LogFAQs > #934940865

i repay this nun by breaking some pots, getting some stuff out of 'em, and onwards to the cutscene. after it's done she tells me that i've munched on a pep pip, interesting place for that boilerplate line but alright. i can't pinpoint this guy's accent. it's like a New York accent crossed with something else. also if we're looking for a disguise wouldn't it be easier to just cut his hair or something? well, he joins the team so here we are together! okay let's see...

Swords: same as my swords but with a smaller immediate grid and a longer darkened one? uh... okay, moving on then.

Knives: status effects, super damage based on status effects, and dual wield. also his starting weapon, as if it wasn't painfully clear the game is telling you to use this.

Boomerangs: AOE, the weapon. i do like this conceptually, especially as it offers the first way to kill metals. but AOE weapons do tend to suck so... we'll see.

Guile: steal, evasion, stats. simple enough.

i'll do a few fights and try things out. main things i'm figuring out are expected, knife is solid for DPS but against groups you want boomerang. fortunately you can just switch in the middle of combat so it's not a big deal. when those kobloid archers call for backup it's boomerang time. anything else, knife. start with knife for extra deftness.

(here's where i got the info on respec'ing in topic)

so... let's see.
either way, i know i want to go Knife for dual wield. that's just an obvious thing and doesn't appear to restrict on weapon type at a glance. even if it did, the DPS would be dramatic with status effect stuff. and i do love me status effects - i'm an EO fanboy. between that and Pokemon, status effects controlling a fight is something i've grown used to and when DPS is affected by them directly, well... yeah. poison? i like poison and it's continuous. sleep? i like not dying. doesn't seem like this game is following a sleep -> 100% crit chance system but it keeps you safe. or lets you do 6x damage with the right skill. i expect bosses to hold some resistance to it and gradual resistance after initial application but i can wait for that horse. speaking of which, i'll get mine eventually i assume, once i'm done going back to town and stuff seeing how i can't go south anyway. for now, Erik gets a +5 damage to daggers, the first skill and something that makes it even more obvious the game wants you to do this. i am curious on Half Inch though, it's Steal. i like Steal. now that i've got a little more attack outta him, maybe i'll do that next, depends on what my party looks like when i get 6P or 8P.

...taking a better look at my grid (on a level up) i realize that swordmastery ain't even a thing i can do anyway for a long time. in order to get there i need to unlock quite a bit: either greatswords hitting harder, including single target damage, or dragon slash.

dragon, totally. dragon is needed for metal too. that unfortunately is all in the sword tree and it won't take much to hit a little harder with a greatsword. which i'm still doing fine with. nonetheless, i figure i'll get that first sword skill after all, Flame Slash. if i ever need to switch in battle, i will. i test out that skill and it ain't too bad in combat, 25-33% more than my usual hits. which is to say i already hit significantly harder anyway and when i'm pepped up, i do OHKO enemies. back to exploring and i swear to fucking god these tree stumps keep getting me.

hey wait, why is Erik carrying the Soldier Sword. gimme that shit, you ain't using it. that'll actually close the gap even more between these two weapons. also these little blue transparent things are really weird. i seriously hope the game addresses them sooner than later. i find a treasure chest with a Red Eye near one so woo. maybe that's what they are, markers for treasure? well, i continue exploring the map and find myself to the end of it with a rope, picking up random items along the way. at the top of it there's a shiny flower, i chop it, get more items. i then go down to the other side, find a chest with a seed of strength, cross yet another bridge, find myself a mine thing, get more items, and beat up enemies. i learn Sizz, hang onto my skill points, and mosey along, eventually going from facing cubs who i one shot as a super saiyan to facing Great Sabercats, who hurt but give decent EXP and gold. before going to those i finally use my skill points to go with the parry bonus and +5 extra damage so i can whack things harder. i know i just said i was going sword for dragon slash but that can be prioritized after this bit and besides, it'll be helpful for swordmastery later. for group damage i've now got Sizz, off what i assume is my weaker stat, so yay, i can ignore that greatsword move. the strong hit though, i dunno. nice boss killer.

whatever, dragon slashing is cool so i'll get on that soon enough.

oh yeah, boomerangs are totally shit right now.
like they're really just useful when it's 3+ enemies, otherwise please no. even then they miss too much.

it also appears this guy's got a skill to finding treasure on a map. well alright, tells me there's one more. hmm. i get to the end and still don't see anything in a treasure - i do pick up a butterfly wing and some buzzleberries - so... the church? i double back and see a chick in a weird outfit telling me to go pep up and use Real Decoy. i see, so pep powers are extra skills. as i look around..a aha, a well! and inside... a treasure! and after taking it he tells me there's only one treasure in the area. ...ah so i'm reading the skill the wrong way, he just tells you all the treasure on the map, not all the available treasure. and it changes depending on region, so the well was one because there was one in it. still useful but now i gotta keep track too. either way it got me some freebies and a Pointy Hat, which means my next party member is probably a mage. for now i'm wearing it through.

...not sure what's the fastest way to pep up so i continue fighting to make it.
and continue fighting.
fighting.
fuck it where's the sabertooth, i pick up another beast bone along the way. after two of those i finally get pepped up and get to use it. the fact that it needed both of us worried me a bit but whew. Real Decoy does really nice damage for this point of the game but uses up all your pep. i go back to the "soldier" and basically get told that dual and triple techs get unlocked depending on my party. i then get a gold chain which raises my HP, which is great considering i'm way behind Erik on that. Gemma's charm out, gold in, let's move to town.

but first...
one fight, Erik hits LV9.
Half Inch first. DPS skills can wait.
new pep skill, itemized kill.
i try it a few times, it fails a lot i see. stat dependen