(no subject)

[bard_linn]

FFVII update.

Got to play more FFVII than usual this week, due to having a seminar thing Wednesday so I didn’t go to school. A few notes of interest.

Vincent’s entrance is WACKED. SERIOUSLY WACKED. I hadn’t gotten to actually see it before but aiiiiie. Gymnastic!Floating!Vincent is weird.

Died for the first time (foey) against the monster guarding the safe (er, Lost Number, apparently), much to my annoyance. However, came up with a good plan to beat it, and beat it we did. >D I switched Aeris back down to level 2 limit break and fought with her (cover equipped) until she had her limit break. Then we opened the safe and I used Fury Brand, which of course gave Tifa and Cloud their limit breaks. Between Meteorain and Tifa’s Limit Breaks (all of them up to and including Dolphin Kick) the thing was dead before I did anything else. XD

We also killed the Materia Keeper, which is supposedly one of the hardest bosses in the game according to some. Was extremely easy, actually. After I finished the fight with Lost Number, I switched Aeris’ limit break back to level three and kept her in the party until she got her limit break. Then I didn’t use it, just had her spell cast until I could swap her out again. Then I worked on leveling other people up as I went through the mountain. There is a save point right before the Materia Keeper. Swapped Aeris and Vincent in, as they were the strongest members of my party. (With the Bolt+Added Affect Materia combo on her staff, Aeris did as much damage as Vincent. XD) Went into the fight, promptly used the Planet Protector, making my party invincible. Then beat upon it for a while. When the invulnerability wore off, I cast big guard. The beat on it some more. Died shortly after.

Aeris limits are the most useful things EVER.

Speaking of Limits, Cloud and Aeris now have all but their fourth limit breaks. Tifa, Barret and Yuffie have their first level 3 limit break. Red has both of his second (going to focus on him for now, I think, because I actually have the stuff to get him his fourth), Cait Sith has all of his (all two of them, why am I not impressed?) and Vincent still only has one, seeing as he was only in my party to fight the Materia Keeper so far. (Vin is bad with dragons. *nod*)

Something like 14 more enemy skills to get!

...and we still haven't gotten Cid in our party yet. XD

Comments

[lanerose]

Great Gospel FTW~!!!!

... you are *so* over-leveled. XDDDD Awesome.

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

They're only upper 30s! I think Cloud's the only one to break 40 yet. XD

[lanerose]

Linn ~ you're still on Disc 1 (of 3), and most people beat the game at level 50. You're over-leveled. But that's kind of awesome, so whatev. ^_^

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Really? *blink blink* But-but-the enemy skill materia, and the limit breaks and...

I'm such a geek. XD

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

*Blinkblinkblink!*

That's over-leveled? I had everyone in my party (Cloud, Aeris, Barret, Tifa, Red, Yuffie) in their mid-30s - with Cloud peeking over 40) before I entered Junon the first time.

Then again, I was trying to push them to a point where I could go back and get Beta on my Enemy Skills materia, and they don't reach over 3000 HP until about the 30s anyway - limits were just a way to minimize the boredom of fighting Formulas and Cappawires all the time.

I didn't actually bother with leveling like that again because I went really looking for a savegame editor when I reached Gold Saucer (the lack of GP was a pain).

[elanor-pam.livejournal.com]

...Wow, you're competent with games O_o I only got Cloud's level 4 Limit thanks to this friend called Jenova Editor. Most others except for Tifa and Cid never got past the second limit. XD;; And of my three Enemy skill materia, 2 had but one skill, the third had half of them. :/ *is lame*

And who used the Oritsuru again? XD *barely used the mock weapons - went "Bah, no slots" and sold them before finding out what they were about*

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Er, no. It's called Walkthroughs and Guides for the win!

*very against editors* I consider that cheating, myself.

I'm really only focusing on one enemy skill. I want mastered materia!

Most likely Yuffie.

[elanor-pam.livejournal.com]

I confess I was more interested in getting to the next cutscene than in the battles between them. XD;; Also, playing in the computer is uncomfortable to say the least, and I couldn't stick around the Battle Square for more than two hours, as my comp is shared.

....also, I don't have the attention span for that. Battle Square frustrates me to no end XD;;

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

If you wait up until around the end of the game, earning enough points to get Omnislash at Battle Square is a breeze. Just take Cloud, equip Ultima Weapon, a Mystile, and a Ribbon, and you're set. It also helps if you equip mostly command and independent materia rather than magic and summons -- HP Plus, Counterattack, and Slash All (or Double Cut, if you're like me and never made it through the Forest of the Ancients) are extremely useful -- though I'd still recommend taking a high-level Restore, because you can use that until they block your magic.

[lefcadio.livejournal.com]

Haha, it's no wonder Materia Keeper was easily if you've bothered levelling up that much already!

I love the mock weapons, I always have to give Cloud nail bat for a long while xD

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Behold! I overlevel for EVERYTHING.

Very useful habit, that.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Over-leveling is a good thing!

[lochar.livejournal.com]

Except in FF8, where the enemies level with you. And then they're more powerful, but you don't have better weapons/armor.

[kiraya.livejournal.com]

That is why I never got anywhere in FFVIII; the monster levelling thing completely breaks how RPGs are supposed to work.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Ahh yes, that's true - but then what you need to do is level your GFs like crazy.

[lochar.livejournal.com]

Kinda hard to level GFs but not your characters.

I beat FF8 once to see the ending. Then I put it down and it's one of the very few FF games I haven't had the urge to pick up again.

Mystic Quest being the only other one in that category.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that's true enough. It was probably only due to Jenova and Griever - the savegame editors for the PC versions - that I got through FF7 or FF8.

[lochar.livejournal.com]

Heh. I used a gameshark on the PS version of it.

And even still I felt disappointed because I was max level with the best equipment and couldn't wipe out the first enemies with laughable ease.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

To tell the truth, I like the monster-leveling part of 8 - it gives more of a challenge to the whole game.

But then there's quite a few things in 8 that I feel most people put down because they're too complex.

[lochar.livejournal.com]

I disliked the leveling portion of the game because it was immersion breaking.

Why exactly do monsters(and other humans as well!) get stronger dependant on one particular group? Does this mean if I execute this particular group of people, that there will be no more problems with the world?

Oh wait, never mind. Now I understand why everyone is always trying to kill the party!

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

LOL.

I see what you mean actually, but I just treat it as one of those things that are game mechanics that don't translate - like hit points (the only place hit points work is in parody).

I have seen fics however that generally have monsters getting stronger on average, which I wouldn't be surprised is some sort of nod to the monster-leveling, but it's a case that in translation to fic it is made more general - not dependant on the protagonists.

[lochar.livejournal.com]

I'm not actually talking about enemies in different places getting higher in level, I'm talking about the enemies in the exact same place being different levels dependant on your own levels. That's what's not working for me.

I can understand Area X has relatively weaker enemies, the local Seed hopefuls hunting everything to death for practice, versus Area Y where no hunters have been for decades allowing the creatures to grow stonger.

I just don't like Area X having enemies that have the same levels as you regardless of how much you've worked at it.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Well to borrow your example, if SeeD hopefuls have been killing off all the local monsters then one would supose the local monsters would have to be smarter - get tougher if they want to survive with what is - practically speaking - a dangerous type of predetor in the area.

I don't think they ever have the same level as the PCs - more that they have a range of HP that varies depending on the PC's level. The weak monsters eventually get left behind as one levels up along the way, because there's only a certain level they can go up to, no matter how high Squall's level is.

[lochar.livejournal.com]

No, they actually identify as being higher level, IIRC.

Ah, the joys of stolen identify magic. :P

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Huh. Must look into that next time I play FF8.

[icedark-elf.livejournal.com]

*grins* I'm working on my second play through, as I just beat it a few weeks ago.

Just got the Highwind this time around.

I needed the kills to get Cloud and Aeris up to their level three limits, so I went to Midgar and just circled. A lot.

Though when I get Cloud back, it's off to the beaches of Mideel to master materia. That's got the monsters with the highest AP that I can reach easily. And they're the only things to attack on the beaches, so with a double raising weapon/armor, I'm getting 400 AP a battle. I love those sea worms.

Then it's chocobo racing. *glees* I think racing is my favorite part. I'm going to try for a stable full of golds. And I got told how to get Cid and Tifa to race them as well, as I didn't now you could do that. >.>