Portable Final Fantasy Record Keeper III: Cloud of Darkness... or FF7 [Archive]

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-26, 12:49 PM

Welcome to the third thread of Final Fantasy Record Keeper!

For those of you just joining us, Final Fantasy Record Keeper is a free-to-play freemium game for mobile devices. Like many similar games, the main point of the game is to collect 16-bit versions of characters from every major Final Fantasy game from Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy XIV (we even have some Final Fantasy Tactics characters coming in the future!) You then train up your party, get equipment for them, form a party of five, and go through dungeons that retell the plot of various Final Fantasy games.

If you've only started recently, or are thinking about starting, it's a game that requires patience but rewards it. A lot of the characters are event-exclusive, but the game's really good at giving additional opportunities to recruit them. There are Daily Dungeons which let you farm resources, upgrade materials, and on Sundays, sweet, sweet valuable experience. Probably the most difficult aspect to acquire is the equipment, which is based off a lottery you can pay in-game currency that you either earn in game (Mythril) or spend real world money on (Gems). Fortunately, the game is very playable without spending a cent, and you can at least get all the characters without paying, though getting the equipment to really live up to their potential that can be difficult, even with disposable cash. Some of the character customization can be limited too, with only two abilities allowed per character (but that can be switched out as needed for different dungeons.)

Still, it's a game that's simple enough to pick up and enjoy, but with a lot of additional content and challenges to keep you playing, and there's Final Fantasy nostalgia packed into every bit, from the characters to the monsters to the music, all imported from games of Final Fantasy's history. And if you couldn't tell from the fact that this is on its third thread, it comes highly recommended by the forum too.

Happy hunting!

(Links to previous threads to be edited in at a later date.)

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-26, 12:52 PM

Putting a second post up so we can start archiving important links and lists.

Upcoming events, characters, MC2's, etc.

Also, the most voted title from the last thread didn't really work out with title formatting, to explain the slight discrepancy.

* = Memory Crystal available
** = Memory Crystal II available

Core Classes:
Tyro**
Warrior
Knight
Red Mage*
Black Mage*
White Mage*
Devout
Summoner*
Samurai*
Dragoon*
Dark Knight*
Spellblade*
Viking*
Ranger*
Bard*
Ninja*
Gladiator*
Thief
Berserker
Final Fantasy I
Warrior of Light*

Final Fantasy II
Firion
Maria*
Leon*
Gordon*
Ricard*
Josef*

Final Fantasy III
Luneth*
Arc*
Refia*
Ingus

Final Fantasy IV
Cecil (Dark Knight)*
Cecil (Paladin)**
Kain*
Rydia*
Edward
Tellah*
FuSoYa*
Golbez*
Rosa*
Edge*

Final Fantasy V
Lenna**
Galuf**
Gilgamesh*
Bartz*
Krile*
Faris*
Exdeath*

Final Fantasy VI
Terra*
Locke*
Celes*
Mog*
Edgar*
Sabin*
Shadow*
Cyan*
Gau
Setzer*
Strago*
Kefka*

Final Fantasy VII
Cloud**
Barret*
Tifa*
Aerith*
Red XIII**
Yuffie*
Zack*
Sephiroth**
Cid*
Reno*

Final Fantasy VIII
Squall**
Rinoa**
Quistis*
Selphie**
Irvine*
Zell*
Seifer*
Laguna*

Final Fantasy IX
Zidane*
Garnet*
Vivi*
Steiner**
Eiko*
Amarant*
Quina*
Beatrix*

Final Fantasy X
Tidus**
Yuna**
Wakka**
Lulu*
Kimahri*
Rikku*
Auron*
Jecht*

Final Fantasy XII
Vaan*
Balthier*
Fran**
Ashe*
Penelo*

Final Fantasy XIII
Lightning**
Snow*
Vanille*
Sazh*
Hope*
Fang*

Final Fantasy XIV
Yshtola*
Thancred*

Upcoming Characters
Bold are new characters, others are unlockable in case you haven't gotten a chance to yet.

Warrior of Light
Freya, Garnet, Eiko, Zidane, Beatrix
Minwu, Leila, Firion, Maria, Gordon, Josef, Leon
Ramza, Agrias
Yuna's Gunner Yuna Dress, Rikku, Wakka, Kimahri
Relm, Shadow, Celes, Strago
Vincent, Zack, Yuffie, Reno
Basch, Vaan, Ashe, Balthier, Fran, Penelo
Squall's SeeD Uniform Dress, Edea, Zell, Rinoa, Laguna
Porom, Palom, D-Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Tellah
Desch, Luneth, Arc, Refia, Ingus
Kuja, Beatrix, Vivi, Zidane, Amarant, Garnet
Cait Sith, Aerith, Barret, Tifa, Yuffie
Lightning's Knight of the Goddess Dress, Serah, Snow, Sazh, Fang
Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau
Young Auron Dress, Braska, Jecht
Yda, Papalymo, Yshtola, Thancred
Shirtless Sephiroth, Cloud, Aerith, Cait Sith, Cid
Adult Rydia, Yang, Kain, Rosa, Edge, Edward
Seifer, Squall, Rinoa, Laguna, Quistis, Irvine
Lenna, Faris, Bartz, Galuf
Shantotto, Bartz, Luneth, Firion, Yshtola (Dissidia Event)
Short-Haired Garnet, Zidane, Freya, Beatrix
Gabranth, Basch, Vaan, Ashe, Penelo

Upcoming MC2s

Some of these characters won't get specific MC2's, but rather you get the capability to use a Memory Crystal II Shard to level break them beyond 65. Bolded entries get a specific MC2. For clarification, Bolded entries get their specific MC2's, while non-bolded entries can be level broken by an MC2 shard at this time.

Bartz, Gilgamesh, Locke, Aerith, Vivi, Lulu, Vanille, Hope (Unconfirmed when these will unlock for Global, but it should be soon)
Warrior of Light
Garnet
Firion
Ramza, Agrias
Auron
Relm, Celes, Shadow
Vincent, Zack, Reno
Vaan, Balthier, Penelo
Edea, Zell
Porom, Palom, Rydia
Luneth, Arc, Refia, Ingus
Kuja, Zidane, Beatrix
Yuffie
Serah, Snow, Sazh, Fang
Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer
Braska, Jecht, Kimahri, Rikku
Yda, Papalymo. Yshtola, Thancred
Barret, Cait Sith, Cid
Kain, Rosa, Edge, Yang, Edward
Seifer, Irvine
Krile, Exdeath
Shantotto
Freya, Amarant, Quina
Gabranth, Basch, Ashe

Abyss Levels:
Abyss levels are special dungeons where your synergy is not determined by the characters' realm of origin, but there ability to use abilities, encourage a "single class" party. The reward is the ability to craft 6-star abilities. These come once per month. Here's what's coming up soon so you can prepare your teams...

Abyss 1: Black Magic. Nightmare Boss: Ultima Buster. Reward: Ultima
Abyss 2: Combat. Nightmare Boss: Demon Wall. Reward: Crashdown
Abyss 3: White Magic. Nightmare Boss: Evrae Altana. Reward: Reraise
Abyss 4: Summoning. Nightmare Boss: Neo Bahamut. Reward: Neo Bahamut
Abyss 5: Support. Nightmare Boss: CPU. Reward: Triple Foul
Abyss 6: Celerity. Nightmare Boss: Tonberry King. Reward: Northern Cross

1) Cloud's Organics, teaches Blade Beam, +10 attack. 3 ranged physical AoE's, ? multiplier, non-elemental. Debuted in lost Memories. Reappeared in VoM phase 2. Will reappear in The Lone Wolf's Lament banner 2.
2) Squall's Cutting Trigger, teaches Blasting Zone, +10 attack. 4 ranged physical single-target attacks, ? multiplier, non-elemental. Debuted in Gunblade of the Sorceress. Reappeared in VoM phase 5. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 3.
3) Sephiroth's Yoshiyuki, teaches Black Materia, +10 attack. 4 ranged physical single-target attacks, 7.8 multiplier, non-elemental, chance for Sap. Debuted in Blood Madness. Reappeared in Hidden Resolve. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 5.
4) Rinoa's Cardinal, teaches Wishing Star, +10 magic. 5 random magic single-target attacks, 15 multiplier, non-elemental. Debuted in VoM phase 1. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 2, and A Meeting Beyond Time banner 2.
5) Tidus's Force Sabre, teaches Jecht Shot, +10 attack. 3 (ranged?) physical single-target attacks, 7.89 multiplier, water. Debuted in VoM phase 3. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 4.
6) Tyro's Last Judgment Grimoire, teaches Last Judgment Grimoire, +10 attack. 3 (ranged?) physical AoE's, 6 multiplier, earth. Debuted in VoM phase 4.
7) Pally Cecil's Lustrous Sword, teaches Saint's Fall, +300 hp. 3 (ranged?) physical single-target attacks, 7.89 multiplier, holy. Debuted in VoM phase 5. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 5.
8) Lightning's Peacemaker, teaches Crushing Blow, +10 attack. 5 (ranged?) physical AoE's, 6.5 multiplier, lightning. Debuted in Fang's Oath. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 1.
Then we have 2 events with no SSB's at all.
9) Terra's Maduin's Horn, teaches Magitek Missile, +10 magic. 10 (ranged?) magical single-target attacks, 18 multiplier, non-elemental. Will debut in Forgotten Bond. Will reappear in Orbfest 3 phase 3.
10) Bartz's Excalibur, teaches ???, +10 attack. 5 (ranged?) physical single-target attacks, 7.9 multiplier, non-elemental, all allies def + 50%. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 1.
11) Aerith's Wizard Rod, teaches ???, +10 mind. All allies heal & Reraise (40% hp). Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 1.
12) Lulu's Run Mog (?), teaches ???, +10 magic. 8 (ranged?) random magic single-target attacks, 17.92 multiplier, ice. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 2.
13) Vivi's Mace of Zeus (?), teaches ???, +10 magic. 4 (ranged?) magic AoE's, 14.24 multiplier, dark. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 2. Will reappear in A Summoner Reborn banner 2.
14) Locke's Valiant Knife, teaches ???, +10 attack. 8 (ranged?) physical single-target attacks, 8 multiplier (up to 14.4 when low on health), non-elemental. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 3.
15) Vanille's Medic Staff, teaches ???, +10 mind. All allies heal & restore 1 ability use at random. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 4.
16) Hope's Hawkeye, teaches ???, +10 magic. 8 (ranged?) magic single-target attacks, 17.92 multiplier, holy. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 4.
17) The Mighty Gilgamesh's ???, teaches ???, +10 defense. 3 (ranged?) physical AoE's, 6 multiplier, non-elemental, all allies heavy Regen. Will debut in Orbfest 3 phase 5.
18) Red XIII's Magic Comb, teaches Stardust Ray, +10 attack. 10 (ranged?) random physical single-target attacks, 7.8 multiplier, non-elemental, Shellga. Will debut in The Lone Wolf's lament banner 1.
19) Tifa's Master Fist, teaches Dolphin Blow, +10 attack. 4 (ranged?) physical single-target attacks, 8 multiplier, self attack + 50%. Will debut in The Lone Wolf's Lament banner 2.
20) Laguna's Machine Gun, teaches Desperado, +10 attack. 6 ranged physical AoE's, 6 multiplier, non-elemental, Slow (100%). Will debut in A Meeting Beyond Time banner 1.
21) Selphie's Crescent Wish, teaches Dreamstage, +10 mind. All allies heal + magic blink. Will debut in A Meeting Beyond Time banner 1.
22) Quistis's Red Scorpion, teaches Mighty Guard, +10 magic. Hastega + Shellga + heavy Regenga (UNNNGHHHHHHAAAA). Will debut in A Meeting Beyond Time banner 2.
23) Zidane's Orichalcum, teaches Shift Break, +10 attack. 4 (ranged?) physical AoE's, 6 multiplier, non-elemental, -50% attack, +50% self attack. Will debut in A Summoner Reborn banner 1.
24) Eiko's Fairy Flute, teaches Flames of Rebirth, +10 mind. All allies, heal + Reraise (40% hp). Will debut in A Summoner Reborn banner 1.
25) Garnet's Wizard Rod, teaches Divine Guardian, +10 magic. Hastega + heavy Regenga + res + 50% (it's like a not as good Mighty Guard). Will debut in A Summoner Reborn banner 2.
26) Firion's Rod of Arms (?), teaches ???, attack + 10. 5 (ranged?) physical single-target attacks, 7.8 multiplier, non-elemental, Blind (100%). Will debut in The Prophet banner 1.
27) Minwu's ???, teaches ???, mind + 10. All allies heal, no cast time (wtf Minwu). Will debut in The Prophet banner 1.
28) Maria's Sander 16 (?), teaches ???, magic +10. 4 magic AoE's, 14.4 multiplier, lightning, all allies magic + 20%. Will debut in The Prophet banner 2. It's a bow, btw.
29) Leon's ???, teaches ???, defense + 10. 3 (ranged?) physical AoE's, 6 multiplier, dark, self-sentinel (whatever that means, maybe Protect + Shell). Will debut in The Prophet banner 2. It's not a bow, damnit, on like the only knight who can use bows.

1) Cloud's 1st Fusion Sword, teaches Fenrir Overdrive, +10 attack. 8 (ranged?) random physical single-target attacks, 8 multiplier, non-elemental, self-haste + burst mode. In burst mode, attack does 2x AoE's, defend does 4x single-target attacks. Debuts in The Lone Wolf's Lament banner 1(after 17 for SSB).

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-26, 12:58 PM

And in case you missed it from the last thread, our evil overlord FFRK expert's breakdown of the newest special event!

Alright, folks. As you may or may not realize, (and here's a handy reminder (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/3wta0y/december_calendar_for_ffrk/) to keep track,) Sephiroth's event ends tonight, which means the next few hours are your last chance to grab his MC2. Also, the next phase of Orbfest (Power, Wind, Non) starts tomorrow night, which means the next roughly 30 hours are your last chance at the current phase (Summon, Fire, Ice).

But more importantly, Saturday marks the start of the upcoming V event. Which leads me to the topic at hand - let's talk V event!

Successors of the Dawn is the name of the upcoming event. It debuts Faris and Krile, and also features Bartz, Galuf, and Lenna (but not Gilgamesh), making it the first event with both versions of the complete V party. This event also gives MCs for all five characters, and an MC2 for Lenna, making her the first healer with one. As Lenna has traditionally been the Ur-Healer, this more or less cements her in the role. This event also marks the debut of Ultimate bosses (Misfortune in JP), which is basically a + beyond +++. Technically, it can be argued that Omega in Vale of Memories is an Ultimate, but he doesn't have the title.

First, let's talk characters. Faris is a crossdressing pirate! She has a massive assortment of gear options, including daggers, swords, spears, bows, instruments, whips, and thrown weapons, and shields, hats, helmets, light armor, heavy armor, robes, and bracers. She also has a wide ability spread, including Support 5, Celerity 4, Thief 5, and Dance 4. In short, she is the strong Support-user the V-cast needs (and the one it deserves). Her RM is another "chance to recover Support abilities," which is gravy. Stat-wise, she's much what you would expect of a Support-user. Her Attack at 65 is 125, on par with Kimahri or Balthier; her Defense is 80, comparable with Irvine or Setzer; and her HP is 4010, also comparable with Irvine or Setzer. Her gear selection, however, means that she can be sturdier, with more options for ranged combat than most Support-users, including bows, instruments, whips, and thrown. All around, a very solid character. Just keep her in the back row.

Krile is adorable traditional black mage. Daggers, rods, staves, and whips, plus shields, hats, light armor, robes, and bracers. She uses BLM 5 and Summoning 5 exclusively, and fills the much-needed V black mage role. Her RM slightly increases the damage of summons, which is a nice touch. Statwise, she is joining the top three blasters - at 65, Vivi and Lulu clock in at 159 Magic, but Krile follows closely at 154, securing her role as a top-tier black mage. (By comparison, her rival in the "adorable little girls who command the elements and summon cosmic horrors" competition, Rydia, clocks in at 148, along with Terra.) Her non-Magic stats are surprisingly decent for a black mage - at 65, she has 80 Attack (comparable with Rydia, Selphie, or Ashe), 76 Defense (comparable with Terra, Maria or Yuna), 3667 HP (comparable with Tellah, Lulu, and Vanille), and a whopping 135 Resistance (putting her in the top four alongside Eiko and Arc).

The event also drops several abilities, including the 3-star Bio Strike and the long-awaited 4-star Blizzaga Strike, as well as the 4-star Protect Ring accessory. But let's be honest, those aren't the drops about which you're curious. So let's discuss banners!

As is custom, this event has two banners. The first banner features:
Aevis Killer: Faris' SB bow. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE 3.5x physical damage, reduces enemy Defense and Resistance.
Magus Rod: Krile's SB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE 7.6x non-elemental magic damage, 100% chance of Dismissal.
Thor Hammer: Galuf's SB hammer. Pure Attack. Single-target 5x physical damage, increases party Attack. Increases lightning damage dealt.
Air Knife: Bartz's SB dagger. Pure Attack. 2-hit AoE 1.55x wind physical damage (total 3.1x), chance to inflict Sap. Increases wind damage dealt.
The second banner features:
Sage's Staff: Lenna's SB staff. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE heal plus strong Regen.
Brave Blade: Bartz's SB sword. Pure Attack. 5-hit single-target 1.05x physical damage (total 5.25x), increase's user's Attack.
Kotetsu: Gilgamesh's SB katana. Pure Attack. 3-hit single-target 1.7x physical damage (total 5.1x), chance to inflict Paralysis.
Kaiser Knuckles: Galuf's SB fist. Pure Attack. Increases user's Attack and makes him temporarily invulnerable and immune to debuffs.
Both banners also feature:
Gaia Gear: Shared-SB robe. Defense and Resistance. AoE heal. Increases earth damage dealt.
Crystal Helm: Shared-SB helmet. Attack, Defense, and Resistance. Protectga.
Lilith Rod: Shared-SB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. Single-target 4.7x fire magic damage, chance to inflict Confuse.
Icebrand: Stat-stick sword. Pure Attack. Increases ice damage dealt.
Ninja Suit: Stat-stick light armor. Defense and Resistance.
So, is it any good? Well, Aevis Killer is a powerful bow, and you probably need one of those; this one in particular is a great caster bow, even ignoring its solid SB. Magus Rod's stats are very solid, and its SB is fantastic. You know that the Air Knife is good. Admittedly, the Thor Hammer is not amazing without Galuf, and let's face it, Galuf isn't worth using, particularly with the now complete and awesome V cast.

The second banner is trickier. Sage's Staff is fantastic, and given that Lenna is going to have an MC2, that only makes it better. Brave Blade is a very strong sword, and the SB is excellent. Kotetsu is good, but frankly unnecessary - Gil's default SB is great to begin with, so Kotetsu is just gravy on top of that. Kaiser Knuckles have an amazing SB, but it's really only good on an RW - Galuf is just too wonky a character to be redeemed by an awesome SB. It says a lot, though, that the worst to be said about these banners is that Galuf is involved. These are good banners, and many of the items are valuable even on non-V characters.

So, if you're thinking of blowing your mythril on the remaining Soul Brunch banners, keep in mind that this is on the horizon, and plan accordingly.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-26, 01:47 PM

Thanks for the new thread. Looks good.

Red Fel

2015-12-26, 02:02 PM

And in case you missed it from the last thread, our evil overlord FFRK expert's breakdown of the newest special event!

No, no, you had it right the first time.

Ahh, dig that new thread smell. Smells so pure and untarnished.

Let's ruin it, shall we? Who wants to hate on some Major Orb drop rates? I know I do.

danzibr

2015-12-26, 02:13 PM

Chen

2015-12-26, 05:48 PM

In response to the previous question about Omega I beat him with Advance/retaliate but it honestly only worked because I had a sentinel grimoire and lunatic high available as my first actions (Cloud and Tyro RM3s). I still lost people to his AoE right before I killed him. Abusing stop makes it much easier.

Starwulf

2015-12-26, 06:56 PM

Thanks for putting all that info together DiscipleOfBob! In particular, the upcoming MC2's. Looking forward to, in particular, Gilgamesh's.

@Red Fel: Yup, hating on those drop rates. I might seriously switch from + down to heroic... exp is better, and excepting crap drops from Cactuars, I'm getting 6 3* orbs per 15 stamina.

EDIT: Oh yeah... any clue when we get to break down abilities? I already spent 2 mythril to increase my ability capacity.

Yeah I'm really starting to think that they lowered both the appearance rate and drop rate of the Cactaurs. I've only seen 3 Gigantaurs and I've devoted almost ALL of my stamina towards the Orbfest dungeons, and I've gotten mostly silver orbs from the cactaurs, only a handful of golden ones. Not a single Major orb outside of the completion/mastery rewards themselves.

Chen

2015-12-26, 08:20 PM

Yeah I'm really starting to think that they lowered both the appearance rate and drop rate of the Cactaurs. I've only seen 3 Gigantaurs and I've devoted almost ALL of my stamina towards the Orbfest dungeons, and I've gotten mostly silver orbs from the cactaurs, only a handful of golden ones. Not a single Major orb outside of the completion/mastery rewards themselves.

Bad luck perhaps, I'd say on average I'm seeing a greater orb at least every 30-40 stamina (so every 1.5-2 levels). I've gotten a few majors and the rate on majors definitely seems higher than the previous orb fest.

Reddit had the rate at about 12 stamina per 4* orb equivalent, once orb conversion comes in. The average for raw 4* is about 30 stamina, 3* is about 5 stamina per and major around 360 per.

danzibr

2015-12-26, 09:05 PM

I was thinking of maybe getting my current non-80's to 80 (that is, Sephiroth, Tyro, Tidus, Pally Cecil, Rinoa) on the exp grind fest tomorrow, then I looked here (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50543735/FFRK/Final%20Fantasy%20Record%20Keeper%20Stamina%20to%2 0Target%20Calculator.htm) and saw it would take ~4500 stamina to do so. At 140 stamina per mythril, that's a lot of mythril. I think I'm going to change my goals to getting people to 66, just so I can say they're above 65 :P

Yeah, that's much more reasonable. Guess I'll do what all the cool kids are doing and focus on getting lots of people to respectable levels, rather than a few people to high levels.

EDIT: I now have 2 solid teams. V and VII. Well, a couple are decent, but my V and VII are pure RS for the characters, the characters themselves make up a good team, and I have acceptable gear. Just a crap ton more.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-27, 12:34 AM

Wait, Sundays are realm V. Do they get synergy?

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-27, 01:19 AM

Wait, Sundays are realm V. Do they get synergy?

Sundays are Core. They just happen to use some V graphics and enemies.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-27, 01:30 AM

Sundays are Core. They just happen to use some V graphics and enemies.

Ah, the official strategy guide page says they are realm V.

So are core characters getting a synergy boost?

KillianHawkeye

2015-12-27, 01:37 AM

Holy smokes, guys, I think I just got my best ever 11-pull since I started playing this game six months ago!

I got Bartz's Air Knife, Faris' Aevis Killer, the FF5 Crystal Helm, and the FF13 Kaiser Knuckles! I also got a duplicate Defender (FF1), plus a couple other 4* items that were marginally interesting. I find it particularly amusing that I got 13's Kaiser Knuckles, considering Galuf's Kaiser Knuckles are a featured part of the next phase of the banner, and all my Monk characters have already been using Sabin's Kaiser Knuckles for a long time now. It kinda makes me wonder why the 13 Kaiser Knuckles don't have anything special for Snow, though. And can anyone believe how many times I typed the words "Kaiser Knuckles" in a single paragraph?? :smallbiggrin:

T.G. Oskar

2015-12-27, 01:43 AM

Mondays: Core
Tuesdays: FFIV
Wednesdays: FFVI
Thursdays: FFIII
Fridays: FFX
Saturdays: FFVII
Sundays: Synergy-less

That's how it goes right now. Unless they change the Daily Dungeons, that's the progress.

The thing is, Sundays have no synergy for any realm. They use FFV monsters and the battle theme, but they have no synergy at all - otherwise, Lenna would be level 65 by now if I went on the + Dungeon.

On other topics - I managed to (barely) beat DK Cecil on the FFIV Vale of Memories. Had to make a pit-stop at Castle Hein - Elite to snatch Kain's Memory Crystal, and work with the set-up. Haven't had luck with FFVIII's Behemoth, however.

Missed the Fire, Ice and Summoning Orb option for the Festive Fantasy. Really. Christmas Eve wasn't the best of days...

And, since the FFV event will be well beyond the New Year, I think I'll keep it on hold, unless I have some spare Stamina to work with it.

Just 33 out of 50 Mythril for a pull on one of the Festive Fantasy banners. That's the only one I'm really interested at, if only because of my hunt for the Minerva Bustier. My beloved needs her garments, dangit in tarnations!

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-27, 01:46 AM

Meanwhile I'm thinking, maybe I should just spend my 150 mithril on Sunday stamina refills.
I do need to get Rinoa, Squall, Tidus and Lenna to 80.

Then faris, Bartz and krile to 65.

Then spellblade and dragoon to 50.

I don't know.

danzibr

2015-12-27, 06:08 AM

SuperPanda

2015-12-27, 09:24 AM

For leveling today I was thinking about my teams per realm. Everyone below is LB, most are 65+.
I: Terrible.
II: Abysmal.
III: Laughable.
IV: Respectable. Rydia BM, Tellah WM, no Support, Pally Cecil beats, Kain beats.
V: Complete. Krile BM, Lenna WM, Faris Support, Bartz beats, Gilgamesh beats.
VI: Incomplete. Terra BM, nobody else worth mentioning.
VII: Complete. Reno BM, Aerith WM, Barret Support, Zack/Sephiroth beats, Cloud beats.
VIII: Incomplete. Rinoa BM, Squall beats, nobody else.
IX: Incomplete. Vivi BM, Eiko WM, nobody else.
X: Could be complete-ish. Lulu BM, lacking Yuna's MC, Wakka Support, Tidus beats, Auron beats.
XII: Incomplete. Ashe BM, Vaan support/beats, nobody else.
XIII: Incomplete. Vanille WM, nobody else.

Hmm, looks like I also have Zidane, Locke, Luneth, and Josef at 50 and LB. Could put them on the list.

The main thing I see on the list is... ya know, I really don't know why I'm leveling Sephiroth. I doubt I'm going to replace Cloud with Sephiroth even when Sephy gets to 80, and Zack has a much better skill set. Yeah, I think it's time to give 'im the boot.

EDIT: @Forbiddenwar, here (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50543735/FFRK/Final%20Fantasy%20Record%20Keeper%20Stamina%20to%2 0Target%20Calculator.htm)'s a calculator for how much stamina it takes to level a person from x to y. Might help with your decisions.

I only typically keep track up to level 50 but that's largely because I'm focused on getting as many characters as I can to LB1 for variety (currently working on getting some to 60+ or LB2 for harder stuff).

I: As good as it gets: WoL*
II: "Noble Sacrifice" Josef*, Maria(no MC yet)
III: "A light in the cloud of darkness" Arc*, Luneth (no MC yet), Reifa (No MC yet, only 45)
IV: "Living on a prayer" P.Cecil *, Rydia*, Kain*, Tellah* (3/4 have relics too)
V: "Not too shabby" Bartz*, Gilgamesh*, Lenna* (current 2 working through sundaily)
VI: "Goddess Statues" Edgar*, Terra*, Celes*, Mog*, Setzer *, Locke*, Shadow*
VII: "Oedipus Complex" Cloud**, Tifa*, Arieth*, Zack* (all of those have relics) also Sephiroth*, Reno* (who will likely never be used again).
VIII: "Booyaka... Nobody's using it" : Squall*, Rinoa* (Cardinal), Seifer*
IX: "You're not alone" Vivi*, Zidane*, Amarant*, Steiner*, Eiko*
X: "Dream a little dream of me" Wakka*, Lulu*, Auron*, Yuna(No MC), Tidus (No MC)
XI: Just kidding (though DU22 is suppose to give us Shantoto)
XII: "The gods mock us." Ashe *, Fran (No MC), Vaan*, (Balthier working up)
XIII: "Strikes twice" Sazh*, Vanille*, Lightning (no MC), Snow*, Hope*

Chen

2015-12-27, 11:30 AM

I'd consider skipping today for exp. This is the most important phase orb wise since it has power orbs in it. These are the ones you're going to want for things like Lifesiphon and Banish raid and the eventual 5* abilities like full break, saint cross, thief raid etc.

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-27, 11:53 AM

Definitely not skipping the Exp today. With all the MC2's coming up soon, it's going to be important to have as many high level synergy parties as possible. Faris and Krile are important for the V team, and while I don't know what the battle to get Lenna's MC2 will be like, I'm guessing one or both will be needed for mastery.

The immediate goal is to get Bartz, Krile, and Faris to 50. I couldn't quite get the latters' MCs yesterday so I don't want to waste stamina that could be going toward XP.

I finally got some RMs to drop! Tyro, P-Cecil, Rinoa, Bard, then Tidus. Now all I've got left on that end are Zell and Sephiroth.

For additional leveling priorities, I need to get Squall, Rinoa, P-Cecil, and eventually Lenna to 80 to run the harder stuff. Sephiroth and Tidus too when I get the chance.

Steiner, Fran, WoL, and Galuf are the next to get to 65 in time for their MC2s.

I still need to get most of the II and III characters to 50, along with Edward, FuSoYa, Strago, Zack, Seifer, Vaan, Yshtola, and Thancred. Oh, and some Core characters, but they're lower on the priority list obviously.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-27, 12:52 PM

Well, five mithril (the cost of one 3* item) and nearly all my eggs, and now Rinoa, Tidus, and Squall are all level 80.
Why Squall? Because I need another 80 level lightning spellblade for the omega fight.

On to my V team, the power orbs will have to wait until tomorrow.

. Faris and Krile are important for the V team, and while I don't know what the battle to get Lenna's MC2 will be like, I'm guessing one or both will be needed for mastery.

The unofficial source says only Lenna will be needed, and only for the +++ battle

Red Fel

2015-12-27, 08:40 PM

So, decided to do a one-pull on the V banner earlier today, and got a Ninja Suit! No SB, but solid V-synergy, so I feel good about it.

And speaking of, Banner 4 of the Soul Brunch is upon us! This is the Last Judgment Grimoire banner. Info is here (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/3xlgxh/sbs_relic_discussion_p4_the_last_judgement/). Should you pull? Well, there are some good mage items, and some... very specific options.

So, did a 3-pull, and got a 3-star, a 4-star, and... The Last Judgment Grimoire. This is the SSB Grimoire that deals three earth AoEs and, when mastered, increases Tyro's Attack by 10.

On the one hand, holy crap, first SSB. On the other... Tyro.

Simkin

2015-12-27, 10:07 PM

Yeah I'm really starting to think that they lowered both the appearance rate and drop rate of the Cactaurs. I've only seen 3 Gigantaurs and I've devoted almost ALL of my stamina towards the Orbfest dungeons, and I've gotten mostly silver orbs from the cactaurs, only a handful of golden ones. Not a single Major orb outside of the completion/mastery rewards themselves.

Maybe I'm the exception, but I've had really good drop rate luck. Didn't keep exact count, but I got a number of major power and wind on this last round (and at least a couple on each), and a "lot" of greater orbs on each. I thought they raised the rate to make up for exp.

Chen

2015-12-27, 10:12 PM

Did a three pull on this last banner and got Lulu's hairpin. Solid item for any mage party and apparently still pretty unique even in Japan as a stacking mage buff so I'm happy with that.

Figure I'll finish farming the Festive Fantasy dungeons until its done and then do the Faris/Krile event. Should be more than enough time for it then.

Simkin

2015-12-27, 10:19 PM

Holy smokes, guys, I think I just got my best ever 11-pull since I started playing this game six months ago!

Congratulations! That's a very nice pull.

Jurai

2015-12-27, 10:32 PM

I'm pleased to report that everyone in V aside from Krile and Faris are level broken, and I'm working on Faris and right now.

Simkin

2015-12-28, 12:24 AM

Made some fairly decent leveling progress today for having not spent any mythril.
- Finished up Squall to 80.
- Cecil is headed to 68.
- Rinoa is nearing 67.
- Krile and Faris up from low-to-mid 30s to 42 and 44 respectively.
- Sephiroth up to 77.
- Red XIII from about 35 to 50.

Tomorrow its back to the V event and orb farming. Oh and I randomly got Pally!Cecil's Paladin's Devotion. :smallsmile:

Hunter Noventa

2015-12-28, 08:15 AM

SuperPanda

2015-12-28, 08:23 AM

Did 3 runs of the xp dungeon before jumping back into orb-fest.

Squall hit 65 so he got his 2nd LB and got his orbfest spot replaced with a level 60 Rinoa. Cecil is chugging away at 55 while Balthier, Krile and Faris claw up from the low 40s.

On the real life side of things - I upgraded my phone on christmas. My old Windows phone died from internal injuries (the screen inside the touch screed was cracked somehow so input would get scrambled if was registered at all). I upgraded to an iphone and got a vpn working on it. With that I can actually play the phone game on my phone! (Also sometimes on lunch breaks now).

Nothing big or special yet. I've got my myhtril laid away for V banner 2 and VoM Banner 5 (finger crossed for the Lenna HoF and Cecil!). Haven't done any of the "Part 2" side of the Event. Haven't done any new dungeons. Still have 1 MC1 token for VoM waiting to see if I get a Selphie SB item or not.

Red Fel

2015-12-28, 09:12 AM

Not bad. I did a 3-pull and got 2 4-stars and Yuna's Lullaby Rod, which is pretty sweet.

Not looking forward to whatever insane battle they've locked Lenna's MC2 behind though.

Well, now seems the perfect time. Let's discuss the bonus battles, which are slated for release tomorrow night.

First, boss rush. It's three battles, but they're doozies. First, the Dragon Pod and flowers, so AoEs are a must. Only medal requirement is not to get KO'd, and he's susceptible to Slow, Stop, and Blind. As long as you can keep the flowers down, all the Pod can do is Attack, so that has the potential to be very straightforward. Next is Atomos, who is susceptible to Sleep (which is a medal requirement), so Mage Meta is a solid choice here. Lastly are the Crystals, and all you have to do is not be KO'd. Victory gets you Blizzaga Strike.

Next, the ++ battle against Antlion. Medals for using water and for inflicting Berserk status. He uses only single-target physical abilities, so Tauntaliate is definitely a thing. Victory gets you Lenna's MC2.

Next, the +++ battle against Melusine. Medals for not getting Lenna KO'd, and for using Sleep. She has an obnoxious barrier shift, but if you can keep her asleep, Mage Meta to the rescue. Victory gets you orbs and a Rosetta Stone.

Lastly, our first Ultimate (excluding Omega), Exdeath. You thought he was tough on 99 difficulty? Medals for using fire, for using ice, and for using lightning. And no, none of those are weaknesses, but you have to use them anyway. No debuff vulnerabilities, powerful attacks, and at low HP he attacks twice a turn. Victory gets you the Cursed Ring.

EDIT: If you haven't picked your underwhelming VII-synergy holiday gag gift yet, today is your last chance! Don't forget to grab something you'll regret before it's gone!

Slayn82

2015-12-28, 10:46 AM

On the one hand, holy crap, first SSB. On the other... Tyro.

I also got the Last Judgement Grimoire just now. Turned out i had a quest open for using a rare relic draw, that rewarded 5 mythril, so it was like getting a free relic.

Started leveling my B team this weekend, with Tyro, Rinoa, Squall, Yuna and Tidus, and kept doing the XP dungeons as i was stuck out of wifi. B team around lv 45, while the main party has Wakka at 53, Lulu and Zidane levelbroken, with Mog and Steiner pretty close too, and Gilgamesh got the Egg shortcut to Lvl 50. Today I'm burning mythril to replendish stamina, trying to make up for the lost time in this last week, and the short time this week too.

I'm still stumped at those VoM fights for MC2s,as the Dark Knight refuses to die. Maybe i'll have better luck against the Sandworm at X? My party will have decent sinergy there, at least.

Hunter Noventa

2015-12-28, 11:02 AM

I also got the Last Judgement Grimoire just now. Turned out i had a quest open for using a rare relic draw, that rewarded 5 mythril, so it was like getting a free relic.

Started leveling my B team this weekend, with Tyro, Rinoa, Squall, Yuna and Tidus, and kept doing the XP dungeons as i was stuck out of wifi. B team around lv 45, while the main party has Wakka at 53, Lulu and Zidane levelbroken, with Mog and Steiner pretty close too, and Gilgamesh got the Egg shortcut to Lvl 50. Today I'm burning mythril to replendish stamina, trying to make up for the lost time in this last week, and the short time this week too.

I'm still stumped at those VoM fights for MC2s,as the Dark Knight refuses to die. Maybe i'll have better luck against the Sandworm at X? My party will have decent sinergy there, at least.

The Sandworm felt a lot easier than the Dark Knight, and I didn't even have that great of an X party.

First, boss rush. It's three battles, but they're doozies. First, the Dragon Pod and flowers, so AoEs are a must. Only medal requirement is not to get KO'd, and he's susceptible to Slow, Stop, and Blind. As long as you can keep the flowers down, all the Pod can do is Attack, so that has the potential to be very straightforward. Next is Atomos, who is susceptible to Sleep (which is a medal requirement), so Mage Meta is a solid choice here. Lastly are the Crystals, and all you have to do is not be KO'd. Victory gets you Blizzaga Strike.

Next, the ++ battle against Antlion. Medals for using water and for inflicting Berserk status. He uses only single-target physical abilities, so Tauntaliate is definitely a thing. Victory gets you Lenna's MC2.

Next, the +++ battle against Melusine. Medals for not getting Lenna KO'd, and for using Sleep. She has an obnoxious barrier shift, but if you can keep her asleep, Mage Meta to the rescue. Victory gets you orbs and a Rosetta Stone.

Lastly, our first Ultimate (excluding Omega), Exdeath. You thought he was tough on 99 difficulty? Medals for using fire, for using ice, and for using lightning. And no, none of those are weaknesses, but you have to use them anyway. No debuff vulnerabilities, powerful attacks, and at low HP he attacks twice a turn. Victory gets you the Cursed Ring.

The Boss Rush will suck, those always do. Sleep seems to be a must, but you also want some other debuffs for Dragon Pod.

For Antlion, Gilgamesh is made of Tauntaliate, so that's a bonus. The only way to inflict berserk is with White Magic, oddly enough. Luckily I've got enough powered up mages to make that doable, if I can keep Gil alive.

I'm so glad I have Lenna leveled up for Melusine, and again plenty of mages. But what's more reliable? Sleep Buster or the Sleep Spell? And wouldn't Sleep Buster wake her up again if you hit her before she wakes up, if the sleep doesn't proc?

As for Exdeath? hahahahhaha no.

At least I should have time to power level Faris and Krile a bit, for more synergy. Setzer is doing well as Support, but Synergy is Synergy.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-28, 11:03 AM

Victory gets you the Cursed Ring.

!

How is the cursed ring? On par with the omega item? Is it worth struggling for or spending mithril in retries?

huttj509

2015-12-28, 11:48 AM

So, I started yesterday. Kinda liking it, as evidenced by filling out my V-team.

V's my favorite, so I definitely want my general goto team when not synergizeing to be V heavy. Of course, the problem is, who?

Gilgamesh probably stays, as he's a) Gilgamesh, and b) retaliate could be fun to play with (got it crafted).

So between Bartz, Krile, Faris, Galuf, and Lenna, I need to pick 4.

I'm leaning towards dropping Krile, until I start finding magic more useful. The limited uses don't go great for me until I top them up a bit.

But man, my level 30 Galuf with a Orichalcum Dirk (V) + level 15, in a V dungeon, is a total beast.

Edit: I wish quests had tabs for the types. If I'm gonna make/boost some abilities, it'd be nice to easily check the crafting quests to see if any I should accept beforehand.

Red Fel

2015-12-28, 11:54 AM

The Sandworm felt a lot easier than the Dark Knight, and I didn't even have that great of an X party.

Agreed. Sandworm was far more manageable. Admittedly, my IV team isn't amazing - no Support to be found - but yeah.

The Boss Rush will suck, those always do. Sleep seems to be a must, but you also want some other debuffs for Dragon Pod.

Sleep is mandatory for Atomos, but other debuffs are available. That said, the Pod only uses physical attacks, so as long as you can keep the flowers down, Tauntaliate is going to be helpful.

For Antlion, Gilgamesh is made of Tauntaliate, so that's a bonus. The only way to inflict berserk is with White Magic, oddly enough. Luckily I've got enough powered up mages to make that doable, if I can keep Gil alive.

As long as Tauntaliate stays up, Gil is invulnerable.

I'm so glad I have Lenna leveled up for Melusine, and again plenty of mages. But what's more reliable? Sleep Buster or the Sleep Spell? And wouldn't Sleep Buster wake her up again if you hit her before she wakes up, if the sleep doesn't proc?

According to the definitive source (http://happypluto.com/~misterp/r/ffrk.pdf), Sleep Buster has the same 30% chance for 30 second debuff that the Sleep spell has. That said, I believe that the duration of the debuff may be affected by a casting stat, but I don't know the details - it's possible that the Sleep spell, being used by a caster, will last longer.

But yes, Sleep Buster would wake her if Sleep doesn't proc.

As for Exdeath? hahahahhaha no.

At least I should have time to power level Faris and Krile a bit, for more synergy. Setzer is doing well as Support, but Synergy is Synergy.

That it is, Little Sally, that it is.

How is the cursed ring? On par with the omega item? Is it worth struggling for or spending mithril in retries?

Both are 5-star accessories. The Omega Badge is a V-synergy accessory with +20 Attack and +15 Resist, both of which are massive boosts, particularly the Attack, moreso in V. The Cursed Ring is also a V-synergy accessory, and is the inverse - +20 Magic and +15 Defense. Again, a +20 bonus to a primary stat (Attack, Magic, Mind) is the maximum right now, as is a +15 to a defensive stat (Defense (except for the Gauntlets), Resistance), so getting both is kind of a big deal.

That said, is it worth the mythril? Eh... I don't know about that. You can find 4-star accessories that do the same for the offensive stat, although they won't necessarily have synergy. There are plenty of +20 Attack or +20 Magic accessories out there. And heck, let's not forget that you just got a freebie +20 Attack, +15 Magic accessory for the holiday daily. So you're not exactly at a loss for it.

So, I started yesterday. Kinda liking it, as evidenced by filling out my V-team.

Grats and welcome!

V's my favorite, so I definitely want my general goto team when not synergizeing to be V heavy. Of course, the problem is, who?

Gilgamesh probably stays, as he's a) Gilgamesh, and b) retaliate could be fun to play with (got it crafted).

So between Bartz, Krile, Faris, Galuf, and Lenna, I need to pick 4.

At early stages, Galuf's raw power will be useful. But as the game progresses, you'll find the need to switch to a more caster-heavy strategy. Physical damage helps you sweep the dungeons, but later you'll need powerful spells like Ruinga to do that. At that point, you'll probably drop Galuf - whose utility drops off - and keep Krile and Faris around, the former for spells and the latter for powerful Breakdown abilities.

danzibr

2015-12-28, 02:12 PM

Still debating attempting Omega. That 5* accessory seems mighty nice, but I'm a little burnt out.

And welcome, hutt!

huttj509

2015-12-28, 03:25 PM

Huzzah, got Lenna and Bartz' Memory crystal (the one from the event with Atomos, dunno if their 2nd is out yet).

Now I just need 23 and 20 levels respectively to use em.

Red Fel

2015-12-28, 04:16 PM

Huzzah, got Lenna and Bartz' Memory crystal (the one from the event with Atomos, dunno if their 2nd is out yet).

Now I just need 23 and 20 levels respectively to use em.

There are lists of MCs that are out. Bartz' is not out yet, but Lenna's MC2 will become available with the bonus battles in this event.

Friv

2015-12-28, 08:05 PM

Starwulf

2015-12-28, 08:22 PM

Still debating attempting Omega. That 5* accessory seems mighty nice, but I'm a little burnt out.

And welcome, hutt!

I know exactly what you mean. I've had lots of time on my hands with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and yet I've barely played at all. Think I burnt myself out on the first two stages of the Orbfest, was logging on every chance I could and burning through all my stamina. Now I barely have the energy to consider opening it to collect the dailies. LOL

Simkin

2015-12-28, 08:58 PM

Holy crap Exdeath, what the even hell?

I thought I had things under control. My healing was good, his health was dropping - and then he hit low health and starting not only casting twice a turn, but exclusively dropping area of effect spells on me. I went from fully healed team to everyone dead in two rounds.

I'm going to need more Shell.

He caught me off guard with that the first two times. Once I was taking my time and screwing around with support spells, and advance or one of my breaks wore off and interrupted my reta-train. The second time I hesitated a second, reta lapsed, and Bartz killed Gilgamesh with a Double-cut that included a crit. After that I stopped wasting a turn getting SG up until right before he got low and just went straight into damaging. Also reset everything right before he got low so I could burn him down in 2 turns or less. Couple folks proc-ing reta through Gilgamesh + Diaga hitting for damage cap drops him that last 20% or so pretty fast.

Jurai

2015-12-28, 09:04 PM

danzibr

2015-12-28, 09:10 PM

I know exactly what you mean. I've had lots of time on my hands with the exception of Christmas Eve and Christmas day, and yet I've barely played at all. Think I burnt myself out on the first two stages of the Orbfest, was logging on every chance I could and burning through all my stamina. Now I barely have the energy to consider opening it to collect the dailies. LOL
I feel ya there. To be honest, I burnt myself out BEFORE Orbfest. I was frantically trying to get my max stam up, did a bunch of really hard classic stuff, with the stamina refills I'd play for hours at a time.

The final stage of Orbfest is up! Free mythril and lots of gear upgrade stuff. I actually have absolutely nothing I want to level since I've been hoarding my mythril, hoping to have 500 by this event (http://ffrk.kongbakpao.com/orb-dungeon-2/). Assuming a new event comes out about every 7 days (is that right...?), it's about 70 days away. So... rest of December, all of January, all of February, probably get it in March. Then I'll do 2 11-pulls per banner on 5 banners, 110 pieces of gear, hopefully have enough stuff saved up by then to upgrade whichever of it I wish.

Slayn82

2015-12-28, 09:38 PM

Mount of Ordeals. A place where those searching for redemption go to face all their evil deeds and purify their spirits to begin a new life. Among the ruins left by an ancient civilization, an specter in Dark Armor confronts all who dare to enter in his chamber.

A brave team climbs those steps, lead by the valiant Wakka. Always with a positive, we won't know unless we try attitude, able to expertly use his ball weapon to create opportunities for his allies, thanks to his infallible aim.

He is followed close by a young man with a tail. His roguish ways and gentleness with women managed to charm them and annoy his male companions, and at the moment his cares were concentrated in the women that followed behind, by all accounts a powerful mage, or sorceress as her people called her. The beautiful Rinoa, as the rogue Zidane called her on front of her companion Squall, like an angel was indeed an incarnation of beauty - and also of fury, as she released the full powers of her magical relic, called reverently the Valkyrie. Of course, Zidane was also well versed in dealing with powerful enemies, and carried a relic of his own, a sword with dual blades named " The Scoop".

Closing the ranks, an unlikely duo of a small boy dressed in blue carrying an ominous book and an imposing warrior clad in extravagant clothes carrying an exquisite sword, in deep conversation:

"- A Book? You choose to hit people with the book? What are you, some kind of Lawyer? Sure, books can be dangerous, like those books that Byblos took over, but those had monsters coming over from those pages. When you attack, will you give the enemy paper cuts? Well, I suppose those can hurt too...

- Well, Mr. Gilgamesh, actually...

- Call me Gil, boy. Wait, we gonna fight an Specter of Cecil when he was a Dark Knight, maybe you need the book for exorcism? I heard people say you would be the white mage, and use the book for a strong spell. Well boy, you should learn to use a real weapon, like this sword here, its pretty great.

- Yes, Mr. Gil... I think so too, I get embarrassed by hearing you say it loud, it was our first relic. But be careful the Blitz Sword is a bit unbalanced, good for double cuts or elemental strikes if you use it like this.

-...Whoa, calm down boy.

- Personally, I'm a bit more used lately to the Warrior's Sword and the Giant Axe, but they are not as effective as the Blitz Sword in most realms. Well, I'm just an amateur, you are the great warrior, I hope I can one day be as strong as you, Mr. Gilgamesh.

- Y-yeah, maybe one day kid ( That move wasn't too shabby, that boy has good eyes and good reflexes. I'll keep an eye on him)."

The party arrived at the Dark Halls of the Dark Knight. Before they could enter the room and announce themselves, a booming voice echoed in the Chamber:

"- Where is Cecil, who the people acclaim as a Palladin? He has defeated me before, but this time my power of Darkness shall prevail over him, as my power is greater than ever, for I have the power of the Crystal of Memories.

- Hum, yeah, this Cecil of yours is staying at home with Doctor Mog - said Tyro - I and my friends came to fight you and take the Crystal.

- Impudent boy, you toss brave words around, but this isn't one of your children games. You and your friends come to challenge me with a ball, a book, and your toys?

- Bah, enough talking with this Guy. Boys, let's play with our toys."

And by saying this, Gilgamesh charged the enemy, while Zidane and Wakka fought in vain to suppress their laughter.

(Finally beat the Dark Knight. Throwing the book at him made quite a difference in this fight)

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-28, 10:02 PM

snip

(Finally beat the Dark Knight. Throwing the book at him made quite a difference in this fight)

Lol. Very good.

Starwulf

2015-12-29, 12:36 AM

huttj509

2015-12-29, 03:26 AM

New Years Countdown, also known as "another reason for me to get a smartphone rather than playing on an android emulator for PC (Bluestacks) since I'll be at a friend's for New Years."

Reformatting the rewards and times for people, since I find the announcement a bit busy.

Log in between the indicated times and midnight PST on New Years (11:59 PM on the 31st) to get free Mythril, Growth Eggs, and one of each Greater Orb. All times listed are PST (UTC is 8 hours later than the time I'm listing). "Midnight" indicates the one that starts that date. Implies that you only need to log in once to get all rewards (3 hours before New Years PST)

Tuesday, Dec 29, midnight - Already passed as of this post, so just log in between now and new years to get it.
Wednesday, Dec 30, midnight
Thursday, Dec 31, midnight
Thursday, Dec 31, noon
Thursday, Dec 31, 6 pm
Thursday, Dec 31, 9 pm

Question: I'm using Android to access the game. If one of my friends has an android smartphone, can I log into google on that phone, access the game, and be accessing my FFRK account? For my friend to switch back, would they just need to log back into their own google account? Or are there more hoops?

Knaight

2015-12-29, 03:44 AM

Wow, that is a LOT of 5* scarletite and adamantites for finishing Heroic and +(20 Scar and 10 Ada from Heroic, and then 40 of one and 20 of another from +). Going to be able to max out pretty much anything and everything you'd ever want to after this unless you're a heavy, heavy spender.

I expect them to last until the next relic draw, with the Adamantite lasting a fair bit longer. I blow through Scarletite freakishly quickly though, judging by how I have pretty close to a page of maxed out 6* and 5* relic weapons, most of which aren't naturals. Hoarding weapons and spending Scarletite is the way to go.

danzibr

2015-12-29, 06:34 AM

Question: I'm using Android to access the game. If one of my friends has an android smartphone, can I log into google on that phone, access the game, and be accessing my FFRK account? For my friend to switch back, would they just need to log back into their own google account? Or are there more hoops?
At the first screen of the app, there's a Manage Account button. You can do things like link your account to Facebook.

EDIT: Just got the special blue-gold chest. Got *TWO* Giant Scarletite. Interesting.

EDIT EDIT: Oh wow. That countdown bonus is *nice*. In just a couple days they're showering us with gifts. I think I'll be able to reach my 500 mythril goal (already over 250). I'm also looking forward to clearing out all the content at most 110, maybe 1 or 2 select others for MC's.

huttj509

2015-12-29, 07:51 AM

At the first screen of the app, there's a Manage Account button. You can do things like link your account to Facebook.

Yes, on Android it's automatically linked to your Google account.

Thing is, I don't know what devices some of my friends have, or if they already have FFRK.

a) If friend doesn't already have FFRK, that seems easy. Download app, "Overwrite Account" (from Account Management), click Google Account, and bingo.

b) If friend already has FFRK, I don't want to overwrite his data. If friend is using Android, it seems I could log in the device as a whole to my Google account. However, I don't know how this would interact with FFRK, or if it would mash our accounts together overwriting one (Oh, this device is linked to X, but the google account is linked to Y).

c) Friend already has FFRK, but is using IOS. Might be same solution as b, might not.

In any case, I then need to make sure to either wipe to a fresh account on that device in situation a, or revert back to friends account in b or c. This might not be possible.

I also don't know if i'm overthinking it, underthinking it, or sidewaysthinking it.

danzibr

2015-12-29, 09:37 AM

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-29, 09:46 AM

Oooh, I use an iPhone. Sorry.

I think I'm finally going to assemble a team for every realm, low level or not. I should have enough eggs to level 8 or so from 1 to 50. Should let me fill out perhaps every single realm. Or maybe I'll get them to like 45 for the time being, save some eggs.

II and III lack white mages though, disappointing. iirc anyway. I was looking at the list earlier and had the thought that nearly every realm has a solid party, and I have every character except Quina (but dammit I need her for my IX team), about time I assembled them.

II is currently lacking a decent a White Mage, but will eventually get Minwu.

III has Arc who is a dedicated White Mage. It's a Black Mage that III is currently lacking. Luneth is your standard beat stick, Refia is a monk, Ingus is a knight. Eventually III will get Desch who comes with Bard, Black Magic, and Spellblade abilities.

Chen

2015-12-29, 09:54 AM

Question: I'm using Android to access the game. If one of my friends has an android smartphone, can I log into google on that phone, access the game, and be accessing my FFRK account? For my friend to switch back, would they just need to log back into their own google account? Or are there more hoops?

I suggest very highly NOT to do this. FFRK gets linked to the hardware ID on a phone. If they ever install the game afterwards and decide to sync up their account it is possible to replace YOUR account on YOUR device as well. There were some posts talking on Reddit about this. Someone had factory reset an old phone so their kid could play their own account. It ended up overwriting the main account on all other devices with the kids account when they synced it up.

Note that the New Year's login bonus all end at the same time (11:59 on the 31st, PST) so as long as you login during the last 3 hours you should get all the rewards.

huttj509

2015-12-29, 10:02 AM

I suggest very highly NOT to do this. FFRK gets linked to the hardware ID on a phone. If they ever install the game afterwards and decide to sync up their account it is possible to replace YOUR account on YOUR device as well. There were some posts talking on Reddit about this. Someone had factory reset an old phone so their kid could play their own account. It ended up overwriting the main account on all other devices with the kids account when they synced it up.

Note that the New Year's login bonus all end at the same time (11:59 on the 31st, PST) so as long as you login during the last 3 hours you should get all the rewards.

During most of the next 3 days I'll be 3 hours from my PC.

TY for the info. Was basically trying to figure out if it was easy, hard, or impossible. It's no biggie, but that 6 mythril is staring at my soul.

danzibr

2015-12-29, 10:29 AM

@Knaight hoooooly crap that's a lot of 6*'s.

@DiscipleOfBob thanks for the info! And correction. Perhaps surprisingly, I'm looking forward to Minwu more than any other character. He's one of my favorites for the entire series. He's still a ways out, kind of disappointing, I'll use Lenna in the interim.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-29, 10:53 AM

Red Fel

2015-12-29, 11:25 AM

I'm discovering what was said in the last thread. It's not really worth Leveling a full team for each realm if you are putting in mediocre characters.

This is true. That's why my II party contains precious few II characters - they all stink on ice.

Character Synergy is not that good.

This is false. Having character synergy is roughly equivalent to having characters 10 levels higher than they really are. Assuming the character isn't rubbish, that's incredibly powerful. Playing to synergy is one of the most powerful planning tools in the game.

I can't think of any realm that can have a full power team who tops the ranks in their ability and can use common items. FVII lacks a heavy black magic user (you still need vivi, not reno) and a decent support (red is really good, but only with special equipment)

Reno is a heavy black magic user. He's not Vivi (other than Lulu, who is?) but he's extremely capable, and with synergy even moreso. He uses BLM 5, and his physical stats are also respectable.

And Barret is a thing. Remember him? Support 5, and ranged weapon use means he can sit in the back row and not get murdered. Yeah, guns are rare, but they exist. And before we're too down on the disappointment that is Red XIII, remember that he has an upcoming MC2.

I have several solid full teams. My V team, Bartz/Gil/Faris/Krile/Lenna, covers all the bases; so does my VII team of Cloud/Zack/Barret/Reno/Aerith, my X team of Tidus/Auron/Wakka/Lulu/Yuna, my VI team of Celes/Edgar/Setzer/Terra/Mog, and so forth. It absolutely can be done.

In short, even at max level in a FFX battle, kimahri is still kimahri.

This is true. Some characters are truly rubbish, and Kimahri is the standard by which we measure them. (Kimahri measures in at 1 Kimahri. Gordon measures in at 1.2 Kimahris. The rest of the II cast measures in at roughly 1.1-1.5 Kimahris. Core classes measure in at roughly 0.5-0.75 Kimahris. Power levels are bogus.)

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-29, 11:51 AM

This is true. Some characters are truly rubbish, and Kimahri is the standard by which we measure them. (Kimahri measures in at 1 Kimahri. Gordon measures in at 1.2 Kimahris. The rest of the II cast measures in at roughly 1.1-1.5 Kimahris. Core classes measure in at roughly 0.5-0.75 Kimahris. Power levels are bogus.)

"Kimahri not know what Kimahri did to deserve all this. Kimahri just try to help. Everyone speak to Kimahri like Biran and Yenke. Call Kimahri hornless. Kimahri have feelings too, you know!"

Hunter Noventa

2015-12-29, 11:55 AM

Well I realized I had a ton of Eggs lying around, so I was able to easily pump Faris and Krile to 50, since they're actually good characters. Working on Faris' MC Now.

huttj509

2015-12-29, 11:58 AM

Red Fel

2015-12-29, 12:20 PM

48 mythril...cmon 2 more, I wanna see what I get from the V banner!

Question: For a few items such as Icebrand, it boldly declairs "Relic synergy aura in FF V dungeons!" Is this above and beyond the normal matching dungeon boost to items?

Or is it just "Look, it's a 5 star weapon, that's not bad in and of itself, but everything else here has bold proclamations of soul breaks and awesomeness, so we can't just leave it blank..."

The latter.

Basically, each banner contains four categories of item:
Featured character-specific SB items. These are powerful items generally, with a character-specific SB.
Featured shared-SB items. These are often slightly less powerful, but still potent, and the SB can be used by anyone.
Featured stat-stick items. These items have no SB, but are sturdy and have relic synergy. As you point out, that's basically all they have, so they have to emphasize it.
Everything else. Generally 3- or 4-star items. These are what you'll probably get.
Never, ever roll on a banner hoping to get a specific item - you will be disappointed. Instead, roll on a banner when there's a lot of stuff that you want, and you might just get some of it.

Knaight

2015-12-29, 12:21 PM

@Knaight hoooooly crap that's a lot of 6*'s.

It's two 6* items, both of which are 4*++. It's 5* (mostly 4*+ and 3*++) that overwhelm the page.

danzibr

2015-12-29, 12:25 PM

I'm discovering what was said in the last thread. It's not really worth Leveling a full team for each realm if you are putting in mediocre characters. Character Synergy is not that good. I can't think of any realm that can have a full power team who tops the ranks in their ability and can use common items. FVII lacks a heavy black magic user (you still need vivi, not reno) and a decent support (red is really good, but only with special equipment)

In short, even at max level in a FFX battle, kimahri is still kimahri.
Yes, but I already have maybe 12 characters at 65+. I can bring my A team in almost anywhere and kick donkey and take names, but then I'm wasting experience.

48 mythril...cmon 2 more, I wanna see what I get from the V banner!

Question: For a few items such as Icebrand, it boldly declairs "Relic synergy aura in FF V dungeons!" Is this above and beyond the normal matching dungeon boost to items?

Or is it just "Look, it's a 5 star weapon, that's not bad in and of itself, but everything else here has bold proclamations of soul breaks and awesomeness, so we can't just leave it blank..."
It's based on item level. I forget the exact numbers, but every multiple of 5 gives it a considerable boost. Ideally you're getting your 4*'s and 5*'s to max level. You'll notice a huge difference.

huttj509

2015-12-29, 12:30 PM

Never, ever roll on a banner hoping to get a specific item - you will be disappointed. Instead, roll on a banner when there's a lot of stuff that you want, and you might just get some of it.

Oh yeah, I got that. It's why I wanna hit the V banner. I know medium-long term I'll want to have teams set up for other synergies, and ability setups, but at present i'm mostly using V.

Chen

2015-12-29, 01:19 PM

huttj509

2015-12-29, 01:36 PM

First 11-draw:

5-star:
Thor Hammer(V)
Crystal Helm(V)
Emerald Shield(X)

4-star:
Maneater(VI)
Mezmerize Blade(XII)
Black Robe(IV)

And then 5 3-stars.

Not bad, IMO. How redonkulously lucky was I?

Red Fel

2015-12-29, 02:31 PM

First 11-draw:

5-star:
Thor Hammer(V)
Crystal Helm(V)
Emerald Shield(X)

4-star:
Maneater(VI)
Mezmerize Blade(XII)
Black Robe(IV)

And then 5 3-stars.

Not bad, IMO. How redonkulously lucky was I?

To get three 5-stars? Pretty lucky. Good pull.

Now for the Debby Downer part. Hammers don't get used a lot, and the Thor Hammer - while nice on Galuf - is unlikely to see other use, aside from the rare spellblade who can use hammers. And when you get bored with Galuf...

The Crystal Helm is actually a really great useful item. Helms are useful, particularly because they boost Attack, and the SB on that one is a very, very helpful SB. The fact that it's shared, and can be used by any helm-user (many of whom have worthless default SBs) is gravy.

The Emerald Shield is extremely solid, as shields go. Unfortunately, I say "as shields go" because you inevitably find something better to use than a shield. But it will be a major step towards building another team with synergy, and as it stands you can make a solid go of it with X. This is particularly useful, because the next event after the V event is an X event, and that shield will come in super handy.

Overall? Ya done good.

huttj509

2015-12-29, 02:50 PM

Overall? Ya done good.

I'm definitely early enough that anything not literally useless is useful.

Edit: After the event, are the boosted items added to the general pool of 5 star items from the random machine, or gone?

Red Fel

2015-12-29, 04:39 PM

Well, before you get too excited about the V banner, keep in mind that the final banner of Soul Brunch goes up tonight. This is the two-fer banner - Squall's Cutting Trigger and Pally!Cecil's Lustrous Sword. Details are here (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/3xpvt3/sbs_relic_discussion_p5_the_cutting_lustrous/). The gist: It's a mostly melee banner with a strong VIII focus. Should you pull? Well, if you really want an SSB, this gives you twice the chance, and if you want your VIII SBs, it's a solid option.

The V event bonus battles are also going up tonight. I covered the second V banner in the last thread, but the gist of that one is:
Sage's Staff. Lenna gets her MC2 in this event, and her medica SB is a good one - AoE heal for the quick fix, plus regen for the long term.
Brave Blade. Bartz' Air Knife was good, as far as daggers go. The Brave Blade is good, but different - instead of an AoE with wind damage and sap, it's a single-target multi-hit non-elemental physical attack that boosts his Attack. Which is still pretty potent, and as a sword it's a stronger weapon.
Kotetsu. Gil's signature right now. His default SB is great, so really most of what you get from this is a solid weapon with V synergy.
Kaiser Knuckles. Galuf stinks, but this SB will make you a hero as an RW.
And now, the gist of the bonus battles. Boss rush: Three parts.
Dragon Pod: With strong enough stats, you should be able to one-shot the flowers with AoEs. They use debuffs, but the Pod only uses basic attacks, so keeping the flowers down makes the fight a joke. Medals for not being KO'd.
Atomos: This battle begs for mage meta. Other than Comet, his abilities deal proportional damage, so mitigation isn't an option. If you can Sleep him, though, there's nothing he can do. Medals for not being KO'd, and using Sleep.
Crystals: Keep in mind that each absorbs a different element (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth), and all four null Ice, Lightning, Holy, and Poison. So Ruinga will be your friend here if it's hard to keep track. They open with exclusively single-target physical attacks, but once weakened, each has a powerful magic AoE, so Shellga is merited. Medals for not being KO'd.
++: Antlion. This battle drops Lenna's MC2. He's weak to Water, nulls Earth, and is susceptible to Sleep and Berserk. If you're using mage meta, Sleep makes this another cakewalk. If you're using tauntaliate, Berserk reduces him solely to single-target physical attacks, making this another cakewalk. Medals for using Water, using Berserk, and not getting KO'd.
+++: Melusine. For the love of all that is holy, put her to sleep. She uses Barrier Shift, making the fight a profound nuisance, but she can't Barrier Shift while sleeping. And she opens combat with Fire vulnerability, meaning that if you sleep her immediately, you can nuke her into the ground with Fire. Alternatively, if you're not a fan of mage meta, focus on non-elemental attacks to avoid screwing up. Medals for using Sleep, not getting KO'd, and not letting Lenna get KO'd. This fight requires Lenna for mastery.
Ultimate: Exdeath. This battle drops the Cursed Ring. Exdeath has no elemental vulnerabilities (but no strengths), is not susceptible to debuffs, and resists breaks. Medals require you to use Fire, Ice, and Lightning, but again these deal no extra damage. He has a ton of AoEs, massive magic damage, dispels, and attacks that deal proportionate damage. He is a beast, and when he hits 50%, he evolves into JENOVA attacks twice per turn. Use lots of hones, because you'll be here awhile. Bring your A-team, because this is really going to hurt.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-29, 05:15 PM

I mastered Omega!

*Dances*

Party:
Cloud lvl 80 RM Self sacrifice.
thundara strike 6/retaliate
Silver glasses

Squall lvl 80 RM Attunement II
Thundara strike 8/pound 4
(I learned pound works even when blinded, though I wish I had another pair of silver glasses)

Rinoa lvl 80 RM devotion, but maybe I could have used witch of succession.
Thundaga 8/ Thundaja 6

Aerith lvl 65 RM Auto haste
Stop 8/ Curaja
I read that although stop is black magic, the duration is based on Mind. So I used the best white mages I had who could cast Stop.
I also used Aerith in case I needed her SB, but I didn't.

Selphie lvl 65 RM Auto haste
Stop 8/ Esuna
Putting a second stop on another caster was key. Stops sometimes miss, and without a second immediate casting, omega would start moving, almost always resulting in a party wipe instantly.

RW: Boon, but anything with haste all would work. I used it once at half health once the auto haste wore off.

It was pretty close. I killed Omega with my last pound and Thundaga. I used all my damage abilities, and only had 2 stops left.

Simkin

2015-12-29, 05:49 PM

I'm discovering what was said in the last thread. It's not really worth Leveling a full team for each realm if you are putting in mediocre characters. Character Synergy is not that good. I can't think of any realm that can have a full power team who tops the ranks in their ability and can use common items. FVII lacks a heavy black magic user (you still need vivi, not reno) and a decent support (red is really good, but only with special equipment)

In short, even at max level in a FFX battle, kimahri is still kimahri.

People don't build realm synergy teams because they are perfect. We all have A teams. We do it because it is fun. If people didn't enjoy leveling characters from each realm they would have made a game with 5 characters. Many folks enjoy the challenge of using a realm synergy team to clear realm content.

Also, not sure I can get onboard with the general sentiment. You certainly don't need high end characters in a party to beat things. While I agree that character synergy alone doesn't do much, weapon synergy certainly does. That aside; the difference between "elite" characters and good ones is rarely enough that it is game changing on anything up to ++ at least. I have a maxed out Vivi with his rod that I rarely use, much less need to clear any content. Reno isn't good? I need Vivi? That's absurd. I haven't seen a battle that I couldn't pick characters out of a hat as long as they had the right job slots and still win.

As an aside I'm pretty fond of Kimahri despite his drawbacks (especially since I don't have a Tidus MC until next week). With his spear (or any synergy weapon, he hits like a tank in X dungeons. Throw on a decent jump (I use Wind Jump a lot) and you average 6-8K on mobs in daily + dungeons.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-29, 06:37 PM

Also, not sure I can get onboard with the general sentiment.

You are right. The general sentiment was not intended.

Deadline

2015-12-29, 06:49 PM

You certainly don't need high end characters in a party to beat things.

At higher level elites (at least, the ones you can't reliably RetaMeta), you need high-end characters with synergy and synergy gear if you want to pull off mastery. You might be able to pull it off with crappier characters, depending on difficulty, but if you do, it's purely to make things harder on yourself.

And unfortunately for Kimahri, none of the problems we've got in FFRK are Ronso problems, so he's generally not of much use (especially now that Lulu is out).

danzibr

2015-12-29, 07:40 PM

I mastered Omega!

[...]
Grats! I just mastered it with a rather similar setup. Main difference is I did Advance rather than Boon.

EDIT: Looking way ahead (like the events that just came out in Japan), I think I'm set for a while with this game; in particular, the ++ bosses don't get much harder, maybe not harder at all, and I have little to no interest in doing +++ or M. I don't even feel motivated to clear any more content. 134 stamina is golden, the next hurdle would be 153 or something, and that's not going to happen for me for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

Also, there are many more BSSB's than I realized. I only knew of Cloud. So for the next Orbfest there'll be 5 banners, each banner has 3 SSB weapons. Then for the *next* Orbfest, another few months down the line, there are again 5 banners, the first 3 have 1 BSSB weapon, the last 2 banners have 2 such weapons.

I'm not nuts or patient enough to save like a thousand mythril for the BSSB Orbfest, but I think I can amass 500 by the next one, then another few hundred by the one after. Maybe 350 for that one.

Hunter Noventa

2015-12-29, 08:15 PM

Ugh, the first Exdeath fight is kicking my butt. Once he starts hitting twice per turn there's just nothing I can do. Not when his spells hit for 3000 through Magic Breakdown and Shell.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-29, 08:38 PM

The fifth and last banner and for science I used all my mithril. 150 worth and only got 1 5*. Tidus lightning sword.

Was 5* drops significantly nerfed at some point?

Oh well. With all the rest I was able to combine and make a few 4* and 5* on my own.

On to start saving for the next orbfest. I hope to get about 250 mithril by then. (10 events at 10 each plus 10 daily per week for 10 weeks plus classic dungeons cleared.)

Simkin

2015-12-29, 09:04 PM

Grats! I just mastered it with a rather similar setup. Main difference is I did Advance rather than Boon.

So, even though missing Omega doesn't have me that bummed, couple questions to throw out for folks. I feel like I missed the boat on this Stop thing. Why do people have two Stops honed that high and/or enough orbs sitting around to get them there? I know I wasn't paying attention to some of the real high end (++ & +++) strategies since I wasn't that far along until recently; but I feel like I made mostly prudent decisions on what I'm been making and honing. I just don't recall a lot of talk about needing that much Stop.

I've managed to get a R3 & R2 Stop atm. My limiting factor is Black Orbs. I can take the R3 to R4, (and have an 8 and a 4), or the R2 to R3 (and have 2x 6 uses).

Assuming that won't necessarily be enough. But maybe I'll try again to try and at least finish it.

T.G. Oskar

2015-12-29, 09:20 PM

Update from the Frontlines:
Decided to go for a run to get 50 Mythril before the 4th SB Spectacular ended, so I went for a few Elite dungeons. In particular, I went for FFII Elite Dungeons, to see if I could nab Josef's Double Cut. Sadly, Double Cut is still away from my grasp, but I got a few Mythril (and a boost to my Stamina to 87) from it. Then, I went for the Weapon/Armor Festive Fantasy dungeons, to nab a few more.

And then, the pull! ...Only to get one 5*. At least it's not that bad - the Viking Coat has a decent AoE Water damage shared SB, and Balthier could make good use of it (or someone else, to be honest - Balthier will get Ras Algethi soon enough). The rest was pretty much rubbish, except for two items I could combine for a 4* and a 5*. I don't even recall much of what I got, but it was mostly upgrade chow.

On the other hand, White Mage is approaching level 40, and Seifer is around 3.5k XP to reach level 50, which means Level Break! Squall is at 45-46, so he'll take some time. By the time Seifer gets his Level broken, I'll attempt the Behemoth battle once again. As well, I'll ready up for the FFX battle, to see if I can get at least three MCIIs - that way, I can go for Tyro, Pally!Cecil and one more (maybe Squall or Rinoa? Cloud can go sit in a corner for all I care...) I also got Reno from the free Hero's Soul, and most likely will get his MC as well - just because I could use a decent BM with extra stuff (and I need a FFVII party that doesn't use Cloud or Mama's Boy).

Gonna see if I can take Seifer to level 50 today, and attempt the Behemoth battle tomorrow or something. All I need to do is pass the Weapon/Armor + dungeon, which should give enough XP to achieve it.

tyckspoon

2015-12-29, 09:30 PM

The fifth and last banner and for science I used all my mithril. 150 worth and only got 1 5*. Tidus lightning sword.

Was 5* drops significantly nerfed at some

Not that I know of. It's gambling, you get streaks.

Today's Damnit, DeNA: got three new 5 stars. A VII circlet (allowing me to merge my Shinra Helmets because I don't expect to need 3 mage hats at a time with vii synergy), another VI veil (again, letting me combine one of the two I already had) and.. A soul break relic! Edwards Harp! ... So now I have a 6 star Harp.

Simkin

2015-12-29, 09:31 PM

Did two 11-pulls on Banner 5 hoping for a SSB (specifically hoping for Pally!Cecil's). Sadly no Cecil's; however, I did end up with 4x 5* and it was a good haul, including:

- 2x Circlet (VII). This I'm mildly bummed about. First, 2nd time I've pulled a duplicate lately. Second, I already had one!. So hey, yay, combinable to a 7*, which would be my best mage eq. Hard to complain about that; but given the other things I could have gotten...mixed blessings I guess.
- Tidus's Lightning Steel (X)! This I'm happy for. Perhaps not his best relic, but it's good and since Tidus will make his way to my high level team soon it's great!

and...

wait for it...

Squall's Cutting Trigger (VIII) SSB! My first SSB! If I couldn't have Pally!Cecil's I'm really beyond thrilled at this.

danzibr

2015-12-29, 09:31 PM

So, even though missing Omega doesn't have me that bummed, couple questions to throw out for folks. I feel like I missed the boat on this Stop thing. Why do people have two Stops honed that high and/or enough orbs sitting around to get them there? I know I wasn't paying attention to some of the real high end (++ & +++) strategies since I wasn't that far along until recently; but I feel like I made mostly prudent decisions on what I'm been making and honing. I just don't recall a lot of talk about needing that much Stop.

I've managed to get a R3 & R2 Stop atm. My limiting factor is Black Orbs. I can take the R3 to R4, (and have an 8 and a 4), or the R2 to R3 (and have 2x 6 uses).

Assuming that won't necessarily be enough. But maybe I'll try again to try and at least finish it.
Before prepping for Omega I had a single Stop at r3. Checked my orbs, I had over 300 of all 3 kinds to craft/hone it. So I got it to r4, then got another up to r4. Dunno where they came from... Orbfest I guess.

Oh, and depending on your orbs, I'd say one at r4 and one at r3 should be sufficient. In fact, for me one (maybe I got lucky with the rng), 2 at r3 would have sufficed.

Chen

2015-12-29, 09:35 PM

Before prepping for Omega I had a single Stop at r3. Checked my orbs, I had over 300 of all 3 kinds to craft/hone it. So I got it to r4, then got another up to r4. Dunno where they came from... Orbfest I guess.

Oh, and depending on your orbs, I'd say one at r4 and one at r3 should be sufficient. In fact, for me one (maybe I got lucky with the rng), 2 at r3 would have sufficed.

Yeah this is pretty much the same as me. I have one at R3 and something like 700 black orbs, 500 of each of the other two. Guess it's from doing a lot of dailies and such. Never miss the tuesday daily since it has precious precious power orbs...get a bunch of black orbs as a side bonus there. One stop at R3 was sufficient to kill Omega (though not master). Didn't bother redoing it a third time to try and master it just for some gil.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-29, 09:56 PM

snip.

*rage*
Congratulations.

But seriously, good luck there. I guess I'm just having a losing streak. For five months.

KillianHawkeye

2015-12-29, 10:17 PM

Some characters are truly rubbish, and Kimahri is the standard by which we measure them. (Kimahri measures in at 1 Kimahri. Gordon measures in at 1.2 Kimahris. The rest of the II cast measures in at roughly 1.1-1.5 Kimahris. Core classes measure in at roughly 0.5-0.75 Kimahris. Power levels are bogus.)

Yeah, but I think the real question is... how many Kimahri are equal to one Raditz? :smallamused:

Simkin

2015-12-29, 10:17 PM

*rage*
Congratulations.

But seriously, good luck there. I guess I'm just having a losing streak. For five months.

This has been my best luck in awhile. I've had several (also before I joined) where I didn't pull a single 5*. I rage at those a lot. Feel for you with that bad run.

Red Fel

2015-12-29, 11:24 PM

I mastered Omega!

Grats! I just mastered it with a rather similar setup.

Grats to both of you. I didn't master Omega; I simply don't have the Stops to pull out. It's a tough fight!

- 2x Circlet (VII). This I'm mildly bummed about. First, 2nd time I've pulled a duplicate lately. Second, I already had one!. So hey, yay, combinable to a 7*, which would be my best mage eq. Hard to complain about that; but given the other things I could have gotten...mixed blessings I guess.
- Tidus's Lightning Steel (X)! This I'm happy for. Perhaps not his best relic, but it's good and since Tidus will make his way to my high level team soon it's great!

and...

wait for it...

Squall's Cutting Trigger (VIII) SSB! My first SSB! If I couldn't have Pally!Cecil's I'm really beyond thrilled at this.

Big grats! The non-SSB pulls were solid enough, but your first SSB is a great one! Blasting Zone is a solid SSB, Squall is a solid character (bit of a mini-Cloud, but decent) and you'll get a lot of mileage out of the pair.

Yeah, but I think the real question is... how many Kimahri are equal to one Raditz? :smallamused:

"Well, either Seymour hit me so hard that I'm in a delusional coma, or..."

"... or?"

"Kimahri-levels are bu-"

Ahem. Anyway, so I too did pulls. A 3-pull on the SSB banner, and a 3-pull on the second V banner. Between the two of them, the only items of note I got were:
Moonring Blade (VI). A 4-star thrown. Why is this good? Because I already have one. Which means Setzer now has a 5-star synergy thrown weapon. Happy.
Hypno Crown (V). A 4-star hat. Why is this good? Well, aside from synergy, I already had one. In fact, Lenna was already using it. She is now using a 5-star synergy healer hat. Happy.
Bright Armguard (X). A 4-star light armor. Why is this good? Because I already have a Bright Armguard +. I now have a Bright Armguard ++, which is adorable.
Crystal Helm (V). A 5-star shared-SB hat. I already said why this is good. Very happy.
So, no featured items, but it's not a total loss.

As for the event, boss battles were a joke. I decided to avoid the temptation of mage meta, and went with my full synergy party, Gil with combat abilities, Bartz with Dismissal and Drain Strike, Faris with Breakdowns, Krile with Quake and Ruinga, and Lenna with Shellga and Curaga. RW was Sephiroth with Black Materia, because I was feeling just a little one hundred percent done. I had to S/L on Dragon Pod, because Blind Powder connected with Gil, but other than that the battle was a joke. Atomos went down easy with an application of the Cosmic Pain from Outer Space. And the Crystals were fairly straightforward with mitigation up and Ruinga firing.

Antlion was even more of a joke than the Dragon Pod. Switched Gil to Tauntaliate mode, proceeded to unload Waterga, Waterja, and Watera Strike on the fool. Aaaaand Lenna was level-broken.

Melusine was... Hm. I was tempted to go with mage meta there too, but resisted temptation. Know what? It wasn't too bad. Because she opened with fire vulnerability, Krile was using Firaga and Ruinga. RW was SSII, so between that, Magic Break, and Shellga, her damage wasn't all that damaging.

Once my stamina fills up again, I'm going to try my hand at Ultimate Exdeath. Let's see how many Dawn Warriors it takes to chop down a tree, shall we?

Jurai

2015-12-29, 11:38 PM

I mastered my first BOSS RUSH! Krile is one level from level break, Lenna is already level broken... V is my lucky realm, it seems.

Simkin

2015-12-30, 12:38 AM

I DID IT! Ok so it took about 2 hours straight of S/L and more than a few tweaks to my strategy, but I am the proud owner of an Omega Badge!

Final party was:
Cloud (80), Thundaga Strike (6), Thundara Strike (4), 2x Braver, Self-Sacrifice RM
Squall (80), Thundara Strike (6), Pound (6), 1x Blasting Zone, Attunement II RM
Y'shtola (65), Stop (6), Reflect (2), Mako Might RM
Tellah (65), Stop (6), Esuna (6), Planet Guardian RM
Lulu (65), Thundaja (6), Thundaga (6), Witch of Succession RM

The winning round Cloud resisted opening Flash (w/ glasses). Most of my Stops stuck. Lobbing those and Lulu's spells off Tellah with PG. Tellah Esuna-ed Squall; he and Cloud were using the Strikes. Stop did lapse and I got blasted twice, once with SSII up thankfully. The first let me get a Braver and Blasting Zone off. The second was two rounds to the end and it wiped Tellah and Y'shtola out! With everyone else at 30% or less I was charged enough for a final Braver, Pound, and Thundara to finish it out. By the skin of my teeth, but I got it!

Onward to V battles.

/Edit

+ & ++ done so far.

SuperPanda

2015-12-30, 07:04 AM

Did my pulls on VoM 5 and V-2. 2 healing amulet VII, 1 Ninja Suit V, 2 4* V helms and Cutting Trigger!

Not the items I was gunning for or even the ones I had set as my expectation level - but I can't complain. I'll get another shot at P.cecil's sword in a few months.

Event wise, ExDeath 99 is down. Trying to decide my team for the bonus battles.

danzibr

2015-12-30, 08:06 AM

Dang, a lot happened since I was away.

Grats to those who beat Omega, beat + and ++ and +++ battles, and to those with good pulls!

@Simkin: Like Chen I had a few hundred orbs of each lying around (about half as many as he, but still). Before the battle I had a single Stop at r3. After I had 2 at r4. Truth be told, it was way overkill. Surely could've done it with 2 at r3.

Chen

2015-12-30, 09:19 AM

- Tidus's Lightning Steel (X)! This I'm happy for. Perhaps not his best relic, but it's good and since Tidus will make his way to my high level team soon it's great!

This is actually a very underrated SB weapon. It's only a 5.1 multiplier, but it's 6 hits meaning it can pretty easily break the damage cap. Especially if you gear out for a physical damage team (boost, hand of the emperor and the like).

Simkin

2015-12-30, 09:22 AM

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-30, 10:04 AM

Squall: ... (War. War never changes. The enemy's might change, they might be stronger or weaker, but it never changes the bloody carnage of battle. Preparations took days. The SOLDIER from Nibelheim, his flower girl friend, the annoyingly peppy part guardian part ball player from Zanarkand, Rinoa, and myself did all the research. Weaknesses were prepared for. Strategies were discussed. We thought we were prepared for the machine of mass destruction Omega. We were sorely mistaken. Cloud would be our main if only source of damage, focusing all of our attacks to Retaliate at Omega. Tidus was to give Cloud a Boost, and I was to soften its defenses by Breaking its Armor. Then we were to focus fire on Cloud who could hit the hardest. Aerith and Rinka were to pull out all the Stops to make sure it never acted once. We had every last detail planned. We were slaughtered. Repeatedly and brutally. Our early attempts brought lightning magic, but its effect was negligible. We ditched any cure spells because frankly it didn't matter. If Omega got even one attack in, we were almost guaranteed to be wiped out. When we were lucky, Omega would only blind us, and although Aerith brought Esuna to make sure Cloud could attack, the rest of us were stuck listening to the battle in darkness. If our timing was off by even the slightest, or if any of the 10 Stop magics total we had junctions between the two women, it would annihilate us with one of a dozen attacks that we couldn't sense until our skin was already being disintegrated. I think the blindness actually intensified the pain as well as the fear. I tried to count how many times we died or were forced to retreat, but quickly lost track trying to save ourselves. Everything came down to timing, luck, and quickly diminishing hope. On the last run, we used up every last Stop to get the creature just over half down. But somehow, against all odds, Omega went down. We somehow endured its Wave Motion Cannon and struck the final dismantling blow. I can only pray that the machine's demise was worth our combined suffering.)

Rinoa: "Hey Squall! We found a shiny accessory! Do you think it looks good on me?"

Squall: ...

Rinoa: "You're always so quiet. You should try talking to us once in a while."

Squall: ... (War never changes.) "Whatever."

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-30, 01:27 PM

Red Fel

2015-12-30, 01:50 PM

I've given up on the +++ battle. Everyone seems to say how easy it is, but I don't have the *fire*power. I see people going in with 3-4 ranked 4 firajas, and with that sure, it's easy. I can't figure out how to do it with just a single ranked 2 firaja as the only fire spell.
If I don't keep her asleep, one group blizara wipes my party, but if I do keep her asleep, I can't do any damage.

If you don't have the overwhelming force of Firaja, don't use that tactic. I didn't. With the exception of Firaga - that's ga, not ja - all of my abilities were non-elemental, meaning that Barrier Shift wasn't even a thing. She always opens fire vulnerable, so bringing a Fire spell is a safe choice, but be sure you have a non-elemental backup, like Drainga, Ruinga, or a summon. Have Shellga and Magic Breakdown, plus an RW of Sentinel Grimoire or Stoneskin II, and her damage output becomes insignificant. Full Break, if you have it, is also useful. The fight is definitely harder if you don't use mage meta, but it's by no means unbeatable.

What's your team composition?

In other news, tried my hand at Ultimate Treebeard Exdeath. First time I went with a pure synergy group, and got my backside handed to me repeatedly. So I've switched tactics and parties, and am currently making a lot of progress, although I've yet to actually win. My current composition:
Gilgamesh: Retaliate and Draw Fire, Dragoon's Pride RM. Gear is designed to maximize Attack. He's my primary damage output.
Pally!Cecil: Magic Lure and Reflect, Holy Blade RM. Puts Reflect on himself, so that when Woody Exdeath starts flinging Firaga/Blizzaga/Thundaga, there's a chance some of it will turn on him for the medals. Otherwise, attacks Gil.
Faris: Full Break and Tempo Flurry, Double Strike RM. Attacks Gil, Full Breaks when boss starts getting low and double-tapping.
Y'shtola: Magic Breakdown and Power Breakdown, Dr. Mog's Teaching RM. I have Thyrus, so she opens with Stoneskin II and refreshes as soon as it's up again.
Lenna: Curaga and Shellga, Mako Might RM. Her Mass Regen is the closest I have to a medica ability, so I'm using it.
RW: Luneth, Advance. Boosts Gil.
Totema Exodus Exdeath has roughly 274,600 HP. With Advance, Gil deals over 6K a hit. That means it takes about 46 counters to bring this bad boy down. Assuming a bare minimum of two counters per turn from Faris and one from Cecil, that's roughly 15 rounds. That's not counting throwaway extras from Lenna or Y'shtola.

Once more unto the breach, kids.

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-30, 02:25 PM

Out of curiosity, Red Fel, what's your Gil's attack stat come out to? I only get around 4500 per hit with a lvl 80 advance Cloud. Granted, there's probably some synergy involved in your end.

Red Fel

2015-12-30, 02:41 PM

Out of curiosity, Red Fel, what's Gil's attack stat come out to? I only get around 4500 per hit with a lvl 80 advance Cloud. Granted, there's probably some synergy involved in your end.

Lot of synergy, actually. I'm using his Kotetsu, for one, plus all of his gear is optimized around Attack. Base damage is only around 3k, though. Helps that he's 65. I'll give you the precise numbers in a moment.

But first: I got mastery! Woo!

I changed my strategy slightly. Gave Faris those mittens with the shared AoE attack boost SB. Gave Cecil the Double Hit RM, Faris the Ace Striker RM. Funny, because Faris never got the chance to actually use it.

Once Exdeath dropped past 50%, he started double-tapping, but I got lucky - most of it was single-target spells. Which meant he was constantly targeting Cecil, who had Magic Lure and Reflect up. The last blow was Exdeath's own Thundaga. Faris died partway in, but fortunately a single KO no longer counts as a penalty. And because Exdeath hit himself with all three elements, I got medals for all of them. Lost one for actions taken, lost two for damage taken, total 3 medals lost, which means I still get mastery. Bonus, he dropped a GNO. But more importantly, I have mastery, meaning 2 MBOs, 2 MEOs, 3 MNOs, and, of course, Cursed Ring. Woo! My first Ultimate! It can be done!

Okay. Now I can check Gil's stats. Gil was using a 20/20 Kotetsu (V), 20/20 Dragon Gloves (IV), and the Power Armlet (V). His stats, with gear but not counting synergy, came out to 286 Attack. With synergy, that came to 406 Attack. He was also using Dragoon's Determination RM, meaning he gained 20% Attack but started with Sap, which was a non-issue because Mass Regen. For the brief window that I was able to put up Advance and Morphin' Time, he was hitting between 7-8k a hit. Because Cecil had Double Hit and Faris had Tempo Flurry, that meant a lot of outgoing pain.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-30, 02:48 PM

Have Shellga and Magic Breakdown, plus an RW of Sentinel Grimoire or Stoneskin II, and her damage output becomes insignificant.

Tried that. With full break, shellga, stoneskin and magic breakdown she was still hitting everyone for over 4,000 damage. At the same time. With one spell.
Edit: in hindsight, maybe that was without stoneskin.

First attempt was with vivi, lulu, Rinoa, Lenna and Wakka. Failed. Second attempt swapped wakka for gil for a tauntilate approach. Failed. Third attempt brought Rydia and her ifirit. Failed. Fourth attempt was Cloud, wakka, Rinoa and Lenna for a more Forget sleep, just nuke and stab approach. That failed too. All characters are maxxed level.

By fail, I mean S/L for 2 hours trying to get a good run and just seem to run out of abilities around the 1/4 health remaining mark.

Red Fel

2015-12-30, 03:23 PM

Tried that. With full break, shellga, stoneskin and magic breakdown she was still hitting everyone for over 4,000 damage. At the same time. With one spell.
Edit: in hindsight, maybe that was without stoneskin.

First attempt was with vivi, lulu, Rinoa, Lenna and Wakka. Failed. Second attempt swapped wakka for gil for a tauntilate approach. Failed. Third attempt brought Rydia and her ifirit. Failed. Fourth attempt was Cloud, wakka, Rinoa and Lenna for a more Forget sleep, just nuke and stab approach. That failed too. All characters are maxxed level.

By fail, I mean S/L for 2 hours trying to get a good run and just seem to run out of abilities around the 1/4 health remaining mark.

Okay. First off, Melusine is not a boss where Tauntaliate is a thing. Forget that. Focus on damage-dealing abilities. Second, if you're not using mage meta, don't use mage meta. This is not a half-and-half thing. Against a Barrier Shift boss, either dedicate to mage meta with Sleep, or abandon it entirely, because you will be frustrated.

So, here's what I suggest.
Bartz. I know you have Bartz. Give him Dismissal and Drain Strike. Whatever weapon he's using, give him the appropriate RM to make it hurt more.
Second melee. I don't care who. If you want to bring an 80, bring Cloud. Otherwise, Gil works fine. Keep it simple; physical damage output is fine. If it has to be Combat, consider Armor Break and Pound.
Support. I know you have Faris. I gave her Magic Breakdown and Sleep Buster. Yeah, Sleep isn't going to stick in this fight, but that's where the medal comes from and more importantly, even if you only Sleep her for a few seconds, that's a few seconds in which she isn't mauling you.
Caster. Not necessary if you have enough physical output, but I used one anyway. Krile with Firaga and Ruinga, with an RM to boost black magic damage. If you have an SB for her that deals non-elemental damage or boosts her Mag, give her that.
Healer. Lenna. I know you have Lenna. And if you're on the +++, I know you have her MC2. Did you get her up to 65 already? Anyway, use Lenna. Curaga and Shellga. RM to boost healing. Alternatively, Dr. Mog's Teachings or Mako Might, so she can use Mass Regen on the second turn.
RW: Sentinel Grimoire or Stoneskin.
Here's how the fight plays out. Of Bartz and second melee, whoever goes first triggers the RW; after that, both pile on abuse. RW again when Mel hits half health. Faris alternates Magic Breakdown and Sleep Buster (in that order). Krile opens with Firaga until you hit a Barrier Shift, then it's Ruinga until it comes around to Firaga again. Lenna opens with Shellga, and proceeds to either use Mass Regen or Curaga. Refresh Shellga every 25% health to guarantee coverage.

I did the entire fight with everyone (except Lenna) at 50-52. Only had to S/L once, if memory serves, because I missed a refresh. As long as you keep your mitigation up, damage is minimized, and you can throw out abuse until it stops being funny.

Slayn82

2015-12-30, 03:46 PM

Let's see how many Dawn Warriors it takes to chop down a tree, shall we?

Well, ironically there are four types of V axes. Too bad there isn't a 5* one.

Yesterday I managed to beat the Sand Worm, by very slim margin, Tydus was almost dead, Lulu was grabbed by the worm, poison tick finished him. Tyro and Tidus have shiny MC2s.

Today, I tried to beat the lvl 90 Gilgamesh at FFV event. Too bad I choose poorly my RW, and got Mog with the mitigating SB. That didn't work. Still, the fight was going well, he was blind, everyone in the party was hitting hard, and then, I discovered he had a second form with full HP bar. Still, despite few remaining skill, I kept the beat down. He was still blind, and I kept attacking and using SB. Until at last, it was Gilgamesh vs Gilgamesh. And I run out of retaliate, I had 8, but no draw fire. If I had chosen any damaging SB, say Sephiroth Black Matter, I would have won.

Used a Mythril hoping to restart the battle at the second form, but the fight was from beginning. And then Gilgamesh started hurting me in the first form like he was taking revenge for all the abuse before. His blinds were effective, mine weren't. I ended giving up, will try again, with another RW.

Thinking of using Yuna and Tyro as white mages, to have an extra physical team member on battles. Started using 2 white mages against Carbuncle, being one Tyro with Shellga and Memento of Regeneration, and Yuna with a proper healing setup. But against Gilgamesh, I could have Tyro with the attack increase song, and free Wakka for another Dark Buster. It's partially my lack of Holy and Earth orbs, preventing me crafting Protectga and Draw Fire.

Deadline

2015-12-30, 03:48 PM

I don't know if I've left my brain somewhere, or what, but I've been having the worst time trying to burn through the last few fights in the event. The level 99 Exdeath fight took me most of an entire days worth of stamina to master, and I can't seem to even finish the Boss Rush (I'm stuck on the crystals). It feels like there is a trick that I'm missing here, but I haven't the faintest clue what it is. I've always struggled on the V dungeons and events, but good gravy I can't figure out why. Do the V characters just generally suck? Should I be hitting this with my A-Team?

Red Fel

2015-12-30, 04:12 PM

The V cast is actually very good; it's that the fights have really ramped up in difficulty. Even the non-bonus fights are tough.

Slayn, Third Battle Gil is a tough guy. Flash can wreck a melee-heavy party, which is why a number of people suggest mage meta. That said, Tauntaliate is an option, as several of his abilities are single-target physical. With my team, I just went full beatdown mode. Gil with Armor Break and Pound, Bartz with Dismissal and choice of spellblade, Faris with Power Breakdown and Dark Buster, Krile with Quake and Ruinga, and Lenna with Protectga and Curaga. Your RW should probably be Sentinel Grimoire or Stoneskin II. As long as a flash doesn't connect with Gil, Bartz, or Faris, keep firing away. (Remember also that Pound will connect even if the user is blinded.) After that, it's a fight of attrition.

Deadline, Exdeath is just that hard, even before the bonus battles. He hammered my party. In both his non-bonus and Ultimate forms, it's a fight of attrition, but at least the non-bonus one has an exploitable vulnerability. Three, technically - Holy, Slow, and Sap.

Boss battles really depend on your ability to budget ability uses, or your willingness to refill with mythril. As I've said, the trick with the Dragon Pod fight is keeping the flowers down with AoEs. The Atomos fight either requires mage meta with Sleep, or the ability to burn him down fast. And the battle against the Crystals is actually a two-phase fight - physical mitigation upfront, followed by magic mitigation as soon as a Crystal gets weak. Burning them down quickly with focused fire minimizes the amount of time you're exposed to magical AoEs, if that helps.

Side note, you're right, there isn't a 5-star V axe. But there are two 4-stars. And if you have a 4-star axe and combine it enough, you have a 6-star. Guess who has two thumbs and one of those?

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-30, 04:13 PM

I did the entire fight with everyone (except Lenna) at 50-52. Only had to S/L once, if memory serves, because I missed a refresh. As long as you keep your mitigation up, damage is minimized, and you can throw out abuse until it stops being funny.

Wow. Do you have any synergy equipment? I wonder if that's my problem. Sure, I have the omega badge but that's it. My physical attacks do about 1--2k

Deadline

2015-12-30, 04:30 PM

Boss battles really depend on your ability to budget ability uses, or your willingness to refill with mythril. As I've said, the trick with the Dragon Pod fight is keeping the flowers down with AoEs. The Atomos fight either requires mage meta with Sleep, or the ability to burn him down fast. And the battle against the Crystals is actually a two-phase fight - physical mitigation upfront, followed by magic mitigation as soon as a Crystal gets weak. Burning them down quickly with focused fire minimizes the amount of time you're exposed to magical AoEs, if that helps.

Hmm, I may need to restructure my team, as I'm painfully low on ... pretty much everything by the time I get to the Crystals. I am able to heal through the worst of the physical attacks without mitigation, but then the magical AoEs hit, at which point my Shellga might as well be made of tissue paper. This event has been decidedly ... unpleasant. I normally enjoy the tougher fights, but some of the last few have been painfully gimicky, or just straight up slogs. I think I'm just going to power through it until I pick up Lenna's MC2, and then toss this event to the side.

Chen

2015-12-30, 04:57 PM

Tried that. With full break, shellga, stoneskin and magic breakdown she was still hitting everyone for over 4,000 damage. At the same time. With one spell.
Edit: in hindsight, maybe that was without stoneskin.

I can't see how that's possible. Full break is 30% mag reduction, magic breakdown is 50%. With resistance that should still be 15% and 25% reduction. Meaning her 488 mag should be reduced to ~312. If your resistance is only 100, shellga will increase that to 200.

Plugging in 312 and 200 into the damage formula results in 480 damage. Her strongest AoE is 450% multiplier meaning ~2160 damage. Your RES would almost have to be 50 base (before Shellga) for her to hit for 4000 damage with those three things up.

Hmm, I may need to restructure my team, as I'm painfully low on ... pretty much everything by the time I get to the Crystals. I am able to heal through the worst of the physical attacks without mitigation, but then the magical AoEs hit, at which point my Shellga might as well be made of tissue paper. This event has been decidedly ... unpleasant. I normally enjoy the tougher fights, but some of the last few have been painfully gimicky, or just straight up slogs. I think I'm just going to power through it until I pick up Lenna's MC2, and then toss this event to the side.

An alternative strategy for the boss rush is full on AoE for the first and last boss with Cloud SSB RW. Cheese atmos by bringing Carbuncle since all his attacks (except the wormhole thing) can be reflected thus ensuring you take no damage there. You may need some S/L though if he wormholes you though since you can't Esuna through the reflect. Save both RW for the crystals. They have ~43k health. A decent Cloud RW should be hitting them for ~15k so burn em down a bit with your AoE and then chain two RW to entirely skip the high AoE damage phase. The Dragon flowers each have ~6k health so as long as you can one or two shot them with AoE (ruinga, blade blitz, meteor, summons etc) you can render the first fight pretty trivial too. I suggest someone with retaliate to save on ability uses if your hones aren't high on the AoE abilities. It'll work wonders for Atmos too with a Carbuncle strategy.

Hunter Noventa

2015-12-30, 05:57 PM

Well I made it through and got Lenna's MC2. The first two bits of the boss rush were rough, but i managed. Crystals kicked my butt a couple times, but unless you have ALL the AoE, don't do it, because they'll start unloading all their group attacks at once. Took a couple mythril to get through that.

Antlion was easy, though not as easy as you'd think. Berserk seems to have the curious function of allowing the target to ignore Draw Fire.

Not even going to go further than that, I'm happy to get the MC2. Now to build up my X team a bit for the next event.

SuperPanda

2015-12-30, 06:19 PM

Short post as I'm running out the door to work. The +++ is kicking me solidly, I'm thinking I'll need to change my game plan on that one. Omega also has kicked me repeatedly and I decided to give up on him.

My V synergy is good on the armor side, poor on the offense side.

Jurai

2015-12-30, 07:08 PM

Hmm, I may need to restructure my team, as I'm painfully low on ... pretty much everything by the time I get to the Crystals. I am able to heal through the worst of the physical attacks without mitigation, but then the magical AoEs hit, at which point my Shellga might as well be made of tissue paper. This event has been decidedly ... unpleasant. I normally enjoy the tougher fights, but some of the last few have been painfully gimicky, or just straight up slogs. I think I'm just going to power through it until I pick up Lenna's MC2, and then toss this event to the side.

My team:

Lenna
Galuf
Gilgamesh
Terra
Bartz

All but Bartz were 65th level. Lenna and Galuf had their relics, the Kotetsu (V) was with Bartz, Gilgamesh was using the Butterfly Sword (IX), and Terra was using Magus Rod (VI), Crystal Orb (VI), and Oath Veil (VI). Terra had Quake and Ruinga, each at Rank 2. Gilgamesh was using Yukikaze and Darkmoon, each at Rank 2. Galuf was using Bladeblitz at Rank 1, and Kick at Rank 3/4 (Eight uses of Kick total). Lenna was running Shellga at Rank 2 and Curaga at Rank 5. Bartz was using Launch at Rank 3 and another ability I don't remember. Chinese RestaurantDragon Pod and Flowers were easy as cake. Atomos was worrisome, but he only got Gilgamesh (Nooooooooo!!!) before he went down. The Crystals... Uuugh... They went down after a S/L because Lenna got focused on by their attacks. Antlion, however, was troublesome. It seems like most of his attacks, Berserk or otherwise, ignore Draw Fire. Fortunately, Bartz with Watera Strike (Rank 3) and Terra with Waterga at Rank 3 and Waterja at Rank 4 did more than enough damage and Lenna's Protectga and Curaga more than handled it.

Lenna, Gilgamesh, and Terra are A-team members for me, as are Ashe, Rydia, Cloud, Se-failure-oth, and Wakka.

tyckspoon

2015-12-30, 07:52 PM

We

Antlion was easy, though not as easy as you'd think. Berserk seems to have the curious function of allowing the target to ignore Draw Fire.

Not even going to go further than that, I'm happy to get the MC2. Now to build up my X team a bit for the next event.

Yeah, I believe Berserk randomises targeting, and Draw Fire only works when the AI can choose what to do (not that there's an apparent difference most of the time.)

Red Fel

2015-12-30, 08:20 PM

Wow. Do you have any synergy equipment? I wonder if that's my problem. Sure, I have the omega badge but that's it. My physical attacks do about 1--2k

Lots, actually. So, yeah, that's probably a factor.

Hmm, I may need to restructure my team, as I'm painfully low on ... pretty much everything by the time I get to the Crystals. I am able to heal through the worst of the physical attacks without mitigation, but then the magical AoEs hit, at which point my Shellga might as well be made of tissue paper. This event has been decidedly ... unpleasant. I normally enjoy the tougher fights, but some of the last few have been painfully gimicky, or just straight up slogs. I think I'm just going to power through it until I pick up Lenna's MC2, and then toss this event to the side.

If you're willing to part with the mythril, refilling between fights remains an option. In the battle select screen, you can hit the Camp button, and for one mythril, you can heal, remove debuffs, refill all ability uses and RW uses. Starting out, I was willing to do that to clear the boss rush, and on occasion I still end up needing to, powerful teams and synergy notwithstanding. Given that you get a mythril every day, plus roughly 10-12 mythril in a given event, dropping one on a refresh during a boss rush doesn't feel like a bad investment.

In other news, keep in mind that the Vale of Memories will be over by this time tomorrow night. So if you still want a shot at Omega or any of the MC2s, this is your last chance to take a crack at it. Orbfest ends the following night, but the V event will continue until January 5th.

We're also expecting the latest dungeon update in the next couple of weeks, which will feature content from XII, VI, and V, the lattermost of which will look very familiar to those who have finished this event. (So Carbuncle, more Gil, and Jenova Exdeath.) And the next event on the calendar is expected to be an X event, featuring the debut of Rikku and Wakka's MC2. That's expected sometime in January, date undetermined.

Chen

2015-12-30, 08:55 PM

Just finished Exdeath. Took two tries to master. First one I ate a vaccuum wave right at the end AND he hadn't hit himself with Ice. Decided to risk it and lost a medal to damage taken so didn't master it. Went back and after 2-3 S/Ls he hit himself with all 3 elements and died (in fact he killed himself with his last blizzaga).

Team:
80 Cloud: Retaliate/Tempo flurry, Heroic Stance RM (note I stopped using tempo flurry after half health so I didn't risk the counter dispel)
67 Tidus: Double cut/boost, Ace striker RM (RM was pointless)
65 Red XIII: Full break/magic breakdown, Mako Might RM (for lunatic high, in weak stage stopped with breaks and just attacked cloud to avoid counters)
65 Tyro: Double cut/carbuncle, Dr Mog's teachings RM (for Sentinel Grimoire)
65 Lenna: Curaja/shellga, double-cut RM
RW: Advance.

Pure advance/retaliate. Cloud had around 345 attack, and was hitting for ~7200 with boost, advance and full break up. Went down to about 6500 when full break dropped and wasn't refreshed. Got lucky where he wasted one of his early rounds on Doom rather than attack. His first action is always attack and his second action is ~70% chance attack, 20% dispel. If you get dispelled that early best to S/L.

Simkin

2015-12-30, 10:38 PM

Okay. First off, Melusine is not a boss where Tauntaliate is a thing. Forget that. Focus on damage-dealing abilities. Second, if you're not using mage meta, don't use mage meta. This is not a half-and-half thing. Against a Barrier Shift boss, either dedicate to mage meta with Sleep, or abandon it entirely, because you will be frustrated.

So, here's what I suggest.

...

As long as you keep your mitigation up, damage is minimized, and you can throw out abuse until it stops being funny.

So... +++ was kicking my butt. Spent a couple hours with a Fire party (well outfitted), got real close, but couldn't seem to pull it off. On a lark I used this set up without really thinking it would work. Just didn't see where the damage would really come from (or consistent enough mitigation). But I figured I'd give it a shot.

While I had to reset a couple of times, it went way smoother. The mage meta just wasn't working as it relied to heavily on sleep to give the fire time; and sleep just wasn't having it. With this I managed to beat it (no mastery the first time because Bartz died right at the end. Then I went back and mastered it.

So cheers Fel!

For reference here was my party:
Bartz (63), (Icebrand (V)), Tempo Flurry R5, Dismissal R3, Soldier Strike RM
Lulu (65), The Keep of Saints (XIV), Firaja R3, Ruinga R4, Witch of Succession RM
Gilgamesh (65), Thor Hammer (V), Double Cut R4, Pound R3, Self-Sacrifice RM
Lenna (69), Thyrus (XIV), Curaga R5, Shellga R1, Mako Might RM
Wakka (65), Assassin's Dagger (VI), Magic Breakdown R2, Sleep Buster R3, Double Hit RM

SuperPanda

2015-12-30, 11:56 PM

I had just about given up on the triple plus fight and went in for one last attempt. Sleep landed right off and stayed up until Rinoa was out of Ruinga and Ashe was out of Firaga. Then she barrier shifted into thunder and Rinoa could unload thundaga while Ashe dropped comet. When sleep ran out she switched to ice vulderable where Squall was waiting with Blizzara Strike.

I'm sure I'm not ready to try ExDeath yet so I went MC hunting. Luneth is now broken and I'm waiting on stamina for Reifa. Lionheart RM dropped, I'll need to test how good that is. Could be awesome.

danzibr

2015-12-31, 08:42 AM

Lionheart RM dropped, I'll need to test how good that is. Could be awesome.
I found it didn't proc enough to be useful, really. However, it is really cool when someone with a ranged weapon uses it. Someone earlier had it on a pumpkin-thrower, and so their character occasionally threw exploding pumpkins.

Today's the last day of Orbfest, eh? I'm really liking this phase. Regular mobs can drop golden chests, Catuars and Gigantuars drop 2. Wish the other phases were like that (I'm being greedy, I know).

I actually raised Rinoa, Tidus, and Pally Cecil from 50 to almost 65 through just Orbfest stuff. The exp is quite poor, but not negligible. Also, Ricard's approaching 50, looking forward to getting his RM.

DiscipleofBob

2015-12-31, 08:48 AM

I went ahead and did the boss rush today. I only got expert, but mostly because I screwed up fighting the crystals. To be fair, I was fully expecting to die and use a mythrill.

Party was:
Cloud (80) - Retaliate, Armor Break
Squall (74) - Sleep, Drain Strike, also has Blasting Zone SB
P-Cecil (66) - Protectga, Shellga
Rinoa (66) - Ruinga, Comet
Lenna (65) - Curaga, Esuna
RW was Blade Beam

Dragon Pod was the hardest. Even with all the magic boosts in the world Rinoa couldn't one-shot the flowers, so it was a balance between mopping up the flowers, damaging the main Pod, and clearing new ones before they could do too much damage. Probably could've stood to bring something like Bladeblitz or another AoE attack, but nothing was honed enough to make that much of a difference. Status effects were mostly tame and didn't proc much. One blind that was quickly Esuna'd, a few poisons that were ignored, and one Confuse that I had Lenna apply a generous dose of "hit them with a stick until they stop being stupid." Lost three medals though.

Atomos was easy. Annoying, but easy. He has Graviga, which can't kill me, Slowga, which is annoying but not the end of the world, and his Doom spell which could have done a lot worse. He only started using it about halfway through the fight, and the only one I lost to it was Cecil. Cloud came close though. But it doesn't count as KO for mastery and the removed character is just fine afterward so it's moot.

The crystals I went in with one Ruinga and a full RW, so I was completely expecting to wipe and refresh with mythril. With one layer of mitigation, the crystals hit hard, but manageably so. Plan was just to wear them down to about a 1/3 of their HP then spam both RWs. Unfortunately I miscalculated and two crystals survived. Even worse, one of said crystals was Earth which then absorbed the Angel Wing Quake meant to sweep up any survivors. As a result, I lost three characters to AoE spam but still managed to finish the fight with Squall and Lenna. No mastery, but completion.

I was expecting the Antlion to be tougher. Between Protectga, a SG RW, and Power Break (didn't feel like switching out anyone for a Support character just yet) he didn't hit that hard. I waited until he was on his last sliver of HP to Berserk him, because I know better than that. He did focus fire on a Squall towards the end and almost killed him, but I still got mastery.

And with that Lenna has her MC2!

I'll give the other two bonus battles a shot later. The accessory looks nice, but I'm not going to kill myself trying to get it. That's what Omega was for.

Deadline

2015-12-31, 03:03 PM

After taking the time to look my party for V over well, I discovered that I have 3 synergy items total for the realm (an Axe, the Genji Helm, and ... a bracer accessory I think). I think that contributed quite a bit to my difficulties. The ++ fight was super easy, so I may give the +++ fight a try.

Looking forward to the X event though, my team and gear for that realm are solid.

Jurai

2015-12-31, 03:06 PM

I'M BAAAAAACK!! BAHAAHAAHAAH!

So, I finally, finally, made steak out of Behemoth (VIII) in Vale of Memories. Not touching Omega. At all. Krile's level broken, Galuf and Gilgamesh await MC2s, and Lenna's MC2 is spent. I need not pursue FFV MCs until the next event for it, which gives us the Tin Tyrant himself, Exdeath. I have Sephiroth, Cloud, Tyro, Paladin Cecil, and Tidus Memory Crystal IIs yet to spend. Did I make the right choices?

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-31, 04:05 PM

So... +++ was kicking my butt. On a lark I used this set up without really thinking it would work. Just didn't see where the damage would really come from (or consistent enough mitigation). But I figured I'd give it a shot.

So cheers Fel!

Three cheers for Fel. After taking a few days away from the +++ battle, I returned with Fel's advice and mastered it.

Working on Exdeath now, and I'm finding it easier, but very rng dependent. Tries the carbuncle approach. ( use carbuncle at 50%, coast to the end) but he rarely seems to cast single target spells in his weakened state in my games. Just a lot of double target all.

So I switched to a double heal double nuke team and nearly won, just needed a few more spells. Going to hone some spells and try again. Maybe throw in some mental breakdown and see if it helps.

In the meantime I am playing the classic dungeons. I'm up to Alexander Castle and seeing a lot of conflicting information about the boss in the book. Some are saying only do 150 damage to get the boss to appear, while others are saying do 12,000 damage. There isn't a consensus on the official website. Can anyone clue me in?

Jurai

2015-12-31, 05:58 PM

Three cheers for Fel. After taking a few days away from the +++ battle, I returned with Fel's advice and mastered it.

Working on Exdeath now, and I'm finding it easier, but very rng dependent. Tries the carbuncle approach. ( use carbuncle at 50%, coast to the end) but he rarely seems to cast single target spells in his weakened state in my games. Just a lot of double target all.

So I switched to a double heal double nuke team and nearly won, just needed a few more spells. Going to hone some spells and try again. Maybe throw in some mental breakdown and see if it helps.

In the meantime I am playing the classic dungeons. I'm up to Alexander Castle and seeing a lot of conflicting information about the boss in the book. Some are saying only do 150 damage to get the boss to appear, while others are saying do 12,000 damage. There isn't a consensus on the official website. Can anyone clue me in?

You have to target the appropriate book.

T.G. Oskar

2015-12-31, 08:04 PM

-- Royal Academy, Dec. 31st, XXXX --

Dr. Mog: ...is it so dire, kupo? Very well, kupo, I will inform that to the personnel effective immediately.
(via Magic Mouth [TM] sound system)
Dr. Mog: Attention all personnel, kupo! If anybody sees the Keeper or the Expedition Leader, please tell them to reach my office immediately, kupo. This is not a mock-up situation, kupo!

-- Royal Academy, Dr. Mog's Office, Dec. 31st, XXXX --
Dr. Mog: The situation is dire. Ms. Branford, I heard that your expeditions to defeat the Behemoth and the Sandworm were ineffective, is that right, kupo?
Terra: Unfortunately so. I have had better success against the Sandworm, but it's of no use - they are too strong! Even with High Summoner Yuna, sir Auron, and sir Tidus, and even sir Wakka--
Dr. Mog: I may question your choices with Wakka, but--
Terra: Sir, Wakka has found an exploit on the Sandworm. It involves using the Venom Buster technique and hoping that the Sandworm becomes...poisoned. Yet, we have been unable to defeat it. I feel my powers are not enough. We may not achieve a second Memory Crystal Lode of second degree...
Tyro: That's bad! If that happens, then we will be forced to choose between sir Cecil and me! We must do something!
Dr. Mog: I have spoken with the Expedition Commander, kupo, and...he has authorized Operation Nuklear Power.
Terra: Operation...Nuklear...Power? What does that mean?
Tyro: I heard of something along the lines. It involves...hoarding?
Dr. Mog: The opposite of it, my young kupoling. The Expedition Commander has issued the order to use Growth Eggs to expedite the development of some of our explorers. He has authorized the use of Growth Eggs from his vast horde on sir Auron, sir Tidus, Ms. Heartilly and the soldiers Squall and Irvine.
Tyro: But, why he didn't authorize this in the first place? We would have--
Dr. Mog: It is not for you or me to question his decisions, kupoling. All we know is that he has authorized Operation Nuklear Power, and that it must be done immediately, before the portals are closed. Godspeed, kupo, and good luck.
Terra: Thank you, Dr. Mog.
Dr. Mog; Oh, and...will you be free for the end of the Festive Fantasy, Miss Branford? I wouldn't mind if you...ahem, touched my pom-pom, kupo...
Terra: *blushes*
Tyro: Dr. Mog! What is the meaning of all this!
Dr. Mog: You know we are very sensitive with our pom-poms, my kupoling. Miss Branford over here is an avowed fanatic of our race, and she has timidly requested such, so I will acquiesce to her demands, kupo.
Terra: *grins*
Tyro: I hope this doesn't sound as bad as it does...
Ashe: (Ohoho! So that is why she's favored as Expedition Leader! Soon, I will unmask her, and then...I will challenge her for Expedition Leader! Soon...very soon!)

- 2 hours later -

Tyro: Dr. Mog, Dr. Mog! We received a report from Ms. Branford! Operation Nuklear Power has been a success!
Dr. Mog: Really, kupo!? Let me see, kupo!

--

Terra: We decided to tackle the Sandworm in the Vale of Memories.
Yuna: We failed several times, but we're not giving up!
Terra: For this, I chose as always High Summoner Yuna, sir Auron, sir Tidus, and Wakka.
Wakka: Out o' early retirement, eh?
Terra: Our strategy was to summon an alternate-dimension Edward, using his "Fabled Song" to empower us, while High Summoner Yuna protected us with Shellga.
Yuna: And heal when necessary.
Terra: In the meanwhile, we would deploy our secret weapon! Wakka, using the Venom Buster technique, would attempt to poison the Sandworm.
Wakka: I'm a natural at it. Learned all'a that from Blitzball, ya?
Tidus: We know that, just like I'm a natural at beating you in Blitzball, right?
Auron: Exercise caution, young men. We are still relying on fortune to favor us.
Terra: Oh yes...and sir Auron would retaliate in case of physical attacks.
Auron: As expected.
Terra: The battle was fierce! The Sandworm deployed Quake spells at all times, but blessed by Shell, and empowered by the song of master Edward, we pushed through!
Yuna: And if something was going bad, I healed!
Terra: Eventually, our strategy bore fruit. Wakka's Venom Buster poisoned the Sandworm! As I unleashed Waterga spells like a maniac, and with Tidus infused with the power of my friend Celes, allowing him to unleash ice-enchanted attacks, we...
Auron: Go on, young lady. We all felt that.
Terra: We were at the brink of death, but somehow...time was reversed?
Tidus: I've traveled through dimensions and I know my bit about Time Magic, but that event... Something happened that turned an almost-loss into a win!
Terra: We started the battle again, using the same strategy. When the time was right, Wakka unleashed the power of his...Festive Mittens?
Wakka: They're comfy, an' they boost our physical strength. No need ta argue 'bout fashion if they work.
Auron: Using the power of the Crystal Mail I wore from miss Terra's native world, and emulating master Gilgamesh's "Tauntaliate" technique...
Yuna: I thought you didn't respect that clown...
Auron: He is more than he seems. The Sandworm also used a devastating physical tackle, which I lured and countered with my own attacks. The technique has its worth - I may need to train under him to learn the secret.
Tidus: I'm surprised! Never thought the old man would be willing to learn new tricks!
Auron: ...Or rediscovering them in other worlds. I have suggested sir Cyan to do the same.
Terra: And with that, and with a bit more of luck, we succeeded! While we took heavy damage, none of us died, and we did the battle relatively fast, so...we mastered the dungeon!
Yuna: We searched the fallen Sandworm for the key to the more advanced Memory Crystals, and we found...
Wakka: A Mythril Shard, the key, a Major Growth Egg, and...what else? Eh, we were there for the Crystal, we did it successfully! That's one for the Besaid Aurochs...I mean, our expedition team!
Auron: Fortune truly smiled upon us.
Terra: That is all there is to report.

--

Dr. Mog: Mastered the battle, when we were struggling so much, kupo!? But...how?
Tyro: That will be a mystery left to the ages...
Dr. Mog: Unless, kupo...the Expedition Commander finally did it?
Tyro: Did...what, sir?
Dr. Mog: A most frowned move, but one used by other expedition commanders, kupo... It is known only as "S/L"...
Tyro: "S/L"...? What that might be...?

-- Royal Academy, Expedition Commander's Storage Room, Dec. 31st, XXXX --

Ashe: So...the Expedition Commander has hoarded many Growth Eggs, forcing us to level up the hard way? And only because she needed it, he used them? I heard from the Keeper that the Expedition Commander hoarded over eight-hundred normal Growth Eggs, and around three-hundred of the Greater Growth Eggs! That would level up all of our people with ease!
S???: He is unwise. If he heard my counsel, we would be unstoppable...
Ashe: Unwise...but the only commander we've got. Alright, if I do this right...you and I might get to unlock our maximum capacities, and be more attractive to the Expedition Commander!
S???: (And then, to protagonism!)
Ashe: Well...here goes nothing.
Panel: ENTER. QUERY.
Ashe: Requesting access to Growth Eggs.
Panel: ACCESS. RESTRICTED. ENTER. PASSWORD.
Ashe: (It better work...I was too close for comfort...) "Twinkin' Out"
Panel: ACCESS. DENIED.
Ashe: What!? But, I heard the Keeper say those words! Why--
S???: Perhaps he may be unwise, but not stupid. He must have changed the password.
Ashe: Darnit to tarnations! Now how shall we reach our maximum potential...?
Thancred: (It is what Dr. Mog feared. Princess Dalmasca is cooperating with the defector. I must make haste...)
Ashe: Well, time for plan B.
S???: Plan...B? We haven't done a second plan. Or any other plan, for that matter.
Ashe: Let's just call it "Operation Flinging Mud to the Vector--"
S???: Witch.
Ashe: I was planning on a more insulting epithet, but--
S???: We are cursed with PG-13 content. Do not push it.
Ashe: ...Say, what's PG-13?

--

So yeah - I was forced to use Growth Eggs to Level Break Auron, Tidus, Squall, Rinoa and Irvine. I might attempt the Behemoth if for some chance reason I can, but I presume that'll be it. Carry Armor is claimed as a loss, because I don't plan to level up Cloud or Mama's Boy, ever. Maybe Reno.

That said - I got another Memory Crystal II, meaning Tyro and Pally!Cecil can Level Break again! I had to do S/L the inefficient way (wasting Stamina), but this time, everything went as expected. I even Mastered the Dungeon, something I couldn't do with DK!Cecil's battle!

Tomorrow, I'll most likely start the FFV event. I need Lenna's MCII, and if I have to start "Operation Nuklear Power" once again, I will! At least Lenna and Gilgamesh are at high levels, so there's that.

Oh, and if you don't get the reference: it's from the site that hosts (or hosted; the comic ended already) 8-Bit Theater. Red Mage, one of the characters, was afraid to use his MP and resources because "you'll never know when you need them", so he was a huge hoarder. However, he was prone to cheat on his stats and on the world itself, being an unrepentant Munchkin. S/L tactics are sorta cheating, so I just had to make the reference.

Forbiddenwar

2015-12-31, 10:50 PM

-- Royal Academy, Dec. 31st, XXXX --

Yay! New story! Please keep doing these. I loved the bit about time magic.

I need to reread 8-bit theater.

Simkin

2015-12-31, 11:09 PM

But first: I got mastery! Woo! ... My first Ultimate! It can be done!

I've been trying Exdeath on and off all day without much luck. Either the sun just isn't shining on me or I'm being seriously hindered in not having a second "start with gauge full" RM. I have Mako Might, but not Tyro's. Otherwise my setup is very very close to yours.

Typically goes well with SSII up, but without the regen the endless parade of full party spells slowly eats away through the first 5-6 turns. I end up with everyone down 30-40% and Lenna just can't cure them up fast enough. When SSII inevitably falls and I don't have the charge to get it back up in time I typically eat a Vacuum or two quakes or something and lose 1-3 party members.

I suppose I can put it off until the weekend and get Tyro broken and his RM farmed. I'll keep trying it occasionally, but it's bugging me at the moment.

Red Fel

2016-01-01, 12:24 AM

I've been trying Exdeath on and off all day without much luck. Either the sun just isn't shining on me or I'm being seriously hindered in not having a second "start with gauge full" RM. I have Mako Might, but not Tyro's. Otherwise my setup is very very close to yours.

Typically goes well with SSII up, but without the regen the endless parade of full party spells slowly eats away through the first 5-6 turns. I end up with everyone down 30-40% and Lenna just can't cure them up fast enough. When SSII inevitably falls and I don't have the charge to get it back up in time I typically eat a Vacuum or two quakes or something and lose 1-3 party members.

I suppose I can put it off until the weekend and get Tyro broken and his RM farmed. I'll keep trying it occasionally, but it's bugging me at the moment.

If you have a proper medica SB (not Y'shtola's Medica, necessarily, but any AoE heal SB) that could be an appropriate and effective substitute for Lenna's. It depends on how you tend to take damage, and how you feel about your luck. But yeah, having a second "start with one SB bar" RM is really, really useful for big boss fights.

And the gap period between SSII dropping and getting another SSII up is a very tricky bit of business. I admit that I got lucky. If he uses something like Doom in that interval, you're fine. If, on the other hand, he fires off World Shaking Earth Shaker during that gap, you're basically hosed unless you have a proper medica - which I didn't.

EDIT: Don't forget to sign in to collect your New Year goodies! Also, the next event has been announced: Defying Fate lands tomorrow night! Let's review!

Defying Fate is the X event which features the debut of Rikku, as well as Auron, Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, MCs for all five, and an MC2 for Wakka. Be sure to grab the bonus quests for characters/eggs! The event also features the 3-star Power Glove accessory (+Attack), the four-star Muscle Belt accessory (+Attack), the 3-star Weakening Polka ability, the 4-star Paralyzing Shot ability, and the 4-star Enveloping Etude ability. The Ultimate boss, Lady Yunalesca, drops the 5-star Adept's Bangle accessory (+Magic, +Resistance).

Rikku is another Thief type. She uses daggers, fists, and thrown weapons, and shields, hats, light armor, robes, and bracers. She has a solid ability spread, with Support 3, Celerity 5, Thief 5, Bard 4, and Dance 3, and her RM gives a chance to recover Thief abilities. Stat-wise, she is your typical back-row Support user. At 65, she has 121 Attack, comparable with Fran or Irvine; 93 Defense, comparable with Fran, Locke, or Vaan; and a disappointing 4300 HP, comparable with Kimahri, Ricard, or Terra. She doesn't have the defenses or gear selections to operate well on the front lines, so a good thrown weapon is basically mandatory. A pity, because all of the bonus battles other than Lady Yunalesca require her.

But on to the banners! Again, this event brings us two banners. The first banner features:
Buster Claw: Rikku's SB fist. Pure Attack. AoE 3.5x physical damage with a chance to Sap.
Shiranui: Auron's SB katana. Pure Attack. 3-hit single-target 1.7x physical damage (per hit) with a chance to Paralyze.
Magistral Rod: Yuna's SB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE 7.17x Mind-based Holy magic damage.
All-Rounder: Wakka's SB ball. Pure Attack. 5-hit 0.96x physical damage (per hit) with Magic Breakdown.
The second banner features:
Guardian Targe: Rikku's SB shield. Defense and Resistance. AoE boost to party's Attack and Resistance. Increases wielder's resistance to Slow.
Magical Mog: Lulu's SB doll. Attack, Magic, and Mind. 3-hit single-target 3.65x Fire magic damage.
Lightning Steel: Tidus' SB sword. Pure Attack. 6-hit random-target 0.85x physical damage (per hit). Increases Lightning damage dealt.
Shimmering Blade. Auron's SB katana. Pure Attack. AoE 3.2x physical damage plus Power Breakdown.
Both banners also feature:
Warrior's Bracer: Shared-SB bracer. Attack, Magic, Mind, Defense, Resistance. Protectga.
Mage's Staff: Shared-SB staff. Attack, Magic, Mind. AoE heal.
Thief Blade: Shared-SB dagger. Pure Attack. 2-hit single-target 0.6x physical damage (per hit) with a chance to Slow.
Variable Steel: Stat-stick sword. Pure Attack.
Al Bhed Jumper: Stat-stick light armor. Defense and Resistance.
Should you pull? Short answer: probably not. Nothing here is amazing, much of it is situational, and frankly most of us are probably still hurting for mythril after the past few weeks. Keep in mind that the next event is the IV event that introduces Edge and Rosa, and that's a nostalgia soft spot for many players, so you might be saving for it. Or you might just need time to recover.

Happy New Year!

Jurai

2016-01-01, 02:07 AM

If you have a proper medica SB (not Y'shtola's Medica, necessarily, but any AoE heal SB) that could be an appropriate and effective substitute for Lenna's. It depends on how you tend to take damage, and how you feel about your luck. But yeah, having a second "start with one SB bar" RM is really, really useful for big boss fights.

And the gap period between SSII dropping and getting another SSII up is a very tricky bit of business. I admit that I got lucky. If he uses something like Doom in that interval, you're fine. If, on the other hand, he fires off World Shaking Earth Shaker during that gap, you're basically hosed unless you have a proper medica - which I didn't.

EDIT: Don't forget to sign in to collect your New Year goodies! Also, the next event has been announced: Defying Fate lands tomorrow night! Let's review!

Defying Fate is the X event which features the debut of Rikku, as well as Auron, Tidus, Yuna, Wakka, MCs for all five, and an MC2 for Wakka. Be sure to grab the bonus quests for characters/eggs! The event also features the 3-star Power Glove accessory (+Attack), the four-star Muscle Belt accessory (+Attack), the 3-star Weakening Polka ability, the 4-star Paralyzing Shot ability, and the 4-star Enveloping Etude ability. The Ultimate boss, Lady Yunalesca, drops the 5-star Adept's Bangle accessory (+Magic, +Resistance).

Rikku is another Thief type. She uses daggers, fists, and thrown weapons, and shields, hats, light armor, robes, and bracers. She has a solid ability spread, with Support 3, Celerity 5, Thief 5, Bard 4, and Dance 3, and her RM gives a chance to recover Thief abilities. Stat-wise, she is your typical back-row Support user. At 65, she has 121 Attack, comparable with Fran or Irvine; 93 Defense, comparable with Fran, Locke, or Vaan; and a disappointing 4300 HP, comparable with Kimahri, Ricard, or Terra. She doesn't have the defenses or gear selections to operate well on the front lines, so a good thrown weapon is basically mandatory. A pity, because all of the bonus battles other than Lady Yunalesca require her.

But on to the banners! Again, this event brings us two banners. The first banner features:
Buster Claw: Rikku's SB fist. Pure Attack. AoE 3.5x physical damage with a chance to Sap.
Shiranui: Auron's SB katana. Pure Attack. 3-hit single-target 1.7x physical damage (per hit) with a chance to Paralyze.
Magistral Rod: Yuna's SB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE 7.17x Mind-based Holy magic damage.
All-Rounder: Wakka's SB ball. Pure Attack. 5-hit 0.96x physical damage (per hit) with Magic Breakdown.
The second banner features:
Guardian Targe: Rikku's SB shield. Defense and Resistance. AoE boost to party's Attack and Resistance. Increases wielder's resistance to Slow.
Magical Mog: Lulu's SB doll. Attack, Magic, and Mind. 3-hit single-target 3.65x Fire magic damage.
Lightning Steel: Tidus' SB sword. Pure Attack. 6-hit random-target 0.85x physical damage (per hit). Increases Lightning damage dealt.
Shimmering Blade. Auron's SB katana. Pure Attack. AoE 3.2x physical damage plus Power Breakdown.
Both banners also feature:
Warrior's Bracer: Shared-SB bracer. Attack, Magic, Mind, Defense, Resistance. Protectga.
Mage's Staff: Shared-SB staff. Attack, Magic, Mind. AoE heal.
Thief Blade: Shared-SB dagger. Pure Attack. 2-hit single-target 0.6x physical damage (per hit) with a chance to Slow.
Variable Steel: Stat-stick sword. Pure Attack.
Al Bhed Jumper: Stat-stick light armor. Defense and Resistance.
Should you pull? Short answer: probably not. Nothing here is amazing, much of it is situational, and frankly most of us are probably still hurting for mythril after the past few weeks. Keep in mind that the next event is the IV event that introduces Edge and Rosa, and that's a nostalgia soft spot for many players, so you might be saving for it. Or you might just need time to recover.

Happy New Year!

I'm holding off until Fang's Oath. I want Lightning's Super Soul Break (I need another Gun and some more XIII synergy), though I'm also considering pulling on the Beginner Banner and getting Ras Algethi for Balthier, who I currently have sitting at 46.

Slayn82

2016-01-01, 07:05 AM

Guess I'll have to do a 11 pull in this banner if only to improve my chances of finally going to the end of an event. Wakka is a mainstay at my team, I got Tidus MC2, Yuna and Auron will get their MC, to join Wakka, Tidus and Lulu at LB club. I'm trying to farm orbs at heroic dailies to improve my skills, as I could only take advantage fully of the first and last parts of the festival. Have dismissal, magic lure, shellga and ruinga at R2, hurrah!

Also, thank you for the short stories. I'm surprised that Terra's team had so much trouble on the Sand worm. It wasn't exactly easy for me, but I'm so much less prepared than most people on this thread. On the other hand, I didn't get behemoth.

Squall's thoughts on Omega battle was also great. He is a great protagonist (specially after having to endure Cloud in FFVll , a protagonist who I didn't enjoy much, l rather liked Barret, Cid and Vincent more), just overshadowed by the pure awesomeness of Laguna. And the Fallout reference suits him pretty well. Two thumbs up.

Edit: and today's login bonus is a FF Xlll 5* synergy gun. I guess all the people praying for a gun to use Szah, Barret and Balthier properly got a bone throw in their way.

Jurai

2016-01-01, 09:02 AM

danzibr

2016-01-01, 09:13 AM

I'm most excited about Yuna's MC.

That extra gun was nice.

Mr.Sandman

2016-01-01, 09:38 AM

Well, with all this extra Mythral I decided to snag the Beginner Bonus relic a bit earlier than I had planned. The Valkery was my relic choice, but I also managed to snag a few good pulls, including the Official Ball, the Keepsake Knife, a few stat 5*s, and a second Hyat Bow, which will help with finishing the V event after today, when I finally have time to do more than just log in for the log in bonus.

Red Fel

2016-01-01, 08:25 PM

And the X event is up! There are also new quests - one for honing the Weak Polka you can acquire during the event, and several bonus quests to recruit other X characters. So be sure to grab those!

Also, enjoy the New Year's login screen, and if you haven't yet, take a moment to enjoy the new lobby music. It's a nice update on one of the iconic FF musical leitmotifs.

And then get back to hating the fact that the first dungeon in the event has both a boss and an obscure requirement (afflict with Paralyze), because I can't help the fact that my team is made of steamrollers.

EDIT: Oh, and you might not have noticed, but a new ability was stealthily added to the game. You can now craft Fat Chocobo, a 4-star summon that deals two hits of AoE Earth damage, for GSOs, GFOs, and GEOs.

Ever noticed how a Greater Earth Orb is a GEO?

Jurai

2016-01-01, 08:34 PM

Yes, I have, actually noticed that. Also, I'm feeling really good about this event.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-01, 08:58 PM

And then get back to hating the fact that the first dungeon in the event has both a boss and an obscure requirement (afflict with Paralyze), because I can't help the fact that my team is made of steamrollers.

EDIT: Oh, and you might not have noticed, but a new ability was stealthily added to the game. You can now craft Fat Chocobo, a 4-star summon that deals two hits of AoE Earth damage, for GSOs, GFOs, and GEOs.

Ever noticed how a Greater Earth Orb is a GEO?

Yeah, but the level is easily masterable even without fulfilling the obscure requirement. Maybe the Elite version will be a little more difficult, but I doubt it.

You may want to save your spheres on the Fat Chocobo summon, if only because you get it for free as a Login bonus.

Simkin

2016-01-01, 10:11 PM

Haven't gotten back to Exdeath, but I've been fairly happy with some general progress today.

- Sephiroth hit 80
- Pally!Cecil is up to 70 and I unlocked Paladin's Devotion
- Lenna is up to 69 and I unlocked Empathic Soul
- Rinoa is up to 67
- Tyro hit 65 and I unlocked Dr. Mog's Teachings
- Got Tidus's MC and already have him up to 60 with eggs and climbing strong
- Slowly starting to bring up some of the next wave of 80s from wherever they are at (i.e. Steiner (50), Fran (61), Red XIII (51) (also unlocked his Seto's Will).

KillianHawkeye

2016-01-01, 11:00 PM

Okay, what the hell??

I just got an Al Bhed Jumper, Yuna's Magistral Rod, and TWO Buster Claws! From a single draw!! Also, an extra Dancing Dagger, which is nice.

I'm just... like, why can't my actual life have this kind of luck? :smallsigh:

Forbiddenwar

2016-01-01, 11:16 PM

Well, Ultimate Exdeath is dead and mastered, but I'm not proud of how I did it.

If you think S/L was cheating, if you thought casting Break on yourself was a cheap gimmick, you may want to avert your eyes. I've sunk to a new low.

I threw money at him.
Well, not real money, because real money feels oddly worthless in this free to play game. But I spent 15 mithril and he just rolled over under the weight of +30 offense, +50% hp, +30 defense, +4 abilities.

It's okay though, I'm much happier spending 15 mithril and getting a cursed ring and some major orbs, than spending 50 mithril and getting jack squat.

And since I finished all the classic content, I had the mithril to spare.

SuperPanda

2016-01-02, 12:02 AM

I've had a good few days. Luneth, Reifa, Fran, Tidus, and Yuna are level broken. Increased stamina by 2. Spent some of the new year mythril on a three pull on the v banner 2. Still no V weapons but by another ninja suit. Might try ExDeath ultimate after Sunday xp.

X event s going well. Classic cleared. Feeling good about the rest.

Starwulf

2016-01-02, 04:14 AM

danzibr

2016-01-02, 08:00 AM

4 things to say:

1) Grats to all with celebrations!

2) I don't have many celebrations of my own. Assembled my 4th full team: X. 65 Lulu, 50 Yuna, 65 Wakka, 64 Tidus, 50 Auron. Not as good as my A team, but eh.

3) Was doing Retaliate cheese against the boss that goes out of melee range in the X event. Somehow Auron hit with Retaliate, the second hit on a Tempo Flurry. Bug?

4) I still have 53 freakin' people on the Break Level Cap screen. Man, I feel like a noob. Fortunately I'm close to breaking like... 7 maybe. Lenna, Wakka, Tidus, Rinoa, Pally Cecil, Ricard. Eh, 6, but still, that'll drop me beneath 50 at least.

Red Fel

2016-01-02, 12:34 PM

Man, stupid tablet went schizo and I haven't been able to log onto FFRK for 2 or 3 days now, which means I missed out on all the nice New Years eve free stuff(all those wonderful 4* orbs ><). Bah Humbug I tell ya!

So, got a quick question! I've recently gotten some duplicate 4* gear that I actually already have 6* copies of, and I'm wondering if there is any point in re-leveling any of it in the hopes of getting 2 more of each, or if I should just feed them off: Hypno Crown, Diamond Armor, Wizard Armlet. I've also gotten TWO more Platinum Daggers that I already combined into a 5*, but I also already have a 6* of it. I figured since I'm low on XII gear that it would make sense to get another 6* for it, even if it takes a while. So, would it be worth it taking those others to 6* even though I already have 6* version of them, or should I just feed them away?

Gotta say I'm kinda getting to the point where I'm going to have to start feeding 3* gear away now, even the ones that I've combined to 5*. I'm almost maxed on box space, which I have 180 of.

Well, here's the thing. When it comes to non-synergy, a 5-star will generally be better than a 3- or 4-star upgraded to that level. But when it comes to synergy, the 3++ with synergy will be much better than the 5-star without it, generally speaking. As such, I make a habit of holding onto any 4-stars I get, and I have several 6-stars that attest to how useful that can be.

Now, all that said, there is the matter of whether you'll actually need more than one person to use that gear in a given synergy realm. For example, in a non-synergy Abyss battle, you will simply want the best gear, which will be 5-star. But if you're going into, say, X, having your 3++ will be useful. But if you have multiple 3++ staves, for instance, you can step back and think - am I really going to need more than one healer in X? More than one mage, sure, so multiple ++ rods make sense. More than one swordsman, definitely. But healer?

So let's look at what you have. Hypno Crown is a primarily defensive hat, with Magic and Mind. In a V realm, if you have no 5-star hats, it's really good to have. My Lenna was using one before I combined it up to 5-star. So having one for Lenna and one for Krile is not a terrible plan, provided that you have no other 5-star V caster armor. Once you exceed three caster armors for V, it drops off in utility. Diamond Armor, I assume you mean the VI one, because that's the only 4-star that I saw. A lot of VI characters use heavy armor, don't they? That could see a lot of mileage. I'd hold onto it. Wizard Armlet, I'm using one now. If you have no other X caster armor, one fully-combined and one semi-combined Wizard Armlet will really serve you well. If, on the other hand, you have a ton of X caster gear (for instance, I have a Defense Veil), the extra caster armor won't help you.

Really, it boils down to what synergy alternatives you have for the same function.

On a final note, I don't like the optimize button very much anymore. It keeps trying to equip my mages with high attack weapons(like Enhancer, or that Christmas candle dagger I chose recently) and sticking them in the first row. Very, very irritating. And given how burned out I've been lately I just don't have the patience to go through and make teams for each specific realm and equip them appropriately.

Never use the optimize button. Not for gear, not for upgrades.

For gear, it will prioritize 5-stars and frequently focus on the wrong stat. You want to go in and hand-pick your gear. Frequently you'll get better stats on hand-picked synergy choices than from the big shiny 5-stars at the top of the list.

For upgrades, it prioritizes based on gil. Meaning it will burn off your highest scarletites/adamantites in order to save you money, of which you have plenty. Go in and hand-pick materials; conserve materials, not gil.

Optimize is nobody's friend. If optimize were an ice cream flavor, it would be pralines and Kimahri.

Jurai

2016-01-02, 01:47 PM

Anybody else notice a palpable jump from 50 to 55 in terms of difficulty?

Red Fel

2016-01-02, 04:14 PM

Anybody else notice a palpable jump from 50 to 55 in terms of difficulty?

I noticed the jump in difficulty in the last two elite event bosses, at least. Admittedly, Sanctuary Keeper wasn't the absolute monster he used to be back when he was an event capstone, but he was still mean.

Elite Yunalesca, on the other hand, is most certainly shaping up to be this event's Elite Exdeath. It's not that I can't mitigate her damage - I can - it's just that she unloads so much of it, and it takes so long, that the fight cost me three medals and lost me mastery. I can only imagine how heinous her Ultimate form will be.

Oh, there will be reta meta. So much reta.

EDIT: Ooh, tricksy hobbitses. Apparently, because the Hellbiter attack that imposes Sap is a physical attack, it is blocked by Retaliate. This means that if you use Retaliate before you get sapped, you will eat a Mega Death to the face and die. So the strategy is to wait until you get sapped, then trigger Retaliate, at which point you have 40 seconds to murder her before Sap drops and you eat a Mega Death to the face and die. The more you know.

Forbiddenwar

2016-01-02, 04:36 PM

I .

EDIT: Ooh, tricksy hobbitses. Apparently, because the Hellbiter attack that imposes Sap is a physical attack, it is blocked by Retaliate. This means that if you use Retaliate before you get sapped, you will eat a Mega Death to the face and die. So the strategy is to wait until you get sapped, then trigger Retaliate, at which point you have 40 seconds to murder her before Sap drops and you eat a Mega Death to the face and die. The more you know.

How does the RM self sacrifice work then? I think it's Sap is permanent.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-02, 04:38 PM

EDIT: Ooh, tricksy hobbitses. Apparently, because the Hellbiter attack that imposes Sap is a physical attack, it is blocked by Retaliate. This means that if you use Retaliate before you get sapped, you will eat a Mega Death to the face and die. So the strategy is to wait until you get sapped, then trigger Retaliate, at which point you have 40 seconds to murder her before Sap drops and you eat a Mega Death to the face and die. The more you know.

Alternatively, Self-Sacrifice or Dragoon Determination RM.

EDIT: Shadow'd.

EDIT2: I haven't tried the last two Elite missions in the event yet, but I've FINALLY gotten Sephiroth's and Zell's RM2 to drop, meaning until I LB some Core, II, and III characters I don't have to worry about farming them for awhile. Oh, and Wakka once his MC2 becomes available. Now I just have to get a party setup for the last two bonus battles for the V event, and put together something for the rest of the X event as well. My synergy for V is almost nonexistent though, so it's going to be tough.

Hunter Noventa

2016-01-02, 05:06 PM

Jurai

2016-01-02, 05:14 PM

The worst part of the Elite Yunalesca battle is Mind Blast. She can use it as much as she wants and you'll end up with half your party confused each time she does, AND it does a solid chunk of damage. It's pretty rude.

I never saw it and only got one Holy out of her. Ended up losing two characters, so no Mastery.

SuperPanda

2016-01-02, 06:18 PM

I can't mitigate Yunalesca enough to not loose 2 medals for damage taken and I can't kill her fast enough to not loose 1 for actions. Going to call the eggs and orb lost and go clear some elites.

Red Fel

2016-01-02, 07:50 PM

How does the RM self sacrifice work then? I think it's Sap is permanent.

Nope. No Sap is permanent. All Sap has a 40s duration. The two "start with Sap" RMs simply start combat with Sap; they don't let you keep it. Which makes them really quite good when you have Lenna as your healer with Dr. Mog's Teachings; first round, Sap is removed by Mass Regen, but you keep the stat boosts. Lenna is not a great choice for fighting Yunalesca for this precise reason.

The worst part of the Elite Yunalesca battle is Mind Blast. She can use it as much as she wants and you'll end up with half your party confused each time she does, AND it does a solid chunk of damage. It's pretty rude.

The thing about Mind Blast is that as soon as she uses Hellbiter, the Confuse effect is ruined. As mentioned, Hellbiter is a physical AoE; if it connects, it ends Confuse status.

I can't mitigate Yunalesca enough to not loose 2 medals for damage taken and I can't kill her fast enough to not loose 1 for actions. Going to call the eggs and orb lost and go clear some elites.

The problem I have isn't just with mitigating her damage. Fact is, her damage alone really doesn't stop me much; it's the Sap that gets me down. That damage keeps eating my party, and while I can easily heal through it, it's basically unstoppable damage. So getting mastery - which I still haven't done - is less about mitigating the damage she deals, and more about burning her down before Sap deals enough damage to make everything suck forever.

EDIT: And Operation: Nuke the Ever-Loving Fool Out of Yunalesca is a success! Mastery achieved, only one medal lost to damage. Here was my setup:
Tidus: Full synergy gear, Tempo Flurry (unused) and Dismissal, Dragoon's Determination RM.
Auron: Relic katana and synergy accessory, Armor Break and Pound, Heroic Stance RM.
Wakka: Evil Lantern, Holiday Mittens, and synergy accessory, Power and Magic Breakdowns, Dr. Mog's Teachings RM.
Yuna: Heavy Mind gear, synergy hat, Curaga and Shellga, Cultured Conjurer RM.
Lulu: Heavy Magic gear, synergy armor and accessory, Ruinga and Waterja, Witch of Succession RM.
RW: Against advice, I went with Lunatic High.
My method: Dr. Mog's Teaching meant that Wakka had an SB bar ready to go. He used the party-wide Attack boost before Tidus or Auron went, ensuring they dealt boosted damage. Auron opened with Armor Break, then went to Pound; Tidus used Dismissal continuously. Yuna used Lunatic High and Shellga, and then did not heal unless it was needed, because wasted heals also waste actions, which wastes medals. Lulu used Waterja. Now, this part is important: RWs like Lunatic High and Boon are discouraged because Yunalesca has a strong tendency to dispel them. That's why SG or SSII are recommended instead. However, I went with LH because, on the off chance she didn't dispel it, the Hastega would allow me to squeeze in more damage before Sap ate my medals.

I didn't need a second LH or Shellga. Nor did either get dispelled. After Armor Break and the attack boost, Auron was punching the damage cap in the face with Pound, and Tidus was close behind with Dismissal. Lulu's damage with Waterja was extremely satisfying, and Yunalesca was quickly burned into phase 3, and from there to the ground. She didn't even have time to fire off a Mind Break. I lost a total of 1 medal to damage, which was pretty unavoidable given that Sap is pretty unavoidable.

Simkin

2016-01-02, 10:43 PM

Ultimate Exdeath = no more. Was not fun. Much S/L, several mythril, but mastery is mine; as is the Cursed Ring and orbs. Very happy it is done with. For the first time in a bit I have nothing to do but dungeons, though tomorrow will be xp of course.

danzibr

2016-01-03, 07:41 AM

Wait, are people talking about the 99 Yunalesca, or is she in new content, too?

Ultimate Exdeath = no more. Was not fun. Much S/L, several mythril, but mastery is mine; as is the Cursed Ring and orbs. Very happy it is done with. For the first time in a bit I have nothing to do but dungeons, though tomorrow will be xp of course.
Grats! I'm up to the +++ battle, haven't tried it, to be honest I don't want to try it. Maybe tonight. Maybe.

So far exp day is a success. I had a lot of people close to cap. Used MC's on Tidus, Rinoa, Pally Cecil. Ricard is 2 battles away from 50 (need to nab his MC tomorrow though), switched out some people for Rikku (for the current event), DK Cecil (for the upcoming event), and Hope (for the event after... I need a BM for XIII).

Looking at the list of upcoming MC2's, I do *not* have many of those people at 65. I don't even have many at 50 for that matter. I probably ought to spend some mythril today getting more exp, but I just don't feel like it.

Chen

2016-01-03, 10:10 AM

Nope. No Sap is permanent. All Sap has a 40s duration. The two "start with Sap" RMs simply start combat with Sap; they don't let you keep it. Which makes them really quite good when you have Lenna as your healer with Dr. Mog's Teachings; first round, Sap is removed by Mass Regen, but you keep the stat boosts. Lenna is not a great choice for fighting Yunalesca for this precise reason.

With Advance + Retaliate the start battle with sap is sufficient. She only auto-casts Mega-death upon transition below 51% health. You can easily get her below 51% before the sap wears off. That said star of that fight was Tidus using Boost the second Advance charge and hitting her for around 45k health with Slice and Dice. SSB eat your heart out :P

Knaight

2016-01-03, 02:41 PM

For gear, it will prioritize 5-stars and frequently focus on the wrong stat. You want to go in and hand-pick your gear. Frequently you'll get better stats on hand-picked synergy choices than from the big shiny 5-stars at the top of the list.

I still use optimize sometimes, but if I forget to check the work done and fix it, I can get obnoxious stuff. For instance, Gilgamesh can use staff weapons. Optimize stuck him in the back row with that crappy Christmas staff several times for me, and it was obnoxious.

Jurai

2016-01-03, 02:48 PM

I still use optimize sometimes, but if I forget to check the work done and fix it, I can get obnoxious stuff. For instance, Gilgamesh can use staff weapons. Optimize stuck him in the back row with that crappy Christmas staff several times for me, and it was obnoxious.

About the only reason I could see that happening is if they introduce Blue Magic as an ability category, and give Gil Blue 2 or 3.

Knaight

2016-01-03, 02:57 PM

About the only reason I could see that happening is if they introduce Blue Magic as an ability category, and give Gil Blue 2 or 3.

Either that or it's just part of Gil having a huge variety of available weapons. Still, Optimize going for back row mind on Gilgamesh is just irritating.

Jurai

2016-01-03, 03:59 PM

Lulu is at Level 65, and now I'm working on Vivi, as soon as my stamina restores to a sufficient level. Wakka's on his way to 65 as well, Vivi being Wakka's chaperone for Sundaily +.

Forbiddenwar

2016-01-03, 04:04 PM

danzibr

2016-01-03, 06:27 PM

I still use optimize sometimes, but if I forget to check the work done and fix it, I can get obnoxious stuff. For instance, Gilgamesh can use staff weapons. Optimize stuck him in the back row with that crappy Christmas staff several times for me, and it was obnoxious.
This made me lol. Ahh, Optimize. It seems like if you have at least 2 people who can use cure spells, it'd be good to give at least one of them a cure spell.

Red Fel

2016-01-03, 06:41 PM

Well, Rikku is now level 65, but I wish I could have left her at 1. With the abilities and gear I have, she seems useless. Shame shes required for the bonus battles, but I guess that's one way to up the difficulty.

This is actually a discussion on the FFRK Reddit right now. The general consensus is that she's not that good, generally not worthwhile, and frequently overshadowed by other Thief users (e.g. Locke). But there's also acknowledgement that in the future she gets some buffing that makes her more functional.

But yeah, lotta grousing that she's mandatory for pretty much everything but Ultimate Yunalesca.

Anteros

2016-01-03, 11:45 PM

Jurai

2016-01-03, 11:47 PM

Forbiddenwar

2016-01-04, 12:07 AM

Money is oddly worthless and time is not a major factor in this game, although Sundays are perhaps the most important time to play.

I get the impression that this is a brand awareness f2p game, more than a revenue generator. (Like fallout shelter, but good)

My big tip is to log in every day and get the free item draw. Later in the game, when you have a bunch of high level items you can ignore this, but now it is vital.

Only use mithril on rare relic draws. Save up for the beginners draw, as it is a really good deal.

Cloud is one of the best characters of the game and you get him first (after some core characters.)

You can blitz a difficult daily dungeon battle with 1 high damage Roaming Warrior used twice and then unloading your best abilities on the final round. Then retreat the dungeon without finishing it.This is a great way to get lots of experience or powerful orbs.

S/L means force closing the app and then restarting it. This gives you a chance to reset the round you are on at the condition you started the round at, a useful practice when RNG doesn't work your way.

Reta meta means using retaliate, you can defeat many of the early bosses, by having your characters attack your retaliate caster (you best attacker). This is improved with boost, Advance Roaming Warrior and draw fire ability.

Mr.Sandman

2016-01-04, 12:23 AM

Realm Synergy is key, with it a combined 3* or natural 4* can seriously overshadow a natural 5*.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-04, 06:20 AM

So anyone have any tips for someone just getting into this game today? I don't plan on spending any money so that's out, and I don't really intend to spend hundreds of hours grinding things, but any general tips or information would be appreciated.

To avoid too much grinding, the Sunday XP daily missions are your best friend no matter what level. The other Daily missions are good too for farming resources to craft and gone abilities.

Save your Mythril. You can use 5 for a shot on the equipment lottery, 15 for three draws, and 50 for 11. Early on you'll probably be grateful for any decent equipment you can get, but as you progress through the game you can afford to be pickier. You can check back with us if you're wondering if there are any particularly good events to save up money for. Good news is you can make these sorts of draws semi-frequently. That being said, it's still a lottery, and sometimes even with 50 Mythril you don't get anything spectacular. When this happens, don't worry, you'll get another chance sooner than you think.

The big thing to remember with these equipment draws is that if there's only like one piece of equipment you're interested in, even if it's something you really want, chances are you still won't get it, so try to make sure you'll be happy with other items as well.

Your best party members will depend largely on what equipment you draw. We long-term players might harp on certain characters for not being as good, but if you get Kimahri's personal spear early on, he'll likely be your best character for a while.

The Events that last a week or two give you lots of opportunities for unique characters, and you don't need to be that high a level just to get the characters.

If there's a particular character you want, and you find out they're exclusive to a past event, don't worry. We can assure you there will be plenty of chances in the future to collect them as well.

Don't worry. This game is perfectly playable and fun without spending a cent

Red Fel

2016-01-04, 07:47 AM

So anyone have any tips for someone just getting into this game today? I don't plan on spending any money so that's out, and I don't really intend to spend hundreds of hours grinding things, but any general tips or information would be appreciated.

Welcome, Anteros.

As others have said, this is a really good "freemium" game in the truest sense - you don't need to spend any real money to enjoy the full benefit of the game. The devs are extremely generous with mythril, the in-game premium currency, so you'll accumulate a nice stockpile in short order. Spending it on relic draws is preferred, and saving up for an 11-pull even moreso (because the 11th is free).

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in this thread. Lots of posters, myself included, are reasonably well-informed and happy to help. Additionally, this Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper) is an excellent general resource on the game. The Reddit also has a three-part beginner's guide, which can be found here (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/3a7vcj/newbie_guide_part_1_the_startup/), here (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/3ab93t/newbie_guide_part_2_the_farming/), and here (https://www.reddit.com/r/FFRecordKeeper/comments/3at07y/newbie_guide_part_3_the_planning/). There are other, more comprehensive sources, but they can be a bit overwhelming when you're just starting out.

My advice? Have fun with it. This game is nostalgia bait. Just sit back and enjoy the characters, the music, the familiar battles. Once you get over the initial rush, build around synergy - characters and items from the realm you're in get a bonus. So bring Cloud into FFVII, Cecil into FFIV, and Terra into FFVI. You'll know you have synergy by the blue glow. Then go back to having fun.

Some battles are brute force fights - kill the baddy and don't get KO'd. Others are requirement fights - use fire to kill the baddy and don't get KO'd. Every now and then, there's a tactical fight - this baddy dodges physical attacks, so you need to bring magic, or this baddy periodically goes into a shell, during which time you should hold off on attacking. Learn the patterns and blow things up.

But mostly, have fun.

Chen

2016-01-04, 08:08 AM

Money is oddly worthless and time is not a major factor in this game, although Sundays are perhaps the most important time to play.

Money worthless? What? If you toss a bunch of money at the game it becomes significantly easier to finish things, just like any F2P game. Now it certainly isn't necessary and I don't think you'd really hit any paywalls though finishing events without paying any money will be likely impossible for the first couple, just due to lack of gear/levels.

My big tip is to log in every day and get the free item draw. Later in the game, when you have a bunch of high level items you can ignore this, but now it is vital.

Never stop doing the daily draw. You CAN get 5* items from it (though it's quite rare).

Red Fel

2016-01-04, 11:26 AM

Never stop doing the daily draw. You CAN get 5* items from it (though it's quite rare).

Strewth. Admittedly, the best I ever got was a 3-star, but there is a (dramatically infinitesimal) chance at 5-stars.

Hunter Noventa

2016-01-04, 12:24 PM

The thing about Mind Blast is that as soon as she uses Hellbiter, the Confuse effect is ruined. As mentioned, Hellbiter is a physical AoE; if it connects, it ends Confuse status.

That assumes she uses Hellbiter before your party kills itself, that was my problem, the damage from Mind Blast couple with my healer being Confused and Tidus and Auron hitting themselves or my mages...it wasn't pretty.

I managed eventually, but I don't think I'll bother with the bonus battle this time around.

Slayn82

2016-01-04, 12:28 PM

There's a few pieces of Mithril armor that drop in any of the hard daily dungeon of materials for upgrading that were quite nice. Hang on in the Mitril shields, helms and armors and max upgrade and combine them for the next event. Good armor has been a lot harder to come by then good weapons. The 4* Mithril shield will give you 84 Def and 53 Res. A 2* ogrekiller axe upgraded to 4* is 115 Atk.

On other news, I beat Gilgamesh 90, but far from beating exdeath 99. SS2 or SG aren't mitigating enough of his damage on the second phase and it takes forever to go through his health, Black Materia eat him pretty fast, but I get even more wrecked on the second phase, until I switched to a second healer. I think i'll try bringing 3 white mages.

Edit: worked slight better, but I'm lacking dever levels, apparently. I'm reducing him to about 20% HP, but those two actions per move wreck pretty hard, even with shellga and regeneration up. I'll go farm Earth orbs. One day Exdeath, one day.

Chen

2016-01-04, 01:09 PM

On other news, I beat Gilgamesh 90, but far from beating exdeath 99. SS2 or SG aren't mitigating enough of his damage on the second phase and it takes forever to go through his health, Black Materia eat him pretty fast, but I get even more wrecked on the second phase, until I switched to a second healer. I think i'll try bringing 3 white mages?

Phase 1 you want heavy mitigation. Shellga + Magic breakdown at least. Likely Sentinel Grimoire as well. Phase 2 you either keep up all 3 mitigations and burn him down as fast as possible or throw up Carbuncle and hope or S/L for mainly single target spells. Consider using retaliate to avoid his dispel counter (once carbuncle is up you can bounce spells off your guys too to avoid the counter). This is basically the same strategy as the Ultimate fight. Healing through damage is rarely the correct solution since you just drag the fight on longer by removing damage dealers (can sometimes work if you have an AoE heal SB though).

Knaight

2016-01-04, 01:45 PM

On advice for new people:

Watch the Quest bar like a hawk. There's a whole bunch there for things like upgrading and combining armor, making abilities, honing abilities, and other things that you want to do anyways. There's also quests for doing certain levels. It's much easier to get these as they come up instead of making duplicates later, redoing levels, etc.
Upgrade and hone. In the early game gil is a real limiting factor, and character stats are generally low. The bulk of your power will come from equipment, and while the game is a lot more generous with free 5* items now than it used to be, most of your team will end up using 1-2* items. Getting the first few levels on them is cheap, combining is fairly cheap, and the change in power is drastic.
Hunt down stamina. You get a free stamina refresh every 5 stamina crystals, and in the early game these are cheap. So, you do chunks of event battles and similar, leaving enough to refill, then repeat the process.
Push through events. You won't be able to do entire events for a long while, but there's generally at least a character or two you can get with a new group, particularly with judicious use of damaging roaming warriors for bosses. The classic dungeons take a while to get the good characters, and a number of the characters that are really solid once you have a wide range of equipment, abilities, etc. kind of suck in the early game. For instance, Wakka is a great character late game, but completely useless up until the higher level support abilities start kicking in.
Get useful abilities. A lot of the abilities in the game are pretty situational, but others are solid. Emphasize black magic, spellblade, and the combat break abilities. Once you hit level 4 abilities, the Support breakdowns are amazing, as are Protectga, Shellga, and Ruinga.

Jurai

2016-01-04, 02:22 PM

Red Fel

2016-01-04, 04:10 PM

Thanks to the sudden influx of nuklear power I got today, Tidus and Tyro are at Level Break II, and Kain is Level Break I. I am well on my way to being able to build a balanced party of 65+ characters.

I know, right? That 10-pack of mega-eggs really hit the spot. I'm already lining people up for the next several events, and for MC2s.

lord_khaine

2016-01-04, 04:39 PM

So, what if someone wants to play this game on a PC?

Jurai

2016-01-04, 04:51 PM

I know, right? That 10-pack of mega-eggs really hit the spot. I'm already lining people up for the next several events, and for MC2s.

I like my Growth Eggs over hard, with ketchup. How about y'all?

So, what if someone wants to play this game on a PC?

Bluestacks is recommended for that.

lord_khaine

2016-01-04, 05:45 PM

Alright thanks for the advice.

danzibr

2016-01-04, 06:07 PM

On new players: the daily login bonuses are ridiculously good. Just got 10 5* growth eggs today. That can boost 2 characters from 1 to 50.

Speaking of which, I decided to use some of my hoarded eggs. Broke level cap on 6 people (that optimize button is GLORIOUS), that screen is down to 43 now for me. I can egg probably 6 more up to 50, maybe 8, dunno. Figured I'd save it for event people and bonus battles. Also... think I'll give the +++ battle a go, if only for those major power orbs.

huttj509

2016-01-04, 06:16 PM

Alright thanks for the advice.

Yeah, i'm using Bluestacks, working fine. I tried Andy but FFRK was iffy on that one (wouldn't let me install, incompatible device, but on a prev. try it had worked).

danzibr

2016-01-04, 09:51 PM

Decided to not bother with the +++ battle. Not going to try with Exdeath. Not going to try clearing classic stuff. I considered getting some MC's, but I think I'll just be lazy and get them as the events come.

Man, feeling lazy.

Simkin

2016-01-04, 10:53 PM

Chen

2016-01-04, 11:29 PM

So the +++ fight here is easily cheesable with Berserk (as recommended) plus Carbuncle. The blast bunch is actually just a reskinned Gravity, including the fact it's black magic. So once the boss is berserked and you have Carbuncle up he can't do anymore damage to you. Very simple fight.

Jurai

2016-01-05, 01:15 AM

Uuuuugh. Bug broads are annoying, but dead. I have two LBII characters in X now.

KillianHawkeye

2016-01-05, 02:06 AM

Reta meta means using retaliate, you can defeat many of the early bosses, by having your characters attack your retaliate caster (you best attacker). This is improved with boost, Advance Roaming Warrior and draw fire ability.

Wait....

Wait, wait, wait!

WAIT

You mean to tell me all that talk about Retaliate being awesome is only when you attack your own guy?? No wonder it seemed like such an underwhelming ability!

Honestly, that seems almost like a bug to me....

Starwulf

2016-01-05, 03:02 AM

Sooo, major question for peeps here! Was doing my standard 1 pull for new banner(well, standard for banners that have at least one item I want). I actually got my 2nd Variable Steel. So I am now wondering if I should combine it with my other to make my first 6* that comes from two 5*, or if I should just level it and have two of them? Also, since I have the standard "Pull until not gold(or in this case, rainbow) I rolled again and got another 5*, this one actually from the banner: Lulu's little mog doll thing. Nifty but basically useless since I don't use LuLu. Then I did another pull and finally got junk. LOL

Wait....

Wait, wait, wait!

WAIT

You mean to tell me all that talk about Retaliate being awesome is only when you attack your own guy?? No wonder it seemed like such an underwhelming ability!

Honestly, that seems almost like a bug to me....

I feel the same way, but technically it's not, as others have mentioned(and as I myself can attest to) there have been battles in the main Final Fantasy games over the years where casting reflect on yourself and spamming magic on that character was the only way to win, or casting reflect on the boss(Asura in FFIV) to stop them from constantly healing themselves.

Personally I feel that if I can't beat the boss without the reta meta then I don't deserve the win. Every win I've gotten was through the normal slog. Could I have won a lot more battles by abusing reta-meta? Oh most certainly. I would even go so far as to guarantee that I'd be right there with Red Fel and Chen in terms of completion for ++/+++/++++ Battles if I was willing to do that(not just because of the reta-meta itself, but because of all the wonderful greater/major orbs you get for those wins when you get mastery), but for myself I wouldn't feel like I earned it.

Plus I have a feeling as the game ages and gets more popular they might just patch that stuff out, and then all the people who have become overly reliant on it are going to suddenly find themselves incapable of completing the stuff they were before because they aren't used to using more mundane strategies.

I do want to be very clear(as I have in the past) and state that I don't look down on others who use it. It's an entirely viable strategy and I fully understand why others want/enjoy using it. Just for myself, I don't like it. I've always been like that. I've rarely used cheat codes, and when I did it was after I had already beaten a game. My parents bought me a game genie for the nes(or was it the snes?) when I was younger, and I can count on one hand the amount of times I ever used it, and again, never until I actually beat a game.

SuperPanda

2016-01-05, 04:18 AM

Welcome to the community. At first some of the people in thread will *cough*Red Fel*cough* will feel like gods of the game.

Jumping over to Reddit now and then will let you feel like one too.

Let the nostalgia guide you. Every character is usable and just st because some are arguably better -Cloud- and some are arguable worse -Cyan- doesn't stop you from being awesome with your favorites. You'll eventually get to the point where the stats matter, but by then you'll also know enough to compensate for them and still use your favorites.

Soul break items are awesome - but good ablity hones are almost always superior. Soul breaks get more powerful the later they are released so don't look back too much (I've been guilty of that). Farm up mythril to pull for the realms/characters you like and get ready for surprises.

Mostly have fun.

On my side. The tri-plus is down. Mastery all around except elite Yunalesca who still is only expert. Considering trying ultimate ExDeath but not expecting a win. I am predicting that Rubicant will be the first ultimate I take down. Still have old dungeons to chew through, only at 134 stamina.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-05, 06:01 AM

Re: Reta Meta

The devs have gone on record saying that Retaliate and Reta Meta work exactly as intended. It's not going to get patched out because it's not a bug. It's a feature. And while it is damn useful and a lifesaver in many fights, it is far from a "win all" button. A lot of fights especially in the bonus levels will brutally punish you if you try it. At the same time, some fights are designed that the only way to reliably win is through Reta Meta.

danzibr

2016-01-05, 07:22 AM

Boss Rush done. Easier than most it seemed. Even forgot to take Rikku and still had no problem mastering it. My party:

- Squall 80, Thundara Strike (6), Double Cut (8), Attunement II
- Lulu 65, Thundaga (10), Thundaja (6), Witch of Succession
- Cloud 80, Thundaga Strike (6), Double Cut (10), Attunement I
- Lenna 80, Curaga (12), Protectga (4), Dr. Mog's Teachings
- Tidus 79, Tempo Flurry (10), Intimidate (4), Soldier Strike

First went down fast to the three dishing out Lightning damage after Initimidate stuck paralyze. Second was just a tad slower, but still went down easily, lost one medal to damage I think. Final took an S/L or two because I started with someone at low HP and he died a couple times. A SB or 2 and Negator would be wiped out. Lightning damage and SBs dropped him fast after that. Lost 5 medals, 2 for damage and 3 for no Rikku.

++ done. Wakka MCII obtained. Lost 1 medal on actions, 2 on damage. Party was:

- Rikku 50, Venom Buster (8), Boost (10), Double Hit
- Y'shtola 65, Magic Breakdown (4), Shellga (4), Heart of the Dancer I (B/C I'M A NOOB AND HIT THE WRONG ONE)
- Cloud 80, Retaliate (10), Double Cut (10), Attunement I (Only slightly less noob and didn't change from last fight)
- Lenna 80, Curaga (12), Protectga (4), Dr. Mog's Teachings
- Tidus (79), Tempo Flurry (10), Dismissal (6), Soldier Strike

Fairly straight forward. Got Mass Regen and Shellga up. Magic Breakdown on the top caster. Cloud advanced, then he and Tidus focused on the bottom healer. Rikku boosted Cloud and put Venom on Sandy. Took a few heavy hits and got close to losing one person. Having Mako Might and SSII up would have done loads if I hadn't fat fingered and not had it. Put advance back up (not sure it had worn off), and ate through the top caster fast. Sandy dropped quickly.

So the +++ fight here is easily cheesable with Berserk (as recommended) plus Carbuncle. The blast bunch is actually just a reskinned Gravity, including the fact it's black magic. So once the boss is berserked and you have Carbuncle up he can't do anymore damage to you. Very simple fight.
Good info in these posts. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to beat the +++ fight and thus lose out on the new ability.

Re: Reta Meta

The deva have gone on record saying that Retaliate and Reta Meta work exactly as intended. It's not going to get patched out because it's not a bug. It's a feature. And while it is damn useful and a lifesaver in many fights, it is far from a "win all" button. A lot of fights especially in the bonus level will brutally punish you if you try it. At the same time, some fights are designed that the only way to reliably win is through Reta Meta.
Huh, I never knew. I always felt like I was cheesing it.

Chen

2016-01-05, 08:30 AM

I suspect retaliate really was an oversight at first. Allowing you to boost one character and have all your characters get boosted is very strong. That said, I'm sure DENA made that post once they realized how widely used it is and that they'd piss people off in changing it. It also allows people to kill things they wouldn't otherwise be able to, which tends to remove a lot of the "pay to win" feeling of the game. DENA can produce ridiculously strong encounters that you'd need high hones and good synergy 5* gear to beat the "normal" way, but that most people can also beat the retaliate way having much fewer hones/gear. I'm sure this incentivises people to keep playing and eventually throw money at the game, as opposed to making huge paywalls instead. It's a very smart move on their part frankly.

On the retaliate note, Ultimate Yunalesca is absolutely trivial with advantaliate. Further, on transition to phase 3 she only hell-biters and does NOT auto cast mega death, so if you bring some form of regen (Kirin or that new white magic spell) you can make sure to remove sap from everyone and she will not use holy at all, with only a 5% chance of megadeath in phase 3.

Now all that said I got super lucky in any case when fighting her. Cloud was retaliating for around 8500 (after boost, advance, armor breakdown and synergy weapon). She died in like 6 rounds and her 6 actions were:

Single target attack on Tidus -> Miss
Single target attack on Red XIII -> Miss
Osmose
Absorb on Tyro
Osmose
Mind Blast

The last mind blast did confuse 3 party members but not Cloud so I just killed her the following round.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-05, 09:13 AM

Lenna invited all her girlfriends to a slumber party. Lulu, Rinoa, and Terra were all invited. Vivi was invited too, mostly because he's adorable and all the girls find him too cute to say no too. Melusine was invited too, but for her the emphasis was on slumber.

Then everyone set her on fire until she stopped breathing.

I've got less than one day to come up with a party setup that can take on Ultimate Exdeath. Thing is I have practically no synergy.

I'm thinking Cloud with Advantaliate, Squall to feed the Advantaliate and supply the occasional Blasting Zone, P-Cecil for Magic Lure, Shellga, and Rampart, the poor man's SG, a decent support character for a Breakdown and Full Break, and Lenna to heal and cast Reflect on P-Cecil.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Hunter Noventa

2016-01-05, 09:30 AM

Not really feeling up to the X event bonus battles, so I'm going to knock out a few core Dungeons in the meantime, been sitting at the Temple of Fiends of Yore for ages thanks to all the events last month.

Red Fel

2016-01-05, 09:33 AM

You mean to tell me all that talk about Retaliate being awesome is only when you attack your own guy?? No wonder it seemed like such an underwhelming ability!

Honestly, that seems almost like a bug to me....

Strewth. Give one guy Retaliate (and Draw Fire if the boss has physical attacks), use Boost and/or Advance, and give as many people as you can Double Cut, Tempo Flurry, and/or Double Hit RM, and have them all focus fire on him. Boosted, your Retaliatemans should be putting out 6-8k per counter, or more with the right synergy, and double hits mean double counters.

Sooo, major question for peeps here! Was doing my standard 1 pull for new banner(well, standard for banners that have at least one item I want). I actually got my 2nd Variable Steel. So I am now wondering if I should combine it with my other to make my first 6* that comes from two 5*, or if I should just level it and have two of them? Also, since I have the standard "Pull until not gold(or in this case, rainbow) I rolled again and got another 5*, this one actually from the banner: Lulu's little mog doll thing. Nifty but basically useless since I don't use LuLu. Then I did another pull and finally got junk. LOL

Combining is great if you can fill the slot otherwise. Look at your typical X party. Does it need more sword? If so, two Variable Steels are going to be incredibly potent. If not, combine it and you have one extremely capable stat-stick weapon.

Personally I feel that if I can't beat the boss without the reta meta then I don't deserve the win. Every win I've gotten was through the normal slog. Could I have won a lot more battles by abusing reta-meta? Oh most certainly. I would even go so far as to guarantee that I'd be right there with Red Fel and Chen in terms of completion for ++/+++/++++ Battles if I was willing to do that(not just because of the reta-meta itself, but because of all the wonderful greater/major orbs you get for those wins when you get mastery), but for myself I wouldn't feel like I earned it.

Plus I have a feeling as the game ages and gets more popular they might just patch that stuff out, and then all the people who have become overly reliant on it are going to suddenly find themselves incapable of completing the stuff they were before because they aren't used to using more mundane strategies.

I do want to be very clear(as I have in the past) and state that I don't look down on others who use it. It's an entirely viable strategy and I fully understand why others want/enjoy using it. Just for myself, I don't like it. I've always been like that. I've rarely used cheat codes, and when I did it was after I had already beaten a game. My parents bought me a game genie for the nes(or was it the snes?) when I was younger, and I can count on one hand the amount of times I ever used it, and again, never until I actually beat a game.

I honestly felt the same way for a long time. It felt - and feels - cheap. I only started using it one or two events ago. The fact is, it's not perfect - proper reta meta takes a lot of setup. You need double hit abilities on your party. You need Advance. You need somebody who can use Retaliate, and is strong enough to deal solid damage. And you need to be able to keep him alive against a magic-heavy opponent.

There are actually some fights where reta meta is a bad idea. (See my discussion on the Magus Sisters below.) It still works, but it's a lot more effort. It's not easy, is the point, so it's kind of worth the payoff.

Re: Reta Meta

The devs have gone on record saying that Retaliate and Reta Meta work exactly as intended. It's not going to get patched out because it's not a bug. It's a feature. And while it is damn useful and a lifesaver in many fights, it is far from a "win all" button. A lot of fights especially in the bonus levels will brutally punish you if you try it. At the same time, some fights are designed that the only way to reliably win is through Reta Meta.

This. A lot of people were surprised, but the devs have explicitly said that reta meta is a feature, not a bug.

So, with the event mastered, I can now share my bonus battle strategies.

First, the boss rush. This is trivialized with a spellblade, doubly so if that spellblade is Lightning, because gun. (Remember that free gun you got?) All of the bosses are weak to lightning damage, and spellblade abilities are physical, not magical - meaning the Negator doesn't stop them. Bring Intimidate and sources of lightning damage, and the rest sorts itself out. I did not do this, because X does not have a native spellblade user, and I felt like being stupid. On the first boss, throw out Intimidate and he becomes a joke. On the second boss, remember that lightning damage disrupts Depth Charge, and again Intimidate can cripple him. On the third, if you brought a spellblade or two, you can try to ignore the Negator and nuke the Crawler directly (thereby avoiding the Mana Beam), but only if you feel confident about not healing.

Next, the ++ battle, the Magus Sisters. This was the part where I decided to swap out Tidus for Gilgamesh and try my hand at Retaliate. This is a poor battle for Retaliate, and here's why - automatic attacks, such as Retaliate counters, will automatically target the enemy with the lowest proportionate health. The only way that Retaliate works against the Magus Sisters is if you beat up on the healer first. Otherwise, you will fire counters at the other two, and Cindy will just keep raising them. Plus side, though, is that Retaliate and Draw Fire can trivialize about two thirds of the fight if done correctly. Most of their attacks, except for Mindy's spells and Cindy's heals, are physical, so even though they can't all be countered, Draw Fire ensures they target your Retaliatemans, and Retaliate ensures that they miss. Magic Breakdown on Mindy limits her damage, Venom Buster on Sandy meets the medal criteria, then nuke Cindy down and go all out on the other two.

Next, the +++ battle, Defender Z. It's already been covered, but Berserk + Carbuncle prevents him from dealing any damage. Blast Punch is tagged as magic, meaning that Reflect blocks it (but, sadly, it does not redirect it at him, it merely negates it). As long as you can keep Reflect up, you can burn him down at your leisure.

Okay, now for the Ultimate battle, Yunalesca. Here was my team.
Gilgamesh: Gear to maximize Attack. Draw Fire and Retaliate. Dragoon's Determination RM.
Tidus: Tempo Flurry and Dismissal. Auto-Haste RM.
Wakka: Evil Lantern. Power Breakdown and Double Cut. Auto-Haste RM.
Yuna: Curaga and Shellga. Double Hit RM.
Lulu: Ruinga and Waterja. Witch of Succession RM.
RW: Luneth (Advance).
Here's how the fight played out. Gilgamesh started the fight sapped, meaning I had 40 seconds to burn the boss down before that wore off. He immediately used Retaliate, followed by Advance. While he was charging up, Wakka used Power Breakdown on Yunalesca, Yuna used Shellga, and Lulu started unloading Waterja. Tidus and Wakka then repeatedly unloaded Tempo Flurry and Double Cut, respectively, on Gil. When Yuna wasn't healing, she double-attacked Gil.

Lulu's role was emergency nuke. My plan was that if Sap wore off of Gil while Reta was still up, and he subsequently got auto-killed, the rest of the party's damage would pale in comparison, but her spells would still work fine. Her job was to finish the fight if Gil went down.

There's a luck or timing element to the fight. If you time it such that Retaliate goes down just towards the end of Phase 2, she'll throw out a Hellbiter and reinfect your Retaliatemans with Sap, allowing you to finish the fight. If you miss your window, though, you have to hope she hits you during Phase 3, before throwing out Mega Death.

How it actually went down was surprising. I missed my window. We quickly went into Phase 3. Sap went down when she was somewhere around 80% dead. I thought the heck with it, and went for broke. She never used Mind Blast, she only used Holy once; she basically just spammed Osmose. Which was admittedly a jerk move on her part, but the key thing is that it dealt no damage. So I went all out, and only lost a couple of medals due to damage and the number of turns taken. Mastery get, time to attack the new dungeon content.

Speaking of, new dungeon content! New dungeons in V, VI, and XII, a new MC (and RMs) for Samurai, and another RM for Strago! A new core class, Thief, which means sometime in the future there'll be two Thief ability recovery RMs, yay. Now, don't be fooled by Strago's RM - it doesn't counter spells with Break, it counters them with Stone, which is an ability that involves throwing a rock that deals damage and may cause Confusion. So, no great shakes, folks.

Happy hunting!

Jurai

2016-01-05, 09:54 AM

Retaliate also works when your opponent's Physically attack the target. Gilgamesh and Tyro can use it and Draw Fire in conjunction to basically say, 'No, target me,' and then kill their attackers.

KillianHawkeye

2016-01-05, 01:06 PM

Retaliate also works when your opponent's Physically attack the target. Gilgamesh and Tyro can use it and Draw Fire in conjunction to basically say, 'No, target me,' and then kill their attackers.

Yeah, that's essentially how I had tried using it in the past. As I said, it felt underwhelming, and I eventually decided that it wasn't worth both ability slots when I could be equipping two +murder abilities.

I suppose my perception was colored by the inevitable comparison to Cyan's retort ability back in FF6, which was also pretty underwhelming.

Chen

2016-01-05, 01:18 PM

@Red Fel, there's no auto Mega Death on the Ultimate Yunalesca so you don't have to worry about keeping your retaliator sapped. In fact its WAY easier if you remove sap the instant it's applied since it turns off her Holy and AoE Holy abilities. Looking at the enemy AI there's only a 5% chance of Mega death in phase 3.

Red Fel

2016-01-05, 01:51 PM

I've got less than one day to come up with a party setup that can take on Ultimate Exdeath. Thing is I have practically no synergy.

I'm thinking Cloud with Advantaliate, Squall to feed the Advantaliate and supply the occasional Blasting Zone, P-Cecil for Magic Lure, Shellga, and Rampart, the poor man's SG, a decent support character for a Breakdown and Full Break, and Lenna to heal and cast Reflect on P-Cecil.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

You've got a little over seven hours, by my count. Let's see.

First question: Do you have a wall SB? Either Sentinel Grimoire or Stoneskin II. I ask because it will make this a lot easier. That's native SB, not RW.

Here's how I did it.
Gilgamesh: Retaliate and Draw Fire, Dragoon's Pride RM. Gear is designed to maximize Attack. He's my primary damage output.
Pally!Cecil: Magic Lure and Reflect, Double Hit RM. Attacks Gil. Puts up Magic Lure and Reflect when Exdeath gets low.
Faris: Full Break and Tempo Flurry, Ace Striker RM. Attacks Gil, Full Breaks when boss starts getting low and double-tapping.
Y'shtola: Magic Breakdown and Power Breakdown, Dr. Mog's Teaching RM. I have Thyrus, so she opens with Stoneskin II and refreshes as soon as it's up again.
Lenna: Curaga and Shellga, Mako Might RM. Her Mass Regen is the closest I have to a medica ability, so I'm using it.
RW: Luneth, Advance. Boosts Gil.
It was exactly what you'd expect. Gil puts up Retaliate, Advance, Retaliate, Draw Fire, Retaliate, Draw Fire, etc. P!Cecil double-taps Gil repeatedly until Exdeath gets low, then puts up Reflect and Magic Lure, then back to double-tap Gil. Faris Tempo Flurries Gil until Exdeath gets low, then Full Break, then back to Tempo Flurry. Y'shtola uses Stoneskin and Breakdowns; you can use Tyro for this if you have SG. Lenna opens with Shellga, then Mass Regen, then heals the party.

Bottom line is this. If you want to use Advantaliate, things like Blasting Zone aren't what you want. You want people to load up the pain on your Retaliatemans. Have everyone swarm him once your mitigation is in place. That's the design here. When Y'shtola isn't debuffing, she's smacking Gil. During the first half of the fight, Faris and P!Cecil are smacking Gil. In those rare instances when healing isn't needed, Lenna is smacking Gil. Load up the damage boosts on Gil, then unload on Gil.

Chen

2016-01-05, 02:04 PM

Bottom line is this. If you want to use Advantaliate, things like Blasting Zone aren't what you want. You want people to load up the pain on your Retaliatemans. Have everyone swarm him once your mitigation is in place. That's the design here. When Y'shtola isn't debuffing, she's smacking Gil. During the first half of the fight, Faris and P!Cecil are smacking Gil. In those rare instances when healing isn't needed, Lenna is smacking Gil. Load up the damage boosts on Gil, then unload on Gil.

Even more, attacking an ally to trigger retaliate does not seem to build SB gauge either, further making strong SBs on people other than your retaliator not as optimal (it's also why SBs for retaliators are even stronger).

danzibr

2016-01-05, 02:17 PM

Think I'll try the new boss rush tonight.

Beyond that, why is Minwu so far away!? Can't wait to get me some Minwu. The other stuff, like MC's and whatnot, for that event will be nice, but ahhh Minwu. Finally have a competent II team. Like in 4 months.

EDIT: Looking at future events (http://ffrk.kongbakpao.com/events/), what are other people excited about? I'm happy to get some MC's of characters I missed because I got a late start, but beyond that nothing grabs my attention until the next Orbfest, then Minwu (and to a lesser extent, Exdeath, Jecht, the 6* ability events, BSSB stuff, and Desch).

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-05, 02:38 PM

First question: Do you have a wall SB? Either Sentinel Grimoire or Stoneskin II. I ask because it will make this a lot easier. That's native SB, not RW.

Unless there's a default SB I've overlooked, unfortunately not. Closest I have is P-Cecil's Rampart. I have to choose between Advance and that extra layer of mitigation. I do have Yshtola's other unique SB, the one that comes from the robe. I'm wondering if I might actually use her for once. She hasn't been LBed yet but I think I have a few major eggs I've been saving, so either her or Gilgamesh, who's just barely LBed.

Even more, attacking an ally to trigger retaliate does not seem to build SB gauge either, further making strong SBs on people other than your retaliator not as optimal (it's also why SBs for retaliators are even stronger).

My hope was to get around that with Tidus's RM2 or 3, the one that fills your SB gauge a lot with attack and ability uses. Sadly I haven't gotten a chance to see if that works or not since I died so quickly.

First try was a bust. I vastly misunderstood how Exdeath worked and didn't have really any physical mitigation. I'll try to get a different setup and give it another shot before the event ends.

EDIT: After double checking, I do have Oerba's Boon for Vanille, but I don't think that stacks with Protect.

Red Fel

2016-01-05, 02:50 PM

Unless there's a default SB I've overlooked, unfortunately not. Closest I have is P-Cecil's Rampart. I have to choose between Advance and that extra layer of mitigation. I do have Yshtola's other unique SB, the one that comes from the robe. I'm wondering if I might actually use her for once. She hasn't been LBed yet but I think I have a few major eggs I've been saving, so either her or Gilgamesh, who's just barely LBed.

Actually, Y'shtola makes for a very good substitute for Lenna, then. A medica ability is very valuable against Exdeath, who throws around Earth Shakers like they're going out of style, and it can heal through Reflect. And Medica II is by definition a medica ability. So that's a solid option. You could use her as your healbot, and bring in somebody else for the Breakdowns.

I only used Lenna because I needed a medica, and for synergy. Y'shtola's Medica II covers one of those things, frankly better than Mass Regen does. It's worth considering, then. You might put Y'shtola on Curaga/Shellga duty, and grab somebody else to throw out abuse.

My hope was to get around that with Tidus's RM2 or 3, the one that fills your SB gauge a lot with attack and ability uses. Sadly I haven't gotten a chance to see if that works or not since I died so quickly.

That really depends on what you want from an SB. Do you want to use it a lot, or do you want to use it right now? Mako Might and Dr. Mog's Teachings both start you off with an SB bar, guaranteeing that you have access to it when you need it. Ace Striker fills you up fast, but if you only expect to get one or two SB uses off, it hardly seems worth it.

First try was a bust. I vastly misunderstood how Exdeath worked and didn't have really any physical mitigation. I'll try to get a different setup and give it another shot before the event ends.

Hence why I recommended both Power and Magic Breakdowns, as well as a wall if you can spare it. Shellga for the added layer of protection, because his spells are the more dangerous bit.

EDIT: After double checking, I do have Oerba's Boon for Vanille, but I don't think that stacks with Protect.

Protect is #207. Oerba's Boon is also #207. You're right, no stacking there.

Think I'll try the new boss rush tonight.

Beyond that, why is Minwu so far away!? Can't wait to get me some Minwu. The other stuff, like MC's and whatnot, for that event will be nice, but ahhh Minwu. Finally have a competent II team. Like in 4 months.

Ha ha ha ha!

EDIT: Looking at future events (http://ffrk.kongbakpao.com/events/), what are other people excited about? I'm happy to get some MC's of characters I missed because I got a late start, but beyond that nothing grabs my attention until the next Orbfest, then Minwu (and to a lesser extent, Exdeath, Jecht, the 6* ability events, BSSB stuff, and Desch).

I'm actually really looking forward to the upcoming IV event. Yeah, DK!Cecil's MC2 is a waste of space, but having Rosa and Edge on the team is going to be a pleasure. It will be great to have an attacker who does something other than Combat for a change, and I much prefer Rosa as a healer to Tellah. The original final party lineup (Cecil, Kain, Edge, Rosa, Rydia) is actually quite solid, and synergizes nicely.

After that, though, a lot of the events will be more "antagonist as playable character" events, and that doesn't really thrill me. I can forgive Golbez, because he's tragic and well-developed, and Beatrix, because she's awesome and I totally ship Steiner!Trix, but Kefka? Exdeath? Jecht? I'm not really looking forward to much of that.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-05, 03:18 PM

All right then, word problem time!

I have 9 Lesser Growth Eggs, 19 Growth Eggs, and 6 Major Growth Eggs.

Yshtola is currently sitting at level 21. Gilgamesh is about 51 and a half. I could LB Yshtola and have some eggs left over to push a little higher, or I could use most of my eggs to max out Gilgamesh at 65.

Synergy-wise, I have no weapons for V, but I do have the Omega relic and a piece of V armor that raises attack.

I have Protectga, Shellga, R2 Breakdowns and R1 Full Break available for mitigation. I can either get a wall like SG or Stoneskin through RW, or I can get Advance.

What can I do with these choices to take down Exdeath?

Chen

2016-01-05, 03:43 PM

You don't need Draw Fire for Exdeath. He has a 2.7% chance of single target attacking in the first phase and only 10% in the second phase. Draw fire is likely less useful than even just a pure damage ability in the slot instead (especially a double-hitting one if you're using advance). As such any high level retaliator will probably work. Both Sephiroth and Cloud can be stronger than Gilgamesh even with synergy if they're high enough level (I think its around 73-74 since they're a bit stronger than him to begin with). Getting Y'shtola up seems like its probably the better idea, especially if you have her AoE heal SB. The three most useful SB types are Wall, Hastaga and AoE heals. Having at least one of these natively will help a lot in future Ultimates. Y'shtola is strong too since she's a solid healer AND support 4 user.

Hunter Noventa

2016-01-05, 04:08 PM

EDIT: Looking at future events (http://ffrk.kongbakpao.com/events/), what are other people excited about? I'm happy to get some MC's of characters I missed because I got a late start, but beyond that nothing grabs my attention until the next Orbfest, then Minwu (and to a lesser extent, Exdeath, Jecht, the 6* ability events, BSSB stuff, and Desch).

Edge and Rosa will be nice to have, and I like Yuffie, even if she'll no doubt be subpar because thrown weapons. Beyond that the only thing of real interest is Ramza and Agrias because I love me some FFTactics.

KillianHawkeye

2016-01-05, 04:55 PM

After that, though, a lot of the events will be more "antagonist as playable character" events, and that doesn't really thrill me. I can forgive Golbez, because he's tragic and well-developed, and Beatrix, because she's awesome and I totally ship Steiner!Trix, but Kefka? Exdeath? Jecht? I'm not really looking forward to much of that.

Jecht and Beatrix weren't even villains! Golbez was more of a villain than they were, although he gets a pass b/c MIND CONTROL (I mean, Kain was almost as much of a villain as Golbez was, the main difference was we saw Kain more and knew he was being controlled way earlier).

I really would like to be able to make an all villains team, though! We won't have enough yet unless you count some of those corner cases, though.

Jurai

2016-01-05, 05:01 PM

Jecht and Beatrix weren't even villains! Golbez was more of a villain than they were, although he gets a pass b/c MIND CONTROL (I mean, Kain was almost as much of a villain as Golbez was, the main difference was we saw Kain more and knew he was being controlled way earlier).

I really would like to be able to make an all villains team, though! We won't have enough yet unless you count some of those corner cases, though.

Jecht, Golbez, Kefka, Kuja, and ExDeath are all Warriors of Chaos in Dissidia and Dissidia Duodecim.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-05, 05:04 PM

Jecht, Golbez, Kefka, Kuja, and ExDeath are all Warriors of Chaos in Dissidia and Dissidia Duodecim.

Also Sephiroth, so at least the all villain team can abuse Reta Meta.

Villains also have Seifer and eventually Edea.

EDIT: As for next event I'm looking forward to, if I'm being honest there's not a single event, character, or MCII I'm not looking forward to. Even games I hated like II and XII, and characters I never liked like Cait Sith are welcome. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is busting my balls on the even more challenging battles. Reta Meta only goes so far.

Speaking of which, rough draft for the next try on Exdeath, to be implemented after work:

80 Cloud - Retaliate, Drain Strike, Self-Sacrifice RM
65 Wakka - Power Breakdown, Full Break, Haste RM
66 P-Cecil - Magic Lure, Reflect, Double Hit RM
50+ Yshtola - Magic Breakdown, Shellga, Medica SB, Mako Might RM
69 Lenna - Curaga, Protectga, Dr Mog Teaching RM
Advance RW

I couldn't find a way to fit in Tempo Flurry or Double Hit, not when I need all the mitigations and Breakdowns I can get.

This is gonna be a tough one.

lord_khaine

2016-01-05, 06:03 PM

Anyone with experience regarding Bluestack?
I just got it downloaded, but are currently stuck on App Sync, without really being able to even get the game down.

Starwulf

2016-01-05, 06:40 PM

After that, though, a lot of the events will be more "antagonist as playable character" events, and that doesn't really thrill me. I can forgive Golbez, because he's tragic and well-developed, and Beatrix, because she's awesome and I totally ship Steiner!Trix, but Kefka? Exdeath? Jecht? I'm not really looking forward to much of that.

If you've played Dissidia and Dissidia Duo Decim, Jecht suddenly becomes a lot more likable, he's probably the only Villain besides Golbez I'm alright with joining my party. Well, him and Sephi, but Sephi only because I imagine in my head him taunting Cloud, and Cloud being all like "Oh yeah? Well I've been here since the beginning, I'm the strongest person on the team, I never leave the team but you almost never come out of storage, and even when you do, it's only for the medals you pathetic bastard".

Slayn82

2016-01-05, 07:38 PM

Well, today was a slow day at work, so I devoted myself to farm orbs at the daily dungeon with a FF IV team. Yay, synergy! So I spent a lot of mythril on stamina recharges, and got a much needed upgrade on my 3* abilities. Things got so well, I decided it was time to try again a last effort at Exdeath. As I had used most RWs while farming, I trimmed out most of the bad ones and l managed to add a few extra SG, SS2, Black Materia and Advances.

I spent more than 2 hours, list counts of S/Ls, and about 4 mythril, but I did it. Gilgamesh told his former boss who is the man with the help of Luneth and the party( reta meta Advance). My best weapon was a Giant Axe, my Wakka was lvl 57 while the remaining team was 50-52 and in the end I just got a novice rank. But I have the Protect Ring...

My team:

Tyro 51 - Protectga R1/Dismissal R2 Preemptive Strike RM
Gilgamesh 51 - Retaliate R4/Double Cut R3 Winning Spirit RM
Wakka 57 - Double Cut R3/Magic Break R2 Blitz Eye RM
Zidane 52 - Tempo Flurry R3 / Boost R4 Thief's Code RM
Lenna 50 - Shellga R1/Curaga R3 Oath of Tycoon RM

Phoenix Bonnus : HP, Ofense, Defense, ability use +2.

SBs Used: Lenna's Regeneration, Wakka's Status Reels, Gilgamesh's Morphing Time.

Thank you guys for the advice and motivation. The satisfaction of beating a hard boss, I guess gaming afterall is a lot like fishing. I had a nice catch today. Much more optimist on my chances of getting Wakka MC2.

danzibr

2016-01-05, 08:57 PM

Red Fel

2016-01-05, 09:06 PM

Thank you guys for the advice and motivation. The satisfaction of beating a hard boss, I guess gaming afterall is a lot like fishing. I had a nice catch today. Much more optimist on my chances of getting Wakka MC2.

Rock out with your socks out! Well done!

Fact is, if you have to spit out some mythril to get it done, what matters is the satisfaction that it brings you. And the fact that you're basically spending the mythril on a guaranteed 5-star accessory if you win, as opposed to the crapshoot that is the gacha.

The Wakka fight is a very different beast. It could be much harder, or it could be super easy for you. But the important thing is that it gets you pumped. Long as you enjoy what you're doing, you're doing what you enjoy.

Simkin

2016-01-05, 11:24 PM

Mastered +++. Would have mastered the ultimate, but I lost Wakka at the very end. Will probably go back and mess with it again tomorrow, but for now I have the Adept's Bangle at least, so happy with that.

SuperPanda

2016-01-06, 12:11 AM

Tried both ultimate and got smacked in my place. May be able to break out advantalate Cloud for Yunalesca ult with Chen's advise on megadeath.

Really pumped for Edge and Rosa. I've got 3*++ gear already set aside for Ruby. Ice sword, mail, and shield.

Similar to Red I'm happy for all the coming events but especially for the IV and XII. I loved twelve and actually have poor synergy there while I have good synergy in four but will pull anyway for nostalgia.

I've downed no ultimate fights yet but I'm confident of a good showing on ruby.

Forbiddenwar

2016-01-06, 12:28 AM

Anyone tackle Ulti Yuni yet? Any tips, builds? Plan on taking her on tomorrow.

Starwulf

2016-01-06, 03:30 AM

Quick question for anyone who has used any of their Rosetta Stones: What do you guys use them on? I have 5 of them stored up right now, and I'm kind of tempted to throw them all at my Variable Steel for 5 extra attack on it just because I have it as a 6* now and I figure it'd be neat to see how high I can get Tidus damage with it.

SuperPanda

2016-01-06, 04:36 AM

I'll check later what my stockpile is sitting at. I'm tempted to throw them on cutting trigger myself because it's attack already rivals my 3*++ swords from IV and v.

Other considerations are polymorph rod, ice whip+, and Cardinal. The latter are a bit too specific even if the whip already has 121 Mag. Polymorph is my most used Mage stick when I am not using Ashe Rydia Terra or Rinoa (if I needed a Mage it's almost always one of them).

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-06, 07:21 AM

Well, U. Exdeath was just beyond me. I think you really do just need a separate SG or Stoneskin for that extra layer of mitigation. Spent way too much Mythril, and several times I got really close, but even spending all my eggs to get Yshtola to 55, she was just too frail. Healing was split between her and Lenna, who had a Mystic Veil for additional healing, but it was still just not enough. Even when I got the timing for mitigation and setting up P-Cecil perfectly, U. Exdeath just keeps picking the exact moves at exactly the wrong times to screw me over. Constantly having to set up Breakdowns over and over didn't help, even if with all my Mythril spent my 2 Full Breaks became 8. More than once I got close only to get hit with Counter Dispel, Earth Shaker, Vaccuum Blast, Earth Shaker all before I can even finish this... Well, look, dead again, big surprise.

I mean the last particular try got really close but illustrated just how unfit my best setup is for these bosses. First half goes smoothly. All mitigation and P-Cecil's Magic Lure + Reflect gets set up, then the second half starts. Yshtola went down first and she had all my magic mitigation, so of course U. Exdeath starts spamming Earth Shaker and before Lenna can get off one last heal she goes down. At that point I'm just trying to milk Advantaliate for all it's worth and hope that I can finish him off. Wakka, without any healing or mitigation, quickly goes down, leaving behind Cecil who at least has Reflect and Cloud who's keeping healthy with Advance Drain Strike.

Of course once Exdeath starts spamming AoE attacks none of that matters and Cloud quickly goes down. Cecil is in critical condition and the only way that I could possibly win is if Exdeath starts finally spamming single target spells and kills himself. Which, frankly (Firaga) considering my luck in this fight isn't going to happen. (Firaga) He's consistently picked the worst possible thing (Blizzaga) for me to deal with. (Thundaga) I think I'll just have to call this a bust. (FLASH) Wait, what? (FLASH)

(Boss dies. Get Expert rating and Cursed Ring)

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...faints.

danzibr

2016-01-06, 07:33 AM

Grats Bob!

That reminds me of the first time I beat Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete . You have 5 people, go fight the BBEG, I fought valiantly but didn't have enough mitigation, he killed off everyone but Mia (a black mage) who was out of MP, she wacked him with her rod and won.

Chen

2016-01-06, 08:14 AM

Anyone tackle Ulti Yuni yet? Any tips, builds? Plan on taking her on tomorrow.

I made a couple posts about it either on this page or the previous one. Use retaliate/draw fire, have AoE regen to cure the sap and laugh at how easy it is. Note: you may still get screwed in phase 3 by mind blast and/or mega death so be prepared to S/L that (I think they're only 10% and 5% chance respectively though, so fairly low). Advance isn't even really necessary but it makes things go faster and with her using osmose every other turn or so, it can help when you're out of hones.

Red Fel

2016-01-06, 09:38 AM

Anyone tackle Ulti Yuni yet? Any tips, builds? Plan on taking her on tomorrow.

Okay, now for the Ultimate battle, Yunalesca. Here was my team.
Gilgamesh: Gear to maximize Attack. Draw Fire and Retaliate. Dragoon's Determination RM.
Tidus: Tempo Flurry and Dismissal. Auto-Haste RM.
Wakka: Evil Lantern. Power Breakdown and Double Cut. Auto-Haste RM.
Yuna: Curaga and Shellga. Double Hit RM.
Lulu: Ruinga and Waterja. Witch of Succession RM.
RW: Luneth (Advance).
Here's how the fight played out. Gilgamesh started the fight sapped, meaning I had 40 seconds to burn the boss down before that wore off. He immediately used Retaliate, followed by Advance. While he was charging up, Wakka used Power Breakdown on Yunalesca, Yuna used Shellga, and Lulu started unloading Waterja. Tidus and Wakka then repeatedly unloaded Tempo Flurry and Double Cut, respectively, on Gil. When Yuna wasn't healing, she double-attacked Gil.

Lulu's role was emergency nuke. My plan was that if Sap wore off of Gil while Reta was still up, and he subsequently got auto-killed, the rest of the party's damage would pale in comparison, but her spells would still work fine. Her job was to finish the fight if Gil went down.

There's a luck or timing element to the fight. If you time it such that Retaliate goes down just towards the end of Phase 2, she'll throw out a Hellbiter and reinfect your Retaliatemans with Sap, allowing you to finish the fight. If you miss your window, though, you have to hope she hits you during Phase 3, before throwing out Mega Death.

How it actually went down was surprising. I missed my window. We quickly went into Phase 3. Sap went down when she was somewhere around 80% dead. I thought the heck with it, and went for broke. She never used Mind Blast, she only used Holy once; she basically just spammed Osmose. Which was admittedly a jerk move on her part, but the key thing is that it dealt no damage. So I went all out, and only lost a couple of medals due to damage and the number of turns taken. Mastery get, time to attack the new dungeon content.

Further, it has been noted that Draw Fire is not particularly necessary, and that Mega Death is a pretty low probability (roughly 5%), so you don't have to worry too much about Reta preventing you from being Sapped. In fact, I think it was Chen who observed that given the low probability of Mega Death, using Regen (either Lenna's SB or Kirin) to remove Sap will actually save you from damage, not only from the Sap itself but from the Holy that Jenovalesca only uses on Sapped characters.

(Boss dies. Get Expert rating and Cursed Ring)

Congrats! Welcome to the Winners' Circle. We have cupcakes.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-06, 10:02 AM

Congrats! Welcome to the Winners' Circle. We have cupcakes.

I thought that was the Dark Side?

(remembers who he's talking to.)

Nevermind. One cupcake please.

Hunter Noventa

2016-01-06, 11:41 AM

I thought that was the Dark Side?

(remembers who he's talking to.)

Nevermind. One cupcake please.

The Dark Side has cookies.

Calemyr

2016-01-06, 02:09 PM

The Dark Side has cookies.

So what you're saying is that Red is enjoying cupcakes and cookies?

Slayn82

2016-01-06, 02:42 PM

The Dark Side has cookies.
Hey, leave some for us too...

Yunalesca 99 went much better than Exdeath 99.. Went with Emperor's Hand RW, Lulu, Auron, Wakka, Yuna and Tidus, almost beat her a couple times, decided to shrug and throw a single mythril on a Phoenix, got attack Bonus, and ended with expert ranking due to Lulu dying in the end.

The Boss rush went better. Had to craft a couple spellblades, used Steiner, Lulu, Tyro, Wakka, Yuna and Shield Grimoire RW.

Beat the first two without much trouble, but had to use all my abilities between the two, although the second, Extractor, had the decency of giving me a Greater Lighting Orb for the trouble.

Punched Crawler as much as I could before Dying and spending Mythril for a ability +2 bonus. After a few S/L, I got a plan. Had Wakka with a bit over 300 attack, and used him to double hit the Negator, until almost dead, while Steiner and Tyro threw spellblades at Crawler. Finished the negator with a boosted Storm Lance Grimoire, threw Wakka's Status Break at Crawler, and every spellblade and Thundaga was hitting for near cap. He went down fast, before shooting the cannon, and no one died. Lost a mesal for damage and one for actions, got Mastery of the boss rush. Yeah...

Now to face the magus sisters. My first try doesn't seems to be going anywhere near beating them right now, but I'm learning. Enough for today, back to the orb farm.

Red Fel

2016-01-06, 03:27 PM

So what you're saying is that Red is enjoying cupcakes and cookies?

Red Fel enjoys cupcakes and cookies. You may enjoy cupcakes.

Now to face the magus sisters. My first try doesn't seems to be going anywhere near beating them right now, but I'm learning. Enough for today, back to the orb farm.

Kill the healer first. Bring Magic Breakdown to neuter the caster, and kill her second.

While Tauntaliate isn't as valuable for this fight, due to the inability to target unless you're good about focusing damage, it does serve the valuable function of crippling the Sisters' damage output. With Tauntaliate up, the only damage output they have comes from the caster's spells and the periodic Delta Attack. Magic Breakdown + Shellga (plus a wall if you can spare the RW) will neuter those, leaving you free to burn them down one by one.

Knaight

2016-01-06, 03:29 PM

Now to face the magus sisters. My first try doesn't seems to be going anywhere near beating them right now, but I'm learning. Enough for today, back to the orb farm.

These were nasty. I did drop the lot of them, but it took real effort. I suspect the best method is with a Tidus RW with the SB+, to just throw 40,000 damage at Cindy ASAP, then drop the relatively fragile mage, then deal with Chumpsicles in the middle.

Chen

2016-01-06, 03:35 PM

Tauntaliate works fine on them, as long as you hit Cindy (and no one else) before your put up retaliate. She will then have the lowest health % and you'll burn her down first. A couple of strong hits on her and you can then use your venom buster or whatnot on Sandy for the mastery condition and go from there. It does make using breakdowns difficult for mitigation though. Shellga, and wall for mitigation works better (or the dances that don't deal damage).

danzibr

2016-01-06, 03:52 PM

Oh yeah, I had a question. I'd look it up right now but filter.

How do enemy actions work? Is it like the good guys where they have a bar that fills up, then when they select an action a second bar fills up? Or do they just get one single bar (so to speak)?

This leads into my real question: how does Dismissal work? Depending on the answer to the above question(s), I'd assume it either resets their second bar (if they have two), or the whole bar (if they have one).

Chen

2016-01-06, 03:57 PM

Jurai

2016-01-06, 07:00 PM

I'm ALMOST caught up with the latest dungeon update, with Leviathan (III) standing in my way. Tauntaliate and magic mitigation are the way to go, correct?

Red Fel

2016-01-06, 08:38 PM

Well, the next event has been officially announced, and as promised, it's the IV event, The Burning Blade! In preparation for this event, bonus quests are up for Tellah and Edward.

Now, let's talk about the event. The Burning Blade debuts two characters to round out your IV cast, Edge and Rosa. It also includes Rydia, DK!Cecil, Kain, and Golbez, MCs for all six of them, and an MC2 for DK!Cecil. Other rewards include the 3-star Sand Pearl accessory (+Mind), the 3-star Water Veil ability, and the 4-star Shadowsteel ability. The Ultimate boss, Rubicante, gives a 5-star +Mag accessory with fire resist.

So, the characters. Rosa is a solid support healer. She uses daggers, staves, and bows, and hats, robes, and bracers, so her gear selection is sorely limited. However, her abilities are solid - she gets WHM 5, Support 4, and Celerity 1. Her RM grants a Mind boost when equipping bows, which is a unique touch. Stat-wise, she's a chart-topping healer - at 65, she has a Mind of 148, second only to Lenna, and tied with Aerith and Selphie. Her Attack is a very respectable 96, giving her the highest Attack of any WHM 5 user, and one of the highest among WHM 4 users. That said, her Defense and HP are fairly standard for her role.

Edge is a Ninja. He uses daggers, fists, katanas, and thrown weapons, meaning he can be a brutal front-liner or safe back-row unit, as well as hats, light armor, and bracers. His ability spread is excellent - Combat 2, Celerity 5, Thief 4, and Ninja 5. His RM gives you a chance to recover Ninja abilities, which is useful. You might think, with his design and gear selection, that he's a bit of a glass cannon... And you'd be right. At 65, his 4271 HP is at the very bottom end of front-liners, or the top end of Support units. Likewise, his 87 Defense puts him alongside Shadow and Sazh - he can deal damage with katanas upfront, but he can't survive there. Speaking of damage, he clocks in with a very solid 137 Attack, which is one of the more respectable numbers for that stat.

But you're not waiting for this info. You want to know about the banners! Well, wait no more!

The first banner features:
Murasame: Edge's SB katana. Attack and Magic. 3-hit AoE 1.15x Water (physical?) damage (total 3.45x) with chance for Dismissal. Increases Water damage dealt.
Elven Bow: Rosa's SB bow. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE heal, raises a random party member at 30%.
Dragon Whisker: Rydia's SB whip. Attack and Magic. 2-hit AoE 3.7x Holy magic damage (total 7.4x), gives the user two charges of Blink.
Polymorph Rod: Tellah's SB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. Randomly restore 1 ability use to each party member.
The second banner features:
Shadowblade: DK!Cecil's SB sword. Pure Attack. 2-hit single-target 2.5x physical damage (total 5x), boosts party Attack.
Ebon Armor: Golbez' SB heavy armor. Magic, Defense, and Resistance. 2-hit AoE 3.75x Dark magic damage (total 7.5x) with chance for Sap. Increases Dark damage dealt.
Gungnir: Kain's SB spear. Pure Attack. Single-target 5x physical damage, reduces target's Defense and Resistance.
Fabled Harp: Edward's SB harp. Attack, Magic, and Mind. AoE Protect and Regen.
Both banners also feature:
Healing Staff: Shared-SB staff. Attack, Magic, and Mind. Single-target heal plus Esuna.
Black Belt Gi: Shared-SB light armor. Defense and Resistance. Single-target 2.1x physical damage.
Luminous Robe: Shared-SB robe. Defense and Resistance. Shellga. Decreases Lightning damage taken.
Dark Gloves: Stat-stick bracer. Attack, Magic, Mind, Defense, Resistance.
Assassin's Dagger: Stat-stick dagger. Pure Attack. Chance for instant KO.
Should you pull? Well, the first banner is appealing. The katana is nice for people who don't yet have a katana, or who want a +Magic katana for their Ninja; the bow is a very good healer bow, and the whip is excellent for any whip-user. The second banner is somewhat less appealing. We get yet another sword - admittedly, a very strong sword with a party-wide Attack boost - a +Magic heavy armor when very few casters use heavy armor, a so-so spear, and Edward's SB harp that still manages to make a few friends. The shared SB items and stat-sticks are nothing spectacular.

The real stars here are the Murasame, the Fabled Harp, and possibly the Shadowblade, depending on whether you feel like using DK!Cecil. Even with his MC2, he doesn't excel in his niche, sadly. Overall, it's not amazing, but great if you plan to make use of your IV team.

If you're on the fence, keep in mind that the next event is expected to be the XIII event, which includes Lightning's SSB. If you were thinking of saving for that, well, now you know.

danzibr

2016-01-06, 08:39 PM

They have two bars like players, though many high level bosses use actions as interrupts which occur immediately when the first bar fills (like Quick Hit). Otherwise they use their actions after the second bar fills, just like a player.

I think Dismissal clears both bars. If I recall correctly that's what happened on that fight with Ifrit who used the AoE dismissal against you.
Thanks!

I'm ALMOST caught up with the latest dungeon update, with Leviathan (III) standing in my way. Tauntaliate and magic mitigation are the way to go, correct?
Wait, wasn't Leviathan the last one? And ermagersh he was a nightmare. Yeah, load up on the mitigation.

I just got Ricard's MC. That was dreadful. I have abysmal XII synergy. Even my A team struggled. Mastered it but had to do the Phoenix thing.

EDIT: Why are we not getting the spoony bard's MC!?

Jurai

2016-01-06, 09:07 PM

Why are we not getting the spoony bard's MC!?

Because Tellah said so, that's why.

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-06, 09:08 PM

Thanks!

Wait, wasn't Leviathan the last one? And ermagersh he was a nightmare. Yeah, load up on the mitigation.

There have been two classic updates since then.

EDIT: Why are we not getting the spoony bard's MC!?

Because it used Hide.

EDIT: Got some of the most recent X event done today. Even if I don't get to Ultimate Yunalesca at least I got Wakka's MCII. Not sure I'll want to spend all the Mythril on her, even though my X team is a lot more solid than V. Full team, all 65 except for Auron who's 60 and Tidus who's 67, plenty of synergy to go around. From others' reports though it seems like the last two bonus bosses aren't that bad if you know what you're doing. I do really want the 5* relic from the next event though too.

Jurai

2016-01-07, 01:05 AM

And with that done, there is now delicious snake stew for everybody.

Anteros

2016-01-07, 01:14 AM

So since today I've been getting black artifacts all over the screen and I can't even enter the dungeon without closing and re-opening the game multiple times. I'm sure I could just delete the game and re-download it, but if I lose my progress I'll probably just give up on the game, and I am absolutely not going to ever link a mobile game to my Facebook account. Is there an easy solution to this or are my FFRK days over?

Edit: So apparently this happens any time I close the ap and reopen it without restarting my phone. That's annoying. I wasn't planning on doing any of the force closing abuses or anything, but I don't like leaving aps running if I'm not using them. I guess I can live with it though.

SuperPanda

2016-01-07, 03:34 AM

Anteros

2016-01-07, 04:55 AM

Is there any downside to upgrading equipment? Like, if I use different things to upgrade an item do I get different stats? Or should I just use all the trash items I get to upgrade my 5 star gear?

SuperPanda

2016-01-07, 07:17 AM

Using gear as upgrade materials is very costly in Gil but then you probably have enough for all of the characters to sleep on plus some. Each item - regardless of do given costs the same to use for upgrades, ths is why upgrade materials are good - more do for the same cost.

That said. Anything you add gives xp or xp + augment and the items growth is fixed. Outside Gil cost and speed 1* items and giant scaralite are the same.

danzibr

2016-01-07, 07:25 AM

And with that done, there is now delicious snake stew for everybody.
Grats!

Beat ultimate Yunalesca last night. Was SOOOOO close to mastery. Lulu was attacking Cloud for one last Retaliate for her to die. Lulu's bar is like 95% full. Yunalesca kills Yuna. Cloud kills Yunalesca. Lost 1 medal to actions and 2 to damage (I think, maybe got that flipped), then 3 for someone dying, and another 3 for that someone being Yuna.

Still, got the accessory. Don't feel like trying again for the Rosetta Stone and GPO's.

Chen

2016-01-07, 08:02 AM

Finally caught up on classic dungeons. Started doing some of the elites I had skipped over and I remember why I stopped. Those 110+ difficulty elites are tedious to get through. The trash is super obnoxious. I do need to just suck it up and do them, but it's like preparing for a +++ fight for each damn level. I figure I'll do the ones I have strong synergy for now and hope I can roll some good synergy on others that are coming up.

Also note that Seifer in one of the latter FF VIII elites has an absolutely ridiculously high defense value. I forgot about that and that fight just DRAGGED with my physical team. So yeah, bring your mages for that one =/

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-07, 08:34 AM

So since today I've been getting black artifacts all over the screen and I can't even enter the dungeon without closing and re-opening the game multiple times. I'm sure I could just delete the game and re-download it, but if I lose my progress I'll probably just give up on the game, and I am absolutely not going to ever link a mobile game to my Facebook account. Is there an easy solution to this or are my FFRK days over?

Speaking as someone who does have their account linked to Facebook, the game doesn't spam your account or your friends like some others do. All it does is give you a safe way to backup your data in case you drop your mobile in the toilet or something.

Though if you're still against using your personal account for whatever reason, you could always make a dummy Facebook account called Seymour Butts or something and link to that.

Now to go prepare for Yunalesca...

Anteros

2016-01-07, 09:17 AM

Speaking as someone who does have their account linked to Facebook, the game doesn't spam your account or your friends like some others do. All it does is give you a safe way to backup your data in case you drop your mobile in the toilet or something.

Though if you're still against using your personal account for whatever reason, you could always make a dummy Facebook account called Seymour Butts or something and link to that.

Now to go prepare for Yunalesca...

That's exactly why, and although I believe you that it doesn't spam your friends, I don't necessarily trust them to not do it ever in the future. There must be some reason they want me to link my account to my Facebook. I have people in my business circles who frown heavily on any type of gaming, and while I might think their opinion is silly, I still have to live with it.

So, more newbie questions. Do maxed out characters take a split of the exp, or is it split evenly among the other party members? I appreciate the help so far.

Red Fel

2016-01-07, 09:27 AM

Tried ultimate Yunalesca three more times with plenty of s/l each time. My synergy is just <<Too Weak to be worth while>> so she remains <<Imossible to gauge.>>. I am hoping Rubicant decides to be <<Very Tough>> instead.

Tough break, chief.

Plus side, there are some fun details about Ultimate Rude Picante. First, he has highly exploitable vulnerabilities to Water and Ice. Second, as in his previous incarnations, there's a neat trick for if he kills you too easily - if you use Fire attacks on him (which heal him) he has a chance to use Raise on your entire party. Because, you know, manners. Third, you can force him out of Defending mode (stupid cloak) by using Thief abilities (other than Steal Time, because he's immune to Slow).

So if you have plenty of IV synergy, grab a Spellblade and plenty of ice and water damage, and maybe a one-off fire SB just in case. You should be able to manage well.

Is there any downside to upgrading equipment? Like, if I use different things to upgrade an item do I get different stats? Or should I just use all the trash items I get to upgrade my 5 star gear?

Upgrading equipment upgrades its stats. These stats do not vary by level - two identical pieces of equipment will upgrade identically. Using the appropriate upgrade material (Scarletite for weapons, Adamantite for armor) does not grant bonus stats, but is more gil-efficient because it grants more gear-experience.

Combining gear is also good, because the higher an item's level, the more it benefits from synergy.

Beat ultimate Yunalesca last night. Was SOOOOO close to mastery. Lulu was attacking Cloud for one last Retaliate for her to die. Lulu's bar is like 95% full. Yunalesca kills Yuna. Cloud kills Yunalesca. Lost 1 medal to actions and 2 to damage (I think, maybe got that flipped), then 3 for someone dying, and another 3 for that someone being Yuna.

Still, got the accessory. Don't feel like trying again for the Rosetta Stone and GPO's.

Admittedly, love me some MPOs, but yeah, take the win. Grats.

Finally caught up on classic dungeons. Started doing some of the elites I had skipped over and I remember why I stopped. Those 110+ difficulty elites are tedious to get through. The trash is super obnoxious. I do need to just suck it up and do them, but it's like preparing for a +++ fight for each damn level. I figure I'll do the ones I have strong synergy for now and hope I can roll some good synergy on others that are coming up.

Also note that Seifer in one of the latter FF VIII elites has an absolutely ridiculously high defense value. I forgot about that and that fight just DRAGGED with my physical team. So yeah, bring your mages for that one =/

Yeah. I can carve through the classic dungeons like a hot knife through butter, but the elites get pretty nuts. In the most recent patch, I tried Tiamat on classic, whupped her soundly. I tried her on elite, barely made a dent. The discrepancy is mindblowing.

Still, I managed to complete the new V content, so I have Thief, and Samurai's MC (and both RMs, so that's done). Honestly, I'm feeling pretty great about Samurai's RM2. If it weren't for the fact that I'm saving GPOs for upcoming abilities (including Shadowsteel, released in the IV event, damages and Saps a target, woo!) I'd grab some of those Samurai AoEs and hone them to R2 for sweepability.

So, more newbie questions. Do maxed out characters take a split of the exp, or is it split evenly among the other party members? I appreciate the help so far.

My understanding is that if a character is in the party, they receive their share of the xp, even if they can't actually use it. So it's basically lost. That's why, when grinding Sundailies, you want to use as few characters as possible while still clearing levels with mastery. (I use three - one healer, one AoE nuker, and one other.)

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-07, 09:34 AM

So, more newbie questions. Do maxed out characters take a split of the exp, or is it split evenly among the other party members? I appreciate the help so far.

Maxed out characters waste their portion of the XP, unfortunately. Depending on the difficulty level or mastery requirements you may have to bring some anyway.

Eventually you'll get to a point where trying to level up your party and clear out new content at the same time becomes counterproductive, but that's what Sundays are for.

Friv

2016-01-07, 10:50 AM

Now, let's talk about the event. The Burning Blade debuts two characters to round out your IV cast, Edge and Rosa. It also includes Rydia, DK!Cecil, Kain, and Golbez, MCs for all six of them, and an MC2 for DK!Cecil. Other rewards include the 3-star Sand Pearl accessory (+Mind), the 3-star Water Veil ability, and the 4-star Shadowsteel ability. The Ultimate boss, Rubicante, gives a 5-star +Mag accessory with fire resist.

So, from your point of view, if you're building an FF4 team these days, who do you use?

I've got Paladin Cecil because I've already got his MC2, and Rydia because come on, Rydia. It looks like Rosa is a must-have, and I suspect there'll be enough "Keep Edge alive" sections for him to be a good #4.

But for #5 - DK Cecil because he's going to have an MC2? Golbez for backup in every situation? Tellah for magic backup? Kain because he uses different stuff than everyone else? Edward because I don't like winning? So many choices...

DiscipleofBob

2016-01-07, 11:19 AM

Red Fel

2016-01-07, 11:30 AM

So, from your point of view, if you're building an FF4 team these days, who do you use?

I've got Paladin Cecil because I've already got his MC2, and Rydia because come on, Rydia. It looks like Rosa is a must-have, and I suspect there'll be enough "Keep Edge alive" sections for him to be a good #4.

But for #5 - DK Cecil because he's going to have an MC2? Golbez for backup in every situation? Tellah for magic backup? Kain because he uses different stuff than everyone else? Edward because I don't like winning? So many choices...

Well, with respect to "keep Edge alive," there is actually only one level in the event that requires it. That said, and this is important, the +++ boss, Geryon, has as a medal requirement that you afflict it with Sap. Unless you have an SB that does this, the only way to inflict Sap is with the Shadowsteel ability, rewarded by the boss rush, and that's a Ninja ability. Which means that if you're going for synergy, you're bringing Edge to that, too. (Rosa is also required for one dungeon, but that's forgivable, because she's awesome and has one of (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h2V8CFtGZE) the best (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5UMohX62kw) musical themes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRXSSLPuMF4) in the history of the franchise.)

As for my ideal FFIV team, I'd love to say Pally!Cecil, Kain, Edge, Rydia, and Rosa, because that's the core team in the final act of the game, but I can't, because it's currently less than ideal. Rydia and Rosa are a great BLM and WHM, respectively, and Pally!Cecil is a great tank and beatstick. But the good Dragoon abilities aren't out yet, leaving Kain with Combat 5 (mostly useless) and Celerity 3 (Tempo Flurry). And as for Edge, while the AoE spells are nice, and Shadowsteel is good for single-targets, I'd really prefer a Support user to round out the party. Currently, that's Edward, with Support 5 and Bard 5. Currently, Edward sucks, because no MC. And while party-wide Bard buffs are nice, there is some overlap - for example, Spellbend Etude uses the same number as Shellga, has the same effect, and thus does not stack. Then there's the fact that DK!Cecil - poor, stupid, worthless DK!Cecil - is getting his MC2, which makes him just a bit indispensable, not to mention mandatory for medals in the ++ fight.

All that said, my ideal party would involve Pally!Cecil, Rydia, Rosa, Edward (with MC, come on already) and, actually, probably Edge, simply because his ability spread is superior to Kain's. So, basically, it's a noble party - King Cecil, Queen Rosa, Prince Edward, Prince Edge, and Grand Summoner Rydia.