S Rank recordings

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KFCrispy
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S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

I am attempting to S Rank my way through the game on a New Game and without too much cheese like relying on Lazlo or even Eugene. It's getting pretty tough to get S Rank and also accomplishing certain goals so I don't know if I will get through the whole game, but I've just uploaded what I have so far: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... eBQUfNV30Q


Right now I'm at El-Eel and am trying to figure out how to S Rank while having Rene cross the entire map to collect the 2nd dig item.

I want to give some tips in certain places, but in general it will be a straight recording going forward.
Antimatzist
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Antimatzist »

For that El-Eal battle, I succeeded as follows: Use Eugene! He'll attract the attention of Martin and all other enemies and Rene can easily slip through enemy lines. If you lay Water Terrain, Martin probably cannot One Hit Eugene and as long as he survives, you should get the S Rank.

Also, while I think getting the S Ranks without Hero IV is a great idea, I don't think it's really possible to do it in a new game. But prove it!
Wolkendrache
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Wolkendrache »

Cool, a video guide finally!

What is your pretense anyway? My guide for example is about how to get the S-rank items as easy as possible, or in other words, how to get S-rank once for every map.
It looks as if you’re about to S-rank every fight for whatever reason. What will you do in your upcoming fights on already S-ranked maps? S-rank again? Or are you trying to get every S-rank item as early as possible (as opposed to as easy as possible)? So what’s your pretense?

So if you need to S-rank the first El-Eal battle according to your pretense, then you need to focus on support for Rene, and as Antimatzist (who seems to be only one who managed to S-rank this goddamn stage) said, Eugene is the key. However, keep in mind that his rune will only help Rene if she can’t get 1-hit-killed, because otherwise the enemy might ignore Eugene. So it would be good to give her more support: someone to make earth terrain and to ideally stand behind her (back to back), not to mention best equipment...
"Within the four seas, all men are brothers" Shuihu Zhuan
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

i played another test run of El-Eel last night and managed to S Rank while waiting around to let Rene dig up the items - I think the key was using a Water Force Bead on Martin followed up by a unite (Martin and a few other enemies decided to bunch up in front of Kyril -- it must have been their "Dying Wish" lol...).
Now is it possible to S Rank in all the story battles while waiting for Rene? I doubt it, so I need to start deciding what to sacrifice going forward.

I will try to replicate the battle and record it.. I probably should abuse save states more often, but I would personally find watching an 'uncut' video more enjoyable, so that's what I'm trying to do in the recordings.

I think I am aiming to S Rank in the 1-time battles and at least once in each Obel Ruins stage, although I feel it's going to get harder and harder.
Antimatzist
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Antimatzist »

I S ranked every story battle while digging stuff for Rene. I think the only battle I didn't manage was one of the mercenary battles, but I think that was because I used super low level characters for that fight for whatever reason.
Of course, I used Hero IV. I never use Eugene, though.

The Obel Ruins are some of the easiest maps to S Rank, especially the elemental chambers. Basically, don't die and you will most likely get a S Rank.
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

i recorded El-Eal, and it turned out pretty funny-- normally i leave an archer alive since you can make an archer helpless by trapping them. but during the recording it just so happened that all the enemies bunched up together except for a mage, and I unleashed Dying Wish on them and had to try to figure out how to keep Rene safe from a Fire mage who still had 2 level 2 spells...
I also recruited Sigurd and gave him the 1 Berserker Belt I'm allowing and showed off that OP Eagle Rune in Ruins of Collanbal.

it's been a really long time but i don't remember Maxine still being pretty useless up to this point... she can barely gain a level and only has 1 level 2 spell. she was pretty useless in El-Eal so i'll keep her on the bench until she can level up repeatedly from 1-2 moves.
Antimatzist
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Antimatzist »

Maxine's one of the better mages, actually. I like using her, she's also got a unite with Simeon (even though the mages unites can be rarely used).

I really love Wolkendrache's ranking guide. Emphazising Magic and Extra Move and Pablo is the seventh worst character, holy moly! He really is the most useless character in the game.
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

i know she is, but early on so many characters that i remember being great still have terribly low MP and can't even level up because they're pretty much on par with the enemies. Andarc already has 3/2/0/0 MP because of those unite attacks finishing off multiple enemies (and he and Seneca just took out the only Level 12 enemies available up to this point), and there's no easy way of getting Maxine to that point unless you purposely stall battles and have her kill things with physical attacks.

also, Tristhan does really stand out when you get him.. i used to argue that the only reason he seemed so good was that his starting level was high, but he was pretty much at the same level as the rest of the party and still has significantly higher SPD and overall good stats. enemies seem to enjoy targeting him because of his low LUK stat too. and looking at Wolkendrache's Stat Growth chart i see he did get some kind of special initial SPD bonus.
Wolkendrache
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Wolkendrache »

You weren’t lucky enough upon recruiting Maxine. Mages get the second Lv2 spell as soon as Mag is 12. My Maxine joined with Mag 12 on my last run, so she started with 3/2/0/0, and I guess that was the case in your previous run. On average she’ll join at Mag 10 or 11, so usually you only need to level up once. Her Lv2 spell on a Lv8 enemy (standing on her terrain for a 1-hit-kill) and 2 Lv1 spells should be enough.

Pablo is harder to level. I always give him a Fire Rune and improve his Fire Magic skill, then I level him the same way as Maxine (although Pablo needs beads or other earth elemental characters for terrain support). In my opinion that’s the best you can make out of him: A “long-range attacker” spamming the Fire Rune’s Lv2 spell, or occasionally higher spells. It’s hard to level a character early using an earth rune.

Trishtan’s early usefulness is only because of his huge Spd bonus. He’s got high HP and PDf, but that’s it, no good overall stats. This shows how important Spd is. He’s actually got a bad Spd growth rate from the beginning, but the initial bonus makes him a very useful character until about Lv20, and still an ok-character until about Lv30.

Is Luck really determining how likely a character will get targeted by the enemy?
"Within the four seas, all men are brothers" Shuihu Zhuan
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

i dont' think Luck is the only factor in getting targeted, but i feel that it's considered. for instance i've been noticing that even though multiple enemies can kill or cripple an archer or a weak character (low-level Sigurd with really low DEF) near Trishtan, they prefer ganging up him and doing 1 damage each.

i am finding some strange AI behaviors so unfortunately (or fortunately?) this game doesn't provide the biggest challenge. you'll see in Ruins of Collanbal how i casually stroll to the 12 Thieves to setup my unite while they sit back and take it.....
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

found an old topic about enemies preferring Trishtan with the same observation posted by myself lol http://suikosource.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=5473
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

i S Ranked the Merseto battle vs the Merchant, but barely. I tried several times to stall long enough for Rene to get the Gale Orb (west corner of map) but I keep getting A Rank that way... perhaps if I used a lower-level character to gain EXP it could help, but I don't think the Gale Orb is worth it since you can buy it at any time. And yes, Rene did have a Gale Rune already equipped.

so one reason I think S ranking Merseto is pretty hard is I hunted for all of the items in the Ruins Collanbal map. I have an earlier save and can give the Merseto battle another shot with less equipment/money/skills and levels, which will make it harder, but perhaps the EXP gains will be enough to make S Ranking easy while also digging up the Gale Orb.
This is a big maybe because it was really boring reloading Collanbal until i got the 4 unique maps and then waiting around every stage to dig up the items! I think the next battle at Caleron Factory will help me decide.

I also haven't done Obel Ruins and the Give Us a Sign quest to avoid further leveling, but completing them would open up the C rank quests, which would give me a lot more resources.....
Antimatzist
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Antimatzist »

I couldn't S rank the merchant battle with the orb, I think. I tried really hard because the official guide and the rune list on suikosource list a whirlwind rune there (which I notified you about a year or so about and you still haven't changed it ;)). Because I never gave much thought about Gale Runes, I S ranked it without digging it.
KFCrispy
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by KFCrispy »

yeah i remember someone had written in Cyclone Orb for that stage! ah i'll try to get around to website corrections soon....
Wolkendrache
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Re: S Rank recordings

Post by Wolkendrache »

I only bothered with digging when it was worth it or else when it was convenient, so I missed like 10-20% of the dig items, but only the unimportant stuff. And I clearly remember not bothering with that dig item in the west corner of Merseto.

I think the problem is total turn count (which is rarely a problem actually). The number is 100, and it refers to ally turns if I understand it correctly. If all your characters had the same SPD (and ignoring speed delay) then Rene must get it within 16 or 17 turns. She needs about 5 turns to get the other items, then she must cross the map from one corner to the other within 12 turns at most. Unfortunately she’s relatively slow, and when other characters overtake her, she’ll basically lose turns.

So you must make her faster and the other allies slower. In case you didn’t use her much, level her before the battle to gain some points in Spd. Give her a gale rune and remove this rune from others. Give her a godspeed anklet (if available) and remove these from others. Use slow characters like Eugene and Dario/Sigurd. I’m not sure about speed delay for laying beads and digging, but to be safe, just don’t do anything but wait when moving with Rene. The positive element requirement can easily be met with the remaining characters (only 10, should be easy).
"Within the four seas, all men are brothers" Shuihu Zhuan
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