Final Fantasy Record Keeper IX: Having Sworn to Whale, Must I Live My Life in Debt?

[T.G. Oskar]

I truly wish I could write up the story, but it won't be now. Gotta eat, then spend some time in Brave Exvius, then spend some time in the Orbfest, then do something else that involves writing but not this, then sleep so I can go work tomorrow (yes, I work at July 4th, even if it's celebrated where I live; I work in a restaurant, so there). But, if it helps.

THUNDER GOD 1, Mama's Boy 0.

...Well, that was a hard-fought battle, with lots of near-wins and horrendous losses, and switching my original team (Orlandeau + Keeper + Rosa + VII Wind Bros Zack & Cid) for a targeted debuff team (same core of Orlandeau, Keeper and Rosa, but switching Wind Bros. for Edward and Quina).

First phase, I just built up my bars while the Keeper fired off Wall. The idea was to use Whisperweed Ballad (+ATK 50% + Imperil Holy), then Pumpkin Head (Full Break), then Orlandeau could go THUNDER GOD MODE to initiate Phase 2. Made one of the calls of my RW (Eiko's Guardian Mog) for good measure, after the second Meteor.

On Phase 2, Mama's Boy went for Despell of This Pear, followed by Shadow Flair of This Pear, and the Keeper and Rosa responded with "nah, Wall + Divine Heal!". Since Orlandeau was tanking like a boss, it was just enough to build another bar so that Orlandeau could do SHOW ME YOUR MOVES!! IN THUNDER GOD MODE, which was outright glorious...

That enabled Phase 3, and the dreaded triplecast, except I had prepped Edward and the Keeper to use Protectga and Shellga, and Quina called the RW a second time as an emergency measure. With that, it was mostly keeping Mama's Boy debuffed until Phase 4 came, in which case...

Phase 4 began with another Despell of This Pear, followed by Eight Fancy Cuts of This Pear, but the Keeper had his secret weapon: another Wall! And a charge for another SB! From there, it was mostly having Edward sing the Protectga song, Rosa use her Burst SB to keep everyone (sans Quina, who decided it was time for a nap), and Orlandeau use STEELY SWORDPLAY IN THUNDER GOD MODE. The killing blow went to Orlandeau (but of course!!), showing Mama's Boy who's the best swordsman in Record Keeper. By hitting weakness, Mama's Boy never got to use Eight Fancy Cuts ten times, ergo...

Mama's Boy mastered, and he better cry on a corner. Mama's Boy's Overrated Pendant is get. A shame I couldn't face BFA, who was a much nastier opponent, or have my Cid Mission Revenge against Geryon, now that even Pally!Cecil got his Burst.

UPDATE:

Spoiler: Remember when I said I was gonna spend some time playing Brave Exvius?

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Well, it seems that Exvius' Random Number Gods smiled at me today for my victory. For some strange and odd reason.

Since they're celebrating their 1st Anniversary in Global, they're releasing a Free Summon every day, which includes rare characters up to 5*. There's no guarantee that you'll get 5*, but there's the odd chance it does. Like today, where I get none other than...

Trance Terra. See, just like DK!Cecil and Pally!Cecil, some people get separated - the main characters get seasonal alternate costumes as characters, Pally!Cecil and DK!Cecil are separate (with DK!Cecil being 5* but so-so, while Pally!Cecil being the best tank a F2P can get aside from Warrior of Light). Well, Terra was split into three - her Magitek Armor version (gained as a first-timer bonus), her normal form (which recently got a 6* upgrade, and her perma-Trance form, which is considered one of the best casters in the game currently. I have all three, with MA!Terra at max (she's a crutch character, unfortunately), Normal!Terra at level 80-something (close to 90; awakened her to 6*), and now Trance Terra at level 1. And I didn't have to spend a dime (or Lapis!) for it.

...Wonder if I should do the Daily Draw in FFRK and see if luck gets spread around...?

Oh, and if you ask for the time clear? "1.03.78".

[oxybe]

So what was supposed to be quick hour or so nap became a 6 hour snooze, as I slept from 8pm strait through to 2 am. Which I guess for me is kinda like sleeping in? I work overnights from home (which basically means I get to roll out of bed and sit at my work desk in my disheveled state) and it's my day off, so all's cool, i guess?

So after waking up and eating cold pizza for breakfast at 2:30am, like all breakfasts should be eaten, I took the time and did some cleaning up of my RWs. I now have 10 of: Wall, Shout, Vessel of Fate, USB instant medicas (mainly Guardian Mogs), Metamorphose & Shuriken Storm. This has been something I've been meaning to do and I'm glad I finally got around to it.

Also did my pull on FFXII banner 1: 1/11 and it's a Disco Ball! It wasn't the one I was hoping for, but it's still my first USB medica! Go Penelo! There were no dupes on the banner, so I was going to get something new at the very least.

Yuffie finally hit 99 and Rikku 80, while Garland is just kinda being a Sulky Susan at 83 since his EXP RM never seems to proc. Hopefully being paired up with what is basically a JPop band will cheer him up a bit during the leveling sessions (popular idol Paine and the backup dancers of Cait Sith & Penelo).

Beat the Jump Start, not too difficult thanks to the Debuff combo of Vaan+Fran featuring Laguna's ImpIce and OverSquall for dps, along with Cat Waifu's multitasking skills

Squall - Full Charge, Lifesiphon - Orphaned Cub - SubZero Blast
Vaan - Mug Bloodlust, Powerchaini - Wings Unfurled - Ark Blast, Blood Red Spiral
Laguna - Dismissal, LifeSiphon - Scholar's Boon - Freezing Barrage
Fran - Magic Breakdown, Full Break - Into the Fray - Gaze of the Void, Whip Kick
Cat Waifu - Dispel, Ultra Cure - TGCid mode - StoneSkinII, Aetherial Pulse, Asylum
RW - Guardian Mog

For those wondering, ItF is Greg's RM3 (Start the fight with ProShellga+Haste). Thunder God Y'Shtola is proving too stronk for Jump Starts.

Tried to get into a MP group but it was a no dice for now. Will try later.

[SuperPanda]

U, U++ down, both CM style.

Observations on Baltheir BSB2:

Oil bomb's damage is very low. It's proc chance to imperil is also terrible.
Command 2's potency Ramps up a lot though. Against CM Dr. Syd U++ (onion burst + apocalypse shield buffs, fullbreak debuff) and his barrier's dispelled:

One oil bomb ~ 3000/ hit
Three oil bombs ~ 7,500/ hit.

I'd need to break out excell and toy a bit more but I'm guessing 2 oils > 2 command 2's is the sweet spot. I managed to get in 5 commands on my last run (3 bombs > 2 command 2s).

Looking at AP normal and JS - looks like a job for team ice (Vivi, Edea, Reynn) - KO resist acc.s to avoid that annoyance. Y'sh because wall and burst (and pro-shell for JS). Penelo for faith, support, and healing. - alternately on JS might skill Penelo for Faris (USB, BSB) lotsa breaking.

Find a ley lines RW to maximize the pain Edea puts out. I'm lacking in XII mage relics - but I've got at least one powerful on-synergy relic for her. Reynn might pull out her own Ice+ relic too.

[Maryring]

I don't think I'll be able to do Sephiroth. No wall, no Last Stand, and the only proper offensive breaks I have are all ATK/MAG, meaning I can stack, at most, three Breakdowns on offensive stats.

Which is such a pain. If I could beat Sephiroth I'd have enough 5* motes to let Celes get her God Mode LM.

[Merlin the Tuna]

I don't think I'll be able to do Sephiroth. No wall, no Last Stand, and the only proper offensive breaks I have are all ATK/MAG, meaning I can stack, at most, three Breakdowns on offensive stats.

Which is such a pain. If I could beat Sephiroth I'd have enough 5* motes to let Celes get her God Mode LM.

Bummer. Do you have two good OSB users? The Galuf RW Way strategy - build three bars on two units, call in Unshaken Resolve, unleash 6 OSBs - seems pretty foolproof if you've got the components. Apparently it's not good at Mastery since the non-invincible units have a way of getting instagibbed, but it'll get you most of the goodies if you've got the pieces. Cloud, Seph, and Orlandu are probably the ideal users, since Orly's got the best modifier and Cloud & Seph would mean you'd have synergy OSB gear, but anybody physical should have a decent shot at it.

SPEAKING OF HAVING GOOD STUFF FOR CLOUD AND SEPH, the world-destroying banner is due in just 6.5 hours! I'm sitting at 79 mythril, which I think will be good for two pulls. There's still 5 more mythril from the last phase of orbfest, 5 (I think?) from the FF7 event itself, a fresh batch coming from the FF14 event due this Thursday, the FF12 Zodiac Age campaign that should be coming in soon, 1 more mythril if I can churn through the D300 FF3 Torment, and so on. Bottom line, I'm pretty sure I can squeeze this out, even if I'm a little worried about having enough for next week's Dungeon Update. (FF9, 10, and Tactics, if you're wondering.) But that's Next Week Merlin's problem. And who knows! Maybe I'll just hit a crazy jackpot on my first pull and not need the second. Life is crazy.

Speaking of things that are crazy (perfect segue, good job me), who are folks legend diving so far? I've been going Tyro first, but I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for after. Raines's LMs make his BSB even more ridiculous, so that's a prospect. But Refia (BSB) is a contender, as are Terra (en-Fire SSB, OSB, BSB), Zidane (BSB1, OSB), Agrias (en-Holy SSB, BSB), Beatrix (mBlink SSB, BSB), Tidus (BSB), and maybe Ramza (USB). And Vanille (BSB), Y'sh (BSB), and Aeris (BSB, USB) are all up for consideration as well, though healing seems maybe slightly less urgent as a need. Mostly I think I'm just in a bit of analysis paralysis, and the lack of bravery motes to actually finish Tyro's dive is not helping. Anybody else been decisive on this?

[Maryring]

That would have been a fantastic idea if I had heard of it earlier. Apparently the dungeon is already closed. Which is boo. I thought it'd be open until at least today. Myeh. Whatever. It's just 5* motes.

Personally I'm pouring them all into Celes and Terra both. On the magical side, Terra, Quistis and Yuna all have 3 different SBs and are generally solid team-mates, but Terra is the only one with an USB. I also really want her Trance mode. Yuna is gonna be my second one because being able to make her Valefor BSB command actually deal some damage is gonna be much appreciated.

On the physical side, I was waffling between Celes and Ramza. The decision was made for me when a pull on the VI Banner (which did not give me Mog Burst or Celes BSB2 ;w;) gave me Celes's doublecast spellblade relic. With that and Maria's Song, I've got two holy damage boosting items. And more importantly, her BSB commands are spellblade. So she'll be doublecasting BSB commands and with her second LM she'll be building so much break gauge that she'll be able to upkeep both Runic and her BSB effects with ease.

[oxybe]

Find a ley lines RW to maximize the pain Edea puts out. I'm lacking in XII mage relics - but I've got at least one powerful on-synergy relic for her. Reynn might pull out her own Ice+ relic too.

If you still need a LeyLines RW, I can change mine to it for a little bit.

Beat the MP's U+ and Apoca forms. It wasn't too difficult, as long as you watch out for his stops, petrifies and interrupts. If you're bringing a healer, Ultra Cure is a godsend. He does counter pretty often but with adequate mitigation you can heal through it.

On that note, the MP gave me the 4star motes needed to finish Record Diving Rydia! This means, for now, i'm in 100% mote saving mode with no clear spending goals in sight. Feels weird.

Ult!Ahriman got stomped by Team Holy: Lead by WoL, Beatrix, Minfilia & Aerith joined the fray with Tyro doing a cheerful dance to celebrate our victory as Minfilia's RM2 dropped.

U++ got CM'd without much problem Vaan, Balthier & Fran did he heavy lifting while Gabranth drew fire and magic and Penelo healed.

Apoc+!Tyrant was a bit of a pain, but standard A-Team (with OK playing mage) won the day. OK also managed to prove that with good gear, a hybrid team can get by in Apocalypse+ tier fights, consistently dealing 8.5k-9k per hit with Chain Blizzaga.

With this, the FFXII event is now complete!

I don't think I'll be able to do Sephiroth. No wall, no Last Stand, and the only proper offensive breaks I have are all ATK/MAG, meaning I can stack, at most, three Breakdowns on offensive stats.

Which is such a pain. If I could beat Sephiroth I'd have enough 5* motes to let Celes get her God Mode LM.

Sephiroth isn't Nemesis-tier horrible as his few opening rounds actually gave me time to setup, but I won't lie: I ended up trying many different party setups before I came into one that works for me. I've heard people beat him by entrusting tons of meter to 2 physical OSB users, having them use Galuf's invincibility SSB (it removes all buffs & debuffs from user, makes all attacks/spells/buffs/debuffs miss them and grants 50% atk boost for a good period of time) then unloading on Mamma's Boy.

At 426,588HP, if both characters can deal ~70k per OSB use he'll go down in 3 meters each. that not an insignificant amount of damage mind you, but with some physical oriented Element+ gear one might.

As for motes, I feel you on that one. I'm missing 7 5star bravery and vitality motes each to fully Legend Dive Fran and get her debuff time extension LM2.

However... We are getting those Bravery motes in the upcoming FFX event, meaning if you've been getting them all until now, you'll be able to fully record dive one Dex/Brav character!

Looking at the upcoming schedule in Kongbakpao it'll potentially be another 3 weeks before we get another Jump Start once the FFX event is over, though it does show the Rebirth event is on the list, which is a Mired in Crisis-type 5-boss slow release event where 5star motes (38 of each if you Master all the bosses) are the prizes.

[Starwulf]

I don't think I'll be able to do Sephiroth. No wall, no Last Stand, and the only proper offensive breaks I have are all ATK/MAG, meaning I can stack, at most, three Breakdowns on offensive stats.

Which is such a pain. If I could beat Sephiroth I'd have enough 5* motes to let Celes get her God Mode LM.

Can't do it at all now anyways, the event is over :(. I had to give up, just couldn't do it even with Last Stand, that Blizzaga, Blizzaga, Quake crap wiped my entire party out 3x in a row this morning, even debuffed to hell and back. Sucks because I really, really wanted those 5* dexterity motes, but alas it was not meant to be. It's pretty much impossible to time a SG to come down in between the dispel and the attacks(or even in between say Blizzaga and Quake), and without that I just couldn't handle it, because everyone's already to beat up at that point to survive 3 spells in a row, even with last stand.

[Greg_S]

The big one. I've budgeted two pulls for it. Pull #1: 3/11, 2 discos! The regular is Cait's Green microphone, so he becomes my new VII support. Disco 1: Zack's Chain! Oooh yes. Disco 2: Cloud USB.

No need to pull again, let's try XII-1. 3/11, but 3 copies of Vaan's SSB. Oh well. I am not allowed to complain for another 6 months or so.

This does mean that Cloud moves to the top of my legend dive list, if only so I can bring him to MP and stomp everything.

[Red Fel]

The big one. I've budgeted two pulls for it. Pull #1: 3/11, 2 discos! The regular is Cait's Green microphone, so he becomes my new VII support. Disco 1: Zack's Chain! Oooh yes. Disco 2: Cloud USB.

Grats! You officially win the banner.

I did my 11-pull, and got Cloud's BSB2, which I think fills out a Wind BSB team. Let me think... Luneth, Cloud, Zack, Zidane if I need the extra Imperil. I think I've got it covered. Nice!

I also got Cid's DRINK YOUR GODDAMN TEA SSB. Which means I now have an alternate form of Ramza's THIS QUIET OFFENDS SLAANESH, just in case I need a Shout on a grossly inferior character for VII synergy. So, pretty good, all things considered.

A bit disappointed in the event's brevity, and frankly would have liked more mythril, but such is the way of things. Better luck to the rest of you on your pulls.

[SuperPanda]

Thanks for the Ley Lines offer - I think I'll be okay. Brought down JS but not normal AP.

For the JS fight I brought a healing USB instead and switched out Edea's Devotion RM for a dual cast chance (she never dual casted). She was still able to hit the 5 hit threashold on her bsb Cmd 1 so with devotion and no ley lines she should hit 6 hit.

Reynn isn't very strong but she allows me to bring 4* white to the party along with her burst so she can fill the pro/shell and dispel utility while also dealing out respectable damage. If I have enough trouble with the AP I'll switch her out for Faris so I can stack breaks while Penelo picks up that Utility.

Beyond a 100 gem I don't think I'll pull on Cloud USB.

[Starwulf]

Guess I'll be doing everything I possibly can in order to acquire 28 more mythril before the Cloud event goes bye bye so I can get at least one 11 pull on it. After that, I'll be saving all my Mythril for...something, I don't know, whatever really catches my eye I guess. Well, that and any lucky draws.

[Hunter Noventa]

I did my single pull on the new FF7 banner and got T-t-t-t-t-TRIPLE DISCO! Cloud's USB sword and 2 of Zack's CSB sword. Very good way to start the day!

But on the other hand, Utimate Ahriman might be the first MC3 I miss in a while. When Maser Eye takes my A-team to dead from full and I don't have time to re-apply Stoneskin because the Piercing -aja spells keep nearly wiping me out, there's a problem there.

[SuperPanda]

I took U Ahriman down with a CM team (and an embarrassing one because when Ashe got confused Fran accidentally KO'd her with the chance to KO on her bow.

AoE breaks are awesome in this fight so if you have an AoE reverse wall (such as Fran's shatter heart) or an AoE hyperbreak (Like Faris's USB or Mustadio's heart piercer) it will be wonderful here. It's also a great fight to break out Aegis strike and Alexander.

If you have either Penelo's SSB or her BSB they are extra awesome (and note that she has dancer 5 for help keeping the adds in check).

If you kill the adds he just makes more - I'm 99% sure the fight ends when you kill the real (original) one - so either keep blasting them with AoEs or bring a holy tank with Gaia Cross (for the def boost) and Guard Bringer to thrash it while your others debuff.

My team was:
Onion RW
Baltheir 85: BSB2 /SSB 2+ - penalty snipe (terrible idea)/Life Siphon (back row) - chance to double cast Machinst (he didn't)

Fran 80: SB bow, Shared SB XII light armor - Reverse Wall SB, Fullbreak, Magic Breakdown. Mako Might. (Shatterheart SB)

Basch 80: stat 5*+ sword, SB shield (Holy+). Guard bringer. Gaia Cross. Ace striker.

Ashe 68: Shantoto's CSB+, non RS robe. Alexander, Chain Firaga (Northwain's Glow SB - died long before she was useful - got in 2 casts of Alexander total - she's still angry at Fran.)

Penelo 99: SSB staff+ (+holy). Non rs robe. Shellga, Curaja. Mako Might. (Has BSB).

No protectga because until he threw down Apocalypse Shield Basch was only doing a two hit guard bringer. Baltheir was less useful than expected but made up for it in the U++ CM (Ashe also died laughably early there).

With the stacking breaks the main guy's damage wasn't too bad. The adds were scarier and Fran was busy focusing on the main one.

[Red Fel]

If you kill the adds he just makes more - I'm 99% sure the fight ends when you kill the real (original) one - so either keep blasting them with AoEs or bring a holy tank with Gaia Cross (for the def boost) and Guard Bringer to thrash it while your others debuff.

Yeah, the fight ends when you kill the original. So other than spreading Breaks around, definitely focus fire on this guy.

In other news, notes on upcoming: Tonight we get the final phase of Orbfest (Holy, Non, Lightning), and tomorrow we get the XIV event. The XIV event, On Azure Wings, gives us yet another Cid (CMB 4/ SUP 5/ MCH 5). The first banner has USBs for Y'shtola (dual Blink, high Regenga, self Noncharge 1) and Minfilia (Hastega, party +30% ATK/MAG/RES), BSBs for New!Cid, Y'shtola, and Yda, and LMRs for Y'shtola (30% chance for ST heals to include Esuna) and Minfilia (buff duration +30%), as well as another shot at Y'shtola's wall. The second banner has Yda's USB (multi-hit ST Earth/Fire damage, En-Fire, MNK Noncharge 3, pBlink 3), Papalymo's OSB (deals more damage based on Fire abilities used), BSBs for Thancred, Thancred again, and Papalymo, and LMRs for Papalymo (start battle with En-Fire) and Yda (MNK abilities have 25% chance to grant Stoneskin 30%), as well as another chance at Y'shtola's Medica II (moderate medica + Esunaga). And next week we get a DU (and DU LD) and the X event.

Additionally, to those who are now relieved to be hype-free, the next big event won't be for an estimated three months¹: Super Fest, featuring CSBs, USBs, BSBs, and LMRs. Three months after that (or in roughly six months for the math-impaired) we should see the 30th Anniversary Fest, featuring USBs, CSBs, and BSBs. There may be events of interest to you in the coming months (e.g. the FFIV Rubicante event), but if you're planning to hold out for big stuff, those are your hallmarks.

Don't forget to buy your green mythril!

¹ There is some debate about this on FFRK Reddit. Some suggest that Super Fest will be coming in 1-2 months, and 30th Anniversary Fest in 3 (so August/September and October, respectively). Others seem more comfortable with the projection of Super Fest in 3 months (around October). So keep in mind that DeNA keeps Global guessing.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Additionally, to those who are now relieved to be hype-free, the next big event won't be for an estimated three months¹: Super Fest, featuring CSBs, USBs, BSBs, and LMRs. Three months after that (or in roughly six months for the math-impaired) we should see the 30th Anniversary Fest, featuring USBs, CSBs, and BSBs. There may be events of interest to you in the coming months (e.g. the FFIV Rubicante event), but if you're planning to hold out for big stuff, those are your hallmarks.

Iiiinteresting. Thanks for the forecast! I think I'm going to need to take stock on my weakest realms again post DU to work on my budgeting first, but honestly a big chunk of my needs are defined by unfinished Torments. So, uh... could we get those back, please? DeNA? Anybody?

Anywho, I went 2/11 on the Awakening Cloud banner, featuring BSB2s for Cloud and Seph. That's... solidly good. It's my first SB for each of them, and they're appropriately mirrors of each other, providing an en-element, Dark Bargain C2, and Omega Drive-esque C1, while also sitting on characters with access to Hailstorm for extra self-buffing. Cloud's is the bigger win by virtue of a better skillset and a better element, both because dark weakness is ultra-rare and because I have a hilarious pile of dark BSBs. So I've already given him the MC3 treatment and started pushing towards his RM3, and I'm honestly considering Legend Diving the guy. Doublecast Combat... yes please.

Better yet, with an en-wind BSB on a solid self-buffer, I should definitely be able to clear the D300 FF3 Torment. I've coming really close a couple times with my Luneth/Refia/Arc/Zidane/Tyro team, and subbing out Luneth or Refia for Cloud should give me the last bit of oomph I need. The CM3 team may still work with some better sequencing, the addition of Cloud's RM3, or a legend dive on Zidane or Refia, but having a lock on the lion's share of the rewards is quite a relief.

[SuperPanda]

Looking at the event list on Kongbakpao I'd be really surprised if the 30th fest banners were all the way at Christmas like I was expecting. If we do infact skip the collabs that we aren't sure we are getting then it is only ~9-10 weeks until Super Fest and then ~ 6-7 weeks after that for the anniversary which would line up with Halloween.

Edit: I done goofed - there are only 4 events on the Kongbakpao schedule between Super and 30th. I still think my numbers are about right though because we tend to get fests a little later in the schedule for reasons. I would not be surprised to see the 30th fest fall during Kiros and Ward or Dirge of Cerebus.

glancing ahead for me:

Super Fest -

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Likely skip banner 1 despite having a weakish Earth team - Balthier recently got a spot on team fire and if Locke nabs his CSB the leading man would once again be little more than a cameo.
Banner 2 is full of awesome things that I want like Rikku USB and BSB and Eiko's USB. Team water does need some rounding out so I can skip the pull I was considering on the upcoming X event to plan to pull there instead.
Banner 3 is a bit of a minefield - some solid upgrades but also the most dupe heavy of the fest. Lightning is now a very powerful team whether I go physical or magical and Ice is certainly not slumping on the mage meta either.

30ths-

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Banner 1 looks like one of those "I should pull here" banners which I might wind up skipping. Lots of great looking stuff there, but right now I'm budgeting for favoritism over function.
Banner 2 - All the yes. Celes BSB2? Cecil BSB2 and USB? Bartz USB and BSB2? Half the banner is something I'd nearly do a full price 11x gem pull for. Only one Dupe so far (Rosa).
Banner 3 - Here is my Ice banner (Squall and Rinoa would like back on the VIII team eventually). Cloud USB would be icing on the cake. These realms honestly don't need any love, but at least 1 11x pull would still be reasonable.
Banner 4 - Unreasonable amounts of nostalgia for XI + lack of Next Gen SBs for XII and a strong love for XII + a deep respect for X and I've got a sure pull here too.
Banner 5 - Of the 3 games featured I've only played XIV and my XIV team already rocks.

Scanning events between now and Super:
Very tempted to pull on Rubicant-1: only things I don't really want are Rubicant's stuff and even then he is a mage - he could stand in until my Rydia is ready to replace him much much later.
Tempted by XI and X banners but will try to restrain myself.
Scanning between Super and 30th:
II even will get at least 50 mythril because I like Gordon's brother's choice of name.

Rough Mythril estimates:

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I assume 23/event 7/7 days + 1 Chocobo + 2 Bonus days + 10 event +3 MP. I might not have this right but it does ignore login bonus campaigns, Portal app rewards, mini-games, giveaways, and errors. (also not including rebirth or Magicite as I don't know if they provide Mythril)
I then assume 1 LD / 5 events (-25)

Estimating 15 events between now and the start of 30th. Including 25 for a 30th orbfest.

Panda's Stash today: 102
End of Orbfest +5 (107)
XIV event +23 (130)
LD -25 (105)
X +23 (128)
T0 +23 (151)
I +23 (174)
VIII +23 (197)
LD -25 (172)
VII +23 (195)
IV +23-50=-28 (168)
XV +23 (191)
XI +23 (214)
Super -50 (164)
V +23 (187)
VI +23 (210)
II -28 (182)
T +23 (205)
5x LD (2 forgot + 3 Fest) -125 ... 75... I spent too much.

[huttj509]

jenova mastered...barely. Fortunately my bartz is beefy. Everyone else dead and he hung on to finish off jenova DEATH.
lvl 99 bartz wearing good VII armor, yeah, the regen I managed to get on him (Yshtola's BSB might have been vulnerable to silence, but her shell/protect/major regen wasn't) was keeping him up when everyone else was slowly falling over because I couldn't heal.

The Jenovas' magic def seems really high, focus on physical and buffing/breaking. Exdeath wasn't doing much after phase 1 (brought him for dire heal).

Phase 1 I took slow-ish, wearing him down while buffing up, dropped my Yshtola BSB and my new Cait Sith BSB (lucky girl? Lucky me! Only downside is cait can't use lifesiphon or wrath) when 1 was almost dead.

Part 2 dropped quickly. Dropped a magic/resist reduction on him for the medals, then opened up with bartz' OSB and Sephiroth's BSB (I know I know, but I got a new bsb for him, wanted to use it, as well as it being dark for phase 1 if I got his SB full). a 99999 OSB with breaks and buffs will chew through LIFE.

DEATH was beefier. Buffs were wearing off so my next OSB from bartz was only 55k or so, and a successfull silence on Yshtola reeeeeally threw a wrench in things. Fortunately, as mentioned above, Bartz managed to hang in there and carry it to victory.

[Red Fel]

Super Fest -

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Likely skip banner 1 despite having a weakish Earth team - Balthier recently got a spot on team fire and if Locke nabs his CSB the leading man would once again be little more than a cameo.
Banner 2 is full of awesome things that I want like Rikku USB and BSB and Eiko's USB. Team water does need some rounding out so I can skip the pull I was considering on the upcoming X event to plan to pull there instead.
Banner 3 is a bit of a minefield - some solid upgrades but also the most dupe heavy of the fest. Lightning is now a very powerful team whether I go physical or magical and Ice is certainly not slumping on the mage meta either.

Yeah, I'm with you on this one. Banner 1 of Super Fest really doesn't wow me. Banner 2 is awesome, and Banner 3 is kind of a mixed bag - although having the Keeper's LMR would be amazing. Seriously, opening any fight with an instant-cast wall is a massive asset.

30ths-

Spoiler

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Banner 1 looks like one of those "I should pull here" banners which I might wind up skipping. Lots of great looking stuff there, but right now I'm budgeting for favoritism over function.
Banner 2 - All the yes. Celes BSB2? Cecil BSB2 and USB? Bartz USB and BSB2? Half the banner is something I'd nearly do a full price 11x gem pull for. Only one Dupe so far (Rosa).
Banner 3 - Here is my Ice banner (Squall and Rinoa would like back on the VIII team eventually). Cloud USB would be icing on the cake. These realms honestly don't need any love, but at least 1 11x pull would still be reasonable.
Banner 4 - Unreasonable amounts of nostalgia for XI + lack of Next Gen SBs for XII and a strong love for XII + a deep respect for X and I've got a sure pull here too.
Banner 5 - Of the 3 games featured I've only played XIV and my XIV team already rocks.

Thing I like about the 30th banners is that they're all neatly grouped by realm synergy, which helps the decision-making process a lot. For example, I have crap synergy for I-III; I think I have three relics on that banner (and one is for Leila, for crying out loud), so pretty much anything is a boon. And some of those EX Modes (Firion, Luneth) are solidly awesome. By contrast, I have a lot of V and VI stuff, so I could possibly afford to pass on that, although some of them (Bartz's EX Mode) are pretty awesome. A part of me is considering only pulling on Banner 2 of Super Fest, just so that I can have enough (hopefully) to pull on each of the Anniversary banners.

'Course, that's quite a ways out, so for now I'll just relax and accumulate mythril. Much as I love Rubicante as a character, I'm not gonna whale on that banner. Not when I have BSBs for Golbez, Rosa, Rydia, and Edward, and SSBs for Yang, Porom, and Edge. I'm pretty well established in that realm.

[Greg_S]

Fest stuff: Super fest should be coming with magicite, as it's explicitly themed around the 6 initial magicite elements. It's only 3 banners with 2 elements on each one.

30th fest came with lucky draws as well as the single, free mega-pull: one 30-relic pull, SSB and up, relic pool should be everything SSB+ up to the FF5 event that recently finished. There were also two additional lucky pull + choice banners. One was a mythril pull which let you pick a single BSB from a curated list afterward- I took Porom's BSB for a faithga/medica. The other was a gem-only pull. If you did that pull, you could choose almost any BSB1 in the game.

[SuperPanda]

I'm not sure if I'll pull on Rubicant 1 - the more I think on it the more it feels like I should be putting my hopes on fests even though I seem to be far more lucky on normal banners overall than I am on fests.

Rubicant himself isn't a big appeal to the banner - he's a nostalgic boss for me because he was the first boss whose introduction made me feel nervous even before the boss music started. His casual healing of the part before you fought him told my younger self that "this is a fight you'll need all your tricks to survive." So I love him as an antagonist.

Looking at the banner with the fests in mind - the big appeal comes from Edge's upgraded Water SBs (My Water team is weak) but there are awesome relics on the Super and Fest banners to shore up a water team. Cecil's BSB2 is also very much wanted - but it should be on the 30th fest too.

The LMR's aren't "must get" either. I'm thinking I'll try to be strong and skip it and hope instead for some love in LDs and Fests.

[Starwulf]

Their is one particular banner in the Super Fest that I think I'll be saving some serious mythril for, the third one. Rikku's USB is on it, and it is glorious, a super version of Vessel of fate: USSB “Hyper Mighty G” Party ATK/MAG +30%, Protect, Haste, Shell. A full suite of buffs in one go, making it so you only need to cast wall right at the start, and then after that, just keep her bar up enough so you can always cast it when it wears off, and voila: Extra ability spots for your healers, possibly even allowing them to bring Holy or something, especially considering it's getting a buff to FIVE freaking hits.

It also of course has Tidus USB which I also really want, because I JUST WANT SOMETHING FOR TIDUS DAMNIT!!!! I pull on any fest banner and LD banner that one of his weapons on it, and I've not yet gotten one, which is really frustrating.

[Slayn82]

Same thoughts as you Starwulf. But a small observation:
Rikku has some trouble keeping her SB filled, being a character without Wrath/Lifesiphon. So you may fail to fill your SB if you are using Mako Might and her as dancer, but probably be ok if using thief/Celerity.

And on Tidus, yeah... have his old hastega, no other relic for him, despite many pulls after his BSB. Meanwhile, Braska got everything.

[SuperPanda]

Saw a fun time waster idea in Reddit : give Dr Mog style advice if your A team was a boss fight. I just brought down the XII MP U fight so I'll start with my Holy team:

Event: Through a Shattered Mirror.

The Seal on a terrifying record within the hall of Torment Records has been broken Kupo! Mirrors of our records await within but corrupted by the darkness threatening the records.

Panda's Holy Avenger Apocalypse+

You'll be facing five strong enemies Kupo! Agrias attacks with the earth elemental attack Gaia Cross that increases her defense and strikes twice. When her health starts to drop she starts using Guard Bringer, which can hit up to four targets in range with Holy Damage. When her health gets low she unleashes Divine Ruin which hits your whole party for Holy damage and lowers your resistance to Holy kupo! She gains Devotion Blade which boosts her defense and Reistance even further. She only uses physical attacks so make sure to bring Protectga. Don't feel too comfortable Kupo because she's joined by Penelo. Penelo uses Protect and Curaja to bolster her allies's defenses so consider bringing her down first. Watch out though as when her HP gets low she'll use Evanescence healing her allies and dealing eight magical Holy attacks and gains access to Holy . All of her damage is White magic so consider Mind Breakdown and shellga. Next is Ceodore who attacks with Saint's Cross gaining Regen and dealing Holy damage. Every few rounds he'll attack with banishing blade to dispel your heroes Kupo! When his health drops low he'll use Holy Cross striking your whole party and healing his! After that his Saint's Cross also heals an ally for light damage so be ready to kill him quickly once he is low. Y'shtola seems like least dangerous opponent but be careful not to underestimate her. At the start of the fight she unleashes Stone Skin II which massively boosts her allies's defense and Resistiance Kupo! You might need Armor Breakdown and Mental Breakdown to damage powerful allies like Agrias early on. Y'shtola has no attacks of her own but she heals her allies with Curaja throughout the fight. Bring Mind Breakdown to keep her healing in check but watch her health. When she gets low she uses Asylum healing her allies and providing a shield which blocks all damage for a short time. Finally there is Minfilla. She starts the fight with Blessing of the Light granting her allies a boost to attack and Last Stand Kupo! Counter her attack boost with power Breakdown and watch out for her full break which slightly lowers your attack, magic, defense, and resistance! When her health gets low she unleashes The Echo which makes her attacks stronger and makes them deal Holy damage. She gains Attack Breakdown and Magic Breakdown so be careful taking her down while Agrias is still fighting or you might find yourself unable to deal enough damage. All of your opponents deal Holy damage so bring appropriate resistances. They are not weak to any elements but resist Holy damage so avoid that Kupo!

Mastery Conditions:
Lower Penelo's Mind
Lower Agrias's Resistance
Defeat Y'shtola Last

Completion reward: Gill.
First time reward: Holy Crystal, White Crystal, Earth Crystal.
Mastery Reward: Excalipoor V 5*, 30 Wisdom Motes 5*, 20 Knight Motes.

Spoiler: AI notes:

Show

Agrias: Resists Holy. No Elemental Weakness. Starts using Guard Bringer at 80%. Hits 2-4 random targets depending on Defense. Can hit the same target more than once. At 60% Uses Divine Ruin. Gains access to Devotion Blade. Devotion Blade hits one target twice and boosts her Defense and Resistance. She no longer uses Gaia Cross but still uses Guard Bringer. At 30% she uses Holy Knight Charge hitting one target 4 times with Holy Damage. She now absorbs Holy. She no longer uses Devotion blade and instead uses Guard Bringer every turn.

Penelo: Resists Holy. No Elemental Weakness. Above 50% She only uses Protect and Curaja. At 60% she uses Evanescence and gains access to Holy. At 30% She uses Evanescence again gaining Haste. She begins using Holy more frequently.

Ceodore: Resists Holy. No Elemental Weakness. Starts by using Saint's Cross. If he has Regen he has a % chance to use Banishing Blade, favoring opponents with Haste. At 50% He uses Holy Cross gaining Haste. His Saint's Cross ability no longer provides Regen but heals the ally with the lowest % HP instead. He has a 70% chance to use Saint's Cross per turn which. At 30% he uses Holy Cross again after which he no longer uses Banishing Blade.

Y'shtola: No Resistance. No Weakness. Starts by using Stone Skin II (Can be countered by -Def/Res break effects). Has a 20% chance to cast Shell on an ally and an 80% chance to use Curaja. At 60 % she uses Stone Skin II again. At 30% she uses Asylum, gaining Haste and removing the casting time from Curaja. Instead of the normal Stoneskin buff, Y'sthola Apocalypse +'s Stoneskin nullifies all damage to all allies for 4 seconds. Has no attacks.

Minfilla: Resists Holy. No Weakness. Starts by using Light's Blessing boosting all allie's attack and granting them last stand (survive with one HP when defeated). She has a % chance to use Full Break or make a normal attack. at 60% she uses The Echo. After this all her attacks deal physical Holy damage and she Absorbs holy. She no longer makes normal attacks having a % chance to use Full Break, Attack Breakdown, or Magic Breakdown - all dealing Holy damage.

Next time: Team Fire

[Red Fel]

Well, ApoCloud is down, thanks to Team Fear of the Dark, with accompaniment by guest artists Faris and Y'shtola, and a Relm USB cameo. Y'shtola opened with Protectga, and Faris threw out a PBd, and then Golbez triggered my first RW, because Cloud hits hard and fast. This allowed Cid Raines to instantly trigger Metamorphose, and Y'shtola SSII, because they had my Mako Might/Dr. Mog RMs. Everyone else built up charge, and between PBd, FB, Protectga, wall, and eventually Phantom, I was pretty well insulated. Kuja threw a few Mementos Mori before firing his BSB, and the Imperil (plus the Doom-based boost) really helped; once Golbez's BSB (with Sentinel) went up, we had that extra level of protection. At that point, it was just Y'shtola healing, Faris debuffing, and everyone else throwing every Dark-flavored nuke they had. Faris and Y'shtola ultimately died, and I lost one medal to damage and one to KOs, but mastery get, event complete.

Now it's back to farming, at least until tonight's event drops.

[oxybe]

On the topic of banners

Super fest:

Spoiler

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Banner 1 has Ingus's Chain & LM but outside of that

Banner 2 has Eiko+Rikku USBs, Feat: Windstuffs. Probably one pull.

Banner 3... Tyro's hat and Garnet's BSB2 are not chase worthy, i'm afraid.

30th anni

Spoiler

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Banner 1 - Two dupes, Ingus Shield and Refia Glove. the rest is still stuff I would like to have, like Luneth's USB, Maria's Bow, Leila's Dagger and Firion items. Worth a pull.

Banner 2 - My FFVI stuff is showing it's age but... FFIV & FFV are strong realms. FFIV in particular has one of my fav tanks (Golbez) AND mages(Rydia). FFV also happens to have one my other fav tank (Greg), and two native stacking faithgas (Power of the Void & Sheepsong) and the Bartz/Faris Imperil Wind/Wind OSB wombocombo.

In the end I would be better served sucking it up and pulling on a dedicated FFVI banner.

Banner 3 - Cloud USB+BSB2, Zidane USB+BSB2, Squall BSB2 & Garnet BSB2... take my mythril

Banner 4 - Shantatertot's stuff, Ayame's BSB & Vaan's USB tempt me, but the dupes of Vaan BSB, Auron BSB2, Fran BSB hold it back. I do need more FFX stuff, but for that it's more "suck it up and, like for FFVI, pull on a dedicated FFX banner Oxy"

Banner 5 - As interesting and weird Alphinaud's USB is, I don't need more FFXIV stuff for now as Catwife, Papapotato & Alf can take care of most things while Minfilia debuffs. FFXV is too new and getting a dedicated banner soonish so I may pull there and FFXIII... I just can't get excited about you guys. I don't hate them, I just... don't care.

On the topic of how Apoc+!Cloud got murderface'd by the crack squad of

Golbez - Draw fire, banishing strike - Lionheart - Twin Moons
Onion Knight - Wrath, Drainga - Ace Striker - Vessel of Fate
Papalymo - Chain Firaga, Chain Blizzaga - Dr.Mog - Leylines
Tyro - Power breakdance, MultiBreak - Mako Might - Sentinel Grimoire
Arc - Curaja, Protectga - Knight's Charge - Words of Kindness
RW - Raines : Metamorphose

Cloud had one heck'n of a hard time cracking the 'Bez's bubble, and even when he succeeded he had to deal with not just punching through the bubble, but 'Bez self-healing ~4.5k every command 2. Cloud did not like that.

Seriously, Golbez. You a rock, dude.

The rest of the party was kept up and alive by Arc and his physical blink, though his weak 2-hit AoE did clear it once, much to my annoyance.

[T.G. Oskar]

Saw a fun time waster idea in Reddit : give Dr Mog style advice if your A team was a boss fight. I just brought down the XII MP U fight so I'll start with my Holy team:

Event: Through a Shattered Mirror.

The Seal on a terrifying record within the hall of Torment Records has been broken Kupo! Mirrors of our records await within but corrupted by the darkness threatening the records.

Panda's Holy Avenger Apocalypse+

You'll be facing five strong enemies Kupo! Agrias attacks with the earth elemental attack Gaia Cross that increases her defense and strikes twice. When her health starts to drop she starts using Guard Bringer, which can hit up to four targets in range with Holy Damage. When her health gets low she unleashes Divine Ruin which hits your whole party for Holy damage and lowers your resistance to Holy kupo! She gains Devotion Blade which boosts her defense and Reistance even further. She only uses physical attacks so make sure to bring Protectga. Don't feel too comfortable Kupo because she's joined by Penelo. Penelo uses Protect and Curaja to bolster her allies's defenses so consider bringing her down first. Watch out though as when her HP gets low she'll use Evanescence healing her allies and dealing eight magical Holy attacks and gains access to Holy . All of her damage is White magic so consider Mind Breakdown and shellga. Next is Ceodore who attacks with Saint's Cross gaining Regen and dealing Holy damage. Every few rounds he'll attack with banishing blade to dispel your heroes Kupo! When his health drops low he'll use Holy Cross striking your whole party and healing his! After that his Saint's Cross also heals an ally for light damage so be ready to kill him quickly once he is low. Y'shtola seems like least dangerous opponent but be careful not to underestimate her. At the start of the fight she unleashes Stone Skin II which massively boosts her allies's defense and Resistiance Kupo! You might need Armor Breakdown and Mental Breakdown to damage powerful allies like Agrias early on. Y'shtola has no attacks of her own but she heals her allies with Curaja throughout the fight. Bring Mind Breakdown to keep her healing in check but watch her health. When she gets low she uses Asylum healing her allies and providing a shield which blocks all damage for a short time. Finally there is Minfilla. She starts the fight with Blessing of the Light granting her allies a boost to attack and Last Stand Kupo! Counter her attack boost with power Breakdown and watch out for her full break which slightly lowers your attack, magic, defense, and resistance! When her health gets low she unleashes The Echo which makes her attacks stronger and makes them deal Holy damage. She gains Attack Breakdown and Magic Breakdown so be careful taking her down while Agrias is still fighting or you might find yourself unable to deal enough damage. All of your opponents deal Holy damage so bring appropriate resistances. They are not weak to any elements but resist Holy damage so avoid that Kupo!

Mastery Conditions:
Lower Penelo's Mind
Lower Agrias's Resistance
Defeat Y'shtola Last

Completion reward: Gill.
First time reward: Holy Crystal, White Crystal, Earth Crystal.
Mastery Reward: Excalipoor V 5*, 30 Wisdom Motes 5*, 20 Knight Motes.

Spoiler: AI notes:

Show

Agrias: Resists Holy. No Elemental Weakness. Starts using Guard Bringer at 80%. Hits 2-4 random targets depending on Defense. Can hit the same target more than once. At 60% Uses Divine Ruin. Gains access to Devotion Blade. Devotion Blade hits one target twice and boosts her Defense and Resistance. She no longer uses Gaia Cross but still uses Guard Bringer. At 30% she uses Holy Knight Charge hitting one target 4 times with Holy Damage. She now absorbs Holy. She no longer uses Devotion blade and instead uses Guard Bringer every turn.

Penelo: Resists Holy. No Elemental Weakness. Above 50% She only uses Protect and Curaja. At 60% she uses Evanescence and gains access to Holy. At 30% She uses Evanescence again gaining Haste. She begins using Holy more frequently.

Ceodore: Resists Holy. No Elemental Weakness. Starts by using Saint's Cross. If he has Regen he has a % chance to use Banishing Blade, favoring opponents with Haste. At 50% He uses Holy Cross gaining Haste. His Saint's Cross ability no longer provides Regen but heals the ally with the lowest % HP instead. He has a 70% chance to use Saint's Cross per turn which. At 30% he uses Holy Cross again after which he no longer uses Banishing Blade.

Y'shtola: No Resistance. No Weakness. Starts by using Stone Skin II (Can be countered by -Def/Res break effects). Has a 20% chance to cast Shell on an ally and an 80% chance to use Curaja. At 60 % she uses Stone Skin II again. At 30% she uses Asylum, gaining Haste and removing the casting time from Curaja. Instead of the normal Stoneskin buff, Y'sthola Apocalypse +'s Stoneskin nullifies all damage to all allies for 4 seconds. Has no attacks.

Minfilla: Resists Holy. No Weakness. Starts by using Light's Blessing boosting all allie's attack and granting them last stand (survive with one HP when defeated). She has a % chance to use Full Break or make a normal attack. at 60% she uses The Echo. After this all her attacks deal physical Holy damage and she Absorbs holy. She no longer makes normal attacks having a % chance to use Full Break, Attack Breakdown, or Magic Breakdown - all dealing Holy damage.

Next time: Team Fire

Oh right. I saw it too. Oxy actually posted his A-Team there, and I'm not mistaken on that one (he actually introduced himself as some sort of slacker, and mentioned Eiko). I'd do my A-Team review, except Terra's not quite Fire Goddess status yet, because otherwise she'd be Despair material (not merely Apoc+). I mean, her Very Weak phase would be entering Trance mode for self-healing, calling Daddy, and then go to town with dualcast Chaos Fira at breakneck speeds. Omen + Trance mode + dualcast Fire + Chaos Fira = Apocalypse from the Skies!

Gonna have to wait for 30Fest for that. Or the occasional Realm LD banners that have VI content, but that's a mixed bag. Speaking of which...

Spoiler: Super Fes

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Neither of the Banners really surprises me. Sure: Banner 2 has Water content which can make my Team Water stronger, and Banner 3 has what I need to fully create Team Ice, plus extra stuff for Team Lightning which is kinda barebones (Ashe for En-Lightning, Laguna for Imperil) I'll see what I can do going there. Maybe a cursory pull on Banner 1 for Ingus' stuff, because Team Earth has nothing. At all...well, maybe Yuffie's Landscaper which is REALLY showing its age.

Spoiler: 30Fes

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Banner NES: Nothing of great interest here, to be honest. Big prize here would be Ingus' burst, but I have better chances on the SuperFes anyways.

Banner Super NES: I see my dame, I pull. Plus, it has the wombo combo of Strago's Water Burst and Relm's Burst Medica, which are things I like. Finally, it has no dupes! That's a super plus!

Banner PSX: Mama's Boy is there. Would like some nice FFVIII content. Meh.

Banner PS2/MMO: Could make a Cult of Three, if only because Ayame's Burst will be there, and SaGa calls. Plus, as mentioned, Rikku's Hyper Mighty G's and Tidus is also there. And XII.

Banner Gen 6 (I think? It went multiplatform from here, so...): Has Fem!Cloud stuff, has EmoPrince stuff. No Sazh and no Raines makes this a poor banner. Easy skip. Sure, it has Alphi's world-breaking Ultra, but there's a good chance of dupes, so...nope!

[Starwulf]

Bah. Earned my 50th mythril, did my 11 pull on the Cloud USB banner, went 2/11, and didn't even get a damn burst. Barrets SSB, which is...alright I guess, it's a hyperbreak, but nowhere near as potent as Faris' is, and the other was Rufus' SSB, which is a dark imperil, making it my 2nd I do believe, and I have like 4 or 5 Dark aligned relics now, so I could probably make a decent dark based team if I really wanted to. Still, very disappointing, and quite frustrating.

[Hunter Noventa]

Did my 11-pull on the FFXIV banner and got two dupes (Omnirod and Healer's Circlet, making the former a ++) but I also got Excalibur Zeta, so I gave Minfilia an omelette.

[Merlin the Tuna]

Crested 50 mythril today thanks to the FF14 event, and as planned, tried to awaken Cloud a little bit more.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED, 10/10, WOULD AWAKEN AGAIN. Pull was a 3/11, featuring the grand prize as well as both of Cait's megaphones.

So yeah. Dived the heck out of Cloud, and I think my FF7 synergy is set for a while.