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Finished Locke's Scenario & Narshe Battle. Level 8, with a couple of dudes at level 9.

Locke's randoms were same as always. Hell Angel, otoh, was rng-dependent. Even with top speed + Sprint Shoes, Celes' Runic cannot keep up with the magical onslaught. Best chance is to bum rush the guy with Boomerang x2 + Power Glove + Black Belt. Having a Slim Jim on Locke is useful too. Still luck dependent, but thankfully, Hell Angel doesn't have too much HP.

Narshe Team was Locke, Cyan, & Figaro Bros. Steal x4 vs. Trooper x4 gives more than enough healing items, so who needs white mages? Locke's a boss. Definitely saw the faster speed vs. Trooper x4, but thankfully, having a team of bulky dudes + Life Bell + back row + NoiseBlaster is more than sufficient to handle these boogers.

Knight Cape proved to be a mistake in the Narshe Fight. Knight Cape Cyan died, first fight. Took too many hits for the team. Can't tell if it's Nowea Hard Type's faster enemies or just a mistake in using Cover this early; my guess is the latter. A little annoying, as the Knight Cape's stat boosts are nice in the early game. Cyan especially loses out, as he really likes the stat boosts but can't use it at all. Boomerang Locke can still use it though.

Hell Rider, otoh, is another rng-dependent fight. He can open the fight with Virite + Acid Rain before you can move, practically wiping your party. Sabin's Spirit Claws proc'd Stop on the fool, which was nice. Failed to steal a Black Heart: hope that doesn't bite me in the butt. Kefka's also definitely stronger (and, without Runic, more dangerous). Failed to steal Tiara before Locke dropped (failed both boss steals), so I just bum rushed the dude with big damage. Still won first try, unlike Hell Angel or Hell Rider.

***

Phantom Train, Hell Angel, and Hell Rider have been frustrating. The first two require specific strats without overleveling. Otherwise, nothing unbeatable yet. Yet.

But...now comes Dadaluma. We'll see if I keep my streak of keeping my levels at normal levels with this booger.

Trooper casts HasteX on himself and his dog.

Dog pounces on the Trooper as a counter.

Trooper counters with a Bayonet to the dogs face.

All the while, Locke is laughing, stealing Dried Meats, and then killing the Trooper with a Boomerang.

Uhh...were those counters supposed to be a thing? (1.9 with Nowea Hard Type on top)

There's an Alternate Sprites folder in the Unlockme now. Have ya'll considered putting Think's "Behold, Pants!" sprites in that folder? Armor Celes is awesome.

I don't think you can Warp Whistle out of Phoenix Cave either.

Aaaand....I'm eating my own words about X-Mog turning out. Someone thinks the new mag Mog changes are just enough to make him satisfactory.

Well, I'll eat my humble pie. It's good to hear one of my favorite characters finally turning out well. (There's an awful lot of people who like gambling on Forest Suite. Maybe I'll give it a shot).

Kinda curious as to when & how often you used each of Avalanche/Bio/Break/Quake. I think I could guess on Bio, but I'm curious to hear someone else's thoughts on the other three. Especially since I don't often mix Avalanche with X-Magic.

Quarterstaff/Doomstick on trash mobs probably works better with vig Mog. The Battle Power of those staves is high enough to put on the hurt, and vig Mog's huge speed gives him a good chance to flat open the battle with "X-Zone, you're all dead." Imma try it out whenever I finally do get around to the WoR in 1.9. (Might be a while. >_>)

On Sage Stone, I guess another option is +5/+7 stamina. Mostly to avoid giving Locke too much +mag options. Guess it does help mag Mog with dance-swapping & with Harvester/Sun Bath heals. Does nothing for Strago though, dunno how well it'd work for Cover/Counter shenanigans. So maybe the straightforward +mag is the best option there.

I guess I'll fire off a handful of ideas for how to make Mog shine a little more:

• Quake: Non-Elemental  and/or More / Re-designed Multi-target (Mini-)Bosses - The latter seems very appropriate. Quake is designed to huge AoE damage, but there's few important encounters where it can shine. Of the few (mini-)bosses that are multi-target, they either punish AoE (Hidon, Inferno), null Earth or are better handled by something else (Vectagoyle x2), or have other reasons for why Quake doesn't work (Dream Stooges = can't hit floater, plz use Punisher; Tier-2 = Float is dispelled on transition from tier 1). Having more important opportunities to watch Quake rip apart the opposition might really help Mog feel more satisfactory. Even something as simple as "Hidonites, instead of reviving when all die, revive on a timer regardless of number still living, much like Dadaluma's helpers" would help Quake, methinks.
  
  Non-elemental Quake just insures that Quake can be used on anything that ain't floating. Quake has enough restrictions anyways; sides, Flare, despite being obviously fiery, is non-elemental. As for tier-2, X-Quake is hitting all targets there for big damage, it'll still be fine (once the whole "Float is Dispelled on transition" is fixed). Downside is that "null/absorb Earth" on foes is mostly limited to Avalanche, Demi, and Quartr, but, eh, few elemental strengths on foes actually do anything to change optimal strategies anyways. Restricting Demi/Quartr is still quite important, and does do more than "null Ice" does.
   
• Drain: Uncap - Uncap the damage on Drain. No more "Max damage restricted to how much you can heal." Just let Drain do whatever damage its BPow says, and let it restore a % of the damage dealt. This gives Mog an assured self-heal (unlike Spectre) that also deals offensive pressure; unique in all of FFVI, except for Merton w/ Flameguard x4. Dunno what the exact numbers of Drain's Battle Power or HP % drained should be. Would also require minor re-works on other drain moves (Empowerer, Ocean Claw, Spectre, Osmose, Raid, some of Gau's Rages), but my gut says that this task looks harder than it would actually be. Most of the actual work would be in the coding. >_>
   
• Buff: Reflect - Just following SirNewtonFig here. I personally like Shell or Reflect. Both are very uncommon buffs (Terra, Strago, Relm only). I also think either of these two can be put on Maduin, somehow, without ruining the house of cards that is "spells on espers." >_> Shell is the stronger buff, but I'm worried that Shell Mog would be a wee bit too much for Mog; back-row + heavy armor + X-Haste/Shell + drain moves + damage + elemental defenses + potential Image = lulz. I also agree with SirNewton that Reflect is more appropriate for Mog.
  
  Another idea, instead of giving Mog that Reflect magic, is to re-configure Snowman Jazz to be a "Reflect dance." IIRC, there was a relatively recent (several months ago) poll on favorite Dances, where Snowman Jazz was the least popular dance. Sides, Mog all ready has AoE and Ice options anyways. Also has some nice symmetry with Desert Aria. (Hot desert gives Image, cold desert gives Reflect). Doesn't directly help X-Mog though. Also a little loathe to suggest this, thematic as it is, b/c I'm currently unimpressed with Desert Aria. (Like BTB, I wish FFVI had better debuffs. Mog as a debuffer would work better if debuffs weren't all restricted to "kill trash mob").

The ??? relic is also the only piece of equipment in the game to grant both Cover and Counter. Which means Phantom Celes, compared to other Cover/Counter physical bruisers, has more freedom of choice with relic / equipment options. Of course, Hero Ring & Black Belt still provide some nice stat boosts that Phantom Celes likes, so she's not locked into using the ??? relic. It's just a unique boon.

??? gives Cover, Counter, and ???. She'll need HP and heavy armor, but ???, I think, would be one of the most important relics for Phantom Celes.

Oh, I agree completely.

We'll get Throw on Jump, but we won't get always Throw on Jump. >_> Oh well. Shame Gungnir doesn't Throw anymore; I liked Throw Jumping with Gungnir.

Sabin's Scenario defeated. Lvl.9 for all, save Gau at lvl.8.

Soul Train was roadblock. Only defeatable with a Slim Jim Sabin beatdown. Granted, Slim Jim Sabin soloed & auto-fought Soul Train. Still, Soul Train was too fast, aggressive, and strong to try anything else. Can't Suplex Slow him either because of Elf Fire counters. Life Bell Sabin might've soloed as well, but Life Bell is gotten after this battle.

Couldn't use Knight Capes. I want the stat boosts (HP, Eva, Vig, Spd), but Cover is too dangerous to use. Quite annoying. Kinda worried that this is gonna be a thing for a while. Brainstorming makes me realize that certain late-game Hero Ring set-ups are no longer ideal b/c said set-ups don't want Cover.

Otherwise, same as usual for NHT: beware of early-game magics (Ghost x2 / Ectoplasm x3 is a frustrating encounter), play cautiously, kill enemies quickly. Used lots of Dried Meats. Got a lot of cash on hand, even after Nikeah shopping.

I want my boomerang throws on jump.

I actually kinda want boomerangs to always throw on jump. >_> It gives Mog a legit reason to jump with boomerangs. <_<

Ultros down, everyone at lvl.8. Sabin & Sap did all the hard work, everyone else healed. Ultros moves too fast to attempt anything else. Lete River was surprisingly simple, just had to be more cautious with attacks & healing.

Start of Ed/Te/Banon scenario is rng-based; unlucky rng with misses/Blind = death by Fireball. Otherwise, same ole' boring scenario.

Sabin's scenario next up. I want Celes at highest join level as well as maximum equip options for TunnelArmor.

I did level grind up to lvl.8 at the end of Mt. Kolts, so I has 10,000 extra GP (2000 spent on Phoenix Downs) plus a few more Slim Jims.

Defeated Mt. Koltz at lvl.7, whole team.
 

tl;dr, aside from nasty AoEs, I overprepared and played it cautiously. More importantly, Gale Cut can be dodged now! Huzzah!!

Lete River will be more challenging.

Aesthetically, a 50 or 100 HP revival would look better while being roughly the same. Could counteract this by raising the GP cost of Phoenix Downs? I notice all of your examples are of the tutorial (pre-Zozo) portion of the game, which I would think would be the point of the game where a cheap revival is least needed. Though Phoenix Downs are still needed for Zozo & IMF though, as you don't really have Life users until after the IMF.

I do agree with SirNewtonFig though: I do like how the "1 HP" change encourages thoughtful party composition later on.

That too, aside from Cyan & and maybe Locke & Gau, most characters' good builds are good throughout the game. vig Terra, HP/MP Terra, Kirin Locke, any Edgar, vig Sabin, mag Celes, (possibly vig Celes, pretty soon), Shadow doesn't care, Bank Setzer, mag Strago, mag/spd Relm; all are good in WoB and WoR. With a few of the builds I haven't mentioned being bad builds for the WoB and WoR.

I expect that the hardest part of NHT is going to be the early game. Once I get past Dadaluma, I think things will get simpler. Who knows though, maybe I'm in for a world of hurt.

What constitutes LLG-level strats? I would figure grinding for 99 Slim Jims would constitute as one.

I actually listed that above as Celes' Red Mage build. To be more precise, I listed one of Ramuh/Phantom + one of Siren/Crusader (iow, Vig + Spd) as the cornerstone of a hyb Celes build.

Played a bit of RC14 Nowea Hard Type.

Had a near wipe on the pincer introductory Narshe Fight. Bad luck would've wiped one or both of Biggs and Wedge. Yikes. Had to actually Cure between battles for insurance. Whelk also killed me once because I underestimated how many Beams I could fire off before he went into his shell. Nothing truly scary, but a wake up to call that I was playing Nowea Hard Type.

Figaro & Figaro Cave are same, essentially.

Around Figaro Town & Mt. Koltz though, things get scary. First and foremost, Rock. That move is horrible. High damage, no defense against muddle, limited Remedy supply, and I'm worried that such enemy speed will make it a matter of luck as to whether or not I can endure Mt. Koltz at decent levels. Other physicals & magics are bad too, but Rock is the worst.

Edgar is going to have to go all in with speed (Iron Cutlass, Knight Cape, Buckler instead of Iron Shield), lest I fall behind on NoiseBlaster control. Terra & Locke will both need Boomerangs for the damage output, so I'm going to have to grind a bit for GP; I don't think I can turtle forever with such fast enemies. Might also grind GP for Remedies & Brawlers for Slim Jim (with EXP turned off).

That's it for now. Might get to play some more tomorrow.

X-Zone not preventing dead enemies from counterattacking is strangely fitting.

Hmm, was planning to abuse Doom Rod Mogoon shenanigans for randoms weeping. Extra counterattacks will be frustrating. All the more reason to grab Terrato early I guess. (Running Terrato Sabin).

In 1.7 or 1.8, Crusader's on-equip bonus was the Power Glove bonus (Physical Damage +25%), but Crusader was also moved until later. Crusader couldn't be obtained until after beating Holy Dragon, as opposed to the first floor of the Fanatics' Tower. While it's a nice boon to vig Celes' endgame power, the endgame has always been vig Celes' strong point anyways. (Mass Alexander ELs + Illumina = Win). So I don't think 1.7 / 1.8 really solved vig Celes' problems.

1.9 is introducing some new and better early- & mid-game weapons for Te/Ce: a WoR Rune Edge, a couple of spd+ dual-wield swords, and defense-ignoring flails. It's also giving Phantom Celes a reason to finally exist with stamina% Cover/Counter. While her major stat advantage over vig Terra (HP) is still backloaded (requires beating Wrexsoul), I think vig Celes should be in a much better place come 1.9 release.

I agree that Celes is easily the hack's most versatile character. For almost any given team for almost any given situation, you can never go wrong picking Celes. Rather, the real question should be, why isn't Celes on the team? In many, many cases, a team without Celes is inferior to a team with Celes.

Mind you, that's all with mag Celes. Vig Celes is solid in the endgame, but otherwise is iffy. Though 1.9 my finally change that.

Whelp, took your advice GamingFiend. Terrato Sabin is now his own build.

Updated the Build Guides and Reference Text. Biggest new thing is Terrato Sabin has his own build now. I'm sure BTB is rolling his eyes at me.

Early Christmas gift for everyone. I updated the Reference Text & the Build Guides to include Terrato Sabin! Still requesting that, for 1.9, people test out X-Mog with the new Haste & Love Sonata, as well as test out Maduin Mog for Counter/Cover Rod shenanigans. Wow, have we really been waiting 4 months on 1.9?

You put it quite well when you said that stamina's synergy with mg.def & regen ticks simply doesn't work without actual HP backing it (not even for strengthening Holy Wind, in my experience). I'd also add that stamina's improved odds to status evade works best with HP as well. After all, if you're building a tank, you want to survive both direct offense (HP) and indirect offense (status). HP also allows one to safely use the increased Cover chances that stamina affords.

I'm certainly not asking for Odin to become an HP/Stam esper, no sirree, not at all, not me. >_>