Final Fantasy Record Keeper X-2: Gems, Mithril, Salt - In Position!

[danzibr]

XI's draw wasn't much help but a change in tactics was. I ignored Prishe's ultras in favor of her super, which let everybody stay alive long enough for Shantotto to get going.
Progress on the d280 torment are probably going to be slow for a while, and even some of the 240s have some "beat within x seconds" to finish.


Fest banners are up:
https://ffrkstrategy.gamematome.jp/g...rks%20Festival

Nice progress! And nice banners. Drops rate up eh? So Syncs are >1% now?

[Red Fel]

Hmm. Because I budgeted very poorly, I'm going to have to be selective with the banners. So let's break some things down.

• Banner 1: Sync for Cloud, Awakenings for Vanille, Dr. Mog, Barbariccia, OK, and Fang. Banner is extremely Wind-oriented. Cloud's Sync is basically just an every-other-turn OSB, which is nice but Awakenings can already get you there. Vanille's is deceptively good, because it lets you medica the party while using SUP. But I have at least one dupe on this banner - OK's Awakening - and zero interest in Barbariccia. So this is probably a pass for me.
• Banner 2: Sync for Ashe, Awakenings for Aranea, Reks, Ashe, Yuffie, and Strago. Banner is Lightning- and Water-oriented. Ashe's Sync is incredibly solid, offering fast-casting, stacking Lightning boost, and a chaser. Yuffie's Awakening is also solid, basically combining some of her best SB features. Best of all, no dupes for me on this banner. I'll probably want to pull on this.
• Banner 3: Sync for Lightning, Awakenings for Bartz, Prompto, Shelke, Rikku, and Alphinaud, Shelke's Lightning Chain and Rikku's Water Chain. This banner is an elemental mix of Lightning, Wind, and Water. Lightning's Sync allows some powerful rapid-fire attacks, which is pretty great for Chains. Bartz' Awakening, though, feels more like a poor man's version of the previous one - Wind abilities get faster casting, but it's mono-elemental. The Chains make it more desirable as a banner, but I'm not totally sold on it.
• Banner 4: Sync for Rinoa, Awakenings for Rinoa, Barret, Cinque, and Enna Kros, Red XIII's Earth Chain. This banner is mostly Earth-oriented. Rinoa's Sync basically lets her boost Earth abilities, then boost them a bit more - nice, but not overwhelming. I'll be honest, though, I have Awakenings for Bartz and Noctis, so I'm not exactly starved for Earth PHY, which is a significant part of this banner. Again, it's not terrible, but I'm not sold.
• Banner 5: Sync for Ultimecia, Awakenings for Rosa, Cloud of Darkness, Ultimecia, Seifer, and Vivi. The banner is a mix of a bunch of elements. Ultimecia's Sync is, appropriately, a Wind version of Rinoa's. Rosa's Awakening is kind of insane, offering - in addition to the usual 0CT medica with Raise - Guts, Haste, and two mBlinks. Also, the Awaken Love effect lets her fast-cast WHT and chase it with a rank-based medica. It's really good. Ultimecia and Seifer both get dual-element Awaken abilities, which is nice, and Vivi basically gets Terra's Awakening, for those who missed out. It's a solid banner, and probably my second choice after Banner 2, if I can spare the mythril.

So those are my thoughts. Anyone else?

[danzibr]

Hmm. Because I budgeted very poorly, I'm going to have to be selective with the banners. So let's break some things down.

• Banner 1: Sync for Cloud, Awakenings for Vanille, Dr. Mog, Barbariccia, OK, and Fang. Banner is extremely Wind-oriented. Cloud's Sync is basically just an every-other-turn OSB, which is nice but Awakenings can already get you there. Vanille's is deceptively good, because it lets you medica the party while using SUP. But I have at least one dupe on this banner - OK's Awakening - and zero interest in Barbariccia. So this is probably a pass for me.
• Banner 2: Sync for Ashe, Awakenings for Aranea, Reks, Ashe, Yuffie, and Strago. Banner is Lightning- and Water-oriented. Ashe's Sync is incredibly solid, offering fast-casting, stacking Lightning boost, and a chaser. Yuffie's Awakening is also solid, basically combining some of her best SB features. Best of all, no dupes for me on this banner. I'll probably want to pull on this.
• Banner 3: Sync for Lightning, Awakenings for Bartz, Prompto, Shelke, Rikku, and Alphinaud, Shelke's Lightning Chain and Rikku's Water Chain. This banner is an elemental mix of Lightning, Wind, and Water. Lightning's Sync allows some powerful rapid-fire attacks, which is pretty great for Chains. Bartz' Awakening, though, feels more like a poor man's version of the previous one - Wind abilities get faster casting, but it's mono-elemental. The Chains make it more desirable as a banner, but I'm not totally sold on it.
• Banner 4: Sync for Rinoa, Awakenings for Rinoa, Barret, Cinque, and Enna Kros, Red XIII's Earth Chain. This banner is mostly Earth-oriented. Rinoa's Sync basically lets her boost Earth abilities, then boost them a bit more - nice, but not overwhelming. I'll be honest, though, I have Awakenings for Bartz and Noctis, so I'm not exactly starved for Earth PHY, which is a significant part of this banner. Again, it's not terrible, but I'm not sold.
• Banner 5: Sync for Ultimecia, Awakenings for Rosa, Cloud of Darkness, Ultimecia, Seifer, and Vivi. The banner is a mix of a bunch of elements. Ultimecia's Sync is, appropriately, a Wind version of Rinoa's. Rosa's Awakening is kind of insane, offering - in addition to the usual 0CT medica with Raise - Guts, Haste, and two mBlinks. Also, the Awaken Love effect lets her fast-cast WHT and chase it with a rank-based medica. It's really good. Ultimecia and Seifer both get dual-element Awaken abilities, which is nice, and Vivi basically gets Terra's Awakening, for those who missed out. It's a solid banner, and probably my second choice after Banner 2, if I can spare the mythril.

So those are my thoughts. Anyone else?

I’ve reduced to pulling when there aren’t too many dupes, given I have the blues. For me...

Banner 1: 0 dupes
Banner 2: 0 dupes
Banner 3: 1 dupe (Rikku CSB)
Banner 4: 3 dupes
Banner 5: 2 dupes

Definite skip on 4, prob skip on 5. I’d really like Lightning’s Sync, but there’s a dupe and tbh the rest of the banner isn’t really appealing. Plus Sync drop rate is trash.

Plus I need to consider my relics are really lopsided, way more Phy AASBs. By a happy coincidence, the first 3 banners have some good Mag AASB.

Yeah, looks like pull pull skip skip skip.

[T.G. Oskar]

This is probably the first Fest where I'm not really interested in any Banner whatsoever. I might make a cursory pull on Banner 2 because of Ashe's Legend Materia (because of her Legend Materia!!) and nothing else. If I still have Mythril, probably another on Banner 5 because of Seifer's Wake. Nothing else, nothing more.

Seriously stoked for Awakening Lucky. So many good Wakes, so little Mythril to spend!

Now, I've been very lazy with my pull reveals, but I've gotten quite a bit of good stuff - including Krile's Fire Chain. You know, that measly Gen 1, many hits, up to 99 Chain... However, that allowed me to attempt a fight against Manticore, supported almost solely by my beloved babe. And...whaddya know? Sub-30'd it when I finally made it work!

As for how, here's the details:

Spoiler: Party Compo

Show

Terra, lv. 99; Flame Sword (A), Terra's Cloak, Peace Ring; Chain Firaja R5, Lunar Ifrit R4; Innate Power LMR (dualcast Fire), Meaning of Love LMR (start En-Fire), Scholar's Boon RM (+++Weakness)
Vincent, lv. 99; Judicer's Staff, Vincent's Gloves, Jeweled Ring; Mental Breakdown R4, Wrath R5; Beast Within LM2 (Trance), Turk Amongst Turks LM1 (+Fire), Ace Striker RM
Aerith, lv. 99; Ogrenyxes (A), Hermes' Suit, Madain's Ring; Curada R5, Shellga R3; Motherly Protector LM2 (chance for Medica on WHM), Flower of the Slums LMR (dualcast WHM), Battleforged
Onion Knight, lv. 99; Lunaris Rod, Bartz's Bracers, Skybreaker Earrings; Chain Firaga R4, Wrath R4; Sorceror Sublime LM (dualcast BLK), DMT
Krile, lv. 99; Queen's Whip, Krile's Dress, Lulu's Necklace; Meltdown R5, Enveloping Etude R3; A Granddaughter's Drive LMR (dualcast Fire), Unbridled Enthusiasm LMR (start En-Fire), MM
RW: Fabula Guardian (Elarra)
Magicite: Mom Bomb lv. 99 (Empower Fire lv. 15), Firemane lv. 99 (Dampen Blizzard lv. 10), King Bomb lv. 99, Evrae lv. 99 (Fast Act lv. 8), Evrae lv. 99 (Health Boon lv. 5)

Mostly, the idea was to use Aerith's chance to Medica on any WHM spell to keep everyone in tip-top shape, while everything mounts up. Onion Knight was the buffer, Krile enabled the Chain, Vincent added Fire Radiant Shield, and Terra, well...she's the nuclear option. Like, once she uses Glint once and then goes Awakening, she reaches near-max damage, breaks Ice Rage, then tops with Chain Firaja, usually triplecast. From there, it's basically using Aerith's USB2 to instant-heal with Last Stand, use Krile's Brave USB and Onion Knight's Chaser USB to add hits, and...mostly survive. The Savage Blazing Breath's at the interval shifts are painful, but the key is to be prepared for when he unleashes Savage Ice Break, because that murders Haste. Having Onion Knight AND Krile with a source of Hastega is key. Oftentimes, either the Chain dies or Terra's Awakening ends, but she's ALWAYS the one dealing the killer blow, because by the time everyone is mostly dead, she's still alive and still under Trance, which is the main reason she's so powerful - her Trance coupled with her Awakening is just insane.

Since I don't have a source of Imperil Fire for magicians, Mom Bomb's the closest thing. Having said that - it's useful to add to everyone's damage, specifically for Krile who has her Brave lv. 3 deal nearly 80k damage on full Chain. Plus, it adds some hits to the chain, adding to the overall damage.

So yeah - I've beaten Manticore 3 times, and I think I might actually have a good chance to farm it. However, that means I can only work with Ice casters against 5* Wind Magicites...which is an issue because a) my Ice Magic team is delirious (Rinoa, Lulu...that's basically it. I could draw out Serah, but that would be utter dishonor, plus she's level 1) against probably one of the most dangerous Magicites out there (Syldra), which is a terrible idea. On the other hand...hey, I have an on-demand way to break its Rage!

[danzibr]

Hmm, no interest because there's no Terra Sync??? ;)

And grats! Manticore was a struggle for me, as I lacked (and still lack) a Fire CSB. Looking at my team that did it, it was pretty janky. Terra with AASB and Chain Firaja. Rinoa with AASB and Tritoch. Rosa with USB fueled by Wrath. Tyro with +Mag song and Full Break (and GodWall). Edgar with Imperil Fire Machinist ability and Mental Break (and USB). Without those AASBs, wouldn't stand a chance.

Speaking of which, I'd get more of your party summaries if you mentioned their main SB you're using. I see everything (I suppose) in the description of the fight... just sayin'.

[Red Fel]

Well, after the last disappointing LotR (Rem's BSB), I decided to hold off. But today I got Marche's SSB in the daily - the one with %HP medica, +DEF, and Esuna - so I thought I'd give it another shot. And another, and another, and another - I got a lot of disco balls this morning. Stopped when I hit a dupe. My total LotR haul so far:

• T-0: Rem's BSB, dupe.
• FFT: Marche's AOSB.
• XV: Cor's AOSB.
• XIV: Y'shtola's Brave.
• XIII: Nabaat's BSB.
• XII: Balthier's AOSB.
• XI: Curilla's USB, dupe.

Granted, I'm down to about 60-something mythril and should probably hold off for the rest of fest. But this was a pretty positive haul, considering.

[danzibr]

That’s a lotta AOSBs. Speaking of which, I got OK’s AOSB in the III LotR.

Hard pass on the LD and that other banner that just came out. Regardless of the upcoming fest, there’s just nothing there I want.

[T.G. Oskar]

Well, after the last disappointing LotR (Rem's BSB), I decided to hold off. But today I got Marche's SSB in the daily - the one with %HP medica, +DEF, and Esuna - so I thought I'd give it another shot. And another, and another, and another - I got a lot of disco balls this morning. Stopped when I hit a dupe. My total LotR haul so far:

• T-0: Rem's BSB, dupe.
• FFT: Marche's AOSB.
• XV: Cor's AOSB.
• XIV: Y'shtola's Brave.
• XIII: Nabaat's BSB.
• XII: Balthier's AOSB.
• XI: Curilla's USB, dupe.

Granted, I'm down to about 60-something mythril and should probably hold off for the rest of fest. But this was a pretty positive haul, considering.

Congrats on Marche's SSB and Ysh's Brave. They're quite good choices.

Anyways, I've been lazy on showing what I got from...well, from the ten Black Friday Draws. I'll make the long list, probably get a few items I mentioned before (I'm not gonna check on my previous posts just to verify - the list will be LONG), but it should get everything.

• Fujin's Fuma Shuriken! This is her mighty Awakening, which enhances Wind attacks and also gives a Chaser effect. This pairs awfully nicely with her Chain, making her the premier Wind mage.
• Fujin's Cross Chakram! This is her USB, which grants En-Wind and a 2-turn Chaser effect. Feels kinda bad when you already have her Awakening (and Chain), but it's good if the battle lasts for so long that the Awakening runs off.
• Rinoa's Hawkeye! This is her Earth Brave USB, which alongside her OSB and En-Earth LMR means she's now officially part of Team Mage Earth. This Brave USB also grants En-Earth, plus a boost to BLK. Brave power is essentially the standard Overstrike damage effect.
• Krile's Red Scorpion! This is the Gen 1 Fire chain, which helped me defeat Manticore (the only 5* Magicite I've beaten). It's a 11-hitter, with normal QC for 2 turns, which is insanely useful.
• Dr. Mog's Power Staff! This is the 2nd Gen Core Chain given to everyone for free, which is great if you're building a Core team (which is actually possible with Tyro, Elarra, Biggs and Wedge). It has the typical Boostga/Faithga/Hastega effect, which pairs nicely with his pupil's Godwall (except on the Hastega). Since the Doctor himself has his nice Ultra that has variable Chasers depending on whether you use WHT, BLK or SUM, that makes him useful in the odd chance you have Core synergy.
• Refia's Metal Knuckles! This is her USB, and a rather simple one: En-Fire, +Crit damage, and QC on fire attacks (which can include either Monk or Sharpshooter moves). Not too shabby, but not amazing either.
• Aria's Prism Rod! This is her Medica USB, coupled with a pretty decent Ice Stoneskin effect. It'd be perfect for the Manticore, since it also grants major Regen (which counters its Sap effect), but to have one character work only for that, when Aerith does a much better effect, makes it sad.
• Ace's Arcane Deck! This is his USB, which has a great combo effect - En-Fire, +MAG, QC and a Chaser. The item itself has +Fire as Realm Synergy. Now, I'm not one to use Ace on anything, but he's at least useful on his Realm, and I already got his LMR that allows him to start with En-Fire, so he'll have to earn his levels.
• Wol's Blank Blade! This is his SSB (ouch!), which combines damage with a Reverse Wall. Still doesn't make him Team I material.
• Aemo's Prism Rod! The first item for the WoFF team (aka, "Beyond"), which is functionally similar to Elarra's lauded USB, except it ALSO has Astra. So, it's a two-in-one combo. Not too shabby, though I don't use Aemo (weird name, urgh!), so she'll have to earn her levels just like Ace.
• Basch's Holy Lance! This one I bought for him, since he already got his version of the RikkUltra in order to essentially complete the Brothers in Pain. This is his BSB, which gives him a boost to Holy damage, En-Holy, and Retaliate as an effect (so he can focus on being the party Tank, as if they didn't have so many already). The age of BSBs is long gone, but this one is pretty decent nonetheless.
• Shadow's Fuma Shuriken! This is his AOSB, of the 20+1 variety. He already has a lot of good stuff running for him, and he's mostly part of team Physical Dark. It's also a +Dark thrown weapon. Good one.
• Elarra's Magika Album! Speaking of which - I bought this for little Elarra, so that she could actually be useful. As you know, this USB introduced Regenga to the party, though I've seen it less useful than I'd think, mostly because it takes 2 seconds per tick, whereas most bosses deal two back-to-back blows on the same range. The QC is cute, but nothing out of the ordinary.
• Kelger's Guise! This is his SSB which is functionally similar to Edge's USB0, except it replaces Last Stand and Haste for a %-based Medica. Not too bad for my favorite Werewolf Ninja!
• Laguna's Presidential Casual! This is his LMR, which I bought for him so that he could become the premier Ice debuffer. With that, his USB and the 6* Machinist ability, he should do to team Ice (and team Physical Ice) what Balthier does to Team Fire.
• Ingus' Genji Shield! This is his LMR, which grants damage reduction when wielding a shield. Meaning he'll survive a lot more. Kinda meh, but his LMs are already weak, so there's that. Except for that one.
• Fang's Wurtzite Bangle! This is her LMR, which allows Dragoon abilities to W-Cast. Yeah, you heard that right - Dragoon abilities. So, you could doublecast something like Aqua Corkscrew, or Sky High, or Lightning Leap, and do a follow-up with immediate landing if you activated that effect. Not too shabby, considering her main LM2 is actually a very potent Chaser effect.
• Ultimecia's Phantasmal Garment I! This is her USB, which grants Ability Double to BLK, En-Wind and a good +MAG/RES boost. Not too shabby, but team Magical Wind is already taken over. I mean, she could take the BLK caster slot, but...there's Onion Knight with his USB, and Terra just itches to be the Explosion Goddess...
• Freya's Kaiser Helm! This is the free Gen0 Wind Chain, which is good for team Physical Wind. Mostly.
• Garnet's Guise! This is the Gen2 Lightning Magic Chain, which is just bonkers on team Magical Lightning, which is already extremely potent what with Ashe having her QC-granting USB. Sadly, this makes Shantotto a bit redundant, in particular since she provided the original Chain. On the other hand, Garnet is the team's debuffer, so there's that.
• Cloud's...Gloves!? Alright, so this isn't the USB that Changed Everything, but it's the second one, which has the Overstrike Chaser effect. Again - I don't use Cloud that much, so it's not like it'll make my team (Bartz is Team Physical Wind forever), but it's a nice touch. It also has +Wind.
• Gogo's Mimic's Robe! This is his LMR, which...increases damage of Mimic. Mostly an upgrade to his LM1. Bleh.
• Relm's Hat! This is her LMR, which grants Magic Barrier when using a single-target heal. No W-Cast, but I'll take it - between her and Celes, you can have a team that laughs in the face of magic-heavy casters.
• Rude's Chakra Band! This is Gen0 Earth Chain, which is redundant when Ingus has Gen1, which already has Last Stand on top of the 11-hitter. Man, that's rude!
• Prishe's Scorpion Harness! I almost forgot this one! This is her USB, which grants Ability Double to Monk moves, plus a boost to ATK and DEF, and...grants En-Lightning? So Prishe is meant to be tied to Lightning? How quaint.

And, for completion, the Happy Gacha draws thus far, with only one of the dupes shown:

• Papalymo's Scion Thaumaturge's Robes! This is his USB, which has a sweet Chaser effect. Potato tries SO HARD to be part of Team Magic Fire, but let's face it - my bae eclipses him just about everywhere. Good try, Potato. Good try.
• Larsa's White Mask! This is his Glint+, and enables ProShellga and Haste from the get-go. Nice setup, making him rise up one more step into main White Mage. He just has to face Rosa, Elarra, Y'sh, Relm and Aerith. Good luck!
• Ashe's Treaty Blade! This, as you may be aware of, is her Awakening. This pretty much officially marks her as Lightning Goddess (sorry, Fem!Cloud...), because between her Awakening, her USB, her ability to Dualcast Lightning, her BSB which has a self-healing effect, and the LMR that seems to evade my capture that makes her a pseudo-healer, she's insanely attuned to the power of Lightning. As you can expect, this ability awakens Lightning, and grants a swEEET Chaser with Overstrike damage. So yeah. The character that tried so hard to be just like my bae actually managed to make it this far!
• Curilla's Bastard Sword! This is her USB2, which grants ProShellga + Last Stand, with the caveat that it ALSO grants the same effect as Cecil's Paladin Wall USB (heal frontline when using Knight moves). I could see an all-female Paladin team, what with Beatrix and Agrias and her all standing on the frontline, giving no flying forks about the enemy.
• Jecht's Spirit Band! This is his Glint, which has a...curious effect. Basically, it makes the next attack have 100% Crit chance, doubles Crit damage, and grants IC. So, it's a sweet set-up move, for when you're about to fire that USB. Since it's neutral, it can work for either Dark or Fire. Not too shabby!
• Amarant's Tiger Fangs! About time this guy got something good for him! This is his USB, which has a Fire Radiant Shield attached to En-Fire. Now, as Amarant is a Monk/Sharpshooter, he *could* be in team Physical Fire and be pretty unique, except the only real worthwhile Fire Monk moves are Fires Within and Ironfist Fire. AND he's low-level. AND he doesn't have a defense enabler. Ouch.
• Squall's Icebrand! This is his USB2, which is strictly inferior to his USB1, unless you're facing a team with many enemies weak to Ice, since the Chaser is AoE (which works perfectly with Frost Strike). Other than that...why even bother...?
• Leo's Defender! This is his USB, which grants En-Earth, boosts to ATK and DEF, Ability Boost to Knight abilities, AND has a Chaser effect when using Knight skills which works for both Earth and Holy. Not too shabby.
• Krile's Queen Whip! I also mentioned this before, but this is her Brave USB. It grants EnFire. The Brave command is your typical Overstrike damage. It works nicely with Team Magic Fire.
• Ruby Picante's Dual Claw! This is his LMR, which allows him to start with EnFire. He has nothing else for him. So sad.
• Rosa's Fairy's Bow. The only dupe I'll mention. It'll become a booster to her already solid +MND bow.
• Desch's Guise! This is his Glint, which has a very nice effect - Imperil Lightning + huge -RES. Considering that Shantotto is essentially being phased away, might as well re-add Desch?
• Onion Knight's Helm! This is his Arcane OSB, which is the 3 massive hit type. Since it hits four elements, it's wonderful for when you need to kill things quickly. It also applies for teams Magic Fire, Magic Wind, Magic Earth and Magic Water. Nice!
• The Emperor's Soul Devourer! This is the Gen2 Earth Magic Chain, which alongside his USB and Imperil Earth LM2 makes him a part of Team Magic Earth. It's a +Earth, +MAG sword, which is pretty rare...except it's basically the same as Gogo's Brave USB relic anyways. Still - this is a mighty gain.

Will post the gains from FFI Happy Gacha, plus the Awakening Lucky. See you in a few hours!!

UPDATE: Actually, "tomorrow" was closer. Probably because I didn't use my computer at any moment while I was at my sister's house. Sharing with the family and everything. Speaking of which - hoping you spent a nice Christmas day, everyone.

But that's not what you came to read here. You want the new stuff, right?

FFI Happy Gacha: 1/11, ONE DISCO...but it was a dupe.

• Meia's Mellow Mermaid. This is a dupe of her USB relic, which at least is +Water.

Awakening Lucky: 3/11, THREE DISCOS, and only one dupe!

• Kain's Dragoon Spear. This is the dupe, which at least it's +Lightning.
• Agrias' Guise! This is a +Holy Light Armor (?). Awakening is Knight-based, and has a 2-Turn Chaser that imposes Imperil Holy on the target. Extremely good, considering that Agrias is essentially my best Holy Imperiller, and she has both her Ultras now (IIRC).
• Emperor's Rod of Winds! Can you believe it? The Emperor, from having only a relic I bought for him, is now stacked to be the premier Team Magic Earth caster. Awaken affects Earth, Wind and Dark (so he can enter into all three of them), works mostly as your Multi-Element Wakes (grants Damage Boost lv. 3 to each element), and has a 2-turn Chaser that imposes Imperil to the triggering element (Earth, Wind or Dark). So, in a way, it's like a combination of Agrias' Wake and Onion Knight's Wake. This means he can also enter Team Magic Wind (and provide Imperils) and Team Magic Dark (ditto), but he's firmly on team Magic Earth because of his Chain AND his counter-Imperil effect.

That said - I can't still take down Mateus. (Speak of the Lucavi...) I got extremely close, but didn't. Mostly because damage is too little, IMO. I got Fire-Touched Blade (for Auron, since Firion has a way to boost his attack and has Iai Hellfire to deal multiple hits) and the Fire Sword Artifact (Flametongue), and even THEN it's a pain because I just can't get either of them to deal good damage otherwise. My only hope is to get Bartz' Fire BSB and go with both, but it won't be any fast (unless Tyro pulls off a miracle and Entrusts Bartz in such a way it can deal damage faster). I've gotten to the point where Bartz can at least break damage cap once, thus breaking Ice Rage (and once he pulls that, it's cap time for him), which helps Firion, but after a while, it becomes harder and harder to compensate for everything Mateus throws. Mostly because there's only one Entruster (Tyro), and he's basically keeping Elarra fueled to keep everyone alive. But, I think I might eventually get close enough for a victory. Once I do that, I...might?...try Wind? I mean, those are the hardest, but I have faith that Team Physical Ice will do the job. At least, well, Celes will pull through with Ayame and Laguna.

[Red Fel]

The Awakening LD is up! I skipped the other two, but you know I have to try this one. My results? 2/11. One is Tyro's Awakening, which is awesome, but a dupe. The other, though? Ingus' Awakening, which is new. This gives me three Earth PHY Awakenings - Bartz for SPB, Noctis for HVY, and now Ingus for KNT.

So I'm pretty stoked.

[Antonok]

AASB Lucky is up.

Got a 2/11
Kain and Zidane.

Kain's is borderline useless as the only other thing I have for him is his chain. Guess he can replace Aranea on my physical lightning team but seeing as how Quetz was the first 5* magacite I killed and sub 30'd...

Zidane may be more useful as he's on my wind team anyhow. Just don't like the idea of trying to juggle needing 2 bars each for both Cloud and Zidane to get them going (Zidane has USB for imperil along with Zack's GSB+)

[danzibr]

Ignus, nice!

Zidane, nice!

I went dupe/11. Then I did the I LotR, went dupe/3.

[darkdragoon]

Siren is down! Probably more reliant on Sephiroth than I would like but having several dark OSBs also came in handy at the end. Hades will probably take some more work both on offense and having enough Astra/Esuna.

Between arcane LD and V LOTR I can start considering Bartz, but I probably still need some more pieces to really go off.

But all that is kind of moot as I got the big one on B1. Well first I got trolled by Dr. Mog with his materia, but then the screen went crazy.

[danzibr]

Siren is down! Probably more reliant on Sephiroth than I would like but having several dark OSBs also came in handy at the end. Hades will probably take some more work both on offense and having enough Astra/Esuna.

Between arcane LD and V LOTR I can start considering Bartz, but I probably still need some more pieces to really go off.

But all that is kind of moot as I got the big one on B1. Well first I got trolled by Dr. Mog with his materia, but then the screen went crazy.

:O the big one! Grats man. I'm jelly.

Did a pull, got Fang AASB and Dr Mog LM. On the one hand, my team Wind is stacked and I don't need Fang's AASB (run Cloud, Zidane, Zack, Support, Healz, no room for her). On the other hand, it's actually really good (and I have a very nice, complementary USB for her). I'll definitely be taking on the XIII Torment with her.

[Red Fel]

So I broke 100 mythril this evening - enough for a pull on Banner 2, and one on Banner 5 - which means all excess mythril goes to my LotR pulls. To commemorate, I decided to drop one on the next in line, X. 1/3, Jecht's Seafang. This is a USB kind of like Marche's, which is sick. To clarify: Marche's USB is a 10-hit Holy/Non with En-Holy, which boosts his ATK and causes KNT to grant quickcast 1 to all allies on the front row. Jecht's is a 10-hit Dark/Fire/Non with En-Dark - bonus element is nice, but not vital. Dark-element abilities grant quickcast 1 to all allies on his row, and since he can use a Blitzball that means it works in rear or front. He loses the +ATK, but instead gains a 6-hit Dark/Fire/Non chaser.

If it weren't for the fact that composing a Dark team is a pain and a half, this easily makes Jecht one of my best new Dark PHYs.

EDIT: Clearly, I was right, because I finally cleared Siren for the first time - and a sub30 at that. I've refined the team, and can now do it semi-consistently, which is great. Still gotta clear Hades, though.

So, since that worked out so well for me, here come two more LotRs:

• IX: 1/3, just a rainbow. But at least it's new - Vivi's En-Fire LMR. So that's pretty good.
• VIII: 1/3, disco ball - a new USB for Squall. This is the one that chases every second SPB with a 4-hit AoE, which is pretty neat. On the other hand, I have his Awakening, so... thanks, but I'm good?

Not the best haul, but at least they're new. So that's pretty nice.

EDIT EDIT: Second banner up! Pulling on it, and... 1/11, disco ball.

. . .

Disco balls don't do that...

. . .

So, I got Ashe's Sync, folks. This is awesome. Best Fest pull ever. I'm good.

[T.G. Oskar]

So I broke 100 mythril this evening - enough for a pull on Banner 2, and one on Banner 5 - which means all excess mythril goes to my LotR pulls. To commemorate, I decided to drop one on the next in line, X. 1/3, Jecht's Seafang. This is a USB kind of like Marche's, which is sick. To clarify: Marche's USB is a 10-hit Holy/Non with En-Holy, which boosts his ATK and causes KNT to grant quickcast 1 to all allies on the front row. Jecht's is a 10-hit Dark/Fire/Non with En-Dark - bonus element is nice, but not vital. Dark-element abilities grant quickcast 1 to all allies on his row, and since he can use a Blitzball that means it works in rear or front. He loses the +ATK, but instead gains a 6-hit Dark/Fire/Non chaser.

If it weren't for the fact that composing a Dark team is a pain and a half, this easily makes Jecht one of my best new Dark PHYs.

EDIT: Clearly, I was right, because I finally cleared Siren for the first time - and a sub30 at that. I've refined the team, and can now do it semi-consistently, which is great. Still gotta clear Hades, though.

So, since that worked out so well for me, here come two more LotRs:

• IX: 1/3, just a rainbow. But at least it's new - Vivi's En-Fire LMR. So that's pretty good.
• VIII: 1/3, disco ball - a new USB for Squall. This is the one that chases every second SPB with a 4-hit AoE, which is pretty neat. On the other hand, I have his Awakening, so... thanks, but I'm good?

Not the best haul, but at least they're new. So that's pretty nice.

EDIT EDIT: Second banner up! Pulling on it, and... 1/11, disco ball.

. . .

Disco balls don't do that...

. . .

So, I got Ashe's Sync, folks. This is awesome. Best Fest pull ever. I'm good.

Congrats on your first Sync, bro.

I'm on the same boat, except I had 100 Mythril from a few days ago, and I haven't spent the rest. I also made a pull on Banner 2, though I was mostly aiming for one specific item. Turns out...it was a good pull. I haven't had a pull like this since...well, every time I get a relic for bae in any banner, provided it's not a dupe.

Result? 3/11, TWO DISCOS, and no dupes!

• Aranea's Magitek Shield! This is her Arcane OSB, which is of the "three massive hits" variety. I didn't have anything for her, so it's nice.
• Aranea's Magitek Suit! This is her Glint+, which grants her an immediate head-start on Lightning damage with En-Lightning. I didn't have anything for her, so...cool!
• Ashe's Golden Shield! Jackpot! This is her LMR, and in case you're not aware of it, it's like this - every time she uses a Lightning attack (which is her specialty), she throws out a Medica to the party. Yeah, you heard that right - she throws Medicas to the party. Now, she's essentially the cornerstone of Team Lightning, right? And she got her Wake not long ago, right? What this means is that she can essentially heal the party while dealing maximum damage to the enemy, and if her USB2 is active as well, she can even buff the party! Healer, buffer, max damage dealer...is there any reason why she doesn't deserve the title of "Lightning Goddess", guys? I think she's going into Team Magic alongside my bae. Period.

[darkdragoon]

Got Aranea's shield and Ashe's glint. I suppose I could try and take another shot but with being very busy new years and the timing I don't know.

[Red Fel]

Well, time for another shot at the LotR. Since I'm pretty solid on VII, I think I'll start at the other end with I. Result? 1/3, rainbow, Wol's BSB, and a dupe. Thus disappointed, let's try for II. Survey says? 1/3, disco ball, Maria's USB! It's new and has a W-Cast! That's a big plus for Team Earth MAG, right there. Good haul.

[danzibr]

Wow. Some nice pulls. Very nice.

I haven't gotten anything spectacular, fest-wise. But I did get a gift card for Christmas, bought Edgar's CSB. And surprisingly the pull got me Rydia's AASB, which I'd been chasing for a while. My first Sum AASB. Very nice. I've now beaten all 5* Magicites, can (unreliably) auto Ark, working on my last few needed 5* Magicites for full decks for every element. Mainly short on a butt ton of Syldras.

[Red Fel]

So, elemental/realm ticket came in today. And since I still haven't cleared Hades, I figured, Holy looks good. One pull later, I have Queen Bea's USB - the one with En-Holy and a chaser - and Firion's Awakening. Firion's Awakening is one of those nice ones that covers multiple approaches, raising his Holy, Ice, and Fire attack levels, and giving him W-Cast for KNT (Holy) and SAM (Fire and Ice). So it's pretty great.

The problem is that for a KNT Awakening, I have RAIJIN CID. He has critfixing, and while he doesn't get a Holy attack level boost, he does get TGM, which makes him insane.

I mean, I could drop Agrias, who is currently there for her Imperils, but I dunno. As with most things FFII, I feel that this one is neat, but somehow doesn't thrill me like it should.

[danzibr]

Grats on the Awakening!

I chose a different approach. I have no AASBs for I, II, III, XI, XII, XIV, XV. I chose to pull on XII. Went dupe/11.

[Red Fel]

So, apparently, Firion's Awakening was a big help, because I managed to clear Hades! Not a sub30, but I can work on that. This officially unlocks the 5-star Magicites for me, and after trying one with one of my strongest teams... it went bad. Really, really bad. Like, it was extremely not good. So I think I'll work on Siren and Hades for awhile longer, waste my time there while trying to get better relics.

Speaking of better relics, decided to try my hand at another LotR. I have III through VII remaining, and honestly, the only weak realm among them is IV. So that's my next stop! Survey says... 1/3, disco ball - Yang's USB. En-Earth with incremental fastcasting and crit-up, with an Overflow chaser on top. Really nice. Problem is, my Earth PHY team currently includes three Awakenings, plus Tifa's W-Cast MNK USB on standby. So... nice, but not exactly helpful.

[danzibr]

Grats on unlocking 5*!

Which did you try?

[T.G. Oskar]

So, apparently, Firion's Awakening was a big help, because I managed to clear Hades! Not a sub30, but I can work on that. This officially unlocks the 5-star Magicites for me, and after trying one with one of my strongest teams... it went bad. Really, really bad. Like, it was extremely not good. So I think I'll work on Siren and Hades for awhile longer, waste my time there while trying to get better relics.

That's an issue.

Right now, I've only tried Mateus, Manticore and Geosgaeno. Of those, the only one I actually can deal with is Manticore, and that's because Bae is just absurdly powerful. By the time she gets to unleash her Awakening, she can effortlessly break damage cap with her spells - mostly, because she's stacking three En-Fires and has a lot of buffs. However, the issue there is survival; 5*s hit hard and hit fast.

Take Mateus. I have a pretty solid team, and several guys that can do Team Physical Fire just nicely: Bartz with his Awakening, Firion with his Awakening, Balthier as main Imperiller, Galuf as healer/imperiler, Greg and Auron as Chain holders, etc. I also have solid healers: Elarra, Aerith, Y'shtola, Rosa, Selphie and Relm, to state a few. In theory, I should sweep the floor with Mateus. In practice, it's actually the opposite - it requires a strategy that has to be followed to the letter, and it still depends on luck. For starters: I had to drop Balthier to get Tyro, because I need his Godwall, and because he can serve as Entruster. That means my only source of Imperil Fire is my Magicite, meaning damage already takes a hike. (But I didn't need that with Manticore, so there's that.) Second, Mateus activates Barrier quite a bit, AND mixes that with Ice Rage, so that's two sources of damage mitigation right there. Third, surviving Mateus' attacks involves having Elarra's USB1 almost on the ready, which involves having Tyro fire off his Godwall followed by the generic RikkUltra in his first two turns, then Entrusting on the third, so that Elarra can get her USB1 ready to fire ASAP - and that depends on Auron and Tyro surviving the barrage of attacks, which means I only have good chances if Elarra uses the +ATK Bard song AND activates the Medica that comes with it. Breaking Barrier means I need either Auron to have Armor Breakdown, or Bartz use Steal Defense, which has its own issues. And by the time both Bartz's and Firion's Awakenings ready to fire, Chain is roughly halfway AND not as high enough, which means any mistake can cause Bartz's overall damage to drop to bad levels. It feels like a luck fest, which shouldn't be so.

Geosgaeno is just like that. I mentioned that Ashe is basically Lightning Goddess now - Awakening, USB2 making her a Marche-equivalent, LMR2 that provides a percentage heal when she attacks, LM2 giving her W-Cast Lightning, full dive, etc. I also have a solid support team - Rapha as buffer and then her BSB providing heals with damage, Aphmau having her USB for Instacast + her BSB to provide damage while using Medicas, Garnet providing the chain while also healing, and...I had Shantotto as the provider of the Chain, but since Garnet took over that duty, I chose Desch instead, who has access to Machinist and his Glint, so he's main Imperiller. Even with all of that, Geosgaeno often ends up killing my people just because he hits hard and hits fast - if Aphmau doesn't have her USB1 ready to fire at the right moment, I'm screwed, and even then, I'm screwed because all that Geosgaeno needs is another AoE attack to take everyone to low HP. And that's with three sources of healing; three sources of healing. (Granted - one is Curaise, another is Curaja, and the last one is Renewing Cure until Rapha gets to use her BSB.) Even with that, I can't get Geosgaeno to be defeated easily. The only way would be to get a better source of Dampen Water, which means I have to beat the Lightning Magicite first - which means either using my better Team Physical Earth, or challenge it with Team Magical Earth which isn't as powerful as I'd expect. Which means probably having to defeat the Earth Magicite, which has issues with both Team Physical and Team Magical.

So, in short - it's another ballpark.

I did find a few things, though. 5* Magicites challenge how many sources of damage you can stack - Terra hits so hard with her spells because she combines a starting En-Fire, two sources of +Fire damage, a MAG over 650, AND a large +Weak just from starters before getting the +MAG buffs and firing her Awakening, which is yet another source of +MAG (and +SPD). Mages have it easy; warriors, on the other hand, even with a similar set-up (again: Bartz has two sources of +Fire, large +SPB with swords, full dive and a 6* Spellblade attack, and that's before two +ATK buffs and his Awakening), don't deal as much damage. I could simply set up Bartz with Scholar's Boon, but I don't see how that might help. It's either him or Firion, who has +PHY with swords, two sources of +Fire damage, Damning Flame for +ATK (at the cost of defense) and his Awakening before any other external buffs, and Firion does far less damage than Bartz. (Bartz ends up breaking damage cap to shatter Ice Rage in the first place anyways.) I might set up Bartz and Firion with +Weak RMs and see how it works. I might also choose to delay Awakenings, having Bartz use his Awakening last (Mateus doesn't seem to activate Barrier on the last few rounds), but that means I must have Firion ready to break damage cap, or have Bartz use his old OSB to do so. And all that while Tyro entrusts, Elarra heals and Auron...well, stays ready to use his Chain.

And after that, it's Typhon and Syldra, which are considered to be the worst of the Magicites. Did I mention team Magical Ice sucks balls? Because it does.

So yeah - don't worry that much about 5*s, and deal with them slowly. (Speaking of which - I have Agrias' Awakening, Orlandeau with W-Cast Knight AND Darkness, and I still can't beat Papa Nurgle. If anything, I increased the total damage I've dealt to...what, 10%? So, relics aren't everything, and neither do Dives or Magia or Crystal Waters...)

[danzibr]

I'm pretty confident with an offensive AASB of the right type, and a CSB (gen 1 or 2, even the wrong type) you can beat a 5*. I mean, that's not *all* you need, but those are the core components. Even then, I have a few teams with no CSB at all (but need to compensate for that with other goodies).

For my Mateus team, my dakka consists almost solely of Bartz AASB (buffed by Ignis BSB, with Edgar USB for Imperil). Tyro supports and Rosa heals. No chain.

For my Manticore team, my dakka is Terra with AASB, Rinoa with AASB (off element, uses Tritoch), then Edgar, Tyro, and Rosa again.

Granted, these are 2 of my weakest teams, which I did last, so I have nearly max magicite decks for them.

Edit: in a similar vein, I tried my best team against Odin. Hoo boy. I’m quite certain I can win, but it’s going to take some precise timing.

[Antonok]

Free 40 draw is up:

5/40 - 2 Disco's, 3 rainbows

Seven BSB
Golbez BSB - Dupe
Porom Glint
Marach USB
Zidane AASB - Dupe

I think it's about time to take a break from the game again. Pulls are being overly stingy and what I do get ends up being dupes 90% of the time.

[Red Fel]

Free 40 draw is up:

My turn, my turn! Also 5/40, 3 rainbow, 2 disco:

• Ayame's BSB: A pretty solid second choice after Squall for Ice PHY. Also a dupe.
• Ultimecia's LMR: Starting En-Dark, not bad.
• Rubicante's LMR: Same, but En-Fire.
• Steiner's OSB: I mean, it's useful to have overflow damage in 5-star Magicites. Also a dupe.
• Gogo (V)'s USB: Party Guts and Hastega, self En-Water, and mimic the last action twice. Not too shabby considering how crap Water MAG is.

Not the best pulls I've had, but reasonably solid for free. So, since I'm now pretty flush, time to do some damage on the remaining LotRs - III, V, VI, and VII. Since that's the lot, I'll just put them all to date in a spoiler below.

Spoiler: LotR Summary

Show

• I: Wol's BSB, dupe.
• II: Maria's USB.
• III: Luneth's Glint+ (instant quickcast DRG, DRG +damage).
• IV: Yang's USB.
• V: Exdeath's USB, dupe.
• VI: Strago's USB.
• VII: Aerith's Glint+ (instant ProShellHastega).
• VIII: Squall's USB.
• IX: Vivi's LMR.
• X: Jecht's USB.
• XI: Curilla's USB, dupe.
• XII: Balthier's AOSB.
• XIII: Nabaat's BSB.
• XIV: Y'shtola's Brave USB.
• XV: Cor's AOSB.
• FFT: Marche's AOSB.
• T-0: Rem's BSB, dupe.

So, only 4/15 were dupes, almost all were disco balls. That's a pretty good feeling, right there.

And with that, I still have 50 mythril left for Banner 5. Good times.

[darkdragoon]

Antonok if you can spare the lenses Kain OSB is very spammable especially when combined with USB1. SSB used to be a low budget version of that (I got it from AA) but now it and his BSB would be a more expensive Cyclone/Hurricane bolt.

For Zidane his AA does help with SB gain but it works better with USB2 for that (ie, a strong thievery especially if it drops while the overflow is still up)

B3: Bartz awakening and Lightning sync. The former was somewhat helpful for Gilgamesh but I'd much rather have the first one. The sync really lives up to the hype but now it feels like an eternity getting the rest of my team ready.

B4: I'd like to get Cinque, Rinoa would add to her, the rest would probably be iffy though.


40 draw netted Tidus Arcane but nothing else of note.

Today's daily draw did help with something for Golbez, so hopefully this year starts on the right track.

[Antonok]

Antonok if you can spare the lenses Kain OSB is very spammable especially when combined with USB1. SSB used to be a low budget version of that (I got it from AA) but now it and his BSB would be a more expensive Cyclone/Hurricane bolt.

For Zidane his AA does help with SB gain but it works better with USB2 for that (ie, a strong thievery especially if it drops while the overflow is still up)

Might look into Kain's OSB. Don't remember offhand if OSBs take lvl 2 or 3 lenses.

For Zidane I have his USB2 and his DC LMR. Sadly missed Cloud's Synch (had 1 draw on B1 and got 1/11 Vanille GSB+ ) So not as strong as it could be but here's my set up for a Wind team:

Spoiler

Show

Zack - CSB, Glint+, BSB, LMR
Cloud - AASB, USB1, USB2, Glint, DC LMR
Zidane - AASB, USB2, OSB, DC LMR

Problem I have with this team is both Cloud and Zidane need 2 bars each to get up and running, but when they do...

[T.G. Oskar]

Old year ended up...nicely, I'd say, and new year started...on a good footing, actually!

First, I made a pull on Banner 4. It's chock-full of Earth stuff, and I could use a few more things for Team Magical Earth. What do I get?
3/11, ALL DISCOS, and no dupes!

• Cinque's Whiet Cape! This is her Arcane OSB, of the "20+1" type. It's...fairly decent, IMO, and the armor grants +Earth and better Attack, so it should be good for people like Tifa. It's also a cape, so it's unisex. And It's Light Armor.
• Nanaki's Thornlet! This is...wow, the other Earth Magical Chain. So, much like in Team Physical Fire AND Team Magical Dark, I have both Gen 2 chains. Red XIII is a buffer/supporter, though, unlike the Emperor who's the Imperiller. It's a hat, though.
• Cinque's Ogre Hammer! This is her USB, which is Cinque's Awakening. It's highly focused on Earth, what with En-Earth tacked in, alongisde a Wallcrusher (I.E. reduce DEF/RES by a large amount). Cinque's Awakening Mode works just like Kain, where instead of dualcasting, she gets Break Damage Cap lv. 2, meaning she can deal up to 29999 HP worth of damage with each swing. This is not exactly that great, except Heavy Physical becomes better with each stack...and the Awakening automatically grants one stack of Heavy Physical. So...she strikes like a truck.

Went for Magic, ended with Type-0 stuff. Also - why do I got all of that for Class Zero's...erm, dimwit? Moe basher? What's with her anyways?

So, today, I decided to go for the 40-Draw, but before, I did my Daily Draw. Surprise surprise - I get a DISCO in my Daily Draw!

• Elena's Magnum! This is her USB, which grants +ATK/RES boost plus a 50% Crit chance, and stacks it up with a 2-turn Chaser that Imperils Fire. Not too shabby, considering that the buff is super-rare, gives a high Crit chance, AND Imperils Fire while on it. And, since it applies to Fire attacks, that means Flame Offering and Burnt Offering, so she can serve as a Fire Imperiller. What are the odds?

Thus, to the 40-Draw! What do I get? 4/40, the two guaranteed Discos, but 2 dupes.

• Cid Raines' Metamorphosis Claws. His excellent BSB, but a dupe. Turned into Rainbow Crystals.
• DK!Cecil's Hades Armor. His LMR that grants a Trance mode of sorts. Fused.
• Yuna;s El Dorado! This is her weird Awakening, and I'll explain why. To wit, it's a Summon-based Awakening, which works best for Summoning...except for two things The first is that it grants Regenga, so it allows you to get healed pretty easily. The other is that it has a Medica chaser when you use Summon abilities (with the obvious Dualcast + Infinite Hones). So, instead of giving her WHM/SUM, she gets only SUM, but with healing properties. It's super nice if you consider her a Summoner, but she's more of a healer, so it'll compete with Song of Spira, which is just as useful if not better. YMMV on this one, but I use Yuna a lot.
• Squall's Cutting Trigger+! (Yes, it has a + in its name). This is his Awakening, which focuses on Ice damage. If he was already brutal with his BSB and USB1, this makes him a veritable physical Ice God....which is weird, because he associates a lot with Fire. But, there you go. Simple yet effective Awakening, which gets progressively more insane if you manage to pair it with his USB1 or BSB, since both have iteration mechanics that he can absolutely exploit.

This comes up with the last surprise - I managed to off Mateus! The defining tactic was to set Firion with a +Weak damage RM, which allowed him to potentially break level cap with a critical hit, thus ending Ice Break earlier on. I still don't always make it, and it's not a sub-30, but Firion is actually much better for it.

[danzibr]

Wooooow. Grats on the sync, darkdragon. And on the double AASB, Oskar.

My 40-pull was utter trash. Least it was free.

And now... to try some Torments.