Record Keeping Final Fantasy Record Keeper

[Cotigo]

Ran through the collab event. Man the mobile MMO that they're collaborating with looks shitty as hell. Beat the +++ fight, nothing too hard. Tornado Strike looks pretty cool. 2x hit Wind damage, may try to R2 that after Meteo. Cuts into my Major physical orb supply, but since I'm getting R2 Breakdance I dont really need that for much. The major Black orbs are a more convincing reason to not hone it, actually, since that puts R3 Meteo reaaaaaally far out there… though honestly by the time I get the NE orbs for R2, much less R3, i'll have the reqs for the spellblade. We'll see.

On a related note, I'm pretty sure that the number of 5* skills has doubled since they started introducing a new one each week after the Freya event. Power creeeeeeeeeeep.

Cap broke Faris, so I do have someone who can use Steal Power now so that's good.

[Captain K]

So!  I think it's about time I set up a list of my gear again.  Maybe someone can help me figure out what the hell I'm doing.

I see no reason for you to not use Rinoa all the time.  You've got both her SBs.  You've got a strong weapon for her.  And she's the first black mage to get MC2 so she'll be strong for the foreseeable future.

Yshtola is probably your go-to white mage over Eiko.  Granted there are plenty of times when it's justified to run both, so you have that option.  Nothing wrong with having a White Mage on Diaga duty with Protectga in second slot or an extra Curaga for emergencies.  My problem with Eiko is that she's super frail.  Also not sold on bard abilities being terribly useful at this time.

Thancred is deserving of a spot on your team.  Tempo Flurry + Dismissal is an amazing skillset that is useful in like 99% of the battles in the game.  And his SBs are good, so might as well use him.

I personally get by without a Support, and you're not really hurting for mitigation with Yshtola.  Probably better to put a strong physical attacker to use those 6-stars you have.  Bartz can use the Lominsan Bow, Thancred can use the Crystal Glove, Gilgamesh can use errthang else.

[Cotigo]

Yeah if you have Stoneraskin, supports really matter quite a bit less. Support is more of a necessity when you're hurting for every bit of mitigation you can get.

I highly recommend running two WMs, especially if you have relics for them. WM4 is such a versitile skillset that I never regret having more WMs, and Diaga is a really great aja level spell that trades being buffable for starting at 4 charges at R1, and when the 凶 fights show up in global you're almost certainly gonna need to run two healers.  Plus, Eiko and Rinoa synergize pretty well since Eiko can use mana's praen.

I basically agree with the rest of what Captain said though. My party setup is almost always Two fighters, a black mage, and two White Mages, switching up the first three as necessary.

Edit Welp, now there are dual elemental skills. Ok sure.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Why look! A niche for Blue Magic to fill! Aqua Breath hits both Water and Wind IIRC?

Or Summon, since that skillset is getting severely overlooked. And hey, there's even quite a few Summons that do multi-elemental damage. Tritoch, Kjata, Exodus, maybe Magus Sisters counts. Could have something like a Gilgamesh summon that does Magical and Physical damage too?

JP update: My boy just got Squall Burst Soul Break, so there's some definite jealousy there. But I don't think I'm gonna pull on this banner. Just not really worth it since I don't care for most of the characters.

Global update: Decided I'm not gonna pull for Yuna's Lullabye stick. I love Yuna but I can duplicate its effect with Amarant's Aura and Eiko's Emerald Light plus get Shellga and Hastega out of the deal. I -will- pull for Lulu's hairpin because that's a useful mage hat with a great unique soul break plus a chance at a new sword for Tidus, another Blitzball for my Blitzball team, and a lackluster Yuna stick but still decent. Really, the tipping point is that I like Tidus more than Auron Red Tidus and that Swords are more versatile. So I'll just do one 3x Pull on the Second banner and let the first one quietly pass by. I also get a shot at the generic relics from this banner which overall aren't too bad apart from the Thief Dagger? FFX synergy Rod, Bangle, and the Light Armor has a cool shared SB.

Save the rest for Rift of Recollection.

[Cotigo]

Finished the collab event, minus the 凶＋ fight that looks like I want R2 Meteo for it (I am 3 MNeOs away. I can fuckin' taste it. It tastes like cellphone.)

The Normal 凶 event was not particularly hard. Two enemies weak to fire, so I brought out Gilgamesh with Flaming Weeaboo, Ramza with Power/Mag breaks, Zack with Dual Delay/Indoor Spell, mages on heal and buffgas. Contemplated making Firaga Strike but decided against it and it turned out I didn't need it.

凶+ looks like a rehash of the Bahamut SIN fight, only easier (or at the very least for me, doable). Adds that respawn, big damage move based on how many adds are left. Mostly easier because if you attack the adds and they don't die, they have a non-neglible chance of dealing 3k-6k to the big boy, so whittling them down with Ruinga and killing them with Meteo before the big attack goes off seems ideal. Honed Ruinga to R4 for it and will tackle it after Saturday when I'll very possibly have Meteo at R2.

I just now realized that Zack does not have Spellblade 5. Actually, nobody on my A team does, an issue which has not mattered before now. Celes is sadly only L50 so as nice as Tornado strike would be for this fight I'll have to pass. If I'm reaaaally still having trouble, I figured what I'd do is blow my Beginner banner freebie on Bartz' Air Knife (Wind elemental SB baby), pump him full of eggs and run him through the ringer Sunday and whatnot, and swap him for Zack. Bartz is on the levelling team anyway, now that I actually have him, thanks to his pretty little Dualcast Spellblade record materia. So pretty. Wanna get with that materia. Regardless, I'm pretty sure that's what I'm gonna finally use that banner for now. I like bartz well enough and Spellblade is a niche I apparently need filled with some hot blowhard action.

[Veryslightlymad]

This event is negative fun. I can't tell if the monsters are harder because of a complete lack of synergy, (I have NO base equipment from FFIX at 4star or higher) or if power creep is just getting to that point.

Rolled hoping for FFIX equipment, got 10 silver and 1 gold. GG.

Grabbed the characters and memory crystals, tempted to call it a day and tell FFIX to go to hell, just like I did the abortion of a real game. It almost feels poetic.

Amarant has zero levels in Ninja, and this game and its designers are stupid.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

I honestly have -no- idea why you're struggling with FF9 dungeons of all things: the bosses in the main event are among the easiest in the entire game. Beatrix folds to any decent mitigation + Hastega RW. Zorn and Thorn shouldn't ever get turns and Amarant can -not- damage you with Draw Fire + Retaliate. The trash gets handled by Carbuncle + Summoning Spring II at worst - or Shellga + Concentration II, because they're among the rare trash mobs that are heavily magic-inclined.

Also, the -only- Ninja-like ability Amarant has in FF9 is Throw and he gets thrown weapons in FFRK. Covered.

[Veryslightlymad]

I can't deal damage BACK to Amarant with Retaliate.

It's more just the very late/bonus bosses that are just fucking obnoxious bags of HP and defense (and, notably, being unable to bust defenses, Amarant) that just don't grind down.) Any other realm, I can make at least one person a serious damage threat, but I just have nothing. I have Golbez who quickly runs out of spells. Even Cloud is a goddamn weakling. When my best offense is either about 8 shots of 6k from Golbez or... uh.... anemically swinging away with Auron for about 1.4, "Big beefy enemies" are a hell of a lot scarier than even shit like the ludicrous magic damage FFVI monsters, because hey, at least those assholes you can burst down. Or reflect. (And having FFVI gear helps a shit ton. I've finally reached a point where synergy is meaningful)

Zorn and Thorn get turns! They power up their buddy. And then power up their buddy. And then lose their power up.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Honestly, against Amarant, sounds like you'd WIN just by equipping two R4 -gas on Golbez, someone with R2 Faith and Loserface with Draw Fire + Retaliate. I just can't fathom why is this being so troublesome, you only need -one- mage and decently honed 3* abilities. Hell, you could even use Blasting Zone/Blade Beam RWs to speed things up, since he requires -zero- mitigation once Drawtaliate is up.

[Veryslightlymad]

Ooooh. Faith might work. I forgot that even existed. Pound a bunch of eggs into Eiko and give her some damage.

EDIT
This seems like a non-sequitor, but I have Mana's Paean over faith

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Mana's Paean is 15% over Faith's 20% boost to the Magic stat. If you're running that, I'd recommend a second mage - he/she can run a 4* rod - in order to make use of its MT nature. Regardless, I'd recommend having both abilities stashed for eventual needs. You can also equip Golbez with Devotion or Vow of Vengeance (whichever you have) to maximize your spell offense. Heck, if you're running Eiko, hone Requiem, hand her a rod instead of a staff and run Requiem + Mana's Paean. It's not -great-, but it's cheap and should tide you over for Amarant Elite.

EDIT: the game handed me eight Greater Blacks from farming Ultima today. I don't even

[Veryslightlymad]

Nnnnnnope. Easily run out of abilities again.

I could try:

Golbez/Eiko/Rinoa/(Vivi? At some point, I just don't have the mage gear.... He's got the highest Raw and hell, it's his realm, I guess)/Gilgamesh and see if I can burst the fucker down with 4 mages.

EDIT

Maybe level Amarant himself, too, and run him with Pumpkin + Tempo Flurry + Double Strike......

[Meeplelard]

So Edea dropped in Japan and what do they do with her?!

...she's a Lulu Clone.  Black 5*, similar stats in places that matter, I think having less Res and more Attack (LOSING TRADE), and completely one dimensional.  Ok, sure, that works...

...except Rinoa JUST got a Magic Buff and Summon 5*, so they're just adding in a character who has a marginal offensive increase at the cost of much lower bulk, less versatility (no Carbuncle, Dispel, Faith, etc.), and can't even have the "well, better in this realm!" claim as a fallback.  Really should have made her FF8's Sage; at least then she'd seem meaningful (heck, Dispel AND Reflect are two spells often associated with her)

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Nnnnnnope. Easily run out of abilities again.

What -are- your hones anyway? I think I just pinpointed the fundamental problem. Give me a rundown on the ranks of all your relevant abilities.

[Cotigo]

I'm bad

Get gud

I'm still bad

Get gooder

So I've easily had worse luck than all y'all on the fucking draws, haven't donated a goddamn CENT to this game, and am still clearing base events and doing at least + fights, managed last event's ++ fight. So... maybe I have an idea of what I am fucking doing

/zenny

To actually contribute something useful,

nah mate nvm snow literally posted just before I could post.

Hones matter so much it isn't even funny. Even if something is a better skill that a better character could use, if it's R3 (6 charges) vs. R4 (8 charges) on a slightly-worse skill on a slightly-worse character, I'd pick the R4 every time.

[Magic Fanatic]

Seeing as I've already completed all the Classic dungeons so far, I'm gonna try something silly: clearing out all my uncleared Elite stages by game (with exception to Fifth Arc Part 3 getting priority if an Advance RW pops up).

4 3 FF1 Elite Stages left to go.

[Veryslightlymad]

If I have to fucking GRIND to play a game that I play for 15 minutes at a time, I'm going to delete the game.

[Cotigo]

If I have to fucking GRIND to play a game that I play for 15 minutes at a time, I'm going to delete the game.

Yeah, well.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

If I have to fucking GRIND to play a game that I play for 15 minutes at a time, I'm going to delete the game.

Yeah, well.

This said, seriously, it's a skinner box. -Of course- grinding and farming are at the very core of the game.

[Magetastica]

No you don't have to grind. I certainly haven't and I'm doing fine.

The important part is to try and grab the good abilities from the events, to strategize and prioritize what you hone, and to try and have a party focused on what your best equips are. Seriously. R5 Retaliate meta can go a long-ass way when you have a good sword.

I do also want to know what your honed abilities are, though. Mostly for curiosity on what your build path has been.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

He doesn't Retaliate, though. And VSM also skips a rather high amount of content, so he doesn't get a lot of crucial Greater Orbs. It's hard to get by without farming as is, without those venues, the player's more or less SOL if he cares about doing any sort of high-level content.

THIS SAID, VSM's reported levels of struggle border on complete cluelessness at times. It really makes me curious to what kind of setups he attempts, since he already does stuff like refusing to field anyone with WM4 ever.

[Veryslightlymad]

What have I reported struggle with outside of the FFVI high-magic bosses (seriously, OHKO level damage on a 3 part boss) and FFIX, just now?

Stuff I have honed up to 6 uses or more:

Tempo Flurry
Double Strike
Retaliate (yes, actually, retaliate)
Curaga
Most level 2 and level 3 elemental black magic, plus Bioga
Firaga
Waterja
Haste
Reflect
Sleep, Silence, and Dark Buster
Armor Break
3 and 4 star Spellblade stuff.

Equipment I have:

5* (natural)
Blitz Sword (FFVIII)
Gold Sword (FFVII)
Evil-Jack-O-Pumpkin-Lantern,whatever it's called (FFXII? XIII?)
Rune Axe (Golbez unique)
Shimmering Blade (Auron unique)
Adamant Bangle (FFVII armor)
Witch's hat (Event armor. 12 or 13 or whatever)
Circlet (FFVII?)
Nothing else.

4*++
Sledgehammer (FFXII)
Hayate's Bow (FFV)
Hypno Crown (FFV)

Nothing else.

4*+
Defender (Both FFI and FFIV editions)
EDIT: Apparently I also have a Kotetsu, probably from the FFVI event?

Nothing else.

4* Natural:
Black Garb, I think? That's 4* on its own, yeah?
Whatever the White Mage and Black Mage Staff/rods are you get in normal dungeons. Some harp.

Nothing else.

[Magetastica]

Do you have the Double-Hit RM? Or either of the +Atk(Start Sapped) RMs? Because if you grab those, stick Golbez and a WM in your party, and then get 4-6 charges of Dismissal you should be pretty okay. Still hard but should be okay. I know I've certainly done more than my fair share of +/++/+++ fights with the Reta-Meta, and yeah, I honed the fuck out of Retaliate. Just because it's no longer 'in the current meta' doesn't mean it's not in the meta for people who don't have the crazy good SBs.

Oh, and with those set-ups, I'd definitely look at crafting (but not honing) Protectga and Shellga, and amassing a huge wad of Sentinel's Grimoire and Stoneskin RWs to deal with the damage mitigation on any bosses that still fuck you up.

Really, the only things you're missing to pad out your ability roster there are Dismissal/Pound, Protectga, Shellga, and Intimidate. Maybe Boost or something. But you're pretty close to a full Reta setup.

[Veryslightlymad]

I've got a lesser amount of pretty much all of those.

Most of my RMs fall into one of three categories:

Mitigation:
Stoneskin II, Sentinel's, Boon, Lunatic High

Defense breaking:
Deprotega, Status Reels

Hymn of the Fayth:
.....hymn...of the fayth.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Do you have Concentration II and Mana Spring II? Devotion? Looking at your hones and equipment (R3 Bioga and Waterja/Firaja), you seriously shouldn't be skipping content at all. Only thing you seem to be missing beyond Protectga and Shellga, which are both inexcusable, is the Breakdowns, which are a huge step up from Breaks (and are -useful- against Break resistance, unlike breaks), but those you can leave at R2 for a while, prioritizing Magic Breakdown. Power Breakdown somewhat depends on whether you run a Thief or not, Mental vs. Armor depends on whether you run more physicals or magic (I left Armor Breakdown at R1 and haven't used it since Selphie/Quistis, while I have both Magic and Mental Breakdown at R4. Power Breakdown is R3, Steal Power is R2).