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NAtURAL DOCtRINE Import |OT| - GAME OVER MAN! GAME OVER!

Okay, I just bought the Vita version. I kinda worried that I might hate it, but something tells me it might be one of those arcane games that really clicks for me. We'll see.

I bought the physical version just in case I hate it, so I can trade it in.

Any tips for a new player?
 
Okay, I just bought the Vita version. I kinda worried that I might hate it, but something tells me it might be one of those arcane games that really clicks for me. We'll see.

I bought the physical version just in case I hate it, so I can trade it in.

Any tips for a new player?

Always hunt for the enemy with the next initiative and who on your team has initiative right after them so you put them on reserve and not waste another opportunity for your whole team to act again when you kill that enemy.

Level up between missions with 1 or two runs in the mines to practice how to set up ways to steal and utilize initiative for everyone in your party at the moment.

Don't sleep on the numbers you see from linking you can get 75% extra damage from every attack if you plan your attacks carefully.

Learn the turn order of all your team mates, until you get your sniper gunner(or you don't spec for spirit) you will rarely get first initiative opening some doors!

Guard is a good cheap way to create opportunities for other characters to take an action early when it's your turn, makes running away from certain things easier amd faster!

And this gentleman on gfaqs made a great writeup on what certain stats do:

"#3BusardPosted 10/4/2014 5:34:30 AMmessage detailquote
From what I experimented:

- Strength: melee damage (+6% per point)

- Vitality: HP (+8 HP per point), resistance to acid/poison/sleep

- Dexterity: gun damage (+6% per point), gun accuracy (+2% per point), shield blocking and melee weapon parry (+1% per point), critical rate

- Agility: actions order, evasion (+1% per point) and number of attacks (depends on the weapon)

- Spirit: physical damage, gun and melee (+1% per point), turns order

- Intelligence: magic damage (+20% per point)

- Faith: healing spells (+10% per point)


For example,

Sniper rifle damage with 20 dexterity and 15 spirit. The sniper rifle has 29 base damage, 20 dexterity gives +120% damage and 15 spirit gives +15% damage. The damage would be 29 x 220% x 115% = 73 damage."

Hope this all helps ease you in and please don't skip any of the tutorial!
 

RangerBAD

Member
In Japan the benefit of PS3 / PS4 was you could buy the pack w/ the vita ver for around 70 bucks. But for the West since they didnt do that, personally dont think there are any benefits.

Oh also Japan had PS4 specific scenario DLC for whatever reason... Which came out a few months ago.

Truthfully if you are planning on getting a PS TV / Vita tv whatever its called now, just get the Vita ver and PS+ your save back and forth. between the vita and PSV TV

I have a Vita, but I might get a PS4 soon.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Okay, I just bought the Vita version. I kinda worried that I might hate it, but something tells me it might be one of those arcane games that really clicks for me. We'll see.

I bought the physical version just in case I hate it, so I can trade it in.

Any tips for a new player?

Other simple stuff is dont play this like other SRPGs and over extend with a single character.

As much as possible keep your ranged character away from other ranged enemies, as they will usually target the ranged character and gang up on it.

Take time to move the cursor through the enemies to see exactly which one is next on the turn initiative and take them out giving your allies more turns in a row. Esp will not give the enemy chance to link a bunch of actions together making things more difficult.

You can use potions to initiate a chain action so keep that in mind. Granted you waste a potion it still can make a huge difference when it comes to having to pull back or if you want to get another chance to attack something.

I have a Vita, but I might get a PS4 soon.

Am not sure if in the US they will release the special PS4 only scenarios

Though but for the most part there really isnt any sort of specific reason to get the PS4 version unless you really want to play it on a tv from the get go.

When you get Nebula when you level him up there will be 2 spells of his that you will use a lot. Sleep and DEF up. Though the sleep spell is not as effective as it used to be.
 

autoduelist

Member
Okay, I just bought the Vita version. I kinda worried that I might hate it, but something tells me it might be one of those arcane games that really clicks for me. We'll see.

I bought the physical version just in case I hate it, so I can trade it in.

Any tips for a new player?

A simple way to understand the link system.

Your units are A,B,C,D and move in that order.

Move A.
You can now optionally reserve B,C,D.
Now B's turn. As long as you do something to chain the rest (ie, attack, guard, potion, etc) you can move B AND A, then reserve C and D.
C's turn, same thing, but now you can move C and B and A, and reserve D.
D's turn, you can move everyone.

Obviously, there are cases where it may make sense to move D earlier, or you may not be able to chain someone, etc.

But effectively, even against a massive army your first to move (often Geoff), can move up to 4 times before the enemy gets a turn IF you always kill the next queued enemy during each turn.

----

Your gunners will take pot shots at anyone they can if the enemy tries to attack you. This occurs before any attack, so if you know a weakened enemy is going to attack you, if you place your gunner(s) correctly they can often kill him before he even swings.

---

Do the math. If you can kill a zone mob with 2 characters on your first turn, they'll advance after the victory. Reserve the other two, or if you can use one to kill the next queued if possible. If it's going to take all 4 of your characters to kill just one zone, your winners will advance but all the rest of the enemy will get to chain their moves... consider other options.

I often find myself moving Geoff and my gunner on 'turn 1' - Geoff softens up the closest mob while my gunner snipes and kills next queued. Since the rest are reserved, I can now attack with Geoff and 1 other warrior, and my gunner snipes the next one. And now I get one more turn where everyone can move. Depending on how many enemies are left, it's either easy cleanup, or else it's time to put Geoff on defend or evade, and pull the rest back.
 
Ended up killing Gomorrah today. I went into it not expecting to beat him but it happened pretty easily. The game's really clicking with me at this point.
 

Sakujou

Banned
the screenshots look messy as shit.

i totally was psyched because of the first artwork but iam now not anymore interested. looks like a shit fest. and especially if this game is as bad as tokitowa, i wont.

tokitowa is pretty much the most fucked up RPG.
 
So, those of you who are playing it, how is the game?

Reviews mostly destroyed it but it's always hard to tell what that actually says about the game with niche stuff like this. Is it fun? Is it fair once you get the hang of it? How much content is there? Etc etc.

I like SRPGs a lot, but an unfair one is no good. So I'm curious about it. Also that beautiful boxart keeps calling to me.
 
So, those of you who are playing it, how is the game?

Reviews mostly destroyed it but it's always hard to tell what that actually says about the game with niche stuff like this. Is it fun? Is it fair once you get the hang of it? How much content is there? Etc etc.

I like SRPGs a lot, but an unfair one is no good. So I'm curious about it. Also that beautiful boxart keeps calling to me.

I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm about 2/3rd of the way through the game (I think) and it definitely took until the 4th dungeon for the game to really click with me but it finally did and I'm loving it.

The game reminds me a lot of Dark Souls when it comes to its unforgiving difficulty: the game isn't necessarily super difficult (I'm breezing through now and I've never been too good at SRPGs) but it's VERY punishing when you make a mistake. I can't tell you how many times I got super frustrated after getting wiped from one stupid mistake...but I just pressed on and kept going (speaking of which, the game's pretty generous when it comes to checkpoints in the story missions...there are only a few stages that really frustrated me checkpoint-wise). Once you learn to play by the game's "rules," you have a much easier time. Honestly, the game just plays so much better once your characters level up and get more abilities and skills.
 
Ended up killing Gomorrah today. I went into it not expecting to beat him but it happened pretty easily. The game's really clicking with me at this point.

Congrats for not only getting the game and finding out you enjoy it despite baseless reviews from people who didn't take the time to learn the mechanics, but for actually beating what is supposed to be a dang near immortal boss the first time you met him!
 
Congrats for not only getting the game and finding out you enjoy it despite baseless reviews from people who didn't take the time to learn the mechanics, but for actually beating what is supposed to be a dang near immortal boss the first time you met him!

Aww, shucks! Thanks--although I am playing on Easy so that definitely takes away some of the sense of achievement.

Seriously though, while the game doesn't do everything right (you spend SO much time just running around maps), it's some of the most fun I've had with a SRPG in a long time.

On a side note, I had no clue that Noriyuki Asakura did the music for this game. I loved his OSTs for Rurouni Kenshin and Way of the Samurai.
 

autoduelist

Member
Finished my second playthrough of Natural Doctrine. First was on lethal (awesome), second was on easy.

It is my favorite vita game, by far.

There were actually a few challenging levels on easy towards the end, but that's because I did zero grinding and generally rushed through the game. By the end, the difficultly had scaled nicely to where solid play was required, though I'm sure my first run through lethal level characters would have cleared the screen in a turn.

If anyone needs tips or strategies, just ask.

One tip I'll leave here -- there are a few levels that have enemies that respawn if you kill them. Depending on the queue, respawning enemies can gain initiative, chain move, and kill you even though you've taken out the original next queued enemy. Solution? Don't kill enemies that respawn. You never have to, and unless you're willing to risk it for the experience, it's usually not worth it.

----------

On to multiplayer. Won my first game, I really like it so far. I'm using a crappy prebuilt deck and will need to fix that, but going up against another player was a great experience. There were quite a few players online (30ish) which was more than I expected... though I have a lot of games to win before I get the plat.
-----------

Aww, shucks! Thanks--although I am playing on Easy so that definitely takes away some of the sense of achievement.

Seriously though, while the game doesn't do everything right (you spend SO much time just running around maps), it's some of the most fun I've had with a SRPG in a long time.

On a side note, I had no clue that Noriyuki Asakura did the music for this game. I loved his OSTs for Rurouni Kenshin and Way of the Samurai.

Pro tip -- use linking to leap frog for running around the screen. For example, consider this:
Zone 1: Geoff
Zone 2: Allies

First move: Geoff to Zone 3. Use normal guard (no animation) to chain move all Zone 2 allies to Zone 4. End turn. It's now Geoff's turn again, repeat.

Since all move in the same turn, it's much faster as you're not dealing with any redraws or animations, etc.

You can also do chests faster if you remember the rules. If it's a locked chest only leapfrog Anka close enough that she can't get to the chest -- reserve her if she can since you can only open up chests on her turn. Then, bang, leapfrog her away and you're off again.
 

DrDamn

Member
Just bought in the EU PSN sale on PS4. In it's current state what is the thinking on difficulty level to start at? I had heard it was very tricky so started the tutorial on Easy but willing to step up to Normal if it's more manageable now. I don't want to have to grind a lot as I simply don't have the time these days.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Just bought in the EU PSN sale on PS4. In it's current state what is the thinking on difficulty level to start at? I had heard it was very tricky so started the tutorial on Easy but willing to step up to Normal if it's more manageable now. I don't want to have to grind a lot as I simply don't have the time these days.

The thing is generally the grinding is more about getting the skill points as you will need those for all the abilities on the skill list as you will be constantly respeccing yourself depending on the situation. If you feel you do not have a lot of time might as well keep it on Easy as there is nothing wrong with that!

Generally difficulty seems to effect the enemy HP and damage output more than anything else I do believe.
 

DrDamn

Member
Thanks for the reply. Will keep it as it is and knock it up to normal if I feel like it's too easy.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
The PS4 version just entered Free Play on the Japanese PlayStation Plus. Definitely going to give it a try.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Just got it from PS+ for free. Haven't been able to play much but its really interesting =D.

the game system is indeed unique. thats about the strongest point of the title.

for those currently playing on maps that seem to have endless spawning enemies dont bother to try and keep killing them as it will automatically game over anyways. other parts just make it impossible to win so keep that in mind so you dont waste time lol

though be sure to always grab all the chests on the story missions since you cant replay those and you will miss out on better equipment if you do pass up certain ones.
 
the game system is indeed unique. thats about the strongest point of the title.

for those currently playing on maps that seem to have endless spawning enemies dont bother to try and keep killing them as it will automatically game over anyways. other parts just make it impossible to win so keep that in mind so you dont waste time lol

though be sure to always grab all the chests on the story missions since you cant replay those and you will miss out on better equipment if you do pass up certain ones.

Thanks for the tips. It's pretty satisfied when you clear a dungeon =).
 

Memory

Member
Can anyone with the PS4 version tell me if this game has local multiplayer and if so in what fashion. I can only find details about online but both the PS store states it has local multiplayer also.

Thanks
 

2+2=5

The Amiga Brotherhood
I played a little and honestly i don't see all the complexity.

Imo there's confusion because people think of a character and his turn as a single character, instead if you think of the active character as the current team leader that allow nearby allies to act everything become clear, if he acts then all the surrounding allies can act too, the farther they are the better.

That said i'm not able to escape from the beast in the third dungeon, i saw the video in the op and things look different, i'm playing on normal on Vita, only 2 little monsters are present, but the big one moves earlier and the two small ones help him moving farther since the beginning and in fact it can shoot at Jeff in just 2 turns.

In any case i have to redo the mission, Jeff needs to reach the final part with more energy and i left a chest unopened because i wanted to open it at the end of the mission but it's obviously not possible.

EDIT:
what's faith?
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I played a little and honestly i don't see all the complexity.

Imo there's confusion because people think of a character and his turn as a single character, instead if you think of the active character as the current team leader that allow nearby allies to act everything become clear, if he acts then all the surrounding allies can act too, the farther they are the better.

That said i'm not able to escape from the beast in the third dungeon, i saw the video in the op and things look different, i'm playing on normal on Vita, only 2 little monsters are present, but the big one moves earlier and the two small ones help him moving farther since the beginning and in fact it can shoot at Jeff in just 2 turns.

In any case i have to redo the mission, Jeff needs to reach the final part with more energy and i left a chest unopened because i wanted to open it at the end of the mission but it's obviously not possible.

EDIT:
what's faith?

taken from Gfaqs.
Strength : Increases the damage of melee attacks
Vitality : Increases HP
Dexterity : Increases accuracy and critical hit rates
Agility : Increases attack order and number of attacks
Spirit : May lead to better battle results
Intelligence : Increases the damage of magic attacks
Faith : Increases the effects of medicine and recovery magic
 

2+2=5

The Amiga Brotherhood
To get away from that monster you pretty much need to make sure you are set up ahead of time since trying to wing it will usually wind up with something going wrong or someone lagging behind.

I replayed the mission and failed again lol! The two girls arrived but Jeff was killed just in front of the exit :\

I really need to give the potion ability and the faith bracelet to Jeff.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I replayed the mission and failed again lol! The two girls arrived but Jeff was killed just in front of the exit :\

I really need to give the potion ability and the faith bracelet to Jeff.

Btw you can use potions to activate turns by tossing it to another player. At times later in the game you might have to use that strategy in a pinch. Even if it wastes a potion.
 

2+2=5

The Amiga Brotherhood
I was finally able to escape from the monster, but unlike the video in the op i decided to make Jeff and the pink haired girl advancing together at the beginning and in the end i exposed her(or was the other one? lol) to an attack to save some damage to Jeff that in the end was the first or second to escape(and last one, the mission ends when Jeff escapes, even if someone else is behind, like in my case).

EDIT:
i use full portraits and damn the Vasily one with that sort of fanservice-y pose pisses me off.
 

Lucentto

Banned
I have been playing this game lately and I finally beat it. I became interested in this game because I continued to hear how hard it was. Overall though I didn't find the game to be that challenging. There were a few areas that I had to retry, but mostly the game was a straight shot.

I feel like as long as you understand how the game system works, it becomes a lot easier. Especially at a certain part of the game where you can choose a special weapon. If you choose the gun, Geoff becomes extremely OP. I was able to beat the final boss in one cycle because of it.

I did enjoy the game though. I felt like the game did suffer from a few bad design decisions. Overall it was a pretty fun game, I may do another playthrough on a harder difficulty (I played on normal)
 
Like Resonance of Fate once you learn the mechanics most fights are routine. I played it and didn't have much trouble either.

Lethal difficulty increases enemy damage by ~50% over normal afaik.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Its odd in the JP version how difficulty worked was increased HP for enemies also damage I think.

Do know that easy mode reduced the HP too from posts by JP players that played on easy difficulty.

That and there are some stages that are designed to kill the player on purpose with a first run through such as one of the bonus dungeons where opening a door will flood the room with enemies. So unless you knew that it was going to happen ahead of time chances of you dying was pretty high. Also the chest which was specifically placed on the higher ground to mess with the players ability to fight back against attacks from up there, while the AI can shoot past it for whatever reason.

Though Im wondering about what else they changed gameplay wise for the US ver since 2+2=5 said what he saw in a same level did not match up with my recorded footage which was taken on normal difficulty. And this game does not randomize what appears in encounters.
 

Raoh

Member
The game is harder than I expected.Having a hard time on just a mine in the beginning. Door that leads to a troll blocking a chest.

I'm playing it on normal but may have to drop it down to easy.

I like it but its harder than I expected, maybe i'm just getting old.

Does anyone know if this is coming out for PS+ in the US? I got the game from gamefly and I could buy it used from them for about $13, but i'll hold off if its coming to PS+
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
The game is harder than I expected.Having a hard time on just a mine in the beginning. Door that leads to a troll blocking a chest.

I'm playing it on normal but may have to drop it down to easy.

I like it but its harder than I expected, maybe i'm just getting old.

Does anyone know if this is coming out for PS+ in the US? I got the game from gamefly and I could buy it used from them for about $13, but i'll hold off if its coming to PS+

no idea about it coming to ps+.

btw in the start of the game dont try to kill the troll blocking the chest, its way too strong so you will have to go back to that level later and try again.
 
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