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[LordKasual]

I'm at chapter 14 and i find this magic system is only good for fight opening, Why would i bother with crafting and getting rare items to craft higher level spells while normal physical attacks can do same or even more dmg.

Magic is just as strong as you make it. I try to store at least one spell that can end an encounter by itself, usually 99/99/99 with Quintcast or something.

Stats/Accessories/ equipped weapons are important, but currently I roll with like 125-135 potency -ra spells that can chain between 7000-9999 with each hit. The only things i've used so far (no Limit Break skills yet) with the potential to outdamage a good spell is either Ignis' Overwhelm, or a well-connected Armiger Chain.

But yeah, since I dont know if Magic can break the damage limit, Dual/Tri/Quad/Quintcast is the way to go if you're looking for battle-ending power. I typically use it to open hard battles and if it doesn't out-right end it, we're looking at a huge chunk of health gone instantly.


And if you're looking for supplemental effects (heal, debuffs, ect) then Magic is the easiest path to go...even if you waste a really good healing item for a healcast spell, you get three of them at once.

 

[Audioboxer]

The magic system is a piece of shit. Ignore. Or at least I do. Terrible design decision given the magic systems in past games.

 

[Septimus Prime]

I used a 99/99/99 Quintcast on the Bandersnatch last night, and it took most of its HP. I think, though, that a regular Thundara or Thundaga could have been better, though.

 

[LiK]

The magic system is a piece of shit. Ignore. Or at least I do. Terrible design decision given the magic systems in past games.

They're actually really powerful. Saved my butt against somr massive mobs in a few optional dungeons. Definitely not a fun gameplay element tho.

 

[Brandon F]

Do hunts ever end? I'm getting bored. Does each outpost have different hunts? Fishing is also boring. I'm not sure what else to do in the game honestly. Dungeons?

Just over 100 hunts in the game I think.

 

[Iriscomeback]

I take it you're not running to the floating arrow when it tells you to flee?

Thanks!

I completely missed that :-\

 

[Ishida]

The magic system is a piece of shit. Ignore. Or at least I do. Terrible design decision given the magic systems in past games.

Wrong.

Magic is actually really great in this game. Although it can be really overpowered.

 

[painey]

I'm at chapter 14 and i find this magic system is only good for fight opening, Why would i bother with crafting and getting rare items to craft higher level spells while normal physical attacks can do same or even more dmg.

I beat the entire game and the only time I used magic was on that chocobo boss where you are supposed to use in on the barrels

 

[Brandon F]

The magic system is a piece of shit. Ignore. Or at least I do. Terrible design decision given the magic systems in past games.

Think of it like a bomb in a shmup. Limited use but can wreck shit. I tend to either save for major encounters or to clear out mech patrols in a single blow.

Still definitely not a fan regardless, but I work magic in now and again.

 

[Audioboxer]

They're actually really powerful. Saved my butt against somr massive mobs in a few optional dungeons. Definitely not a fun gameplay element tho.

Wrong.

Magic is actually really great in this game. Although it can be really overpowered.

Well it might be incredibly powerful, but gameplay wise this mixing and expiring shit isn't the norm for FF. You hunt down spells (or learn from grid) and they use up MP. Should have stuck to that.

I cannot be bothered with it so I just focus on physical attacks.

 

[RDreamer]

The magic system is a piece of shit. Ignore. Or at least I do. Terrible design decision given the magic systems in past games.

I'm not terribly much a fan of it myself, but it's overpowered as fuck and people probably shouldn't just ignore it because of that. It can be satisfying at times.

Still wish we had more traditional FF magic

 

[MogCakes]

I am still not getting the hang of block/attack timing. Do I press block immediately after a few attacks? Am I supposed to get used to trying to decipher attack telegraphs amid the myriad enemy movements? Duscae was simple enough because I could activate weapon skills at any time when getting swarmed, but at level 11 I only have Tempest and that skill takes forever to animate, allowing enemies to flee its attack radius before it procs. Some enemies have multi-stage attack combos that can all break my attack streaks and send me to the ground.

 

[YankeeDonB]

I beat the entire game and the only time I used magic was on that chocobo boss where you are supposed to use in on the barrels

I use it all the time. The friendly fire is negligible, and if you build strong spells or really juice Noct's magic stat it's super powerful.

 

[Ferr986]

You know what is OP too? Ignis overwhelm skill. Holy fuck!

 

[Audioboxer]

I'm not terribly much a fan of it myself, but it's overpowered as fuck and people probably shouldn't just ignore it because of that. It can be satisfying at times.

Still wish we had more traditional FF magic

Even the summons are anemic I'm still to get to them though.

Ughhh... I wish the entire hunt system wasn't so bad and more rewarding.

1 hunt at a time.... -_- Yes I know many seem to spawn in similar locations but across the whole map they should allow you to take multiples on.

 

[Conkerkid11]

Just over 100 hunts in the game I think.

Ughhh... I wish the entire hunt system wasn't so bad and more rewarding.

 

[Ishida]

Even the summons are anemic I'm still to get to them though..

Anemic in which way? As in the number of summons?

 

[koji kabuto]

Magic is just as strong as you make it. I try to store at least one spell that can end an encounter by itself, usually 99/99/99 with Quintcast or something.

Stats/Accessories/ equipped weapons are important, but currently I roll with like 125-135 potency -ra spells that can chain between 7000-9999 with each hit. The only things i've used so far (no Limit Break skills yet) with the potential to outdamage a good spell is either Ignis' Overwhelm, or a well-connected Armiger Chain.

But yeah, since I dont know if Magic can break the damage limit, Dual/Tri/Quad/Quintcast is the way to go if you're looking for battle-ending power. I typically use it to open hard battles and if it doesn't out-right end it, we're looking at a huge chunk of health gone instantly.


And if you're looking for supplemental effects (heal, debuffs, ect) then Magic is the easiest path to go...even if you waste a really good healing item for a healcast spell, you get three of them at once.

I'm going to do more testing after i'm done with chapter 14, Probably while fighting the optional level 90-120 monsters

 

[LordKasual]

The magic system is a piece of shit. Ignore. Or at least I do. Terrible design decision given the magic systems in past games.

FF6/7, Magic was pretty cool i guess

FF8, The only way to make magic good in this game was to put a few really good spells on Rinoa and put her in Angel Wings. Best visual spell effects in the series IMO, fucking useless though.

FF9, Magic is cool until your characters just start hitting much harder, and since nothing in FF9 could break the damage limit...you were typically just wasting your time casting spells

FF10, Lulu definitely has the most useless limit break in the game, and unless you were godlike (like me!) and challenged your sanity dodging lightning for 20 minutes straight, it sucked weellllllll into endgame too.

FF12 was generally the same (unless you were a genius like me and used the Reflectga > Partycast trick ;D )

FF13, hahaha, "magic system"

Edit:

Okay, FF10 was pretty serious about character attributes and element wheels, so Lulu didn't fall off until someone (Tidus) got their ultimate weapon.

 

[Jennipeg]

Ughhh... I wish the entire hunt system wasn't so bad and more rewarding.

It would be immediately improved if you could accept more than one. Or call the outpost from any location to check in on the hunts.

 

[ramyeon]

Well it might be incredibly powerful, but gameplay wise this mixing and expiring shit isn't the norm for FF. You hunt down spells (or learn from grid) and they use up MP. Should have stuck to that.

I cannot be bothered with it so I just focus on physical attacks.

I invested in the skills that let you draw more each time so it's not much of a hassle to gather elements. Also stopped putting 99 in each time because I realized how unnecessary it is, especially with the skills that raise potency by 30 or 50 automatically.

I like magic in this. It feels substantial and powerful and you can get some cool side effects too.

 

[Audioboxer]

Anemic in which way? As in the number of summons?

Yeah, I heard there is only

Spoiler

6

. Cannot confirm until I complete the game.

FF6/7, Magic was pretty cool i guess

FF8, The only way to make magic good in this game was to put a few really good spells on Rinoa and put her in Angel Wings. Best visual spell effects in the series IMO, fucking useless though.

FF9, Magic is cool until your characters just start hitting much harder, and since nothing in FF9 could break the damage limit...you were typically just wasting your time casting spells

FF10, Lulu definitely has the most useless limit break in the game, and unless you were godlike (like me!) and challenged your sanity dodging lightning for 20 minutes straight, it sucked weellllllll into endgame too.

FF12 was generally the same (unless you were a genius like me and used the Reflectga > Partycast trick ;D )

FF13, hahaha, "magic system"

Yeah the series is littered with decent implementations and others not so much.

I invested in the skills that let you draw more each time so it's not much of a hassle to gather elements. Also stopped putting 99 in each time because I realized how unnecessary it is, especially with the skills that raise potency by 30 or 50 automatically.

I like magic in this. It feels substantial and powerful and you can get some cool side effects too.

As a standalone game it's probably alright, I just crave the nostalgia of games gone by I guess.

 

[TeamGizzy]

Being able to take more than one hunt quest at a time is a nice Qol issue that I hope gets patched in. Makes it a big hassle..

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

There are apparently "black mage" builds people are using that focus mostly in magic.....which is kind of awesome.

I was so intrigued by the melee weapons that i didnt start investing in magic until the post game. I want to hug whoever put in Expricast, i got 3 million XP in 20 minutes because of that.

 

[RDreamer]

Even the summons are anemic I'm still to get to them though.

The magic and summons are partially why this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy to me. It feels like an FF spinoff, which I suppose makes sense considering its lineage, but as a mainline FF it doesn't feel like it fits at all.

 

[LordKasual]

It would be immediately improved if you could accept more than one. Or call the outpost from any location to check in on the hunts.

If there was only one thing i could change about FFXV, this would definitely be it. I'm trying to catch up on the hunts I missed, and having to travel for 5 minutes just to one-shot a hunt with a spell and travel back gets old really fast.

I've gone as far as equipping shitty weapons and taking stuff off to make the fights more interesting.


I knew for a fact that ignoring the hunts was a terrible idea because the same thing happens in FF12. They are amazing to fight when you're appropriate level, but just a waste of time once they aren't challenging anymore.

As a standalone game it's probably alright, I just crave the nostalgia of games gone by I guess.

I really wish more people on this forum were as honest as you.

 

[ramyeon]

Gotta say... (Chapter 13 spoilers)

Spoiler

That music kicking in as you approached the crystal really got me.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

The magic and summons are partially why this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy to me. It feels like an FF spinoff, which I suppose makes sense considering its lineage, but as a mainline FF it doesn't feel like it fits at all.

The summons in this game are the most FF-esque that they've been since IX. X and XIII completely revamped the way that they work, they were more like a powerful player character than a single big fancy attack animation that comes to help when you when you'rein trouble.

The magic works alot like 8, you draw magic and you use it. Then you draw more.

 

[Iriscomeback]

One more question, I'm at chapter 11 now:

Spoiler

When do you go back to Lucis? Want to go back to sidequests. I have a savefile just before I start chapter 9, but I hope I don;t have to go all the way back..

 

[RDreamer]

The magic works alot like 8, you draw magic and you use it. Then you draw more.

If you boil it down to that then sure maybe it works like 8, but in practice the magic system almost couldn't be further from 8 if it tried.

 

[ramyeon]

One more question, I'm at chapter 11 now:

Spoiler

When do you go back to Lucis? Want to go back to sidequests. I have a savefile just before I start chapter 9, but I hope I don;t have to go all the way back..

Spoiler

You have been able to go back since Chapter 9. You need to Call Umbra at a camp/rest spot and return to Past Lucis.

 

[LordKasual]

I will admit that Summons are actually the low-point of this game, mechanically anyway.

The summon prompt is actually really aggravating, anytime i'm having an interesting brawl it decides to come up and ruin my fun, and there's no way to make it go away.

They should have made it so that you hold L2 to ASK for an orbital strike, and then they decide if they want to or not.


But when i'm having a 3-way battle with Daemons, Magitek dudes and some asshole wildlife that jumped in for giggles, the last thing I want is for Ramuh to interrupt my music and beg me for 2 minutes to make him useful

 

[Audioboxer]

The magic and summons are partially why this doesn't feel like a Final Fantasy to me. It feels like an FF spinoff, which I suppose makes sense considering its lineage, but as a mainline FF it doesn't feel like it fits at all.

Yeah you hit the nail on the head. I think FF13 Versus is showing its roots here.

If there was only one thing i could change about FFXV, this would definitely be it. I'm trying to catch up on the hunts I missed, and having to travel for 5 minutes just to one-shot a hunt with a spell and travel back gets old really fast.

I've gone as far as equipping shitty weapons and taking stuff off to make the fights more interesting.


I knew for a fact that ignoring the hunts was a terrible idea because the same thing happens in FF12. They are amazing to fight when you're appropriate level, but just a waste of time once they aren't challenging anymore.



I really wish more people on this forum were as honest as you.

Heh if you are serious it's just because I'm a big FF fan. FF7 like millions from my generation was my first real jump into the world of JRPGs. I was a Sega boy before I got my PS1, and on the master system and mega drive it was mostly all about Sonic, Streets of Rage and other popular games. I missed the Snes golden JRPG era as I never owned a Snes or Nintendo console until the Wii. Only ever played N64 games at a friends. Heck I even borrowed a cousins N64 to play Zelda.

I was a pretty bad Sega/PS1 fanboy lol. Kind of not sorry though as FF7~9 blew my mind growing up.

 

[Iriscomeback]

Spoiler

You have been able to go back since Chapter 9. You need to Call Umbra at a camp/rest spot and return to Past Lucis.

Ah right, looks like (again) I haven't been paying attention.

thanks.

 

[koji kabuto]

It feels like the developers wanted Noctis's powers to dominate the game there for magic was nerfed.

 

[RDreamer]

In other FFs magic was the system you used. You had healers and tons of spells at your disposal. Attacks felt like one of the options along side magic. For the most part it was a basic action and not nearly as good as using magic or other abilities like it. You spent a lot of time casting cures and protect and fire and reflect and all of those good things.

In FFXV the magic feels tangential. It's not the system you're using. You barely have to touch it. It's a small addition for in between attacks. Attacking is the system you're using, and that's a fundamentally huge difference between this and every other traditional FF, 8 included.

Hell, even outside of yourself, you don't really have a healer. You don't have a support character. You don't have mages. Even your buddies can use an ability that's sort of like a spell once in a while in between attacking.

 

[rataven]

I seem to have really, really good luck with summons. That might be because I'm terrible though? Titan shows up quite regularly when I'm out around the Leide area, particularly when I'm fighting magitek soldiers.

 

[ramyeon]

It feels like the developers wanted Noctis's powers to dominate the game there for magic was nerfed.

You keep saying magic was nerfed and is weak when it can be extremely powerful if you use it right.

 

[jiggle]

Magic is game breakingly strong early on
But it's presented in such an unexciting way

 

[Tiamant]

Oh my god, how didn't I realize this the first time? (chapter 10 spoilers)

Spoiler

When Ardyn rides the train he is humming the chocobo theme!

That magnificent bastard!

 

[Hungry Ghost]

I do not get the logic of the bros in this game.

Spoiler

Even before finding out about Ardyn, they do anything he asks willy nilly. If they know hes the chancellor or whatever why dont they just ice him. I mean noctic can make swords and shit fly around you. I SUMMONED ZEUS FOR CHRIST SAKES. I feel like everything they do is motivated to just push the story further, but logically none of it makes sense.

 

[LordKasual]

Heh if you are serious it's just because I'm a big FF fan. FF7 like millions from my generation was my first real jump into the world of JRPGs. I was a Sega boy before I got my PS1, and on the master system and mega drive it was mostly all about Sonic, Streets of Rage and other popular games. I missed the Snes golden JRPG era as I never owned a Snes or Nintendo console until the Wii. Only ever played N64 games at a friends. Heck I even borrowed a cousins N64 to play Zelda.

I was a pretty bad Sega/PS1 fanboy lol. Kind of not sorry though as FF7~9 blew my mind growing up.

No i'm dead serious. I really wish more people would just flat out say "I'm nostalgic, i just liked it the other way" instead of pretending like something is genuinely wrong with the formula. I understand, we were probably born around the same year based on what you're saying.

Final Fantasy's systems have always changed, but it wasn't until i got older that I began to appreciate just how willing Square was when it came to shaking everything up. Familiar Magic and Summons are always thrown around, with their story impacts altered and twisted. Like how Holy/Meteor are staple FF spells but are key plot devices in FF7 (or Ultima in FF9). Summons are SUPER important to the story in FF6 but are essentially glorified magic attacks in FF7. Aeons are literally characters in FF10. In FF14, the Primals are main antagonists of the plot. In FFXV they are gods of the realm.


That is what makes Final Fantasy what it is, the fact that anything "staple" can drastically change but still be familiar. I was expecting FFXV to allow us to craft things like Cure, Demi, Meteor, ect. But after playing the game and feeling the world it's in...it makes sense that you can't. But as a tradeoff, it's representation is significantly enhanced. Regular spells affect the environment, -Ga level spells can change the weather. And speaking strictly damage, I don't think Magic has ever been this (potentially) overwhelmingly powerful in FF before.

But FFXV is an action game. "Attack" and "Defend" are real-time commands that you're basically always doing, and there are a ton of attacks... So it makes sense that Magic needs that extra oomph to fit in with the new chaotic system it's in.

 

[Septimus Prime]

Okay, guys. Noctis vs. Dante. Who would win?

 

[LordKasual]

Okay, guys. Noctis vs. Dante. Who would win?

DMC4 Dante would probably one-shot any of the Astrals in this game

And Dante is practically immortal, so

I take damage if I fall off a tall ledge in FFXV, so Noctis stands no chance bro

 

[Audioboxer]

No i'm dead serious. I really wish more people would just flat out say "I'm nostalgic, i just liked it the other way" instead of pretending like something is genuinely wrong with the formula. I understand, we were probably born around the same year based on what you're saying.

Final Fantasy's systems have always changed, but it wasn't until i got older that I began to appreciate just how willing Square was when it came to shaking everything up. Familiar Magic and Summons are always thrown around, with their story impacts altered and twisted. Like how Holy/Meteor are staple FF spells but are key plot devices in FF7 (or Ultima in FF9). Summons are SUPER important to the story in FF6 but are essentially glorified magic attacks in FF7. Aeons are literally characters in FF10. In FF14, the Primals are main antagonists of the plot. In FFXV they are gods of the realm.


That is what makes Final Fantasy what it is, the fact that anything "staple" can drastically change but still be familiar. I was expecting FFXV to allow us to craft things like Cure, Demi, Meteor, ect. But after playing the game and feeling the world it's in...it makes sense that you can't. But as a tradeoff, it's representation is significantly enhanced. Regular spells affect the environment, -Ga level spells can change the weather. And speaking strictly damage, I don't think Magic has ever been this (potentially) overwhelmingly powerful in FF before.

Good points. I'm sure the system will make sense the more I dive into FF15. I can say I am having fun and enjoying myself, but I did just recently complete FF7 again on PS4 so I guess I got some nostalgia injection beforehand

I have no problem with Square trying different things, they just need better project management at times. It's somewhat sad FF14 has been the best FF game in a while, and jeez it launched as an absolute disaster as well. As much as I dislike FF13, the real kicker was Square steaming ahead with 3 games around FF13. I think that was partly to do with assets as well, it's easier to make a sequel in the same world/with same characters. Dat PS3 era HD towns issue JRPG devs kept having.

If we ever get a FF16 I wouldn't be opposed to it being open world, I just hope Square are a bit more focused and yeah, maybe lean a bit more on what older FF fans like. In the meantime I will enjoy FF15 for what it is, and then move onto Persona 5 and Ni No Kuni 2 which I'm sure will fly the flagship for JRPG nostalgia.

I will say the intro screen to FF15 is a bit of try-hard cringe... "A FF15 for newcomes and fans alike", or whatever it exactly is lol. Square pls, no need to try that hard with messages on our screens, just focus on the game itself.

 

[psynergylover]

these Gentiana photobombs are quite funny

and when shit was about to get real

she ain't got a care in the world


do we have a FF XV screenshot thread?

 

[Falk]

Post your favorite Prompto Snapshot! (FFXV spoilers duh)

 

[YankeeDonB]

My biggest disappointment with XV's magic system is the lack of visual variety. VI and VII still have my favorite spell effects in the series, and by far. XV has so many beautiful effects I wish they'd been more creative with the magic. Ring magic helps a bit, but why don't we have ultima or meteor with these graphics? And why is firaga just a bigger generic Hollywood style explosion effect?

 

[Dimmle]

Felt like an idiot when I cast Blizzaga in the swamp and froze my feet in place.

 

[Audioboxer]

Only in chapter 3 and I think I have come to my first optional dungeon. Climbing for a photo quest

I'm pretty much doing EVERY side quest because I'm holding out some hope Square start patching this game soon. Annoys me when you know in advance some big changes are coming and you'd really rather they be for your first playthrough.

Knowing Square though, pls be excited, patches coming Feb 2017.