Final Fantasy Record Keeper VIII: Whale-ever

[Eurus]

This is very frustrating. FFRK just decided to stop loading for me yesterday, and I can't seem to get it to cooperate again. At this point I've tried almost everything except re-installing it.

[Starwulf]

This is very frustrating. FFRK just decided to stop loading for me yesterday, and I can't seem to get it to cooperate again. At this point I've tried almost everything except re-installing it.

I had that happen to me as well right after the maintenance this morning. It let me on initially, but then wouldn't load anything else, it would just keep erroring and taking me back to the start screen, and then it just stopped even going past the start screen. Eventually it started working on it's own, though I did turn off/on my tablet, force stop the program and clear the cache(My standard response to any of the games I play when they start to fritz).

[T.G. Oskar]

Because V preceded VI, and therefore Gogo actually debuted in V? Because V gave us the Mimic job? Because GILGAMESH was also a boss in V, and elsewhere, but is a playable V character? Because the VI cast is up to 14 characters, and the V cast is up to 8? Because DeNA plays favorites? Pick your reason.

¿Por qué no los dós?

That is - as mentioned, Famed Mimic Gogo will appear as part of the FFV party, ignoring any Warrior of Dawn that's not Dorgann or Galuf (that is, Xexat and Kelfer), while VI's Gogo will appear on a future FFVI event alongside Umaro. So, it's double the Gogo mimicry, which might be hilarious if they end up mimicking each other.

But, to answer: Gogo debuted in V, but in the US and everywhere else it debuted on VI; Job Classes are Core, not game-specific (other than Ricard :P); Gilgamesh isn't playable in V, but fought - he became popular enough to transcend and thus earned a spot as a V character; V still has Xexat and Kelger and maybe Cid and Mid and King Tycoon to consider before Famed Mimic Gogo, who was essentially a one-shot boss (unlike Gilgamesh, or Ultros); Gilgamesh and Ultros are faves, unlike FMG.

You REALLY want a character that's oddly absent, and nearly fulfills ALL the things Famed Mimic Gogo has? Lone Wolf. Lone Wolf debuted in V, as a werewolf thief. He then makes an appearance in VI, tying with Mog's story (you have the choice of rescuing Mog and recruiting him in the World of Balance, or get a so-so relic and wait until World of Ruin to recruit Mog). He's another reference to V, who people on this side of the Pacific Ocean never realized until many years later, when V was finally released and translated. He has a specific job, like Famed Mimic Gogo (Lone Wolf is a Thief), but has more of a personality. Gogo in VI was a playable character, true, and WILL be part of the VI group (much like Pally!Cecil and DK!Cecil), but Lone Wolf is essentially the same character, and Gilgamesh, who was also fought, wasn't a playable character. There's a lot of support for an eventual Lone Wolf appearance.

And Ba'Gamnan. At least he was fought, was a playable character, and from a race that hasn't been well represented (why do Bangaa aren't considered heroic? They're awesome!)

Oh yeah - JPN wants Global to feel bad, and in a HUGE way. Golden Week event just made this 2nd Anniversary look like a country fair when you really wanted Disney Land. The three curated Always Lucky Draws but improved (Healing BSBs, set of BSBs/CSBs/USBs, guaranteed 6* draws, and the free 30-draw; yes, 30-draw), TWO Mythril dungeons (earning 30 Mythril each), a free USB relic for Tyro (with a sweet boost and 17-hit damage, plus an awesome animation), the Crystal Tower dungeon, and another BRA*BRA collaboration with even MORE Bard notes AND two new Bard abilities, this time with a mechanic that makes them better as the bonuses they grant not only stack with others, BUT also improve the more they're used. Boost ATK and MAG as well. And they get more Bard motes, while we get nothing. And we still don't have EXTREMEFest translated.

[SuperPanda]

I wouldn't expect Extreme Fest translated until the end of June - maybe mid July. As for the FF30th stuff - I expect we'll get everything (except the bard stuff) at Christmas. Global DeNA hates bards.

[Maryring]

I so want to pull on FFT I because Rapha looks to be simply amazing. Ninja, Dancer, 5* Witch skills and 4* White to go with her other black magic. On the other hand I don't feel truly justified in pulling here. I've got a lot of stuff for Ramza and Ovelia already. But on the other other hand, there are also no dupes on that banner.

On the other hand, there's the Raid Campaign Relic Draw. Where all three bursts are bursts that I really want. And the supers are mostly very useful too. But here I do have a possible dupe since I've got Edge's Kotetsu already. None of the realms are realms I have few relics for but... myeh. Torn!

The only thing I do know is that I won't be puling on Banner II since I already have the Saintly Excalibur. More stuff would be always nice, but Cid already has a strong use.

Also, I wish OK had Witch skills. The 5* skills would work so well with his burst.

Also, how are you people doing with regards to skills? Personally I feel like I'm starting to get very full up on skill slots, yet I'm struggling to find things that can be shattered to make room for all the new skills we're getting.

[Hunter Noventa]

Also, how are you people doing with regards to skills? Personally I feel like I'm starting to get very full up on skill slots, yet I'm struggling to find things that can be shattered to make room for all the new skills we're getting.

I'm having this problem too. I suppose I could shatter some of the summons I never use like Cactaur or Ultros, but it's not enough when we keep getting new stuff all the time.

[Starwulf]

You all could just go and use a few mythril and increase your ability to hold my abilities ^^. I can hold nearly 200 by now I do believe, though I did go through not too long ago and shatter about 25 or so skills that will just never, ever get used again.

[Hunter Noventa]

You all could just go and use a few mythril and increase your ability to hold my abilities ^^. I can hold nearly 200 by now I do believe, though I did go through not too long ago and shatter about 25 or so skills that will just never, ever get used again.

I think I've used enough to get around..150? Problem is, we need that mythril for relic draws too.

[SuperPanda]

It is past due for me to do an ability/relic/accessory/record materia audit.

I have 172/175 abilities - many of which are never used.
I'm at 185/190 Relic slots (weapon, armor, accessory) - 65 of which are accessories and I know that 9/10 times the only accessories I'm using at + Attack, Magic, or Mind.

I recently cleared out my preset teams completely. Rapha was the last new character that I'm excited for some time. I might need to pull for FFII Scott's relics but only because I share his given name.

[Red Fel]

I'm taking inventory for the upcoming DU LD, because for once I'm actually wrestling with whether I want to pull. (As an aside, FFT is apparently featured in the next five DUs, so that's a more concrete number. Here's a quick reference of upcoming DUs, as well.)

My issue is that I have certain characters and casts fairly overloaded with relics, meaning an increased chance of dupes. Specifically:

• FFV: I have relics for everyone important (Bartz, Lenna, Faris, Krile, GILGAMESH). No BSBs, but I have SBs for several of them, SSBs for everyone I mentioned except Faris, and OSBs for Faris and Bartz. So while it might be nice to get a BSB, there's a pretty good chance all I'll get is a duplicate or downgrade.
• FFT: Same problem, writ large - I have too darn many Ramza relics! I have an SB, SSB, and BSB for Ramza; SB and SSB for Agrias; SB and SSB for Delita; and an SSB for Ovelia. True, I could wind up with something for Rafah, Malak, or RAIJIN CID, but I could also wind up with something for Mustadio, or - worse - a duplicate of something for Ramza. And I've already gotten duplicate relics in this realm.
• FFX: Now here is a realm where my relics are few. Oh, I have plenty of synergy, including several shared-SB relics (Celebration Blade, Chocobo Wing, Royal Scepter, Monk Robe) but my actual list of character-specific relics is pretty short. I have Auron's SB, Yuna's SSB and BSB1, Wakka's SSB, Lulu's SB, and Saymour's SSB. That's it. I mean, with the gear I have, I can stock the party with near-total synergy gear, but the new meta is SSB/BSB usage, and I'm pretty X-starved.

Now, if it's a curated list, that kind of makes the decision for me. In all likelihood I'll have a massive dupe chance, but it's at least better if it's curated. If it's not a curated list, though? It almost doesn't seem worth it.

Oh, as an aside, apparently they're bringing back half-stamina realm dungeons on May 9th. So that'll be a great way to burn through DU content.

[Hunter Noventa]

It is past due for me to do an ability/relic/accessory/record materia audit.

I have 172/175 abilities - many of which are never used.
I'm at 185/190 Relic slots (weapon, armor, accessory) - 65 of which are accessories and I know that 9/10 times the only accessories I'm using at + Attack, Magic, or Mind.

I recently cleared out my preset teams completely. Rapha was the last new character that I'm excited for some time. I might need to pull for FFII Scott's relics but only because I share his given name.

I've got nothing but 5* Weapons and Armor,though some of those are ones that got fused up to 6* from 4*. I've started working on removing all the non-5* accessories that don't give some kind of resistance. Having a full set of fire resist accessories is nice, for example. Though I might have to start consider putting them into the vault when I don't need them.

Clearing out abilities is trickier, because sometimes you'll shatter an ability, only to find there's a specific instance where you need it. For example, I shattered Dispel ages ago, because Banishing Strike took care of that role, until I encountered something that absorbed Holy and had a Dispel medal requirement.

Though I'm pretty sure I can safely shatter all my Bard abilities. I've never used them, because anyone who can use them usually has a better ability set to equip, like Support.

[Greg_S]

I've boosted myself up to 130 ability slots. I've also been fairly aggressive at shattering 5* and 6* skills, so I'm not holding onto things like sky grinder or demonsblood that I'll just never use. It's one mythril here and there, and you'd have to grab an extra 125 slots to make up even one lucky draw, so it's a pretty good deal all things considered.

I'll still be pulling on the lucky draws. The next V event's banners are poor, so this is the best value for something V-related up until fest, and who knows what the banner composition will look like? I want to pull for the next X event, but my current synergy situation is so bad (Auron SSB, HoTF, Kimahri's magic blink, and Braska's enfire) that I could use most anything. I'm set on Tactics thanks to shout & Agrias, but hey, I'll take a shot at some extra stuff that'll make Torment CM better.

The JP 30th anniversary fest kicked off with a one-time free 30-pull, with a guaranteed 6*. Relic pool was SSB and up, everything until the last month or so. One poor soul posted this result to Reddit. Ooof.

[SuperPanda]

I spent some time playing with A-team set ups.

Holy: P.Cecil BSB, Penelo BSB, Agrias BSB, Y'sthola BSB/Wall, Minfila BSB/SSB (RW: Onion Burst).
Very tough team, slower damage output but very strong staying power. Tough tanky characters, Sentinel on Agrias's Burst, Last stand, Wall, Mind Stacking and two medica command wielders. Also everyone on the team can bring pro-shell making it easy to fit.

Fire: Locke BSB, Krile BSB, Reifa BSB, Y'sthola BSB/Wall, Ramza USB (RW: Onion Burst).
Buff Stacking ant 4 hit commands means this team is all about Burning the other side down before they burn me down. Very high damage out put, good debuff potential, lighter defenses.

Wind: Zack BSB, Cloud OSB, Alphinaud BSB/SSB, Y'sthola BSB/Wall, Ramza USB (Alternately Tyro BSB/Wall) - Tyro or Ramza depending on if Buff stacking or debuff Stacking is prefered. Alphi and Zack can layer on pain fast building meter in the process. Cloud life-siphons to a knock out punch.

Earth: Tifa BSB, Maria BSB, Bartz BSB, Y'sthola BSB, Ramza USB. This team sets up a rockslide with its buffs and then pours the debries on with multi-hit commands.

Lightning: Rapha SSB/BSB, Garnet SSB/BSB1/BSB2, Shantoto CSB, Y'sthola BSB/Wall, Penelo BSB - Mag stacking + Field + Chain and those Witch skills should really, really hurt... when do we get a partially weak Torment for me to blast?

Ice - I have Edea's BSB and Laguna's SSB... I can certainly build around that.

Water - I have Edge's 3xAoE SB, Bartz's BSB commands... I'm not even close to ready for that Magicite dungeon.

Bio - I have a Thancred SSB! Happily there is no Bio dungeon yet.

Dark - I have Orlandeu's BSB, Edea's BSB, and Basch's Dark elemental Sentinel attack - I can build around that.

So looking at elemental teams I have 5 pretty darn strong ones, with my lightning team recently going from (I have Garnet) to some truely Frightening Lightning.

Looking ahead I'm thinking of skipping my IV-2 pull even though I still lack a IV medica and a new IV mage stick. I want Cecil's USB more than his OSB so I might bank a pull for Extreme fest instead (though having both would be pretty sweet too... >.>)

[oxybe]

Currently at 265 equip and 150 ability slots. Most of which are filled up and could use a good cleaning, because I am a hoarder and should really get around to absorbing the power creep'd relics into the newer ones but what if i get a second copy of this relic. That and some just have emotional significance. Tyrfring (Luneth's old sword that granted him the Advance SB) is out of date.

I'm pretty sure I can break up one of my 3 curajas though, thanks to Ultra Cure being there. Will be keeping the 2 diagas, because you never know.

Not too sure what I'm going to do with my mythril in all honesty. Probably spend on the DUs if they're going to continue the half-price trend, but for now I'm skipping pulling on stuff until at least Zidane BSB2, Squall BSB2, Vaan USB and Cloud USB banners where i'll reassess my needs as they arrive.

Zidane BSB2 is EnWind with a mugbloodlust command, and the banner has further toys for him, Steiner & Vivi.

Squall BSB 2 is a good physical Ice DPS for the old Squall-o.

Vaan USB turns him into what is likely the most aggressive Thief's Revenge user ever.

Cloud USB is dumb but a very good dumb.

Will probably be skipping Apoca!Orthos++, as no team I was able to join was able to whittle down his million+ total hit points. I still need to beat Apoca!Mandy though for those 4star dex orbs though. hopefully I should be able to get that done before tomorrow night (well, later tonight, depending on where you are).

As for teams... No big changes of late other then OK BSB being a thing I can now throw around.

[Greg_S]

Currently at 265 equip and 150 ability slots. Most of which are filled up and could use a good cleaning, because I am a hoarder and should really get around to absorbing the power creep'd relics into the newer ones but what if i get a second copy of this relic. That and some just have emotional significance. Tyrfring (Luneth's old sword that granted him the Advance SB) is out of date.

I'm pretty sure I can break up one of my 3 curajas though, thanks to Ultra Cure being there. Will be keeping the 2 diagas, because you never know.

Not too sure what I'm going to do with my mythril in all honesty. Probably spend on the DUs if they're going to continue the half-price trend, but for now I'm skipping pulling on stuff until at least Zidane BSB2, Squall BSB2, Vaan USB and Cloud USB banners where i'll reassess my needs as they arrive.

Zidane BSB2 is EnWind with a mugbloodlust command, and the banner has further toys for him, Steiner & Vivi.

Squall BSB 2 is a good physical Ice DPS for the old Squall-o.

Vaan USB turns him into what is likely the most aggressive Thief's Revenge user ever.

Cloud USB is dumb but a very good dumb.

Zidane's BSB2 is better than that. It applies stacks of "swift steal" to himself and the enemy for a unique 10% atk break/boost, up to 3 stacks. He can then grant that boost to the whole party using command 2.

Also on the Squallburst banner: Irvine's BSB which has a mag/def break command, making Vaanburst no longer completely unique.

FFXIV players, what's deathwyrm trance or mode? They're introducing it on Alph's USB and it looks kinda cool.

[Antonok]

FFXIV players, what's deathwyrm trance or mode? They're introducing it on Alph's USB and it looks kinda cool.

+Damage, -MP cost for one of the spells. Requires building a stack of something before you can use it.

Nothing to exciting really. And that's if they keep it even remotely the same.

[Maryring]

Managed to make all three squid soups. Not gonna bother with Mandragoras because, frankly, it's just dexterity motes. And Dancer, Bard and Thief nodes aren't nowhere near prevalent enough to go through that hell. Especially since people seem strangely averse to the idea of using dancers and dispels.

[Antonok]

U and U+ are down. Sadly no TGC OSB from my 100 gem on banner 2 so the Cid mission will go unfulfilled. U+ was a tad annoying due to his leap attack leaving someone with 1hp, who just happened to be Agrias under her BSB so she died. Also still really hate the 'afflict X with status effect' conditions.

Edit: U++ is down. Fairly straightforward, manageable damage even if you don't remove his haste. You do have to kill the 4 minions unlike the U+ though.

[Hunter Noventa]

+Damage, -MP cost for one of the spells. Requires building a stack of something before you can use it.

Nothing to exciting really. And that's if they keep it even remotely the same.

I don't even think it increases the damage, just makes the MP Cost reasonable, because the spell is really powerful.

It also lets you use an orbital bombardment spell reminiscent of a raid boss, but that ends the trance. Not sure if they'll do anything with that.

Also, somehow Ultimate Izlude turned out to be easier than Ultimate Argath But I think that's because Izlude was weak to Lightning and I have Thunder God. Also Divine Ruination, so he was doubly weak to Thunder God. Will have to try Argath again, since the first time around I took too much damage.

But I was able to CM Ultimate Izlude. I'm finding myself a little underwhelmed by the Witch skills though, with Attunement II and 375 Magic, Rpha was dealing maybe 8k with Sudden Thunder, I can't help but feel Thundaga and Chain Thundara would have done better than Sudden Thunder and Hell Thunder.

[SuperPanda]

Re: Witch Skills

I find myself sold on Witch spells for the moment having already made Sudden Thunder R5 and Hell Thunder R3. I think the trick to them is either chain stacking or more simply magic stacking.

My Rapha was at Level 74, 502 Magic (Mako Might) and a +30% mag boost from Truth of History.
I used her SSB for my Hastega early in the fight for the U+ CM.

Against the boss's lightning weakness Sudden Thunder was doing solid damage.
(all damage values include Full Break applied but no other Res debuffs).

Base Mag 502 + 30% buff vs Lightning weak U+
Hell Thunder 6x2250 = 13,500
Sudden Thunder 2x4900 = 9,800
I am certain Thundaga and Chain Thundaga would outperform in these conditions. DPS wise Sudden Thunder might pull ahead of Thundaga due to the swift cast property, but Chain Thundaga would be better than Hell Thunder hands down.

Base Mag 502+20% Burst mode+30%Burst buff+30%Truth of History(No command2 buff)
Sudden Thunder = 9780x2 = 19,600
Hell Thunder = 5100x6 = 30,600

Under these conditions the witch skills win hands down.

So my quick and dirty test says that when buff stacking against a weakness Sudden thunder competes with Chain Thundaga and Hell Thunder competes with Meltdown for damage output. But without hitting Tiamat user levels of Mag stacking Chain Thundaga will be hands down better while Sudden Thunder is equivilent to Thundaga - the latter will do more damage, the former will zap faster and therefore build meter faster for the big guns.

He didn't live long enough for me to double check the numbers but the first time I faced him I was hitting for ~7-8000 per hit on command 1 with all my buffs or ~28,000-32,000 damage + a medium heal (or roughly Hell Thunder's damage plus a free Curaga).

With this in mind, Rapha likely won't get alot of use out of Hell Thunder - but Shantoto will cackle with glee throwing it around in my Lightning team.

[Merlin the Tuna]

I think where I side-eye the Witch skills is that while the hit count gives them higher ceilings than the equivalent Chain-ga spells, it's almost gratuitous amounts of damage. If you're capping with a Chain -ga, you're strong enough that the boss fight is probably well in hand. It's possible I'm just being lazy about the proposition of having to replace all of my Black Magic again (except not really, because non-Witches still exist) but as is, they're offering power that I don't necessarily need.

Speaking of not needing power, event's all wrapped up except for the easier of the two Velius raids. The Cid Mission was bizarrely easy - Ramza Full Breaks, Orlandu Powerchains, somebody calls in a Thunder God RW, Orlandu finishes the RW double-tap, and it's over. The U++ Malak's Drain hits like a truck, but beyond that, it's a straightforward tank & spank, and my holy team (Agrias, Delita, and Basch BSBs, with Eiko BSB's for crit fixing) continues to be really dang good at that. Velius is a bit of an endurance match, but my MP Apoc run last night had not-awful RNG with Petrify and was able to trundle through as a result. Just need 60 stamina for the last raid and I should be all set.

Per the usual, this is now a perfect time for Torment runs, but the Torment dungeons are closed. Oh well, I guess I've still got some dailies to do.

[Greg_S]

Got the Mandragoras killed the other day. I was in two really good teams for the 200/240. Everyone was synced up and on the same page, as weird as that sounds for a PUG. They let me blind the tomato and sleep the pumpkin, then we went to town with AoEs. My winning 240 group had a Yuna spamming trigger happy, of all things, and it wasn't that bad! 3Kx2 AoEs.

On witches: I think it's possible to cap the chain-gas in a serious fight, to where the witch skills could be better used, but it'd be in a torment or apoc+ fight against a weak + imperiled enemy. Leviathan's coming up this month, so he'll be great to test when you're not cursing the developers and loathing them for creating that fight. The lightning one would be perfect on Desch, since his BSB has a boost command, but alas, no luck there. I don't know if they'd be good in magicite fights, as those things are so tanky that you're not going to cap with much.

Hitting the magic cap is non-trivial right now, as the easiest way is two party-wide boosts plus a BSB with a + mag/ -res command. You can definitely do that, but SB generation becomes an issue while you're doing it. (It'll get easier if we're lucky enough to get the new 5* bard skills ~2 fests from now, but sadly that's not guaranteed) This is all to say that I wouldn't shatter the witch skills, but I'm in no hurry to hone them either, especially since they consume precious dark orbs.

Speaking of dark orbs, I checked orb requirements for all 5* skills, and dark orbs are used in 29 of the 74 5* skills (count's current up to present JP event), while power is used in 26. We need a second dark orb farming day.

[SuperPanda]

Mote dungeons are back and I think I have a shot at the last CM for me to squash - III

I have Arc's instant medica with pBlink, Reifa's amazing fire burst, Luneth's sword shower, Desch's self-faith imperil, and Onionflow.

Oh those only luneth and maybe Desch can actually hit the wind weakness and I remember him hitting like a truck so I'll need wall to have a chance, but I've got damage options between onion support and the girl on fire.

Last time mote dungeons were open I managed to squeeze out a II cm victory - so here's hoping.

[T.G. Oskar]

First things first - 1/11 on Banner 2. Wasn't the THUNDER GOD SWORD, Maracas' Pole or Burst-a-Must, but it wasn't Orlandeau's Swordplay or Ramza's Grand Armor. It's...kinda meh, though - Gaffy's Shell.

Alright, so...iffy, but I like the design. I dig Gaffy's armor design, with the big batch of fur behind, so at least in terms of design I got a pretty awesome-looking armor. It's also Heavy Armor with major Dark resist on top, so there's that; armor isn't as easy to get as weapons. And, the SSB is very useful, because an AoE Ether effect is incredibly useful to have some of the 5* and 6* skills refreshed. However...I don't use Gaffy a lot, and Team Dark still has no exploitable Imperil to compete, not forgetting to mention that Gaffy has his Burst, which is far more useful. So, it's not bad, but it's not awesome good. DU is underway, however, so...

Oh yeah, and another pull on FFBE that doesn't give me Trance Terra. That's three 11-pulls, plus a Rare Summon Ticket almost daily, with no results.

On with the Ultimates, and...decided to have the THUNDER GOD remain in the sidelines, just so that the battles weren't that easy. They were still easy - U!Argath (Algus) fell like a chump to a 1st Round SHOUT! combined with Musty's Pentabreak, with a dash of near-100k from Agrias' OSB. U+!Isilud (Izlude, for you old-skool players! AKA, the guy with the female name...) wasn't that difficult either, though this time I switched to a 1st round Divine Aegis from Ovelia and had Ramza build up his bar from scratch.

So, how bad was the abuse? Argath had chance to use Dispel when the battle was pretty much over - and Ovelia STILL had the chance to cast Protect, just in case. Isilud had chance to use Ultimate Jump exactly ONCE, before falling to the might of Agrias' Overstrike. U+ was a bit more dangerous, but it really was to no avail; Gaffy fired off his Burst, and his AoE/self-Ether attack was enough to clear the trash and bring the pain. Definitely makes Tactics my strongest realm overall, by far - even without Wall or native Burst Medica (I do have a proper Medica and a pseudo-Medica), the capabilities of the team are just cringeworthy. Still haven't done U++, but I feel it'll be the same as the others. Also, haven't done the MP battles (spent nearly all Sunday after work, with a friend, trying to deal with Apoc++!Ultros, but a lack of Wall and ProShellga at the same time kinda ruined it. We had one battle going smoothly, but I was running it, and the friggin' tablet decided to drop everything just to see if I wanted to do an update. Needless to say, the battle was lost (I was cursing through my phone, which is the reason I didn't use it, telling my friend that I lost the connection - we were at Round 2 of 5, with 7 out of 8 characters alive, and mostly using Bursts to beat the everloving caboose outta the octopus, almost right to Round 3 before it happened).

Gonna have to do more regular dungeons, while taking advantage of Tuesdaily and Sundaily XP dungeons to level up some characters. And maybe Fridaily for Dark Orbs and 1 extra Mythril.

[Merlin the Tuna]

So on a lark, I joined in on the Mote Rush community challenge on Reddit, and... wow. Power creep is a hell of a drug. Just crushed it.

The gist is: 4 characters, each from a different Mote Dungeon realm, clearing all of the Mote Dungeons, no elemental weaknesses, no sleep, and no BSB/OSBs as RW. It sounds really hard, but I completely steamrolled it with Tidus (Leap & Rush, BSB), Zell (Combat King SSB), Gordon (Goddess's Bell), and Vanille (BSB). Shout was, as usual, the RW of choice.

I mention this partly to toot my own horn, but mostly just to take a moment to take stock of how much power creep has transformed the game, even just in the last few months. There's not generally much reason to revisit old content - and I don't even think of the Mote dungeons as that old, especially with how overtuned Ifrit was on release - so seeing them wilt was kind of shocking. And the only one of those SBs that's actually new-ish is Vanille's, but healer BSBs really do singlehandedly overhaul the game. Beyond that, the other moral of the story is that the ATK soft cap being upped from 570 to 800-ish, does, in fact, matter. A lot. (Which in turn means that Shout is still amazing, even more than a year after its release.)

[Jurai]

I'm back! And i have a completed tgcid! And a completed cloud of darkness! And desch bsb!

[Greg_S]

I'm back! And i have a completed tgcid! And a completed cloud of darkness! And desch bsb!

Very nice! Desch is sneaky good. Support 4 gives him wrath, and Bard 4 lets him carry a second pro/shellga for those teams where you can't find another white 4.

Outside of Apoc+ Belias, FFT event is done. CM involved a little weakening of Izzy, then double thunder god. Poor Orlandu tanked himself to death, but his sacrifice was not in vain. For the U++, what better way to battle the nether knight than with a dark party?

• Cait Sith (the, uh, most evil dancer? He did work for Shinra)
• Kuja, to imperil dark in style
• Cid Raines, devourer of mythril
• Vayne, master of doing vaguely evil things offscreen and having other characters allude to it
• Vanille, the true villain of FF13

Going in wallless and without a third level of magic breaks was nasty, and on more than a few occasions Vanille's instant burst was a lifesaver. Summoners died first, then I took out my Riovanes Castle rooftop frustrations on Rafa's brother, and then the poor ninjas last. It's nice to have a Tactics battle you can't just blitz past.

Up to 302 mythril. Lucky Draw Tuesday, skipping the upcoming 12 banners before rolling on up to 5 straight: X 1 & 2, IV 1 & 2, and Squallburst.

[SuperPanda]

I'm back! And i have a completed tgcid! And a completed cloud of darkness! And desch bsb!

Welcome back and congrats on your recent arsenal upgrade!

I finally had time for MP Belias U+ (haven't touched Apoc yet) - I learned my to my frustration that petrify cancels burst mode. Reifa has just entered her burst along with the magic buff from Ramza's truth if history, and was charging her command 2 - with all the debuffs we had in our team she was gonna be seriously laying the lightning smack-down when both my Ramza and Reifa get petrified.

Luckily my Ramza buff and breakdowns helped our team's agrias and orlandeu lay down max damage osb strikes so I didn't feel useless.

Leveling wise I've got Shantoto to 99 leaving me with Prishe and Rapha in working to 99 and a free spot to get people up to 80 again (and a heap-o-eggs).

[Red Fel]

Okay, so we have a XII event dropping tonight. I mentioned it briefly upthread, but here's a quick recap.

The event is Dancing Heart, and - good news for the egg-starved - it has no new characters. It features Vaan, Penelo, Basch, Gabranth, and Larsa, MCs for all 5, and MC2s for Penelo, Basch, and Larsa. No new abilities, either. So basically, farm mythril, take a breather, this is a bit of a vacation event.

There are, of course, banners. In all likelihood, they aren't your highest priority, but let's cover them anyway. The first banner features:

• Hermes Suit: Penelo's USB light armor. Instant-cast suite of party buffs: medica, pBlink, HP Stock 2k.
• Perseus Bow: Fran's BSB bow. Burst has a multi-hit AoE Pentabreak, commands are a 2-hit single-target PBd and a 2-hit MBd.
• Nightbringer: Gabranth's BSB sword. Burst is a multi-hit single-target Dark/Non PHY attack with Imperil Dark, commands are a fast-cast single-target multi-hit and a Drain Strike.
• Zeus Mace: Penelo's BSB rod. Burst is a random-target Holy nuke, medica, and MAG/MND buff. First command is a single-target Holy nuke and self-MND buff, second is a medica.
• Valiant Knife: Vaan's SSB dagger. Instant-cast multi-hit PHY AoE with -50% ATK/DEF.
• Yoichi Bow: Fran's SSB bow. Random-target Lightning/Non PHY damage with Imperil Lightning.
• Gabranth's Helm: Gabranth's SSB helmet. Multi-hit Dark/Non PHY AoE with En-Dark.
• Chaos Blade: Gabranth's SSB sword. Multi-hit Dark ranged PHY AoE with auto-Stun.
• Golden Axe: Basch's SB axe. Multi-hit PHY AoE with Sentinel.

The second banner features:

• Save the Queen: Basch's OSB sword. It deals Holy/Dark PHY damage, increasing in damage based on Holy attacks used.
• Holy Lance: Basch's BSB spear. Burst is a multi-hit Holy/Non PHY AoE with En-Holy, commands are a multi-hit single-target Holy PHY (+1 hit when targeting weakness) and a 2-hit AoE with Retaliate.
• Vayne's Glove: Vayne's BSB first. Multi-hit single-target Dark/Non with En-Dark, damage is PHY or BLK depending on stats. Commands are multi-hit with self-heal, first is PHY and second is BLK.
• Princely Raiment: Larsa's BSB light armor. Burst is a medica and party Astra (status blink), first command is instant-cast Curaja and second is medica.
• Defender: Basch's SSB sword. Multi-hit single-target ranged PHY damage and party pBlink.
• Consul's Brigandine: Vayne's SSB light armor. Multi-hit Dark/Non AoE with party noncharge 1 (untyped), damage is PHY or BLK depending on stats.
• Staff of the Magi: Larsa's SSB staff. ProShellga, Stoneskin 30%.
• Heart of Gold: Balthier's SSB light armor. Multi-hit Fire/Non PHY AoE with En-Fire.
• Platinum Shield: Basch's SB shield. Party +30% ATK/DEF.

Penelo's USB is obviously excellent - an instant-cast medica plus HP Stock plus Blink. By contrast, her BSB is more circumstantial; it lets her heal and damage, but you might end up needing another healer. Gabranth's BSB is an Imperil, which is useful and exploitable, but his other relics aren't great. Fran's burst has Pentabreak entry, but again her other relics are somewhat lackluster. Vaan's new SSB also doesn't play well with Mug Bloodlust, but if you lack that, it's a thing you can use.

On the second banner, the highlight is of course Basch's OSB. It functions like Luneth's, but more importantly, it's more usable. Because it increments with Holy damage dealt, you can trigger it with your favorite KNT abilities, but also with RMs that make your basic attack deal Holy damage, which lets you charge it very quickly. Likewise, Basch's burst lets you tauntaliate cleanly with its second command, or lets you work up your combos when paired with an Imperil Holy.

Larsa's burst is a solid medica burst. The Status Blink entry is potentially very helpful, and the commands are strong heals with no mess. Likewise, his SSB is a solid defensive option that can free up slots, particularly because Larsa can use Wrath to spam SBs more effectively. The rest of the second banner is less appealing.

So, should you pull? Well, if you need XII synergy, or love Penelo, Gabranth, Basch, or Larsa, yes. If not, save your change. We've got DU LDs coming up, one next week, and the EXTREME Fest in a couple of months. Sit on your mythril awhile longer.

[Jurai]

Very nice! Desch is sneaky good. Support 4 gives him wrath, and Bard 4 lets him carry a second pro/shellga for those teams where you can't find another white 4.

Outside of Apoc+ Belias, FFT event is done. CM involved a little weakening of Izzy, then double thunder god. Poor Orlandu tanked himself to death, but his sacrifice was not in vain. For the U++, what better way to battle the nether knight than with a dark party?

• Cait Sith (the, uh, most evil dancer? He did work for Shinra)
• Kuja, to imperil dark in style
• Cid Raines, devourer of mythril
• Vayne, master of doing vaguely evil things offscreen and having other characters allude to it
• Vanille, the true villain of FF13

Going in wallless and without a third level of magic breaks was nasty, and on more than a few occasions Vanille's instant burst was a lifesaver. Summoners died first, then I took out my Riovanes Castle rooftop frustrations on Rafa's brother, and then the poor ninjas last. It's nice to have a Tactics battle you can't just blitz past.

Up to 302 mythril. Lucky Draw Tuesday, skipping the upcoming 12 banners before rolling on up to 5 straight: X 1 & 2, IV 1 & 2, and Squallburst.

Thanks. I had a bad time doing the CM for this one. I brought my newly empowered TGCid, Ramza, Ovelia, Mustadio, and Agrias. I ended the fight with EXACTLY one HP on TGCid, thanks to Raijin Mode letting me get a Thundaga Strike off before any more attacks came through. That fight SUCKED.