Playin' any games today, Flying Nun? (WGAYP - 2011 Edition)

[Sierra]

Llewelyn/Badrach/Grey challenge run. Make it happen.

[superaielman]

Grey is way too good for that team. He needs to use Jayle for that.

[Grefter]

Jayle is the awesome good fun times.  There is so much bouncing.  Jayle >>>>>>>>>>> Grey.  I vote for Jayle/Llewelyn/Archer Valk/Neimi party.  It is pretty bad for PWS as well from memory.  Think you can get someone alright in last slot (great magic finisher for randoms with Llewelyn with Heat boosting accessory?)

POKEMANS - I hit up Nimbasa City.  I walked around a bit.  Then N walked up to me and told me that Team Plasma went this way (?!?!? Didn't this guy already make it abundantly clear that he is working with them?  Maybe it is just to the player where he is introduced in battle as TEAM PLASMA N with the big Plasma splash screen...), then says hey bro lets get on this ferris wheel.  Then he says NO JOHN I AM THE PLASMAS.  Shock.  Then he helps Team Plasma escape by getting in a battle with me.  Then he loses and says the only way to stop him is to get all eight badges and beat him at the Pokemon league.

I didn't even know Team Plasma were in town, so if their plans are to win by confusing me, well their first plan worked and their second one is looking up as well.  Why exactly would I be worried about a total chump winning the Pokemon league?  Why do I not hospitalise him right now, I clearly have the pokemon that can dislocate all his limbs while all his are defeated.  Alternate non-violent solution, tell Professor Juniper who clearly has ties with the Pokemon League, or tell one of the Gym Leaders who has taken an interest in me for no particular reason?  Let the Pokemon league guys know that this N douchebag and Team Plasma are gunning for them and to call the cops on them and ruin their shit.  I don't understand why in the fuck this seems like a good plan and why he straight up tells you it.  Mission accomplished N, you have me thoroughly baffled.

WoW - I am weak and wanted to see some things.  They did some things I swore black and blue they needed to do to make this expansion good (daily dungeons are now not a daily thing, you can do 7 a week to full benefit).  So... I don't know what this means now.  My life was better having quit the game, but I still haven't seen the things yet.

[Shale]

Play hard mode, ban bonus EXP and the store, start every chapter with a party of Valkyrie and three level 1s.

Challenge!

[SageAcrin]

...so pretty much a normal run for me?

Look I forget to buy things and am indecisive about bonus EXP and like changing things up okay.

[metroid composite]

Play hard mode, ban bonus EXP and the store, start every chapter with a party of Valkyrie and three level 1s.

Challenge!

The store is fine.  Levels aren't that important.  It's treasure chest items and item creation items and items given by Freya that are the real power.  (Well...that and Guts+Auto Item).

The DL-legal playthrough I did like...8 years ago was decently challenging, for instance (nothing but storebought items; I don't think I allowed myself any skills, either--no survival on mages!!1  Granted: I did use accessories).

[Meeplelard]

I remember Elfboy's playthrough of the "completely arbitrary restrictions".  something like No Weapons unless they were Odd Chapter Storeboughts (so Reiter Pallasch would be fine, but Valkyrie Favor would not be), no Guts/Auto Item, among a few other bizarre things?  The thing I remember most was that he was compiling stats for every enemy in the game (after a point) for the topic, and in Chapter...7?, he made the comment "You know its a sad day when Lyseria is the 2nd best enemy in the entire update" or some such.

[Grefter]

Ahhhh beautiful memories of updates of those runs through.

[Captain K.]

Just play Easy mode if you want something resembling challenge in VP.  No Lawfer and no Creation Jewel makes it the hardest of the three modes.  Irony, thy name is VP.

[metroid composite]

I think Elfboy's run did allow Guts, actually.  I know we reached a consensus that I had the more "interesting" playthrough (in terms of challenge) and certainly Elfboy had worse equipment than me, so he must have been more lenient somewhere else (probably skills).

Anyhow: Desktop Dungeons--just got to Gauntlet level 40 in epic fashion.  First attempt at 39, I was against Tower of Goo, I had Spiked Flail (50% knockback item), and the poison glyph, and...I just played things wrong.  I needed to leave a roww of blocks near the boss to smash him through, and I kept absent-mindedly blowing up nearby blocks.  I had poison and didn't begin chipping and poisoning as early as I could have.  I was 8 gold short of buying a key item.  I didn't use potions slightly earlier (when there were still nearby blocks to blow up, making physical attacks worthwhile).  I would petrify an enemy just to have a knockthrough block, which I realized only at the end is less mana efficient than knocking into empty space and fireballing.  And despite all this I was close: the boss had about 20-30 HP left (out of 938).

Next attempt, got the Spiked Flail again (this is a rare item I usually don't see) but otherwise generally weaker equipment, and was against Lord Gobb (overall better boss) and I narrowly won.  Not that I didn't make some minor mistakes (like...Transmuters heal when they destroy a wall; I only found out today that this works with Spiked Flail.  And I was using this combo against the boss, but I should have also used it against low level scrubs near walls to heal without mana).  But minor mistakes aside, it's nice to get a real feeling that I just improved, that I executed much, much better than last time.  Also gives me a good feel for how far I could go with this strategy (Gauntlet level 39 Lord Gobb is like...Gauntlet level 55 Jogurmander or Medusa or Iron Man.  And like...Gauntlet level 70 Nine-Toes...).

[Dark Holy Elf]

I certainly don't recall reaching that consensus! <_< >_> My playthrough was better because it made Fenrir a total fucking badass. (Though not as good as Wraith. Nobody was as good as Wraith. Outside the SG, which the playthrough... was not balanced for.)

And yeah, Guts was banned, as were all reaction abilities and anything which blocked status, and Angel Curios/etc. So were attack items and MT healing items. Anything which diminished enemy uniqueness or allowed them to be bypassed. was seen as bad. It was pretty darn fun but it is part of the reason I felt due for normal playthrough.

No idea about the Hel Servants possible-AI-weirdness, VP experts?

[metroid composite]

I know there was something you allowed that I didn't...hmm...maybe using Union Plumes in-battle?  (Items are not DL legal!)

And I raise your competent Fenrir with competent Akhetamen.  (I think he may have been the hardest boss on my run?  Fenrir was decent too, FWIW)

No idea about the Hel Servants.

[Captain K.]

Not sure about the Hel Servants, been a *long* time since I played.  If it's not in the Bestiary I dunno.

Oh, and Grefter:

Azelf (Imprison/Protect/Detect/Explosion) tends to wreck anything that isn't a Ghost.  But yeah it is kind of an ass move overall.

[Meeplelard]

I definitely remember Elfboy stating that his strategy for fighting Wraith came down to "Lenneth survives, solos fight from there."  If Guts were allowed, that would not be the case, as he'd otherwise could have just done "reset until he gets lucky on Guts, restore team!"

(He was constantly swapping characters, so Lenneth was naturally massively overleveled, hence why she would live but no one else would.)

[Dark Holy Elf]

Yeah, items were allowed, so long as they weren't attack items (mostly because they're stupid earlygame) or the MT healing items (because they make MT not matter).

[metroid composite]

I definitely remember Elfboy stating that his strategy for fighting Wraith came down to "Lenneth survives, solos fight from there."  If Guts were allowed, that would not be the case, as he'd otherwise could have just done "reset until he gets lucky on Guts, restore team!"

(He was constantly swapping characters, so Lenneth was naturally massively overleveled, hence why she would live but no one else would.)

Yeah, we both did the constantly swapping characters.

Wraith for me was "must kill in two turns", I think; no in-battle items so soloing was not possible.  Party was something like Lewellyn (with one-hit bow) Arngrim (possibly with one-hit sword?), probably a mage with Mystic Cross, and...probably bow Lenneth to get the hits higher?  I do know that Lewellyn was absolutely required for one of the mass-kill bosses.

[Shale]

Desktop Dungeons: Dammit, MC. I have a job!

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Don't you work at home? Disconsider that. >_>

[Random Consonant]

Shining Force 3 Part 1 - A boss got owned by sleep.  Then Snow decided it was a great idea to gnaw on a fuckoff demon and got thrown into the river for his troubles.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Seems like I give you a neverending stream of joy, surprises and unwanted tears.

[Random Consonant]

Who knows.  We'd need to get to Part 2 where you gnaw on Hal to get a definitive answer there.  Having Julian be a wandering whore that gnaws on everything amuses me more than the game's actual dialogue, at any rate.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

... >_>

[Dark Holy Elf]

Lenneth couldn't just solo the fight because Wraith has high-accuracy status. There was some juggling of reviving versus not as his AI changed at different HP levels. Also she didn't just survive because she was somewhat overlevelled (which alone wouldn't have been enough), she was also the only person who could half lightning at that point.

[Random Consonant]

... >_>

I just roll with what the bot and my feverish imagination give me.

[Tide]

KH BSS: Done. Finished Ventus' story, then went back and finished the final chapter. This was a really sad ending . But oh well, the game is fun while it lasted. It's really short, so it's quite possible to finish it in a day if you wanted to. But it's also easy to get burnt out playing the same thing three times essentially. Rating still stands at a 8/10 I think.