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[Slacker]

Gamestop wouldn't let me exchange my PS3 copy so I had to trade it in. It was worth $45 and I got an extra $3 from my Edge card.

Why did you have to exchange it?

 

[Dega]

I was liking the game all the way up to chapter 12, 13, and I found myself kinda bored with parts of 11 too. Just want to get this game over with and move on to the next game.

 

[Lightning]

I learnt the hard way from mashing X.... that doesn't work.

You need to pay attention to the fight and make decisions accordingly otherwise your characters are going to get their assess kicked. This is what makes the battle system in this game so awesome and why it's such an improvement from the FFXII battle system.

Pressing X all day and owning everything would make for a shit battle system.

 

[Jamesfrom818]

Why did you have to exchange it?

The blue laser diode in my PS3 died last night.

 

[remz]

Those twins Sazh and Vanille have to fight (in ch6?) were stomping the shit out of me, goddam.


Almost beat them, but then the left over twin gawt rage and caught me off guard with that AOE lighting attack. grr.

 

[Chamber]

Well, I just finished chapter 6 and I didn't die once in that chapter. Does that encourage you?

 

[shwimpy]

OH HELL NO...

End of Chapter 8 spoilers:

Spoiler

Don't fucking tell me SE killed off the best character in the game... fuck that shit.

 

[hitsugi]

OH HELL NO...

try that again..

edit - good

 

[Lotan]

Those twins Sazh and Vanille have to fight (in ch6?) were stomping the shit out of me, goddam.


Almost beat them, but then the left over twin gawt rage and caught me off guard with that AOE lighting attack. grr.

That's where I'm at right now. Getting one shotted repeatitly even though I have all available jobs at full and have level 10 upgrades on both my weapons and and accessories. I can do nothing to improve my odds.

Sigh.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

About the whole 'Hope hating Snow' and whether it was obvious or not, it wasn't to me at first without the datalog. By 'at first' I mean right at the very start when Vanille is encouraging him to talk to Snow. Once

Spoiler

they follow him to Vestige and Hope speaks in an obviously angry way

it becomes obvious, but initially I didn't realize he was angry at him.

 

[BluWacky]

EDIT: nvm

 

[MechaX]

The game gets harder the more you play and actually requires strategy. If you don't use the right mix, you can get butt raped in seconds, but with the right strategy some fights are a lot more easier, although the element of timing through paradigms definitely adds to the already layered battle system.

I'm really loving it. Haven't played all day. Going through withdrawal.

I learned that the hard way when fighting motorcycle guys that could rape any one with their Gatling Gun attack. Then I realized how useful Sentinel really is during that fight.

Man, I'll probably get back to playing it in the next half hour, even if I really should be trying to prepare for this Census test tomorrow.

That's where I'm at right now. Getting one shotted repeatitly even though I have all available jobs at full and have level 10 upgrades on both my weapons and and accessories. I can do nothing to improve my odds.

Sigh.

I had Vanille debuff the hell out of one of them while Sazh buffs the party. After using Libra, I solely concentrated on one of them starting off with Ravager/Commando and then switching Ravager/Ravager so the stagger bar doesn't fall too fast. After filling the stagger bar of one of them, keep in mind that you can and should time your attacks so you can break them out of their uber magic attack. Then repeat on the next one, making sure that your HP is above 2/3rds at all times.

 

[Empty]

i'm such a moron. i spent ages getting beaten by the boss at the end of chapter 7 thinking it was impossible, then realized that in my panic i had been clicking a too fast to notice that you could target its component parts, then it was clear sailing. :G

I don't remember dying in Chapter 6, but then i consciously chose to avoid one of the flying stone wyvern things by playing with the weather because a few of them got very close. Chapter 7 is tougher, those bikes with the gattling guns are a real bitch.

 

[mjemirzian]

I've read a lot of people are having trouble with the chapter 9 boss so here's a pretty foolproof strat.. you can use this to get 5 stars on him as well. I'm afraid I found him very easy.

Spoiler

Chapter 9 boss.. 5 star rating.. no grinding
Near maxed crystarium.
Party: Lightning, Sahz, Hope
Weapons: lv 10 Gladius, Deneb Duellers, and Airwing.
Accessories: +200 hp, +50 mag/str
Paradigms:
Paradigm Cancel Set 1: rav/rav/rav - com/rav/rav
Paradigm Cancel Set 2: com/syn/syn - rav/syn/syn
Paradigm Cancel Set 3: com/rav/med - rav/rav/med

Paradigm Cancel - Switching to any Paradigm config after charging a full bar in another Paradigm config results in a free fully charged ATB bar. Charge - switch - free - charge - switch - free, etc. You can do this with two Paradigms of the same type, so it's sometimes beneficial to have two RAV/RAV/RAVs to switch between, or something similar.

Weapon upgrade hint: Creature scraps (sold by Creature Comforts) increase XP bonus, mechanical parts (sold by Lenora's Garage) reward more XP but reduce XP bonus. The two component types have different icons, one looks like two crossed horns, the other is a screw/bolt. So you want to use scraps to increase XP bonus, then cash in the multiplier with parts.

If you want to totally destroy this boss (or any main story boss) without any effort, use a Fortisol and Aegisol before battle. This will let you ignore having to cast any buffs and you can button mash it down with only light healing. If not you'll have a longer but still manageable fight - this fight is still easy even if you don't use Fortisol and Aegisol. Ravagers are important in this fight because all of the boss parts are weak against specific magic types. Syn buffs are also very important.

Use a librascope to start off with. Start with cancel set 2 until you have some buffs up, then switch between set 1 and 3 depending on if you need healing. Switch back to cancel set 2 if your buffs start falling off. Take out his outer armor, stagger him twice, then summon Odin to finish him off. The star ranking timer stops counting when in Gestalt mode, so use that to ensure the 5 star rating, which should be about 5 to 5:30 mins.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I love the game, but I have a feeling that a lot of the bad feelings about the game have to do with the glacial pace it starts at.

 

[Ryn]

Another hint for the chapter 9 boss:

Spoiler

To not get completely wiped out by that multiple beam move in one hit, when he's charging up the attack just keep bombarding him with damage while making sure your health is well over halfway full, once you hear him go "uughh", you've reduced the total damage he's going to do to you, which saves you from getting one shotted by it and having to restart the entire battle all over again.

 

[RPGCrazied]

god damn, that end boss of chapter 9 is brutal.

i managed to do it, with a one star rating. ;/

 

[OneEightZero]

First Hour Impressions
The number of cut scenes are staggering. More than I was thinking it would be.
The room was a bit dusty after Snow's loss.
The save screen looks like the PS3's on the Xbox. Noticed that after a save or two.
Vanille's voice makes me want to strangle small children.
Hope's akwardness makes me want to strangle small children.
The camera movement on the second stick needs to be faster.

Edit: I am enjoying how the story is splitting between the parties.

More Lightening plz. ^_^

 

[Moussi]

is it just me or does lightning sound like:

from crisis core...?

 

[HylianScribe]

I had audio issues with the Xbox 360 version in Chapter 12 near the end. Except for character voices, all sound effects stopped playing. The music still went on, but it was creepy. This was consistent in two areas leading up to the boss near the end of Chapter 12.

 

[DualShadow]

Finally getting to play this tonight after i thought i was going to get it on Tuesday! Going to put some serious hours into this on the weekend though! Bye bye social life for this week at least :lol

 

[jiien]

Alright, so, I'm on chapter 10, but I'd say it was about chapter 8 or 9 that the whole long opening "tutorial" made sense to me. It was at that point that I realized that the game was slowly introducing me to new situations, with new characters and roles, slowly teaching me how to work with the system I'm given. By forcing me to deal with only two characters at certain points, and switching them around, forcing me to control a character I may not want to

Spoiler

(the Lightning/Hope sequence, I'm looking at you)

, whatever it was, it all came together slowly and surely so that at this point, I definitely feel I have the whole battle system down to a science. My paradigms flow from one to the next, each for specific purposes, and I learned all of it by that whole, extremely long opening.

So yeah, it makes sense, and I appreciate what it did. It was grating at times, but I like that it kept the story on track, chronologically, and the battles are absolutely gratifying now that I understand them so well. By the time I actually have a choice, I know how to use that freedom I'm given well.

 

[Arzehn]

I love how the people who were saying earlier the combat is just mashing X and switching out to heal are crying now about dying in the later game.

 

[got2bekidding]

Anyone have a link to a list of what each component does? Or even what order you put them on? That's the only part about the game that doesn't make any sense to me. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Teknoman]

Just got to Chapter 2, really like the game and the soundtrack so far. Datalog really helps to understand things you might have been foggy on earlier...and after checking things out, now I know why people are so freaked out by being l'Cie.

Vanille doesnt seem annoying to me either...seems like she's hiding something if anything. As far as Hope being a whiner...I havent seen that part yet, but give the kid a break.

 

[marathonfool]

Anyone have a link to a list of what each component does? Or even what order you put them on? That's the only part about the game that doesn't make any sense to me. Thanks for any advice.

Yea. I'm not understanding the bonus EXP at all. I'm gonna roll with my original weapons until I can't do it anymore.

 

[Moussi]

Yea. I'm not understanding the bonus EXP at all. I'm gonna roll with my original weapons until I can't do it anymore.

rofl all i did was take all my components and give em all to lightning.
Lightning tears shit up now.

 

[I'm an expert]

Yea. I'm not understanding the bonus EXP at all. I'm gonna roll with my original weapons until I can't do it anymore.

There are lists out there and even a few specific component combos that are the best bang for your buck, experience for your money. Unfortunately I only know Japanese item names and I'm too lazy to look up the English ones.

Basically there are two components, natural and mechanical. The amount of exp natural ones give is pointless, their purpose is to get the bonus to X3. You want to find one that is cheap but also takes the fewest to get to x3. This is for when you're eventually buying them from the shop. For the ones that drop, just use them, indiscriminately.

The mechanical ones have vastly different exp amounts, so you want to make sure you use as many as you can of the high exp ones when you have x3. Again, eventually you'll find one you can buy in the shop that is the best bang for your x3 buck, but until then just make sure you always have x3 and always load on all of a material you have.

 

[thetrin]

Yea. I'm not understanding the bonus EXP at all. I'm gonna roll with my original weapons until I can't do it anymore.

Very simple.

Pump cheap mineral items into a weapon without leveling. That increases the bonus EXP to 3.0 (which is the limit). After that. Use a really expensive mechanical item, and you'll level up like, 15 levels in a 5 seconds.

It's the only way to upgrade without wasting all of your money.

Also, don't forget that the really really high level shop to get the crazy expensive mechanical parts is only obtained after doing Mission 7 (I think) in Chapter 11.

Doing this (and doing later sub quests that net massive amounts of money), I was able to level all of my 3 main characters' weapons up to their max second evolution.

 

[got2bekidding]

rofl all i did was take all my components and give em all to lightning.
Lightning tears shit up now.

See, I leveled up everyone's weapons to lvl 3 and one accessory for each, also to lvl 3. Now, I'm getting new weapons, those of which have a better start out value + bonus characteristics, and I have very little money and only a few components. I must have done something wrong though, because it feels like I was wasteful. I'm at a point now where I could see their old stuff to get money to buy components, but I want to make sure I do it correctly this time.

 

[marathonfool]

There are lists out there and even a few specific component combos that are the best bang for your buck, experience for your money. Unfortunately I only know Japanese item names and I'm too lazy to look up the English ones.

Basically there are two components, natural and mechanical. The amount of exp natural ones give is pointless, their purpose is to get the bonus to X3. You want to find one that is cheap but also takes the fewest to get to x3. This is for when you're eventually buying them from the shop. For the ones that drop, just use them, indiscriminately.

The mechanical ones have vastly different exp amounts, so you want to make sure you use as many as you can of the high exp ones when you have x3. Again, eventually you'll find one you can buy in the shop that is the best bang for your x3 buck, but until then just make sure you always have x3 and always load on all of a material you have.

Thanks for the write up. A followup question. How do I know which components give me x3 bonus and not the bad bonus?

 

[InfiniteNine]

Another hint for the chapter 9 boss:

Spoiler

To not get completely wiped out by that multiple beam move in one hit, when he's charging up the attack just keep bombarding him with damage while making sure your health is well over halfway full, once you hear him go "uughh", you've reduced the total damage he's going to do to you, which saves you from getting one shotted by it and having to restart the entire battle all over again.

Sir you are awesome.

 

[thetrin]

Yeah, guys. Don't forget that after a weapon hits its Star level, that is the max for its FIRST evolution. Then you need an item (found either in a mission or in a shop) that will transform the weapon. It will then transform into second evolution form (with slightly lower stats), and you can continue to level it up to the max of its second evolution.

 

[got2bekidding]

Very simple.

Pump cheap mineral items into a weapon without leveling. That increases the bonus EXP to 3.0 (which is the limit). After that. Use a really expensive mechanical item, and you'll level up like, 15 levels in a 5 seconds.

Do certain components work better on accessories than on weapons? Anything special like that?

 

[Castor Krieg]

Thanks for the write up. A followup question. How do I know which components give me x3 bonus and not the bad bonus?

Virulent Oil (80 gil a piece) is the one you're looking for. Apply 36 of them at once for 300% bonus.


Unrelated thing - Vanille is my main.

 

[thetrin]

How do you know what's cheap and what's expensive?

Based on their cost in the stores. One store sells a 5 different types of natural parts that are 80 gil for one. Those are the ones you want to use for bonus EXP boosting.

You'll know when you see the mad expensive mechanical components. They cost around 30k gil each.

 

[polyh3dron]

I love how the people who were saying earlier the combat is just mashing X and switching out to heal are crying now about dying in the later game.

Yep I had a friend just call me bitching about the simple combat. I lol'd.

 

[thetrin]

Do certain components work better on accessories than on weapons? Anything special like that?

Certain materials have an affinity for specific weapons, not just weapons in general. Once you start powerleveling your weapons, though, it really doesn't matter.

(You won't be able to powerlevel your weapons until chapter 11)

Imo, you should have your weapons up to lvl 9-10 first evolution by the time you enter Chapter 11.

Unless you're up for grinding mercilessly (or getting incredibly lucky), don't bother going for ultimate weapons.

 

[got2bekidding]

Certain materials have an affinity for specific weapons, not just weapons in general. Once you start powerleveling your weapons, though, it really doesn't matter.

(You won't be able to powerlevel your weapons until chapter 11)

Imo, you should have your weapons up to lvl 9-10 first evolution by the time you enter Chapter 11.

Awesome. Thanks to everyone in this train of posts for all the help. One last question before I go back to it....Is it better to sell or breakdown past weapons/accessories (ones you have lvl'd up)?

 

[zero margin]

Seems as though stance dancing becomes more and more needed as time goes on in this game, I will be in for a rough time if that's the case.

 

[Weeman0313]

Based on their cost in the stores. One store sells a 5 different types of natural parts that are 80 gil for one. Those are the ones you want to use for bonus EXP boosting.

You'll know when you see the mad expensive mechanical components. They cost around 30k gil each.

so i totally used a credit chip in an upgrade accidentally :'-(


and i'm about midway through chapter 8 and every time i dismantle something its almost 100% worse then just selling the item and buying components. does this get better or do i just have shit luck?

on an unrelated note:

Spoiler

is Pulse Australia cause Vanille's voice reminds me of their accent. though i don't mind it despite everyone else seemingly hating her voice

 

[Angry Grimace]

Seems as though stance dancing becomes more and more needed as time goes on in this game, I will be in for a rough time if that's the case.

If you don't like changing paradigms, you won't like the game in general.

 

[thetrin]

Awesome. Thanks to everyone in this train of posts for all the help. One last question before I go back to it....Is it better to sell or breakdown past weapons/accessories (ones you have lvl'd up)?

Well, you should be settling on a weapon for every character (diversifying is not in your best interest considering the low gil count in the game). You can actually get some pretty awesome items by breaking down old items.

If you guys can get the hermes accessory that gives haste on the start of every battle (which is not that hard to do, but you need to know the exact sequence of break down to get it), that's a great example of breaking stuff down properly.

Breaking down is a dumb system, though. In order to increase your chances of breaking something down into a high level component or accessory, you need to break down some junk first. That is to say, without leaving the menu.

Junk -> Junk -> Junk -> high level accessory.

Each time you break down junk you don't need, you're increasing your chances of subsequent breakdowns being successful. This increased chance dissipates when you exit the menu, though. That's what is so dumb about it.

 

[I'm an expert]

so i totally used a credit chip in an upgrade accidentally :'-(


and i'm about midway through chapter 8 and every time i dismantle something its almost 100% worse then just selling the item and buying components. does this get better or do i just have shit luck?

on an unrelated note:

Spoiler

is Pulse Australia cause Vanille's voice reminds me of their accent. though i don't mind it despite everyone else seemingly hating her voice

Credit chips can be farmed infinitely so it doesn't matter. They're just for selling.

I never dismantled anything in the game..it's just not worth it..I also never sold anything other than the items meant for selling. Once you're doing hunts and farming them over and over for gear, cash isn't really a problem.

In response to someone else's comment, there is no bad bonus or whatever from materials. Every natural material does the same thing - increases your bonus exp. It's just that some take less of the material to get to x3, to balance that they usually give a bit more exp but in the end that's trivial.

If you guys can get the hermes accessory that gives haste on the start of every battle (which is not that hard to do, but you need to know the exact sequence of break down to get it), that's a great example of breaking stuff down properly.

Right but there are only two specific items like this and they almost feel like glitches. There's no consistency at all in the breaking down system.

 

[thetrin]

Seems as though stance dancing becomes more and more needed as time goes on in this game, I will be in for a rough time if that's the case.

Get ready to switch paradigms for about 2 seconds to heal, and then back to attack for some fights.

Also, be prepared to switch to a defensive stance with less than 2 seconds notice on some fights.

Credit chips can be farmed infinitely so it doesn't matter. They're just for selling.

I never dismantled anything in the game..it's just not worth it..I also never sold anything other than the items meant for selling. Once you're doing hunts and farming them over and over for gear, cash isn't really a problem.

In response to someone else's comment, there is no bad bonus or whatever from materials. Every natural material does the same thing - increases your bonus exp. It's just that some take less of the material to get to x3, to balance that they usually give a bit more exp but in the end that's trivial.

This is not true, if you know how to do it. The hermes boots (I think that's the name?) cast haste on the wearer at the start of every battle. Insanely useful near the end of the game. You cannot get this item. You can only get it from breakdown.

Right but there are only two specific items like this and they almost feel like glitches. There's no consistency at all in the breaking down system.

There's consistency. It's just boneheaded and unnatural.

Also, there is a side quest in Chapter 11, near the end, that will give you 600k gil. DO THIS QUEST. It is the easiest way to level up your weapons to a decent level.

 

[Walshicus]

Bought this on 360 as a change of pace from BFBC2 and Star Trek Online. Actually impressed!

 

[Giolon]

I'm up to Chapter 9 now, and I realized last night while I was playing the end segment of Chapter 7 (I think? It was the end of

Spoiler

Palumpolum

) that the thought "I fucking love this game" crossed my mind. It wa the combination of the music, the deep combat during the boss fight that I was playing at the time, and I guess just how much I'd come to like the characters thus far - even Hope.

It may not be traditional, and the naked linearity feels out of place in the modern day, but I can't say that it hasn't been a fun ride so far (since Chapter 3 anyway).

 

[Weeman0313]

even Hope.

you sure about that? :lol
I'll admit I'm starting to not hate him as much since hes starting to loose that whiney bitch feel

 

[DualShadow]

Also any Aussies looking for the CE Guide i got a copy from EB's for like $40 which isn't that bad for a hard cover CE edition. They didn't seem to have many copies left so anyone interested should check out their local store!

Spoiler

This was in NSW on the coast if that helps, PM me if u want to know the exact store

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Mini 4 hour review.

I don't like it...

I understand the game is trying to be more streamlined, but I think they just took out too much. The lack of towns is a huge no-no for me. The excuse that it 'takes too long to develop' is lame as well (doesn't SE have as many resources or MORE than any other Japanese dev?). The battles so far are mindless 'autobattle' button tapping with the occasional 3 taps to use a heal potion or 3 taps to change roles. The equipment customization is pretty weak thus far. I know there's weapon customization later on, but I just missed the complexity and flexibility of previous systems. There's also not much to equip besides 'weapon' and 'accessory'. The story is a pretty incoherent and boring mess. And this isn't just usual jrpg drivel either, I honestly question a lot of these characters motives and the fucking 'kids', especially the fucking 'girl' that just happens to become a party member and the annoying whiny 'kid' that's always there. All this shitty l'cie and fal'cie and pulse l'cie really needs to be fleshed out more too. It really is like you're watching a movie where the characters know everything and are reluctant to share, or when you walk in on a conversation and don't know what the fuck anyone is talking about. I'm also kind of down on the leveling system thus far; I know it'll get more complex, but so far it's kinda bleh...

On the plus side
The music is pretty catchy. Not mind-blowingly good or iconic or anything, but definitely good. The graphics, as usual, are top notch and stellar! The only thing I dislike are the overly plasticky look of the characters (guess I'm used to more realistic 'dirty' models now). The fmv's are awesome. The animation is smooth and well done. And the load times and saving is blazingly fast; I really never notice the loading at all.

Overall, I really wouldn't be able to recommend this game...even for an FF lover. Opinion may change once I unlock more stuff and summons and whatnot, but the game just seems like a beautiful girl. She's gorgeous to look at and may sound good, but there are deep problems underneath and not enough depth.