(no subject)
I need some more FFXII icons...unfortunatly it doesn't seem too many people are making them...they are making FFXIII icons. Can we please make icons for games that are actually *out* please?
So I am 60 hours in. Normally, I would be done like 10 hours ago. But I am nowhere near done with this game. Normally I would finish the game until the only place left was the last area and then do all sidequests. Not in this game. I spend hours (and all my playing time for the day) just doing sidequest stuff. Like yesterday. I did nothing to advance the story for 4 1/2 hours.
What did I do for all that time? Hunt marks mostly. That's a big part of this game. But I also (or Brian did, more accurately, as I am a big chicken) made the mad dash into Necrohol of Nabudis to get the best weapon in the game - the Zodiac Spear.
Now the fact that the Zodiac Spear is the best weapon in the game is debatable according to some people, but it's definitely the best spear. This whole game I had been flailing around with Vaan all over the liscence board, trying to find a weapon type that really fit him. I had him with daggers, poles, katanas, ninja swords and spears. Never really loved any of them. And both Balthier and Basch were doing more damage than he was doing with his spear at the point that I was at. Way more. And I was sick of it. The way this game works is you have access to a lot of places pretty early in the game. People were making the run into Necrohol of Nabudis at like level 25. I knew I had already passed through the area that leads to it. I would just have to fight the optional boss (which was only level 30) to get there. No worries. My guys were at level 43. I'm sure I could handle running in there to get the spear and talk to the secret merchant, who supposedly sold really good stuff.
So I go to where this "optional" boss is. It's a bomb. I start whacking at it. It keeps calling friends. It says in the guide that when it gets down to 50% HP it will cast renew on itself, healing itself completely. But the guide also said it would eventually stop.
Well the guide is a fucking liar.
That thing must have healed itself 5 fucking times. My team was in good shape, so I didn't really care, but I just wanted to kill this damn thing and be done with it! I had the damn thing silenced and it *still* managed to cast renew on itself (and yes, it is a spell!). How freakin' cheap is that?!
Anyway, I finally felled the damn thing with a Quickening chain of awesomeness before it could heal it's damn self again.
So I go back and save. Then I walk into this creepy looking place. The characters don't even wanna go in. But I'm like fuck this, I want that weapon! (This is quite adventerous of me because I usually run far, far away from anything remotely scary. And even though I gave Brian the controller because I had a feeling I would freak out and mess up, the fact that I was willing to subject my characters to this is amazing to begin with.)
The whole thing about the Necrohol of Nabudis is that the shit in there kills your ass. I had read recommendations about how to get it done. Use only one character at a time in your party. Equip them with shell, protect and libra. AND RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIFE. The enemies in there were in the high 40's. Well. At least the one enemy I tried to scan was. I was in the 40's as well. People did this in the 20's. We could do this. According to what I had read the enemies in there did an average of 1,000 points of damage whenever they hit you, even if you're running for your life. We started off with Vaan, who had 3000 hit points and also the ring of renewal on, which improves your defense and gives you regen.
We had the map ready. And off we went.
Run, run, run, run, run! Not so bad. We head for the hidden merchant first. He sells really good stuff later in the game. I thought I was past the point where he only sold ethers. Wrong! Only selling ethers. Oops. There's scary flying shit on our tail. Run away! So we run, run, run towards the infamous chest room. Stuff is hitting Vaan, doing 6, 7, 9 hundred points of damage a pop. He's hanging in there. The regen is helping and each time we reach a new area we're able to quickly heal.
Finally we get to the room. For the Zodiac Spear to appear you have to not open 4 certain chests over the earlier course of the game. I had been very careful not to open those chests. Scary flying shit follows us into the room. Hurry, find the damn thing! So the chests start to be opened. Knot of rust. Knot of rust. Dammit! Stupid knot of rost. Finally, Zodiac Spear! Yay! Brian opens another chest! "No, stop that! I yell. It turns into better stuff later!" So he makes a run for it. Enemies are flying at Vaan from all directions he's hanging in there. "Wow! We might be able to make it in and out with one character!" I think. Vaan has critical HP a few times but he pulls through. The end is near. Then BAM! Brian runs straight into a trap in his haste. Dead. Dammit. We almost made it. "Bring in Balthier," I say. So he does. Run, run, run. There's the exit! Then suddenly, bam! Dead! Hit another trap. We forgot to put Libra on him. Dammit. Oh well. We're two steps from the door now. We bring up Basch and finally get the hell outta there, Zodiac Spear in hand. +150 attack is ours!
Brian "wasn't too impressed" with the damage the spear was doing, but I was. Before Vaan was only doing about 1,000. Now he was doing about 3,000. Big difference. And it will only get stronger as he levels up. It was totally worth the "Run of Death", as it will now be known.
So I am 60 hours in. Normally, I would be done like 10 hours ago. But I am nowhere near done with this game. Normally I would finish the game until the only place left was the last area and then do all sidequests. Not in this game. I spend hours (and all my playing time for the day) just doing sidequest stuff. Like yesterday. I did nothing to advance the story for 4 1/2 hours.
What did I do for all that time? Hunt marks mostly. That's a big part of this game. But I also (or Brian did, more accurately, as I am a big chicken) made the mad dash into Necrohol of Nabudis to get the best weapon in the game - the Zodiac Spear.
Now the fact that the Zodiac Spear is the best weapon in the game is debatable according to some people, but it's definitely the best spear. This whole game I had been flailing around with Vaan all over the liscence board, trying to find a weapon type that really fit him. I had him with daggers, poles, katanas, ninja swords and spears. Never really loved any of them. And both Balthier and Basch were doing more damage than he was doing with his spear at the point that I was at. Way more. And I was sick of it. The way this game works is you have access to a lot of places pretty early in the game. People were making the run into Necrohol of Nabudis at like level 25. I knew I had already passed through the area that leads to it. I would just have to fight the optional boss (which was only level 30) to get there. No worries. My guys were at level 43. I'm sure I could handle running in there to get the spear and talk to the secret merchant, who supposedly sold really good stuff.
So I go to where this "optional" boss is. It's a bomb. I start whacking at it. It keeps calling friends. It says in the guide that when it gets down to 50% HP it will cast renew on itself, healing itself completely. But the guide also said it would eventually stop.
Well the guide is a fucking liar.
That thing must have healed itself 5 fucking times. My team was in good shape, so I didn't really care, but I just wanted to kill this damn thing and be done with it! I had the damn thing silenced and it *still* managed to cast renew on itself (and yes, it is a spell!). How freakin' cheap is that?!
Anyway, I finally felled the damn thing with a Quickening chain of awesomeness before it could heal it's damn self again.
So I go back and save. Then I walk into this creepy looking place. The characters don't even wanna go in. But I'm like fuck this, I want that weapon! (This is quite adventerous of me because I usually run far, far away from anything remotely scary. And even though I gave Brian the controller because I had a feeling I would freak out and mess up, the fact that I was willing to subject my characters to this is amazing to begin with.)
The whole thing about the Necrohol of Nabudis is that the shit in there kills your ass. I had read recommendations about how to get it done. Use only one character at a time in your party. Equip them with shell, protect and libra. AND RUN FOR YOUR FUCKING LIFE. The enemies in there were in the high 40's. Well. At least the one enemy I tried to scan was. I was in the 40's as well. People did this in the 20's. We could do this. According to what I had read the enemies in there did an average of 1,000 points of damage whenever they hit you, even if you're running for your life. We started off with Vaan, who had 3000 hit points and also the ring of renewal on, which improves your defense and gives you regen.
We had the map ready. And off we went.
Run, run, run, run, run! Not so bad. We head for the hidden merchant first. He sells really good stuff later in the game. I thought I was past the point where he only sold ethers. Wrong! Only selling ethers. Oops. There's scary flying shit on our tail. Run away! So we run, run, run towards the infamous chest room. Stuff is hitting Vaan, doing 6, 7, 9 hundred points of damage a pop. He's hanging in there. The regen is helping and each time we reach a new area we're able to quickly heal.
Finally we get to the room. For the Zodiac Spear to appear you have to not open 4 certain chests over the earlier course of the game. I had been very careful not to open those chests. Scary flying shit follows us into the room. Hurry, find the damn thing! So the chests start to be opened. Knot of rust. Knot of rust. Dammit! Stupid knot of rost. Finally, Zodiac Spear! Yay! Brian opens another chest! "No, stop that! I yell. It turns into better stuff later!" So he makes a run for it. Enemies are flying at Vaan from all directions he's hanging in there. "Wow! We might be able to make it in and out with one character!" I think. Vaan has critical HP a few times but he pulls through. The end is near. Then BAM! Brian runs straight into a trap in his haste. Dead. Dammit. We almost made it. "Bring in Balthier," I say. So he does. Run, run, run. There's the exit! Then suddenly, bam! Dead! Hit another trap. We forgot to put Libra on him. Dammit. Oh well. We're two steps from the door now. We bring up Basch and finally get the hell outta there, Zodiac Spear in hand. +150 attack is ours!
Brian "wasn't too impressed" with the damage the spear was doing, but I was. Before Vaan was only doing about 1,000. Now he was doing about 3,000. Big difference. And it will only get stronger as he levels up. It was totally worth the "Run of Death", as it will now be known.