|
|
Post by ckdamascus on Feb 12, 2012 9:50:33 GMT -5
Hey guys, figured the other threads have too much clutter for people who want quick answers to nightmare modes. Some things I noticed. - ALL crystals give 1 SP, no matter what size. I believe this might be intentional, because it does not matter due to my next point - Almost all goddess buffs do NOTHING? Does anyone have enough SP to really test this? I tried the reduce skill charge timer buff and I swear it did nothing. - Attack/Armor upgrades still seem to work. Anyone else notice anythign significantly different about nightmare mode over the normal modes besides making it a lot harder?  Does anyone know if you get anything special by beating the game with ALL 3 characters on nightmare? I know there is something different if you beat it with Thor/Toal. |
|
korzic
Chryolos
Hmm, something feels off...
Posts: 697
|
Post by korzic on Feb 24, 2012 1:44:51 GMT -5
Just finished my first Nightmare playthrough with Toal, and here's what I observed (don't know if this applies to Yunica and Hugo, but I'd imagine so). - ALL crystals give 1 SP, no matter what size. I believe this might be intentional, because it does not matter due to my next point While it is true the crystal drops are 1 SP, some late game normal enemies can give slightly more base SP (listed as the "Gold" stat). Very Easy seems to give 200% of the listed SP, Easy 150%, Normal gives 100%, unsure of Hard, and Nightmare I think is 1%. On top of that, you can add the SP acquisition bonus, which gives 25% of that number (though it seems to be rounded down). So while most normal enemies in Nightmare give 0 base SP, you do start to get some late in the game, though still very small (I think the highest a normal non-boss enemy gives is 9). EDIT: And now, monsters in the Water Prison are giving more SP, both the base amount, and the crystal drops... The quoted post below seems to indicate playing in Arena mode may have something to do with receiving the correct values (for Nightmare there, you do receive normal SP amounts - above normal, in fact). Hard to say if it's a bug with the Arena mode amounts carrying over to normal play, or if 1 SP crystals were also supposed to be dropped for Nightmare Arena mode (a secondary purpose for Arena mode is acquiring a bunch of SP to unlock stuff, so maybe the SP boost was intentional). I guess the SP values for Hard will have to be checked (without Arena mode interference), and if they're reduced from the listed stats, then the 1%/1 SP drops is likely the intentional behavior. In any event, very peculiar. Try to play one time in arena mode before loading your save. It's working perfectly when I'm doing this. I think they should all still work, just maybe not as well as on other difficulties. For instance, magic seems to cost a little more compared to Very Easy (I don't have enough SP to make an accurate comparison to Normal), so the reduced MP cost may also not be as much on Nightmare. As for the Skill charge, I timed a recording in VirtualDub, and initially it seems to be about 2 seconds to charge, whereas level 1 was slightly less (like 5 frames - recorded at 30 fps). I tested a level 3 charge with Yunica (on Normal), and it was about 1.3 seconds. So, the change is there, just seemingly very small (perhaps moreso for Nightmare, but a test on Easy still seemed to be 2 seconds initially). Aside from the above, I've also noticed that your HP seems to regenerate slower with the Spirit Cape equipped, and Celceta Medicines only give a 1 HP boost (don't recall the exact amounts on Very Easy/Normal, but I know it wasn't 1). Are you referring to the hidden Arena mode boss? If so, I can confirm that Toal alone on Nightmare doesn't seem to unlock it (I had hoped so, but no such luck  ). You apparently need to beat the story mode on Nightmare with all 3 characters, or on Easy, Normal, and Hard with all 3 characters to unlock it, though this is something I can't confirm at the moment (and likely won't for a while =p). |
|
|
|
Post by Red Hairdo on Feb 27, 2012 0:15:15 GMT -5
Hey guys, figured the other threads have too much clutter for people who want quick answers to nightmare modes. Some things I noticed. - ALL crystals give 1 SP, no matter what size. I believe this might be intentional, because it does not matter due to my next point - Almost all goddess buffs do NOTHING? Does anyone have enough SP to really test this? I tried the reduce skill charge timer buff and I swear it did nothing. - Attack/Armor upgrades still seem to work. Anyone else notice anythign significantly different about nightmare mode over the normal modes besides making it a lot harder? Does anyone know if you get anything special by beating the game with ALL 3 characters on nightmare? I know there is something different if you beat it with Thor/Toal. Not all crystals give 1 SP: there's ONE exception only, in the Mirror Maze, where an enemy drops that one full sphere SP, whose value is... 5 SP.  (I'm not sure if the Extra SP blessing was what made this possible, though.) I took a screenshot of it in some thread here. I forgot what mob it was exactly, though. I recall that SP sphere was rarely dropped, too. The Goddess buffs DO help: The Skill Charge Time reduction one in particular makes the early fight against Kishgal with Yunica MUCH more viable, even if just upgraded once. I can't say much for the other buffs, though: never had enough SP for them. I also can't say how much those differ (if at all) between the other difficulties: so far I have only played on Nightmare. As for unlockables, you get Yunica a school girl uniform if you finish the game with all 3 characters on all 5 difficulties (thus having to finish the game at least 15 times). |
|
korzic
Chryolos
Hmm, something feels off...
Posts: 697
|
Post by korzic on Feb 27, 2012 1:18:48 GMT -5
Not all crystals give 1 SP: there's ONE exception only, in the Mirror Maze, where an enemy drops that one full sphere SP, whose value is... 5 SP. (I'm not sure if the Extra SP blessing was what made this possible, though.) I took a screenshot of it in some thread here. I forgot what mob it was exactly, though. I recall that SP sphere was rarely dropped, too. Hmm, you're right. It's from either those little red or blue enemies (probably the blue one, as it gives more base SP). And with the Nightmare Arena mode SP drop formula in effect, it gives a whopping 3,500 SP.  (It appears Nightmare Arena mode multiplies the drops by 7.) I'm not convinced it makes a big difference there, as I'm actually trying that fight on Nightmare right now, with all the SP enhancements done (easier than it sounds; I abused the Nightmare Arena mode SP drop formula), and it's still giving me a lot of trouble (yep, I suck =p). It helps a little, I guess, but recognizing his patterns is much more important, IMO. |
|
|
|
Post by Red Hairdo on Feb 27, 2012 15:45:15 GMT -5
Hmmmm, well, I guess I shouldn't have capitalized "MUCH". xD Basically, that blessing only gives the player more chances of punishing Kishgal after he uses one of his many punishable moves, which makes the fight faster, meaning you don't have to survive in the battle for as long. But naturally that's only helpful after a loooooooong while of practice, understanding his A.I. and possibilities and all... and that's hard. >_< Took me many weeks of repeated tries, and you all know how those went! But you'll see, I bet you'll also eventually find that battle/challenge INCREDIBLY fun!  Once I was done with it, I missed doing it. XD I intend to play around with him again too sometime later. XD |
|
korzic
Chryolos
Hmm, something feels off...
Posts: 697
|
Post by korzic on Feb 27, 2012 16:45:54 GMT -5
Basically, that blessing only gives the player more chances of punishing Kishgal after he uses one of his many punishable moves, which makes the fight faster, meaning you don't have to survive in the battle for as long. Well, it's not so much that even. My tests indicate that initially, it's about ~2 seconds to charge a skill. Level 1 is ~1.8 seconds, which is barely noticeable (no wonder ckdamascus thought it did nothing XD), especially in a battle like this where you're (probably) primarily on defense, not offense. (Level 2 is ~1.6 seconds to charge, and as mentioned above, Level 3 is ~1.3 seconds.) Anyway, I'll be sure to post more of my thoughts about this in your thread, when (if? =p) I'm able to beat him. You're right, though, it is a pretty fun battle once you start to get the hang of it (just that annoying cutscene you need to watch beforehand). |
|
). You apparently need to beat the story mode on Nightmare with all 3 characters, or on Easy, Normal, and Hard with all 3 characters to unlock it, though this is something I can't confirm at the moment (and likely won't for a while =p).
(I'm not sure if the Extra SP blessing was what made this possible, though.)
(It appears Nightmare Arena mode multiplies the drops by 7.)
