to convince Qui the Promoter to pay you extra, I've certainly never managed to pull that off. No use whining about it, I suppose. Instead, we'll go see how Crimson Khana is doing after that devastating loss.  I think.... Yes, it is time for me to leave again and seek other challenges. I think I shall return to the Prosperous East and continue my studies. But first, I am sworn to teach the secrets of my style to any who can best me. Let me instruct you. Since you told me the Serpent's plan, I will teach you a more advanced technique. The key is balance and form. Your motion must be swift but precise.[...]  We've been getting that a lot, haven't we?   Your method traps your opponents into hunting for a weakness they‘ll never find. You should speak with your master about this. For now, you are deadly enough. Honestly, when we find Master Li, this probably will not be at the top of the list of subjects we want to talk to him about.  Sometimes the best masters dare not trust their students with the deepest mysteries. Certain lessons can only be learned if one discovers them for oneself. I hope you fare well. I turn my eyes to the east, where new challenges await me by the ocean. Crimson Tears is, of course, Khana's dual saber style, and since we told her about Lucky Cho's plan she teaches that to us instead of the similar but weaker Eyes of the Dragon style. I've never used Crimson Tears that much because skill points are limited and it's better to invest heavily in your favorite styles than experiment with different stuff (as I may have mentioned once or twice). That said, I've tried out Crimson Tears a few times and it never really clicked with me, it doesn't have as much range as the Dragon Sword and just feels more awkward to use despite being faster. It is pretty good for beheading enemies, though. Regardless of how I feel about Crimson Khana's weapon style, we shall wish her well in her future endeavors and get ready to tackle the Silver Division next time. Winning the Silver Division championship still means gaining the favor of the Lotus Assassin Executioners (on top of that of the Inquisitors, which we already earned last time), but the flight of the Silver Phoenix is far from over even when we reach that milestone. -----
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Apr 2, 2017 12:14
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Of all the hilarious CF poo poo you can get up to, psychologically crushing Helpless Han is the one of the best.
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Apr 2, 2017 15:32
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I don't know, more beheadings sounds like a pretty good thing to me. But I've never put any points in the two sword style myself. It's hard to tell if a new style is better than what you already have since it has no points invested in it and you have less experience using it.
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Apr 2, 2017 20:00
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once I gave myself essentially infinite skillpoints and tried everything. I liked the idea of the dual sabers but I didn't find their speed made up for the lack of reach and power the longsword has. Also the longsword's got this sweeping arc swing as part of the combo which is great in a crowd. Maybe going dual swords would be worthwhile if they'd come several game hours earlier, but ... eh. If the game let you respec - even limited like respec in class, martial to martial, weapon to weapon, that'd be a really nice quality of life thing for trying the styles they throw at you deeper in the game which are otherwise meaningless. But alas. Psion fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Apr 2, 2017 |
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Apr 2, 2017 20:51
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Psion posted:If the game let you respec - even limited like respec in class, martial to martial, weapon to weapon, that'd be a really nice quality of life thing for trying the styles they throw at you deeper in the game which are otherwise meaningless. But alas.
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Apr 2, 2017 22:53
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Psion posted:once I gave myself essentially infinite skillpoints and tried everything. I liked the idea of the dual sabers but I didn't find their speed made up for the lack of reach and power the longsword has. Also the longsword's got this sweeping arc swing as part of the combo which is great in a crowd. Is this one of those scenarios where it's like "whatever you do, don't actually spend those points to make styles better on the styles you want to get better at right now; there'll be something so much better later"?
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Apr 5, 2017 01:33
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Doc Morbid posted:They could've made it so that you're upgrading martial skills, weapon skills etc. in general instead of every style in each class requiring its own skill points. So, if your Martial Skills bar is at level 10, all martial styles you use will also be at that level and you can switch between them however you like. That kind of system would encourage experimentation with many different styles, rather than sticking with a handful of styles for the entirety of the game. On a related note: I think you should just go ahead and cheat yourself skill points where ever you want, turning into big-rear end, disgusting demons is half the fun of the game.
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Apr 5, 2017 02:39
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Glazius posted:Is this one of those scenarios where it's like "whatever you do, don't actually spend those points to make styles better on the styles you want to get better at right now; there'll be something so much better later"? The game as-is is sort of the opposite. First, specializing into styles makes you monstrously powerful and second, most of your intro styles are the best, so the incentive is incredible to just power up your starters and never look back. You can easily pick a top-tier martial, support, and the best weapon style before leaving Two Rivers. With a few rare exceptions (Mirabelle, maybe the second-tier magic spells like Stone Immortal) you don't ever need to bother with anything else because you have all the bases covered except transforms, and those are, happily, entirely mediocre no matter what or stunningly powerful with even one point of investment. balanced, it's not. Livewire42 posted:On a related note: I think you should just go ahead and cheat yourself skill points where ever you want, turning into big-rear end, disgusting demons is half the fun of the game. I also. At least for a bonus update of "here's all the styles in the game" or "here's all the styles we have so far" or something. Even though there's no reason to get them if you play ~optimally~ they are fun to show. If nothing else works: Wei Shen doesn't follow the rules. Why would Wei Shen ... follow rules on allocating points? Yeah. Take that, Pendrew.
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Apr 5, 2017 04:10
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Yeah, I think I'll put some extra points into my styles for the next recording session so I don't need to stick with Leaping Tiger and Dragon Sword all the time. There's still quite a few updates (I'd say three, maybe four) to go before I'm able to do that, but a bit of variety never hurts. Also, I started playing Persona 5, so I apologize in advance if I disappear for the next few weeks.
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Apr 5, 2017 16:19
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This isn't related to the game specifically, but I just noticed this picture: The Box Cover posted:2003 and 2005 games of the year. Guess what game Bioware released in 2005?  Which means, on the Special Edition of Jade Empire, they meta-referenced the game itself as a reason to buy the game without actually calling it a game of the year. 
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Apr 11, 2017 20:56
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tadashi posted:Which means, on the Special Edition of Jade Empire, they meta-referenced the game itself as a reason to buy the game without actually calling it a game of the year. I mean, it's weirdly worded but it's not too unusual for rereleased GOTY titles to have their accolades on the box art.
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Apr 12, 2017 00:11
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The best thing about the Special Edition is the fancy metal box that says Jade Emipre on the side. Beware, enormous grainy phone pic that I can't be bothered to resize.
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Apr 12, 2017 00:28
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sebzilla posted:The best thing about the Special Edition is the fancy metal box that says Jade Emipre on the side. WOW that's loving embarrassing.
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Apr 12, 2017 04:27
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Yep, that's the PC port of this game in a nutshell. You can't even install it from the DVD unless you actually browse the disc contents and launch the installer from there, trying to click the Install button on the launcher doesn't do anything except pop up an error message.
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Apr 12, 2017 04:33
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sebzilla posted:The best thing about the Special Edition is the fancy metal box that says Jade Emipre on the side.
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Apr 12, 2017 04:56
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Please ask a mod to retitle this thread Big Trouble in Fantasy China: JADE EMIPRE [SSLP]
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Apr 13, 2017 17:42
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Episode 25: On Silver Wings Last time, we won the Bronze Division championship at the Imperial Arena by defeating Crimson Khana, and got mixed up in the politics as the Guild tried to get us to poison Crimson Khana (who had "become more trouble than she's worth") during our match. Obviously, we're not down with evil schemes like this so we politely refused, but it remains to be seen how Kai Lan the Serpent takes that kind of rejection and how he decides to interfere in our matches in the Silver Division.  Remember, Soldier's the champion at this level. He'll be watching you.Without further ado, let's get to it. If we win the Silver Division title, we earn the approval of the Lotus Assassin Executioners, not that that's particularly necessary at this point because we already completed our task for the Inquisitors a few updates ago.  Even though we've established ourselves at the arena quite nicely by now, Soldier doesn't seem to appreciate us any more than he did when we first walked in.  A demon has been added to the regular roster since your earlier victory, and since you've shown aptitude, l'm letting you face him first. This is indeed an honor, though it will not be easy. Are you ready to defeat this horror?Wonderful. Let's see what kind of monstrosity Kai Lan has brought in.  Oh, it's just an elephant demon. I know these fellows are meant to be quite fearsome, but we've already fought one at the pirate lair and that went relatively well.  As before, elephant demons punch very hard and can't be staggered. They also move so slowly that avoiding their attacks is generally not too difficult.  Ahem. I said it's not too difficult. Much like with the toad demon in the Bronze Division, I'm playing quite aggressively here so the elephant gets a few hits in here and there.  The Stone Immortal AoE remains one of the most annoying attacks for an enemy to use against us. If you even slightly brush against one of those rocks, you get knocked down. Even when you avoid it, the enemy can just keep spamming the AoE forever and there isn't much you can do about that unless you've got some decent ranged attacks.  Fortunately, that is precisely what we have. Mirabelle may be unupgraded, but it should help us out quite a bit in this particular situation.  I think George Orwell wrote an essay about this kind of thing once.  Once Mirabelle has done her job, it's not too difficult to take the beast down by stabbing him in the junk. In this shot, it's also quite easy to see that the elephant demons have two trunks.  Sorry, friend.  Kai Lan the Serpent wishes to speak with you personally. This is a rare honor. Do try to be polite. You have already been granted access to the back room of the arena, and the Serpent's private chamber is just off of it. You may as well go now and see what he wants. Oh, and one other thing. The Serpent has requested that you visitate him alone. I know you usually have a friend with you, but they'll have to remain behind for this meeting.Well, that certainly sounds like a setup. Better be careful while we deal with the Serpent. I don't know why he would attack us since we've been told he's bet a chunk of money on us, but might as well stay on guard regardless.  This is the same room we met Lucky Cho and Sweet Poison Lyn earlier, and the Serpent's lair is obviously behind those large red doors.   Let's get this out of the way so we can get back to fighting.  At least we've got Whirlwind watching our back.  The masked giant of a man next to Kai Lan must be the Ravager, making sure we try nothing silly during this little meeting of ours.   You handled yourself well against the demonic servitor. It was a rewarding experience for us both, I'm sure. Take this as my thanks. You are a smart young woman--smart enough to know that you will get much further as my friend than my foe. You may find that certain opportunities, mutually rewarding arrangements between us, will come your way in the near future.Of course. And I'll bet we will only have to do Kai Lan's dirty work and give him a percentage of our winnings.   Like the fountains that channel water throughout the land, I spread entertainment to the people. Right now is an interesting time for an organization known as The Guild. l have no doubt that Qui has told you about us if you didn't already know. Our organization is involved in many different activities, most of which operate below the view of the authorities of this great Empire. Might as well hear his offer while we're here. We're not going to accept, obviously, but it'd be good to know what Kai Lan's up to.  The Guild, you see, has recently developed a vacancy in its upper echelons. A man by the name of Gao the Greater has been killed and with his death a new leader must be chosen. I intend to replace him in that role, and I need good people to back me.   If you are the one who killed Gao, then I owe you a favor. Consider rny reluctance to turn you in to the Lotus Assassins a repayment of that debt in full. There is the matter, however, of your friend, Whirlwind. I'm sure you know that he was one of the fighters here and that he left the arena, but do you know why? If I had to guess, I'd say drinking was involved in some capacity.  Whirlwind's past is certainly a colorful one. Did he tell you that he was thrown out of the arena? Public displays of rage and drunkenness, uttered threats of murder, excessive violence, property damage and, I believe, several charges of defecating in public.What, that's it? This is Whirlwind we're talking about, that barely constitutes half a day's work for him. There's got to be more to the story.   We couldn't let him fight as he was, so he left. His brother, Raging Ox, wisely stayed here and went on to become champion. You could reach that point yourself, you know. Indeed, that's a distinct possibility. To become champion yourself you will need my support. That means you and I will work together closely. Let's see if we'll manage to get him to tell us more about his evil plans. Kai Lan should have realized by now that we're only humoring him in order to learn about his schemes, but I guess when you're a proper mustache-twirling villain like that you don't always think quite straight.   I think I have an idea.   Looks like Whirlwind got tired of waiting.     And that's what the world looks like through the eyes of someone about to be killed by The Black Whirlwind.    Just like last time, you will leave. I can see that this polite discussion has concluded, as so many do in your odorous presence. We may talk again. Perhaps. drat it Whirlwind, he was just about to tell us his villainous plan and you blew it.   Here's the lower floor of the arena, where all the creature cages are. We could've come down here before and I actually did, but there is nothing to see so I cut that bit out.  I see Kai Lan decided to send Lucky Cho down here to pester us after Whirlwind's little interruption. If he plans to fight the two of us, I can't see that ending too well for him.    So, of course, Lucky Cho is gonna try to fight us.   What an idiot.  Which fight was he watching? We curbstomped the guy.   Not the first time I've gone up against one of Kai Lan's thugs, you know. Not at all.  The arena was about the same as it is now. Qui and Kai Lan were there, and Lucky Cho, too, but he was just a runt back then.Back then, as opposed to now? Wow, he must've been a sad sight.   Should've probably expected that...   When Ox joined up with Kai Lan, I stopped getting good matches. Ox was fighting his way to becoming champion, and doing a little work for the Guild on the side.  Soon, Ox became Kai Lan's enforcer and carried out his bidding. He'd skulk around in robes so no one would know the arena champion was a common thug. One night, I followed Ox back to Kai Lan's. I was drunk, and I was mad. I just wanted to tell Ox how dangerous Kai Lan was... convince him to leave. But Kai Lan was there, he tried to interfere. I attacked him, and Ox tried to stop me. When it was over... Ox was dead, and my axe was covered in his blood. Huh, seems like one of the undoubtedly rare occasions Whirlwind killed someone without meaning to do so.  After that, I left. For the first time in my life. I ran. I ran, and then I drank myself into a stupor that lasted for half a year. If you ask me, this just might be the single worst line of dialog in the entire game.  Lucky Cho's death just put you on the Serpent's wanted list. I'd really like to see Kai Lan's face if you become arena champion. 'Course, I'd rather just kill him. C'mon. Let's go. Lucky Cho drops the Strong Arm gem, which gives a +8 boost to Intimidation but lowers both Charm and Intuition by 3. Since we mostly use the two latter skills rather than Intimidation, this gem is probably getting sold at some point in the future.  Since we lost a bit of focus in that tussle with Lucky Cho, let's just quickly head back to the focus shrine at the arena entrance. Well, after we go the entirely wrong way, because I always do that when I try to leave the arena from this direction.  This path takes us to the tavern's kitchen. I see a scrollstand over in the corner, so at least this wasn't a complete waste of time.  Ah. Lovely. I guess that is one way to make sure people don't come prying into their recipes, although I can also see this kind of thing leading to unfortunate misunderstandings.  Well, whatever. Let's talk to the gambler here.  For now, anyway. Once they find out what we did to Lucky Cho, that privilege might be revoked.   I run the straightest dice in the Imperial City. I wouldn't want to feed my children with tarnished silver, would I? Good odds and fair play, that's how I keep them coming back. What's this favor you need me to do? I know you're allowed to go freely into the back room past Qui's office. Would you carry a message to someone in there for me? What message do you need me to carry? There's a merchant in the back named Sweet Poison Lyn. She has connections with the Guild, the real authorities in this place. I want to expand my operation, but without the Guild's approval and protection, I can only take very small bets. If I made any larger transactions, they'd be quite upset. I assume their approval has a price. I spoke to some of the lesser Guild members, and there's a set fee that must be paid to Sweet Poison Lyn. It took me some time to save up the silver, but I have the fee. I just can't get back there to talk to Lyn and pay her directly. If you could go in there and pay her on my behalf, I'd happily repay you.Simple enough, I suppose. Still, I hope there's a reward for this.   Eh, sure. We're only the Bronze Division champion here, so clearly we don't mind doing fetch quests for random people.   You should run back there now. The sooner you go, the sooner we can up the antes!That's obviously what we all want, so let's head on over to Sweet Poison Lyn and talk to her about Daoshen.  I was wondering if he'd be resourceful enough. One of my associates has already told him of the cost involved. Are you here to deliver his payment? Well, he didn't actually give us any money but did promise to reimburse us. It's only 500 silver anyway.  All right then, back to Daoshen we go.  Fantastic news. I can up the bets! Now you can wager ten or twenty-five silver on each roll! This is perfect, and I have you to thank! Thank you again for paying the fee from your own silver. Here's your repayment and a little extra for your time. Wow, we can wager a whole 25 silver now! Untold riches await us!  Let's roll the dice, I'd like to try my luck. That's what I was waiting to hear. So, what'll it be? Will your roll be higher or lower than mine? Higher, of course. That's how Silver Phoenix rolls.   We're putting down the massive, massive wager of 25 silver. If you win a total of 5,000 silver from Daoshen, he won't let you play anymore, but since that'd take about three weeks I don't think that will become a problem.  What about cheating by savescumming, you ask? Well, if you win a certain number of games (20, according to the wiki) in a row, Daoshen explodes. Sadly, I couldn't find a video of this on Youtube, and I'm not going to sit there mashing quicksave and quickload until I win twenty games either. We've exploded quite a few people by now, so you should know what that looks like.    Perfect.  What say we try again?  Don't hold your breath. Oh yeah, if you feel like going out of your way to be a dick, you can intimidate Daoshen to give you the 500 silver without doing the favor for him and then go tell Sweet Poison Lyn that you won the silver from Daoshen. She'll then shut down his operation.  Well, this'll at least come useful while we're fighting in the arena. Let's go see what our next match is.  These are tougher than the students you faced before, but should pose no problem.Sounds fun. Let's go beat them up. Meanwhile, down by the creature cages...   Looks like Kai Lan has discovered what happened to Lucky Cho.    Three Reach, the old stableman, found him. He kept everyone else out. We can trust him. What about Cho? Do we know who's responsible? Last I saw him, he was following Silver Phoenix. She fights next, does she not? Replace the men slated for that match with our own, and ensure that their blades are coated with extract from the ebon orchid. Even the ancient magic of this place could not neutralize that poison. It will be done. What about Lucky Cho? There are hundreds of people here to see the new fighter. We can't carry the body out of here! Then we don't. You must always use the resources available to you. Kai Lan walks over to a cage containing some old friends of ours and pulls on the chain to open the grate. That cage, like every other cage down here, is empty during gameplay, so there guys weren't here when we had our fight with Lucky Cho.    *chomp*Well, I suppose that is one advantage of having a bunch of cannibals as your employees.   *munch*So much for Lucky Cho. We don't care about him, though, because we've got a fight to win.   Here are the assassins Kai Lan brought in to replace our scheduled opponents. Two guys using Viper, and another two with swords.  They're still quite easily disposed of. Despite what Kai Lan said, I'm pretty sure those blades haven't been coated in anything because I got hit a couple of times here and didn't get poisoned at any point.   Sadly, we don't get to use harmonic combos on these guys because the arena's enchantments prevent that, but Storm Dragon still stuns them rather nicely and from there it's just a matter of finishing off this idiot.   Clearly not, since we weren't able to kill those people.  Those men were Kai Lan's, not mine. I keep myself as far away from that end of things as I can. You have to believe that I look out for my fighters. Just before you came up here, I received word from one of the Guild men from outside the arena. They send their apologies!Huh, that is unexpected. I guess Kai Lan has been going solo on this one.   You are not hearing this from me, but tensions have risen between the Serpent and the Guild itself. He's making a bid for control and some... factions are quite upset. You may feel caught in the middle, but the weather sages say the eye of the storm is the safest place.To be perfectly honest, we don't really give a poo poo about the Guild's politics. We're here to fight, and since we are now firmly in the Silver Division we're earning pretty decent money. Let's go see what Dr. An has for sale.  We buy Cleansed Body and Mind, Vigorous Body (Health +10, Chi -2) and Clear Mind (Focus +10, Intimidation -1) but can't quite afford Porcelain Skin, so we'll need to come back later. For now, we should continue on to our next fight.  I've decided to put you up against them. I want you to prove that our folks are superior to any "thing" the army could devise. Are you ready to show them what you've got?At least there's quite a bit of variety when it comes to the fights here.  Here's our first fight against jade golems. We could've fought the ones guarding the dam site in Tien's Landing, but that wasn't really worth it at the time.  Okay boys, that is close enough. Golems are pretty straightforward opponents; they lumber around and try to whack us with their dual axes, and that's about it. They are immune to pretty much everything except weapon styles, but we don't need to care about that right now because we've got plenty of focus to work with.   These golems are no trouble at all. The Dragon Sword cuts them right down, especially when we're using chi strikes to boost our damage.  I say, stick to traditional soldiers. Sagacious Tien needed no machines to build the Empire!Speaking of which, weren't these golems commissioned by Death's Hand? And now they're going to make these things stronger because of us? Oops. I hope that doesn't come back to bite us later.  Wouldn't dream of it. I believe the next match is for the Silver Division championship, so let's go have a nice chat with Iron Soldier.  We'll take care of that in the next match, new blood, trust me. I've been looking forward to taking you down a notch. I'll talk to you later, Soldier. I look forward to ending your career in the next match.Wonderful, thanks.  It's rare that the Silver Division rests balanced against a single victory on the scales of combat, you know! That's nothing compared to the skills of Silver Phoenix, who has soared so high, so quickly! Words like those spread like raging flames. Will you face Soldier now? The Silver Division championship awaits you.Here we go. That championship is as good as ours.     We're really about to hit the big time here, judging from the elaborate intro they've decided to give us.  Might as well show off for the crowd a little bit. They've paid a lot of money to see the big title match, and we don't want to disappoint them.  Unlike us, Iron Soldier doesn't give a poo poo about theatrics.  This is it. We win this, and the Lotus Assassin Executioners' seal is ours. That's not the real prize here, of course. Once we win this match, we'll go on to the Gold Division and eventually take on the Ravager himself for the grand championship.  Obviously, we need to win this one first. Iron Soldier is using Leaping Tiger, so we know he moves fast and hits hard.  But then, so do we. Leaping Tiger vs. Leaping Tiger, LET'S GO   Managed to pull off a couple of fancy dodges in this fight. We're really in no trouble here, Soldier's almost done by this point.  And that's all she wrote. The Silver Division belongs to Silver Phoenix.  From here, your battles will be even harder. A test, if you will, to see if you stand a chance against the Ravager. Impress the crowd and you will have your chance against the Ravager himself. I can promise you that. Frankly, if that didn't impress the crowd, I don't know what will.    Bah. Oh well. Let's just go prepare for our grand entrance into the Gold Division.  It would appear someone's come to congratulate us on our latest victory.  Perhaps you have potential that you are not even aware of. There may be a role in the Executioners for you after all. Why have you chosen to come here when you have already earned the favor of the Inquisitor? Do you wish the blessing of someone less corrupted? If you will have me. No, you are stronger than that. We will train away this timid front and tap a potential that you haven't yet dreamed of. If you survive, you will join an order unlike any other. We enforce the will of Death's Hand and the Emperor. We guard the treasures of the Empire. This will be your responsibility. Can you look on silver coins, golden tablets, or prophesied artifacts and think only of duty? I wasn't really listening, but sure, whatever you say.  It lies at the far side of the burial ground that is the Metropolis, which you may reach through the rich section of the city. Present this token, so that they will know you. I expect great things of you. Not many of our recruits possess both the skills to become Executioners and the personality to attract such a loyal band of followers.Well, we now know where we need to go, and we've got the means to access that place. Of course, first we'll finish our business here at the arena, and there's still a few other things we need to do around the city before we go anywhere.   I am well aware of those who come with you. Their strengths... and their weaknesses. You inspire loyalty in most of those who follow you. That will serve you well.Most of?   If you survive your training and remain in control of your senses, perhaps you will serve at my side one day.Looking forward to it!  All in due time, Whirlwind. We're far from done here.  That said, we've completed both tasks the Lotus Assassins presented us with, so progress has definitely been made. Next time, we shall move up to the Gold Division. If Silver Phoenix wins five more matches, she'll be upgraded to Golden Phoenix!  ----- DMorbid fucked around with this message at 18:56 on Nov 12, 2017 |
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Apr 16, 2017 11:16
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Has anyone pointed out how Star Wars (especially KOTOR) Jade Empire is? Like, you are the last And that's just the stuff I can mention now. Maybe I'm being unfair and maybe its just that they did two Star Wars games before it that's making me see this connection. Writting it out, some connections are just bioware repeating themselves because Lazy and some are just cliches. Still, some elements makes me feel like they did have some Star Wars on the brain when making this. Anyhoo, Jade Empire was one of my favorite Xbox games growing up and this LP has been a hoot as a result. It's funny how much I forgot about over the years.
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Apr 17, 2017 06:19
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Covok posted:Maybe I'm being unfair and maybe its just that they did two Star Wars games before it that's making me see this connection. Just one. Obsidian did KOTOR2, Bioware did not work on it.
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Apr 17, 2017 09:17
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Covok posted:Has anyone pointed out how Star Wars (especially KOTOR) Jade Empire is? Like, you are the last You're not the first to spot bioware reusing plot lines. Behold.  Although I will admit some of the commonalities are rather tenuous.
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Apr 17, 2017 09:48
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Did KOTOR have a Black Whirlwind? I remember one upcoming arena fight which kick my rear end. It's much harder than the actual boss fights and last time I waited until I had the last transformation style which is bonkers overpowered and put the maximum ranks into it. Somehow I always end up getting hit by stuns and swamped by enemies.
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Apr 17, 2017 09:50
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Poil posted:Did KOTOR have a Black Whirlwind? I would say HK-47 would be KOTOR's Black Whirlwind, since they both seem to fit the requisite "murder happy Evil Character" slot for Bioware games.
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Apr 17, 2017 10:00
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Black Whirlwind is Korgan BloodAxe, except less funny and endearing.
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Apr 17, 2017 13:56
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Ferrosol posted:You're not the first to spot bioware reusing plot lines. Behold. Yeah, you're probably right. It's probably more just the "from KOTOR to Jade Empire" effect causing me to see more similarities than there really were between the franchises.
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Apr 17, 2017 15:41
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Doc Morbid posted:Yep, that's the PC port of this game in a nutshell. You can't even install it from the DVD unless you actually browse the disc contents and launch the installer from there, trying to click the Install button on the launcher doesn't do anything except pop up an error message. The Steam version won't even launch on a few computers unless you skip the launcher and do the .exe directly as the config program always crashes. You're better off configuring it in the .ini file using notepad, that's what I did.
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Apr 17, 2017 15:45
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The GoG version runs a lot better.
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Apr 18, 2017 09:38
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Poil posted:The GoG version runs a lot better. I wish. 
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Apr 18, 2017 09:45
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my dad posted:I wish.
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Apr 18, 2017 10:17
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It works fine with Origin  I have way too many copies of Jade Empire at this point.
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Apr 18, 2017 19:33
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