Bonus battle - Reckless Godwin (+ minions). Some slowdown in this video due to so many onscreen enemies fighting. Like I said, it's an all-Dunban show since he's so much higher level at this point. Without him around it actually would have been pretty ugly due to that talent art (heck, it was ugly with him around).
Anyway, I've been having trouble deciding between starting a NG+ or messing around with "post-game" stuff first. The main reason I'd like to go NG+ is because I missed out on nearly every. I couldn't help but blow through their point of no return because I was too entranced by the main story, but now I'd really like to do them. But before I do that I'm going to try to get some good gems and equipment from late-game monsters, as well as all of theAlcamoth, Mechonis Field and Agnaritha quest.4th and 5th skill trees for every character (I have really high area affinity in Colony 9, Central Bionis and Fallen Arm, so it would be a shame to waste it)
I could even handle 2 lizards and 1 wisp at once, although it wasn't easy. I felt really naughty for doing it but at the same time it felt so good.
Yeah, everything that opens up afterWhat do you guys mean by "post-game content"? Just the stuff right before the point of no return or am I missing something? Also, does the merchant in Alcamoth relocate after the thingy happens? He has a scroll I want.
So something just happened (I'm at lvl 68) and I'm wondering about certain quests:
Egil just awakened the Mechonis and wrecked the capital. I can't get back to the capital at the moment, and I'm wondering if the couple of quests I had left will be available again at some point? I have a save file right before fighting Egil.
Also I have done all the timed quests in Alcamoth, but I still only got a 4 star affinity to it. Am I missing something? I'm pretty sure that the event which render the Alcamoth inactive will happen soon, will I be able to raise affinity after that? Also about heart-to-heart locations in Alcamoth do I need to view them all before the event?
Thanks for the help.
Is there a reason why you fought the minions too? Seems way harder that way.
I really wish I had the time to exploit the game like this.
You make a good point. I do have completionist tendencies but not enough to the point of going through mundane quests to satisfy myself. The only cool thing I feel like I'm missing out on by not starting a NG+ isIf that's your motivation for doing New Game+, I would recommend fighting the high-level uniques first and going back later for a new playthrough. The quests really aren't anything to write home about so if you miss some it's really only an issue if you're a completionist. The ones in (late-game area)in particular seem rather rushed, and if you fought the unique monsters in that area you're not missing anything. The only area you listed I would say had more noteworthy sidequests wasAgniratha, and those were linked withAlcamothandMakna Forest. Otherwise, they weren't really special just because they were timed. From what I've read, completed quests (i.e. all the others you did) don't carry over to New Game+ anyway. The quests would be less of a challenge and more of a chore at your level, so overall I don't recommend replaying just to complete them.Valak Mountain
Get your mind out of the gutter!
now to reflect on a few things i didn't like about the game. endgame spoilers.
Prison Island, as the penultimate dungeon, was very boring. i think around then is when the OST started to get a bit weaker, too, as the final boss songs weren't anything to write home about.
not being able to control the other party members was frustrating at times, as the AI can make very stupid mistakes. i like to micromanage my team, and in FFXII, i didn't use very many gambits, so i felt as though i was missing quite a bit of control.
now to reflect on a few things i didn't like about the game. endgame spoilers.
it felt as though characters just disappeared into the background for half of the game. Riki, the "joke character", didn't seem to have much development at all and could have easily been cut. Melia seemed to disappear after you leave the Imperial City until she had more story bits at the end.
Get your mind out of the gutter!
I echo these two complaints..Prison Island was pretty bland overall, especially by this game's standards, so I don't feel like I'm being unfair when I say they could have done a lot better. However, the REAL final zone (the solar system) looked fucking amazing
As far as the AI, yeah that's pretty much a universal complaint. Even the last DS game I played (Dragon Quest IX) had a simple system of guiding your teammates to do what you wanted. I can't imagine it would have been too hard to introduce something like that, where you have the AI focus on healing, auto-attacking, using support arts, and so on. Oh well.
It really is true that it's more fun to mess around with lots of different characters. I've been doing that and found myself enjoying combat a lot more now. Never realized how awesome Dunban's dodging ablility was until I started using him as my controlled character.
So I'm up to Sword Valley now. I kinda hated the Valak Mountain area; the extremely tilted slopes made it difficult to control the camera. Is it worth it to equip the anti-mechon weapons Dickson just sold me? On the one hand, their stats kinda suck, but on the other hand, if I'm going to be fighting a bunch of Mechon, I'd like to be wielding stuff that can damage them... Does their anti-Mechon-ness actually make a difference, or are they just anti-Mechon in name only?
Yes, I think I'm almost done with this game. Lv. 72 with Shulk/Dunban/Seven atand I'm trying to fightthe heart of the Bionis in the corebut that boss is like three levels higher than me and I'm doing no meaningful amounts of damage. I don't want to do anymore quests so I was going to grind out some levels here but even with like 5000+ EXP per battle it is taking forever. I have the Monado Armor skill btw.Lorinthia
Any tips on how to cheese the remainder of this game so I can finally move on to another game?
Yes, I think I'm almost done with this game. Lv. 72 with Shulk/Dunban/Seven atand I'm trying to fightthe heart of the Bionis in the corebut that boss is like three levels higher than me and I'm doing no meaningful amounts of damage. I don't want to do anymore quests so I was going to grind out some levels here but even with like 5000+ EXP per battle it is taking forever. I have the Monado Armor skill btw.Lorinthia
Any tips on how to cheese the remainder of this game so I can finally move on to another game?
Which arts are good to equip for 7th?
I haven't used 7th as the controlled character, but will probably do so near the end game, and it's always nice with some second opinions.
edit: speaking of Riki, what is his best physical art? I use Burninate, Freezinate, Lurgy, You Can Do It, Riki Tantrum, Happy Happy and Herotime. I want to give him a second physical attack to go with tantrum.
I've been experimenting with topple locks...what's the best party to use for this strategy? It seems that Dunban and Reyn have the most topple moves. Also, does Daze stack like Topple does?
Also I recently switched from Shulk/Reyn/Sharla who I had been using for the whole game to Shulk/Dunban/seventh. Holy shit it's mass destruction now! Battles go so fast. So far the lack of healing has not been too much of a problem. I mean, my characters HP is in the red a lot more but I seem to be able to beat whatever I am fighting before people start dying.
Finally got to Melia and used her a little (M/Dunban/Sharla). Whew! Dunno about any shady business, but she's definitely more fun than Shulk. To be honest the battle system was the only thing I was iffy about, even after it 'clicked', and I actually like it now. No being infuriated by aggro or repositioning (and just spamming the side/back slashes from pure lack of interest), not anymore!
It took me so long to give up playing as the main character. It feels so wrong. Will I get arrested for not using the Modano? Will they throw me in jail?
If you don't play as Shulk, do you still get the battle visions?
Finally got to Melia and used her a little (M/Dunban/Sharla). Whew! Dunno about any shady business, but she's definitely more fun than Shulk. To be honest the battle system was the only thing I was iffy about, even after it 'clicked', and I actually like it now. No being infuriated by aggro or repositioning (and just spamming the side/back slashes from pure lack of interest), not anymore!
It took me so long to give up playing as the main character. It feels so wrong. Will I get arrested for not using the Modano? Will they throw me in jail?
If you don't play as Shulk, do you still get the battle visions?
Eh, I don't like switching them around. I don't think I'm comfortable enough to juggle it all on the spot. How bad is it if all my characters end up loving Melia alone?You get rewarded by getting affinity up between different characters, meaning more skill links for them (among other things)! And each character plays at least a little differently, so it's worth giving them all a spin at some point.
I only started to consider switching from Shulk was because I thought I could get rid of those visions! Alas, no such luck.
Maybe I'm missing something but I never had any trouble countering those. Or rather, they usually shatter 1 second after activating. That's just obnoxious, man.
Eh, I don't like switching them around. I don't think I'm comfortable enough to juggle it all on the spot. How bad is it if all my characters end up loving Melia alone?
And discovered what happens when you're fighting an enemy you're not supposed to "win" against and kicking their ass too hard :lol
What happens? Different dialogue?
I've realized that I really need Night Vision, but in order to get a rank VI gem you need to beat a fucking.level 105 unique. I can't exactly do that unless I have Night Vision..
Finally got back into it this weekend after my hard drive death (it took a week and a half to get it back from data recovery). Went throughField and am in the middle ofMechonisright now.Central Factory
At this point I'm kind of just cruising along because my earlier sidequest breaks have pushed me to about 5 levels ahead of whatever enemies I encounter. I could turn off XP gain I guess, but it doesn't really bother me that much.
Before I get too much further I'm going to try and pick up the fourth skill trees that I haven't already gotten, since my earliest party members are imminently close to maxing out their original three.
Still enjoying the game as much as ever.