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This guy. I remembered he was on the save Rani route, but not that he was the first one. (Spoilers who we save changes the next few opponents) (Or at least one I don't actually remember how many variations we get) Actual comments when we meet his servant. They're a doozy. E: update on last page :sniper:
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Nov 27, 2021 10:37
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...Huh. I don't remember this Master at all. Maybe I've never seen a playthrough where Rani is saved.
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Nov 27, 2021 12:03
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DeTosh posted:...Huh. I don't remember this Master at all. Maybe I've never seen a playthrough where Rani is saved. There are two masters that are Route exclusive, one for Rani, one for Rin. Both are... eccentric, but for vastly different reasons.
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Nov 27, 2021 17:49
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cdyoung posted:There are two masters that are Route exclusive, one for Rani, one for Rin. I actually thought this guy was on the Rin route, and Rin's was here.
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Nov 28, 2021 03:47
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Update XXXIV - The blond girl and how it began Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor (The dungeon music changed too!)        We should avoid contact with them until we know more than that we're facing one nasty Servant!In other words, we're almost certainly finding them today.  Another week means a new set of palette swaps. Music: Battle - Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea (You guessed it, new battle music!)  Remember that jamming song from the prologue?  That's our standard battle music for the rest of the game.  This new version of a Viper is called an Agitator.  Extra combat happens, there isn't much else to say. I just wanted an excuse to link the battle music. Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor  The name of the game today is forked paths.  I choose to go left first.  The new cube is a Moondust, and throws in an new annoyance.  This is the pattern list for the Agitator.  And this is the pattern list for a Moondust. Starting now, some enemies will have an utterly massive list of moves they can use, which makes the early fights where you only have one or two moves revealed an utter pain in the rear end. For comparison, this standard enemy has as many possible turns as Drake, an actual boss. This will get worse as the game progresses.  Anyways, the path goes up.  There's another fork in the road, with one leading to loot.   This path keeps going forward, but you can see the room the other path leads to. I'll map it out later.  At the far end of the level is a three way path, with the south path leading to a healing fountain.  It also holds the distortion Rin told us to find.    ApproachMusic: Stops  We immediately get a huge burst of static. —! When I approach the light, a splitting headache tears through my brain. But, it leaves as soon as it comes. Now that I've come in contact with the residual magic, can Rin find something out about me...? All right, now that I've done what I set out to do in the Arena, I guess I should leave— Music: Breach  Uhh, why does that Servant look familiar? That grating voice— It must be Gatou. drat, we're in the Arena... His Servant is right there. Does he want to go at it right now—?   Oh gently caress. Oh gently caress.   There's no point in hiding her name, because she isn't a historical character in the first place. That's Arcueid Brunestud, one of the main heroines of Tsukihime, and way out of our loving league. She also completely ruins the central mechanic of puzzling out your opponent's name for the sake of fanservice. The game fed you enough clues that you could figure out Drake and Robin ahead of time, and even if you couldn't guess Rhyme's deal, you could still tell that she had a link to children's stories as a whole. Figuring Arc's name out on your own, however, boils down to a single question. Are you at least vaguely familiar with Tsukihime or Melty Blood? Congratulations, you already know her name! If not, you flat out cannot guess who she is until Hakuno is allowed to figure it out herself on Day 7. That's my least favorite class to deal with...but I'll do my best! Strike while the iron's hot! Huuhhh... You would interrupt my sacred training time with my divine lord?! How dare you, infidel! Then you need a demonstration! Of my god's power...a power that commands three thousand worlds! Her being summoned as a Berserker is, quite literally, the only reason we don't instantly die. Arc is already so strong that the boost from Mad Enhancement is insignificant in comparison, but losing her ability to do anything beyond ripping and tearing locks out all her nastier tricks. Wh-What in the heck is—?! This sensation... It can't be...Music: Duel - Unauthorized Battle    I have no info, and her health is hidden.  As some extra salt in the wound, she deals even more damage than Rani's Servant. Take a guess how this goes.  Go on, guess.   What is happening is only natural! For none can stand against my god! Gaze upon the power of my bride! Mine eyes are only capable of seeing victory! My ultimate goal is no less than the Basilica of St. Peter! Hmph. Please cease your futile struggling and grovel low upon the ground.   Music: Breach  Observe them.One of these days Hakuno can stop killing themselves in incredibly stupid ways. Today is not that day.  ...? What's going on? She's not coming at us... Is something the matter, my god? ... Aha, you've decided to consecrate this place as a training ground. Then, I will walk whatever path of needles you chose; endure the whips of any hellish demons for you! I revel in the self-flagellation that you allow me to suffer on these grounds! You heard me, child! There's no time for us to play today. You have my permission to excuse yourself.Why do we always get the crazy ones? Why can't we get more Masters like Dan? Dan was cool. ...It looks like our lives have been spared by some form of divine will?  I wouldn't mind fighting right now! But, I have a bad feeling about it. If Caster wants to retreat, then I better follow her advice. Retreat for now, and when we know more about them, then we can engage.Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor  Much like last week, the Trigger is blocked off on Day 1.  Why don't we let them go? Once we learn their weaknesses, we'll cook their goose!You also can't get yourself killed after the scene. Here's hoping I don't have to find a weapon to weaken her like with the Jabberwock. God knows how difficult it would be to find Shiki here.  While the Trigger is blocked off, I can still map out the rest of the floor.  I gain a level heading down the other pathway.  The first floor forms a large loop, this path leads back to the other side of the fork at the start.  Also, loot.  We're already by the first fork.  And with that, the loop is complete.  I double back to map this out. I bet this is where Taiga's item will spawn in.  There's nothing else we can do here today, so I pop an Escape Crystal.  Music: School III  It won't...go kablooie all of a sudden, or leak information about us, will it? What a great plan, Master, to go along with what the enemy wants! Wait... Well, let's ask that girl about distortion stuff. The only chests I know are missing are the Trigger and Taiga's request, so there must be a hidden path somewhere.  Arc now shows up in Gatou's Info Matrix.  Music: None  Been a while since we had one of these. It feels like I'm watching one of the countless videos scattered across the internet. It is a scene I have witnessed before while sleeping in the aftermath of the Grail War prelims. It might be a scene from a past I cannot recall. It's as if it was imprinted upon my genes, stored away as an unknown trauma erased from my memories.  Why? Why? Why? Why do I yearn for something I despise? Why do I lament over which I love? In the midst of chaos, I watch as countless people die in misery. Why does - - move toward this scene? Is there an answer for this insanity? And if there isn't one, I will need to create one through my own strength of will. I have no need for memories. I don't even really need a past. All I need to do is keep fighting. I hear a distant voice asking me to wake up. ...That dream just now. I can't attach a memory or event to it, but I'm sure it was a dream of my past. Of that fact I have no doubt. It's driving me insane that no matter how hard I try, I can't recall anything about my past. As I can't do anything about it, I should just let it go for now... or until I remember something.  Music: School I  But it's more important to think about that item you received, and the magic burst that happened. ...Right. I'll find out what that means. Rin's probably in her usual spot. I'll stop worrying about Rani long enough to ask about my headache.  But before that, we met the conditions for another optional chat. How can I put this nicely? Your battle instincts are...lacking. To be blunt, I take way too much damage. I can take a certain amount of abuse, but it's still really scary. So please, do try to be more careful.This one unlocks after Caster takes a total of 10,000 damage.   Figuring out her Servant should be easy if I see her in action. I'll formulate a plan in my room.The girl is fine.   Some are stuck with incompetent Masters, some are quite unusual. That one by the entrance is wow. Time. For.  Lore. The discovery of the Holy Grail.  That relic from a time long past, what we call the Holy Grail, is the Moon Cell. However, when discovered, mankind lacked the knowledge to truly comprehend its purpose. ...And to be honest, I despair that mankind will never be able to truly understand the reason why it exists. The technology used to create the Moon Cell is far beyond the strangest imaginings of mankind. And although we may never come to understand what it is, we do know what it's doing. Every existence, all forms of life. Histories, ideologies...even lives have been recorded and stored. Containing the whole of Earth's history, the Moon Cell can be seen as the world's blueprint. Some believe it to be the Holy Grail of the Seven Heavens, a relic that holds the answers to every question.~ The construction of the Holy Grail. ...It was obvious that it'd be possible for us to replicate its function as a recorder of all. The first ones to discover this fact was the shadowy void known as the Atlas Institute. Not long after, the Harway family and the group Rin Tohsaka represents also became aware of this fact. The Holy Grail was made using a giant photonic crystal, the likes of which is beyond human technology. Photonic crystal is a mineral that can store light and is used in the manufacture of nanomachines. Its processing speed and near infinite storage capacity far exceeds all other technologies. To give an idea of just how outclassed humanity is in this, even after knowing about the Moon Cell for around a century. The Atlas Institute has been slightly more successful, but only by a very marginal percentage. However, the core of the Moon Cell ...the Holy Grail if you will...is a much larger photonic crystal. The crystal in the Holy Grail is about 3000 kilometers in length and uses light as its storage medium. All of its high-level data control systems utilize light as well to transmit data and system commands. In short it is so complex that, as far as humanity is concerned, it might as well be the mind of a god.~ The location of the Holy Grail. And once the Holy Grail's location was revealed, everyone tried to claim it as their own. However, those of us from the western plutocracy immediately put a stop to their machinations... If the Holy Grail were to fall into any hands other than the Harway's, the chaos would be devastating. Pricks.  Turns out, the naming scheme here isn't some random JRPG thing!  In Fate/Extra, the moon is an alien supercomputer. The entire drat thing. Just floating up there in the sky. For the entire life of the Earth. ~ Details about the Holy Grail War. Once the western plutocracy learned this, we actively prevented the further exploration of space. However, there was one thing we could not stop. The intrusions of those known as Spiritron Hackers. It seems that humans were always able to access it through their spirits...souls if you will. My guess is that the human soul is the one thing the Moon Cell can't observe passively. While the Holy Grail can observe any tangible phenomenon, the metaphysical seems to be beyond its capabilities. This is probably why the Moon Cell let Rani live, actually. If it wants to learn about souls, it now gets to observe Hakuno breaking every rule of the Holy Grail War to save a single life and watch Rani try to figure out what to do now that her life's purpose has been ruined. ...That is how only those known as Wizards have been able to access the Moon Cell. And many do so without the sanction or guidance of the Harway family. This world was made by the Moon Cell in order to interact with the spirits of the Wizards who enter its system. Its official name is the Serial Phantasm, but it more commonly known as the SE.RA.PH. The Holy Grail War is a melee for Wizards who have come for the Holy Grail. Its ultimate purpose is to— In short, it is a way to determine who is to have control of the Artifact, the Moon Cell Automaton.While this is the first time we've heard of the Moon Cell Automaton, we've seen its mark.  Those nine cubes in a grid is the Automaton's symbol. ~ Nothing in particular. Is that so? I shall remain here a while longer, so if you do think of any questions, please come back here. That was a whole heap of lore, but I'm sure Rin and Rani can wait a bit longer. Next time: Rin acts like a proper magus, for the first time in her life. BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Nov 30, 2021 |
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Nov 30, 2021 10:25
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My reactions when I played: Oh gently caress game over we're dead. Wait, Berserker? Nevermind there's a chance. How big a deal is Arcueid? Big. Very big. She isn't a servant, heroic spirit or human at all. She's the strongest vampire in the Nasuverse, she has at least two different layers of immortality (she's both borderline impossible to kill and won't stay dead once killed), she gets a massive* boost from the Moon and oh wait we're in the Moon Cell, and she has a lot of combat training and experience. *How massive? Under the full moon the Eyes of death perception give up, even if she is part of Gaia and those eyes can see the death of everything governed by Gaia If she wasn't currently Berserker insane she'd almost automatically win against any hero, up to and including Goldie. (Although a sane Arc probably wouldn't partecipate in a Murder Death Kill)
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Nov 30, 2021 10:47
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I like to believe the Grail decided to pair the crazy guy up with someone entirely appropriate for him to worship as a god.
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Nov 30, 2021 12:18
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BisbyWorl posted:
Is this image correct? It doesn't make sense in context and it seems to be the end of the sentence below it.
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Nov 30, 2021 13:35
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Blaze Dragon posted:Is this image correct? It doesn't make sense in context and it seems to be the end of the sentence below it. Whoops, must have grabbed the wrong image by mistake when making the rough draft. I'll fix it once I get home. e: Fixed it, the proper image is:
BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Nov 30, 2021 |
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Nov 30, 2021 13:38
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BisbyWorl posted:Next time: Rin acts like a proper magus, for the first time in her life. She emotionally abuses a child? 
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Nov 30, 2021 13:53
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Asimo posted:She emotionally abuses a child? No, that's Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya.
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Nov 30, 2021 16:23
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Omobono posted:If she wasn't currently Berserker insane she'd almost automatically win against any hero, up to and including Goldie. Like, unironically, the descriptor "way out of our loving league" pales as a turn of phrase for how hosed we would be if she had been summoned as literally anything but a Berserker. By all rights she's in the seat of her power, and I have no loving clue how we're supposed to deal with that short of blowing up the Moon like we're Piccolo or something.
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Nov 30, 2021 17:09
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I'd say Berserker is the only class where she wouldn't wander away after week 2 at the absolute latest (more like day 3 though) to cuddle with Shiki and/or troll Ciel and Akiha because she's bored, leaving her "master" up a creek with no paddle. But her summoning is complete nonsense, she isn't an hero, she doesn't belong to the Throne, I have no clue what the relation between Crimson Moon and the Moon Cell is but the Cell sure as hell isn't her boss, so why is she here? (Obviously because fanservice as she's the moon princess of the vampires but that explanation is not diegetic)
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Nov 30, 2021 17:27
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I guess I only finished the one playthrough because I have not seen this at all. Neat. I really should read Tsukihime at some point, I've only seen Arc in carnival phantasm and some nasuverse super robot wars fangame I saw my friend playing some of. Also the Harways suck. I never could stand anyone restricting tech for the supposed good of the people.
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Nov 30, 2021 19:21
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Call me crazy, but this Arcueid summoning is "Why Apocrypha Grail Wars don't happen in Greece" levels of not good for anyone else's health.
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Nov 30, 2021 20:20
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Omobono posted:
This was actually addressed by Nasu himself in some Q&A or another, and the answer is that she's got absolutely horrible compatibility against Gilgamesh. The issue is that aside from her personal strength she's got the ability to draw on the planet to gets strength boosts which are effectively "+1 above whoever she's fighting"... but since Gilgamesh's power is in his ludicrously bullshit NP arsenal rather than his personal stats she can't scale to that. Basically, she's at her strongest against statsticks, and weaker against people whose specialty is in versatility - of which Gilgamesh is the ur-example. Technically the question was regarding Arcuied (30%), but since that's basically the only form we ever see her in and she can't really go higher than that outside of boosts from the planet (which, again, she can't actually effectively use vs. Goldie) the answer holds.
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Nov 30, 2021 21:23
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Also Arcueid, despite being the eponymous Tsukihime, is an Elemental that depends on the planet so she shouldn't be able to access her full power on the moon unless it's perks that come from Crimson Brunestud. Mind you Arcueid would still utterly crush any of the playable Servants, but as a Berseker she's massively nerfed. She probably can't even use Marble Phantasm to summon dinosaurs (drat you Nasu for retconning that)
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Nov 30, 2021 21:47
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GiantRockFromSpace posted:Also Arcueid, despite being the eponymous Tsukihime, is an Elemental that depends on the planet so she shouldn't be able to access her full power on the moon unless it's perks that come from Crimson Brunestud. That mostly comes from her designation as Archetype Earth, as in being the Arestoltes of Gaia and the ultimate life form of our planet, that's why she's got that bullshit "Strongest +1" bonus when she fights Heroes. She's also able to use a Marble Phantasm, which can overwrite reality, and is one of only three people in the known Kaleidoscope who can The others being her sister and the Crimson Moon himself.
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Nov 30, 2021 23:50
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My knowledge of Tsukihime is nowhere near as comprehensive as knowledge of Fate, and even knowing Arc is in quite literally the worst possible class for her, I noped the gently caress on over to the other route as soon as I learned she was on this one.
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Dec 1, 2021 06:14
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Oh come on, she's canonically only four times as powerful as Saber. Full-powered Saber. With her sword and sheath. And a non-Shirou master.
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Dec 1, 2021 06:37
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Well, whatever honeyed words Harway use to justify their tyranny, this little lore dump cements fact that they need to be shot in the head, each and every one of them.
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Dec 1, 2021 09:22
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NHO posted:Well, whatever honeyed words Harway use to justify their tyranny, this little lore dump cements fact that they need to be shot in the head, each and every one of them. Tohsaka hates their gut, actual hate not her tsun shtick. That's all the confirmation needed.
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Dec 1, 2021 12:19
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Cloacamazing! posted:Oh come on, she's canonically only four times as powerful as Saber. Full-powered Saber. With her sword and sheath. And a non-Shirou master. I have to wonder how much it matters to be four times more powerful than someone that won't die when they're killed then. It just feels like that fight wouldn't go anywhere.
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Dec 1, 2021 13:11
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that's powelevels for you!
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Dec 1, 2021 17:47
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I've played all the mirror moon fan-translated games and watched all the shows and I still have difficulty following what some of you are talking about. Good luck, people who are new to Nasuverse!
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Dec 3, 2021 16:51
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Becoming a Berserker seems like the best way to ruin an otherwise perfectly good Servant, just trying to figure out who would massively benefit from it, surely someone would end up brokenly awesome by suddenly becoming super buff.
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Dec 5, 2021 02:45
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Koboje posted:Becoming a Berserker seems like the best way to ruin an otherwise perfectly good Servant, just trying to figure out who would massively benefit from it, surely someone would end up brokenly awesome by suddenly becoming super buff. The ideal Berserker is actually a Servant who is otherwise pretty weak all around. The class as a whole is kind of a desperate measures thing- you summon just whoever you can get your hands on and pray that the boost they get from Mad Enhancement is enough to let them take everyone else out before they drain you of all your mana.
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Dec 5, 2021 05:48
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FGO introduces the possibility of Berserkers whose madness leaves them still lucid enough to communicate, which is probably a lot easier to work with and also much more interesting to write. For example if you managed to summon Sakata Kintoki, especially in Japan, you'd be in a pretty good spot. Many of said berserkers are still uncontrollable under certain circumstances though. For example, don't ever lie to Kiyohime.
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Dec 5, 2021 05:54
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I think it's implied that if Mad Enhancement is at a high enough rank, you don't get a "smash everything and everyone in sight" Berserker, but a Servant whose personality is a complete reversal of their real one.
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Dec 5, 2021 08:07
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Tarezax posted:FGO introduces the possibility of Berserkers whose madness leaves them still lucid enough to communicate, which is probably a lot easier to work with and also much more interesting to write. For example if you managed to summon Sakata Kintoki, especially in Japan, you'd be in a pretty good spot. Technically you can communicate with Apocrypha's Spartacus! It's just not terribly helpful. Fran is less communicative but more understanding. serefin99 posted:The ideal Berserker is actually a Servant who is otherwise pretty weak all around. The class as a whole is kind of a desperate measures thing- you summon just whoever you can get your hands on and pray that the boost they get from Mad Enhancement is enough to let them take everyone else out before they drain you of all your mana. Herc is still a pretty amazing Berserker, though, but that's also on the Master/Servant "overwhelming power" combination. Being an absolute walking truck stat-wise combined with heavy resistance (literally cannot be damaged by anything below A-class) combined with a stock of 12 revives, the ability to gain resistance to anything that harms him, and thanks to the Master the even more ridiculous ability to restore his stock of revives over time. For context for everyone else, that means that Herc functionally auto-wins against our first three opponents (and Caster!) so far so long as the Master isn't taken out.
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Dec 5, 2021 08:24
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Lancelot from Zero was also a good Berserker in terms of power. There are advantages and disadvantages for him being a Berserker rather than a Saber. It was said that he only kept up with Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon weapon spam as well as he did because of the stats boost he was getting from Madness Enhancement. But on the downside, he can't use some of his better techniques and abilities as a Berserker (which is the most common downside Berserker-class servants have). As an upside to that downside, Knight of Owner still worked so he retained what is probably his best and most versatile ability. While he was impossible to communicate with and totally rabid, he was such a good fighter that even as a Berserker he still retained his keen combat sense and could basically still fight in melee as well as ever, getting the better of Artoria in a sword fight because he knew how she fought. The biggest problem with Berserkers (and this applied to Lancelot like *hell*) was the amount of mana they eat through. Unless you've got infinite mana like Illya, having a servant that quickly just outright kills you is basically never worth it.
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Dec 5, 2021 09:39
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SoundwaveAU posted:There are advantages and disadvantages for him being a Berserker rather than a Saber. It was said that he only kept up with Gilgamesh's Gate of Babylon weapon spam as well as he did because of the stats boost he was getting from Madness Enhancement. Wasn't Gilgamesh also weakened from being in the Archer Class as well?
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Dec 5, 2021 09:45
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MonsterEnvy posted:Wasn't Gilgamesh also weakened from being in the Archer Class as well? Even if he was weakened, Gil has straight up never cared because his hideous hoard of weapons lets him play whatever he wants to. In Extella Link he's even exalted to Top Archer by the Moon Cell, so suffice to say he's just fine this way.
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Dec 5, 2021 10:03
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Given the comments on how Arcueid would lack the desire to participate in this if she were not in Berserker, it does give perspective on another potential desperation ploy a Master could make with the class. If a Master can only get a catalyst they believe would only summon potential servants who would be ideologically opposed to them, they could hope that the insanity of Madness Enhancement would be able to circumvent such an issue. (Though, given the more unique takes on the ability that Grand Order had shown, even this may end up being a crapshoot xD) (Also, the ego on most Magi would probably make them not believe the possibility of this being an issue, see: Tokiomi Tohsaka and Gilgamesh, as well as the Einzberns' insistence on summoning Saber for Kiritsugu when Caster or Assassin would have been better suited to how he operates)
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Dec 7, 2021 02:47
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Tarezax posted:FGO introduces the possibility of Berserkers whose madness leaves them still lucid enough to communicate, which is probably a lot easier to work with and also much more interesting to write. For example if you managed to summon Sakata Kintoki, especially in Japan, you'd be in a pretty good spot. Technically you have to lie to her to an extent, or at least lie by omission by playing along with her, because trying to seriously disabuse her of the delusion that you're Anchin's reincarnation would probably go... poorly... too.  NyoroEevee posted:
I'd point out that the issue that Tokiomi had wasn't really his ego - it's that he was so respectful and deferential to Gilgamesh that he was just plain boring to the King of Heroes. Who found someone much more interesting in a certain tormented Executor...
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Dec 7, 2021 02:58
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Lord Koth posted:I'd point out that the issue that Tokiomi had wasn't really his ego - it's that he was so respectful and deferential to Gilgamesh that he was just plain boring to the King of Heroes. Who found someone much more interesting in a certain tormented Executor... True, you got me there. A better example from same war, now that I give it a second thought, is probably Kayneth and Diarmuid.
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Dec 7, 2021 03:10
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Lord Koth posted:Technically you have to lie to her to an extent, or at least lie by omission by playing along with her, because trying to seriously disabuse her of the delusion that you're Anchin's reincarnation would probably go... poorly... too. Though once Gilgamesh found out that Tokiomi planned to backstab him, he was more interested in him.
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Dec 7, 2021 04:04
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NyoroEevee posted:Given the comments on how Arcueid would lack the desire to participate in this if she were not in Berserker, it does give perspective on another potential desperation ploy a Master could make with the class. If a Master can only get a catalyst they believe would only summon potential servants who would be ideologically opposed to them, they could hope that the insanity of Madness Enhancement would be able to circumvent such an issue. I mean, there's definitely methods other than Madness Enhancement or Command Seals to make a Servant work for you - you can also just dip them in some good, old-fashioned Grail Mud® and warp them into a horrifying* Alter version of themselves that won't care about pesky things like "morality", "killing children", or "widespread collateral damage". *Unless you're Jeanne or Artoria Pendragon.
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Dec 7, 2021 05:26
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Update XXXV - A strange senpai Music: School I  Okay, we're up against one of the strongest beings in the Nasuverse.   Have you been experimenting with thaumaturgy while in the Arena?The Moon is an alien supercomputer using all the Masters in the Holy Grail War as glorified lab rats.  I really, really hope Rin has some good news. Music: Duel of Fate  I tracked them down. Collecting the data gave me a headache, though. I wonder why...   ...I see. I had imagined that you would suffer some poor condition, but I didn't think that would be all. The pendant I gave you does, in fact, absorb residual magic power. However... Music: Stops   You heard right. Rin's plan was to try and kill Hakuno. Sound: Heartbeats  —Wait, that can't be right. I accessed the distortions yesterday and I'm still alive. So what does this all mean? Is she trying to make some kind of sick joke at my expense? Music: Fear  She had some suspicions after we saved Rani and completely ignored the Moon Cell's defense program, so this whole wild goose chase was to confirm it. What in the hell—?! Did she just say what I think she said?!  I think you might be the same as that homunculus girl. Both of you are anomalies, at best. Are you really in the dark about how you arrived here?If her suspicions were correct, she gets valuable info on a future enemy. If she was wrong, Hakuno gets killed with zero effort on Rin's part, saving her from having to deal with an increasingly threatening Master. This kind of cold hearted scheming is pretty much Magus 101, and I'm honestly impressed that Rin, of all people, pulled it off. I don't know, I just— It's like I can half-recall a dream that I can't remember ever having... A dream? While in a virtual world? In theory, there's no difference between a spiritron dive and a dream! ...Like a dream within a dream. You are truly a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Rin wasn't wrong, we really did learn a lot about ourselves! Music: School III  On a more positive note, I finally do what the game has been wanting me to do all along.  And start raising Caster's Magic!  To show how much the game wants you to boost it, Caster only needs 3 SP to get her first rank up. She could have had D rank Magic from her very first level!   The entire reason I've been investing into Defense from the start is to try and deal with a Berserker's insane damage output. Now that we're facing one, I should be good with what I have now. From here on out, I'm investing all SP into Magic. Music: School I   Music: School III  Alright, let's see if Rani's doing any better.  She isn't. -Tool? Why would she say that? I hope she'll clarify what she said. In answer to my unspoken plea, Rani continues.   I live only to retrieve the Holy Grail for my professor. And now, I have failed, so I am a broken tool. I must disintegrate into dust—return to the cycle. She speaks in a flat monotone, the light gone out of her eyes. She says that she's a tool, and without the Holy Grail War, she has nothing. Is nothing. I just want to know one thing. Did this professor of hers really raise a person solely for the task of retrieving the Holy Grail? That would mean that she has never experienced a will of her own.  My professor has done everything for me, from bringing me into the world to loving and teaching me. My professor wished for the Holy Grail, and I am a tool to grant my professor's wishes. —Then, what would Rani wish for, if she had the Holy Grail? She's putting her life on the line for her professor, but what about what Rani wishes for? I'm kind of pissed off by what I'm hearing. I mean, if her professor told her to go jump off a bridge, she probably would.  Aaaaaaaaand Hakuno hosed up. For the first time since the battle, Rani scolds me, her voice raising and her eyes narrowing.  See you tomorrow! That was clearly a bit different from yesterday's rejection. If... If she would just open up to me, I feel like I could help her. I'll try coming back tomorrow. The Elimination Battle may be over, but I haven't truly saved her yet. Music: School I  I buy the Music Box and swap it in for a bit more Master MP.  Servants have reasons to obey us Masters, too. It's disrespectful to a Servant if their Master isn't prepared. You know that? Here's hoping Crazy A and Crazy B have stopped guarding the Trigger. Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor   On my way up, I get this line from healing her. 'Something fried' is abuurage in the voiced line, a kitsune's favorite food in Japanese legends.  Luckily for us, Gatou and Arc only block the path for one day. There's no plot requirements needed to make them move.   We finally found the Trigger. I wonder if those two are... No, that'd be too perverted...right? I notice something strange on my way out. Music: Battle - Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea  We have a new enemy type!  Nephilim are pretty much Extra's minibosses. From now on, most floors will have one, but they only spawn on certain days to encourage you to explore even if there's no plot to deal with. (Which is why I didn't see it on the minimap yesterday, it wasn't there in the first place!) They have annoyingly high HP and bare minimum info, which makes fighting them a pain.  But Extra is still Extra, so The List takes a lot of bite out of them.  If you don't have The List to back you up, then you have to deal with dying in four hits.  Three things that never change are war, taxes, and the monotony of Extra's combat.  At least we get a full heal for our troubles. Music: Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea - First Floor  The red folder holds the next tier of Shockwave gear. The 2nd Strike works the same as the 1st Strike we got during Week 2, only it costs 15 Master MP per shot, and the stun lasts for two moves instead of one.  The exit portal is hidden behind this secret pathway.  With that, the floor is fully mapped out.  All that's left is Taiga's first request.  Music: School I  Music: Duel of Fate  A warm voice envelops my poor, frazzled soul in an embrace.  Ah hell, Leo's here with advice. I have pondered why you give off a different vibe than the other Masters as well. ...Are you still worried about what she said? Yeah. That's pretty much it. I do not believe many people are ever self-aware. Can't you accept not knowing as part of your identity? Make it part of my identity...? What in the world— Good day, then. Gawain stays behind for a moment. Leo left before I could come up with a witty retort.  For whatever reason, the game still lists his name as ???, as if Leo is going to the trouble of lying about his Servant for a full seven weeks.  And then he leaves. However, his Servant sends a look back my way. His eyes seem to be saying, "You've been given good advice. Don't waste it." Though his eyes convey chivalry, it's not without an air of pity and condescension. Leo does give good advice, I'll give him that. ...In a 'I'm so far above you that your existential crisis takes literally no effort for me to solve,' kind of way, mind you. He'll still be first against the wall.  Music: School I  Since that is the only clue that I have to my identity, I should do what I can to try to understand it. Maybe if I compare myself with the Masters I've faced I'll learn something about myself.  Remember Shinji. The role assigned to him during the preliminary round was class clown...and my friend. At the same time, my role was to be his friend and sidekick of sorts. ...But is that really the truth? Was I ever really Shinji's friend...? I can't- I can't remember anything else. It's as if my memory is all clouded over. As I try to push deeper into my mind, it's almost as if something is actively pushing me away. I...I can't remember anything more.~ Remember Dan. Since I don't remember anything from before I lost my memories, I think of him like my father. Even now, his back is a symbol, his words are a guidepost. There is no shame in regret or losing your way, but never forsake the path which you have chosen. ...He was right. Even though my memory is obscured and I have yet to find a purpose in fighting, those words still resonate within me. But no words can change the fact that while I may be ready to face the future, my past remains lost... Or maybe...I might not even...?~ Remember Alice. I wish I'd have talked with her more— I will regret not doing so for as long as I live. Regardless of my memory issues, I should've at least tried to get to know her better. "You're just like me." The little girl who projected a sense of strength despite her desperate loneliness. But it's too late to do anything now. She's gone, and her blood will forever be on my hands. Any clues I might have learned disappear like snowflakes melting in the palm of my hand. I guess I won't be able to figure anything out after all...~~  Although, I have to applaud your earnest desire to rediscover your origins. So, no need to hurry, but— If you do find your answers, you'll tell me, won't you? Something about how she said all that kind of irked me, but I can't doubt her sincerity. The fact is I want to know who I am. I want to know where I came from. I want to know what there is for me. Even that one girl says that for herself, the only way to know one's self is to first understand others. Caster may be onto something. Talking to others might give me some insight into my true self. For now, I should go to the nurse's office. I want to check in on Rani, and maybe pick up some info as well. But before that, we hit the requirements for a new hidden chat!  I was worried about how things were going to turn out, but you won in the end! It's a victory borne of our love! Eh? What am I talking about? That, you silly rabbit; that. Remember that anomalous program we stomped into corrupted data in the Arena? What were they called again...rare enemies? They're so delightful that we should continue to slaughter them!'Rare enemies,' are Nephilim, and this chat triggers after killing your first one.  I don't miss real life, but I miss the little things, you know? It's only for a little bit longer. Masters are disappearing. I'll win and go home.  That's why we're all here, right? Our reasons differ, but we're all here for the same thing. If you lose focus and get sloppy, then you can just kiss the Holy Grail goodbye.Oh good, the library guy is alive! These kids have got to stop playing with my heart. ~ Oh, hey, Hakuno. I think Kotomine has something up his sleeve, so watch out. I just know he's going to make yet another unreasonable request, and I'll have to assist him. *Mumble* Leo will be in the library all week, but all he'll talk about is Moon Cell info.  Or SE.RA.PH for short. To calm your nerves, try thinking about exactly what kind of person your opponent is.  Yes ma'am. You're my hero. I mean it! So, I decided to try my hand at cooking and whipped up a feast! I thought I'd made the perfect dish, but the system labeled it as a bug and moved it somewhere. Rumor has it that my culinary tour de force is languishing in the Arena, awaiting deletion. If it isn't recovered today, it'll be sent to the dustbin of history! Please, you must hurry! Time to go see Rani again. Music: School III   Rani welcomes me with barbed words but they're spoken quietly, with a note of reservation. I have nothing to say to someone who speaks poorly of my professor. ...Please leave. Ignoring her words of dismissal, I speak over Rani. I need to talk to Rani more, if I want to draw out more of her feelings. Plus, it helps me relax to know what's on her mind.  For the first time this week, her eyes manage to clear up. -It seems I am not a human being. I tell Rani about how Rin found out that I'm not a human being, and that I have no idea what I actually am. Rani listens attentively to what I have to say. Unlike me, Rani at least knows who she is. That's why it irritates me that her professor's words dictate her life. When she hears that, Rani replies in a gentle tone.  When I ask to hear a little more about her professor, Rani lights up and words pour out.   Because I was not created with much emotional depth, carrying out my professor's wishes is my all. The same? What does Rani mean by that? She can't meet my gaze. After a long silence, Rani looks into my eyes and delivers a cruel truth. I have no idea if the camera bugged out for this one shot, or if it intentionally goes behind one of the sheets in the room. I'm too taken aback to respond. I don't have an actual body...? You would have suffered damage if you had a body. I am no exception to that rule. Only a body that doesn't exist cannot be damaged. Perhaps you are but a string of ones and zeroes, Hakuno? Well that makes it even worse! Music: Duel of Fate  It just means you're disconnected from it. I heard you had issues with the prelims. Perhaps the link to your body was cut off before the preliminaries. It's only natural for your memory to be hazy, as you are severed from your database—your body.Okay, that's much better. ...Kinda bad when 'completely cut off from your body in a digital death match' is a step up, huh. ...I see. It's not that I don't have memories, it's that I can't retrieve them at the moment. If that's the case, I just need to repair the broken link... And now we have the real reason behind saving someone between weeks: to have a partnership that doesn't end with one of us having to die. Now, Nasu's stuff has always been built on ironclad rules and the hundreds of ways they get broken. The problem here is that every broken rule has an equally ironclad reason for why it works. Gilgamesh is impossible to beat in a straight fight? Shirou has a natural counter to the Gate of Babylon, and Gil's arrogance will keep him playing around long enough for Shirou to overwhelm him. Emiya gets summoned as a Servant, even though he's the opposite of famous and his legend hasn't even happened yet? The Throne of Heroes is explicitly outside of time, and he held on to Rin's pendant his entire life, letting it act as a catalyst. Not allowed to kill an enemy Master in the Moon Cell Holy Grail War? Just fill the place with poison and kill them indirectly, as the SE.RA.PH only bans direct assaults. So on and so forth. The problem here is that everything about this breaks rules, but has no justification. Everyone is on the same schedule, except Rin and Rani getting assigned each other between weeks. Everyone gets a one week prep period to strengthen themselves and get info on their enemy, except Rin and Rani go off to kill each other just one day after they get matched. Losing your Servant instantly kills you, except Rani is still alive and well even after her Servant sacrificed himself. The writers must have found themselves trapped by the central format of the game, where any partnership would inevitably end with, 'and then you kill them,' so they had to twist their own setting into a knot so the game wouldn't be just you and your Servant the whole way through. Suffice to say, CCC will ditch the tournament setting entirely, and the plot is all the better for it. Rani will help me re-link with my body? That's the best news I've heard all tournament! I impulsively grasp Rani's hand and thank her fervently.  I'll devote my time to finding the location of your body on Earth, Hakuno. What a relief... Once I have my body back, I'll learn everything about myself—why I entered this fight, what my history is, what my life is like. Once I know those things, I will be able to fight with pride. Rani smiles softly, as if reading my thoughts.  We are the same, Hakuno. For I, too, have been on a quest this whole time. I just remembered. Remembered what? Rani smiles at me. I think she gets enjoyment out of seeing me worked up like this. She's lost her earlier hesitancy. I'm afraid I'm a bit worn out. And so... I apologize for my unsociable behavior earlier. May we talk again tomorrow? She really didn't have to ask. I nod yes. Satisfied, Rani settles down to sleep, sighing, "It's a promise." Next time: Another one falls for the Kishinami charms. BisbyWorl fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Feb 26, 2023 |
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Dec 7, 2021 10:37
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NyoroEevee posted:Given the comments on how Arcueid would lack the desire to participate in this if she were not in Berserker, it does give perspective on another potential desperation ploy a Master could make with the class. If a Master can only get a catalyst they believe would only summon potential servants who would be ideologically opposed to them, they could hope that the insanity of Madness Enhancement would be able to circumvent such an issue. Technically possible? But you'd still have to get someone who can actually qualify for Berserker to begin with. In my mind, the best-case use of Berserker is to take someone with great stats and make them even more ridiculous. For example, if Artoria qualified for Berserker, she'd probably be incredibly strong as a result. I mentioned Heracles earlier, whose job is just to throw his A-rank stats at every problem until the problem gets crushed. Lancelot is similar, with A-rank Str, End, and A+ Agility. Conversely, examples such as Apocrypha's Frankenstein (stats: Str C/End B/Agi D/Mag D/Luk B) and Spartacus (stats: Str A/End EX/Agi D/Mag E/Luk D) aren't particularly great. Fran unfortunately has low stats, and weak Madness Enhancement doesn't help raise it enough to offset the problems. Spartacus, while he hits hard and soaks up damage, has incredibly weak Agility, and thus gets immediately taken out before he can effectively reach his target. Also to add on a little more, the Grail generally tries to give Servants with a decent level of affinity to their Master if possible, from what I recall. For example, Sisigou Kairi gets Mordred instead of other one of the Knights of the Round Table because she was better suited to him, and his catalyst wasn't so limiting as to lock it down to one specific Servant.
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Dec 7, 2021 10:40
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