Let's Play Atelier Rorona! Update 7, Part 1
Wecome back to Atelier Rorona!
If the last update was the biggest one yet (and it was), then this one seems to be trying for shortest. Which doesn't mean there wasn't anything interesting happening... but a great deal of it was, ultimately, the routine.
Of course, the "routine" seems to keep involving more and more stuff...
Making the rounds of the shops as usual, and picking up a new recipe book. Two of these items can be used for interesting party tricks, which I'll talk about when we can do them.
But that's not the only new thing here...
Sure, what is it?
I want to sell some of your items here at my shop. Like medicine and tools.
My items?
I've always wanted to increase the variety of products here...
Plus, it'll be a good chance for you to show off your products to the townsfolk.
I see...
Are you doing this just to help me?
Oh, no. I'm running a business, too.
It will profit me, too.
...Okay.
Thank you!
You can now use Wholesale.
Would you like to view the Wholesale Tutorial?
To use Wholesale, talk to a shop owner and select Register.
Sometimes, certain items may be declined from registering. Try improving your friendship with the other shop owners.
The items that can be registered at each shop are different.
At Tiffani's shop, you can register medicine and sundries.
Please go to the Encyclopedia from the Main Menu to view the Help on Wholesale.
...
blitz symbols are kind of interesting, but...
Oh, yes. I had to make some for the castle's assignment.
Great! If you don't mind, can I order some from you?
You want Bombs? Sure, I don't mind...
But, why do you need Bombs?
Some of my customers are looking to buy Bombs these days. Yours too, right?
Oh, um...I guess?
Anyway, let me know when you have some Bombs you want to sell. I wouldn't mind having different kinds!
Wholesale is now available at Hagel's Shop.
Hagel's Shop will mainly handle Bombs.
...
cabbage is still expensive, i don't really care...
What? Oh, yeah. I can actually make food without alchemy now.
couldn't she do that before...
Do you want me to start putting your dishes on our menu?
At your restaurant?
That would be great, but...
Alright, it's a deal then. Let me know when you want to sell something.
Let's see which one of us can make the most popular dish!
...Why does everything have to be a competition with you?
You can now use Wholesale at Iksel's restaurant.
The restaurant will handle your food items.
...
...
...Welcome to Let's Break Arland's Economy!
All sorts of things about time management, making extras of things to simplify things later, and so on? Out the window.
Got a request for 6 of an item that takes two days to make? No problem. Make one, register it, and then you can buy as many as you need.
On top of that, wholesale items are sold at the base price, which is only half what it would cost if it was part of their normal lineup.
There are, however, some limitations.
First, each shop can only have ten items registered at a time. For Iksel and Hagel, it's not a big deal, since there aren't as many interesting things that can be registered with them. But there's an enormous number of useful items that fit into Tiffani's lineup. If I could give up wholesale at both the other shops to have three times as much capacity for hers, I'd be pretty tempted.
Second, the copied items aren't available immediately - you can buy back the item you registered immediately, but more only appear when the shop's regular restock happens.
(Usually, anyway. Shops restock on the 1st, 11th, and 21st, but at least a couple times this update I saw wholesale items reappear on another day.)
Third, nobody will take an item that has a price of 0 or less. Usually this would not be an issue. But if you're trying to push things to the limit... well, check out this screenshot from the last update.
Broken items, as it turn out, have a use. They'll have whatever traits you had from the ingredients, plus "Cheap +3".
And you get as many of them as the number of items you would have made. (At first I thought you got as many as there were ingredients, but that's because those two numbers are alwyas the same for Supplements.)
I kind of thought people familiar with the game might guess what I was up to upon seeing that screenshot - because this combination of traits is about as much price reduction as you can get in four traits.
Broken Items can be made into Supplements, like everything else. Since the price of these would be somewhere under negative 50, I couldn't just make these and wholesale them. But each of those broken items can be made into 5 or more Supplements at a time. And the Supplements can be used to make things that can be wholesaled - much more cheaply than otherwise. Over enough items, it adds up.
Zettel's base cost is too low to wholesale with this modifier set though, so I made a batch of 5 of these. Quite a few commonly requested items have [Mystery] as an ingredient, so this can cover a lot of bases at once.
By doing as many requests as possible with wholesaled items, weapon and armor requests for friends, and a few other things here and there, I went from a little over 40k Cole to slightly under 120k. And that's with various false starts and mistakes! Not to mention that, since bonus conditions are mostly pretty easy to get, I've got over a hundred tickets saved up.
I don't know if I could really get through the rest of the game without doing anything to make money, but at this point I'm pretty much beyond the need to ever worry about it again.
Just... try not to think of it as "spreading cheap, failure-prone items that wear out easily throughout the land for our own benefit". It makes Meredith sound like the good guy.
In less directly "money" uses, I registered this Gnardi Ring, which is as close to my ideal as available materials allow. Wait a while, and I'll be able to get one for everyone without costing additional days.
(Though this ended up being something of a money thing too. I got a ridiculous number of requests for these, maybe 10 or 15 different times, for almost a thousand Cole profit each.)
And having the Polish Powder registered drops the time to make some items down far enough that they're actually worth doing.
And this time I made sure to equip Cory's new weapon. Now she's on par with the rest of the team.
I stopped by Rorona's house, just to check...
Here you go. It's a souvenir from our last trip.
Received Audra's Tail x2,
Mermaid Tear x1, and
Puniball x2.
Sigh. Would it be so wrong for them to stick around?
Mermaid Tear is a new item. I could've sworn I found something interesting to do with it once, but I can't remember what.
Happy Cookies have an interesting catch for wholesale - their base cost is 0. If you want to be able to mass produce them, you've got to add something that increases the cost. Do that, and these make a stupid amount of profit.
(This is also why I called the date that request was due "convenient" - Iksel will have some ready to sell on the exact due date.)
Nope! Not even if I could wholesale them! (Hagel won't take these, which proves he's a smart man. Or that the game doesn't exactly classify these as [Bomb]s. One of those.)
Still can't make these, but Tiffani can copy them too. The return's a bit better than on Gnardi Rings, but they haven't been requested nearly as often.
Registering a cheap Bomb Ice with Hagel is a must. If I'd known then what I know now, it'd also have Quality +1.
The first week passed in similar mercantile pursuits, at which point the complaints started again...
Oh, umm...I've been trying to come up with ideas...
Like what?
Like...umm...
You lied!
I see how it is!
You don't care about me at all!
Aww. ;.;
But what do you suggest a ghost do to alleviate boredom?
That's not true!
I just...forgot.
That's so mean!
Suddenly...
What's going on here? It's so noisy.
Master! I need your help!
So you two were fooling around with each other behind my back...?
And now you're rubbing it in my face as soon as I come back? That's not fair!
And just what sort of "fooling around" are you imagining?
Does it look like I'm fooling around!?
We'll talk thoroughly about it some other day...
Pamela, come with me.
I have something for you.
The trio leave the workshop...
...and head down past Tiffani's...
It has been unused for several years, but it'll be good enough to use after we clean it up a little.
What are you gonna use it for?
Hmhmhm...I've been thinking about letting Pamela run a shop.
A shop?
Weren't you complaining about having too much time on your hands?
As I was trying to come up with an idea, I happened to run across this little property.
A shop...
That sounds fun!
She's a lot more interested than I would have expected.
(Let me just say now, having worked retail in life, if you offer my ghost such a job, you probably won't like the response you get.)
Then it's settled. I'll take care of ordering the products, so you can just take care of the interior.
W-wait! Are you sure?
Pamela? Managing a shop?
Do you have a problem with that?
She's a ghost!
That just makes everything better. There's no law prohibiting ghosts from running a business.
Is there a law against anyone running a business?
Well, yeah, but...
Plus, look at how excited she is.
Could you say no to her now?
How should I decorate it...?
I don't want to be too simple,
but I don't want to be too cluttered...
Ooh, I need more shelves, too...
Ahh! Where should I start?
Ugh...she looks super happy.
She almost looks like she's enjoying it *too* much...
See? I mean, you can just take care of it if anything goes wrong, right?
And that would involve what? o.O
Hey, you're trying to make me doing everything again.
I won't help! You started this, so you can take care of it on your own!
While generally I would approve of you standing up to Astrid... you kind of did start it.
You can now use Pamela's Shop.
But it's fine, because now there's another shop!
The place certainly has cleaned up nicely.
...Did I do something to make you mad, Pamela?
(I can't make this item yet... probably. Kind of. What does she want this for? But you know, she must be able to touch things, to run a shop...)
Pamela's shop has a rather random assortment of items.
Including a rather complicated sounding recipe book. Blessed Coins are another "interesting party trick" item, but again I'll talk about that later. Attack items, medicine... Supplements?
The Supplements are actually kind of useful. They're cheap and have no traits, so she's an easy source for when we need them without having to use up one of Tiffani's wholesale slots.
Making some cheap Pure Oil, with something interesting going on here. I used a Supplement with Complex +2, and another item with Simple +1. As far as "traits appearing on the item" goes, they cancel each other out despite the different levels. But they still have their effect on the success rate, leaving this with some chance of failure.
With the Cheap +1 I added on to replace Complex +2, these wholesale for 27 Cole. Since Pure Oil can be used for so many things, these will be super-handy.
Oh really?
Nope, made it. In terms of percentage profit, these things are just ridiculous with wholesale.
(I suppose I said that before, but come on, look at it!)
I don't know of any way to turn a Supplement into a Tonic, but I was able to put a good number of cheapening traits on one anyway. This in turn will cover a few other items that they can't. Plus some requests, although the return on requests for these isn't that great.
Hom came back from gathering at the Catacombs. You can see what I mean here about getting similar numbers of each item. All those pebbles and salt, most of which will get tossed... but she also brought home a lot more Some Slough than we'd likely find in a trip. If nothing else, it'll probably come in handy for some friend requests.
Here I am making some Alchemy Candy for a request. Observe how I am using Honey.
Exactly how this leads to it being salty, I don't know. (And hey... candy made of soap?)
And speaking of Some Slough, I used the stuff we'd picked up last update to make this. Tanbeash is the sixth tier of cloth, so we've jumped up the scale quite a bit here.
The traits aren't exactly what I would have picked, but this Silky Chain for Rorona is still a noticable upgrade. And all the speed improvements will help her continue to pretty much always get the first turn in battle, which isn't a bad thing at all.
As for the other two members of Team Girl-Pile, that's a little more... involved.
Hehehe. Since you already know my secret hobby...
I made a special one...
What do you think? Do you like it?
Hmmm...
It's a little too much...
You don't get it. Girls' dresses are supposed to look like this.
But it's got thorns.
Wouldn't it hurt to wear it?
o.O
But the name would be pointless without the thorns. I had to put them, as an artist.
But I'm supposed to fight battles in this...
...What's your problem!? All I'm hearing from you is complaint after complaint!
Whoa! Pops is mad...
I-I'm sorry! I've said too much!
Yeah, yeah. Why is it that everything is like splitting hairs with you?
This is not an error, both of those lines are him.
...That's kind of amazing.
I'm not the one who said it!
Hmph, fine. If you wanna go that far...
I've got pride, too.
Wait till next time. I'm gonna make something so good, you won't even think of anything to complain about!
Hagel leaves. ... Wait a minute, aren't we still in his shop? Where is he going?
Pops!
*sigh* I made him mad...
He's so sensitive... Especially, when it comes to his hobby...or his hair.
Well, I don't know about Rorona's complaints, but...
I've got to agree with Hagel - it's perfect. (Except for the part where Rorona can't equip it... I'm kind of resigned to that.)
Rose Maiden has attack as one of it's basic stat boosts, an ATK+ effect, and traits on top of that. The thorns on this rose must be on the outside, which would make more sense anyway.
There'll be no more complaints about Cory's anemic damage now!
And with that done, I'm ready to head off to the Nearby Forest to do the assignment. It's a really good idea to take a Bomb Ice when doing this mission. And maybe a regular bomb. But I'm always carrying one now anyway. You never know when you'll run into some stupid rock that has no reason to be there.
On the way...
Oh, sure...
Are you okay?
I'm a little tired...
But you look fine, though.
I'm...used to traveling...
That's great...I've been doing this for a while, but I'm still not used to it.
I don't think that's the only reason why Lionela looks so energetic.
You're super excited about traveling with Rorona, aren't you?
I-I-I...!
Well, sort of...
Really? Don't you have a lot of friends from all around the world?
Nope. Keep in mind her personality. She's never even hung out with a friend before.
I wish she would make friends with people besides just us.
Hey...stop that...!
Oh...I have an idea. Why don't you hang out with me at the workshop when you have time?
...Hang out?
Yeah, not for work.
Just for fun.
Are you sure!? I'm not that fun to hang out with...
I won't force you...
Who knows what Master would do to you?
I would love to!
The way she's suddenly forceful makes it sound like she's interested in whatever Astrid would do...
Really? Great! It's a promise then.
Okay... I promise...
I think I'm ready to go again!
Come on, Liona.
Get moving, or she's gonna leave you.
Hang out...with Rorona...
A promise...
Wh-what should I do!? What are we supposed do when we're hanging out!?
How should we know?
Well, let's just see what happens on that day.
First stop is the Foresty Lake.
Yep, full of vultures.
I guess I have to get them one by one... This is gonna be a lot of work...
Time consuming maybe, but since everyone's normal attacks hit for more HP than vultures have, it's pretty trivial.
If you're carrying a Wild Scent, you get this option...
Maybe if I use this...
Yah!
There's a flash of light and a hissing noise...
Okay. But XP and not using up days making those things is also great, so we're just going to take the easy way out.
We've had the items to get past these obstacles for a while, but there wasn't really anything that worth coming back for.
Throwing a snowman into the water... o.O
And an ice bridge forms. There's another group of vultures over here, which is why it's important to bring a Bomb Ice. And we might as well get the treasure chest while we're here...
Not something I'd go out of my way for, but it'll probably come in handy for a request sooner or later.
And now we can blow up this rock too. Despite being huge, it doesn't take a stronger bomb than any other random rock. Past it there's a couple more gathering points, and...
A new area. I'm not going to bother going there. There's only one more group of vultures there, it's not worth three days.
The Puni Woods and the Wolf Habitat are the other places that have vultures. (Basically it's all the areas that had enemies before.)
Beating them all up brings us to nine stars. Still a good nine-ish number.
...No comment.
Later, back at the workshop...
Is she here? Hello?
Welcome. Come on in!
Th-thank you very much for inviting me to this lovely workshop today...
It is in my honor...
Her awkwardness here is almost physically painful.
What? Oh...
Th-thank you...?
There she goes again with another monologue...
You can't back out now, Lionela.
Go for it!
Okay...
Excuse me...
Sure. Make yourselves at home.
I'm gonna go make some tea.
Lionela looks around...
...
Why are you looking around so much?
You've been here before.
Yeah...but I was too nervous to look around before.
And then to the left...
Aghhh!
Hello there.
Hey now, don't scare her like that.
Her nerves are fragile as it is.
Apparently so. I wasn't trying to scare her.
I've got some sympathy for Astrid here, since I also sneak up on people without meaning to.
Have I introduced myself yet?
I'm Astrid, Rorona's alchemy master.
Uh, I'm Lionela...
It's such a fine day today...
Lionela, stop.
Hm... Hmmmm... I see...
Ummm...is something wrong?
You sure are interesting. I wish I had more time to spend alone with you...
But Rorona's back, so...please enjoy your day with your new friend.
I'm taking these guys for now.
Kidnapping!
What?
H-hey!
Let us go, crazy lady!
Calm down. Don't you think it's best that you guys leave them alone, too?
You've got a point, but...
Isn't this moving too fast for her?
It's gonna be rough. I hope she'll be okay.
Don't worry about it. My dear pupil can handle things well enough.
Ungh...
Let go of...!
...Fine. Lionela, we're gonna go have a talk with her for a while.
If you get too nervous, just remember to breathe. See ya later.
...I can't say it's bad advice, yet somehow it seems lacking.
I'm assuming they go into another room, even though the screen doesn't change.
I wasn't completely sure...but your conversation just confirmed it.
You tricked us.
Damn you...
She took them away...
Are you okay, Liona?
Do you want me to bring them back?
No...it's okay! I'll be fine!
I can handle this alone.
...Yup!
When your voice keeps getting higher pitched, it's not entirely convincing...
Okay... Well, it's a good opportunity for us to get to know each other.
Yeah, you're right...
Well, they should be able to work it out.
Let's give them some time alone and move on to Part 2...