Board 8 > Final Fantasy Record Keeper Topic 33: Beware the Beginner Banners

(+) Yeah! (+)

SSJSephirothGokuX123 posted...

If you don't have Larsa's bsb get it for the astra.

Went with Lion and Cloud of Darkness' bsbs. Lion I always wanted due to being a Vaan proxy so Vaan can go full DPS with his USB and Cloud of Darkness, I already have everything on that selection besides Minwu, Yuna and Seifer. Maybe she can help with the Mist Dragon once I get more unicorn magicite. Damage reflect is nice too. At the very least it's a dark boost weapon Nabaat can equip.

I was gonna pick Larsa originally before
I got Fujin . The reason I didn't get him is because I remembered I had Iris's BSB which
Is more or less Larsa's. Do I need to forms of Astra healers?

So they won't let me pull Crystal Tower again..
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eaedwards6400 posted...

So they won't let me pull Crystal Tower again..

You don't get another draw.

Just another selection.

(Which is great. I only did the draws for the free selection) this saves me 30 dollars and 50 mythril.

You can't do the 11 pull itself anymore, but you can still do the choice relic, just tap the button below the grayed out one.
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Well if we go by that in the first list it's...

Vanille > Yuna > Larsa/CoD (literally haven't used either one ever, but they're also newer characters)

And the second list it's...

Yuffie > Dark Cecil > Faris > Rikku > Sabin

But I use all of the first so little all the second often enough that it's not obvious and should come down to which is "better" which isn't obvious to me.

Yuna vs Vanille is interesting in that I think Yuna's is way better in pretty much every way (holy boost armor is better equipment, and I could see the mag/mind buff being fun to have while Vanille's burst isn't really doing anything I don't already have) but I like Vanille better to actually use. But my Yuna is actually probably stronger at that since I have so much of her crap by accident.
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Lopen posted...

Well if we go by that in the first list it's...

Vanille > Yuna > Larsa/CoD (literally haven't used either one ever, but they're also newer characters)

And the second list it's...

Yuffie > Dark Cecil > Faris > Rikku > Sabin

But I use all of the first so little all the second often enough that it's not obvious and should come down to which is "better" which isn't obvious to me.

Yuna vs Vanille is interesting in that I think Yuna's is way better in pretty much every way (holy boost armor is better equipment, and I could see the mag/mind buff being fun to have while Vanille's burst isn't really doing anything I don't already have) but I like Vanille better to actually use. But my Yuna is actually probably stronger at that since I have so much of her crap by accident.

As someone who has them both (honestly, as someone who has almost every single AoE heal Burst...).

I use Vannille all the time, even more than Yshtola as a pure heal. The only one I use more is Relm cause Last Stand is godly.

Transcendent Dream is beyond amazing.

You don't know how many times I've had teams on the brink of death and that instant 4,500 AoE heal saves my ass. Sometimes you just don't have a few extra seconds for the
Other ones to resolve. You need health right
Now.

I have most of the mythril relics too. I picked Sarah, because I have no I medica, and the bard access on a healer could be handy.

Unless you have lots of Faithgas already, I suggest you at least consider Yuna BSB2.

Edit. Didn't notice the new page. This was @SSJBKK20Vegito though it kinda applies to everyone, really.
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I have one faithga on Sazh

If I was running a mage team I'd much rather be using Yuna though. Course I could always stack em!
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Ultimaphazon posted...

I have most of the mythril relics too. I picked Sarah, because I have no I medica, and the bard access on a healer could be handy.

Unless you have lots of Faithgas already, I suggest you at least consider Yuna BSB2.

M
Is Yuna's BSB2 the same as Lulu's Focus?

SSJBKK20Vegito posted...

eaedwards6400 posted...

So they won't let me pull Crystal Tower again..

You don't get another draw.

Just another selection.

(Which is great. I only did the draws for the free selection) this saves me 30 dollars and 50 mythril.

Well wait they wouldn't let me pull from the Gem one but they will let me pull from my Crystal tower. (I didn't spend 30 dollars)
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eaedwards6400 posted...

SSJBKK20Vegito posted...

eaedwards6400 posted...

So they won't let me pull Crystal Tower again..

You don't get another draw.

Just another selection.

(Which is great. I only did the draws for the free selection) this saves me 30 dollars and 50 mythril.

Well wait they wouldn't let me pull from the Gem one but they will let me pull from my Crystal tower. (I didn't spend 30 dollars)

If you didn't pull you can pull, you just get 2 pre-selects after drawing.

If you did pull, you can't pull again, but you get a bonus pre-select
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eaedwards6400 posted...

SSJBKK20Vegito posted...

eaedwards6400 posted...

So they won't let me pull Crystal Tower again..

You don't get another draw.

Just another selection.

(Which is great. I only did the draws for the free selection) this saves me 30 dollars and 50 mythril.

Well wait they wouldn't let me pull from the Gem one but they will let me pull from my Crystal tower. (I didn't spend 30 dollars)

They are letting you do a second 11 draw?

Dude... email DeNa then. Maybe we'all get more apology mythril, or free second draws. Cause I can't draw again on either. Just make a second selection.

Oh also because they are rarer. Armor over weapon. I seem to have 5 weapons for every 1armor in relics.
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RPGlord95 posted...

Oh also because they are rarer. Armor over weapon. I seem to have 5 weapons for every 1armor in relics.

This game all comes down to soul breaks now bro. Plus 10 attack is cool, but even one legend node is the same. You want whichever one gives you a better soul break be it Armor or weapon. Armor is cool if it boosts an element. I desperately want a Holy armor for a physical finally :( ) but other than that defense and resist rarely matter as base stats. Cause all high end content will kill you anyway if you don't kill them. And even base attack pluses are meaningnless and less cause you should almost always be at soft
Cap after your boosts

2 free bursts might make this worth it now. Kain, Fujin, Sarah, Minwu, Yuna, Vanille, Beatrix, Orlandu is what i'm deciding between. have Y'shtola's and Larsa's.

-Sarah or Yuna would be good for my first +holy robe for Raines. Sarah's looks better to me, but i have Yuna's USB so maybe the option to use both would outweigh that.
- Beatrix would be my only imperil holy aside from Raines
- i have Kain's OSB and my only other lightning physical SB is Fran's imperil. for magic, i have Shantotto and Malak bursts.
- Fujin seems to be the consensus best. i currently have Zack, Cid H, and Luneth's bursts and Cloud's OSB for wind physical, Alphinaud burst for magical, so i'm not sure i really need this.
- Vanille, Orlandu and Minwu are the only characters on this i actually like, though their SBs don't seem as useful. especially the healers when i have Larsa/Eiko who i also like, and the indispensable Y'shtola. i do have Vanille's USB but nothing for Orlandu or Minwu.
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Okay. I need to work on my phrasing.

They let me get a second free relic from the Crystal Tower Relic Draw. They would not let me get any relics from the 30th anniversary Gem Draw because I did not pull.
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Ok, the 2nd choice relic for that is only for people who did the gem pull. Are you not able to pull with gems?
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Xuxon posted...

2 free bursts might make this worth it now. Kain, Fujin, Sarah, Minwu, Yuna, Vanille, Beatrix, Orlandu is what i'm deciding between. have Y'shtola's and Larsa's.

-Sarah or Yuna would be good for my first +holy robe for Raines. Sarah's looks better to me, but i have Yuna's USB so maybe the option to use both would outweigh that.
- Beatrix would be my only imperil holy aside from Raines
- i have Kain's OSB and my only other lightning physical SB is Fran's imperil. for magic, i have Shantotto and Malak bursts.
- Fujin seems to be the consensus best. i currently have Zack, Cid H, and Luneth's bursts and Cloud's OSB for wind physical, Alphinaud burst for magical, so i'm not sure i really need this.
- Vanille, Orlandu and Minwu are the only characters on this i actually like, though their SBs don't seem as useful. especially the healers when i have Larsa/Eiko who i also like, and the indispensable Y'shtola. i do have Vanille's USB but nothing for Orlandu or Minwu.

Fujin is PHENOMENAL.

I beat Omega because of Fujin.

Stackable drops and lighting quick 14000s per turn (on Omega, much higher on others I'm
Sure)

aww yeah got Seph's burst2 from the draw itself. along with 10 3*s but who cares. lucked into being worth it even if i didn't get to chose a freebie.
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Okay so that question clears it up for me, Whitelens. No I don't get any because I did not spend the 30 dollars on the gem only pull. Thanks.
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eaedwards6400 posted...

Okay. I need to work on my phrasing.

They let me get a second free relic from the Crystal Tower Relic Draw. They would not let me get any relics from the 30th anniversary Gem Draw because I did not pull.

If you are EVER gonna spend real money on any gatcha game ever, this is it...

You get an 11 draw which yeah, probably won't yield anything amazing or anything (though I got lucky and got 3 bursts, 2 of them good, one of them Umaro which I don't know yet if he's good) and then a choice of 2 5 star Burst relics. And as someone who has every single one on there people consider a "prize" ALL of them are game changing (VoF less so now then when I got it, but the rest hold up
Today)

30 dollars for 2 God tier bursts and a bonus 11 draw is the best we are probably ever gonna get. If you want to gen F2P forever I don't blame you. But if
Even for one second ever you thought of maybe spending cash on this game, this is the moment, DeNa's (admittedly incompetentence...) earned it.

Xuxon posted...

aww yeah got Seph's burst2 from the draw itself. along with 10 3*s but who cares. lucked into being worth it even if i didn't get to chose a freebie.

I got Seph's BSB2 from the draw as well. It's not amazing, but I'm
Pretty happy with it so far.

i definitely wish i could take back all those dollar pulls and replace them with this. but i'm not spending anymore when i've gone pretty casual on the game and i'd much rather spend on FEH if i was gonna spend on a gacha game again.
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Yeah I think dollar pulls have been pretty poor relative value since they buffed the 11 pull I think-- it's probably better value to just buy an 11 pull every 30 banners ha ha.
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SSJBKK20Vegito posted...

RPGlord95 posted...

Oh also because they are rarer. Armor over weapon. I seem to have 5 weapons for every 1armor in relics.

This game all comes down to soul breaks now bro. Plus 10 attack is cool, but even one legend node is the same. You want whichever one gives you a better soul break be it Armor or weapon. Armor is cool if it boosts an element. I desperately want a Holy armor for a physical finally :( ) but other than that defense and resist rarely matter as base stats. Cause all high end content will kill you anyway if you don't kill them. And even base attack pluses are meaningnless and less cause you should almost always be at soft
Cap after your boosts

I am not huge on following the trends to beat stuff. I really try to win going my own routes.

Except uhhh what was it that was awful. One of the Nightmare bosses. I cheesed him hard.
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oh yeah now i definitely wouldn't do them. i only did them for the first 8 months or so. which of course looks even worse now. i never even got a single 5* from them, in 50-something pulls.
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RPGlord95 posted...

SSJBKK20Vegito posted...

RPGlord95 posted...

Oh also because they are rarer. Armor over weapon. I seem to have 5 weapons for every 1armor in relics.

This game all comes down to soul breaks now bro. Plus 10 attack is cool, but even one legend node is the same. You want whichever one gives you a better soul break be it Armor or weapon. Armor is cool if it boosts an element. I desperately want a Holy armor for a physical finally :( ) but other than that defense and resist rarely matter as base stats. Cause all high end content will kill you anyway if you don't kill them. And even base attack pluses are meaningnless and less cause you should almost always be at soft
Cap after your boosts

I am not huge on following the trends to beat stuff. I really try to win going my own routes.

Except uhhh what was it that was awful. One of the Nightmare bosses. I cheesed him hard.

Shinryu?

Fuck Him... fuck him to death and forever...

A little over a year ago I would have been all over it but right now I need that 30 dollars elsewhere
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I had more issues with Gilgamesh than i did with Shinryu actually.

Gilgamesh kept one shotting my white mage on the first turn.

Beat Shinryu first try and mastered
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Oh derp brain fart.

No the uhhh launcher cannon guy from FFV in the Nightmare.

I used the Alph reflect damage strat
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Lopen posted...

Yeah I think dollar pulls have been pretty poor relative value since they buffed the 11 pull I think-- it's probably better value to just buy an 11 pull every 30 banners ha ha.

Yeah.

I haven't done dollar pulls since guaranteed 5. I still spend money, (too much) but the dollar pulls make no sense now.

If I start spending money with any regularity again it'll probably be exclusively on Lucky Draws, with maybe an occasional 100 gem on a banner I really really like.

Spending to get a specific item is a trap, though. Either you're disappointed, or you're tricked into spending more than you ever wanted to.
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Tossed 50 mythril at FF 15 to get some much needed synergy.

2/11:

Prompto SSB and USB

Hmm, well I have a pentabreak for him at least, and an imperil lightning.
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Okay so after some deliberations, I've ruled out

Sabin (actually have a lot of tools to make a fire team right now, but his OSB is probably enough to help that. Never use him on main team)
Yuffie (seems obsoleted by her other bsb as well as her other stuff, and her SSB is good enough for now)
Cloud of Darkness (Got a lot of mages that fill her niche that I like better, including a Seymour I have two breaks for already)
Vanille (insta heals kinda step on Minwu's gimmick and I'm probably not gonna use her much-- her burst commands seem kinda bad too)
Larsa (like Nick I don't like to use strong units for the sake of it, and despite being useful dude isn't exciting)

Leaving the options to

Dark Knight Cecil, Faris, Rikku for first
Yuna for second

So I guess I'll grab Yuna's at least. I wish we could delay this selection till the next FFX banner. If those Rikku daggers weren't in there as a secondary goal on a Tidus banner I'd definitely get those as it seems like the most useful relic of the three. But I just know I'll get one of them if I get it.
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On Fujin's BSB people need to stop looking at it as a pure wind DPS like Alph's when it serves a diffrent purpose. It's the Vaan BSB of mages and it's seriously good on almost any mage team, especially if you can hit the softcap easily. And wind magic in general is rare.

I also did my first d200 Cid Mission in the FF6 torment with Terra, Sabin, Locke, Mog and Relm. Not too bad since I have Locke and Sabin's OSB which are fire and Terra's USB (no OSB through, but Meltdown did 3x9999) Mog had to go on the offense too lol. The mooks were actually harder to deal with than the main boss, mostly the bombs since they absorb fire (only had fire magic on Terra, and wanted to save the meltdown for the boss) and the ninja and robot have some pretty hard hitting AoE attacks.

Also what's up with Lion not having sharpshooter even though she can use Bows and thrown weapons?
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Took Ayame's BSB off the anniversary one. Not sure what to take from the CT, since I have most of it, and don't really need the others. Maybe Sarah's.

Mastered the 250 and 300 FT difficulties for the FF 5 torment. Having Bartz's USB + him LDed + tornado and quake strike really isn't fair. Main issue was making sure all 3 piglets died around the same time.

Will do the FF 6 torments when my stamina gets back up. Drawtaliate neuters the Erebus', so it's basically just nuking Hidon down.
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Is Yuna's BSB2 the same as Lulu's Focus?

No. Yuna BSB2 provides Mag/Mnd +30% in the normal way, while Lulu's Focus grants a special Mag+20%/Res+50% that stacks with everything, even other SBs that boost both Magic and Resistance. (I'm under the impression that every "give different bonuses to different stats" SB needs this special treatment).

Yeah I think dollar pulls have been pretty poor relative value since they buffed the 11 pull I think-- it's probably better value to just buy an 11 pull every 30 banners ha ha.

Figure the relic draw rate is 14%. On average, then, one 11-pull gets you 2.4 relics (10 chances at 14% and one at 100%). But 30 100-gem pulls will get you 30 x 0.14 = 4.2 relics. If I spent money on this game (and I don't intend to) I'd prioritize festival gem banners > 100-gem pulls > normal banners.
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Already had Fujin,Yuna, and Larsa so I grabbed Sarah. Another +Holy armor and a decent healer burst. Not bad

Still not dropping 30 bucks on relics that will be outdated in a year. If Clouds USB was an option I would be ultra tempted, but without it I just cant justify spending that much real money.
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I also bet this will come around again next year with USBs

At which point if I dont have Agariss I would probably pull the trigger

But until then!
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masterplum posted...

I also bet this will come around again next year with USBs

At which point if I dont have Agariss I would probably pull the trigger

But until then!

I just want Ultima Blade so badly... so I hope their is a beginner relic 4 that has it.

After getting Rune Blade, Metsu, True Masamune, Squall 2, and Metamorphosis Gloves the last 6 days it is LITERALLY the only relic in the entire game that I really have ever wanted that I don't have.

Just give me his BSB2.... :(

Would pay 200 for Ultima Blade...

I can factually say I've already spent over 200 trying to get it. I was actually REALLY sad when I got Zack's CSB and Cloud's USB on the same draw (I mean, not really, I was obviously over the Moon) but I was sad because it meant I had cleared out the banner on the first draw and therefore really couldn't justify continuing to draw for Ultima Blade while having like 8 dupes on there...

I've decided I will be doing the gem-only draw after all, as it seems that it's a better deal than 30 100 gems now that there's two free relics instead of just one.
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Lolo_Guru posted...

I've decided I will be doing the gem-only draw after all, as it seems that it's a better deal than 30 100 gems now that there's two free relics instead of just one.

Yup. Definitely.

Do you need help with your choices?

If you're desperate for Ultima Blade you could try your luck (and reallly test it) on the beginner banner or the upcoming renewal banner.

Ultima Blade is my white whale as well since it have Cloud's USB and Zack's BSB/USB but it always slips through, it doesn't return until maybe the Third Year Anniversary *grumblegrumble*

I did the 3-man Cid Mission on Hidon, this version hit a lot harder than the d200/250, even with Mog's dances and SSB and protect/shellga, and stupid status effects suck too. Usually it's been that the d300 actually did less damage than the d250 since their HP is so high but I guess Hidon along with Shadow Dragon are going to start a trend of being stronger (probably due to the Cloud/Bartz USB meta now.)
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SSJSephirothGokuX123 posted...

If you're desperate for Ultima Blade you could try your luck (and reallly test it) on the beginner banner or the upcoming renewal banner.

Ultima Blade is my white whale as well since it have Cloud's USB and Zack's BSB/USB but it always slips through, it doesn't return until maybe the Third Year Anniversary *grumblegrumble*

I did the 3-man Cid Mission on Hidon, this version hit a lot harder than the d200/250, even with Mog's dances and SSB and protect/shellga, and stupid status effects suck too. Usually it's been that the d300 actually did less damage than the d250 since their HP is so high but I guess Hidon along with Shadow Dragon are going to start a trend of being stronger (probably due to the Cloud/Bartz USB meta now.)

Any idea what the numbers are on the Renewal Banner?

It's the same for all of the renewable banners, all the relics up to the August FFXV event. It's better than the beginner banner because of no uniques but there's still a lot of fossils there.
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Beat all difficulties of the FF 6 (Hidon) torment. The trash rounds, especially in the difficulty 250, were quite annoying. At least a few S/Ls due to berserk by those grenades. With Cloud as drawtaliator, Hidon wasn't bad at all. Just focused him down ASAP.

For the FT version, I decided to race against the Erebus', hopefully killing Hidon before they exploded. I used Relm's BSB, just in case I didn't succeed, so that Last Stand would get everyone living at least. Thankfully, I killed Hidon just before they had their 8th turns.
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Odd, I hit clear cache to get rid of all of the 30th Anniversary data, but it doesn't seem to be redownloading much.
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Ultimates mastered, pretty easy, hardest was the Cid Mission but even that wasn't too bad.

Sabertusks are cake, just using Valigarmanda took off a decent chunk of their health... without faithaga. Once Raines got his burst off these dogs were put to sleep.

Bandersnatch was one I was worried about at first since FFXV is still new and I don't have have relics for Gladiolus or Iris, but this boss doesn't do a lot of damage and curada and Enkidu were enough healing to keep my party alive. Nocius used Lightning Dive and his burst (through Lighting Dive did a lot more damage) Promoto used his super, then full break for reverse wall, and built meter for his burst which also stacked on more breaks, Aranea built meter for her OSB so I didn't have to deal with the weak phase for too long and Gladiolus used Gaia's cross to soak up the hits that reduced most of his single hit attacks to 300 damage, with that the only attack I had to worry about was the aoe roars.

Adamantoise is really easy but his roar can overwrite shout with it's attack debuff so it's probably better to go mage here, I went with Raines, Desch, Mog, Tyro and Relm. Used AoE attacks until the arm was dead then used single targets on the head, and you just have to hope you don't get screwed over by confusing roar.
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Got my first sub-30 clear on Dark Dragon. It was a S/L fest, but I'm still happy about it.

Ramza - Lifesiphon, Entrust - Shout - Mako Might
Beatrix - Guardbringer - BSB - Weakness+30% (full Legend Spheres)
WoL - Protectga, Divine Cross - BSB - Weapon+30%
Agrias - Shellga, Saint Cross - OSB - TGC RM
Larsa - Wrath, Entrust - BSB - Dr Mog
RW Wall, Magicite Enkidu

Beatrix and Agrias had +40% Holy equips, WoL had +20%. Also, Beatrix armor was strong enough to get 4 hits Guardbringers with Wall, Protectga and burst mode.
Larsa gives the first bar to Beatrix, who opens with her BSB. Beatrix needs to doublecast the Guardbringer, so it's a 65% chance to S/L at the 10:50 mark.
After that, it's a dps rush, while praying that Larsa and Enkidu can keep the damage dealers alive. Even then, I'm at the mercy of rng, to get some doublecasts, and not too many of Shadow Dragon's deadlier AoEs.

I'll have to start looking for a build that works without relying on this kind of RNG luck, but for now, it's a start. After I get Raines to 99 (picked his BSB from the gem banner), things might get easier. Might be more reliable to find a build that can just deal with losing a character.
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