FFRKV: Now We Post Like Men! And Ladies! And Ladies Who Dress Like Men!

[Hunter Noventa]

This makes me want to play XIV.

We have a thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?480324-FFXIV-2-A-Most-Gentlemanly-Thread) for it, albeit a short one. There's a free trial that lasts until level 20, which is more than enough time to get the basics of any of the classes and do a couple of dungeons. If you've got any other questions about the game, feel free to ask there, I keep an eye on that thread.

[Simkin]

This makes me want to play XIV.

I've really wanted to play XIV, but I don't dare let myself get into it after how addicted to XI I got.

[Calemyr]

This makes me want to play XIV.

XIV is really pretty good, especially by MMO standards. It has a solid personal plot that doesn't invalidate other players, nor does the existence of other players cheapen the plot. It does this by being a World of Badass, where you're surrounded by awesome people you can quest with, under the pretext that they don't have the personal stake in it that you do (they do, but events are presented in such a way that the assumption isn't challenged). All classes are available to all races, and you can switch between them on the fly by equipping a weapon/tool belonging to that class, making it really easy to bounce between roles. At higher levels you can also take jobs, which are specializations of classes that offer unique abilities but less freedom for customization. Rogues can become Ninjas, for instance, and gain access to magic-like attacks by casting different combinations of abilities (so it's kind of more like a Street Fighter move than a standard attack, if you follow me), while the spear-wielding Lancers can become Dragoons. The races are diverse and cosmopolitan (all races can be in all factions), and the factions are simply allies with a level of rivalry thrown in for good measure.

Basic plot is pretty simple: the typical summons from Final Fantasy are cast as "Primals", god-like beings that feed on the worship of their followers and basically steal their souls to make sure they never think of anything but them. A lot of factions (particularly outcast races like kobolds and sahagins) worship them and if a faction can bring enough power to bear they can make their Primal manifest and destroy their enemies. You, for reasons not explained at first, cannot have your soul stolen, allowing you to fight Primals with only the generic risk of certain death. Meanwhile, Garland, a technologically advanced nation. is looking to start a new conquest of the world after their last one got disrupted by mysterious adventurers called the Warriors of Light (players of the game before they rebuilt it into something actually fun). So your job, with the help of a guild of adventurers known as the Scions of the Seventh Dawn (which includes Thancred and Y'shtola, as well as Yda and Papalymo), is to track down and defeat Primals as they are summoned and deal with the forces of Garland as they begin to interfere with your quest.

There's also intricate quest lines for each class, and they can be really interesting if you pay attention. I've really enjoyed the ninja plot, and I am definitely wanting to see the Dark Knight plot. And then there are... other missions... that are just too perfect to be constrained to a class or the main plot.

I also feel it stands as one of the most fun to just play, at least since City of Heroes went under. It's not perfect, and in some ways it's a classic WoW clone, but I find it has a certain visceral feel to it most MMOs don't have. Add in interesting NPCs, an intriguing main plot, entertaining side plots, and a Square-Enix level of polish, and it's one I don't mind paying for.

The down sides are that it's quite a complicated game. And it can get repetitive, though what MMO can avoid that? You raise every class from level 1, which can be annoying and you'll have to keep gear for a whole spectrum of levels for new classes to grow through, but you're given a hunter's handbook that gives you quest experience for killing the targets in it, and it's different for each class, so you can get somewhere without just blindly grinding away, plus classes lower level than your highest gain bonus XP to make catching up that much easier. Crafting and gathering classes are a lot more complex than the professions you might be used to, forcing you to juggle abilities if you want to get much out of them. Probably the worst problem I have with the game is that many good features are absurdly level-gated, such that you have to be like level 30 to learn how to use dyes. I still cannot make sense of the materia system.

It is also a fee-based MMO. Some people have serious problems with this. Personally, I find I hate free-to-play MMOs far more with their subpar gameplay and blatant real money stores. Both sides have their merits, it's just a matter of taste and wallet. For me, I've looked high and low for an MMO I actually enjoy to play, and this is the winner.

[danzibr]

Thanks for the feedback!

I played a lot of WoW. A *lot* of WoW. Watched some XIV gameplay vids, looked good. I'm on summer break... man.

[Calemyr]

Thanks for the feedback!

I played a lot of WoW. A *lot* of WoW. Watched some XIV gameplay vids, looked good. I'm on summer break... man.

Certainly worth the free trial. The first few instances are the ones the FFXIV encounters in Record Keeper are based on, so you've got a leg up on what to expect.

One other caveat I forgot to mention and really should: Most of the instanced dungeons are mandatory. You cannot progress the main plot without them. There's a pretty slick in-game tool for building teams based on role makeup (two dps, a tank, and a healer), but unless you're a healer you can be in for some wait times. That said, the instanced dungeons are massive, varied, complex, and worth your time if you can hold a group together (not always easy). You should get all three of the current Record Keeper encounters before level 20.

[Starwulf]

You do not have to have FFPA to get the rewards. We got rewards from the last FFPA promotion a couple of days ago; at least, I did, and I never used or downloaded FFPA. You do have to use the app if you want to contribute towards the rewards, but they automatically go out to FFRK users.


Hmmm, I haven't gotten any FFPA rewards, even been keeping an eye out for them since you mentioned it. Wonder if it's one of those "You'll get it in X to Y timeframe" things.


You can haste him yourself and dispel it if necessary.

That's....mind-boggling that you would even think to suggest that, lol. It's completely unacceptable that that should even have to be an option to be quite frank. If they are going to require "dispel haste" as a medal requirement, then it should either start the fight with haste, or be a guaranteed 1st or 2nd round action by the boss, not a "Chance it casts it, and hey, if it doesn't, and you lose one other medal, gotta re-do the fight". I'm all for difficulty, but artificial, 100% random roll of the die difficulty is unacceptable. I can't help it that the creature only took about 4 actions(Or less?) before it was dead. Other medal requirements such as "Use X breakdown/spell/debuff" requirements are fine, but that one is complete BS. I mean, I still got mastery and I still think it's moronic.

[danzibr]

Certainly worth the free trial. The first few instances are the ones the FFXIV encounters in Record Keeper are based on, so you've got a leg up on what to expect.

One other caveat I forgot to mention and really should: Most of the instanced dungeons are mandatory. You cannot progress the main plot without them. There's a pretty slick in-game tool for building teams based on role makeup (two dps, a tank, and a healer), but unless you're a healer you can be in for some wait times. That said, the instanced dungeons are massive, varied, complex, and worth your time if you can hold a group together (not always easy). You should get all three of the current Record Keeper encounters before level 20.
Oh, huh. WoW has the same thing (picked it up rather recently, though... I wonder if it came from XIV).

[Greg_S]

U Status: Chaos Bahamut was going really well. He hastes himself as the first move, but if you can stick slow on him early, it's manageable. Got him down to 30%, had just used a tailwind, had HoTF ready to launch, and Wall was less than one second from renewing... then it lapsed, he fired Ignis, and my whole shelled and protected party ate 5000 damage.

Welp.

Probably going to swap Shadow out for Gilgamesh, and stick Banishing Strike + Lifesiphon on him, then give keeper a breakdown + slowga, as tempo flurry's not reliable enough- slow really, really helps for this fight.

EDIT: Round 2 was more favorable. Renewing Rains was a great help, and slowga kept his damage down.
Caius's weak phase is as bad as advertised. I used an RW to combo break his magic and attack and reverse Body and Soul. That kept his damage down until, once again, wall lapsed a split second before I renewed it, Giga-Graviton hit, and then the flood of attacks was just too much to take. Doesn't help that he gets a huge defense buff in the weak phase either. Going to try either HoTE or Banishing Blade as RWs. BB won't counter Body and Soul, but it will drop his defense a good deal.

[danzibr]

Mastered the U. Not a single medal lost. Super easy. Fortunately, most (all?) of my defenses stayed up, Ignis dealing about 1k damage. Onto the U+.

EDIT: Hooooly smokes. Tried Caius with a... non-serious build. Same party as the U. Things went well, but when he gets into his weak state, my oh my he attacks quickly. Need to have all the mitigation up at the start of the phase and burn him down, methinks.

[Red Fel]

U Status: Chaos Bahamut was going really well. He hastes himself as the first move, but if you can stick slow on him early, it's manageable. Got him down to 30%, had just used a tailwind, had HoTF ready to launch, and Wall was less than one second from renewing... then it lapsed, he fired Ignis, and my whole shelled and protected party ate 5000 damage.

Welp.

Probably going to swap Shadow out for Gilgamesh, and stick Banishing Strike + Lifesiphon on him, then give keeper a breakdown + slowga, as tempo flurry's not reliable enough- slow really, really helps for this fight.


Mastered the U. Not a single medal lost. Super easy. Fortunately, most (all?) of my defenses stayed up, Ignis dealing about 1k damage. Onto the U+.

Well, you both had a very different experience than I did.

First try. Round 1, Haste. Round 2, Sazh eats an Umbral Vice, down to 1 HP. Round 3, AoE, Sazh dies. Restart.

Round 1, Haste. Round 2, anybody other than Sazh eats an Umbral Vice and dies. Restart. Same for the next five or six tries.

He used Dragon Claws maybe twice. It was a lovely respite. Even with Shellga and Magic Breakdown up, Umbral Vice was an OHKO. With them and SSII up, I could survive one shot of it, but every round dropped somebody to half health. And he spammed Umbral Vice like nobody's business. And I'm not sure how he did that, because none of the sources list it as an ability before he hits Weak.

I might end up switching from a Shout party to a DG party, but then I'm not sure if my damage output will keep up.

[danzibr]

Well, you both had a very different experience than I did.

First try. Round 1, Haste. Round 2, Sazh eats an Umbral Vice, down to 1 HP. Round 3, AoE, Sazh dies. Restart.

Round 1, Haste. Round 2, anybody other than Sazh eats an Umbral Vice and dies. Restart. Same for the next five or six tries.

He used Dragon Claws maybe twice. It was a lovely respite. Even with Shellga and Magic Breakdown up, Umbral Vice was an OHKO. With them and SSII up, I could survive one shot of it, but every round dropped somebody to half health. And he spammed Umbral Vice like nobody's business. And I'm not sure how he did that, because none of the sources list it as an ability before he hits Weak.

I might end up switching from a Shout party to a DG party, but then I'm not sure if my damage output will keep up.
Weird... I wonder where the discrepancy is. I had DG, SG, Full Break, Magic Break, Protectga, Shellga, and equipped everyone in the highest Res armor I had, and they were in the back row. With all that, Bahamut's damage was pitiful. But then again, that's a **** ton of mitigation.

[Red Fel]

And I am shocked and horrified. I switched to a DG team, took tons of abuse, and lost my healer when he was around 30% life left... And mastered with every single medal. Not one lost. Huh.

My team:
Lightning: Tempo Flurry, Dismissal, Winds of Rabanastre.
Hope: Firaja, Bioga, Hope Not In Vain.
Serah: Waterja, Blizzaja, Blood of Espers.
Sazh: Magic Breakdown, Full Break, Unerring Shot.
Y'shtola: Curaja, Shellga, Dr. Mog's Teachings.
RW: Garnet (Divine Guardian)
Lightning's role was Slow. If at any time he was not Slow, she would use Tempo Flurry. Tempo Flurry was not nearly as effective as usual. That said, Dismissal was quite helpful, and Winds of Rabanastre meant I occasionally got an extra chance at debuffing. Hope's job was to throw out DG ASAP. Everyone else's job was obvious. Everyone was wearing Res gear and on the back row.

The fight was somewhat nerve-wracking, simply because I had run it so many times and his Umbral Vice - which he continued to spam - would OHKO people if I didn't have full mitigation in place. (With Shellga, SSII, DG, MB, and FB, it only did about a third of a life bar.) I remained paranoid that at some point my buffs would lapse and someone would eat an Umbral Vice to the face. In my successful run, that's close to what happened - full buffs were up, he Hasted, Tempo Flurry failed to slow, he threw out two Umbral Vices and Y'shtola dropped. I proceeded to burn through a little over 25% of his life hoping my buffs would last. They did.

So not touching the U+.

Oh, and he dropped a GFO. Somehow, I feel like that's a message to me.

[Starwulf]

Does Full break satisfy the "Reduce Chaos Bahamuts magic" and "Reduce Chaos Bahamuts attack" medal requirements?

[Greg_S]

And I am shocked and horrified. I switched to a DG team, took tons of abuse, and lost my healer when he was around 30% life left... And mastered with every single medal. Not one lost. Huh.

My team:
Lightning: Tempo Flurry, Dismissal, Winds of Rabanastre.
Hope: Firaja, Bioga, Hope Not In Vain.
Serah: Waterja, Blizzaja, Blood of Espers.
Sazh: Magic Breakdown, Full Break, Unerring Shot.
Y'shtola: Curaja, Shellga, Dr. Mog's Teachings.
RW: Garnet (Divine Guardian)
Lightning's role was Slow. If at any time he was not Slow, she would use Tempo Flurry. Tempo Flurry was not nearly as effective as usual. That said, Dismissal was quite helpful, and Winds of Rabanastre meant I occasionally got an extra chance at debuffing. Hope's job was to throw out DG ASAP. Everyone else's job was obvious. Everyone was wearing Res gear and on the back row.

The fight was somewhat nerve-wracking, simply because I had run it so many times and his Umbral Vice - which he continued to spam - would OHKO people if I didn't have full mitigation in place. (With Shellga, SSII, DG, MB, and FB, it only did about a third of a life bar.) I remained paranoid that at some point my buffs would lapse and someone would eat an Umbral Vice to the face. In my successful run, that's close to what happened - full buffs were up, he Hasted, Tempo Flurry failed to slow, he threw out two Umbral Vices and Y'shtola dropped. I proceeded to burn through a little over 25% of his life hoping my buffs would last. They did.

So not touching the U+.

Oh, and he dropped a GFO. Somehow, I feel like that's a message to me.

Umbral Vise's a physical attack without LR. 3/5 of my party were in the back row, and 1 of the front row chars was Gilgamesh, so I think that's why it didn't hurt me as much.

EDIT: Yes, FB/Multi Break satisfies the stat reduce medal requirements on Bahamut.

[tyckspoon]

Does Full break satisfy the "Reduce Chaos Bahamuts magic" and "Reduce Chaos Bahamuts attack" medal requirements?

I would assume so; it's worked for all the other 'reduce stat' target requirements. If they meant 'Use the appropriate stat Breakdown' instead, they'd have written the target requirement differently. They've done it before. That said, you may want to try to fit the appropriate Breakdowns in there anyway for mitigation purposes.

[Starwulf]

I would assume so; it's worked for all the other 'reduce stat' target requirements. If they meant 'Use the appropriate stat Breakdown' instead, they'd have written the target requirement differently. They've done it before. That said, you may want to try to fit the appropriate Breakdowns in there anyway for mitigation purposes.

Yeah I was definitely planning on bringing Mag Breakdown, but since I only take one support user I had no intentions of bringing ATK breakdown unless I absolutely had to for medal reqs.

Edit: Wootage! Just did a single pull on the new banner and actually got a 5* on banner item, Fang's Partisan weapon ^^ Great for me because I have squat for XIII weapon synergy, so this is most welcome ^^

[T.G. Oskar]

So...yeah, I'm actually waiting for the double Gysahl Greens weekend. It was 3:30 AM where I live, so I wasn't quite as...lucid. At least I'm a little bit more livid.

But, I did as I advised, and went for the XIII battles before the Ultimate. And...honestly, they were pretty easy.

Boss Rush was done with Vanille, Sazh and part of the A-Team (Terra and Gilgamesh), plus the Keeper. The battle against Svarog was pretty easy, even without boosts to damage: Terra used Blizzaga, Gilgamesh used Ice Jump, and that was that. Very little mitigation, to be honest. Nelapsi + Taxim was a bit more risky, but once mitigation was set up (including SG, of course), it wasn't as difficult. Using Shiva and Swift Bolt did the Taxim, and once that was done, the Nelapsi was taken down by two almost consecutive Magitek Missile barrages. Used a RW for Slow (Mirage Dive). Mastered the Boss Rush.

Juggernaut was a joke. Switched Terra for Balthier, and went for Tempo Flurry, Poison Shot and Blind Shot; also, switched the Keeper for Ramza to use, obviously, Shout. Set Balthier's 2nd RM on Sazh. The Juggernaut basically acted once every 2 turns, because Steam Clean pretty much stunlocked it into oblivion. The dualcast Machinist RM activated only once, and that was roughly 14k worth of damage. Once again, Mastered with little effort.

The Dahaka...was also done on the first try! Used the same team for the Juggernaut, except switched things a bit to have Ramza use Banishing Strike, and have Full Break, Power Breakdown, Magic Breakdown and Steal Defense between Balthier, Sazh and Ramza, while Gilgamesh Tauntaliated and Vanille healed. With all that mitigation, plus DG, Dahaka went from pretty solid damage to nothing. Lost 3 medals, but still mastered the battle.

Not sure how I'll handle Chaos Bahamut, most likely switch someone for the Keeper and use SG alongside DG. For some reason, it seems like a near-full Support party will do wonders. 145 Mythril, and while I might do 1-pulls on the upcoming banners AND the Summoner Nightmare Draw, I think I can have 3 11-pulls ready for the BSBFest, with at least 2 pulls devoted ONLY for the banner with Terra's BSB.

[SuperPanda]

This ultimate is not letting me crack it. The damage output is extreme and it moves so fast even before haste (in weak mode).


I had some of its AoEs hitting through wall at 3000 a pop and going twice before my team went (he wasn't hasted, but my haste dropped - so draw). Not sure I'll be able to claim victory on this U.

[Starwulf]

This ultimate is not letting me crack it. The damage output is extreme and it moves so fast even before haste (in weak mode).


I had some of its AoEs hitting through wall at 3000 a pop and going twice before my team went (he wasn't hasted, but my haste dropped - so draw). Not sure I'll be able to claim victory on this U.

Yeah, I'm having the same luck as Red Fel. He keeps using "Umbral Visage" before I even get my wall up, and one-shots someone right off the bat. Hell, the first battle I thought I was gonna be ok, he used Haste right off the bat, and not even a second later my Tempo Flurry hit and procced slow, and then not more then 2 seconds later he used Umbral Visage to kill Wakka. I was like "Seriously?"

Edit: Well, he's dead, and despite the fact that I lost two people(Wakka mid-fight, took a critical dragon claw followed up by an Umbral VIsage back to back, and then Tyro right before I killed him), I somehow still got mastery of it, no idea how, but only lost two medals total(1 for damage taken, 1 for Characters KO'd). He also dropped me a Major Fire Orb, just like he did for Red Fel.

Double Edit: Wow, that pendant we got for beating him sucks. 15 Res and 500 hp? Junk! Shame we can't trade it for gyashl greens, I'd do so in a heartbeat, lol.

Triple Edit: So I gave Caius a try. There is no way I'm beating him. Once you get him past 50% he starts attacking so fast it's not even funny. I went from nearly full health with a refreshed wall, to dead in the span of about a minute n a half.

[danzibr]

Yeah, I'm having the same luck as Red Fel. He keeps using "Umbral Visage" before I even get my wall up, and one-shots someone right off the bat. Hell, the first battle I thought I was gonna be ok, he used Haste right off the bat, and not even a second later my Tempo Flurry hit and procced slow, and then not more then 2 seconds later he used Umbral Visage to kill Wakka. I was like "Seriously?"

Edit: Well, he's dead, and despite the fact that I lost two people(Wakka mid-fight, took a critical dragon claw followed up by an Umbral VIsage back to back, and then Tyro right before I killed him), I somehow still got mastery of it, no idea how, but only lost two medals total(1 for damage taken, 1 for Characters KO'd). He also dropped me a Major Fire Orb, just like he did for Red Fel.

Double Edit: Wow, that pendant we got for beating him sucks. 15 Res and 500 hp? Junk! Shame we can't trade it for gyashl greens, I'd do so in a heartbeat, lol.

Triple Edit: So I gave Caius a try. There is no way I'm beating him. Once you get him past 50% he starts attacking so fast it's not even funny. I went from nearly full health with a refreshed wall, to dead in the span of about a minute n a half.
Grats on the win! And haha, I'm actually using that accessory for the U+. Put it on my squishiest character.

[SuperPanda]

Ultimate chaos bahamut:

Basch, our forces will thwart this foe!

Umbral vice - 6000 damage to Basch.
S/L
UV - 6000 damage to Basch
S/L
UV - 9000 damage to Ramza
S/L
UV - 6000 damage to Basch
S/L
Haste, UV - 9000 damage to Ramza.
S/L
Bahamut: I can do this all day. UV - 4000 damage to lightning
Arieth: I can heal through that, mitigation going up.
Shellga. Divine guardian, RW: wall. Tempo flurry/banishing blade. Planet protector and breakdowns.
Fight carries.

Mitigation stays up, damage stays good. Bahamut goes down. One medal lost total.

Not sure I'll even try the u+.

[Simkin]

Beat the U & U+. As usual at this level I used a couple mythril to charge SBs and then setup and unleashed. Party was similar for both.

For a Bahamut it was all SSBs and brute force; Cloud BSB, Squall SSB, Refia SSB, Vanille SSB, and Tyro.

Caius I swapped out Refia for Ramza so I could switch RW from Shout to DG. It was a bit more of a marathon, he's pretty beefy. Real main trick is S/L long enough so that his initial hits are on characters that can last. Once you're past the first few rounds and have mitigation up his damage can be healed through; though at bare minimum I used Vanille's SSB AoE heal several times and would have lost without. My mitigation consisted of SG + DG + Shellga + FB (which I just recently raised to R2). Without SBs charged it would be a serious marathon if, like me, you have little to no synergy. Note that I've also crafted three R3 Lifesiphons to charge my SBs faster before and during battles, which helps me a lot.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Good gravy, congrats you guys. My jaw is dropping just looking at the stats on Bahamut. His physical damage output is higher than Steiner's (763/845 ATK vs 582/600, 230%/340% vs. mostly 190%/230%) and his magic damage output is higher than Carry Armor's. (619/695 MAG vs 542/642, 450%/610% vs. 330%). And even with the slightly lower DEF and HP totals, he doesn't have an elemental weakness to exploit like those two. That's hard pass material for me if ever I've seen it.

[danzibr]

Also mastered the U+. But barely. 2 to damage, 1 to actions. Spent a mythril to get SB up, went Advantauntaliate. Even so, took like 5 tries. He's so damn fast and does so much damage that if you have even the slightest lapse in defense, it's basically an S/L. Plus it was really RNGy, too many Giga-Gravitons and you're toast, pray for Lunge and Bahamut Eye or whatever it is. I can see why JP voted him for the revenge thingy. By far the hardest U+ so far. Also, Tyro's BSB would've been handy, Magic Blink and free up 2 ability slots.

[Slayn82]

Hey, I'm back. Tried to get some Synergy in XIII, but after a bunch of pulls I'm still at the same three 5* meh relics: a stat stick fist, a thunder robe, and New Year Gun. Completed three random 3* relics to ++, and one 4*++ Shield from III. Congrats for those who got relics, specially Lightning BSB.

Our next chance at getting an spear or a bow in a single banner will be Adult Rydia/Yang event. I could throw another 15 mythril in Serah's banner 2, but I'm not feeling the urge to pull for those abilities. I think I can beat the U with my current rooster even without Synergy.

I will start to gather mythril for Summoner Nightmare, since everything I want from the next two Banners will be around in other future banners, but waiting sucks.

FF VI is a favorite, but have lots of decent 4*++ gear, pulling there would be just for characters favoritism. Still investing those 100 gems and hopefully getting Sabin or Setzer Relics for utility.

Braska event has a good Banner 2, and with Dragoons becoming respectable, getting Kimahri spear won't even be bad, and I actually want it. Of course, Jecht and Tidus SSBs are my true targets.

[danzibr]

For the first time (that I recall, anyways), I got 2 major orbs in a single battle! Best in the past was 1 in 1 battle, then 1 in the next.

EDIT: Spent 110k greens on stam shards. Just 'cause. Hit 166 stam. Only have like 20k for accessories and orbs and whatever. Going to spend some mythril on the double daily today, need to level some people.

EDIT EDIT: Anyone else find it weird that Sky Grinder has no air time?

[Red Fel]

I hope everyone's having a good time with Sundailies today. Keep in mind, you're probably going to want to level your VI B-team for this, because the upcoming event is all about them. So let's talk about it!

Tomorrow's event, Two Sides of a Coin, (also known as the Figabros Event) is the latest VI event. You're going to be having a whole lot of VI with a whole lot of guys, because the character features of this event are all man, baby. You like brainy types? This event features Edgar. Strong, slightly dim types? Sabin's your guy. The honorable sort you can bring home to momma, but is useless in a fight? Meet Cyan. Rich bad boys with cool outfits and fast cars airships with no respect for the law? Setzer's here. Little boys? Gau, and you're a creeper. This even features MCs for all of them (except Setzer) and MC2s for all five. It also features a Hero's Soul, Empty MC, and Empty MC2, the 5-star Machinist ability Bio Grenade, and the 5-star accessory Edgar's Coin.

This event also sports several missions, and these are a bit more particular than the last batch. One requires that you have Kick equipped in a particular stage, one requires that you have Fire Blossom equipped in a particular stage, one requires that you have Punishing Palm equipped in a particular stage, and one requires that you use Edgar and Sabin in a party of 4 against the ++ boss That last one's a doozy, huh? Basically, you'll need the Super Figaro Bros. for almost the entire event, and Cyan for a bit of it, to satisfy the mission requirements.

None of these characters are anything new, so let's talk banners! The first banner features:
Chainsaw: Edgar's SSB spear. Pure Attack. 6-hit random-target 1.32x PHY damage, Imperil Bio. Item has chance to instant-KO.
Tiger Fang: Sabin's SSB fist. Pure Attack. 8-hit single-target 0.98x PHY damage, party Blink.
Cards: Setzer's SB thrown. Pure Attack. 3-hit AoE 1.4x ranged PHY damage, Attack/Magic Breakdown.
Sasuke: Shadow's SB katana. Attack and Magic. 4-hit single-target 1.28x ranged PHY damage, chance to Sap.
Cat Ear Hood: Relm's SB hat. Magic, Mind, Defense, and Resistance. 4-hit AoE Non-Elemental SUM damage, auto-Blind.
The second banner features:
Murakumo: Cyan's SSB katana. Pure Attack. 3-hit AoE 2x PHY damage, chance to Stun and Stop.
Chocobo Brush: Relm's SSB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. Medica + high Regen.
Gauntlet: Gau's SB fist. Pure Attack. 4-hit AoE 1x Lightning PHY damage, self-Rage: Gigavolt. (Rage causes the user to trigger the same ability over its next three turns. Gigavolt is a random-target 2x Lightning PHY attack.)
Drill: Edgar's SB spear. Attack and Defense. 3-hit single-target 1.67x PHY damage, boost party Def.
Dragon Claw: Sabin's SB fist. Pure Attack. 3-hit AoE 1.33x PHY damage, Boostga.
Both banners also feature Thief Bracer (shared-SB bracer, Mind-based NAT Slow) and Assassin Dagger (stat-stick dagger with a chance to instant-KO).

So, should you pull? Well, first off, the major featured characters are niche - Edgar, Sabin, and Cyan tend to fall lower on the totem pole than Terra, Celes, Shadow, or Locke. Shadow's on here, but only one SB katana (admittedly decent); Setzer's on here too, much the same. Relm is on here twice, and admittedly her SSB is a nice pull if you need medicas. But mostly it's pure physical with the twins. Gau's relic stands out as being uniquely annoying; if you had plans for Gau to use the abilities you actually picked, too bad. (It's basically spammed Thundaga Strikes.) I probably wouldn't advise pulling unless you really want the Chocobo Brush.

I mentioned the ++ above. Let's talk bonus battles!
+: Boss Rush. You'll need Fire and Holy. The good news, both bosses are vulnerable to Fire, so at least that will see extra use. Victory gets you an orb, eggs, and Gau's and Setzer's MC2s.
Dullahan: Medals for not getting KO'd and for using Fire. He's weak to Fire and absorbs Ice. He's also susceptible to Paralyze, Slow, and Blind. He uses lots of magic, which isn't a problem because Intimidate trivializes this fight.
Deathgaze: Medals for using Fire and for using Holy. Go ahead and die, doesn't matter. He has an instant-KO ability, which is a nuisance, so just hope he doesn't use that, and burn him down fast.
++: Tentacles. Why did it have to be tentacles? Medals for not being KO'd, exploiting the Lower Right's weakness to Ice, and exploiting the Lower Left's weakness to Fire. They all absorb different things, but only the lower two have weaknesses. However, they are all susceptible to Slow and Paralyze, and each has a litany of other status weaknesses. They only use single-target attacks (a mix of magic, physical, and status). Further, none of them are particularly strong (about 50K HP each). Tag the bottom two with elemental weaknesses and then start spamming Non-Elemental AoEs and sweep up fast. Remember that there is a mission to clear this stage with only four characters, including the Figabros. Victory gets you orbs, and Edgar's and Sabin's MC2s.
+++: Storm Dragon. This jerk again. Gonna level with you, Vargas was annoying (and we'll get to him later), but the Storm Dragon was the bane of my VI levels on FFRK for a long time. Medals for not getting KO'd, exploiting his Lightning weakness, and reducing his Mag. He's susceptible to Blind and Sap, which is good because several of his attacks are physical. You'll want to bring magic mitigation anyway, because his spells hit hard. His worst is Cyclonic, which deals massive proportionate damage and will probably provoke a rage fit. Victory gets you orbs, a Rosetta Stone, Bio Grenade, and Cyan's MC2.
Happy hunting.

[danzibr]

Thanks for the info, Red Fel!

I was reading the ++ and thought it wasn't too bad, until that very last line. Only 4, and you have to use Edgar and Sabin. Ugh.

Beyond that, spent a bit of mythril today on refills. Want 'dem greens, and 'dat experience. Spent... 4? I think. Got Ramza to 80, Serah to 65, Jecht to 65. Working on Rydia, Cait Sith, and Cid for upcoming events.

And the next event brings Chain Starter and Full Charge! Super excited for those.

EDIT: Err, the next next event.

[Red Fel]

Don't forget that we expect the Neo Bahamut Nightmare this coming weekend, so be sure to level your summoners (not the X kind, although sort of, actually) when you finish with your VI-boys.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Ah shoot, it's specifically only 4 characters, and not 4 FF6 characters + 1 whoever? I figured it'd be more like the FF9 defense system battle. That could require some creativity.

Also worth bringing up is that the Cid Mission abilities are apparently granted as rewards as you progress through the event. So if you're like me and have never crafted a Monk ability, you don't need to scrounge up orbs on dubiously useful (or perhaps more accurately, dubiously high-priority) skills to complete them.

And not that it's likely to change anyone's mind, but framing Gau's SB as a baby BSB makes it at least slightly more appealing. Open up with whatever setup moves (or low-honed 5*s) you like, then transition into being a lightning-elemental blunt object without having to fall back on basic attacks.

[danzibr]

Don't forget that we expect the Neo Bahamut Nightmare this coming weekend, so be sure to level your summoners (not the X kind, although sort of, actually) when you finish with your VI-boys.
I was looking ahead, noticed I had 5 Summoner, but only.... 3 5* Support users. Wakka, Fran, Tyro. Got Ramza to 80, now I have 4. Should get Sazh up to 80, have a full party by the time it rolls around.

I rather enjoy leveling a party based on role rather than realm.

Ah shoot, it's specifically only 4 characters, and not 4 FF6 characters + 1 whoever? I figured it'd be more like the FF9 defense system battle. That could require some creativity.

Also worth bringing up is that the Cid Mission abilities are apparently granted as rewards as you progress through the event. So if you're like me and have never crafted a Monk ability, you don't need to scrounge up orbs on dubiously useful (or perhaps more accurately, dubiously high-priority) skills to complete them.

And not that it's likely to change anyone's mind, but framing Gau's SB as a baby BSB makes it at least slightly more appealing. Open up with whatever setup moves (or low-honed 5*s) you like, then transition into being a lightning-elemental blunt object without having to fall back on basic attacks.
Huh. Yeah, Gau's Gauntlet looks spiffy.

[tyckspoon]

Three bonus targets means you can skip one and still Master if you perfect everything else, right? Might blow off the ice target and just AoE blitz. Valefor/Bahamut, Pummeling Palm + Kick, Ruinga or maybe Samurai aoes if running Shout, Terra/Sabin/Setzer SB or Fire Blossom to tag the fire weakness. Should probably RW in a wall for mitigation so I don't have to sac a slot bringing Tyro.

Or just bring Terra. Ruinga/Blizzaja, Trance Fira, medal conditions done and proceed to smash face until done. Shouldn't be hard (but then I have enough ff6 junk to outfit every single slot with synergy, including accessory. I don't expect any ff6 event to be hard.)

[tyckspoon]

Three bonus targets means you can skip one and still Master if you perfect everything else, right? Might blow off the ice target and just AoE blitz. Valefor/Bahamut, Pummeling Palm + Kick, Ruinga or maybe Samurai aoes if running Shout, Terra/Sabin/Setzer SB or Fire Blossom to tag the fire weakness. Should probably RW in a wall for mitigation so I don't have to sac a slot bringing Tyro.

Or just bring Terra. Ruinga/Blizzaja, Trance Fira, medal conditions done and proceed to smash face until done. Shouldn't be hard (but then I have enough ff6 junk to outfit every single slot with synergy, including accessory. I don't expect any ff6 event to be hard.)

[Greg_S]

Ah shoot, it's specifically only 4 characters, and not 4 FF6 characters + 1 whoever? I figured it'd be more like the FF9 defense system battle. That could require some creativity.

Also worth bringing up is that the Cid Mission abilities are apparently granted as rewards as you progress through the event. So if you're like me and have never crafted a Monk ability, you don't need to scrounge up orbs on dubiously useful (or perhaps more accurately, dubiously high-priority) skills to complete them.

And not that it's likely to change anyone's mind, but framing Gau's SB as a baby BSB makes it at least slightly more appealing. Open up with whatever setup moves (or low-honed 5*s) you like, then transition into being a lightning-elemental blunt object without having to fall back on basic attacks.
Gau can use chainstarter and full charge, so R3 chainstarter and R2 full charge can get you into rage spam mode once your attacks are empty. If there was a better source of imperil for lightning, it would be more useful.

[danzibr]

Gau can use chainstarter and full charge, so R3 chainstarter and R2 full charge can get you into rage spam mode once your attacks are empty. If there was a better source of imperil for lightning, it would be more useful.
I like this idea a lot. I noticed Gau had Combat and Celerity 5, and while I like Zack, I have no unique relics for him.

Anyway. I'll prob use Zack until I get Gau to 80, and then whomever depending on synergy.

Edit: So right now we have Zack, Tidus, Lightning and Gau with Combat and Celerity 5. Not bad. Tyro goes without saying... but dang, I said it.

[Red Fel]

Gau can use chainstarter and full charge, so R3 chainstarter and R2 full charge can get you into rage spam mode once your attacks are empty. If there was a better source of imperil for lightning, it would be more useful.

Two things about that plan, though.

First, Gau can also use Lifesiphon. If you plan to spam Rage, Lifesiphon; why bother with anything else?

Second, Gau's Rage is supposed to charge SB gauge 50 per usage. It doesn't yet - they're working on it in JP, so that will theoretically happen at some point. 50 points is as much as a standard attack charges the SB gauge. With an RM, that would charge faster, probably. Which means that you really only need Lifesiphon and you can pretty efficiently spam Rage.

The Chainstarter/Full Charge combo is great if you don't have Gau's relic SB, since his standard Rage SB is just a 1.5x attack. It basically becomes a mini-SB in its own right. If you do have the relic SB, however, and an intent to use it (hint: never in a fight that requires strategy), Lifesiphon is probably the better choice.

[danzibr]

Two things about that plan, though.

First, Gau can also use Lifesiphon. If you plan to spam Rage, Lifesiphon; why bother with anything else?

Second, Gau's Rage is supposed to charge SB gauge 50 per usage. It doesn't yet - they're working on it in JP, so that will theoretically happen at some point. 50 points is as much as a standard attack charges the SB gauge. With an RM, that would charge faster, probably. Which means that you really only need Lifesiphon and you can pretty efficiently spam Rage.

The Chainstarter/Full Charge combo is great if you don't have Gau's relic SB, since his standard Rage SB is just a 1.5x attack. It basically becomes a mini-SB in its own right. If you do have the relic SB, however, and an intent to use it (hint: never in a fight that requires strategy), Lifesiphon is probably the better choice.
Huh? I think Greg meant you spam Chain Starter -> Full Charge until you run out of ability uses, then we hen you're out of Full Charge uses, you should have enough SB gauges to go Chain Starter -> SB twice, lasting the rest of the battle. The *point* isn't to spam rage, but rather that's what you do when otherwise you'd just attack.

[Red Fel]

Huh? I think Greg meant you spam Chain Starter -> Full Charge until you run out of ability uses, then we hen you're out of Full Charge uses, you should have enough SB gauges to go Chain Starter -> SB twice, lasting the rest of the battle. The *point* isn't to spam rage, but rather that's what you do when otherwise you'd just attack.

Huh. Okay, yeah, I think I misread. Cool beans, either way.

[Slayn82]

One amusing thing I noticed from the 12 points Tier Challenge running on Reddit is that Ingus and Seifer are pretty good Characters even without SBs. Many posters are running Dark Bargain + Saint's Cross on Seifer, while Ingus often uses Banishing Strike + a extra Breakdown. With their SBs, they bring damage and party +Res and +Def, and Ingus other SB also offers a Hastega+Protectga.

I'm thinking of throwing my Rosetta stone's on Celes Excalibur, and giving it and Golbez Armor to Seifer, using Banishing Strike + Dark Bargain. That should make him a passable non SB damage dealer, and Banishing Strike already sees plenty of use between Holy Weakness or Dispel. Will make a good pair with Basch's Sentinel.

And then there's Sanguine Cross, I will probably get to hone before Saint's Cross. Dark Cecil could see some use.

[Starwulf]

I'm glad someone on here said something about Squalls Necklace being 30 attack. Went and looked to see how many greens I needed, saw I only needed 2 runs(coulda been one if I'd gotten a gyashl drop) to get it and now I have my 2nd 30 atk accessory! That's gonna make some room in my inventory :)

[T.G. Oskar]

I still say Edgar could use Dragoon 3 or 4. He's this close to be a powerhouse in-game, and adding Dragoon would be a very, VERY efficient way to do so. He already has high Defense, Combat 5 (or 6, if you did in the Demon Wall), he can tank with Knight or impose status effects with Machinist, and Auto Crossbow is a pretty nice default SB as it's an Attack-based AoE (something, curiously, most Knights lack!). Drill is a great Relic, as it's a pretty strong Spear with high Defense, which allows a SB that deals good damage...and also increases Defense. The Partisan's Bio Blaster mingles insanely well with the Chainsaw, as it increases the damage of Bio Blaster (which ALSO imposes the Poison status), but that's a nice gift when you have all of his Relics.

In short - so good that these Cid's Missions are actually easier, because Edgar's value allowed me to cap him, so he'll be 65+ soon enough.

On the other hand, Sabin isn't exactly fully-leveled, and his Tiger Fang helps a bit (BumPhantom! Rush!), but he's not spectacular compared to other Monks, like Jecht (Darkness 5!), Snow (Knight 5), upcoming Yda (Support 4), and Josef in the future (also Support 4).

So, correction to TL;DR - so good that these Cid's Missions are actually easier as long as only Edgar is involved.

...And there's poor Cyan. Why not give him Knight 2/3, DeNA? He's the only other guy you'd want having the Knight's Code equipped, anyways, which is what works as Draw Fire in the game. Plus wears Heavy Armor (IIRC, wasn't he unable to equip Heavy Armor until an update?) Even Mama's Boy can do something different. Cyan's pretty cool.

[Starwulf]

Anyone know the drop rate on Gyashl greens? I wanted to try to farm some while it was double drop since for a change I actually had the event stuff done, but man I barely got any. Refreshed my stamina 6 times today(130 stamina, so 780 stamina total, + original stamina and what regenerated throughout the day, so call it about 10-11 full runs of the ++ exp dungeon), and I only got two drops the entire time. It was still enough for me to get the +30 magic accessory on top of the +30 atk accessory(I had about 6k greens going in), but not too terribly much past that(I think I have like 4k right now?), quite frustrating, and I'm wondering if it's just my usual awful luck, or if it's just the norm.

[danzibr]

I'm curious as to the drop rate too. My luck wasn't quite as stinky, but I didn't get as many as I recall getting in the past.

[SuperPanda]

So this is mostly a question for Simkin and its techincally off topic.

I've tried recreating the basic Vanadiel world map using FFVI's world map tile-set. Did it turn out okay?

http://screenshot.net/8e0zmsy.jpg

Once I've got basic Vanadiel looking okay I plan to expand it a little for a campaign setting i'm working on.

[Cozzer]

I've been doing a few 3-pullers, lately, just to prevent too much boredom while stockpiling mithril for the BSBfest. I got nothing. :(

On the other hand, only two Elites from complete core completion!

[Chen]

Anyone know the drop rate on Gyashl greens? I wanted to try to farm some while it was double drop since for a change I actually had the event stuff done, but man I barely got any. Refreshed my stamina 6 times today(130 stamina, so 780 stamina total, + original stamina and what regenerated throughout the day, so call it about 10-11 full runs of the ++ exp dungeon), and I only got two drops the entire time. It was still enough for me to get the +30 magic accessory on top of the +30 atk accessory(I had about 6k greens going in), but not too terribly much past that(I think I have like 4k right now?), quite frustrating, and I'm wondering if it's just my usual awful luck, or if it's just the norm.

Two drops in 780 stamina seems low. From what I've experienced it's somewhere around 1 drop per 150ish stamina. Basically going through my full stamina bar tends to get me 1 drop. But the variance seems pretty high too where sometimes I get none for a couple days and then get 2-3 back to back.

[Jurai]

Character
Level
Weapon
Armor
Accessory
Ability 1
Ability 2
Record Materia
Soul Break


Garnet
80
Tigerclaw (XIII)
Witch Hat (XIII)
Gulug Stone (IX)
Maduin (R4)
Alexander (R4)
Dr. Mog's Teachings
Divine Guardian


Porom
80
Seraphim's Mace (IV)
Oath Veil (VI)+
Dr. Cid's Glasses (XII)
Curaja (R5)
Protectga (R3)
Mako Might
Sync


Bartz
80
Glaive (XIII)
Titanium Bangle (XIII)
Squall's Necklace (VIII)
Lifesiphon (R5)
Tempo Flurry (R5)
Ace Striker
Trueblade of Legend


Ramza
80
Blazefire Sabre (XIII)
Dragon Armlet (VII)
Brutal Earring (XI)
Magic Breakdown (R4)
Power Breakdown (R3)
Dragoon's Determination
Veil of Protection (Shellga Shared SB)


Sephiroth
80
Kotetsu (V)
Gauntlets (IX)
Aries (FFT)
Lifesiphon (R4)
Armor Break (R5)
Battleforged
Black Materia



Chaos Bahamut has been brought to order. RW was SG, and the real MVP was, once again, Sync. The ability to heal my way through an Ignis is AMAZING, especially since it refreshes my party's existing Haste status. I was able to pound CB down to 25% through Heavy Regenga and Sync before reapplying SG. Had to SL several times, but I managed to make some Dragon steak. Gulug Stone was the MVP equipment, keeping my DG going through several Dragon Breaths.

[Starwulf]

So this is mostly a question for Simkin and its techincally off topic.

I've tried recreating the basic Vanadiel world map using FFVI's world map tile-set. Did it turn out okay?

http://screenshot.net/8e0zmsy.jpg

Once I've got basic Vanadiel looking okay I plan to expand it a little for a campaign setting i'm working on.

You do know that you can ask me just as much as Simkins, right? I played FFXI from 2003 till 2010 :)

Yeah it actually looks pretty good, though since you went with "forests" for forested areas and "Deserts" for sandy areas, might I suggest you put some snowy terrain in the far north for Beaucedine Glacier and Xarcabard?

[Jurai]

You do know that you can ask me just as much as Simkins, right? I played FFXI from 2003 till 2010 :)

Yeah it actually looks pretty good, though since you went with "forests" for forested areas and "Deserts" for sandy areas, might I suggest you put some snowy terrain in the far north for Beaucedine Glacier and Xarcabard?

I don't think the VI tileset has snowy terrain, though.

[Starwulf]

Two drops in 780 stamina seems low. From what I've experienced it's somewhere around 1 drop per 150ish stamina. Basically going through my full stamina bar tends to get me 1 drop. But the variance seems pretty high too where sometimes I get none for a couple days and then get 2-3 back to back.

Yeah I felt that was pretty low as well. It's actually 3 now, right before I went to bed I decided to see if I needed any of the Monday dailies completed for the mythril, and the Heroic stage was undone, so I got a drop there. So 3 in a total of....945 stamina(since I also mentioned my original stamina + what regenerated), and the third was only like 100 or whatever drops from heroic, without the 2x bonus :-(


I don't think the VI tileset has snowy terrain, though.



Ahh, yeah doesn't come to think of it. Well, that was literally my only complaint, looking at it I could easily figure out where all the major landmarks were ^^

[SuperPanda]

Awesome, I'll try to convert some of he Narshe terrain tiles to snowy land tiles and redo those parts of the map.

Thanks starwulf. :)

[Slayn82]

Mastered Chaos Bahamut too, posting my team in the spoilers following Jurai model.



Character
Level
Weapon
Armor
Accessory
Ability 1
Ability 2
Record Materia
Soul Break


Ramza
73
Ragnarok (IX)
Seeker's Shield (X)
Durable Power Wristband (XIII)
Power Breakdown (R3)
Magic Breakdown (R3)
Dr. Mog's Teachings
Shout


Rikku
65
Kaiser Knuckles (XIII)
Feral Pride (XIII)
Flame Cloak (IV)
Tempo Flurry (R4)
Enveloping Etude (R2)
Battleforged
Machina Sabotage


Aerith
79
Wizard Staff (VII)
Sorceress's Crown (VIII)
Cat's Bell (VII)
Curaja (R4)
Tempo Flurry (R2)
Mako Might
Pulse of Life


Beatrix
73
Excalibur (VI) (+20 atk from roseta)
Al Bhed Jumper (X)
Squall's Necklace (VIII)
Lifesiphon (R4)
Banishing Strike (R4)
Ace Striker
Seiken Shock


Irvine
61
Goddess's Tribute (XIII)
Silver Bangle+ (XIII)
Aries (FFT)
Full Break (R2)
Armor Breakdown (R4)
Master Sniper
Canister Shot




Irvine and Ramza once again tag team to create an opening and compensate for the low Realm Synergy. Originally I wanted to use Zell, but Rikku allowed me to bring Protectga, dealing with Bahamut's Hastega meant I would have to use Tempo Flurry as much as possible, and Beatrix SSB had higher priority for the Lifesiphon anyway, to dodge Inferno or Ignis on the Weak Phase.

First turn, Ramza used Shout, Rikku used Protectga (good chance to go before Bahamut attack, letting the target survive), Aerith called the Wall RW, Beatrix used Banishing Strike (hoping to dispel Bahamut's Haste if he went that route), and Irvine used Full Break.

Second turn, Ramza used Magic Breakdown, Rikku started Tempo Flurrying (worked very often), Aerith either cured whoever got hit or used Shellga, Beatrix would use Banishing Strike if Bahamut was hasted - otherwise LS, and Irvine would use Armor Breakdown. From there, it was just a matter of waiting for SBs to fill, Bahamut HP to drop near half (happened way before shout expired), then renewed SS II and Shellga, and let Cannister Shot and Seiken Shock start the burn. Due to all the mitigated AOE damage, SB charges filled quickly for everyone, and Ramza was ready to renew Shout before it expired.

---------------

Tried this team against Caius Ballad, giving Dismissal instead of Tempo Flurry to Rikku. Reduced him to about 30% of his HP on the first try where he didn't KO someone at first turn, then lost steam. Need to fix a bit the team.

[Simkin]

You do know that you can ask me just as much as Simkins, right? I played FFXI from 2003 till 2010 :)

Yeah it actually looks pretty good, though since you went with "forests" for forested areas and "Deserts" for sandy areas, might I suggest you put some snowy terrain in the far north for Beaucedine Glacier and Xarcabard?

Nothing specific to add. I think it came out quite well overall. Good job. To be honest I had to go pull up some other maps to compare it to. When I see it all in my head it isn't the map, it's the environments themselves. I can mentally walk through probably a sad/awesome amount of the maps and areas in my head even now; down to specific spots I partied. In my dreams I ride chocobos from Bastok down through the highlands to party in the desert; and; and... I'm going to go wax nostalgic in the corner before this gets to long.

[Greg_S]

U+ Caius is down, no revives, and sheesh, that fight's an RNG-laden trash heap.

The team:



Keeper (back row)
Magic Breakdown R4, Protectga R2
Wall SB
Dr. Mog


Gilgamesh
Banishing Strike R4, Lifesiphon R3
Superfriends SSB
+20% damage


Shadow
Lifesiphon R3, Armor Break R4
Shadow Fang
Battleforged


Ramza
Lifesiphon R3, Full Break R2
Shout, Tailwind, Hail of Stones
Mako Might


Yuna
Curaja R4, Shellga R3
HoTF
Healer's Prayer II


RW: HoTE. Synergy gear: Halloween pumpkin on Shadow, Deneb Duellers on Keeper, Serah's bracer + a 4++ synergy bracer.




JP had this fight lined up with their BSB fest, and the extra toys it gave to them. We do not.
Caius buffs himself using status IDs not available outside of SBs, so unless you drew one of 4 specific relics that breaks that status (5 tonight with Setzer's), he's going to stick an undispellable buff on himself.
If you do dispel the buff, he can easily recast it the next turn. Your SB probably doesn't charge that quickly.
Eye of Bahamut is a 50% resist break. Once again, only a few SBs can cure this, though at least one is Celes' default.
He starts his weak phase at 61%, and with his stat buffs, you'll chew through the last 61% significantly slower, so his weak phase is about 2/3 of the battle.
He's got U+ Vossler's final speed, but uses it for constant AoEs instead of Vossler's managable (though painful) single-target hits.
You can get RNG screwed before you take a turn, as others have noted. He can drop one character on turn 1, which is bad enough, but he can also hit you hard enough in turns 1-3 that even when your mitigation is up, your healer's in too deep a hole to catch up.


I needed lots of RNG luck for this. The first round, he hit my 3 back row characters, so no one was at risk of dying in round 2 or 3. I only ate 1 giga-graviton, and pulsar blast lucked out with a few pings to charge wall again. Gil's heavy regen was valuable, as both keeper and Gilgamesh got down to <500 at one point.

Previous runs did not include protectga. Every little bit of mitigation helps out, though, and saving 100-200 HP on his AoEs can be a lifesaver. Cura medica's showing its age too, as HoTF barely healed the damage I took while it was casting. Yuffie or Ramza's % heals are good backups.

In the end, though, it's all about how much damage you're able to pack in once your mitigation's accounted for. Congrats to all who've survived him, good luck to all who are trying, and to everyone else, enjoy punishing him when revenge rolls around in 6 months.

[SuperPanda]

I'm no where near my computer at the moment so it will be a while before I can see about adding snow or anything.

Once I have a good Vanadiel map I plan to expand it a bit, adding other towns and such in. Once I have a good world map I'm planning to open a world build in thread to start planning out a setting nominally based on Vanadiel but with flavors of other FF settings mixed in.

I never got past level 55 Monk (boy that was a bad choice for a first class - would have been happier and had more fun as a paladin but it was my first mmo and I wanted to play a samurai so (for some reason) thought monk made more sense - by the time I unlocked Samurai I was so invested in my monk that I never leveled Sam far enough.

Sundaily was good to me, got Ramza capped, LB2 for Sazh and Reifa. Also Kuja to level 61.

Edit: I foolishly decided to chase my gem pull with a 3 pull because I'd really have liked something from this banner for pure nostalgia. Wasted 15 mythril on a 3* to Gil conversion. I think I can still get up to 400 (-50 from summoner and support lucky pulls) to have 350 or 7 large pulls available as BSB fest. Should have resisted.

[Slayn82]

100 gem got me an assassin dagger VI. Stat stick with chance to KO. Sure, why not?

Since my average Relic/Mythril spent suddenly recovered a bit, decided to throw a single pull on Serah 2 for easing my conscience. Got a Tiger Claw Rod, Shared Slow. Well, at least my hope was not in vain.

[Starwulf]

Nothing specific to add. I think it came out quite well overall. Good job. To be honest I had to go pull up some other maps to compare it to. When I see it all in my head it isn't the map, it's the environments themselves. I can mentally walk through probably a sad/awesome amount of the maps and areas in my head even now; down to specific spots I partied. In my dreams I ride chocobos from Bastok down through the highlands to party in the desert; and; and... I'm going to go wax nostalgic in the corner before this gets to long.

Today after I mentioned to SuperPanda about maybe trying to add some snowy terrain to the north for Beauc/Xarc, I had to run to town to ship something out, and the whole way in I was wandering the world inside my mind, I walked from Bastok to Port Jeuno, then to Sanctuary of Zi'Tah, then off to Horotuto Ruins in Windy ^^

Then I spent 15 minutes trying to remember exactly where the connection to Beaucedine Glacier is. I'm pretty sure I only ever walked that path ONCE, just until I got the Tele crystal in Xarcabard, and then never walked it again. I eventually settled on "It's gotta be up near San'Doria, probably West Ronafure or Raungemont Pass".

And believe me, I could wax nostalgic all day long right beside ya man. Just looking at SP's map made me start wishing I hadn't sold my buddy my acct. He ended up selling it to his cousin who turned my glorious monk into a freaking fishing bot >< Even if I wanted to get it back from him(and I probably could, doubt it'd cost me more then $20), I could never play it again, everyone and their mother would associate me as a fishing bot, I doubt anyone who knew me back then still plays, so I'd have zero credibility telling people "no no, I got this acct FROM the guy who was using it as a fish-bot".


I'm no where near my computer at the moment so it will be a while before I can see about adding snow or anything.

Once I have a good Vanadiel map I plan to expand it a bit, adding other towns and such in. Once I have a good world map I'm planning to open a world build in thread to start planning out a setting nominally based on Vanadiel but with flavors of other FF settings mixed in.

I never got past level 55 Monk (boy that was a bad choice for a first class - would have been happier and had more fun as a paladin but it was my first mmo and I wanted to play a samurai so (for some reason) thought monk made more sense - by the time I unlocked Samurai I was so invested in my monk that I never leveled Sam far enough.


Hehe, nothing too terribly wrong with monk, the only real issue with choosing it as your first job, is it doesn't really help you get into end-game Linkshells, even if you're geared to the gills and back. Leveling monk as your first job, you eventually come to the realization that while it can always be your primary, it's never going to be the job that gets you into the good Linkshells. I leveled Black Mage for that purpose, and just before I quit I was leveling Red Mage.

You also had/have to be willing to put the effort into monk if it's a first time job. Mostly because the majority of people leveling monk are/were probably doing it as their second or third job to 75(well...99 now), so they likely have top notch gear for it. And at least when I was leveling, we didn't have Sushi's to raise your accuracy through the roof to hit. It was Jack O Lanterns for acc(+10!) or Meat Kabobs(str and atk!). So if you were leveling it as your first job you were competing against people who could afford Sniper Rings/+1's, and Amemet Mantle+1's and stuff like that, so they were dishing out high damage and hitting frequently.

I remember I spent 3 months at level 50 farming in Castle Oztroja(Mee Deggi the Punisher & Quo Domi the Gallant, O.Kotes & Fuma Kyahans) so I could afford the best of the best gear: Scorpion Harness, Brown Belt, O.kotes, Cross Counters, all the yummy goodies! It worked though, I never had issues getting party invites because people knew I was well geared and it wouldn't be a massive whiff fest.

Anyways, lol.....whew, talk about a walk down memory lane there. Anyways, I'd be glad to help you with world-building stuff. I mean, I can't draw or anything, but I can certainly supply information and settings :)

[SuperPanda]

Would love to collaborate. I did find a private server a few years ago when the nostalgia got the better of me. Played a PLD that time as by the. I knew I liked to be an mmo tank when I can.

I don't remember what year(s) I was played but sushi was a thing and I couldn't farm Gil very well. I started out with my sister and her friends but they dropped me from our static before I got to level 30 because one of the Shell leader's girlfriend wanted to play monk.

I never got O.Kote but I did good damage with the Hume RSE gloves. Farmed as best I could for brown belt, my Gi and other stuff. I actually was able to back-up tank for when our tanks dropped mis battle (surprisingly frequently). I was no where as good at is as a real tank, but good enough that I had parties decide to have me do that while we looked for a real tank. I just had a lot of trouble finding parties because I didn't have all the bling and that level range everyone wanted Just about any other dps.

One reason I wanted to get a Vanadiel based setting up is so that I can (when I have a group agajn) feed that nostalgia but also get creative wth it. My old group in the stars has run games based on Warcraft and Legend of Zelda so I'm sure they'd be up for it if I get to run for them again.

[Starwulf]

Would love to collaborate. I did find a private server a few years ago when the nostalgia got the better of me. Played a PLD that time as by the. I knew I liked to be an mmo tank when I can.

I don't remember what year(s) I was played but sushi was a thing and I couldn't farm Gil very well. I started out with my sister and her friends but they dropped me from our static before I got to level 30 because one of the Shell leader's girlfriend wanted to play monk.

I never got O.Kote but I did good damage with the Hume RSE gloves. Farmed as best I could for brown belt, my Gi and other stuff. I actually was able to back-up tank for when our tanks dropped mis battle (surprisingly frequently). I was no where as good at is as a real tank, but good enough that I had parties decide to have me do that while we looked for a real tank. I just had a lot of trouble finding parties because I didn't have all the bling and that level range everyone wanted Just about any other dps.

One reason I wanted to get a Vanadiel based setting up is so that I can (when I have a group agajn) feed that nostalgia but also get creative wth it. My old group in the stars has run games based on Warcraft and Legend of Zelda so I'm sure they'd be up for it if I get to run for them again.

As long as you took the time to farm for your Brown Belt, you are A.Ok in my book. I hated monks who went with life belts(+10 acc iirc) and never bothered with a brown belt. +10 acc is never going to outweigh the benefits of 8% haste, Str 5. Not to mention it's just a pride thing imo(I was a huge monk advocate on the Odin Server. I was, to my knowledge at least, the first monk to ever solo Bastok Mission 9-1, one of the first(not the first though) to solo Genbu with my monk once the level cap hit 90, and was just over-all a premiere monk soloist/duoist). I actually would never refuse a monk if they asked me to help them camp the Morbolger NM in Ordelle's, even though it was a 24 hour spawn. Helped a few dozen monks get that part of the quest done, and if they didn't have the other parts I"d take them out and hunt Nue and the Deadly Dodo afterwards as well.

It's been a very long time since I've bothered looking for a group here on GiTP, and I live in the middle of nowhere, so I pretty much haven't gamed D&D style or any RPGing in a long time, but I'd absolutely love to be a part of a FF game, especially if it's based around FFXI :)

On another note: Has anyone else not gotten the FF Portal app rewards for May? I am 100% positive I never got them, because I've been using my 5* Growth Eggs like crazy lately, and I never noticed a sudden upsurge of them, and looking at it, I should have gotten 6, which is quite a noticeable amount when you have <10(4 right now). I know you don't actually have to have the app, but I went and downloaded it anyways just in case, didn't trigger a sudden gift showing up though.

[T.G. Oskar]

I got the FF Portal app gifts, and I don't have the app. 10 Mythril are surely hard NOT to notice. They were on the Gift Box, and very clearly stated them. Maybe you should point that out to DeNA?

Chaos Bahamut has been mind-boggling, but that's mostly because of my bane in all Ultimates; I just can't get SG to stay active on the proper periods of time. Best I've got to beat him is to less than 20% of its HP, and suddenly I get an Inferno that deals...I dunno, triple damage? I'm sure of that because a second Inferno not too long after was fully mitigated. I know I got a solid party, so...maybe I should just equip Armor Breakdown instead of Steal Defense?

So, to rest, I decided to go on the FFVI event, which I pretty much steamrolled with Setzer (and the last bit with Setzer and Kefka at levels 23 and 18, respectively). Not too shabby - next one is the "must equip and use Kick" Cid's Mission, which...shouldn't be so hard. I mean, Sabin is at a pretty high level.

Oh yeah...remember how I said Sabin wasn't really a great Monk, and that his saving grace was that his SSB was pretty awesome? Apparently, the RNGods found that comment hilarious, because I got the Tiger Fangs on a 1-pull. Suddenly, that Tentacles ++ fight looks like a piece of cake, considering I got Edgar's Drill...and Locke's first thrown weapon, meaning Mirage Dive.

[Starwulf]

I got the FF Portal app gifts, and I don't have the app. 10 Mythril are surely hard NOT to notice. They were on the Gift Box, and very clearly stated them. Maybe you should point that out to DeNA?

Chaos Bahamut has been mind-boggling, but that's mostly because of my bane in all Ultimates; I just can't get SG to stay active on the proper periods of time. Best I've got to beat him is to less than 20% of its HP, and suddenly I get an Inferno that deals...I dunno, triple damage? I'm sure of that because a second Inferno not too long after was fully mitigated. I know I got a solid party, so...maybe I should just equip Armor Breakdown instead of Steal Defense?

So, to rest, I decided to go on the FFVI event, which I pretty much steamrolled with Setzer (and the last bit with Setzer and Kefka at levels 23 and 18, respectively). Not too shabby - next one is the "must equip and use Kick" Cid's Mission, which...shouldn't be so hard. I mean, Sabin is at a pretty high level.

Oh yeah...remember how I said Sabin wasn't really a great Monk, and that his saving grace was that his SSB was pretty awesome? Apparently, the RNGods found that comment hilarious, because I got the Tiger Fangs on a 1-pull. Suddenly, that Tentacles ++ fight looks like a piece of cake, considering I got Edgar's Drill...and Locke's first thrown weapon, meaning Mirage Dive.

Yeah I think I probably will shoot them a message here in the next day or two. I absolutely agree, 10 mythril is very, very noticeable, and I remember I logged in immediately after reading Red Fel's post that the rewards had arrived, and there was no such items in my gift box.

Grats on the Tiger Claw pull ^^ I actually got a 5* from a 1-pull as well, but as usual it wasn't anything useful(well, it's a stat stick for a realm I don't have, so I guess it is useful in that sense), some IX dagger or sword, totally forgot the name of it, but it looks like it's encased in diamonds or something. Lol, just looked it up, and it in fact is called "Diamond Sword", hehe. Since I have the policy of pulling again after a 5* pops up, I did another 1 pull and got some chakram for the VI realm, "Moonring" 4*. Shame I don't have another copy of it, could have been useful to have a 4*+ ranged item for a realm that's NOT V, lol.

[Slayn82]

Oh yeah...remember how I said Sabin wasn't really a great Monk, and that his saving grace was that his SSB was pretty awesome? Apparently, the RNGods found that comment hilarious, because I got the Tiger Fangs on a 1-pull. Suddenly, that Tentacles ++ fight looks like a piece of cake, considering I got Edgar's Drill...and Locke's first thrown weapon, meaning Mirage Dive.
Congrats on the pull, T.G. Oskar, it's an awesome relic in my opinion. Just keep your eyes on the Figabros, they always had a thing for Terra. Maduin's horn probably forced them to step up their game to spend some more time with her.

I wish my team Celes attracts this amount of effort from Locke and Setzer someday. Weird that the two roguish types with dead girlfriends went after her. For now, she got the company of two other Generals in Beatrix and Basch.
----

And I'm gonna take a moment to say it: I enjoy very much this thread and all its members, be team posting, theoricrafting, reminiscing about older games, after action reports, stories and everything else.

Can't wait for BSB fest to roll and see what you guys pull after all this time hoarding Mythril. Always the finest luck for all of you folks.

[danzibr]

On vacation. No wifi, weak cellular, tried to load the new event, now game won't open. Can't play the game until tomorrow night. Few hundred lost stam.

[Red Fel]

So, to rest, I decided to go on the FFVI event, which I pretty much steamrolled with Setzer (and the last bit with Setzer and Kefka at levels 23 and 18, respectively). Not too shabby - next one is the "must equip and use Kick" Cid's Mission, which...shouldn't be so hard. I mean, Sabin is at a pretty high level.

It isn't too hard at all. In fact, if you use Sabin with Kick and Punishing Palm, and Cyan with Fire Blossom (and Yukikaze, if you like, because Blind is useful), a lot of those missions become fairly trivial. There are a lot of group battles, which means AoEs are helpful. There are a lot of Fire-vulnerable enemies. Punishing Palm ensures that Kick, which is already strong, deals plenty of damage.


Oh yeah...remember how I said Sabin wasn't really a great Monk, and that his saving grace was that his SSB was pretty awesome? Apparently, the RNGods found that comment hilarious, because I got the Tiger Fangs on a 1-pull. Suddenly, that Tentacles ++ fight looks like a piece of cake, considering I got Edgar's Drill...and Locke's first thrown weapon, meaning Mirage Dive.

Grats on the pull!

And yeah, Tentacles are a piece of cake, even without SBs. My party:
Edgar: Banishing Strike, Blind Shell, Ronso Pride RM.
Sabin: Punishing Palm, Kick, Fist of Dawn RM.
Terra: Firaja, Blizzaja, Blood of Espers RM.
Relm: Curaja, Protectga, whatever that WHM dualcast RM is.
RW: Ramza (Shout).
Total breeze. Terra's -ja spells cut off huge chunks of health. Sabin's PP-powered Kicks dealt massive AoE damage. Edgar was present. Shout offset the Tentacles' Slow ability. The fight was over so fast I didn't even have time to use SBs. I suppose I could have brought Dr. Mog's Teachings or Mako Might and opened up with a can of SB fury, but I didn't really care to, and I didn't lose a single medal. So, yeah. Tentacles are easy with a full-synergy VI party.

Next stop, Storm Dragon. ****.

[Hunter Noventa]

Spent a pile of eggs to break Edgar, Sabin and Cyan (Might as well bring someone with synergy for the Fire Blossom mission) and then auto-battled my way through most of the event. I really really really like Pulse Kindness and Black Mage's Awakening for that.

[danzibr]

I think I'm going to give away my account. Any takers? If anyone wants details, I'll give them.

[Forbiddenwar]

Looking at character ranks and there must be a typo. Or does Cyan and Gau have over 300 attack at level 80?

[tyckspoon]

Looking at character ranks and there must be a typo. Or does Cyan and Gau have over 300 attack at level 80?

Typo. Sephiroth's lvl 80 attack is 186, and having the highest attack is basically the reason he exists.

[Hunter Noventa]

Typo. Sephiroth's lvl 80 attack is 186, and having the highest attack is basically the reason he exists.

The sad thing is never use Sephiroth, but I have two of his decent Soul breaks (Nibelheim Nightmare and Shadowflare). The only other person I have two SBs for is Cloud, but only one of them is even useful. (Braver and Blade Beam)

[Jurai]

I have exactly one Soul Break for every character I have Soul Breaks for. It's kind of hilarious.

[Forbiddenwar]

I got a katana really early ( my first pull I think) so Sephiroth was essential in my early game, especially when I ran out of abilities. But I don't use him much anymore.

[Hunter Noventa]

I have exactly one Soul Break for every character I have Soul Breaks for. It's kind of hilarious.

Heh. I still don't have a good native Wall. I've got a couple variations of Medica (Dreamstage, Hymn of the Faith), Boostga/Hastega in the form of Shout, but no proper Wall.

[Jurai]

Heh. I still don't have a good native Wall. I've got a couple variations of Medica (Dreamstage, Hymn of the Faith), Boostga/Hastega in the form of Shout, but no proper Wall.

I have Captain's Command, Divine Guardian, and Sync for Hastega, the shared SB Holiday Mittens Boostga, and Sync for a Medica, but no wall.

[spectralphoenix]

Well, gave Chaos Bahamut a try and went splat. Would have been nice if Dr. Mog had mentioned that Umbral Vise can't be drawtaliated and CB Hastes himself. Not sure if I'll do this one - I don't want to burn a bunch of Stamina or mithril on this guy.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Well, gave Chaos Bahamut a try and went splat. Would have been nice if Dr. Mog had mentioned that Umbral Vise can't be drawtaliated and CB Hastes himself. Not sure if I'll do this one - I don't want to burn a bunch of Stamina or mithril on this guy.Yeah, that's definitely one of those things that highlights how awful it would be to play the game without all the stuff that gets datamined and posted to reddit.

Just wrapped up the Figabros+++; kind of a weird event, pacing wise. Two boss rushes is odd on its own. The first is a total anti-climax since Kefka cannot deal with Carbuncle at all. But then the actual boss rush has Dulhallan - whose strongest attack always targets your lowest HP character, the jerk - and Deathgaze - who isn't quite Garuda but still starts every fight with a 33% chance to make you S/L. Then the weirdness of running a limited party in the ++, culminating in a walkover of a +++ fight. Though I guess some of the speedbumps may have been due to me having kinda bad FF6 synergy outside of a pair of oath veils. (Which, to be clear, are amazing. Drew those in an 11-pull during the Relm event, and they've basically been fixtures on my black & white mages regardless of realm.) Might need to target Celes's sword in BSB fest.

The 4-man Cid Mission on the ++ is definitely the trickiest bit. I ended up running Celes to cover weaknesses, Terra to sling Ruingas, and the bros to phone Agrias for a Hallowed Bolt RW for damage+mitigation. Took a few tries for the stars to align, but Sabin and Edgar only being level 25 meant they were basically dead weight; I don't think Terra or Celes (both ~level 50) could've carried a team on their own if I had brought Relm along.

[Red Fel]

I think I'm going to give away my account. Any takers? If anyone wants details, I'll give them.

Wossamatter, chief? Feeling burned out?

[danzibr]

Wossamatter, chief? Feeling burned out?
Eh, I wouldn't say that. Got burnt out twice on this game, plowed through.

This always happens with me and these endless-type games. Like WoW, RO, DragonVale, whatever. Rush to the end, do some end-of-game stuff, lose interest. I find myself playing out of obligation rather than enjoyment.

[tyckspoon]

The 4-man Cid Mission on the ++ is definitely the trickiest bit. I ended up running Celes to cover weaknesses, Terra to sling Ruingas, and the bros to phone Agrias for a Hallowed Bolt RW for damage+mitigation. Took a few tries for the stars to align, but Sabin and Edgar only being level 25 meant they were basically dead weight; I don't think Terra or Celes (both ~level 50) could've carried a team on their own if I had brought Relm along.
I was going to say.. I found it a very easy fight, but I've got the Figabros at 65 and took along Terra and Celes at 70+ for muscle. Terra throwing summons, Celes with Ruinga, Edgar and Sabin just kinda there. Probably could have done it with just Terra and Celes except for probably getting taken out by having the damage too concentrated.

[T.G. Oskar]

Hmm...apparently it's a stellar pull? It's fun and hits hard, that I can say. Easily more than Terra's Magitek Missile.


I actually got a 5* from a 1-pull as well, but as usual it wasn't anything useful(well, it's a stat stick for a realm I don't have, so I guess it is useful in that sense), some IX dagger or sword, totally forgot the name of it, but it looks like it's encased in diamonds or something. Lol, just looked it up, and it in fact is called "Diamond Sword", hehe. Since I have the policy of pulling again after a 5* pops up, I did another 1 pull and got some chakram for the VI realm, "Moonring" 4*. Shame I don't have another copy of it, could have been useful to have a 4*+ ranged item for a realm that's NOT V, lol.

Hey, think of the following - you have a FFIX weapon. I don't. Not ONE weapon. Lots of armor, yes, but not ONE weapon (at least not a natural 5*).


Just keep your eyes on the Figabros, they always had a thing for Terra. Maduin's horn probably forced them to step up their game to spend some more time with her.

I wish my team Celes attracts this amount of effort from Locke and Setzer someday. Weird that the two roguish types with dead girlfriends went after her. For now, she got the company of two other Generals in Beatrix and Basch.

I'm sure Gil and Ramza will keep them in check. I still have fits of rage over a specific site that merely insinuated a love relationship between Terra and Sabin. That said, the drawings were pretty good...both the Sabin solo ones and, OBVIOUSLY, the solo Terra ones. More than obviously, of course.

Don't worry, tho - you'll get at least one for each. I got a lot of FFVI relics right now: Terra's SSB, Edgar's SB, Locke's SB, now Sabin's SB, plus the Assassin's Dagger and the 7* Crystal Mail. This officially makes it the realm with the most relics, right in between V and X. Guess the game realizes this is the game I refuse to rate because it would be massively unfair to place at anything lower than 1st place (yeah, 1st place) by acknowledging its flaws. Hence, by not being rated at all, but mentioning just how much I enjoy it, I'm not really forced to choose which is better.


It isn't too hard at all. In fact, if you use Sabin with Kick and Punishing Palm, and Cyan with Fire Blossom (and Yukikaze, if you like, because Blind is useful), a lot of those missions become fairly trivial. There are a lot of group battles, which means AoEs are helpful. There are a lot of Fire-vulnerable enemies. Punishing Palm ensures that Kick, which is already strong, deals plenty of damage.

Well, Punishing Palm and Kick are already a good combo. If you have Shout, Pressure Point is also pretty good, especially against enemies with incredibly high Defense. Fire Blossom is only good on specific occasions; Darkmoon has roughly the same damage modifier and has a rider effect, so more often than not I'd default to Darkmoon over Fire Blossom.

I wonder if they'll make a 6* Samurai ability that combines all three into one 3-hit AoE attack that causes Blind, Silence and Stop? Start with Yukikaze, follow up with Darkmoon, end up with Fire Blossom. Maybe call it "Beautiful Three"? And it'll appear whenever Squeenix decides to port Romancing SaGa 3 over here.

EDIT: Got to the Tentacles with a 4-man party. As expected, Edgar and Sabin had to be there, obviously Terra was as well (lv. 80, yo!) and Celes was also there because of hitting elemental weaknesses and stuff. It was quite challenging, if only because Bio is so annoying, but eventually did it by having Edgar tank (physically and magically), Terra mostly doing AoE damage with Summons (R2 Ifrit and R3 Shiva), Celes pinpointing her elemental damage (beating the Ice-weak Tentacle first), and Sabin focusing on Kicking everything into oblivion. Could have been a bit more efficient, but it worked. Got the Figaro Bros. Memory Crystals II; Edgar is not yet level 65, but it's close enough to have him cap and LB again soon enough. Sabin...still needs some time. I should make a storytime about Sabin and steroids performance-enhancing Omelettes...

Funny enough, Sabin's Phantom Rush, at level 50, was doing almost as much damage per hit than Terra's Magitek Missile, at level 80 (though not by much). Even if it's 10 hits, it's most likely that Sabin will outdamage Terra's SSB at level 80? Then again, it might be because Attack is easier to raise, even if Sabin's ATK is naturally lower than Terra's MAG (around 287 ATK vs. 451 MAG, IIRC)

[Slayn82]

I went for the Cid Mission with Edgar geared for physical tanking (Draw Fire4/Banishing Blade4/Knight's Charge), Sabin for AOE Attacking (Kick4/Exploding Fist1/Pugilist Lore), Terra for magic (Firaja4/Shiva4/Attunement II), and Mog for mitigation (Multibreak2/Curaja4/Dr. Mog) with a shared Shellga Bracer. RW was Divine Guardian. First turn Terra used the RW, Mog dance, Edgar drew fire, Sabin used Explosive Fist in an upper tentacle. Then Sabin and Terra used their AOEs, while Edgar alternate attacks between the upper tentacles, and used the Crossbow once SB was ready. Killed all except the tentacle that absorb Ice on 3 rounds, who took 2 extra rounds to finish.

Against the Storm Dragon, used a mage party from U+ Cagnazzo, switching Yuffie for Mog, and letting Edea, Rydia and Rinoa nuke him while Minwu watched.

About SSB damage, it's always easier to fit an Armor Break/down somewhere than to fit a Mental. And also it's easier to get cumulative attack buffs than Magic Buffs. That +30% atk from Exploding Fist on top of the Realm Synergy probably made Sabin's damage get that big.

But for instance, outside of X realms, without a RS, I'm happy if Lulu's SSB deal 16K damage on a enemy without Weakness to Ice under FB. A Celes, Beatrix or Zell SSB can reach close to 20K without RS, using Shout + Armor Breakdown+ FB - meaning, if Ramza is around.

Edit: this doesn't means in any way Mage is always worse than physical meta. Give a RS weapon to my Beatrix, and she will plateau somewhere in the 25 - 28 K range because of atk soft cap. Give a RS mage weapon to my Lulu, and an Ice vulnerable enemy, and she can reach/break the 40K damage range. Bring a +20% Mag (Edea), Mental Breakdown and a Wall Breaker (Wakka/Irvine), and she will Moogle March Massacre. Niche, but super effective.

[Red Fel]

Well, Punishing Palm and Kick are already a good combo. If you have Shout, Pressure Point is also pretty good, especially against enemies with incredibly high Defense. Fire Blossom is only good on specific occasions; Darkmoon has roughly the same damage modifier and has a rider effect, so more often than not I'd default to Darkmoon over Fire Blossom.

I'm not disagreeing with respect to Darkmoon vs. Fire Blossom. But (1) Fire Blossom is required for one of the missions, so I stuck it on there and specifically so that I didn't have to think about it, (2) there are a lot of Fire-vulnerable enemies, as mentioned, and (3) I had already honed Fire Blossom a bit during my attempts at that VII Ultimate that ate everyone. I think it was the Bahamut with the minions? I've blotted out the trauma, I think. Pretty sure my Darkmoon is still R1.

So, that.


Funny enough, Sabin's Phantom Rush, at level 50, was doing almost as much damage per hit than Terra's Magitek Missile, at level 80 (though not by much). Even if it's 10 hits, it's most likely that Sabin will outdamage Terra's SSB at level 80? Then again, it might be because Attack is easier to raise, even if Sabin's ATK is naturally lower than Terra's MAG (around 287 ATK vs. 451 MAG, IIRC)


About SSB damage, it's always easier to fit an Armor Break/down somewhere than to fit a Mental. And also it's easier to get cumulative attack buffs than Magic Buffs. That +30% atk from Exploding Fist on top of the Realm Synergy probably made Sabin's damage get that big.

*SNIP*

Edit: this doesn't means in any way Mage is always worse than physical meta. Give a RS weapon to my Beatrix, and she will plateau somewhere in the 25 - 28 K range because of atk soft cap. Give a RS mage weapon to my Lulu, and an Ice vulnerable enemy, and she can reach/break the 40K damage range. Bring a +20% Mag (Edea), Mental Breakdown and a Wall Breaker (Wakka/Irvine), and she will Moogle March Massacre. Niche, but super effective.

I do think that DeNA is shifting away from mage meta and towards physical (SSB) meta. Lifesiphon is a Combat skill. A lot of the new, strong SSBs with rider effects are multi-hit physicals. As mentioned, it's always easier to squeeze in Armor Break than Mental Break. And while Attack scales more quickly (see also Shout meta), Resistance is really skyrocketing on bosses (unless they're specifically designed to be fought by a mage party). All of that combines to create a scene where physical combat is dramatically increasing in value.

All that I'm saying is that I have Black Materia, Last Resort, and Magitek Missile. Only the first is physical, and I've listed them in descending order of damage output. Black Materia is consistently brutal, doing upwards of 24-28k on the low end (and more after boosts) plus Sap damage, Last Resort is at least respectable, doing upwards of 20-28k on the low end (unless the enemy has Holy resist), barring particularly Resistant bosses, and Magitek Missile tends to barely exceed 21k, maybe 24k with synergy. Without boosts, Black Materia and Last Resort are close; with boosts, Black Materia tends to outshine Last Resort consistently.

[Hunter Noventa]

I do think that DeNA is shifting away from mage meta and towards physical (SSB) meta. Lifesiphon is a Combat skill. A lot of the new, strong SSBs with rider effects are multi-hit physicals. As mentioned, it's always easier to squeeze in Armor Break than Mental Break. And while Attack scales more quickly (see also Shout meta), Resistance is really skyrocketing on bosses (unless they're specifically designed to be fought by a mage party). All of that combines to create a scene where physical combat is dramatically increasing in value.

And then when everyone is settled into a physical meta, they'll start whirling it around again I bet.

[spectralphoenix]

If they're going to require specific characters for the tough fights, it would be nice if they were characters who could contribute to the medal requirements. That said, I was able to beat it without too much trouble by putting Hand of the Victor (Celes' blizzard strike RM) on Edgar so he could do a little ice damage, which freed up a slot on Terra for Ruinga. Then Sabin ran pp + kick and I brought Relm for healing and mitigation.

[Greg_S]

And then when everyone is settled into a physical meta, they'll start whirling it around again I bet.

Mages are getting a little better. Dark bargain and dark zone was a big step forward for darkness users, and the self-boost of dark bargain helps add some viability to mages in a shout team, even against neutral foes. The chain-ga 5* spells are coming down the road, and mages will get en-element sbs to work with to boost those. (Physical users get en-element and imperils too, so it's not like physical gets any worse)
One of the things holding mixed teams back right now is the lack of ATK/MAG boosts. Everything is single-type only, so as boosting becomes more important with the stupidly high defenses of ultimates, it rewards teams that load up on a single damage type. Celes' BSB gives an ATK/MAG boost, which will help too.

[danzibr]

What's this chain-ga 5* spell business?

Also, since nobody wants my account, might as well plow on >.>

[Greg_S]

What's this chain-ga 5* spell business?

Also, since nobody wants my account, might as well plow on >.>

In a few months, we'll be getting new 5* BLM: Chain Blizzaga first, then Chain Thundaga, Firaga, and Chain Stonega for Earth. These hit twice for 5.9x damage per hit. For reference, Maduin/Valefor are 2x/4.9 non-elemental damage, and the total 11.8x damage is a bit lower than Flare's 1/12x, but in practice, the damage should be higher with two hits.

In looking at the PDF, I see that the latest JP FF4 event introduced Titan, a new 5* summon that's slightly weaker than Bahamut, but is earth elemental, so both Rydia and Rinoa have SB options to boost its damage.

[Red Fel]

And then when everyone is settled into a physical meta, they'll start whirling it around again I bet.


Mages are getting a little better. Dark bargain and dark zone was a big step forward for darkness users, and the self-boost of dark bargain helps add some viability to mages in a shout team, even against neutral foes. The chain-ga 5* spells are coming down the road, and mages will get en-element sbs to work with to boost those. (Physical users get en-element and imperils too, so it's not like physical gets any worse)
One of the things holding mixed teams back right now is the lack of ATK/MAG boosts. Everything is single-type only, so as boosting becomes more important with the stupidly high defenses of ultimates, it rewards teams that load up on a single damage type. Celes' BSB gives an ATK/MAG boost, which will help too.

This.


What's this chain-ga 5* spell business?

JP is seeing the debuts of new multi-hit single-target spells, such as Chain Blizzaga (2-hit 5.9x Ice BLM damage).


Also, since nobody wants my account, might as well plow on >.>

Hey, don't push yourself too hard. If it starts to feel like a job, it's time to take a break. Take a day or two, take a week if you want. Quit if you really have to, but if you enjoy the game, just take some time off and come back refreshed.

[danzibr]

In a few months, we'll be getting new 5* BLM: Chain Blizzaga first, then Chain Thundaga, Firaga, and Chain Stonega for Earth. These hit twice for 5.9x damage per hit. For reference, Maduin/Valefor are 2x/4.9 non-elemental damage, and the total 11.8x damage is a bit lower than Flare's 1/12x, but in practice, the damage should be higher with two hits.

In looking at the PDF, I see that the latest JP FF4 event introduced Titan, a new 5* summon that's slightly weaker than Bahamut, but is earth elemental, so both Rydia and Rinoa have SB options to boost its damage.
Whoa. 'Das nice. Especially that Chain Stonega. Really making Advantaliate obsolete.

Hey, don't push yourself too hard. If it starts to feel like a job, it's time to take a break. Take a day or two, take a week if you want. Quit if you really have to, but if you enjoy the game, just take some time off and come back refreshed.
True, true. Thanks Red Fel.

For me, if I have it, I'll play it. It really bothers me to lose even a single stamina. Losing a daily login bonus... now that's killer. In general, I'm an all or nothing kind of guy. For now, all.

[Chen]

Whoa. 'Das nice. Especially that Chain Stonega. Really making Advantaliate obsolete.

Advantaliate is for beginners who lack both gear and hones. These are all 5* abilities so getting even one honed decently is tough work.

[danzibr]

Advantaliate is for beginners who lack both gear and hones. These are all 5* abilities so getting even one honed decently is tough work.
While I agree that Advantaliate is for beginners who lack both gear and hones, I think it extends a bit beyond that, especially when Drawtaliate reflects several of a boss's attacks. If you have a character with high attack and you're spending 2 ability slots on Draw Fire and Retaliate, it's not that much more investment to go full Advandrawtaliate, and it even gives your healer things to do when there's nobody to heal. In particular, I have DG, and find the Heavy Regen + Haste leads to Garnet doing nothing quite often on certain bosses if I don't go Advan(draw)taliate.

[Slayn82]

Damn. I used a Mythril to fill the SB of my team against Caius. Got + ability uses. Went hard after him, spamming SBs and unleashing everything at him. Managed to leave him with less than 1K hp, just an Yellow Pixel in the bar, got a Giga Graviton to my face, team got revived by Aerith's Pulse of life, bet everything on an all out attack, right before Rikku would finish him with readied Thunderstruck punch, got another Giga Graviton to the face, and lost that run, and all the SB I had.

Well played Caius, well played.

EDIT: It took another couple Mythril (3 total), with two Defense bonus, but Caius is down for the count. Mastery achieved, losing two medals to damage.

[Merlin the Tuna]

While I agree that Advantaliate is for beginners who lack both gear and hones, I think it extends a bit beyond that, especially when Drawtaliate reflects several of a boss's attacks.For sure. Being able to turn 50% or more of a boss's attacks into "stop hitting yourself" is a handy trick regardless of how good your loadout is.

I will say that I'm strongly preferring Shout to Advance though. You barely lose any damage per-hit thanks to the soft cap, and the hastega more than makes up for it by sheer attack volume. You also don't need to worry about NAT attacks or about who summons the RW.

[Chen]

While I agree that Advantaliate is for beginners who lack both gear and hones, I think it extends a bit beyond that, especially when Drawtaliate reflects several of a boss's attacks. If you have a character with high attack and you're spending 2 ability slots on Draw Fire and Retaliate, it's not that much more investment to go full Advandrawtaliate, and it even gives your healer things to do when there's nobody to heal. In particular, I have DG, and find the Heavy Regen + Haste leads to Garnet doing nothing quite often on certain bosses if I don't go Advan(draw)taliate.

I agree draw fire + retaliate is different in that it can fit into almost any loadout. As for the healer's actions I find just using healing (or refreshing something like shellga or the like) is more important so that SB gauge actually builds and you're able to refresh it. Granted this only is the case when your healer is using some sort of support SB like Divine Grace (or Sentinel Grimoire in my case).

[danzibr]

For sure. Being able to turn 50% or more of a boss's attacks into "stop hitting yourself" is a handy trick regardless of how good your loadout is.

I will say that I'm strongly preferring Shout to Advance though. You barely lose any damage per-hit thanks to the soft cap, and the hastega more than makes up for it by sheer attack volume. You also don't need to worry about NAT attacks or about who summons the RW.
I prefer Shout, too. Not only does it come online immediately, it's more satisfying.

I agree draw fire + retaliate is different in that it can fit into almost any loadout. As for the healer's actions I find just using healing (or refreshing something like shellga or the like) is more important so that SB gauge actually builds and you're able to refresh it. Granted this only is the case when your healer is using some sort of support SB like Divine Grace (or Sentinel Grimoire in my case).
Yeah. A big issue I have when running Advantaliate is not having a SB gauge for Wall in time. Which is why I've been blowing a mythril on the U+'s.

[T.G. Oskar]

This is almost a record, but since FFVI is most definitely my strongest realm, I managed to get everything done before the Ultimate battles on three days (could have done it yesterday but I wanted to rest, plus the Tentacles sucked too much Stamina from me). Storm Dragon was out, and with a lv. 35 Relm as a healer. Mostly because of Ramza. And Edgar. (And Terra with Thundaga/-ja and Blood of Espers.) Wasn't really a challenge AT ALL, even for poor Relm who was pretty under-leveled (she still did quite well, tho).

So, while the Ultimates arrive, I'll focus on doing Classics and Elites, and spend 60 Stamina on beating Chaos Bahamut before...tomorrow, I think? Should get close to 200 Mythril for the BSBFest, after spending 25 on the Nightmare Summon Draw for whatever goodies I get (most likely Tyro's SSB relic, because that's the only book I'm missing, besides Stormlance Grimoire?), even with 5 Mythril spent on all banners after that. Plus, get more Stamina, of course.

[danzibr]

This is almost a record, but since FFVI is most definitely my strongest realm, I managed to get everything done before the Ultimate battles on three days (could have done it yesterday but I wanted to rest, plus the Tentacles sucked too much Stamina from me). Storm Dragon was out, and with a lv. 35 Relm as a healer. Mostly because of Ramza. And Edgar. (And Terra with Thundaga/-ja and Blood of Espers.) Wasn't really a challenge AT ALL, even for poor Relm who was pretty under-leveled (she still did quite well, tho).

So, while the Ultimates arrive, I'll focus on doing Classics and Elites, and spend 60 Stamina on beating Chaos Bahamut before...tomorrow, I think? Should get close to 200 Mythril for the BSBFest, after spending 25 on the Nightmare Summon Draw for whatever goodies I get (most likely Tyro's SSB relic, because that's the only book I'm missing, besides Stormlance Grimoire?), even with 5 Mythril spent on all banners after that. Plus, get more Stamina, of course.
Nice progress!

I was looking through my RS stuff, and VI is high on the list for me. I paid $0.99, got another Assassin Dagger, giving me a nice 5+* dagger for VI. Not super high on attack, but very solid.

Also, I wonder if it's worthwhile to hone up Ifrit. Only have him at r1. With Summon Nightmare/Abyss coming up, might as well, eh?

[Merlin the Tuna]

Did some poking around on upcoming events & Cid missions on a lark. A few heads up for leveling, possibly honing:

For the upcoming Braska event, one mission requires a solo clear with Jecht. So the Punishing Palm + Kick combo from this event will likely be handy, as will Irvine/Seph's RM1. Another requires only Auron, Jecht, and Braska, so similar logic applies. Finally, the U+ mission requires a full team of FFX characters, including Braska, Tidus, and Yuna. Two things. First, this is another reason to prep Yuna (and eventually Braska) for Summon Nightmare. Second, Tidus and Yuna don't seem to be included in the event as hero records. So even if you've got eggs up the wazoo for them, make sure you've got the hero souls to actually acquire them if you haven't already. Missing those two is probably a sign that you're not ready for a U+ anyway, but I figure it's worth highlighting as a particularly lame way to miss out.

If JP is to be believed, we've got a lull until the Yang/Rydia event due around mid-July. The U calls for an all FF4 team including Kain, and the U+ calls for all FF4 including Rydia.

[SuperPanda]

oof. Those Cid missions might get missed.

Jecht is 50 and until now I had no intention to level him beyond that (well, beyond 65 for his eventual LB2, but he was on the low end of my priority list). At least I have Wakka's first ball for a ranged weapon for him.

I hadn't planned to level Braska at all for some time.

I've no SBs or RS items for Yuna, I've never had a reason to use her instead of Garnet (Divine Guardian).

The FF4 ones - well, Kain is in his mid 50s already and Rydia is double broken and working to max having access to my second strongest mage item (ice whip +). That one won't be as bad.

[Starwulf]

When do we get our first MC3? Hasn't Japan already gotten their first few by now?

I'll admit, I have little to zero motivation to bother doing the cids missions that involve U/U+'s with an all realm party. Unlike many of you, I've not bothered to make all realm teams, it just doesn't interest me that much(I mean, I am leveling a multitude of characters, but only in X could I actually yield a full realm team. VII is somewhat close I think? And that's about it), and not even the idea of free major orbs is enough to make me want to expend the effort to level 5 people from every realm to 70+, lol.

[T.G. Oskar]

-- Royal Academy, Villain's Locker Room --

Kuja: ...and the power I can muster? Absolute! I don't care if it takes me to the brink of death, if I can take them to absolute death first. Feels like going on Trance...EX-quisite...
Kefka: Who'd have thought that slitting your wrists and letting yourself bleed out would give you so much power...? Well, it's as cheap as all nether.
Edea: The power inherent in one's blood is indeed more than you could muster. It's expected.
Kefka: Not as expected as how hot you are. And you say you're over fifty?
Kuja: Not to mention your style. Girl, I envy you.
Seifer: Make one gesture to harm the lady, and I'll eviscerate you.
Edea: Seify, it's good that you're still such a darlin' to me, but I can handle myself.
Golbez: At least you're a dutiful son, child.
Seifer: Whaddya mean with "son"? She's the Sorceress I swore to protect!
Kefka: Ah, yeah, that convenient amnesia you "heroes" often manifest, except yours is because of those Guardian Force thingies. Now, if I were on that orphanage, and I noticed my caretaker would end up being that hot, I'd gladly lobotomize my brain to forget it.
Edea: And what makes you think I wasn't your caretaker? If I recall correctly, you're ALSO an orphan.
Kefka: More like an "antisavior", toots.
Seifer: Language!
Kefka: Aww, so protective of his mama! I wonder his motivations... Hint: it's the mama's hotness. Wink. Wink.
Kuja: Your comedy grows lame, harlequin.
Kefka: And whaddya know about art, ya cr-
Mama's Boy: AAAAAARGH!!!
Kefka: And now why the bishie's screaming?
Exdeath: THE VOID HAS CONSUMED HIS MIND AT LAST!
Edea: Or perhaps he still has Mommy issues and our conversation is gnawing at his mind?
Kefka: Hey, Mama's Boy! You wanna have issues with a mother, why not make it THIS cheesecake!? Not the hideous wretch of your--
Mama's Boy: It is...as if thousands of fangirls screamed in glee...and were suddenly silenced.
Kefka: Oh, bother - now he's soliloquizing as a well-known, well-dead, old hermit. ...And heroes and commons always wonder why we bullies love our job - savoring the psychological breakdown--
Exdeath: NOT ALL OF US ARE BULLIES.
Kefka: Yep, some are just marionettes. Right, Golbez?
Golbez: Do note that Mrs. Edea was also manipulated.
Kefka: And I'd have loved to hold those strings...mmm...
Golbez: You did notice I said Mrs. Edea...? As in, she's happily married?
Kefka: ...Wait, you're married? Really? Your SO better be--
Golbez: The headmaster of the school where Squall and the SeeD kids study. You know, the one that swore to kill all Sorceresses.
Seifer: Not Mistress Edea. I will save her from Headmaster Cid and--
Kefka: Wait, you mean the tinker down on the labs? That Cid?
Kuja: No, you bozo. Nor master engineer Cid, nor the genetic engineer that created the process that made your brain rot. He has a very teacherly look, with a big and heroic chin... An interesting air of elegance around him. Dig his academic look.
Edea: *swoons* He has his charms.
Kefka: You...mean...that...you're married to a total schmuck? How come!?
Mama's Boy: Whomever the Sorceress is married to has no relevance; their days are numbered, as their marriage is on thin ice. Pay more attention to the signals.
Golbez: Pay him no attention. He rants as such time and time again. And certainly don't pay attention to Kefka's words - we are as powerful as he, but not as insane.
Kuja: Or have such garish taste in clothing. Not all of us have to dress on gaunt clothes, tight leather or...by Chaos, full-body armor.
Golbez: It's practical.
Exdeath: GOOD FOR HIDING YOUR TRUE IDENTITY.
Kefka: Shaddap, Groot.
Exdeath: I AM EXDEATH!
Kefka: See? Absolutely no difference.
Mama's Boy: My challengers are near. The murderer of Etro. The lover of goddess Minerva.
Kuja: Oh, those hot-looking young boys? Points for balancing beauty and ruggedness, that's for sure.
Mama's Boy: ...and the heroes are fighting their envoys. The tainted Bahamut...he has been vanquished.
Golbez: Fancying yourself a seer now, Se--
Kefka: Haven't I been clear!? As I stand here, he won't be called anything else but Mama's Boy! And the buffoon over here can be called Mama's Boy: the Sequel.
Seifer: Watch your tongue, clown!
Edea: Or I will chastise him for you, Seify.
All except Seifer and Mama's Boy: BWAHAHAHAAH!!!!
Kefka: Oh, that's beautiful!
Kuja: Excellent execution, madam Edea.
Seifer: Stop cramping my style!
Edea: Seify, can't you take a little joke? These fellows are inoffensive, after all. What are they going to do, without their source of power? Except Exdeath: the power of Void is pointless...
Exdeath: POWERLESS TO WHAT!?
Mama's Boy: Time.
Edea: Klearly spoken, SOLDIER.
Seifer: Madam, your accent...
Golbez: More like another passenger is handling the wheel. Snap out of it, mistress Edea!
Edea: Ugh...the sequels...are getting worse.
Kefka: You tell ME! I was hoping XV would be actually good, but they couldn't get Ito to direct it.
Golbez: Too soon, clown; too soon.
Kuja: And the fashion choices? Atrocious! But I blame that lady...what's her name...? Claudia?
Mama's Boy: Claire. And for the last time, she is not my most hated nemesis. She's the Godslayer.
Kuja: Well, I blame her for selling out...well, not really, because she has pretty good taste, but not enough taste for battle attire. At least she dresses better than her sister.
Exdeath: AND YET YOU CLAIM FULL PLATE IS A BAD ATTIRE CHOICE...YOU ARE DELUSIONAL.
Mama's Boy: The Witch of Time...she soon comes, yes, and on her own form. More and more...to form a deadly army of our own. With that, we shall vanquish the heroes once and for all. Pay heed to the signals...our time to shine will soon come!

-- Valhalla, ???? AF --

Tyro: Well, this was a truly Lucky Draw! Ever since I got ahold of a 3rd Edition, revised, mint condition copy of the Sentinel's Grimoire, I've been invited a lot more to these very difficult battles.
Gilgamesh: Well, you're proving to be an essential component to the expedition efforts as a whole. See; sometimes we joke characters end up the most beloved.
Selphie: You're right!
Gilgamesh: ...And sometimes they just tag along. Oh hey, Selphie, didn't notice you were here... What made you come? I thought Queen Rosa was our healer...
Selphie: Um...well, for some reason, she gave me her spot. Said that my fortune at the battle against that flying worm thingie on the Nightmare dungeons earned me that spot. Or something. I just want to do another Ultimate Selphie Selfie and post it to Mogster.
Ramza: I will never understand thine mechanical contraptions. I leave that to Mustadio.
Balthier: You mean my ancestor, the machinist? It's not difficult for the Leading Man to understand those communication devices. They are very friendly towards luddites.
Ramza: Am I to take that as an insult?
Balthier: No, as the term for someone inexperienced with machinery.
Selphie: Balthier, accept it; that sounded like an insult.
????: Who dares enter this dead domain? I don't see the Knight of Etro on your midst.
Ramza: Knight of Etro? Ye speak of who, sire?
Gilgamesh: You know - the strawberry blonde chick that always hangs with Cloud. The one that looks like his sister.
Ramza: Ye mean the waif with the sad look, despite being cheery?
Selphie: You mean Serah? She's pretty nice once you get to know her.
Gilgamesh: No, her sister.
Selphie: Oh, Claire! Yeah...she has a stick up her...bum that's larger than lord Cecil's one!
????: You seem to be acquainted with her. That does not matter. Leave, or face the consequences.
Balthier: I believe YOU are the one that should reconsider. We have faced many challenges. Yours has no weight.
Gilgamesh: Says the one that holds a gun from this realm.
????: That is the Goddess' Tribute...a weapon crafted during one of the many equinoxes' celebrations, as a gift to Etro, the Goddess of the Dead. And that...is the Witch's Hat.
Selphie: Alright, so you're pretty smart...but can your words hold up to our combined might!?
Gilgamesh: I'm itchin' for a fight!
Ramza: I am ready for anything!
Tyro: I just wanna know why I have to keep fighting guys like you... I mean, you've taken a lot of time from our hands in order to figure out what happened to the Records...
????: The lad has a point. Defeating me is of no consequence. Fade away to your realm, and perhaps you may find the truth behind your calamity.
Selphie: Guys...why does he sound like a nice guy? Is he supposed to be a nice guy?
Gilgamesh: Well, sometimes, those nice guys are actually extremists that can't happen to--
Ramza: What ser Gilgamesh speaks of, is that sometimes, a wolf hides as sheep. Be mindful of what ye see and hear, lass.
Gilgamesh: I was actually saying something along the lines of--
????: Well-intentioned extremists. No sheeps, but rams; a ram is not as docile as a sheep, for it has horns, but its horns serve no dangerous intent. And yet, their nature makes them charge blindly, towards people that may not even challenge them, and thus, they earn a bad image. Have I said that right, traveler of dimensions?
Gilgamesh: ...He's onto me. But yeah, that's the gist of it. How are you unto me...?
????: Does it matter? It seems the majority wishes to fight... Then, I won't disappoint! But first, if you wish to defeat me, Caius Ballad, you must face my servant.
Selphie: Caius? Well, on the list of weird names I've heard, it's not the strangest one.
Gilgamesh: Pretentious, though.
Selphie: Not as "Genesis Rhapsodos".
Gilgamesh: You're kinda right, actually. They do have the same ring to it, tho. Ballad, rhapsody...what's next, "Julius Elegy"?
Caius: Enough! Face the might of Chaos Bahamut!
*Caius summons and fuses with Chaos Bahamut*
Selphie: Oh, so you can also Junction to your Guardian Force? Saw it already; not a cool trick.
Ramza: To me, he is but a Lucavi. One I must defeat.
Balthier: Not exactly the point, sir Ramza, but a foe that must be vanquished nonetheless. Let's start by pilfering the impossible, shall we?
*Balthier uses Steal Power*
Chaos Bahamut: GRAAAAH!!
*Chaos Bahamut uses Haste*
Balthier: Good thing I'm ready for this.
Selphie: Everyone, we must be careful of what this creature brings! Shellga!
*Selphie casts Shellga*
Ramza: I will crush its magic!
*Ramza uses Magic Breakdown*
Tyro: My grimoire won't protect us in time! O warding light, protect us from blade and blow! Protectga!
*Tyro uses Protectga*
Chaos Bahamut: GWOOOOH!!
*Chaos Bahamut uses Umbral Vise on the Keeper*
Tyro: Ow, ow, ow...that smarts!
Gilgamesh: Hey you, ya big flying fascimile of the Dragon God! Why you don't take on THIS for size!
*Gilgamesh Draws Fire to itself*
Balthier: Hmm...I still need some timing. Sir Ramza, would you may?
*Balthier attacks off-tempo*
Ramza: I shall! Your armor, it will be of no need to ye!
*Ramza attacks with Armor Breakdown*
Balthier: And now...this!
*Balthier finishes its Tempo Flurry*
*Chaos Bahamut attacks Gilgamesh with Dragon Claws*
Gilgamesh: Hey, not that fast! Seems your attack didn't made a thing, Balthier.
Balthier: Learn some patience! With time, it will work!
Selphie: Lemme heal you, Tyro! Curaga!
*Selphie uses Curaga*
Tyro: Thanks! Now it's time to use it! "O Mighty Aegis; shield of the Gods, protector of their Champion! I drain thy--"
*Chaos Bahamut uses Inferno*
Everyone but Tyro: YEEEEOWCH!
Tyro: EEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIEHssence from thee to shield us from all harm! Grand Aegis!"
*Tyro uses Sentinel Grimoire*
Tyro: Owie! But I nailed it! Try doing that again, you big wyrm!
Gilgamesh: Full of spunk, ain't it kid? Well...let's see if this dragon likes what he's about to get!
*Gilgamesh gets into Retaliate stance*
Balthier: How about...
*Balthier fires once...*
Balthier: ...this time we slow down things a bit, aye?
*...and again, finishing Tempo Flurry*
*Chaos Bahamut gets slowed*
Bahamut: And they say third time's a charm. I can do it in two.
Selphie: Well, unless I heal you, you won't get a chance! Curaga!
*Selphie casts Curaga on Gilgamesh*
Balthier: I thought you'd heal me?
Selphie: Priorities!
Ramza: I'll have ye down in no time, wyrm! Take this!
*Ramza attacks*
Gilgamesh: Sir Ramza, you might want to use a better weapon. Like a sword.
Ramza: What you talk about, ser Gilgamesh? This knife resonates with the realm. And it provides unusual defensive qualities.
Gilgamesh: Oh, like king Edgar's weird spear contraption? Right.
Ramza: Plus, it has an enchantment that allows me to imbue thee with a protective veil. In case master Tyro runs out of power.
Tyro: Fat chance! By the way...did you guys knew that some debuffs stack?
*Tyro uses Full Break*
Tyro: Now, he should be weaker!
*Chaos Bahamut uses Inferno*
Ramza: Heavens! It burns!
Gilgamesh: Well, it kinda burns, but not that much.
Balthier: Certainly not as much as before.
Tyro: That is because of our accessories! They grant us great resilience against the element of Fire!
Ramza: That much is clear, but why miss Selphie seems unharmed?
Selphie: As if! One of the hairs from my head got singed!
Ramza: Cry foul, when ye are unharm'd?
Selphie: Aw...alright, get a grip on yourself! Curaga!
*Selphie uses Curaga on Ramza*
Ramza: My thanks, milady. Press onward!
Gilgamesh: You know...
*Gilgamesh attacks*
Gilgamesh: Why not do that song?
Ramza: Am I only worthy by the power of my song? How about...my ability to pelt enemies with stones?
Balthier: We all got our worth. You don't see ser Gilgamesh protesting for being the chew-toy of the dragon, now are you?
Tyro: And...I'm here because of my Grimoire.
Balthier: To be honest, the only one that's here for...reasons unknown is Selphie.
Selphie: I got a Medica.
Balthier: And I was proven right and wrong at the same time.
*Chaos Bahamut uses Umbral Vise on Balthier*
Balthier: UNNF! Feisty one, aren't we? I have taken down mightier marks than you!
Gilgamesh: You consider me a Mighty Mark?
Balthier: No, I consider you a buffoon with extraordinary luck.
Gilgamesh: Hey...at least you remember me.
Balthier: Do realize you are not the only traveler between dimensions. Though, to your credit, I only traveled through time once.
Gilgamesh: Hey...this guy seems to be smart enough to--
*Gilgamesh sets into Retaliate stance*
Gilgamesh: --avoid attacking me directly. I wonder why?
Ramza: I shan't allow his magic to grow further! Taste magical drain!
*Ramza attacks CB again with Magic Breakdown*
Tyro: Um...I don't think the beast is going down. Sir Ramza, you really should start to sing...
Balthier: Good observation. Both of you. So...
*Balthier steals power from CB*
Balthier: ...Might as well carry the team onward, am I right?
Selphie: Well, you're not gonna be able to carry the team if you're not fully healed! So, in the end, I get to carry the team, to be honest! Curaga!
*Selphie casts Curaga on Balthier*
*Tyro smacks CB with the book*
Tyro: Man...I wish sometimes I could use some of the incantations in these books to hurt people with words.
Ramza: Mayhaps you'd desire a Monstrous Manual? Or a Bestiary? They seem to work for Orators in my realm...
Tyro: Those aren't Grimoires, sir Ramza. Nowhere near as thick enough. Can't use them as shields.
Ramza: I just provide suggestion, master Tyro.
Gilgamesh: Man, I could kick some dragon-scaled bum, but I can't, because there's no good music screaming from the figurative speakers! Do I have to make the hint clearer!?
*Chaos Bahamut tries to hit Gilgamesh*
Gilgamesh: Ha! Fooled you!
*Gilgamesh counters with an attack*
Gilgamesh: But yeah - start singing already, Ramza!
Ramza: By the Father's will, and people consider me worthy...
Balthier: If I recall correctly, are you not considered a Heretic by the Church of Glabados? How can you still be devout, if you--?
Ramza: There is such a thing as agnosticism, ser Balthier. You could believe in the Occuria, for example, and yet not believe in the established faith of the Occuria.
Balthier: Not even close to the point. We didn't knew they existed.
Ramza: Nor doth the Father, but such are the ways of faith.
Gilgamesh: I'm WAAAAAITIIIIIIING!
Ramza: Confound it! Fine! But I shan't sing...I shall...
*Sound blares out of nowhere*
Ramza: SHOUT! SHOUT! LET IT ALL OUT!
Selphie: Ooo! Nice song! I like it! ...I wish I could sing. Hey, ser Ramza, can I air-bass with you?
*Selphie does air-bass*
Gilgamesh: ...Seems people forget Selphie is a bassist. Hear that, DeNA?
Balthier: You refer to whom, ser Gilgamesh?
Gilgamesh: Just nudge it within the Fourth Wall file, 'k?
*Gilgamesh taunts CB*
*Chaos Bahamut uses Haste*
Balthier: Time to slow up the tempo...
*Balthier uses Tempo Flurry*
Ramza: THESE! ARE THE THINGS! I CAN DO, WITHOUT!
*Selphie headbangs while air-bassing*
Tyro: I feel the protection of the Grimoire is running out! Watch out, guys!
*Chaos Bahamut uses Inferno*
Everyone: OOF!
Selphie: Not so fast! Lights in!
*Selphie uses Trabia's Light*
Everyone: Aaaah, yeah!
Ramza: NOW, COME ON! I'MMA TALKIN' TO YOU! NOW, COME ON!
*Ramza uses Armor Breakdown*
Tyro: "...Grand Aegis!*
*Tyro uses Sentinel's Grimoire*
Gilgamesh: Time to make things easier! Enkiduuuuuu!!!
Enkidu: Brooooo!
Gilgamesh: ENKIDUUUUUUUU!!!
Enkidu: BROOOOOOOOO!!!
Selphie: Enkiduuuuuuu!!!
Enkidu: BROOOOWWWWWHHH!?
*Selphie takes a photo with her smartphone*
Gilgamesh: ENKIDUUUUUU!!!
*Gilgamesh uses Faithful Companion*
Selphie: Yeah! We jammin'! But you're not gonna get through this jam! Shell-gaaaa!!!
*Selphie jam-casts Shellga*
Tyro: And take THIS for good measure!
*Tyro hits with Full Break*
*Chaos Bahamut uses Ignis*
Everyone: YEEEEOOOOWWWCH!!!!
Gilgamesh: Hey...did you notice that one hit with a lotta punch?
Balthier: That creature must be growing desperate... Mayhaps I should distract it?
Ramza: IN VIOLENT TIMES!!! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO SELL YOUR SOUL!!!
Balthier: Hoi! Dragon!
*Chaos Bahamut uses Umbral Vise on Balthier*
Balthier: Guess...I got your attention...
Ramza: IN BLACK, AND WHITE!! THEY REALLY, REALLY OUGHT, TO KNOW!!
Balthier: You know when you mentioned we had no association with the Knight of Etro?
Selphie: Um...Balthier... By the way, Curaga!
*Selphie uses Curaga on Balthier*
Selphie: ...what is that you're talking about?
Ramza: THOSE, ONE, TRACK, MINDS!!! THEY TOOK YOU FOR A WORKING BOY!!
Balthier: Well...I must say one thing...
Ramza: KISS THEM, GOODBYE!! THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO JUMP FOR JOY!!
Balthier: You got it wrong... Come, Lightning!
*Alt!Lightning emerges from out of nowhere*
Chaos Bahamut: GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!
Alt!Lightning: Time to end this...
Ramza: THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TO JUMP, FOR JOY!!
Balthier: Godspeed, and good riddance!
*Lightning uses Requiem of the Goddess*
Ramza and Selphie: SHOUT! SHOUT! LET IT ALL OUT!!
Tyro: This...is...awesome!!
*Tyro throws up the horns and headbangs as it casts Protectga*
Balthier: Good thing I know how to hold a blade, aren't I? If not...at least I have a temporary License for it...
*Balthier grabs Lightning's gunblade*
Balthier: And the will to use it...
Ramza & Selphie: THESE, ARE THE THINGS, I CAN DO, WITHOUT!!
Gilgamesh: Enkiduuuuu!!! Let's end this!
Enkidu: AWIGHT, BROOOO!!!
*Gilgamesh uses Faithful Companion*
*Balthier uses Flourish of Steel*
Balthier: And for the grand finale...Mist Rush!
*Balthier uses Tides of Fate*
Ramza & Selphie: NOW COME ON!! I'MMA TALKIN' TO YOU, NOW COME ON!!
Balthier: Your fate is sealed...
*Chaos Bahamut plummets to the ground*
*Chaos Bahamut disappears and Caius is revealed again*
Caius: Such strength... That is the power that has vanquished the Nightmares...
Tyro: So you know!
Caius: Call me an observer. Heed this prophecy, Keeper...and allies. Soon, the mastermind behind the loss of the Records will be revealed! But to defeat it...you must grow stronger. Your power won't be enough. And at that moment...I shall wait... Whether I fight for you, or against...will depend...
Gilgamesh: ...on when DeNA releases you, right?
Caius: What madness do you speak of?
Gilgamesh: They released Raines.
Caius: ...Bastards. I shall take my leave. Godspeed, Record Keeper...
*Caius teleports away*
Gilgamesh: And as that, with some AWESOME music behind...
*Ramza grumbles*
Gilgamesh: Another one bites the dust!
Selphie: Hush! Wrong group!
Gilgamesh: Whaddya mean? Sure, it's not the group that did the song, but...Queen is still a pretty rad band, don't ya think?
Tyro: We won! We won!
Balthier: Thanks to my bag of tricks. Always have an ace up your sleeve. A smart man taught me that.
Selphie: So...I guess you shouldn't underestimate yourself, sir Ramza. You're a pretty good singer. We should do more jams sometime!
Ramza: I wish my respect was earned through my blade, and not my voice...
Gilgamesh: Your blade also helps. We hit better, his magic wasn't as strong, and...oo, shiny!
*Gilgamesh grabs a Major Power Orb!*
Gilgamesh: Anyways; we won, they lost, time to go home! Don't forget to haul the treasure chest, guys!

Yep, I beat Chaos Bahamut, at last. Yay, more time for Dungeons!

This time, mitigation ran down smoothly. Replacing Selphie for Rosa was also a nice move, not to mention using my THREE Fire-mitigation relics seemingly did the trick. I dealt less damage, but after I set up everything, damage dealt was somewhat meaningless. Also, replacing Steal Defense for Armor Breakdown, shifting some stuff, and having Lightning's BSB worked. Took me like three more tries, but that last one was done awfully well.

Winning party was:
Gilgamesh, level 75; Genji Blade, Platinum Shield, Squall's Necklace; Retaliate R5, Draw Fire R4; Dragoon's Determination
Balthier, level 70; Goddess' Tribute, Viking Coat, Flame Ring; Tempo Flurry R4, Steal Power R2; Master Sniper
Keeper, level 70; Sentinel Grimoire, Silver Bangle 6*, Gigas Armlet, Full Break R2, Protectga R2; Dr. Mog's Teachings
Selphie, level 65; White Staff (FFT), Witch's Hat, Blaze Armlet; Curaga R5, Shellga R2; Loving Soul
Ramza, level 68; Keepsake Knife, Barbut (IX), Glow Curtain; Armor Breakdown R2, Magic Breakdown R3; Battleforged
RW: Lightning (Requiem of the Goddess)

Selphie's Medica is still as bad as ever (around 1.8k to everybody), but she ended up having better stats than Rosa, at equal level, plus she's level-broken twice. Even with the lesser amount of damage, Gil's SSB still dealt about 19k damage in total, which is good. Balthier's lowly Tides of Fate dealt 7k, which isn't too shabby, considering that it dealt more damage than using Tempo Flurry with Shout/Steal Power AND Armor Breakdown, and almost as much WITH Full Break embedded. RotG did about 7k, but Flourish of Steel did more damage at the end, which helped me win. Sure, it was almost a foregone conclusion, but since I didn't use the RW until after CB went to its Weak phase, it was still a matter of adding it to someone else...like maybe Gilgamesh.

Lost 2 medals, gained a Major Power Orb as victory loot in addition to all the other loot, and Mastered it. No intentions to go after Caius, so...I'm free to do dungeons as I please?

[SuperPanda]

Summoning nightmare is just around the corner. Looking at the relic pool, a lot of stuff is a bit older.

A Yuna relic (Hymn) would be very handy seeing as I've nothing for her. Terra's magic underwear or daddy horn would be awesome bringing her up to level with my current best mages (Rinoa with Cardinal ++ and Rydia with ice whip +).

Met want wall (naturally) and rydia's two newer whips (dragon + blink I actually want more than Odin because it feels right but I want Odin more for the stat bump).

Would be very happy with III, V or X synergy Mage stick though. (Does II hav a summoner?)

[Slayn82]

Grats on the victory, T.G., and amazing Showt from your team. Bet Tyro could make good use from a certain annoying book boss from FFV. Speaking of V, Gilgamesh's SSB is a solid foundation for any party. That sweet Heavy Regen.

Thoughts on Summoner Lucky Draw.


Hum, I got relics for Tyro (Last Judgement), Aerith (Wizard Staffx2), Rydia (Dragon's Whisker) and Rinoa (Valkyrie).

Would love to get a relic for Eiko, Garnet or Yuna. Arc relics are new and very relevant, would be very welcome too. And there's Ashe, getting one of her weapons would be a solid upgrade on XII, and work for Terra/Golbez. Want very much.

Rydia and Rinoa are doing their jobs fine, and I'm gonna pull on Banners with relics for them. They go in the whatever category, and can wait out. Most Terra relics didn't age very well, and I'm well served in VI gear. Most of the other Aerith relics utility are on better SBs, so I pass.

Tyro has SG. I'm resigned on not getting it, and I don't want his other relics.

Edit: had forgotten Kryle. Don't have her relics, but she can wait too for her event.

But that's my hope, RNG can very well decide I'm worthy of an amazing new Tyro relic and give me 3 Healing Grimoires /s

[Chen]

When do we get our first MC3? Hasn't Japan already gotten their first few by now?

I'll admit, I have little to zero motivation to bother doing the cids missions that involve U/U+'s with an all realm party. Unlike many of you, I've not bothered to make all realm teams, it just doesn't interest me that much(I mean, I am leveling a multitude of characters, but only in X could I actually yield a full realm team. VII is somewhat close I think? And that's about it), and not even the idea of free major orbs is enough to make me want to expend the effort to level 5 people from every realm to 70+, lol.

I generally feel the same. The ones this time were fairly easy, though I didn't do the Sabin/Edgar one yet since both those chars are terrible compared to my A team. Probably not worth the headache for a single Major Power Orb.

Didn't bother much with Caius yet either. The opening RNG can be bad if he outright kills the highest HP person and the rest of it has a fair bit of RNG too. Seems to be the case with many of the U+ battles. The fact these do get easier due to the Cid's missions is kinda nice though.

[danzibr]

Did some poking around on upcoming events & Cid missions on a lark. A few heads up for leveling, possibly honing:

For the upcoming Braska event, one mission requires a solo clear with Jecht. So the Punishing Palm + Kick combo from this event will likely be handy, as will Irvine/Seph's RM1. Another requires only Auron, Jecht, and Braska, so similar logic applies. Finally, the U+ mission requires a full team of FFX characters, including Braska, Tidus, and Yuna. Two things. First, this is another reason to prep Yuna (and eventually Braska) for Summon Nightmare. Second, Tidus and Yuna don't seem to be included in the event as hero records. So even if you've got eggs up the wazoo for them, make sure you've got the hero souls to actually acquire them if you haven't already. Missing those two is probably a sign that you're not ready for a U+ anyway, but I figure it's worth highlighting as a particularly lame way to miss out.

If JP is to be believed, we've got a lull until the Yang/Rydia event due around mid-July. The U calls for an all FF4 team including Kain, and the U+ calls for all FF4 including Rydia.
Egad. No way I'm doing that. U+ with 0 trifecta SB's? nty

I generally feel the same. The ones this time were fairly easy, though I didn't do the Sabin/Edgar one yet since both those chars are terrible compared to my A team. Probably not worth the headache for a single Major Power Orb.

Didn't bother much with Caius yet either. The opening RNG can be bad if he outright kills the highest HP person and the rest of it has a fair bit of RNG too. Seems to be the case with many of the U+ battles. The fact these do get easier due to the Cid's missions is kinda nice though.
Praise be.

EDIT: Looking ahead, I see we'll get some sort of multiplayer event (http://ffrk.kongbakpao.com/suppress/), and after that a III event which debuts Onion Knight and gives Luneth his Record Dive. No word on if he gets Samurai 2, at least not that I saw. But by that time... Advantaliate is going to be mega old.

[Greg_S]

Did some poking around on upcoming events & Cid missions on a lark. A few heads up for leveling, possibly honing:

For the upcoming Braska event, one mission requires a solo clear with Jecht. So the Punishing Palm + Kick combo from this event will likely be handy, as will Irvine/Seph's RM1. Another requires only Auron, Jecht, and Braska, so similar logic applies. Finally, the U+ mission requires a full team of FFX characters, including Braska, Tidus, and Yuna.

For the solo Jecht, if you've got a magic sword like Ashe's, Desch's, or Terra's, or Palom's dagger, Jecht can be OK with Darkness. At L50, I got him up to 259 magic with Enhancer, a 5* hat, and a +30 mag accessory. Add in Devotion as your RM Loner's even better and Memento Mori's buff, and you're at ~390 even more magic. Dark Zone can deal a decent amount of damage there, and you can hide him in the back row.

BFA's definitely going to be interesting. Its nasty attacks are defense-ignoring, so wall's not as helpful. I'll give the mission a try, probably with Auron/Braska/Tidus/Yuna/Wakka. I've got Dragon Fang for Auron, so he'll get a 25% power breakdown off, Wakka will breakdown cycle, Tidus will CS + FC, Yuna will heal, and Braska will nuke.

[Red Fel]

Alrighty. Since we're talking about upcoming events, here's what we're expecting to drop tonight.

Ultimate: The Dream Stooges. Medals for using Ice against Curlax (top), using Fire against Laragorn (bottom left), and reducing Moebius' Mag (bottom right). Keep in mind that Curlax is weak to Ice and Water, but absorbs Fire; Laragorn is weak to Fire, but absorbs Ice and Wind, and Moebius has no elemental weaknesses, but absorbs Lightning. Elemental AoEs are a bad idea, here, is the point. All three are susceptible to Blind (not that it will help with their almost exclusively magical attacks); Laragorn is also susceptible to Instant-KO abilities.

Curlax uses a mix of Fire-based magic, debuffs such as Slow and Stop, plus White Wind. Laragorn uses exclusively Ice offense spells. Moebius uses Lightning-based magic, plus buffs like Protect, Haste, and Shell, and Cura. All three use Reflect. If all three are alive, they have a chance to use their AoE Delta Magic. If any one is dead for multiple rounds, one of the others can use Arise and bring him back. So the goal here is (1) hit all of their weaknesses, (2) soak the damage, and (3) bring them all down at roughly the same time. Their use of Reflect makes single-target magic ill-advised (and Spellblades awesome); their varying magic absorptions make Summons a bad idea. If you must bring a BLM, make sure your spells are AoE Non-Elemental (e.g. Ruinga, Meteor).

Break Fever is a great way to stack debuffs on the Stooges, and satisfies one of your medal requirements. And mitigation is simplified by the fact that the only thing you have to fear is magic damage. If you feel lucky, you can try to nuke down Curlax and Moebius quickly, then slap Laragorn with an instant-KO before he can revive the others. Otherwise, hit your medal targets and then AoE them down.

Victory gets you orbs, a crystal, and the 5-star accessory Edgar's Coin.

U+: Vargas and the Ipoohs. Didn't I tell you he'd be back? One of the most hated encounters of FFRK's VI zone, now in U+ form. Medals for reducing Vargas' Atk, exploiting his weakness to Poison damage (not status), and exploiting the Ipoohs' weakness to Fire. All three are susceptible to Poison status, Vargas is susceptible to Blind, and the Ipoohs are susceptible to Silence. As usual, Vargas can't be targeted until the Ipoohs go down; they use only physical attacks, though, so between Blind (which nerfs them) and their Fire vulnerability (consider Fire Blossom) that should be fairly quick.

Vargas is another matter. On the one hand, at the beginning he uses only physical attacks, so Blind is fantastic. He does have an Eye Drops ability, though, so it's not a permanent solution. As he weakens, he adds additional abilities - Ultimate Gale Cut, which is a strong physical Wind AoE that ignores Def (I hope you're keeping Blind up); Ora Ora Ora, which imitates Jojo by performing a 3-hit single-target combo that can't be taunted or retaliated (I hope you're keeping Blind up); Doom Fist, which Dooms a target (better make this quick), and Mugendoubu, which is Ora Ora Ora on steroids (I hope you're keeping Blind up). He also uses a scripted Phantom Rush at some point. (Or is Mugendoubu Phantom Rush? I don't know the translation. Endless something?)

As with the Dream Stooges fight, this is one where damage is entirely of a type - physical - meaning that mitigation is straightforward. The challenge is getting past the Ipoohs quickly so that you can start debuffing Vargas, then keeping debuffs (Atk reducers and Blind) on him long enough to not be horribly murdered.

Victory gets you orbs, a crystal, and bragging rights.

As for the upcoming Braska event, well, there's some stuff between then and now. First, some sort of "Mystery Campaign" is expected to drop tonight. Second, the XIII event ends tomorrow, so if you plan to get it done, get it done. And third, the Neo Bahamut Nightmare drops this Saturday night. Have your Summoners leveled, and be sure to bring synergy for III, VIII, X, and IX to handle the minibosses. More on that later.

Happy hunting.

[danzibr]

I think I might hold off on the U and U+ until after the X event so I have Chain Starter and Full Charge to slap on Gau.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Ultimate: The Dream Stooges.

If you must bring a BLM, make sure your spells are AoE Non-Elemental (e.g. Ruinga, Meteor).Notably, Edea's Ice Strike SSB looks like a clutch tool for this one if you have it, since it'll hit as ice on Curlax but non-elemental on the others. Not only is that a medal condition, but Curlax has a fair bit more HP than the others, so the element split helps make sure that you're burning them down roughly evenly.

I retain the right to eat my words later, but this does look like it's on the easier side of things for an ultimate.

[tyckspoon]

Oh, gods. Vargas? You know that thing I said about not expecting difficulty with any FFVI content? Forget it, this is gonna suck.

[Red Fel]

Oh, gods. Vargas? You know that thing I said about not expecting difficulty with any FFVI content? Forget it, this is gonna suck.

I'll be honest - and I'll probably eat my words later - this U+ actually strikes me as a hit-or-miss sort of thing. Unlike the other U+s we've had of late, the mitigation of this one is manageable. It's all physical, and they're all susceptible to Blind; there are several AoEs with a Blind effect, including SBs. You can put up Protectga and Wall quickly, start throwing out Power Breakdowns and Full Break as soon as the iPoohs drop. Sure, he'll still hit like a truck, but between Power Breakdown, Full Break, Protectga, Wall, and Blind, you've got a lot of layers of padding.

The biggest trick is dropping the bears fast, and we have a lot of sources of Fire damage for that. I'm not saying it will be easy, but it feels like it should be easier than some of the recent U+s.

The Stooges, on the other hand? All of my hate. I hate three-part bosses where if you don't drop one quickly they use a devastating team move, and I hate three-part bosses where if you don't drop them all in the same window they come back, and this is both.

Side note, consider putting a Gigas Armlet on your squishiest party member(s), given that they only use Fire/Ice/Lightning.

[Hunter Noventa]

I am not even going to touch those Ultimates, that's just too much pain for too little reward in my opinion. Looking forward to the SMN Nightmare, if only for the lucky draw. As long as I get something that's not the Lullaby Rod I'm happy.

[Merlin the Tuna]

The Stooges, on the other hand? All of my hate. I hate three-part bosses where if you don't drop one quickly they use a devastating team move, and I hate three-part bosses where if you don't drop them all in the same window they come back, and this is both.Actually, thinking about this more, doesn't KO vulnerability potentially trivialize the fight? Hit Laragorn with Death/Pressure Point on turn 1, and they can't use Delta Attack while you wear the others down. By the time they revive him, you're potentially able to wrap them up and KO Laragorn again for the win. That makes the whole fight more convenient, since (A) you can spam ice AOE without fear, (B) you're only dealing damage to the ones with 111k and 93k HP, which shrinks the gap of having the 65k HP one, (C) you can focus your defense on the more common fire & lightning resistance rather than worrying much about ice, and (D) you're getting at least one action of a breather when they actually cast Arise.

There are still a number of assumptions at play here - primarily that there's a decent window before Arise comes out - but that's a pretty big escape valve. It's still a bit of a nuisance since Death and PP are so rarely useful that I imagine most people don't even have a copy, much less a decently honed one. But as you've said before: there are at least mechanics to exploit here.

[Red Fel]

Actually, thinking about this more, doesn't KO vulnerability potentially trivialize the fight? Hit Laragorn with Death/Pressure Point on turn 1, and they can't use Delta Attack while you wear the others down. By the time they revive him, you'll have had a chance to wear down the others. So just finish them up and KO Laragorn again for the win. That makes the whole fight more convenient, since (A) you can spam Ice AOE without fear, (B) you're only dealing damage to the ones with 111k and 93k HP, which shrinks the gap of having the 65k HP one, (C) you can focus your defense on the more common fire & lightning resistance rather than worrying much about ice, and (D) you're getting at least one action of a breather when they actually cast Arise.

There are still a number of assumptions at play here - primarily that there's a decent window before Arise comes out - but that's a pretty big escape valve. It's a bit of a nuisance since Death and PP are so rarely useful that I imagine most people don't even have a copy, much less a decently honed one. But as you've said before: there are at least mechanics to exploit here.

The thing about PP is that, given that this is a VI dungeon, you have a synergy Monk available. Moreover, if you've gotten to the Ultimate, you have his MC2. (Whether you've broken him or not is another issue.)

As it happens, I spent the other day farming my new VI RMs, including Sabin's. You know, the dualcast Monk RM. So if I bring Sabin with, say, PP and Kick, or PP and the other PP (Punishing Palm), I've got a good thing going there. Bringing a Spellblade is also useful, because (as previously mentioned) Spellblades can exploit elemental weaknesses while bypassing Reflect. (VI has one of those, too. Hi Celes.) Now if only we had someone who could use Knight skills to dispel those buffs they use. (Hi Edgar.) And maybe a Dancer who could use Break Fever. (Hi Mog.)

Just bring a wall-user and you're good, at that point, I'd think. It's intimidating and hate-filled, and there'll probably be a lot of RNG, but I think it can be done.

[danzibr]

Speaking of Mog, I brought him to the ++ battle. Terra, Mog, Sabin, Edgar. Terra hit the ice weakness, Mog did Multibreak, and the others beat faces. I killed them too quickly and so didn't get the exploit fire weakness medals, but still mastered it. Fun battle. Mog was a star with Multibreak, heals, and Sunbath.

[Greg_S]

Actually, thinking about this more, doesn't KO vulnerability potentially trivialize the fight? Hit Laragorn with Death/Pressure Point on turn 1, and they can't use Delta Attack while you wear the others down. By the time they revive him, you're potentially able to wrap them up and KO Laragorn again for the win. That makes the whole fight more convenient, since (A) you can spam ice AOE without fear, (B) you're only dealing damage to the ones with 111k and 93k HP, which shrinks the gap of having the 65k HP one, (C) you can focus your defense on the more common fire & lightning resistance rather than worrying much about ice, and (D) you're getting at least one action of a breather when they actually cast Arise.

There are still a number of assumptions at play here - primarily that there's a decent window before Arise comes out - but that's a pretty big escape valve. It's still a bit of a nuisance since Death and PP are so rarely useful that I imagine most people don't even have a copy, much less a decently honed one. But as you've said before: there are at least mechanics to exploit here.

Weapons with death riders could also be handy- if the skill you're using doesn't try to inflict a status condition, then it can activate on a skill. I don't know if breakdowns count as a "skill" in this context, but you could sacrifice some support damage if you've got IV's Assassin dagger, for example, and try for the death. Assassin's Dagger and Ichigeki both have death chances.

Or, if you're a crazy person, bring a Runic RW, craft R1 Odin, and spam Odin's 99% insta-death to keep one down.

[Red Fel]

Or, if you're a crazy person, bring a Runic RW, craft R1 Odin, and spam Odin's 99% insta-death to keep one down.

I... Kind of want to try this. Odin deals AoE damage regardless, and it's Non-Elemental, so resistances aren't an issue. With Runic up, you could keep spamming Odin, dealing damage to all and periodically insta-KOing one.

That said, you raised another really solid point - Runic can substantially change this fight. Not trivialize, but help. Aside from Delta Attack, each one has an AoE -ra spell (Fira, Blizzara, Thundara) and another AoE magic attack (Blaze, Icestorm, Lightning). Other than that, all of their abilities are single-target, including their debuffs. Runic would draw their single-target magic attacks, as well as debuffs like Stop. (You'd need Grand Cross for all of it, though, because Slow and Silence are WHT, not BLK.)

But yeah, a source of Runic/Grand Cross would really change the dynamic of the fight.

[danzibr]

Or, if you're a crazy person, bring a Runic RW, craft R1 Odin, and spam Odin's 99% insta-death to keep one down.
Ha, I love this idea.

[Slayn82]

100 gem netted me Gau's Gauntlets. Actually, very happy with this pull. Love Gau, and having a Lighting based SB is decent.

[Red Fel]

And Ultimate Stooges are down, with not a single medal lost! My team:
Celes: Firaga Strike, Blizzaga Strike, Pride of the Red Wings.
Edgar: Banishing Strike, Lifesiphon, Pride of Figaro.
Sabin: Pressure Point, Kick, Keeper of the Old Ways.
Mog: Heathen Frolic Sarabande, Multi Break, Gran Pulse Warrior.
Y'shtola: Curaja, Shellga, Dr. Mog's Teachings.
RW: Ramza (Shout).
It went as you'd expect. Celes throws out one each of Firaga and Blizzaga Strikes, to ensure medal requirements; Mog alternates High Heathen and Multi Break to keep damage down; Y'shtola throws out SSII and Shellga. As soon as it comes online, Celes throws out a Runic, and proceeds to neutralize most of what's incoming and never run out of Strikes ever. Edgar uses Banishing Strike a few times, but makes much better use of Lifesiphon, which deals solid damage and brings Bioblaster online quickly.

Sabin... Disappoints. Yes, he gives me AoE damage; with Shout, it's adequate, not stellar. More importantly, I was hitting the wrong target with Pressure Point - I mistakenly targeted Moebius instead of Laragorn. So it was a bit of a waste, and I'd probably have been better off with a more damaging ability there. That said, Punishing Palm is a bad idea on a Shout team, because it does not stack with Shout. In any event, I ate a few Delta Magics; with full mitigation, they were barely noticeable. I dropped Curlax and Laragorn at the same time; Moebius followed shortly thereafter.

Job's done. Think I might actually take a crack at a U+ for a change. I will undoubtedly regret this.

[danzibr]

Grats on the pull and separate grats on the victory!

I got yet another Assassin's Dagger :P

Edit: 6* gave 199 attack, 7* gave 224. Not a bad bump.

[Greg_S]

Decided to Cid Mission the dream stooges, and it was really fun!




Name, Level
Gear
Skills
SB
RM


Setzer, 66
Cards (thanks, 100 gem Monday!), 3++ Gold Helm, Gigas Armlet
Magic Breakdown R4, Armor Breakdown R3
Prismatic Flash
Mako Might


Celes, 74
Rune Blade, Nu-Khai Armband, Crystal Orb
Fira Strike R3, Blizzaga Strike R3
Magic Shield
Pride of the Red Wings


Edgar, 65
Ichigeki, Survival Vest, Bolt Ring VII
Banishing Strike R4, Saint Cross R2
Veil of Annulment (shared Shellga)
Dr. Mog's Teachings


Shadow, 80
Kotetsu VI, Gauntlet IX, Gigas Armlet
Lifesifphon R3, Lifesiphon R3
Shadow Fang
Heroic Stance


Mog, 65
Lullaby Rod X, Gaia Gear V, Cat's Bell
Curaja R4, Multi Break R2
Earthmend (shared Cure Medica)
Battleforged

RW: Shout

Round 1 was the key: without Wall, Mog hit multi break, Edgar used Shell, and Setzer dropped a second ATK/MAG debuff on them. Shout went up, then Celes started hitting 9999 on the top stooge. Edgar got stopped for half the fight, and Setzer got slowed, but FB + MBD + Shell kept their hits fairly low, under 1000 damage on the AoEs.



Other notes:

Magic Lure + Gigas Armlet may help if you want to tank the single-target spells.
Delta Magic did about 1000 AoE total. I don't think the stooge who used it had all 3 layers of breaks on him, but Mog was able to heal that with Earthmend.
Celes' Magic Shield meant that some of the AoE -ra spells were bouncing off me at 300 damage.
Don't be in a huge hurry to dispel reflect if you're not focusing on a particular stooge. They sometimes bounce buffs onto you.
I had 3 shadow fang charges at the end of the fight, so the kill stage didn't last very long, but the rezzing isn't Baigan-fast. You have a little bit of time, I think, between stooge killing if you go single-target murder.


I thought this was a lot of fun! Certainly nowhere near as frustrating as Chaos Bahamut's instadeath skills were.

[SuperPanda]

Looking at the ultimate and the Summon nightmare, it might be time to shatter MSOs to make maudlin/valefor (not sure which) and go mate meta.

Kefka magic infusion, lulu focus, garnet divine guardian, Penelo break dance, terra for synergy (or Ashe for northwain).

Ruinga, meteor, Alexander, maudlin, gives me 4 solid AoEs + dance heals on Penelo. Need to check medals again. This isn't a normal A team for me, but seems like as good a plan as I'm likely to get. It does mean missing a medica though... That's why ashe would be tempting I. Terra's place.

[Red Fel]

And U+ is down, first try! Mastered, no medals lost. He was honestly less difficult than I expected. My team:
Cyan: Fire Blossom, Yukikaze, Legend's Blade.
Edgar: Bio Grenade, Blind Shell, Machinist's Touch.
Terra: Firaja, Bioga, Blood of Espers.
Wakka: Power Breakdown, Full Break, Mako Might.
Y'shtola: Curaja, Protectga, Dr. Mog's Teachings.
RW: Ramza (Shout).
The iPoohs burned down pretty quickly, no pun intended. Fire Blossom + Firaja made short work of them; Aurochs Reels also Poisoned one, and they died fairly quickly.

Vargas was harder to poison, but once I brought out Bioblaster, it connected. Aside from that, it was just a matter of applying liberal amounts of damage interspersed with Blind. Not only does it reduce his hit chance, it also makes him waste turns using Eye Drops, at which point I simply reapply Blind. When he got to around 30% or so, he used his Doom Fist - it hits everyone with Doom with a duration of 30 seconds. I killed him before the countdown reached 20. Even his hardest-hitting techniques didn't pierce my mitigation.

The key thing is beating the iPoohs quickly. You do that, and you can apply mitigation to him, at which point it's just a question of keeping him Blinded and killing him before he can Doom you. It's surprisingly manageable for an U+.

Job's done, and now it's time to relax until the weekend. Huzzah!

[tyckspoon]

Cleared U, didn't get mastery.. Because I forgot to tap the right Stooge with fire. :smallsigh: gonna have to go do it again.

[SuperPanda]

I mage mashed the Ultimate.

The Party:
RW - Wall of course.

Kefka [Blizzga R5] [Ruinga R4] (Blood of Espers - never proc'd) {Magic Infusion}
Garnet [ Shellga R2] [Alexaner R4] (Dr. Mog's Teachings) {Divine Guardian}
LuLu [Firja R3] [Meteor R3] (Mako Might) {Focus}
Ashe [Maudin R4] [Dispel R2] (Blood of Summoners - never proc'd) {Northwain's Glow}
Penelo [Multi Break R2] [Curaga R5] (Healer's Prayer - never proc'd) {default}

Mastery.

Opening volley:
Kefka Blizzaga's the ice weak one. DG, Focus, SG, Multi-break. Then Shellga goes up and now they're hitting for ~100-300 each hit and regen is all the healing I need. (I think i cast curaga 4 times, the rest of the time Pennelo just smacked someone with her staff).

had to S/L twice. Once because they focused Ashe before wall was up, once because I got the timing wrong and they used Arise one hit before Curly went down.

Curly needed some dedicated beating to keep him down with the others, I should probably have made and honed Blizzaja.
Overall the hardest part was keeping the damage even. I think they have different Res values and HP because the AoEs were hitting harder on some and Curly still had 1/3 a lifebar when I was worried about one shoting Larry with my next AoE (~ <2000 HP). Mo was just sitting there with protect on as I laughed at his buff choice.

Focus, Magic Infusion'd Blizzaga easily hit Curly for 6-7000 which made me plenty happy and ended it before Arise ruined my day.

[T.G. Oskar]

-- Cyan's Dream --

Celes: Brings back memories. Bad memories. Poor sir Cyan...tortured by his past.
Edgar: My dearest ex-General, we are all tortured by our pasts. It's only when we overcome that, and realize we are stronger than the shackles of our pasts, that we realize our own strength.
Terra: I digress. It's the hope for the future. Haven't you learned anything from all these battles, Edgar? From our battle with Kefka?
Celes: I say it's both. Our past grants us strength, from all the wars we've fought...all the challenges we've overcome. The future, however...is what motivates us from fighting.
Edgar: Said like a true leader. I commend you for that...but of course, ladies always prove their worth.
Celes: ...You do know I'm hitched to Locke, do you?
Edgar: Alas, it is true...but at least I have a lady in here that awaits no one...
Terra: ...You do know I owe myself to my orphans, right? They are my strength...right, master Tyro?
Tyro: Oh, yes! Miss Terra has argued with Dr. Mog to open a Nursery...and I get sent into it. With the other kids. I'm with all the grown-ups, why do I have to play with the kids?
Edgar: Truly, your children are your heart's desire, but...can't you open but a sliver of your heart towards this poor, lonely man?
Terra: I heard from a man once, that he had more women than grains of sand in the desert kingdom he ruled. It's strange that such a man can't find someone in such an oasis.
Selphie: Ouch, even I felt the burn. Man, this place is psychedelic! Hold on while I take a selfie!
*Selphie takes a selfie*
Edgar: Take all you desire, young lady. Perhaps one with me, maybe?
Selphie: As if! My heart only belongs to sir Laguna!
Edgar: Sir...you mean, the wash-out soldier that eventually became ruler of Esthar by sheer luck? Alas, I am accursed!
Tyro: ...Suddenly I'm appreciating that I'm a child.
Celes: Our young king did made a hit on miss Relm, you know...
Tyro: ...And a boy. Um...you're not suddenly thinking of...turning to the other side, right? Not that...it's anything bad, but I don't swing that way.
Edgar: Why would I, if the greatest pleasure in the world is a woman? Its figure, its poise, its beauty hiding strength?
Selphie: I still wonder why someone rich and handsome has no luck with women... Maybe he shouldn't be insulting former soldiers?
Edgar: That is a low blow, but I still take it.
Selphie: Hmm...this reminds me of the Lunatic Pandora. Did you know I tagged along on a dream as well? Sure, I had to act like a man...at least he was handsome, svelte but strong and agile...but nothing like my beloved sir Laguna.
Terra: Um...isn't he Squall's father? Wouldn't...Squall be too old to be your adoptive son?
Selphie: Hey! I know it's an impossible dream! You just wouldn't understand!
Terra: Perhaps you're right. I mean...Love is something I still don't grasp that well. But I know at least that the love I have for children...is true and rewarded.
Celes: Guess you were born to be a mother. One way or another.
Edgar: Hmm...this spot looks familiar. Yes, before you ask - I know this is sir Cyan's dream record, but it's just...this particular spot.
????: Nyuk nyuk nyuk!
Edgar: I knew I smelled a rat. Three, to be precise!
Curlax: I am Curlax!
Laragorn: I am Laragorn!
Moebius; And I Moebius!
Curlax: We are the Three Dream Stooges!
Laragorn: And together, we are invincible!
Moebius: Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk!!
Selphie: ...Um...where's your brother Shemp?
Curlax: Shemp? We got no brother called Shemp?
Moebius: We're Three Stooges, not Four!
Laragorn: Of course! When Moebius is gone, we just call Ashemprath!
Moebius: ...Whaddya mean, Ashemprath?
Curlax: Uh, oh...
*Moebius slaps Laragorn silly*
Laragorn: Owie owie ow! You're gonna pay!
*Laragorn attempts to smack Moebius silly*
*Moebius dodges*
*Laragorn smacks Curlax silly*
Curlax: HARRRRRUMPH!
*Curlax facepalms in rage!*
*Curlax grabs Laragorn's and Moebius' heads and smacks them together!*
Selphie: Well...easiest fight ever. They're smacking each other out for us!
Curlax: That's what you think...!
Laragorn: For we were actually devising the strategy to defeat you!!
Moebius: Are you ready, punks?
Selphie: ...Whoops, guess they got serious. Everybody, get ready!
Edgar: This will be child's play.
Curlax: Who you callin' child, punk?
Edgar: Feel intimidated? The lad here's the child, and he'll make small fries out of you!
*Edgar uses Magic Lure*
Curlax: Oh, is that so? Well...better get ready to feel the heat, 'cuz I'm gonna BURN ya! Burn, baby, burn!
*Curlax casts Fira on Edgar*
Edgar: Gaah! I forgot they don't take taunts seriously. Fortunately I was ready...
Selphie: Guess I was too late! Get ready, guys! Shellga!
*Selphie casts Shellga*
Moebius: Hey, you, green-haired lady! I know ya cast spells! Why not cast one at me and see if it bounces off to you?
*Moebius casts Reflect*
Celes: Wow, what a--
Selphie: Stooge? Yeah, that's their quirk.
Terra: I have another idea. By Leviathan's might; feel the power of the world's seas in mighty torrent! Waterja!
*Terra casts Waterja on Curlax*
Curlax: AIIIEEEEE-achchchchachacha! You ruined my 'do!
*Curlax singes his hair into a flaming 'do*
Curlax: You'll pay for that!
Celes: Timing is not yet right! I guess this will do!
*Celes attacks Laragorn*
Laragorn: Ouch, that smarts! Not as bad as a good smacking from Moebius, but it still smarts! Moebius, get 'er!
*Moebius casts Haste*
*Haste spell bounces off Laragorn and into the Keeper*
Tyro: WOOOO!! Timetodothisfastlemmesee "OhMightyAegisshieldoftheGodsprotectoroftheirChampi on!Idrainthyessencefromtheetoshieldusfromallharm!G randAegis!"
*Tyro casts Sentinel Grimoire*
Moebius: ...Nice going, Laragorn! Now the kid's hooked on speed!
Laragorn: Sorry, I thought you needed it more than I did...
Moebius: If we weren't fighting against them, I would SMACK you! Actually...!
*Moebius smacks Laragorn*
Laragorn: Hey, didn't you say...?
Moebius: I changed my mind!
Edgar: They're distracted! Now's my chance!
*Edgar attacks Laragorn*
Laragorn: Hey! No fair!
Moebius: Working as planned! Chill out, willya?
*Moebius casts Blizzara on Edgar*
Edgar: That was...refreshing, but a bit too chilly for my taste...
Terra: Speaking of chili...someone's gotta douse that hot-head of yours!
*Terra casts Waterja on Curlax*
Curlax: Hey, you're taking it on me! Don't you like my 'do, green-haired one?
*Curlax cinders his 'do into a flame-like form*
Tyro: OhmygoshIfeelIwannadance! Dancedancedance!
*Tyro breakdances the Heathern Frolic Sarabande*
Laragorn: Hey guys, check it out! Cool moves!
Curlax: Kid's got spunk, ya know.
Selphie: Hey...this battle is pretty entertaining! If it weren't because we've got to beat you, I'd be laughing my trousers off!
Laragorn: My pleasure...
Moebius: Hey, stop flirting with the enemy! We gotta show 'em who's boss around here! Speaking of which...we should do it.
Celes: I don't like the sound of this...
*Celes attacks Laragorn*
Laragorn: Guuh! Just because of that, we're gonna do it!
Curlax: Aww, yeah! We're gonna do it! Just you wait!
Moebius: Perfect! Guys, Delta formation!
*Stooges form a triangle*
Laragorn: You'll be sorry you fought us!
Curlax: Really, really sorry!
Moebius: No time to dawdle! Feel the might of our Delta Magic!
*Stooges use Delta Magic*
Everyone: GYAAAAH!!
Selphie: That spell passed right through our Shell!
Tyro: Impossible! That magic passed right through the Aegis!
Moebius: Hah! That spell passes right through all defenses! Nothing can stop it!
Laragorn: You should feel really sorry for trying to beat us!
Curlax: Especially you, green-haired girl! How you feel about having your hair all messed up!?
Moebius: (Um...we actually did it?)
Laragorn: (We actually did, bro)
Curlax: (Awight! We're the winners!)
Selphie: Um...I guess they're...distracted? Time to take advantage of them, guys!
*Selphie casts Curaga*
Celes: I doubt it... Stay frosty! We can't let our guard down!
*Celes attacks Laragorn*
Laragorn: (...Hey, bro, I think a Blade Bug just tried to cut me!)
Moebius: (A Blade Bug? What in Morpheus' realm is a Blade Bug!?)
Curlax: (Well, it's a bug with a sharp blade on its nose instead of a stinger)
Moebius: (Perhaps you mean a blade instead of a stinger? Are you daft?)
Terra: ...By the Crystals, they are distracted! I guess...fire at will?
*Terra casts Waterja on Curlax*
Curlax: (Hey...it's starting to rain! We've got to get a move on!)
Tyro: They're tougher than I thought! Time to use that speaker I connected to your smartphone, Selphie!
Selphie: Wait a sec; taking a pic of these guys! Really, they're such idiots, I can take a pic of them, post it on Mogbook, write a comment, and they'll still fail to notice we're here!
Celes: Are you sure you're not as stupid as them for using that contraption in the middle of combat?
Selphie: Only if you're not used to it. Gimme another sec...
*Selphie finishes posting the Three Stooges pic on her Mogbook page*
Selphie: Done! Lemme just get the recording!
*Selphie gets a response from Penelo on her Mogbook app*
Selphie: Ugh...not now, Penelo! Don't distract me!
Edgar: Pot calling the kettle black?
Terra: At least she's most likely helping us...
Moebius: (Hmm...something's strange...)
*Music (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfdUWOsWJss)starts sounding from the speakers*
Recording!Ramza: SHOUT! SHOUT! LET IT ALL OUT!
Edgar: That is sir Ramza, right?
Selphie: Just a recording. Should do for a nice fight song, don't you think?
Tyro: As long as the battery doesn't run out.
Selphie: Or the recording ends.
Curlax: (Hey...do you hear that song? It's pretty cool)
Laragorn: (Yeah...catchy)
*Moebius looks at the party*
Moebius: I should have known! They're still alive!
Laragorn: ...Really? I thought they'd leave after seeing our awesome power!
*Celes facepalms*
Celes: They truly are morons.
Edgar: But their magic can be dangerous. How about you focus that magic into a real man!?
*Edgar reuses Magic Lure*
Laragorn: Won't make the same mistake twice! We're not that stoogy, you know...
*Laragorn uses Thundara on the party*
Everyone: ...WHAAAAAAT!?
Tyro: Hey...good thing I got the big armlet! By the way...check out my moves!
*Tyro Box-Steps in Sarabande*
Curlax: Kid's got talent in dancing, I tell you.
Moebius: Stop swooning!
Edgar: Hey! That comment's trademarked!
Terra: They're getting serious! We got to do something about them!
*Terra casts Waterja on Curlax*
Curlax: Hey, can't you douse my other brother's 'dos? What's up with you and that spell!?
Moebius: That won't be a problem...
*Moebius casts Reflect on Curlax*
Curlax: Ha! Try to cast that on ME any time...
Selphie: Miss Terra is not stupid!
Terra: Though he got me on that one, you know...
Laragorn: Ha! Moebius and Curlax will bounce those spells off ya! Whatcha gonna do!?
Celes: The time is now! Raging flames, dance wildly!
*Celes casts Fira*
Celes: Now! Sealed into my blade!
*Celes binds the spell into her sword*
Celes: Burn to a crisp! Fira Strike!
*Celes attacks Moebius with Fira Strike*
*It's super effective!*
Moebius: YAAAAAACHACHACHACHA!! It buuuuuuuurns!!
*Moebius starts crying*
Laragorn: You caused my brother to cry! You'll pay for this!
*Laragorn casts Cura on Moebius*
*Cura spell is reflected to Terra*
Moebius: You spoony doofus! Did you forget I'm still under a spell!?
Edgar: But not for long...take this!
*Edgar uses Banishing Strike on Moebius*
Moebius: Aw, shucks! Just my luck!
Terra: Tough luck! Now, face my might! Flames of deepest Hell, focus into my enemy and incinerate until nothing is left! Firaja!
*Terra casts Firaja on Moebius*
Moebius: WHAAAAAAYAYAYAYAYAAAA!! That's cheating!
Edgar: No, it's strategy!
Selphie: You guys are really hopeless...
Moebius: I think NOT! You haven't seen the last of our power!
*Curlax casts Blaze*
*Laragorn casts Lightning*
*Moebius casts Icestorm*
Everyone: GHIIIIII! UNNNNNNF!! OOOOOF!!
Selphie: NOW they're getting serious! But I got my secret weapon, right here!
*Selphie uses Trabia's Light*
Tyro: I'll keep distracting them with my dances! We must take them down!
Selphie: Easier said than done!
Terra: Not if we focus fire... Ready, Celes?
Celes: It's been a while since we've had to fight together... I'm ready.
Terra: On my mark! Flames of Hell; by ancient words I bind you, release your wrath upon my foe! Firaja!
*Terra casts Firaja*
Celes: I guess it's now! Focus into my blade!
*Celes binds Terra's Firaja spell into her blade*
Celes: Take...this!
*Celes attacks Moebius with Firaja Strike...somehow*
Moebius: GWOOOOOH!!
Terra: Stand back! Release!
Celes: Spell...release!
*Celes releases the Firaja spell from her blade*
Terra: I will give it more power!
*Terra empowers her released Firaja spell*
Moebius: YEEEEEOOOOOWCH! ...Sorry guys, I think I gotta call this one out...
*Moebius faints*
Curlax: Oh no! You killed Moebius! You bastards!
Laragorn: We'll make you feel sorry for it!
Celes: Not if we can help it! Edgar!
Edgar: With pleasure...
*Edgar uses Banishing Strike on Curlax*
Curlax: Ha! Still not enough to...
*Terra uses Waterja on Curlax*
Curlax: Aw, COME ON!!!
Celes: As your brother would say...chill out, will ya?
*Celes uses Blizzara Strike on Curlax*
Curlax: Oooooh.... Hairdo-shock...
*Curlax faints*
Laragorn: Not you too, Curlax! I'll deal with you...once I revive them, that is! Humina, humina, humina...
Selphie: Oh no! He'll revive his brothers!
Edgar: Not if I can help it!
*Edgar revs the engine of his Drill*
Edgar: This drill will pierce the heavens!
*Edgar pierces holes with his Drill on Laragorn's body*
Laragorn: GAAAH! YEEEESH! OHOWOWOWOOWOWH!!! That smarts!
Edgar: I thought you were used to all that kind of pain...
Laragorn: Yeah, but it still hurts!
Terra: Not as much as THIS! I remember...that when I was on this dream...
*Terra materializes her Magitek Armor*
Terra: ...part of sir Cyan's memories involved us using our Magitek Armor.
*Terra's Magitek Armor deploys all missiles*
Terra: ...and I distinctively recall using my OWN. This will be easy.
*Terra unleashes a Magitek Missile barrage on Laragorn*
Laragorn: ...uuuuuncle...?
*Laragorn faints*
Terra: Showtime's over.
Selphie: ...Hey, I wanted to say that!
*The Stooges stand up*
Selphie: Aw, what? You're still standing?
Moebius: We can take all this punishment, and more!
Curlax: But you're really, really strong!
Laragorn: That's as much punishment as we want to get. If I wanted more, I'd have Moebius knock me silly!
*Moebius knocks Laragorn silly*
Laragorn: Hey! What's the big idea!?
Moebius: *wielding a colossal hammer* You asked for it.
Laragorn: Oh...well, it's sleepytime for me...
*Laragorn faints...again*
Moebius: We know when it's time to fold, and we fold now. It was fun.
Selphie: Hey...can I take a selfie with you guys?
Curlax: With pleasure! I can sign that selfie if you want!
Moebius: You doofus! Selfies can't be signed! They're taken with digital cameras!
Selphie: ...Hmm, I thought you wouldn't know about it?
Moebius: You think of moi as an ignoramus!? I am well aware of the newest technologies! Crystal networks, smartphones, social networking! By the way, lassie, please subscribe to our fan page if you want to!
Selphie: Um...I already subscribed.
Moebius: Thatta girl!
Terra: Um...
Celes: You...
Edgar: Subscribed...to them?
Selphie: ...Well, of course... They're a pretty fun TV show on my world, once radio broadcasting was reestablished. The Three Dream Stooges, I Dream of D'Jeannie, Ensorcelled... They're oldies, but goodies! Nothing like good ol' slapstick after a day of intense bloodbath against monsters and Sorceresses!
Moebius: Methinks she is missing a few screws...
Curlax: You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'...?
Laragorn: What's that, dear brother?
Selphie: Um...weren't you knocked--?
*Laragorn re-faints*
Selphie: Thought so.
Moebius: Why, I do think so! What is that you're thinking?
Curlax: Do as the lass' brain did and get loose!
*Moebius and Curlax run away*
Laragorn: Hey, wait for meeeeee!!!
*Laragorn stands up and runs away*
Selphie: Hey, wait! I still gotta do my selfie with you guys!!!
*Selphie runs away in hot pursuit*
Terra: ...That was unusual.
Tyro: Th-th-th-th-th-th-that's all folks!

Three Dream Stooges down, and Vargas is next. I'll definitely try it.

Had less S/Ls than before, and my first actual try was almost a winner.

Terra, lv 80; Maduin's Horn, Crystal Helm 6*, Crystal Orb; Firaja R2, Waterja R3; Rod Master
Keeper, lv. 70; Sentinel Grimoire, Red Jacket, Gigas Armlet; Box Step Sarabande R3, Heathen Frolic Sarabande R3; Dr. Mog's Teachings
Edgar, lv. 60; Drill, Royal Crown 6*, Fateful Coin+; Banishing Strike R3, Magic Lure R2; Battleforged
Selphie lv. 65; Magistral Rod, Magus Robe (VI), Silver Pendant (XIII); Curaga R5, Shellga R2; Summoner's Prayer
Celes, lv. 57; Zantetsuken, Crystal Helm 5*, Black Belt; Fira Strike R3, Blizzara Strike R3; Attunement II
RW: Ramza (Shout)
+: Gained after 2nd try.

First try, I was close to beat Moebius until he revived Curlax, and since I was out of Blizzara Strike/Waterja, I reset. Next few tries, I changed a few things, but they got to beat one or two people before I could get all of them to mid-HP. First winning try, I did it nicely, but Edgar got knocked down early on, and right at the end the Keeper was also busted, so I did it on Expert.

Winning run was pretty smooth, with the caveat that a Haste spell got bounced from Moebius (which ALWAYS gets Reflect cast on him as one of the first few turns) into the Keeper, so I could get to use the Shout RW ASAP. With Rod Master, Terra hit damage cap with her spells, and with BSS and Shout, Celes was capping with her Fira/Blizzara Strike. Laragorn went down first, followed by Moebius, finishing with Curlax. Lost only 2 medals (1 for turns, 1 for damage).

Compared to other Ultimates, this wasn't so bad. Vargas might be more difficult, I reckon, but I'm setting so much mitigation, it hurts.

[Starwulf]

Man, this is freaking nuts yo. The game is like DEMANDING that I use Edgar. The last VI event(or maybe it was combat nightmare?) I drew his Partisan(Bio Blaster), and I Just did my usual 1-pull on the 2nd VI banner and I got his Drill. LOL, this is kinda nuts. Irritating thing though, is I don't have Bio Blaster mastered, so I can't use both at the same time yet.

[danzibr]

Grats on the victories!

I forget if I mentioned, I mastered the U. Looking forward to the U+. Currently farming orbs (really need 'dem dark orbs).

Also, this game seems to be changing a good bit for me. I was looking through my gear, and in several realms I can outfit an entire party with synergy weapons, and while I'm a massive orb hoarder, I have several 4* and 5* abilities which are suitably honed (that is, they last through a boss fight). Opens up doors, makes it more fun.

Speaking of more fun, I think I was just bored before. So maybe... with the X event and Orbfest, I'll get enough new shinies to desire playing.

EDIT: It seems like a good Shadow would be boss for the U+. Fire Veil in the beginning, beat down Vargas while building SG, burn him down with insta-cast SSB. I really want Shadow's Ichigeki.

Also, the pdf (http://happypluto.com/~misterp/r/ffrk.pdf) has been updated.

[Chen]

Tried Caius again and then said screw that. Seemed promising the first couple of time until I noticed that both those times I just got lucky and the initial Launch (after his two attacks) missed. Once that started actually hitting too it just added even more S/L. Had a good run going until he Giga whatevered twice in a row before anyone could even act and dropped everyone too low. I can't see a good way to keep everything up in the fight since I don't have a native Shout. So either I waste too much time early and use Shout or it runs out near the end. So skip to the next one I guess.

Dream Stooges went down easily though I need 2 S/Ls because both first times everyone attacked Agrias and just killed her outright. Pretty unlikely, but annoying nonetheless. After that things went smoothly. Standard A team:

Ramza: Magic Breakdown R4 / Bladeblitz R2
Zack: Blizzara Strike R4 / Lifesiphon R4
Agrias: Fira Strike R4 / Shellga R2
Tyro: Curaja R5 / Multi-break R1
Yuffie: Thief's Revenge R2 / Doppleblade R1

Ramza used the breakdown on everyone and then focused on the bottom right guy (not vulnerable one). Agrias used fire for a bit on the vulnerable one until it was low and then attacked one of the other two. Zack used Blizzara strike on the vulnerable one. Once they were all fairly low Zack just killed them all with Apocalypse.

On to Vargas!

[Red Fel]

Additionally, last night the special anthology sweepstakes was announced. Even if you don't want to enter, it's a chance at free mythril, and if you've already completed the relevant levels, you can simply collect it. Easy money!

And I suddenly realized that Edgar's Coin makes my fifth +30 Atk accessory. Which means I can chuck all of my 3- and 4-star +Atk accessories, since at best they would only match the +30s, which frees up a lot of inventory space. Huzzah!

[tyckspoon]

Revisited the Stooges, was cake. Bought along Sephiroth this time and Shout; Flashing Blade added to the AoE blitz phase, and Iai Strike just in case I screwed something up and needed to try to insta-death execute the appropriate Stooge. Almost screwed it up by misclicking Fira Strike instead of Blizzara at the end, which gave Curly one more turn than I was planning on. Still managed to beat him down before Arise, thankfully.

Vargas was easier than I expected. Machinist abilities win this fight; Bio Grenade was hitting for about 12k total (under Shout), Blind Shell is of course a pretty effective way to apply Blind, Poison Shell helps stick Poison and does extra damage once it's on, and they're ranged, so you can fight from the back row. Which is pretty cool, since I think Vargas's only actual ranged ability is Wind Slash. Getting as many of your party in the back as you can is useful mitigation for the three-punch attack and Phantom Rush. (It also helped my run that I never actually saw a Wind Slash.) Just get the Ipoohs out of the way as fast as you can so you can start working on limiting the damage Vargas does.

[spectralphoenix]

Out of curiosity, how many tries does it normally take people to beat an ultimate? I've fought the last couple, but I'm wondering if my victories were worth it. The battles are heavily rng dependent, and losing 60 stamina or a mithril every time an umbral vise hits too fast really adds up. I'm wondering if I should just stay away from the ultimates until I've finished all the core content.

[danzibr]

Out of curiosity, how many tries does it normally take people to beat an ultimate? I've fought the last couple, but I'm wondering if my victories were worth it. The battles are heavily rng dependent, and losing 60 stamina or a mithril every time an umbral vise hits too fast really adds up. I'm wondering if I should just stay away from the ultimates until I've finished all the core content.
I don't think I've ever spent more than 60 stam and 1 mythril on one. Oh wait, that's a lie, I tried the Gigases a couple times and lost magnificently. Since SSBfest what I first said is true though.

Yeah, that 60 stam, it's killer.

[Chen]

Out of curiosity, how many tries does it normally take people to beat an ultimate? I've fought the last couple, but I'm wondering if my victories were worth it. The battles are heavily rng dependent, and losing 60 stamina or a mithril every time an umbral vise hits too fast really adds up. I'm wondering if I should just stay away from the ultimates until I've finished all the core content.

Unless you're changing your loadout each time you don't need to spend the stamina for a failed attempt. Just close the App and re-open and select "Continue" (S/Ling in the parlance).

Some Ultimates are RNG fests and it can take multiple S/Ls to beat them. Some are WAY worse and can take dozens. U+ battles tend to be a step up from that in terms of the RNG too.

Once you've gotten a solid A team setup Ultimates generally go down in a couple of S/Ls, if you have poor luck. U+s can range from similar to completely unbeatable depending on your party setup and SBs. Usually the reddit for FFRK has some nice achievements in how people beat the Ultimates and U+ s with low teams, though for the real tough ones you see less (e.g., Caius didn't seem to have many achievement posts for it, neither did Bahamut Sin at the time, but the U+ the week before had significantly more).

[Red Fel]

Out of curiosity, how many tries does it normally take people to beat an ultimate? I've fought the last couple, but I'm wondering if my victories were worth it. The battles are heavily rng dependent, and losing 60 stamina or a mithril every time an umbral vise hits too fast really adds up. I'm wondering if I should just stay away from the ultimates until I've finished all the core content.


Unless you're changing your loadout each time you don't need to spend the stamina for a failed attempt. Just close the App and re-open and select "Continue" (S/Ling in the parlance).

Some Ultimates are RNG fests and it can take multiple S/Ls to beat them. Some are WAY worse and can take dozens. U+ battles tend to be a step up from that in terms of the RNG too.

Once you've gotten a solid A team setup Ultimates generally go down in a couple of S/Ls, if you have poor luck. U+s can range from similar to completely unbeatable depending on your party setup and SBs.

This. Generally speaking, it will take me a bunch of S/Ls, and I might rearrange my party - which means another 60 stam. The U and U+ in this event are the very rare exception where I got it on the first try, which is a treat.

But yeah. S/L has basically become (for many) an accepted way to deal with the RNG. When the problem isn't your strategy, but some really crappy timing, many won't bother spending the stamina over again - just S/L and do it until you get it right.

[danzibr]

Is it better to craft Ifrit or Phoenix assuming you have the orbs? I'm away from the pdf, can't check damage.

In other words... does Ifrit easily become obsolete?

[Merlin the Tuna]

Per the PDF, Phoenix is one hit at x8.0, Ifrit is x5.5 over two hits. So Ifrit is only fully obsolete if it's dealing less than 5k damage per hit.

So for the dream stooges, it sounds like you all basically didn't bother with the KO vulnerability, correct? Per the reddit data, each dead stooge leads to another one upping his damage, so I'm not actually sure whether KOing Laragorn is strictly worth it. Ah well. I figure I'm going to sit tight until tomorrow's lucky draw, then finalize my layout and prep everybody through Sundaily since I've got a lot of candidates in the level 35-50 range at the moment. ExDeath is actually looking mighty attractive thanks to Grand Cross + Dark Zone, but we'll see.

[danzibr]

Oh huh... I'm really surprised Phoenix doesn't do 2 hits. When exploiting weakness, Ifrit seems worth it. Thanks!

[Greg_S]

ExDeath is actually looking mighty attractive thanks to Grand Cross + Dark Zone, but we'll see.
Word of warning about Dark Zone: it can be reflected, and the stooges do like reflect.

[Slayn82]

I went with a mage team against the stooges for the challenge - and gave Aerith Diaga instead of Dispel, ruining my run. I insisted, almost killed the 3 at the same time, but missed one who immediately revived another. Also had Edea Kill Mog with a reflected Memento Mori, who got revived by Pulse of Life, then got Edea killed by Doom counter and revived. Then ate a Delta attack. In the end, I felt like a Stooge too. Switched to a physical team, Ramza, Beatrix and Red XIII instead of Terra, Aerith and Edea, bringing Mog and Celes, to clean my honor.

And damn, 1/5 of my inventory is filled with FF VI items. Gear for mage meta, gear for physical meta. FF X gets close, but has better stuff overall.

[Forbiddenwar]

And I suddenly realized that Edgar's Coin makes my fifth +30 Atk accessory. Which means I can chuck all of my 3- and 4-star +Atk accessories, since at best they would only match the +30s, which frees up a lot of inventory space. Huzzah!

Five? Shoot, I'm missing one. I got the coin, gauntlet, necklace and Agrias.

[spectralphoenix]

Unless you're changing your loadout each time you don't need to spend the stamina for a failed attempt. Just close the App and re-open and select "Continue" (S/Ling in the parlance).

Some Ultimates are RNG fests and it can take multiple S/Ls to beat them. Some are WAY worse and can take dozens. U+ battles tend to be a step up from that in terms of the RNG too.


Okay, that's good to know. I'd thought doing that would just put you right back where you started, dead healers and all.

I figure I can probably beat most of these guys with enough tries, I just didn't understand how people could do it without having ludicrous gear or spending hundreds of stamina on retries.

[Simkin]

Ult & Ult+ down. First time on both. No medals lost on the first, 1 on actions and 2 on damage on the 2nd. Both fairly manageable. Decided to do an 11 pull on the 1st banner as I was lacking in and traditional melee on VI. I have gloves, spears, throwing, dagger, but had no swords. Ended up pulling 1 5*, Shadow's Sasuke Katana. Perhaps not his best weapon, but it's solid, and I've been wanting a reason to use him. Fairly happy with that. I know I should have saved it for BSBs, but I'll live with it.

/edit Nice. Got enough orbs tonight to hone Meteor to R3 and Thief's Revenge to R2.

[Red Fel]

Five? Shoot, I'm missing one. I got the coin, gauntlet, necklace and Agrias.

I have the Coin, the Gauntlet, the Aries stone, the Necklace, and then a second Necklace from the green shop because I wasn't sure when we'd get another +30 Atk accessory. Honestly, I'm not convinced that I even need five, but I have them, so pretty much no other +Atk accessories are needed. Exception: An accessory that's +Atk and +something else. (Example, Godo's Mask.)


Okay, that's good to know. I'd thought doing that would just put you right back where you started, dead healers and all.

I figure I can probably beat most of these guys with enough tries, I just didn't understand how people could do it without having ludicrous gear or spending hundreds of stamina on retries.

For a lot of people, it's not about ludicrous gear (but having one or two particular SBs helps significantly); it's about having the right characters at the right levels with the right ability hones. The nice thing about FFRK is that, generally speaking, strong 5-star gear is a quality-of-life benefit - it's extremely valuable, but generally not mandatory. Exception: Trinity is almost mandatory.


Ult & Ult+ down. First time on both. No medals lost on the first, 1 on actions and 2 on damage on the 2nd. Both fairly manageable.

Grats!


/edit Nice. Got enough orbs tonight to hone Meteor to R3 and Thief's Revenge to R2.

Thief's Revenge at R2 is definitely worth it. But R3 Meteor, I'm not so sure. I'll be honest, my Meteor has been sitting at R2 for ages. Perfectly usable, and I rarely need every drop out of it. Unless you feel you need it, I'd save the orbs.

[Simkin]

Thief's Revenge at R2 is definitely worth it. But R3 Meteor, I'm not so sure. I'll be honest, my Meteor has been sitting at R2 for ages. Perfectly usable, and I rarely need every drop out of it. Unless you feel you need it, I'd save the orbs.

Yeah I know. In general I don't disagree. There's been times lately where I've seen Ruinga damage trailing off and have wanted a bigger boost. Having 6 uses of Meteor makes it more viable inching toward replacing Ruinga. And a solid addition to a mage meta. To be fair, like most, I have been using melee meta more than mage lately, but I'm terribly fond of my mages and tricking them out. It makes me happy =)

[T.G. Oskar]

Man, this is freaking nuts yo. The game is like DEMANDING that I use Edgar. The last VI event(or maybe it was combat nightmare?) I drew his Partisan(Bio Blaster), and I Just did my usual 1-pull on the 2nd VI banner and I got his Drill. LOL, this is kinda nuts. Irritating thing though, is I don't have Bio Blaster mastered, so I can't use both at the same time yet.

Edgar is pretty good. He's an inch short of broken, and that's because he lacks Dragoon at any degree, which would grant him stuff like elemental weaknesses, and if going straight to Dragoon 5, super awesome abilities like Sky Grinder. He has a good multihit with Saint Cross, a solid defense, and he can inflict a variety of status effects through Machinist skills, which gives him an AoE (other than Bladeblitz, that is) that few other Knights have, as they need another skill set to provide them (examples being Basch and Gilgamesh with Samurai skills). Plus, it's a multihit AoE with a rider effect, which is super-nice.

Having both of his SBs implies you get a very solid Defensive/Offensive SB, plus the ability to deal Poison damage AND inflict it, so you don't have to rely that much on Bio Grenade (though it can be super-effective to combine both). I'd say master the one that's closest to mastery, but if both are really low, master Drill first. Sundailies are great to master SBs.


Out of curiosity, how many tries does it normally take people to beat an ultimate? I've fought the last couple, but I'm wondering if my victories were worth it. The battles are heavily rng dependent, and losing 60 stamina or a mithril every time an umbral vise hits too fast really adds up. I'm wondering if I should just stay away from the ultimates until I've finished all the core content.

Me? A load-ton of times. Easily 12 to 15 times, more or less depending on whether I find the setup works. I've been doing slightly better with native Wall now, but it's still around that range. I haven't finished Core content, if it helps; it just requires a few things. Having at least one of the Trinity works, and all three are more than welcome, but the key is timing; when to use your mitigation, when to attack, when to hold back, when to unload (B/S)SBs, and so forth.


So for the dream stooges, it sounds like you all basically didn't bother with the KO vulnerability, correct? Per the reddit data, each dead stooge leads to another one upping his damage, so I'm not actually sure whether KOing Laragorn is strictly worth it. Ah well. I figure I'm going to sit tight until tomorrow's lucky draw, then finalize my layout and prep everybody through Sundaily since I've got a lot of candidates in the level 35-50 range at the moment. ExDeath is actually looking mighty attractive thanks to Grand Cross + Dark Zone, but we'll see.

I had Celes with Zantetsuken and I made attacks with it, but never really bothered, true.

One thing I found, though, is that after the Stooges use Delta Magic, they essentially waste a turn. I noticed as they didn't react as fast as usual.

That said - I presume this is the easiest U+, but I managed (with some effort) to defeat Vargas and the Pooh-bears. I could have Mastered it if it weren't because Vargas' Weak phase is brutal, what with Phantom Rush dealing a bunch of damage to a few people almost every second, thus nudging those KO medals. I'm gonna try it with Rosa and her Medica+Raise, just for that moment, as everything else works - Edgar using Bio Grenades on the Pooh-Bears, timing RW Shout carefully, saving up Soul Gauge for when Vargas attacks, then unloading with Terra's Bioga and Celes' Bio Strike (dealing damage cap!), Edgar with his Drill, and Terra unloading Magitek Missiles to and fro, while the Keeper mitigates with dances + SG. I can reach Weak phase truly reliably, but afterwards it can get quite complex.

Maybe it's just that I have a LOAD of FFVI relics? Between Edgar's Drill, Terra's rod, the Zantetsuken, the 7* Crystal Mail, the pair of Crystal Helms (one at 6* and one at 5*), the Crystal Orb AND now the Fateful Coin, I have a bunch of things to make the battle easy. I say it's the battle itself.

[danzibr]

I'm with T.G. Oskar on Edgar. Up until last night, I wasn't a big Edgar fan. In games his tools were kinda meh, good but not great, probably planted a seed in my mind.

Anyway, I got to looking at his weapons, armor, abilities, and stats. He's really solid. One of the few people with Machinist 5, and most of the others are quite a bit squishier. I don't have any unique relics for Edgar, so I'd probably take Laguna over him (since I have Laguna's SSB... but Laguna has no MC2 yet... ... ... wait, checking KBP, when the hell does he get his?).

So yeah, going to level Edgar this weekend, try the U+ on Monday.

EDIT: Oh, I see. We get Laguna's (and several others') along with/around BSBfest. At least that's when JP got it.

[tyckspoon]

That said - I presume this is the easiest U+, but I managed (with some effort) to defeat Vargas and the Pooh-bears. I could have Mastered it if it weren't because Vargas' Weak phase is brutal, what with Phantom Rush dealing a bunch of damage to a few people almost every second, thus nudging those KO medals. I'm gonna try it with Rosa and her Medica+Raise, just for that moment, as everything else works - Edgar using Bio Grenades on the Pooh-Bears, timing RW Shout carefully, saving up Soul Gauge for when Vargas attacks, then unloading with Terra's Bioga and Celes' Bio Strike (dealing damage cap!), Edgar with his Drill, and Terra unloading Magitek Missiles to and fro, while the Keeper mitigates with dances + SG. I can reach Weak phase truly reliably, but afterwards it can get quite complex.


Throw Blind Shell/Blindga in there if you can find a spot and weren't already; Blinding Vargas helps mitigate some of his damage, and more importantly he still keeps doing Eye Drops even in his Weak phases, so you can make him spend turns not attacking you.

[Red Fel]

Throw Blind Shell/Blindga in there if you can find a spot and weren't already; Blinding Vargas helps mitigate some of his damage, and more importantly he still keeps doing Eye Drops even in his Weak phases, so you can make him spend turns not attacking you.

Seconding this. Every source of Blind helps. Also, one of the few instances where Cyan was genuinely useful - Yukikaze has a respectable 20% Blind proc, and Fire Blossom really shreds the iPoohs. Synergy is a good thing irrespective of whether you have any of his SB relics. Not only do I not have his SB relics, I don't have any VI katanas whatsoever, so Cyan was left holding a dagger - and he still managed to contribute significantly.

I figure it's probably his only chance to do so, pretty much ever, so I cut the poor bastard a break.

EDIT: Oh, duh! Nightmare Neo Bahamut drops tonight! Let's talk about that. Your list of Nightmare Shift synergy characters is much shorter this time - Arc, Rydia, Krile, Terra, Aerith, Rinoa, Garnet, Eiko, Yuna, Ashe, Hope, and of course Tyro. But that comes later. First, let's talk minibosses!
100: Odin (III). Medals for not getting KO'd, for reducing his Def, and for defeating him before he uses Zantetsuken three times. He only uses physical attacks, either single-target or AoE, so mitigation is straightforward, Power Breakdown is basically mandatory, and Tauntaliate is highly recommended. Victory gets you orbs and a Hero's Soul.
110: Sacred and Minotaur (VIII). Medals for not getting KO'd, exploiting Sacred's Poison (element) weakness, and exploiting Minotaur's Wind weakness. Sacred is the bigt one, Minotaur the small one. Both are weak to Poison and Wind, though, so if you have AoEs that do the trick (such as Bio Grenade and Tornado Strike) you're covered. They're also both weak to Poison (status) and Sap. Again, their output is exclusively physical, which makes mitigation easier. And while you can AoE them down, taking one out robs them of their team attack, Mad Cow Special, so consider a focus fire. Again, Power Breakdown and Tauntaliate. Victory gets you orbs and an Empty MC.
120: Magus Sisters (X). Are you getting your X team ready for next week's event? Call this a dry run. Medals for not getting KO'd, for reducing Sandy's Atk (she's the tall one), and for defeating them before they use Delta Attack three times. Cindy heals and revives her sisters, so she has to die first. Mindy deals mostly magic damage, so you probably want to kill her next, but they're all single-target, so they can be reflected. Sandy deals only physical damage. A combination of Tauntaliate (for their physical attacks) and Carbuncle (for Mindy's magic attacks) is advised. Delta Attack takes place after a fixed number of turns, so a fast win is a solid one. Victory gets you orbs, crystals, and an Empty MC2.
140: Ark (IX). Medals for not getting KO'd, for reducing Ark's Atk, and for exploiting his Wind weakness. End this guy quickly, because between Propeller Wind (AoE Confuse), Photon (reduce target to 1 HP), and Whirlwind and Boomerang (Wind and physical AoEs, respectively), this guy can quickly turn the fight into a TPK. Emphasize defensive breakdowns, buffs, and Hastega. Also, if you get Quina's RM from this fight, I hate you. Victory gets you crystals and the 6-star accessory Storm Bracelet (+Wind resist).
Now, let's talk Nightmare Neo Bahamut. You get medals for using Summons, not using physical attacks, and not using BLM. He's another three-phase boss with a special mechanic. This one's actually a bit like the first one, Ultima.

Phase 1 is a straight beatdown. He spams AoEs and Flare, so magic mitigation is vital. Remember, not only will Breakdowns not work (he's immune), but physical Breakdowns (as opposed to Dances) will be bad, so focus on defensive buffs (Shellga, wall, Divine Guardian, etc.).

At roughly 80%, he switches to Phase 2. He gains Reflect, so you're basically required to use SMNs anyway. (Or NIN if you're tricksy.) Periodically, the background color will change, indicating Bahamut's shifting vulnerabilities and resistances. If it's red, he's weak to Ice and resists Fire; if blue, he's weak to Fire and resists Ice; and it's stormy, he's weak to Water and resists Lightning. The background changes every two turns, red-blue-storm, in that order. If you hit Bahamut with a summon using an element that he resists, it will spawn an Energy Sphere based on the corresponding color. You can spawn one Sphere for each element (max 3), and their size is indicated by how much damage you've dealt with summons of that element. Phase 2 ends either when Bahamut is at 50% health, or when twelve turns have elapsed in Phase 2.

In Phase 3, the Spheres can be targeted. Destroying a Sphere will deal 9999 damage times its size (so 9999x1, x2 or x3) to Bahamut, so having multiple high-level Spheres is very helpful here. Spheres must be destroyed with a summon, or else Bahamut uses Nightmare Gigaflare. Spheres must all be destroyed at once, or else Bahamut uses Nightmare Gigaflare. If you fail to destroy the spheres in a fixed amount of time, it's a wipe. Other than that, destroy the spheres to deal damage to Bahamut, then try to burn him down while soaking Gigaflares (non-Nightmare) to the face.

Happy hunting.

[danzibr]

Hmm, thanks Red Fel. So intentionally get out several spheres in phase 2, then bust out some big guns and annihilate them in phase 3.

[SuperPanda]

Dr. mog: Good news everyone! I'll be able to open a portal to the nightmare again soon.
Tyro: Golly Dr. Mog, which nightmare will it be this time?
Dr. Mog: I'm not sure, but I think we'll get a hint.

--elsewhere--
Rydia: it was terrible! Bahamut was so angry at everyone.
Krylie: the sky's would burn, then freeze, then storm
Rosa: it's all right little ones, it was just a bad dream.
Arieth: I had it too.
Garnet: me too... I think bahamut is the next nightmare.
Arieth: how can you be sure?
Garnet: while I was out roaming the realms to aid other keepers, I came upon a place called the Royal Academy... The leaders there were... Very fond of lady Terra, but I overheard some of them talking about honing summoning abilities for the nightmare.
Rosa: it is only summonses who've been having bad dreams. That must be it.
Garnet: and with the nightmare comes...
Eiko: lucky draw! I want another hypno crown! Give me your mythril... Bwa ha ha ha.
Arc: it would be luckier to find a relic we don't yet have.
Yuna: I'll organize the lucky draw expedition. I'll take Locke to handle the treasure hunting and Sir Cecil to hold the relics.
Ashe: really hopeful there's something for you In there aren't you?
Yuna: you at least have a sword, we don't even have generic staffs for my realm. Tidus is always running off with garnet, or Arieth, or Selphie. I didn't kill Sin and the launch a pop singing career to find him only for this.
Arieth: may the fayth favor you then.
Rydia: if there is some extra lucky could you bring me mommy' whip?
Rosa: I'm sure they'll try.

(Results will be edited in if no other posts, or in a follow up if there have been other posts).

[Merlin the Tuna]

So let's hear it, who won big on the lucky draw?

I think the game remembered me whining a bit about a perfectly good draw last time (Moore Branch on WHM Nightmare) and decided to needle me a bit about it. I netted one 5* in the form of Cyclone Grimoire, which is certainly a thing. Not notably good like Sentinels, not notably unique like Stormlance, not notably inconvenient like Healing, not notably who cares like Last Judgment, just kinda... there. But whatever, I'll take it, and 4 4*s isn't bad by any stretch.

[Slayn82]

I got 4 new Rainbows. Surprisingly, one of them was Sentinel Grimoire. Yeah, I'm on Trinity now. Then, I also got Yuna's Tiny Bee, a relic I really wanted.
And to finish, got two copies of Rydia's Ice Whip - it wasn't exactly what the doctor ordered, but improves my Mage Meta, specially on IV (Three whips).
Well, hopefully I get some time to play tomorrow, I'm traveling on a very limited data plan. Good luck for your pulls guys.

[danzibr]

Not... too shabby, Merlin. There have been worse.

For me, I'm about to push the magic red button. Let's see!

Hmm, 2 4*'s and 3 5*'s. Waiting, waiting...

1st 4*: Crystal Mail.
2nd 4#: Some dagger.

1st 5*: Hope's something or other.
2nd 5*: Uhh, a throwing weapon.
3rd 5*: Some staff.

Clarification: Crystal Armor and Wing Sword for 4*'s, then Rising Sun (Rinoa), Holy Wand (Arc, non-SSB), and thankfully a SSB! Hope's Hawkeye. Sweet. Pleases me greatly.

EDIT: Grats slayn! That's a nice darn pull.

[Greg_S]

Hey, the first two bosses dropped Greater Summon orbs for me, that's nice.

I suspect I'm going to regret pulling on the lucky draw banner, but eh, I like pulling, so here goes nothing...

2/11. Rydia's Ice Whip and Ashe's Runeblade. The runeblade's my first XII character relic, but I've already got a 6* enhancer so it won't see much use. I did pick up a crystal helm (VI), which I've not had.

At least I didn't draw anything for Hope.

[Simkin]

Well my pull was a bit lackluster. 2 5*s:

Ashe's Runeblade (Northswain's Glow)
Rinoa's Rising Sun (Angel Wing Quake)

Not horrible mind you, but a bit dated. I already have Rinoa's "The Brothers", which is 3 earth attacks instead of 2. But 1, this gives me a throwing for VIII, and 2, this'll be my first SB for Ashe. So not a total loss.

[tyckspoon]

8 vendor bait 3*, 2 4s I already have at ++ and don't need double of, and Last Judgement. Yay, a SSB! For Tyro. Who will never cast it and who I would have to be quite desperate to use as a physical attacker. :smallsigh: I want my mythril back.

[SuperPanda]

Lucky netted me lullaby rod, which isn't bad all things considered. Might not get Yuna a place on my team but I finally have a synergy staff for X realms even if lulu will use it more often than Yuna.

Little else in the pull looked likely to be worthwhile.

[Calemyr]

The things I found worth keeping:
Masamune VII, third copy.
Crystal Helm VI, second copy.
Eiko's Fairy Flute (Fires of Rebirth SSB)
Rydia's Mystic Whip (Odin SSB)

Eiko's already level 65 and her MC2 isn't even on the calendar yet, sadly, but Rydia is double broken badass looking to grow up soon.

[Red Fel]

Alrighty. First, my pull. Four 3-stars, three 4-stars, and four 5-stars, namely: Rinoa's Party Dress, Tyro's Last Judgment Grimoire, Yuna's Tiny Bee, and Yuna's Tiny Bee again.

Homina, homina.

Now, onto the bosses. Odin and the Brothers were exactly as anticipated. My advice on both is to bring Tauntaliate, and on Brothers bring Squall with Tornado Strike and Laguna with Bio Grenade. The Sisters caused me to S/L a few times, because I didn't have Tauntaliate up before they decided to shred somebody's face, but with my mitigation up they were very manageable, and - bonus - dropped an MSO. Ark was a major nuisance, but everyone had tools to use - Steiner with Aerora Strike, Zidane with Wind Slash, and Freya with Wind Jump.

Shout meta was used in every case, to great effect.

Now, to take a few shots at the Nightmare. Best case, I crush him and can relax and work on leveling tomorrow. Worst case, I get crushed and have to work on leveling tomorrow.

More news as it develops.

[danzibr]

Wow. Nice pulls from some peeps. Glad nobody got totally shafted.

Me, I decided to wait until Chain Starter & Full Charge before trying of these bosses. I'm certainly looking forward to it, just when I think about the party I want to put together... they all involve Chain Starter -> Full Charge.

Oh, totally unrelated, I noticed Locke is one of my highest str characters.

[SuperPanda]

That is a nice pull Red Fel. I've only had time to take down Odin and the brothers. Debating crafting Bahamut at R2 for phase 3 burn down.

I'm not sure who my party will be. Eiko and Rydia have my only offense capable SBs (wind damage and ice, single hit). Eiko, garnet, Yuna, and Arieth have utility SBs (3 medicas and divine guardian.)
Wiki, garnet, Rydia seems obviuis.

Rinoa has my best mate weapon but I can't use her SB... Not sure what team I'll take.

[Forbiddenwar]

To everyone complaining about their pull.

I win
I got 11 3*.
😭

[Merlin the Tuna]

To everyone complaining about their pull.

I win
I got 11 3*.
😭:frown:

Sorry brother. Try to think of it as getting all your misses out before BSB fest, maybe?

In incredibly minor personal milestones, it turns out that one of those 4*s was enough to combine my first 6* item. Fer-derrrrrp~! Thanks FF5 Rune Axe, those 3 points of magic you provide are sure to be the difference between glorious victory and horrible defeat. (Seriously, some of this item design, just :smallsigh: )

[Red Fel]

Welp, first try on the Nightmare was... Bad. Despite having a team of 3 80s, 1 79, and Y'shtola, I noticed that my damage output was... Really disappointing. Like, seriously.

This boss has roughly 260,000 hp. I was dealing 2-3k (x2) with my 3-star summons. To simply get to Phase 2, I needed to deal 20% of this guy's health, or roughly 52,000. Even estimating on the high end (3k x2, or 6x) that would have taken me 8 ability uses. Now, summon uses are a precious commodity. Assuming I was using only my 3-star summons, that's more than half of their uses right there, fully honed. And while my 3-stars are fully honed, my big guns most certainly are not. Which means I'd substantially use my resources just to get him through the first phase.

Now, some additional mathcrafting. Phase 3 of this boss fight occurs when he drops below 50%, or when some other triggers are met, whichever comes first. But let's assume he's below 50%, or at 130,000. During phase 3, you can detonate the Spheres to damage him. Let's assume you maxed each sphere, so each one will deal 9999x3 damage to him. That's a total of 9999x3x3 = 89,991. That leaves roughly 40,009 damage you have to deal to him.

Conclusion: My strategy was flawed. I need a better source of damage, some better hones, and a better strategy. I'm going to watch Reddit and the suggestions on KBP for a bit.

[Starwulf]

To everyone complaining about their pull.

I win
I got 11 3*.
😭

I'm calling it now, because I just have an awful feeling about this, I believe I'm going to end up matching this. I'll edit in my results right after I post this, just wanted to post beforehand ^^

Edit: Well, maybe not as bad. 6 3*'s, 4 4*'s, and 1 5*, it's got sparkles flying around it, so it's something at least. And the verdict is.....bleh, wth is it? Rinoa's Party Dress??? Seems....pretty junky ^^. Oh well, it's FFVIII, and I have squat for realm synergy there, so I'll count it as a win even if it does look like absolute crap.

The 4*'s are: Crystal Shield, which will get evolved to a 5* form, Mesmerize Blade, which will get evolved to 6* form(and likely making it my most powerful VIII weapon now). Warriors Sword of which I already have a 6* of AND a 2nd copy, so this one will get fed off, because I don't need it, I already have plenty of X weapons. And last but not least is some XII Trident, not sure if I have it or not...I think I do though, so it should get evolved to 5* form.

Double Edit: Man, I can not wait till the day we can +++ stuff. I have so many copies of stuff lying around waiting for it, I'll end up gaining like 30 inventory spaces in the blink of an eye. I've "heard" that we might not need an extra copy of the item to +++ it, but I don't want to take any chances, and it's not hurting me too terribly much atm, so better to be safe and ready to go immediately, then sorry and annoyed that I cleared out all my extra's and can't get a ton of stuff to 6 & 7*.

[spectralphoenix]

Wasn't really sure what I wanted from this pull. Got Tyro's Last Judgement (seems to be a lot of grimoires going around) and Garnet's Wizard Rod (Divine Guardian). Divine Guardian is pretty sweet. Interestingly, with Eiko's Golem's Flute+, most of my serious choices for healer now are in IX.

Wonder if I should master the Last Judgement SB, then use it as a Rosetta Stone? Only Tyro can use it, and the only situation I would use Tyro in is if I had SG, so the odds of me ever actually equipping it on him seems nil.

[Starwulf]

Have they announced any of the SSB-fest relics we can get? I still need a hastega relic, preferably something like Divine Guardian or Mighty Guard I think it is? Every time I check kongbakpao though, all they have is the JP relics still up.

[Friv]

So let's hear it, who won big on the lucky draw?

I didn't do quite as good as some people here, but on the other hand I did really well! Three 5*s, and they're all SSBs.

First, I picked up Terra's Minerva Bustier, which is great because (a) Terra is the second-best FF6 character, and by extension one of the best characters overall, and (b) Terra's default SB is garbage so it's nice to have something useful for her.

Second, I got Rydia's Dragon Whisker, which is great because (a) strong multi-target Summon for Rydia and (b) it means I finally have a useful whip.

Finally, I got Arc's Elder Staff, which is not as awe-inspiring as the others because Arc is not as wonderful as the others, but it does provide Shell/Regen/Blink, so that is pretty cool.

[T.G. Oskar]

So let's hear it, who won big on the lucky draw?

I think the game remembered me whining a bit about a perfectly good draw last time (Moore Branch on WHM Nightmare) and decided to needle me a bit about it. I netted one 5* in the form of Cyclone Grimoire, which is certainly a thing. Not notably good like Sentinels, not notably unique like Stormlance, not notably inconvenient like Healing, not notably who cares like Last Judgment, just kinda... there. But whatever, I'll take it, and 4 4*s isn't bad by any stretch.

Welp, that's still good. A friend of mine, who went 0 5* on the last Lucky Draws, also got a Cyclone Grimoire. Fun story, at that.


Alrighty. First, my pull. Four 3-stars, three 4-stars, and four 5-stars, namely: Rinoa's Party Dress, Tyro's Last Judgment Grimoire, Yuna's Tiny Bee, and Yuna's Tiny Bee again.

Homina, homina.

I'd say you won the Draw, but I think I saw others got better pulls.


To everyone complaining about their pull.

I win
I got 11 3*.
😭

Not like this one, certainly. It happens. Hey, it could happen on an actual draw...after whaling like crazy. Blame statistics...or the RNGods. ;)


Wonder if I should master the Last Judgement SB, then use it as a Rosetta Stone? Only Tyro can use it, and the only situation I would use Tyro in is if I had SG, so the odds of me ever actually equipping it on him seems nil.

Actually...only Tyro can use Books in Global. Japan already has the Onion Knight, and...surprise surprise, he can equip books. Yes, books.

Plus...he has atrocious stats until level 92, then he gets godlike gains, and he has rank 3 in Combat, Celerity, Black Magic, White Magic, Support and Ninja, but if you Record Dive, all of those become 5*, so...

Jury's out on "just another Tyro" - quirky, but can cover for any circumstance. Oh, and his BSB? One of the few that, once mastered, offers +5 in two abilities (Attack and Magic).

So yeah...might as well save it for Onion Knight, so that you can get the HUGE gains from the Books?


I didn't do quite as good as some people here, but on the other hand I did really well! Three 5*s, and they're all SSBs.

First, I picked up Terra's Minerva Bustier, which is great because (a) Terra is the second-best FF6 character, and by extension one of the best characters overall, and (b) Terra's default SB is garbage so it's nice to have something useful for her.

Second, I got Rydia's Dragon Whisker, which is great because (a) strong multi-target Summon for Rydia and (b) it means I finally have a useful whip.

Finally, I got Arc's Elder Staff, which is not as awe-inspiring as the others because Arc is not as wonderful as the others, but it does provide Shell/Regen/Blink, so that is pretty cool.

This, is where I say, you won the draw. I would have given anything for that, for more than obvious reasons.

So...what did I draw, exactly? A bunch of 3*, three 4* (allowed me to take the Wing Sword to 6*), and Garnet's Storm Staff. On the one hand, it broke the tendency of gaining a new grimoire for Tyro, but considering I rubbed my luck on the friend I mentioned, who got a book for Tyro, it kinda counts. It's also a pretty poor relic, since it's one of Garnet's early Relics, and it's not Leviathan or Alexander, which are pretty awesome. On the other hand...it's a IX weapon, of which I have pretty much none, and it's a good Magic staff, so it fits nicely with any Black Mage I use (which should be obvious; no, it's not Vivi, unless it's a requirement). Plus, it's considered a SMN ability with an element, so it can help save on summon uses...which should work wonders for the Nightmare Summon battle with Neo Bahamut. That might earn Garnet a spot as a healer of sorts, joining Terra, the Keeper, Krile (the one other character I have with a SMN-type Soul Break) and another healer (most likely Eiko? She can use Mana's Paean to increase Magic...) as the main team.

So...as usual, ambivalent; could have struck gold (I don't care how outdated is Trance Flood, it's a valid Magic boost AND a sweet item for my waifu) or gotten something nice (a BSB, Divine Guardian, another Medica for the few WHM/Summoners out there), but it's not entirely a bust after all, and it's a...useful relic to have.

Gonna go work the battles, and spend tomorrow on the Sundaily dungeon boosting up Garnet. Fortunately she's level 50 already, so it's just a matter of taking her as close to 65 as possible.

Oh yeah, and...from my count, there's like 5 Major Summon Orbs that you can earn as victory prizes by defeating all the bosses. That's pretty generous, if you think about it. Still could use a Summoning daily dungeon, tho.

[Hunter Noventa]

My lucky draw was 90% crap, and I got Ashe's Runeblade, which isn't terrible, having a magic-bosoting sword is nice at least.

Oh that's too funny, 4 of the pieces of armor I got are 3*s that I've already gotten enough of to make 5*s out of, so they're SUPER useless!

[SuperPanda]

I had that for 3/4 of my 4*s and the last was boosted to 6* but will likely not see use.

The nightmare guardian's are down. I need to refight the sisters because I went in with a suboptimal party to try out Yuna's rod. Not sure about nightmare Bahamut yet.

I have Ifirit, Shiva, and Ramhu ant R5. I have Alexander and maudlin at R2, and I have leviathan, ultras, and fat chocobo and carbuncle.

I very much doubt that is enough damage. I have the orbs for Bahamut R 2, but I might be better off with honing leviathan and ulros?

Team wise, I read somewhere that wishing star is a NAT attack, so it is safe, and my best Mage weapon. Rydia with ice whip + and garnet with DG are definite stop. Beyond that, not sure.

I'm really thinking about bringing Tellah. Font of Wisdom could really make or break this fight for me I think. Eiko has a useful summon sb too (single hit and doesn't target weakness- break effect is useless) - but that's better than anyone else and she also packs a medica.

[Starwulf]

Woot! I managed to beat the Tentacles with the 4-man VI party. I went in with Shadow usingDoppelblade(and to think I was going to shatter that) and Fire Veil, Terra with Meteor and Blizzaga, Edgar with Pound and Life Siphon, and Sabin with Kick and Whatever Palm(the 4* ability).

I was lucky enough to have an Auroch's Reel up when I went in, that blinded and poisoned the three that could be, mitigating a large amount of their damage. I also had Edgar use the Dr. Mog's teachings RM so I could Bio Blaster right off the bat(7500 damage to all tentacles). After that I led off with Fire Veil and Blizzaga to the correct tentacles for medal purposes, then Meteor, Doppelblade, another Auroch Reels, 1 kick and a 2nd meteor and they were all dead. No medals lost, which really surprised me, I truly figured this was going to be much rougher. I did have to s/l once because I had three tentacles Bio Sabin one after another, killing him instantly. 2nd go was all and well though :)

[danzibr]

Actually...only Tyro can use Books in Global. Japan already has the Onion Knight, and...surprise surprise, he can equip books. Yes, books.

Plus...he has atrocious stats until level 92, then he gets godlike gains, and he has rank 3 in Combat, Celerity, Black Magic, White Magic, Support and Ninja, but if you Record Dive, all of those become 5*, so...

Jury's out on "just another Tyro" - quirky, but can cover for any circumstance. Oh, and his BSB? One of the few that, once mastered, offers +5 in two abilities (Attack and Magic).

So yeah...might as well save it for Onion Knight, so that you can get the HUGE gains from the Books?
Woiw. Didn't know that about Onion Knight. Nice.

EDIT: According to stuff, Luneth does not get Retaliate with his RD.

And... OK (lulz) looks like the only character I'm excited to get to 99.

[SuperPanda]

Tried the nightmare. I can't blast down the spheres fast enough in phase 3 with my current setup (including tellah as my healer).

I think I could do it with Bahamut R2. Thinking about crafting it. Timing is tricky too, if I can aim Rydia sb shiva and eiko SB Fenrir to hit right at the start of phase 3 I'd be better off. Going to try a few more times before I make Bahamut.

[Chen]

Summon again looks like a Nightmare that currently isnt worthh the effort and hones to beat. Clearing all the pre-fightd was simple enough but without high honed Valefor/Maduin Im finding I dont have nearly enough damage to kill him fast enough. Doesnt help how few uses you get from summons either.

Got Rydia's ice whip from my lucky draw. Also 5 3*or 4* that I can eventually use to +++ items. Pretty lackluster but at least one 5* makes it well worth it.

[SuperPanda]

Bahamut is dead. Mastery to the team:

RW : wall.

Eiko (maudlin R4, leviathan R3) + mag- def
Garnet [divine guardian] (Alexander R4, Ifrit R5) mako might
Rinoa [cardinal is a NAT attack, not black] (ultros R2, Ramuh R5)
Rydia [shiva] (Bahamut R2) (Shiva R5)
Tellah [font of wisdom] (shellga, Curaga)

Opened the fight with divine guardian. Shellga and wall. Ultros kicks in for 8x1600 per shot, while others support with 4 or 3* abilities, which quickly moves the dragon to phase 2.

Here we get into a holding pattern. It's easy to do a lot of aldamar in this phase but Bahamut isn't putting out the hurt yet. Got 2 level 1 spheres and 1 level 2. Managed to refresh wall and DG right before a SB shiva kicked us into phase 3.

Without Bahamut I couldn't kill the spheres fast enough in this phase, with it they burned brightly. 1 Bahamut cast was worth 3 shivas. Once the spheres unloaded on him it was time to unleash wishing star, and the last casts of Bahamut and Alexander: the holy mech got the final blow, though I was hoping for the real Bahamut to silence this nightmarish pretender.

I am out of summing orbs, completely dry on that account, but I've bested another nightmare. Rawr!

[Cozzer]

I did the half-price pull, got nothing at all. Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh. :/

Also I don't think I'll try Neo-Bahamut, since I've mostly ignored Summons since I began playing and now I have terrible hone levels for them. I think I'll look around to understand more or less how many I need and try to slowly build them up while I wait for the next Abyss cycle.

[Red Fel]

Summon again looks like a Nightmare that currently isnt worthh the effort and hones to beat. Clearing all the pre-fightd was simple enough but without high honed Valefor/Maduin Im finding I dont have nearly enough damage to kill him fast enough. Doesnt help how few uses you get from summons either.


Also I don't think I'll try Neo-Bahamut, since I've mostly ignored Summons since I began playing and now I have terrible hone levels for them. I think I'll look around to understand more or less how many I need and try to slowly build them up while I wait for the next Abyss cycle.

These. Nightmares have been an ability check, it seems - basically, a question of whether you have strong enough abilities at high enough hones. And for almost every type of ability, you can farm orbs to prepare for it.

You can't reliably farm Summon orbs. They are a stupidly precious commodity. And if you don't have them in adequate supply, you can't make the ability check. I've been reading the Reddit, and I see people with R3+ on multiple 4-star summons. I can barely scrape those numbers. I've slapped a few together and I'll probably try again later, but I'm not confident.

For a newer player, even one with great SBs, good gear, and high-level characters, this particular Nightmare may be mostly insurmountable.

Fortunately, these things recur every month. If you can't take it down now, wait for a few events and DUs, farm your Summon orbs, build up your hones. It'll be back.


Bahamut is dead. Mastery to the team:

RW : wall.

Eiko (maudlin R4, leviathan R3) + mag- def
Garnet [divine guardian] (Alexander R4, Ifrit R5) mako might
Rinoa [cardinal is a NAT attack, not black] (ultros R2, Ramuh R5)
Rydia [shiva] (Bahamut R2) (Shiva R5)
Tellah [font of wisdom] (shellga, Curaga)

Opened the fight with divine guardian. Shellga and wall. Ultros kicks in for 8x1600 per shot, while others support with 4 or 3* abilities, which quickly moves the dragon to phase 2.

Here we get into a holding pattern. It's easy to do a lot of aldamar in this phase but Bahamut isn't putting out the hurt yet. Got 2 level 1 spheres and 1 level 2. Managed to refresh wall and DG right before a SB shiva kicked us into phase 3.

Without Bahamut I couldn't kill the spheres fast enough in this phase, with it they burned brightly. 1 Bahamut cast was worth 3 shivas. Once the spheres unloaded on him it was time to unleash wishing star, and the last casts of Bahamut and Alexander: the holy mech got the final blow, though I was hoping for the real Bahamut to silence this nightmarish pretender.

I am out of summing orbs, completely dry on that account, but I've bested another nightmare. Rawr!

Well done! I'm... honestly, I'm not able to copy your strategy, because I don't have DG, or FoW, or Rydia's Shiva SB.

But I do have a few ideas. And fortunately, I have a couple of SBs that deal SMN damage. Rydia's default SB (Summon Eidolon I) does rubbish damage, but it's SMN. Thanks to the Lucky Draw, I have Rinoa's The Brothers, which deals SMN. (I also have her Valkyrie, which deals NAT damage, so that's a thing.) I have Garnet's Ramuh, which shows its age but is still strong. And Yuna's default SB (Grand Summon I) is only slightly stronger than Rydia's, but it satisfies the requirement. I could bring the four of them, plus Tyro for wall and healing, and be in a reasonably good place.

Hopefully.

Perhaps.

[Greg_S]

Jury's out on "just another Tyro" - quirky, but can cover for any circumstance. Oh, and his BSB? One of the few that, once mastered, offers +5 in two abilities (Attack and Magic).



His BSB is a pretty good RW option too. +30% ATK/MAG, plus hastega, plus the user goes into burst mode. The user's burst commands are a physical attack that grants instant PHY 1, and a magic attack that grants instant MAG 1. Since it's an ATK/MAG combined boost, it also stacks with punishing palm, monk boostga SBs, HOTE, and Memento Mori. All hail Onion Knight.

[Red Fel]

And it seems I underestimated myself! Nightmare Neo Bahamut is down, no medals lost, perfect mastery. My team:
Rydia: Shiva R5, Bahamut R2, Blood of the Summoner.
Rinoa: Ramuh R5, Alexander R3, Eidolon's Bond.
Garnet: Ifrit R5, Leviathan R3, Bestial Affinity.
Yuna: Orthros R4, Quetzalcoatl R3, Flesh Undying.
Tyro: Curaja, Shellga, Dr. Mog's Teachings.
RW: Garnet (Divine Guardian).
Note that everyone was level 80. That probably helped a lot, although I'll readily admit that my choices were poor - Garnet and Yuna are more Mind than Magic when it comes to SMNs.

Tyro's role was to throw up SG whenever it came up, and Shellga periodically, then spot-heal. The first step was to use Orthros and my 3-star summons to burn through Phase 1. Phase 2 passed very quickly, which kind of stunned me - even with the Hastega from DG, I think I only had a level 1 Fire sphere, levels 2 on the Ice and Lightning spheres. The other thing I did a bit of was to hit him with a weakness as well as a resistance during Phase 2- so, during Lightning phase, I hit him with Ramuh and Quetzalcoatl, but also with Leviathan, for instance. This ensured that he was already weak entering Phase 3.

Phase 3 was also harder than it sounded. The Spheres packed a lot of HP. Fortunately, I had saved up shots of Bahamut, Alexander, and Leviathan, as well as SMN SBs like Brothers. When the Spheres detonated, Bahamut was extremely low, and I was able to finish him off with what I had left.

It wasn't a cakewalk, but with the regen from DG and the mitigation from SG, DG, and Shellga, I was able to withstand a lot of abuse. Basically, if you have your 3-star summons at R5, an R2 Bahamut, and R3 on several 4-star summons, you should be able to manage this. It's painfully orb-intensive, but it can be done if you have enough hones.

[danzibr]

His BSB is a pretty good RW option too. +30% ATK/MAG, plus hastega, plus the user goes into burst mode. The user's burst commands are a physical attack that grants instant PHY 1, and a magic attack that grants instant MAG 1. Since it's an ATK/MAG combined boost, it also stacks with punishing palm, monk boostga SBs, HOTE, and Memento Mori. All hail Onion Knight.
Yeah, I saw those. Look awesome.

And grats Red Fel!

EDIT: 2 more 80's today, Sazh and Rydia. Not bad, not bad. Seriously think I might wait to do this Nightmare stuff until next month, go through another Orbfest first.

[SuperPanda]

Awesome Red! Good to know the dragon is down for others too.

My team wasn't full 80s. Rydia was ~75, Garnet and Rinoa were 80, Eiko was 61 and Tellah was 65.

Apart from that, working on Yuna, Rydia, and Jecht in Sundaily... really eager for news on BSB fest (I saw some speculation that we'd get translated banners soon, but its just speculation).

[Jurai]

Y'all can call me Curly Jurai, because I just wrecked the Dream Stooges.



Name
Weapon
Armor
Accessory
Ability 1
Ability 2
Record Materia
Soul Break


Garnet
Wizard Rod (IX)+
Oath Veil (VI)+
Terra's Pendant (VI)
Maduin (R4)
Shiva (R5)
Dr. Mog's Teachings
Divine Guardian


Porom
Seraphim's Mace (IV)
Estharian Helmet (VIII)
Gigas Armlet (II)
Curaja (R5)
Shellga (R3)
Mako Might
Sync


Bartz
Holy Lance (VI)
Gauntlets (IX)
Black Belt (VI)
Lifesiphon (R5)
Waterga Strike (R5)
Ace Striker
Trueblade of Legend


Ramza
Lamia's Flute (VI)
Dragon Armlet (VII)
Squall's Necklace (VIII)
Magic Breakdown (R4)
Power Breakdown (R3)
Dragoon's Determination
Veil of Annulment


GILGAMESH
Gauntlets (VIII)+
Ice Gloves (II)
Aries (FFT)
Banishing Strike (R5)
Fire Blossom (R5)
Fist of Dawn
NO EXCUSES!!Death Claw



Roaming Warrior was Setzer's Prismatic Flash (Bqu5). This went much easier than the last three-target, multi-absorb Ultimate, especially with the Gigas Armlet (II) I purchased this morning. The biggest problem with running Wall is you NEED a way to deal damage, and an Offense Break (ATK and MAG) is ROUGHLY equivalent to a Wall. The hardest part is dealing with the guillotine that is Arise, especially near the end when you're out of hones.

[Starwulf]

Well, so far I'm not having any luck on the Three Stooges >< 2 stops and 2 Delta attacks pretty much screwed me in my first attempt, about to try my 2nd. If it had stopped Setzer at first, I might have been ok, but nooo, it had to hit Terra, one of my primary sources of damage, and then it hit Cyan, another major source of damage(Fire Blossom + Yukikaze).

And 2nd try is a bust. Back to Back to Back Slows ruined my first Shout, and then upon recasting it, I got slowed twice more. Which was literally the difference between winning, and losing. The top one was one hit from death(and not just one hit, but 1/7th of a bar away from a Blizzaga strike) when he brung back curly, which seems kinda BS'y to me, as I had just killed Curly(and the other one) just one turn before, and I thought they took "several" turns before they raised them back. So, onwards to round 3, and after I'm done for the night with it, too frustrating.

And the third try went literally perfect. Only 1 delta attack, no stops, the 1 slow missed, they spent half the time buffing themselves with protect and reflect and shell(inadvertently giving me their buffs because of the reflect), 1 white wind, and a few random single target magics. I killed them all almost at the same time. The weakest one did die first, but his compatriots died the next round when Terra double casted Ruinga(she also double casted Meteor earlier on in the fight), and Cyan finished them off with a Yukikaze. Soooo..huzzah!

[Red Fel]

Ah, it's been a good morning. With no excuses, I went back and finished off my last two V elites, scratch those off the list. Now I'll just let my stamina recharge until tonight's event.

Tonight's event, by the segue, is Window on the Past, a flashback X event. I say "flashback," because it features the debut of Braska, the legendary summoner who banished Sin ten years prior. It also features the Young Auron wardrobe - yes, X now has two alternate wardrobes, while many series still have none. It also features Jecht, in case you missed him the last time. It also also features MCs for Auron, Braska, and Jecht, and MC2s for all three, plus Rikku and Kimahri. So, you know, I hope you leveled some of them yesterday. As usual, there's also a Hero's Soul, Empty MC, and Empty MC2 to pick up. There's also also a 4-star accessory, a 5-star accessory, and two 5-star abilities, both long-awaited: the 5-star Combat ability, Full Charge (massive multi-hit damage, long cast time), and the 5-star Celerity ability, Chain Starter (respectable damage, negates next cast time).

So, yeah. Good stuff.

Characterwise, Braska is sick. BLK 5, SMN 5, WHM 4. Standard caster gear (dagger/rod/staff, hat/robe/light armor/bracer). At 80, his Mag is an extremely impressive 179, easily putting him in the top 10 (and ahead of other BLMs like Vincent, Rinoa, and Garnet). His Mind, 161, is also extremely solid, although not as solid as dedicated WHM 5 healers. His HP, 4759, is low for an 80 character, but higher than almost any other caster (except the tankier ones like Terra). His 85 Def is understandably abysmal, however, although his 148 Res is, like his Mind, among the best (not quite Top 10, though).

Banners! The first:
Braska's Staff: Braska's SSB staff. Attack, Magic, and Mind. 6-hit AoE 2.4x Fire/Non SUM damage, extra hits based on Mag (one extra hit at 562, 681, and 723 Mag).
Riot Blade: Auron's SSB katana. Pure Attack. 5-hit single-target 1.56x ranged PHY damage, reduces Atk/Def. Item may cause Blind.
Songstress Rod: Yuna's SB rod. Attack, Magic, and Mind. 3-hit single-target 3.73x Holy WHT damage, En-Holy.
Lightning Steel: Tidus' SB sword. Pure Attack. 6-hit single-target 0.85x PHY damage. Item increases Lightning damage.
Flexible Arm: Rikku's SB fist. Pure Attack. 4-hit single-target 1.29x PHY damage, reduces Atk, self-Boost.
The second:
Sin Fang: Jecht's SSB sword. Pure Attack. 7-hit single-target 1.13x ranged PHY damage, boosts party Crit 25%.
Force Saber: Tidus' SSB sword. Pure Attack. 3-hit single-target 2.63x ranged Water PHY damage.
Auron's Grasp: Auron's SB bracer. Attack, Magic, Mind, Defense, and Resistance. 4-hit AoE 1.05x ranged PHY damage, Sentinel.
Jecht's Bandana: Jecht's SB hat. Attack, Magic, Mind, Defense, and Resistance. 4-hit single-target 1.28x PHY damage, auto-Stun.
Hunter Spear: Kimahri's SB spear. Pure Attack. 4-hit single-target 1.29x Jump PHY damage, self-Regen/+Atk/+Def.
Common items are Warrior's Bracer (shared-SB bracer, Protectga) and Red Armlet (stat-stick bracer, increases Fire damage).

So, should you pull? Well, let's get the obvious out of the way - BSBfest is coming. So you probably want to save for that. That aside, there are some interesting items on this banner. Jecht's SSB is basically the strongest mage SB ever, dealing 14.40x damage baseline. That damage increases with Mag, and so do the number of hits, resulting in disgusting geometric growth (that you probably won't see outside of Nightmare). Banner 2 is also loaded with armor items, including two useful bangles - even if you don't like the SBs, they make great stat-sticks - and a hat with Atk on it, which is unusual.

Ultimately, the best items on these banners - Braska's Staff, Riot Blade, Sin Fang - will be back later. So if you don't want to try it now, they won't be gone forever. Some of the others are either not great, niche options, or likely to be overshadowed later. (For instance, Tidus will soon have far better options than Force Saber, so we're told.) So I don't plan to pull, personally. But if you need X synergy, or like the characters, roll; and if you need good stat-stick gear, roll specifically on Banner 2.

Moving onto the bonus battles!
+: Boss Rush. Two of them, an odd combination. You'll need Ice and an Atk Break/down. Victory gets you sorely-needed GSOs, the Alexander ability, and Kimahri and Rikku's MC2s.
Nidhogg: Medals for Ice damage and not getting KO'd. He either uses a single-target physical or an AoE Fire. He can be Confused (worthless here) or Stopped. Exploit his Ice weakness and drop him.
Yojimbo: Medals for reducing Atk and not getting KO'd. Purely physical damage, easy to mitigate, bonus Tauntaliate usage. Be warned that Zanmato has a chance to Instant-KO.
++: The Magus Sisters. Didn't we just do this? Medals for afflicting any of the three with Poison (status), not getting KO'd, and winning before they use Delta Attack three times. Strategy is the same as it was in Nightmare, only now they're susceptible to Poison, Confuse, Slow, and Sleep. Remember to kill Cindy first, because she raises the others. Victory gets you orbs, Full Charge, Jecht's MC2, and an Empty MC2.
+++: Anima. This is what mommy issues look like. Medals for reducing her Atk, reducing her Mag, and not getting KO'd. She deals magic and physical damage, small and large amounts, single-target and AoE. She also has an AoE Gravity, which deals proportionate damage and can't be mitigated. Mitigate everything else and burn her down; no fancy tricks here. Victory gets you orbs, a Rosetta Stone, Chainstarter, and Braska's MC2.
Happy hunting.

[Hunter Noventa]

Moving onto the bonus battles!
+: Boss Rush. Two of them, an odd combination. You'll need Ice and an Atk Break/down. Victory gets you sorely-needed GSOs, the Alexander ability, and Kimahri and Rikku's MC2s.
Nidhogg: Medals for Ice damage and not getting KO'd. He either uses a single-target physical or an AoE Fire. He can be Confused (worthless here) or Stopped. Exploit his Ice weakness and drop him.
Yojimbo: Medals for reducing Atk and not getting KO'd. Purely physical damage, easy to mitigate, bonus Tauntaliate usage. Be warned that Zanmato has a chance to Instant-KO.
++: The Magus Sisters. Didn't we just do this? Medals for afflicting any of the three with Poison (status), not getting KO'd, and winning before they use Delta Attack three times. Strategy is the same as it was in Nightmare, only now they're susceptible to Poison, Confuse, Slow, and Sleep. Remember to kill Cindy first, because she raises the others. Victory gets you orbs, Full Charge, Jecht's MC2, and an Empty MC2.
+++: Anima. This is what mommy issues look like. Medals for reducing her Atk, reducing her Mag, and not getting KO'd. She deals magic and physical damage, small and large amounts, single-target and AoE. She also has an AoE Gravity, which deals proportionate damage and can't be mitigated. Mitigate everything else and burn her down; no fancy tricks here. Victory gets you orbs, a Rosetta Stone, Chainstarter, and Braska's MC2.
Happy hunting.

These don't look so bad. X is a decent realm for me, but far from my best, but I don't see anything that'll be an actual issue, since there's no forced character usage. Getting those 5* abilities AND the free Alexander will be nice.

I wish there was something like combining for abilities though, last even gave me another copy of kick and all I could do was break it down for Orbs.

[Greg_S]

Good summary, Red. Second consecutive FFX banner that hits around fest time and gets overshadowed. Too bad, too, I would love Riot Blade. Two things I'd like to add: First, the BSBfest banners will probably get pushed to the server tonight, so we'll probably know what's on them soon.

Secondly, it's possible to hit Braska's SSB max hit total right now in FFX, and maybe in other realms. Braska starts at 179 MAG. Mastering his SSB adds +10, and X synergy adds another +20, assuming he's +2/level. He's at 209. RS on his staff boosts its MAG. I don't know what its synergy stats are, but let's assume 190. That's probably a bit low, but it'll work. Add on +25 for a hat, and +30 accessory, and you're at 454. Devotion puts us at 544. Mana's Paean gets him to 626. Stack Lulu's focus on top of it, and we're at 750, plus or minus a bit for rounding.

In a regular or mixed team, you're not going through this level of work, but if you're using a dedicated mage team with Kefka/Edea and later Edward's faithgas, Braska's SSB is a level of damage that only Dark Zone/Bahamut come close to. ATK/MAG boosts are coming soon as well, making this a rarity- the future-proof (as much as anything is) damage SSB.

[danzibr]

That makes me really want Braska's SSB. I didn't even think of buffs, I was like how the heck can that even happen, need synergy caster 7*'s???

Anyway. Going to spend $0.99, might get lucky :P

[Simkin]

Neo Bahamut down. Not that hard when you finally understand the mechanic. Couldn't find anywhere it was explained until I finally went to reddit. Wasted a goodly amount of time.

[Forbiddenwar]

Any tips on the solo mission, or am I over thinking it?

[Merlin the Tuna]

Any tips on the solo mission, or am I over thinking it?Consensus seems to be Kick+Chakra, loner/solitude RM, Squall BSB RW so you can hit fire weakness.

[Starwulf]

Anyone have some tips for the U+ battle for VI? I can't seem to burn the bears down fast enough, I've died 4x thus far. I have Ifrit on Terra, and Fire Blossom on Cyan, Bladeblitz on Cloud and It just doesn't seem to be enough. I mean I hit hard, after shout and multi-break Fire Blossom(or is it flame blossom?) is damn near hitting the cap on damage, but their swipe ability that hits everyone + Vargas gale strike just rips me to shreds, even with protect and SG up.

Edit: Ya know, it seems like this is how it always pans out. I come asking for help, and then before I get any(because I post in the dead-zone of this thread usually, when everyone else is sleeping or what not), I manage to beat it. Sooo...yeah, Huzzah! My first U+ is down! Finally had a run where neither Vargas or the bears used their AoE attacks, and while it got a bit dicey at the end, I managed to beat him without losing anyone, and only 1 medal lost for actions taken! YAY!

[danzibr]

Grats on the victories!

Any word on BSBfest banners? I'm on cellular, lost wifi, can't load big stuff like KBP.

[Red Fel]

Consensus seems to be Kick+Chakra, loner/solitude RM, Squall BSB RW so you can hit fire weakness.

Very much this. Chakra for healing and Boost, Kick to clear trash, pop a Chakra and then Squall's BSB to crush the Cactuar. Mastered it losing only two medals to damage.

As for the second mission, the trio, I used Braska as healer, then put an AoE and a Break (Armor and Magic, respectively) on Jecht and Auron. The AoEs let me sweep, the Breaks dealt solid damage, and I brought a Shout RW to deal with the boss. He deals mostly physical damage and counters regularly, but I ate two Megaflares; fortunately, with Shellga + Magic Break, if you Defend before they hit, you're only facing about 400-500 damage. Lost two medals to damage again, but mastered.


Edit: Ya know, it seems like this is how it always pans out. I come asking for help, and then before I get any(because I post in the dead-zone of this thread usually, when everyone else is sleeping or what not), I manage to beat it. Sooo...yeah, Huzzah! My first U+ is down! Finally had a run where neither Vargas or the bears used their AoE attacks, and while it got a bit dicey at the end, I managed to beat him without losing anyone, and only 1 medal lost for actions taken! YAY!

Grats!


Any word on BSBfest banners? I'm on cellular, lost wifi, can't load big stuff like KBP.

Well, before that, they officially announced Record Dive (which they're calling Record Sphere). So that's a thing now, huzzah! (Oddly, they don't appear to be released until the Shirtless Sephiroth event, which is still several away, but whatever.)

The Big Bridge event is still anticipated for July 1 and 6, so it's possible they'll drop the BSBfest in there.

That said, there's also maintenance upcoming on 6/23. If they haven't pushed Record Spheres and/or BSB banners to the server by now, they'll probably do it then. So I wouldn't worry about it just yet.

[SuperPanda]

Grats on the victories!

Any word on BSBfest banners? I'm on cellular, lost wifi, can't load big stuff like KBP.

The best guess on Reddit is that they'll be uploaded with the update on June 23rd and the data miners will be able to find them around June 24th.

It's possible big bridge will be dropping earlier than expected since the images for it actually reveal the end-dates, so phase 1 ends July 2nd, but Ive no idea how long the phases are suppose to be.

I'm really eager for the BSB banners... Come on Excalibur IV, Thyrus, Platinum Sword, and a bunch of other goodies.

[Hunter Noventa]

Ugh, I wasn't able to master Sanubia with solo Jecht. Even with Chakra + Kick he just was taking too much damage and had to move him to the back row, and I had to use 2 Mythril on Cactaur because the jerk wouldn't stop using 1000 needles and killed me before I could kill him. I'll have to come back with a full party for the Mastery.

[Red Fel]

Ugh, I wasn't able to master Sanubia with solo Jecht. Even with Chakra + Kick he just was taking too much damage and had to move him to the back row, and I had to use 2 Mythril on Cactaur because the jerk wouldn't stop using 1000 needles and killed me before I could kill him. I'll have to come back with a full party for the Mastery.

My suggestion? On the back row, give him a thrown or ball weapon. (I have Wakka's Over The Top, which really helps.) Then, give him the Rebel's Might RM - Atk and Def boosts, plus Regen. That'll help him soak and deal some damage, and keep a bit of recovery up.

Remember not to ignore Chakra. When fighting Cactuar, if you dip below half, pump Chakra. Yes, even if your Burst mode is still running. In fact, if you can slap Chakra right before Cactuar (in round 2/3), you'll have that Atk boost and hopefully a topped-off health bar. Slam Squall's BSB, then keep pumping the Fire Renzokuken button until (1) your health dips below half, (2) your damage output decreases, or (3) Burst mode ends. In any of those three cases, hit Chakra immediately (either to heal, for the Atk boost, or just to be on the safe side). Then get back to Fire Renzokuken (unless Burst has ended, in which case reapply BSB).

[Hunter Noventa]

My suggestion? On the back row, give him a thrown or ball weapon. (I have Wakka's Over The Top, which really helps.) Then, give him the Rebel's Might RM - Atk and Def boosts, plus Regen. That'll help him soak and deal some damage, and keep a bit of recovery up.

Remember not to ignore Chakra. When fighting Cactuar, if you dip below half, pump Chakra. Yes, even if your Burst mode is still running. In fact, if you can slap Chakra right before Cactuar (in round 2/3), you'll have that Atk boost and hopefully a topped-off health bar. Slam Squall's BSB, then keep pumping the Fire Renzokuken button until (1) your health dips below half, (2) your damage output decreases, or (3) Burst mode ends. In any of those three cases, hit Chakra immediately (either to heal, for the Atk boost, or just to be on the safe side). Then get back to Fire Renzokuken (unless Burst has ended, in which case reapply BSB).

I have absolute crap for thrown weapons, nor do I have Rebel's Might, though I did throw Loner on him. I was able to beat it and get the Cid mission credit, I just have to go back and get the mastery for those sweet sweet orbs.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Dream Stooges are down! Whoop whoop! That's my first +30 accessory in the bank!
Zack (70) - Drain Strike R3, Armor Break R4, SOLDIER Strike [Apocalypse]
Relm (79) - Curaja R4, Shellga R2, White Magic Adept
Celes (65) - Blizzara Strike R3, Fira Strike R4, Unbreakable Spellblade
Palom (80) - Waterja R3, Ruinga R3, Devotion [Chaincast Boltstorm]
Yuffie (65) - Dismissal R4, Heathen Frolic Sarabande R2, Salve
RW: Shout
Rushed Celes, Terra, and Yuffie to 65 on Sunday only to learn that Terra was still a good chunk of MAG short of relevant. Not really a loss, but a little annoying since I'll be doing a lot of egging for this week's Cid Missions. Anyway, FF6 is a bit of a tricky realm for me since I have good armor but kinda crap weapons for it. Palom dropped waterjas on the red stooge until reflect went up, then transitioned into ruinga to even out the crowd while the others focused stooges down weak. I think I was about to eat a second Delta Attack when the SSBs finally came online for the final push. Gotta say that I'm very happy about Chaincast Boltstorm's fallback to non-elemental; that was key in giving me the oomph to burn down the yellow stooge.

Not loving my chances on Vargas though. I'd be foolish to ignore him, what with only costing one stamina, but I suspect that I'm short no small amount of muscle. I've come to grips with the need to crush down 5* orbs to create well honed 4* abilities though, so maybe a spending spree will be enough to put me in the margin of error.

[Red Fel]

I have absolute crap for thrown weapons, nor do I have Rebel's Might, though I did throw Loner on him. I was able to beat it and get the Cid mission credit, I just have to go back and get the mastery for those sweet sweet orbs.

That works too!


Dream Stooges are down! Whoop whoop! That's my first +30 accessory in the bank!
Zack (70) - Drain Strike R3, Armor Break R4, SOLDIER Strike [Apocalypse]
Relm (79) - Curaja R4, Shellga R2, White Magic Adept
Celes (65) - Blizzara Strike R3, Fira Strike R4, Unbreakable Spellblade
Palom (80) - Waterja R3, Ruinga R3, Devotion [Chaincast Boltstorm]
Yuffie (65) - Dismissal R4, Heathen Frolic Sarabande R2, Salve
RW: Shout
Rushed Celes, Terra, and Yuffie to 65 on Sunday only to learn that Terra was still a good chunk of MAG short of relevant. Not really a loss, but a little annoying since I'll be doing a lot of egging for this week's Cid Missions. Anyway, FF6 is a bit of a tricky realm for me since I have good armor but kinda crap weapons for it. Palom dropped waterjas on the red stooge until reflect went up, then transitioned into ruinga to even out the crowd while the others focused stooges down weak. I think I was about to eat a second Delta Attack when the SSBs finally came online for the final push. Gotta say that I'm very happy about Chaincast Boltstorm's fallback to non-elemental; that was key in giving me the oomph to burn down the yellow stooge.

Not loving my chances on Vargas though. I'd be foolish to ignore him, what with only costing one stamina, but I suspect that I'm short no small amount of muscle. I've come to grips with the need to crush down 5* orbs to create well honed 4* abilities though, so maybe a spending spree will be enough to put me in the margin of error.

Grats on the Stooges!

The thing to remember is that sometimes realm synergy can make up for a lack of muscle. For example, take Cyan, who is one of the least useful characters in virtually every respect. He is easily outclassed by anybody with Samurai abilities, particularly Sephiroth, who is simply "Cyan, but powerful," but also those who combine Samurai with other abilities, those who combine katana with other weapons, or simply those who don't suck stat-wise.

Yet in the Vargas fight, that synergy counts for a lot. His Fire Blossom dealt substantial damage to the iPoohs, his Yukikaze had a great Blind chance. What mattered was the ability uses, and you're right that a spending spree may help you in that regard. And between him, Terra (blasting), Edgar (Bio Grenade, Blind Shell), you can do a lot of damage and enjoy a lot of mitigation. Because, among other things, this fight gives you a unique mitigation opportunity - the boss is physical, and extremely susceptible to Blind. So you can negate a lot of his actions if you can keep the Blind status up.

[danzibr]

Did the solo Jecht dungeon, currently doing the trio dungeon. These Cid's missions are quite fun.

[Hunter Noventa]

Did the solo Jecht dungeon, currently doing the trio dungeon. These Cid's missions are quite fun.

I agree they do change things up a bit, but they're making me spend my stockpiled eggs if I want the rewards. I like that they aren't tied into the regular requirements for the stage, I'd guess that's why we haven't seen many events with 'use this character you just got' medal requirements.

[danzibr]

Why the heck is a Nidhogg a boss?

[Jurai]

http://i433.photobucket.com/albums/qq60/Jurai_Madman/Screenshot_2016-06-21-13-43-58.png
http://i433.photobucket.com/albums/qq60/Jurai_Madman/Screenshot_2016-06-21-13-44-12.png
http://i433.photobucket.com/albums/qq60/Jurai_Madman/Screenshot_2016-06-21-13-44-32.png



Character
Weapon
Armor
Accessory
Ability 1
Ability 2
Record Materia
Soul Break


GILGAMESH
Gauntlets (VIII)+
Dragon Armlet (VII)
Aries (FFT)
Draw Fire (R5)
Retaliate (R5)
Fist of Dawn
Death Claw


Bartz
Holy Lance (VI)
Gauntlets (IX)
Fated Coin (VI)
Lifesiphon (R5)
Biora Strike (R4)
Ace Striker
Trueblade of Legend


Porom
Seraphim's Mace (IV)
Oath Veil (VI)+
Tornado Armlet
Curaja (R5)
Protectga (R3)
Dr. Mog's Teachings
Sync


Sephiroth
Kotetsu (V)
Ice Gloves (II)
Squall's Necklace (VIII)
Lifesiphon (R4)
Fire Blossom (R5)
Battleforged
Black Materia


Ramza
Lamia's Flute (VI)
Holiday Mittens (VII)
Power Belt (VI)
Power Breakdown (R3)
Full Break (R1)
Double Hit
Default



So, yeah, hey, Vargas, do you remember this beginner scrublord, way back when, when you and your pet birds kept tossing me off your mountain? Well, guess what, chocobuckle? There's a new king on this mountain, and that's me.

That's right. Vengeance is mine, saith the Keeper, and I have claimed it. I lost one medal for actions and two for damage. Nobody died and I had twenty-two seconds left on the Doom counter.

[Hunter Noventa]

Why the heck is a Nidhogg a boss?

Laziness? He was actually more of a threat than Yojimbo with his AoE breath, but Hym of the Faith took care of all that for the Yojimbo fight, which was trivial.

Bahamut with just Jecht, Auron and Braska came down to the wire when I was out of healing spells and he kept countering, but I was able to see it through to the end.

Anticipating not much trouble with the Magus Sisters, since I can bring my A-Team to the fight, plus Rikku for Bio Grenade.

[danzibr]

That's right. Vengeance is mine, saith the Keeper, and I have claimed it. I lost one medal for actions and two for damage. Nobody died and I had twenty-two seconds left on the Doom counter.
Grats!

Laziness? He was actually more of a threat than Yojimbo with his AoE breath, but Hym of the Faith took care of all that for the Yojimbo fight, which was trivial.

Bahamut with just Jecht, Auron and Braska came down to the wire when I was out of healing spells and he kept countering, but I was able to see it through to the end.

Anticipating not much trouble with the Magus Sisters, since I can bring my A-Team to the fight, plus Rikku for Bio Grenade.
Yeah, they were easy peasy. I brought a bunch of AoE's, died in like 2 turns. Auroch Reels as a RW did a butt ton of damage.

Looking forward to Chainstarter -> Full Charge (or whatever they're calling them). Just like 40 more stam, then I'll go back and attempt Vargas. Hopefully r3 Chainstarter and r2 Full Charge. I think I have the orbs.

EDIT: Mastered Vargas. Easiest U+ in a while. Did indeed have the orbs. Going to try to farm some Power Orbs today, got down really low with all my crafting and honing, then tomorrow I'll do the new Nightmare stuff. I'm having a lot more fun with this game now, can't remember the last time I Advantaliated.

[Starwulf]

So glad that when Nightmare opens up, you can access all the other dungeons. I wasn't playing when the WHM Nightmare came around, so I've spent today doing that(with the exception of the main boss itself, I have no way in hell of ever beating that. Maybe after the BSB-fest I might have a chance, kinda doubt it though). Now I'm working on the SMN ones, just got offed by the minotaur brothers in 2 rounds though, they literally focus-fired on poor Wakka, he was dead before Sentinel Grimoire made it up. Other then that though, haven't really had any major issues with any of the bosses. Magus sisters were a cakewalk on the SMN side, and pretty much everything but Tiamat was a cakewalk on the WHM side. Don't think I'll be going after the SMN major boss either though, just don't have the summoners leveled, or the summons created/honed to do it.

Once I'm done with that I'll finally start in on the new X stuff. No way in hell I'm bothering with the cid missions on this one. Couldn't even try the solo Jecht one, he's level 1 and I'm 100% out of eggs now, literally not one in my inventory, lol. Others just sound to frustrating to bother with.

[SuperPanda]

The vi and x events are now clear until bonus battles drop. I can get back to clearing my past few elites, farming orbs, and hunting for the many many RMs I'm missing/ leveling the many people who need it.

Used full charge without power chain in the Anima fight. Note perfectly usable on its own but must be disgusting with power chain attached. It was like having blasting zone as an ability (though with PP up full charge was doing 5.5k a hit and blasting zone did 9k... It's pretty close).

[danzibr]

Finally taking down current Nightmare stuff. Brought 80 Lightning with no RS gear to the Odin fight, and no buffs for that matter (Odin did have Full Break and Armor Breakdown, though). Full Charge did over 6k per hit. Mmmmmm. Looking forward to seeing it with Shout and RS gear.

Oh, one more thing. I finally have the party I want. I bring in either Garnet or Relm with their SSB for healing, then Tyro is an off-melee Support with SG, then someone with Thief's Revenge, someone with Chainstarter and Full Charge, and finally Cloud with Spellblade or Lifesiphon for his SSB. Ahhhhhhhh yeah.

EDIT: Oh, and grats on the progress, Starwulf and SuperPanda!

[Hunter Noventa]

Full Charge is amazing, it looks like an Inazuma Kick or something when you use it. Sadly I am woefully lacking in Power Orbs so it's going to be stuck at R1 for a long time, severely lessening it's usefulness.

[Friv]

Wow, Anima is a pushover.

My FFX equipment synergy is garbage*. I don't have a single FFX character with a SB or SSB. And I didn't just beat Anima, I flattened her. My party was at 100% health for most of the fight and I didn't lose a single medal.

* - Celebration Blade, a 5* Warrior's Sword +, a 6* Nodachi ++, a Defense Veil, and a 6* Bright Armguard ++, for a total of three weapons and two armor, mostly built out of 4*s.

[Hunter Noventa]

Wow, Anima is a pushover.

My FFX equipment synergy is garbage*. I don't have a single FFX character with a SB or SSB. And I didn't just beat Anima, I flattened her. My party was at 100% health for most of the fight and I didn't lose a single medal.

* - Celebration Blade, a 5* Warrior's Sword +, a 6* Nodachi ++, a Defense Veil, and a 6* Bright Armguard ++, for a total of three weapons and two armor, mostly built out of 4*s.

That sounds about like my experience. The only FFX SB I even have is Yuna's Lullaby Rod. Granted I didn't take a full-synergy party, I took my 80s instead, but it was still pretty sad all around.

[SuperPanda]

Looks like JP just got an XI event, and I was super excited for this until I noticed it's a collab event. This means than a far future event than I'm pysched for is probably going to get skipped when it comes to global. Sigh.

DeNa you've bummed me out, announce th bsbfest banners and cheer me up. :)

[danzibr]

Wow, Anima is a pushover.

My FFX equipment synergy is garbage*. I don't have a single FFX character with a SB or SSB. And I didn't just beat Anima, I flattened her. My party was at 100% health for most of the fight and I didn't lose a single medal.

* - Celebration Blade, a 5* Warrior's Sword +, a 6* Nodachi ++, a Defense Veil, and a 6* Bright Armguard ++, for a total of three weapons and two armor, mostly built out of 4*s.

That sounds about like my experience. The only FFX SB I even have is Yuna's Lullaby Rod. Granted I didn't take a full-synergy party, I took my 80s instead, but it was still pretty sad all around.
Same. Nothing like X itself :P (at least with the party I took to her)

Looks like JP just got an XI event, and I was super excited for this until I noticed it's a collab event. This means than a far future event than I'm pysched for is probably going to get skipped when it comes to global. Sigh.

DeNa you've bummed me out, announce th bsbfest banners and cheer me up. :)
Boo. I'm looking forward to a diversity of realms and content. See way too much VII and VI imo. I mean, I love them, but variety.

And BSBfest banners soon!!!

Edit: How can you tell the type for SB? Like supposedly Wishing Star is Nat, how about Magitek Missile and whatever Hope's is?

[Jurai]

Same. Nothing like X itself :P (at least with the party I took to her)

Boo. I'm looking forward to a diversity of realms and content. See way too much VII and VI imo. I mean, I love them, but variety.

And BSBfest banners soon!!!

Edit: How can you tell the type for SB? Like supposedly Wishing Star is Nat, how about Magitek Missile and whatever Hope's is?

Enlir's Spreadsheet will have it. Just sort by Type.

[SuperPanda]

Reddit has a teaser image up for the BSB banners and date.

Big Bridge is coming along with the BSBfest banners on Saturday 6/25. We only have a teaser for Banner 1 which is

P.Cecil BSB
Celes SSB
Relm SSB
Lightning SSB


I have crushing blow but I'd love either of those other 3. I was hoping Baltheir's would still be on this banner giving me a better shot at it, but I'm happy Celes's is here instead as I'd otherwise likely not get a shot. Really curious as to what the rest of the banner(s) look like.

[Greg_S]

Oh my. That banner 1 looks great already. I have ~100 myth to spend here, and it might become two pulls on banner 1 for the sweet holy boosts.

Also: I am in love with powerchain/full charge. Both are expanding my list of viable characters, which is a huge plus.

[SuperPanda]

I agree that the teaser is nice.

the JP banner 1 teaser image had: P.Cecil BSB, Shadow SSB, Balthier SSB, Eiko SSB.
The Global banner tease image is: P.Cecil BSB, Celes SSB, Lightning SSB, Relm SSB.

I've heard lots about how awesome Shadow's SSB is because it is instant cast but I never felt the urge to hunt for it. Celes's SSB on the other hand is a solid damaging SSB on a solid character which also comes with a situational but amazing ability. I really want Balthier's SSB and was denied last time there was a chance to nab it. I'm bummed it was moved off this banner. I've already got Lightning's SSB so this is all around a sad change for me. Relm's Medica is hands down better than Eiko's. I already have Eiko's SSB and improving the instrument wouldn't have helped too much since there is really no one else who can use it effectively... as repeat relics which I might get multiple copies of Lightning's is better.

I've got 350 myhtril stored away. My main targets are P.Cecil BSB and wall (though Shout would be amazing if it returns like it did for JP). Both return on other banners soon too.
If i hold 50 mythril for Adult Rydia 1 (another chance at P.Cecil BSB and other nice physicals for FFIV) and 50 for FFXIV (Thyrus returns, along with a bunch of items I'm not sure I'd ever need) - I'd have enough for 50/banner.

Really just chomping at the bit to see what the banners are at this point.

[Starwulf]

All the phases have now been revealed: http://ffrk.kongbakpao.com/soul-breakout/

Honestly...I'm not really that enthused over any of it, but that's mostly because I just don't know which ones are good/useful, and which ones are just "meh". For right now, it looks like 1, 3, 5 are the ones I'll pull on, while skipping 2 and 4. Or I might skip 3, and do 2 just for the chance at one of Tidus' weapons, as I've never gotten any of his stuff, despite having pulled for pretty much all of his weapons. Or just do 1 pull on 1, and 2 pulls on 5 and hold the rest for the Double BSB in 3 more months and hope that some more stuff I actually want and know about is there. (1 because I really want Lightnings Peacemaker, and 5 because I've wanted one of Clouds items even more then I've wanted one of Tidus', and again, I've had zero luck).

Though, I am tempted to do a pull on 4 as well, strictly for Shout, as I've really started to rely on it for clearing U & U+'s. Guess I'll figure it out when it gets here to be honest, though I am very much open to reasoning from peeps on here as to why I should or shouldn't pull on any of the banners(with the exception of 5, 5 is guaranteed at least one pull, and maybe twice, strictly because I want Clouds weapon so damn badly).

[SuperPanda]

After being so excited, I'm really not that enthusiastic anymore. The four relics I most wanted: balthier SSB, thyrus, Cecil BSB, Ramza SSB were previously concentrated. Now it feels like there is A lot of meh mixed in with the great.

Banner 1: 4/9 I want. Only 2 of those I really want. 2/9 I'd be happy enough with.
Banner 2: 4/9 I think want and again only 2'really want. Again 2 I'd be happy enough with.
Banner 3: 1 I really want. 2 I'd be happy enough with.
Banner 4: 4 I really want, 3 I just want. None I don't want.
Banner 5: 3 I really want a lot of I'd be happy enough...

I need to compare against the banners where my wants return. Adult Rydia 1 is close and good. I think balthier returns on the next XII too.

4 looks very solid for me being V heavy when that realm is weak for me. 1 I'm unsure on. 5 has few "traps" while also not getting me super exited. Not sure I'll pull on two, certain I won't pull on 3.

I really want to see a breakdown on how nice the xiv relics are since I looks like we might not get another xiv event in the foreseeable future. Or an xi event (Dissidia might not happy leaving me with no shantoto mc let alone mc 2 or SSB... And the future xi event is a collab meaning we probably won't get that either. Sad about this.

I want p.cecils BSB, but adult Rydia 1 looks like it might be better.
I want balthier's SSB but it looks like Gabranth 2 would be better.
I want Ramzas SSB but it looks like Delita 2 (The Mustadio banner) would be better... Not sure how I'll pull

[Slayn82]

I've been busy at work, bad Internet at home, barely having time to play. Mastered Vargas, still have to beat the current +++ fight and deal with Nightmares.

Huh, looking at my needs, Banner 2 large variety of Relics seems the best Banner for my goals, and has no repeats. Then Banner 5 is full of good stuff, specially the armors, and a single repeat in SG.

Banner 1 only repeat is Excalibur VI, but wouldn't mind the risk of getting another, all those relics are very decent. A smile for Mog's Heroic Harmony, and Gordon's Goddess Bell.

Banner 4 has relics for four FFV characters, tempting, but two repeats (Ramza and Edea's) and remaining relics with I already have substitutes, means with a heavy heart, I will pass. But this is an amazing banner, FF V featuring Shout and Inaugural Parade.

This leaves Banner 3 - Keeper and Selphie, together, lol. Three Medicas and Tyro's BSB make it interesting, Seipher's Coat is a decent relic, Ichigeki is strong, Ribbon is a mage hat. If I can wrap my head on risking a second Magic Comb, or having a 7* flexible arm, I may pull, but would recommend to anyone without repeats.

Overall, I think the Banners are pretty good, and focused on specific goals of various players. Banners 4 and 5 for starting physical Meta, 1 and 3 have decent Healing and Mitigation, 1 and 4 for Knight's, 3 and 4 for Thief's. If you want Magic, sorry, you are out of luck, but hey, Terra and the Summoner are around, right?

[Hunter Noventa]

Looks like I'll be drawing on every phase,they all have some stuff i want...but they also seem to all have things I already have too.

Phase 1: Already have Thunder Gloves, but I would love either Excalibur.
Phase 2: No duplicates, definitely want that Twin Lance though, anything else would be gravy.
Phase 3: Already have a 6* Crescent wish AND a Lullaby Rod, this one I might skip over, but Keeper's Tome and Ichigeki would be really nice.
Phase 4: Already have a 6* Platinum Sword, but I really want that Ragnarok. I also think I have that Rod for Lenna, so a little risky.
Phase 5: Already have a Kaiser Shield, but I NEED that 1st Fusion Blade.

I know I have over 300 Mythril at least, have to decide where to spend it. Can't check at the moment since the servers are still down.

[Greg_S]

Weighing in on banners now that they're out:

The four levels I'm using:

A: Good enough to put the character in A-team rotation.
B: Useful piece that helps make the character viable
C: Worth bringing to a Cid Mission
D: Dud


A-levels are worth pulling for, Bs are great consolation prizes, Cs are ok but disappointing.


A: Excalibur x2, Peacemaker, Chocobo Brush, Flame Shield
B: Kefka's Cloak, Mog's Sash
C: Thunder Gloves, Wyrmfang



A: Razzmatazz, Twin Lance, Holy Rod
B: Vega 42s, Arc's Staff, Drill
C: Full Metal Rod (has DG's 50% RES boost), Dragon Claws, Kotetsu



A: Keeper's Tome (ATK/MAG and DEF/RES breaks in burst mode? Sign me up), Crescent Wish, Ichigeki, Wutai Headband
B: Magic Comb (maybe? This might be a C, I'm not sure), Lullaby Rod, Keepsake Ribbon
C: Seifer's Coat, Flexible Arm



A: Ragnarok, Platinum Sword, Platinum Shield, Yoichi's Bow
B: Genji Blade, Defender, Sorceress' Crown, Lenna's Staff, Vaan's Kotetsu



A: 1st Fusion Sword, Stardust Rod, Aldebaran (Maybe a B, I dunno), SG, Kaiser Shield, Grand Armor (40% heal and protectga is great- I sometimes RW shout and have Ramza lifesiphon to keep this up), Golden Armor
B: Fairy Flute
C: Desch's Sword


There's a lot of really good stuff on these banners, and just as important, there's a lot of good stuff for good characters. Compare with the last fest, which had some duds, and a lot of boring BLM and sub-SSB damage stuff, and I think this is filled with great items.

I like 1, 3, and 5 the most, but I already have two of the big prizes on 3 and 5, so I think I'll throw 50 at #1 for sure.

EDIT: Record Dive is out, fragments are login bonuses, and hilariously, Cloud isn't divable right now.

[Hunter Noventa]

I've got 335 Mythril in the bank.

Also, Record Spheres are live. The selection of heroes we can upgrade seems a little random.

Keeper, Warrior of Light, Firion, Josef, Arc, Ingus, DRK!Cecil, Edward, Galuf, Bartz, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Barret, Yuffie, Quistis, Selphie, Vivi, Steiner, Tidus, Wakka, Vaan, Penelo, Snow, Vanille

The system also seems to hint at some new core classes, as the buffs are based one them. I've found Illusionist, Geomancer, Warmage, Paladin, Master Monk, Beastmaster, Cannoneer, and Dancer so far.

So how long before we have the theorycrafting on who to prioritize upgrading?

[danzibr]

Oh my. So much to respond to. Like Greg_S I'm loving the combo. And BSBfest banners, finally! And yeah, I was looking for Cloud to dive into, surprised he wasn't there.

For banners, I'll have to take a really close look, see where to spend my mythril. I'm not super excited about any individual banner.

But they did take Thyrus away. Again. Jerks. I know there's a XIV event soon, but still...

[Dorath]

I don't really want to spend my spheres until I know how to get more.

[Forbiddenwar]

Nice of them to put both magic blinks on the same banner. Everything I have goes there. Sadly I don't have much mithril

[Hunter Noventa]

I don't really want to spend my spheres until I know how to get more.

That is a factor isn't it? They really need to revamp the daily rewards, we need a Summon Orb Daily and now a Record Sphere daily.

[Merlin the Tuna]

1 and 3 look like standouts to me, though I also want to pull on 4 for a shot at native Shout. I'm sitting at 253 mythril with a few Braska dungeons to wrap up today, so between that and the fest dungeons I'm looking at 5 pulls and a dozen or so refreshes. So I guess I'm pulling on 1, 3, and 4 as soon as they come up, and the other two pulls are flex options depending on how the results pan out. I'd love to try one on banner 5 as well, but while there's a lot of good stuff on there, there isn't enough "good lord I need this now" stuff like some of the others.

Also, regularly scheduled reminder that if you've got core dungeons left to clear, make sure you're at 4/5 stamina shards before the party starts. The FF11 dungeons added last dungeon update are super cheap shards that aren't even guarded by bosses, making them perfect for an easy refresh during the event.

[danzibr]

I don't really want to spend my spheres until I know how to get more.

That is a factor isn't it? They really need to revamp the daily rewards, we need a Summon Orb Daily and now a Record Sphere daily.
In JP they get them only from event bosses. At least I think so. Maxing all characters seems impossible.

Edit: But yeah, those dailies would be very welcome.

[Slayn82]

I feel RD is more effective to reward you favorite or more powerful characters. No point in putting Motes on a character you wouldn't want to have on your teams often, and if you are willing to do it just for power, Tyro is a better choice, since he gets large stats gains to close the gap with better characters.

I'm probably getting Tidus Spellblade 3 ASAP. Specially if I get one of his attack SBs - why FF X gets a Festival in the face again? -Zell can get Celerity 5 for the PC/FC combo, Mog can get Dragoon 5.

Tyro with SG and MultiBreak becomes a good Dancer for those multiple enemy bosses, thinking of improving his magic. Tyro, Kefka and either Yuffie or Mog could be a decent trio for a Mage Party, fitting a Res Breakdown Dance, and using Tyro BSB as RW.

Hey, Kefka and Mog are on Banner 1... too bad can't invest a bit more than the programmed 100 gem, 3 pull.

[Red Fel]

Sheesh. I go to sleep, and overnight things go completely insane. Let's have a look.

I'm definitely excited about Record Dives/Spheres/whatever, but I'm going to hoard them for awhile before moving forward with my sinister plans. There are already spreadsheets as to what they get you, though, and a part of me wants to use a bunch on Tyro, just to make him competent at whatever role.

Now, let's talk banners. Here are my thoughts.
With the exception of Flame Shield and Heroic Scarf, this is a banner of either physical smashing or party buffs. You've got Pencil's Holy BSB, Celes' big smash + Grand Cross, and Lightning's 5-hit Lightning nuke, all physical. You've got Queen Bea's nuke + buff, again physical. You've got Relm's medica + Regen, Vanille's medica + Protectga, and Kefka's Hastega + Faithga. And then you have Mog and Gordon and their respective debuffs.

I think this is a pretty solid banner for physical meta, and the two medicas are also nice. I'm not amazed by Pencil's BSB, but Celes' is definitely useful. This banner probably isn't a high priority, though.
This is generally a pass-banner. Tidus' BSB is terrible, because at present he has no real means of using Water damage, making his En-Water buff mostly useless. (You could always use him as an RW, but again, that's situational, and I don't think it's worth it.) Squall's BSB is similarly situational. Although we recently saw a situation that was well-suited to it (Jecht's solo mission), that sort of thing doesn't come up often.

I've never been a fan of Dragon's Roar, to be honest; there are better Res boosts out there, and the damage from the ability never impressed me. Holy Rod, on the other hand, is solid single-target Holy damage, and a good medica, but again situational.

Then we get to the rest. Eblan Dual Wield is actually pretty decent, particularly against Lightning-susceptible enemies. It's also a very nice substitute for Intimidate. Drill, Razor Gale, and Soothing Light all belong to the same family - a party-wide buff (Def, Atk, or Res) with either single-target damage (Drill), AoE damage (Razor Gale), or medica (Soothing Light). They're decent, but somewhat overshadowed, I think. And lastly, there's Boon, which was amazing in its time, but is now more or less completely overshadowed by SBs like Divine Guardian or Mighty Guard (VIII).

Banner 1 is better, in my mind, but only just.
This is basically the defensive banner. You've got Keeper's Tome, which gives Shellga, Protectga, and Magic Blink, and has an Atk/Mag Break as one of its commands; you've got Crescent Wish, a medica with Magic Blink; you've got Magic Comb, an attack with Shellga; you've got Ichigeki, an attack with Blink x2 for the user; and you've got Bloodfest, an attack with a party Res boost. Then you have medicas - Lullaby Rod, medica + Regen, and Wutai Headband, instant medica. Lastly, you have the attack boosts - Flexible Arm, basically Steal Power, and Planet Protector, which has been overshadowed by Flames of War and Shout.

I have to say, Keeper's Tome actually impresses me. The buff is a bit simple, but it's decent, and the commands are useful. In particular, this is a highly Blink-y banner, and has two instant-cast abilities on it. I'd consider this a higher priority than the other two.
This is a brutality banner. Let's start with Ragnarok. It's yet another physical damage output BSB - simple and functional. It's all single-target. But perhaps most interesting is the versatility of this one - most BSBs that have an element at all have one, maybe two. This one has basically all of the elements. Main ability is NE, then it has one Wind/Water, and one Fire/Earth. In short, unlike Pencil, Tidus, or Squall, who are strong but really only good when exploiting a particular weakness, Bartz lets you exploit most weaknesses, which is very convenient. And any that aren't covered by this can probably be covered by other Spellblade abilities (e.g. Biora Strike).

Also, there's Shout. Shut up and take my mythril.

The rest are generally strong attacks, or force multipliers. Genji Blade smashes everything and gives Regenga. Defender smashes everything and Paralyze/Silence. Sorceress' Crown is Faithga + Hastega. Platinum Shield raises party Atk and Def. Yoichi Bow smashes everything and reduces Atk/Mag. Kogarasumaru smashes one thing and Blind/Silence. And Sage's Staff is the banner's medica.

This banner has Shout. It is a priority for me.
This is another more defensive banner. First note, it has two BSBs, which are admittedly offense-oriented. 1st Fusion Sword is a simple and direct brutalizer, NE physical damage, single-target or AoE. Stardust Rod is the same premise as Squall's, only magical. So that's a thing.

The defense comes from almost everything else. Fairy Flute gives us medica + Reraise. SG gives us wall. Grand Armor gives medica + Protectga. Golden Armor gives +Atk/+Def. Even Kaiser Shield, which is an offensive SB, reduces the target's Atk/Mag.

The last two are odd ducks - Aldebaran deals Fire damage and causes Imperil Fire, which is actually perfect on a Spellblade like Balthier, and Desch's Sword causes En-Lightning and deals multiple Lightning AoEs, making it immediately better than the Corps Field Uniform.

Given the presence of wall on this banner, as well as two BSBs (one of which is for the mage), I'd say this is a pretty good priority.
Based on my read, and my personal preferences, I'd probably say my priorities are 4 > 5 > 3 > 1 > 2. But that's me.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Tidus' BSB is terrible, because at present he has no real means of using Water damage, making his En-Water buff mostly useless. (You could always use him as an RW, but again, that's situational, and I don't think it's worth it.)While I agree that Banner 2 is generally pass-worthy, Tidus' BSB commands are both Water damage, so the En-Water buff seems fine to me even if you don't give him Spellblade via Record Dive.

[Chen]

Going to see what I pull on the BSB fest but right now the best looking upgrades for my A team are the white mage lines for Tyro and the Ninja line for Yuffie. 6% more ninja and thief damage is pretty sweet. Will presumably he ages before we have enough fragments for that though.

[Red Fel]

While I agree that Banner 2 is generally pass-worthy, Tidus' BSB commands are both Water damage, so the En-Water buff seems fine to me even if you don't give him Spellblade via Record Dive.

But think about that. Basically, it means that the BSB exists for the sole purpose of empowering itself.

See, Pencil's En-Holy BSB may boost itself, but it also boosts moves Pencil already uses, such as Banishing Strike and Saint Cross. Further, there are a number of +Holy items out there, including Excalibur itself.

There aren't that many Water damage moves to begin with. There's a Summon, and a few Spellblade and BLM abilities, none of which Tidus uses (absent Record Dive). Which means that you take a situational damage type - Water - and use an En-Water buff that boosts only the abilities it provides. For a window of 15 seconds.

It just doesn't impress me, is my point.

[Merlin the Tuna]

I mean, most of your time during burst mode will be spent using burst commands, else why use the BSB? And for that matter, Tidus' attack command becomes 4x0.54 water for a total of 2.16x potency. That makes it a hair stronger than Waterga Strike to begin with, and you've got four chances for (small) crits rather than one. It's not a problem that he doesn't have spellblade, because his Burst Mode is "gain spellblade."

[Greg_S]

I mean, most of your time during burst mode will be spent using burst commands, else why use the BSB? And for that matter, Tidus' attack command becomes 4x0.54 water for a total of 2.16x potency. That makes it a hair stronger than Waterga Strike to begin with, and you've got four chances for (small) crits rather than one. It's not a problem that he doesn't have spellblade, because his Burst Mode is "gain spellblade."

I think it's a little lower than Cloud's BSB. Cloud's initial attack is stronger, and the crit-boosted strikes are stronger than the enwatered ones on Tidus'. If Razzmatazz had a water boost, it'd be better. In 6 months, it'll come into its own if you pull Tidus' OSB or start using the shooter skills on him, though that's not a reason to chase it.

But these are BSBs we're talking about, and a bad BSB is like a bad medica: still pretty handy overall.

[spectralphoenix]

So, I beat Vargas last night, which was my first u+. Then I got to the medal screen and realized that I forgot about the "reduce attack " requirement, having swapped out Vaan to dark buster/armor breakdown a few tries earlier. Lost 1 medal for actions, 1 for damage, no ko, but no mastery.

Record dive seems cool, but I don't think I'll use it just yet. Yuffie has some interesting stuff, but she seems pretty situational. The other two divable chars I have at 65+ are Vaan and Firion. Vaan will probably see a lot less use once I get full break honed, and Firion will probably never see a non-II dungeon now that I have Rebel's Might.

Speaking of Yuffie, hidden in all those announcements was a ninja magic nerf. Pretty unfortunate for her.

As far as the banners go, I only have about 150 mithril after I did my Captain Ahab impression on Lightning's BSB. I'll probably do two on the banner with Shout and one on something else, because the Vargas fight convinced me I need native shout or wall, and I'd rather bring Ramza.

[Red Fel]

Oh, duh! In all of the excitement, I forgot tonight's calendar.

First, the VI event is drawing to a close. If you still want to clear it, better get on that.

Second, the X event's U and U+ fights drop tonight. A brief summary follows.

U: Yunalesca. Hey, didn't we do this before? Medals for reducing her Mag, exploiting her final form's Water weakness, and not using Holy. These make sense, because she absorbs Holy and is only weak to Water in her final form. She's also susceptible to Silence, but only in Phase 1.

In her first form, she has only three abilities - a physical attack that removes Protect/Shell/Haste, an Absorb that deals Dark physical damage and drains HP, and a counter, Sleep. Burn through this one. In her second form, she adds Hellbiter (AoE physical attack + Sap), Holy, and Osmose. Her counter also switches from Sleep to her regular debuffing attack. In her third form, her Holy is now in single-target and AoE form, she adds Mind Blast (AoE magic damage + Confuse), and she may instant KO anybody who isn't Sapped.

Holy and instant-KO are a trade-off. She will only Holy Sapped targets, but anyone who isn't Sapped may be instant-KO'd, so it's probably best to endure the Sap. Note also that a Grand Cross ability can absorb Holy uses. Note that although she is no longer susceptible to Silence after Phase 1, any Silence on her will run out its normal duration. Meaning that if you Silence her towards the end of Phase 1, she can't use Holy.

Basically, burn through her first two phases, then be sure to have mitigation handy, because Phase 3 hurts. Victory gets you orbs, a crystal, and BFA's medal.

U+: Braska's Final Aeon. Medals for reducing its Atk, reducing its Mag, and exploiting its Holy weakness. Its damage is primarily physical (other than its single-target Jecht Beam magic attack) but several of its abilities ignore Def, so offensive mitigation (Power Breakdown) and wall are going to help you a lot here. As a bonus, when using its special attacks (Jecht Finger in normal state, Ultimate Jecht Shot in weak state), it gives you a warning message. So, you know, you can Defend. Not that it really helps. Victory gets you orbs and a crystal.

Happy hunting. I'm going to go back to eagerly awaiting BSBfest.


But these are BSBs we're talking about, and a bad BSB is like a bad medica: still pretty handy overall.

One clarification. A lot of BSBs are situational - for example, a Water-resistant enemy renders Tidus' BSB an ugly waste. Medicas, by contrast, are almost universally good. Even the ones that consist solely of a heal are useful to have.

So I'd say that even a bad medica is valuable; the same is not always true of a bad BSB.

[danzibr]

I mean, most of your time during burst mode will be spent using burst commands, else why use the BSB? And for that matter, Tidus' attack command becomes 4x0.54 water for a total of 2.16x potency. That makes it a hair stronger than Waterga Strike to begin with, and you've got four chances for (small) crits rather than one. It's not a problem that he doesn't have spellblade, because his Burst Mode is "gain spellblade."
Maybe it's just me, but I find my actual abilities to be better than the BSB commands, usually. I mean, not always, like Jecht and Fire Renzokuken or whatever it's called.

[Calemyr]

Question: Of the four current nightmare dungeons, is there any one that would be accessible not-quite-Ultimate-level players? Still trying to get over that difficulty spike and I can't seem to catch a break.

[Hunter Noventa]

Well I just cleared the last of the classic FFIV dungeons, which I think is the closest we've ever gotten to fighting a final boss outside of an event. It'll be more work before I want to tackle those elites though.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Question: Of the four current nightmare dungeons, is there any one that would be accessible not-quite-Ultimate-level players? Still trying to get over that difficulty spike and I can't seem to catch a break.I've only cleared 2 ultimates ever but have mastered almost all of the gatekeepers, at least. The Crushdown and Ultima bosses are also supposed to be pretty easy, but even the gatekeepers take a step up starting with Reraise.

Ah shoot, the ninja nerf screws with all the information that's been compiled for clearing the Ultima dungeon, doesn't it? Boo, gonna have to do some trial and error to get the numbers right for it.


Maybe it's just me, but I find my actual abilities to be better than the BSB commands, usually. I mean, not always, like Jecht and Fire Renzokuken or whatever it's called.I can see that, even if it isn't the case for me. My impression has been that burst commands are generally small upgrades on 4*s (Tidus/Waterga Strike, Lightning/Dismissal, etc.). They don't seem sub-par damage-wise, but part of the value is in freeing up ability slots or making up for low hones.

[Red Fel]

I can see that, even if it isn't the case for me. My impression has been that burst commands are generally small upgrades on 4*s (Tidus/Waterga Strike, Lightning/Dismissal, etc.). They don't seem sub-par damage-wise, but part of the value is in freeing up ability slots or making up for low hones.

But that's the key thing. Most of them are simply damaging abilities. Where raw damage is valuable, they're valuable. But there are places where you'd prefer Banishing Strike for its Dispel, or a Breakdown for its mitigation, or Tempo Flurry for its Slow.

And most 5-star abilities are going to give you more bang for your buck. Yes, they're harder to hone and their uses are limited, but unless you use an RM that gives you immediate access to your BSB, a BSB's commands aren't merely limited; they're unavailable until you hit a certain threshold. It's why relying on an SB for something vital like Shellga or Protectga, for instance, is dangerous; it's far better to have that ability natively and use it immediately, rather than wait for your SB to charge.

And let's not forget that some of the most prized SBs aren't BSBs, or even SSBs - both walls are simple SBs. Yuffie's Clear Tranquil is an SB. Lenna's Flames of War (aka Baby Shout) is an SB. Plenty of powerful effects are available as SBs.

Yes, having a BSB makes up for low hones. And in the early game particularly, that's an amazing asset. But in the late game, you want the best tool for a given task, and you want to be able to use it when you need it. Raw damage, alone, isn't always as valuable as it once was. I can't tell you the last time I actually used someone's Fenrir Overdrive RW. Yeah, a lot of hits with good damage, that's nice, but I've got a guy here with Tempo Flurry, Dismissal, and the Winds of Rabanastre RM, another with Poison Shell, Bio Grenade, and Machinist's Touch, and another with Yukikaze, Darkmoon, and Legend's Blade. They're gonna be fine.

... I'm still gonna whale on these banners, though.

[Merlin the Tuna]

I completely agree with all that, I just think it's irrelevant to your complaints re: Tidus. If you want to knock his BSB for being a big dumb hammer, that's 100% A-OK. I just think it's silly to ding him for not being able to utilize it with other water skills when his burst commands include a slight upgrade of the only other water skill worth discussing. :tongue:

[danzibr]

Question: Of the four current nightmare dungeons, is there any one that would be accessible not-quite-Ultimate-level players? Still trying to get over that difficulty spike and I can't seem to catch a break.
I found Ultima the easiest. Even without Ninja stuff.

Well I just cleared the last of the classic FFIV dungeons, which I think is the closest we've ever gotten to fighting a final boss outside of an event. It'll be more work before I want to tackle those elites though.
Grats on the progress

I completely agree with all that, I just think it's irrelevant to your complaints re: Tidus. If you want to knock his BSB for being a big dumb hammer, that's 100% A-OK. I just think it's silly to ding him for not being able to utilize it with other water skills when his burst commands include a slight upgrade of the only other water skill worth discussing. :tongue:
How long does enwater last? Just wondering. If it lasts longer than the burst mode, pretty worthless outside of the burst mode.

I do agree that it's decent in burst mode, especially on something weak to water, like the upcoming U in phase 3. But I think Red Fel has a good point.

[tyckspoon]

Yes, having a BSB makes up for low hones. And in the early game particularly, that's an amazing asset. But in the late game, you want the best tool for a given task, and you want to be able to use it when you need it. Raw damage, alone, isn't always as valuable as it once was. I can't tell you the last time I actually used someone's Fenrir Overdrive RW. Yeah, a lot of hits with good damage, that's nice, but I've got a guy here with Tempo Flurry, Dismissal, and the Winds of Rabanastre RM, another with Poison Shell, Bio Grenade, and Machinist's Touch, and another with Yukikaze, Darkmoon, and Legend's Blade. They're gonna be fine.

... I'm still gonna whale on these banners, though.

I've been getting surprisingly good use out of Yuna's BSB recently, since I realized that while the heal part of is bloody useless.. the attack portion is roughly similar to Valefor. So I can load her with Faith/Shellga/Protectga (or similar abilities that don't have to be used much but need to brought along anyway), spend a turn or two setting up those abilities, then Trigger Happy and Scattershot away for DPS. Makes good use out of an otherwise weak/sometimes not doing much WM and support slot.

In other news, took out the Nightmare Bahamut. Easier than I thought it was going to be, although I did spend a ton of orbs upping summons (all 3 3* elements to rank 5 [because what the heck else am I gonna use 3* Summon Orbs for?], Valefor to R4, and Alexander to 3). Probably didn't need them all; Bahamut can be burnt surprisingly quickly if you hit his weaknesses in Phase 2. Had along Yuna's BSB, Rinoa's Wishing Star, and Garnet's Leviathan for Summon/NAT backup damage in case I ran out of actual summons.

[Starwulf]

Could someone explain this Record Dive/whatever business to me? I don't quite understand what is going on with it, as I haven't really paid any attention to upcoming FFRK news with the exception of the BSBfest.

Edit: And now I'm not so sure I'm going to do ANY pulls >< I did some pulls on the gacha simulator that's been updated with the BSBfest stuff, and it took me 30 freaking 11 pulls to get my Fusion Sword. I did get 3 of Terra's BSB, but yeah.....kinda has me freaked out now. Though...maybe that got rid of all of my bad luck? Maybe my first pull will be 3 Fusion Swords, like how during the SSB-fest I got 3 of Lightnings Field Uniforms! Hehehe, decisions decisions.

[Calemyr]

Could someone explain this Record Dive/whatever business to me? I don't quite understand what is going on with it, as I haven't really paid any attention to upcoming FFRK news with the exception of the BSBfest.

Edit: And now I'm not so sure I'm going to do ANY pulls >< I did some pulls on the gacha simulator that's been updated with the BSBfest stuff, and it took me 30 freaking 11 pulls to get my Fusion Sword. I did get 3 of Terra's BSB, but yeah.....kinda has me freaked out now. Though...maybe that got rid of all of my bad luck? Maybe my first pull will be 3 Fusion Swords, like how during the SSB-fest I got 3 of Lightnings Field Uniforms! Hehehe, decisions decisions.

Near as I can tell, it's not unlike honing an ability. You can hone a sphere (represented by a core class) up to five times. Each time gives you an ability. If you get it to level 5, it unlocks something on row beneath it (you may need multiple level 5s to fully unlock them, for example needing Black Mage 5 + Warrior 5 to unlock Spellsword or White Mage 5 + Knight 5 to unlock Paladin).

Honing a sphere requires motes. We'll be getting 10 3* motes a day for the next ten days, and then they'll become loot quests and dungeons in the future. The one I looked at took 1 of one type of mote and 4 of another, very much like honing an ability requires various amounts of various orbs. I just really hope it's not exclusively loot for high level dungeons, as Nightmare, Ultimates, and Epic (red) Event Dungeons already perpetuate the "strong get stronger while the weak/unlucky stagnate" nature of the game so far.

Certain spheres for certain characters will give stat boosts, increases to damage with specific weapon types or ability types, or increased access to ability groups (i.e. giving Quistis access to 5* black magic and 4* white magic). At some point Cloud will get enough Knight access to get Draw Fire and become a RetaMeta champion, and Tyro has enough spheres to generate absurd stat boosts across the board, to the point that with immense investment he may not actually completely suck.

Regarding pulls:
If you're playing, you're probably accruing some Mythril. This seems as good a time as any to dump it. I've got 150, myself. I don't have any BSBs at all, so I'm not entirely certain where to draw from. Probably 4 until I get Ramza's, and then the rest (if any) in 5?

Regarding ninjas:
As I understand it, the ninja nerf shouldn't have much impact on the Naked Ninja strategy. Naked Ninja relies on the fact that, without +MAG bonuses from gear, ninja veils are pretty weak but count as magical damage. What makes the Ultima boss so difficult is a tendency to overdamage the support sphere, causing it to break before the boss is dead and driving the boss into a super-destructive final stage. The ninja nerf rebalances the spell's damage relative to the MAG stat, so that high-MAG ninjas don't out-damage 3* black magic abilities. This doesn't seem like the nerf would have a substantial impact on the strategy unless their base damage was increased dramatically to compensate for the crippled MAG contribution. Even a solid increase shouldn't have too much impact, as a naked ninja still isn't likely to do enough damage for the kick back to exceed 9999. As long as it stays under 9999, you aren't killing it faster than necessary. Of course, that's just my understanding on the matter.