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Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment |OT| Now in English | #YOLO - You Only Live Online

So... sometimes I tend to rush sections to get to the next part of the story.

In this case, I tried doing this in the Hollow Area, I was at this section of the first area:



In the bit before the Bastea Gate area, couldn't find a way to open the doors because I kept avoiding the enemies. So I thought there must be another way around...

eventually I went back and decided to try and kill enemies/open chests and what do you know, I eventually get to the area I'm trying to access.

I think it was the Knight of Priests enemy (with the Neo guys guarding him) that opened the doors since I had to face two of them, one for each door until I got to the exit...

On the bright side, I did get to face this beauty during all this confusion:



Me and Philia rocked though I did almost die a few times but that's only natural isn't it? :D

Mainly trying to progress the Hollow story while I level up before continuing the floor clearing stuff. (level 113 and on floor 85)

Can't wait to get back on this game once the Destiny Beta is over. I've been itching to play it badly, but the beta being a limited time thing and all, and me getting swarmed with end term assignments, and soon exams, I can only play for an hour or so. Monday I'm going back to it, also, the big patch should be dropping any time now (on the Asian version), if what SCEAsia said still holds true. I'm expecting it to drop in August, July is almost over already.
EDIT: Couldn't wait any longer. Guns can wait, my waifus come first.
 

antibolo

Banned
Well I'm starting to get pissed, I still haven't got the game, Play-Asia shipped it way back on June 23.

I've ordered from Play-Asia with free shipping multiple times in the past, it's always slow but it never took more than 3 weeks.

And it gets worse: this is not the only PA order that's missing, the previous one was shipped on June 5!!!!

Never again!
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Well I'm starting to get pissed, I still haven't got the game, Play-Asia shipped it way back on June 23.

I've ordered from Play-Asia with free shipping multiple times in the past, it's always slow but it never took more than 3 weeks.

And it gets worse: this is not the only PA order that's missing, the previous one was shipped on June 5!!!!

Never again!

Let me guess you went with the "free" shipping option? Since yeah if so Ive had a similar experience a long long long time ago.

Im starting to consider removing Play Asia from the online retailers list for my import OTs, just to prevent people from going through bullshit like that. Though at the same time cant really get Asian versions of the game that has a reliable chart of the versions any other way. So I still leave it there for the GAF members ordering from the region.
 

antibolo

Banned
Let me guess you went with the "free" shipping option? Since yeah if so Ive had a similar experience a long long long time ago.

Im starting to consider removing Play Asia from the online retailers list for my import OTs, just to prevent people from going through bullshit like that. Though at the same time cant really get Asian versions of the game that has a reliable chart of the versions any other way. So I still leave it there for the GAF members ordering from the region.

Well it's really the first time that I'm having problems with their free shipping. All previous occurrences were fine, sure it took a while but I enjoyed not being gouged by hidden extra fees like Fedex would always pull. My last "successful" order with them was shipped on May 15 and arrived in about 2 weeks.

And I have no idea what other site to use for getting Asian versions of games. And even with Japanese versions, after a game has been out for a while the usual Japanese sites (CDJapan, AmiAmi, etc.) tend to go out of stock fast, while Play-Asia still carries them.
 

MQX

Member
Well it's really the first time that I'm having problems with their free shipping. All previous occurrences were fine, sure it took a while but I enjoyed not being gouged by hidden extra fees like Fedex would always pull. My last "successful" order with them was shipped on May 15 and arrived in about 2 weeks.

And I have no idea what other site to use for getting Asian versions of games. And even with Japanese versions, after a game has been out for a while the usual Japanese sites (CDJapan, AmiAmi, etc.) tend to go out of stock fast, while Play-Asia still carries them.
YesAsia?(never used this site, but it's also known for import games :p)
 

Stuart444

Member
You pretty rarely hear that name around here though is what Ive noticed. YesAsia was always more well known for like DVDs and Music.

YesAsia is great though, I used it when you couldn't import Sony games from PlayAsia a while back. (also used it for ordering some PGSM DVDs along with a couple of Dengeki mags) Never had issues with them outside of them not getting their stock in for release and having to wait a little extra time for them to get whatever I've pre-ordered in stock so they can send it out. (Sometimes it can be an extra week, more for mags like Dengeki).

Still great site though I now use Amiami for pre-orders mainly.

Anyway, I'm at floor 90 now in the Floor Clearing story and in Area 2 (Bastea Gate) in the Hollow Area story. Might play some more of the Hollow Area stuff before I continue with the Floor Clearing.

Can't wait for the English version though, it's been great fun to play in Japanese so I am more looking forward to it now in English. I'm not even worried about burn out since Tales of Xillia 2 ENG comes during the same month, I can easily play and complete that first before I do SAO to give me a good rest between the JP and EN releases of SAO :D.
 

HIR0

Member
Just got my copy.
Will probably buy the digital version for the more better subs.

Just a question.
The update that raises the level cap and introduces new weapons.
Will that be made as a downloadable patch or DLC from the Asian psn store?
I can't seem to find a date but does anyone have an idea when it drops?
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Just got my copy.
Will probably buy the digital version for the more better subs.

Just a question.
The update that raises the level cap and introduces new weapons.
Will that be made as a downloadable patch or DLC from the Asian psn store?
I can't seem to find a date but does anyone have an idea when it drops?

its not dlc but an actual large update file. not sure on asia release date
 

MrMuscle

Member
Just wanted to drop by and say hi. This thread is what made me want to join Neogaf. Now that i have to wait 6 weeks for Destiny im DYING to play this. The european release is just not close enough!
 

SeZMehK

Member
I am dying to play this game. Once I saw some trailers, I pulled out my vita and started gaming on it again. It's been a awhile since I last played on the vita. I am also thinking about upgrading to the vita 2k model. I am getting annoyed with the proprietary charging cable. :/
 
Will this be on PSN usa at midnight on aug 19th or not until later in the day? I plan to play it all early day until Tales of Xillia 2 comes ups in the evening and then bounce between the two.
 
Just wanted to drop by and say hi. This thread is what made me want to join Neogaf. Now that i have to wait 6 weeks for Destiny im DYING to play this. The european release is just not close enough!
Welcome! Game is a blast, you are going to enjoy it quite a lot!

I am dying to play this game. Once I saw some trailers, I pulled out my vita and started gaming on it again. It's been a awhile since I last played on the vita. I am also thinking about upgrading to the vita 2k model. I am getting annoyed with the proprietary charging cable. :/
Yeah I've been considering making the move as well, and transforming my phat model into my imports console, with a JP PSN account.

Will this be on PSN usa at midnight on aug 19th or not until later in the day? I plan to play it all early day until Tales of Xillia 2 comes ups in the evening and then bounce between the two.
Most likely at the end of the day since, let's face it, this is no high profile title...
 
All bosses are awesome in this game in my honest opinion. The art direction there in this game surprised me a lot, I would expect this game to have crappy boss/enemy designs,but it doesn't. Seeing how much content is in this, and how everything is actually pretty good, I wonder how long it took them to put all of this together.
 

Stuart444

Member
I wonder how long it took them to put all of this together.

What I wonder is what will they do for the next game. I mean this was built off the PSP corpse of Infinity Moment.

They can't do another floor 76+ story again so if they want to stick to the SAO world, they would have to either do floor 1 - 100, or floor 76+ Alternative Story (ie Kirito dying or maybe
Sachi stayed alive
and becoming the main character or something insane lol).

So maybe something to do with ALO next? or GGO or something. I don't know, I'm just speculating since they did say they are working on a new game I believe.
 
Gimme GGO pls. These past few episodes have been slow in the show, but the world it is set in looks amazing. And Shiz I wish I could answer I only have the physical version.
 
Asian copy folks, we just got our patch! It's name is 1.03 and I will edit this post with screenshots of the patch notes in just a sec.
EDIT:
14802052413_11bd0b54dd_z.jpg

14779831934_5d8cf3e80b_z.jpg

14802052283_a93b273d45_z.jpg
 
Edited the post, 532MB. Thing's massive for a vita patch
Changes are noticeable right away. much better map icon as well as the Hollow map, that connects all areas with a line now, the events list is much more detailed, the requirements for the implementations aren't half as ridiculous as before, you gain much more EXP than you did on 1.02, you can switch off the annoying back touch panel camera controls, viewing the equipment isn't bugged out anymore (icons are meant to be around the character model, prior to 1.03, if you moved the camera to a side Kirito would be off screen), the skill map is much easier to read now and has better icons... wow holy crap there's just so many little and big changes, it feels like a brand new remaster of the game, it has so much more polish now!

I could also be wrong, please do not quote me on this, but the subs seem to look much better. Give me some time to play through story events before I can give my final opinion on this, but there are small typos that were there before, that now aren't.

EDIT: WOW, an actual CG cutscene?! And the script really does seem to have been brushed up. So far, after visiting the Hollow Area to unlock the new content, I have seen no oddities in the text. Everything is evenly spaced out, no typos and correct punctuation. Could they really have fixed the script completely, or just partially? Hmmm...

EDIT2: Another big step up, the fps in the main area in the city would drop like crazy when entering it for the first time. Did not happen at all this time around, it was locked tight. Whether this means that the game has no frame drops at all anymore remains to be seen...
 

LMN

Member
Just wondering, when the game patch is installed, is it patch directly into the game cart, so no memory is taken? I already bought the Asian version, but still haven't receive it yet, dunno when, but I'm dying to play this game T_T.
 
Just wondering, when the game patch is installed, is it patch directly into the game cart, so no memory is taken? I already bought the Asian version, but still haven't receive it yet, dunno when, but I'm dying to play this game T_T.

It goes in your memory card ^ They even warn you after you install it, that using a 1.02 save after having the 1.03 patch installed in your memory could corrupt the data.
 

LMN

Member
It goes in your memory card ^ They even warn you after you install it, that using a 1.02 save after having the 1.03 patch installed in your memory could corrupt the data.

Thanks for the info, I have been thinking whether to get another memory card just for Asian account for this game and maybe SS delta (since physical), guess I got my answer now.
 
Edited the post, 532MB. Thing's massive for a vita patch
Changes are noticeable right away. much better map icon as well as the Hollow map, that connects all areas with a line now, the events list is much more detailed, the requirements for the implementations aren't half as ridiculous as before, you gain much more EXP than you did on 1.02, you can switch off the annoying back touch panel camera controls, viewing the equipment isn't bugged out anymore (icons are meant to be around the character model, prior to 1.03, if you moved the camera to a side Kirito would be off screen), the skill map is much easier to read now and has better icons... wow holy crap there's just so many little and big changes, it feels like a brand new remaster of the game, it has so much more polish now!

I could also be wrong, please do not quote me on this, but the subs seem to look much better. Give me some time to play through story events before I can give my final opinion on this, but there are small typos that were there before, that now aren't.

EDIT: WOW, an actual CG cutscene?! And the script really does seem to have been brushed up. So far, after visiting the Hollow Area to unlock the new content, I have seen no oddities in the text. Everything is evenly spaced out, no typos and correct punctuation. Could they really have fixed the script completely, or just partially? Hmmm...

EDIT2: Another big step up, the fps in the main area in the city would drop like crazy when entering it for the first time. Did not happen at all this time around, it was locked tight. Whether this means that the game has no frame drops at all anymore remains to be seen...

This post is making me want to import, since last I checked the US version won't get the patch at launch. Thanks for the impressions!
 
No worries, this patch is legit huge. Half a gig pretty much, but so far it seems to have fixed the majority of the problems that this version of the game had. I know that this will sound bad and I shouldn't be saying this, since I want more games like this to make it over but, right now, it seems to me like this version would be the way to go to play the game, not only because it is fully updated, but also because it's physical. I'm still waiting for the Engrish to pop up somewhere... but it just hasn't so there's that as well. The text for items that had typos was fixed too. Not only did this patch add content, it also fixed and changed a bunch of gameplay elements for the better, like the fps, fonts used, icons, etc. Now THIS is what all game patches should aim to do.

This post is making me want to import, since last I checked the US version won't get the patch at launch. Thanks for the impressions!

Not a problem! I will be playing for another hour or so, so I will make sure to write a bit more. Still checking things around and ticking things off my mental list aha. I really want to confirm on the script's state for you all.
 

Stuart444

Member
Fans of the anime (at least the first two episodes) will love the end boss of Hollow Area 3 (the beach area).

Boss spoiler:

The first boss in episode 2 is called "Illfann the kobold lord" and this boss is called "Detonator the kobold lord". He wields an axe and shield before switching to his blade after a chunk of his health is gone, same design as well. Also I believe the music is the same as in the anime for this fight (well the start of the fight in the anime technically :p ). (got Crunchyroll up just to check)

As a fan of the anime, this made me happy. :D
 
They added more customization options for your Heroine. You can now actually confirm their weapon parameters, armor, as well as change equipment to the former choice, after equipping something new, this is actually something minor but that is very welcome.

About the script, good and so so news:

Is it better? YES. I have yet to find a single typo, and before the game was full of them, in item descriptions, conversations, menus, etc. Whether it was extra symbols, or missed spaces, there were some errors there. A good example was the "Tow Handed-Axe" that is now the "Two Handed - Axe" with the spacing and spelling fixed. Also the conversations to switch the Heroine's battle style have no typos or awkwardness to them.

The so so news is that although it seems to have been brushed up quite a bit and although there are no typos, there is still a bit of awkward structuring in SOME sentences here and there in the main script. It isn't popping up as often as before though, but they are still there.

EDIT: WOWOW! The biggest change of them all and the most important one too! They made the combat MUCH MUCH faster. Activating a skill would take anywhere from 0.5-3 seconds. Now? It's almost instantaneous. Going through your hot key skills or your main menu skills and activating them is now responsive, quick and snappy. Battles end much faster, and using skills at critical points is actually much better now, since they won't be cut off halfway through the animation due to it being so slow that you were hit by an attack. The cooldown for some seems to have been made faster too, some were delayed, since now activating them is much faster and all. Like I said before, enemies give you much more exp (small enemies that gave me 10 exp give me now 80-100. this must be due to the level cap having been raised to 250) and the Heroine AI seems to be better now, and uses more of the skills according to the battle style that you pick for her.

I don't think my eyes are playing tricks on me here, but I'd love to hear from other fellow Asian copy owners about these points that I touched on.
 

HIR0

Member
I'm dying alot >.<
I finally beat the Roughneck after grinding to learn Starburst Stream and using it on him. Only gave me 290exp. Onto the Dark Skeleton.

Does leveling up increase your base stats or is it just for show?
I've noticed that my HP is still the same after lvl 105

@names2hard4you
I think they made the combat faster by adjusting the enemies hp by level.
I found that it was no longer a slog to kill lower level enemies.
 

Prelude.

Member
Great news, if they fixed the engrish I'm probably gonna import. I wonder if that's the actual script they're going to use in the western version, it doesn't make much sense to work on a separate translation when they had to do it for the west to begin with.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Lets say that I Import this, do I have to do anything special with my PSN?

It would be my first time Importing anything.

just if you want dlc for the asia or jp version you would need the appropriate psn account. updates can be received from any account i do believe

any paid dlc or digital version also will require psn point cards from the correct region if you decide to go the digiral route
 
@names2hard4you
I think they made the combat faster by adjusting the enemies hp by level.
I found that it was no longer a slog to kill lower level enemies.

Yup, faster skills, burst and auto-attacks, better enemy HP balance AND not ony that, but the Heroines AI is much more efficient now. No longer is my Asuna defending when I tell her to use her skills and her base strategy is BUFF. A round of applause for these guys, they got me even more hooked, it's like a whole new game.

PS: of the 3 new areas, the Snowy Mountains are beautiful. Seeing the snow fall as you go deeper into the areas is amazing, the enemy designs in there are pure baddass too.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I'm dying alot >.<
I finally beat the Roughneck after grinding to learn Starburst Stream and using it on him. Only gave me 290exp. Onto the Dark Skeleton.

Does leveling up increase your base stats or is it just for show?
I've noticed that my HP is still the same after lvl 105

@names2hard4you
I think they made the combat faster by adjusting the enemies hp by level.
I found that it was no longer a slog to kill lower level enemies.

Try not to overextend yourself in the game as that usually will lead to bad things happening. Also concentrate on leveling your weapon skills / check what "passive" skills you might want.

Generally dual swords is pretty fragile, while you may have good damage output you also can take a lot too initially. For a while switching actually sword & shield might be a safer route till you get used to more of the mechanics.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
To make it a safer build to use I had to focus on raising my AGI and DODGE. That being said there are other weapons that give you a much better DMG/AGI output, like the katana. Bitches can only barely touch me when I'm rolling that baby with my AGI equipment. Those bleeding and AOE skills that come with it are pretty damn sweet too. Granted it takes quite a bit of scimitar grinding to get it (which might not be so bad after the patch).
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
To make it a safer build to use I had to focus on raising my AGI and DODGE. That being said there are other weapons that give you a much better DMG/AGI output, like the katana. Bitches can only barely touch me when I'm rolling that baby with my AGI equipment. Those bleeding and AOE skills that come with it are pretty damn sweet too. Granted it takes quite a bit of scimitar grinding to get it (which might not be so bad after the patch).

For new users its far more important to learn the mechanics / basics first that way they do not get discouraged from further playing. Since there really is a lot to learn with this title!
 
For new users its far more important to learn the mechanics / basics first that way they do not get discouraged from further playing. Since there really is a lot to learn with this title!

I think the best, and easiest to use would be the same that you recommended to me when I first started out, the Two - Handed Axe. You use that, and you are a tank, you won't need to worry too much about using the right skills because before an enemy becomes a threat you are either almost done killing it, or you are staggering it. Of course you need to take levels into consideration, but if you aren't aiming for crazy high leveled encounters, this weapon will demolish anyone easily. Once you figure things out however you will begin to find the easiness of it a bit flat and boring. And THAT is when the skills come in, and when you start having crazy fun mixing and matching!
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I think the best, and easiest to use would be the same that you recommended to me when I first started out, the Two - Handed Axe. You use that, and you are a tank, you won't need to worry too much about using the right skills because before an enemy becomes a threat you are either almost done killing it, or you are staggering it. Of course you need to take levels into consideration, but if you aren't aiming for crazy high leveled encounters, this weapon will demolish anyone easily. Once you figure things out however you will begin to find the easiness of it a bit flat and boring. And THAT is when the skills come in, and when you start having crazy fun mixing and matching!

Best place to get a decent one is from the hollow area at start. Think the weird scythe one is out there somewhere. Plus the sweep attack once unlocked is great for mowing down multiple enemies at once for raking in the exp.
 
Best place to get a decent one is from the hollow area at start. Think the weird scythe one is out there somewhere. Plus the sweep attack once unlocked is great for mowing down multiple enemies at once for raking in the exp.

That scythe one I think you can also buy in Aincrad after clearing 5 floors or so, and it pretty much remains as the strongest DMG output weapon for most of the game, up until floor 85-90, specially if you have it reinforced by Liz. I used it for a long time until I decided to step out of the comfort zone. my main now is, as I mentioned before, the katana. Once in a while I switch around and experiment with things in mid battle even. As an example, I would use my mace to get my enemy paralized, switch weapons to the katana to make the enemy bleed, switch to the two - handed axe to stagger, switch to doble swords and mow away.

Yup this game can be that crazy folks lol. Once you learn how to fuck around with the system it's all you will be doing.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
That scythe one I think you can also buy in Aincrad after clearing 5 floors or so, and it pretty much remains as the strongest DMG output weapon for most of the game, up until floor 85-90, specially if you have it reinforced by Liz.

I actually think I have a better axe. I dont remember though, since have not been able to play in a long time. Am pretty sure I do as it looked like a normal dual headed axe. Think it might have come from wandering far far out to where I obviously was not supposed to be.
 
I wish I still had it to look at the stats, now I have a 780 DMG one that looks like a normal axe too (maybe it's the one that you are talking about?).
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I wish I still had it to look at the stats, now I have a 780 DMG one that looks like a normal axe too (maybe it's the one that you are talking about?).

Not sure. Unable to check currently unfortunately. D: Im a packrat so unless its a double of a weapon that I dont need I pretty much keep 1 of everything.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Yup, same as me. Like I mentioned before I like to switch weapons mid-battle so I only keep one of each for quick access.

I usually just stick to a particular set for the time being then go back to switch lol. So I know what Im bringing back from loot runs.
 
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