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[perfect free]

The message when I started the game about dead ends really makes me nervous. I usually play games alternating between 2-3 saves. I don't know if that will be enough. I don't like having a ton of saves on my memory card because I always get confused when going to load something up.

I've been keeping a save for each day of the week. When I start a new week, I save over the old week's files. Seven saves might be overkill, since I haven't run into a situation where I realize I forgot to do something more than one day ago, but I got used to it pretty quickly (normally I keep 2 saves max in games - I hate clutter), and since the file names give your chronological location it's pretty easy to manage.

 

[R_thanatos]

3 saves is what i do.

One save at the start of the week ( end of prologue & end of the week )
One save when i clear the arena. ( per day)
One save after doing all the events i see in the servant room.
i grind a lot so i can't bother with more.

 

[damn that's nice]

need to buy a psp for this

 

[Lostconfused]

It's silly how difficult this game gets at later stages though. It's way too easy to make a wrong guess/decision and lose whatever progress you have when you only know one attack in advance.

 

[Axelstream]

It's silly how difficult this game gets at later stages though. It's way too easy to make a wrong guess/decision and lose whatever progress you have when you only know one attack in advance.

I know what you mean; it seems like that's a common criticism of this game. However, I'm finding that you can mitigate this by planning certain times to use healing items/magic or filling in some blanks with Servant abilities. If you're afraid of your opponent getting an Extra turn, you can plan to heal on the turn of what would be their third consecutive attack and/or place a Servant skill there to interrupt any chains they may have accrued. Neither of these actions are especially costly, either; low-tier Servant skills in the late-game only cost 10-15% of your Servant's total MP and the cost of items is pretty reasonable.

It's frustrating to lose all your progress, and I think that failure from chance or ignorance is an inherently flawed gameplay concept. However, as Rin says early on in the game, the most important weapon you have in the Holy Grail War is information. If you lack information, you can still be cautious and prepare for the worst. Chance is most definitely involved in the battle system, but you have tools to stave off failure, accrue time to read your opponent, and increase your chance of success.

 

[cj_iwakura]

As much as I'd like to go with Caster, I chose Saber. Seems like the game might be too brutal to go in with her on a first try.

 

[Heretic Kazuma]

Axelstream hit the nail on the head for combat: If you think the enemy is going to get an EX turn, use a Skill to break their chain. The lesser healing items also have a better heal/cost ratio, so I tend to spam those to top off my Servant each turn.

Also, for rows of blank information, you can minimize your risk by either mixing up your attacks for enemy families that tend to use strings of a single attack or using one attack for those that tend to switch up their pattern every other turn, until you figure out their exact habits. Better to exchange blows with the enemy and break potential EX turns, than to guess your way to a potential 100% failure.

3 saves is what i do.

One save at the start of the week ( end of prologue & end of the week )
One save when i clear the arena. ( per day)
One save after doing all the events i see in the servant room.
i grind a lot so i can't bother with more.

I was doing the same thing up until Week 3, when I realized that I never once went back to a previous save. I stopped doing that and am now in Week 6, but I'll probably suffer for that later, hahaha.

As for grinding, are all you guys going out of your way to do it? I feel like I'm not grinding at all—just get in the area, do you thing (event, Triggers, treasures), then warp out. Granted, I am kinda anal about getting all the treasures in one go...

[Fake Edit: Moved paragraphs.]

 

[Lostconfused]

Sure you can mitigate a lot of the risk with abilities and items. But none of that will save you from bad luck and paralysis. It's single-handedly responsible for the majority of my recent deaths.


Edit:

Also I have to wonder what the original text was that this translation is based on

 

[Magna_Mixalis]

Sure you can mitigate a lot of the risk with abilities and items. But none of that will save you from bad luck and paralysis. It's single-handedly responsible for the majority of my recent deaths.


Edit:

Also I have to wonder what the original text was that this translation is based on

First of all, congrats on finding my favorite line in the game. And second, the Japanese wasn't that far off from that. I'd have to go back and look at the files, but trust me, how its written in-game is pretty true to the original.

 

[frequency]

It's silly how difficult this game gets at later stages though. It's way too easy to make a wrong guess/decision and lose whatever progress you have when you only know one attack in advance.

That really concerns me.

I chose easy mode and Saber so hopefully it won't hurt me too much. I care way more about the story than challenge so I really hope this doesn't stop me from finishing. I am really bad at rock paper scissors so I was pretty worried when I had my first battle where it didn't show what the enemy was doing.

 

[Axelstream]

That really concerns me.

I chose easy mode and Saber so hopefully it won't hurt me too much. I care way more about the story than challenge so I really hope this doesn't stop me from finishing. I am really bad at rock paper scissors so I was pretty worried when I had my first battle where it didn't show what the enemy was doing.

I wouldn't worry about it. Easy mode puts healing fountains on every floor, I believe, and as long as you play the game smartly and conservatively in your encounters then you'll be fine. Just remember though, further into the game when you're in a state of near-total ignorance and fighting a high-damage enemy (the bulls, for example), you need to set up your battle strategy to prepare for -- or interrupt -- the worst (which is basically an Extra attack). I believe Saber has a 30 MP attack... Veil of Roses or something like that. If you're scared about an Extra attack from a beefy enemy, just throw it in on the third blank turn, possibly with a healing item/code.

Even if you crawl out of battle with red health, you can usually retrace your steps and run back to the fountain, as enemies take some time to respawn. It'll heal your MP too, meaning that you can continue to use Saber's skills.

 

[Takuya]

We're currently investigating things with GameStop.ca to see if the people who didn't get a booklet and were supposed to will be able to get one.

I'll keep you all posted

Thank you. I was wondering why I hadn't received my booklet yet. I probably should have sticked with Gamestop.com...

 

[radiantdreamer]

I totally agree! I don't think any other publisher has done so much for some random people complaining on some forum. It really makes me happy to know Aksys cares

The artbook/CD case thingy looks really classy. I'm happy it's not cheap and flimsy and that the CD didn't come in a boring paper sleeve. The entire package looks almost as classy as the Agarest War Zero LE card box thingy.


I finally have some time to myself so I'm going to start playing before bed tonight. I have no previous history with any of the Fate stuff so I hope I don't miss out on too much!

I totally agree with this. The hard cover CD artbook combo is such an awesome idea, and the art presentation is really well done.

I would have LOVED a Figma edition.

Really enjoying the game so far.

 

[frequency]

I wouldn't worry about it. Easy mode puts healing fountains on every floor, I believe, and as long as you play the game smartly and conservatively in your encounters then you'll be fine. Just remember though, further into the game when you're in a state of near-total ignorance and fighting a high-damage enemy (the bulls, for example), you need to set up your battle strategy to prepare for -- or interrupt -- the worst (which is basically an Extra attack). I believe Saber has a 30 MP attack... Veil of Roses or something like that. If you're scared about an Extra attack from a beefy enemy, just throw it in on the third blank turn, possibly with a healing item/code.

Even if you crawl out of battle with red health, you can usually retrace your steps and run back to the fountain, as enemies take some time to respawn. It'll heal your MP too, meaning that you can continue to use Saber's skills.

Thanks for the tips. Even if I am worried (I'm always worried about everything), I still intend to finish the game. I've barely even started so I could just worrying for nothing. Playing on easy mode with the easy servant is the path of least resistance after all.


I got 30 minutes in last night. All I did was walk around and talk to people. I learned some interesting stuff about the setting though so that was great. I have some questions about the universe.
Am I

Spoiler

just playing a game or something? I mean, it sounds like I'm not real? There's mention of NPCs and hacking and everything. And someone said I was just a generic avatar. Rin mentioned something about my soul. So if I die in this game world thingy, does that mean I would die in "real life"? Kind of like .hack

Will I learn the answers as I play more? I'm just not sure if it's a Fate universe thing I should already know.

 

[Axelstream]

I got 30 minutes in last night. All I did was walk around and talk to people. I learned some interesting stuff about the setting though so that was great. I have some questions about the universe.
Am I

Spoiler

just playing a game or something? I mean, it sounds like I'm not real? There's mention of NPCs and hacking and everything. And someone said I was just a generic avatar. Rin mentioned something about my soul. So if I die in this game world thingy, does that mean I would die in "real life"? Kind of like .hack

Will I learn the answers as I play more? I'm just not sure if it's a Fate universe thing I should already know.

This scenario is not a part of the Fate universe, and does not occur in any of the other Fate games as far as I'm aware; it was written as a parallel scenario. You will learn the following information about the game's setting if you play more; I wouldn't really consider them "spoilers", even though they aren't revealed right away, because the game's characters pretty much just talk about them like it's nothing. Just in case, though, I'm putting them in spoiler tags. Also, I'm only up to Week 6 so there might be some twists I'm not aware of, but this is the general premise as I understand it.

Spoiler

This Holy Grail War takes place on a virtual battlefield created by the Moon Cell, otherwise known as the Holy Grail. Strictly speaking, the participants are merely avatars of themselves which are linked to their bodies somewhere in the real world; however, this also means that if your avatar dies, you die in real life, meaning that this isn't just a game. This is why all of the Master spells are codes and there's talk of "hacking" the system. Additionally, there are NPC characters scattered about who are not a part of the war (an example being Issei, the guy with the glasses on the third floor, as well as some of the people in the library). There are some twists with how this virtual system relates to several special individual characters, but that would be going into real spoiler territory.

 

[frequency]

This scenario is not a part of the Fate universe, and does not occur in any of the other Fate games as far as I'm aware; it was written as a parallel scenario. You will learn the following information about the game's setting if you play more; I wouldn't really consider them "spoilers", even though they aren't revealed right away, because the game's characters pretty much just talk about them like it's nothing. Just in case, though, I'm putting them in spoiler tags. Also, I'm only up to Week 6 so there might be some twists I'm not aware of, but this is the general premise as I understand it.

Spoiler

This Holy Grail War takes place on a virtual battlefield created by the Moon Cell, otherwise known as the Holy Grail. Strictly speaking, the participants are merely avatars of themselves which are linked to their bodies somewhere in the real world; however, this also means that if your avatar dies, you die in real life, meaning that this isn't just a game. This is why all of the Master spells are codes and there's talk of "hacking" the system. Additionally, there are NPC characters scattered about who are not a part of the war (an example being Issei, the guy with the glasses on the third floor, as well as some of the people in the library). There are some twists with how this virtual system relates to several special individual characters, but that would be going into real spoiler territory.

Thanks! So the other Fate stuff has nothing to do with

Spoiler

digital worlds

and stuff? I find this setting really interesting. Although the whole

Spoiler

dying and killing everyone else thing makes it kind of depressing. I feel sad about that poor guy you start the game playing as. I'm interested in finding out why I entered this grim war in the first place

.

 

[Axelstream]

Thanks! So the other Fate stuff has nothing to do with

Spoiler

digital worlds

and stuff? I find this setting really interesting. Although the whole

Spoiler

dying and killing everyone else thing makes it kind of depressing. I feel sad about that poor guy you start the game playing as. I'm interested in finding out why I entered this grim war in the first place

.

Yeah, this

Spoiler

virtual

setting is unique to this game. All the other Fate stories (i.e. Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero) are set in the fictional Fuyuki City in Japan. And yes,

Spoiler

I thought that the fakeout beginning was a great way to establish something of the game's tone, with the odds being stacked against you. But the protagonist is very somber and pensive about all the death he's dealing, which I think is great for getting you inside the story. The mood of the game isn't too grim either, as although there's death, there's a lot of witty and funny dialogue and banter between the characters. It's definitely a nice balance, and from what I've played so far, the development of the scenario does not disappoint.

 

[Lostconfused]

Welp. I am stuck. Trying to beat Berserker for two hours now and just not having any luck with it.

Edit: Well I guess it worked out somehow. Rather anticlimactic though to end it after UBW finished. Oh well, maybe next time Archer. Maybe next time.

 

[Akselziys]

Thank you. I was wondering why I hadn't received my booklet yet. I probably should have sticked with Gamestop.com...

We've contacted GameStop.ca and they asked us to forward the emails of those people who haven't received the booklet yet to them.

Please feel free to send an email to our support email, support at aksysgames |dot| com , and we'll go ahead and forward your email over

(this only applies to Canadian orders)

 

[Luigi87]

We've contacted GameStop.ca and they asked us to forward the emails of those people who haven't received the booklet yet to them.

Please feel free to send an email to our support email, support at aksysgames |dot| com , and we'll go ahead and forward your email over

(this only applies to Canadian orders)

Thanks for the update! Doing so now.

 

[Takuya]

We've contacted GameStop.ca and they asked us to forward the emails of those people who haven't received the booklet yet to them.

Please feel free to send an email to our support email, support at aksysgames |dot| com , and we'll go ahead and forward your email over

(this only applies to Canadian orders)

Just sent mine! Thanks!

P.S: will we get some confirmation that our emails were saved?

 

[Luigi87]

Just sent mine! Thanks!

P.S: will we get some confirmation that our emails were saved?

Aksys got back to me within 5 minutes that they've got mine to be forwarded.

 

[darkblade77]

Is there any penalty for going Easy mode, story/ending/otherwise?

I just finished my first playthrough with Saber on Normal, and I'd like to try Caster next but I keep hearing how rough it is to get her off the ground. Just wanted to weigh my options if it'll save me some frustration.

 

[Takuya]

Aksys got back to me within 5 minutes that they've got mine to be forwarded.

lol, just got a confirmation. Aksys sure does treat us well!

 

[zoku88]

3 saves is what i do.

One save at the start of the week ( end of prologue & end of the week )
One save when i clear the arena. ( per day)
One save after doing all the events i see in the servant room.
i grind a lot so i can't bother with more.

I think I ended my playthrough with having 9 or so different saves....

Is there any penalty for going Easy mode, story/ending/otherwise?

I just finished my first playthrough with Saber on Normal, and I'd like to try Caster next but I keep hearing how rough it is to get her off the ground. Just wanted to weigh my options if it'll save me some frustration.

It's honestly not too bad.

Especially since you probably know most of the patterns by now, anyway.

 

[Lostconfused]

Is there any penalty for going Easy mode, story/ending/otherwise?

I just finished my first playthrough with Saber on Normal, and I'd like to try Caster next but I keep hearing how rough it is to get her off the ground. Just wanted to weigh my options if it'll save me some frustration.

I heard that in new game plus you keep most of the items and enemy attack patterns that you discovered. So it shouldn't be that difficult.

 

[Basileus777]

I heard that in new game plus you keep most of the items and enemy attack patterns that you discovered. So it shouldn't be that difficult.

You keep your formal wear, money, and attack patterns for normal enemies.

 

[Lostconfused]

Ugh. Jeez this game gets really difficult when you can only make two wrong guess and live through a turn. Guess I have to burn Archers entire mana bar to try and live through it.


Edit 1: Oh right I forgot, you have to listen to the audio cues for the enemies skills otherwise you are going to die as well. What fun


Edit 2: Oh right forgot about the stun effect as well. If you don't remove then you are entirely defenseless and will end up dying because 3 attacks are enough to kill.

I like this game. But at times it's as if all the fun is just sucked out.


Edit 3: YES! That was definitely satisfying. Eat infinite swords Gawain. I'll say this much, you are no

Spoiler

Lu Bu

.


Edit 4: And now we return you to the regularly scheduled annoying bullshit, enjoy.

Edit Final: And credits! First words "Opening theme: Ali Project"

3. FFFFFFFFFFFFF is that Ali Project?! Dear god, no, why! Why!!

I KNEW IT!

Man what a roller coaster ride, ups, downs, sheer drops and unexpected twists. Love it, I'd probably start on a Saber playthrough/route if Saints Row wasn't out.

 

[Danj]

Anybody know if there's any chance of a European release of this? Or failing that, is there anywhere that ships to Europe that sells those Limited Edition awesomenesses?

 

[frequency]

Anybody know if there's any chance of a European release of this? Or failing that, is there anywhere that ships to Europe that sells those Limited Edition awesomenesses?

I don't know about European release, but VGP ships to Europe. I've seen a lot of people on these forums say they're great for importing for Europeans.

http://www.videogamesplus.ca/produc...19236&osCsid=f572e156c6fa555dd8cbfa88d3fead1a

They're in Canada.

 

[Akselziys]

Fate/EXTRA website updated with two new wallpapers and two new icons!

http://fate-extra.com

Rani & Julius! Get them while they're hot!

 

[perfect free]

Just started Week 4. I have to say, that line about Rin

Spoiler

"[going] from comatose to bitch in three seconds flat"

was pretty damn funny.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I like the gameplay, because I enjoy different things, but it feels too random and entirely unpredictable.

Geez, imagine if I hadn't played as Saber.

 

[frequency]

I got into the Arena for the very first time (where they don't let you proceed past the bee thingy). I ran around fighting the floating block enemy for like an hour. It literally took me that entire hour to learn the 3 possible attack patterns the block can do.

I'm slow. I'm afraid of what is to come but I'll press on!

Also, Saber is very short.

EDIT: I put in some more time last night. I got through the first area. The 2 enemy types after the first block guys beat me up
I was playing on easy and found a healing spell so I was never in danger of dying, but I kept guessing wrong. Of the 6 actions, I usually get 3-4 of them "even" or wrong.
I must have a really bad memory. I think I'll need to play this game with a notebook so I can write down the attack patterns. That's kind of sad...
Still really enjoying the game though. I enjoy Saber's character way more than I thought I would. I don't feel so bad about not choosing Archer now.

 

[perfect free]

I must have a really bad memory. I think I'll need to play this game with a notebook so I can write down the attack patterns. That's kind of sad...

Nah, that's what I've been doing too. Got a little spreadsheet going and everything. It's been really helpful, not just with memorizing the enemy's current attack pattern but also with noticing larger-scale traits: some enemies always lead off with a certain command, some enemies of the same type (e.g., block-type enemies) have similar attack patterns, etc.

I mean, I guess you could just FAQ it (if there's a FAQ out there), but for me this kind of thing is more satisfying to figure out on my own.

 

[frequency]

Nah, that's what I've been doing too. Got a little spreadsheet going and everything. It's been really helpful, not just with memorizing the enemy's current attack pattern but also with noticing larger-scale traits: some enemies always lead off with a certain command, some enemies of the same type (e.g., block-type enemies) have similar attack patterns, etc.

I mean, I guess you could just FAQ it (if there's a FAQ out there), but for me this kind of thing is more satisfying to figure out on my own.

It's a kind of cool feeling. Reminds me of older games where I'd have to write down hints and passwords for doors and stuff. But my terrible memory is terrible. I often forget what the enemy did like right after they do it.

I'd do it on my computer but I tend to play with my PSP when I'm laying in bed, getting ready to sleep. So I'll have to go pen and paper. I hope it doesn't get too complicated with lots of enemies. I think I'll be fine since I assume you'd stop fighting the same enemies once you get to later areas.

 

[semiconscious]

finished this a couple days ago (saber/normal). once i got shockwave 2, i pretty much gave up on trying to figure out patterns (unless they were simple/obvious), & just spent time grinding enemies until more of their moves were revealed. not to mention, simply spammed skills, for the most part, on the final few bosses...

while i really enjoyed the game - very good story (tho why it was set in a high school is beyond me ) - i think the whole enemy 'pattern' thing should've been tuned down a couple notches. as in, anything over 2-3 patterns per enemy = just plain nasty...

 

[Takuya]

Hmmm, still no word from Gamestop.ca for those bonuses.

 

[Akselziys]

Fate/EXTRA official website's final update !

http://fate-extra.com

It has two new wallpapers and two new icons of Rin and Lancer for all to enjoy !

Hmmm, still no word from Gamestop.ca for those bonuses.

Yeah, we keep hitting up GameStop.ca about it too, so hopefully they'll contact you all soon

 

[radiantdreamer]

I just beat my first opponent with Saber as my servant. So I really only have time to go through this game once.

Barring gameplay difficulty, which servant is the most entertaining story/dialogue-wise? So far I'm enjoying Saber's nose-in-the-air remarks, but I wonder about Caster. Will she make me lol?

 

[Lain]

After 22 days I finally received my LE copy. Being importer is suffering, lately.
I'll have to start the game later in the day.

 

[Magna_Mixalis]

I just beat my first opponent with Saber as my servant. So I really only have time to go through this game once.

Barring gameplay difficulty, which servant is the most entertaining story/dialogue-wise? So far I'm enjoying Saber's nose-in-the-air remarks, but I wonder about Caster. Will she make me lol?

In a nutshell:

Saber: Imperious, demanding.
Archer: Snide, sarcastic.
Caster: Insane, pokes and prods the fourth wall.

I personally loved doing Caster's dialog as her personality is so borderline schizophrenic.

 

[frequency]

Hey fellow Canadians.

You may want to check the e-mail address your EBGames/GameStop.ca account is linked to.
<3 <3 <3 Akselziys/Aksys

 

[Luigi87]

Hey fellow Canadians.

You may want to check the e-mail address your EBGames/GameStop.ca account is linked to.
<3 <3 <3 Akselziys/Aksys

Woo!
This is very good news. QFT.

 

[Dark Schala]

Hey fellow Canadians.

You may want to check the e-mail address your EBGames/GameStop.ca account is linked to.
<3 <3 <3 Akselziys/Aksys

Hmmm?

*checks*

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Much thanks to everyone at Aksys for making this happen. You guys are so awesome.

Oh, I haven't checked into this thread since I started playing the game (and unfortunately I've been super-busy for the past few weeks so I haven't had a chance to play a lot; I'm only on Week 3). I chose Female + Archer, and I've met two dead ends so far, I think? Luckily I had multiple saves to counter that, but I'm pleased that there are different paths.

I'm liking the dialogue so far and some of the library entries. Shinji's an asshole, Archer's sarcastic, Dan's noble, etc. I like how everyone's written. I might check more of the Fate universe as a result.

The battle system isn't bad. I wasn't really expecting much from it. It's like rock-paper-scissors (and I'll admit that I have a spreadsheet with some of actions written out for each enemy), but I don't really feel like I'm getting bored while battling because you have objectives to complete each day and week. Grinding, for some reason, doesn't seem as bad, though I wish the enemies would respawn faster. I'll see what I think of it as I dive in more.

 

[Akselziys]

Hey fellow Canadians.

You may want to check the e-mail address your EBGames/GameStop.ca account is linked to.
<3 <3 <3 Akselziys/Aksys

Woo!
This is very good news. QFT.

I'm very happy to hear that GameStop.ca started to address the missing booklets after forwarding Canadians emails to them !

I hope you all enjoy your copies of Fate/the Fact!

Hmmm?

*checks*

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Much thanks to everyone at Aksys for making this happen. You guys are so awesome.

Oh, I haven't checked into this thread since I started playing the game (and unfortunately I've been super-busy for the past few weeks so I haven't had a chance to play a lot; I'm only on Week 3). I chose Female + Archer, and I've met two dead ends so far, I think? Luckily I had multiple saves to counter that, but I'm pleased that there are different paths.

I'm liking the dialogue so far and some of the library entries. Shinji's an asshole, Archer's sarcastic, Dan's noble, etc. I like how everyone's written. I might check more of the Fate universe as a result.

The battle system isn't bad. I wasn't really expecting much from it. It's like rock-paper-scissors (and I'll admit that I have a spreadsheet with some of actions written out for each enemy), but I don't really feel like I'm getting bored while battling because you have objectives to complete each day and week. Grinding, for some reason, doesn't seem as bad, though I wish the enemies would respawn faster. I'll see what I think of it as I dive in more.

I'm glad that you're enjoying it thus far ! I look forward to future impressions!

 

[radiantdreamer]

In a nutshell:

Saber: Imperious, demanding.
Archer: Snide, sarcastic.
Caster: Insane, pokes and prods the fourth wall.

I personally loved doing Caster's dialog as her personality is so borderline schizophrenic.

I might restart with Caster then. ^_^

Saber is kinda fun, I like seeing her get upset/fired up and remarking how she's naturally the best, but she's been doing that throughout and it's getting a bit boring. :|

 

[Akuun]

I've been going with Saber and I rather like her personality. It's somehow amusing to see her cheekiness.

 

[Luigi87]

My copy of Fate/The Fact was just deliver =D
... Now only one month and one day until I can "receive" my game as a gift and finally play it @_@

 

[R_thanatos]

My copy of Fate/The Fact was just deliver =D
... Now only one month and one day until I can "receive" my game as a gift and finally play it @_@

You got the book before the game ?