Futurama 2013 Season 1 Finals

[Cmdr_King]

Godlike

Reicher (Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy) vs Nadesico (Super Robot Wars J)

Heavy

Brigitte 'Rosie' Starks (Valkyria Chronicles) vs Super Soldier (Wild ARMs 4)

Middle

Kumatora (Mother 3) vs Kloe (Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky)

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3)

[SnowFire]

Brigitte 'Rosie' Starks (Valkyria Chronicles) vs Super Soldier (Wild ARMs 4)
Super Soldier's sword is claimed to be ITD, but 2x swords is barely a OHKO, and Rosie is allegedly above-average durability strictly on HP, so she can survive the instant double turn.  But then Tide's notes say that Blocker works just fine against guns, so uh I guess Grenade is the closest equivalent to Comet Strike.  And Grenade does ~.30 PCHP.  Super Soldier's HP is pretty awful, but that bad?  And...  wtf, yes, it is.  Looking at the damage notes, Super Soldier is effortlessly one-rounded if everything hits and has like .25 PCHP, so somehow Grenade hype takes the day.

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3)
No.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3): This is a pretty excellent fight actually.

-Andre does 41%, which Melody reduces to 26% by my calculations. I'm fairly confident this kills in four hits.
-Melody also does 26%. This might kill Andre in either three or four, I'm not sure. "Dies in two rounds to 4 PCs" just means "somewhere south of 91% durability".
-Fake Ring. Does it work on Melody? WA3 has no blind. As a rule she immunes status but not stat downs. SH definitely treats ring status as the former, but its practical effect is more akin to Illusion, which other WAs would class as the latter.
-They're the same speed. Who goes first?

Basically, there are three judgment calls here: Fake Ring working, Andre tanking three hits, Andre going first. He needs two of the three calls to win. Melody also needs two out of three, therefore. I'm at a bit of a loss. I'll think about which of those calls I'm most comfortable making in one direction, and/or await arguments.

[074]

Heavy

Brigitte 'Rosie' Starks (Valkyria Chronicles) vs Super Soldier (Wild ARMs 4) - Yeah, I'll take the kneejerk there for the most part--except for the question of Blocker--which seems to work akin to evasion in this; no matter how many hits the attack would have--oh, wait.  Flamethrower probably does it, nevermind.

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3) -- Boiling it down to those three calls makes it fairly easy for me to decide; Ring status in SH2 seemed to be a notably different thing from stat modifiers to my recollection--which means Melody wins the status call to me.

Furthermore, same speed only applies to the first turn in Melody's case--a bit of a perk to TB as opposed to ATB/CTB speed to me.  Whereas Andre being below-average speed suffers.  Both get roughly simultaneous turns, I suppose...but then Melody gets more turns sooner.  With those two, clear win for Melody for me.

[SnowFire]

Also for future reference since the match is likely low-votership, MagicFanatic & I theorycrafting some on Kloe vs. Kumatora in chat.  Short version: Probably Kloe, because Kumatora has to block Mute which apparently hoses her speed, and Kloe can block the 2 relevant statuses Kumatora has (M3 Paralysis doesn't stop Kloe's spellcasting.).  Kloe can then Confuse -> Haste -> wait for double-turns while occasionally healing Kumatora's terrible basic physical, and Shadow Spear -> re-apply Confuse.  Maybe.

[01:37] <+MalikCaesar> Also Anna smashing a guitar makes less than zero sense.  That makes a mess you know.
[01:38] <+MagicFanatic> ...Yeah, Kumatora had a good run, but I can't see her winning the finals against Kloe.
[01:39] <+SnowFire> Why not?  Checked the stat topic, and Kumatora has 3 statuses and is very mildly below average speed.  UNless one of those statuses really sucks.
[01:39] <+SnowFire> Kloe loses the speedbreak and only has 2 status blockers.
[01:39] <+SnowFire> And presumably can't Radiant Plash off the remaining status -> Mute.
[01:40] *** CmdrKing sets channel #rpgdl mode +v Basilio-HiggsBosonBlues
[01:41] <+MagicFanatic> Well, I assume that since Kloe has two accessory slots for status blockers, she can just choose to block Hypnosis and Brainshock, and Paralysis doesn't stop spells.
[01:41] *** MalikCaesar quit (Broken pipe)
[01:41] <+SnowFire> Oh, okay, so Mother 3 Paralysis sucks.
[01:41] <+SnowFire> Yeah, that's a Kloe win then.
[01:41] *** MalikCaesar (~talaysen@c-98-213-54-125.hsd1.il.comcast.net) joined
[01:41] *** MalikCaesar changed nick to AliciaFlorence
[01:41] <+MagicFanatic> Earthbound Paralysis is the same way.
[01:41] *** Smasheh quit (Quit: )
[01:42] <+MagicFanatic> Kumatora can block Mute/Forgetfulness through the Boing Ribbon, but that arguably makes her lose the speedbreak instead, and then her biggest chance of winning is getting the knockdown from PK Ground.
[01:43] <AliciaFlorence> CmdrKing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XKMDNuTYSk
[01:43] <AliciaFlorence> Remember the original of that one?
[01:43] <+MagicFanatic> Granted, knockdown from PK Ground is badass and would guarantee Kumatora the win.
[01:45] <+MagicFanatic> ...That match is actually more of a toss-up than I actually gave it credit for.
[01:47] <+MagicFanatic> Kloe 4HKOs with Shadow Spear, while Kumatora 2HKOs with Starstorm, and threatens the knockdown with PK Ground, which is 37.5% of Kloe's HP on the side.  However, can Kloe keep Kumatora confuse-locked?
[01:49] <%CmdrKing> That is irritatingly familiar but I can't place it.
[01:50] <AliciaFlorence> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJwQ_VRJBI
[01:50] <AliciaFlorence> that's because it's also random
[01:50] <+SnowFire> Well, if Kumatora spams damage, as best I can tell she runs out of Starstorms faster than Kloe runs out of healing, because Kloe never runs out of healing unless the match is really weird.
[01:50] <+SnowFire> There's a double hype, perhaps, but Radiant Plash screws that over.
[01:51] <+MagicFanatic> That's the thing, though: Kumatora can spam PK Ground.  If the Knockdown activates on that, that's about 4 turns that Kloe can't act.
[01:51] <+MagicFanatic> And...  I think the percentages are good enough that it'd land on turn 2?
[01:51] <+SnowFire> Yeah, if it's PK Ground vs. Shadow Spear, it's more about which status strikes first.
[01:52] <+MagicFanatic> True.
[01:52] <%CmdrKing> Oh that' slike... one of the building themes in Annie I think?  Although in general Annie is a game that's not super musically memorable.
[01:53] <%CmdrKing> But yeah, that's a lot more random than the other tracks from Volksleid 3.  Replicated Angel for example makes perfect sense.
[01:53] <+SnowFire> SO anyway, yes, if PK Ground is a turn 2 status, then Kloe wins with Mute (if the status blocker is illegal for some reason) or with Confuse hype.
[01:53] <AliciaFlorence> Guild theme.
[01:53] <AliciaFlorence> It's probably the most memorable song in the game.
[01:53] <+SnowFire> Trails Confuse is not really that great a status so I'm not inclined to hype it much, but if it forces Kumatora back to her regular physical, that still fails a lot.
[01:53] <AliciaFlorence> Which says absolutely nothing.
[01:53] <+MagicFanatic> Well, Boing Ribbon is storebought in Saturn Valley, so it's have to be Confuse.
[01:53] <%CmdrKing> (Well, the name Replicated Angel is random, but vocalizing Red Lucifer Rising makes perfect sense.)
[01:54] <+MagicFanatic> However, how long would Confuse last?
[01:54] <AliciaFlorence> Volkslied names aren't supposed to make sense.
[01:54] <+SnowFire> Until she takes damage, IIRC.
[01:55] <+MagicFanatic> So that'd basically be a wasted turn for Kloe unless she can get some badass effect off, since Trails Confuse apparently can't make the victim target themself, and Kloe doesn't have any non-damaging status.
[01:55] <+SnowFire> Kloe can cast Clock Up for Haste and manipulate things such that she only breaks the Confuse when she has a natural double turn coming up.
[01:56] <+SnowFire> (you can see this very easily in Trails, you have a FFX-esque turn gague that shows the next 10 turns ahead or so.)
[01:56] <+MagicFanatic> Point taken.
[01:57] <+SnowFire> Really teh more general concern is that Confuse isn't great in-game for a variety of reasons so I'm meh when it swings a match in the DL, for all that the DL isn't in-game etc.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Godlike

Reicher (Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy) vs Nadesico (Super Robot Wars J) - Guard spamming more or less trivializes Reicher with a vengeance - I'm not sure he breaks through the barrier's damage reduction after it, and even if he -does-, that's nearly 12x PC HP in pdur he has to chew through. Break isn't really helping either.

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3) - My kneejerk is to place PS2 WA stat debuffs as something more potent than SH status. As such, so it goes. Additionally, to Fake Ring's discredit, it's not an effect enemies in general ever have to deal with either, due to the Judgment Ring being a strictly player-geared mechanic with no perceivable in-game equivalent for foes, on an effect whose functioning already relies on a bit of judgment calling. This isn't terribly relevant, but at least feels like it justifies my tiebreak for Melody to a degree.

[Nephrite]

Middle

Kumatora (Mother 3) vs Kloe (Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky) - Bird whacks.

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3) - Giant pussy.

[Luther Lansfeld]

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3) - Giant pussy.

[SnowFire]

Think I'll vote for Andre upon reflection that most of the WA3 boss topics don't include FP gain, which is a good reason to kneejerk against 'em.  (For all that WA3 bosses face much worse healing & items than SH2 bosses do.  Although no chance of repeated ring misses or something.)

Nephrite: If Kloe wins, it's probably not due to bird whacks.  The bird helps in slugfests, but Kloe already wins the slugfest (Kumatora's 2HKO isn't nearly as spammable as Kloe's healing).  Kumatora either wins through status or not at all, so Kloe would rather race with better damage & ID chance from magic than use the bird.  (But even if PK Ground is hyped and Trails confuse is antihyped, eh, Kloe probably 3HKOs with 2xShadow Spear -> Blue Impact, and threatens 20% ID twice, vs. two uses of PK Ground hoping for stun.)

[Nephrite]

I honestly forget Kloe even has spells sometimes.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Kloe's bird had in-battle use?

[Lance]

Light
Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3)

[Nephrite]

Kloe's bird had in-battle use?

That's how she uses Impose!

[Pyro]

Yep. Bird = Stat Downs from hell.

Micaiah should have used Yune like that. ANd the VP mages wish they were that good with pets. Kloe would make a crazy good Pokemon trainer.

[SnowFire]

I assume Elf was making a sarcastic remark about always saving SP for S-Crafts and ignoring the other abilities.  (I pretty much did the same, although sure if Kloe had 150+ SP I'd sometimes bird whack it up.)

[Dark Holy Elf]

Yeah I don't think I ever actually used Impose... (see Snowfire more or less. Though I did use some abilities, such as Estelle's GT move and Joshua's double-hit)

[Pyro]

Impose works on everything excepting the final boss, and makes the target tink. It was worth using. Impose chain substitutes as a super move even.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Making a single target do even less damage than it already does in Trails, literally not worth the time. :p

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

You peoples make it sound like TitS learned its design cues from Grandia. >_>

[Nephrite]

Making a single target do even less damage than it already does in Trails, literally not worth the time. :p

It also increases their damage taken, I think! That's important!

[Cmdr_King]

Godlike

Reicher (Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy) vs Nadesico (Super Robot Wars J)- Feel right.  Wishes his barrier was like Chaos Shield.

Heavy

Brigitte 'Rosie' Starks (Valkyria Chronicles) vs Super Soldier (Wild ARMs 4)- No vote.

Middle

Kumatora (Mother 3) vs Kloe (Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky)- No vote.

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3)- Kneejerk?  I feel like they're similarly durable on raw hp and damage, so barrier is the key difference.  Should probably consider more given WA3 bosses but nah.

[Talaysen]

Godlike

Reicher (Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy) vs Nadesico (Super Robot Wars J)

Heavy

Brigitte 'Rosie' Starks (Valkyria Chronicles) vs Super Soldier (Wild ARMs 4)

Middle

Kumatora (Mother 3) vs Kloe (Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky)

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant) vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3)

[Cmdr_King]

Godlike

Reicher (Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy)- i vs Nadesico (Super Robot Wars J)- ii

Heavy

Brigitte 'Rosie' Starks (Valkyria Chronicles)- ii vs Super Soldier (Wild ARMs 4)

Middle

Kumatora (Mother 3) vs Kloe (Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky)- i

Light

Andre (Shadow Hearts: Covenant)- iiii vs Melody Vilente (Wild ARMs 3)- iii

And that's that.