And Shiva down without too much fuss. Easiest so far for me, but that's no surprise all things considered. Followed it quickly up with two more clears, both of which I recorded since I was doing it while cycling anyway. Both of which I fucked up stuff in the middle. The initial clear went pretty much exactly how I wanted though. I got Orare up early, dispel immediately, Balthier's re-CSB was correctly timed, I used Locke's AOSB and then BUSB instead of futzing around with other stuff, and Tyro actually used Fab Mage to break the initial rage. Pretty sure in one of the recorded ones, I forgot to use Mage completely.
Basically two identical clears here, but maybe sort of interesting in how I fucked up and they diverged quite a bit in the middle. Second one was definitely more/better on script, but Orare should have come out way sooner than it did, and I should've used Locke's AOSB instead of his USB.
Still, it's nuts that Locke and Sabin can and will just punch straight through Shiva's protectga to not just break rage, but cap. Beating out the phase 2 Curadas wasn't a dream after all. A key thing from the initial try was moving Balthier up to slot 1 for the extra meter, but I kind of feel like I could've put Tyro there and had more to entrust. Then again, Balthier's was sort of tight to get his AASB up, so maybe not. Aaaand I should probably ditch Locke's init enFire LMR for his LM2 since damage is negligible before his sync turns on anyway. Aaaand probably do have enough rage breaking with Sabin to let Balthier AOSB in phase 3. Still wouldn't sub 30 it, but might be able to get close. Then again, just one more clear and I'm out. Don't want to mess around with what's working all that much.
...hm. I think it’s time for me to grab Magika Orare, now that you mention it.
Here I was, thinking “man. Onion’s crits are working wonders for keeping my team’s damage high, but I can never quite get Dorgann to break the cap with his first turn after Awakening, even when he crits. I need something to boost his damage further. I’ll bet that entrusting to him and making him use his BSB for Imperil is the way to do it!”
When the real answer was staring me in the face, singing Pa-Paya.
Today, I almost said “fuck it, it’s my birthday, I’m going to spend some money on myself and do the Awakening dream select”.
But at the last minute, I thought “I could FFIX on the switch for that same money”, and decided again to hold off.
Didn’t even realize today was the last day for that until now.
Especially now that I'm jobless, this is always what holds me back. If it was 10$, sure I'd throw money at this game. But when you can grab a full fledged Final Fantasy for 30$....
Ugh. Valefor's AI is complicated and he apparently takes a zillion turns in a row. I think I can use this as a base though, and it's nice because it doesn't have Squall's HA. I don't have Squall's G+, but I do have his regular glint and Sync, so I doubt I need it. Also, Noel USB2/AASB is far superior to just Kiros USB, although I do have his USB so I could simply duplicate it on that front, or bring in Celes for her identical USB instead, but that would stress the ol' ice spellblades. The QC might be important though, but I very much doubt it. The only other thing is that Noel would have to carry dispel in the place of Icebound's haste-strip. His AASB should be good enough to stretch the hones of just an R5 Icicle Bullet though.
Kiros USB is way better than Celes USB. Kiros stacks the aura, he has a non-gacha LM doublecast, and I think his granted quick cast might apply to everything.
Though it's not unlikely many folks would have at least some other Celes SB to combo with it.
Kiros USB is way better than Celes USB. Kiros stacks the aura, he has a non-gacha LM doublecast, and I think his granted quick cast might apply to everything.
Though it's not unlikely many folks would have at least some other Celes SB to combo with it.
Yeah, I just noticed that Kiros's USB's switch draw gives STACKING enIce, which is nutso.
Well, it's a backup in case Noel can't cut it, but I do have his BSB to fall back on. It just means his damage will fall off a little more, but Squall can almost certainly more then pick up the slack.
So, I did a few Type-0 pulls because it could potentially land me pieces I'm looking for (phys lightning and mag ice). Got Seven's AASB, which is awkward without another source of en-ice (but she has a bunch of imperil ice in her toolbox, so I'm thinking still useful) and basically Cinque's full kit (Sync and AASB).
So while I still don't quite have a magic Valefor kill, I did just go back and farm a second Ramuh because BOY does a sync make that fight more reliable.
I feel like I’m almost there with my Ramuh strategy. What I need now is to find out a way to survive long enough in phase 3 for Tifa to spam out the requisite number of OSBs to close it out. I’m able to save Elarra’s Awakening for that part, but I need to save it to cast after that first Stormlance. Because there’s no chance in Hell that I’m surviving that without Last Stand. I don’t think recasting Wall would help; it hits for over 30k on some folks.
Edit:
A thought occurs. Up til now, I’ve been having Dorgann and Ingus stop using Wrath after turn 3, because I don’t want to overwrite Onion’s ATK buff. But I don’t need to do that for Ingus, do I? He’s my absolute last character to go all in with his Awakening. By the time I need him to be doing Big Numbers, Onion’s USB has long since fallen off, and I’m instead running off of bard buffs from Elarra, and Dorgann’s BSB. So, what if I just have Ingus spam Wrath? He’d build much more meter, he could probably use his BSB2 for some early Radiant Shield action, and I wouldn’t need Onion to give him a precious Entrust that could otherwise go to Elarra. I’m going to try that next time.
Trying ice weak Odin since I have Rinoa sync and awakening, and Edea chain and awakening. Got to magic pixel, thought my last attack took him out, then his count ended and he murdered me. Super frustrating, but I know I can get it. Done for the night though, that was too heartbreaking.
0
Options
silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
What the hell is going on in the Stroke of the Brush? Boss durdled a bit, then first attack was for ~11k on the party, insta gibbed everyone.
What the hell is going on in the Stroke of the Brush? Boss durdled a bit, then first attack was for ~11k on the party, insta gibbed everyone.
Start of phase 3 is a +400% Atk buff for 5 seconds, followed by 3000 and then an overflow attack. That second one will gib you if you haven't removed the buff.
He uses it early in phase 1 too. Just... any time Infernal Erupt, immediately debuff his Atk.
silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
It's 6s ATK buff, 8s insta-gib if you haven't Power Breakdown.
I also hate how the fight just ends in "success" and wastes your stamina. Just let me retry so I can figure out your bullshit! Don't just end the fight and gives me a pittance.
Rolled on the 7 discount, because What If Tifa Awakening? Got 2 odd pieces instead. Rude's Glint (Protect, Shell, Major Regen to the party), and Sephiroth's Fire Arcane (3!-hit type).
At this point, I've got a bunch of Fire tools for Sephiroth (Arcane, dual-element OSB, Samurai Dualcast materia), without the all-important Enfire tool. Still holding onto those for such a time as I get his Fire awakening, because pairing that with Zanshin would be hilarious. Then again, I could always get his Enfire Unique, and use it like I used Desch's Enlightning Unique. But then there's Cor and Noctis as competition. Still, always neat to collect new things.
Rude's thing is kind of intriguing. I still haven't really beat the Jenova torment, and this might help. Aerith struggles a lot in that fight with keeping the party not-dead, since I need to forego or delay Protect or Shell in favor of Dispel. Rude, Aerith, and Cid (With Chain) should make a good core for that fight, and then I can beat Jenova up with Sephiroth and Tifa. FFVII-only runs are the only real situation where I'd use that Glint, though. I'm certainly not swapping Ingus out in favor of him in my Earth team for that.
edit:
Oh wait, I did clear Jenova. Hm. I guess this will be good for the Even More Tormenty Torments later.
edit 2: Well, now I have a sub-30 Jenova clear. Dunno if that's more because of Rude or because of Tifa, but it's good.
dang, the Tyro and Elarra crit USB combo really is as powerful as advertised (Details at 11). I grabbed both from the lens shop recently, and now I feel like I want to figure out how to use them efficiently. Threading that needle of letting Tyro re-up his USB without having the team die due to lack of Entrusts to Elarra is tricky.
+1
Options
silence1186Character shields down!As a wingmanRegistered Userregular
dang, the Tyro and Elarra crit USB combo really is as powerful as advertised (Details at 11). I grabbed both from the lens shop recently, and now I feel like I want to figure out how to use them efficiently. Threading that needle of letting Tyro re-up his USB without having the team die due to lack of Entrusts to Elarra is tricky.
If you use his buff duration LM2, it lasts 21s after the last time it triggers. One cast might make the end of the fight.
I know I have a Valefor clear, but I haven't been able to find one that matches what I've got well without investing a bunch of crystals in a niche-user ability, either Icebound or Squall's HA. I probably need to just jump in and do it. I can probably hit the sync early and use its C2 to clear tornados relatively well, and then fall back on his AASB for the rest of the fight. It's figuring out how to handle Noel's shit, especially if he's carrying the dispel, that's bugging me. If he just had Celerity 6* access, that'd at least be a second user and I'd feel much better about investing in it.
Posts
And Shiva down without too much fuss. Easiest so far for me, but that's no surprise all things considered. Followed it quickly up with two more clears, both of which I recorded since I was doing it while cycling anyway. Both of which I fucked up stuff in the middle. The initial clear went pretty much exactly how I wanted though. I got Orare up early, dispel immediately, Balthier's re-CSB was correctly timed, I used Locke's AOSB and then BUSB instead of futzing around with other stuff, and Tyro actually used Fab Mage to break the initial rage. Pretty sure in one of the recorded ones, I forgot to use Mage completely.
Basically two identical clears here, but maybe sort of interesting in how I fucked up and they diverged quite a bit in the middle. Second one was definitely more/better on script, but Orare should have come out way sooner than it did, and I should've used Locke's AOSB instead of his USB.
Still, it's nuts that Locke and Sabin can and will just punch straight through Shiva's protectga to not just break rage, but cap. Beating out the phase 2 Curadas wasn't a dream after all. A key thing from the initial try was moving Balthier up to slot 1 for the extra meter, but I kind of feel like I could've put Tyro there and had more to entrust. Then again, Balthier's was sort of tight to get his AASB up, so maybe not. Aaaand I should probably ditch Locke's init enFire LMR for his LM2 since damage is negligible before his sync turns on anyway. Aaaand probably do have enough rage breaking with Sabin to let Balthier AOSB in phase 3. Still wouldn't sub 30 it, but might be able to get close. Then again, just one more clear and I'm out. Don't want to mess around with what's working all that much.
Here I was, thinking “man. Onion’s crits are working wonders for keeping my team’s damage high, but I can never quite get Dorgann to break the cap with his first turn after Awakening, even when he crits. I need something to boost his damage further. I’ll bet that entrusting to him and making him use his BSB for Imperil is the way to do it!”
When the real answer was staring me in the face, singing Pa-Paya.
But at the last minute, I thought “I could FFIX on the switch for that same money”, and decided again to hold off.
Didn’t even realize today was the last day for that until now.
Especially now that I'm jobless, this is always what holds me back. If it was 10$, sure I'd throw money at this game. But when you can grab a full fledged Final Fantasy for 30$....
Happy birthday!
Thanks. It’s been a weird one for several reasons, but I did get to make myself a nice cake, so that’s fun.
3/11 all discoes
2x Cid Raines doublecast USB (new, so one dupe)
Dupe Lightning G+
Though it's not unlikely many folks would have at least some other Celes SB to combo with it.
Yeah, I just noticed that Kiros's USB's switch draw gives STACKING enIce, which is nutso.
Well, it's a backup in case Noel can't cut it, but I do have his BSB to fall back on. It just means his damage will fall off a little more, but Squall can almost certainly more then pick up the slack.
So while I still don't quite have a magic Valefor kill, I did just go back and farm a second Ramuh because BOY does a sync make that fight more reliable.
Edit:
A thought occurs. Up til now, I’ve been having Dorgann and Ingus stop using Wrath after turn 3, because I don’t want to overwrite Onion’s ATK buff. But I don’t need to do that for Ingus, do I? He’s my absolute last character to go all in with his Awakening. By the time I need him to be doing Big Numbers, Onion’s USB has long since fallen off, and I’m instead running off of bard buffs from Elarra, and Dorgann’s BSB. So, what if I just have Ingus spam Wrath? He’d build much more meter, he could probably use his BSB2 for some early Radiant Shield action, and I wouldn’t need Onion to give him a precious Entrust that could otherwise go to Elarra. I’m going to try that next time.
Whoops.
The latter drops that hit to like 3k per person.
Start of phase 3 is a +400% Atk buff for 5 seconds, followed by 3000 and then an overflow attack. That second one will gib you if you haven't removed the buff.
He uses it early in phase 1 too. Just... any time Infernal Erupt, immediately debuff his Atk.
I'm guessing Squall will be the victor given Valefor is what I face next
I also hate how the fight just ends in "success" and wastes your stamina. Just let me retry so I can figure out your bullshit! Don't just end the fight and gives me a pittance.
(I need to do 3 dungeons before I go to bed, lol).
At this point, I've got a bunch of Fire tools for Sephiroth (Arcane, dual-element OSB, Samurai Dualcast materia), without the all-important Enfire tool. Still holding onto those for such a time as I get his Fire awakening, because pairing that with Zanshin would be hilarious. Then again, I could always get his Enfire Unique, and use it like I used Desch's Enlightning Unique. But then there's Cor and Noctis as competition. Still, always neat to collect new things.
Rude's thing is kind of intriguing. I still haven't really beat the Jenova torment, and this might help. Aerith struggles a lot in that fight with keeping the party not-dead, since I need to forego or delay Protect or Shell in favor of Dispel. Rude, Aerith, and Cid (With Chain) should make a good core for that fight, and then I can beat Jenova up with Sephiroth and Tifa. FFVII-only runs are the only real situation where I'd use that Glint, though. I'm certainly not swapping Ingus out in favor of him in my Earth team for that.
edit:
Oh wait, I did clear Jenova. Hm. I guess this will be good for the Even More Tormenty Torments later.
edit 2: Well, now I have a sub-30 Jenova clear. Dunno if that's more because of Rude or because of Tifa, but it's good.
I'm around two weeks from going a full year with only one 6* item (last January, Barb's USB).
I kind of doubt I'm going to be getting nothing but 6*s for the next month.
dang, the Tyro and Elarra crit USB combo really is as powerful as advertised (Details at 11). I grabbed both from the lens shop recently, and now I feel like I want to figure out how to use them efficiently. Threading that needle of letting Tyro re-up his USB without having the team die due to lack of Entrusts to Elarra is tricky.
If you use his buff duration LM2, it lasts 21s after the last time it triggers. One cast might make the end of the fight.
I've got every doublecast involving bravery motes done now, and I'm stumped as to who else to spend them on.
8 doublecasts left in magic, 6 in physical. I could THEORETICALLY get all of them, but....eeeh.
I've been playing a bit too loose with the 6* motes even given how many they throw at us, though.
Magic valefor clear using only lensable SBs aside from Rinoa's AOSB and Serah's chain.
- Ingus: Chain, BSB2, USB, Awakening (not used)
- Elarra: USB1, USB2, Glint+, Awakening (used right at the end for Last Stand) | LMR(bard medica)
- Dorgann: Awakening, USB, BSB
- Tyro: SG, USB4 | LMR(Instant turns)
- Fabula Mage
Crits are awesome. Boosted crits doubly so.
So now I've got Noctis sync... awesome
This was an interesting read for me.
https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/djfqvf/one_players_experience_with_6_magicite/
Judging by that previous video, one way would be to roll on 13 in hopes of getting Serah's Chain.