FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

[Mezlo]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

When is a good time to fuse monsters? Should you level them to their max and then fuse them with one of the mobs that's a "late bloomer?" Also, if you want to keep the job the monster has, from your last post im guessing you can only fuse with the job you want the mob to be? or does the mob take the new job of the mob thats being fused?

[Firewind]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

I actually called it in countless other threads. It's now fine for me to say I liked FFXIII now that XIII-2 is out because the people out there for things to whine about are focused on the newest FF game. Not calling out anyone on here of course but if you go to gamefaqs or IGN or any other popular gaming site you will see exactly what I'm on about.

I'll probably pick up the game some time next week. The game store I preordered the game from will hold my copy for up to a week and I would have gotten it today but it looks like Hoth outside and I have a cold so I'll probably get it when I feel well enough to walk through a blizzard.

[Icemage]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

When is a good time to fuse monsters? Should you level them to their max and then fuse them with one of the mobs that's a "late bloomer?" Also, if you want to keep the job the monster has, from your last post im guessing you can only fuse with the job you want the mob to be? or does the mob take the new job of the mob thats being fused?

I JUST got my copy in the mail from Amazon, but from extensive time spent twiddling with monster infusion in the demo, you'll want to horribly abuse the monsters that are Early Peakers that max out at level 20. Why? Because the level 1 upgrade materials cost almost nothing (relatively speaking), and that's pretty much all you need to max them. That means you can just get them, buy them all the up to max level, and Infuse them away to some other creature, transferring whatever abilities you can, then capturing the monster AGAIN and repeating.

Late Bloomers are scary, I'm not sure what exactly you'd do with them, since they require so many resources to level up (so multiple evolutions + infusions are probably not such a good idea). I can only imagine that they have some really powerful abilities locked away toward the end of their evolution chain which may be transferable to other monsters, but they'd better be pretty good to wait that long.


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

I've just gotten 1 of the best monsters in the game, Chichu, but holy crap does the little SOB require some expensive mats. So does my Gold Chocobo, whom I need to max out so I can get some collector's catalogs ><;


Tried the final boss, got my ass handed to me even on easy mode as he pulls out an ultimate attack that you can't even respond to - so if you don't have enough HP or aren't already on SEN, tough shit. There are a LOT of enemies in the surrounding area that are obscenely hard as well... so I guess I've got more grinding to do. *sigh*


Really hurting for gil and monster materials. Also struggling to set up a decent paradigm pack... so far it looks like Chichu & those medical flan dudes are good, not sure of a 3rd though...

I hate to put a SEN in my pack because the only time I'd use it is for SEN x3 vs bosses, as some of the nastier enemies seem to just ignore provoke. I wouldn't mind having a a decent SYN monster so that I can free up Noel as a medic, but I dunno...

I prefer to have a COM, RAV & MED in my pack, especially since SYN can't use haste or enspells anymore (again, thanks for that SE.)

[Mezlo]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

another question! i got to the part in the game where i get a casino key, and it looks like im outside the casino, but the doors are locked and wont let me in the front door. did i mess up? how do i get it in?

[Etra]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

Really enjoying the game so far. I don't feel incredibly overwhelmed with the whole time line thing at all. Just looking at it like X-2's missions... However, with that in mind, I really wish they would of mixed up the combat and storytelling more. The two just feel so segmented and seperate from each other. You go through 30 minutes of cutscenes, then 30 minutes of battles. Never intertwining, always segmented. I find that to be the only thing I dislike about the game. And I feel really bad hurting the poor Cait-Siths. :C

Oh, best music in any JRPG I've played to date. (Big plus to not having stupidly annoying trophies to get, either [I'm looking at you, hold-every-item-in-the-game trophy from XIII.])

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

Oh the story hits you like a tonne of bricks soon enough; there's parts that reference terminator, sliders, all kinds of BS lol...

Shit, the game even goes into the forbidden territory of making a paradox of itself god damn it.

I also just found out that it was made by Tri-Ace!!! Certainly explains a lot about the game, though I still question a lot of the decisions. So far I've seen the "ending" as well as 1 of the paradox endings, now I have to get the others and the remaining fragments so I can unlock the secret ending. The dumbass @ Joystiq who reviewed the game took points away for having an "inconclusive ending" - dude seriously should have known better than to think the first ending you see, in a game about time travel and paradoxes, wouldn't be the real ending.


That said, there's a lot of shit that happens in the game that contradicts itself. Some of it is forgivable, but a lot of it isn't - like how you're supposed to get the real ending, as it involves things that quite definitely end the game and the only explanation is SE did just for shits & giggles. I don't want to spoil anything and I'm ruining my piece for the podcast here as well damn it, so I'm going to leave it at that.

Also, do NOT fuck with Chocobos. Holy crap are they strong!

[Etra]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

Are you able to accidentally skip some of the paradox endings? There's a guide on how to see them all, but I'd be too afraid of playing the game without a guide and accidentally triggering one of the endings, without seeing the normal one. :s

[Mezlo]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

When is a good time to fuse monsters? Should you level them to their max and then fuse them with one of the mobs that's a "late bloomer?" Also, if you want to keep the job the monster has, from your last post im guessing you can only fuse with the job you want the mob to be? or does the mob take the new job of the mob thats being fused?

Mal, any insight on this? I did just notice the area i cleared before this i didnt get any fragments... Is that the problem?

[Icemage]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

You can infuse any monster with any other one. HOWEVER, it's "usually" a good idea to fuse jobs that match because otherwise you lose all of the job abilities (i.e. spells, special attacks) because a Ravager monster can't learn Ruin or De-Protect or whatever.

The only things that transfer when you Infuse are Passive Traits (i.e. Magic Resist +10%, Strength + 10%, etc.) and Job Abilities (Blitz, Ruin, Firaga, Shell, etc.). You can only transfer Job Abilities if both monsters are the same type (RAV -> RAV), and even then some monsters cannot learn some abilities. You CAN transfer Passive Traits - sometimes - to monsters of other types. For instance, one of the first Sentinel-types you get has Early Bloomer and a HP+25% passive. Get him to level 20 and then Infuse him, and pretty much ANY other monster can learn that HP+25% trait, which is very useful. So a good game plan would be to get one of those guys, max him out ASAP, and Infuse him to something else for his HP+25% trait, then get ANOTHER one of that Sentinel creature and repeat.

Some types of passives are more rare and/or only few if any other creatures can learn it. For instance, one of my creatures has Feral Speed II, which lets it gain Synchronization at a faster rate, but I've yet to find any other creature than can learn that ability if I Infuse it.


Icemage

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

A number of creatures are also 1-time only, like chichu and the gold chocobo so make damn sure before infusing one.

And as I discovered, you can go back and replay any area and go back for stuff you missed. For example, those 2 fragments I was f'd off about (because I can't select that area on the map at all) simply requires I close the gate for Academia 4XX and just redo the whole thing (which is just a bunch of CS thank god) and then go through the gate again and it should stick me back to where I was. After I'm done that, I can just re-open the gate and my original progress is restored (your inventory is never affected by closing or opening gates, nor are your maps).


From what I've been hearing, Red Blue Green Chocobo is the best pack you can get, using Red as a Ruin spammer as he can get up to 1200 Magic if you level him right (though he's very expensive). All 3 of them have "Pack Mentality" and are already very strong - having the 3 of them together in the same paradigm pack gives them a +30% bonus to STR & MAG on top of their existing boosts though which is what pushes them over the edge. There should be a few monsters you can also transfer "role affinity" from as well, which gives them a further boost of 10~20% based on if Noel and/or Sarah match the same role as the chocobo.

The thing about Chichu is that his attack speed is virtually unmatched - the thing just does damage. Unfortunately, his stats don't cap nearly as high as red chocobo.


I'd still like to see how Omega Weapon performs though, but I refuse to pay for him even if he ever becomes DLC. Even for $1, not gonna do it out of principal. All I know is he is a COM and even if you beat him in the arena, he's not a 100% drop. I did however get the Don Tonberry 1/1 out of blind luck for the Beast Tamer trophy XD

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

Anyone have the official guide or a link they can PM me to a good torrent for it?

I need a good Cloudburst guide...

I know what skills I want to put on him, but I have no idea what monsters to infuse for them and at what levels so that I don't accidentally overwrite any passive skills and give him all the correct role abilities (he lacks Ice magic for starters).

I'm nearly done the game, only missing a few fragments - the bestiary, 2 paradox endings and 3 boss monsters in the Archylte Steppe. The last 2 paradox endings are not easy to get however and require having top-tier monsters to assist you. I've got a good build down for Chichu, just need to finish him. Also need to nab me a purple & green chocobo, otherwise i'm set for monsters etc. But the builds are another story @-@;

I can only find a good, concise layout for how to level Chichu.

[Nestama]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

Word for word in the guide I just got (regarding Cloudburst... I'm really trying not to spoil myself even with the most minor details):

"Cloudburst and Debris, on the other hand, are in many respects the best overall Ravagers in the game. When you acquire a Crystarium Expansion, be sure to take an extra ATB segment. Cloudburst has good HP growth, while Debris takes half damage from physical attacks and all elements. Cloudburst is arguably the better of the two, with access to Friendly Fire (a very potent Feral Link), but they really are two sides of the same valuable coin. Use Cloudburst for Ice and Wind, Debris for Fire and Lightning and infuse them with Chain Boost II (available from Pink Lily)."

[Malacite]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

REALLY?

That's all it says ? I've found several posts across multiple sights giving the same detailed build for Chichu, telling you which monsters to infuse and how high you need to level them... just not for CB or any of the other crazy mobs.

The reason CB is so damned amazing is his high MAG cap of 1500 and casting speed of 170 (which is supposed to be mentioned in the guide) - for a reference, Sarah's casting speed is 100. Couple this with Auto-Haste, Faith-Feeder (Auto-faith + more dmg to mobs with faith), Magic +35%, Chain Boost II & ATB Charge for general nastiness.

He lacks ice magic, so I plan on using some of the cheaper/easier to level mobs that do have ice magic to feed them to him and just refuse any abilities I don't want. They really should have left the crystarium the fuck alone from the 1st game though, at least to the degree where you could visually confirm what abilities were coming up and when. You CAN sort of hover around looking at what's coming up, but it's a free-roam camera and you have to pretty much count in your head - not to mention it only shows the current crystarium; you can't view what's up ahead at the next phase (higher grade materials).

I'm more than a little pissed atm too, because one of the enemies I needed for Chichu is apparently stupidly rare - there's only 2 of them in the game, and you only encounter them during Academia 400. They were mini-bosses though and not found with Mog or in a chest, so I'm hoping a time reversal will let me try again.

[Cheezeman3000]

Re: FFXIII-2 gameplay, strategies, comments, etc...

Agh, this thread is quickly devolving into end-game spoilers, I must now take my leave until I beat it!