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[DY_nasty]

Yeah in comparison to FFXII's gambit system it wasn't quite so bad. It also depended on the battles. I felt there were way too many where I was doing nothing but RAV COM RAV and just waiting for the monster to die. I never even had to switch over to healing.

Maybe you wouldn't have been waiting so long if you'd thrown a Sab/Syn in there somewhere

After playing Persona 3, I really wasn't bothered by the AI at all. I guess I was kind of used to that kind of system.

 

[Vrakanox]

Maybe you wouldn't have been waiting so long if you'd thrown a Sab/Syn in there somewhere

After playing Persona 3, I really wasn't bothered by the AI at all. I guess I was kind of used to that kind of system.

This is true. The main part I was thinking about was before Fang got any good sab skills. Maybe I should have been using someone else like Vanille prior to chapter 10.

 

[Adam Prime]

Maybe you wouldn't have been waiting so long if you'd thrown a Sab/Syn in there somewhere

After playing Persona 3, I really wasn't bothered by the AI at all. I guess I was kind of used to that kind of system.

yeah there are plenty of enemies in the game it seems where if you don't debuff them at the start of the battle... you can be sitting there for a whiiiiile.

And I have no problem with CPU AI at all. I've yet to lose a battle because I think the CPU let me down. This happened occasionally in Persona 3, but never in P4 or this game.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I liked the characters, its just the story didnt allow them to spread their wings as it were.

I just hate we have to rely on the AI to be 2/3's of our party, I want control over all my characters so when I die I know its my fault not just the AI was being bent.

I never had issues like that with the AI. They were 9 times out of 10 faster than I was whenever I needed to revive my own party members. Plus we do get to have moderate control over them, if they ever do actions one doesnt want just quickly switch paradigms. Also casting haste at the start of ever battle worked wonders to ensure they were always at the top of their game, lol.

I was also never low on health thanks to "RENEW"

 

[kyo_daikun]

:lol In this game you want control over your whole party? The battles are INTENSE AND FAST. If you had to inputs your other party member's action during a battle you'd be dead so damn fast because there's no way you could keep up. Hell it's tough to keep up just playing as one character!

Oh yeah I agree, just miss the old PS1 days were I had more control and it was less random shit.

The soldiers with the bazookas I guess are a small example, vanille and sazh stand next to each other, *bam* both get hit by the rocket, do they spread out so only one gets hit with the next blast?

Nope Sazh just bops around behind vanille and their both in the sky again...

 

[DY_nasty]

This is true. The main part I was thinking about was before Fang got any good sab skills. Maybe I should have been using someone else like Vanille prior to chapter 10.

This isn't like a lot of other games, buffs and debuffs can cause a huge swing in a battle. If an enemy throws on haste/bravery/vigilance while you're stuck with deprotect expect a quick death.

I still wish there had been a way to prioritize syn actions. Sometimes I'd like to get vigilance or faith second behind haste...

Edit: Oh yeah, and Lightning not getting curasa is bullshit.

 

[Adam Prime]

Okay I just got access to the "Upgrade" option in the Save menu.

Do certain materials give more EXP when upgrading certain weapons/items? Or does a "Tiger Fang" always give me 7 EXP regardless of what I am upgrading?

Just wondering if I should be careful not to use certain materials when upgrading, or just go hog wild and spend it on whatever I want.

... also is there a good way of knowing when you should upgrade a weapon, or just wait for the next weapon drop that will upgrade your weapon? I'm cautious about upgrading accessories or weapons when normally in these type of games you just get a new weapon from a drop at some point after a boss or something.

 

[kyo_daikun]

Okay I just got access to the "Upgrade" option in the Save menu.

Do certain materials give more EXP when upgrading certain weapons/items? Or does a "Tiger Fang" always give me 7 EXP regardless of what I am upgrading?

Just wondering if I should be careful not to use certain materials when upgrading, or just go hog wild and spend it on whatever I want.

... also is there a good way of knowing when you should upgrade a weapon, or just wait for the next weapon drop that will upgrade your weapon? I'm cautious about upgrading accessories or weapons when normally in these type of games you just get a new weapon from a drop at some point after a boss or something.

Don't bother upgrading till chapter 11 when you will have the resources to do it efficiently, most of the weapons arent worth upgrading, each character has a debateable best weapon to start upgrading (Lightning = Lionheart, Fang = Taming pole etc)

The general rule is organic parts increase an items multiplier which means when you use mechanical parts they add a lot more exp

Dont use credit chip items, platinum ingots and the plush toys as you get good cash out of them, other than that feel free to use stuff.

 

[Adam Prime]

Don't bother upgrading till chapter 11 when you will have the resources to do it efficiently, most of the weapons arent worth upgrading, each character has a debateable best weapon to start upgrading (Lightning = Lionheart, Fang = Taming pole etc)

The general rule is organic parts increase an items multiplier which means when you use mechanical parts they add a lot more exp

Dont use credit chip items, platinum ingots and the plush toys as you get good cash out of them, other than that feel free to use stuff.

Okay, thanks. I'm on Ch 4 - so don't bother with any weapons or accessories until later?

 

[kyo_daikun]

Okay, thanks. I'm on Ch 4 - so don't bother with any weapons or accessories until later?

Yeah, there's little to no point in upgrading in the earlier chapters as its best to do each item in one big hit and you dont have the resources or the areas to grind till chapter 11.

 

[Cornbread78]

Yeah, there's little to no point in upgrading in the earlier chapters as its best to do each item in one big hit and you dont have the resources or the areas to grind till chapter 11.

Just becareful of your inventory, max is still at 99, so you may want to do a couple rounds or random upgrades if something fills up. Bomb cores were a norm getting filled for me since M'ah Bara or whatever was my choice of grinding spots. Easy battles and quick CP with a growth egg.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

I'm finally on Chapter 13. Any hint on how long this one lasts time-wise? I half want to backtrack back to complete the missions, half want to get to the ending, and half want to grind some giligliglgiglgiglgill.

For as much as I've grown bored of the dungeon hallways, this game has me hooked more than ever. Chapter 12 was fucking epic, especially after how boring 11 was.

I did that death trick thing on the turtle in chapter 12, it hit on first cast and I got the gem thing. Did it again like 5 more times and got nothing :L I still can't decide whether or not to go for full achievements. It'd be the first game I've ever done that for. It doesn't seem *that* bad to be honest. 5 starring all the missions seems like it'd be the most annoying.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

I'm finally on Chapter 13. Any hint on how long this one lasts time-wise? I half want to backtrack back to complete the missions, half want to get to the ending, and half want to grind some giligliglgiglgiglgill.

Avoiding everything possible (except necessary fights), could probably finish chapter 13 in as little as under 2 hours, lol.

 

[Cornbread78]

I'm finally on Chapter 13. Any hint on how long this one lasts time-wise? I half want to backtrack back to complete the missions, half want to get to the ending, and half want to grind some giligliglgiglgiglgill.

For as much as I've grown bored of the dungeon hallways, this game has me hooked more than ever. Chapter 12 was fucking epic, especially after how boring 11 was.

I did that death trick thing on the turtle in chapter 12, it hit on first cast and I got the gem thing. Did it again like 5 more times and got nothing :L I still can't decide whether or not to go for full achievements. It'd be the first game I've ever done that for. It doesn't seem *that* bad to be honest. 5 starring all the missions seems like it'd be the most annoying.

5 Starring the missions wasn't half as bad as trying to get the damn traps needed to upgrade all weapons to get teh ultimate weapons, this is BS!

 

[kyo_daikun]

I did that death trick thing on the turtle in chapter 12, it hit on first cast and I got the gem thing. Did it again like 5 more times and got nothing :L I still can't decide whether or not to go for full achievements. It'd be the first game I've ever done that for. It doesn't seem *that* bad to be honest. 5 starring all the missions seems like it'd be the most annoying.

Even thats pretty easy when your maxed out, have the gold watch accessory, know what enemies die from the death spell (neo ochu) and which you can use deseptisol on to prempt them.

 

[commish]

Finally beat ff13. For $10,000 I couldn't sum up the plot/storyline of this game. No clue what the fuck was going on. I just killed everyone that came at me and it ended.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Man, this game. In the "rank your FF" thread a little while ago I rated this as my least favorite FF title, but for some reason I got up this morning deciding I would start my fourth playthrough. I think this time I will handicap myself in some way, or do a party combination I have yet to use. Hopefully I can mix it up enough to warrant another playthrough.

I might as well aim for platinum this time as well, and finish all the missions, as I think stopped at the last one in the Faultwarens. Anyway as an FF I don't think its the best, but its a very aesthetically pleasing game with a battle system I absolutely love. Can't wait to start it up again!

 

[commish]

I'm finally on Chapter 13. Any hint on how long this one lasts time-wise? I half want to backtrack back to complete the missions, half want to get to the ending, and half want to grind some giligliglgiglgiglgill.

For as much as I've grown bored of the dungeon hallways, this game has me hooked more than ever. Chapter 12 was fucking epic, especially after how boring 11 was.

I did that death trick thing on the turtle in chapter 12, it hit on first cast and I got the gem thing. Did it again like 5 more times and got nothing :L I still can't decide whether or not to go for full achievements. It'd be the first game I've ever done that for. It doesn't seem *that* bad to be honest. 5 starring all the missions seems like it'd be the most annoying.

Chapter 13 isn't long at all. I just did it all last night. Maybe 2 hours? 3?

 

[Adam Prime]

Man, this game. In the "rank your FF" thread a little while ago I rated this as my least favorite FF title, but for some reason I got up this morning deciding I would start my fourth playthrough.

Holy shit, dude. Get a summer job and buy some more games! :lol

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Man, this game. In the "rank your FF" thread a little while ago I rated this as my least favorite FF title, but for some reason I got up this morning deciding I would start my fourth playthrough. I think this time I will handicap myself in some way, or do a party combination I have yet to use. Hopefully I can mix it up enough to warrant another playthrough.

I might as well aim for platinum this time as well, and finish all the missions, as I think stopped at the last one in the Faultwarens. Anyway as an FF I don't think its the best, but its a very aesthetically pleasing game with a battle system I absolutely love. Can't wait to start it up again!

Join the party and play Star Ocean the Last Hope, its pretty awesome, lol, and has towns

 

[Vrakanox]

Join the party and play Star Ocean the Last Hope, its pretty awesome, lol, and has towns

I enjoyed Star Ocean as well. Also tales of Vesperia. Thinking back on it those were probably my two favorite RPGs this gen.

 

[firehawk12]

5 Starring the missions wasn't half as bad as trying to get the damn traps needed to upgrade all weapons to get teh ultimate weapons, this is BS!

Yeah, that's about at least 10 hours of monotony. I've done it so many times that I think I still have the muscle memory needed to do the paradigm shifts after all this time.

Man, this game. In the "rank your FF" thread a little while ago I rated this as my least favorite FF title, but for some reason I got up this morning deciding I would start my fourth playthrough. I think this time I will handicap myself in some way, or do a party combination I have yet to use. Hopefully I can mix it up enough to warrant another playthrough.

I might as well aim for platinum this time as well, and finish all the missions, as I think stopped at the last one in the Faultwarens. Anyway as an FF I don't think its the best, but its a very aesthetically pleasing game with a battle system I absolutely love. Can't wait to start it up again!

Four times? And you didn't get the platinum? :lol

 

[Son of Godzilla]

What the shit @ the end boss. So if your main character gets wrath'd it's insta-gg? The fuck, since when was I playing an SMT game.

 

[Cornbread78]

What the shit @ the end boss. So if your main character gets wrath'd it's insta-gg? The fuck, since when was I playing an SMT game.

Equipt a Cherub Crown to help with that crap.....


Originally Posted by Dedication Through Light:

Join the party and play Star Ocean the Last Hope, its pretty awesome, lol, and has towns

Soon enough, I'll be on that bandwagon, since I bought it like 4 months ago and have been watching it on my shelf...just sit there.

Originally Posted by firehawk12:

Yeah, that's about at least 10 hours of monotony. I've done it so many times that I think I still have the muscle memory needed to do the paradigm shifts after all this time.

Is that all it's taken you? That's like 20 battles here. Still nothing..... AARRGGHHHH. I had to take a break from it so far this week to play more inFamous....

 

[badcrumble]

What the shit @ the end boss. So if your main character gets wrath'd it's insta-gg? The fuck, since when was I playing an SMT game.

If you summon and time it so that your summon appears shortly before the counter runs out, the Eidolon will resurrect your main character.

 

[Adam Prime]

:lol I just got Lightning to learn Launch ability... it's freaking hilarious. Feels like I'm playing Marvel vs Capcom 2 here. She launches an enemy up in the air, then my other attacks juggle his ass forever casting magic spells while he's up in the air.

Funny stuff.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

:lol I just got Lightning to learn Launch ability... it's freaking hilarious. Feels like I'm playing Marvel vs Capcom 2 here. She launches an enemy up in the air, then my other attacks juggle his ass forever casting magic spells while he's up in the air.

Funny stuff.

Its even better when the attacks are timed just right with the other part members so that the enemies will just never come down. I think another character can learn launch too.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

:lol I just swapped Vanille for Hope and all my problems went away. Fight lasted like a minute and a half. Buffs are so overpowered in this game. I knocked him down to sub-15% in a single stagger, completely skipping pretty much all the shit that makes that fight horrible.

I just got Lightning to learn Launch ability... it's freaking hilarious. Feels like I'm playing Marvel vs Capcom 2 here. She launches an enemy up in the air, then my other attacks juggle his ass forever casting magic spells while he's up in the air.

Funny stuff.

Tip to make game 4000% more fun: After you build up a full bar of ATB you can paradigm shift and it'll give you a full bar in that paradigm. If you swap while your character is falling you don't have to sit through the animation and you can pretty much keep everything airborne.

 

[Neil]

Its even better when the attacks are timed just right with the other part members so that the enemies will just never come down. I think another character can learn launch too.

I know Fang can, perhaps snow as well.

 

[Adam Prime]

So I'm in Chapter 6, I really like how they are developing the characters. Especially when you learn Sahz

Spoiler

is a dad and see the cutscene with his son.

The game is moving at a snnnnnail's pace. But at least every now and then you get thrown into an interesting battle or see some backstory with the characters through flashbacks. That's helping to break up the monotomy of walking down a hallway fighting monsters. :lol

 

[Son of Godzilla]

Chapter 4 murders the pacing of the early game, it gets a lot better after that.

 

[Adam Prime]

Question about a the Crystarium: do the cost of the CP for the nodes constantly go up as the game progresses? I noticed that the "bottom level" stuff cost like 30 CP a few chapters ago, and now it's like up to 200 CP.

Does that mean that it's always best to level up one level of Crystarium across all Jobs before moving on to the next, because the cost is going to go up on them?

 

[Cornbread78]

Question about a the Crystarium: do the cost of the CP for the nodes constantly go up as the game progresses? I noticed that the "bottom level" stuff cost like 30 CP a few chapters ago, and now it's like up to 200 CP.

Does that mean that it's always best to level up one level of Crystarium across all Jobs before moving on to the next, because the cost is going to go up on them?

LOL.... You just wait my friend... you just wait....

Spoiler

120,000CP

incoming!

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Question about a the Crystarium: do the cost of the CP for the nodes constantly go up as the game progresses? I noticed that the "bottom level" stuff cost like 30 CP a few chapters ago, and now it's like up to 200 CP.

Does that mean that it's always best to level up one level of Crystarium across all Jobs before moving on to the next, because the cost is going to go up on them?

You should try maxing out their three main roles while going through, it helps alot especially going after those extra HP ones. But yeah it does increase by a lot pretty fast. CP farming is a fun exercise, lol.

 

[Adam Prime]

You should try maxing out their three main roles while going through, it helps alot especially going after those extra HP ones. But yeah it does increase by a lot pretty fast. CP farming is a fun exercise, lol.

So does it work out better to get all the Crystals on one Stage across all jobs before moving on to the next Stage? That way you don't end up over spending on HP+10... or does it even matter? I assume the scaling of it just makes it more even throughout the course of the game.

 

[Cornbread78]

So does it work out better to get all the Crystals on one Stage across all jobs before moving on to the next Stage? That way you don't end up over spending on HP+10... or does it even matter? I assume the scaling of it just makes it more even throughout the course of the game.

I didn't have to grind much doing it, but I usually made sureI maxed out a cryo role before moving on to the next chapter. There was always some skill or spell I wanted first!

 

[Adam Prime]

Okay so I just started Chapter 7 and I find it funny how the game's plot

Spoiler

has just flat out ignored Snow's dumbass after getting kidnapped back in Chapter 4. We've only seen like a couple of cutscenes about him since that time.

:lol Not that I'm complaining I guess.

 

[Cornbread78]

Okay so I just started Chapter 7 and I find it funny how the game's plot

Spoiler

has just flat out ignored Snow's dumbass after getting kidnapped back in Chapter 4. We've only seen like a couple of cutscenes about him since that time.

:lol Not that I'm complaining I guess.

About that time is when one of the cut scened totally confused the crap outta me. It appeared that they cut out part of the story at the point. I believe it is the cutscene with Snow and Fang. Wait, isn;t the beginning of chp. 7 the cutscene with

Spoiler

Snow and Shiva?

if so, that is one of the greatest cutscenes graphically that I had even scene at that point... Simply beautiful!

 

[Son of Godzilla]

So does it work out better to get all the Crystals on one Stage across all jobs before moving on to the next Stage? That way you don't end up over spending on HP+10... or does it even matter? I assume the scaling of it just makes it more even throughout the course of the game.

It doesn't really matter until Chapter 11 when prices get crazy, but yes it's generally best to complete the main paths then go back for branches, starting on the lowest branch you haven't completed. Of course picking up any abilities you want along the way. And ignoring the stupid shit like strength for casters.

 

[axiomnightmare]

Just finished the game. The battles were really easy the first several chapters and mostly could be won by auto attack. I think this was compounded by the fact that you auto heal after every battle so it doesn't matter how much damage you take at all. In other FF's you still only attack a lot, but have to worry about conserving MP and Potions. However, the battle system picks up a lot at the end and the fights in the last several chapters were really fun. I actually used Hope as my leader for the most part, which made all the battles really intense. He had such low HP that he could be KO'd very easily, and it forced me to use a lot of Paradigm Shifts. However, it was really fun buffing up my party in the most efficient way, and his super attack adds an insane amount to a staggered enemy.
I also really enjoyed the story, which focused much more on character development than the other FF's seemed to. I liked how in the beginning it wasn't just a clear cut save the world situation, but each character had to figure out the path for themselves. But it did get a bit convoluted towards the end, and some of the mechanisms were dubious. The music was also a good improvement over FF12, but not as remarkable as some previous entrants in the series.

 

[Adam Prime]

Just finished the game.

What was the timer at when you finished? I'm about 14 hours in!

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Just finished the game. The battles were really easy the first several chapters and mostly could be won by auto attack. I think this was compounded by the fact that you auto heal after every battle so it doesn't matter how much damage you take at all. In other FF's you still only attack a lot, but have to worry about conserving MP and Potions. However, the battle system picks up a lot at the end and the fights in the last several chapters were really fun. I actually used Hope as my leader for the most part, which made all the battles really intense. He had such low HP that he could be KO'd very easily, and it forced me to use a lot of Paradigm Shifts. However, it was really fun buffing up my party in the most efficient way, and his super attack adds an insane amount to a staggered enemy.
I also really enjoyed the story, which focused much more on character development than the other FF's seemed to. I liked how in the beginning it wasn't just a clear cut save the world situation, but each character had to figure out the path for themselves. But it did get a bit convoluted towards the end, and some of the mechanisms were dubious. The music was also a good improvement over FF12, but not as remarkable as some previous entrants in the series.

I never had a problem with Hopes HP, did you have him maxed out in at least 2 of his main roles at the end game?

But, lol, yeah the story was nice

Spoiler

I felt it never really established a solid antagonist, which caused it to at times dwell on being convuluted and in the end, it seemed they did exactly what Barthandulus wanted...

 

[Son of Godzilla]

If I had to pick one thing to change about this game, it would be remove the minimap and add bread crumbs. The minimap takes you out of the world *so* severely.

 

[Chris R]

If I had to pick one thing to change about this game, it would be remove the minimap and add bread crumbs. The minimap takes you out of the world *so* severely.

You can turn it off if you want to.

 

[Son of Godzilla]

I know, and I did for most the game. But you get totally lost. Breadcrumbs would have been so awesome.

 

[Adam Prime]

So what Chapter does the game "open up" and allow you to form your own party members and really expand the Crystarium to your liking?

I'm on Chapter 8 now and I really see the potential in this game... it's just not there yet. The game is still hand holding you a little too much. On a side note, THE GRAPHICS ARE GORGEOUS. Best looking console game ever?!?! Every new environment is just mind blowing. This looks better than 95% of in-theater CG movies made today.

 

[Aru]

^^
Chapter 11.

If I had to pick one thing to change about this game, it would be remove the minimap and add bread crumbs. The minimap takes you out of the world *so* severely.

I'd just like better level design and the game would be perfect for me. I like all of the other features.
Linearness don't bother me since I play most of my RPG in a linear way. But corridor levels are annoying.

 

[BuckRobotron]

Been replaying from scratch (after doing all 1000 achievement points earlier), a little here and there straight through and enjoying it anew. The linearity is welcome when one simply wants to blast through and revisit story scenes and environments unique to the early game. Just hit Ch. 10.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

So what Chapter does the game "open up" and allow you to form your own party members and really expand the Crystarium to your liking?

I'm on Chapter 8 now and I really see the potential in this game... it's just not there yet. The game is still hand holding you a little too much. On a side note, THE GRAPHICS ARE GORGEOUS. Best looking console game ever?!?! Every new environment is just mind blowing. This looks better than 95% of in-theater CG movies made today.

Oh boi! just wait until the cutscene at the end of Chapter 11 beginning of chapter 12, just gorgeous indeed. Oh I guess you also passed that amazing cutscene in that casino amusement park type place with Sazh and Vanille that cutscene was brilliant, lol, I wish the game had a cutscene theatre.

 

[Cornbread78]

Mark Mission #64... any ideas? I'm totally frustrated at this point.... Are there any accesories that I can equipt to help?