the_E_y_Es_o_0

Vagrant Story Zenith

156 posts in this topic

8 hours ago, blackcat777 said:

When you first enter IMB2 and go straight for about ten screens, in each big locked room in which there was previously a boss, now spawns a big enemy plus two liches, after clearing Iron Maiden for the first time. One of the locked boss rooms now spawns a single last crusader (NICE touch) and no liches. If you want me to take notes on which rooms specifically, I'll be heading through the dungeon again today/tomorrow/Monday sometime, so I can do that. All the rooms with three enemies spawn two extra liches. Did you intend for the two liches to replace the single enemy?

Just a quick reply to this, as I'm very keen on getting those locked rooms working correctly. From what you're telling me, I don't think they are. Here's a run-down of what you should find in each of those rooms, after you clear IMB2/B3 for the 1st time:

Ordeal by Fire: https://imgur.com/0CLE5JH

Pressing: https://imgur.com/xQs0ED8

The Saw: https://imgur.com/3TPYkan

The Shin-Vice: https://imgur.com/J7rDtJk

If you're getting different mobs, then something's up. So yeah, if you can take notes of what you find in each of those 4 rooms, I'd appreciate it. And also any other triple encounters you find in IMB2. The one outside of Godhands is intentional, so no worries there.

Edit: found the problem. The bosses are respawning every time you enter those rooms. What a mess. I'll put up a fix asap.

Edit2: that should do it. Link updated in the OP. Current build is v0.91. Apply the patch to a clean rom.

@blackcat777To clarify, after applying the patch you'll probably have to fight those big enemies one more time, in their respective locked rooms. That'll set the flag that makes them stop respawning. You'll notice that they drop sigils, now. Those are for opening the Time Trials in the Keep. Don't use them, as the TTs are currently out of service. You'd probably get stuck in an empty room, or some other weird situation.

Edited by the_E_y_Es_o_0

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One another thing I forgot to mention about spawns is that the dragon boss in the very last room of IMB1 continuously respawns, and always drops an Elixir of Sages (so Ashley is well-educated these days).

I cleared all of Iron Maiden for the first time on this playthrough and trekked back to Godhands.

I did not take screenshots, but pre-Iron Maiden, outside Godhands, Death closest to the door dropped the (D) Brigadine and the one further back dropped the (L) Wizard Robe.

Post-Iron Maiden (*Last Crusader did not spawn with them this time... weird?), the Death closest to the door dropped a (S) Plate Mail, and the one further back dropped a (D) Brigadine.

I'm going to clear it again and see if anything changes. Let me know if there are any other drops you would like me to check.

 

drop1.png

drop2.png

Edited by blackcat777

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After leaving my fight with the two liches, I warped to Crumbling Market and this guy popped up. He dropped a Muramasa like the one who should have spawned outside Godhands. Not sure if he was supposed to be here, but thought I'd post a sighting. Like bigfoot, but with better loot.

 

drop3.png

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On 28/07/2018 at 5:42 PM, blackcat777 said:

They only spawn at < 150 HP (I double checked this), but their own HP levels are laughably low. Another thing to possibly consider would be raising their stats/HP and making it extremely dangerous to win some loot? After clearing IMB2, right before the exit... it would raise the stakes a lot. I would probably be greedy and die a few times.

Sounds like I didn't rebalance their stats. There's still work to be done in IMB2/B3, and other NG+ dungeons like Forgotten Pathway, etc.

On 28/07/2018 at 5:42 PM, blackcat777 said:

I won three (D) Pole Axes from them and want a (D) Brandestoc. BUT. Here's the snag, it's not as broken as it seems - by that point in the game, I had almost 90 dragon affinity on a (H) Brandestoc. I had gotten two (D) Voulges from boxes - not even from an organic drop - until that point. If there are no training dummies, and I want a (D) Brandestoc with my affinities, the only choice is to downgrade my (H) Brandestoc, and take the insanely long route of converting that into a (D) Pole Axe. (D) Brandestoc is another one of the game's worst challenges. Other (D) Polearms, and other necessary components, like (D) Katana and (D) Langdebeve are so incredibly complicated to craft, that I'm still on my third playthrough and nowhere near actualizing a (D) Brandestoc WITH the affinities I've built up through my playthroughs.

I mean, the alternative is to just scrap my old polearm and make a new one with drops from the blood lizards, losing all my affinities, BUT, who plays a Vagrant Story mod and makes Hoplite Leather just to cheap out on the Brandestoc? :P The lack of training dummy forces me to cheap out or go hard, so there's lots of existing built-in challenge, even with some help from the Blood Lizards. The increased drop rate is also an incentive to try and figure out how to take the long way, like the game rewards you for experimenting instead of punishing you. But it's still pretty punishing!

I was thinking of restoring one dummy in particular, the affinities one. I'd place it inside of Godhands, but I'm still undecided if I should do it. Like you said, their absence adds another level of challenge. TBH I don't know how I feel about "ultimate weapons" anymore, and whether I should facilitate their creation or not. Right now, if you want any increase to your weapons' classes or affinities you must get it from actual enemies out in the field. I like that notion.

On 28/07/2018 at 5:42 PM, blackcat777 said:

What I also like about these leather drops is the frequency of them - I end up with *just* enough in my inventory where I am like, "Do I take this next big step toward hoplite leather, or do I combine this with silver for some damascus armor?" The balance is awesome and they remain in high value.

Good to hear. I'm starting to think there is a % drop chance that is ideal, or at least a range that tends to work best.

On 28/07/2018 at 5:42 PM, blackcat777 said:

There were a few battles where I was pleasantly challenged because of the teleportation (especially in Temple of Kiltia), so I'd personally choose having the challenge with a bug than no challenge.

Noted. I guess I should weight the pros and cons in each situation. The whole Last Crusader teleporting was made for that Temple of Kiltia boss fight; later I applied it to other Crusaders. So it makes sense that you liked that one in particular.

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3 hours ago, blackcat777 said:

One another thing I forgot to mention about spawns is that the dragon boss in the very last room of IMB1 continuously respawns, and always drops an Elixir of Sages (so Ashley is well-educated these days).

I noticed. >_> The latest patch (v.091) should fix that.

Quote

I cleared all of Iron Maiden for the first time on this playthrough and trekked back to Godhands.

I did not take screenshots, but pre-Iron Maiden, outside Godhands, Death closest to the door dropped the (D) Brigadine and the one further back dropped the (L) Wizard Robe.

Yep, that's it.

Quote

Post-Iron Maiden (*Last Crusader did not spawn with them this time... weird?), the Death closest to the door dropped a (S) Plate Mail, and the one further back dropped a (D) Brigadine.

That Last Crusader (and a couple of others) appears at different locations depending on where you are in the game. IOW, before you reach a certain place (or point in the story), it appears at site A. After that, it moves to site B. I like playing around with such things, and that's something I intend to expand on for the next version of the mod. Like having enemies move around the dungeon, or even migrate across different regions. IMO it would add another level of authenticity to the world, make it more interesting and less static.

Quote

I'm going to clear it again and see if anything changes. Let me know if there are any other drops you would like me to check.

Thanks!

Quote

After leaving my fight with the two liches, I warped to Crumbling Market and this guy popped up. He dropped a Muramasa like the one who should have spawned outside Godhands. Not sure if he was supposed to be here, but thought I'd post a sighting. Like bigfoot, but with better loot.

Aye, it's all part of the plan. :ninja: There is one LC sighting that is more obscure, I wonder if you'll find it.

Edited by the_E_y_Es_o_0

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Can you give me some tips on the second boss battle? Its like the gargoyle asses in DS1 all over again. only this little shit hits all body parts and kills me in one hit.

EDIT: Oh god, finally beat him, just had to rush my dps a bit.

UPDATE:

Okay I'm at the Golem boss right now, I'm wondering how I'm gonna dish out some damage to this son of a bitch, I just died from him and was dealing 13 damage on his body and 1 on all other body parts...is there a trick here?

Edited by Cross

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6 hours ago, Cross said:

Okay I'm at the Golem boss right now, I'm wondering how I'm gonna dish out some damage to this son of a bitch, I just died from him and was dealing 13 damage on his body and 1 on all other body parts...is there a trick here?

Make sure you Degenerate him, that will help taking him down. Try using a Blunt weapon, he's weak against that.

You'll soon get a spell (Analyze) that lets you view the enemy's stats and plan your strategy accordingly. I'm considering making that spell available earlier, to avoid these situations.

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The thing about Degenerate is...I don't seem to feel or see that it works, I tried degen-ing the lizardmen but I still get hit pretty hard, up to a 100. Dunno if my armor is the culprit but I seem to have lower defense even when I degenerate an enemy.

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1 hour ago, Cross said:

The thing about Degenerate is...I don't seem to feel or see that it works, I tried degen-ing the lizardmen but I still get hit pretty hard, up to a 100. Dunno if my armor is the culprit but I seem to have lower defense even when I degenerate an enemy.

The enemies' base damage was increased for the mod, and IIRC those Lizardmen carry 2-handed weapons which are quite powerful. So even if you apply a partial decrease to their STR, their damage multiplier and their arsenal are against you. So don't count on Degenerate for taking less damage, but for dealing more damage to the opponent's weakened defense.

Ofc, depending on the feedback I get, I might reduce the damage multiplier for enemies.

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2 hours ago, the_E_y_Es_o_0 said:

The enemies' base damage was increased for the mod, and IIRC those Lizardmen carry 2-handed weapons which are quite powerful. So even if you apply a partial decrease to their STR, their damage multiplier and their arsenal are against you. So don't count on Degenerate for taking less damage, but for dealing more damage to the opponent's weakened defense.

Oh I see, I thought it only affected the attack strength of enemies. I don't actually know the game inside-out, sorry. Also is agility tied to accuracy? I dunno what to do with my shit accuracy with the body of the golem using my Pink-something (forgot the name of the club), is it just because the body is far above me that I have low accuracy on it -- or is there anything I can do to increase it? Your mod feels Dark Souls-ish, take this as a compliment. :)

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2 hours ago, Cross said:

Oh I see, I thought it only affected the attack strength of enemies. I don't actually know the game inside-out, sorry.

No problem. Out of curiosity, are you new to the game or revisiting?

2 hours ago, Cross said:

Also is agility tied to accuracy? I dunno what to do with my shit accuracy with the body of the golem using my Pink-something (forgot the name of the club), is it just because the body is far above me that I have low accuracy on it -- or is there anything I can do to increase it?

Yes. Agility and Risk determine your % chance to hit something. High AGL and low Risk will increase the %, low AGL and high Risk will diminish it. This applies to the enemy's hit % as well.

Since you can't boost your AGL through magic yet, just keep your Risk low using Vera Roots, and attach the Braveheart gem to your weapon's grip, if possible. It raises your hit % by 20%. Very useful.

The distance between Ashley and his target doesn't affect his chance to hit it. Either something is inside your weapon's range or isn't. So you don't have to worry about that.

2 hours ago, Cross said:

Your mod feels Dark Souls-ish, take this as a compliment. :)

You're the second person to say that. Thanks.

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30 minutes ago, the_E_y_Es_o_0 said:

No problem. Out of curiosity, are you new to the game or revisiting?

I'm a returning player, but I got lost in the forest maze...didn't read a guide and just, well...left it.

30 minutes ago, the_E_y_Es_o_0 said:

Yes. Agility and Risk determine your % chance to hit something. High AGL and low Risk will increase the %, low AGL and high Risk will diminish it. This applies to the enemy's hit % as well.

Since you can't boost your AGL through magic yet, just keep your Risk low using Vera Roots, and attach the Braveheart gem to your weapon's grip, if possible. It raises your hit % by 20%. Very useful.

The distance between Ashley and his target doesn't affect his chance to hit it. Either something is inside your weapon's range or isn't. So you don't have to worry about that.

I knew about Risk, but had to be sure about Agility. I planned to go with heavy equipment...but I guess boss fights are centered more on rushing DPS than ever. Right, distance isn't an issue...I got Braveheart on my shield tho, but, I'll try to change my grips. I never knew that the grips where the ones with slots.

Edited by Cross

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For the early first playthrough, I ran with a Raging Ache setup. The unsurvivable boss hits forced me to get *really* good at timing those defense skills that recover a fraction of HP; that small fraction of HP recovered guaranteed Ashley will hit hard with Raging Ache. It's even easier to rack up damage if you chain well. The low HP & high risk means certain death if your timing is off... but... those are the moments I'm feeling alive and/or like a riskbreaker. ;) Or like OMG THIS MOD PUT ME ON THE EDGE OF MY SEAT!

Once more gear becomes available, Ashley's options for strategies multiply, which I thought unfolded smoothly into the game progression. The entire mod isn't a matter of life-or-death timing... and certain bosses with frequent parries and healing abilities require other strategies. I'm a huge fan of how the mod requires you to try different strategies.

@Cross - Do you have certain weapons dedicated to certain affinities? I find that extremely helpful, too. I still always swear my head off and use a map when I'm in the Snowfly Forest.

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@blackcat777 for the moment I have some of the starting weapons, but I haven't used them to gain some stats for the weapons themselves. I haven't played again, yet. I'm juggling between; making a game, playing SRW A, and playing this hack.

 

EDIT: Thank god I got that giant hammer in the locked room. How much HP does this second fucking dragon have? He hits harder than any of the other bosses so far...and damn that tail attack, one shot and I'm dead, if I don't avoid it (which is 90% of the time).

Edited by Cross

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On 05/08/2018 at 9:08 AM, Cross said:

EDIT: Thank god I got that giant hammer in the locked room. How much HP does this second fucking dragon have? He hits harder than any of the other bosses so far...and damn that tail attack, one shot and I'm dead, if I don't avoid it (which is 90% of the time).

Sorry I didn't see this before. The Sanctum Dragon has 850 HP. It might be a bit excessive, TBH. The one-shot thing is intentional, however. Kind of a skill check.

 

I've made an optional patch that gives Ashley the Tier 3 Warlock spells (Tornado, Acid Flow, Gravity, etc). Here's how it works:

Explosion Lv4 becomes Tornado
Thunderburst Lv4 becomes Thunderbolt
Flame Sphere Lv4 becomes Fire Storm
Gaea Strike Lv4 becomes Gravity
Avalanche Lv4 becomes Acid Flow
Radial Surge Lv4 becomes Judgment
Meteor Lv4 becomes Apocalypse

link: https://mega.nz/#!gIUQ1YpB!27WFQsehyMbkwtAlwtvGG0u1K64gf8sxCTsoUgwRI2Q

 

Edited by the_E_y_Es_o_0

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I'm running into a problem patching the game. When I select the ISO and ppf in ppf-o-matic and click Apply, it says it can't open the specified image file.

I also tried with another rom that had 2 files; .mdf and .mds which worked fine as the vanilla game but when I applied the patch it would crash when starting a new game or loading an existing save.

If you need to know I'm playing with ePSXe, I have the latest version of the mod and ppf-o-matic.

 

Edit: I've also tried using ePSXe's ppf auto-load to no avail.

Edited by Maedroth

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3 hours ago, Maedroth said:

I'm running into a problem patching the game. When I select the ISO and ppf in ppf-o-matic and click Apply, it says it can't open the specified image file.

I also tried with another rom that had 2 files; .mdf and .mds which worked fine as the vanilla game but when I applied the patch it would crash when starting a new game or loading an existing save.

If you need to know I'm playing with ePSXe, I have the latest version of the mod and ppf-o-matic.

 

Edit: I've also tried using ePSXe's ppf auto-load to no avail.

The patch is designed for a .bin file, so .mdf is no good. But if you're using Vagrant Story(U).bin, it should work. Does the rom load and play normally without the patch? Is it the US version of the game? If yes to both, then I'm not sure what is the issue. Have you tried opening some other psx ISO with ppf-o-matic, just to see if it recognizes it?

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8 hours ago, the_E_y_Es_o_0 said:

The patch is designed for a .bin file

Ah, I was using a .ISO.

I've now acquired a .bin and it works.

Thank you for your help.

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57 minutes ago, Maedroth said:

Ah, I was using a .ISO.

I've now acquired a .bin and it works.

Thank you for your help.

No problem. Hope you enjoy the mod.

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This mod looks amazing! I'm looking to try this out as soon as I get some time and give feedback. 

One question: My biggest gripe with this game was that there's no shortcut to change weapons or skip straight to that menu at the very least. Any chance something like that would be feasible in this mod? 

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On 13/11/2018 at 4:25 PM, Jazz-Man said:

This mod looks amazing! I'm looking to try this out as soon as I get some time and give feedback. 

One question: My biggest gripe with this game was that there's no shortcut to change weapons or skip straight to that menu at the very least. Any chance something like that would be feasible in this mod? 

That's the biggest dream of any VS fanboy, myself included. I don't know if it's possible, since I lack coding/programming knowledge. I imagine it would be a fairly involved task to implement it. The straight-to-menu thing does sound more feasible, but again I'd have to enlist the help of someone with the necessary skills. I still dream of learning code just to try and make it happen one day.

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