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[FFRK] One does not simply gacha into Mordor. (LOTR starts 3/8).

silence1186silence1186 Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered User regular
edited March 2019 in Games and Technology
Do Your Daily Draw!!!
[Final Fantasy Record Keeper] Is actually a pretty fun mobile free-to-play game for iOS and Android. It's not perfect by any means, but it's a HUGE improvement over such duds as All The Bravest. It's a walk down memory lane with a simple ATB style combat system with a surprising amount of depth and strategy. There is a new event every week, featuring your favorite characters and stages from Final Fantasy history, so it never gets old, and it IS free to try, so give it a shot if you have some time to spare. Just don't give them any of your money.
How naive I was about this little game.

This is the thread for talking about Square Enix's F2P Mobile game Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) for iOS and Android. Initially met with skepticism after some of SE's lackluster F2P entries in the past, it has grown in scope and popularity to the point where it gets as much discussion as any other mainline Final Fantasy game.

The game features the Active Time Battle system you've come to know from many previous entries. You can take up to 5 characters, made up of all your favorites from past games (and one original starter character) as you journey through the cliff notes version of all the Final Fantasy games. Each Final Fantasy game is a world, made up of "Records" with several stages. There are also limited time events that occur every week featuring additional stages, characters, and rewards.

All F2P "Gacha" games have an ingame currency, and FFRK's is Mythril. Using it allows you to pull relics (weapons and armor that can be worn by anyone, but give new Soul Breaks to specific characters) from the various banners that are currently active. Mythril also allows you to recharge stamina, and to try again if you happen to be defeated in a stage.

You can spend real money on Gems which have the same function as Mythril, but for a new player it's possible to clear many month's worth of content without spending a dime. And for a smart player who plans ahead, it's possible to clear even the hardest content over time, also without spending real money. This is thanks to several quality of life features implemented by DeNa, chief among them the Friend Summon system and Guaranteed 5*, which gives you at least one high-rarity item per 11-pull you do. Additionally, generous amounts of free Mythril are available between a combination of login bonuses, stage completions, event participation and quest completion.

New Player Tips!
1) Build your relic pool. Save up your Mythril so you can spend it, 50 at a time, to do an 11-pull on an active banner. This will get you at least one 5* relic, and a variety of those will enable more strategies for you.

At least once a month we receive "Lucky Draw" banners which are usually half-price, and these are pretty great for new players. Note: there are three "Newcomer Relic Draws" that offer a half-price first pull, but they're not actually that great (the relic pools are extremely dated, so you have a higher chance of drawing something poor.)

2) Take advantage of Synergy. Characters get a ten level effective boost when brought to a mission in the realm they're from. Equipment from that realm gets an even more dramatic boost.

3) Offensive Buffs on your party, Offensive Debuffs on the enemy, and Defensive Buffs on your party are extremely important. A difficult fight often becomes a routine one after application of these categories, and the game's hardest content (Magicites being the one notable exception) demands all three.

Consequently, these constraints will guide some of your first decisions as a new player. Your first 4* Abilities should include Power Breakdown and Magic Breakdown, Protectga and Shellga. Your 5* Ability will almost certainly be Full Break. Some of your first prize possession relics will be those that grant Soul Breaks that combine Hastega + ATK or MAG Buffs, or that provide Wall (a very strong stacking DEF/RES buff.)

Remember, you can summon a Roaming Warrior to provide what you don't personally have! The RW system for Story Missions will soon be changed, but you'll still be able to use your RW to activate Sentinel's Grimoire (Wall), or a Hastega + Offensive Buff like Shout (+50% ATK) or Vessel of Fate (+30% ATK/+30% MAG).

4) Learn when to reapply buffs and debuffs. How long does Power Breakdown last? What about Protect? Wall?

Unfortunately, except for status effects like Blind, Haste, Silence, etc, you rarely get any visual indications on when Buffs expire. Taking an unmitigated hit that kills or nearly kills a character is usually how you find out, and that's not fun. The following rules of thumb assume your characters are Hasted.

Offensive Debuff Abilities, like Power Breakdown and Magic Breakdown, last a fixed 15 seconds. You'll want to reapply them on the third turn.

Defensive Buff Abilities, like Protectga and Shellga, are a little trickier. Their duration scales based on the caster's Mind stat. At zero Mind, they last 35 seconds, but with every 100 Mind they last another 3 seconds. For most White Mages you'll want to recast them after ten+ turns, but often you'll be finishing a fight by then at the worst.

Buffs and Debuffs from Soul Breaks typically last 25 seconds. The extra time is to maintain coverage while you build and spend another SB gauge. The exception is SBs that provide Haste, Protectga or Shellga; since those durations are based on MND to begin with, their durations when caused by SBs are also based on MND. Basically, if you pull Ramza's Shout, try to get him close to 200 Mind.

5) Tyro and Cloud, your first two characters, should be the first two characters you level to 65 (and apply Memory Crystal IIs to.) The reason for this is that they both have Record Materia which, when equipped to any character, give that character a full SB gauge at the start of battle. This allows you to start boss fights with two utility/buff Soul Breaks.

Additional various game and system information:
1) Quests.
From the home screen, the Missions button in the upper-right features Wayfarer, Normal and Special missions. The Wayfarer missions are meant for new players and will guide you to some of the game's basic features, as well as giving you some nice ability and item rewards. Move on to the Normal missions from there. Special missions typically involve defeating some of the game's highest difficulty level fights with certain team limitations, which are usually "only use characters from this realm."

2) Stamina.
You can see the current / maximum Stamina numerically in the upper right corner of your Home screen. Below that is an orange bar that shows the same thing, but below that bar is a set of 5 hexagons representing your current Stamina Shards. When you get 5 Stamina Shards, you refill your stamina to full and your maximum goes up by 1. The filled in hexagons show you how many stamina shards you have towards the next stamina refill and maximum +1.

Stamina Shards can only be collected by running the Story Dungeons, available from the lower-left archway on the main menu. It is to your benefit to collect that fifth shard when you're running out or empty of Stamina. Efficiency is good! If you do a Stamina refill with Mythril/Gems, however, you'll get your maximum Stamina added on to your current, which means you'll have a surplus available. You won't start recharging Stamina again until your current drops back below your maximum.

3)Record Info.
When reading about the record in question, several tabs will be available with story, reward and boss info. Here you can read about the story background, rewards, and boss strategies as well as any medal requirements.

Upon completing any given stage in a record, your performance will be ranked. For any stage without a boss, you can earn up to 9 medals. You will lose medals if more than one party member dies, or if the party takes too much damage or uses too many actions to clear the stage. Earn enough medals and you will gain the Expert or Champion rating for the stage, which provides 150% and 200% experience, respectively.

Upon finishing the entire record, there are 3 reward levels; Completion, First Time Completion and Mastery. You can get the Completion bonus every time you complete that record. However, the other two can only be achieved once and typically include excellent rewards. To attain Mastery rewards, you must have earned 83.33% (5/6th) of all medals within the record. Remember those boss medal requirements? Each gives 3 medals if completed or 0 medals if not, so for records with few or only one stage, boss medal requirements can be crucial for obtaining Mastery rewards.

4) Newcomer Dungeons.
In the Events section are three Newcomer Dungeons, one each for FF7, FF10 and FF13. They feature 10 Records apiece that grant characters, Memory Crystals, growth eggs and Mythril, and have easier difficulties.

5) Events.
Typically, there's 1 or 2 events running at any given time. These events start at a very low difficulty that even first day players can participate in, and end at very high difficulties that even longtime veterans can have trouble with. Rewards for completing event stages can include new or returning characters and their Memory Crystals (used to break level caps), weapons, armor or accessories from the event's realm, orbs, upgrade materials and of course Mythril. Events typically run for about two weeks and overlap, and you should definitely try to complete as much of each event as possible.

6) Unlocking Characters (and breaking their level caps.)
Each weekly event features a specific realm. Completing the first half of these events will get you several characters from that realm, as well as a Hero Soul (more on this below.) Completing the second half of these events will get you Memory Crystals for those characters, as well as a Memory Crystal Lode (again, more below.) Completing the bonus battles for these events will get you Memory Crystal IIs for those characters, as well as a Memory Crystal II Lode (ditto.) Completing the Ultimate battle will get you a Memory Crystal III Lode.

To unlock characters who aren't currently featured in events, you'll visit the Hall of Rites. Hero Souls can be turned in for any character, and MC Lodes can be turned in for their various MCs. MC1s are used to break past level 50 and enable the Record Materia slot. MC2s are used to break past level 65, and MC3s are used to break past level 80.

7) Record Dive.
The Record Dive system allows you to power up characters who have reached level 65, adding small amounts of stat points, percentage boosts to certain types of abilities, adding or increasing ability ranks, adding additional equipment options, or even unlocking exclusive character-specific Legend Materia. The available powerups are different for each eligible character. You unlock these power ups by expending Spirit/Wisdom/Bravery/Dexterity/Vitality Motes, which are a special type of currency obtained from a variety of sources including Event rewards. 4* motes are attainable by completing the harder difficulties of weekly multiplayer content. 5* motes are attainable by completing harder difficulties of weekly single player content. Some exceptions may apply.

Record Dive is also where one can spend 5* Job Motes (like Thief, Spellblade, Ninja, etc), which enable the use and provide copies of certain 6* abilities. Sources of these motes are few and far between.

This is a complicated system with a lot of moving parts and limited resources and there are not nearly enough motes to unlock every character's everything. Feel free to ask questions in the thread!

8) Daily Dungeons.
Each day has a specific set of 2 dungeons. You can only get the First Time Completion and Mastery rewards once, same as the records, and those rewards don't refresh from week to week.

Each day offers two rotating Daily Dungeons with two difficulties apiece. The first is great for farming 5* orbs, the second is great for farming 6* orbs. You can also access Upgrade Materials, Gil, and EXP dungeons any day of the week. Sunday offers enhanced versions of the latter trio.

Enemies in the daily dungeons can drop Gysahl Greens, and you also get some upon completion. These Greens can be exchanged for orbs, eggs, gil or upgrade materials at any time, and once per week the Special Shop will restock a variety of Major Orbs (at half price, relative to buying 10x Greaters), MC lodes and Mythril. Additional purchases may become available from time to time (accessories, items, etc.)

9) Nightmare, Mote, Torment and Magicite Dungeons
The Nightmare area is now permanently open, and features a set of 12 dungeons with 5 challenging boss fights apiece. Each dungeon culminates in a special fight where all characters with 5* rank in a specified ability will get full synergy for themselves and all equipped items, regardless of what realm they or their equipped gear are from! These final fights are like puzzles that must be solved and typically require planning and tactics instead of super powerful gear.

Completing the final boss of a Nightmare dungeon gives you a Record for a powerful 6* ability, which require 6* crystals to make. These crystals are somewhat slow to acquire, so spend them carefully.

There are five Mote dungeons which are individually open for two days on a rotation, like the Daily Dungeons. They each feature a single boss fight where all characters start with one SB gauge and cannot earn more. Clearing them for the first time awards a large amount of 4* Motes for Legend Dives, and they can be repeatedly cleared for lesser amounts, with bonuses for faster clears.

There are Torment dungeons, with more on the way. Each features a single boss fight in three difficulties. The first two difficulties are precluded by 4 or 6 (based on difficulty) waves of high-HP trash which themselves require significant effort to clear, and there is no stage break between the trash and the boss. The bosses have elemental weaknesses, but at reduced potency. Rewards include 5* Orbs, 6* Crystals and 5* Job Motes for specific ability schools. The third, highest, difficulty has no trash waves and uses the Jump Start rules, where each character starts with 3 SB bars and cannot gain any more.

New to the game as of this thread are the Magicite dungeons, which take the throne as the game's hardest content (and can't even be accessed until you clear all the Nightmare dungeons!) Each features a single dungeon with a single stage, and you are challenged by an incredibly powerful Esper. If you can defeat them, you can gain a copy of them and other Espers as Magicites, which can be equipped on the Party screen and benefit the entire party. You can even call on your Main Esper to fight alongside you with a variety of positive effects. These battles feature ZERO Synergy bonuses, you can't bring any of your Roaming Warrior friends, and the Espers have an 80% resistance to Break effects, so they're quite a challenge! Fortunately there's a mysterious ally who can help you out...

Magicites are leveled up and have their level caps broken just like characters do, and you can only finish one Esper fight per day. This is a very deep system which we're just beginning to scratch the surface of. Here's a post written by silence1186 which has some great info on which Magicites are good for what.

10) Relics.
The Relics page, accessible via shortcut on the bottom right of most screens, is where one can "pull" from a variety of "banners" for items. Banner pulls are always at least 3* rarity, with a lesser chance at 4* rarity and a ~13% chance at 5* rarity. Doing so costs Mythril (in game currency) or Gems (purchased with real $$$).

All banners from this point forward will have "Guaranteed 5*", which means every 11-pull comes with at least one 5* item. The likeliest result is two 5* items per 11 pull.

Banners are typically linked to current Events, and every banner has featured 5* relics. When you pull a 5* item, most of the time it will be one of the featured relics, but there's still a very small chance (0.1%) it won't be.

One can do a single pull for 5 Mythril, a triple pull for 15 Mythril or an 11 pull for 50 Mythril. In this modern era of Guaranteed 5*, it is most efficient to do 11 pulls and only 11 pulls. Aside from that, on a per-draw basis your odds of drawing a 5* item are the same no matter how many items you pull at once and no matter which currency you use to pay for them.

11) Stacking Debuffs.
A relatively common feature of relics these days are an SB that includes stat debuffs to the enemy targets. A good party setup might include one or more of these SBs, and a key piece of information is that they stack if the affected debuff/debuffs are different combinations. One ATK/MAG debuff won't stack with another, but an ATK/MAG debuff will stack with an ATK/DEF debuff and an ATK/RES debuff. This rule of thumb goes for Support abilities as well; see the second post for more information.

Multiplayer!

We have a Discord channel set up to coordinate PA runs of Multiplayer bosses. You can join it with this link; https://discord.gg/mNKVTKf

FFRK Acronyms 101 (thanks to Bluecyan for the initial list of these)
MC - Memory Crystal [MC1s break a character's level 50 limit. MC2 is used to break their level 65 limit, and MC3s break the level 80 limit.]
RM - Record Materia [New equippable slot on a character once their MC1 is used. The RM slot for a character, as well as that character's RM1, are unlocked by using that character's MC1. Successive RM are acquired from level broken characters in a variety of ways.]
LM1/LM2 - Legend Materia 1/2. Special character-specific RMs that use separate slots and are acquired by spending 5* motes on a character's Legend Dive.
LMR - Legend Materia Relic. A category of LM that's acquired by pulling and mastering Record Materia equipment.
SG/SSII - Sentinel Grimoire/Stoneskin 2 [Also refered to as Wall. These SBs apply a massive defensive buff to the whole party.]
SB - Soul Break [Powerful abilities learned by acquiring character-specific relics, then equipping them until mastered.]
SSB - Super Soul Break [Like an SB, but stronger, with a variety of bonus effects.]
BSB - Burst Soul Break [Like an SSB, except they also grant Burst Mode, which changes your Attack and Defense commands to something else for a limited time.]
- C1 - Command 1 [Replaces the Attack command during Burst Mode]
- C2 - Command 2 [Replaces the Defend command during Burst Mode]
OSB - Overlimit Soul Break [6* items! They're very powerful SBs that hit only once, but can break the 9999 damage limit.]
USB - Ultra Soul Break [6* items! These are what utility/healer characters get instead of an OSB. Bundles several beneficial effects into one. There are also DPS character USBs now, because fuck precedent.]
CSB - Chain Soul Break [6* items! These are like Elementally themed SSBs, with a 15 second party elemental damage buff that increases with each hit of that element.]
En-Element - An SB that gives the user a buff that vastly increases their damage of a specific element.
Imperil - An SB that afflicts enemies with a debuff that increases damage taken of a specific element by 20%. These stack up to 3 applications, to 60%.
GxO, MxO [the middle x represents which type of orb is being talked about, i.e. MPO for Major Power Orb.]
_*++ - Blank is a number 1-5 which represents an items base rank (not combined). Every plus after the * represents how much its been combined. [A 3*++ will show up as a 5* in game but will be only about as powerful as a 4*. Rule of thumb is every item combination adds about half a rarity level of power.]
RS - Realm Synergy [Applies when a character or his equipped items matches the current realm. An example would be Cloud in any FF7 dungeon or an equipped Blitzball in any FFX dungeon. This adds about 10 levels of stats to a character or about a rarity level in power to an item.]

Mister P's PDF is a compilation of super useful information about FFRK. Ability damage multipliers, character skillsets, soul break details, information on stacking buffs, mechanics calculations, etc.

Enlir's spreadsheet includes information about damn near everything. What various soul breaks do, what Burst mode commands do for which characters, who gets what Record and Legend Materia, etc. And it's current through JP content, so you can use it to look ahead and see what your favorite characters are destined to receive.

Kaonohiokala's spreadsheet is specifically great for looking at the contents of upcoming Relic banners. You can see the order in which these banners appeared in JP, as well as the contents of them. IF we get an Event (and we skip most of JP's collabs with non-FF content, sadly), we typically get the exact same banners. Our Festivals have different contents, however.

A while ago, FFRK added a friend summon system. We have a spreadsheet here you can plug your friend code into, and find the friend code of other PAers.

If you're looking to fill out your Friends list now that RW lists can be refreshed during selection, I recommend this site, which features a searchable list of Friend Codes that constantly updates and can be sorted by realm stats.

Total credit to @Rius whose work I carried over from the previous thread. I hope to tinker with this going forward.

silence1186 on
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Posts

  • silence1186silence1186 Character shields down! As a wingmanRegistered User regular
    edited March 2019
    Farming-lite 5* Magicite deck guide:
    https://imgur.com/a/uyUWhwz

    Legend Dive Information:
    (includes current JP content. This section courtesy of Jragghen who is less lazy than I am.)

    Who uses what motes
    Dualcast LM2
    Imperil LM2
    Progressive stat boost LM2
    Quickcast LM2
    Trance LM2
    Start with haste/instant LM2
    Chase effect and Other LM2
    Dualcast by school, both LM2 and LMR
    Characters still without Legend Dive/USB in JP
    Future uses for 5* orbs: Series of images in this tweet for hastega per realm
    Who has what Magicite Passive

    New Player 3* and 4* Ability Hone Recommendations:

    Mitigation is king in the game and never stops being useful, so Shellga, Protectga, Power Breakdown, and Magic Breakdown should be at the top of the priority list. The regular breaks are useful too, just because a different set of characters can use them. AoE Mitigation (without damage) is offered by the Dancer line; 3* dances match up with 3* breaks, 4* with 4* breakdowns, etc. Good Dancers include Faris, Lenna, Penelo, Cait Sith, Mog, Rikku and Yuffie. Bards have their own 4* abilities which are identical in effect to Protectga and Shellga.

    Abusing Retaliate's mechanics can cheese you through a LOT of content and it's a 2* ability, so is incredibly cheap to hone up. You can pair it with Draw Fire (also cheap) for extra cheese with cheese on top. Give the rest of your team copies of Double Cut or Tempo Flurry and use them against your Retaliator.

    Self Boosts are useful to increase a character's damage before you pull relics with Party Boosts. Many jobs have access to them; Monks have Punishing Palm which deals damage and increases ATK, Samurai have Mirror of Equity which does the same. Thieves have Steal Power which doesn't do damage but does debuff the target's ATK at the same strength as Power Breakdown. 4* Darkness users have several options depending on which stat they'd like to boost; Casters can use Memento Mori which increases MAG but also Dooms the caster. Physical characters can use Death Throes which increases ATK but also Dooms the caster. And Physical users can opt for Dark Bargain which raises ATK but lowers DEF.

    If you want to get into Black Magic, start with the Water line in each tier as opposed to fire/lightning/ice; Water is infrequently resisted and easier to hone than the primary elements are. Plus it casts faster, so it does more damage over time not counting resistance/weakness.

    If you want to get into Summoning, note that Summons only have one use per rank, plus one extra use at R1. Having said that, the 3* primary element ones are an ok place to start for lesser difficulty fights. As for 4*, Carbuncle is occasionally useful at R1 but the others take a lot of resources to hone. Once you have a large pile of 4* Summon orbs, Maduin is useful where AoE is needed. With regard to elemental 4* summons, the good ones are Alexander, Leviathan and Fat Chocobo. Syldra is an upgrade from Ramuh, and if we ever get Noel then that's an upgrade from Shiva. The only 4* fire summon is Phoenix and it does not hit twice, so it is not recommended.

    With regard to White Magic, Curaga will suffice until it doesn't (party level ~55-60+), and then you'll make Curaja. Renewing Cure is an alternative that heals for less than Curaga but applies Low Regen. Memento of Prayer applies Low Regen to the entire party. The Dia line is really only viable if the target is weak to Holy or if you pick up some MND gear/RMs and +Holy% gear.

    With regard to Status Effects, the Machinist line is a series of 4* abilities that have a high chance to apply a status effect, and deal additional damage if the target already has that effect. White Magic has access to high proc chance Slow and Silence, while Black Magic has access to high proc chance Blind.

    If you need to Dispel beneficial effects from opponents, Knight has a 4* ability called Banishing Blade that deals Holy damage and Dispels. Also, White Magic has a 3* Dispel ability that will do so without dealing damage.

    With regard to Spellblades, the 3* abilities are fine. It's not really necessary to push into the 4* ones.

    After that, it all depends on your relic pulls. We're at a point in the game where pretty much every smaller population job is fleshed out with 3*, 4* and 5* abilities, so there's plenty to choose from.

    Acolyte Archives: A system to acclimate new players to the different modes and functions of the game, and rewards them with Tyro's "Wall" relic, 8 other random items, and 9 lists to choose an additional relic from. Details: here.

    [Magia System: Level 99 characters continue to accrue a second, separate type of experience called Magia, which they can use to improve certain attributes. More details found here.

    Anima Lenses: A system to allow players to convert event rewards and duplicate pull relics into new SBs not available on banners anymore. There are three grades of Lenses, and when you accumulate enough, you can teach an old SB to a character without the appropriate relic. List of what's available here.

    Thanks again to Rius who ran these threads for several years over many iterations.

    silence1186 on
  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    Gave geo a couple more tries and can confirm Quetzalcoatl can't break Savage even with 6x imperil if you don't have a chain.

    This is kinda stupid.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Wyvern wrote: »
    Javen wrote: »
    Enlong wrote: »
    Have you anyone with Astra?

    Larsa, but he doesn’t have the throughput to keep everyone alive
    Would running Larsa as an entruster contribute more to the team than Edge would?

    Less, probably. I’m not really hurting for meter; Elarra’s USB and my lightning magic trio of Ashe/Reno/Palom are on pace for a 25 second clear, if it weren’t for that damn stone punch. If I swap out Elarra for anyone else I’d need a second healer, I can’t move Garnet out due to her chain, and she can’t put out Curajas fast enough to make up for the loss of Elarra.

    I guess my only real option is to swap Reno out for Edge, and bring his SSB and swift bolt I guess. But that’s gonna slow down my time a lot.

  • lionheart_mlionheart_m Registered User regular
    Man I'm wondering which banner to pull. On one hand, I don't have that many Fire USBs (only Terra and Vincent Chain). On the other hand, I don't have an Earth Chain and to be honest my FF5 team kinda sucks (no damage USBs besides Faris). And finally, shit Zack Chain and TGC USB (a realm which I don't have ANY damage SBs).

    Any recommendations? I'd rather only do just one pull.

    3DS: 5069-4122-2826 / WiiU: Lionheart-m / PSN: lionheart_m / Steam: lionheart_jg
  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    7 realm pull: Cait Sith LMR. Seems decent if you are using him.

    Red numbers LMR. Really good if I had any reason to use him.

    Monk female usb. This looks good and it’s an earth boost bracer. I don’t even know who I should be using for Q now. I have monk female Kevlar Dothan and Bartz usb.

    38thDoE on steam
    🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀
    
  • silence1186silence1186 Character shields down! As a wingmanRegistered User regular
    Fire pick up 100 gems: 3*.

    Data for posterity:
    26 misses in a row

    38/336 lifetime

    5/81 this batch

    14/95 2nd batch (about on EV for this batch.)

    9/65 1st batch (0.1 items below EV, which is pretty much exactly expected return, though quite a few duds even on my hits)

    Note to self: No whining, Rikku USB, never forget. Also Cloud BSB2, Mustadio USB, Water Chain (dupe), Seymour Chain, Basch USB, Nine USB, Sephiroth USB, Pecil USB1, Sice USB.

  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    edited October 2018
    38thDoe wrote: »
    7 realm pull: Cait Sith LMR. Seems decent if you are using him.

    Red numbers LMR. Really good if I had any reason to use him.

    Monk female usb. This looks good and it’s an earth boost bracer. I don’t even know who I should be using for Q now. I have monk female Kevlar Dothan and Bartz usb.

    Dorgann is probably someone you want on your team unless you have someone else who can apply a lot of Imperil Earth (I was using Guy, for example). I found that Lots Of Imperil was the closest substitute for a Chain that I could actually field. Dorgann's doesn't damage the enemy when cast, but it does provide a teamwide ATK/DEF buff, and he can use Wrath if you need him to get multiple Imperils online ASAP.

    Kelger is really strong, but Zappy Bird apparently uses a lot of AOE stuff that eats his Blinks, so he can be tricky to use.

    I got my best results with Bartz by combining his Earth BSB with his USB1, but I admittedly haven't tried Maximum Imperil with just the USB, so that might be something to try out at least.

    Tifa seems like someone who would do really well in the fight, provided you have the right support, and a shitload of Monk ability hones to burn through. Major issue is that her USB gives the same buff as Dorgann's BSB does, so you're really using it for the Enearth and Monk Double in that case. Which isn't bad, to be sure. I feel like she'll get even more useful once Philosopher's Stone (I'm going to keep calling it that until we have an official translation) exists, as she needs to fall back on Meteor Crush (not too bad in the Zappy Bird fight, unless you have that buff elsewhere) or Gaia Rush until then.


    If I had to venture a guess, I think that Dorgann, Tifa, and Someone With Stone Press Or An Earth OSB would be the team to try and run.

    Enlong on
  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    Man I'm wondering which banner to pull. On one hand, I don't have that many Fire USBs (only Terra and Vincent Chain). On the other hand, I don't have an Earth Chain and to be honest my FF5 team kinda sucks (no damage USBs besides Faris). And finally, shit Zack Chain and TGC USB (a realm which I don't have ANY damage SBs).

    Any recommendations? I'd rather only do just one pull.

    Do not pull on fire pickup banner it has no chains and is full of bad relics.

    38thDoE on steam
    🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀
    
  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    Enlong wrote: »
    38thDoe wrote: »
    7 realm pull: Cait Sith LMR. Seems decent if you are using him.

    Red numbers LMR. Really good if I had any reason to use him.

    Monk female usb. This looks good and it’s an earth boost bracer. I don’t even know who I should be using for Q now. I have monk female Kevlar Dothan and Bartz usb.

    Dorgann is probably someone you want on your team unless you have someone else who can apply a lot of Imperil Earth (I was using Guy, for example). I found that Lots Of Imperil was the closest substitute for a Chain that I could actually field. Dorgann's doesn't damage the enemy when cast, but it does provide a teamwide ATK/DEF buff, and he can use Wrath if you need him to get multiple Imperils online ASAP.

    Kelger is really strong, but Zappy Bird apparently uses a lot of AOE stuff that eats his Blinks, so he can be tricky to use.

    I got my best results with Bartz by combining his Earth BSB with his USB1, but I admittedly haven't tried Maximum Imperil with just the USB, so that might be something to try out at least.

    Tifa seems like someone who would do really well in the fight, provided you have the right support, and a shitload of Monk ability hones to burn through. Major issue is that her USB gives the same buff as Dorgann's BSB does, so you're really using it for the Enearth and Monk Double in that case. Which isn't bad, to be sure. I feel like she'll get even more useful once Philosopher's Stone (I'm going to keep calling it that until we have an official translation) exists, as she needs to fall back on Meteor Crush (not too bad in the Zappy Bird fight, unless you have that buff elsewhere) or Gaia Rush until then.


    If I had to venture a guess, I think that Dorgann, Tifa, and Someone With Stone Press Or An Earth OSB would be the team to try and run.

    Does Dorian have two USBs then? The one I have gives knight abilities chase. A lot of imperil seems more useful. Although I didn’t know he had wrath. I guess I could wrath up his bsb.

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  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    He might be thinking of Galuf?

    Dorgann is definitely Knight. Also, his dive is dualcast Knight, and his USB is enough to get him to 5 hits on guardbringer with wall, if memory serves.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    I got a kill, and hated every second of it

    I need to somehow get an astra or physical blink onto my team without sacrificing damage

  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    Oops, I misread that you were looking at Dorgann's USB. I only have his BSB, so I keep thinking of him in terms of that move.

  • silence1186silence1186 Character shields down! As a wingmanRegistered User regular
    So my Famfrit kill has been in the 31-37 second range, depending on W-cast RNG and player error. Not sure how to squeeze it another 1.ish seconds faster. Maybe Flash Disaster or Ripper Bolt for Lightning?
    Lightning Quadstrike x2 (USB) +DMG (LM2,R)
    Edgar Offer/Snipe (USB) +DMG (LM2, R)
    Aerith Curada/Protectga (USB2) DMT (LM2, R)
    Garnet Tritoch/Dispel (Chain) Ace Striker
    Onion Knight Ripper Bolt/Magic BD (pUSB) MM (LMR, c W-cast)
    RW: Wall
    Magicite Behemoth King

    Lightning summons Wall, spams Quadstrike until her USB is ready, then resumes Quadstrikes unless her USB is up
    Edgar Offerings x3, USB, then Snipe spam, refreshing USB when it's up
    Aerith Protects, Curadas, USBs, then spam USB and refresh USB whenever Guts pops (don't waste it when Graviga is coming)
    Garnet Tritochs x2, Chains, then Tritochs until her Chain is ready, reapplies it, Dispels protect, then sits on her hands
    OK puts up USB, Magic Breakdown, Ripper until 10s, summon Magicite, refresh USB, Magic Breakdown Faith, spam Ripper, Magic Breakdown Faith, spam Ripper

  • lionheart_mlionheart_m Registered User regular
    edited October 2018
    Well I wanted fire

    https://imgur.com/a/zyizS0c

    so...what do you do in these situations? Shelke your way to Chain > USB?

    lionheart_m on
    3DS: 5069-4122-2826 / WiiU: Lionheart-m / PSN: lionheart_m / Steam: lionheart_jg
  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    edited October 2018
    e: And you just got some.

    Jragghen on
  • DaffyddDaffydd Registered User regular
    @Jragghen I saw your post regarding your Kraken team in the last thread. If you stick a Sentinel RM on your healer or a wrath/entrust bot, counters won't be an issue anymore. No more blinded DPS! And you'll get extra SB meter where you want it.

  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    Daffydd wrote: »
    @Jragghen I saw your post regarding your Kraken team in the last thread. If you stick a Sentinel RM on your healer or a wrath/entrust bot, counters won't be an issue anymore. No more blinded DPS! And you'll get extra SB meter where you want it.

    Yep, thanks for the tip. Already doing that. :) Just one of the things where when too many things trigger the counters, it can get a little sticky.

  • FryFry Registered User regular
    edited October 2018
    So my Famfrit kill has been in the 31-37 second range, depending on W-cast RNG and player error. Not sure how to squeeze it another 1.ish seconds faster. Maybe Flash Disaster or Ripper Bolt for Lightning?
    Lightning Quadstrike x2 (USB) +DMG (LM2,R)
    Edgar Offer/Snipe (USB) +DMG (LM2, R)
    Aerith Curada/Protectga (USB2) DMT (LM2, R)
    Garnet Tritoch/Dispel (Chain) Ace Striker
    Onion Knight Ripper Bolt/Magic BD (pUSB) MM (LMR, c W-cast)
    RW: Wall
    Magicite Behemoth King

    Lightning summons Wall, spams Quadstrike until her USB is ready, then resumes Quadstrikes unless her USB is up
    Edgar Offerings x3, USB, then Snipe spam, refreshing USB when it's up
    Aerith Protects, Curadas, USBs, then spam USB and refresh USB whenever Guts pops (don't waste it when Graviga is coming)
    Garnet Tritochs x2, Chains, then Tritochs until her Chain is ready, reapplies it, Dispels protect, then sits on her hands
    OK puts up USB, Magic Breakdown, Ripper until 10s, summon Magicite, refresh USB, Magic Breakdown Faith, spam Ripper, Magic Breakdown Faith, spam Ripper

    Can't remember if you have Edge SSB? Edge with Ace Striker and R4 Flash Disaster is enough survivability to last me for 30s with no healer or entrust help, with an assist from Mimic Queen as the active magicite. Orlandu OSB breaks the water rage mode for me.

    Ripping Bolt at 5 hits is a straight upgrade to Lightning Quadstrike. I run R3 lightning quad with R3 ripping bolt, if you can spare the orbs.

    I put Gathering Storm on Edgar so he can get going a little faster. Probably not worth it for you while you've got Aeris on your team (three sources of quickcast is way overkill).

    Depending on how much damage you're getting out of everyone, Garnet might do better with ATK bard song than Tritoch. Or depending on what other options you have available, you might swap out Onion for another lightning DPS (in which case you'd almost certainly want ATK bardsong)

    Fry on
  • JaysonFourJaysonFour Classy Monster Kitteh Registered User regular
    Went ahead and gave the XIV machine a yank.

    2/11, one disco.

    Pulled Alphinaud's BSB "Aerial Blast" (Deal eight summon magic wind and non-elemental attacks to one target, temporarily infuse the user with the power of wind, and grant Haste and Burst Mode to the user. Burst modes: Wind Blade - Deal four summon magic wind and non-elemental attacks to one target, and remove delay from the user's next action. Aetherflow - Deal two summon magic wind and non-elemental attacks to one target, and restore one ability use to the user's ability with the fewest remaining uses.) - This one sounds like a lot of fun- especially if I put it up as a RW. Aetherflow is a fun one to use to recharge abilities with, and this might just be (according to my crap judgement) an actual useful Burst Break.

    Also pulled Ysayle's USB "Icicle Impact" (Deal ten magic ice and non-elemental attacks to one target, temporarily infuse the user with the power of ice, raise the user's Magic a moderate amount and Resistance a small amount, and cause the user's ice abilities to trigger the follow-up ability Ice Brand, dealing two to six magic ice and non-elemental attacks to one target. Number of attacks depends on the triggering ability's rank.) - I mean, I always figured Ysayle was going to be one cool customer, but this just screams "ice team" to me- also a pretty decent break.

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  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    Both of those are pretty great. Set up Alphinaud with a Chain or lots of Imperil Wind, and he'll rip through stuff pretty fast.

  • JaysonFourJaysonFour Classy Monster Kitteh Registered User regular
    Enlong wrote: »
    Both of those are pretty great. Set up Alphinaud with a Chain or lots of Imperil Wind, and he'll rip through stuff pretty fast.

    I ought to do that, but the only Wind chain I know of is Zack's Lucky Stars (VII). It might be worth looking for a few on the friend-finder.

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  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    edited October 2018
    Rolled on the FFT banner. Got 3/11: Ovelia B1 (Dupe), Montblanc LMR2, Montblanc LMR2.

    I didn't even know he had a second LMR. This one has a chance to speed up his next action each time he uses black magic. So, now I have two LMR for Montblanc and nothing else. I have access to his BSB and SSB on the Acolyte Archives. Would the BSB be good to pick up with the LMR? I figure that the SSB is well and truly outclassed by having Onion Sage.

    Edit: I suppose the only question is if he's good for an Ice team, as my magic Lightning team has Garnet Chain, and my magic Fire team is stacked with Terra and Vivi. Ice team would put him alongside Rinoa and either Edea or Matoya; the question is whether or not getting Ysayle's BSB would e better for the team than getting Montblanc's. I can wait, though. A lot can happen between now and the Wind Magicites coming out.

    Enlong on
  • DarklyreDarklyre Registered User regular
    How many buffs are people running against Quetzalcoatl? I'm bringing 3 DPS and their damage is pretty anemic with just Raider.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Darklyre wrote: »
    How many buffs are people running against Quetzalcoatl? I'm bringing 3 DPS and their damage is pretty anemic with just Raider.

    Just the 50% ATK boost from Galuf chain.

  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    Darklyre wrote: »
    How many buffs are people running against Quetzalcoatl? I'm bringing 3 DPS and their damage is pretty anemic with just Raider.

    I had 2 30% buffs and a lot of Imperil Earth.

  • MaytagMaytag Registered User regular
    3 disco's on the type 0 realm banner, what could go wrong?

    Double Queen USB (Still needs AOSB/LMR to get close to Lightning) and an Ace OSB.

    I think I might be more excited about the Sice BSB I got along with it. That at least is +dark armor, a boostga/hastega and a cool party-doom gimmick.

    3DS: 1392 - 5070 - 7853
  • DarklyreDarklyre Registered User regular
    The good thing about Queen is she can use 6* Spellblade. If you don't have or use Sora, she can easily slot in, and even if you do you could split the 6* abilities between them.

  • MaytagMaytag Registered User regular
    Hmm that's a good point actually. All I ever got for Sora was some glints and the AOSB, so he's off the table.

    I'll have to see though, my Lightning team is super full already with choices:

    - Lightning (Glint/AOSB/OSB/LMR/LD)
    - Kain (CSB/LMR/OSB/AOSB/LD)
    - Queen (USB/OSB/BSB)
    - Prompto (USB/LMR)
    - Edgar (USB/LD)
    - Orlandeau (OSB/LD)

    I feel like Prompto/Lightning/Kain would be a good combo, wondering if I can slot in a fourth (and who that would be) and run Edge to keep me alive at the moment.

    3DS: 1392 - 5070 - 7853
  • FryFry Registered User regular
    edited October 2018
    Maytag wrote: »
    Hmm that's a good point actually. All I ever got for Sora was some glints and the AOSB, so he's off the table.

    I'll have to see though, my Lightning team is super full already with choices:

    - Lightning (Glint/AOSB/OSB/LMR/LD)
    - Kain (CSB/LMR/OSB/AOSB/LD)
    - Queen (USB/OSB/BSB)
    - Prompto (USB/LMR)
    - Edgar (USB/LD)
    - Orlandeau (OSB/LD)

    I feel like Prompto/Lightning/Kain would be a good combo, wondering if I can slot in a fourth (and who that would be) and run Edge to keep me alive at the moment.

    I would not take any Glint + Arcane off the table, that's still a really good character!

    Someone on Reddit posted a "generic" sub-30 Famfrit team that has worked out for me:

    Edge SSB2, R1 Stitch, R4 Flash Disaster, Ace Striker
    Orlandu OSB+LD, Banishing Strike + R3 6* lightning spellblade, Mako Might (!)
    lightning chain character, stuff
    two lightning DPS
    RW Raider
    Magicite Mimic Queen

    I use Kain Chain, Lightning USB1 + Arcane, and Edgar USB as my characters. I think Prompto USB might actually work out better than Edgar USB, since it does a guaranteed imperil (I find that Edgar's chases rarely stick an imperil). You might try Kain Chain, Lightning Glint + Arcane, and Sora Glint + Arcane, see how that works for you. The most nailbiting part of the fight for me is clearing through the last 40% before the Last Stands run out, and having a second Arcane should help there.

    Fry on
  • MaytagMaytag Registered User regular
    Interesting, guess I'll give that a go this evening. I was actually leveling KB first, but I just saw the strat and it doesn't even really use him at all.

    3DS: 1392 - 5070 - 7853
  • A duck!A duck! Moderator, ClubPA mod
    Fry wrote: »
    Maytag wrote: »
    Hmm that's a good point actually. All I ever got for Sora was some glints and the AOSB, so he's off the table.

    I'll have to see though, my Lightning team is super full already with choices:

    - Lightning (Glint/AOSB/OSB/LMR/LD)
    - Kain (CSB/LMR/OSB/AOSB/LD)
    - Queen (USB/OSB/BSB)
    - Prompto (USB/LMR)
    - Edgar (USB/LD)
    - Orlandeau (OSB/LD)

    I feel like Prompto/Lightning/Kain would be a good combo, wondering if I can slot in a fourth (and who that would be) and run Edge to keep me alive at the moment.

    I would not take any Glint + Arcane off the table, that's still a really good character!

    Someone on Reddit posted a "generic" sub-30 Famfrit team that has worked out for me:

    Edge SSB2, R1 Stitch, R4 Flash Disaster, Ace Striker
    Orlandu OSB+LD, Banishing Strike + R3 6* lightning spellblade, Mako Might (!)
    lightning chain character, stuff
    two lightning DPS
    RW Raider
    Magicite Mimic Queen

    I use Kain Chain, Lightning USB1 + Arcane, and Edgar USB as my characters. I think Prompto USB might actually work out better than Edgar USB, since it does a guaranteed imperil (I find that Edgar's chases rarely stick an imperil). You might try Kain Chain, Lightning Glint + Arcane, and Sora Glint + Arcane, see how that works for you. The most nailbiting part of the fight for me is clearing through the last 40% before the Last Stands run out, and having a second Arcane should help there.

    Heck, Sora AOSB and legend dive was an important piece of my sub-30 Tiamat team.

  • ElderlycrawfishElderlycrawfish Registered User regular
    So I've been picking at these Realm draws whenever I get enough mythril (thank you bonus login mythril) over the weekend; a few more dupes, a few more LMRs, but a couple of standouts:

    I: Warrior of Light AOSB (I also took the 1 select set, so OSB/BSB as well)

    III: Luneth USB

    XII: Basch USB2

    Overall, these draws have been satisfying.

  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    Woof, Torments are even worse than magicite for "whoops, forgot the pattern"

  • Knight_Knight_ Dead Dead Dead Registered User regular
    Well, I did the 14 pull against my better judgement.

    Alph USB, Ysayle USB, Ysayle LMR.

    hindbrain finally wins a round. only took like 90% of the pulls before I got a good one but hey, at least I got one. and man i am happy i didn't select Ysayle's USB like I was thinking about. That would have been such salt.

    aeNqQM9.jpg
  • EnlongEnlong Registered User regular
    I get the feeling that these realm draws are gonna end up consuming all my mythril until I'm out of discounted ones.

  • VargVarg Registered User regular
    Enlong wrote: »
    I get the feeling that these realm draws are gonna end up consuming all my mythril until I'm out of discounted ones.

    same but I already knew that would happen~

    9 - Marcus BSB, Garnet USB (Dupe)
    10 - Braska USB - seems fine and aside from Tidus and Yuna, my 10 coverage is slim.
    Tactics - Ovelia BSB (Dupe), Agrias BSB (Dupe)

    Not a great set here, oh well. Have 2,3,11,14 remaining. 3 is up next!

  • JragghenJragghen Registered User regular
    I'm holding on until I'm at 65 then doing them one at a time, never dropping below 50. Never know when some weird-ass banner will end up dropping.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Which banners did we trade for this again? Crystal banner and monthly DU luckies?

  • ElderlycrawfishElderlycrawfish Registered User regular
    Finally cracked Quetz, thanks Galuf Chain. Now to farm uh, *checks notes*, probably a bunch of them yay.

    I believe this week is a XV extravaganza. Torment, 1 relic banner, event + fishing event on Sunday.

  • JavenJaven Registered User regular
    Finally cracked Quetz, thanks Galuf Chain. Now to farm uh, *checks notes*, probably a bunch of them yay.

    I believe this week is a XV extravaganza. Torment, 1 relic banner, event + fishing event on Sunday.

    Let me tell you how not-excited I was when I saw that Quetz has the likely very coveted fast action magicite passive

This discussion has been closed.