Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Good Day/Evening/Night everyone. The name's Ronlyn and I invite you across this lovely game called............................. Made by Emmy, this mod can claim to be called "original and fresh" in all the extend of those words: New monsters, classes, skills and items will make your experience across this twisted Ivalice a rather fun diversion. But before that, some notes: - THIS IS NOT MY FIRST TIME ON MONSTER TACTICS BY ANY STRETCH. I beat it waaaaaaaaaaay back at version 2.29 and I'm very aware of how it works (Of course, Emmy made sure that 2.49 had A LOT of shining new stuff to keep me on my toes) - I will mostly put my thoughts and analysis of each battle: Augustein it's doing wonders when it comes to LP this game, so I will focus on details like monsters performance on each chapter, enemy composition and difficulty ranking of each battle from my point of view - I hope I can do at the very least three update per week, so I apologize in advance if I can't keep this at a reasonable pace With all that said: Born at January 13th (because my birthday kinda sucks in Ivalice) Entry 1 - Orbonne Intro Rankings: 1/10 (first time playing FFT) 0.5/10 (You have played FFT, FFT 1.3 or some FFT mod) 0.1/10 (2nd Playthough) The Prelude to the strange yet possible world of Monster Tactics. We starts off with our typical party of Oersted, Agrias, Gafgarion and..................three chocobos.............against another three chocobos, a bomb and finally their boss, a baatezu. Sounds about right in my book Nothing too worrysome, just play with the new mechanics and you should be fine. The difficulty come when you actively avoid tooltip something and end up prolonging this battle (not more than ten minutes thanks god). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 2 - Gariland Rankings: 1/10 (First timer) 0.8/10 (Normal Player) 0.2/10 (2nd Playthough) Our default team. I can already tell Emmy has touched some numbers here and there with the new EXP/JP system going on, but regardless of that we have in our pockets all the basic cover: Healing/Revival, Buff/Debuffs, Physic/Magic attacks and Unique niches. Ramza of course it's your typical jack all trades, so use him as you see fit I decided to put both my Chocoling, Goblin cub and Kitten on stand-by because I don't need them here (And before you ask, I will change their names later) The foes. I kinda like how despite all the hype we got from the game, this squire over here ends up being the most dangerous since CT Save it's so powerful on tanky units The battle it's just a matter of who gets the first strike. I waste a turn of my Pisco because I forgot the fact that he still doesn't have enough MP for spells. Sadly, they make a huge mistake: One of the flotiballs gets on critical and the goblin decides to heal him, wasting his turn and also killing his partners since I took down the thing before his skill resolved, giving me a full round of hits on them. Overall, this is just prologue part 2: Enemies are more dangerous since they are more competent, but you should beat them if you know how CT works (and even then sandbagging like crazy can also do the trick) Before ending this little update, I noted this brand new skill on Delita. I cannot wait to abuse the hell out of it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 3 - Mandalia Rankings: 2/10 (First timer) 1/10 (Normal Player) 0.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Behold.........MY NEW TEAM (sans Airburn and Dusk since I like those guys.They can stay) Oersted: Wait a sec: Lynn, why did you change your name? Pisco: Well, you see.................... I decided to change Oersted into Chemist because being versatile its the best thing ever. He learns: Squire: Wish: Revive with 1% Hp Tackle: Physical hit. Can Proc Silence Remedy: Heals several status effects Yell: Add Haste on target Cheer Up: Add Protect/Shell on target CT Save: Br% chance of restore 20 CT when hit Chemist: Plume: Add Reraise on target Potion: Restore 50% Max Hp Team formation. But before doing anything, let's see what old Balbanes has to say Yeah..........Moving on!!!! Do you really have to ask? (Spoilers: Screw his ass) The oposition: they're kinda handicap since those thiefs are like: "GOTTA GO FAST!!!!!..............and do 1 damage" First order of business: NO REVIVES ALLOWED Since the AI doesnt recognize some of emmy new skills until certain levels (like Siphon), they just got stuck dealing weak damage via tentacle (rule 34 strikes again) In the end, I got old fashioned and do an Overkill because (Really, I'm loving the new Delita) Overall, it's kinda telegraphed: Chocobo will go and suicide on Ramza and Co if Algus becomes less of a desirable target (easily done with a Plume), Piscos will go kamikaze on me just to die horribly and the thieves are the bards of this fight. I do like how despite of that, you can still lose if one of the thieves manage to land a steal heart or the chocobo evades every hit (which is quite possible). Good battle, but easy nonetheless And before going to sleep.......................... NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Spoilers: He comes with us (-_-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Guess who didn't know that epsxe has an screenshot function (F8) Entry 4 - Igros Castle Rankings: 3.5/10 (First timer) 1.5/10 (Normal Player) 1/10 (2nd Playthough) First of all: best to get those poison ivys since poison it's fucking powerful on CH1. Going back to the story: "I don't know, he just keep following me talking nonsense about revenge and become my servant" GET BENT Battle formation Oersted goes to spend some quality time with his elder brother, so Algus decides to pester Delita about his boring and yet annoying backstory Good lord there was a ambush out of nowhere to stop his bitching This map it's straightforward like almost all CH1: Beat their shit and avoid getting destroy Alma doesn't seems to get the memo however......... Here is where I notice something: Dusk decides to go around, chasing some ladies while Othelos and Xipha gets fucked Algus does something for once and poison the boss and with just that I won this battle It's not like it was struggling or something however Poor thing.......he just wanna go home........... As his last move, decides to seppuku on me just to die by triggering counter flood. I guess that's better than poison ticks Overall, this is quite a good show: ??? enemies are quite the roadblock if you're going for the first time, but this is also the best of times to show off status effect as the best answer to deal with those enemies (confusion being my personal favorite: I just cannot get tired of seeing units being goofy). Vanilla and 1.3 players can also be surprise by how tamed this bosses can be when you know their weaknesses (this can also backfired in some situations, however) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 5 - Sweegy Woods Rankings: 3.5/10 (First timer) 1.8/10 (Normal Player) 1.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Learned skills: Chemist: Poison Ivy: Inflict Poison on target Throw Item: Use item command at 4 range What's better than one person applying poison? TWO persons applying poison, of course Delita it's looking more like my inner thoughts by the minute, folks Battlefield: This is one constant on Monster Tactics: Most of the time, you're outnumbered and you gotta play smart the first couple of turns or otherwise, you're getting raped Also, don't rely all your offense or support duties on these two: Their equipment and skills gets randomized between fights Ramza starts doing his only job: Haste everyone Airburn does quite a chunk of damage on the goblin over here, attracting the chocobo on my trap, eliminating both as a threat Algus does his best at being nasty and gets blow up as result The real MVP it's Airburn however: Endeavor it's quite the useful skill when it's combined with reraise/a well timed revival Helligor doesn't slack off however: cat kick it's the perfect thing to avoid short range sandbagging Delita also dispose of the second Goblin while the last one reflex about his life choices as he dies on poison food And since this is and LP, it has to end with a Self-destruction This is by far the hardest battle for new players on CH1: This is the first time you get a lot of things happening on screen and little time to react accordingly. My best advice it's to chill out where you start and let them charge at you so you can pelt them from apart while they waste their CP chasing you. Hell, even veterans can find themselves losing the battle just because of a nasty self-destruct, so keep you AT list on hand and think before act and you should avoid unnecessary deaths (Algus was on purpose because fuck him) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Well, it is time to deal with that one map........ Entry 6 - Dorter Trade City Rankings: 4/10 (First timer) 2/10 (Normal Player) 2/10 (2nd Playthough) Oersted feels the magic and decides to go full nuke as Wizard Learned Skills: Chemist: Soap: Inflict Regen on target Plague Skull: Inflict Mist on target Auto Potion: Use Potion when attacked Wizard: Nanoflare: Non-elemental spell (Range 4, no AoE) My team. Oersted is making the game slightly hard since he got a lead on lvls and the enemy scales with the highest lvl in the roster "Ohhh shoot: Bad guys at three o'clock. Please be quiet every-" "DAMMIT ALGUS!!!!!" The opposition. Getting rid of those kittens it's top priority for now Setting up my emergency plan Our friend over here decides to spam mana bomb on Chikka, but Delita goes in with the objection Dream team confirmed Oersted too stronk, pls nerf Helligor it's all bark, but no bite Chocobos does excels at their jobs: Being a nuisance in general They almost manage to delete Chikka from existence too Bad chocobos: GET SPANKED!!!!! And to keep up with the festivities........ "It's a frigging bird. Just let me handle this" "Hmph......As you wish............" "Hey buddy: The name's Oersted. See this seed sack? If you don't want that thing in a "unpleasant" place, you better start talking NOW, capiche?" I was about to do a joke but it was too mainstream so.................... Let's talk about this map: You already know how handle several enemies, but this time you can get completely decimated by their superior jump. as last time, stay inside the starting zone and make your way killing one at a time. Chocobos are the least of your troubles since wish it's just prolonging the inevitable, but a well place bite/sleep can mess you up pretty badly, so watch out and keep everyone spread. This place it's a field-trip with a Squid, so bring it if you can (not doing it here since next time can also be useful) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 7 - Sand Rats Rankings: 3/10 (First timer) 1.5/10 (Normal Player) 1.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Going back to basics Learned skills: Priest: Cure: Restore Hp (Range 4, AoE 1) Raise: Revives unit with 50% Hp (Range 4, no AoE) Time Mage: Haste: Accelerate CT gaining by 50% (Range 4, AoE: 1, no height tolerance) Slow: Decrease CT gaining by 50% (Range 4, AoE: 1, no height tolerance) Being killed by the plot or my hands? A hard choice indeed........ Today's battlefield. Jellies are a nuisance if you rely on magic to deal damage, meanwhile bomb can be quite dangerous since critical quick/self-destruction never gets old. Please take note of Delita's PA Le buffs and bait Just look at this beautiful clusterfuck...........They already lost Goblins are generally good in this match-up: Eye gouge can shut down any threats, meanwhile endeavor can bypass their hp advantage and put them on the kill zone quite fast Delita or Oersted can also contribute to the cause drying out their mp reserves to avoid nanoflares and MP-switch procs random attack + counter flood: A confused ranger Delita + Bloodlust: A scary foe Airburn manages to piss off everyone out there. I must give him a cookie HA:The joke's on you!!! Just look at this monstrosity.........To put it on context: Oersted will reach that PA naturally by CH4 "You can't go from pickpocket to outright kidnapping people" "And what are you arguments?" "Well, you see................." "That's.............pretty convincing.......BLARG" "I.....think I'll come back later, kay?" And this is why you don't send three squires to do an army's job. Overall, I feel this battle a little easy compare to the last time: The enemy once again needs to catch you before doing anything and Jellies can be dealt easily since they lack long-range options.You can also put a meat-shield in front of one door and watch as they pile up trying to kill said unit, just to get them destroyed by the rest of your party (hasted to make it more quick) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 (edited) · Report post Our first real assassination attempt ever!!! Entry 8 - Miluda I Rankings: 1.5/10 (First timer) 0.5/10 (Normal Player) 0.2/10 (2nd Playthough) I need bloodlust in my life, if you don't mind Skills Learned: Squire (MASTERED): Throw Stone: Deal damage at distance Arms Mastery: Inmunity to steal/break skills, unit can exchange equipment mid-battle, unit can found items on hidden tiles Poison Heal: If unit has poison, it heals 1/4 Max Hp Rough Skin: Deals 4 x PA back to the enemy when attacked Knight: Mp Break: Deals Mp damage + Inflict Rasp Ranger: Neutralize: Removes Faith and Innocent Guts: Unit deals 50% more damage if it has a negative status effect Cutscenes: Delita decides to be a bro and take one from the team, but I'm better than that ("AAAAAND this is the part where Delita and I get expeled") Okay..................("...............WHAT JUST HAPPEN HERE?!?!?") Old Balbanes wasn't kidding when he entrust us with the task of being a true Beoulve it seems......... Yes, I'm tweaking the story: FFT has several weak points and the story it's one of the most undeveloped points in this game, and since MT doesn't exactly take it too serious, I won't either. give your opinions about this So........We're going to fight against the only female captain, huh? I prefer your rather not, Algus As I said before, today's objective differs from the last few battles: Birds are generally just hard to hit and chocobos don't need any explanation whatsoever. Miluda however can solo your whole party if you let her do her way Algus decides to put some use to his rather underwhelming reactions by proc Mega-Flare on the poor bird (that spell cannot be reflect BTW) Delita and Oersted should dry their Mp to avoid Mp switch and annihilate the chocobo as fast we can muster: Haste or Shell/Protect on Miluda it's outright a reset unless you have a sparkle ready to self-destruct Poison Heal + Poison + Guts: A wreaking ball (And I'm getting bloodlust after this) The birds this time manage to inflict Haste,Transparent,Reflect and Shell on Oersted in this battle. I won't complain (I still reraise the sparkle since the two previous attempts ended up in defeat after they proc charm on Delita and he just destroy my ass along Miluda................) FFT AI: Shit, they're about to kill her........let me throw sorcery at her!!!!!!!! :yes "You're fucking fired" Can just calm down, dude? "Feh..... sympathy it's for the weak. Next time, I'll kill you for sure!!!" *Escapes* I'm asking the same to you, you psychopath There's no too much to be said: Miluda will try to kill everything on they field, you dispose of her before that happens. The only threat the rest of the enemies would pose it's getting charmed or they focus on your designed nuker, but otherwise a easy battle overall Edited May 9, 2017 by ronlyn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 9 - Mandalia II Rankings: 4/10 (First timer) 3.5/10 (Normal Player) 3/10 (2nd Playthough) Cutscenes incoming, please skip if you're wanna go straight into the gameplay Meanwhile.............. So yeah: Golagros just manages to kidnap the only brunette in the whole Ivalice, yet everyone know by a fact that ALL beoulves in history are fucking blondies. This is why you deserve to die, you nickwit *Google translate said: Sorry, she's fucked. Can someone take me to the bathroom?* "No one called you, Algus" "Well..........fuck" Delita proving that bloodlust wasn't a waste of a skill on him #FRIENDSHIPITSMAGIC And that's the last thing we know from Algus (at least for now). Oersted decides to clear his mind killing monsters somewhere, thus getting some new skills: Knight: Circle: Reduce MA by 3 Square: Reduce PA by 3 Bloodlust: Br% of gain +1 PA after succefully deal an attack with the grasp flag Gameplay: Since Oersted has gone missing, the monsters decides to follow Delita for now Best plot device to start a battle IMO Today's we're literally in a hellhole: those Wizards can basically nuke anyone out there without any hassle, Squids can potentially ruin the day with confusion/sleep and birds aren't exactly tame, so we need drastic measures here Xipha being a progessive......squid I guess, goes and input confusion on her fellow friend over there, while Darvos exhaust the wizard's mp via flare star procs Once I close the space between me and them I realize something: all of them rely on charged spells to do anything resembling damage, leaving them quite vulnerable to status/attacks (even better, if said spells goes after a character that was targeted by it, move it near them to ensure that karmatic death) Delita and Darvos are my only powerhouses (especially Delita) so I keep them apart Status can make it or break it easily here I finally manage to get back poor Airburn after almost crystalize on me........just to die immediately For some reason, that manages to trigger the AI and she kills everyone sans Wizard, Delita and Darvos Not that it changes anything in the end, thought "Althought, My sunset it's a little more.....gruesome I guess" You would be more efficient if you changed to other classes to learn skills Sadly, my epsxe doesn't record this sound, so................ Yeah, this was tought even when I got plenty of experience dealing with this: Enemies can cover the whole screen and you can do little about it. Unlike the maps before, going in and kill them fast it's the best course of actions: Less foes means less attacks to deal with in the futurem so remember that. I suggest an sparkle here just in case you need to end those Wizards soon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 10 - Random Battle #01 (Pudding), Miluda II Rankings: 1/10 (First timer) 0.8/10 (Normal Player) 0.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Gonna catch'em all For balance reasons, this bad boy wont see the light of day until CH2 kicks in Oersted gonna practice his heals since they're worthy on MT (Also before I forget: this a No crystal inheritance run, so I must prioritize which class needs JP to get certain skills/reactions/jobs) "Not be so dumb, they will surely kill us" I already know Xipha's little secret. I'm not afraid Props to that little bird: It ends up making me laugh for hours Jellies and Squids make a surprisingly stunning combo: since the latter will snick on you status effects, the former can walk like a dog in his home and take you down rather effectively while the bird it's the nurse. Miluda it's just a pain in the ass in general since she can cover all the mentioned points Status effects everywhere And screw them he does......... Endeavor abuse and Oersted get mist out o that thing, just to be afflicted with innocent the next turn (Very funny, game) Yeah.......Whip that ass!!! (......................Does jellies have ass thought?) Poor bird gets locked into a reraise loop Miluda also gets screw by the RNG missing FOUR raises in a row. I guess that's what she gets from being a total bitch on Delita Let me explain this picture: Xipha cast sleep, Jelly moves in between my monsters, spell goes off, everyone goes zzz and Othelos's Synchronize goes off, essentially shitting down four of six party members. The AI sometimes scares me And then she dies from poison. LAME Overall, status effects deal quite well with anything this battle can throw at you. You should take this chance and unlock some classes since CH2 could potentially get you locked out (not as 1.3, but your strats would be more prone to luck than anything) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 11 - Wiegraf Rankings: 0.7/10 (First timer) 0.5/10 (Normal Player) 0.3/10 (2nd Playthough) Oersted got into power rangers recently, so here's his loadout: Priest: Protect: Reduce physical damage by 50% (Range 3, AoE: 1, no height tolerance) Shell: Reduce magical damage by 50% (Range 3, AoE: 1, no height tolerance) Wizard: Sheer Power: Damage increased by 1/3, attacks no longer inflict their random procs "But.....all of her family it's blonde. Doesnt that sounds little too suspicious to you?" "Huh? I was looking thought the window, did you say anything?" "..................Nevermind" "And her last words were: Cheap tactics?!? URG, no one it's a dick on her except ME" I see what you did there with Golagros, Emmy (No I don't) The monsters aren't worth mentioning so I will go straight to him: Be aware of his stupidly high speed or be completely surrounded AAAAAAND done.Not exactly something I would call extremely challenging Angst Delita almost makes me cry, but another part of me believes that Teta would tear a hole on the fabrications of reality if she becomes playable. Just another Aerith I guess................ Strats? Just smack him hard and fast and be quick with it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 12 - Random Battle #02 (Dragon), Algus Rankings: 2.5/10 (First timer) 2/10 (Normal Player) 1.7/10 (2nd Playthough) First off, let me show off my new slave companion: like the last time, wait until CH2 Oersted decides to go classic into the last map of CH1 Learned Skills: Ranger: Reincarnation: Revives unit with 10% max hp (Range 4, AoE: 1) CT Burst: Deals more damage to targets with lower CT than the user (Range 4, Arc range) Bulletproof: Unit Evades bows,guns and missile attacks Well...........that's leaving a mark "Oh no........" "T-Teta?" "Sorry big brother........I couldn't fulfill.... our promise........" After all this years........THIS still gets me (Go and eat your heart off Aerith, this is really sad) "Don't have to tell me twice" For the first time in ages...... we're having a 6 vs 6 battle Today's lackeys are here just to make killing Algus all the more annoying Speaking of which: Just stay spread so neither death sentence or Leaf dance hit multiple people And off to a good start we go!!! Did you know that Counter not longer sucks? One down, three more to go (Sorry Bomb, you're not worth my attention) He even tries to protect his allies to no avail Oersted gets to finally start the buffs on Delita: IDK if Algus AI it's bugged, but he will make a beeline to Delita, so you should use that to keep him busy while dealing with the others Gonna admit: CH1 does his job when it comes to create an antagonist that we have good reasons to outright kill out of despise Sadly, that doesn't mean the gameplay will match this characterization at all Not that it matters when you get distracted by big numbers like these Next time you should check out monsters inmunities/weaknesses before become one yourself, lad Ehhhh.......Haven't heard about Beetlejuice? If you keep repeating his name like a pokemon who knows what will- "DELITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I told you Overall, I like the pace of the last of the prologue battles: Lots of things to get care of, a boss which can perfectly deal with you even alone and an actually useful NPC for once. Just choose whoever you see fit and roll with it since this is the final test before shit starts to get real. next time I'm posting CH1 analysis tomorrow, so stay tuned!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Interlude: Review and Analysis of CH1 Heya everyone, I'm here to input my thoughts and impressions of what it is to me the wildest and well-craft mod on the Final Fantasy mod in this forum (Before you ask: BNW doesn't count because I made clear the fact that at this point, BNW it's the oficial FFVI release and vanilla/advance versions are just some kind of watered down version of it) Let's start with some words from the very creator of this mod: "The idea I had with the creation of this mod was because the two things that every mod out there doesn't do so well is monsters and bosses" Since the start of FFT modding waaaaay back at 2005, the one objective every person who set aim to change this humble gem of the psx was the same: Enhance all the mechanics and fix bugs/glitches/problems with the original game to make the experience more enjoyable. Several mods and patches were made across the years (FFT Tournament and 1.3 being the most prominent out there), but on June 6th of 2015, the first female modder ever since the foundations of ID share a modified FFT mod with the name "Monster Tactics", shaking the foundations of the common knowledge about FFT modding in general. "A mod about monsters?" "That's so crazy" "It must be a joke or something" But it wasn't: As the days passes and new versions become available, the mod was seen as less of a joke and more as an stand-alone game: 1.3 was on hot wheels until mid 2016, but Monster Tactics keep growing into the mod that I would come back every three months or so to have some fun (and even if that wasn't a good enough reason, a really good updates schedule from Emmy will always make sure to lure you into play to try out those new changes) Now with the real juice of the game: "If you had only a word to describe you mod, what would be?" "Chocolate" MT does make sure to establish himself as a standalone mod out there: New and completely reliable monsters, revamped jobs and brand new maps ensure that the experience you will get of it will completely differ from any other mod out there. The only problem with playing this mod it's the fact that at first everyone will expect a FFT experience and that's just a wrong assumption: Monster Tactics can be grabbed, put into stream, and could perfectly pass as some kind of weird cousin of FFT. Going into the gameplay (the part I'm pretty sure attracts the 80% of players out there) I must say...............It's good enough: Monsters having differents reactions/innates/Inmunities/weakness between families make sure that you always have a favorite setup to play with while the game tries his best to not punish you for playing one way or another (something I always complain about 1.3). My only call-out would be that sometimes monsters seems a little too much overpowered since they can basically do almost everything while have nice perks that makes them more appealing that even most of human jobs in the regular game. Putting my lens on CH1, I can clearly discern his concept: It's a tutorial to get accustom to this crazy alternate reality to the old and classic game from 1997, which works fine to me because I ended up this chapter fighting a flying one eyed monster that was my former companion (my HUMAN companion now that we're at it). The story while in general unchanged, does make sure to establish the monster as the primary moving force in the world of Ivalice: They can live in cities, have works like us, hell they even hold important charges and that's quite bizarre yet awesome since I can already tell by experience that an chocobo that can attack, run and think by himself it's a huge asset to an army for example. Going back into the gameplay, new skills means new situations to deal with, and MT doesn't come short to show how easily can change the dynamic per battle: In one you can see yourself tanking all the hits and avoid splinting up your party members since that would otherwise being destroyed and impossible to revive and being forced into a loop of revive units until death comes eventually, and the next you can find yourself running like a mad dog to kill all the enemies to avoid unpleasant situation that can rend the encounter imposible to beat. With this premise explained, here it is the averages from all kind of players about CH1 difficulty: 2.3/10 (First timer) 1.4/10 (Normal Player) 1/10 (2nd Playthough) Ch 1 Average: 2.1 Something to make crystal clear: Even thought several playthoughts can shatter the game's difficulty, a good/patient new player can achieve the same results as me, and the same can be said about veterans getting stuck on some parts because of how the RNG works at times, so I can't get mad at the game getting unfair at times (althought half of them were my fault, but details). Since this is a tutorial, you will get what you expect: battles with a clear objective and ways to procede on it, a pretty balanced party to get accustomed, a lot of patterns and AI quirks to learn for the future and finally, a real challenge from the game. My only complaint would be that at times it's fells......slow, but that's something superficial since I will eat my words as soon CH2 becomes a thing. Without anything else to say, I bid my farewell for now: This is my first time doing this so I kinda expecting several errors here and there so make me aware of them if you can. Thank you so much for reading this, I hope you guys are enjoying this and if you have any suggestions please let me know of them. EDIT: CH2 starts at monday Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Let's get into business, shall we? Entry 13: Dorter 2 Rankings: 2/10 (First timer) 1.5/10 (Normal Player) 1.2/10 (2nd Playthough) "Speaking of fishy: You were standing right there looking into the lake for like an hour, did something happen?" "I......." *Door opening* *light steps* "Excuse Agrias, where's Ovelia?" "..............Do you realize I'm a knight with a sword, right?" It's not like you have choice, little fella: She pays you for something While Oersted dwell into his past year, all the monsters manage to digivolve growth into their adults forms. We also gain new allies (As to why Murkton was replaced, let's just say his taste was quite intriguing............) Oersted decides that the best way to deal with life's problems it's to punch them until they disappear: Chemist: Light Curtain: Adds Protect on target Lunar Curtain: Adds Shell on target Mirror: Adds reflect on target Ether: Restores 50% max MP Monk; Spin Fist: Attacks targets around the user (AoE 1) Wave Fist: Attack target from affar (Wind elemental, Range 3) Revive: Revive target with 33% Max HP (Range 3) "Shhh: I can hear some people talking......." "(Hmph: A least someone recognize my real value here)" "OH, COME ON!!!" "It's them, ATTACK!!!" Today's battle it's a pain in the ass: everyone can revive each other (or even worse: apply reraise/protect/shell). dragging the battle until you get screw by the RNG eventually. Not dealing with that Since both Gaffy and Agrias got Item/throw item combo, I just park myself there an buff my units Both chocobos decides to mana bomb my party, so Helligor goes in with a paralize, also hitting a nearby thief (Sadly, Agrias doesn't get the same luck) Things like interrupt can take you far here thanks for the clutch HP restore: Let me repay your kindness And down he goes "............Would you care to explain where the hell are we going? I'm not exactly a Psico" "So you wanna-" "DON'T YOU DARE, XYPHA" I would like to upload more images but this battle was that easy: Chocobos can't deal well with things like sleep or confuse, and thief are only dangerous at turn 1 since they move first, but they are as tanky as Edward, so there's that too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 14: Araguay Woods Rankings: 1.5/10 (First timer) 1/10 (Normal Player) 0.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Learned Skills: Monk: Chakra: PA based Hp and Mp healing (AoE 1 around target, heals undead units) Stigma Magic: Heals Several status effects (AoE 1 around user) Note: From now on, I will do a random battle in-between battles to even out lvls between party members Cut-scene: Some monsters are discussing if chocobos could be use at KFC That "OMG" really ruins the whole scene, thought This battle it's filler: Those dudes can't do jack shit until they're near and the Taiju it's the glue that keeps everything going here (not that she will do a good job at all but whatever) #BashTheChicken I'm starting to recall why I don't use dragons at all Let's see: Raise, Divine Intervention, Arise.............Nope, you're screw buddy They decide to do something resembling a threat and target both attacks on Agrias. The bad new? it would kill her. The good news? They're put themselves in front of me Taiju comes to the rescue.........and then she gets stopped And down she goes. Man, I starting to wonder if I should add more restrictions............(spoilers: I won't since that's outright suicidal) "That dude was speaking nonsense about using common sense and stuff. He was badungus!!!" Hey Chikka: Guess who's going back to the barn I don't even need to explain this: Just be aware that Taijus are magic tanks and you're fine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 15: Zirekile Falls Rankings: 4/10 (First timer) 3.5/10 (Normal Player) 3/10 (2nd Playthough) I decide to leave him as Time Mage since Short Charge and 8 speed can dominate pretty much the entirety of CH2 Learned Skills: Time Mage: Short Charge: Halves CT charging of spells Oracle: Blind: Inflict Blind on target (AoE 1, Range 4) Paralyze: Inflict Don't Act on target (AoE 1, Range 4) Sleep: Inflict Sleep on target (AoE 1, Range 4) ...................Should I call the police or the PETA? "I'm telling you this isn't the right way- huh?" I would be surprised if I didn't know that he's an asshole thought and thought "SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TWO!!!: I'm tired of follow everyone's wishes and neglect my own will. I'm saving that Morbol because I WANT TO, ALRIGHT!?!?!?" Today's map it's quite dynamic: Gaffy dealing scary amounts of damage, Squids pilling up status effects, Priests being annoying as balls and Morbols are just a whole different level of dangerous with a AoE party wide nuke attack First off: Oersted puts to sleep half of their team (That poor Morbol got petrified by a random proc from Delita's counter flood triggered by Gaffy's Night sword) Thanks god I did plan ahead of time, because otherwise I would had to deal with three confusing song, two holy and maybe a bad breath on top of that Let's waste their turn, shall we? (This will bite me in the ass later, so keep that in check) Hasting the whole team and Airburn goes kamikaze before going down like a boss >Delita use "If I were a boy - Beyonce" > IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE!!! I.........I got nothing: She's just that DUMB At least she can keep Delita "lubricated" if you know what I mean ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) (Also, Agrias stop doing that: You're getting Copyright) I just LOVE how Gaffy decides to unceremoniously wake up, snark at us and then get back to sleep. It's just a perfect example of how I see senile people on a battlefield So.....I stop/petrify this dude, then Othelos throw Esuna to cure Airburn's poison and hits Ovelia by mistake, who had reflect previously set by Agrias, thus bouncing off the spell all the way back at the Morbol, healing his petrify/stop And this is why you won't see me abusing reflect Gaffy get destroyed by all the sins he carries (and a well put eclipse), but ends up escaping And thus, it all depends on this little fella over here. YOU CAN DO IT!!!! (spoiler: He doesn't make it) Rule 34 got I'm kinda curious now that you ask Ohhh Delita, you're such a charm!!!! Overall, I like this: Status effects are quite dangerous now and being bombarded by all of them at once let's you realize how useful reflect has become (or how annoying reflect shenanigans can get further ahead). I suggest to bring someone with 8 speed so you can at least disable Gaffy since Moxie can turn anyone into a murder machine (let alone someone with geomancy) EDIT: I kinda brain-farted at Oersted image of badassery at the start of the battle, now it's fixed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 16: Random Battle #03 (Behemoth), Zaland Fort City Rankings: 5/10 (First timer) 4/10 (Normal Player) 2.5/10 (2nd Playthough) On my way into the next battle, I caught this beauty. I won't change her name because LMAO (Yes, it's a she) Oersted goes full anime this time: Summoner: Moogle: Heals Hp ( AoE: 2, Proc:Reraise, Damage undead) Titan: Earth Elemental spell (AoE: 2, if target has float --> Heals Hp, Proc: Protect) Time Mage: Haste 2:Accelerate CT gaining by 50% (Range 3, AoE: 2) Float: Adds Float on target (AoE: 1, Range 4) #YOLOTactics IDK why we get a choice here since this is a "But thou must" situation, but hey we get to stab some dudes/dudettes This place it's AWFUL: Unlike Sand Cellar you got both a height and position disadvantage, thus be prepared to be bombarded by several spells before you even reach Mustadio Not that he will survive long enough to do something................ I kinda mind-fucked the AI: Since most of my team it's weak to confusion, the dragons decided to throw confusion song, thus putting themselves right in front of this wall, where Dusk was waiting with a nice and warm mimic daravon, while Agrias baits someone else to avoid any meddling. I love being miles ahead the enemy for once Boco's Geomancy and +2 range kinda owns (especially with these kind of procs) This is how I beat this chapter: Titan+ Sheer Power + Short Charge + 13 MA = A lot of corpses How cute, he thinks I will let him heal himself Since you can already guess how it went, let's go back to the plot "Not that I had a choice........" "Did you say something?" "NOTHING!!!" "WOAH THERE!!! That was.............sudden" "It's not like I don't trust you, but Titan it's right behind you and I can't stop him from break this joint unless you talk, so....................." And then Agrias spoils the fun Let me say this straight: DON'T TRY TO PUSH YOUR WAY INSIDE THE CITY!!!!!!!!!! Just react to their behavior accordingly, kill them off fast with AoE spells (Like Titan here) and forget Mustadio: his fatass was destined to get nuked since the word go, so avoid rely on him Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 17: Zaland Fort City 2 Rankings: 4/10 (First timer) 3.5/10 (Normal Player) 2.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Today's team. I'm not including Oersted's setup since he's the same as last time Why in hell are you laying our path towards the church? I got the feeling that almost all CH2's fights are because they are using the map backwards On this battle, we have the one simple objective: Get rid of the world most dangerous race................... Yeah....... feel their wrath!!!! Since we got the time, why not? This chemist here decides to try out Dance Dance Revolution, thus provoking several seizures and epilepsia on my folks Trying to drop out a Moogle once it's cured from petrify it's quite the ordeal: They can resist almost any status effect, so magic it's the only way to get rid of them (Poison can also deal with them since they can't heal themselves thankfully) Let's burn the witch!!! Don't worry little creature, Agrias will release you from that pain very soon......... Since I forgot to take more battle pics here's the resume: Hyper Beam was the MVP Ovelia go to the swamp, you're drunk "Can't someone hear people's talking about their deep secrets in peace?!?!?!" Funny fact: Since my epsxe cannot reproduce all sounds, Ovelia it's the only one making any sound at all. LOL Overall, I feel like Zaland 2 it's supposed to be the place where you learn about special conditions: Yeah the moogles are petrified but once the're cured from it, you cannot put themn back to extinction unless you nuke them out, so better avoid dealing with them at all (easy said than done) Sorry, my bad. Fixed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 18: Random Battle #04 (Ghost), Barius Hills Rankings: 4.5/10 (First timer) 4/10 (Normal Player) 3.5/10 (2nd Playthough) Since the original friendly ghost wasn't available, I just brought a cousin of him The arcana it's the mean which all will be revealed........... "We won't accept your demands: A random morbol ask us to take him along!!!!" "..............Are you hearing yourself, Agrias?" THIS PLACE IT'S OUTRIGHT UNFORGIVING FOR FIRST TIMERS: You will need several scouts before find out the little secret behind this fight, so please tag along and try to take notes so you can avoid as much suffering as you can This is by far the only heavy RNG-reliant action in this battle: Airburn can land his status effects twice, so I decided to bring him along to shut down one behemoth while Agrias makes sure to throw on him a Plume (Why Leg Aim? because if I landed petrify, the AI would prioritize healing the damn thing with Energy and I need at least one turn to set up without his meddling) Both demons decided to pull their attention into killing Airburn, so Xypha takes a run for it an target two foes with Stop and roll (this is the only spell that any of them cannot resist without involving Oersted). Mustadio does his job perfectly and now I just need to deal with the trees and bezekira Sadly, one Taiju decides to be a dick and remove reraise from Airburn, so Oersted waste some CP making sure that he survives Dark holy Everything's going according to keikaku* keikaku means plan After some clean-up, Oersted begins my sinister plan of drug the blasted things with Temazepam MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!!!!! OHHH CRAP, THAT BEHEMOTH GOT FREE OF STOP I'M SCRE- ............................................ Just................Just go back to sleep, buddy (To be fair, his friend was charging Stone Edge but still IDK why the AI expected that I wouldn't go and kill him before that happens) Even thought I took control of this joint, Taijus are well know as annoying as fuck, so they can make a full comeback if I let them (like here for example, that hellish Behemoth was charging a three-turns Hurricane, for the love of god!!!) Poison doing the honors It seems like someone has been taking classes with Delita about being edgy and stuff Wow, this battle surely took a tool on me: Most of my resets were cause by those Taijus healing everyone by obscene amounts of HP, thus nullifying my meager attempts of a clean run. The secret behind this place? Bring people who can cast stop and sleep: killing it is not your priority here, you must shut down 3 or 4 units before you're even think about try it because again, Taijus are on the loose. Still, I don't mind that much since once I got pass that gruesome start, everything went smooth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 19: Lionel Gate 1 Rankings: 5/10 (First timer) 4..5/10 (Normal Player) 4/10 (2nd Playthough) Meanwhile............ Nah dude, the only thing I got from the old man was some stinky pants Well, fuck you too "BTW, I was ambush by some tentacles on my mission, it has something to do with you?" Foreshadowing........ (Not a good one, but the thought it was counts in the end) Ramza decides to steal some booty this time Since CH2 started, this is actually the only compelling reason why I should get my hands dirty (Mustadio doesn't count: We're pursued by Bart's company because no one could say no to a morbol that just joined three battles ago) Geomancers are NASTY: They can completely obliterate you and the rest of the enemies won't make reach them easier The damage here it's not my concerning: That petrify proc it's doubled by Serene Grace (which it's an innate of the class), so I'm facing a 60/40 chance of lose someone either by damage or the status when geomancy it's used. Status it's the key: especially when you have someone with 100% chance of inflicting one of these PLEASE, JUST DO SOMETHING!!! And then I just miss a 75% stop. Thanks for the tip, Musti Being hit by Titan it's this game answer to my previous LTC on Zaland 1 This battle it's exciting, I can tell But in the end, everyone's here it's a victim of the RNG (I win thought) Let's take note as Mustadio just disregard space-time continuity and teleports inside this joint to open the door I like this one: 40% chance of shut one someone without killing it's quite horrible, so you should deal with everything outside their range and then go YOLO until they die. Just leave someone outside to heal the fallen ones and you're peachy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 20: Random Battle #05 (Baatezu), Zigolis Swamp Rankings: 4/10 (First timer) 3.5/10 (Normal Player) 3/10 (2nd Playthough) "Dad, I'm gonna out in search of a demon!!!" "Sure son, have fun" This setup it's brought to you by The legend of dragoons: Learned skills: Dragoon: Seal Evil: Add Petrify (Range: Weapon) Limited Wish: Revive target with 1-20 Hp (Range:2) Thief: Concentrate: Physical attacks have 100% accuracy Monk: PA Save: +1 PA each time you receive damage Why Ivalice has a fucking radioactive swamp that can potentially poison you it's beyond me Believe or not, this battle doesn't need any kind of heavy RNG manipulation to avoid shit like Ghostly Touch, just lots and lots of patience Speaking of them: They're really won't lose any time into charging up Dark Holy to nuke out units. For some reason one of them decides to go melee Not that I mad about it...... Since the only thing to worry about it's those flying nuisances, I better buff myself before the shitstorm comes to me "Sorry, but my planet needs me......" Petrifying moves are kind on the lower end when it comes to hit, but since my whole team sans Zelda can petrify at will, it's just a matter of time before getting what I want here And this somehow manages to miss. Sometimes I wonder if I'm playing Thracia 776 all over again *And here we have my newest exhibition of statues. I call it "When the RNG goes wrong" Licking your way out won't happen here, buddy For those who disregard the bow gun as "useless": here it's your proof of why it exist And down he goes. My opinion? this place it's overrated as "fucking annoying" since you don't need to move your ass to achieve any result here, just look at this "master plan": - Wait for Ghosts to approach the team (they will, don't worry) -Petrify the fuckers -Lure out the flans and morbols (Ovelia would be ideal for that) -All-out-Attack -Profit Yeah, you can try and hit them till they die, but that's even more dangerous since you're probably leaving a ghost in critical, which cause 90% of the time their use of Ghostly touch to avoid death so just rely on statuses and be done with it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 21: Random Battle #06 (Taiju), Goug 1 Rankings: 6/10 (First timer) 5/10 (Normal Player) 5/10 (2nd Playthough) And here it is my last unit to fully saturate my roster of pokemons monsters. For now on, I will kick out people in favor of adding new ones Captain Planet it's back, and now it's packing some heat: Learned Skills: Mediator: Caution: Reduce CT by 25 Mimic Daravon: Inflict Sleep on target (AoE 1, Bypass reflect) Praise: Inflict Reraise on target Summoner: Teleport: The unit can move almost anywhere instantly. chances of success are reduce by 10% each step you're exceed from your maximum movement <Wizard> Fireball: Fire elemental (Range 5, AoE 2) <Dragoon> Interrupt: Cancel skill/spell charging on target (Range 4) Leg Aim: Add Stop (Range: Weapon) Arm Aim: Add Don't Act (Range: Weapon) "Yes, I got some time to relax. But what should I do? Hmm.........Maybe I should hit the bar and-" You can always take freebies when I don't update this threat, dude Gonna be honest here: This battle kicked my ass so much that I had to watch Augestein's Lp in search of ideas (Don't worry: I didn't copycat his run on this one) First of all: I'm shutting down as many dragoons I can while cock-blocking these two Plagues with confusion song Arioch kinda save my bacon now and then with clutch Interrupt landing on the right moment Aaaaaaaand this is why going all status on their hides doesn't pay off that well: Plagues have synchronize so any status inflict on them will be transferred to our units and Byblos have shed skin so they can shrug off things like poison or berserk like nothing most of the time. Of course, this doesnt mean you don't want status effect here: Trap the soul can easily shut down anyone here and they can't do anything to cure the unit hit with it and Oersted can also mined their efforts with a good Leg/Arm Aim Did I mentioned that Byblos can die on a fire? Dragoons are gone from the picture Serene Grace (Doubles proc rates) can be such a beauty and a horror when it happens...... some reflect shenanigans later and now I got to deal with Ramuh once again (for the reference, Innocent WILL fade off if you take too long to end these battles) ONE PUNCH MAN STRIKE AGAIN!!! I'm amazed with Arioch: He missed three 80% hits IN A ROW. it doesn't help that the Byblos can end someone's life with Bio 2 if this keeps up Thanks god the other Byblos decides to be dumb and dies from a counter magic proc Please, I need to end this so my wounds can heal!!! (Also, DAT 20% Shield Block) And Gasper comes back with a vengeance (Really, Ghosts are you best bet against Plagues since counter magic cripples them with Life drink reversing on undead units) Aaaaaand Done. My thoughts? It was as painful as the first time I did this whole thing (And bare in mind that on 2.29, this battle was nerfed because it was outright impossible without heavy RNG on you part). My suggestion it's to bring someone who can block the plagues since they are the most mobile units of the bunch. Dragoons are a joke since Sleep/Trap the soul can deal with them quite nicely and Byblos are bards with Black Magic so beware leaving them alone for too long. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Entry 22: Goug 2 Rankings: 3/10 (First timer) 2.5/10 (Normal Player) 2/10 (2nd Playthough) Oersted channels it's inner comedian Learned Skills: Geomancer: Flood Ball: Use Element/Status proc from User's tile (Magical Damage) Seismic Wave: Use Element/Status proc from target's tile (Physical Damage) Terrain Mastery: Can move around every tile without penalty "Maybe it was a bad idea to send him for some booze" Dammit Mustadio: You had one job "huh........what a little bastard....." *Throws Stone at the man* "That's for the tip, young man. Now......." This would be pretty scary if didn't just get an uber Goblin to my side Today's battle it's kinda dull: Everything here outside of uribos can be confused/poisoned/Stopped so there is no excuse to not use Mustadio. Also, take note at this little guy over here: #NOREGRETS Your best way to lure out everyone here it's to use Oersted with an accessory that block any status effect so they are forced to use charged spells to take him down (Of course, all these actions should happen AFTER Mustadio get his ass out of there) Next step: Cut their horns Don't you love when the game derp that much that ends up giving you the upper hand? Self-destruct Abuse, HOOOOO!!!!!! This would help you if I didnt kill you already, bud Aaaaaand I just won this battle (For the record: These two were confused/stopped) This is why Oersted it's such a murder-machine: Moxie it's a skill you can get which grants you +1 MA/PA when you kill someone. It's beautiful This Pudding somehow manages to be more annoying while confused than he is without it I decided to get this critter to the brink of death Just to blow him up along half my party because #YOLO Since Oersted it's out of pokeballs, someone must hit the bench [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khmudXrDemU[/media] "I don't wanna sound like a dick but.........WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO!?!?!?" "I'm Mustadio, and this is my dad: Besrodio" "THEN WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE A GOBLIN!?!?!?" "I don't know.........herpes?" "Hmmm.....................I can live with that. Now, back to the topic" "Why you think that?" "Remember what happen at the church" *Flashback* "Okay then: Let's me show you something" *Put red stone on the table* "it's this what troubles you?" "Then it's true: The Zodiac Braves did exist.....Then Bart......." "it's decided then: You must bring back that stone to the church so we can protect it" "But what if Bart's Company found it first?" "I'm going with you: You can pay me later if you like" "Thanks, Oersted" "It's seems this is our cue. Thanks for everything, Oersted: Please be safe" "I will, Agrias. Take care of Ovelia" *End of the flashback* "They are the only ones who could have told Bart about the whereabouts of the stone: There it's no doubt" "The people it's tired of both monsters and monarchy: This is their big chance" "Then......what we can do now?" "Let's contact an old friend of mine" And there's the end of that. I was kind of disappoint: I was prepared for a gruesome battle and then I found up myself with a big handicap out of nowhere.......Speaking of extremely lucky. But the battle itself wouldn't be that different however: Just spam the regular dosis of status effects and you have it in the bag. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Sorry for being out of commission for a while. Entry 23: Wargilis Port City Rankings: 5/10 (First timer) 4/10 (Normal Player) 2/10 (2nd Playthough) Oersted it's going back to the black & white theme "UGH, I can't stand being an entire day in the sea" That's a little harsh Delita "You're even wanted by the Boy scouts for god sake!!!" Today's map it's what I call: I hope you like other stuff aside of punch things to death Oersted decides to give Delita a friendly lick to break the ice (Hey, I didn't say it was a good approach of the situation.....) I can't take seriously this map anymore after seeing this Since I saved my pudding to another time, I just went the other way around and buffed my party up the creek That doesn't mean this is a walk in the park however: Mr.turtle over here can nuke everything on this map fairly easy The most important thing in the whole fight it's reflect. Otherwise Hyper Beam shenanigans are in place Mimes are one if not the best thing in the world with amplify: Here I just showing you an Amplify Bad bracelet Sadly, not everything's going as I planned.......... Just a joke: I have it in the bag already even more buffing and Oersted got a thing against poor Zelda (Maybe he was expecting link?) This is basically me playing with them like a toy If I don't make Darvos blow off at least once when it gets deploy, the battle it's a failure in my books Dully note here: Break skills can bypass defensive attributes from units, otherwise Genryu would have done 25 damage at best THE DISRESPECT Oersted finally gets what he's deserves and I cut it here just because (I forgot o take more pics) I'm lazy. I kinda feel bad for them: I just steamroll trough it, but on the other hand, given the chance I would be definitely got blow out by Hyper beam so no harm's done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2017 · Report post Thank you for doing this. Would give you more +1's but I ran out of them for the day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites