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[chickdigger802]

Didn't you buy this game on sale? lol, do you want to get it done so you can play FFXIII-2?

Snow stayed behind because he's a HERO. Or some nonsense about the power of love, I don't know. No one cares about him, nor do they like him. They think he's an idiot and they're right for doing so!

The camera is a bit of an annoyance in this game, that's for sure. If you feel like it's doing dumb crap during battle, swing it back around with the right stick. It trips me up in both XIII games, actually, because I want to watch enemies' attack patterns to be able to ATB cancel (switch to another Optima and have a gauge at max capacity instantly), or switch to the appropriate Optima when a monster's about to animate in a certain fashion... the camera is not my friend in that regard.

It isn't until later on that you'll learn to look at enemies' animations in order to know when and how to switch Optimae/Paradigms.

But for now, just concentrate on what your leader/controlled character is doing and let the AI for the other characters take care of the rest. Treat it like a Tales game/FFXII.

Ahhh didn't know you can move the camera during combat. And no, I have pretty much no interest in 13-2 (mainly because I haven't played 13 yet!). I just feel obliged to play it just cause I'm a jrpg fan.

 

[AkimbO_Arcana]

I'll post in here because this is the most recent FFXIII thread and I hope I'll get some respond without making a new thread:

I started my first playthrough of the game a month ago and tonight I ran into game breaking freezes that make it impossible to advance any further. Here is what happened:

I loaded my last save (13 hours playtime), which was at the end of chapter 6 where you play as Sazh and Vanille. I saved the game right before a fight against two huge enemies (Enki and Enil). I lost first the time so wanted to try it again. When the cutscene started I immediately pushed start to skip it, but the screen stayed black and my PS3 made strange noises (guess it was the BR drive). I opened the XMB and tried to quit the game but nothing. Ejecting the dicc helped. I thought "well, a small bug.. haha".
So I restarted the game and when I skipped the pre-fight scene it froze again. So I watched the cutscene without skipping and it worked, just to froze AFTER the post-battle cutscene.
So I did the fight for the fourth time and everything went fine. I followed the path and when I reached the fence of the station - any guesses - black screen instead of cutscene.
So, I did the fight one more time and went back to the last safe point. Then I progressed and finally the last cutscene played for me.

In the meantime I searched for people with the same problem, but it seemed to be a rare incident and mostly I found cases in which the game froze in battle. These users reported outages of the battle music and when the battle was won the game was just stuck on the post battle character shot.

I continued with chapter 7 and during the first fight the music suddenly stopped playing and after the fight the game froze on Lightning

At this point I'm afraid to kill my PS3 with this game. I'm playing on a 3 year old slim, which never gave me any problems.

Anyone here with similar issues.

 

[chickdigger802]

woo reached chapter 3.

I haven't been more confused about the lore of a game since the original translation of FFT.

Why the fuck is most of the terms in this game so damn similar sounding???

Here is what I got so far.

People live in a giant egg. They fear the ground. They worship statue thingies and there is a pope. But there are ground statue thingies and they give people scars that gives them magic and they got a task they need to do or they become zombies or crystals or something. And then the helgast, shoot poor people and you. And so do the robot cats, and random wild life. And something happened on day 11.... and... and... snow meets girls that turns into motorcycle.

Does this game make more sense in japanese?

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Spoiler

The statue things (fal'Cie) are robots that run the world like the machines in Zion do in the Matrix movies. Basically, they grow the food, keep the lights on and see to the plumbing, but the humans govern themselves.

The robots of the ground do much the same thing but for some reason hate the robots in the bubble. There was a was a few hundred years ago, which is why there is a huge army with airships, genetically modified attack cougars etc.

The robots have limited free will and make l'Cie out of humans that will do their dirty work for them with a task in mind. Do not know what the zombie thing is all about though.

 

[Dark Schala]

Does this game make more sense in japanese?

It'll make sense, but I can assure you that the plot points and a lot of the dialogue are the same in the Japanese version.

 

[chickdigger802]

Spoiler

The statue things (fal'Cie) are robots that run the world like the machines in Zion do in the Matrix movies. Basically, they grow the food, keep the lights on and see to the plumbing, but the humans govern themselves.

The robots of the ground do much the same thing but for some reason hate the robots in the bubble. There was a was a few hundred years ago, which is why there is a huge army with airships, genetically modified attack cougars etc.

The robots have limited free will and make l'Cie out of humans that will do their dirty work for them with a task in mind. Do not know what the zombie thing is all about though.

Ahhh that makes some sense. Will keep poking at this... maybe it will magically make sense someday!

 

[ULTROS!]

It'll make sense, but I can assure you that the plot points and a lot of the dialogue are the same in the Japanese version.

To be honest, the whole plot didn't make sense to me even after reading the Datalog. Glad that someone in GAF explained the entire background of the story though (posted it before, it has spoilers): http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=34947405&postcount=518

 

[ZenaxPure]

Spoiler

Do not know what the zombie thing is all about though.

Spoiler

Zombie thing? As in Cie'th? People given a focus eventually turn into one if they do not complete their focus in a set amount of time.

I will be honest, I am always confused at how people couldn't understand the basics of Fal'Cie and L'Cie. There is a scene very early on with Sazh and Lightning where Sazh explains everything in simple terms in like 2 sentences despite the fact it is very out of character for him to explain it to Lightning (since she obviously knows about the concepts). The only purpose of the scene was to explain the basics to players. It does evolve from there but after that scene I was like "Fal'Cie, demi-god-things, got it!" and had an easy time following it from there.

 

[chickdigger802]

Spoiler

Zombie thing? As in Cie'th? People given a focus eventually turn into one if they do not complete their focus in a set amount of time.

I will be honest, I am always confused at how people couldn't understand the basics of Fal'Cie and L'Cie. There is a scene very early on with Sazh and Lightning where Sazh explains everything in simple terms in like 2 sentences despite the fact it is very out of character for him to explain it to Lightning (since she obviously knows about the concepts). The only purpose of the scene was to explain the basics to players. It does evolve from there but after that scene I was like "Fal'Cie, demi-god-things, got it!" and had an easy time following it from there.

I just wish the naming conventions aren't so... confusing? Like they like the fal cie, but hate the pulse fal cie. Can't they give them another title to differentiate or something?

 

[ZenaxPure]

I just wish the naming conventions aren't so... confusing? Like they like the fal cie, but hate the pulse fal cie. Can't they give them another title to differentiate or something?

They probably could of. I mean truthfully there is not much difference in them outside of where they live and such. They could of considered them a different "faction" so to speak and called them something different, but I am afraid that might of just lead to more confusion somehow.

 

[Clear]

The important thing is that you understand -and this is an easy distinction to miss- that Fal'Cie are God Machines, not actual Gods despite their immense power.

They are driven by function, a purpose that they cannot deviate from. In a sense when they turn ordinary humans into L'Cie they are repeating the cycle started by their maker.

The mythology is actually pretty cool, I'm actually enjoying this aspect a lot more second time around.

 

[Kolgar]

And my Final Fantasy has once again come to an abrupt end.

That goddamned boss at the end of Chapter 9 can eat a bowl of sugar-coated dicks. I must have tried dozens of combinations of teammates and classes, only to get completely cornholed each and every time.

Thanks for the difficulty spike, Square. Thirty hours in and NOW I hit a wall that turns me off of your game.

Same thing happened to me back in 1997 with Final Fantasy 7, the last time I played a game in this series. I was just waiting for it to happen again, but I'd hoped it would be different. I'm not a big RPG player, but I actually did really enjoy the game up to this point, so I suppose it was worth the ten bucks I paid for it.

I think I'll move on to other games I'd like to play, such as The Witcher. My backlog is far too large to justify spending this kind of time on that kind of frustration.

EDIT: Thanks for the tips, guys. I *will* take this assface down.

 

[KorrZ]

And my Final Fantasy has once again come to an abrupt end.

That goddamned boss at the end of Chapter 9 can eat a bowl of sugar-coated dicks. I must have tried dozens of combinations of teammates and classes, only to get completely cornholed each and every time.

Thanks for the difficulty spike, Square. Thirty hours in and NOW I hit a wall that turns me off of your game.

Same thing happened to me back in 1997 with Final Fantasy 7, the last time I played a game in this series. I was just waiting for it to happen again, but I'd hoped it would be different. I'm not a big RPG player, but I actually did really enjoy the game up to this point, so I suppose it was worth the ten bucks I paid for it.

I think I'll move on to other games I'd like to play, such as The Witcher. My backlog is far too large to justify spending this kind of time on that kind of frustration.

He's really not that hard. All you need to know as strategy is

Spoiler

when he does his Destrudo, the more damage you do to him the less damage it does, if you just full on attack him when charging it won't ever 1 hit you

 

[Dark Octave]

Interesting to hear that Fang and Vinlle have watered down (US) Aus accents. This is probably true of their voice actors and couldn't be helped. Also interesting that Fang is a redneck. She sounds cool to us, but would be a totally different the character if they used a US redneck accent for her.

Hope = Piece of shit, slobbermouthed crybaby.

Snow = Idiot.

Lightning = Ultra mega bitch, PMSing.

Sazh = Mature, common sensed and level headed...with an offensive chicken in his apparently bird nest resembling hair.

Fang = Cool and collected.

Vanille = ...Special.

Sarah = Annoying crybaby.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Just wait until you try some of the later missions . Gigantuar is kicking my butt and all my guys have their main roles maxed out.

 

[BadWolf]

And my Final Fantasy has once again come to an abrupt end.

That goddamned boss at the end of Chapter 9 can eat a bowl of sugar-coated dicks. I must have tried dozens of combinations of teammates and classes, only to get completely cornholed each and every time.

Thanks for the difficulty spike, Square. Thirty hours in and NOW I hit a wall that turns me off of your game.

Same thing happened to me back in 1997 with Final Fantasy 7, the last time I played a game in this series. I was just waiting for it to happen again, but I'd hoped it would be different. I'm not a big RPG player, but I actually did really enjoy the game up to this point, so I suppose it was worth the ten bucks I paid for it.

I think I'll move on to other games I'd like to play, such as The Witcher. My backlog is far too large to justify spending this kind of time on that kind of frustration.

- Make sure to use Libra/Librascope
- the paradigm COM/RAV/SEN did the trick for me
- MED/MED/SEN for healing and potions + that accessory that increases healing item potency for heal all
- When he does destructo go all out offense with COM/RAV/COM, once he flinches you're safe. If you don't make him flinch he can take out your party in one attack, its not difficult to make him flinch though as long as you are doing nothing but attacking while he's charging

Buffs/debuffs will probably help but I hadn't bothered with them yet at that point (only started messing with them starting with chapter 10 or 11 or so iirc). For some reason I thought it was the final boss fight lol (think I heard somewhere the game was short), so glad there was more and the best was yet to come.

Interesting to hear that Fang and Vinlle have watered down (US) Aus accents. This is probably true of their voice actors and couldn't be helped. Also interesting that Fang is a redneck. She sounds cool to us, but would be a totally different the character if they used a US redneck accent for her.

Hope = Piece of shit, slobbermouthed crybaby.

Snow = Idiot.

Lightning = Ultra mega bitch, PMSing.

Sazh = Mature, common sensed and level headed...with an offensive chicken in his apparently bird nest resembling hair.

Fang = Cool and collected.

Vanille = ...Special.

Sarah = Annoying crybaby.

I know people bitch about their accents but I really liked Fang's and Vanille's, definitely made them more memorable for me. Fang was awesome overall, from the design (that face) to the character, easily my fave.

 

[StoppedInTracks]

And my Final Fantasy has once again come to an abrupt end.

That goddamned boss at the end of Chapter 9 can eat a bowl of sugar-coated dicks. I must have tried dozens of combinations of teammates and classes, only to get completely cornholed each and every time.

Thanks for the difficulty spike, Square. Thirty hours in and NOW I hit a wall that turns me off of your game.

Same thing happened to me back in 1997 with Final Fantasy 7, the last time I played a game in this series. I was just waiting for it to happen again, but I'd hoped it would be different. I'm not a big RPG player, but I actually did really enjoy the game up to this point, so I suppose it was worth the ten bucks I paid for it.

I think I'll move on to other games I'd like to play, such as The Witcher. My backlog is far too large to justify spending this kind of time on that kind of frustration.

Just don't get him unleash full Destructo. SEN/SEN/SEN when he does eitherway.

 

[volpone]

I never got all the hype about Sazh being the sole redeeming character within the game. His slapstic moments are weak attempts at humour. His characterization harkens Murtaugh's (Lethal Weapon) so much that he might as well just mouth off "I'm too old for this shit" most of the time. His (initial) bloodthirst towards Vanille during the climax of chapter 8 came across as misplaced. In the game's narrative we shown that Fang is more or less to blame for what happened to Dajh - the incident in it's entirety being an accident - and so we are less inclined to begrudge Vanille for her unconscious mistake. Sazh's subsequent break-down and attempt/tease at suicide highlights a weak, immature character when you contrast him with Lightning, Snow and Hope who carry on in spite of losing loved ones - Hope's mother certifiably having no chance to return for that matter.

Endearing? Certainly. Well, for the most part anyway. Definitely a better character than Lightning and Snow. Hope and Vanillle were definitely the most compelling characters within the game however. (If we ignore Hope's bullshit Eidolon freak-out).

 

[Clear]

The trouble with the battle system in XIII is that although for most battles its reasonably lenient in allowing you a bunch of ways to get the job done with a good ranking, on occasion it requires very specific approaches that aren't neccessarily intuitive.

By the time you get to end-game and are doing Adamantoises, while there are a few ways of dealing with them, actual effective tactics for consistently 5 starring them aren't I think particularly obvious outside of the tedious crap-shoot of death spam. Its weird to me that given how useful and powerful each character's special attack is, they are just sort of dropped in there with no effort made to show the player how best to employ them.

Its odd because they are quite different from one-another, they aren't just big damage attacks. For example Light's Army Of One is mainly good for driving up stagger, while Fang's Highwind should only ever be used against a staggered enemy- ideally buffed to the hilt with a Genji glove to remove the damage cap. Sazh's Cold Blood combined with a RIC setup is awesome for quickly staggering foes, and so on...

I've spent a lot more time experimenting this playthrough, and as a result I'm doing vastly better than I did the first time around in the post-game, to the extent I might finally platinum this beast.

On a replay the fault I think most egregious is the way that the game basically traps you into fighting the same monsters over and over in order to acquire CP and especially Gil. Its a silly situation that makes the post-game far more repetitive than it needs to be.

You have to wonder why they decided to lock off the final chapter area that is full of unique, interesting, enemies and instead force you back to the (admittedly impressive) Chapter 11 zone for virtually everything!

Second time around I like this game more than I did, but there are some confounding design decisions to be sure.

 

[Liferebooted]

So... I actually think this game is a ton better than ffxiii-2 is so far =\

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

So I gave up trying to take on Gigantuar for the moment (going to wait until I have some better equipment from other missions). The fight against him is frustrating because it's basically a matter of being able to stagger and kill him before he is able to kill your party leader, which will happen if you let the battle go on long enough because his main move is stupidly strong and afflicts you with pain/fog so you can't heal or even attack him to maintain his stagger bar.

Whoever decided that party leader death = game over ought to be shot. The game would have been greatly improved by being able to change party leader on the fly if the situation warranted.

 

[Edvardelis]

Whoever decided that party leader death = game over ought to be shot. The game would have been greatly improved by being able to change party leader on the fly if the situation warranted.

That doesn't happen in any other game in the series, either. It is really stupid, especially against the final boss.

 

[Kolgar]

Yep, I'm out. Got too many other games to play and, you know, real life to live. That boss makes for a natural permanent stopping point.

 

[KingK]

I think I'm going to go back and restart this game and finish it this summer. I got pretty close to the end back when it came out, but got distracted by other things at the time. I actually enjoyed the game for the most part, and it started getting even better once the world opened up and I could spend some time doing those side quests. And yeah, Sazh is the best character by far. Lightning isn't bad either.

I'm gonna be on such a JRPG binge this summer. I'm already planning on picking up Tales of Graces f, TitS, Ys Seven, possibly Radiant Historia, and now I might try to beat FFXIII too.

 

[Riposte]

What if you changed the graphics so Party Member #2 and 3 were arms (on a giant mech or something) and the Party leader was a head???

(EDIT: In other words a Chrono Trigger boss or something)

 

[teiresias]

The important thing is that you understand -and this is an easy distinction to miss- that Fal'Cie are God Machines, not actual Gods despite their immense power.

They are driven by function, a purpose that they cannot deviate from. In a sense when they turn ordinary humans into L'Cie they are repeating the cycle started by their maker.

The mythology is actually pretty cool, I'm actually enjoying this aspect a lot more second time around.

I've not played this game for a while, but I can't even remember where - in the actual game - one got any information on the over-arching "God Mythology" of the world. When I finished playing the game I pretty much just figured

Spoiler

Barthandelus wanted to bring god back, so kill a bunch of people and he/she will show up

. All of the back story about the invisible world and chaos and everything I either completely missed or it's not actually there. Where does all this backstory information come from? Is it in the game and I was just oblivious or is this one of those things where you have to buy some hardbound book only available in Japan to know all of this stuff?

The game would have been better had all that been integrated into the game itself. The game's scope would have felt larger and more varied and important rather than the characters basically just wandering around and waiting for Barthandelus to show up, and then, despite all their big talk, just ending up doing what he wanted anyway. It was pretty ridiculous. If the characters had unearthed some of that backstory and realized what was going on the story could have taken a much more interesting turn.

Granted, none of this would help my overall disappointment in the actual structure of the game, but at least the motivations and plot would be more palatable.

Despite my views on the whole "linearity" of the game, I did like the battle-system, and I actually think it's fairly tailor-made for a portable game. Wouldn't mind seeing that battle-system in a Vita game for instance that was more open.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

There are the text things in the game, but as far as I'm aware, the stuff about Lindzei and the invisible world is either:

1) Present in the FFXIII spinoffs
2) Present in some Japan-only video

Yes, it's dumb. There's all this interesting mythology, but it's all wasted because Vanille was dropped on her head as a child.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Just beat all the Titan missions, or at least beat every monster in the decision tree (f*ck Neochu, seriously) and there seems to be one monster left over not in the chain, but I can't figure out how to unlock that fight.

Between that mission and some stray ones like Gigantuar, I think I'll be more or less done with the game. I feel like with some more grinding I could set things up to take down some guis and 'toises (legitimately rather than cheesing by spamming Death), but my reward there would only be the opportunity to do more grinding. I need two more trapezohedrons for Snow and Sazh's ultimate weapons and a whole bunch of crafting to get that ridiculous treasure hunter trophy. Unless there are new areas of the game I'm yet to explore, I think I've just about squeezed all the fun to be had in this game.

All in all, it was a great experience, but it's telling that I enjoyed myself the most when experiencing non-story related side content and that consisted mostly of battles and grinding for phat loot. It's like all the stuff you typically buy a Final Fantasy game for (characters, story, spectacle) was all just fluff getting in the way of the fantastic game lying underneath the surface. Had Gran Pulse (i.e. the game opening up) happened much earlier, say, just after the chapter where Hope's dad helps the gang escape the Sanctum, the game would have been remembered much differently.

To wit, I don't remember caring about having to kill Cid Reynes, nor did I give a damn about (or, for that matter, understand) what Barthandelus was all about, but I do remember taking down some fools in the Vallis Media, schooling Mithridates in the art of buffs, gleefully grinding Mussushu for fat wads of cash, trembling in fear as Hunbabas and Adamantoises trundled by, getting jacked and pimp slapping down some Tonberries for their egregious disrespect and riding around on chocobos, listening to that incredible smooth jazz arrangement of the most annoyingly catchy song in the series. Fire everyone who ever touched the script and promote the dudes who choreographed those fights and missions on Gran Pulse in their place.

 

[ZenaxPure]

characters, story, spectacle.

Probably in the minority on this one for sure but those are not the reasons I bought FF games in the past and instead the other reasons you listed (great combat, tons of content) are what I've always wanted.

I enjoy the story/characters in all of the games (13 included) but I've always gone to the FF series because their gameplay/amount of content has always been better than 90% of the other JRPGs on the market. Pretty much each time I played the first game of a new generation I was just blown away by how much more fun I was having compared to most other games of the genre.

 

[Hasemo]

I know people bitch about their accents but I really liked Fang's and Vanille's, definitely made them more memorable for me. Fang was awesome overall, from the design (that face) to the character, easily my fave.

I honestly think that the accents are the best things about those two characters.

 

[Clear]

Just beat all the Titan missions, or at least beat every monster in the decision tree (f*ck Neochu, seriously) and there seems to be one monster left over not in the chain, but I can't figure out how to unlock that fight.

Sounds like you're missing Attacus, the super-boss of Titan's Trials.
After you clear the entire tree, the inactive Cie'th stone in each of the next to last areas (4 columns over) should now be active. Take any path (I usually just go along the top) and enter that to fight him.

Quite a long fight, but pretty easy with a good SEN.


The problem with XIII's endgame is mainly that it requires so much gil to get everything, and as the only good sources of income come from Oretoises it just turns into the worst sort of tedious grind. Even when you can flatten Shaolong Gui's inside a couple of minutes reliably, you're looking at literally hours of grinding required to get enough cash to upgrade every weapon to stage2, not to mention the 120 or so different accessories...

 

[MoogleWizard]

I honestly think that the accents are the best things about those two characters.

I love their Aussie accents, Fang's heavy one in particular. It's also a very nice detail considering their characters are from the world "down under".

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

I love their Aussie accents, Fang's heavy one in particular. It's also a very nice detail considering their characters are from the world "down under".

It was always intentional. When you first get to Gran Pulse, if you listen closely, there is some didgeridoo music in some of the arrangements.

The accents (aside from being somewhat muddled) do actually fit the characters quite well. Vanille sounds like a pampered preppy schoolgirl from one of the most exclusive Sydney boarding schools and Fang sounds like a tough-as-nails country sheilah who drinks like a man twice her weight, votes reliably National and isn't afraid to put in some hard yakka if that's what's required. The voices are pretty appropriate... it's just too bad about the script.

@Clear, thanks for clearing that up. Attacus ey? Surely there is a better way to implement getting to that fight apart from (essentially) repeating the Titan's trial again in its entirety. I've already done it six times!

 

[chickdigger802]

lol something I noticed today, some of these environments look super damn similar with no unique landmarks or anything.

Learned the hard way by ending up walking the other direction of the 'linear path' for a good 10-20min after a cutscene before realizing that I wasn't progressing and these treasure chests have already been opened...

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

lol something I noticed today, some of these environments look super damn similar with no unique landmarks or anything.

Learned the hard way by ending up walking the other direction of the 'linear path' for a good 10-20min after a cutscene before realizing that I wasn't progressing and these treasure chests have already been opened...

I noticed that too, especially in the frozen crystal lake sequence. I suspect that making detailed architecture and environmental detail takes a long time / is expensive, so they re-used assets as much as possible to pad out length. I'd have preferred the tighter experience that would have eventuated from less copy-pasting, but what can you do?

 

[Roto13]

When I had trouble with that certain boss, it was because the battle speed was low and my buffs were wearing off after half as many actions as they did when I switched the battle speed to fast. Buffs and debuffs last the same amount of real time, regardless of battle speed.

Also you won't get turned around so easily if you use the minimap. Have it set to always be pointing north. (That's an option, right?)

 

[chickdigger802]

Game mechanic question.

What determines the rate of the decrease for the 'chain gauge'? Sometimes it goes down slow, sometimes really fast. .

 

[Roto13]

Game mechanic question.

What determines the rate of the decrease for the 'chain gauge'? Sometimes it goes down slow, sometimes really fast. .

Attacks from Commandos don't build the guage much, but they do make it decrease more slowly. That "charge" stays even after the Command stops attacking.

 

[chickdigger802]

Attacks from Commandos don't build the guage much, but they do make it decrease more slowly. That "charge" stays even after the Command stops attacking.

ahhh that makes it more interesting! Starting to fight dudes that seem to take barely any damage unless staggered =/

So I should switch between commando and rav often?

Do debuffs affect chain gauge at all?

 

[BadWolf]

Just use a RAV/RAV/COM paradigm.

 

[Roto13]

ahhh that makes it more interesting! Starting to fight dudes that seem to take barely any damage unless staggered =/

So I should switch between commando and rav often?

Do debuffs affect chain gauge at all?

I believe debuffs from a Saboteur also slow the rate at which the chain gauge drains.

You'll have to change your tactics according to the situation, but if you're fighting an enemy that absolutely needs to be staggered (like one of those armadillo things), starting off with a Commando and switching to three Ravagers is a pretty good way to do it.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

ahhh that makes it more interesting! Starting to fight dudes that seem to take barely any damage unless staggered =/

So I should switch between commando and rav often?

Do debuffs affect chain gauge at all?

Debuffs work the same way as ravager spells as far as chain gauges are concerned. Imperil is very useful for getting that gauge up too.

 

[Clear]

What determines the rate of the decrease for the 'chain gauge'? Sometimes it goes down slow, sometimes really fast. .

Its mostly a factor of the enemy's basic stats. Some are easy to stagger, some are virtually impossible.

Its important to use a COM to trigger stagger maintenance, but don't assume you need that role in constantly. For a lot of fights just put a COM in for a single attack round then go all out with 3 Ravagers until you max the chain gauge. The final boss of the story is a perfect example of this.

Also be wary in late game of what effects super-attacks have on the chain gauge. For instance Lightnings "Army Of One" pushes the gauge up super fast but will actually zero it once it passes the stagger point, if the enemy isn't already staggered. Fangs "Highwind" on the other hand always zeroes the stagger gauge upon use.

There's a lot of subtlety in the fighting system. Unfortunately by the time you have learned it all its nothing but stupid turtles to fight...

 

[KorrZ]

Jesus I swear I just want to stab the person who's responsible for chapter 13 in the face. REPEATEDLY WITH A FUCKING BUTCHERS KNIFE. I just want to beat the god damn game and it's dragging out forever, and everytime you think okay finally this must be the final boss, nope! Run down the hallway some more and fight more annoying enemies that are 100% unavoidable!

 

[chickdigger802]

Is upgrading the preferable path in this game? Been doing that, and all item box weapons seem to be crap...

Also... what does launch do? Does it prevent them from attacking while staggered?

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

Is upgrading the preferable path in this game? Been doing that, and all item box weapons seem to be crap...

Also... what does launch do? Does it prevent them from attacking while staggered?

I'd wait at least until Chapter 11 to begin upgrading. Once you do, you can do some cool stuff.

Launch is like "double stagger". Spells and attacks do ridiculous damage to a launched enemy AND it can't attack while in the air. Naturally, Launch doesn't work on flying enemies.

 

[Dark Schala]

There's a lot of subtlety in the fighting system. Unfortunately by the time you have learned it all its nothing but stupid turtles to fight...

A friend and I had discussed this while we were doing our plat runs last year and came to the same conclusion. The late postgame battles were actually good, and Attacus ended up being my favourite battle in the entire game once I figured out how to do it without Snow being a Defender. Same with Vercingetorix.

It's horrible how unsupported CSB is until postgame, when at least four battles (Attacus, Vercingetorix, Long Gui, Shaolong Gui) support it a lot and show off the system's nuances and creativity. It's just too bad that the rest of the main game never bothered to support it outside of both of the Bart battles.

And then in FFXIII-2, they decided to baby up the system and make it easy so that CSB is even less supported. :/

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

What's a CSB?

Did anyone notice that all the Undying are named after enemies of Ancient Rome? Mithridates, Zenobia, Vercingetorix, Attacus etc. Not sure if there's a Shapur, Attila or a Hannibal, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was. As a bit of a classical history nerd, I thought it was a nice touch.

 

[chickdigger802]

hmmm... after playing a good 3-4 hours yesterday, I now understand the main complaints.

It isn't the lack of towns that sucks.... the lack of 'change of pace' is kinda shitty. Towns mostly exist as a 'rest point' in which you gear up, learn about the world. See the sites.

I know I'm 'only' 9 hours in, but I pretty much have just been running up, fight the same 2-3 enemy types for way too long, branch off to fight another dude and get an item, find a savepoint every 10min and a horribly written cutscene and maybe a boss fight.


Speaking of which, wtf is Cocoon? Is it a planet? A floating city? The flashbacks confuse me.... because there is a beach... which... wait what?

 

[Dark Schala]

What's a CSB?

Did anyone notice that all the Undying are named after enemies of Ancient Rome? Mithridates, Zenobia, Vercingetorix, Attacus etc. Not sure if there's a Shapur, Attila or a Hannibal, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was. As a bit of a classical history nerd, I thought it was a nice touch.

CSB is what the battle system is called. "Command Synergy Battle".

Yes. All of the Undying are named after former warriors or rulers. This is not consistent in Final Fantasy XIII-2 to my dismay (ex: Attila is renamed to Raspatil).

Speaking of which, wtf is Cocoon? Is it a planet? A floating city? The flashbacks confuse me.... because there is a beach... which... wait what?

It's a bit of a mini-satellite/moon/planet in the sky. Everything is INSIDE the planet as opposed to outside, though.