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[lljride]

Man, I am so impressed with FF XIII it's not even funny. I was SO cynical about this game for years, but I can't believe how much I love it. From the battle system (best yet) to the soundtrack (possibly the same??) to the graphic (christ) and perhaps even the characters (I actually like them all for their own reasons, unlike any previous FF). If the story picks up and is awesome, I will be floored by the end of this game.

Dude this is me exactly (just maybe not quite cynical per se). I know there are a lot of complaints and I understand all of them, but for me EVERYTHING about this game is clicking. Not quite sure where this ranks among all FFs yet, but it's way up there.

Quick question for Ch 11. I asked a little earlier in the topic but didn't see a response. I skipped most side missions intentionally thinking I'd go back to them later/near post game, but now I'm second guessing myself. Currently in Oerba..is it worth trekking all the way back to do some side missions, or should I just tough it out to the end of the game and do them later? I've only done 2-3 non mandatory missions.

 

[survivor]

ya, i skipped that. what was in that treasure chest?

10 Scaled Wing

The only one to fight is guarding a Treasure Sphere on the 2nd ledge. The rest can be avoided for an easier part of that chapter. He's tougher because you cant pre-emptive attack him, so you gotta start with a zero stagger.

I think I did a pre-emptive strike on him cause I remember that when he got instant staggered, I was able to Poison him which didn't happen for the other one.

 

[MrOctober]

The problem is I had no clue how to raise the Gestalt gauge so I was just hoping what I was doing was right. But seeing how I always switched back to Medic, the fight kinda just went along.

You get to face them again? The only reason I wanted to fight them was because I was afraid if I ignored them, I wouldn't get their data and I would miss the opportunity to ever fight them again.

You can use Libra to find out exactly what you need to do to fight anything, Eidolons included. It's not a guessing game.

Also the game tells you to skip them because there are points in the game where enemies are far above you and you can't take them down, so you need to know that you can run. The book tells you to avoid those things because the time it takes to take them down isn't worth the small amount of CP they give you. You can beat them though so fight the one in front of the treasure.

 

[Pandaman]

so this is my first final fantasy game ever... and i sort of suck. Im stuck on the massive warmachine in the lake level. so yea, i suck bad. i get the concept, but it seems that every time it does the sweep attack and immediately follows up with an ice breaker, it'll kill lightning before i have time to select an item after being staggered. [or worse if im in a chain already]

is there some way to cancel chains or get the crazy australian medic to heal me.. quicker?

as it is it's tri-disaster until he charges, i switch to solitary, the attack hits, i go for an item heal and either it works and i live or the boss immediately does the giant iceball attack and i die before the item takes effect. [or inspite of the item]

 

[Davedough]

ya, i skipped that. what was in that treasure chest?

lol dunno. I skipped it to because I fought the first scalebeast to see what the game was warning me about and got skeered.

 

[DY_nasty]

You get to face them again? The only reason I wanted to fight them was because I was afraid if I ignored them, I wouldn't get their data and I would miss the opportunity to ever fight them again.

Well, not those specifically. You will encounter that model and enemy type again though.

P.S. Fuck Behemoths.

 

[MrOctober]

so this is my first final fantasy game ever... and i sort of suck. Im stuck on the massive warmachine in the lake level. so yea, i suck bad. i get the concept, but it seems that every time it does the sweep attack and immediately follows up with an ice breaker, it'll kill lightning before i have time to select an item after being staggered. [or worse if im in a chain already]

is there some way to cancel chains or get the crazy australian medic to heal me.. quicker?

as it is it's tri-disaster until he charges, i switch to solitary, the attack hits, i go for an item heal and either it works and i live or the boss immediately does the giant iceball attack and i die before the item takes effect. [or inspite of the item]

Pressing Circle cancels the chain, pressing Triangle goes with whatever you have filled right then and there, so if you only have 1 attack ready out of 2 you can attack once.

 

[survivor]

You can use Libra to find out exactly what you need to do to fight anything, Eidolons included. It's not a guessing game.

Also the game tells you to skip them because there are points in the game where enemies are far above you and you can't take them down, so you need to know that you can run. The book tells you to avoid those things because the time it takes to take them down isn't worth the small amount of CP they give you. You can beat them though so fight the one in front of the treasure.

I think I did use Libra, but I'm guessing it either left some info blank or I just ignored reading it.

 

[Jrmint]

P.S. Fuck Behemoths.

Why? They give great CP and are easy to kill if you get a preemptive strike. And it is so fun juggling them in the air and destroying them

 

[DY_nasty]

I think I did use Libra, but I'm guessing it either left some info blank or I just ignored reading it.

Libra does that sometime.

If you ever have the choice, Librascope (the item) is ALWAYS a better option than Libra (the technique).

Why? They give great CP and are easy to kill if you get a preemptive strike. And it is so fun juggling them in the air and destroying them

Yeah, they're cute and cudly at first... Later on, they'd give Kratos a run for his money.

 

[Pandaman]

Pressing Circle cancels the chain, pressing Triangle goes with whatever you have filled right then and there, so if you only have 1 attack ready out of 2 you can attack once.

ah, cancels will help.

still, i switched up to commando/sentinel/medic and now he's doing double ice attacks to oneshot me. :\

do enemies respawn in this game? can i go back and grind? i didn't really skip any fights...

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

Yeah I guess so. But I would imagine players by now would have realized you can easily avoid enemies since it's not like they charge at you.

Don't make the mistake of assuming everyone else plays the same way you do and knows the same amount about the game as you do.

 

[DY_nasty]

ah, cancels will help.

still, i switched up to commando/sentinel/medic and now he's doing double ice attacks to oneshot me. :\

do enemies respawn in this game? can i go back and grind? i didn't really skip any fights...

Yeah, enemies respawn. Still though, shift more. You should be able to feel out his attack pattern by now. When you see some hell coming, switch to a defensive setup. Heal up, then dig back into him. Keeping that chain guage up is essential to every fight. Very few tough enemies will go down unless you take advantage of it.

 

[Pandaman]

Yeah, enemies respawn. Still though, shift more. You should be able to feel out his attack pattern by now. When you see some hell coming, switch to a defensive setup. Heal up, then dig back into him. Keeping that chain guage up is essential to every fight. Very few tough enemies will go down unless you take advantage of it.

well, yea. but he's one shooting me. i switch to a defensive paragrim at full health before he attacks me and i still die if he decides to immediately follow up. sometimes he'll attack once and then sit there and let me chain him all day, but the moment he attacks it seems im doomed. so im clearly doing something wrong, but im not really sure what. :\

 

[survivor]

Don't make the mistake of assuming everyone else plays the same way you do and knows the same amount about the game as you do.

I guess I shouldn't have made the assumption. The thing is I spend a lot of time just looking at enemy's movements and trying to find a chance to get a preemptive strike so I spend a lot of time just avoiding them when they get alerted. Probably not everyone spends his time doing that.

 

[Cornbread78]

Yeah, I'm incredibly glad each weapon's final tier (of course having stat differences) is the same, that'd be a bitch if it wasn't :lol

Good to hear that, but it still sounds time consuming like WKC.

 

[DY_nasty]

well, yea. but he's one shooting me. i switch to a defensive paragrim at full health before he attacks me and i still die if he decides to immediately follow up. sometimes he'll attack once and then sit there and let me chain him all day, but the moment he attacks it seems im doomed. so im clearly doing something wrong, but im not really sure what. :\

Well, if going pure defense isn't working then try using diveristy (med/com/rav). That way, you can heal why still franticly trying to get that bastard staggered. Most of the time, a staggered enemy becomes a LOT safer and easier to handle. Don't be afriad to fight with sub-50% health. I found that playing with an all-or-nothing style is rewarded greatly in this game if you can figure out when the best times to go all-out are.

 

[Shrennin]

I'm starting to like the characters more and more - I definitely like Hope more, Vanille I still have problems with but hopefully she'll come into her own.

This game is one of those unique games where I keep on saying I'll stop at a save point but then push on to the next save point...and then the next save point...and the next and before I know it, five hours have passed when I originally said I would stop at that save point.

Ug! The last game that did that to me was ME2 (except instead of save points, it was missions and side-quests).

 

[Brandon F]

Getting to the point where I am only really obliged to press on for the visuals. Enjoyed FFX to completion, put 130+ hrs into FFXII; ready to quit FF13 before the ten hour mark. Combat is really not sitting well with me, the progression is entirely too passive, and I feel like I am reading the journal moreso than identifying with the world and events via the cutscenes.

It's been a tumultuous generation for JRPG's.

 

[Davedough]

This game is one of those unique games where I keep on saying I'll stop at a save point but then push on to the next save point...and then the next save point...and the next and before I know it, five hours have passed when I originally said I would stop at that save point.

Maybe that finally explains why there are so many save points in the game. The "just one more" factor is a pretty hard pull. I do the same thing.

 

[Duress]

Can someone tell me what the point of the Vendetta skill for Sentinel is?

The damage dealing for shielding yourself is kind of weak.

Why not just use the other shielding abilities for survivability, and have your other characters deal damage?

 

[squall211]

How high can you level a weapon? lvl 99? (I'm hoping its lower than that).

 

[Pandaman]

Well, if going pure defense isn't working then try using diveristy (med/com/rav). That way, you can heal why still franticly trying to get that bastard staggered. Most of the time, a staggered enemy becomes a LOT safer and easier to handle. Don't be afriad to fight with sub-50% health. I found that playing with an all-or-nothing style is rewarded greatly in this game if you can figure out when the best times to go all-out are.

but shes a total glass cannon!

i actually had some success with a purely defensive build, but i got impatient with it. i'll probably just grind him out, i've got potions to spare.

 

[Yoshichan]

OH YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH! got the 2x CP item now

 

[DY_nasty]

In FFXIII, everyone is a glass cannon.

Can someone tell me what the point of the Vendetta skill for Sentinel is?

The damage dealing for shielding yourself is kind of weak.

Why not just use the other shielding abilities for survivability, and have your other characters deal damage?

Only good for mob control really...

where do you get the 2x CP thing?

 

[CruxisMana]

Status report; just completed Chapter 8.

Took me a few turns to beat

Spoiler

Brynhildr

because I forgot Sazh had haste...

And a few bits of development trivia I've noticed too;

Chapter 6:

Spoiler

Lightning must have originally been meant to visit the Sunleth Waterscape.

Chapter 7:

Spoiler

Fang and Hope were missing, but their designs probably weren't finished yet.

 

[Shrennin]

Maybe that finally explains why there are so many save points in the game. The "just one more" factor is a pretty hard pull. I do the same thing.

Yea, the save points must be a major reason. They are very close together and they tend to be right before something exciting. I always want to see the awesome cut scenes or get into the next major boss fight and then stop (even though I don't).

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

Chapter 6:

Spoiler

Lightning must have originally been meant to visit the Sunleth Waterscape.

Chapter 7:

Spoiler

Fang and Hope were missing, but their designs probably weren't finished yet.

Expand please.

What has you thinking this?

 

[commish]

I don't know what it says about me that I often think of Lightning as a guy during battles.

 

[CruxisMana]

Expand please.

What has you thinking this?

The original trailer showed Lightning walking through a forest, with a very similar look to the

Spoiler

Sunleth Waterscape.

And the trailer than revealed Snow

Spoiler

when he comes to save Lightning and Hope in Chapter 7

didn't feature Hope or Fang.

 

[elcapitan]

Put me in the category that loves this game. I recognize the corridor-based linear nature of the game, but I'm having too much fun with the battle system. I love testing out different Paradigms just for fun of it. First time in an RPG I rush headlong into battles for fun, and not for grinding.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

I don't know what it says about me that I often think of Lightning as a guy during battles.

I think it's the pure DPS that makes her seem "dude-ish".

 

[DY_nasty]

I don't know what it says about me that I often think of Lightning as a guy during battles.

The Sasha Vujacic Effect.

ALL OVER MY FACE, etc.

 

[survivor]

In FFXIII, everyone is a glass cannon.

Only good for mob control really...

where do you get the 2x CP thing?

Mission 55 should give it as a reward.

 

[Castor Krieg]

How high can you level a weapon? lvl 99? (I'm hoping its lower than that).

Varies with weapon. Mostly it's 21-26 for Tier 1, then from mid-30s to 60s for Tier 2 (tier 2 weapons don't start at Lvl. 1).

 

[satori]

I don't know what it says about me that I often think of Lightning as a guy during battles.

Man Commish I am so glad I am not the only one lol. Well maybe its a SE thing, since you know Vanh from FF12, all im saying! Its like male and female is interchangeable hehe.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Chapter 11 boss fight is BS. Took twenty freakin' minutes.

Spoilers: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/Wrench-Ninja/IMAG0074.jpg

Constantly attacking all of the party, constantly inflicting status effects party wide, constantly getting rid of my buffs. If you take too long, he'll cast doom on you. Nearly died, the timer was at 800.

God I suck.

 

[mjemirzian]

Chapter 11 boss fight is BS. Took twenty freakin' minutes.

Spoilers: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/Wrench-Ninja/IMAG0074.jpg

Constantly attacking all of the party, constantly inflicting status effects party wide, constantly getting rid of my buffs. If you take too long, he'll cast doom on you. Nearly died, the timer was at 800.

God I suck.

Use Light/Hope/Vanille (slower but you get protection so easier healing) or Light/Sahz/Vanille (riskier but you get haste).. make sure Vanille has Imperil

 

[Zoe]

Chapter 11 boss fight is BS. Took twenty freakin' minutes.

Spoilers: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/Wrench-Ninja/IMAG0074.jpg

At least you still got 1 star.

 

[dreamer3kx]

Just got up to where you can change your characters, so just before that point I was using Lighting/Fang/Hope which seemed pretty damn effective, what is the most balanced team for you?

 

[Yoshichan]

Just got up to where you can change your characters, so just before that point I was using Lighting/Fang/Hope which seemed pretty damn effective, what is the most balanced team for you?

As I said before, I like using every character for something but my "neutral" party I absolutely _love_ contains of Fang/Sazh/Vanille aka Sentinel/Comando, Syn/Rav/Med and Sab/Med/Rav


Oh and this game needs an auto-run button, like WKC.

 

[mjemirzian]

Just got up to where you can change your characters, so just before that point I was using Lighting/Fang/Hope which seemed pretty damn effective, what is the most balanced team for you?

Light/Hope and...

Fang/Snow if you need a sentinel..
Vanille if you need debuffs/Death
Sahz sucks.. no nice way to say it

But if you're before ch 12 you need Sahz for haste.

 

[ezekial45]

I just stuck with that team for awhile. They're just fine.

Anyway, how many missions total are there in the gran pulse?

 

[YuriLowell]

did anyone post destructoid's review? Its terrible.

 

[Yoshichan]

I just stuck with that team for awhile. They're just fine.

Anyway, how many missions total are there in the gran pulse?

64.

 

[DY_nasty]

As I said before, I like using every character for something but my "neutral" party I absolutely _love_ contains of Fang/Sazh/Vanille aka Sentinel/Comando, Syn/Rav/Med and Sab/Med/Rav


Oh and this game needs an auto-run button, like WKC.

Thats my group for right now too.

Fang is better than Light. Hate to admit it, but Fang is a damned beast. Sazh... I like him, I really do but the second that someone else gets Haste, he is GONE.

 

[bigdaddygamebot]

did anyone post destructoid's review? Its terrible.

They're still around??

lulz

 

[Foxtastical]

did anyone post destructoid's review? Its terrible.

It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Yes, it's written quite terribly (I don't think his first paragraph was edited at all), but there's some decent content in the piece. I agree with a few of his points about the beginning of the game and such.

But yeah, not really a good review in the end. It comes off snarky and almost seems like he has an agenda, but it's worth reading to see why some people are enjoying it while others aren't enjoying.

 

[wonkafest]

did anyone post destructoid's review? Its terrible.

I noticed Jim Sterling was the author, let me guess 4/10?

 

[Sora_N]

Some question about one of the enemies in Chapter 6.

Spoiler

So when you first see the Scalebeasts, the game tells you to avoid them, and even the guide tells you to only fight one and avoid the rest. So I was like let's see what the fuzz is all about. After getting my ass kicked 2 times by being stubborn and not using the Medic, I beat the first Scalebeast. Then for the other 3, I just easily beat them by staggering them, Poison/Deshell, then just Rav/Com them.

So what I don't get is why did the game make a big deal about them when the only hard thing about them is having huge HP?

Are the scalebeasts those lizard things with the armor until you break/stagger them? I'm playing the game in Japanese and skipped the notice by accident so I just killed them all. :lol