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[brandonh83]

The lack of towns and other RPG staples in this game sounds horrible on paper, but in practice it really didn't bother me at all.

I'm not sure why so many people consider towns to be such an important part of an RPG. Personally towns were just distractions to me, or a place to go to heal/stock up on goods or whatever. Other than that, they were always largely pointless places to me with a bunch of uninteresting NPC's with shitty translated dialogue and houses I could break into without the residents asking me who the hell I am and why I'm knicking an ether from their underwear drawer.

Of course, maybe knicking ethers from underwear drawers is exactly why people will miss having towns, but I won't miss 'em.

 

[WYWY]

Reason is not a function that FF fans and self-proclaimed RPG elitists(especially those on gaf), are capable of.

Given the evidence of your post, I believe my amendment makes your statement more correct.

(And please don't take this to heart. I think I speak for all when I say that everyone is entitled to his or her preferences in a videogame, especially when there are no moral ambiguities involved.)

 

[Zoe]

I guess that depends on your level, skills and equip! Getting the

Spoiler

Grow Egg

was my first task after completing the game. So I only resorted to using that skill. Be sure to use Vanilles Rod that improves her debuffs.

I haven't finished the game yet though :lol

Guess I'll have to keep trying... I really want the

Spoiler

Genji Glove

at the end of all of this.

 

[WYWY]

I'm not sure why so many people consider towns to be such an important part of an RPG. Personally towns were just distractions to me, or a place to go to heal/stock up on goods or whatever. Other than that, they were always largely pointless places to me with a bunch of uninteresting NPC's with shitty translated dialogue and houses I could break into without the residents asking me who the hell I am and why I'm knicking an ether from their underwear drawer.

Of course, maybe knicking ethers from underwear drawers is exactly why people will miss having towns, but I won't miss 'em.

You just gave a very good explaination on how towns shouldn't be done.

I think the good aspect of a well-designed town would be the element of non-linearity. Such as:
- Some quests open up in an area after some point in the game.
- New events will happen.
- An item or event necessary to complete another quest only becomes available after 3/4 of the game plot.
- etc.

But FFXIII is consciously designed to be a linear experience. So yes probably there isn't much point for them here. Different for a game such as Persona of course, where it's of paramount importance to the gameplay design.

I agree it's not such a big deal.

 

[brandonh83]

Well you have just explained how towns shouldn't be done...

I agree completely. I like towns in Bioware games, and Castlevania II where townsfolk give you some obscure potential hint at what to do get... something :lol

But yeah I mean I've found towns in most RPG's to be what I described. It's rarely done right so I'd rather it not be done at all.

 

[nyong]

Towns for the sake of towns because it's an RPG-staple is not an argument for towns, IMO. I'm perfectly fine with a more linear (focused) experience.

 

[jump_button]

FF9 had the best towns

 

[desu]

I haven't finished the game yet though :lol

Guess I'll have to keep trying... I really want the

Spoiler

Genji Glove

at the end of all of this.

Oh damn, then you really have to resort to that spell.

You want the

Spoiler

Genji Glove

before you even attempt the final boss for the first time? Not sure they would help if you have low end equipment and stats.

 

[theMrCravens]

Towns for the sake of towns because it's an RPG-staple is not an argument for towns, IMO. I'm perfectly fine with a more linear (focused) experience.

It's not a classic RPG anymore though, which is pretty much a big FU for old fans.

I don't mind this kind of concept for a game, but they shouldn't have wasted it on a FF title.

It's like a waste of a AAA title and company, and now I have to wait years for the next one.

 

[Zoe]

You want the

Spoiler

Genji Glove

before you even attempt the final boss for the first time? Not sure they would help if you have low end equipment and stats.

Really? I've

Spoiler

hit 99,999 on a break

several times already though.

 

[brandonh83]

I can't praise the soundtrack to this game enough. Simply one of the best game OST's I've ever heard.

I'll just spoiler tag this whole thing just to be safe.

Spoiler

It has my favorite FF theme of all time (heard in Prelude to Final Fantasy XIII and Miracles), a wonderful guitar solo in This is Your Home, perhaps my favorite regular boss theme in Saber's Edge (as well as two other exceptional themes for bigger boss battles), and some other honorable mentions include Dust to Dust, The Cradle Will Fall, Promised Eternity, Vanille's Theme, the top-notch orchestration of Nautilus, Start Your Engine's homage to Hunter's Chance from FFIX, Ragnarok with its surreal vocal work, and on and on and on.

What an amazing soundtrack.

 

[nyong]

It's not a classic RPG anymore though, which is pretty much a big FU for old fans.

Fair enough.

On the flip side, I thought by returning to the original turn-based formula for combat they were stuck in the past (I really like FXII). Either way, it's a departure from typical Final Fantasy. I'll have to play it before I can really judge one way or another. And play it I will.

 

[fu3lfr3nzy]

Everytime this thread gets bumped, I keep thinking theres info on a LE FFXIII for the US Market

 

[brandonh83]

Everytime this thread gets bumped, I keep thinking theres info on a LE FFXIII for the US Market

With only just over a month left before release, I'm finding this possibility to be quickly fading.

 

[Zoe]

Everytime this thread gets bumped, I keep thinking theres info on a LE FFXIII for the US Market

Why would that be in this thread? You'd want the info thread, not the import thread.

 

[desu]

Really? I've

Spoiler

hit 99,999 on a break

several times already though.

I have to admit, I only improved a single weapon (to get Lightning's Helter Skelter), so maybe thats why I never got close to that number.

I read from some guy on gamefaqs that he did all missions except 2-3 before even finishing the game.

 

[Zoe]

I have to admit, I only improved a single weapon (to get Lightning's Helter Skelter), so maybe thats why I never got close to that number.

It's always Fang who gets it.

I haven't really delved into improving the weapons. I think for her I just upgraded her initial weapon to somewhere in the lower teens.

 

[desu]

Well Fang is just an evil damage dealer, especially if you use

Spoiler

Highwind

on a enemy in break state togther with

Spoiler

Genji Gloves

to deal

Spoiler

999.999+ DMG

(post game).

 

[Sora_N]

Hey guys, just a silly question now...but for upgrading weapons / accessories, does it really matter what items I use? I've been using them randomly without reading them just to level up stuff a bit. :lol

 

[Khrno]

Hey guys, just a silly question now...but for upgrading weapons / accessories, does it really matter what items I use? I've been using them randomly without reading them just to level up stuff a bit. :lol

Use the organic items, those that are sold by the shop for 40-80 gil or so to get the x3 bonus first, you could need from 24 to 40 of such item to get the x3 bonus depending on which item you use.

After that use the materials, that are sold by the shop for 200-1600, the highest the price, the most points you'll get while upgrading. Some materials give more points for certain items than others, so you might want to do quick checks before buying stack of materials.

When you max an item, then you can use the expensive material items, from the last shop you get, the lower rank (there's no visible rank on the items description) the cheaper the item you need, the higher the rank, more expensive the items you need, or harder drops to obtain.

To summarize:

1. Get the x3 bonus with the organic (cheap) items.
2. Max the item with the not that expensive materials.
3. Convert the maxed items into new (more powerful) items with the most expensive materials.
   
   
   

 

[Sora_N]

Use the organic items, those that are sold in the shop for 40-80 gil or so to get the x3 bonus first, you could need from 24 to 40 of such item to get the x3 bonus depending on which item you use.

After that use the materials, that sell for 200-1600, the highest the price, the most points you'll get while upgrading. Some materials give more points for certain items than others, so you might want to do quick checks before buying stack of materials.

When you max an item, then you can use the expensive material items, from the last shop you get, the lower rank (there's no visible rank on the items description) the cheaper the item you need, the higher the rank, more expensive the items you need, or harder drops to obtain.

To summarize:

1. Get the x3 bonus with the organic (cheap) items.
2. Max the item with the not that expensive materials.
3. Convert the maxed items into new (more powerful) items with the most expensive materials.
   
   
   

Do you mean the items that sell to the shop for 30-40gil or the ones that are sold? I just checked the shops in at the save point and didn't really see anything. I'm on Chapter 5 iirc if that helps. I did use the items that sold to the shops cheaply and got the 3x you mentioned, so basically after that I should use the ones that give more exp?

Oh and...what levels do items max at?

Sorry for the noob questions and thanks!

 

[desu]

Oh and...what levels do items max at?

You mean weapons? If so: http://ff13.in/56.html the top has the other categories.

 

[Khrno]

Do you mean the items that sell to the shop for 30-40gil or the ones that are sold? I just checked the shops in at the save point and didn't really see anything. I'm on Chapter 5 iirc if that helps. I did use the items that sold to the shops cheaply and got the 3x you mentioned, so basically after that I should use the ones that give more exp?

Oh and...what levels do items max at?

Sorry for the noob questions and thanks!

Prices are as sold by the shops, sorry for not making it clear before. The shops become available as you progress in the game, but you might have the organic shop and the materials shop soon, and maybe one of them already

Most accessories max out at level 11, weapons at level 26, then at 50+. I only finished the story so didn't have time to do the end-game content, so I'm not sure at what's the max level for the best weapons.

 

[Zoe]

Wait, it tops out at x3?

Goddammit. I never bothered going past 1.5x :lol

 

[JORMBO]

I'm on the last boss but I need to level a bit more. What area of Pulse is best to grind for money/XP at that point in the game? Vanille is around 6.5k HP, Lightning 7.5k, Snow 8.5k.

Right now I have Lightning's weapon at lv56, Vanille's at lv30 and Snow's at lv40. The only problem is the last dungeon seems to almost require buffs, so I've swapped out Snow for Sazh, whom I haven't used all game. Weapon still level 1!

 

[desu]

I'm on the last boss but I need to level a bit more. What area of Pulse is best to grind for money/XP at that point in the game? Vanille is around 6.5k HP, Lightning 7.5k, Snow 8.5k.

Right now I have Lightning's weapon at lv56, Vanille's at lv30 and Snow's at lv40. The only problem is the last dungeon seems to almost require buffs, so I've swapped out Snow for Sazh, whom I haven't used all game. Weapon still level 1!

I only had Lightnings Healter Skelter when I killed the last boss, all other characters had lvl1 weapons.

Imho it all comes to down to strategy and maybe a bit luck. You should be able to beat the last boss now.

If you have the Chocobo you could try killing Ochus.

 

[Zoe]

I'm on the last boss but I need to level a bit more. What area of Pulse is best to grind for money/XP at that point in the game? Vanille is around 6.5k HP, Lightning 7.5k, Snow 8.5k.

Right now I have Lightning's weapon at lv56, Vanille's at lv30 and Snow's at lv40. The only problem is the last dungeon seems to almost require buffs, so I've swapped out Snow for Sazh, whom I haven't used all game. Weapon still level 1!

I haven't attempted any part of chapter 13 yet, but simply going through all the missions up to around 50 has just about maxed out the default roles for all my guys.

It helps that you have to

Spoiler

go through the Titan missions a billion times to get them all <_<

 

[JORMBO]

I have the main role maxed on each character. I think I'm around half way through the last level on the 2nd tree.

I've pretty much ignored all the missions since I am going to play through again in March, but I guess I should start them now.

Spoiler

I almost killed the last bosse's first form last night with a really horrible strat but the death spell got me. I could probably tweak it and kill him with a bit more effort (I only tried him once), but I kind of want to keep playing the game a bit more.

 

[desu]

Boss

Spoiler

Last form is really really easy, its weak to debuffs so just debuff it then get 3 Blasters and break it. If you need, heal. Should be really easy and fast. If you can beat the first form then the second shouldnt be a problem.

 

[Khrno]

Spoiler

The second form

isn't that hard, just and endurance fight with a bit of luck. I got there capped on the main jobs for each character, but luck wasn't on my side, so I had to go and max out the

Spoiler

Resist Death

item to 60%, and even so the first try after that Lighting (my main) died just like that :lol But the next attempt was very smooth.

 

[Mandoric]

Finally came back to the game last night after a couple of weeks of hunt frustration, since I'm trying to finish them all before I beat the game.

Spoiler

Took out not only Neochu, but also Adamantoise. Boo at no rare drop, I'm about ready for Ultima Weapon. Also found out that breaking 100k doesn't count unless you survive the fight.

I can't handle the third Jilnitra; one was a snap and two I could clear the adds quickly enough to be able to ride Death hard, but 3 is resisting me a lot more and likes to spam his AoE physical. I just capped everyone's base crystarium grids, too, so there's not much room for growth.

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

I know its coming out in about a month but my friend got me a copy on the CHEAP so I decided to bite (I should have it tomorrow)...I've been following this thread for a bit (and I've played through two Japanese FF games) so I should be okay.

The plan is to finish it before the NA release (which I should be able to do). So then people if you don't mind me asking, what were your final game save times? (Give me an idea as to how long it should take me)...

 

[Khrno]

Just finishing the story without doing any of the endgame missions, but with the 3 main jobs for each character capped and a fairly good amount of tier 2 maxed weapons and accesories: 50 hours.

But I think it can be finished in 40 hours, since there's not really need to have 3 jobs capped, just 2 for versatility and about 5k HP.

 

[BuRT!]

Finally came back to the game last night after a couple of weeks of hunt frustration, since I'm trying to finish them all before I beat the game.

You can't beat them all before finishing the story Beating the story unlocks one more crystallium level and I am also pretty sure some hunts are just unreachable before then, but maybe not.

 

[Khrno]

I am also pretty sure some hunts are just unreachable before then

Not just unreachable, but some are impossible to beat without the stats/skills from level 5.

 

[BuRT!]

Not just unreachable, but some are impossible to beat without the stats/skills from level 5.

Yea that's why I mentioned the extra cyrstallium level, though I didn't really specify. You'd also need it for killing a Longui, which isn't a quest but if you're doing all of them you might as well kill one of those for the trophy too ;p

 

[Mandoric]

Not just unreachable, but some are impossible to beat without the stats/skills from level 5.

Well, yeah, correction, everything that's available in ch11 before I move on.

 

[desu]

Not just unreachable, but some are impossible to beat without the stats/skills from level 5.

I think someone from gamefaqs tried doing all of them before moving on in chapter 11 and except 1-2 missions he got all of them down without the final crystarium level.

 

[Khrno]

I think someone from gamefaqs tried doing all of them before moving on in chapter 11 and except 1-2 missions he got all of them down without the final crystarium level.

Wow, just 2? I thought there would have been somewhat between 5 to 10, or probably the people I saw doing them just sucked, cool for the guy tho.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

I can't believe I am restarting this from the beginning again even though the US release is in little over a month. I got to CH 12 and just stopped, but for some reason I just had to play it from the beginning again as I always do with FF games.

I am using a full cutscene translation printed out and reading it line by line as I view them in-game. Its actually not that bad and feels like subtitles. Along with the accessory and weapons guide the game is a lot easier to understand than the first time I played it. I guess all I am missing are the little quips from npcs (pretty unimportant stuff I am guessing) and my characters along with the auto clip stuff. And after reading the Ep Zero stuff things are making even more sense.

Anyway, I am enjoying it a lot more the second time around, especially when I can almost fully understand the plot. I will still be getting the US version in a month though, assuming I am not totally sick of the game by then.

 

[desu]

Wow, just 2? I thought there would have been somewhat between 5 to 10, or probably the people I saw doing them just sucked, cool for the guy tho.

Well I didn't see any proof and then forgot to follow the thread. But it doesnt seem too unlikely. One of the missions he couldnt beat was 64 (no surprise with low HP).

 

[Mattlikewhoa]

So I was able to play about two hours of this today! So far I'm really diggin' it! My friend it wayyyy to nice to me as he sent me a sealed copy with the FF XIV beta code in it!

There is quite a lot to take in during the start of the game. They kinda just throw you in and away you go (nothing wrong with that). The overall presentation is very well done. An example would be the little video transition between characters in the player menu (little touches like this make me smile)...

I won't really get to play till Monday but I can't wait!

 

[Zoe]

Finally bit the bullet and played the final boss because I realized that attempting to defeat

Spoiler

Spartacus

with less than 10,000 HP while still making it under the time limit was hopeless. Just like XII, the boss is such a joke if you do the higher missions :lol

The boss music was pretty interesting...

Now to go back and finish the 13 or so missions remaining >_<

 

[nelsonroyale]

I made one exception and caved in and watched a vid showing introduction to the massive

Spoiler

titan

. That area looks absolutely stunning. As much as ME2 is an improvement graphically over the first, there is no doubt in my mind that this is definitely the best looking rpg overall...

 

[desu]

Finally bit the bullet and played the final boss because I realized that attempting to defeat

Spoiler

Spartacus

with less than 10,000 HP while still making it under the time limit was hopeless. Just like XII, the boss is such a joke if you do the higher missions :lol

Well the boss isn't that hard anyway, except maybe

Spoiler

phase 2.

 

[mehdi_san]

Hey can I ask you guys a question? What's the point of the weapons that cannot break the enemies? Is there any advantage to it? They don't seem any more powerful than the others, so... ?

 

[duckroll]

Hey can I ask you guys a question? What's the point of the weapons that cannot break the enemies? Is there any advantage to it? They don't seem any more powerful than the others, so... ?

They have the highest raw stats when fully upgraded in the ultimate weapon form for each character. And I believe you can still break enemies using the weapon if you have a certain accessory equipped which creates a change of enemies breaking when they get attacked. Not 100% sure on this though.

 

[Mandoric]

Hey can I ask you guys a question? What's the point of the weapons that cannot break the enemies? Is there any advantage to it? They don't seem any more powerful than the others, so... ?

I haven't played with it much, but don't they have the actual highest DoT potential? Break wears off and resets the damage multiplier to 100%, but if you never break can't you juggle a mob at 999% indefinitely?

Or you could put one on your blaster and not -start- break until it'd go straight to 999%/buffs and debuffs are up, then open up with Cerberus for maximum spike damage while remaining safe behind HLR/DEF and ENH/JAM the rest of the time.

 

[duckroll]

I haven't played with it much, but don't they have the actual highest DoT potential? Break wears off and resets the damage multiplier to 100%, but if you never break can't you juggle a mob at 999% indefinitely?

No, I believe you can only juggle and go up to 999% after an enemy is broken. If you can't break an enemy, it means that when you fill up the initial break meter, you can't get the enemy into break mode. I've never used any of these weapons though, so I don't know if it means that the character with the weapon cannot initial a break (when the meter is full) or if it means that no one can break enemies as long as the leader has such a weapon equipped.

 

[Mandoric]

No, I believe you can only juggle and go up to 999% after an enemy is broken. If you can't break an enemy, it means that when you fill up the initial break meter, you can't get the enemy into break mode. I've never used any of these weapons though, so I don't know if it means that the character with the weapon cannot initial a break (when the meter is full) or if it means that no one can break enemies as long as the leader has such a weapon equipped.

Hmmm. I'm going to go try one right now.

Okay, tested with Vanille/Hope/Fang, BLA/HLR/DEF and HLR/BLA/DEF. Vanille equipped with Heaven's Axis.
It prevents Vanille from initiating break. It does not prevent Hope or Fang from initiating break.
Vanille's nuking does not bring mobs over their break point, or overflow and extend the gauge.
Vanille's nuking -does- increase multiplier once mob is broken.

So from a tactical viewpoint, only useful if you want to delay break until buffs/debuffs/heals are up.

Looking at the stats on wiki, they're all very well balanced, but some are far better weapons than others; Fang's has huge boosts to both atk and matk, as does Light's (and her best atk except for Organics and its auto-slow), but Vanille's is only notable for being a cheap upgrade and Hope's is more expensive and weaker than his all-arounder ATB+1. Sazh's is pretty impressive too, 125 matk under his best without autoslow and 144 atk under his best without 40% HP down, and it comes with ATB+1. Snow's sucks.

Edit: There should only be one blond guy with a name that's a four-letter English word per game. It gets too confusing otherwise. :lol