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

[SuperPanda]

Nice pulls.

I’m holding off for now, indulged in a couple luck of the realm pulls and was underwhelmed with the results, considering more after I’ve pulled in more myhtril. Sitting at 181 right now.

Decided to dust off my old elemental teams and see if they could still do Magicites 3* anyway. Blasted through the 6 main elements sub 30 (setting new times on a few) - only one to get a major shakeup was Fenrir as I swapped out Vivi for Serah’s gen2 Chain - I don’t even remember when I pulled that.

Will try holy and dark tomorrow.

No idea what I really want on upcoming banners, teams felt great on 3*s and I know I’m sitting on orbs, motes, crystal waters, and can farm magical crystals to push them harder.

Guess I’ll wait and see what’s coming and find out if any waifu/husbandos are getting shiny things.

I know I’ll want both phys and magic elemental teams - will brain storm that tomorrow as I catalogue old stuff more. Going to look at my realms first because I know I’ve got some which are crazy strong and others which I’ve completely ignored - and xiii which I’ve never pulled with an eye for xiii gear and yet have some crazy goodies for.

[danzibr]

Nice progress!

As far as pulls going forward, JP got one banner with 4 awakenings (Cloud Sephiroth Squall Noctis). I’m doing at least 1 pull there, up to 4.

[Red Fel]

• Prompto's Calamity! This is one of the Chains; particularly, a Gen 2 Physical Lightning Chain. Not a fan of Prompto, to be honest, but this could help Raijin and...well, that's about it. Maybe Edgar as imperiler? Oh wait, Laguna too! That's fair. Kinda.

... How about Lightning? It's kind of her whole thing? It's kind of even in her name?

• Seifer's Hyperion Custom! This is his Gen 2 Physical Dark Chain. I felt bad for Seifer, because he's one of my favorite tanks, but I didn't have an excuse to use him. Now, not only he has the ability to boost his own damage, he can also boost the damage of Squall, as well as Irvine and Zell, as it has an ATK boost stacked in. And, he's also a much superior choice, IMO, to Garland for Team Dark. Very, VERY happy for this one.

I know, right? I now have two of his LMRs, and... an SSB. I feel like he could be awesome to use, now, but I have absolutely no incentive to actually use him, because no good SBs. But yeah... His Chain definitely makes him a contender.

In other news, I decided to take another look at the Anima Lens offerings. Specifically, their recommendations for Magicites. Setting aside the fact that they only seem to recommend the really expensive stuff, it actually looks like I have most of their recommendations. This USB, that OSB, and so forth. It's... kind of frustrating, honestly. They're saying I have most of what they recommend to take on a 4-star, and yet... Bleh.

Fest can't come soon enough. I'mma whale on some banners, I'mma level up some SBs, and then I'mma crush some endgame content.

Speaking of Fest not coming soon enough, here is a forecast of what we're expecting, for those who haven't been keeping up:

• Sunday, 23 June: Glint Lucky Draw
• Monday, 24 June: PHY USB Lucky Draw
• Tuesday, 25 June: MAG USB Lucky Draw
• Wednesday, 26 June: Free 40-Draw
• Wednesday, 26 June: Fest Banner 1 (Rydia/Alphi/Shantotto Awakenings, Fujin Chain, Lightning/Wind banner)
• Friday, 28 June: Fest Banner 2 (RAIJIN CID/Terra/Kain Awakenings, Holy/Dark/Lightning/Fire banner)
• Sunday, 30 June: Fest Banner 3 (Cloud/Noctis/Squall/Sephiroth Awakenings, Dark/Wind banner)
• Tuesday, 2 July: Fest Banner 4 (Seifer/Tidus/Bartz Awakenings, Gabranth Chain, Dark/Holy/Wind banner)
• Thursday, 4 July: Fest Banner 5 (Agrias/Celes/Zidane Awakenings, Ice/Holy/Wind banner)
• Saturday, 13 July: LotR Ends

I'll be honest, the current generation of Glints doesn't particularly excite me. However, the new generation of Glints (which should be introduced in Banners 2 and 3 with Kain and Cloud, respectively), which cost 0 SB and are Instant-Cast, do excite me. Since I don't expect to see any Glint+ offerings on the Glint LD, I'mma prolly pass on that. And because "USB" covers a multitude of sins - not all of them exciting ones - I'm not holding my breath with regard to those LDs either. Maybe, depending on my mythril stash - I'm at about 275, if I make it back up to 300 I'll give it a shot - but I'm not supremely confident in those offerings either. I'd rather hold out and whale for Fest.

[danzibr]

Thanks for the update!

I’ll probably do all LDs. Can’t help it. I only skip if it’s well over half dupes.

[SuperPanda]

Nice information - I'm certainly tempted on, well on all of the banners really.

Tried Dark and Light 3* magicites and while my Dark team has sub 30'd the dragon before I could not repeat it and even ran into trouble clearing the fight.

I know that my Wind team has cleared the 4* earth magicite before but my attempts today failed to repeat it - I remember 4*s requiring more than a little luck on my part each time I won something and I have not yet bested 4* Wind to help with that.

Tried a few Torments.

My Tactics team can sub 30 the weakest T torment but can't yet bring Medium strength below 70% damage dealt.
My VI team brought the weakest flavor to 70% damage dealt and could be better optimized.
My VII team beat the weakest flavor in 33 seconds and could be better optimized - but overall my teams aren't doing great on these which is a shame because I'd really like some of the new abilities.

Found out that there were 3* mote dungeons and blasted through those, likely going to work on getting 4* dives on all my major players in the nearish future.

Have been collecting mythril, up to 201 now. Still very uncertain about what I'm looking for on the upcomming banners but if Rydia's awakening makes her front line worthy I'd be very happy to have it (Currently have 2 LMR for her: Summon chance to quick cast and start En-Water) and both her Earth and Water bursts.

[T.G. Oskar]

... How about Lightning? It's kind of her whole thing? It's kind of even in her name?

Well...that's kinda the thing. I don't use Fem!Cloud. Heck, I'd probably use Queen, whose OSB I somehow have. There's also...I dunno, Eight? Jack? It's one of the Class Zero guys; by my inability to remember who, you can figure out I don't particularly care for them.

Right now, the people I mentioned (Raijin, Laguna) are the people that have a Physical Lightning focus for whom a) I have an SB for, b) an SB that deals Lightning damage, and c) that I care about. Problem is, I don't care at all for either Prompto, Queen, what's-his-name, or Jack. I'd love more Kain, though; if I had his Chain AND his Awakening, then we're talking. Kain feels so alone, after being a stalwart member of Team IV, only to be replaced by FuSoYa and Ursula, just because his SBs are so outdated.

One day, bro. One day.

I know, right? I now have two of his LMRs, and... an SSB. I feel like he could be awesome to use, now, but I have absolutely no incentive to actually use him, because no good SBs. But yeah... His Chain definitely makes him a contender.

On the other hand, I have two of his SBs besides the Chain: his Zantetsuken Reverse SB, and his first Burst (which does DR tanking). It's not enough, but it's fairly decent in any case. I also dived him, so he has Last Stand and Reraise; that means he's pretty hard to kill. Oriignally, I went for Lifesiphon and Dark Bargain, and just kept using LS to build his SB gauge, then use his BSB. Now, he's a pillar of the Dark team, particularly since most of them are physical attackers (Jecht, Vayne, Gaffgarion, DK!Cecil). Also, he has Samurai skills now; he's much more brutal now that he can debuff his defensive stats and focus on obsessive damage. And if I fire his BSB1, or somehow get my hands on his BSB2, that means (Dark) Radiant Shield just to make things even worse.

Also: taking advantage of that sweet pull, I went for some Happy Gacha pulls. Used the Fel method (pull until you get trash). Let's see how it worked.

• Tactics (1/3, 1 Disco): Meliadoul's Gaia Gear! This is her USB Light Armor, which happens to grant an Earth boost. The benefits are simple: Earth/Holy damage, Imperil Earth, and a Wallbreaker that ALSO happens to provide a MAG debuff, so it's a unique debuf! (Well, as unique as being only replicated by....Thancred? And I'm sure someone else. Great pick, which makes Melly a perfect pick for Team Earth. (Also; is it me, or did the guys at Square intended to call her Meriadoc? It makes sense if you consider her brother was meant to be called Iseult/Isolde, which is a female name. Fits the bill. Pro'lly did it to avoid a suit from the Tolkien estate.)
• XIV (1/3, 1 Disco!): Papalymo's Lunaris Rod! This is his AOSB, with a measly +Fire boost. It's your typical AOSB: 3 hits, all break damage cap. I know Potato really wants to be in Team Fire, but it's too crowded! That said, this is perfect for Team Magic Fire, where he'll be hopelessly outmatched by Fire Goddess Terra, alongside spunky companion Krile.
• XII (1/3, 1 Disco!): Penelo's Hermes' Suit! This is her USB, which is perfect as a breather. IC Curaga, coupled with HP Bubble (2000) AND PBlink 1, meaning that against a physical attacker, you get two sources of mitigation. Also has Realm Synergy boons, granting minor resistance to Silence AND Confuse.
• XI (1/3, no Disco): Curilla's Royal Knight Army Shield! (What a mouthful!) This is...her LMR. I feel a bit jaded, because I don't have a pretty solid XI team (and so unfocused; Ayame with a ton of stuff, Lion with a ton of stuff, Shantotto with her Chain and SSB, Prishe with her BSB and Aphmau with her USB and BSB). I mean: I *could* take advantage of Aphmau's BSB having a Toggle mode that deals Lightning damage, which mingles well with the Chain, but Ayame is strictly Lightning focused, and no anti-magic (Lion's breaks are almost strictly physical, other than her Hyper Break). Oh wait, I forgot I had Lilisette's LMR. Again, unfocused.

Cut pulls after XI, so that was three awesome pulls (and one decent) in one day. Not bad.

Also: went for some Anima Lenses rewards, since I chose to claim them that very same day. Here were my choices:

• Raijin's Pauldron! This is his SSB that grants three sweet things: Last Stand, major Regen, and IC1 to everyone. Between Last Stand and IC1 to everyone, you have the works of a USB0. So...
• Edge's Red Jacket! This is his SSB, but everyone knows it as USB0. If you're unaware, this SB grants PBlink 1, Last Stand and Haste, but most importantly, it's cast immediately. Good against pesky enemies that are real fast, cast Slow a lot, and are physical. (*hint hint, Zidane in the Dissidia event*)
• Gordon's Flame Shield! An oldie but goodie SB (yeah, the vanilla ones) with a Fire resist tacked in (a MODERATE one, mind you). The effect is simple, dealing NE damage and ATK/MAG debuff to all enemies. Might not seem as much, particularly with Hilda around, but based on your team, and considering Gordon is a support character, it's an AoE Reverse Wall. Not a bad choice.
• Gordon's Gungnir! This is his SSB, which grants an ATK/MAG boost coupled with a PBlink 1. Now, this doesn't seem like much, until you realize something. How many buffers are in Team II? It doesn't take too much to answer:Josef, pretty much. Thus, this is a valuable buff that stacks with his USB (major Regen + Haste) and his BSB (Last Stand), making him a one-stop buffer. That said, he happens to have a LOT of useful SBs, so he'll need all the SB gauge he can. Fortunately, he ALSO has access to Wrath.

[SuperPanda]

Nice pulls Oskar!

I’d almost missed that the Dissidia event was ending soon and worked hard to Hoover up the blues. Cleared everything short of the D260 dungeon which proved too much on my first attempt and will likely get passed on even though I wanted the loot.

Probably sitting out on the other 5 myth luckys as I continue finding my footing again.

Probably skipping the Glint LD and Chain LD - USB is tempting but I think I’ll just prepare for the fest draws.

Edit: Update - I spent 10 Mythril on Lucky 3-pulls (VIII and VI) with mixed feellings about one and salt on the other. I let myself indulge because I'd just thrown myself at the wall which is Tiamat 4* and thought maybe a lucky Ice relic from VIII would help. I pulled Ultimecia's Brave USB - which is nice but I don't even have her record yet (plenty of crystals and eggs though). And it is wind/dark which wasn't what I needed. Pulled a dupe on the VI banner (No Anima lenses though) which convinced me to return to Mythril hording mode, and 230 Blues.


I really want to overcome Tiamat 4* and I feel that it was almost in my reach with my physical team (by which I mean that when RNG doesn't just flat out say "nope" I can survive for ~ 45 seconds but not do enough to put the beast down.

Spoiler: Tiamat Team brainstorming

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Spoiler: Physical approach with Onion Shout + 1 or 2 healers.

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I have the following candidates for Physical Ice:

(A list)
Squall : 3* and 4* dive - can 5* dive if I choose, USB (En-Ice, 12 hit, EX-mode spell-blade triggers chase attacks.
Ayame: 3*,4*, and 5* dive (Chance to double cast Samurai), Overstrike and Burst.

(B List)
Snow: Gen 1 Chain, 11 hit + HP Stock.
Celes: BSB2 - Holy/Ice + Runic.
Josef: BSB - Party Attack/Mag buff, En-Ice: Cmd 2 (Self-Def/Res self "Unbounded Fury" quickcast), Cmd 2 (3 hit, 6 if unbouded Fury)

(C List)
Laguna: Imperil Ice SSB, Machinst abilities.
Fran: Ultra 10 hit - Attack/Mag/Def (not useful against magicite)

I might be needlessly hard on Josef - his self anti-wall looks like it would just get him killed (which while appropriate isn't helpful).

Spoiler: Magical Approach

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(A list)
Edea BSB - Oldie but goodie, 8 hit Ice/Dark + En-Ice. Command 2 self magic boosts, Command 1 deals up to 6 hits, rather strong.
Serah - Ice Chain, Old BSB (enice, 4 hit command).

(B List)
Rinoa (BSB 2) En-ice on entry Command 1 is a 4 hit, command 2 is a "steal magic"
Ysayle: 6 hit Imperil Ice, Command 1 is 3 hit + fast cast, Command 2 is 2 hit but self mag boost).

(C List)
Reynn: 6 hit, En-ice Command 1 is standard 4 hit - slight boost against vulderable, Command 2 is 2 hit + minor self heal
Vivi: multi Element, Party Mag/Res boost, Self Mag Boost.

Neither approach worked particularly well - I feel like I don't have the right support / Healer combo for this one. Phys got a bit closer but not enough.

Krysta 4* has eluded me drop wise, Might need to farm Isegebind (Ice 4*) a bit more.

I didn't see much Ice in the Fest banners but it is something I'll be looking at.

My elemental Audit says:
Fire: Strong Physical and Good Magical tools.
Ice: Good Magical and Physical Tools (not good enough for 4*).
Wind: Old but good Magic Tech, Should be pretty scary Physical tech (haven't tried it).
Earth: Weak Magical Tech (Only Maria and Rydia BSB1 that I can think of), Solid Physical Tech.
Lightning: Scary Physical Tech (not yet enough for 4* Magicite), Good but dated Magical tech (Haven't updated and tried 4* Magicite)
Water: Scary Physical Tech, Untested magical tech (Strago Chain, Rydia BSB2 - and I'm pretty sure that's it)
Holy: (Good B listers and S-Class TG Cid USB1 - pretty much all physical - unsure if I have any decent magical options.)
Darkness: Has all the components for Amazing physical and magical team building.).

[Antonok]

Realm Parade catch up time:

Spoiler

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XII: Penelo BSB - The offensive one. Not a dupe, but not useful either.

X: Tidus Glint - Eh. Not the most useful thing. May get a use or 2 when I decide to try and tackle the 5* water magicite.

IX: Kuja OSB - Junk and a dupe.

VIII: Squall USB1, Edea BSB - Another meh pull. Squall USB1 isn't that great to begin with and I have his much better USB2. Edea is just outclassed by Raines, Exdeath, and a slew of other dark casters.

VI: Kefka BSB - Ok game. Stop with the dark crap already.

V: Bartz USB2 - And jackpot! It may not be his USB1 or AASB but it's more than enough to make him more viable than Sora in Earth, Wind, and Water teams, specially with his EnElement BSBs/LMRs

[SuperPanda]

Magicite Updates:

I slammed my head against Tiamat for a while and I think I'm at an impass. Got close on one run but not close enough. I don't have any solid source of PBlink for my Ice team and that means healing is an issue because Tiamat is relentless. I'm going to need to farm up and grind up 3*s for inheritance purposes. I'm okay with that as I can clear all of the 3*s with little difficulty (Shadow Dragon can still be a bit mean.)

Will try again with Rosa / Arc healer team - Arc's SSB is instant cast pBlink which is the magic sauce I might have been missing.

Looking towards my Torment attempts, I think I'll be trying with the following teams for I-V. FF1 is very weak, actually possibly my weakest looking ahead to T0 and XV. FFV tried but failed their torment attempt but hasn't been optimized yet - they have the fire power in theory. FFIV is just hard to pick a team for - I've not been using D.Cecil but I think he really might be a dark horse in my arsenal.:

Spoiler: FF1 untested

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Warrior of Light: USB EnHoly +Knight buildup, OSB, LM). LM: Light Within - Attack up from being hit.
Sarah: BSB Medica + mBlink
Wol: No SBs.
Echo: SSB NE Mag/Res down.
Garland: SSB 4 hit dark drain, LM: Restore HP and lower delay.

Spoiler: FF2 Surprisingly promising, untested

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Firion: USB (Holy/Fire/Ice, fast/double cast Knight/Samurai)
Minwu: Hastega BSB, Instant Cast command.
Guy: SSB Imperil Earth*
Maria: BSB1 earth magic
Gordon: SSB Attack/Mag down.

*Alternate options: Leila Poison BSB, Leon Dark BSB, Josef +Attack/Mag ice BSB.

Spoiler: FF3 Onion Gear Activate

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Luneth: Overstrike, EnWind BSB, LM: Start enWind.
Arc: SSB, BSB, LM: +Mind with White magic cast. *
Reifa: BSB1
Desch: SSB Imperil Lightning, BSB enlightning
Onion Knight: USB - Magic, USB - Physical, OSB (No BSB)

* Alternate, Aria USB - Instant Medica + Fire Shield.

Spoiler: FF4 Red Wings spoiled for choice

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P.Cecil, USB1, BSB1, BSB2, SSB1, LM: Def build up
D. Cecil BSB, USB, Self Damage 99% of current health, grant barrier = to max health, EX while barrier lasts: Darkness fast/double cast. LM: When low on health gain Last Stand - Def + Attack.
Rydia: BSB1, BSB2, LM: Chance for Summoning to give fast cast, start Enwater,
Rosa: USB, BSB
Kain: BSB, OSB, Chain
Edward: Imperil BSB
Porom: USB (Instant Medica, Last stand, Reraise)
Edge: Water BSB, LM: Ninja chance to self blink.
Ceodore: BSB
Ursula: BSB

Spoiler: FFV: Strong but lacking healing

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Galuf: Imperil Fire BSB
Bartz: BSB Earth, BSB Water, BSB1, Full Dive, LM: small chance to tripple cast SB.
Faris: Full Breakdown USB, BSB1
Lena: Ice Defense BSB, High Regend SSB
Giglgamesh: USB1, OSB
Dorgann: BSB, LM: Start EnEarth
Krile: Fire Chain, BSB1
ExDeath: Runic USB Magic Boost.

[T.G. Oskar]

Magicite Updates:

I slammed my head against Tiamat for a while and I think I'm at an impass. Got close on one run but not close enough. I don't have any solid source of PBlink for my Ice team and that means healing is an issue because Tiamat is relentless. I'm going to need to farm up and grind up 3*s for inheritance purposes. I'm okay with that as I can clear all of the 3*s with little difficulty (Shadow Dragon can still be a bit mean.)

Will try again with Rosa / Arc healer team - Arc's SSB is instant cast pBlink which is the magic sauce I might have been missing.

Well, you can try Power and Magic Break.

No, wait, hear me out!

Thing is, Tiamat always starts with four moves: first, she Steals Magic, then uses a magic attack; then, she Steals Power, and uses a physical attack. From there, it's basically alternating. Since Steal Magic and Steal Power are buffs, you can use the opposite debuff (i.e. Magic Break/down and Power Break/down) to basically negate the effect. You also debuff, but the reduction is pretty much negligible; however, it's much better than taking the full brunt of the hits.

After that, you have to notice that Tiamat doesn't only do Wind damage; her breath attack deals Fire damage, so you need some source of Fire mitigation. IIRC, Liquid Flame has Dampen Fire, which you should have available. From there, it's basically working out your buffs and damage.

In my case, I didn't use PBlink or MBlink at all. I use Squall and Ayame as damage dealers, one healer, Snow for buffing, and Fran for debuffing and Imperil Ice. Granted: I cheated and used an ability gained through Rubies (that move being Healing Smite), but for the most part it's accessible. Note that I have Squall pretty pumped up, but no Ice chain available. (Snow is there because he buffs everyone, and I happen to have his LMR that grants Haste and IC1.) That said, it was some element of trial and error at first, until I had the grasp of it.

Anyways: I'll wait until the last day of Happy Gacha to reveal the rest of the acquisitions, but I'll say one thing: of all people, Irvine got something essentially meta-changing.

[Antonok]

Magicite Updates:

I slammed my head against Tiamat for a while and I think I'm at an impass. Got close on one run but not close enough. I don't have any solid source of PBlink for my Ice team and that means healing is an issue because Tiamat is relentless. I'm going to need to farm up and grind up 3*s for inheritance purposes. I'm okay with that as I can clear all of the 3*s with little difficulty (Shadow Dragon can still be a bit mean.)

In addition to Oskar's breakdown comment, you need both wind and fire resist for Tiamat.

[SuperPanda]

Well, you can try Power and Magic Break.

No, wait, hear me out!

Thing is, Tiamat always starts with four moves: first, she Steals Magic, then uses a magic attack; then, she Steals Power, and uses a physical attack. From there, it's basically alternating. Since Steal Magic and Steal Power are buffs, you can use the opposite debuff (i.e. Magic Break/down and Power Break/down) to basically negate the effect. You also debuff, but the reduction is pretty much negligible; however, it's much better than taking the full brunt of the hits.

After that, you have to notice that Tiamat doesn't only do Wind damage; her breath attack deals Fire damage, so you need some source of Fire mitigation. IIRC, Liquid Flame has Dampen Fire, which you should have available. From there, it's basically working out your buffs and damage.

In my case, I didn't use PBlink or MBlink at all. I use Squall and Ayame as damage dealers, one healer, Snow for buffing, and Fran for debuffing and Imperil Ice. Granted: I cheated and used an ability gained through Rubies (that move being Healing Smite), but for the most part it's accessible. Note that I have Squall pretty pumped up, but no Ice chain available. (Snow is there because he buffs everyone, and I happen to have his LMR that grants Haste and IC1.) That said, it was some element of trial and error at first, until I had the grasp of it.

Anyways: I'll wait until the last day of Happy Gacha to reveal the rest of the acquisitions, but I'll say one thing: of all people, Irvine got something essentially meta-changing.

Well, between some party tweaking and going full Dive on Squall (which turned out to be a very good choice) this advice is what put me over the top.

Team:

Spoiler: Tiamat's downfall

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Squall 99 , 5* Level dive + Snowspell Strike. USB Lion of Destiny: 12 hit Ice/NE, Enice, EX Mode: +Attack, Spell Blade Chase (additional hits and crit chance with more spell blade uses). RM +dmg targeting weakness

Ayame 99, 5* Level dive. OSB + BSB. RM +Samurai dmg

Keeper 99, 3* Dive only, God Wall (Hastega, Shellga, Protectga, Wall) - Lifesiphon/Entrust, LM: Start with 2 turns instant cast. RM: Dr. Mog's Teachings.

Rosa 99, 4* Dive only, USB1 (instant Medica, HP Stock, mBlink), RM: Ace Striker Magic Breakdown/Power Breakdown - Per TG's suggestions.

Elara 99, 4* Dive only, USB1 (instant Medica, party fast cast, Regenga), LM: Bard skills give small chance to weak medica. RM: Mako Might. Curada + 5* Attack+ Bard skill.

RW: +Atk/Mag/Haste

Now that I know I can down the beasty I'm taking a break from Magicites. Fun but intense fight. Powered up Squall is a beast and Ayame is no joke (able to max out her OSB without fully buffing). I'm not looking at 5* magicites yet, I've got full 4* decks to far up before I go thinking of that and I'll want to take on Torments.

There are so many new 6* abilities I want and what feels like a very limited number of rubies (Don't have enough for my first ability yet) - choosing is going to be hard.

[darkdragoon]

I'm in catchup mode after a long week.

Noteworthy from LD and LOTR:
Galuf chain- he's more useful to my current Earth team but other 2.0s probably would have been nicer
Quistis glint- great, but now complicates other draws as that was my #1 pick
Sabin Arcane- my VI team is still lacking depth

[Antonok]

Decided to skip the lucky draws. Did do a couple more LotR pulls though.

VII: (Was initially going to skip this realm since it's a pretty loaded realm for me)
1/3 - Cloud USB3. Well, not a dupe. Now have to figure out how to best use of his toys...

IV:
1/3 - Cid (IV) LMR. Junk.

III:
1/3 - Luneth Glint - If I had Luneth's USB, he might be a contender to pair with Cloud as I have his AOSB but alas, he only has his BSB.

[T.G. Oskar]

Well, between some party tweaking and going full Dive on Squall (which turned out to be a very good choice) this advice is what put me over the top.

Team:

Spoiler: Tiamat's downfall

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Squall 99 , 5* Level dive + Snowspell Strike. USB Lion of Destiny: 12 hit Ice/NE, Enice, EX Mode: +Attack, Spell Blade Chase (additional hits and crit chance with more spell blade uses). RM +dmg targeting weakness

Ayame 99, 5* Level dive. OSB + BSB. RM +Samurai dmg

Keeper 99, 3* Dive only, God Wall (Hastega, Shellga, Protectga, Wall) - Lifesiphon/Entrust, LM: Start with 2 turns instant cast. RM: Dr. Mog's Teachings.

Rosa 99, 4* Dive only, USB1 (instant Medica, HP Stock, mBlink), RM: Ace Striker Magic Breakdown/Power Breakdown - Per TG's suggestions.

Elara 99, 4* Dive only, USB1 (instant Medica, party fast cast, Regenga), LM: Bard skills give small chance to weak medica. RM: Mako Might. Curada + 5* Attack+ Bard skill.

RW: +Atk/Mag/Haste

Now that I know I can down the beasty I'm taking a break from Magicites. Fun but intense fight. Powered up Squall is a beast and Ayame is no joke (able to max out her OSB without fully buffing). I'm not looking at 5* magicites yet, I've got full 4* decks to far up before I go thinking of that and I'll want to take on Torments.

Congrats on the victory! May I say, it's clever to use Rosa as your debuffer; you keep her on standby, using breaks to keep damage steady, and using her IC Medica to keep everyone topped.

That said; Torments are almost as difficult as Magicite, at least the latter ones. I've focused on doing Magicites rather than Torments, and even on those that I know I have a very solid team (VI, Tactics), the D??? ones are still difficult. To put things in perspective: the only reason I managed to beat the D??? VI Torment battle is because of Terra's Awakening SB (not because of the team itself, or because she has a full Dive and full Crystal Water boons). Haven't been able to defeat the Tactics Torment, even if I have THE team to beat it (Ramza, Agrias, Orlandeau, Marche and one healer, that one being Ovelia), despite the relics (Ramza BSB2 + USB2, Orlandeau USB + SSB, Agrias USB + BSB + OSB, Marche USB, Ovelia USB2 & SSB). While the first can be beaten quite easily, and the second done with a very good team, you need some serious firepower to beat the D???.

There are so many new 6* abilities I want and what feels like a very limited number of rubies (Don't have enough for my first ability yet) - choosing is going to be hard.

IMO, you should focus on Voltech (Black Magic, counterpart to Meltdown) and Healing Smite (Knight, deal 5 hits + heal ally by 2000 HP). Those two are extremely versatile. After that, it's your call. I focused on Chain Firaja and Lunar Ifrit because I wanted to reallly maximize Terra's potential with Fire, and then Blastspell Strike and Stormspell Strike to complement Snowspell Strike for Bartz, since I also have his Awakening. (You could say the second best choices are the dual-element Spellblades, if only to have strong and flexible moves.)

[Antonok]

With regards to torments, it's entirely possible to 2 or 3 off realm the 240 and 280 difficulties, if you have a decent healer in the realm. I cleared them all using Sora with Prompto chain, while I've seen others use combinations of Cloud/Bartz/Ignis BSB.

[Red Fel]

IMO, you should focus on Voltech (Black Magic, counterpart to Meltdown) and Healing Smite (Knight, deal 5 hits + heal ally by 2000 HP). Those two are extremely versatile. After that, it's your call. I focused on Chain Firaja and Lunar Ifrit because I wanted to reallly maximize Terra's potential with Fire, and then Blastspell Strike and Stormspell Strike to complement Snowspell Strike for Bartz, since I also have his Awakening. (You could say the second best choices are the dual-element Spellblades, if only to have strong and flexible moves.)

Definitely agree on Voltech and Healing Smite. Voltech is extremely versatile, as you say, and Healing Smite is insanely good. I've gone into raids with multiple RAIJIN CIDs keeping the whole party afloat with double- or triple-cast Healing Smites. It's nuts.

That said, what follows is up to you. There are those who emphasize the dual-element SPBs, for example, because they're versatile, but others emphasize the single-element ones, which have an extra hit and are therefore a greater source of specific damage. You could go with BLM abilities, as the 6-star versions are excellent, or fill in a niche that's relatively empty, such as CEL (Flash Disaster), MNK (the Ironfists), or THF (the Assaults). In categories where excellent abilities are relatively few, it might be nice to build up your repertoire rather than making already-competent BLMs even more competent. Or not, depending on your needs.

I'm actually sitting on some rubies right now because I don't see a specific need yet. I'm strongly considering Chain Firaja, because I have Terra's Awakening. But I'm going to wait to see what I have after this Fest - priorities may shift. After all, Terra already has Meltdown and Chain Firaga, which is more than, say, my DRGs or THFs have.

On a related note, apparently there is a rumored sixth banner happening between Banners 3 and 4 (around July 1). This is - if it happens at all - a "Focused Relic Draw" select banner - if you pull twice, you can choose one from a list of USBs. I, for one, lack the resources to pull on Fest and that, so I will probably pass. But if you find yourself drowning in mythril, it's an option.

[SuperPanda]

Congrats on the victory! May I say, it's clever to use Rosa as your debuffer; you keep her on standby, using breaks to keep damage steady, and using her IC Medica to keep everyone topped.

That said; Torments are almost as difficult as Magicite, at least the latter ones. I've focused on doing Magicites rather than Torments, and even on those that I know I have a very solid team (VI, Tactics), the D??? ones are still difficult. To put things in perspective: the only reason I managed to beat the D??? VI Torment battle is because of Terra's Awakening SB (not because of the team itself, or because she has a full Dive and full Crystal Water boons). Haven't been able to defeat the Tactics Torment, even if I have THE team to beat it (Ramza, Agrias, Orlandeau, Marche and one healer, that one being Ovelia), despite the relics (Ramza BSB2 + USB2, Orlandeau USB + SSB, Agrias USB + BSB + OSB, Marche USB, Ovelia USB2 & SSB). While the first can be beaten quite easily, and the second done with a very good team, you need some serious firepower to beat the D???.



IMO, you should focus on Voltech (Black Magic, counterpart to Meltdown) and Healing Smite (Knight, deal 5 hits + heal ally by 2000 HP). Those two are extremely versatile. After that, it's your call. I focused on Chain Firaja and Lunar Ifrit because I wanted to reallly maximize Terra's potential with Fire, and then Blastspell Strike and Stormspell Strike to complement Snowspell Strike for Bartz, since I also have his Awakening. (You could say the second best choices are the dual-element Spellblades, if only to have strong and flexible moves.)

Definitely agree on Voltech and Healing Smite. Voltech is extremely versatile, as you say, and Healing Smite is insanely good. I've gone into raids with multiple RAIJIN CIDs keeping the whole party afloat with double- or triple-cast Healing Smites. It's nuts.

That said, what follows is up to you. There are those who emphasize the dual-element SPBs, for example, because they're versatile, but others emphasize the single-element ones, which have an extra hit and are therefore a greater source of specific damage. You could go with BLM abilities, as the 6-star versions are excellent, or fill in a niche that's relatively empty, such as CEL (Flash Disaster), MNK (the Ironfists), or THF (the Assaults). In categories where excellent abilities are relatively few, it might be nice to build up your repertoire rather than making already-competent BLMs even more competent. Or not, depending on your needs.

I'm actually sitting on some rubies right now because I don't see a specific need yet. I'm strongly considering Chain Firaja, because I have Terra's Awakening. But I'm going to wait to see what I have after this Fest - priorities may shift. After all, Terra already has Meltdown and Chain Firaga, which is more than, say, my DRGs or THFs have.

On a related note, apparently there is a rumored sixth banner happening between Banners 3 and 4 (around July 1). This is - if it happens at all - a "Focused Relic Draw" select banner - if you pull twice, you can choose one from a list of USBs. I, for one, lack the resources to pull on Fest and that, so I will probably pass. But if you find yourself drowning in mythril, it's an option.

Will certainly take a look at Healing Smite and Voltech. I've downed the weakest FFIV Torment thanks, of all characters, to D.Cecil. When I left he was trash and thanks to some lucky pulls he is not a monster. As a result I finally have 180 rubies and am thinking of my new 6*s. I'll wait until after the fest though.

For my Tiamat set up: I'd originally picked Fran for the debuffer slot since her USB is Instant cast multi-hit Ice and I thought the extra damage would put me over the edge. We got close but not close enough which is where the idea for using Rosa came in. Giving Squall the 5* dive might have been overkill because boy did his damage spike after that.

So far I've beaten 3 Torments at the weakest difficulty (Sub 30 two of them) - I've not yet done them with one or two off-realm people. I'm guessing that if you do a full 5-man team the standard support breakdowns are helpful and advised and if you start adding off-realm people they become more Magicite fights.

My mythril harvesting has gone well: After collecting my login bonus today I am at 284 blues which is enough for me to pull on all 5 fest banners once and maybe grab the 15 for 50 FF1 and T0 banners. I plan to continue harvesting. I'd really like to nab Rydia's Awakening because it has been forever since she made her way to the A-team. Shantoto would also be a nice grab (this is without knowing what either one does). Bartz is another I might be in the mood to chase - I've seen it as a RW and he's currently got a seat on both my Earth and Water magicite teams. I'll need to see the whole banners before I know how much Myth I want for each but Banner 1's grand prizes are all desirable which isn't something I remember happening alot.

[Red Fel]

Welp, the second LD - PHY USBs - is up. You know me, I gotta pull. Two discos, no dupes:

• Holy Lance: Freya's USB. 10 hits, wallbreak, En-Wind, and Jump Quick Cast. Pretty standard, but at least it's something for her.
• Imperial Guard: Reno's USB. Reno's Brave USB. Reno's ranged PHY or MAG, as needed, boosts MCH and BLM and adds En-Lightning, Brave USB. Yeah, that's worth the price of admission, right there.

This is actually my second Lightning Brave, my first being Lightning's. Point is, between these two, I can now start to build a reasonably effective Lightning PHY team. Alternatively, I could toss this guy onto my Lightning MAG team. In any event, this was a good haul.

Happy pulls, folks.

[SuperPanda]

The backlog of mining continues. I've rediscovered Magicite Inheritance and it again makes sense why I was grinding these suckers before I took my long break.

I'm at 302 Mythril and really thinking hard about pulling on the two USB lucky banners while I still have time. I still consider BSBs to be amazing relics and I'm willing to concede the right USB in the right hands is flat out amazing. This said, I'm still not sure what I need, let alone want, and I think I want to chase the new toys or much needed record Synergy instead.

Have more mythril farming I can do.

Without really digging into what it does, I'm pretty sure Rydia's Awakening would be nice for Ixion (Lightning 4*). The flavor text heavily leans on the idea that this is a fight intended to be taken with Earth Magic. My only relevant tools there are Rydia's BSB 1 and Maria's BSB 1 (I'm not even sure she ever got a 2). I tried the fight with two healers and an Onion buffer and my healing output wasn't the problem. Haven't tried with a Physical team yet but I've got much better tools with them. So for the moment I'm still holding onto my blues and mining what more I can get my greedy hands on.

Still very tempted by the two USB lucky's and trying no to give in.

[Red Fel]

The backlog of mining continues. I've rediscovered Magicite Inheritance and it again makes sense why I was grinding these suckers before I took my long break.

Ooh, yeah. I've still only scratched the surface of Magicite Inheritance. Honestly, I find Magicites frustrating - either they're the 3-stars that I now have on virtual autopilot (although if I tried, I could probably set them up for actual auto) and are therefore simply an annoyance, or they're the 4-stars that I still can't scratch yet. So I don't farm them nearly as much as I probably should to fill out a proper deck, which is probably one of several things holding me back.

I'm at 302 Mythril and really thinking hard about pulling on the two USB lucky banners while I still have time. I still consider BSBs to be amazing relics and I'm willing to concede the right USB in the right hands is flat out amazing. This said, I'm still not sure what I need, let alone want, and I think I want to chase the new toys or much needed record Synergy instead.

Honestly, unless you're saving for multiple shots at a Fest banner, I'd consider it. At this point, BSBs are very much old hat. Aside from a few that are relatively still solid, the only benefit offered by a BSB is whatever special effects come with the Burst (e.g. 0CT, Pentabreak), plus the Haste. Actual abilities do more damage than BSB commands, now, especially with USBs that add a chaser or Ability Boost; it is much easier to farm materials for ability hones; and the only other big feature of BSBs - the Haste - is pretty ubiquitous now. So, yeah, with the exception of a few really crappy USBs and a few really solid BSBs, you're almost certain to get an upgrade from these banners. Especially if you wind up with a Brave. (You thought BSB commands were fun? You should see Brave commands...)

Without really digging into what it does, I'm pretty sure Rydia's Awakening would be nice for Ixion (Lightning 4*). The flavor text heavily leans on the idea that this is a fight intended to be taken with Earth Magic. My only relevant tools there are Rydia's BSB 1 and Maria's BSB 1 (I'm not even sure she ever got a 2). I tried the fight with two healers and an Onion buffer and my healing output wasn't the problem. Haven't tried with a Physical team yet but I've got much better tools with them. So for the moment I'm still holding onto my blues and mining what more I can get my greedy hands on.

Rydia's Awakening deals 15 ST Water/Earth/Holy/Non attacks. So, already it's awesome, because it's a four-element blast, and because it's SMN it can't be reflected, despite being ST. It grants +30% MAG/RES to the party, which is very solid, especially in a caster party. It adds Awaken Summoner - more on that in a moment - raises the damage cap to 20k, and grants the Trinity Summon chaser, which deals 8 ST Water/Earth/Holy/Non hits after every second Water, Earth, and/or Holy ability used.

Awaken Summoner, like most Awaken abilities, has several parts. First, all Summon abilities have infinite uses. Second, they all W-cast. Third, their damage is increased based on rank - that is, higher hones deal more damage. So despite having infinite uses, you still want to increase your hones if you can.

See why this stuff beats the pants off of BSBs?

With regard to Ixion, a lot of the solutions I've seen actually involve PHY teams, or mixed PHY/MAG teams. NIN are considered especially helpful. Yes, Earth damage is key, but given Ixion's tendency to spam Dispels, a lot of recommended party compositions involve two support (not SUP, just support) characters to keep the team afloat.

Still very tempted by the two USB lucky's and trying no to give in.

Hey, you do you, chief. A skip of the USB banners means an extra bite at Fest, if that's what you're after.

[SuperPanda]

Okay, you talked me into it. 1/11 on my phyiscal USB draw (There is still lots of mythril to harvest if I regret this - and I really want Rydia's Awakening now).

10 3* relics gave me suspicions that this would be a salt pull.

Wakka USB. 6* +Water bracer - so that's not nothing. 15 ST Water hit, Attack/Magic Breakdown and self EnWater - not going to make it onto a Water team (except as a piece of armor) but will my my dedicated X team stronger.

Actually rather disappointed with this - maybe enough to resist tonight's lucky pull, even if I give in I'll still have enough for 1 pull per banner and without seeing them I won't even know if I want to pull on every banner.

While I'm disappointed I don't regret making the pull.

After Fest I might take a crack at Ixion again. If I go physical and hone up some abilities I might have the edge I need with Orlandeu's USB and Bartz's insanely high double cast rate.

[Red Fel]

Okay, you talked me into it. 1/11 on my phyiscal USB draw (There is still lots of mythril to harvest if I regret this - and I really want Rydia's Awakening now).

10 3* relics gave me suspicions that this would be a salt pull.

Wakka USB. 6* +Water bracer - so that's not nothing. 15 ST Water hit, Attack/Magic Breakdown and self EnWater - not going to make it onto a Water team (except as a piece of armor) but will my my dedicated X team stronger.

Actually rather disappointed with this - maybe enough to resist tonight's lucky pull, even if I give in I'll still have enough for 1 pull per banner and without seeing them I won't even know if I want to pull on every banner.

While I'm disappointed I don't regret making the pull.

Eesh. Sorry to hear about the semi-salt. Fact is, that's a really solid USB on a Water PHY Magicite team, and Wakka is actually a deceptively effective SHP user - seeing as his full LD grants chance to Imperil Water when using SHP. Still, I could see why you'd skip the other LD. Maybe stick with the Fest banners and LotRs.

I, on the other hand, decided to try my luck with the MAG USB banner, and... mixed results. Only one, but it wasn't a dupe. It was Lulu's other USB. I already had her first one, Abaddon Blizzaja - 8 ST Ice/Non hits, 0CT for two turns, +MAG/RES, En-Ice. It's an odd fit in a mostly Water cast, but it was... fine. This one, though - Blizzard and Water Fury - is almost a strict upgrade. 10 ST Ice/Water/Non hits and a rank-based chaser. Lose En-Water and 0CT, but get Quick Cast. The dual-element is nice, the fact that it's Water is even nicer - honestly, this is a huge help with constructing my Water MAG team.

Sure, I only got one relic, and sure, it was for someone who's already fairly well-kitted, but overall? A positive result.

Happy pulls, folks.

[T.G. Oskar]

Honestly, unless you're saving for multiple shots at a Fest banner, I'd consider it. At this point, BSBs are very much old hat. Aside from a few that are relatively still solid, the only benefit offered by a BSB is whatever special effects come with the Burst (e.g. 0CT, Pentabreak), plus the Haste. Actual abilities do more damage than BSB commands, now, especially with USBs that add a chaser or Ability Boost; it is much easier to farm materials for ability hones; and the only other big feature of BSBs - the Haste - is pretty ubiquitous now. So, yeah, with the exception of a few really crappy USBs and a few really solid BSBs, you're almost certain to get an upgrade from these banners. Especially if you wind up with a Brave. (You thought BSB commands were fun? You should see Brave commands...)

Again, that depends.

The main utility of BSBs was really the infinite-use commands. Any Burst Medica with a mini-Medica is still useful, and only now is starting to lose steam, what with a) Legend Materia that allows a Medica when using a Bard, Dancer or single-target WHM command, b) USBs with instant cast and enough benefits to offset an on-demand mini-Medica, c) Brave USBs that give a pretty solid Medica when you fully power them (i.e. Y'sh's Brave USB, which grants IC Medica + Last Stand provided you use WHM abilities, which you'll obviously use with Curada and probably Hastega), d) upcoming Glints that work as Medicas, and eventually e) Awakenings that grant Medica chasers. Damage Bursts were the first to suffer, because they couldn't keep up with the damage output; the only ones that really remain worthwhile include Squall's BSB2 (because, with a W-SPB Record or Legend Materia, you could get enough charges to get max hit amount, damage and crit chance on Burst Command 2, with an equally high chance to doublecast that) and similar ones, Raines' BSB (mostly because it's a chaining IC for magic Holy and Dark attacks, where the only spells you really have are Holy, Holyja, Memento Mori and a handful of Darkness moves), and maybe one or two more. (I'd dare say Ignis' BSB, but that one is weird.) So, while BSBs are phasing away, it doesn't mean they're worthless. Some SSBs are still worthwhile even now (if not, why would the Anima Lens Ranking Table for Lv. 1 lenses has Edge's SSB at the top? Not to mention Raijin's SSB, or Arc's SSB?)

That said: be on the lookout for JPN's newest acquisition, which are Synchro Soul Breaks. These are definitely the successors to Bursts for the next generation, in that they grant Synchro Commands (much like Burst Commands), which trigger the use of one of your moves if you manage to complete the synch requirement. (Say, have Tifa with an Earth elemental skill at slot 1? Use Synchro Command 1, and you'll use that move once you complete it! Now, how about that Ironfist Earth you have fully slotted?) It's hard to say if Synchro Soul Breaks will beat Awakenings, but there's that.

Which leads to where I wanted to: Brave USBs have a really, REALLY short life. Awakenings are BY FAR much, much better than Brave USBs at nearly every level, if only because it makes regular hits deal a ton of damage, and while you get only one use out of them, for speedrunning that's not an issue. (The issue is to get enough SB gauge to fire it up at the right moment, preferably after a Chain and proper buffs.) Damage-based Brave USBs allow you to deal Overflow damage (up to nearly 100k worth of that), but it's as practical as firing off one OSB (unless you're fast enough, in which case you can fire up two). Awakenings let you reach that amount ASAP.

For example, using my beloved Terra: I have her Brave USB and her Awakening, and she's fully Fire spec'ced. With one use of Glint (to have Empowered Infusion - Fire), she has EnFire Lv. 2, which is sufficient enough. With her Brave USB, I get somewhere around 10 hits for a starter, all dealing max damage (so, close to a full-power OSB), and then I have to use one BLM attack (let's say Chain Firaja, for the sake of it), which will add roughly another 50k worth of damage. Then, I use the Brave Command, and I get the Overflow damage...and then, I have to fire off Chain Firaja three times in order to make ends meet. If I'm fast enough, I could get another OF damage, for another 100k worth of damage. To put it easily, here's how it goes.

Entry --> Chain Firaja (50k) --> Brave Command (100k) --> Chain Firaja x 3 (50k) (--> Brave Command [100k])

Now, let's go with the Awakening. The entry is, IIRC, twelve hits. I'll ignore entry hits for a particular purpose; the subsequent damage is what matters the most. Once you fire it, you go Awaken Fire mode, which grants W-Cast Fire. We'll use Chain Firaja for the same purposes.

Entry --> W-Cast Chain Firaja x 5 (500k) (--> W-Cast Chain Firaja [100k])

Now, I'm putting that last Chain Firaja on parenthesis to represent the chance that you can use it, but...rest assured, you probably can, because...surprise surprise, Terra's Awakening allows her to enter Trance mode, which boosts her Speed AND her cast time. So, what this represents is

• Terra's first turn in Awakening leaves you with a surplus of 50k worth of damage.
• Terra's second turn is identical.
• Terra's three subsequent turns add another 150k worth of damage.
• Terra's last turn, if it happens to work, evens out.

The result is, Terra deals nearly 200k worth of damage during the same time. Now, there's some caveats: one, Terra's Brave mode, IIRC, lasts longer than her Awakening (25s compared to 15 s), so the parenthesis is most likely unnecessary. Two, you can use Brave mode more than usual, so if you recharge it with 0 charges of Brave, you could cycle between Entry --> Chain Firaja --> Brave Command. Still: even then, Terra would still be off by around 50k every two turns, so even rotating Brave mode won't add as much to Awakening. The only way Terra's Brave mode beats her Awakening is if she has to extend the duration: if her Awakening ends, she still has 10s worth of Brave mode, so she can probably go for one more cycle, before probably going for Glint --> Brave USB.

For a speed run (sub-30 or less), Awakening is far, far better than Brave Mode. On the other hand, on long and protracted battles (say, against Yiazmat?), Brave USBs will end up dealing more damage. But, that becomes slightly irrelevant because you prep your Awakening for the right moment, and then use Brave USB afterwards.

If you want a comparison, the idea goes like this: Awakening >> Brave USB > AOSB > USB with Finisher > OSB > USB with Chaser > BSB > SSB > SB. It's different for healers (Awakening, then it depends: IC >>> Last Stand/Regenga > PBlink/MBlink).

P.S.: Oh yeah, I forgot. Here's the rest of the Happy Gacha draws.

Spoiler: Rest of Happy Gacha draws.

Show

• X (1/3, no Disco): Lulu's Moomba Warrior. A dupe. Also: remember that Happy Gacha in this case doesn't grant Anima Lenses, so it's doubly worse.
• IX (1/3, no Disco): Kuja's Chosen of Treno! This is his LMR, granting minor Dark resist and EnDark. This is pretty cool, since I dived him already, and lets him deal some solid damage with his Imperil Dark burst. I was already using Kuja quite a bit, and this just made him slightly better.
• VIII (1/3, one Disco!): Irvine's Supershot ST! This is his...no, not his. Remember I said this was meta-changing? Well, this happens to be VIII's Realm Chain. What this means is that, unlike Elemental Chains, which depend on the element used, this triggers with ANY attack made by a character from FFVIII (thus, any attack or damaging spell or damaging SB used by Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Zell, Irvine, Quistis, Seifer, Edea, Ultimecia, Fujin, Raijin, Kiros or Ward). As you can figure, this is incredibly good for Team VIII as a whole, and specifically for the VIII Torment. As for what it grants: it's basically a clone of Onion Knight's BSB entry (Boostga/Faithga/Hastega), alongside a Realm Boost to damage and the proper Chain. In my case, that means Rinoa, Squall and Zell have a massive boost, and if breaks are essentially unnecessary, Irvine can also cooperate with Fire Sharpshooter skills. Do note that Selphie has Dancer 5*, so she can use Dances to complement Irvine's Break skills.
• VI (1/3, no Disco): Sabin's Vishnu Vest! This is his LMR, and one of the bad ones, boosting Attack based on how many Monk actions you've used. I barely use him, and this won't provoke me to use him more.
• V (1/3, no Disco): Famed Mimic Gogo's Mimic Rod! This is his BSB, and is quite curious for a few reasons. For one, it has EnWater; I have his Glint, so that's EnWater lv. 2. Second, his Burst Command 1 allows him to Mimic the actions of the previous ally. Arc casts Curaja? Famed Mimic Gogo casts Curaja. Strago uses Chain Waterga? Famed Mimic Gogo casts Chain Waterga. Rydia uses Ogopogo? Famed Mimic Gogo casts Ogopogo. Meia uses Lunar Leviathan? Famed Mimic Gogo uses Lunar Leviathan, but not the chaser. Thing is, the more times you use it, the faster it becomes, so with Haste, that means he essentially works as a Chain multiplier for Team Water. Otherwise...it's not that amazing, particularly because of the Water focus. However, that ALSO means Famed Mimic Gogo can be leveled up!
• IV (1/3, one Disco!): Rydia's Red Scorpion! This is her USB Whip, giving Quistis no end of jealousy. That said, as USBs go, it's a bit disappointing: 10 hits on entry, EnWater, and...well, a MAG/RES boost. Excellent for Team Magic Water, but not otherwise. Mingles well with her BSB, which is Imperil Water.
• III (1/3, one Disco!): Onion Knight's Guise! This is yet another of his USBs, and essentially the magic counterpart to Bartz' first USB. What it does is, it follows any BLM attack that deals Fire, Water, Wind or Earth elemental damage with an attack of the same element. It has some priorities (Meltdown will deal Fire damage, Voltech will deal Water damage), but for the most part it'll focus on the vulnerability of the opponent. You deal somewhere around 4 hits with every Chaser. That makes Onion Knight a welcome addition for Team Fire, Team Water, Team Wind and Team Earth. Considering he's already solid on Team Earth (using Ninja skills, BTW) and makes an appearance in Team Fire (as the buffer), it begs to mention that Onion Knight's utility just magnified. Perfect to place instead of his BSB, or if in a mage Team, instead of his pUSB.
• II (1/3, no Disco): Emperor's Silver Despot! This is his LMR light armor, which grants a measly EnEarth. Fits nicely with his USB, but nothing else. Kinda disappointing.
• I (1/3, one Disco): Meia's Mellow Mermaid! (Hey, it all starts with "Me"!) This is her USB light armor, which happens to have a +Water boost. The USB is pretty interesting, since it's a chaser USB, dealing 5 Water/NE hits when you use a Water attack, but it ALSO happens to reduce delay of her actions. As you know, there's a handful of Water skills, but only a few magic ones (the Water line of BLK spells, Leviathan, Ogopogo and Lunar Leviathan for Summon, and one Ninja skill). You know what this ability sounds like it'd benefit the most? Witch skills! And, Meia is meant to be a Witch, but there's no Water Witch skills! Seriously a "Mist" Opportunity...

With that, you might have noticed that I got a pretty specific mandate right at the very end, what with (Famed Mimic) Gogo, Rydia and Meia getting Water SBs, thus allowing me a Magic Water team (alongside Strago). This Happy Gacha seems quite nice, considering things, because while I got a few LMRs, it was full of USBs, and some really good ones. In particular, I could declare Irvine the big winner here (what with the Realm Chain for VIII, which happens to add a needed power boost), followed by Onion Knight (that chaser USB is so flexible!), Team Water having a massive boost (with Team Physical Earth now being so crowded it's painful), and II and XI still suffering from poor pulls.

[SuperPanda]

Looks like Reddit has data mined the event banners now - though I still haven't seen breakdowns of what they all do.

Banner 1	Banner 2	Banner 3	Banner 4	Banner 5
Rydia AASB	Cloud AASB	Orlandeau AASB	Seifer AASB	Agrias AASB
Alphinaud AASB	Noctis AASB	Terra AASB	Tidus AASB	Celes AASB
Shantotto AASB	Squall AASB	Kain AASB	Bartz AASB	Sephiroth AASB
Fujin CSB	Zidane AASB	Orlandeau AOSB	Gabranth CSB	Celes AOSB
Garnet USB2	Cloud Glint+	Kain AOSB	Yuna AOSB	Sephiroth AOSB
Rydia AOSB	Noctis AOSB	Rem AOSB	Cid Raines AOSB	Rosa USB2
Fujin AOSB	Zidane AOSB	Golbez USB2	Yuna USB4	Lightning USB3
Fujin USB	Deuce USB3	Kain Glint+	Bartz USB	Eight USB
Alphinaud Glint	Noctis Glint	Orlandeau Glint	Seifer Glint	Sephiroth Glint
Rydia LMR4	Cloud LMR6	Kain LMR3	Tidus LMR2	Agrias LMR2
Shantotto LMR3	Noctis LMR2	Orlandeau LMR2	Bartz LMR2	Agrias LMR
Alphinaud LMR	Squall LMR3	Kain LMR2	Gabranth LMR	Celes LMR2
Garnet LMR2	Deuce LMR	Terra LMR2	Yuna LMR3	Rosa LMR2
Fujin LMR	Cloud LMR4	Terra LMR	Yuna LMR	Lightning LMR3

My thoughts without knowing many details:

Banner 1 has me all kinds of excited. Banner 2 looks good enough that I know I should pull. Banner 3 has me pretty excited. Banner 4 has items I really want and others I'd rather skip. Banner 5 leaves me confused. Looking forward to banner breakdowns so I know how much salt to prepare when I pull poorly or how much to cheer when I pull well.

[T.G. Oskar]

Looks like Reddit has data mined the event banners now - though I still haven't seen breakdowns of what they all do.

Banner 1	Banner 2	Banner 3	Banner 4	Banner 5
Rydia AASB	Cloud AASB	Orlandeau AASB	Seifer AASB	Agrias AASB
Alphinaud AASB	Noctis AASB	Terra AASB	Tidus AASB	Celes AASB
Shantotto AASB	Squall AASB	Kain AASB	Bartz AASB	Sephiroth AASB
Fujin CSB	Zidane AASB	Orlandeau AOSB	Gabranth CSB	Celes AOSB
Garnet USB2	Cloud Glint+	Kain AOSB	Yuna AOSB	Sephiroth AOSB
Rydia AOSB	Noctis AOSB	Rem AOSB	Cid Raines AOSB	Rosa USB2
Fujin AOSB	Zidane AOSB	Golbez USB2	Yuna USB4	Lightning USB3
Fujin USB	Deuce USB3	Kain Glint+	Bartz USB	Eight USB
Alphinaud Glint	Noctis Glint	Orlandeau Glint	Seifer Glint	Sephiroth Glint
Rydia LMR4	Cloud LMR6	Kain LMR3	Tidus LMR2	Agrias LMR2
Shantotto LMR3	Noctis LMR2	Orlandeau LMR2	Bartz LMR2	Agrias LMR
Alphinaud LMR	Squall LMR3	Kain LMR2	Gabranth LMR	Celes LMR2
Garnet LMR2	Deuce LMR	Terra LMR2	Yuna LMR3	Rosa LMR2
Fujin LMR	Cloud LMR4	Terra LMR	Yuna LMR	Lightning LMR3

My thoughts without knowing many details:

Banner 1 has me all kinds of excited. Banner 2 looks good enough that I know I should pull. Banner 3 has me pretty excited. Banner 4 has items I really want and others I'd rather skip. Banner 5 leaves me confused. Looking forward to banner breakdowns so I know how much salt to prepare when I pull poorly or how much to cheer when I pull well.

I couldn't care for any other banner. Banner 3 is the God Banner. For one: it has Terra's relics, and where she has relics, I pull. I mean...sure, there's her Awakening, which I have, and also her LMR1 and 2 (i.e., dualcast Fire and start with EnFire), which I also have, but...you know, Anima Lenses. However, it ALSO has Orlandeau's Awakening, and a ton of sweet stuff for him as well. And also, Kain, who has suffered so long, he needs some help. There's also Golbez' USB2...which would be nice. But, you have both the Fire Goddess and the THUNDER GOD in a single banner.

So what if Celes' Awakening gives her the ability to create MBlinks from using attacks? Or, what about Seifer, who has the ability to switch his EnElement depending on the attacks he uses (Dark or Fire)? Or that Banner 1 has a Wind Chain, and Banner 4 a Dark Chain? Banner 3 is where it's at!

Do note that we'll have the 40-draw tomorrow, and if things play right, we might get a G9 draw somewhere in the middle (a 9-pull, where 2 of those relics will be guaranteed Discos, and the other two will be guaranteed Rainbows). There's also the chance of a Dream Relic Draw at the very end, and maybe a Focused Lucky where we get 2 half-price draws, and a boon if we do both (IIRC, a free third draw, though it can also be a choice of relic; not sure about that one). So, measure well your pulls!

[darkdragoon]

1 wind magic is still rare, Rydia is very strong, Garnet may be the backup dancer but she's no slouch here either.

For 2 I'd be a bit worried about being spoiled by Deuce

3 is insane.

4 is tough because while I have needs there Bartz would probably be the only instant win button. Similarly for Torments I think I need healer Yuna more than summoner Yuna.

5 is clogged up by Seph, although I still would have had dupes with Zidane so I guess there was no way around that.

[Antonok]

Breakdown of Fest Banner 1 for your perusal

Rydia and Shantotto Awakenings are the only things I want, and likely this is where my whole one pull of the fest will go to.

[SuperPanda]

Been having a bit of a rough day, Busy job hunting and getting alot of "Thank you for interviewing but we've selected someone else."

Also accidentally ate my level 99 partially inherited Bismark 3* water magicite - not a big loss but frustrating.

With all of that I needed some good news from the free 40 and I think I got it.

8/40

1. Genji Armor, VII Heavy Armor 5*, Sephi LMR Chance to dual cast Darkness.

2. Imperial Shell, II Light Armor 5*, Emperor, Earth Resist Armor, LMR Trance: When HP Critical, Restore HP and reduce delay.

3. Requim Harp, IV Harp 5* - I have better -, Edward LMR: Stat Buff Duration Up. - Meh -

4. Arcturus, XII Gun 6* (RS Fire+), Balthier OSB (new) (Fire/NE)

5. Stoss Spear, XV Spear 6*, Aranea OSB (Needed XV synergy) (Dark/Lightning, Bonus vs Vulderable)

6. Simurgh, XIII Thrown 6*, Hope USB: 10x Holy/NE ST, Self EnHoly, Self Mag/Def up, After Delay 5 additional Holy/NE ST attacks.

7. Fairy Bow, V Bow 6*, Faris USB: 9 Wind/NE Random Target Imperil Wind and Attack/Magic/Mind Breakdown.

8. Shining Staff, II Staff 6*, Minwu USB: Instant Medica, HP Stock, and Stoneskin - yikes that is pretty darn good.

Not pulling on the banner just yet but plan to do so later on after I've done a few more applications.

Edit: Expanded thoughts on pull:
The Sephiroth Armor is pretty meh but makes a case for pulling on his banner. Dark is actually an element I'm pretty saturated with at the moment and haven't finished sorting out all my toys for.

The Emperor LMR is pretty worthless on its own - my II team was okay and is not pretty solid thanks to Minwu.

Edward's Harp is meh for me but I do have different stat buff SBs on him that I'm happy to use and it makes him better as a supporter for mage teams. So it is better than I thought if not that great overall - sort of like Edward himself.

Balthier's OSB makes me happy - in addition to helping boost my XII team more, it compliments his enfire SSB and his imperil fire BSB and his 5* dive materia and Machinst double cast LMR - he's already a Fire Imperil machine and now can help deliver a finishing blow.

Aranea's OSB was much needed synergy for XV. There isnt much more to say about that. Her only relic before this was her enDark LMR which had previously been "okay" and is now pretty nice.

Hope's USB is pretty nice, especially considering I'd been low on Holy magic damage. XIII didn't need the synergy but it is a 6* thrown mage weapon.

Faris USB2 was surprising, she was already a rockstar with her USB 1 and this looks better overall. Shame that my V team has few native win SB effects to play with this.

Minwu's relic is very nice and kicks my II team up a lot. I might even be ready to try a Torment between Firon's USB, Minwu's USB, Maria's BSB, Gordon's SSB, and a fifth member of choice between Leon BSB, Leila BSB, and Guy Imperil Earth SSB.

[Red Fel]

The time is upon us, friends! The end (of waiting) is nigh!

First, Banner 1: One disco, no dupes! Fujin's Twin Viper - her Chain! It's not an Awakening, but I'm definitely not complaining.

Next, onto the 40-pull! You know, as I look at the display, I really appreciate the QoL upgrades the game has gotten. Makes it really easy to spot the dupes, which is good, because I got a bunch. 14/40, 6 disco, 8 rainbow, 4 dupes in total:

Spoiler

Show

• Shield Armor: Steiner's BSB, multi-element with Draw Fire/Magic.
• Monk's Leathers: Wol's BSB, random PHY attacks with Full Break.
• Vayne's Gloves: Vayne's BSB, MAG/PHY Dark attacks. A dupe.
• The Ogre: Zidane's BSB, Imperil Wind with THF commands. A dupe.
• Temple Cyclas: Prishe's LMR, Crit=50%.
• Elarra's Hat: Elarra's LMR, chance to medica when using BRD. A dupe.
• Magitek Shield: Minfilia's LMR, increase buff duration and effects.
• Golden Shield: Steiner's Glint, instant party Stoneskin 30% and +RES.
• Save the Queen: Celes' OSB, increments based on MAG attacks taken. A dupe. (Hello, level 3 anima lenses!)
• Off-Season: Wakka's USB, ATK/MAG Breakdown, En-Water.
• Staff of Light: Sarah's Brave USB, 0CT medica and Last Stand, increments based on WHT and BRD.
• Godhand: Galuf's USB, Imperil Earth, +ATK/RES, Quick Cast and Earth abilities cause Quick Cast.
• Nagamitsu: Jack's USB, drops user to 1% HP but gives Stoneskin 100%, and grants an EX Mode while the Stoneskin is up.
• Zanbato: Ayame's USB, En-Ice, Retaliate, and boost crit damage.

Phew. And I thought getting Fujin's Chain was good news. This alone makes for a very happy, successful Fest. Not to mention the 50 level 3 and 150 level 2 anima lenses I got from dupes.

A happy Fel indeed. And happy pulls to you all.