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United States47024 Posts
On September 06 2015 02:15 Sufficiency wrote:
Also, again, it's a single player game: balance is not an issue. Also keep in mind that the "lesser races" are not that bad because Nu Mou and Bangaa can both get Ultima + Half MP, while Moogles are Moogles.
Moogles don't even count as one of the lesser races, IMO. Their function is strictly supportive, but even on an "optimal" team they have a place.
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On September 06 2015 02:17 Alaric wrote:It's more about how Mediator lets you manipulate a lot of stuff once you get a battle down to the last man and either disarm him, perma-sleep him, or something while your mediators run around adjusting your party's stats.  Oh, yeah, elevation rule of thumb: bows and crossbows and stuff lose/gain one range per difference in tile elevation between the shooting tile and targeted tile. Guns are LoS, and I didn't have an issue with these, even with the camera.
Imagine your archer is on a hill. Below the hill, the landscape is jagged and uneven. There is also the issue with minimum range. Good luck predicting your range after you move.
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On September 06 2015 02:17 TheYango wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2015 02:15 Sufficiency wrote:
Also, again, it's a single player game: balance is not an issue. Also keep in mind that the "lesser races" are not that bad because Nu Mou and Bangaa can both get Ultima + Half MP, while Moogles are Moogles.
Moogles don't even count as one of the lesser races, IMO. Their function is strictly supportive, but even on an "optimal" team they have a place.
I agree. But for some reason I thought he was only referring to Humes and Vieras being good.
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Man guys, Smite is so fun right now. I would honestly recommend everyone give it a couple games as it's free.
Except Xing Tian is like super bullshit OP, everyone else is pretty good right now.
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Uh... well, fuck. I edited my previous post with a bunch of stuff.
Overall, my issue is that as soon as I unlock Red Mage for Viera I can make all fights where I have access to Vieras trivial, I never get challenged except for some bosses, and the way you're restricted power-wise because you haven't yet gotten to that random subquest that'll unlock you the item for the next ability is annoying.
The AI is very weak in general because is takes it ages to even start using the "+" version of the elemental spells, and I don't remember if they even use the "X" version.
I hoped to have cool fights where I'd maneuver around, try to use the terrain for protection or line of sight, get to setup Reaction/Support skills to shape a fight or get forced to adapt, have enemies with strong abilities that I have to play around and generally have to think about what I do.
Apart from a few (one of them was because the enemy has a bunch of nukers and the map is a thin line so you can't flank and have to walk in range and get hit first), I felt like I could always just steamroll past a point. No tricks, no real positioning (apart from "don't show your back", etc.).
I'll give you that FFT not letting you preview the battlfield is dumb, since you can start the fight, see what the enemy has, then load your save and choose your team, anyway.
But against Steal Heart, for example, you can choose some heavy nukers/ranged weapon characters to snipe or disable the enemies using it before they get in range (since it's short-ranged), and use the terrain (roofs, etc.) to buy time.
As for not knowing when you'll act when you cast, there's normally a button letting you know where you'll be in the turn order when you select a spell (with a list of who acts when). Did they remove it for PSP? I know it's there for PS, I used it.
Edit: oh, right! Moogles have access to Time Mages and Viera/Humans don't, right. I'll give you that, Moogles are better than I remembered.
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I feel like getting on FFT and saying FFTA is better over UI optimization concerns is a little unfair.
I mean, FFT was made first. Of course FFTA is going to have a better interface.
It's like going from Mass Effect 2 to ME1 and then being like WOW ME2 IS SO MUCH SMOOTHER WHAT WERE THEY THINKING.
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On September 06 2015 02:16 Sufficiency wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2015 02:01 phyvo wrote:On September 06 2015 00:49 Sufficiency wrote:On September 06 2015 00:43 phyvo wrote:
Wow, I'm like the opposite. I haaaated the FFTAs when I tried them out, but I loved the first FFT. I loved FFT so much that I literally grinded the game to level 60-70 just because grinding was *fun*. Initially the story was pretty good but later it more or less fell off a cliff and I didn't care about it any more, I only finished it on a whim. I think FFTA2 is a lot better, actually. The game is a lot more polished there are a lot of interesting side quests. Magick Frenzy and Blood Price are problematic, but they are not necessities and you still have to deal with Laws like "Actions by Humes/Viera/Targeting an Area". I guess I could give it another shot again. ..also, mediator was the best class because that way you could get monster classes for the funzies. FFTA2 has Blue Mage. You know what to do.
Blue mage doesn't let you catch 'em all pokeymanns style. But that's not why I stopped playing the first time, not every FF game can have pokeymanns in it.
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On September 06 2015 02:34 Alaric wrote:
Uh... well, fuck. I edited my previous post with a bunch of stuff.
Overall, my issue is that as soon as I unlock Red Mage for Viera I can make all fights where I have access to Vieras trivial, I never get challenged except for some bosses, and the way you're restricted power-wise because you haven't yet gotten to that random subquest that'll unlock you the item for the next ability is annoying.
The AI is very weak in general because is takes it ages to even start using the "+" version of the elemental spells, and I don't remember if they even use the "X" version.
I hoped to have cool fights where I'd maneuver around, try to use the terrain for protection or line of sight, get to setup Reaction/Support skills to shape a fight or get forced to adapt, have enemies with strong abilities that I have to play around and generally have to think about what I do.
Apart from a few (one of them was because the enemy has a bunch of nukers and the map is a thin line so you can't flank and have to walk in range and get hit first), I felt like I could always just steamroll past a point. No tricks, no real positioning (apart from "don't show your back", etc.).
I'll give you that FFT not letting you preview the battlfield is dumb, since you can start the fight, see what the enemy has, then load your save and choose your team, anyway.
But against Steal Heart, for example, you can choose some heavy nukers/ranged weapon characters to snipe or disable the enemies using it before they get in range (since it's short-ranged), and use the terrain (roofs, etc.) to buy time.
As for not knowing when you'll act when you cast, there's normally a button letting you know where you'll be in the turn order when you select a spell (with a list of who acts when). Did they remove it for PSP? I know it's there for PS, I used it.
Edit: oh, right! Moogles have access to Time Mages and Viera/Humans don't, right. I'll give you that, Moogles are better than I remembered.
Moogles strength mostly comes from Smile - enable an ally to act immediately but does not cost mana (Quicken). Time Magick on the second tab is definitely recommended.
Viera in FFTA isn't as powerful as you think. They are still limited by mana and Doublecast won't come in until very late. Then there are Laws which will force you to build a more versatile team than just Vieras.
Although if you complain about Vieras in FFTA you clearly haven't played FFTA2 before
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On September 06 2015 02:37 Ketara wrote:
I feel like getting on FFT and saying FFTA is better over UI optimization concerns is a little unfair.
I mean, FFT was made first. Of course FFTA is going to have a better interface.
It's like going from Mass Effect 2 to ME1 and then being like WOW ME2 IS SO MUCH SMOOTHER WHAT WERE THEY THINKING.
The problem is that FFT was made in 1997 and Square already had tons of experience making functional yet simple UI - all the Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger, for example.
The biggest problem I see, however, is that FFT tried too hard to make a 3D game using the new Playstation system. I don't think anyone would have cared if it was 2D like Fire Emblem. FFTA/A2 has an isometric view that is a lot cleaner - on handheld systems which theoretically have lower resolution / processing power.
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United States47024 Posts
Moogles actually have a bunch of potential supportive uses, not just Quicken/Smile.
Stopshot is probably one of the most reliable ways to apply the Stop status in the game (better range than pretty much all alternatives).
Really the most broken ability in FFTA is Concentrate. Pretty much any ability set with something that can abuse ludicrous accuracy increases is strong with it, and Moogle/Human/Viera are the 'best" races in FFTA solely because they have access to it. Doublecast isn't special in this regard and is more annoying to grind out than any of the alternatives.
On September 06 2015 02:40 phyvo wrote:
Blue mage doesn't let you catch 'em all pokeymanns style. But that's not why I stopped playing the first time, not every FF game can have pokeymanns in it.
Sufficiency doesn't like capturing in Thracia 776, so of course he doesn't like catching em all.
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On September 06 2015 02:53 TheYango wrote:Moogles actually have a bunch of potential supportive uses, not just Quicken/Smile. Stopshot is probably one of the most reliable ways to apply the Stop status in the game (better range than pretty much all alternatives). Really the most broken ability in FFTA is Concentrate. Pretty much any ability set with something that can abuse ludicrous accuracy increases is strong with it, and Moogle/Human/Viera are the 'best" races in FFTA solely because they have access to it. Doublecast isn't special in this regard and is more annoying to grind out than any of the alternatives. Show nested quote +On September 06 2015 02:40 phyvo wrote:
Blue mage doesn't let you catch 'em all pokeymanns style. But that's not why I stopped playing the first time, not every FF game can have pokeymanns in it. Sufficiency doesn't like capturing in Thracia 776, so of course he doesn't like catching em all.
If I recall correctly, Concentration doesn't make you have 100% accuracy on 1HKO/Addle moves (it's like 80%). It's interesting, but I think Doublecast + Summon is stronger for Viera.
As far as Capture from Thracia is concerned, the problem mostly has to do with the low success rate / accuracy. It feels like a very tall task unless I abuse save states.
In FFTA/A2 you can charm the monsters for a guaranteed Blue Magic capture.
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Haven't touched FFTA2, and I never cared about the laws because the game shits out cards to let you get rid of the most annoying ones. Prison felt like a gimmick more than something you play with too. 
Red Mage is good because it has sleep, not double cast (which you acquires late if you don't get Eldena). I unlock it and elementalist, then use the status effects to immediatly solo some missions 1v4. It takes time though, I only did it to show how ridiculous the system is.
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United States47024 Posts
On September 06 2015 02:59 Sufficiency wrote:
If I recall correctly, Concentration doesn't make you have 100% accuracy on 1HKO/Addle moves (it's like 80%). It's interesting, but I think Doublecast + Summon is stronger for Viera.
It doesn't need to. Viera skillset gets sufficiently powerful non-OHKO moves (Ultima Masher on Assassin) that you still kill 1 guy per character per round. Doublecast+Summons eats up more ability slots to do the same thing and requires you grind more (you want all character level-ups to be Assassin anyway, so it's significantly less cumbersome to level Assassin abilities than non-Assassin abilities).
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On September 06 2015 03:02 Alaric wrote:Haven't touched FFTA2, and I never cared about the laws because the game shits out cards to let you get rid of the most annoying ones. Prison felt like a gimmick more than something you play with too. Red Mage is good because it has sleep, not double cast (which you acquires late if you don't get Eldena). I unlock it and elementalist, then use the status effects to immediatly solo some missions 1v4. It takes time though, I only did it to show how ridiculous the system is.
Law System in A2 is vastly superior:
Good parts:
1. You no longer go to jail / lose stats / etc. But you do lose your bonuses for the stage and fallen characters can't be revived until the stage is over.
2. You choose a Law bonus when you start the stage (obviously you use it if you break the law). You get a loot bonus if you finish without breaking Laws.
3. You can no longer bypass Laws with cards. Which was totally stupid.
4. You must obey laws to complete Clan Trials.
5. Certain stages have fixed laws.
Bad parts:
1. Bad laws: Harm Male/Female/Specific Race, Get Robbed, Group/Solitude/Not Moving/other movement Laws.
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United States47024 Posts
FFTA was infinitely more enjoyable with the no-laws romhack, but it also made the game stupid, lol.
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On September 06 2015 03:09 TheYango wrote:Show nested quote +On September 06 2015 02:59 Sufficiency wrote:
If I recall correctly, Concentration doesn't make you have 100% accuracy on 1HKO/Addle moves (it's like 80%). It's interesting, but I think Doublecast + Summon is stronger for Viera. It doesn't need to. Viera skillset gets sufficiently powerful non-OHKO moves (Ultima Masher on Assassin) that you still kill 1 guy per character per round. Doublecast+Summons eats up more ability slots to do the same thing and requires you grind more (you want all character level-ups to be Assassin anyway, so it's significantly less cumbersome to level Assassin abilities than non-Assassin abilities).
You need half MP if you want to run an Ultima set. Also accuracy isn't really that big of a problem if you are running Ultima. Concentration is mostly for status moves.
Doublecast doesn't really eat slots. Doublecast is an A-ability in Red Magick which is pretty useful by itself. You can still carry an R- and P-ability - which will be Half MP and Reflex.
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On September 06 2015 03:12 TheYango wrote:
FFTA was infinitely more enjoyable with the no-laws romhack, but it also made the game stupid, lol.
What FFTA/A2 needed was a warning system when the user is about to break a law, e.g.:
You are about to attack which will break Law X, are you sure?
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i've put hundreds of hours into a1 and a2. i think that a1 is the vastly better game.
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United States47024 Posts
On September 06 2015 03:14 Sufficiency wrote:
You need half MP if you want to run an Ultima set.
You really don't. Assassin has the second highest MP growth among all Viera classes (higher than any mage-classes not named Summoner), and your Assassins just need to OHKO the most dangerous enemy units. After that you can use other options to clean up once your supportive units have status-ed everyone else.
As long as you go first and can OHKO the strongest enemy unit, the rest doesn't matter. Offense/defense balance is so out-of-whack in FFTA that the only thing that matters is going first and never missing. The actual offensive skills you choose to use are totally interchangeable.
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On September 06 2015 03:16 Frolossus wrote:
i've put hundreds of hours into a1 and a2. i think that a1 is the vastly better game.
Magick Frenzy and Blood Price are definitely failures in A2, but it does have a lot more interesting side stories, better Law system, Brightmoon Tor, etc.. it also looks a lot more polished because NDS vs GBA.
And don't forget FFTA has Bad Breath...
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EPT
