Datamined content: Mining Base Defense 4, Challenge Quest 2, and more

[Maenara]

Affixes:
Souls (names not final): Vlima Leopard, Falke Leone, Zeta Guranz, Apprentice.
"Noble" series are back again (Noble Power, Noble Shoot, Noble Technique, Noble Stamina); as a reminder, these are +3 PP/+30 named stat.

Quests:
In the Driving Rain 3
"Mining Base Defense" (in the same family as Invasion/Intrusion/Despair; 8 waves, AIS included, not sure quite what this will be, given the EQ notifications talking about going from invasion to intrusion or invasion to despair).
Lillipa ultimate quest (this is expected, given it's coming out this update...)
C2 (yep, second challenge quest--tundra, tunnels, and skyscape; oddly, the second set of 10 areas are listed as forest/caves/desert again)
Unnamed emergency quest (objective: Defeat Dark Falz Loser!)
Unnamed limited quest (objective: Defeat the one who caused the incident!)
Unnamed emergency quest (objective: ***********)

COs:
Standard set of seasonal junk.
Another limited(?) APC, 朱鬼姫シキ (I don't know how to render this, so...)
I can't 100% confirm this, but... it looks like there are ones that give out a single 12* weapon per account (one per class--Ely Sion, Lavis Blades, Yasminkov 7000V, Blitz Fender, Psycho Wand, Magical Piece, Edel Arrow, Niren Orochi). This is given out on accepting the order, and the description seems to talk about collecting data, so it's even less clear.

Emergency Trials:
ii_anh_thunder_hell (may be Ignix-related? one of the navigators talks about a new structure appearing, the others talk about Ignix, so one or the other may be right; "anh" means "annihilation").
ii_annihilation_ice_hell (a few bits of navigator chatter have something intentionally stripped out, so unknown what this is exactly)
The ultimate dwarf defense trial is separate from the normal one.
ii_ev_js_apc_boss_asai, ii_j_s_apc_asai (similar to the standard "team up with (x)" E-trials, nothing identifiable for what asai is).
"Destroy the Fundarge Bit!" is back again, presumably for Lillipa.

Standard set of new crafts (nothing exciting, just upped levels on stuff and timed abilities for Lillipa Ult).

They added an option for when to show the "Rare drop!" notification: 7* and above, 10* and above, or 13* and above.

Courtesy of Agrajag from PSUMods.

Discuss!

[BIG OLAF]

Mining Base Defense 4?

Ugh. How about something fresh, SEGA? Please..? So sick of mildly-tweaked rehashes.

[LonelyGaruga]

Another limited(?) APC, 朱鬼姫シキ (I don't know how to render this, so...)

ii_ev_js_apc_boss_asai, ii_j_s_apc_asai (similar to the standard "team up with (x)" E-trials, nothing identifiable for what asai is).

What could APC stand for? For the record, the JP says something like "Red/Vermillion Oni Princess Shiki" (Shuonihime Shiki) so I'm guessing this has to do with Harkotan since that sounds a lot like Sukunahime. Maybe new NPC.

[EvilMag]

What could they really do with TD4? Most they can do is replace the regular darkers with their Ultimate variants.

[Shinamori]

Souls (names not final): Vlima Leopard, Falke Leone, Zeta Guranz, Apprentice.

So, we get to fight clone Apprentice in field????

[Maenara]

What could they really do with TD4? Most they can do is replace the regular darkers with their Ultimate variants.

Every MBD has seen new mechanics over the last. This one could see something like photon walls, corrupted AIS, and the addition of toy darkers, perhaps the appearance of [Persona] and/or Falz Angel.

[LonelyGaruga]

I'm sure we'll actually see the personal appearance of Apprentice in MBD4, since Apprentice Soul is also in this datamine batch.

[Stickboy]

what are those noble souls from the last few games or w/e?

[Rakurai]

Wonder when they intend on having the dual saber version of Persona appear in fields.

Both him and clone Apprentice are actually threatening, unlike sword Persona with his ridiculously slow attacks and total lack of gap closing maneuvers.

[Maninbluejumpsuit]

lack of gap closing maneuvers.

*old man voice* back in my day, step-kick was the distance closer for swords, and we had to use it 15 miles, uphill, in the zonde-storm to get to enemies!

[Sizustar]

What could APC stand for? For the record, the JP says something like "Red/Vermillion Oni Princess Shiki" (Shuonihime Shiki) so I'm guessing this has to do with Harkotan since that sounds a lot like Sukunahime. Maybe new NPC.

That's the model and ingame NPC and gear they are selling with that figma
http://i.imgur.com/giC0m5h.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/sLUgNXC.jpg

[Poyonche]

So... Will we get 6 towers this time ? Or 2 ? Or 1 ?

[Maenara]

I'm guessing 1 or 2.

[Xaeris]

For a change of pace, I'd like if this new TD took place in a smaller arena than any of its predecessors and relied on overwhelming the room with powerful and intelligent combinations of enemies. The other TDs are more a matter of being in the right place at the right time, so I'd like to see one where the issue is protecting one or two towers against a legit onslaught of enemies.

And hey, it's just a perk that such a thing would drop a crapton of rares.

[Poyonche]

Or maybe a TD which takes place in a base under attack like you're just send to the base that Wave 1 begin.

[Korazenn]

Second Challenge Quest?! Woooooooot! *sees Tundra* Ahh, F***! Oh well. I knew it was coming eventually (hate that level so much with a passion). Still love Tunnels and Skyscape as they're my favorite levels from Episode 1. ^^

13*s and above as an option for the 'RARE DROP' Notification? That means we will definitely have 14 and 15* weapons be the highest tier available in the future, if this is really the case.

Edit: Client Orders that give out 12* Weapons? Well, I guess seeing as they will become more common as time goes on and higher tiers are introduced for 13*-15*, it only makes sense that 12*s would be easier to obtain. We still don't know what data collection means, yeah, but I'm pretty sure it is either going to involve killing or collecting stuff.

[Lostbob117]

Or maybe a TD which takes place in a base under attack like you're just send to the base that Wave 1 begin.

Or reverse mine base: Counterattack and you go beat up their bases.

[Lostbob117]

Second Challenge Quest?! Woooooooot! *sees Tundra* Ahh, F***! Oh well. I knew it was coming eventually (hate that level so much with a passion). Still love Tunnels and Skyscape as they're my favorite levels from Episode 1. ^^

13*s and above as an option for the 'RARE DROP' Notification? That means we will definitely have 14 and 15* weapons be the highest tier available in the future, if this is really the case.

Edit: Client Orders that give out 12* Weapons? Well, I guess seeing as they will become more common as time goes on and higher tiers are introduced for 13*-15*, it only makes sense that 12*s would be easier to obtain. We still don't know what data collection means, yeah, but I'm pretty sure it is either going to involve killing or collecting stuff.

Pretty sure it's pointing in the direction of which PSU did it. Do quest: pick what rare weapon you want. Only can pick out of them one per character/account/whatever.

[wefwq]

Just realize we only got 1 weapon type per class instead of every weapon types got 1 *12, no boots, no katana, no knuckle...


Souls (names not final): Vlima Leopard, Falke Leone, Zeta Guranz, Apprentice.

So, we get to fight clone Apprentice in field????
My guess we'll get to fight apprentice on TD4 or she get her own falz EQ (we also get a few unnamed EQ), since recent MB story are became more apprentice-centric.

[Dammy]

Client Orders that give out 12* Weapons? Well, I guess seeing as they will become more common as time goes on and higher tiers are introduced for 13*-15*, it only makes sense that 12*s would be easier to obtain. We still don't know what data collection means, yeah, but I'm pretty sure it is either going to involve killing or collecting stuff.
It could be: kill enemies/bosses when you have those 12* weapon equipped to upgrade it or something

[Rakurai]

The drop notification changes would've been a lot nicer if untekked weapons weren't all considered 7* rarity.

[TaigaUC]

I'll cry if Mining 4 is everyone in AIS for the entire thing.

It could be something like, Apprentice advancing in a special Biblas (ala Magatsu) and we have to defend towers from her sucking their energy?
Once towers are defended a certain amount of time, barriers appear to protect them, so she moves on.
The more energy she sucks, the more powerful she becomes at the end.

[Poyonche]

They Saïd they was planning 1-2 A.I.S quest, may be that

[Achelousaurus]

*old man voice* back in my day, step-kick was the distance closer for swords, and we had to use it 15 miles, uphill, in the zonde-storm to get to enemies!
XD

Anyway, hat stuff does sound interesting.
We get double soul (effectively) affixing?

TD4 could be fun, after all TD3 introduced a lot of great new concepts and was a huge step up from td2 (which already was a nice step up from TD1).

Apprentice Soul sounds interesting but nonsensical cause it's not like Hunar/Elder or Angel/Luther drop different souls.

Sort of hyped for 12* co, even if not all weapon types one for every class is huge.
It's gonna be a HUGE help for all the people wanting to use them but only having found a single and not having 50 element on them (inb4 they come with 5 element from the co).


The ultimate dwarf defense trial is separate from the normal one.
So that's what they are. Dwaves wearing furry suits.
Ultimate Dwarves. Is that a new enemy in ult lilipa?

[Maenara]

Apprentice Soul sounds interesting but nonsensical cause it's not like Hunar/Elder or Angel/Luther drop different souls.

Apprentice soul would drop from [Apprentice], Dark Falz Apprentice, her sub-boss, and her combat form. She's not getting a 'different soul', every Falz gets one.


So that's what they are. Dwaves wearing furry suits.
Ultimate Dwarves. Is that a new enemy in ult lilipa?

I believe he means the E-code where you have to defend Lillipans trapped by a Gilnas from other enemies.

[XbikXBd]

It should be "Mining Base Defense: Hope" right if the last few leaks are right.

[Poyonche]

Which few leaks ? :0

[reaper527]

13*s and above as an option for the 'RARE DROP' Notification? That means we will definitely have 14 and 15* weapons be the highest tier available in the future, if this is really the case.


this was already known. there was a glitch last year that allowed the shop to show items that don't currently exist in the autocomplete. there were 13*/14*/15* unit passes listed (and this was long before 13* was officially announced)

[LonelyGaruga]

That's the model and ingame NPC and gear they are selling with that figma

I thought that might have been the case, but that was such a pretentious thing to name the NPC I didn't think that was actually the case. Oh well, thanks.


Sort of hyped for 12* co, even if not all weapon types one for every class is huge.
It's gonna be a HUGE help for all the people wanting to use them but only having found a single and not having 50 element on them (inb4 they come with 5 element from the co).


So that's what they are. Dwaves wearing furry suits.
Ultimate Dwarves. Is that a new enemy in ult lilipa?

Probably random element for the 12*s, since they're given away like Zieg's weapons and are not actual trade-ins.

Just a nickname for the Lilipans.

[Shinamori]

Just realize we only got 1 weapon type per class instead of every weapon types got 1 *12, no boots, no katana, no knuckle...


My guess we'll get to fight apprentice on TD4 or she get her own falz EQ (we also get a few unnamed EQ), since recent MB story are became more apprentice-centric.

Hmm, Dunno, since she apparently can't get her original body back because double ate that shit. Two, she's not a full Falz, so she probably can't even achieve a Falz form.

[Maenara]

Hmm, Dunno, since she apparently can't get her original body back because double ate that shit. Two, she's not a full Falz, so she probably can't even achieve a Falz form.

Claris Claes sealed the vast majority of the original [Apprentice]'s power on Lillipa, so if new [Apprentice] can find that power, it won't really matter that she's not a full Falz.

[Renvalt]

Claris Claes sealed the vast majority of the original [Apprentice]'s power on Lillipa, so if new [Apprentice] can find that power, it won't really matter that she's not a full Falz.

Extension of this:

[SPOILER-BOX]Yucreta (Afin's sister) wasn't fully contaminated by Apprentice's essence, thus there were some holes in her psyche that Afin could take advantage of. Not to mention, she's always acted that way, if the way that scene of their kid selves portrays their relationship.

Double ate Apprentice, true, but from what I can see, she's effectively on a leash - they can CHOOSE to loosen the leash, but she's always bound to it. So Oldprentice can choose to go full freak mode if Double allowed it.

.... Or they can go the boring route, and have Yucreta give into despair, thinking ARKS won't accept someone as dirtied as she is (even though she has a badass younger brother who still cares about his sister even though she treated him like shit as kids, and even now). Given how the Japanese just love to break their women, I could see this being how it ends up going down.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[wefwq]

Given how the Japanese just love to break their women
You just give me flashback of thousand ero manga that i read in the past.
What kind of ARKS have i become.

[Sizustar]

You just give me flashback of thousand ero manga that i read in the past.
What kind of ARKS have i become.

The normal kind?
Since you're going to planets killing native in the name of preventing them from becoming infected by the Darkers.

[silo1991]

in defense 4 i would like to see new aquatics darkers , seriusly the insects and the birds are so many , why the aquatics not

[Kondibon]

in defense 4 i would like to see new aquatics darkers , seriusly the insects and the birds are so many , why the aquatics notThe difference isn't THAT big, it's just that a lot of aquatic darkers are slightly different versions of the same thing.
It's toy darkers that are really lacking though.

[Maenara]

There's been new toy darkers in the data for almost half a year, as well as Harkotan area 2, but Sega still hasn't even hinted at unveiling them yet.

[Poyonche]

And we are swiftly approaching the period where they usually release the next episode.

[Kondibon]

There's been new toy darkers in the data for almost half a year, as well as Harkotan area 2, but Sega still hasn't even hinted at unveiling them yet.I dunno who you're telling, but ok.

[Maenara]

You .

[wefwq]

And we are swiftly approaching the period where they usually release the next episode.
EP3 will be longer compared to the previous one, we won't get EP4 anytime soon.

[Kondibon]

You .
I feel like your insulting my intelligence.

[Renvalt]

And we are swiftly approaching the period where they usually release the next episode.

And yet that would make Episode 3 the shortest episode we've had yet - assuming they do this, of course. I mean, hell, only two areas, three bosses (two if you count Nepto and Madulard as a single boss), two raid bosses (one of them being not-Vardha in terms of his raid capability - and yes, there was a time where fighting Vardha was as intimidating as fighting Magatsu), two fields, and the secret boss ends up being what others perceive as the most godly epic fight in the original PSO (while for me, it ends up being as boring as Vardha, music and fight wise).

Seriously, Suganuma, if your plan for EP3 was to make it as short and lacking in content as PSO1 EP3, then you've bloody succeeded.

You better have Beasts and the final hybrid class for EP4 in exchange for this obvious cashcowing you did the entire episode, shipping your twin Nadeshiko (Katori the Zannen Bijin and Matoi the Yamato Nadeshiko) and creating a class that only has one fun weapon (contrary to popular opinion, Dual Blades aren't fun to fight with).



You just give me flashback of thousand ero manga that i read in the past.
What kind of ARKS have i become.

Pretty sure the only reason that Yucreta didn't win the polls this year was due to the fact that she's not on our side. So, until she IS, the honor goes to Suganuma's newest waifu Katori (who surprisingly doesn't seem to have that much erodoujin of her - or maybe I haven't been looking hard enough).

[pkemr4]

will TD4 be the EQ to surpass cubegatsu?

[Kondibon]

I'm calling it now. TD4 is going to be another piñata EQ, like the second Magatsu fight. After normal TD ends we get to do a pure AIS mission and fight some sort of boss or bosses.


(one of them being not-Vardha in terms of his raid capability - and yes, there was a time where fighting Vardha was as intimidating as fighting Magatsu)I was going to make fun of the idea that Vardha was ever seriously intimidating. But then I remembered Magatsu isn't either besides being more of a damage sponge. So technically you're right...

[Poyonche]

EP3 will be longer compared to the previous one, we won't get EP4 anytime soon.

Didn't know that, though they are used to release episode in July (Ep.2) or August (Ep.3) but it isn't reliable as the game will be 3 years old. :v

[Maenara]

I feel like your insulting my intelligence.
I'm not.

will TD4 be the EQ to surpass cubegatsu?

Nah, every single enemy is guaranteed to drop 12*s you can't do anything with, and 10/11*s are extremely rare.

[LonelyGaruga]

The difference isn't THAT big, it's just that a lot of aquatic darkers are slightly different versions of the same thing.
It's toy darkers that are really lacking though.

There haven't been any aquatic darkers introduced since the Ruins update (11/7/2012). The last insect darker implemented was with TD3 (7/16/2014), and the last bird darkers were implemented in the Mothership LQ update (6/11/2014).

Counting different variations, and ignoring rares and Falz related darkers (Falz Arms, Apos Dorios), there are 14 insect darkers (ignoring Dagan Egg and Gwanahda Bit, which are technically separate enemies), 11 aquatic darkers, and 13 bird darkers. Counting rare darkers, there are 20 insects, 15 aquatics, and 19 birds. Ignoring nearly identical variations, there are 12 insect darkers (Dagan/El Dagan and Dicahda/Predicahda), 8 aquatic darkers (Micda/Ol Micda, Dagacha/Dahgash, Ga Wonda/Gu Wonda), and 13 bird darkers (all of them are pretty distinct from each other, even the Solda group).

Yeah, toy darkers are pretty low on count right now, but EP3 isn't close to being finished and there's only been a single free field area since its implementation. Meanwhile, aquatic darkers really do get shafed compared to insects and birds.


I feel like your insulting my intelligence.

OK, I am really sorry for pointing this out. I just found it too funny to pass up ;w;

[Superia]

(contrary to popular opinion, Dual Blades aren't fun to fight with)

What?

[Maninbluejumpsuit]

OK, I am really sorry for pointing this out. I just found it too funny to pass up ;w;

I tried so hard not to bring that up too.

[Kondibon]

OK, I am really sorry for pointing this out. I just found it too funny to pass up ;w;
LOL Ok, I walked into that one. That's what I get for trying to snark while I'm distracted.

[zeltrax19]

if there would be a new item rarity they should atleast update the excube shop since it will be pouring down 10* if they implement it. Only few items are worth spending in the cube shop they should add more.

[Maninbluejumpsuit]

if there would be a new item rarity they should atleast update the excube shop since it will be pouring down 10* if they implement it. Only few items are worth spending in the cube shop they should add more.

Many items are worth spending cubes on... units, mag devices, 250% boosts, fun tickets, affix boosts, grind boosts, craft machines...

[Renvalt]

I was going to make fun of the idea that Vardha was ever seriously intimidating. But then I remembered Magatsu isn't either besides being more of a damage sponge. So technically you're right...

Remember back all the way in Episode 1, when Tunnels had first come out (and we were still calling it Mines for some reason)? I remember plenty of people actually feeling intimidated by the size of this dude. People would actually rush to fight Vardha in the one EQ he had that was essentially a nooby version of Elder.

Heck, I still remember when people saw Elder for the first time and thought that he'd be the final boss of EP1. Then Quna happened and... you oughta know the rest.


What?

From my perspective at least. They do less cutting and slashing and more of sending shiny bits of photon shrapnel. At least with Jet Boots you can still take pride in giving Darkers a boot to the face.

[Kondibon]

Remember back all the way in Episode 1, when Tunnels had first come out (and we were still calling it Mines for some reason)? I remember plenty of people actually feeling intimidated by the size of this dude. People would actually rush to fight Vardha in the one EQ he had that was essentially a nooby version of Elder.
All I remember from when it first came out, was people saying "This boss is cool and fun to fight, but not that hard compared to banthers and vol dragon". Unless you mean physically intimidating. In which case, what does that have to do with difficulty?

[Renvalt]

All I remember from when it first came out was people saying "This boss is cool and fun to fight, but not that hard compared to banthers and vol dragon". Unless you mean physically intimidating. In which case what does that have to do with difficulty?

Yeah, maybe not hard, but definitely intimidating. And I actually DON'T miss Vol being infuriatingly difficult. That early into the game shouldn't be throwing you a curve ball that nukes you into oblivion every fifteen seconds.

However, I AM still upset over the lack of bosses that are actually challenging in this episode. Nepto BARELY qualifies, and Gigur's the same as his manager - just an atrociously large loot pinata.

They really need to make linear progression a thing again - the way EP3 pretty much allows people to speed to the cap helps perpetuate the creation of high leveled, yet unprepared players. Though maybe that's just me, and I'm the only one that likes to take my time leveling up because I feel like it means I EARNED my level through skill, rather than simply cheesing off a handful of capped bastards with nothing to do but let others leech off their epicness.

[Shinamori]

I find Nepto hard, actually.

[LonelyGaruga]

Nepto and Rheo aren't even actual bosses, they're mid-bosses. Complete jokes. Bal Rodos 2.0 is the proper Facility boss, but even then it's pretty easy outside of Ocean Menace.

And as far as linear progression goes, keep in mind that the different planets and areas actually don't follow that. For example, Coast, despite being the 10th free field area, is one of the earliest areas unlocked by new players. Same deal with Shironia. That's how first maps of planets go. Though that gives no excuse for Nepto + Rheo, but Wopal in general is pretty easy.

And Vol Dragon, hard? Maybe when you're new. I certainly remember Vol Dragon being a pain when I was completely new, but after a couple tries it was actually really easy...if you still had trouble with Vol Dragon after that there's something wrong. Of course, there's the problem with any game. Once you get the hang of it, nothing's actually difficult.

[Kondibon]

I don't find Nepto or Rheo hard on their own. Only if they're together, and only if they spawn on the field where there's like no space to avoid them both. >_>

EDIT: Oh and, as far as I can tell Bals difficulty is directly proportional to whether or not you can kill him in one knockdown and what adds spawn. :wacko:



And Vol Dragon, hard? Maybe when you're new. I certainly remember Vol Dragon being a pain when I was completely new, but after a couple tries it was actually really easy...if you still had trouble with Vol Dragon after that there's something wrong. Of course, there's the problem with any game. Once you get the hang of it, nothing's actually difficult.I was specifically talking about first impressions. Vol was the first REAL boss besides Ragne, so he was a huge jump up from rockbear and gwanha. Likewise a lot of people had (and still have) problems with banther and quartz dragon, where as, it was kinda unanimously agreed that Vardha was super easy when compared to vol and banthers even in a first time fight.

This is why I said it actually makes sense to compare Magatsu to Vardha. He's cool, and huge, but the actual fight is just a DPS check on paper.

[LonelyGaruga]

Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to reply specifically to Renvalt's comment about Vol being infuriatingly difficult. I didn't think to quote him though. Comparatively speaking, yeah, I would put Vardha as the single easiest boss. At least for tech users, and especially if infected. You can just park yourself in a spot where no projectiles can hit and kill it with zero threat. Vardha doesn't even deserve the honor of being called a DPS check, you can literally just subclass a tech class, even at level 1, park yourself somewhere safe, break all the parts, and all you'd have to do is break the cannon after that for a free win.

Vardha is the most exploitable boss, and it makes me sad, because he's one of the coolest bosses too. He's a humongous mecha with one of the most varied attack sets of the bosses, he's got great music, he gets an EQ all to himself, he's canonically a super weapon, the most lethal of the mechs, and...he's an incredibly easy fight. It's sad that by the end of the fight, Big Vardha can be reduced to a single method of attack that can't even hit players attacking his weak point. Bosses should get harder as the fight goes on, but because of how Vardha can have its attack set reduced by breaking its parts, you can disable everything it even does at low health before it gets there.

Big Vardha is one of my favorite bosses, and also the boss I see as having the most wasted potential of all of them. And then Vardha Soma goes and pulls almost the exact same thing on a smaller scale. Zeta Granz at least looks like a promising fight, and one I hope redeems the Vardha mechs in general, because these are the coolest mechs. Mechs also happen to be my favorite enemy category, but that's another thing entirely.

Anyway, about Rodos, I don't count adds because the difficulty then comes from the adds, not the boss. Except the adds it can spawn itself, but those are those stupid stunning shell guys that die in a couple hits. I guess they're a step up from the Torbons in Coast, but Dominus spawned the electric chameleons, and shock is way more debilitating than stun.

[Kondibon]

Vardha doesn't even deserve the honor of being called a DPS check,My bad, I wasn't clear on that. I just meant Magatsu is a DPS check, not Vardha.


Anyway, about Rodos, I don't count adds because the difficulty then comes from the adds, not the boss.
That was kinda my point. He himself isn't that hard. He just tends to get SO MANY ADDS. I used to think it was just a coincidence, but whenever I fight him in the field at least one enemy constantly spawns. It takes me longer to kill enough of them to stop them from spawning than it does to kill Bal sometimes, but if I leave them there I tend to get staggered out of hitting his mouth and it's just a horrible mess. :/
But that's just me.

[Renvalt]

@LonelyGaruga - That's exactly how I see Nepto, despite him officially being the endboss of Facility. At least the dude has (IMO) good music. But right now, he's the third boss in the B Path set, and is by far the weakest one out of them. I really want them to finish the B path, because right now the A path is probably the most fun out of the two to challenge.

As an FYI...

[SPOILER-BOX]A Path = Forest>Volcano>Desert>Tundra>Tunnels>Skyscape>Ruins
B Path = Shironia>Coast>Facility[/SPOILER-BOX]

I don't consider Quarry/Sanctum/Seabed to be a part of any field progression path, per se, as they're all unlocked once you clear Ruins, which I consider to be the end of the A Path.

Also, Vol Dragon's AI got nerfed on Normal, so new players won't know how threatening he USED to be. He achieves Super Nova state (Phase 4) at such a slow pace that the only way you can hit that segment is if you ignore the tail crystal for ages, and attack with the frequency of the EP1 NPC Partners (who desperately need an aggro update - Matoi's FAR more useful than the others at that level, ignoring Player NPCs). New players now won't remember how Vol's AI was on the same level of VH, but was the same across all difficulties (as an aside, the Banthers also got this treatment - Normal Mode won't have the Banther spawn until the Banshee is dead, while Hard Mode will spawn it when the Banshee is at the edge of death).

Oh, and did I mention that they have low HP on Normal and Hard? It's harder to kill either one of the EP1 early-game big bosses on VH, because the HP goes up from that point forward (as does their damage, but speed remains somewhat intact).

Also, I don't cheese Vardha with techs, and even then, because of the way I play, I'd probably never figure out how you exploit kill the dude (which btw, I was talking about Vardha being intimidating pre-EP2 - we can all agree that post-EP2 he lost any intimidation credentials he had, and his Soma form did little to redeem himself in that regard).

@Kondi - For me, Bal isn't as much of a threat until SH, at which point the difficulty comes either from his speed, or whether he's boosted. Boosted SH Rodos is on par with Ringa on any difficulty below SH (Ringa on any diff takes the cake as the hardest Free Field boss ever made - as well as the most fun to fight, oddly enough).

[Kondibon]

@Kondi - For me, Bal isn't as much of a threat until SH, at which point the difficulty comes either from his speed, or whether he's boosted. Boosted SH Rodos is on par with Ringa on any difficulty below SH (Ringa on any diff takes the cake as the hardest Free Field boss ever made - as well as the most fun to fight, oddly enough).This is the last 8 minutes of an almost 30 minute fight I had with a max boosted bal dominus (which then changed over). Not because I had much trouble actually fighting him, but because I literally couldn't stand still to hit his mouth without getting murdered by the boost hand or staggered by an add. I:
EDIT: I actually had a similar problem with SHAQ banthers. Those max level SH boost hands are the devil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwq4Xuk7a2M

Personally I don't find Ringa that hard but I usually use ranged or tech classes so getting rid of his rings is easier than if I were melee.

[Mattykins]

I find Ringa to be one of the easier ones. Just not in MPAs. I never take more than like 2 minutes to kill him solo.

[Korazenn]

EP3 will be longer compared to the previous one, we won't get EP4 anytime soon.

Yeah, Episode 2 was relatively short because it was more of an extension of Epsiode 1, but Episode 3 is more like another new story arc altogether entirely (as in...you really don't need to understand everything about Episode 1 and 2 to get what is going on in Episode 3). I'm also going to guess that, aside from crafting orders, this is the reason why SEGA chose to have EP3 - 1 Matter Board available from the get-go.

Kinda neat, actually. I hope they keep going with this for the rest of the game's lifecycle as I prefer major and minor story ARKS (lol, sorry I had to) than one, extremely long-running one.

[LonelyGaruga]

@LonelyGaruga - That's exactly how I see Nepto, despite him officially being the endboss of Facility. At least the dude has (IMO) good music. But right now, he's the third boss in the B Path set, and is by far the weakest one out of them. I really want them to finish the B path, because right now the A path is probably the most fun out of the two to challenge.

As an FYI...

[SPOILER-BOX]A Path = Forest>Volcano>Desert>Tundra>Tunnels>Skyscape>Ruins
B Path = Shironia>Coast>Facility[/SPOILER-BOX]

Er...Shironia came out after Coast. Coast is unlocked at the same time as Desert. Don't know about Shironia because I haven't made any new characters since EP3 hit, but I'm pretty sure that's the case for it too. This path stuff isn't actually a part of the game.

Anyway, I've been playing since a little after Dark Falz Elder was implemented, so you don't need to tell me about how the game was pre-EP2 because I was there for it. And cheesing Vardha involves standing behind him. You're literally untouchable if you get the angles right, otherwise missiles are the only thing that can hit you, and those are both easy to dodge and a temporary problem. With a GS you can regain PP by shooting Vardha regardless of where you hit him, so it's unnecessary to wait for PP to regen normally. It is, of course, several times slower than fighting him normally, which can take like, a minute if you know what you're doing, but this is about as basic as it gets a strategy. There is absolutely no skill involved.


Also, Vol Dragon's AI got nerfed on Normal, so new players won't know how threatening he USED to be. He achieves Super Nova state (Phase 4) at such a slow pace that the only way you can hit that segment is if you ignore the tail crystal for ages, and attack with the frequency of the EP1 NPC Partners (who desperately need an aggro update - Matoi's FAR more useful than the others at that level, ignoring Player NPCs). New players now won't remember how Vol's AI was on the same level of VH, but was the same across all difficulties (as an aside, the Banthers also got this treatment - Normal Mode won't have the Banther spawn until the Banshee is dead, while Hard Mode will spawn it when the Banshee is at the edge of death).

Oh, and did I mention that they have low HP on Normal and Hard? It's harder to kill either one of the EP1 early-game big bosses on VH, because the HP goes up from that point forward (as does their damage, but speed remains somewhat intact).

I'm struggling to find relevance to anything in this paragraph. The typical player is in SH by like, two weeks into the game, and SH is far above anything N-VH ever had. It's as relevant as 19th century fashion.

And NPCs are only good for FUN and EXP bonuses. Who cares about those?

[Renvalt]

Yeah, Episode 2 was relatively short because it was more of an extension of Epsiode 1, but Episode 3 is more like another new story arc altogether entirely (as in...you really don't need to understand everything about Episode 1 and 2 to get what is going on in Episode 3). I'm also going to guess that, aside from crafting orders, this is the reason why SEGA chose to have EP3 - 1 Matter Board available from the get-go.

Kinda neat, actually. I hope they keep going with this for the rest of the game's lifecycle as I prefer major and minor story ARKS (lol, sorry I had to) than one, extremely long-running one.

If they do it like EP1&2 was for what I call S1, then that's okay. Xion was pretty much the face of the MB until she died in EP2, then Xiao comes in at the cusp to mark the transition. I wouldn't mind if something similar happened every two Episodes. The problem is that with how SMALL EP3 is, it'll make S2 have less stuff than S1. And I DON'T want it going the route of Mabi before their story content revamp (granted, the only thing I hate about Mabi is the overreliance on one/two skills and the cashcow herder that is Nexon, but that's a totally different sheep to deal with).

I have ZERO problem making S1 (EP1&2) and S2 (EP3&4) separate, if they remember to fill it with plenty of things to see and do. Right now, S2 is letting me down because we only really have two areas to freely enter (and two bosses to kill - one if you categorize Nepto as a midboss). City, Darker Den and Infected Mothership still aren't freely accessible (and people have argued why they'll stay that way with me plenty of times, so I won't bother on that).

I expected Gal Gryphon to be the end boss of C-Mode, because the VR Realm (which is exclusive to two modes that have a form of limitation on them) canonically allows for that kind of bullshit to occur. The fact that it suffers the same fate as Cougar NX and Knight Gear really makes me think EP3 is going to end (since that has been how they've done it before - the "guest" bosses appear after the Falz EQs are patched in, and Magatsu comes deadly close to being one) relatively soon. And with such a small amount of free form content with no true limitations (VR Energy for C-Mode, and needing to be at cap to access the Planet Raids AKA Ultimate Quests)... you can see how I'd be disappointed.


-snip-

This is why our opinions on difficulty matter so greatly - you're pretty much the opposite of me in terms of your class/race choice: I'm a melee Male Newman, you're a ranged/tech Female Cast. Our playstyles are like night and day - you at least stay far away so as to not have to make clutch decisions when the time comes (that, and Ringa's easier to fight when you're kiting his ass - much harder when you're just wailing on him up close instead of focusing on the rings which, to me, are as mere distractions).

Also, that Rodos code in Facility is just terrible design. If we were actually fighting him in the arena of Nepto, instead of in a place with winding passages that have the worst pathing known to man, then I'd be okay with it (granted, it'd also have to be multiple "heads" we're fighting, and it couldn't be Rodos 100% in that case because that would just be laziness on SEGA's part).

The SH boosts are just addons to bosses to MAKE them hard because SEGA couldn't actually use their imagination to come up with a way to ACTUALLY make them hard (y'know, like how Vardha's parts fix themselves? That's actually a pretty creative mechanic there, SEGA - why only Vardha and not the others?)


Er...Shironia came out after Coast. Coast is unlocked at the same time as Desert. Don't know about Shironia because I haven't made any new characters since EP3 hit, but I'm pretty sure that's the case for it too. This path stuff isn't actually a part of the game.

As of EP3, Shironia is unlocked at the same time as Volcano for newbies. In fact, you can now unlock Desert/Coast by clearing either or, which allows you to skip the harder Vol in favor of the easier Gigur (unlock is shorter if you go the Shironia route, btw). And yeah, the "path" stuff isn't in the game - I pretty much came up with it because of the way the content branches after Forest, which you still have to do but spend less time in on Normal than you USED to.

Anyway, I've been playing since a little after Dark Falz Elder was implemented, so you don't need to tell me about how the game was pre-EP2 because I was there for it. And cheesing Vardha involves standing behind him. You're literally untouchable if you get the angles right, otherwise missiles are the only thing that can hit you, and those are both easy to dodge and a temporary problem. With a GS you can regain PP by shooting Vardha regardless of where you hit him, so it's unnecessary to wait for PP to regen normally. It is, of course, several times slower than fighting him normally, which can take like, a minute if you know what you're doing, but this is about as basic as it gets a strategy. There is absolutely no skill involved.

I've never seen this pulled off. Most times I fight him with anyone else, we do it the old fashioned way - and by far the most dangerous thing about Vardha is the lasers in front, which you'll only suffer if A)he sucks you in and shoots you out, or B)you actually try to break them, and even then they're easy as cheese to dodge if you know that they have a wonky hit box (which we didn't at the time, and always raged when that part killed us).

I'm struggling to find relevance to anything in this paragraph. The typical player is in SH by like, two weeks into the game, and SH is far above anything N-VH ever had. It's as relevant as 19th century fashion.

Indeed, if they ride their ratty selves on the backs of SH peeps carrying them in specific EQs, which I don't condone. It'd take them a bit longer if they were doing it normally, no EQ mooching involved.

[Maenara]

Might wanna spoiler that stuff for those people that flip their shit on hearing spoilers.

[Kondibon]

This is why our opinions on difficulty matter so greatly - you're pretty much the opposite of me in terms of your class/race choice: I'm a melee Male Newman, you're a ranged/tech Female Cast. Our playstyles are like night and day - you at least stay far away so as to not have to make clutch decisions when the time comes (that, and Ringa's easier to fight when you're kiting his ass - much harder when you're just wailing on him up close instead of focusing on the rings which, to me, are as mere distractions).Well, it's not like I haven't fought him in melee before. Don't forget I mained a female duman braver for a long time before I went back to Milla. It's just been a while.

And breaking the rings is a good idea regardless of which class you're playing. That MIGHT be why you're having problems with him. At the very least break one of them so theres less shit flying around.


Also, that Rodos code in Facility is just terrible design. If we were actually fighting him in the arena of Nepto, instead of in a place with winding passages that have the worst pathing known to man,This is pretty much how I feel about ALL the on field boss spawns. It's a REALLY cool idea, but fighting things like banthers, or nepto and his pet in a tiny narrow hall is a nightmare.



The SH boosts are just addons to bosses to MAKE them hard because SEGA couldn't actually use their imagination to come up with a way to ACTUALLY make them hard
http://webodew.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/amen.gif

[LonelyGaruga]

*snip*

Just a heads up, Kondibon plays multiple classes. Not just ranged. And SH Vardha only repairs itself if there are at least two players present. It never sends out its repair drones with just one player. The repair drones also die easily and only ever repair the missile launchers in the back and the side. Big Vardha is one of the least improved bosses in SH. All it gets is repair drones that make a negligible difference in its EQ (seriously, how often don't they die the moment they get spawned?) and a sweeping laser after the initial cannons. The infection cores actually add a significant layer to difficulty that could never be present just fighting the boss by itself (especially level 3), so your complaint about those is pretty moot. They're also present on all enemies, not just bosses, so it's not like they exist solely to make bosses harder.

The strategy I named for Vardha is pointless unless you're solo, and even then it's a huge waste of time. The only reason to do it is because you can't muck it up at all. I'm just using it as an example of how no matter how difficult Vardha could ever get, it can be cheesed in a manner it has absolutely no way of countering. Barely anyone does it solely because it's slower compared to something that takes marginally more skill and gets the job done considerably faster. My point is that Vardha is, by design, an incredibly flawed boss simply because this strategy can exist in the first place.

Mooching off EQs isn't what I was talking about in the slightest, and isn't even relevant to what I was talking about. N-VH contain a puny fraction of a player's gameplay experience, and you could take back all the nerfs Sega's pulled and still have something easier than SH, which is what a player is going to be running exclusively once they get past VH. So talking about it like it's a big deal is ridiculous. Hell, when I began the game (again, around DFE update), I was in H within a couple days, and VH within like a week. And the game's only become easier to level in since. The biggest reason for nerfing these difficulties is just to make it easier for players to hit the difficulties that actually matter, because nobody cares about N-VH anymore. SH and XH are the only relevant difficulties in the game, and anyone that's been playing for more than a couple weeks is already at SH.

[Kondibon]

Well I DID bring up my class choices to point out my bias, so now that I think about it, it's probably not fair to fault him for that.

[Renvalt]

[SPOILER-BOX]
Just a heads up, Kondibon plays multiple classes. Not just ranged. The way she talked, it sounded as if that's all she ever had experience with. She might've wanted to include that she knew how to melee, but then again I didn't give any indicator that I wanted to know that, so meh.

And SH Vardha only repairs itself if there are at least two players present. It never sends out its repair drones with just one player. The repair drones also die easily and only ever repair the missile launchers in the back and the side. Big Vardha is one of the least improved bosses in SH. All it gets is repair drones that make a negligible difference in its EQ (seriously, how often don't they die the moment they get spawned?) and a sweeping laser after the initial cannons.

Another reminder of SEGA's laziness. When they DO end up making a smart decision, they botch it up in some regard that it pretty much nullifies any of their effort.

The infection cores actually add a significant layer to difficulty that could never be present just fighting the boss by itself (especially level 3), so your complaint about those is pretty moot. They're also present on all enemies, not just bosses, so it's not like they exist solely to make bosses harder.

And yet their mere existence proves the point I was trying to make: SEGA couldn't be assed to actually make significant differences between the difficulties, so they simply added cheap-ass cores to things at the highest level and called it a day. That's the pinnacle of laziness (or maybe just pointing out how unobservant 90% of the populace is).

The strategy I named for Vardha is pointless unless you're solo, and even then it's a huge waste of time. The only reason to do it is because you can't muck it up at all. I'm just using it as an example of how no matter how difficult Vardha could ever get, it can be cheesed in a manner it has absolutely no way of countering. Barely anyone does it solely because it's slower compared to something that takes marginally more skill and gets the job done considerably faster. My point is that Vardha is, by design, an incredibly flawed boss simply because this strategy can exist in the first place.

I'd argue that most bosses ARE flawed when solo, because you actually need real players around for them to increase their difficulty to begin with, rather than NPCs counting as real players (again, gotta discourage that soloing).

Mooching off EQs isn't what I was talking about in the slightest, and isn't even relevant to what I was talking about. N-VH contain a puny fraction of a player's gameplay experience, and you could take back all the nerfs Sega's pulled and still have something easier than SH, which is what a player is going to be running exclusively once they get past VH. So talking about it like it's a big deal is ridiculous. Hell, when I began the game (again, around DFE update), I was in H within a couple days, and VH within like a week. And the game's only become easier to level in since. The biggest reason for nerfing these difficulties is just to make it easier for players to hit the difficulties that actually matter, because nobody cares about N-VH anymore. SH and XH are the only relevant difficulties in the game, and anyone that's been playing for more than a couple weeks is already at SH.

Everyone who isn't me. Pretty sure you don't know that they still have the softcaps of 30 and 40 (complete with the COs that you need to do to remove them), so even you ride the legs of a 70+ to SH, you still have to remember to actually go to the EP1 areas to get the items needed to remove them (again, remembering to pay attention).

Also, telling me that people only care about SH, and having the gall to complain about the many MPAs you guys have where your MPA actually sucks?! It's like you think you're somehow entitled to the enabling of laziness and failure.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[SPOILER-BOX]
-snip-

You sum up the problem I have with the map design as a whole. I mean, the earlier EP1 maps don't always have this problem because they get some open areas in the randomization process, but yeah.

And the reason I avoid the rings is because A)by virtue of the way I fight, they'll generally end up breaking on their own at some point, B)because if I focus on the rings, I get blindsided by Ringa, who can swing and stun me, allowing the rings to do whatever it is that they do (alongside the tornados that also do shit by them running along the floor), and C)Ringa's blindspot with the two ring tornado becomes useless if he's only got one ring.

Maybe one of these days, when I'm at SH again, I'll make videos again so you can see the way I fight. I guarantee you'll find it odd what I do, and try to correct it in some way.[/SPOILER-BOX]

Anyways, back on topic: seems weird that CMode 2 is layered the way that it is. I almost thought for sure it'd end with Tunnels, considering that since Zeta Grantz is the "Lord" of all Mechs, and since he's the big feature this patch, he'd be a shoo-in (since IIRC, Diabo's the end boss of CMode 1). I mean, that's just how I see it.

Also, what's with the censoring of the third EQ there? Was it to fuck around with my pattern perception, or is that how they actually wrote it? If so, that's one of the most vague EQs I ever saw.

EDIT- @Kondi I also have a huge bias TOWARDS Melee and AGAINST Mages. That's just me though.

[Z-0]

?

It does end in tunnels, it's probable that they just haven't properly added it into the client.

[Kondibon]

Also, what's with the censoring of the third EQ there? Was it to fuck around with my pattern perception, or is that how they actually wrote it? If so, that's one of the most vague EQs I ever saw.

It's probably a placeholder.

[Renvalt]

Scratch my last, then.

[Poyonche]

Maybe it will be something like

"Defeat Dark Falz Double"
or
"Defend the Mining Base from Dark Falz Apprentice"
or
"Insert what you want here"

[Renvalt]

Maybe it will be something like

"Defeat Dark Falz Double"
or
"Defend the Mining Base from Dark Falz Apprentice"
or
"Insert what you want here"

So then the "Defeat Dark Falz Loser" bit was a placeholder as well? It DOES seem to be out of place in a segment of pre-patch data, where there so happens to be plenty of Loser data in the actual game data itself.

Unless... nah, they'd never be THAT stupid. We killed that douchebag once before, there's no way in hell Suganuma would have the balls to retcon a death of THAT caliber.

[Renzix]

We would probably see a weaker version of Apprentice before we end up seeing Double. Considering Episode 3 introduced Toy Darkers, and each Episode has their own variants of Darker, along with their respective Falz that ends up being the episode's Final Boss, along with Episode 3 lasting longer than 1 and 2, I wouldn't expect to see Double until the end.


So then the "Defeat Dark Falz Loser" bit was a placeholder as well? It DOES seem to be out of place in a segment of pre-patch data, where there so happens to be plenty of Loser data in the actual game data itself.

Unless... nah, they'd never be THAT stupid. We killed that douchebag once before, there's no way in hell Suganuma would have the balls to retcon a death of THAT caliber.

Actually, you never know. it could be entirely possible that could happen.

I mean, after all,[SPOILER-BOX]At the end of Episode 2 when you defeat Loser and view the Arks Tablet, even though Regius kills him off, Double devours the corpse and creates clones of him. It could be entirely possible to have another Loser / Falz Angel boss, albeit one controlled completely by Double from the sidelines.[/SPOILER-BOX]

[LonelyGaruga]

@Renvalt

I meant solo solo for bosses, not solo with NPCs. NPCs are jokes anyway, bringing along something like a healing bot makes any conversation about difficulty irrelevant, so why even bring them up? Standard expectations should be no NPCs. And no, I didn't forget about the caps on 30-40. Why would I do that? You're still not actually talking about my main point with that, which is that leveling quickly is really easy, so boss behaviors in N-VH inevitably make a negligible impact on a player's experience with the game compared to SH. That's what I'm talking about, that nobody cares about N-VH because SH+ is where bosses are at their best. This is also separate from the issue of people not learning how to play (which is more about XH, not SH, I don't even play SH anymore, but thanks for generalizing), because I'm not talking about how people don't learn to play because of the ease of gameplay, but that N-VH have very short timespans so they're completely forgettable in comparison to SH+, which, again, is where people spend most of their time, because by virtue of how the game's setup right now, you can play normally and still hit SH within two weeks of playing, after which point you have access to SH for the rest of your game experience. N-VH are inevitably short-lived and unimportant. The impact this has on player quality is irrelevant to the fact that, playing the game normally, you breeze right through those three difficulties in a short time span, and that's my point.

Anyway, Zeta Granz is getting equal billing to the mecha Banthers, so 50/50 there. It's just an Ultimate Vardha Soma. Diabo (or rather, Vomos Brodothys, its rare form) is the end boss of the first CQ, but it's a little complicated because Diabo fits VC for being the Ultimate variation of a dragonkin, but also happens to be a ported boss that belongs in Naberius. Depending on whether the end boss of a CQ fits the area or is a ported boss, it could be either Zeta Granz or mecha Banthers.

Also, a bit unrelated but on topic, the Dark Falz Loser EQ listed in the datamined information is probably a powered up variation like how we got Utterly Profound and the powered up Dark Falz Elder.

[Renvalt]

@Renvalt

I meant solo solo for bosses, not solo with NPCs. NPCs are jokes anyway, bringing along something like a healing bot makes any conversation about difficulty irrelevant, so why even bring them up? Standard expectations should be no NPCs. And no, I didn't forget about the caps on 30-40. Why would I do that? You're still not actually talking about my main point with that, which is that leveling quickly is really easy, so boss behaviors in N-VH inevitably make a negligible impact on a player's experience with the game compared to SH. That's what I'm talking about, that nobody cares about N-VH because SH+ is where bosses are at their best. This is also separate from the issue of people not learning how to play (which is more about XH, not SH, I don't even play SH anymore, but thanks for generalizing), because I'm not talking about how people don't learn to play because of the ease of gameplay, but that N-VH have very short timespans so they're completely forgettable in comparison to SH+, which, again, is where people spend most of their time, because by virtue of how the game's setup right now, you can play normally and still hit SH within two weeks of playing, after which point you have access to SH for the rest of your game experience. N-VH are inevitably short-lived and unimportant. The impact this has on player quality is irrelevant to the fact that, playing the game normally, you breeze right through those three difficulties in a short time span, and that's my point.

I must be both impatient and super-lonely then. Because I get very angry when everyone's at the top and I'm still at the bottom, all alone.

And by "playing normally" you don't mean: skipping all the cutscenes, not doing the Matter Board except for the metagame accepted stuff that it has, and just doing EQs with the occasional dipping into Daily Order Free Fields/TAs/etc? Because that's not "playing normal" to me.

But then again I probably have no idea over how this game is "normally" played. If it's how I think it is, then this game just turned me off hard.

Also, agreed on the segment with easy leveling - I'm past 20 before I've even unlocked Hard Mode. Fixing some shit in the early progression may at least make things smoother in this regard, because some of the content just really feels like it hasn't been updated for the current era.

Anyway, Zeta Granz is getting equal billing to the mecha Banthers, so 50/50 there. It's just an Ultimate Vardha Soma. Diabo (or rather, Vomos Brodothys, its rare form) is the end boss of the first CQ, but it's a little complicated because Diabo fits VC for being the Ultimate variation of a dragonkin, but also happens to be a ported boss that belongs in Naberius. Depending on whether the end boss of a CQ fits the area or is a ported boss, it could be either Zeta Granz or mecha Banthers.

Zeta Granz up close doesn't have any of the so-called "Vardha" features (other than the bigass body, but you could slap that on anything at this point). The Mecha Banthers actually look like they'd be genuinely unique, which is a surprise as I didn't expect SEGA to go that far. Zeta Granz is basically Vardha as a huge-ass Spardan, with a bunch of extra attacks.

Diabo does share the Vol Dragon bones, but his skin makes me think more of a Mega Aginis (with Vomos being a Mega Folginis). That's just my opinion, though.

I still wonder how the hell they're going to roll with Ultimate Amduscia, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Also, a bit unrelated but on topic, the Dark Falz Loser EQ listed in the datamined information is probably a powered up variation like how we got Utterly Profound and the powered up Dark Falz Elder.

*mega sigh* My god, SEGA, can you not design ONE Falz fight where you don't need to revamp it in a way that replaces the original EQ EVER? Seriously - at this point we might as well just say that whatever the new Falz is, we're not fighting them at their true power, even with their "true" forms unleashed on us.

@Renzix - Considering the material of the latest chapter, Apprentice makes the most sense considering that Yucreta's undergoing an identity crisis, not sure if she's Falz or ARKS or whatnot. Not to mention that with Melrondia/Melphonshina's story brought to somewhat of a close, it's about time the same thing happened with Afin.

[Meteor Weapon]

If Loser appears in TD4 I'm gonna bet it would go like this.

[SPOILER-BOX]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpt1/t31.0-8/10293844_960720483952435_619512910767615574_o.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Kondibon]

I would legit be ok with that.

[Maenara]

If Loser appears in TD4 I'm gonna bet it would go like this.

[SPOILER-BOX]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpt1/t31.0-8/10293844_960720483952435_619512910767615574_o.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]

[spoiler-box]http://i.imgur.com/ns7rDDx.png[/spoiler-box]

[Superia]

From my perspective at least. They do less cutting and slashing and more of sending shiny bits of photon shrapnel. At least with Jet Boots you can still take pride in giving Darkers a boot to the face.

Yeah, I agree with that actually. It is just that seeing an opinion juxtaposed against "despite popular opinion" was silly to me. But yeah, in my opinion they could be a lot more interesting than they are. Bouncer as a whole, really.

[LonelyGaruga]

And by "playing normally" you don't mean: skipping all the cutscenes, not doing the Matter Board except for the metagame accepted stuff that it has, and just doing EQs with the occasional dipping into Daily Order Free Fields/TAs/etc? Because that's not "playing normal" to me.

Until you hit the level cap or close enough to it, yes. Except for the cutscene thing, that doesn't make a difference so you might as well enjoy them. Once you're at SH or above there's plenty of time to do anything you want, so Matter Board stuff and whatnot is fair game. You don't have to play PSO2 like that, but that's exactly the kind of perspective I'm looking at, and it's one that most players would have, since the primary (not only, mind you) draw of an MMO is the multiplayer aspects, not the single player aspects.

Anyway, Zeta Granz is outright stated in the internal names to be an Ultimate Vardha Soma, and you can clearly see that its head is exactly the same as the other two Vardhas in structure. It's a Vardha. And likewise, Diabo is internally named the same as Vol Dragon, with the prefix all Ultimate enemies carry. Diabo is the Ultimate version of Vol Dragon. And I've said this a lot by now, but calling lightning element dragonkin with a mech boss (Tranmizer or more likely Big Vardha) being ported over and modified into a dragonkin. The only confirmed boss through datamining is Dragon Ex as of right now though.

And I really don't like that attitude about revamping EQs. They aren't revamping it because they need to. That's an incredibly sorry perspective. XH Loser is already one of the only XH enemies that actually got a noticeable revamp, and now Sega is going to make it even better. It also isn't going to replace the current EQ, because Utterly Profound was only a temporary EQ, and after it stopped happening, Sega ported the powered up Dark Falz Elder behavior to VH+ of the regular EQ. If Sega does the same thing here, all it means is that we get a better version of the Loser EQ temporarily, and then that Loser EQ will live on in the current one, as the altered changes make their way to the standard EQ.

Also, seriously, DFE's powered up version made so much sense story-wise how can you even complain about it? His presence was freezing Naberius. It makes sense that Dark Falz Elder didn't fully regain his strength after hibernating for a few decades, and when he did, boom, ice powers. Wow. And the only actual change besides the ice powers was a single modified move, and I think he did his gravity teabag faster compared to standard DFE. It doesn't even make sense to complain about it like he was massively revamped or improved or anything. All he got was a couple tweaks, and you're complaining about Sega revamping it?

No, really, seriously. You're complaining about Sega improving bosses. I can't get over how stupid that is. I just...wow. I can't take this seriously. I just can't.


If Loser appears in TD4 I'm gonna bet it would go like this.

[SPOILER-BOX]https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpt1/t31.0-8/10293844_960720483952435_619512910767615574_o.jpg[/SPOILER-BOX]

This is the best post in the thread.

[Maenara]

According to Agrajag, there's a new Ranger skill in the data:

The text file mentioned a Matoi enemy ("Black-clothed Matoi", but it was marked as a temporary name).

There's also a skill named "Bullet Keep Gunslash". You get 3 guesses what it does and why I hate it.

I want it. I want it so bad.

[yoshiblue]

So you can switch to a launcher and a gunslash, big deal. I welcome the change.

[KazukiQZ]

Gunslash as PP recover tool for RA while in WB mode? That would be awesome.

Though, I have an idea regarding this bullet keeping skill.
Name can be 'Bullet Sacrifice Switch' with effect: Lets you keep loaded special bullet when switching to weapons other than Launcher (and Gunslash perhaps?), but cost you one bullet per switch. Switching back to rifle/launcher doesn't decrease bullet count.' So, loading 4 WB then switching to Bulet Bow give you 3 more WB.

[EvilMag]

What's next? Bullet Keep Bullet Bow?

[Maenara]

What's next? Bullet Keep Bullet Bow?

I doubt that. Ranger can natively equip gunslash, but not bow.

[Xaelouse]

It's the fact that they're acknowledging Gunslash in a skill tree leaves hope for other gunslash-specific skills for other trees in the future

[Renvalt]

I doubt that. Ranger can natively equip gunslash, but not bow.

To expand on this, every class master's first COs involve killing enemies with their specific weapon type (there's also a "talk to class master as the class they teach" CO, but that's only on the HU/RA/FO class masters).

Lisa's weapon COs happen to actually include Gunslash as one of said weapons; so to me at least, this is a change long overdue for RA. While all classes can equip the Gunslash so to speak, the weapon REALLY seems to have been originally designed for Ranger, just based off the COs and stuff I've seen.

Might be that SEGA's setting a marker for a potential Gunslash revamp - I don't know. But this definitely looks odd to be doing now, of all times.

(Note: This is my opinion - what I think SEGA might do and what they actually end up doing is just pure speculation on my part and as such, don't ever take me seriously because the arguments that have come from this have never been pleasant)