The Solo Challenge

[Shin Gouken]

Lord... Excellent work and I am happy you got yourself a Demonsbane to make things much easier for you. Going to do a tag team effort with the weapon and the Blood Sword when you get it?

I'm hoping no... because this weekend i'm going to try and defeat another 8 marks which will give me access to the nihopalaoa. I can let that take care of all my status casting needs Unless i can't inflict Sap with it??? It's ready to buy in the bazaar (though it's a bit pricey) Tbh yeah i'll go buy it, it might come in handy with the marks i'll be soon facing.

Vossler was a bit of a pansy. I let a warp mote take care of the 3 imperial swordsmen, got protect up and just hammered away at him. Now i'm just shopping in Rabanastre where i'll save and leave it for tonight, ready to go mark hunting tomorrow.

[Shin Gouken]

As i said i would, ive been mark hunting.

Flowering Cactoid
Not much to say, one hit KO'd.

Wraith
7 hits to kill, a 5 hit combo meant the battle lasted no more than 10 seconds.

Nidhogg
Another win for Blind + Shield + Gauntlets.

Rocktoise
Yet another win for Blind + Shield + Gauntlets.

Enkelados
I tried the Blind approach but it soon cured its blindness and beserked itself. I wasn't taking much damage so rather than spam blind another 5 times to get it to stick i just hacked away.

Wyvern
I equipped the Killer Bow and very slowly chipped away. Aero was its only attack worth noting which hit for a few hundred but nothing a Cura can't handle.

Cluckatrice
The chicks inflicted 0HP damage and the Cluckatrice only hit for 20-30HP so i didn't make a special strategy. This was with Gold armour and protect equipped. Damn chicks liked to jump out of the way of physical attacks =/

Croakadile
Hacked away. Attacked, healed, attacked some more. Not especially difficult in my current position



I didn't deliberatley leave these marks to attempt at higher levels so they would be easier. My main reason not to fight them was because there was little to gain from the battles. But rinsing the first 10 marks out now allows me to buy a Nihopalaoa. The Niho let's me cast all status ailments on a foe simultaneously (kinda like Bad Breath) which is guaranteed to hit with 100% accuracy for it's ability to ignore vitality, so long as i dispel an enemies shell status first and as long as they aren't completley immune. It's something i'd really like to have handy when going against Tiamat and the Elder Wyrm.

So as previously mentioned, i bought gold armour and the nihopalaoa. I also invested in a gold shield, a golden amulet, the spell reverse and a Gilt measure (which i'll explain later why i bought if you can't figure it out ) Unlocking the licence for Niho cost about 300 LP (which i had handy) but i'm attempting to get more now with my newly aquired gold amulet. I'm up a few levels (level 41) not by purposeley levelling but because enemies are giving good EXP and i usually fight whatever i encounter.

No problems in Giza during the rains and no problems on the ozmone plain. The Golmore jungle however is a nightmare. Status ailments being thrown around everywhere in here. Being put to sleep is especially quite annoying when there is no way to protect from it at present. Blind and Silence i can cope with but Slow is also quite annoying. Anyone know when haste becomes available? I'm dying for that spell! Got to do the little viera thing now. The Henne mines hopefully wont be as annoying as the Golmore Jungle...hopefully

[Slothy]

Don't really have any tips or anything to add, but it sounds like you're doing quite well so far. Great job on the demon walls. I'm enjoying reading this thread a lot so keep at it.

[Shin Gouken]

Don't really have any tips or anything to add, but it sounds like you're doing quite well so far. Great job on the demon walls. I'm enjoying reading this thread a lot so keep at it.

Thanks, beating the demon walls was great fun! Elder Wyrm should be interesting, i'll try not to disapoint I'm hoping to go all the way!



Next update, the Henne Mines was a mission to get through. Not especially difficult but i could easily have died if i hadn't of been so cautious. Being gang raped by redmaws and seekers isn't fun, i had to try and lure some away so as not to be surrounded by four at once. I kill the redmaws in two hits but the first hit puts them in critical and they like to a kamikazi type of attack which hits for 400+ damage. The Tryanox have their crushing fangs which hit for 500+. I havn't healed so much at all anywhere in this challenge so far, i'm using a curaga every few minutes.

Tiamat

I honestly didn't think i'd kill him first time, i think i remember him being more difficult Did the usual Protect + Shell prep then started the battle with Niho + Remedy (which you'll see me start most boss battles with from now on) which caught him with Slow and Confuse. I started my assault and simply cured regularly with curaga as his damage numbers added up. Whenever he readied Disablega i just wnt to the menu and popped on my Black Belt for its immunity to from Disable. It was a bit too easy... until he enters critical and things get a bit tense. Had to fight off against his breath attack (which previously had been missing) which was 600HP damage, followed by a 6 hit combo! I survived, cured and sent him on his merry way.


I really am quite pleased with how far ive come. I'm absolutley determined to fight the Elder Wyrm rather than skip through the Feywood to bypass it. I've got some little ideas which i think might help me to pull it off but i can't predict what will happen until ive had a test run. He's got an absolute massive 70,000HP which is a good 50,000 more than the Demon wall and 20,000 more than Tiamat. Mostly it's his status attacks i'm concerned with but like i say, ive got some ideas.

[Shin Gouken]

OK i havn't had an attempt yet but after a quick look at his stats it seems there are some strats i can work with.

The first is Sleep. This would probabley make this battle far too easy. Put him to sleep using Niho + alarm clocks and spam magics... i feel a bit cheap doing this.

The second is reverse. Curaga is a great spell to inflict damage with at this stage in the game, when you consider i don't even have Fira/Thundara/Blizzara yet. It would still be tricky because i don't think i can inflict it using the Nihopalaoa and it's likely to fail alot.

The third is an improved version of the basic strat i'll attempt first. If i should fail with my initial attempt, i can go straight to Mt.Bur Omisace and immediately return with haste and the ira spells, and maybe some better equipment.

I'll attempt him soon and see what happens. If i feel i can do him without any of the above tricks then i'll certainly try to do just that. There's always the option of opening a few lores and gaining a few levels too.

[qwertysaur]

Good luck!

[Shin Gouken]

Good luck!

OOOOOHHHH GUESS WHAT? I DID HIM LEGIT!!


No cheap tricks, just me, my sword and a whole lot of balls



Here's the prep - Unlocked licences Measures1 (for Gilt Measure) and Accessories 6 (for Sash) And that's pretty much it.

I had one alarm clock in my inventory (I hadn't been keeping them because who am i going to wake from sleep ) So i used this with Niho to put him to sleep. Don't worry, i didn't keep him asleep, i merely did this to kill his two Treant companions, when he woke up he stayed sleep free for the rest of the battle I had one hastaga mote i found in the Henne mines so used this (should have done it before the fight started really) then got to work...

At the beginning of the fight, he systematically casts his status ailments. What i do here is simply switch to the accessory which protects from the status he's casting. (Argyle Armlet when he readies Blind, Sash when he readies Slow etc.) Confuse is the one i can't protect from but this is why i have the Gilt Measure. When i'm hit by confuse i equip the Gilt Measure and my confuse status forces me to attack myself with it which knocks me out of confusion with the added bonus of re-casting Protect for me.

Spore was quite easy to recover from. It hits me with Silence, Blind, Oil, Poisen, Sap and Confuse. Here i quickly equipped the Gilt Measure and hit myself out of confusion then quickly use a remedy. Problem solved.

After the initial spamming of his status spells in the beginning of the fight, he pretty much forgets he has them and relies on his basic attack, Rake and Fireball. Fireball is 500HP damage and a Curaga fixes it straight away. His physicals often combo'd but thanks to my shield and gauntlets they often missed. Curaga made healing very easy so as long as i kept protect and shell active, and followed the above tactic with Spore, it was actually a pretty smooth fight with no real problems

Actually... i can't decide if i'm ecstatic for my victory or a little disappointed i beat him so quickly. There isn't a boss now until the stillshrine of miriam so maybe i'll attempt some of the trickier marks which are available in the meantime just so things don't get a little dull.

[Shin Gouken]

There was little reason to hang around in the Paramina Rift so i headed straight to Mt.Bur Omisace. Invested in a Storm Spear, Shielded Armour and a Nishijin Belt. Watched lots of fun cutscenes

I went to the Stilshrine just to hit the Red Gate Crystal.

I don't like being low on Gil and LP so i equipped my Golden Amulet and popped off to chain some monsters. I chose the Ozmone Plain for this because i didn't want to over level. Also the Zaghnals are easy to chain and give 2LP (4LP with *Golden Amulet equipped) Gained a couple of levels and lots of LP (don't remember exactly) and headed back to the Stilshrine of Miriam.


Dungeons and monsters are proving to be a bigger challenge than most bosses at the moment. Here, i'm forced to equip the Dawn Shard which reduces my MP to zero. Some monsters (Dragon Aevis) were able to quickly get the upper hand and it didn't look good for me for a minute there.

I didn't invest in Float when i had the opportunity. I thought i could simply run around traps. But there's a trap which triggers as soon as you enter the area if you don't have float active and it hits with Beserk and Confuse. At that exact moment i'm attacked by a rare game (Matriarch Bomb) i was able to kill it in my beserked state but had to sit and wait for beserk to wear off before i could move.

Also bumped into Negalumuur. Pretty tough cookie this one. I didn't want to be surrounded by his undead minions so i killed them as soon as he summoned them. Except he summons a new undead as soon as i kill the existing one (They take 3-4 hits) and only just sneak in a hit on Neg before continuing to fight his minions. So i quickly find i'm going to slowly lose as i need to stop and heal, recast my buffs etc. Long story short, i got haste in after killing one undead, then healed after killing the next, then focused my full wrath on Neg with no regard for my own safety. Got him, and cleaned up the remaining undead after. Phew, was worth the 14LP plus any i git for his friends.


Vinuskar

I kinda walked in on this guy by accident so had no set up. Fortunatley the battle starts with him stood at the opposite end of a very long room, so i could cast Shell and Haste before he could cross the room to reach me. Despite the magnetic field, i didn't adjust my set-up, i was only about 25% slower than i would be without any metallic items equipped so i see no reason to sacrafice attack power and defense. He tried to cast Slow on me but i switched my accessory to the Sash to save me. Took plenty of damage but High potions work great here because they have no charge time and work as more or less as soon as you use them (and i skip the lengthy delay time they suffer from) Interesting battle but not too difficult.


Mateus


This was a bit better. He has 5 Azers supporting him (Like ice elemantals) and as soon as the battle starts they all cast Blizzard on you! The damage REALLY adds up being outnumbered 6 to 1. Luckily, i had a plan! Remember the Storm Spear i bought in Mt.Bur Omisace... well this is why i bought it. It's only 5 less attack power than my trusty Demonsbane but it's imbued with the element of thunder so double damage on everything in here The Azers still take a few hits each but as each on dies my chances of survival increases a bit. Got caught off gaurd when something hit me with a sleep spell... oops. Got hit and woke up and then equipped the Nishijin Belt for the duration of the battle. Blizzaja hurts as well as another quite strong ice attack he frequently used, but with the Azers down it was nothing i couldn't Curaga off.



What to do next... i think i'm headed back to Mt.Bur Omisace for a Judge fight. After that i'll look at any sidequests and hunts ive overlooked. My Demonsbane has saved me on many occasions now but it's heading toward the end of its usage as enemies get stronger. Will have to look at what other weapons can be aquired.

I'm not sure if i'll be able to get the Zodiac Spear early. Running through the Necrohol requires a full reserve team because being KO'd is certain.


EDIT:

Just so you know where i stand...


Level: 47
HP: 2777
Unspent LP: 632
Gil: 57715
Holding: Demonsbane, Shielded Armour, Lambent Hat, Golden Amulet

*EDIT: Not sure why i wrote diamond armlet there. Oops i fixed it to golden amulet

[qwertysaur]

Are you going to try getting any of the optional espers?

[Shin Gouken]

Are you going to try getting any of the optional espers?

Yep, well... i'm at least going to try. I considered heading straight back into the stilshrine to fight Zeromus but it's not going to happen on my current level. Zalera uses instant death attacks which there is no 100% protection from so it's unlikely i'll be able to defeat him. Zodiark too begins the battle with and periodically casts instant death so again this one likely isn't possible Would it have killed SE to include an accessory with instant death protection!


Judge Bergan

I cast Haste and Protect while outside Mt.Bur Omisace ready for the battle. When the battle starts, there are three judges behind you and Bergan about a mile and a half away! I was able to kill two of the judges before he could reach me and the third quickly after. He was possibley susceptible to a status ailment or two but i didn't need any extra support because he wasn't that tough. He's quite slow to attack but counter-attacks 80% of the time, so if i need to heal i stop my assault and he more or less stops his. Basically the battle consisted of 3 attacks - heal - 3 attacks - heal etc etc

A few bits and pieces next...

I accepted half a dozen hunts and spoke to the petitioners so i'm ready to go hunting for them.

Completed the Dalmascan patient sidequest to aquire the Barheim passage key.

Trekked to the Mosphoran Highwaste to activate the gate crystal and stock up on supplies. I indulged in the Technick 1000 Needles, an Icebrand, an Adamant Hat, Adamant Armour, Diamond Helm, Diamond Armour and a Diamond Shield.

But shin you ask, why did you buy Adamant Armour AND Diamond Armour? Why an Adamant Hat AND Diamond Helm? Well, i don't want to spoil the fun by telling you what i'm going to do before i do it so if you havn't guessed then you'll have to wait and see

Here's the best thing ive done today. Remember how i said my trusty demonsbane was nearing the end of its usage and that i would have to try and find another rare powerful weapon to replace it? Well i did just that! Having access to the Barheim Passage gives me the ability to find a rare game called Ithuno. It's not an easy rare game to beat but after i blind and silence it (Niho ftw) i'm able to comfortably steal from it for a good 20minutes before it gives up its almighty Deathbringer!

I have to mention how over powered i think i'm getting (though to be fair the basic monsters easily give me trouble in some places and some nice bosses are waiting ahead for me) My Diamond Helm increased my attack stat by 7, the Diamond Armour increased it by 2 and the Deathbringer takes it up by a giant 31. So ive had an increase in attack power by 40... it was only on 50 so its not far off doubled what it was. Not too bad for a days work ^_^

Lots of progress over the weekend, i'll probabley slow down during the week and hit up these marks ive neglected. And if i'm feeling frisky i might take a look at what espers are available (One in the Garamsythe Waterway and another in Zertinan Caverns spring to mind)

[qwertysaur]

Zaleras instant death spell is prime level death so you can avoid that by being at the correct level. I think that's his only ability that causes instant death. Zodiark will take extreme amounts of luck to defeat though

[Shin Gouken]

Zaleras instant death spell is prime level death so you can avoid that by being at the correct level. I think that's his only ability that causes instant death. Zodiark will take extreme amounts of luck to defeat though

I believed you... but checked anyway i'm afraid he does have an instant death spell called "Kill". I know any status spell must fight through your Vitality and Shell gives you an instant 50% chance of status spells failing... but it doesn't apply here because he ignores Vitality

But don't worry, i'll still give it a shot! He's susceptable to Slow, Poisen and Blind (Although i'm not too sure how useful they'd be) Catch him with Niho + Remedy, Dispel his status and fire a fully powered Dark Matter which will pinch 60,000HP, leaving him with just 12,000HP. Hopefully if Shell can save me from his Kill attack then i might be able to sneak in a victory.


Gil Snapper

I don't have Dispel yet and I don't fancy fighting him with Haste, Protect and Shell so i wait them out before approaching him. He doesn't have the ability to cast them so i see no reason to approach him until they wear off. Niho + Echo herbs Silences him, however he uses Purify as i'm readying Eye drops for the Blind. I thought about not bothering to re-silence him but his magics sting so i figured if i have to repeatedly spam Echo herbs at him for the duration of the fight and sneak in attacks between then i'd do just that... except he didn't use Purify again and just stayed silenced ^_^ He's got a massive 82,000HP so it was a fairly longish fight. He rarely hit me through Blind so i just slowly chipped away at him. When he hit critical HP my physical attacks were only just hitting over 500HP damage so i moved on to using 1000 Needles for 1000HP damage


Ring Wyrm

This guy had an even more impressive 128,000HP so this battle lasted a fair old while. I'm afraid to say i took the easy route with him again though. Niho + Eye Drops for Blind and began hacking. Whenever he readied Blind or Immobilisaga i simply equipped the accessory to protect myself from it. For the entire fight i only took damage from one Breath attack, everything else failed or missed... was awesome


Earth Tyrant

Initiating this boss is tedious. Run here, talk to him, go find someone else, talk to them, go find someone else and talk to them, go find hidden item, come back talk to people then go back to the Westersand to start the boss. zzzzzzzz

I don't want to disappoint anyone but this was another win for Niho + Blind. Chipped away at his 71,000HP without taking a single hit... until he hit critical HP and gained the "Low HP: Ignore Evade" augment. But he was almost dead so i just kept hammering away.


More marks tomorrow ^_^

[Wolf Kanno]

You should start collecting the espers (even if you are not going to use them) cause I am curious to see how you would tackle Cuchulain seeing as how the fight has a permanent sap effect and he has Flan minions.

[Shin Gouken]

You should start collecting the espers (even if you are not going to use them) cause I am curious to see how you would tackle Cuchulain seeing as how the fight has a permanent sap effect and he has Flan minions.

Actually, now that i have access to Bubble and Dispel i'll happily give it a shot. I'll have a test run when i finish work tonight. Hopefully a few warp motes might clean up the Flans and Regan counters Sap. Just had a quick look at his battle profile and he doesn't have any weaknesses to exploit. My guide neglects to list enemies attacks and i can't honestly remember how he likes to behave in combat so i can't predict anything until ive done a test run

[qwertysaur]

Cuchulainn will try to poison and cause sap status on you on top of the field sap status, so you will have to pay very close attention to those, because it builds up very fast. He also likes to use invert which when combined with the field sap is potentially lethal.