Dammit. Stupid PS3 system update. I guess I haven't played on Ad-Hoc in about a month. I'll be online after my system is up to date, I guess.
EDIT: Online now. Hanging out in World A, Lobby 64. I THINK I'm on the US version of AHP, but it's identical to the EU one, so hopefully I'm not mixed up.
Up to Difficulty 8, now. The game gauges your progress by the number of Story missions cleared, it seems, so I guess I'm up to Story 55 now. The game is still pretty easy. It feels like it's getting easier, because the gear is oh-so-much better. At the end of Difficulty 6, there's a big end-boss fight (they don't tell you that the weak element is Divine, but you could probably guess it from the slew of Divine-weak mobs you had to fight to get there), and then a long cutscene, followed by the credits. So I'm guessing Diff 6 is where the original game ended before the additional DLC and Burst content.
The story went from utter crap to merely stereotypical and non-offensive, I think. It went into the predictable anime tropes ("Haha! I was the villain all along!" "But I'm a noble villain with pure motives!" "I'll go back to my friends and help them, because friendship is the Strongest Power In The Universe (TM)!" "The power of friendship was inside you all along!"), but that's perfectly alright for the genre, I guess. It's better to go with predictable than "WTF? That's stupid." The event that happens to the Nova Singularity (let's string together a bunch of words we heard on a science TV show) is pretty dumb, and you'll see what I mean when you view the end cutscene.
After that, Difficulty 7 starts you into the "High Rank" content and has you kill trash mobs all over again, just like Difficulty 1. Fortunately, this doesn't last long, and they start throwing new monsters at you. Well, not quite new, as they are palette/model swaps for old monsters (except for Hannibal, who is brand new). The Diff 7/8 mobs like to spam AoE attacks around themselves and shoot multiple projectiles in a row. If you haven't started blocking with a tower shield to mitigate damage yet, you might want to think about practicing. Or eat the damage and drink up some healing items, since they allow you to take plenty on missions.
I still haven't ever failed a mission yet, nor have I ever respawned, although my incapacitate numbers are going up. Things are hitting harder now. You get a new medic Story character named Ren in Difficulty 7, and he seems to be a better healer than any of the previous medics, which helps a bit.
Really, it is easy enough to mash through most every fight, as long as you've got the healing items to back it up.
Not to say I didn't do that plenty of times in Monster Hunter as well, when I couldn't be bothered to take down some of the more annoying monsters with more time consuming methods.
I've done it. Couldn't be bothered to get the patterns down, so I bring as many pots, bombs, and traps, as I can carry and hope for the best.
That's how I beat Tigrex the first time. And Kirin. I thought that thing was super easy until I had to do the arena fights. Yian Garuga, and a bunch of others. Once I had the items and gear to overpower monsters without having to dick around for 15 minutes, I'd just out dps them.
Monster Hunter always sounded too obtuse and time consuming to me. This sounds more up my alley.
Blasphemer! Repent or be sundered!
Wait, time consuming? Check. Obtuse? Took me 80 hours to figure out exactly what I was doing in Monster Hunter Freedom, with my first kut-ku kill at around 40 hours... so yeah, I guess... check.
It helps to watch videos of other hunters killing th... that's probably not helping my case.
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Don't get me wrong, Monster Hunter sounds like it'd be an awesome game if you're willing to devote the time to it, but I have a hard enough time keeping up with my current PSP games as it is without adding a 200+ hour epic on top.
I really want to pick this up and see what all the fuss is about. Probably gonna add it as my next gamefly rental.
Since I know you like Monster Hunter about as much as I do (maybe not QUITE so much), it's like Monster Hunter with less to do, smaller environments, less big/small creatures (although there's plenty of color variants for each boss mob, which keeps it interesting), emo anime kids (are there any other kind?) with spiky hair who somehow are veteran soldiers (remember, if you haven't saved the world by age 22, you're either Cloud Strife or past your prime), less variety in weapons, and no cats (this is a big minus for me *grin*). But it's still fun, in its own way, although it's far less challenging than Monster Hunter (you don't play Monster Hunter because it's an easy game, that's for sure). I'd rate it below Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, but above most of the other PSP Co-op games that model the Monster Hunter "4 Musketeers" grouping. So yeah, I can recommend it. You'll probably enjoy it, although you'll also probably sail through it pretty easily like I've been doing.
It feels limiting to have only 3 melee weapon types (SnS, LS, GS), tacked on to 3 bowgun types (Pierce/Rapid/Crag-Cluster). The shields are supposedly different (Bucklers have about 30% Health bleed-through on hit, Large Shields have about 10%, and Tower Shields have about 2-3%), but they function the same way regardless of which "type" you pick, and you're likely to pick a shield based on the armor skills it gives you rather than blocking utility.
The NPC help is about as useful as Cha Cha or a Felyne companion for combat. The main utility is that this game has the Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker "butt-patting" mechanic for reviving downed allies, so an incapacitate is often not a respawn (You get 3 respawns, just like the kitty cart mechanic).
Don't get me wrong, Monster Hunter sounds like it'd be an awesome game if you're willing to devote the time to it, but I have a hard enough time keeping up with my current PSP games as it is without adding a 200+ hour epic on top.
The main thing I love about Monster Hunter is that you get a tangible feeling of "Hey, I did this. The game didn't hand it to me on a platter. Everything I learned and performed, I did it on my own." Your character doesn't "level up"... you level up. It rewards skillful play and folks who want to learn rather than mindless killing. Gods Eater Burst has a similar feel, although it feels like the game is always coddling you (at least, compared to the Trial By Fire that is Monster Hunter). It makes me feel like those Honor Roll students who are always praised as being "smart" but are in fact pretty average and simply belonged to the appropriate socio-economic status (maybe that's what people want out of video games, I don't know). I "learn" the monsters in a similar manner to Monster Hunter, but Monster Hunter taught me those lessons far better. You can easily deduce the weakpoints of monsters, but it doesn't matter because pretty much any monster can be mashed to death if you bring enough healing. The bullet crafting is a nice diversion for people who like to crunch numbers. *shrugs*
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
I may be off on this, but it sounds very similar to Too Human. Except no techno vikings. I'll probably enjoy it. But I'm going to finish Nier (again, and then again-again) and go through Brutal Legend before I play it... I gamefly'd Brutal Legend.
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So. Now I'm at Difficulty 10, Story 75-ish. Remember when I said that at least the story was predictable and not "WTF? That's stupid!"? Well, the story from Difficulty 7 to 10 pretty much undoes all of that and pushes the bar back to stupid. You know how in Final Fantasy X-II, if you grind out all of the content, you get a happy fun ball special ending that pretty much reverses what happens at the end of Final Fantasy X? It's that bad, and in a very similar fashion. I would have been happy with the ending at Difficulty 6. But now, I just beat a big end boss, and there's a dumb cutscene and the credits roll. Again. The background of the credits is a montage that pretty much shows everyone living happily ever after. I'm not saying that the ending has to be like Persona 3, but seriously...
The story progresses to 100, at least from what I've seen online on Ad Hoc party. Here's hoping the last 25 story missions unfold into something better. At least the lobby music has changed into something much more pleasant.
Already played the Japanese version of this. It's a pretty fun game, but it is pretty much Monster Hunter-lite. With bad anime characters. Story is consistently stupid as fuck, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you.
So far, the post Story 75 content appears to be just "Challenge" missions where you fight harder versions (or same difficulty as high rank... can't tell) of monsters in various scenarios, with no Story unlocks so far (I'm up to 87). They drop Aragami Crystal X, where X is a positive integer, which apparently is used to make some Rank 10 equipment. The initial Challenge mission is often you + one NPC versus a Deusphage Aragami in an arena, but after unlocking it by beating it, you can bring your full cadre of NPCs for easier farming.
I suffered my first respawn against a Susano'o in one of these, mostly because he one-shotted me and my NPC helper simultaneously. Usually, the NPCs are pretty good about dodging. It wasn't too terrible of a fight, though.
I can't tell you how much more pleasant the lobby music is now that I've reached Story 75.
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited March 2011
Ok, so I got curious this weekend and went hunting around on the interwebz for information on this. Turns out there was a Demo. In Japanese. I figure I play MHP3rd in Japanese and know most of what's going on with that... knowing that I have past experience with 5 other Monster Hunter games...
It's very difficult to navigate this game, not knowing what the crap is going on. I tried out the heavy weapon, and it wasn't too bad, feels like a greatsword. Tried out the medium weapon, it feels like a longsword. The first two missions were pretty simple. The first had me slay a two legged white critter. The second mission I slayed a floating eye thing. The third mission there was a huge cat/dog thing with a big red main and it shot balls of lightning and jumped around with shockwaves where ever it landed, occasionally getting mad and emitting a dome of lightning. I tried my best with my heavy weapon, but my 5 puny healing items weren't much up against that thing. I switched to the medium weapon and bought all the healing items I could afford and went at it again. There were some of those white two legged things harassing me the whole time, so the second time I made sure to keep those things dead as much as possible... when all of a sudden I win the level... I was supposed to be killing those things the whole time. Doh. It seemed like the difficulty did get ramped up quite a bit there.
Hopefully it will make more sense in English. The items in the demo seem to be fairly basic, with several different shot types available... what do the colors on shots mean? Also... after I bite a monster (which is freaking freaky, btw) what does the burst power up mode thing do? Longer combos? More damage? Just a graphic effect?
e: Addendum:
So I messed around with the demo some more. There's a bit of crafting... and tutorials! That first mission I went in and walked around an empty arena and then it ended kinda threw me. I did the rest of them and learned how to operate my God Arc (what a terrible name) and went back to the heavy version. Bite, Jump-Jump square triangle ftw. Really wish I could understand the skills... but I don't want to dig, cause I'll see them all when my english version arrives.
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Haha! I went through almost the exact same experience when I played it last year on the Japanese version. "What the crap is this yellow thing? Why does my weapon have teeth that pop out?"
The mission with the big monster is their equivalent to the early Tigrex mission. You're walking along carving Popo tongues, when all of a sudden "RAWR!". The big monster is a Vajra (in the English version), and once you have something better than the starter gear, he's a real chump. You definitely are supposed to avoid him this time around, though.
The English tutorials explain most of the mechanics fairly well, fortunately. The idea is that the only effective way to destroy the monsters is to combat it with another monster. So what you have in your hand (the God Arc... yes, the name is terrible) is a small, portable, and friendly version of the monsters you are fighting. The monsters (in English, they are translated to "Aragami") absorb and take the form of whatever they eat, supposedly, although this is explained with a lot of hand waving and not much thought ("Why don't they become buildings when they eat buildings?").
When you "bite" a monster when it's alive, you get 3 bullets that mimic the monster's powers and a Burst meter. This makes you move faster, use up less stamina when evading, allows you to double jump, and unlocks some abilities based on the weapon controller you have equipped (nothing at the beginning). You can bite as a finisher for a combo by pressing Attack (either) multiple times, and ending with R+Triangle instead of the last hit. Small Swords have 5 hit combos, Longswords have 4 hit combos, and Greatswords have 3 hit combos. If you bite a live monster this way, you only get 1 bullet and a shorter Burst, but it's the fastest way to get Burst meter.
Biting a dead monster is this game's carving mechanic. That's how you get monster parts.
The tutorial missions are "walk around for 30 seconds while we talk at you", "kill this simulated monster while we talk at you", "gather stuff, then kill and carve a monster while we talk at you", for the most part. The shots have 4 elements (Red for Blaze, Yellow for Spark, Blue for Freeze, and Purple for Divine), some status effects, and a recovery option (Green bullets). Tailoring the shots to your target goes a long way toward making the game easier. Most of the early monsters without an obvious element attack (except Vajra) are vulnerable to Spark. All of the obviously "I'm BURNING!" monsters with fire attacks are vulnerable to Freeze, and vice versa (Freeze mobs are vulnerable to Blaze). Divine is used a LOT in the later portions of the game, but hardly at the early game. There are a bunch of premade bullets, but they are mostly crap (well, they lack imagination and damage anyway). Since it's difficult to use the bullet editor, though, stick with the premade laser or triple shot options.
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited April 2011
So... I just about impulse bought this at the [Strike]BX[/Strike] Exchange but I figured, if I'm going to be paying full price either way, I might as well download it from the Playstation Store? So I get home and I find it on the store and try to put money in the wallet thing... and it won't accept my APO address. I try a few workarounds that have worked in the past... putting my banks' state... Putting California... nothing works. So I try the Playstation store homepage, and I can't find any way to put money in my wallet to purchase the game. I have to admit this is my first time actually buying anything from the PS Store. I download demos and videos all the time. Anyone have a solution for this? They sell points cards at the exchange, but I may as well just buy the disc copy if I'm going all the way back there anyway.
So much for impulse buy.
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The thing is that God Eater Burst isn't even the original version of the game. It's an enhanced director's cut of the original God Eater, so they could have added in online play as a new feature. Phantasy Star Portable 2 has online because people hated that the first one didn't, so why can't this or Monster Hunter have it?
Phantasy Star Portable 2 has online because they rebuilt the game from the ground up, in terms of multiplayer. It was quite an expensive development process, and it requires them to maintain servers for infrastructure online play. Once the servers go down (which they inevitably will), online play will cease to exist.
If it works in adhoc party, there is literally no reason why it couldn't work even better with a more direct online implementation. And if they can't be bothered to host a simple matchmaking server, they could let you connect by IP - no intermediaries between the players required.
DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited April 2011
They don't do it due to the latency issues. Playing adhoc in the same room with someone has very little (sub 15ms) latency and the game plays out as normal. Playing over Xlink Kai can have some seriously wonky effects on the gameplay. Speaking from experience with Monster Hunter, Tigrex looks like it is charging one direction, then you die. Come to find out it was charging at you! AdHoc Party is limited by region, but you can defeat this by downloading the region specific version, however, best performance will be in your region.
If they included it and the game is basically unplayable due to someones high latency, they would be acused of poor netcode, when in reality they can't control the quality of someones internet. AdHoc in the same room with each other is always going to be better, and encourages you to talk your friends into purchasing the game so you have someone to play with.
On a different note... I gave up on the playstation wallet accepting my card and bought a playstation network points card. 2 day impulse buy... I'm weak.
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If it works in adhoc party, there is literally no reason why it couldn't work even better with a more direct online implementation. And if they can't be bothered to host a simple matchmaking server, they could let you connect by IP - no intermediaries between the players required.
I can think of a few reasons why they wouldn't implement infrastructure online play. But if it was so simple to do, then all PSP games would have it. Hell, all DS and all portable games of all kinds with a wireless connection of some sort would have online multiplayer. Across all of the portable games that I've played, there are only a handful of games that allow wireless online play, and I can only think of games that require a server to host the games. I can only think of one PSP game that supported infrastructure online without a server, and I think that was one of the Atari Classics collections (I could definitely be wrong on this one).
It's not that I don't want online multiplayer in my portable games. But I can understand why it's not included as a default feature for the vast majority of multiplayer games out there. Maybe in the next generation of portables, but certainly not in the PSP/DS generation.
If it works in adhoc party, there is literally no reason why it couldn't work even better with a more direct online implementation. And if they can't be bothered to host a simple matchmaking server, they could let you connect by IP - no intermediaries between the players required.
I can think of a few reasons why they wouldn't implement infrastructure online play. But if it was so simple to do, then all PSP games would have it. Hell, all DS and all portable games of all kinds with a wireless connection of some sort would have online multiplayer. Across all of the portable games that I've played, there are only a handful of games that allow wireless online play, and I can only think of games that require a server to host the games. I can only think of one PSP game that supported infrastructure online without a server, and I think that was one of the Atari Classics collections (I could definitely be wrong on this one).
It's not that I don't want online multiplayer in my portable games. But I can understand why it's not included as a default feature for the vast majority of multiplayer games out there. Maybe in the next generation of portables, but certainly not in the PSP/DS generation.
Are you kidding me? I'm not talking about all PSP/DS games, I'm talking about the ones that have already been proven to work online with adhoc party and Xlink Kai. They could only possibly work better if you removed that layer of abstraction.
You guys have been drinking the Japanese kool-aid for way too long. This shit isn't magic; the fact that some Japanese publishers haven't bothered to add online support to their games isn't the only evidence we have. In fact, with a little knowledge of how games, and hell, software in general works, we can even draw our own conclusions! Shocking, I know.
Are you kidding me? I'm not talking about all PSP/DS games, I'm talking about the ones that have already been proven to work online with adhoc party and Xlink Kai. They could only possibly work better if you removed that layer of abstraction.
You guys have been drinking the Japanese kool-aid for way too long. This shit isn't magic; the fact that some Japanese publishers haven't bothered to add online support to their games isn't the only evidence we have. In fact, with a little knowledge of how games, and hell, software in general works, we can even draw our own conclusions! Shocking, I know.
You are right. This shit ISN'T magic. It takes development time and work, and more importantly, hardware that can support the type of play that you are thinking of. I wouldn't fault the developers for trying to work with what they've got... have you actually seen the infrastructure online interface on a PSP? It's clunky as hell. Little wonder most developers only have DLC or leaderboard uploads on their PSP games. Or DS games, for that matter (also a terrible infrastructure interface... you can only use WEP?).
The "layer of abstraction" that you are talking about puts the burden of online matchmaking and connection on a device other than the PSP. In the case of Ad-Hoc Party (which works with nearly every PSP game out there... the ones that don't work can't deal with >100 ms lag or are early launch titles that don't conform to PSP TRCs), it's the PS3 doing the lifting. In the case of X-Link Kai, it's a PC doing the lifting. The PSP only has 32 MB of usable System RAM and that's not a lot. It's 64 MB on 2000 models or higher, but 32 of it is used as a UMD cache. I have chat applications on my PC that take up more than 32 MB of RAM. Your browser that you are currently using to read and type on these forums is using more then 32 MB of RAM (mine is sitting at 92 MB and slowly climbing right now). You were saying you know how software works? Well, do the numbers on how much system RAM it would take to run a simple infrastructure online peer-to-peer connection, using Sony's firmware. I'll be anxiously awaiting the results.
But do it in another thread. This is hopelessly off-topic as it is.
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited April 2011
Picked this up. Only took 3 days to impulse buy it. Ended up getting a $50 points card at the Exchange. (Now I have $10.01 in my PS Wallet...)
Fought up through the wind monkey. But my inventory was full so I got no phat lewtz. I seriously have to empty my inventory after every mission?
The combat is fun and frantic. Going with the 'greatsword' now that I'm used to the controls. Made myself some long range>short range elemental shots. Using the assault gun.
Started with the Sniper but it doesn't shoot fast enough and I like to rapid fire my shots off then go back to smashing heads.
also...
Poor eric! Why didn't my character just run up and hit circle? Why! So heartless!
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Everyone loved the Sniper gun in the original, but now that lasers and combination shots are nerfed from their previous incarnations, the Assault seems much more viable to me. The Sniper barrels reduce the OP cost of Lasers, while Assault reduces the OP cost of regular Shot types, and the other type (the cannons or whatever) reduce the OP cost of Crush shot types (Bomb and Radial). Even if you are using an Assault, you should make a standard "Small Shot > Exploding Bomb" shot type to take out parts that are weak to Crush damage, like Priva Mati's face or Quadriga's missile pods.
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
Everyone loved the Sniper gun in the original, but now that lasers and combination shots are nerfed from their previous incarnations, the Assault seems much more viable to me. The Sniper barrels reduce the OP cost of Lasers, while Assault reduces the OP cost of regular Shot types, and the other type (the cannons or whatever) reduce the OP cost of Crush shot types (Bomb and Radial). Even if you are using an Assault, you should make a standard "Small Shot > Exploding Bomb" shot type to take out parts that are weak to Crush damage, like Priva Mati's face or Quadriga's missile pods.
I barely figured out Long>Short. (I tried adding another short, or a medium, or two mediums, and it didn't up the damage output significantly... like you said.) Is that available at level 2 missions? Haven't noticed explode yet, but maybe I didn't get far enough into the tree.
And is there a major diference between the S/M/L shots besides the options contained under them after you add them? I haven't noticed where it lists actual damage on the shots besides just trying them out. My long>short does 155 (have one for spark/cold/fire) for 8 (I think) op right now, which is very spammable.
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You get a bunch of good options at Rank 4. I think each Difficulty Rank gives you new shot options, but most of them are junk.
The S shots are low damage, but great damage/OP ratio. I use the Short Range S shots in nearly everything that I craft, because the damage to OP ratio is so good. Don't be fooled by the "Short Range" moniker... I've only been in a couple of situations where Short Range was too short, and I typically carry a back up "Long Range Poke" shot to get a monster's attention to get them within range.
The M shots are medium damage. The damage/OP ratio is pretty mediocre, but the vast majority of the Control Orbs are M shots, and thus they are necessary for many of the bullet combos out there.
The L shots are terrible damage/OP ratio, but give the biggest "boom". They are also the the only shots that do Radial (flamethrower style) type crush damage, and the only early option for Bombs, I believe (later on, you get Bomb shots for other damage levels). Don't be fooled by the seemingly low damage of the Radials on the test dummy. They pierce and hit multiple locations, similar to piercing shots.
Later, you get XS shots which are terrible damage and mediocre damage/OP (similar to M shots in profile). Their main utility is firing a cheap shot that can damage and deliver a payload.
You also get Deco shots later, which allow you to fire low OP cost visual effects that deal no damage. A lot of folks use Deco shots to "set up" a Control Orb in an appropriate position, since they aren't supposed to deal damage.
While you can get pretty elaborate with the bullet editor, the tried and true "stick a bomb/laser/bullet at the impact of another bullet" shot will really carry you through the entire game, as long as you create one Bomb (Crush) type and one Laser/Shot (Pierce) type for each element.
Some of the shots I use (spoilered only because it's a wall of text):
"HDH (Head Direct Hit), Shot Variant"
* XS Deco-Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 90 deg UP (shoots a bullet straight up, to set up the control orb)
** (When 1 disappears) M Control: short duration, faces enemy Vertical 120 deg DOWN (control orb turns and faces the enemy)
*** (0.2 sec after 2) M Shot (this shot impacts with the enemy. Some folks use S homing.)
**** (On impact of 3) M Orb: sticky, short duration bullet (Payload orb... everything below this line can be adjusted based on your favorite damage type and barrel)
***** (0.2 sec after 4) M Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees UP
***** (0.2 sec after 4) M Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees DOWN
***** (0.5 sec after 4) M Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees UP
***** (0.5 sec after 4) S Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees DOWN (The vertical 5 degrees prevents conflicts between bullets)
A lot of folks use (When 2 disappears) in Step 3, but (0.2 sec after 2) is slightly faster and does the exact same thing.
A lot of folks also use a Control Orb Facing Down (instead of facing the enemy) and a homing shot for the payload delivery. This is less efficient in OP and only slightly better at hitting the target when it is moving. It MAY hit the head more often, but from what I've seen, it's not significant if you are already just spamming shots while the monster is stationary.
This is a basic Head Direct Hit shot with a 4 Shot payload. You can substitute 2 bombs/radials or 4 lasers, if you'd like. Note that originally I had a S shot deliver the payload and all M shots at the end, but because of the damage scaling, a M shot delivering the payload and an S shot for the last shot is slightly more efficient. I like keeping this at 36 OP, because with my current configuration, I can squeeze off just enough shots to completely drain my OP meter.
Note that this is completely inefficient in terms of Damage/OP. I only use this when I'm being lazy and don't feel like aiming at the face. In other words, low rank missions.
"Pseudo HDH, Bomb variant"
* XS Deco-Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 90 deg UP.
** (When 1 disappears) M Control: short duration, faces enemy Vertical 120 deg DOWN
*** (0.2 sec after 2) S Shot: short-range bullet
**** (On impact of 3) L Bomb
A lot of folks use homing options when designing a head hitting bullet, but I find that as long as the target isn't charging, this will hit them just fine. I like to spam shots rapidly with an assault barrel, though. This costs 24 OP without mods, so I can shoot at least 4 times (and usually around 6 times without Trigger Happy) on a full OP clip. I typically wait for the monster to stand still and unload with a lot of face bombs. It's not as efficient as my 8 point standby (S Shot Short range > S Bomb), but it deals its crush damage faster without any aim. It's similar to the above HDH, but it doesn't mess with a M sticky orb since I just want to deliver a single bomb. I use this more often than the shot HDH because it actually deals a fair amount of damage for the OP burned, especially if I use a Blast barrel.
"Twin Pierce"
* XS Deco-Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 90 deg UP
** (Same time as 1) M Control: short duration, faces enemy Vertical 120 deg DOWN
*** (0.2 sec after 2) S Shot: short-range, advanced pierce
*** (0.5 sec after 2) S Shot: short-range, advanced pierce
This is a tricky shot because it uses all 64 available programming chips. I only use the divine version of this, and only against Ourobouros and Fallen Ourobouros. It doesn't do much damage at all on the training dummy, but against a live target, it works very well. Basically, you stand right in front of Ourobouros's face, and spam this shot. Twin Piercing Shots hit multiple locations, and deal a lot of damage to his face/eyes/back/legs/etc.
The combo damage scaling (each additional damaging shot gets a cumulative damage penalty) really kills the complexity available to the shots, if you care at all about the damage/OP ratio. Every time I pull out a complicated shot, I'm thinking to myself "But if I just aim and spam a simple shot, I do MORE damage."
You may read something about a shot called IOD (Internal Organ Destruction). It's just an Orb shot that shoots a spray of lasers on impact. It's no longer as effective as it used to be, because of the above mentioned combo damage scaling.
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited April 2011
I haven't had any trouble aiming yet... but I've only faced the Vajra and the Wind Monkey. I tried going against the Vajra with 3 partners and we just couldn't output enough damage... and my teammates kept focusing the ogre tails. I'm sure I'll get plenty of Vajra action later.
Gonna try to put some of those shots together tonight. I like the idea of shooting at a monster and having the bullet stick to the monster and then spray rounds. Kinda like a focused cluster bomb from MH.
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DyvionBack in Sunny Florida!!Registered Userregular
edited April 2011
So I'm in rank 4 fights now. The Buster Swords are very limited... do I ever get more variety? I've switched to long swords for now due to the availability of elemental varieties.
I'm getting more used to the combat as well. That giant metal scorpion was a big surprise... and then a walking tank? Not like a Metal Gear... but like... a tank... that walks. mind = blown.
e: Also... this story: o_O
Dyvion on
Steam: No Safety In Life
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
Trust me, the main reason you use Great Swords ISN'T the element damage. It's having the equivalent of a handheld Bomb (Crushing damage), especially on charge-up attacks. Being one of the few folks who were pissed at the Monster Hunter Greatsword change starting with Tri (where you have to time the release perfectly to get a max charge), I really enjoyed the lazy charge-up of the Great Swords in GEB (more similar to hammers, where holding a charge eats up your stamina). Also, Great Swords have the earliest viable Divine damage weapon, at least from my playthrough (which made my first Ouroboros really easy to kill). But yeah, I didn't find any good element damage other than Divine until much later in the game.
Quadriga's actually a chump, especially if you bring Ice Bombs. Ice Bomb his rear missile pods, slash at the protective covering around his face with air combos, and he goes down fairly quickly. I've yet to have a Quadriga fight last more than 10 minutes.
The story is... yeah. I think I understand. Makes me prefer Monster Hunter and it's storyless (or more appropriately, user-imagined story) play. As I said earlier in the thread, it made me long for the Japanese version where I didn't understand anything that anyone said, as the story in my head was far better than the tripe they came up with.
While you can get pretty elaborate with the bullet editor, the tried and true "stick a bomb/laser/bullet at the impact of another bullet" shot will really carry you through the entire game, as long as you create one Bomb (Crush) type and one Laser/Shot (Pierce) type for each element.
As a stupid person who can't figure out any of this bullet stuff worth a shit I can attest that just putting a bunch of damage on impact shit works pretty well for burning through that OP bar to deal fast damage. It might not be optimum but firing 1/4th of your bar and seeing a shower of critical hit graphics is satisfying.
I must admit I am liking this a lot more then Monster Hunter simply because it isn't working off like 90 games full of information like MH is. As someone who hasn't played through the past dozen MH games it's nice not having to know when I should hunt that Tigrex or whats the best way to make your cat slaves farm stuff.
Ultimately though I wish someone would make one of these games on the pc so it could be enjoyably played multiplayer by people who don't live right next to someone who also plays the game. Come on random indie dev team make a monster hunter clone on steam!
The tanks? Just stand right in their face and hack away. As long as you can recognize the tells you should be able to block or dodge everything dangerous, and if they ever open their face that's their biggest weak spot, even before you break it open. Once you're getting those meaty hits in you should be able to make it flinch, and even knock it over.
I like the medium swords myself. Once you get a couple levels of co-op burst going you can spam the shot attack and extend combos indefinitely. Plus, it's something to do with OP.
MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
edited April 2011
Been playing this off and on since launch.
It's definitely not replacing MH for me, but it's helping to scratch an itch until P3rd finally comes to the US.
After playing around with all three blades, I definately prefer the great sword even if the air combo is trash. That charged shot staggers things so easily. Also using an upgrade to increase my crushing damage, a gun to shorten charge time, and a shield that increases overall damage. Gogo charge shot.
The game is far from a Monster Hunter killer, right now. It's more like a gateway, if anything. You'll get to the end and if you want more content, more monsters to kill, Monster Hunter has what you need.
But Namco has all they need to make a really, really good sequel.
The tanks? Just stand right in their face and hack away. As long as you can recognize the tells you should be able to block or dodge everything dangerous, and if they ever open their face that's their biggest weak spot, even before you break it open. Once you're getting those meaty hits in you should be able to make it flinch, and even knock it over.
This is slower, but it works. But that leads to my main complaint about the game: You can literally just mash your way through it. There are few challenging fights in the story, and those fights tend to be stupid scenarios like "dump you in the middle of 4 Kongs".
I like the medium swords myself. Once you get a couple levels of co-op burst going you can spam the shot attack and extend combos indefinitely. Plus, it's something to do with OP.
Yup. I love doing the hack-hack-hack-Impulse-hack-hack-hack-Impulse-etc thing. Sometimes I mix it up with a bite if I need some quick Burst meter.
However, I do admit that I prefer using the Chi-You sword on most encounters. It's cheesy, but all paralyze weapons are. It's probably the first weapon to get nerfed in future installments of the game.
Ultimately though I wish someone would make one of these games on the pc so it could be enjoyably played multiplayer by people who don't live right next to someone who also plays the game. Come on random indie dev team make a monster hunter clone on steam!
Monster Hunter Frontier. It's the Monster Hunter MMO, but you can only play on their servers in Japan. Oddly enough, it hasn't really enjoyed a lot of success as an MMO, but they have quite a few monsters that I'd really love to fight (a shame that they aren't in Portable 3). There's a 8 man raid with 16 hunters (8 of the hunters are NPC helpers), for example. All of the gear is kicked "up to 11", and you get crazy things like Massively Uber Earplugs, which is a grade above High Grade Earplugs and the like.
If you really want to play online that badly on any PSP game, you can download a free program on your PC called X-Link Kai. The USB wireless dongle needed for it is less than 30 bucks. Or play it on Ad-Hoc Party on the PS3.
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EDIT: Online now. Hanging out in World A, Lobby 64. I THINK I'm on the US version of AHP, but it's identical to the EU one, so hopefully I'm not mixed up.
The story went from utter crap to merely stereotypical and non-offensive, I think. It went into the predictable anime tropes ("Haha! I was the villain all along!" "But I'm a noble villain with pure motives!" "I'll go back to my friends and help them, because friendship is the Strongest Power In The Universe (TM)!" "The power of friendship was inside you all along!"), but that's perfectly alright for the genre, I guess. It's better to go with predictable than "WTF? That's stupid." The event that happens to the Nova Singularity (let's string together a bunch of words we heard on a science TV show) is pretty dumb, and you'll see what I mean when you view the end cutscene.
After that, Difficulty 7 starts you into the "High Rank" content and has you kill trash mobs all over again, just like Difficulty 1. Fortunately, this doesn't last long, and they start throwing new monsters at you. Well, not quite new, as they are palette/model swaps for old monsters (except for Hannibal, who is brand new). The Diff 7/8 mobs like to spam AoE attacks around themselves and shoot multiple projectiles in a row. If you haven't started blocking with a tower shield to mitigate damage yet, you might want to think about practicing. Or eat the damage and drink up some healing items, since they allow you to take plenty on missions.
I still haven't ever failed a mission yet, nor have I ever respawned, although my incapacitate numbers are going up. Things are hitting harder now. You get a new medic Story character named Ren in Difficulty 7, and he seems to be a better healer than any of the previous medics, which helps a bit.
Not to say I didn't do that plenty of times in Monster Hunter as well, when I couldn't be bothered to take down some of the more annoying monsters with more time consuming methods.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
That's how I beat Tigrex the first time. And Kirin. I thought that thing was super easy until I had to do the arena fights. Yian Garuga, and a bunch of others. Once I had the items and gear to overpower monsters without having to dick around for 15 minutes, I'd just out dps them.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
Blasphemer! Repent or be sundered!
Wait, time consuming? Check. Obtuse? Took me 80 hours to figure out exactly what I was doing in Monster Hunter Freedom, with my first kut-ku kill at around 40 hours... so yeah, I guess... check.
It helps to watch videos of other hunters killing th... that's probably not helping my case.
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
It feels limiting to have only 3 melee weapon types (SnS, LS, GS), tacked on to 3 bowgun types (Pierce/Rapid/Crag-Cluster). The shields are supposedly different (Bucklers have about 30% Health bleed-through on hit, Large Shields have about 10%, and Tower Shields have about 2-3%), but they function the same way regardless of which "type" you pick, and you're likely to pick a shield based on the armor skills it gives you rather than blocking utility.
The NPC help is about as useful as Cha Cha or a Felyne companion for combat. The main utility is that this game has the Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker "butt-patting" mechanic for reviving downed allies, so an incapacitate is often not a respawn (You get 3 respawns, just like the kitty cart mechanic).
The main thing I love about Monster Hunter is that you get a tangible feeling of "Hey, I did this. The game didn't hand it to me on a platter. Everything I learned and performed, I did it on my own." Your character doesn't "level up"... you level up. It rewards skillful play and folks who want to learn rather than mindless killing. Gods Eater Burst has a similar feel, although it feels like the game is always coddling you (at least, compared to the Trial By Fire that is Monster Hunter). It makes me feel like those Honor Roll students who are always praised as being "smart" but are in fact pretty average and simply belonged to the appropriate socio-economic status (maybe that's what people want out of video games, I don't know). I "learn" the monsters in a similar manner to Monster Hunter, but Monster Hunter taught me those lessons far better. You can easily deduce the weakpoints of monsters, but it doesn't matter because pretty much any monster can be mashed to death if you bring enough healing. The bullet crafting is a nice diversion for people who like to crunch numbers. *shrugs*
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
The story progresses to 100, at least from what I've seen online on Ad Hoc party. Here's hoping the last 25 story missions unfold into something better. At least the lobby music has changed into something much more pleasant.
I suffered my first respawn against a Susano'o in one of these, mostly because he one-shotted me and my NPC helper simultaneously. Usually, the NPCs are pretty good about dodging. It wasn't too terrible of a fight, though.
I can't tell you how much more pleasant the lobby music is now that I've reached Story 75.
It's very difficult to navigate this game, not knowing what the crap is going on. I tried out the heavy weapon, and it wasn't too bad, feels like a greatsword. Tried out the medium weapon, it feels like a longsword. The first two missions were pretty simple. The first had me slay a two legged white critter. The second mission I slayed a floating eye thing. The third mission there was a huge cat/dog thing with a big red main and it shot balls of lightning and jumped around with shockwaves where ever it landed, occasionally getting mad and emitting a dome of lightning. I tried my best with my heavy weapon, but my 5 puny healing items weren't much up against that thing. I switched to the medium weapon and bought all the healing items I could afford and went at it again. There were some of those white two legged things harassing me the whole time, so the second time I made sure to keep those things dead as much as possible... when all of a sudden I win the level... I was supposed to be killing those things the whole time. Doh. It seemed like the difficulty did get ramped up quite a bit there.
Hopefully it will make more sense in English. The items in the demo seem to be fairly basic, with several different shot types available... what do the colors on shots mean? Also... after I bite a monster (which is freaking freaky, btw) what does the burst power up mode thing do? Longer combos? More damage? Just a graphic effect?
e: Addendum:
So I messed around with the demo some more. There's a bit of crafting... and tutorials! That first mission I went in and walked around an empty arena and then it ended kinda threw me. I did the rest of them and learned how to operate my God Arc (what a terrible name) and went back to the heavy version. Bite, Jump-Jump square triangle ftw. Really wish I could understand the skills... but I don't want to dig, cause I'll see them all when my english version arrives.
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
The mission with the big monster is their equivalent to the early Tigrex mission. You're walking along carving Popo tongues, when all of a sudden "RAWR!". The big monster is a Vajra (in the English version), and once you have something better than the starter gear, he's a real chump. You definitely are supposed to avoid him this time around, though.
The English tutorials explain most of the mechanics fairly well, fortunately. The idea is that the only effective way to destroy the monsters is to combat it with another monster. So what you have in your hand (the God Arc... yes, the name is terrible) is a small, portable, and friendly version of the monsters you are fighting. The monsters (in English, they are translated to "Aragami") absorb and take the form of whatever they eat, supposedly, although this is explained with a lot of hand waving and not much thought ("Why don't they become buildings when they eat buildings?").
When you "bite" a monster when it's alive, you get 3 bullets that mimic the monster's powers and a Burst meter. This makes you move faster, use up less stamina when evading, allows you to double jump, and unlocks some abilities based on the weapon controller you have equipped (nothing at the beginning). You can bite as a finisher for a combo by pressing Attack (either) multiple times, and ending with R+Triangle instead of the last hit. Small Swords have 5 hit combos, Longswords have 4 hit combos, and Greatswords have 3 hit combos. If you bite a live monster this way, you only get 1 bullet and a shorter Burst, but it's the fastest way to get Burst meter.
Biting a dead monster is this game's carving mechanic. That's how you get monster parts.
The tutorial missions are "walk around for 30 seconds while we talk at you", "kill this simulated monster while we talk at you", "gather stuff, then kill and carve a monster while we talk at you", for the most part. The shots have 4 elements (Red for Blaze, Yellow for Spark, Blue for Freeze, and Purple for Divine), some status effects, and a recovery option (Green bullets). Tailoring the shots to your target goes a long way toward making the game easier. Most of the early monsters without an obvious element attack (except Vajra) are vulnerable to Spark. All of the obviously "I'm BURNING!" monsters with fire attacks are vulnerable to Freeze, and vice versa (Freeze mobs are vulnerable to Blaze). Divine is used a LOT in the later portions of the game, but hardly at the early game. There are a bunch of premade bullets, but they are mostly crap (well, they lack imagination and damage anyway). Since it's difficult to use the bullet editor, though, stick with the premade laser or triple shot options.
So much for impulse buy.
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
If they included it and the game is basically unplayable due to someones high latency, they would be acused of poor netcode, when in reality they can't control the quality of someones internet. AdHoc in the same room with each other is always going to be better, and encourages you to talk your friends into purchasing the game so you have someone to play with.
On a different note... I gave up on the playstation wallet accepting my card and bought a playstation network points card. 2 day impulse buy... I'm weak.
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
It's not that I don't want online multiplayer in my portable games. But I can understand why it's not included as a default feature for the vast majority of multiplayer games out there. Maybe in the next generation of portables, but certainly not in the PSP/DS generation.
You guys have been drinking the Japanese kool-aid for way too long. This shit isn't magic; the fact that some Japanese publishers haven't bothered to add online support to their games isn't the only evidence we have. In fact, with a little knowledge of how games, and hell, software in general works, we can even draw our own conclusions! Shocking, I know.
The "layer of abstraction" that you are talking about puts the burden of online matchmaking and connection on a device other than the PSP. In the case of Ad-Hoc Party (which works with nearly every PSP game out there... the ones that don't work can't deal with >100 ms lag or are early launch titles that don't conform to PSP TRCs), it's the PS3 doing the lifting. In the case of X-Link Kai, it's a PC doing the lifting. The PSP only has 32 MB of usable System RAM and that's not a lot. It's 64 MB on 2000 models or higher, but 32 of it is used as a UMD cache. I have chat applications on my PC that take up more than 32 MB of RAM. Your browser that you are currently using to read and type on these forums is using more then 32 MB of RAM (mine is sitting at 92 MB and slowly climbing right now). You were saying you know how software works? Well, do the numbers on how much system RAM it would take to run a simple infrastructure online peer-to-peer connection, using Sony's firmware. I'll be anxiously awaiting the results.
But do it in another thread. This is hopelessly off-topic as it is.
Fought up through the wind monkey. But my inventory was full so I got no phat lewtz. I seriously have to empty my inventory after every mission?
The combat is fun and frantic. Going with the 'greatsword' now that I'm used to the controls. Made myself some long range>short range elemental shots. Using the assault gun.
Started with the Sniper but it doesn't shoot fast enough and I like to rapid fire my shots off then go back to smashing heads.
also...
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
I barely figured out Long>Short. (I tried adding another short, or a medium, or two mediums, and it didn't up the damage output significantly... like you said.) Is that available at level 2 missions? Haven't noticed explode yet, but maybe I didn't get far enough into the tree.
And is there a major diference between the S/M/L shots besides the options contained under them after you add them? I haven't noticed where it lists actual damage on the shots besides just trying them out. My long>short does 155 (have one for spark/cold/fire) for 8 (I think) op right now, which is very spammable.
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
The S shots are low damage, but great damage/OP ratio. I use the Short Range S shots in nearly everything that I craft, because the damage to OP ratio is so good. Don't be fooled by the "Short Range" moniker... I've only been in a couple of situations where Short Range was too short, and I typically carry a back up "Long Range Poke" shot to get a monster's attention to get them within range.
The M shots are medium damage. The damage/OP ratio is pretty mediocre, but the vast majority of the Control Orbs are M shots, and thus they are necessary for many of the bullet combos out there.
The L shots are terrible damage/OP ratio, but give the biggest "boom". They are also the the only shots that do Radial (flamethrower style) type crush damage, and the only early option for Bombs, I believe (later on, you get Bomb shots for other damage levels). Don't be fooled by the seemingly low damage of the Radials on the test dummy. They pierce and hit multiple locations, similar to piercing shots.
Later, you get XS shots which are terrible damage and mediocre damage/OP (similar to M shots in profile). Their main utility is firing a cheap shot that can damage and deliver a payload.
You also get Deco shots later, which allow you to fire low OP cost visual effects that deal no damage. A lot of folks use Deco shots to "set up" a Control Orb in an appropriate position, since they aren't supposed to deal damage.
While you can get pretty elaborate with the bullet editor, the tried and true "stick a bomb/laser/bullet at the impact of another bullet" shot will really carry you through the entire game, as long as you create one Bomb (Crush) type and one Laser/Shot (Pierce) type for each element.
Some of the shots I use (spoilered only because it's a wall of text):
* XS Deco-Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 90 deg UP (shoots a bullet straight up, to set up the control orb)
** (When 1 disappears) M Control: short duration, faces enemy Vertical 120 deg DOWN (control orb turns and faces the enemy)
*** (0.2 sec after 2) M Shot (this shot impacts with the enemy. Some folks use S homing.)
**** (On impact of 3) M Orb: sticky, short duration bullet (Payload orb... everything below this line can be adjusted based on your favorite damage type and barrel)
***** (0.2 sec after 4) M Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees UP
***** (0.2 sec after 4) M Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees DOWN
***** (0.5 sec after 4) M Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees UP
***** (0.5 sec after 4) S Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 5 degrees DOWN (The vertical 5 degrees prevents conflicts between bullets)
A lot of folks use (When 2 disappears) in Step 3, but (0.2 sec after 2) is slightly faster and does the exact same thing.
A lot of folks also use a Control Orb Facing Down (instead of facing the enemy) and a homing shot for the payload delivery. This is less efficient in OP and only slightly better at hitting the target when it is moving. It MAY hit the head more often, but from what I've seen, it's not significant if you are already just spamming shots while the monster is stationary.
This is a basic Head Direct Hit shot with a 4 Shot payload. You can substitute 2 bombs/radials or 4 lasers, if you'd like. Note that originally I had a S shot deliver the payload and all M shots at the end, but because of the damage scaling, a M shot delivering the payload and an S shot for the last shot is slightly more efficient. I like keeping this at 36 OP, because with my current configuration, I can squeeze off just enough shots to completely drain my OP meter.
Note that this is completely inefficient in terms of Damage/OP. I only use this when I'm being lazy and don't feel like aiming at the face. In other words, low rank missions.
* XS Deco-Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 90 deg UP.
** (When 1 disappears) M Control: short duration, faces enemy Vertical 120 deg DOWN
*** (0.2 sec after 2) S Shot: short-range bullet
**** (On impact of 3) L Bomb
A lot of folks use homing options when designing a head hitting bullet, but I find that as long as the target isn't charging, this will hit them just fine. I like to spam shots rapidly with an assault barrel, though. This costs 24 OP without mods, so I can shoot at least 4 times (and usually around 6 times without Trigger Happy) on a full OP clip. I typically wait for the monster to stand still and unload with a lot of face bombs. It's not as efficient as my 8 point standby (S Shot Short range > S Bomb), but it deals its crush damage faster without any aim. It's similar to the above HDH, but it doesn't mess with a M sticky orb since I just want to deliver a single bomb. I use this more often than the shot HDH because it actually deals a fair amount of damage for the OP burned, especially if I use a Blast barrel.
* XS Deco-Shot: very short-range bullet Vertical 90 deg UP
** (Same time as 1) M Control: short duration, faces enemy Vertical 120 deg DOWN
*** (0.2 sec after 2) S Shot: short-range, advanced pierce
*** (0.5 sec after 2) S Shot: short-range, advanced pierce
This is a tricky shot because it uses all 64 available programming chips. I only use the divine version of this, and only against Ourobouros and Fallen Ourobouros. It doesn't do much damage at all on the training dummy, but against a live target, it works very well. Basically, you stand right in front of Ourobouros's face, and spam this shot. Twin Piercing Shots hit multiple locations, and deal a lot of damage to his face/eyes/back/legs/etc.
The combo damage scaling (each additional damaging shot gets a cumulative damage penalty) really kills the complexity available to the shots, if you care at all about the damage/OP ratio. Every time I pull out a complicated shot, I'm thinking to myself "But if I just aim and spam a simple shot, I do MORE damage."
You may read something about a shot called IOD (Internal Organ Destruction). It's just an Orb shot that shoots a spray of lasers on impact. It's no longer as effective as it used to be, because of the above mentioned combo damage scaling.
Gonna try to put some of those shots together tonight. I like the idea of shooting at a monster and having the bullet stick to the monster and then spray rounds. Kinda like a focused cluster bomb from MH.
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
I'm getting more used to the combat as well. That giant metal scorpion was a big surprise... and then a walking tank? Not like a Metal Gear... but like... a tank... that walks. mind = blown.
e: Also... this story: o_O
PSN: Dyvion -- Eternal: Dyvion+9393 -- Genshin Impact: Dyvion
Quadriga's actually a chump, especially if you bring Ice Bombs. Ice Bomb his rear missile pods, slash at the protective covering around his face with air combos, and he goes down fairly quickly. I've yet to have a Quadriga fight last more than 10 minutes.
The story is... yeah. I think I understand. Makes me prefer Monster Hunter and it's storyless (or more appropriately, user-imagined story) play. As I said earlier in the thread, it made me long for the Japanese version where I didn't understand anything that anyone said, as the story in my head was far better than the tripe they came up with.
As a stupid person who can't figure out any of this bullet stuff worth a shit I can attest that just putting a bunch of damage on impact shit works pretty well for burning through that OP bar to deal fast damage. It might not be optimum but firing 1/4th of your bar and seeing a shower of critical hit graphics is satisfying.
I must admit I am liking this a lot more then Monster Hunter simply because it isn't working off like 90 games full of information like MH is. As someone who hasn't played through the past dozen MH games it's nice not having to know when I should hunt that Tigrex or whats the best way to make your cat slaves farm stuff.
Ultimately though I wish someone would make one of these games on the pc so it could be enjoyably played multiplayer by people who don't live right next to someone who also plays the game. Come on random indie dev team make a monster hunter clone on steam!
I never asked for this!
I like the medium swords myself. Once you get a couple levels of co-op burst going you can spam the shot attack and extend combos indefinitely. Plus, it's something to do with OP.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
It's definitely not replacing MH for me, but it's helping to scratch an itch until P3rd finally comes to the US.
After playing around with all three blades, I definately prefer the great sword even if the air combo is trash. That charged shot staggers things so easily. Also using an upgrade to increase my crushing damage, a gun to shorten charge time, and a shield that increases overall damage. Gogo charge shot.
But Namco has all they need to make a really, really good sequel.
Anyone want to beta read a paranormal mystery novella? Here's your chance.
stream
However, I do admit that I prefer using the Chi-You sword on most encounters. It's cheesy, but all paralyze weapons are. It's probably the first weapon to get nerfed in future installments of the game.
Monster Hunter Frontier. It's the Monster Hunter MMO, but you can only play on their servers in Japan. Oddly enough, it hasn't really enjoyed a lot of success as an MMO, but they have quite a few monsters that I'd really love to fight (a shame that they aren't in Portable 3). There's a 8 man raid with 16 hunters (8 of the hunters are NPC helpers), for example. All of the gear is kicked "up to 11", and you get crazy things like Massively Uber Earplugs, which is a grade above High Grade Earplugs and the like.
If you really want to play online that badly on any PSP game, you can download a free program on your PC called X-Link Kai. The USB wireless dongle needed for it is less than 30 bucks. Or play it on Ad-Hoc Party on the PS3.