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Brave New World 2.0 - Beta Thread

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Let's continue :

Part 11

Up to Ultros 3, not an hard fight, as for the monsters nothing noticeable, altough I have an hilariously bad luck for learning Raid which I did off-screen ^^.

Part 12

Floating continent time, well probably not the best team, that section before Ultros and Chupon is the hardest part due to being constantly on Pincer Attack we always take a lot of damage and basically have to heal between every single fight, Ultros and Chupon and IAF are really not that bad after this long section of Pincer Attacks, also Chupo is made easier by the fact that when Ultros attack all counter goes to Chupon this allow to kill really fast especially since Tentacle can be counter ^^.
Onto FC random encounter are all manageable, keep Float for Gargoyle (also they are a good source of MP), Confuse the Brainpan and Ninjas, Berserk the Dactyla, Cure to death the Djinni...etc... however last time I did 2.0 I didn't encounter a single Behemoth because of luck, and I've to say they can no longer be berserked make them really annoying because of that eternal RNG move that is Meteo, only way to avoid Meteo being basically to kill them instantly which I think is not reliably possible with my team, well I can survive at least one Meteo so I manage.
As for Atma Weapon, I got a pretty good RNG here he wasn't to trolly, decide to let Shadow in the back Row throwing Shurikens for once Mog with Ice Rod being the highest damage output possible for my current team follow by Cyan and Celes (she was more of an healer tough).

So yeah end of WoB didn't record the next section and saving Cid section cause these are just story sequence so no interest at all.

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On 5/2/2019 at 8:43 AM, SuperHario said:

Looking at the formula, you can factor out the 3 to make it:

(Damage * [75 - (Vigor or Stamina /4)] / 75) + 1

this doesn’t solve the rounding problem, but it saves a few bits.

To solve the rounding problem, factor out the /4 to get:

(Damage * [300 - (Vigor or Stamina)] / 300) + 1

Can this work with the 300? Or is 256 the max for formulas?

I'm not sure about 300 working with the division subroutine, but I thought I'd describe the approach I took, in case anyone is interested:

The existing approach calculates the low end first, then the high end. Then it finds the difference between them, gets a random value from 0...diff, and adds it to the low end. That yields the multiplier (out of 225) for variance.

Looking at the low/high end formulas, it's possible to simplify the representation of the random diff:
(255 - Stat) - (225 - 3/4 * stat) ---> 30 - 1/4 * stat

So for my approach, I calculated the random diff first, then subtracted it from the high end, which is simpler to compute. The main benefit being that we never have to compute the low end at all.
 

Edited by Bropedio

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On 5/9/2019 at 6:41 PM, Bropedio said:

(255 - Stat) - (225 - 3/4 * stat) ---> 30 - 1/4 * stat

After looking at the documentation for clarification as to how the variance is implemented with a random number selected between [Low...High], a simple approach (effectively using your calculation) is:

High = 255 - stat

Low = 225 - stat + stat/4 (i.e, 3/4 = 1-1/4)

 

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Want to document in case I forget: Formation odds are off due to the 10-step battle RNG modification. Should be an easy fix, but as of now, the chance of seeing any given formation in an area is listed below. The only significant problem is that the rarest encounter formation is roughly 40% less likely to appear than intended.

A: 33% (expected 31%)
B: 34% (expected 31%)
C: 21% (expected 19%)
D: 12% (expected 19%)

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Finished my beta experience of RC-27 a little later than expected...

No major difficulties during the beginning of the WoR. I saved the first Phunbaba fight until later though. Did notice the difference in enemy behavior until Figaro Basement, so didn’t try blitzing through as in previous runs, as I almost wiped once or twice in the Figaro Cave.

After gaining the Falcon, dragged Cyan off the mountain and picked up Gau. Then hunted down some Rages in the WoR, with Mantodea being my go-to offensive rage for Gau in randoms. Next stop was to pick up Relm and Strago, as I left them last previously so wanted to use them earlier. I had difficulty in Owzer’s Basement but I think that has to do with me rushing to a later dungeon early.

But that does bring up my first point regarding enemy difficulty post-Falcon but before Kefka’s Tower. I liked the progression of foes and your character abilities throughout the game, but it was somewhat linear too. But the nonlinear and open-ended nature of the later WoR made it feel that I was underleveled or overleveled for some areas: Owzer’s Basement and Triangle Island, in particular. I know this has been addressed before, with wanting to reduce the effectiveness of later AoE attacks in general. My concern is for newer player frustration in encountering difficulty spikes, albeit gradual, if they wander to a new area.

After getting the Thasma Duo and Terra, I headed to the Phoenix Cave for Locked and skipped the Red Dragon. Relm sketched Intangir Z but the skill had a blank name, Strago blocked whatever the effect would’ve been however. My party was wiped during the first fight with Hidon but I think that was a preparation problem on my part. After changing equipment and adjusting my strategy, I pulled through and finished the last dungeon. I enjoyed the changes to the other dungeons but also Locke’s new dialogue about treasure after completing the Phoenix Cave :-)

I saved the Dragons until last and maybe my experience with them was easier than anticipated because my party was getting ready for Kefka’s Tower. The Brown Dragon especially seemed too easy, with only using G-Force once: is it on a timer or a reaction? Maybe I didn’t trigger it as often if so, but maybe he should be more liberal with swatting down pesky floating heroes.  

 

In outfitting my three parties for Kefka’s Tower, I noticed Edgar couldn’t equip the Hero Shield. What was the decision behind that? I decided to leave Gogo and Mog behind for the Tower: Gogo because he joined at Level 21 when my average was 24 or 25, and Mog because somebody else has to draw the short straw. My party’s levels were 28-30 and ELs 19 or 20, but I did backtrack dungeons to fight the Dragons and find missing Rages & Lores, so they’re maybe slightly higher. My previous playthroughs had all but my most frequent characters stay at 20 EL even through the tower because of the exp spike there. But the Boss Exp, especially the Goddesses, helped everyone get past it.

 

Thoughts on character ELs and builds at the end:

Terra - Kept boosting her HP and Stamina, hitting hard with Morph, Atma and Power Glove.

Locke - Threw some Ifrit into the mix with Ramuh and Kirin, probably not optimal but hit hard often enough and countered occasionally too.

Edgar - Focused on a hybrid build with Palidor and Golem, I do believe that going Golem in WoB then respeccing into Siren later in WoR would’ve better for my playstyle. Maybe I just need to try jumping with swords though, heard the bonus to proc damage is nice.

Sabin - Focus on Golem with some Terrato, planning to try his Stamina build next time though.

Cyan - Respecced away from Stamina to Vigor+HP, always enjoyed how much better he became from Vanilla and may like slicing and dicing things up with him too much.

Celes - Respecced to Phantom and HP. Magic Celes s.comerved well up to the Airship but always found her C+C builds more appealing in the endgame.

Shadow - Focus on Phantom and trying to maximize Mutsunokami change to Stamina.

Gau - Kept him on a Stray build. Used Mantodea and Troll throughout the end. Troll’s high damage and Refract was nice, plus using the Black Belt with his high Stamina.

Mog - Didn’t really use him except to recruit Umaro. Want to focus on him in a later run.

Setzer - Seraph and Shoat, laughing all the way to the Bank with his surviability.

Strago - Windbreaker helps his Stamina build and gives him a different playstyle from his Magic self. I’d like to try Windbreaker with Relm later but want to keep Shadow around too.

Relm - Split between Ifrit and Zoneseek. Prefer speed in my healers but her damage wasn’t bad with Flare and Meteor.

Umaro - Umm… smash? Kept the Skull Cap on and usually had Blizzard Orb, Black Belt or Life Bell.

Gogo - Never used because of his low level and planned to have him sit out KT anyway.

 

My first try at Kefka’s Tower had the parties of:

Party 1 - Strago / Sabin / Setzer / Edgar

Party 2  - Locke / Celes / Shadow / Umaro

Party 3 - Cyan / Terra / Gau / Relm

 

I talked to the man in Albrook about Kaiser and figured I needed to cover all the elements. Strago and Sabin with Stormfangs do that, then decided to have Edgar and Setzer for support. The other parties were balanced out between Haste-X users, keeping Gau and Umaro seperate and balancing out DPS and healing.

 

Ultima was a fun boss, with Umaro’s Blizzard wrecking havoc. Inferno had a weird quirk where Net reflected off Cyan holding Crusader, which I’m not sure if it’s intended or not. I may have been under the false impression Reflect only bounced Runicable spells. Prometheus had a blank sketch that Terra blocked, so a similar issue to Intangir Z.

 

I <3 the concept of the Kaiser Dragon and have to say it was the highlight battle of the playthrough. I realized something was up when he wasn’t using Wallchange and his attacks were switching up elements. Ultima killed me the first time but I assumed that I could do better after guessing at his pattern. Except that my party just couldn’t keep up elemental coverage and/or recover quickly from Ultima. So I exited the Tower and reformed my parties. Terra, Celes, Edgar and Strago made it past Kaiser with little difficulty. Equipping the Minerva and Multiguards and using only Ice, Fire and Bolt spells made the battle much more manageable (Edgar was running out zapping everyone with the Mana Battery). My main concern is that some party line-ups just may not be able to defeat Kaiser, which could be frustrating for new players who overlook the hint in Albrook and have to run through the tower again.

 

My other parties were Cyan / Shadow / Relm / Umaro and Sabin / Locke / Setzer / Gau. The Warring Triad were enjoyable fights too: Isis is always a fun game of charm & berserk tag. I actually defeated Kefka and the Tiers on my first try. Previous playthroughs had me die at the second tier or sometimes when Kefka followed up Goner too soon. I believe the hardest section of the final battle is the start of the second tier though, as so much damage and/or status conditions are thrown at your party that getting caught in a cycle of revive and recover may occur. It is certainly doable though, and being the endgame I’m not sure difficulty is the issue, just the abruptness when the second tier starts.

 

All in all, thanks for the mod and can’t wait to play 2.0 when it’s officialy released :-)

 

Some pictures from my playthrough: final party equipment and two skewed pincer formations.

 

party 1.JPG

party 2.JPG

party 3.JPG

red wolf pincer.JPG

IMG_20190515_124037_374.jpg

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Party comp was a concern when coding Kaiser, and I realized that every possible party has access to at LEAST four elements.

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Morph is increasing the restoration of items when used on characters other than Terra.

Prometheus' Sketch is empty.

Edited by Cainen

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When you kill Beetles with an AOE, not only do they die one by one, but they do it over time. My Sabin killed them at once with a Fire Dance and his ATB was 3/4 full by the time the last one died.

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Androids in the Guardian fight counter lightning with full party Exploder (and sketching against them causes it to happen)

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Is there still a discord? The discord link takes me to the ngplus discord and I don't see anything in the categories related to BNW.

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17 hours ago, Echoherb said:

Is there still a discord? The discord link takes me to the ngplus discord and I don't see anything in the categories related to BNW.

Yes. If you haven't yet speak up in the discord and get a red or orange name to give you a role.

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Noticed the Buzzard Fighter formation on the way to Zozo looks like it's off center to the right when you side attack them.

As well, i'm not sure if Quickfill is the culprit but it seems like a character will accrue some more ATB when initially hit with a successful stop before actually stopping the bar completely. 

http://www.twitch.tv/fathlo23/v/436972013?sr=a&t=7503s

Celes gets countered in this fight, gets stopped, and you can see her get about a sixth of her bar back before it actually seems to set in. 

Edited by Yuyu

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So as someone who hasn't played since 1.6, kindly take this as a review from someone who is not wholly familiar with BNW.

I just finished the Sealed Gate, and so far everything seems more or less pretty solid. I remember feeling really frustrated in the early game of 1.6 and I just don't feel that here. It's not easy enough where I can just attack through it with no problems, but not difficult enough that I don't want to start it up.

Regarding each individual character, it's important to note that, as I stated above, I'm speaking to purely how each character performs in the WoB.

Celes felt largely useless outside of Cure, Slow, and Runic in the IMTRF. There were a lot of situations where I just didn't know what to do with her because there was nothing to Runic and no point in using Cure because everyone was topped off.

Edgar was awesome in the beginning, but started to taper off just after Zozo and at this point his primary use feels like Remedy and Slow. Unless of course I want to slap a Dragoon Seal on him and turn him into a Dragoon, which I did.

Sabin, full disclosure, I stopped using after his scenario, but it wasn't because he was bad. Rather, his function at the time -- Sap setter, tons of damage, counterattack -- were just filled better by other characters like Cyan and Locke.

Locke is someone I was a fan of originally but is kind of tapering off now. He's fast, he has Life, he has Cure 2, which makes him a pretty decent healer at the moment. He can also get in your face and deal some damage, but he's still no Cyan or Sabin, even with straight Ramuh levels, which relegates him to healer duty. Not sure how I feel about this.

Cyan is a god among men. He has Cure 2, Life, Regen, deals tons of damage, has a really high counter rate, has a move that heals him and restores his MP as well as setting Sap, as well as an AoE and really just a kit that can deal with any situation. He has been my MVP since I got him because he's just so good. No matter what the situation, he has an answer for it due to the versatility of his Bushido and Spell kit and the sheer magnitude of his damage.

Terra currently feels like Celes without Runic, which definitely doesn't do her any favors. Right now she feels like Celes only worse.

Gau I really haven't used much, but he was a champion in his scenario, so there's that!

Something else I want to mention, both from my own experiences and from looking at the character breakdowns, is that it feels like offensive magic just doesn't matter outside of elemental sniping. Almost every offensive build you see is hard up for Vigor because it's physical. It feels like there's no real diversity there. And maybe this is just my own ignorance talking, maybe the WoR will be completely different than I'm imagining it and I'll be completely wrong. But from what I've seen, I kind of doubt it.

All in all, it's been a blast so far, and later on today I'll (hopefully) be finishing up the WoB.

One last thing I want to mention, particularly in regards to Cyan, just to drive home my point that he is a god among men: in the Sealed Gate cave, he got hit by Discord. Discord is Bserk and Muddle. Cyan had the Kazekiri. It procced.

unknown.png

Over 1000 damage to everyone. Cyan had the highest HP at 800 and some change. I was laughing for about 5 minutes.

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Hey everyone! A bit off-topic, but I just started playing 1.9.0 and noticed that using a Phoenix Down as an imp will revive a character with 0 HP. I think it's pretty funny but wasn't sure if that was intended. Figured I'd mention it in case it's still in.

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1 hour ago, SarahShinespark said:

Hey everyone! A bit off-topic, but I just started playing 1.9.0 and noticed that using a Phoenix Down as an imp will revive a character with 0 HP. I think it's pretty funny but wasn't sure if that was intended. Figured I'd mention it in case it's still in.

While not intended, it's a harmless side effect to the Imp effect and a known issue

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Gonna go ahead and lock this up since we've wrapped up every reported bug and all that's left is known in the Discord. For the few remaining undelivered features in the current beta, please see the changelog thread (still pinned).

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