(Chapters 5 & 6 thread) Landfills Galore and the Infinite Forest Adventure

[Dignified Pauper]

SPOILERS!

Hope Dies. Just kidding. You now have Eidolons... How do you feel? Also, did you like the big landfill?

[Loony BoB]

Won't read anything in this thread just yet but be careful not to give away anything about the storyline in the thread, such as when you get Eidolons. :p To be fair, it doesn't give anything about the story away, but I'm just gonna play it safe for now for the sake of newbies.

[Dignified Pauper]

you're just being silly :-p

Bulbasaur Fight is tough.

[Madame Adequate]

Wtf is up with that pronounciation?

Eye-DOH-lons? And not EYE-duh-lons?

We're not at chapter 5 yet afaik because chapter 4 is ballllssss long.

[Dignified Pauper]

That frocobo is TOO damn cute.

[Sephiroth]

Hmph...chapter 4 was very hard when I got the japanese version. Now it was way easier. Time to continue with chapter 5 and the giant Bulbasaur boss of the Gapra Forest.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

Just started Chapter 6!

Is it me or is Hope sometimes like a little puppy dog? Just looking for some love and approval? I imagine that if he had a tail that every time Lightening is nice to him, it would wag.

So far Hope is like the best Ravager ever. At least he learns the -ra spells sooner than Vanille!

Also, am I the only one more or less maxing out the Crystal-whatchamacallit before the end of the chapter? Cuz that's what happened during 5.

Also, I love that everyone, even if they are not active, gets CP!

[Rye]

Hope is so cute. I usually hate any kind of whiny character, but goddamn, the poor boy's life is :bou::bou::bou::bou:! First he gets chosen for lol genocide, and then he gets involved into stuff he didn't want to be involved in, made into a L'cie, and everyone is a jerk to him and leaves him behind until around this point in the game. If any of us soft forum-folk were in his shoes, I bet we'd all be much whinier.

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

If I were in his shoes, I'd hole my Eidolion was Leviathan! :D

But yeah, his character really matures throughout these two chapters which is a good segue into Chapter 7.

I am having a hard time deciding between him or Vanille as my favourite "mage".

[NeoCracker]

I'm surprised I don't mind Hope. Realy, really surprised.

On that note, there is only one thing that is bothering the ever loving hell out of me.

Hope: What side are you on?
Lighting: The side of Truth!

That line is just, beyond bad. Like, not even funny bad. Just plain fucking terrible.

But it isn't holding the game back. And so far Lightning is my least favorite character, though I don't hate her.

[Psychotic]

Finally graduated to this thread. God damn, "Landfills Galore" is right. Final Fantasy: TOXIC WASTE EDITION.

At least this crystal forest thing I am in now looks nice.

[Rye]

You'll be in there for AGES.

It's fun though.

[Psychotic]

Having those lights to mark your progress is hella useful. I wish Lightning would stfu though.

[Dignified Pauper]

Yeah, Lightning is annoying in that area. However, you'll appreciate all of the beauty. Chapter 6 is kinda short, if I remember right.

[Psychotic]

Just fought the boss of Chapter 5. Odin didn't really give as much of a kick as I had wanted, but then maybe I should've used him as a mid-to-late battle weapon rather than my opening gambit. :shobon:

EDIT: Holy fuck the view when you leave the infinite forest is gorgeous.

[Dignified Pauper]

Isn't it though?! So, you're at chapter 7 then? Get ready, Chapter 7 is LOOOONG!

[Psychotic]

6. I'm in the green forest as opposed to the blue one!

[Dignified Pauper]

6. I'm in the green forest as opposed to the blue one!

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note: YouTube - Cockatiel sings Theme of Chocobo(Final Fantasy) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d81qFaoe010&feature=related)

[Psychotic]

I hope I'm not the only one who, when told "You are took weak to fight this monster, little baby!" charged headlong into combat.

[Dignified Pauper]

I did too... They are surprisingly easy if you hit them from behind, stagger them, and debuff them... Otherwise, they suck.

[Rye]

BULBA.

[Dignified Pauper]

That boss was awful... I BARELY BEAT HIM.

[Madame Adequate]

Thanks to my expert advice following my ignominious defeat, plus her retardedly fast paradigm change reactions, Rye just did Bulbasaur in without even using Odin :shobon: 7:34, but that's still only 3 stars :(

[Rye]

Dajh is the cutest kid ever! He and the frocobo are pals.

EDIT: 5 stars on the scalebeast on the first shot. Heh. /smug

[Psychotic]

I beat Bulbasaur first time, but Johnny and Jenny the wonder twins have done me in a few times now.

[Madame Adequate]

The twins? First try, five stars. :smug:

[Raistlin]

The boss at the end of chapter 5 was intense.


Just fought the boss of Chapter 5. Odin didn't really give as much of a kick as I had wanted, but then maybe I should've used him as a mid-to-late battle weapon rather than my opening gambit.

I used Odin after my first Stagger to give myself a bit of a rest. Odin still didn't do a whole lot of damage, but it was good if only as some damage while acting as a break from the constant Paradigm switching trying to Stagger the damn thing.

[Raistlin]

I finished chapter 6. There was really no point to the last good chunk of game except to wander around between flashbacks and fight the occasional random boss completely unrelated to the plot. I guess I was wrong about being past the exposition phase. :p

[Shlup]

o hey guys whuts goin on in this thred?

Hope is my fave, btw.

ETA: lol bulbasaur I get it, guys, I get jokes

[Rodney]

That boss was awful... I BARELY BEAT HIM.

Me, too. How did you all do that so easily?! I kept using Ruin and Attack from Lightning and let Hope cast whatever magic he could until he reached his Stagger status, then got in all the hits I could until I had to build it up again.

[Shlup]

I dunno, I didn't have any trouble. Try spending more time in duel casting; I started out in relentless attack to slow down the stagger droppage but then pommeling a boss with two Ravegers does some crazy damage. Don't forget to use Libra so your people automatically use the most effective attacks.

I didn't even use Odin. I had used him earlier for fun and hadn't built enough TP back up. xP

[Chloe.]

Yeah that boss was kinda tough, still did it first try though, without using Odin. ;)

I'm still really enjoying the game, I've just got into the green forest place, it looks gorgeous. :}

[Lightening]

Also, I love that everyone, even if they are not active, gets CP!

Yes, that is so awesome. I haven't been Snow in ages so he must have toooons of CP by now.

I'm in chapter 6 now, in the big green forest thingy.

[Psychotic]

Yeah, when you get Snow back you have about 12,000+! CP to distribute. It's pretty awesome.

[Chloe.]

I haven't been Snow in ages so he must have toooons of CP by now.

Yeah I was thinking that earlier, looking forward to using it all! :p

[Lightening]

Vanille is finally starting to become interesting!

I especially loved it when at the train station she ran into the rain to cover up that she was crying, such a nice touch.

[Shlup]

I love the CP thing. It used to suck so much to be playing a set of characters and level up a bunch, then get sent to another and they're all low and you gotta catch 'em up.

ETA: Aww, bye bye pretty forest and lulzy frocobo datalog. Those were short.

[Freya]

I'm near the end of chapter 5 but had to stop. Hope's character is looking up now though.

[Raistlin]

Hope definitely gets better and much less whiny.

[arcanedude34]

I was browsing the shops and noticed the name of one of them was B&W Outfitters... Biggs and Wedge?

[Psychotic]

Ooh, nice catch.

[Chloe.]

Yeah, when you get Snow back you have about 12,000+! CP to distribute. It's pretty awesome.

So true, I just got him back and he has 13,546 CP! :}

[Moon Rabbits]

I'm in the green forest-y area just after Sahz reveals that Dajh is a l'Cie.

I hope the story picks up a bit more soon :(

[Shlup]

I thought that was it picking up. Or at least the start of it really picking up, I guess.

[demondude]

Dajh? I thought it was Dodge, and that's much cuter. :(

[Drift]

any tips on those scale-y things when the game tells you not to fight them?

[VeloZer0]

I didn't find them hard at all, they just take forever. Be sure to use Libra on the first one, I think they have an elemental weakness. Also be sure to buff/debuff right at the start before you start desperately filling the chain gauge, it is a long fight so it is worth it.

They don't do that much damage, but you won't be able to inflict any serious damage on them unless you stagger them. This usually takes a few minutes, and will most likely take two staggers to kill, so getting Initiative can be the difference between a 5 and 10 minute fight. (I don't remember how long exactly).

[Dignified Pauper]

also, use deceptisols or sneak up from behind and then they are cake.

[Freya]

I'm right after the whole Sahz thing cutscene thing. I haven't been able to play it as much as everyone else with their marathon gaming but i'm in no rush. I just got to the weather things but had to stop there. It's fun but I'm just not that compelled to make marathons out of the game.

[Del Murder]

I'm right after the whole Sahz thing cutscene thing. I haven't been able to play it as much as everyone else with their marathon gaming but i'm in no rush. I just got to the weather things but had to stop there. It's fun but I'm just not that compelled to make marathons out of the game.
Same here. I don't like blowing through the game because then it's over too quickly.

Bulbasaur wasn't that hard but I died once because I stopped paying attention to Lightning's HP for a few seconds.

The porcupines weren't that hard, they just take a while. I only killed one for the datalog entry because the rewards for the time invested aren't worth it.

[sr5punk]

best place to farm for cp and little items is the beginning of chapter 5 the gapra whitewood with the leeches. real quick battles, 104 cp and gummy oil drops. knocking out the cp real quick!

[eestlinc]

am I the only one who keeps getting crushed by the two giant boss things, Enki and Enlil?

[Crowseye]

I got owned by the two boss guys the first time.

Enlil has some uber Raging Tempest attack that can wipe you (Enlil is Lightning-strong, Water-weak, and Enki is the opposite I believe). I think it's possible to kill him before he gets it off if you're fast enough. Anyway, you may want to use Spark Rings to help mitigate some of the damage.

After you're buffed with Sazh as a Synergist, seems best to just focus entirely on Enlil with Commando+Ravager and Ravager+Ravager until he's dead (and keeping your party's HP from getting too low by switching Vanille to a Medic temporarily of course).

Make sure you use Libra (or a Librascope, which is Libra on all enemies) so the AI knows what abilities to use for each Paradigm role. I believe Enlil has a weakness to poison so you might want to try having Vanille apply it on him as a Saboteur early in the fight while Sazh is buffing as a Synergist. You can try throwing on Deshell and Deprotect also -- a Saboteur has a similar effect on the Stagger bar as a Commando, but without nearly as much damage -- but don't waste the whole fight trying to do it if they don't stick (which is what happened to me the first time).

And as with many difficult enemies, getting Staggers and killing quickly is a key to winning -- the longer something lives, the much worse off you're going to be.

----

Anyway, I felt the story started to drag a bit in these chapters. We get a bit more character insight and some backstory, which is certainly nice, but the main storyline is still stalled until we get to Palumpolum and Nautilus. A couple of hours of exposition is kinda meh, particularly when you're being forced to fight with two unchangeable two-person parties.

I get the whole formula where you draw the audience in with an exciting introduction, then take a break which you use to introduce the characters more intimately, but following Chapter 4 this just seemed to take a bit too long for what we got IMO.

I'm also getting a bad itch to do something other than follow the maps to their end, except that I can't. :( Tried messing around with the upgrade system, but you still don't have enough of the nice base items, components, or cash to do too many cool things with it yet.

[Loony BoB]

I think it's well paced, if only because the length of the game overall is pretty insane.

[Aruu]

Crowseye, thank you so much! I was having so much trouble with those guys.

[eestlinc]

I can hang in for a while against those two but it seems like at some point in every fight, I accidentally heal Sazh when I meant to heal Vanille, and right when I do so, both bosses attack Vanille and I have to start again. Very frustrating.

[Aruu]

That's my problem too, every single time they both team up on Vanille; even if she's healing it gets her killed because they just both relentlessly go for her and not Sazh.

Ahh, frustrating!

[Del Murder]

Unlock her second accessory slot and give her two HP bands. That should keep her alive long enough for her to cure herself.

[Digital Phoenix]

The game is seriously starting to ramp up. About time too. I was losing hope for awhile, but now I'm really loving the battle system. I just think it's ridiculously easy. The giant Bulbasaur boss at the end of chapter 5 was hard as hell at first... I almost took him out without using the Paradigm Shift that causes Hope to cast Protect, Shell, and other defensive spells. I seriously thought I had him, but then he killed me. So close!

Then I used that one Paradigm Shift mechanic I mentioned earlier, and it was an absolute breeze. Everything so far has been ridiculously easy, but it is still fun. The chapter six bosses weren't so great, though.

[finaloblivion]

aaahh...just got out of that terrible smelly garbage heap with light and hope. and now im in some sort of bionic forest. still loving every second of the game...tired of reading bad reader reviews from people who consider FF XI to be one of the best games in the series...and im coming up on...a giant plant thing. :tonberry:

[Shlup]

You got out with light and hope or with Light and Hope? Could go either way. xD

[eestlinc]

Unlock her second accessory slot and give her two HP bands. That should keep her alive long enough for her to cure herself.
Vanille doesn't have the extra accessory ability in her crystarium yet. Sazh does, but not Vanille. I have both of their crystariums maxed out.

edit: so previously I was going after Enki first (the lighting-weak one). I switched to going after Enlil first (the water-weak one) and succeeded on my first try. I didn't do anything else different, except maybe keeping Vanille on Medic more often. Go figure.

edit 2: Accessory shows up in Vanille's crystarium after you win the battle.

[Shoeberto]

I... beat Bulbasaur and the twins first try without much difficulty. Overall I haven't had much difficulty at all in this game, except for a few random enemies that totally gang up on me.

Sazh is breaking my heart.

[Aruu]

edit: so previously I was going after Enki first (the lighting-weak one). I switched to going after Enlil first (the water-weak one) and succeeded on my first try. I didn't do anything else different, except maybe keeping Vanille on Medic more often. Go figure.

That's what I ended up doing, I kept Vanille on Medic for the entire battle, and Sazh as Ravager. I was about to switch her to Ravager too once one of them had died, but it turns out Sazh pretty much owned them both before I could. :D

What's awesome is that I got five stars for it; I was so expecting to have lost loads for not switching roles.

Sazh's backstory is heartbreaking.

[finaloblivion]

lol made it out with hope and light...light and hope...either way, i'm alive. the green forest is so breathtaking, and the weather orbs are a nice touch to the gameplay. so i have a minor concern to those who've finised ch 6...

the chapters are taking 1 to 2 hours on average, and they mostly consist of one dungeon...the story's moving along nicely but im @ ch 7 and thats pretty much halfway as far as chapters go! PLEASE tell me the chapters become longer than this?!?

other than that, i love this game and everything about it. the relationships between the characters and their back stories are so compelling and emotional and quite frankly some of the best that ive seen in a squeenix, or any, game for that matter. kudos to them...after discovering sazh's backstory i just got yanked very hard into seeing how things play out. and ive read the narrative is dissappointing! its one of the strongest things this game has going for it! can i get a woot woot?

[Crop]

I just want to say that I really dislike Vanille and Lightning. I find them both so annoying.
I love the fact that Hope has had some major character development, he got on my tits at first, but even though it's only taken chapter 5&6 to make him grow, it doesn't seem rushed or anything at all.

[Wolf Kanno]

Finished Chapter 5 and starting 6.

I'm grateful Hope is less whiny and more angry and Lightning finally showed real personality for once. Still, this was probably one of the longest chapter for me cause I am not feeling either character. Hope is less obnoxious than before but I feel it will only be a matter of time before he pisses me off again.

The Bulbasaur fight was pretty tough cause the SOB kept going after Hope and lord knows he's fragile. Not that Lightning isn't any better. This chapter really seemed to just drag on with the high point being the flashbacks with Snow and Serah. I don't know what it is but I find their relationship to be quite touching and not the usual corny (I mean its still corny but less so than previous entries) FF melodrama that Squenix tries to pass as decent romance.

The high point of this chapter was unlocking Launch ability for Lightning. The battle system has now reached DMC homage mode. :D

Looking forward to Chapter 6 cause I want some back story on Sahz as well as hopefully make Vanille less annoying and more interesting. I'm just a bit annoyed the plot seems to be gearing up a whole play on the Wakka/Rikku relationship from FFX using Sahz and Vanille.

Editga: Finished Chapter 6 and was pleasantly surprised. The boss battle was pretty easy and I'm definetly loving Poison. I'm very happy that Sahz's back story has more twists to it than I was led to believe. The revelations concerning Vanille in Chapter 7 just makes it even more interesting to see how their journey is going to end.

[Karifean]

I'm currently in the Macalania Woods Impersonator in chapter 5, Lightning took over the lead a while ago. Lol, it's fun to get pre-emptive strike on Behemoths and let Lightning bounce 'em till they die. Leveling up Lightning's weapon to Lv. 10 is... wow. :D
I trained a bit in the beginning of chapter 5, which led to me now collecting CP with Hope and Lightning without being able to spend them... yet. Fortunately, Sazh and Vanille get 'em as well. ;)

I wonder... do you frequently use Odin in battles? Cause I don't, it seems like a waste of MTP and time to me. I'd probably summon him in boss battles, though, but I haven't fought any with Hope'n'Lightning since the end of chapter 4.

Oh, by the way, is it worth leveling up the weapon you get for Lightning in the woods, even if you've leveled the previous weapon to Level 10? Same with Hope's (though his weapon isn't even Level 5).

[Wolf Kanno]

Summons have mostly proven to be a waste of time imo. Their amusing to play with but just using a good Paradigm set up is usually way faster.

[Loony BoB]

From what I've read, there are good times to use summons although I personally never did. I probably would have on occasion if I had thought to - I just kind of forgot about them altogether, to be honest! But the benefits - ie, everyone returns revived and with full health and all status' healed and the enemies are heavily damaged while you're at it - aren't bad at all.

[Raistlin]

I mostly just use them as a break, usually after my first stagger runs out in a long boss fight.

[theundeadhero]

The chapters of character development and backstory.

I really enjoyed these chapters. Hopes development into someone who's more mature made the game more enjoyable, and I liked that, but I find it a bit less realistic. Considering the previous circumstances the way he acted before was exactly what I would expect someone in that situation to be no matter how much it was annoying.

Lightning keeps rocking as always.

Vanille, not much change which isn't bad but the Sazh cutscene that shows her next to her son while he's lost has me really really curious what's up and then with the end of the chapter scene I expect to find out soon.

Sazh is still my favorite. He works his role perfectly. I love the little bluesy music they always play in the background whenever he's the focus point of a cutscene. It works well with him. I was glad to learn some of his backstory. I can't wait to learn more.

The Day X cutscenes really make this game amazing. They really show characters with some depth to them.

The boss at the end of chapter 5 killed me a few times. Then somehow I managed to destroy it in two minutes just after the first stagger. I have no idea how. Laughed pretty hard though when afterwords the crystarium expanded and I had enough CP to max out everyone's roles after the expansion. Then with the character switch I maxed out all their roles.

The chapter six bosses didn't prove too much. Came in using items to up all my stats, with Vanille as a Saboteur and Sazh as a Commando. After a round switched up to Commando - Ravager and the first boss was down before I knew it. Then I switched to Saboteur - Commando for a round to debuff the other and it was right back to Commando - Ravager. I never even needed to switch to Ravager - Ravager, the gauge built up fast and it was over before I knew it. 5 stars. Of course there were the few instances of making Vanille a medic to heal up.

Haven't used any of the Eidolons yet. I never really do.

[Wolf Kanno]

They are not really worth using except for the odd side effect they have of restoring your whole party for free. ;)