JJD said:
Xenogears was fucking amazing back in the day. Even with all the second CD bullshit! One of my favorite RPGs ever!
Anyone knows a good gem crafting guide? I'm sitting on a ton of crystals...
I'll make you one...RIGHT NOW:
MAN GOD'S GODLY GUIDE TO GEM CRAFTING 1.0
Things to consider before gem crafting:
Different people are good at different things: Shulk is decent all around, Reyn and Dunban are fantastic under certain conditions, and 7th and Riki, who seem almost useless at first, are the most important gem crafters imaginable.
Affinity and Levels matter: The higher the affinity, the more free bonus points you get. This can actually work against you in the very end, but I have a special combination to get around that. Basically though, you're going to want Max Affinity between all characters for the best chance of success.
Lets go over the basics first before we get into the three keys to success:
Crystals come from two sources, ether deposits and monsters. Both monsters and deposits have a possible list of possible gem parts that the crystal/cylinders will have on them, and each will be at a certain level and of course, a certain color. You can only combine level crystals that match in both level and color. It takes at least two crystals/cylinders to make a gem, and to successfully create a gem those two need to be at or above 100%. When you start the minigame it will randomly give you a fire heat and you'll get points added to a random crystal piece everytime. The better the character is with the fire, the more points you will get. When successfully crafted they will make a gem with a certain range of boosted stats. Two level one strength up crystals at 40 percent and 60 percent, for example will under normal circumstances make a level one Strength Up gem with a range of possible points added to strength.
Now how to make the most out of your gems?
1. Break your crystals down and level them up, aka the Price is Right Rule:
Crystals usually have more than one gem component on it and to make the best possible crystals you want single stat cylinders, and you want them as close to 100% as possible without going over.
The best way to break down gems?
a. Get a bunch of crystals with different low percentage stats on them. You can combine up to seven crystals or cylinders at once.
b. Use the seventh character in the first slot and riki in the second. 7th has a boost to the number of cylinders and riki is terrible at making gems.
c. Save, and then go for it! You want your important percentages to go up but remain below 100. Keep trying. Remember that if your level and affinity is really high you're sometimes going to get extremely unlucky and get a gem or two. Reset if you really wanted that particular gem.
2. Leveling up gems (Level your party first)
You know how you get a gem whenever the percentage goes over 100%? Well if it goes over 200% (Otherwise known as the HEAT state) you get a gem a level higher than the one you were going to make, and if you go to 300% or higher (MEGAHEAT) you get
2 Max Stat Gems of the next level! This is the key to success. If you follow step one you should get the right pieces of 70% or higher. If you combine two 80% gems for example, you only need 40 points to get heat and 140 to get megaheat. So how do we do that?
Early on in the game the best gem makers are going to be Shulk and Reyn because they have max affinity real easily and therefore, the most attempts to level up the gem. Heat is easy to do even from the beginning but Megaheat will probably take raising party affinity and level to decent amounts, especially when trying to make higher level gems. The absolute best combination for making megaheated gems is Reyn+Dunban or Dunban+Reyn with max affinity amongst the entire party. I did get Megaheat once with a level 2 gem when I was combining two 90% cylinders and had a decent run of luck.
3. How does Flame Strength and Fever Work?
Engineers' abilities affect the frequency of the different types of flame events that occur when the Shooter 'shoots' into the furnace:-
Strong Flame = Raise one quality a lot (AKA why Reyn+Dunban is so damn good at MEGAHEATing)
Medium Flame = Raise all qualities a bit (You want this when leveling up a ton of gems)
Gentle Flame = Raise cylinder count (Why 7th and Riki are so good at breaking down stuff)
Fever: Adds points to the shoot. You want this when going for megaheat, but sometimes the boost is too fierce for leveling. Shulk has an ability that makes fever more common.
