If you don't do any sidequests and are just trying to finish the game as fast as possible, it shouldn't take that much more time. Maybe six hours or so? It's tough for me to really estimate since I was basically playing in the exact opposite manner.
I'm about 13 hours in and just started chapter 6 (there's 13 chapters), and it gets a bit better, if only because you start unlocking the summons.
The combat is boring as fuck though. the summons spice it up a bit but...it's better off just pressing x/a at times and then square/x right before the meter empties. The environments are pretty but you're just walking down a corridor. Overall I'm interested in the characters and not so much the combat, which sucks because I prefer combat since video game stories tend to be crappy.
I find sometimes fights are bullshit because it gives you a rating based on your str/magic, so if you put this too high, or you screw up and aren't paradigm switching enough or have to backpeddle and heal for a bit then you're screwed over.
Like the flower boss at the end of chapter 5 (not really a spoiler, you fight him and he dies, thats it. no exposition) has like 130,000 hp, and hits like a truck so at times I switched to war and peace for a bit at times to be on the safe side, and I was a minute longer than the expected at the end of the fight, and the game is like YOU DID AVERAGE and gave me 3 stars. :\ I wasn't really in any danger, I just took a cautious approach, its bullshit.
Anyways, that fight switch to sentinel for snow, pump any CP points into his defensive abilities and just auto defend. If you see her charge up for an announced attack, then cancel your queue and then defend again right before it to get the gestalt gauge up faster.
I'm about 13 hours in and just started chapter 6 (there's 13 chapters), and it gets a bit better, if only because you start unlocking the summons.
....
Anyways, that fight switch to sentinel for snow, pump any CP points into his defensive abilities and just auto defend. If you see her charge up for an announced attack, then cancel your queue and then defend again right before it to get the gestalt gauge up faster.
:V Death-ed that filthy Neochu and got the Growth Egg. I guess I'll be keeping Lightning in my team since I'll have her equipped with-
Lionheart
Stash
Sprint Shoes
Growth Egg
Gonna go finish some more missions then beat the game, afterwards I'll start grinding and farming Gil to create everyone's best weapon.
Hopefully I'll get the All Items Trophy, leaving me with just the Long Gui trophy *shivers*
:V Death-ed that filthy Neochu and got the Growth Egg. I guess I'll be keeping Lightning in my team since I'll have her equipped with-
Lionheart
Stash
Sprint Shoes
Growth Egg
Gonna go finish some more missions then beat the game, afterwards I'll start grinding and farming Gil to create everyone's best weapon.
Hopefully I'll get the All Items Trophy, leaving me with just the Long Gui trophy *shivers*
Once you get to the upper echelons of stats and weaponry the long gui battle is really fun. Even though you know you can win, its a constant twitchy battle of perserverance and timed aggression. At any time you can get your shit blown up, so its really exciting. Part of the fun is also coming up with your own strategies and ways to beat it.
I have a tougher time beating the shaolong-Gui since you cant knock him down and he attacks more frequently
when battling long Gui have a SE/SEN/SEN paradigm at the bottom of the list so you can quickly switch to that and save yourself from anything he does.. its a pretty easy battle with the right strategy
I don't understand all the difficulty people have had with defeating eidolons. I think I had to redo one of the fights. If it gets really bad you can always just set the battle speed lower so you have a bit more time to think.
I have a tougher time beating the shaolong-Gui since you cant knock him down and he attacks more frequently
when battling long Gui have a SE/SEN/SEN paradigm at the bottom of the list so you can quickly switch to that and save yourself from anything he does.. its a pretty easy battle with the right strategy
I would say the same thing about xiaolong gui. You can stagger him really quickly, use senx3 to mitigate a quake, switch to Sab sab buffer for debuffs and power ups, then just start dropping bombs on him. Both fights are more than doable with the right strategies. Combine that strategy with some really fast paced action and it really makes the game shine.
edit: shaolong gui is a bastardization of xiao long gui which literally translated into chinese means small dragon ghost. Since there is a long gui im guessing the contextual translation would be baby dragon ghost.
I would say the same thing about xiaolong gui. You can stagger him really quickly, use senx3 to mitigate a quake, switch to Sab sab buffer for debuffs and power ups, then just start dropping bombs on him. Both fights are more than doable with the right strategies. Combine that strategy with some really fast paced action and it really makes the game shine.
edit: shaolong gui is a bastardization of xiao long gui which literally translated into chinese means small dragon ghost. Since there is a long gui im guessing the contextual translation would be baby dragon ghost.
Thanks I do use a similar strategy to beat him, I guess what I meant to say was that its a more difficult or involving battle than Long Gui since you cant disable him, but nevertheless I can beat him just fine. Thanks for the insight about the name. It is presented as Shaolong Gui in the game
edit: shaolong gui is a bastardization of xiao long gui which literally translated into chinese means small dragon ghost. Since there is a long gui im guessing the contextual translation would be baby dragon ghost.
I get the feeling the weapon system was meant to be something more fleshed out, with branching abilities paths and such, that they didn't work out in time so just scrapped together what we got.
I just picked this up yesterday, gorgeous game. I eventually get to free roam slightly or so I've read. The battle system 3 hours in is finally getting interesting. I mean did anyone not 5 star every encounter through the 1st three chapters?
This is a nice change of pace to me but I know some people would have liked this game more if it weren't loaded with Final Fantasy expectations.
Sometimes the 5 star system is bullshit, especially if you have to switch paradigms to heal up a bit so one dude doesn't die. Or if you're conservative.
It doesn't open up until about 20-30 hours in, and that's one level basically.
in the Japanese version (as seen here from his concept art). His name is a reference to the way the
Cocoon fal'Cie feel abandoned by the gods, and the two extra heads on his first form are supposed to symbolize parent figures, which he then loses when he reveals his true form.
Outside of the
wheel shape
and
general angelic theme
, he doesn't have a whole lot to do with
Ophanim
. The name
Orphan
does a much better job of representing him.
Barthandelus was a genuine translation change from Baldanders, however.
Once you get to the upper echelons of stats and weaponry the long gui battle is really fun. Even though you know you can win, its a constant twitchy battle of perserverance and timed aggression. At any time you can get your shit blown up, so its really exciting. Part of the fun is also coming up with your own strategies and ways to beat it.
Heh I'll prob. start by copying the strats someone shows on a YT vid first before deciding on my own =3
Anyway I finally got a Trapehezedron and am ready to upgrade my weapons.
Only problem is I am now 1 Mil. Gil short of upgrading a weapon to it's max stats before dismantling it for more Trapz =_=
Refresh my memory but what was a good grind place to grind for CP again?
a good way to grind is on adamanchilids and adamantoises. Youre going to be going for their loot anyway, might as well double up on the tasks. Dont worry about Cp grinding though, you'll max out on points way before you max out on gil and trapz
also, xiaolong gui is extremely weak to saboteurs. I would control the buffer then have my two cpu sabs spam the crap out of their abilities. Also, for those who dont know, any enemy in "daze" will be woken up, but waking them up does critical damage, if you want to see my setup for a xiao long gui its in the spoilers.
Start as Sen's to mitigate quake damage, heal if necessary depending on level.
Switch to Sab Buff Sab with you controlling the buffer so as to quickly dole out haste, protectra, shellra, bravera and Faithra. Picking Fang/Hope/Lighto is good for this.
With his debuffs stacked up switch to Commando Rav Rav to run his chain through the roof. Once hes at about 700-800 switch to com/sab/com. Coms will blow his shit up due to sab constantly spamming daze and leaving him permanently critical. Repeat as necessary
I just picked this up yesterday, gorgeous game. I eventually get to free roam slightly or so I've read. The battle system 3 hours in is finally getting interesting. I mean did anyone not 5 star every encounter through the 1st three chapters?
This is a nice change of pace to me but I know some people would have liked this game more if it weren't loaded with Final Fantasy expectations.
I was thinking the same thing as you after a couple of hours. "Hey, it had a slow start, but now it's getting there!". 10 hours later... it's still the same. I don't think I'll ever play the game again honestly.
I was thinking the same thing as you after a couple of hours. "Hey, it had a slow start, but not it's getting there!". 10 hours later... it's still the same. I probably won't ever be bored enough to continue playing this game.
It is okay the first time around, but I tried replaying the game after beating it recently and I just couldn't do it. It was a long grind the first time around, but it's made even longer if you know where everything is (including the enemies).
Furthermore, the characters just pissed me off much more the second time around. I don't know why, but I just loathe Lightning and Hope so much more the second time around. And anytime Vanille shows up, I want to shoot the TV.
It is okay the first time around, but I tried replaying the game after beating it recently and I just couldn't do it. It was a long grind the first time around, but it's made even longer if you know where everything is (including the enemies).
Furthermore, the characters just pissed me off much more the second time around. I don't know why, but I just loathe Lightning and Hope so much more the second time around. And anytime Vanille shows up, I want to shoot the TV.
Well, I can see someone wanting to do it if they wanted to go through the earlier parts of the game again. There are a lot of really nice areas in the game. I can't see myself doing it anytime soon, though. There's enough post-game content without going back and playing the game through again.
I might do it a few years down the line when I want to experience it again.
LOL, I just laughed so hard at this. I only have two trophies left, the Treasure hunter and the Adament Will. I've given up on the turtle because of the Doom it always ends up casting, and the treasure hunter is impossible without defeating a few turtles and haveing them drop the traps and Dark matter... AARRGGHHHH, 88% for life....
meh, I have like 135hrs put into my main save game and I dont have Treasure Hunter...I wish I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to get it tho, would love to feel that completion
in the Japanese version (as seen here from his concept art). His name is a reference to the way the
Cocoon fal'Cie feel abandoned by the gods, and the two extra heads on his first form are supposed to symbolize parent figures, which he then loses when he reveals his true form.
Outside of the
wheel shape
and
general angelic theme
, he doesn't have a whole lot to do with
Ophanim
. The name
Orphan
does a much better job of representing him.
Barthandelus was a genuine translation change from Baldanders, however.
Huh. Yeah, Baldanders struck me as extremely odd. It looks like
オーファン Ou-fan
to me still. My Japanese is still in its beginner/moderate stages, so I'm not sure where the 'r' is. (Quick Edit: OH, I see it in the picture! Alright, thanks! And here I thought I could use kana to get away with playing Japanese games, LOL) I also thought
when Bart died, Orphan fused with him after Bart's doppelganger dove into the pool to make Orphan's first form
or something like that.
And if I can clarify this, (massive ending spoilers)
basically, all the Cocoon fal'Cie were trying to open the Door of Souls (aka FF13's version of Kingdom Hearts) by killing everyone on Cocoon. All of them had the same goal, and Orphan figured that if he died, then everyone on Cocoon would die so that the Door of Souls would be opened and Muin would be dragged out, right? And then Buniberzi would have a chance to kill her to remove the "curse" she put on the world?
THAT is what I found interesting about this entire game.
I was genuinely disappointed that the mythology of the Fabula Nova Crystallis was relegated mostly to the Analects, though. If I liked anything about the game, it was fighting
the Undying Cie'th, specifically Atticus
. More battles in the game needed to be like that, and I would've liked if at least one of those battles were in the main game. It felt like Chapter 11 was lacking some narrative to me outside of the ending of it.
It kind of felt to me that the group separated because a lot of the scenes in that chapter are rather disjointed--the most glaring one was Fang and Vanille's prior to getting Hecatoncheir. Why did just Fang and Vanille fight it, and where did everyone else go?
Well, I can see someone wanting to do it if they wanted to go through the earlier parts of the game again. There are a lot of really nice areas in the game. I can't see myself doing it anytime soon, though. There's enough post-game content without going back and playing the game through again.
I might do it a few years down the line when I want to experience it again.
I don't agree that having one type of sidequest is having a lot to do post game. The last FF I did more than just beat the game was X. I could fight harder monsters (XIII's postgame), I could play Blitzball, I could create/locate ultimate weapons outside of just grinding and breaking down loot, there were extra summons, etc.
I really enjoyed the game. But all XIII was during the game is just battle, battle, battle. And the entire postgame is battle, battle, battle. I don't see a whole lot of reward to that, but I guess others do.
Also to clarify, I dont give a shit about trophies or achievement points.
meh, I have like 135hrs put into my main save game and I dont have Treasure Hunter...I wish I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to get it tho, would love to feel that completion
Don't worry about it. I took 141 hours to get my Platinum. That's longer than a lot of other people. I feel like I took 100 years to plat this game, and my reception to it was rather lukewarm. I probably did it because I didn't want to keep an FF game uncompleted. It kept eating away at me until I finally did it. I don't EVER want to see another Oretoise again. XD
This checklist isn't bad for keeping track of what you need for Treasure Hunter. Recall that you only need *one* ultimate weapon per character rather than 8 ultimate weapons. You can just level up Fang's Pandoran Spear or something, max her ultimate weapon, dismantle it, use one trap for Vanille's Belladonna Wand/Malboro Wand, max it, dismantle it, and then use the rest of the traps for the other characters.
Treasure Hunter will take over your LIFE. It doesn't really help that it felt like drop rates were sporadic throughout the game. What exactly is troubling you about Treasure Hunter, though?
Anyway, if anyone needs grinding areas, here are mine:
Another place to grind is in
Northern Pulse where the Behemoth and the other thing are fighting
. You get a pre-emptive strike all the time, and you can just run back and forth through. But it does get boring after a while. They took out the Ochu method in the English version, I think. I used that one for most of my Crystarium in the JP ver.
A friend of mine found a nice way to grind in the English version by going through a certain path in
Titan's Trials
. I tested it out in my English copy, and I really liked it. For one, you're getting Bomb Cores and Fragments, which are nice for synthesis. You will also get Chocobo Feathers and Chocobo Feathers. Plus Ribbons. You aren't just grinding for CP, but it'd be nice to get your hands on some upper-level weapons (especially if you're trying to platinum the game). Also, equip the Growth Egg. I used a Fang/Vanille/Snow party (and sometimes a Fang/Light/Snow party).
1) Accept Mission 35 (Gurangatch). Kill it, and have Fang wear TP boosting gear (Energy Sash, Champion's Badge) + Sprint Shoes/Aurora Scarf.
2) Accept Mission 36 (2 Amams). Fight in Fang's TP boosting gear, turn around and fight the 2x Borgbears.
3) Accept Mission 38 (3xVerdelet, 1xAdroa). Switch to Fang/Light/Snow. Fight in Fangs DPS gear + Atk/Atk/Atk. Clear out the Bugbears with Atk/Bla/Bla -> Atk/Bla/Atk.
4) Accept Mission 42 (Borgbear Hero + 4x Borgbear). Fight the group of 5 Flowering Cactoids in Fangs TP gear (and do not let them run away). Summon Bahamut, skip animation. Gestalt, skip animation. Mega Flare = Instant kill + TP restoration. You can imagine Optima choice doesn't matter.
5) Skip the group of 3 Flowering Cactoids. Kill both groups of Borgbears, and the mission boss. In the last 4 battles (5x Cactoid/ 3x Borgbear/ 3x Borgbear/ Borgbear Hero + 4x Borgbear) you should have gained 3 levels of TP; turn around and Mega-Flare the other 3 Cactuars.
6) The final mission doesn't matter, but Attacus is probably the best one to pick since it's easier than some of the others.
By the end, I had 10 Ribbons in my inventory, and I got a TON of Chocobo Plumes/Tail Feathers, which are great for synthesis if youre short on cash for certain multiplier items (like Barbed Tails and Vibrant Oozes). Sure, it may not be as much (800K/hour) as the Guis or the Behemoth+Megisto per hour (1.3 million CP), but it's resourceful for raw materials as well. Plus it's more fun than spending 30 seconds of every minute turning around and running away, then back towards the same two guys you've been killing forever.
But of course, the best materials for synthesis are Super Conductors, Perfect Conductors, Ultracompact Reactors and Particle Accelerators. But if you're getting Bomb Cores/Fragments and Chocobo Plumes/Feathers for free, why not use them?
I don't agree that having one type of sidequest is having a lot to do post game. The last FF I did more than just beat the game was X. I could fight harder monsters (XIII's postgame), I could play Blitzball, I could create/locate ultimate weapons outside of just grinding and breaking down loot, there were extra summons, etc.
I really enjoyed the game. But all XIII was during the game is just battle, battle, battle. And the entire postgame is battle, battle, battle. I don't see a whole lot of reward to that, but I guess others do.
Also to clarify, I dont give a shit about trophies or achievement points.
I don't give a shit about trophies, either, but I love the battle system for this game to bits. For me, the battles themselves are enough of a reward, and having a lot of strong enemies to try and beat is reason enough to keep playing.
It would have been nice if there were some cool minigames and other things to do in the game, but the battle system is enough to keep me going no matter what.
I don't give a shit about trophies, either, but I love the battle system for this game to bits. For me, the battles themselves are enough of a reward, and having a lot of strong enemies to try and beat is reason enough to keep playing.
It would have been nice if there were some cool minigames and other things to do in the game, but the battle system is enough to keep me going no matter what.
Well, that's where we differ. I enjoyed the battle system, but it wasn't enough to keep my attention. If I didn't give my xbox to my little brother a couple months ago, maybe I'd go back and play a little more and see if my opinions have changed
Not really the best place to talk about this but Hamauzu will give a concert in Paris, May 22th. All seats are already sold out (in barely 15 minutes after opening the sales). Glad I got one !
Not really the best place to talk about this but Hamauzu will give a concert in Paris, May 22th. All seats are already sold out (in barely 15 minutes after opening the sales). Glad I got one !
Not really the best place to talk about this but Hamauzu will give a concert in Paris, May 22th. All seats are already sold out (in barely 15 minutes after opening the sales). Glad I got one !
Wow! You're lucky. Be sure to give a review somewhere when you go. Is he doing mostly his original pieces, or was it specified that he'd do a bit of his FF/SaGa/Sigma Harmonics work? Either way, you're in for a treat--the man is a musical genius. Hamauzu might play some pieces from his Vielen Dank album.
I'm absolutely loving it so far, just started Chapter 7. For all of the complaints about the tutorial being too long, I felt like I had access to the main mechanics just 2 hours in (Crystarium and Paradigms/Roles.) I like pretty much every aspect of the game. The balance seems very good so far; challenging, but absolutely no grinding has been necessary. I've enjoyed fighting the 'hard' enemies that the game tells me I should sneak by.
EDIT: Okay, every part except Vanille. Christ, she belongs in a Shadow Hearts game or something.
Alright, I'm about ready to give up on this game. I'm at gran pulse, after you get alexander, and I keep running into King Behemoths that destroy me. I do fine until he completely heals up and stands straight up, which is the point where one hit can take out anyone who isn't a sentinel. Only a few debuffs work on him, and his thunder spell just murders my team.Up until this point I haven't run into anything that gave me this much of a problem outside of the bartantalus fight.
Do I just suck and should stop playing now, as this is a harbinger of things to come, or is this a case of a overly powerful enemy you aren't meant to fight yet.
Also the weapon upgrade system in this game is needlessly complex. It really is the only thing about the game that I absolutely hate.
Wow! You're lucky. Be sure to give a review somewhere when you go. Is he doing mostly his original pieces, or was it specified that he'd do a bit of his FF/SaGa/Sigma Harmonics work? Either way, you're in for a treat--the man is a musical genius. Hamauzu might play some pieces from his Vielen Dank album.
What he'll be doing:
- Piano Collection FFX & XIII
- Piano Pieces Saga Frontier 2
- New tracks (exclusive for this concert)
- Final Fantasy X, XIII and Dirge of Cerberus
- Imeruat
Mina will be there too (well, she is the singer of Imeruat).
I'll give you all the details when I come back from the concert ^_^
Yeah, it seems really straight forward to me, with plenty of options as to what you upgrade. Focusing on the +ATK and +MAG accessories early on has been useful. If you want to see needlessly complex, go try getting Demon's Souls upgrade trophies.
I do agree that there should have been a disassemble 'preview'.
The in game explanation is garbage. At its core, its not a complicated system, just not implemented very well. There is no way to find out what upgrades/dissemble unless by trial and error, or what parts are the best at upgrading.
Without reading a guide or experimenting for hours, I can see how it can get frustrating.
The in game explanation is garbage. At its core, its not a complicated system, just not implemented very well. There is no way to find out what upgrades/dissemble unless by trial and error, or what parts are the best at upgrading.
Without reading a guide or experimenting for hours, I can see how it can get frustrating.
Yes there is an aspect of trial and error, but as to whats best for upgrading. It always seemed to me that what was most expensive/of high value was the best to use.
I certainly did after posting that, thank you. It makes a ton of sense now.
Aru said:
What he'll be doing:
- Piano Collection FFX & XIII
- Piano Pieces Saga Frontier 2
- New tracks (exclusive for this concert)
- Final Fantasy X, XIII and Dirge of Cerberus
- Imeruat
Mina will be there too (well, she is the singer of Imeruat).
I'll give you all the details when I come back from the concert ^^
