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Welcome back, everyone. We're taking care of two tasks today. Our first objective is something at least one of you has been hoping to see for a while now: we're going to check out Isthmus Keep.   The place has definitely seen better days.  In Albert's intro, there was a locked room in the keep's main hall. The door is gone, but the room is now guarded by an intimidating-looking monster. Mini-Boss Fight: Greater Devil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm-iMmC7rTo   Greater Devils are technically normal enemies, but this one always stands here as a guard. I wouldn't normally provide video for a foe like this, but these demons have some cool-looking attacks that I think deserve a showcase.   Their favorite trick is Strike of Corruption, a telekinetic attack in which they beat the hell out of a single party member. At this point in the game it's effectively a guaranteed KO. In addition to this, they can use another powerful single-target attack, Cannon of Degeneracy, as well as a couple of spells spells: Black Wave (blinds the whole party - easily their least dangerous action) and Abyss (an instant kill).  To make matters worse, one of its Jam allies decided to break out its most dangerous ability: the Whisper of Dread spell, which inflicts confusion.   The one piece of good news here is that, because the Devil is a fairly powerful monster, Guella Ha is able to Glimmer a new attack, Vertical Strike. There's nothing special about it, but it's a pretty strong technique.  Though the fight is painful, we're ultimately able to pull through.  Once the Devil is dealt with, we can get into the treasure room.  Unfortunately, the staff is gone, either lost when the keep fell or stolen by monsters.      There are, at least, a few treasures left, including a Pearl Ring (which we don't really need) and some cash.  The way to the throne room is blocked, but other parts of the keep are still accessible.   Upstairs, we find a pair of doors. The one on the right leads to Diana's room, and chest containing some Kitten Socks. I appreciate this implication about Diana's tastes in clothing (and cats).  The socks themselves are decent, giving low defense but immunity to stuns and resistance to cold.   The other door lead's to Rudolf's office.  There's a chest here with an okay shield, but nothing more.  Apart from the treasures and the mini-boss, the only noteworthy thing about our trip here is meeting a couple new monster types. Floral Mines have a full-party poison attack, but aren't especially nasty.  Greater Devils are also starting to show up as regular encounters, which is... fun.   At least we got another Glimmer out of it. Jackal Blade deals extra damage to Beasts but isn't super powerful overall.  And with that, we're out.  Before we move on to our second task, we're going to take a quick break to temper Monica's Vorpal Axe. We could use a Deadstone for a harmonic material, but while the power boost would be significant, the weapon would consume more DP, and it would only have 1 to spend. This is not a great choice.  A Beast Fang is much better. It still increases the axe's DP costs, but provides 20 DP to work with.  We can also mitigate the extra DP use by lowering its attack power a bit, which I think is a worthwhile trade. Honestly, I should have done it again to further decrease the costs, but this will be fine for now.  While we're in Crystal City, we'll also buy a set of Field Plate for Barbara.  Once all that is done, we're off to Ligau Isle. Pyrix asked us to increase the island's plant population, and so we will. Now, there are a couple of ways to approach this quest.  The intended method involves a visit to the Imperial Library in Melvir.  The Combat Reference section contains an entry on monster ecology.    It's a surprisingly complex topic! The different monster types make up an ecosystem of predators and prey, and killing one monster type can cause others to grow more slowly or to flourish. With this information, we can target specific monster types to help Plants grow more quickly and their predators grow more slowly. The thing is... this is all entirely unnecessary. It's equally possible to complete this quest by simply going to the plains and killing everything that's not a Plant. It may take a few more fights, but the difference isn't significant enough to be worth the effort. With that in mind, we get to killing.   We encounter a couple new monster types doing this, neither of which is overly dangerous. Mummies fight similarly to Gargoyles, but have an extra attack, Song of Souls, that damages the whole party and saps their Strength. Frisbergs have basic attacks that can potentially knock a character unconscious, but are otherwise fairly mundane.     We also obtain not one but two treasure maps from our battles. A level 2 map for the Geckling Cave is a great find, as that dungeon should be easy to search. The level 1 map for Frosthold Fortress is a little less nice, especially since we've never even heard of the place.  As we kill monsters, Plants start rising from the bottom spot on the monster list...  ...to the middle...  ...to second place...  ...to first. This process takes about half an hour, almost all of which I've edited out. There's a reason this update took so long!  Once we have Plants in the top spot, we can return to Pyrix for our reward.      Besides a hefty sum of jewels, Pyrix gives us the Axe of Kings, a legendary weapon.  The weapon channels Pyrology and raises Strength, so it's a superior substitute for the Sword of Fire. For the most part, we won't be making use of it directly, since it consumes LP instead of DP. For the most part.  You see, the Axe of Kings comes with its own special technique, Flicker of Flame. It costs 7 BP and a massive 5 LP, which don't decrease with the wielder's class level. The description is vague, but hopefully it's worth it.     In the right circumstances, it absolutely is. Flicker of Flame summons Pyrix to replace the wielder in battle, fighting alongside the party until either he's defeated or the battle ends. He has 999 HP (though he can't be healed), 30 BP (which refreshes by 5 each turn), and a host of techniques and Pyrology spells. I don't believe he gets an automatic self-immolation effect, but I may be mistaken. While the LP cost is too prohibitive to use Flicker of Flame in regular battles, Pyrix's huge HP pool and high power make him potentially very useful in boss fights.  After a quick trip to Loban to rest up, we're done for the day. As usual, cast your votes for our next excursion. Current Event Rank: 14 Things to Do Kill the bugs in the Altours orchard Find Captain Silver's treasure - We weren't strong enough for this as of ER9 Investigate the return of the vampires Check in with the mummy salesman Take the job at the South Estamir pub Revisit Avi Revisit Adyllis Revisit Strom Clear the monsters from the Aurefont mine Places to Explore Estamir sewers Melvir sewers Bayre Plateau The Great Pit The Walon Isle jungle The Ligau caves Mt. Scurve Crystal Lake Yassi Cavern Abandoned Keep Saoki Cavern Desert Ruins & Nisa Cavern Treasure Maps Jungle, Level 1 Steppes of Galessa, Level 1 Kaklim Desert, Level 1 Frosthold Fortress, Level 1 - We don't know where this is New Road, Level 2 Geckling Cave, Level 2 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Apr 2, 2024 |
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Apr 1, 2024 18:04
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Malformed tag right there:quote:Mini-Boss Fight: Greater Devil A complete lack of closure for Dianna, but at least she got to raid her wardrobe back. Investigate the return of the vampires Crystal Lake Desert Ruins & Nisa Cavern
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Apr 1, 2024 23:57
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SIGSEGV posted:Malformed tag right there: 
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Apr 2, 2024 00:45
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Yaaaaaay~! I like the Rosalians and the Keep's background, lol. So seeing the ruins is fun for me. (also the Greater Demon is cool.) (and kitteny footwear.) Time to recalibrate selections! Hm .. How about we go Investigate the return of the vampires Revisit Strom and check out Crystal Lake
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Apr 2, 2024 04:48
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Voting is now closed. Though it seems there's not as much interest in it these days.
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Apr 5, 2024 02:00
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I'm still here, just have no opinion on what happens since I don't know what events lead to what results.
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Apr 5, 2024 02:57
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5-Headed Snake God posted:Voting is now closed. Though it seems there's not as much interest in it these days. I missed the vote, but I'm kinda lagging behind in my playthrough, so I have no big opinions either. Talking about the game, though: Do the Attack/Trick/Defend stances you can pay to change in some cities have any influence in anything besides Martial Arts? Having a overly complicated mechanic for a very particular style of play is so on point for SaGa that it hurts.
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Apr 5, 2024 10:12
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Fat Samurai posted:Talking about the game, though: Do the Attack/Trick/Defend stances you can pay to change in some cities have any influence in anything besides Martial Arts? Having a overly complicated mechanic for a very particular style of play is so on point for SaGa that it hurts. You can change the style of a weapon at a blacksmith, and it has the same effect for that weapon.
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Apr 5, 2024 12:22
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FeyerbrandX posted:I'm still here, just have no opinion on what happens since I don't know what events lead to what results. Pretty much this. "You gotta help me, I don't know what to do. I can't make decisions; I'm a president!"
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Apr 5, 2024 15:30
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I'm just kinda following along for the ride here
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Apr 5, 2024 22:55
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FeyerbrandX posted:I'm still here, just have no opinion on what happens since I don't know what events lead to what results. not an emptyquote
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Apr 6, 2024 00:16
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I'm also still here, just lurking. As for the lack of voting, yep, my reasoning is the same as everyone else's, not sure what leads to what.
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Apr 19, 2024 01:57
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Sorry for the lack of updates, everyone! I've been going through some poo poo over the last couple weeks, but I should be back in shape now, and I expect to have a new post up by Sunday.
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Apr 19, 2024 02:32
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Welcome back, everyone. This update took a while, so let's get right to it. Today we're going vampire hunting on the Frontier. We could go straight to the vampire's lair, but instead we're going to take a bit of a detour to North Estamir.   One of the guys in the pub shares this tidbit. He drops the information all game long, so it's very possible to have seen this prior to starting the quest, and a savvy player is rewarded for it.  The guy next to him mentions that prominent Estamirians are buried in the catacombs below the city. We already knew that - we helped a guy steal a mummy from the place - but in this context it's also logical to assume St. Agnes might be buried there too.   So we make our way to the catacombs.  Unfortunately, at this point the side quest becomes a guessing game. One of these tombs is indeed that of St. Agnes, but which one it is is random, and as far as I know there are no hints.   Searching the wrong gravestone carries a penalty. Sometimes, it'll drop the party into the Undead-filled room on the bottom level. It can also summon a mob of Undead monsters to roam the room.  it can also spawn an immediate fight against a unique enemy.   The Estamirian Shades that can pop up here can be dangerous to low-level parties, but at this point they're more of an inconvenience. They do look cool, though.  We actually find the right grave pretty quickly.   As Barbara talks to herself, a glowing chalice appears before her, and a disembodied voice speaks.    I don't know what else it could possibly be.    This side quest gets us the Chalice and some jewels. This is the only jewel reward we get all quest, in fact.  The description of the Chalice makes it sound kind of lame, but there's more to it than meets the eye. For one, it can channel Hydrology spells like a weapon. Doing so still sets the BP cost according to the caster's Hydrology skill, but any LP costs come from from the Chalice's DP rather than the user's LP. This is, in my opinion, a mostly worthless benefit, because it's other powers are so good.  In combat, the Chalice has two other powers that cost DP. Holy Sparkle is why it's useful against the vampire; it deals considerable damage to all undead enemies in a battle.  Miracle Water costs 3 DP - 30% of the Chalice's maximum - but it's worth it. When used, it fully restores the entire party's BP. It's insanely good and useful in pretty much every boss fight. The Chalice's biggest weakness is that it doesn't have much DP. It can be restored, though doing so it a bit of a pain.    Now that we have the Chalice, we leave the sewers and head for he New Road, and then on to the Vampire's Den.  The Vampire's Den isn't an especially complex or difficult dungeon. it technically has a gimmick, but it's not an especially interesting one.  Shortly after entering, we can see a room ahead filled with Undead monsters.  Conveniently, there's an alternate path to take.  This eventually leads us to this group of not-remotely-suspicious people.   Oh wait, no, actually they're trying to kill us. These are the Vampire's Minions, ordinary townsfolk cursed with undead slavery. When the quest first becomes available they can be somewhat tough, but as advanced as we are they pose no real challenge. Their most dangerous attack is Drain Life, which deals damage and heals the Minion, but even that deals less than 100 damage.  After the Minions are defeated, the camera swings around 180 degrees, which would be really obnoxious if we weren't already next to the path to the next level.  On the 2nd floor is yet another room with a bunch of Undead. The side path is a dead end, though, so we have to go in there.  At least there's a chest here.   Its contents are total junk, but it's here.  Past that is another room that is very obviously an ambush.  Sure enough, more Minions run in to accost us as we approach the chest, but they're no match for us.   This second chest contains still more trash.  But wait, there's another room off to the side with two more chests. And they're trapped, so presumably they have something good, right?    Well, one of them does, at least.  The Chiral Clogs raise AGI and WIL and give the wearer resistance to snares, which is pretty decent for most melee classes. Their defense isn't great, but it's also not terrible.   Taking the opposite exit from the Undead-filled room brings us to level 3 and another swarm.  This one we can actually circumvent with another Minion fight.  And past that is the exit to level 4.  He we encounter... a small child.  Barbara treats him exactly like one despite the blue skin, red eyes, and obvious the fangs. Luckily, he's not a vampire.  He's a werewolf. No, I don't know how that works.   The Werewolf is a unique enemy with an ordinary sprite. It's technically a mini-boss, but we still kill it in a single round.   Monica does get a Glimmer out of it, at least. Hyper Hammer has a cool name and a very boring animation. She can use it at no DP cost, though, which is pretty rare for her axe techniques.  She also Glimmered Artful Slash earlier in the dungeon, though that's barely worth a mention.  Past the Werewolf is one last (trapped) chest.  It's the map, right at the end of the dungeon where it does the least good.   We cam in from the south, and the west path leads out of the dungeon. So north it is.  Yeah, this definitely looks like the lair.  The Vampire itself (it looks male but sounds female, so I'm not sure of its gender) looks pretty cool, with a generic animation set but a unique model. The bats floating over its head are a nice touch.   This might be the most metal line in the whole game.      The vampire is intimidated, but not for long. Boss Battle: Vampire https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEnVzUKkNMk I've included the fight intro because the Vampire's voice work is so amazingly terrible.  The Vampire is a potentially tough boss, though we're far enough above the minimum ER for the quest that we pretty much steamroll it.   The Vampire uses a couple nasty spells, including Pulverize to deal damage and Self-Immolation to screw with melee characters. It also has Rain of Death, which damages the party's LP, and Nightmare, which puts characters to sleep and confuses them when they wake up, though it it didn't use them here. It also didn't use its signature attack, Enslave Minion, which damages a character, heals the Vampire, and puts the victim under the Vampire's control, causing them to fight the rest of the party.   Holy Sparkle is our workhorse here. It deals a ton of damage and kills the Vampire pretty quickly when used alongside more convential attacks.   Eventually, the bloodsucker goes down, and we win a Lovely Headdress.  It increases COM and resist unconsciousness, making it pretty mediocre and a poor reward for completing the quest. I wouldn't blame anyone for grabbing the Chalice and forgetting about the rest of the quest.   Now that we're done, it's a quick jaunt to the exit and back to Weston. We're now at ER 15, though nothing new has been unlocked. So where to next? Get to voting! Current Event Rank: 15 Things to Do Kill the bugs in the Altours orchard Find Captain Silver's treasure - We weren't strong enough for this as of ER9 Check in with the mummy salesman Take the job at the South Estamir pub Revisit Avi Revisit Adyllis Revisit Strom Clear the monsters from the Aurefont mine Places to Explore Estamir sewers Melvir sewers Bayre Plateau The Great Pit The Walon Isle jungle The Ligau caves Mt. Scurve Crystal Lake Yassi Cavern Abandoned Keep Saoki Cavern Desert Ruins & Nisa Cavern Treasure Maps Jungle, Level 1 Steppes of Galessa, Level 1 Kaklim Desert, Level 1 Frosthold Fortress, Level 1 - We don't know where this is New Road, Level 2 Geckling Cave, Level 2 5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Apr 20, 2024 |
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Apr 20, 2024 22:32
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left the top of the lp test post text when copying over.
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Apr 20, 2024 23:18
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FeyerbrandX posted:left the top of the lp test post text when copying over. Huh, that's never happened before.
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Apr 20, 2024 23:44
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I've always wondered, given the vampire's dialogue, if they're just stereotypically hamming it up or if a good chunk of the minions really did volunteer. Upside you get to live forever, downside being a mind enslaved minion -- The random werewolf's a nice touch, lol, especially since Amut's a lunar deity. Let's see ~ How about - Find Captain Silver's treasure (let's try again!) - Take the job at the South Estamir pub and - check out the Desert Ruins & Nisa Cavern
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Apr 20, 2024 23:46
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Advanced intern voice acting technology. Let's see... Clear the monsters from the Aurefont mine Take the job at the South Estamir pub Desert Ruins & Nisa Cavern Maybe caverns are in this season?
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Apr 21, 2024 01:07
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taichara posted:
These, especially Captain Silver's treasure, it's taunted us long enough.
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Apr 21, 2024 04:23
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I like the vampire's hairdo and want to believe the Headdress is just that. Anyway, let's relax a little and go sightseeing and check:
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Apr 21, 2024 09:25
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taichara posted:I've always wondered, given the vampire's dialogue, if they're just stereotypically hamming it up or if a good chunk of the minions really did volunteer. Upside you get to live forever, downside being a mind enslaved minion -- Well, the way I heard it, it was not by his hand that he was once again given flesh, but rather that he was called there by humans who wished to pay him tribute. And sure, some might argue that he steals men's souls and makes them his slaves, but, perhaps the same could be said about all religions.
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Apr 21, 2024 09:54
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taichara posted:I've always wondered, given the vampire's dialogue, if they're just stereotypically hamming it up or if a good chunk of the minions really did volunteer. Upside you get to live forever, downside being a mind enslaved minion -- I tend to think it's snark. They know you're there to kill them, but at that point they just think that servitude is the inevitable end result. Fat Samurai posted:I like the vampire's hairdo and want to believe the Headdress is just that. I'm glad I'm not the only one. EclecticTastes posted:Well, the way I heard it, it was not by his hand that he was once again given flesh, but rather that he was called there by humans who wished to pay him tribute. And sure, some might argue that he steals men's souls and makes them his slaves, but, perhaps the same could be said about all religions. 
5-Headed Snake God fucked around with this message at 13:50 on Apr 21, 2024 |
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Apr 21, 2024 13:47
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EclecticTastes posted:Well, the way I heard it, it was not by his hand that he was once again given flesh, but rather that he was called there by humans who wished to pay him tribute. And sure, some might argue that he steals men's souls and makes them his slaves, but, perhaps the same could be said about all religions. Meh, those words sound as empty as his soul. Mankind ill needs saviors such as him. 
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Apr 21, 2024 16:03
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Voting is now closed.
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Apr 26, 2024 12:24
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