Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

[Firewind]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

I have got to say though that this game forces you to farm in the most assbackwards method. Since the game is so linear that it's literally Point A to Point B with no backtracking, you have to find a save point near lucrative enemies and fight them, save, then quit and reload your file. It's so stupid.... I've been spamming this 1 fight for about 15 minutes now because I'm getting a whopping 156 CP out for a 20 second fight. That's damn fast CP at my level.

The game is pretty much like FFVI and FFX where it's linear for the first part of the game but opens up later so you can do sidequests and farm them. There are plenty of monster hunting side quests you can do and it's also much, much easier to backtrack later on.

Really the only weapons you need to upgrade are Lightning and Sazh's starting weapons (and maybe Snow's if you really want to) at the start. You don't really need to worry about upgrading stuff until later anyway when you go to fight some of the elite marks.

Really? Are you being dense on purpose?

What is so hard about understanding the following instructions? :

1) Switch to the Ravager Class to keep the Gestalt Gauge constantly ticking up when the boss is in defense mode

2) Switch to the Sentinel Class when it's on the offensive while spamming defend to fill up the Gestalt Gauge

3) Provoke will not do anything to the gauge because the boss is immune to provoke

[Kailea]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

oh so the game does open up more later? mmm interesting, I think I will try to get a copy from Game Fly then, and buy it later to add it to my collection. I have to return the copy I have now to my boss though -.-

[DakAttack]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

What is so hard about understanding the following instructions? :

1) Switch to the Ravager Class to keep the Gestalt Gauge constantly ticking up when the boss is in defense mode

2) Switch to the Sentinel Class when it's on the offensive while spamming defend to fill up the Gestalt Gauge

3) Provoke will not do anything to the gauge because the boss is immune to provoke

You're an idiot.

[Mezlo]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

How far in before you get to the Gesault?

[Kailea]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

You're an idiot.

how so? Fire understands it as much as I did

[DakAttack]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

how so? Fire understands it as much as I did

And you're an idiot too? How did you not see this response coming?

Somehow, neither of you can grasp what I'm saying. The hints are telling you certain things, while what actually works is something else. Not a difficult concept.


Anyways, I was collecting similarities between Lightning and Cloud and I managed to come up with three before forgetting one of them. Her face resembles Cloud's, and they're both "ex soldiers".

And there seems to be a real lack of emotion. I'm still waiting for Snow and Hope's simultaneous nervous breakdowns.

[Malacite]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

The first thing you see about the defensive role is wrong, because sitting in the role itself does absolutely nothing. Similarly, the second hint is wrong because soaking up damage doesn't fill the meter, either. The first hint doesn't even mesh with the previous two, and the third doesn't even attempt to masquerade as useful.

No, you're the idiot for not being able to take a hint.

Firewind is 100% right. I beat Shiva with absolutely no issues, just spamming my defensive abilities and using a potion or two if I got desperate, though the other sister actually heals you for some reason if you get low o.O

TBH I didn't even bother swinging at her because it's too hard to build up chain bonuses with just 1 character, and defending against all her attacks really cranked up the Gestalt gauge.


Shiva was nothing though; Just wait until Odin, he doesn't screw around. Took me several tries before getting him down pat and even then it was a close call.


I have to say the game just doesn't feel like an FF, at least not so far. I find the constant jumping between action and story segments to be a slightly annoying and holy crap is earning gil ever ridiculous. I don't care if it makes sense, I miss having random encounters drop gil damn it. I've been loathe to sell any components or gear for money because I'm trying to upgrade my stuff which is working failry well so far; Lightning has just short of 200 STR now and I'm at the start of chapter 6. She hits like an absolute monster and I could push her even further but then I'd be all out of materials and they don't sell too cheaply at the shops.

Speaking of which, I finally found out that there are 3 distinct component types marked by the icon next to their name;

There's organic material (marked by some fangs or w/e) that give low EXP but will increase your EXP multiplier. Then you have (metallic?) materials that are marked by a Hammer icon which lower your multiplier but give large amounts of EXP. The 3rd is upgrade material marked by a crystal which are used specifically for transforming a maxed out weapon to it's next tier (there are 3 tiers). Tier 1 weapons max out around 22~26, and Tier 2 can go as high as 100 (you'll know it's maxed when it's level is displayed as a star)

I haven't gotten around to dismantling anything yet, though the game says you can only get some ingredients that way.

[Firewind]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

Shiva was nothing though; Just wait until Odin, he doesn't screw around. Took me several tries before getting him down pat and even then it was a close call.

Odin is basically FFXIII's Matador. He does not fuck around, heck he WILL have Hope dead right from the start if you don't switch Lightning to Medic and spam the crap out of Cure pretty much the second the battle begins. Everyone dies to him a few several times a lot on every play through because it's at that point in the game that the tutorial ends, the difficulty really starts to ramp up and "lol/brainafkauto-fight" will get you killed in most battles

I have a friend who also neglected to keep Lightnings's Ravager and Medic sphere grids up to date too. I think he lost count of how many times he timed out on that fight due to physical attacks barely scratching him.

[Mezlo]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

There's a way to restart a fight right? I remember something saying you can restart it until you beat it. That means not having to go abck to the last save point right? How? Start then Select? I think that restarts it to the last save point though.

[Firewind]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

There's a way to restart a fight right? I remember something saying you can restart it until you beat it. That means not having to go abck to the last save point right? How? Start then Select? I think that restarts it to the last save point though.

The game is very forgiving with Game Overs since it's pretty easy to get the ledaer killed from Chapter 4 onwards. if the leader died you just go back to before the encounter with is pretty useful considering that random battles can hit SMT difficulty at times and getting a game over to a lucky crit then having to reload from your last save only to be randomly critted to death again on your way back to where you died was bloody annoying.

I have no idea what happens if you get a total party wipe though since almost all of your deaths will result from either you getting hit by a random crit or you pulling hate off the tank when a boss is in stagger mode and getting one shotted for whatever reason.

[Cheezeman3000]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

I had the ending ruined for me on the gamefaq's message board. The story was fun until I got to Lake Bresha last night and

*SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THROUGH THE GAME YET*

basically heard everyone talking about their focus and how they need to save Cocoon. Based on what I heard, Vanille and Fang somehow save Cocoon through crystalization and it forms the game's logo. Don't spoil anything else for me (seriously!), but I would like to know if the whole rest of the game is spent trying to figure out how to save Cocoon? ---YES OR NO ANSWERS ONLY!--- 'Cause if that's the case, and I already know the answer, then this is gonna be quite the letdown.

Other than that, the environments are some of the most beautiful I've ever seen so far in ANY game, and I've only seen two. Really excited to see the rest of them.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

Ok I started today finally. Probably won't be playing too often since "another game" will be keeping me busy. I sat for over 10 hours today and the very first thing that got me was the camera.Totally forgot about it after playing the JP version so upstairs I trekked to get my Dramamine, popped some, waited 20 mins and started again. While I love the graphics (and usually do with FF's), the game just does not make me want to sit there and play it for long periods of time. No 8 hours is not long for me, I usually will play for 24+ hours when I crack one open. My son came home from work, went upstairs because I was dominating the tv and about an hour later he came out of his "cave" and saw me sitting at my desk. He said "Well, I can tell people to buy it used or wait for the bargain bin huh?" I looked at him confused and he said "Well I know you and if its good we won't see you for a day to a day and a half......and here you are already." He's right. It's ok, but its just not that good.

[Mezlo]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

I'm loving the storyline and graphics / sound so far. My roommate came upstairs to my bedroom last night, pulled up a chair, and just sat there for an hour watching me play. When I told my GF I was going to play it last night, she was totally bummed because she couldn't be there to watch. She asked me not to play too much because she was already sucked into the storyline / graphics. I had to put the control down last night when the CS got OMG she'd kill me if she missed this part. It is very linear so far, and most the mobs are easy to take down, but the movie is breath taking...

[Cheezeman3000]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

-- SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T MADE IT TO THE WHITEWOOD YET --

I'm about 10.5 hours in now and it has slowed down quite a bit, but it's not nearly as bad as some people are making it out to be. And not nearly as linear... I am constantly searching for side paths and secrets. Like, in the factory-type place with Sazh, you had to turn on the electricity and then you could backtrack to find some loot. That made it feel a lot less linear. Sure it's definitely tube-like at times, but that doesn't make it boring, and FFX did the same exact thing and no one complained about that. I also liked that with Snow we got to run around an actual town.

Bottom line is, it's no more linear than FFX was.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Have you got FFXIII yet? Whatcha think?

Mal, you're supposed to be boycotting FFXIII. The act of playing, even if you just rented it, is not something you do if you're boycotting.

Of course, boycotting FFXIII would actually mean boycotting SE by extention and all their games, and since you weren't doing that, why didn't you just go out and buy this one, too?