[champ]

I've started to use it much more now...

Spoiler

It's a perfect opening salvo against tougher enemies... I create a Fira spell for instance and keep it equipped for when it is needed.

It's perfect for the enemy troopers that drop out of the ships. Wait for one of your party to notify you that an enemy ship is above, spot out the location, wait for them to all drop out of the ship together and target them with the spell, it insta kills them.

Also I'll hold off using it mid battle until the enemies group together.

It's quite handy to use Regroup because that normally groups the enemies together too then hit them with a big spell...

The first time I fought a Toad was crazy, I was also fighting some of the pack animal tusk beasts (can't remember their name) and then an Imperial drop ship appeared too... good fun!

[Morgoth]

champ, on 12 December 2016 - 08:17 PM, said:

Briar King, on 11 December 2016 - 10:47 PM, said:

I prob shouldn't read that got a feeling your way past me. I think I ll try to start Dead Eye tonight. I hate the Imps.

Yeah, give him a shot... tip...

Spoiler

Go in with fire magic attached that you can spam to gain some additional AP

Also I'm still on chapter 3, the stuff I am spoilering are things I have come across that are available during that chapter.

Morgoth, on 12 December 2016 - 07:10 AM, said:

champ, on 11 December 2016 - 12:44 PM, said:

Yeah, it's Ruby and Emerald...

First time playing FFVII, I played it with my housemate at the time, we'd spent over four hours grinding away power levelling, we'd saw the red stub of Ruby pop through the desert but hadn't inspected it, we avoided all guides so didn't know what it was...

I went to the shop and came back just as a Game Over screen had appeared... my mate had gone to investigate and died pretty much instantly... hadn't saved...

I went ape haha, I'm doing f*** all until you get us back to that level point!

He'd said that he had just flown over it and the battle activated which was bullshit, you had to get out of the airship, run up and click, I was HULK RAGE haha.

For Emerald, man that took ages to kill, I spent days working out a perfect strategy with Knights of the Round Table, it should work if we got lucky with the RNG and after about 8 attempts of that strat it finally worked, we had spent days trying to beat it.

I seem to remember Knights of the Round together with... mimic (?) was what got us through Emerald Weapon back in the day. I loved FF7

Aye, it was mimic, I forgot about that... I always remember getting to within one more KotRT double combo to kill him and he'd do that move that hit you for 9999... one of the toughest bosses I have faced in any game. The memories!

Could have it's own thread that, the hardest boss you have faced in games.

The answer to that question is The Orphan of Koss in Bloodborne.

So, now that you guys have played for a while. How is the story?

[champ]

The story is kinda going on in the background and taken a back seat so far.

Spoiler to how the plot is revealed - not plot specifics:

Spoiler

You learn about the story by viewing one event from a distance then after that it is through meeting Agents or getting radio updates so far.

If i hadn't watched Kingsglaive then I would be a bit lost to who the main characters are and what is really going on... I would say to gain the full effect of the game, it is compulsive viewing.

edit:

I would say it is nothing special at the minute and thinking about it, it's very different to other FF games, up to now it is more about the characters than the plot if that makes sense.

This post has been edited by champ: 13 December 2016 - 08:06 AM

[champ]

I figured I had best move the story on as I was level 50 and still on chapter 3...

It's just the hunts are so much fun and the side quests are easy to complete once you've opened up the maps fast travel points.

I'm up to chapter 5 now, had my first "massive" boss fight which reminded me of God of War.

Magic is definitely more fun now, really effective too. Experimented and got some nice spell buffs.

I can't stress enough, if you want to get the full impact of the game story, you do need to watch Kingsglaive.

[champ]

My first battle with one where I decided to take it on was intense but I managed to take it out and get to a camp spot, ambushed me in the woods the fucker it did.

I beat my first super monster that roams the land...

Spoiler

Level 53 Griffon, was pretty intense but went better than I thought it would, I saved up the 333 AP for unlimited airstep and it's mad fun darting about with the Royal Weapons.

[champ]

I don't mind him to be honest, I...

Spoiler

Gave him two accessory slots early and then gave him defence and health boosts to help.

Re money, I always struggled early game too until I did a load of hunts over and over, there is a side quest in Lest where you go take photos for a dude, keep doing his quests and he gives you around 70K gold by the time you've done them all for him, now I'm never below 100K gold.

[champ]

Haha I came across that too and a few more to boot...

I've played it a fair bit lately, it's a good distraction, I'm 54 hours in now and level 56.

I'm on chapter 8, just finishing off some final side quests and hidden dungeons. I've done 5 of the 8 I found so far... not sure how many there are. Done a fair bit of fishing too.

I think after the next Main quest point it'll move me on from this area for a while.

One of the hidden dungeons - Crestholm Channels... Recommended level was 45 I think, I went in level 52 and it was good fun tough, first time I've really had a challenge in the game and had to use strategy and a few items to defeat a boss. Don't trust the recommended level, if I went in at 45 the final boss would have 1 shot me.

Considering Kingsglaive, I'm interested to see where the story is going, it's still a bit of a back burner but interesting enough, had a couple of nice moments to it.

I just love the music when Noctis finds the Royal Weapons.

[champ]

NO SPOILERS.

I've just completed it, a great game, a nice return to form though it does have it's problems, I won't lie... I'll get more on to that later in another post, I want time to digest first though...

I don't know how long after the game had finished that I just looked into empty space thinking about the game. The ending and it's overall meaning.

I think I finished after 75 hours and level 67. Now there is a lot of end game content that has opened up to tackle, a few side quests also and more dungeons which I'll face soon enough.

I've avoided a guide all the way through so not sure how hard of a challenge these will be but hopefully that will be true FF end game challenge with grind involved.

You don't really need to monster grind in this game, by completing the side quests and sleeping in the correct spots you will advance you're level enough to advoid that. A lot of the quests to start with are fetch quests but later they do progress to further activities.

A lot of the story takes a back burner, major events happen off scene - which I imagine will be covered in DLC annoyingly - though by the end of Chapter 8 you're thrown into the story more and by the end of Chapter 9, I actually really started to care about the story and what was going on. I won't spoil any story moments yet but in the later post they'll be marked obviously.

A few "feels" moments and some nice twists too in the story, I've said it enough but you will need to watch Kingsglaive and maybe even the Brotherhood series to get the full effects out of the games story but they are a good watch anyway.

It was definitely a "new" FF experience, one that when I first started I wasn't sure that I would enjoy, by the end of it though I'd fully embraced the game mechanics.

One annoying point, it does go FFXIII towards the end and quite linear though there is a way to travel back.

More to come later.

But if you were unsure about the game, I'd definitely give it a shot.

[champ]

I've spoilered because I'm talking about my levels during the play through for certain areas, not giving any story away.

Spoiler

By the end of the main game play through I was level 67 but that was kinda OP I found. I wanted to do all the side dungeons before completing, didn't check a guide and just did all the side quests/hunts available to get that level rather than monster grinding so I figured going in I shouldn't be too OP as it was more natural progression. I found I could do all the side dungeons but there was one that I had to run away from a couple of times due to getting my ass nearly handed to me.

I'd say between level 55-60 to have a decent challenge in the main quest, level 50 if you want a really hard battle and if you don't want to do the side dungeons first.

The hardest side dungeon I found, I'd say you need to be around level 60-65 to have no real issues in it with good equipment/acension. Probably closer to 65, I turned 65 just finishing it.

Funny enough, the hardest battle I had during the main game was a level 35 Coeurl hunt, I was like level 52 and that battle was touch and go man, so tough, I HATE fighting them. You'll see...

Without any real spoilers, in the final level there are enemies there that I guess you're supposed to run by because their level is really high but I was able to take them out, killing them was tougher than the final boss battle for my level and took ages/loads of items to take them out.

Weapon spoiler - a weapon that I found, linked to Kingsglaive:

Spoiler

Shit man, I found Ulric's Kukris whilst running around the final level, they are SWEET!!! Couldn't believe it when they dropped!

Final boss battle spoiler - no story just the game mechanics spoiler:

Spoiler

Just think Dragon Ball Z, crazy fun!!!

I love the game but I guess my main disappointment with it was that it seemed to lack some of the complexity we've come to know from FF games, it was less strategy, especially with the battle system and more just full on attack.

Yes there are different ways to mix up the combat and it is great fun fighting but the magic was overall lacking, I found it handy midgame but late game I didn't use it much.

I dunno, it is a great game, stunning graphics, fun gameplay, great music, for me I'm into the story too, especially chapter 8 onwards but what they say when you load it up, "A Final Fantasy for fans and first timers," is true.

I don't expect to play a FF game and not have to look up a section online or see if I'm missing out on something major or not have a gameover screen which I never did once, kinda disappointment me how straight forward it seemed.

Though I have a feeling the end game content is going to kick me ass looking at some of the new side quests available.

And one thing that is great about the map, 70 hours in and I've found a way to two new sections I never found during my play through, there are areas that you will miss if you do not scour the full map.

Map tip:

Spoiler

Look for paths in the middle of nowhere if you zoom in on the map and keep an eye out for a break in the big fences along the road, normally before you get to a tunnel, they lead to some sweet spots

There is a lot I'm leaving out because I don't want to spoil too much but if there is anything you want to know then just ask.

edit

Briar King, on 29 December 2016 - 04:23 AM, said:

Damn man you must busted ass. Without spoilers what lvl where you on? Did you complete all sidewuest? Where would you rank it in franchise? Can you see it being successful enuff to safely say that they could justify 16 or is 15 a good note just to stop on?

I'm still on ch3 after opening but in Lest. Haven't played much last few days cause Netflix shows The OA and Versailles hooked me

I didn't move on from Chapter 3 until I had done every last side quest available, I think my hunter rank then was 4.

Hard to rank it in the franchise, for fun I'd say top 3 but for story, I can see people kicking up a fuss about it if they haven't seen Kingsglaive etc.

There is no doubt that there will be a FF16 but that will be a VERY long time away.

We're going to get at least 3 DLC pieces for this I think I read somewhere - which I cannot wait for because they will definitely fill in missing parts in the story - and then we will have FFVII remake, all 3 parts plus the FFXII remaster too...

edit edit

Loving the OA too!

This post has been edited by champ: 29 December 2016 - 10:42 PM

[WinterPhoenix]

Haven't played this game for about a week, week an a half maybe because of the myriad destractions of the Christmas period. Went at it like champ though I guess, have tried to do everything as and when I could, at Chapter 8 finishing off some side-quests when I stopped. I also found the same hunt champ refers to in his spoiler to be the hardest I undertook, even as of chapter 8 it's probably still the most difficulty I've had in a fight. And despite taking on quests above my level (early on before I overlevelled as a result of such questing) I've never once had a game over.

I enjoy this game (and my time off is genuinely nothing to do with the game, just life) and intend to enjoy it quite alot more, it's better than FFXIII - and certainly much better than the early corridor simulation portions of the game - and much better than it's lacklustre sequels. Nonetheless I can't escape the fact that I'm more interested in the upcoming FFXII remaster (still my favourite FF, don't care what anyone says, the gameplay is just so damn good I can forgive the story pacing issues, and generally subpar characters, well except Balthier who is Auron levels of awesome!) than anything else Square Enix have planned for some time to come. Nonetheless the game is eminently enjoyable though it does even despite it's flaws. The AI is generally useless (once again look to FFXII for a FF game that does AI very well), the magic system while very powerful is often forgotten because of the manner in which it's executed in game and frankly I just think the game is too easy unless you purposely hamper yourself i.e no healing items etc. Now obviously I'll qualify that last statement by pointing out that I've done extensive sidequesting, plus I still have 6 chapters of main game content plus post-game stuff to go. So game completion plus perhaps a further less powergamey playthrough is needed before I could say this with any real certainty, but I genuinely do not see how the game could really get very much harder, whatever they throw at you. Even in the few fights where all of my characters experienced the downed state, the ease of access to very powerful healing made recovering a very simple matter. Noctis himself is so hard to take down for any enemy if you're any good at the dodge/parry mechanic and keep a good eye on possible status conditions - which again are very simple to cure, even instant death is easy to cure with phoenix downs. I genuinely watched a guy on youtube beat the games highest level boss with just Noctis, the AI were so useless when they died at the start he didn't even bother reviving them, he never even looked like getting a game over :/

I mean it's not too big a problem, in fact it's barely made a dent on my enjoyment, and I guess if I want challenge I can always put restrictions on myself, in fact FF is a series famous for it's player-made challenges (FFX No-Sphere-Grid etc), I guess I just bemoan the general trend nowadays towards making games easier to attract a greater player base - heck the game even tells you at the start that it's for long-time fans and newbies basically.

[champ]

WinterPhoenix, on 02 January 2017 - 10:30 AM, said:

I also found the same hunt champ refers to in his spoiler to be the hardest I undertook, even as of chapter 8 it's probably still the most difficulty I've had in a fight. And despite taking on quests above my level (early on before I overlevelled as a result of such questing) I've never once had a game over.

I honestly couldn't believe how difficult it turned out to be, first time I tried it I had to run away, I'd spent probably around 6 in game hours fighting them and hadn't even took out 1.

WinterPhoenix, on 02 January 2017 - 10:30 AM, said:

I'm more interested in the upcoming FFXII remaster (still my favourite FF, don't care what anyone says, the gameplay is just so damn good I can forgive the story pacing issues, and generally subpar characters, well except Balthier who is Auron levels of awesome!) than anything else Square Enix have planned for some time to come.

Apart from the FFVII remake I'd agree. I honestly cannot wait for the XII remake, the battle and hunt system is so much fun, by far my favourite FF battle system so far.

WinterPhoenix, on 02 January 2017 - 10:30 AM, said:

Nonetheless the game is eminently enjoyable though it does even despite it's flaws. The AI is generally useless (once again look to FFXII for a FF game that does AI very well), the magic system while very powerful is often forgotten because of the manner in which it's executed in game and frankly I just think the game is too easy unless you purposely hamper yourself i.e no healing items etc. Now obviously I'll qualify that last statement by pointing out that I've done extensive sidequesting, plus I still have 6 chapters of main game content plus post-game stuff to go. So game completion plus perhaps a further less powergamey playthrough is needed before I could say this with any real certainty, but I genuinely do not see how the game could really get very much harder, whatever they throw at you. Even in the few fights where all of my characters experienced the downed state, the ease of access to very powerful healing made recovering a very simple matter. Noctis himself is so hard to take down for any enemy if you're any good at the dodge/parry mechanic and keep a good eye on possible status conditions - which again are very simple to cure, even instant death is easy to cure with phoenix downs. I genuinely watched a guy on youtube beat the games highest level boss with just Noctis, the AI were so useless when they died at the start he didn't even bother reviving them, he never even looked like getting a game over :/

Pretty much agree with all of this.

The only way to create a challenge would be to hamper yourself and not do all the available side quests, go in under the recommended level on the chapter you are at.

It's too easy to access an Elixir, to be honest after the first couple of chapters it was rare that I needed to use a Phoenix Down unless it was due to a randon one shot. If you heal in advance you're fine, just keep an eye on your party. I think the one skill that saved my ass so many times was:

Spoiler

Regroup with Ignis, without that it would be difficult

I've found I have had to grind for some of the end game content, mind. Needed AP and Levels quick. Up to level 93 Noctis and level 91 everyone else now.

Had my new most difficult battle, you get a quest to retrieve an item and have to fight:

Spoiler

5 level 75 Tonberry(I think it was) Knights, you run in at dark and they are tiny, you think it'll be easy... they bring out a purple lightening sword about 3x as big as them and let loose, one shot and I was down to danger health, half black bar showing... I only succeeded because the Summon music kicked in and saved my ass... which again I've found happens in the crazy hard fights so is an easy get out....

I didn't have much time to play it yesterday but I figured I would go and quickly explore the hardest endgame dungeon... I think this will be a true challenge because:

Dungeon gameplay mechanic spoiler:

Spoiler

You're not allowed to use any items... at all... and it's a level 99 recommended, first few rooms were crazy

Some tips if anyone wants them, well maybe not tips, just things I found useful with Ascension:

Spoiler

Noctis will be your main damage dealer of course, so max him out as much as you can, the one 333 skill I went for with him - so far - is Unlimited Airstep, it allows you to pretty much dance around the battlefield, combine that with Osmostrike and you can dance all battle long.

Teamwork I've pretty much maxed out too, your ultimate goal is to get Limitless Link (999ap) I've done some crazy 24k damage with it rather than limited to 9999 damage.

Stats I would like the 3 accessory slots but thats too much AP farming at the minute, I've maxed out the character boost stats though.

Exploration only aim for the nodes that give you an AP boost.

Wait mode I have only done Warp-Ambush so far.

Armiger I've done the AP nodes again and need to work on the rest.

Not really a magic user so I've only done Powercraft, Magic Action and Elemntalism.

Again, recover I've only done Saviors Fortitude, Hang In and Rapid Regen so far.

Techniques is my big debate. I want to go for a Limit Break on either Prompto's or Gladiolus's.

Gladio will give me a big single target limit break whilst Prompto will give me a multiple target limit break...

I'll figure that out in a while but that AP is about 500 away so I have some time.

I just need to defeat the games super boss now to get the Plat trophy. That will probably be a while away.

[champ]

Bloody hell...

One of the end game dungeons... I won't say which...

Enemies in the dungeon spoiler...

Spoiler

Had 4 Giant-Ice-Bomb-Things in a locked room with me... level 65...

Now if you don't kill them quick enough, they grow and grow until they explode doing absolute mass damage to your party and separate into 4 little ones and the large one which starts the process of recharging again...

How I survived I do not know, by the time I had took 1 of them out, the other 3 had exploded and separated, I actually couldn't move in the room for having that many enemies all blasting Ice magic at me...

Tip: Aim for the ones that carry the crown, I found that the little ones will vanish if you kill their king...

Oh hey - more fun... Elder Coeurls... yey!!! Though I've had to fight that many now that I can get them killed pretty easy, the trick is two attack hits then hit dodge shit loads until you can get another two hits in... hit and weave, if you stay still they wreck you and if they pause, RUN! That's their one hit kill attack...

I've had a bug twice now where if you use an item just as a battle ends in a narrow corridor or room, the camera locks onto that party member and you cannot move it at all or focus on Noctis, the only way to get it to reset is by finding some enemies but you literally have no idea where you are running... I nearly had to hop out of a 2 hour dungeon because of it but it took me 10 mins of running into a wall before I located some enemies...

This post has been edited by champ: 02 January 2017 - 08:14 PM

[WinterPhoenix]

Yeah, I'm really interested to try that end game dungeon of which you speak, I have it on good authority that at least one of the rooms is truly nightmarish. Cheap instadeath spam enemies in the same vein as the hunt we both spoke of earlier. I am really hoping that the postgame stuff offers a challenge at least similar to previous FF titles.

[champ]

Ugh, I can imagine what it is going to throw at us.

I haven't played for a couple of days but when I did before...

The end game content is scaling up nicely though due to my level the first three end game dungeons that I tried weren't too much of an issue.

I did get an Imperial dropship that decided to deliver a...

Spoiler

Level 99 mech to fight, that was touch and go but I defeated it.

As for overall toughness, I can't judge until I've done it all.

The only FF where I have fully completed everything possible is 7, 10 and 12.

12 was relatively easy, 7 was just grind and figure out the right materia for Ruby and Emerald but they were hella tough.

10 was a total bitch... I don't think I'd have the time now to fully do everything in that game again. Some of those bosses give me nightmares.

I guess we'll see where this game lies.

I've found this game is definitely the easiest to level up in, build up a ton of exp and...

Spoiler

Stay in the Royal Suite in the hotal at Altissia, costs 30K but it's worth the x3 boost.

Best way to grind the exp - I cannot remember his name but the black dude that runs the bar in Altissia has some food that gives 100% experience points. Eat that then find a hunt that is high level and close to the point where you activate it - tadaaa, I got 900k exp that way.

For AP - killing enemies with a warp strike gives you AP so I make sure every enemy dies with a warp strike, plus the AP boosts from camping, riding, driving etc.

You can also go to a low level area and whistle up some enemies over and over and 1 hit kill them with a warp but that get's boring after a while.

[WinterPhoenix]

Yeah I knew about those cool exp/AP tips You should try combining the exp method with expericast magic for even more massive returns, if you still need exp. I really think they should've made all excess exp past lv cap turn into AP at some sort of ratio. I'm certain I'll have finished all content plus Superbosses - knowing what I do about the game - way before I ever get close to enough AP to finish all of the grid, especially if I don't make liberal use of that whistle you mention.
I would agree with your assessment of the end games of the prior FF titles you've played, at least in general. I do think they all have challenges that are particularly memorable/time consuming/tough though, which is mostly all I'm hoping for with 15. 12 had the extensive hunts like 15, but I still have nightmares about Yiazmat's healthbar! The esper fights were all memorable as well especially Zodiark (instant death spells that ko anyone at levels which are multiples of 3 or 5), and the superboss Omega Mark XII. Not to mention how long you'll be farming rare monsters if you all the best weapons/armour plus bestiary completion for the Order of Ambrosia. It was definitely time consuming if not overly difficult for much of the content. Still any time I spent playing Xii was time I got to enjoy the genuinely brilliant Gambit system - and Balthier! As for 10, I redid it relatively recently for the HD remaster, and boy had I forgotten just how much time it can take (and how much time you have to spend killing arena creatures over and over to do so) to complete the Sphere Grid for each character! Seriously if I ever see another luck sphere again! Not to mention some of the minigames for celestial weapons - I'm looking at you Lulu lol Some of the dark aeon fights were particularly difficult when I was younger!

[champ]

WinterPhoenix, on 06 January 2017 - 06:52 AM, said:

Yeah I knew about those cool exp/AP tips You should try combining the exp method with expericast magic for even more massive returns, if you still need exp. I really think they should've made all excess exp past lv cap turn into AP at some sort of ratio. I'm certain I'll have finished all content plus Superbosses - knowing what I do about the game - way before I ever get close to enough AP to finish all of the grid, especially if I don't make liberal use of that whistle you mention.

I'm level 96 Noct, level 95 the rest of the party. I actually stopped the EXP grind because I want it to be more of a challenge rather than hitting max level yet.

AP is definitely harder to come by and that would be a good solution once you hit max level cap.

WinterPhoenix, on 06 January 2017 - 06:52 AM, said:

I would agree with your assessment of the end games of the prior FF titles you've played, at least in general. I do think they all have challenges that are particularly memorable/time consuming/tough though, which is mostly all I'm hoping for with 15. 12 had the extensive hunts like 15, but I still have nightmares about Yiazmat's healthbar! The esper fights were all memorable as well especially Zodiark (instant death spells that ko anyone at levels which are multiples of 3 or 5), and the superboss Omega Mark XII. Not to mention how long you'll be farming rare monsters if you all the best weapons/armour plus bestiary completion for the Order of Ambrosia. It was definitely time consuming if not overly difficult for much of the content. Still any time I spent playing Xii was time I got to enjoy the genuinely brilliant Gambit system - and Balthier!

You definitely remember 12 better than I do, I mainly remember loving the monster hunts and checking a guide and realising there wasn't a single thing left to do. Yiazmat did take absolutely forever to kill off. The gambit system was awesome, I loved finding new tweeks and combos that worked well, specially healing combos.

WinterPhoenix, on 06 January 2017 - 06:52 AM, said:

As for 10, I redid it relatively recently for the HD remaster, and boy had I forgotten just how much time it can take (and how much time you have to spend killing arena creatures over and over to do so) to complete the Sphere Grid for each character! Seriously if I ever see another luck sphere again! Not to mention some of the minigames for celestial weapons - I'm looking at you Lulu lol Some of the dark aeon fights were particularly difficult when I was younger!

How the hell did I forget about the arena... the moment you typed that I got chills of the time spent in there...

For FFXV...

I've just beat the additional boss...

Randolph end game quest line that becomes available spoiler:

Spoiler

Naglfar at level 120 for the Zwill Crossblades... that was a tough fight, I spent half the time using healing items, probably about 50-60 Elixirs/High Elixirs and 3-4 Phoenix downs, even a summons only took about 1/4 health from him though I honestly think the level 99 mech that get's dropped on you is harder to beat...

It wasn't until I took out the Royal Weapon - Trident - that it really started hurting him, that combined with Overwhelm and Dawnhammer seemed to whittle him down eventually.

[WinterPhoenix]

Spoiler

I've seen the Naglfar and Lv 99 Angelus Mech fights on Youtube (I'm weak and can't help spoilering myself lol), the Mech fight does look mental, the boss seems to have insanely high defenses! I saw a guy beat Naglfar by himself at Lv 99 but then he did have what is probably the games most OP accessory. Have you heard off/found the Pitioss Ruins? Or the unique upgrade for the Regalia (you will know which upgrade I speak of if you have).

Yeah I really think exp spill over being converted into AP past Lv cap is the way to go, hopefully it's something they think of for updates. I think I'm finally going to get stuck into it again today, time on my hands now. The annoying thing is where I left off I am trying to finish all available sidequests before the end of chapter 8 as I have a feeling I won't be able to do so for awhile after the end of said chapter. There is a specific sidequest where you have to acquire a Griffon Feather drop. When I last turned the game off in disgust I had killed a specific Griffon over 40 times to no avail, I looked it up, the drop rate is supposed to be 15%!!!!

As for Xii there's very little I don't remember about that game (same with 10 for that matter tbh) seriously I dread to even think of the hours of my life I have spent on those 2 games alone! It's in the 1000's for sure. Yiazmat gives me nightmares because I remember one time I had dropped it from 50 to 4 health bars and I made one slight mistake with the order of spells and had my entire first team killed at the same time. My back up team where terrible levels, so I bolted for the corner so I could bring back my first team at my leisure, all 3 of them got hit by isntant death spells as I turned the corner! I raged so hard I kicked the leg out from underneath our coffee table! lol But yeah I absolutely love the gambit system, best FF fighting system hands down. As for 10, the music the plays when you're in the arena but not in a fight! I had to mute my TV when I did it for the remaster, it's just so monotonous and you are there for soooo long!

[champ]

WinterPhoenix, on 08 January 2017 - 07:01 AM, said:

Spoiler

I've seen the Naglfar and Lv 99 Angelus Mech fights on Youtube (I'm weak and can't help spoilering myself lol), the Mech fight does look mental, the boss seems to have insanely high defenses! I saw a guy beat Naglfar by himself at Lv 99 but then he did have what is probably the games most OP accessory. Have you heard off/found the Pitioss Ruins? Or the unique upgrade for the Regalia (you will know which upgrade I speak of if you have).

Post game spoiler discussion:

Spoiler

With regards to the mech, it's defence is ridiculous, first time I fought it, it dropped out of the ship, I just thought meh, another mech, checked the level... level 99... hmm okay this may be a challenge...

The first few minutes of my battle I just kept on running through it's legs and getting a blind-strike on it, thought this is going to be easy, until it did 1 attack and nearly took out my party, I then paid attention to the health bar and after 5 minutes realised I had taken hardly any damage off it...

I've heard of the Pitioss Dungeon, saw the name of it in Youtube video titles, haven't found it yet though and looked all over... That is on my list to do.

I do have the "upgrade" of which you speak, it was totally awesome when it happened, I must have picked the upgrade up in a random drop somewhere because the questline didn't activate, I just spoke to Cindy and tadaaaaa...

BTW if you want your first game over screen... careful how you use the upgrade... it's easy to game over...

WinterPhoenix, on 08 January 2017 - 07:01 AM, said:

The annoying thing is where I left off I am trying to finish all available sidequests before the end of chapter 8 as I have a feeling I won't be able to do so for awhile after the end of said chapter. There is a specific sidequest where you have to acquire a Griffon Feather drop. When I last turned the game off in disgust I had killed a specific Griffon over 40 times to no avail, I looked it up, the drop rate is supposed to be 15%!!!!

Amusing, that is the 1 side quest I had left to do after the endgame too... took me around 10 attempts to get the drop... I got annoyed with it and would do it randomly now and again whenever I was in the area...

The way I finally got it...

Spoiler

Hop into Wait mode and target the Wing and nothing but the Wing, "Break" it first and that was how I got my drop first time of trying that way, I used the Trident.

Edited in section:

The one drop that is doing my head in and I STILL haven't had it drop after 25+ attempts...

Spoiler

The upgrade for the final Ultima Blade... RAGE!

Also I thought that too but there is a way to travel back...

Spoiler

Select into any rest area - hotel, campervan or motel - and call "Umbra" you can ask him to take you to "past Lucis" or "past Altissia" and this will allow you to return to the area.

I think from Chapter 9 to the end of Chapter 14 it only took me two-three hours if that looking at my save game data.

WinterPhoenix, on 08 January 2017 - 07:01 AM, said:

As for Xii there's very little I don't remember about that game (same with 10 for that matter tbh) seriously I dread to even think of the hours of my life I have spent on those 2 games alone! It's in the 1000's for sure. Yiazmat gives me nightmares because I remember one time I had dropped it from 50 to 4 health bars and I made one slight mistake with the order of spells and had my entire first team killed at the same time. My back up team where terrible levels, so I bolted for the corner so I could bring back my first team at my leisure, all 3 of them got hit by isntant death spells as I turned the corner! I raged so hard I kicked the leg out from underneath our coffee table!

I can remember getting pretty close at one point too and getting a gameover against Yiazat, I feel and remember your pain.

This post has been edited by champ: 08 January 2017 - 12:03 PM

[WinterPhoenix]

A tip on the location of the postgame dungeon mentioned, I'll spoiler it so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

Spoiler

You gave to use the upgraded Regalia, it's in an area you cannot reach otherwise somewhere near Ravatogh. Seriously it's an amazing dungeon, FF platforming. And the reward is hands down the most OP accessory in the game.

I legitimately went 10 attempts without seeing a single drop at one point, including the more common drop which is apparently 30%!

Spoiler

What I've done is accept the hunt, save the game right near the location, kill the Griffin, reload. Honestly over 50 tries now! I kill the thing in one Armiger chain which inevitably breaks both wings as well, so I'm not sure why I have such bad luck here! Apparently the level 53 Griffon that flies around somewhere in Northern Duscae has a slightly higher drop rate, but it takes longer to kill so I deemed it noth worth it in the long run.


I haven't tried for the Ultima Blade drop yet, planning to do so next, after I've returned to Fort Vaullery to pick up the Cerberus Sniper, easy breakage of the horns that way, will use save/reload there as well I reckon.

Yeah from what I know, after I have finished sidequesting the final 5 chapters before end game shouldn't take me very long. I'm starting to think I'll never finish this quest though! lol

Spoiler

Did you ever do her final quest that she gives you after the Griffon? To find all the Rainbow frogs, my brother told me he was frustrated as hell trying to find them lol

[WinterPhoenix]

Update

So, I finally managed to get the damn feather, must've been close to 70 times in the end, all for a 15% drop! Apparently.

So I've been zooming through the rest of the sidequests/hunts that I have access to before moving on to chapter 9. Currently frustrating myself in Costelmark Tower, these puzzles Should be rank 7 hunter before I finish the chapter as well. Hopefully I'm steam through the last few chapters, want to sink my teeth into the postgame, doubt I'll have many issues with the games final bosses, should be lv70ish by the time I get there, and I've seen people saying it can be done in the mid-40's without too much trouble.