I'm still in the beginning of chapter 2! x) And I haven't written anything from the first chapter yet... But I refuse to resign, even if I never complete the Playthrough (like I haven't finished the last chapter of the VII playthrough... oops...).
Everyone needs to become teh hardcorz for a day and get caught up. Chapter 4 is actually the shortest chapter if you play it from start to finish with no side quests (I might be lying slightly but who's sad enough to check haw haw haw) even though on paper I thought it would be one of the longest.
Fangu for example is getting caught up nicely, which is good because now I don't have to threaten to find a way to hack her computer and ban her from all internet until she gets it done. Good Fangu *pats on head condescendingly*.
Also there better be more bitches on Skype tomorrow because last weekend was a poor show, I think there were only around 5 of us (it was still fun but get on there bitches). I will find a way to punish you all horribly if you don't, give me time
Anyway, the next chapter update will be up soon for tomorrow's playthrough, stay tuned
"Who designed this system of bells opening doors? Why do the bells break when you use them? Who thought of this? What are these bells made of?!"
Actually, I was quite surprised by how much I remembered of Gizamaluke's Grotto and Burmecia. I remembered that going through the one door on your right in the Grotto would take you to some moogles, and then I remembered that you had to go out and around on the balconies to get to the chest in Burmecia, etc. I'm only surprised because it's been several years since I actually played the game, though I have seen bits and pieces of it played here and there a couple of years ago...there are still things that I don't recall, and kind of just stare at Force with a blank expression when he goes on about certain things, but still.
The Grotto and Burmecia are a lot darker (even just aesthetically speaking) than any of the other locations we've seen yet. Well, I suppose the Evil Forest was also rather dim, but it was, well, evil.
Zorn and Thorn make an appearance in this chapter. How do you feel about this dynamic duo?
We did give him the nut. I...actually don't remember him saying anything about a vine, but I could have been briefly distracted during dialogue, but in any case, we didn't go climbing any vines.
The first of a few scenario shifts to another party happens in this chapter. Do you think this was a good choice for the narrative?
Umm, now that you mention it, I actually felt the transition was a little jarring, but I understand why they did it that way (or at least, why I assume they did it that way). Because your party is split into two, it makes sense to show that time is passing for each group, and what they're doing, etc.
There are a further 4 chocographs you can dig up in this chapter. Did you get them in addition to the two available in the previous chapter?
Well, it's a little hard to say that now, actually, having already played the game and knowing who he is. "Stupid character design" is pretty much all I thought when I saw him at the end of the chapter.
This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?
We actually didn't have a ton of trouble stealing the items this time, which was a relief. We had some difficulties keeping everyone alive, but we didn't get a Game Over during Gizamaluke, even though I don't know if we actually used any real thought-out strategy. We did finally use Pumpkin Head successfully, as at one point Quina only had 8 HP ...but then of course he/she died. Ha. For the fight against Beatrix, we were down to just Freya when she finally did her super move.
I went back a bit to get some things I'd missed, and started another game to play along side (for capping and to go for a near perfect run, while I just play the other normally). Plus I had lots to do before so I've been a bit busy
Spoiler free heads up: there are a couple of detour-requiring side quests in this chapter, and one of them is only possible at this point in the game (hint: it involves returning to a sleepy little village).
You have the optional choice to revisit an old place and visit a new little place where you can pick up a few things. Did you go to either of these places?
Have you run into any of the friendly creatures or the ragtime mouse yet?
Did you pick up the latest Kupo nut? Note: it's only available if you backtracked to Gizamaluke's Grotto after speaking to the moogle in Burmecia!
So; Treno. What d'you think of it? Lots of nice optional things to do here; the fight club, the auction house, visiting the Stellazio queen. What did you do?
Ok I've been asking this since I first played the game when I was a kid, what moron came up with the bell opening doors system? It's completely idiotic and pointless plus the bells brake after one use, I mean people at least make them strong enough to be used more than once. I think this is were the game gets more serious as Grotto and Burmecia are much darker, getting attacked tends to do that to places.
Zorn and Thorn make an appearance in this chapter. How do you feel about this dynamic duo?
Well I obviously know who that is so all I can say is are we really sure
Kuja's
a dude? That was really a horrible choice of costume.
This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?
Gizamaluke really didn't like Quina, it kept killing whatever Quina is. I managed to steal something from Gizamaluke, can't remember what though. I mostly used Freya's dragon move against it. Normally I would be pissed with someone moping the floor with me but damn Beatrix is so badass, the whole thing was extremely awesome. Surprisingly no one was dead when she did her super move.
Ok I've been asking this since I first played the game when I was a kid, what moron came up with the bell opening doors system? It's completely idiotic and pointless plus the bells brake after one use, I mean people at least make them strong enough to be used more than once. I think this is were the game gets more serious as Grotto and Burmecia are much darker, getting attacked tends to do that to places.
I'm not completely sure, but based on the location of the Grotto (between two major kingdoms), the way the Grotto is designed (difficult to pass through) and the way the Burmecians reverentially describe Gizamaluke as "Master", I think it forms part of Burmecia's defences. That would explain why the doors need special keys (bells) before they will open: an enemy, no matter how strong, would not be able to reach the other side without acquiring some bells. It would not, however, explain why the doors stay open forever after they've been opened by Zidane's party!
For the narrative, yes. For gameplay, not so much as I wanted to restore and re-equip my foursome after running out of Potions/ Hi-Potions. It felt kinda unfinished. I didn't know they would heal up.
There are a further 4 chocographs you can dig up in this chapter. Did you get them in addition to the two available in the previous chapter?
"Is that a man or a woman?" Or. I kinda knew he was a dude, but that outfit had me wondering what kind of 'version' of 'a man' he is. As I said to Lex, "this game works really hard at being about genderlessness".
I know his intro is on peoples Top 10 greatest villain intros, but to me it was all wtf.
This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?
I stole an Elixir, the Ice Staff and a Magus Hat from Gizamaluke. From Beatrix I stole the Chain Plate and a Phoenix Down.
For Gizamaluke I knew about the Tent trick bc Lex told me. Saved me a lot of pain. I let Quina cast Mighty Guard and Freya cast Regen. (Both Freya and Zidane still managed to die though.) The battle turned totally lulz when my party was down to 8 HP in total, because I didn't have any Potions or Hi-Potions left, just a bunch of Phoenix Downs. But I managed to take him down. For Beatrix I also knew the battle was timed, so all I had to do was Heal & Steal. Pretty boring, in other words. I'm gonna work harder at not knowing anything about the next boss fights, even if it's going to make me frustrated. I played chapter 3 without knowing a single thing and that's pretty much how I prefer it.
Other stuff:
* I spent a lot of time trying to learn Magic Hammer. No luck so far. AAA I hate those dudes.
* Zidane needs to up his HP/ protection if he's gonna keep using Protect Girls. He nobly tried to protect Freya (srlsy dude, it's Freya, she's twice as awesome as you) and got himself constantly killed by the bigger attacks.
* Twice now, I've made the mistake of using Tent before reviving all my characters.
Maybe Gizamaluke was the only one with the power to close the doors and seal them once they've been opened again and with him gone, there's no one to do it? I dunno I just thought with all the main bells apart from the Holy Bell named after him that it had something to do with him and when he was being controlled by Zorn and Thorn he obviously couldn't close the doors again without them making him...just a thought.
For the narrative, yes. For gameplay, not so much as I wanted to restore and re-equip my foursome after running out of Potions/ Hi-Potions. It felt kinda unfinished. I didn't know they would heal up.
I like Lindblum! It's big, and the atmosphere is cool. I know I mentioned being a younger me at the beach and "building a sand Lindblum". No, it wasn't impressive, nor it looked like Lindblum at all. In fact, instead of a big city with the tower in the middle, it was a huge hole in the middle and the city around it. But it was quite cool in terms if size. I wish I had taken a picture of it. I guess this shows how much I like Lindblum.
Did you synthesise anything? Now might be a good time to comment on the equipment system in the game
Synthesise all things!! I did all the available stuff, and in some cases more than one item, too. I like the equipment system. FFVII is still my favourite, but IX is very nice and the abilities system works well. I don't really have much more to add though!
Who won the festival of the hunt? Did you do this on purpose? If so, why?
Freya! Becuase I have too much money to be concerned about earning some more, and because I don't do too much about cards. The item gives me skills and stuff, so I prefer it . I did on on purpose, indeed.
SIDEQUEST TAIMU! Which quests did you complete? Do you like Hot and Cold?
I did, although the first time I played the game, I didn't!! I have various blue magics, but I forgot to get those that were on the Lindblum Plateau... Oh well, later on I guess...
Gizamaluke's Grotto and Burmecia, like every other location in this game, have a very unique style. What do you think about these places?
I love Gizamaluke's Grotto's music, and Burmecia is clearly within my favourite places in FFIX. The ambience, the atmosphere, everything is top-notch! I REALLY like it, and for a lot of time it was the very favourite place of mine in the whole game. The OST is also one of the best in the game, in my opinion.
Zorn and Thorn make an appearance in this chapter. How do you feel about this dynamic duo?
It strikes me as a bit odd since you don't get to do anything. But narrative-wise it's a sensible decision, since you at least get to see what Steiner and Dagger are doing!
There are a further 4 chocographs you can dig up in this chapter. Did you get them in addition to the two available in the previous chapter?
I was honestly not sure whether that was a man or a woman for the longest time. Strangely enough, I didn't find that odd in the slightest. I simply went "is that a man or a woman?" instead of "ew!". Short rambling, sorry.
This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?
Strategy against Gizamaluke: Steal! Steal! Steal! Steal! Steal! (in the meantime, the rest of the guys weaken him down). No healing in the whole fight, and beating him still. Yay, I think I'm overpowered .
the bell sistem is probably the most stupid thing i ever found in a FF game so far. i mean, why? why should somebody use bell as locks and keys? it's... not really logical.
also, why somebody would like to live in a place where it's always rainy? i would be always ill...
Zorn and Thorn make an appearance in this chapter. How do you feel about this dynamic duo?
it's dangerous outside? it's simply DANGEROUS?! GOOD GOD THAT WAS MY FIRST GAME OVER AND I ALMOST HAD A HEARTATTACK WHEN I SAW THAT DRAGON! AND IT'S SIMPLY DANGEROUS!
The first of a few scenario shifts to another party happens in this chapter. Do you think this was a good choice for the narrative?
finally Kuja aka the most bi villain evah.
i know some things about him (thanks Dissidia).
why he doesn't kill Zidane? i know that he abandoned Zidane when he was just a kid and now he doesn't kill him. bah, everything will be explained
This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?
mighty guard, jump, steal and a lot of magic.
i don't remember what i stole from Gizamaluke, but from Breatrix i only got Phoenix Down
also, i didn't knew i couldn't win against beatrix, so i used a lot of phoenix downs and potions. damn.
^It pretty much rains in Glasgow every single day. Even when it's not raining in the rest of the UK, or even Scotland, it rains here. On average I'd say there are one or two days per fortnight that it doesn't rain.
Last summer we had a 5 day long period in May where it didn't rain. We were loving the sun (it hit like 28 Celsius which just never happens in Scotland) but also thought the world might be ending because of the no rain scenario.
I dunno, I like it. The air is always fresh cool air. When I went to Cyprus I literally felt like there was a hairdryer blowing in my face 24/7. It's nice for a holiday, to get away and lie on the beach but if you want to go anywhere on foot it's immediate sweat and unable to breathe due to extreme heat. I don't think I could live in a place like that.
Give me rain rain rain rain rain. And winter <3 I love icy freezing cold winter.
i think i missed three chapters worth of posting so i do it all at once, except the latest which i'm still playing through
Chapter 3
- How do you feel about Lindblum?
I liked that it introduced the synthesis system, and enjoyed exploring the city.
- Did you synthesise anything? Now might be a good time to comment on the equipment system in the game
I synthesised everything. Then I bought a load of steepled hats to do the cotton robe money thing only to see there were no wrists for sale/i'm a idiot and missed them, so I am carrying around 28 pointy hats for no reason now.
I quite like the equipment/ability system in this game. Can't remember my thoughts on it before but I like it this time around.
- Who won the festival of the hunt? Did you do this on purpose? If so, why?
Zidane won first time by accident, then I restarted from an earlier save to do some other things I had missed and let Freya win.
- SIDEQUEST TAIMU! Which quests did you complete? Do you like Hot and Cold?
I caught some frogs, and played Hot and Cold until I couldn't get any more Chocographs from the forest. I did fairly well at Hot and Cold, got 650+ points before running out of Chocographs. Managed to find two of the 9 I collected so far.
- Did you go to Qu's Marsh? If so, did you obtain Quina? If so, did you spend some time learning Blue Magics?
I go Quina, and got as much Blue Magic abilities as I could. I forgot some of the enemies around the marsh on the world map, but I have got a fair number so far.
Chapter 4
- Gizamaluke's Grotto and Burmecia, like every other location in this game, have a very unique style. What do you think about these places?
I liked the music and the fact there was lots of Freya
- Zorn and Thorn make an appearance in this chapter. How do you feel about this dynamic duo?
To be honest, they haven't been doing much for me yet. I like Beatrix more so far.
- Did you give the moogle his Kupo nut? Did you heed his advice and not travel up the vine?
I gave him the kupo nut, and ignored him. I managed to escape getting completely wiped out in the forest though.
- The first of a few scenario shifts to another party happens in this chapter. Do you think this was a good choice for the narrative?
I like it when they switch up characters, so I am enjoying it.
- There are a further 4 chocographs you can dig up in this chapter. Did you get them in addition to the two available in the previous chapter?
I didn't get them all, I could only find one (Where you get the upgrade to river chocobo)
- What is your initial impression of the mysterious man at the end of the chapter?
I find it difficult to really give an initial impression now
- This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?
For Gizamaluke, I got them all. But for Beatrix, I couldn't get the Mythril Sword and gave up on getting it.
My Gizamaluke strategy was 'try to survive' for most of it while Zidane stole, then I used Freya's Jump (when she had tranced) and Vivi's magic (so was also tranced). There was a point when I thought I might die and have to steal all over again, but luckily I survived.
You have the optional choice to revisit an old place and visit a new little place where you can pick up a few things. Did you go to either of these places?
* Dali: Got the Elixir in the garden, got the Aries Stellazzio coin. I honestly thought I was going to Dali because Dagger's teacher talked about 'a tower to the west' and I automatically assumed we were heading for Dali, or, the gate to Dali, I thought that's where he lives. I enjoyed the little scene with Dagger in Dali, btw, where you see she's becoming a lot more humble.
* Quan's Dwelling: Got all of the items and the Scorpio coin
Have you run into any of the friendly creatures or the ragtime mouse yet?
So; Treno. What d'you think of it? Lots of nice optional things to do here; the fight club, the auction house, visiting the Stellazio queen. What did you do?
* Visited the Stellazio queen and exchanged my 2 coins for 1000 Gil and a Phoenix Pinion. I thought I would get AP, as the Ghost (friendly enemy) I encountered mentioned a Ladybird and I thought this was her (don't laugh) so I was a little dissapointed. Now I know these are two separate things.
* Tried fighting the dragon, got my ass handed to me five times (even with Gold Choker on) and gave up.
* Didn't get anything at the auction house; too expensive for me. Because...
* ...spent all my Gil at the Synth shop. I got an item that I equipped to Dagger which has Life.
* Grinded for 3 AP a piece.
I liked Treno. I had to 'keep the tongue straight in the mouth' to not get lost, but the areas were distinctive enough to not mix them up, which is vital for me to not getting lost. (I hate when all you can do to navigate is to remember 'two up, one to the right'.) It must be the 'maze' I've enjoyed the most in any FF game really. I enjoyed Treno and I now see I still have stuff to do.
* Black Waltz 3: Lightning Staff, Flame Staff, Steepled Hat
* Ralvurahava: I don't think I managed to steal anything. Maybe a Bone Wrist, but I bought two of those already. I didn't get to kill him and that pissed me off. Now I see he Escapes when he's damaged enough, and that is your 'kill'. Lame.
Other stuff
* Learned Night for Quinoa from Nymph (which is a total bitch btw)
A heads up - I will be away next weekend, the one after that I work the night shift which means I won't be on until midnight my time. The one after that I'm leaving and won't be home until April 2nd, so I'll be on my own for a while. I'm thinking about playing a bit further taking notes so I can type up the next chapters as accurately as possible as they are released.
• You have the optional choice to revisit an old place and visit a new little place where you can pick up a few things. Did you go to either of these places?
• Have you run into any of the friendly creatures or the ragtime mouse yet?
• Did you pick up the latest Kupo nut? Note: it's only available if you backtracked to Gizamaluke's Grotto after speaking to the moogle in Burmecia!
• So; Treno. What d'you think of it? Lots of nice optional things to do here; the fight club, the auction house, visiting the Stellazio queen. What did you do?
• Good old bosses. Steal anything new?
The old place, Dali, yup I visited it and got my Elixir, then headed to Quan’s Dwelling, picked up a couple of Ether’s and Scorpio and explored it a little too. Quan’s Dwelling is definitely an interesting place, I mean nothing major happens in it but it’s always a nice little place to keep in the back of your mind…
I’ve run into little Ghosty-pops in terms of the friendly creatures and the Mu of course, damn I swear they’re so frickin’ cute these creatures and I’ve had a couple of Ragtime encounters but I generally leave both of these little side-quests until later on at any rate when all areas are accessible.
I did pick up the next Kupo Nut but l delivered it when I had control of Zidane’s party before saving, again on that note I also went back and dug up another chocograph-piece it was the only thing new that was available at this point so apart from that there was nothing else to dig up, I spent some time building up points though and managed to get one set of Limit Points, it’s much easier to do later when Choco is more evolved though.
Treno: I really like Treno, there’s a lot of ATE’s to watch, a lot to do and a lot to explore. To start with I watched the ATE where Garnet gets pick-pocketed and reduced it to 500gil as opposed to 1000gil, then threw 130gil into the fountain to get Gemini. I did bid once at auction to get some fairy earrings but that was about it, I generally wait until later when I have tons of gil to outbid everyone and get the best stuff.
I dropped off the 5 Stellazzio coins you can get at this point in the game so got the Blood Sword as my final prize so far, a pretty nice weapon to have for Steiner at this point in the game plus Darkside is a great ability to use against most monsters. I’m not a particular fan of the “Fight Club” so I never really go for it, although it is a nice little nod towards FFVII’s battle arena albeit done in its own way.
As for the bosses I actually was quite surprised as I managed to steal all of Black Waltz 3’s items right away, normally I have major trouble doing this with Marcus, it’s the first time he’s managed to successfully steal them all right away in the entire time I’ve played IX.
A very useful weapon at this point in the game I find is Garnet’s Multina Racket, I’m always quite surprised by the strength of it, for me it was doing 300hp damage and was stronger in the beginning than even Steiner and Marcus’ weapons, so taking down the bosses with just physical attacks wasn’t a problem at all. As for Ralvurahva I did steal the items even though I already had them, but every steal count’s towards Zidane and some of his abilities available later, so I’d much rather do what I can with steal at this point.
As for levelling Garnet, Steiner and Marcus there are two places, I know of that are good levelling spots at this point, Gargan Roo and the forests outside Treno which give you pretty good encounters with the Mandragoras which can be tricky at this point in time but not difficult to defeat and they leave some nice EXP if you get into a battle with three of them too.
At this point I have to mention the soundtrack again because Garnet’s theme is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever to come out of the FF series and it’s up there as one of my top ten favourite FF tracks, you probably only ever hear it a couple of times during the game but that makes it all the better and it’s so appropriate as a track for her. Nobuo Uematsu really did himself proud on the FFIX soundtrack and I believe it was the final one where he gave full contribution to it? Someone correct me on that if it’s wrong but it really is my favourite soundtrack
I think it’s coming to the point now where I want to start mentioning the story a lot more so I’m going to start spoiler tagging my posts at the end so I can talk about the story without spoiling it for first timers or people who haven’t played the game in a while so here we go, just be warned that this contains stuff that’s going to come up in the next few chapters and about the characters so if you don’t want to know then don’t click on them
So some of the story stuff I want to comment on is Steiner, I understand he’s served the Queen for 18 years and is very loyal to her but honestly, a 16 year old naïve, sheltered princess understands what’s going on more than a 33 year old battle-hardened man who should be more than a little alarmed at what happened in Burmecia. It just doesn’t make sense at why he’s so naïve to what’s going on, I’d understand if it was an act to protect Garnet from hearing bad stuff about Brahne but it’s not, it’s Steiner’s own ignornance. Even Marcus, Baku and to an extent Tot berate him for being oblivious to the point of ignorant as to what Brahne is doing and how it could put Garnet in danger.
You almost want to bash him in the head and shout “Wake up and smell the Gyshal Pickles Steiner” I mean the fact his queen even attacked the Prima Vista while her daughter was on it in the first place should have sent alarm bells ringing right away. I do however appreciate the fact he wants nothing more than to protect Garnet and her safety is his priority and he can be quite funny at times but up until the part where Garnet is almost killed by Brahne his attitude is nothing less than frustrating. He does more than make up for it later but aghhhhh Steiner you’re a very frustrating character to begin with.
Garnet at this point is still Naïve but you can see her opinion of her mother beginning to change, she knows her mother is in the wrong and she’s been behaving quite erratically. She knows something is wrong and while I understand why both Zidane and Steiner didn’t want her to go to Burmecia, you can’t help but wonder what would have happened if she had been in the group, for instance I doubt Beatrix would have attacked the group with Garnet there and perhaps would have turned on the queen there and then if she saw there was a danger to Garnet. I doubt Brahne would have listened to Garnet but I don’t think Beatrix would have allowed Kuja to harm her under any circumstances; you just have to wonder what would have happened if Garnet had been allowed to go with Zidane and Freya. I think if Steiner had been there too, his ignorance of the situation would have been a different story too.
I reckon Doctor Tot left Alexandria because he realised Brahne’s behaviour was becoming dangerous and didn’t want to get involved, or Brahne warned/threatened him to leave in case he informed Garnet on her abilities as a summoner or her true heritage. I’m pretty sure he knew Garnet was one and to some extent knew about her heritage and I’m sure Garnet knew to some extent about her summons but up until they get extracted, it seems like she barely knows anything about them or fears them. I always took that as the reason the MP cost is so high in the beginning of the game, it’s not that she can’t use them, it’s just she’s maybe afraid of them, she acknowledges this later on in the game too, but it was always quite curious the first time around playing that she couldn’t use them straight away, but yes it seems to me like reasonable explanation for Tot’s departure, perhaps even on Kuja’s orders from Brahne.
Just some stuff I wanted to mention as the plot is definitely becoming more beefy and darker
You have the optional choice to revisit an old place and visit a new little place where you can pick up a few things. Did you go to either of these places?
Sure did, and I gave it to Moguta as well So that's three Kupo Nuts I've handed over now.
So; Treno. What d'you think of it? Lots of nice optional things to do here; the fight club, the auction house, visiting the Stellazio queen. What did you do?
Everything! Or at least, nearly everything. I bought lots of things from the Auction House, most importantly the Reflect Ring, which was crucial for dealing with Ralvurahva and will come in handy again later. I didn't buy all the (useless) key items or the Pearl Rouge, though. The Pearl Rouge was going for 15,000 gil in the auction, three times its normal price, and I decided it wasn't worth it.
As my challenge for this chapter was to use Dagger only, I learnt that she could take on the Griffin at the Knight's House. I suppose that was obvious, but normally Steiner is the one to do it. I had to restart a few times until Dagger got to act before the Griffin, as she was still underlevelled and died with a single attack otherwise. When she did get the first turn, I made her use a tent. Boring, yes, but the only way to win without grinding. This isn't my video, but it's almost exactly how the battle played out:
Black Waltz #3 (second time) was - and always is - impossible to lose against. Steiner and Marcus knocked themselves out, after which Dagger started attacking, but her damage was nothing compared to the damage the boss causes itself. <Crack!>
Ralvurahva was far easier than I imagined with the Reflect Ring. I cast Blind a couple of times until it stuck, after which he basically couldn't hurt Dagger: physical attacks missed and magical attacks were reflected. I think she was hit once in the whole battle.
The bosses at this stage of the game need more status immunities to make them into a challenge :\
Speaking of challenges, I thought of another one: my characters will never be allowed to level up beyond the number of game hours I have played. I've currently played for 13 hours, and most of my characters are at level 11, apart from Steiner and Marcus, who are still at level 1. I have already said that I won't be grinding, but now I have a restriction that actually stops me from doing so. I suppose I could leave the game on to increase the timer, but that would be silly I'll actually be speed running my next chapter, as Cleyra is a dreary place and I'm happy to skip boring things like the tour. I think I'll try to reach the first save point after Cleyra before my game clock hits 14 hours.
.
