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[User 10639]

Completely agreed.

Also, I suggest you join the Fang fan club. She is the best Nomura has yet to conceive, and would have been the best in XIII if not for Rygdea (though she may win anyway since he really does not have a body).

Dude, I have been a member of the Fang fan club since day 1. :lol I was determined to have her as my team leader as soon as I got control of my party, and sure enough, that's what I did. (It helps that once Hope learns Haste, the Fang/Hope/Vanille team is utterly unstoppable.) I'm not good at making avatars, though, and I'm not sure I want to steal anyone else's wholesale.

Who does not?

I am not sure which god inspired Nomura to design her, but I fervently hope the it keeps on doing so post-Vs13.

I was so depressed once I realized that the best designs Nomura can come up with in the modern/futuristic vein in this game (which are really not bad compared to some of his previous stuff - FF8, barf) are completely outclassed by the girls from Pulse. So of course his next game is, once again, going to feature modern/futuristic designs instead of that hot tribal thing going on here. One step forward, two steps back for Nomura.

the battle system is so good.


so...fucking...good....

It's a bit of a downer to come on GAF and see all the hate, but when I go back and load up the game I remember... oh yeah... I fucking love this battle system. Love it to pieces, even though crystarium is meh and the ranking system is all kinds of messed up.

 

[sciplore]

Finally past that pain in the ass boss from ch. 4 been kinda avoiding the game until I passed him. It sucks that you just cant grind that is how I was always able to slide my way through rpgs LO withstanding. Vanille and Sazh makes a interesting team though :lol.

I don't know why but I really like the stores designs. I would have love to been able to wonder in a city to look at the stores exteriors and interiors they had that design to them that reminded me of TWEWY. Now I think I just want a modern FF game with a art direction similar to TWEWY.

Spoiler

Yea I know that is with Verses is going to be all about but its looking to be quite similar to FFVIII's horrible story that I really want to avoid. Might give it a try though if it have a overall environment/design similar to TWEWY and a KH battle system.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Just finished Chapter 11...

Question, should I probably stay to grind for a bit in Pulse before continuing with Chapter 12? I have all 3 primary roles maxed for each character.

If they are already maxed then just go through 12, with the CP gathered in 12 and part of 13 you should be able to make a nice dent in the next level of the crysterium since so much CP is given.

 

[Crash Station]

Goddamn is this final boss cheap. Awesome as hell though with a great design. My crystarium is maxed out for all the characters I'm using so I know that can't be it. Maybe I should stick a paradigm in there with 2 medics.

 

[Meier]

Realistically, to get 5-star in all hunts, it has to be best to wait until you've beat the game...are the rewards worth giving up the achievement though?

 

[Deleted member 30609]

I'm in the middle of Chapter 10.

Status report: the game is still great. The pay-off for playing all this time is so fucking great. I feel so powerful. The battle system is really given a chance to shine here. Lots of paradigm shifting, but with the right strategy, enemies die super-quickly. Strategically choosing which part of the crystalum to upgrade next also benefits me a whole lot, I've found (within the bounds of the primary three, holy shit at the just unlocked extra roles, I'm going to save those for MUCH later).

So rewarding. faaa.

 

[jiien]

Welp, finished the main storyline. Game is good. I had a fun ride, and the story came to enough of a conclusion to satisfy me.

I have only one regret, and obviously don't highlight unless you've seen the credits roll:

Spoiler

WHY DIDN'T I GET TO SEE RYGDEA AGAIN He's a badass that kills Cid in the end, but then we never seem him again.

Edit: Also, obligatory, I didn't want Vanille to be...not alive(?) at the end. Saaaaad.

 

[Cep]

Welp, finished the main storyline. Game is good. I had a fun ride, and the story came to enough of a conclusion to satisfy me.

I have only one regret, and obviously don't highlight unless you've seen the credits roll:

Spoiler

WHY DIDN'T I GET TO SEE RYGDEA AGAIN He's a badass that kills Cid in the end, but then we never seem him again.

Edit: Also, obligatory, I didn't want Vanille to be...not alive(?) at the end. Saaaaad.

Take heart young one, if the god is good, we will see in him in XIII-2 as the main protagonist.

 

[Meier]

Hah, got into a fight with two king behemoths. Grind one down to half health in about 20 mins then he stands and has 750k. Ugh Gave up there, lol.

 

[Crash Station]

Another form? Are you fuckin kidding me? Dammit... Hope I don't get destroyed.

Edit: Well that was easy :lol

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Goddamn is this final boss cheap. Awesome as hell though with a great design. My crystarium is maxed out for all the characters I'm using so I know that can't be it. Maybe I should stick a paradigm in there with 2 medics.

Yeah you should be using Combat Clinic for healing on the final boss, its the only way to survive Merciless Judgment (I think that was the name of the attack), try to beat it fast enough so you dont experience a n attack with a latin name that is also super powerful that is employed in that fight.

Oh you seem to have beat it, lol.

 

[Giolon]

Take heart young one, if the god is good, we will see in him in XIII-2 as the main protagonist.

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure he got turned into a Sacrifice Cie'th with the rest of the cavalry. Of course they never showed it on camera, so they could always cheap out and make him reappear.

 

[hateradio]

Take heart young one, if the god is good, we will see in him in XIII-2 as the main protagonist.

I doubt he would be there much, more like Gipal or something. Why am I even talking about this, I don't want XIII-2 :lol

 

[Styles]

Spoiler

I'm pretty sure he got turned into a Sacrifice Cie'th with the rest of the cavalry. Of course they never showed it on camera, so they could always cheap out and make him reappear.

Spoiler

That's what I thought also.

How am I suppose to fucking kill Neochu with his little babies?!! Frustrating. Ben trying for the last 2 hours. All of my characters above 15000 hp and I'm still having a hard time.

 

[User 10639]

I have only one regret, and obviously don't highlight unless you've seen the credits roll:

Spoiler

Edit: Also, obligatory, I didn't want Vanille to be...not alive(?) at the end. Saaaaad.

Spoiler

She is alive, though. Just in crystal form...

Aha! The logo! It makes sense now!

Take heart young one, if the god is good, we will see in him in XIII-2 as the main protagonist.

I'd still like a prequel more. Would you mind if I...stole your avatar?

 

[mjemirzian]

It's a bit of a downer to come on GAF and see all the hate, but when I go back and load up the game I remember... oh yeah... I fucking love this battle system. Love it to pieces, even though crystarium is meh and the ranking system is all kinds of messed up.

How exactly do you think the ranking system is 'messed up'?

 

[Cep]

Spoiler

She is alive, though. Just in crystal form...

Aha! The logo! It makes sense now!

I'd still like a prequel more. Would you mind if I...stole your avatar?

Not at all.

How exactly do you think the ranking system is 'messed up'?

Easy to manipulate.

 

[Crash Station]

Beat it. What an amazing experience. Loved the ending. I actually teared up a bit. I don't care how that makes me look; I fuckin love this game.

I'll probably have some mini-review/impressions up later.

 

[Celcius]

I just finished mission 64 with 5 stars

My strategy:

Spoiler

My team was Lightning/Snow/Vanille.
Make sure to keep haste and protect on everyone at all times, keep poison on the boss at all times. As soon as you put poison on him, go into sentinel/sentinel/sentinel, and every time he does his ultimate move, immediately go into sentinel/sentinel/med. As soon as everyone's health is back in the green, go back to the previous defense formation. You never actually hit the boss, you just keep poison on him and survive until the end. :lol

 

[User 10639]

Sweet. Team Fang FTW!

How exactly do you think the ranking system is 'messed up'?

It's fine, mostly, I just find it hilarious that fights against Eidolons are clearly rigged so that it's impossible to get any ranking other than five stars. Also, I can get five stars on almost all of the battles in a level and then get, like, two stars on a boss... although that may just be because I suck.

But given the emphasis on speed in this game's battle system, it does actually make sense for rankings to be based on time limits (unlike in, say, VC), and I like that it's done by individual battles and not chapters... action games take note.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Sweet. Team Fang FTW!

It's fine, mostly, I just find it hilarious that fights against Eidolons are clearly rigged so that it's impossible to get any ranking other than five stars. Also, I can get five stars on almost all of the battles in a level and then get, like, two stars on a boss... although that may just be because I suck.

But given the emphasis on speed in this game's battle system, it does actually make sense for rankings to be based on time limits (unlike in, say, VC), and I like that it's done by individual battles and not chapters... action games take note.

Bayonetta has been there and done that. =p

 

[toastyToast]

OK, after 15 hours I've come to realize that chapter 11 is the best RPG I've played in a long time :lol

I think I grinded a bit too hard and now all my roles are at level 4. Will the game be too easy from here on out? I struggled with the hunts when I first touched down but I just did Mission 18 and it was a cakewalk (minus having to heal once). I think I got carried away.

 

[mjemirzian]

Sweet. Team Fang FTW!

It's fine, mostly, I just find it hilarious that fights against Eidolons are clearly rigged so that it's impossible to get any ranking other than five stars. Also, I can get five stars on almost all of the battles in a level and then get, like, two stars on a boss... although that may just be because I suck.

But given the emphasis on speed in this game's battle system, it does actually make sense for rankings to be based on time limits (unlike in, say, VC), and I like that it's done by individual battles and not chapters... action games take note.

Eidolon fights are already capped by doom. Have you looked at the actual formula for the ranking? That might help you a bit with getting 5 stars on some fights. Sometimes reducing your stats helps a lot.

Score = {[(Time Objective) - (Battle Time)] x (Battle Rate)} + 10,000
Time Objective = [(Enemy Strength) / (Party Member Strength)] + 8
Enemy Strength is the sum of the following:
[(HP at the start of Battle) x (enemy level)] / 16
In the case that the enemy's level is above 50, it is calculated as 50.
Party Member Strength is the sum of the following:
[(Attack power x ATB Level) / (3.5 + ATB Level)]
Attack power means the highest value between magic and physical attack.
Battle Rate = [(10,000) / (Time Objective)]
Any score above 15000 is 5 stars.

I would have liked to see VC take into account more than the turn limit, or make it impossible to do order scout rushes. VC2 is kind of similar except you can no longer quick-save, and orders cost a lot more.

 

[Meier]

Oh wtf at Juggernaut! :lol wasn't prepared for that...to say the least. Enemy levels are so arbitrary...he is level 3 apparently.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

OK, after 15 hours I've come to realize that chapter 11 is the best RPG I've played in a long time :lol

I think I grinded a bit too hard and now all my roles are at level 4. Will the game be too easy from here on out? I struggled with the hunts when I first touched down but I just did Mission 18 and it was a cakewalk (minus having to heal once). I think I got carried away.

I just enjoy running through it and seeing everything flying around and seeing random things fighting each other and listening to the music. The main area of Gran Pulse has some great music.

 

[User 10639]

Eidolon fights are already capped by doom.

Exactly, which is why it's funny that the times that they set for "defeating" the Eidolons are so much longer than you could possibly take that you pretty much automatically get five stars.

I would have liked to see VC take into account more than the turn limit, or make it impossible to do order scout rushes. VC2 is kind of similar except you can no longer quick-save, and orders cost a lot more.

Yeah, the ranking in VC is well and truly broken. (edit: b/c it doesn't take into account capturing aces and the like) And for me it was more Alicia + awaken potential rushes, because she is a fucking beast in that game.

Bayonetta has been there and done that. =p

Doesn't Bayonetta do both, though? I really need to play Bayo some more, much more, I think I'm only on chapter 5 or somesuch. I got derailed by Infamous (ugh), Heavy Rain (double ugh), and then this game (double yay).

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Doesn't Bayonetta do both, though? I really need to play Bayo some more, much more, I think I'm only on chapter 5 or somesuch. I got derailed by Infamous (ugh), Heavy Rain (double ugh), and then this game (double yay).

each fight is ranked effectively five (well, five and half, really, there's an ultra rank), and then you get a final rank that's a effectively your average rank throughout the level at the end.

 

[Amir0x]

chapter 9 beat. Beat final boss first try with five stars. Pretty easy fight but it was cool looking and had good music. So can't complain there.

I am so happy that chapter is over. Seemed like the longest slog in RPG history, even though it was only a few hours. Chapter 10 and then finally GRAN PULSE. Thank the holy Gods

 

[Baha]

chapter 9 beat. Beat final boss first try with five stars. Pretty easy fight but it was cool looking and had good music. So can't complain there.

I am so happy that chapter is over. Seemed like the longest slog in RPG history, even though it was only a few hours. Chapter 10 and then finally GRAN PULSE. Thank the holy Gods

Oh boy. Chapter 10 was longer imo but maybe it'll be smoother sailing for you since you upgraded some of your weapons.

 

[Amir0x]

oh god don't tell me that

if the game gets any more boring I think even my PS3 will get drowsy and go into auto sleep mode

 

[User 10639]

each fight is ranked effectively five (well, five and half, really, there's an ultra rank), and then you get a final rank that's a effectively your average rank throughout the level at the end.

I remember, I also remember getting platinums (that is the highest rank, yes?) on a few battles and decent rankings overall. I was surprised to get any platinums at all, but that's another game that really does an excellent job of teaching you mechanics through enemy encounters and especially bosses, rather than tutorials. Mmm, love it. That'll be the next game I finish.

I am so happy that chapter is over. Seemed like the longest slog in RPG history, even though it was only a few hours. Chapter 10 and then finally GRAN PULSE. Thank the holy Gods

Well, if you hated chapter 9, then I can't wait to hear you bitching about 10. :lol I love the game and that's EASILY the worst dungeon. It's ugly and it goes on just about forever. I don't know what they were thinking with that, really. Fortunately, it was saved at the end by the fuckawesome cutscene that introduces you to Pulse.

 

[Amir0x]

That confirms the first ten chapters really is like walking THE PASSION. Each trial gets progressively heavier, as you try to stay awake and contend with the shackles the game keeps on your characters while you walk down these tunnel vision hallways with repeating textures everywhere and palette swapped enemies for all eternity.

The game does a really poor job mixing up enemies, while we're on the subject of palette swapping. I feel like I've fought variations of the soldiers in every single place - the flying ones, the drones, that big machine thing, the shooting soldiers and stick soldiers. Then they throw in Flan's, Scalebeasts and those wolves. It makes boring dungeons even more boring.

At least I can change my party and stuff in Chapter 10... and it's cool I got all the jobs unlocked... some heavy costs for the other 3 jobs though but that's alright. Gran Pulse is around the corner.

 

[hateradio]

That confirms the first ten chapters really is like walking THE PASSION. Each trial gets progressively heavier, as you try to stay awake and contend with the shackles the game keeps on your characters while you walk down these tunnel vision hallways with repeating textures everywhere and palette swapped enemies for all eternity.

The game does a really poor job mixing up enemies, while we're on the subject of palette swapping. I feel like I've fought variations of the soldiers in every single place - the flying ones, the drones, that big machine thing, the shooting soldiers and stick soldiers. Then they throw in Flan's, Scalebeasts and those wolves. It makes boring dungeons even more boring.

At least I can change my party and stuff in Chapter 10... and it's cool I got all the jobs unlocked... some heavy costs for the other 3 jobs though but that's alright. Gran Pulse is around the corner.

Are you going to be doing a lot of grinding? If not (and just want to go w/the plot) you don't have to even touch the non-essential character roles.

 

[Amir0x]

The plot is about the most terribly written thing I've played all year so no I'm not in a rush to see any more of it. I was planning to pretty much close my eyes in Gran Pulse and go where the wind took me, imagining myself in a different game for 20 hours.

 

[User 10639]

The party opening up in chapter 10 was the best part about it, although I pretty much set my party with girl power at the outset and had no troubles, including on the bosses.

Although I disagree with you on chapters 1-10 in general; I'm probably one of the few (and the proud!) who enjoyed the way the game was designed pre-Pulse, although I think in chapters 1-4 (or however long it is before you reach Odin) could stand to have a much faster dispensing of abilities. The level design was terrible, like they gave it no thought whatsoever, but the enemy placement and the way they taught you how to use different roles by limiting party members and through boss encounters... I really like that stuff. I completely 'get' what they were going for. I don't think the game is a slog at all, though, and especially not compared to other RPGs. Even ones I like. DQ8, snooze.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I can't get over how amazing and beautiful the locations in Chapter 11 is. Not just the visuals, but the sense of scale and wonder that I feel around every turn. I've been here for awhile, but I haven't even completed that many missions yet (5, I think?) because I'm just loving wandering around to soak it all in.

 

[firehawk12]

The plot is about the most terribly written thing I've played all year so no I'm not in a rush to see any more of it. I was planning to pretty much close my eyes in Gran Pulse and go where the wind took me, imagining myself in a different game for 20 hours.

You think there'd be a happy medium between the nonsense of a FF game and the cliche of a WRPG.

BioWare just needs to hire someone from Japan to write scenarios and then build interesting stories around them... Or maybe David Gaider should freelance for Square. :lol

 

[hateradio]

imagining myself in a different game for 20 hours.

Good luck with that ... I don't have the motivation to do that, it's hard to escape that.

I can't get over how amazing and beautiful the locations in Chapter 11 is. Not just the visuals, but the sense of scale and wonder that I feel around every turn. I've been here for awhile, but I haven't even completed that many missions yet (5, I think?) because I'm just loving wandering around to soak it all in.

Weren't the first few missions around linear paths surrounding Pulse with flans and those slug flowers? ... I hated mission 3 or 4-10, waste of time ruining back and forward ...not to mention i couldn't stand that lounge Brazilian (?) music in one of the areas.

 

[Amir0x]

The party opening up in chapter 10 was the best part about it, although I pretty much set my party with girl power at the outset and had no troubles, including on the bosses.

My party is Cloud, Aussie 2 and NoHope. Seems to be the best general mix of initial setups and whatnot. NoHope has killer magic/buffs, Cloud has crazy atk power in Commando role, and Aussie 2 has the basic debuff breakdown.

I want Haste though. Does Aussie 2 get Haste in later Crystarium upgrades?

Although I disagree with you on chapters 1-10 in general; I'm probably one of the few (and the proud!) who enjoyed the way the game was designed pre-Pulse, although I think in chapters 1-4 (or however long it is before you reach Odin) could stand to have a much faster dispensing of abilities. The level design was terrible, like they gave it no thought whatsoever, but the enemy placement and the way they taught you how to use different roles by limiting party members and through boss encounters... I really like that stuff. I completely 'get' what they were going for. I don't think the game is a slog at all, though, and especially not compared to other RPGs. Even ones I like. DQ8, snooze.

Yeah I know a lot of people disagree with me on things. For me, it's been like the most painful experience. BocoDragon wasn't completely wrong that I couldn't accurately judge the experience without playing it. Because it's actually worse than the information I've read has led me to believe.

The stifling nature of the first ten chapters has been completely unbearable. Any viable strategy you cook up is constantly being remixed by the games poor choices, the way they decide you should be partied up, the simple palette swap enemies that frequently seem to reuse the same basic strategies. The fact that whenever the game switches groups, you frequently have to remake your paradigm load outs. The fact that the level design is so lazy and boring. The fact that the A.I. frequently makes poor choices, even though I libra every enemy to death. Why does stupid Aussie 2 use MediGuard when I want her to use Steelguard? Fuck give me some programmable A.I. for my allies please!

The game is 40 hours long but for the first 25 you're literally on a handicap trying desperately to crack at the façade, only to have another barrier in its place. The limits on Crystarium are frankly ludicrous. There's no reason it should be blocked off from advancement if you have the CP, much less the final level being completely sealed away until you beat the goddamn game.

*sigh*

I just can't wait to get to Gran Pulse at this point. It's really brutal this game.

 

[Zoe]

Weren't the first few missions around linear paths surrounding Pulse with flans and those slug flowers? ... I hated mission 3 or 4-10, waste of time ruining back and forward ...not to mention i couldn't stand that lounge Brazilian (?) music in one of the areas.

That section is in there to fulfill the cutscene quota.

 

[User 10639]

Weren't the first few missions around linear paths surrounding Pulse with flans and those slug flowers? ... I hated mission 3 or 4-10, waste of time ruining back and forward ...not to mention i couldn't stand that lounge Brazilian (?) music in one of the areas.

You mean the Yaschas Massif elevator muzak? :lol Yeah, that was...special.

 

[hateradio]

You mean the Yaschas Massif elevator muzak? :lol Yeah, that was...special.

Ugh, that area ... it's burned into my head, ugly textures and the music ... never again.

That section is in there to fulfill the cutscene quota.

kill it with insta death! Why couldn't they do it w/in pulse itself though *smh @ se

"Here's a big play ground to play in! Now go to that area over there where it's linear and crap again! Enjoy!"

 

[Baha]

The plot is about the most terribly written thing I've played all year so no I'm not in a rush to see any more of it. I was planning to pretty much close my eyes in Gran Pulse and go where the wind took me, imagining myself in a different game for 20 hours.

You'll love Gran Pulse, plenty of good grinding spots, c'eith missions and chocobos. As for the story, yeah it's not doing anything for me but on the upside, some characters have become tolerable or even likable. The only characters that still irk me are vanille & snow. Hopefully the final 3 chapters will change my mind.

 

[User 10639]

My party is Cloud, Aussie 2 and NoHope. Seems to be the best general mix of initial setups and whatnot. NoHope has killer magic/buffs, Cloud has crazy atk power in Commando role, and Aussie 2 has the basic debuff breakdown.

I want Haste though. Does Aussie 2 get Haste in later Crystarium upgrades?

Hope gets Haste, dunno about Aussie 2. I like Aussie 1/Aussie 2/Hope because I tend to use buffing, debuffing, and magics a whole lot.

Yeah I know a lot of people disagree with me on things. For me, it's been like the most painful experience. BocoDragon wasn't completely wrong that I couldn't accurately judge the experience without playing it. Because it's actually worse than the information I've read has led me to believe.

<snip>

I just can't wait to get to Gran Pulse at this point. It's really brutal this game.

It's all good; I've learned to love alternate perspectives on things I love (or hate), and you at least tend to back yours up with well-reasoned points even if you have a, ah, rather brusque style of posting. It's always interesting to see how vastly different reactions can be to a game - Heavy Rain being a recent example which I completely agree with you on, but which must have struck a chord with some people that I just don't get.

 

[Big Papa Husker]

Spoiler

You have got to be fucking kidding me.... Barthandelus is a rigged son of a bitch. I mean I follow what you guys say and even the guide and the asshole does Destrudo about every 2-3 minutes. I can't even get a good chain started... To make matters worse, he casts Doom on me when I still only had him at about 50% or 215k HP left.... HOW THE FUCK IS THAT FAIR?! Sorry, but I am pretty damn pissed after blowing 20+ minutes each try to be screwed over by that damn Destrudo ray....

I am using Lightning/Fang/Hope....

Any tips would be extremely helpful.

 

[vooglie]

Thanks, I didn't realise this I can attack him to lessen his charge shot.

I'm fighting with Lightning, Snow and Vanille, by the way. Any suggestions?

If he casts Doom, you're taking too long. The strat I used was to take out his outer left armour, then the inner left, so on and so forth. I always had one healer though, rather than going all out on him COM/RAV/RAV. However, if he's charging, make sure to go all out and just attack attack attack. If he casts Doom, summon Odin near the end, I think that restarts the doom counter and gives you more time to finish him.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

why bother putting yourself, and this topic, through twenty hours of your misery, amirox?

I don't understand it. Then posting paragraphs consisting of mostly the same content you provided FFXIII topics prior to even playing the game.

You make some good points usually, but I don't see why you need to do this in this case.

"Chapter 1-10 sucks, but eleven should be jesus", evaluate, then hush until you have something new to say in Chapter 11.

 

[mjemirzian]

double post.. oops

 

[Black_Mamba]

I've just unlocked the weapon upgrade option, but the explanation for this feature is so vague.

What am I supposed to do? Just waste all my items converting them into upgrades for any weapon? (Gladius seem to be the best weapon for Lightning now). Is there any way to know which item should be used or not? And what weapon should I focus my upgrades on?

Sorry if it's an stupid question but it really didn't make any sense to me.

 

[mjemirzian]

Bayo has a decent scoring system, but unfortunately stuff like Kilgore Glitch, Pulley's Butterfly, and to a lesser extend Evil Harvest Rosary makes scoring pretty easy.

The highest rank is Pure Platinum where you get a platinum on time, combo, and no damage.

Any tips would be extremely helpful.

Try this spoiler free guide.

http://tbtactics.blogspot.com/2010/03/want-to-be-good-at-ffxiii.html