Part 21: Dreams United (II)
Update 18: Dreams United (II)Let’s kick this one off with some crafting. The last thing I went on about in the previous update was the Alles Welt, whose node unlocked after Plachta crafted the Wiegentraum.
Since the Asterisíma is needed in the Alles Welt, it’s a good place to start. Good thing I have the first two materials from beating up dragons and the Abyss Tyrant.
The second effect affixes a different category to the output depending on which threshold you hit.
This is a recipe whose node became available after Plachta synthesized the Groll-warding Stone. I could start synthesizing it after collecting Einquartz.
Olias’ final weapon has Lightning and Light thresholds to hit, so I should have focused on those over Wind. Still, as you’ll see, it ended up not actually costing me the highest Lightning threshold’s effect on the Demon Slayer.
Now when gearing up to synthesize an additional Ennui Mirror for the party: Inflict Glacier x Transcendent Mastery gives me Final Glacier, which inflicts two stacks of Frostbite on the enemy. In addition to lengthening their wait times, it also means the enemy’s resistance to physical attacks is lowered by 2–so Ramizel, Diebold and Alette’s skills and Olias’ Avant-Garde will hit that much harder.
Again, what matters here is maxing out Wind for Tri-Suffer.
Final Grudge and Pure White Corrosion are, of course, mandatory on the finished product.
After duplicating them and going back to the atelier…
Promise with Alette
Haha, no, no. today, there’s something I wanna give you.
Wow! This is gorgeous! … But why give it to me? Hmm … It’s kinda my way of saying thanks, I guess? If I hadn’t met you, I probably wouldn’t realize I was ready to return home. I’d have stayed here and kept earning money for who knows how long, but I wouldn’t have been satisfied. So, this is my thanks for the wake-up call. But, I didn’t do anything worth such an expensive-looking gift … It’s not just a thank you gift … I hoped it’d be something for you to remember me by. … What do you mean? Well … we live in different time periods, right? That means when we go home, I don’t think we’ll meet again … Oh … Right. I forgot about that … Haha. I completely forgot about it too, so when I remembered … it was a bit of a shock …
That’s why I feel really lucky that I had the chance to meet you here and become your friend. So, the accessory’s not just a thanks, but also like a memento of our meeting, or a symbol of our friendship, or … Ah, whatever! This sappy stuff is way too embarrassing! We’re friends, so just take the thing! … Thank you Alette. I’ll cherish it. You’d better! It’s a really rare piece, so be sure to take good care of it. … Alright, that’s that. I’d better go back and restock. Huh? Didn’t you just sell off pretty much all your stock so you could get your things in order? I-I did, but … I seriously let my emotions get the best of me. I sold a buncha stuff for cheap that I bet would be worth a fortune back home … So, I’m planning on staying here until I gather up a few more things to sell later. Which means you’ll get to enjoy my company for a little while longer. Alright, see ya! I feel like that kind of defeats the reason she had the sale in the first place …
I’m not going to make this talisman, but it requires an ingredient from a Groll Aura mini-boss. I’ll show off the fight later in this update. By the skit here, it means that the Gunfighter Talisman increases the number of times you attack when you select the regular Attack command after using Support Guard. Still, this still will have inferior damage output to using Twin Actions and you’d really have to build to make it so that using it and the Attack command to bust Aura would be more effective than the other options you have available.
Now for Plachta’s final weapon: it requires an ingredient whose recipe is on the upper right of this screen, the locked node to the right of the talisman. One of the conditions for unlocking said talisman is to get an Evening Star Piece, which I can’t gather outside the final dungeon. I can’t buy one from Gnome either.
Going east of the point of no return, jumping up a cliff with the Gibeon, and squeezing through a crevice, I’ll find a Groll Aura boss–the target of a quest I’d accepted from Kati. If you’re looking for a particular Groll Aura mini-boss and its quest hasn’t shown up yet, just go to sleep until Kati puts it up for you.
The Devil and the Blossom
Demon enemies are usually immune to magic attacks and weak to physical attacks, and after getting smacked with Final Glacier this Covetous Devil is super weak to physical attacks.
Oh yeah, I need to use this Dual Trigger to get the recipe for Ramizel’s last weapon.
And there’s the Adventurer level cap at 50.
This is what we came here for. We’re halfway there to getting the recipe for the talisman!
The second condition is to beat the Chaos Blossom, a regular area boss in the Illusion Vale.
The only reason I’m synthesizing the Gunfighter Talisman is to unlock its neighboring node; the particulars of the product do not matter at all. Situations like this are where the auto-add function comes in handy!
The Fatal Nebula can be found by beating up any variety of the Large Groll we’ve seen or by gathering in the corrupted Dream Cradle.
The Divine Punisher has Ice and Lightning thresholds to mind, so those are the ones I’m prioritizing. And those are pretty great Ice and Lightning components on the output that’ll go into it.
Taking a break from synthesizing:
The Mood in Town
Ahaha … I had a few things to take care of first, so …
Honestly, it’s always the same with you … Do try to aid Elvira sooner rather than later. Yeah … You’re right. I’ll be off.
… I suspect we may have already spent too much time in this world. Mm … I’ve been feeling the same way. Yes … With the trouble with the Groll resolved, and Elvira soon to be saved … It will not be long before we must …
I understand, Plachta. That’s why … I’m going to do my best! … Take care, Sophie. And please, whatever you do, stay safe …
Goodness, how horrible. The Dream Tree looks even more withered than it did before …
Miss Elvira isn’t coming to town no more neither. Did something happen?
Something must’ve! There’s no other explanation!
But what are we meant to do about it? We don’t even know where Miss Elvira might be. There’s nothing we can do … No way, no how … … I hate this. Not being able to help is so frustrating …
Don’t you worry!
She’ll be back again soon, with a big smile on her face!
And what she loves more than anyone is watching everyone happily working towards their dreams!
Yeah … You’re right, Miss Ramizel! It won’t do any good if we’re all acting gloomy!
I’ll keep chipping away at making my dream come true until Miss Elvira comes back! Then when she does, I’ll have a ton of stuff to tell her about! She’ll be thrilled! Ahaha, there you go! That’s a great idea. Ellie will love that.
Ramizel … Please do whatever you can to aid our goddess. We believe in you! You gave us hope, and you can give some to our goddess, too!
Really? Yeah. We’ve been running around a lot lately … I kind of wish we had some free time to kick back, though … Ahaha … Feeling a little tired? Hmm … Not quite. I just wish we had more time to relax and chat. We haven’t been able to do that yet, have we? … That’s true. I wish we had more time to just talk too.
After we finish what we need to do, the two of us should explore Erde Wiege. We could pack a tent and the bare essentials and go on a little trip … Doesn’t that sound fun? Ooh! It does! Oh, but … before coming here, I was actually on the way to take the alchemy license exam. I feel like Plachta would tell me to stay and study instead of running around who-knows-where. I’m sure a small trip would be fine. I’ll even ask her for you if you’d like. But, you’re trying to become a licensed alchemist, huh …? I could never see myself achieving that.
I would never even get the recommendation needed for the exam with my skills to begin with. But you really were a licensed alchemist! I saw your certificate with my own eyes! And that’s what made me set out on my journey to take the exam. My grandma has always been my hero since I was little … I wanted to be an alchemist just like her … Me? Your hero …?
Me, a licensed alchemist, huh … Do I really have what it takes …?
Sweet Fragrance
This is another Groll Aura boss I have to beat–in this case, it’s the third condition to unlock Sophie’s final weapon.
I am most certainly taking advantage of whoever broke the enemy’s aura getting to move again immediately, as Ramizel using Twin Actions with both Sophie and Diebold is progressing toward unlocking Sophie’s and her own final weapons respectively.
damn game that’s rude
Just two more Twin Actions for Ramizel’s final weapon!!
Now that feels good to have finally hit all thresholds on this one. Because I’ll need plenty of these for everyone’s final weapons.
It’s a given that the Ōkeagyrn will go in the second Ingot slot, and as a reminder, the Philosopher’s Stones I made with All Stats+10 count as Elixirs.
That’s already a solid statline to start with. And since there are no Light thresholds to care about…
I’ll just do that immediately to tack on another 10 to all stats.
It took me like four takes to get my Lightning links in order just right to get 10 and add that last Ōkeagyrn in and it also meant I had to sacrifice on the (expendable) Fire effect. What you’re seeing in this update is a good four to five hours of footage compressed into a bunch of screencaps and under 50000 characters. Output:
Their Shared Future
Gosh, I knew it was going to be powerful, but it really is something, huh.
Indeed. I expect that I will need something rather strong to fend off the Groll. And … I also anticipate that I will need something of this caliber once I return back home. I do not know exactly what trouble my future self will run into … But that is all the more reason to be armed as best as I can. I see … Hmm, I know you said you don’t like fighting, but I do feel like you’re getting more aggressive about it … That may indeed be so … However, I have found what it is I wish to protect … To protect? Yes … My future. Even though it is still very far off, I wish to protect the future where you and I first meet.
To protect the future where we meet, huh … I say protect as though it is a grand thing, but it is only my own future I am considering. Maybe it is wrong to use such a word … No, I don’t think so. I wouldn’t give up our meeting for the world. So, what you just made with your alchemy will protect my future too. Protecting my future … will also protect yours? W-well, that may be so, but it is no more than a fortunate coincidence. It does not change the fact that I made this solely for myself … Yeah, I know. I know I can’t change your mind, too.
I want to call attention to the shield part of the Divine Punisher having gotten behind Sophie now
And that makes me really happy. It means both of us treasure the same thing, right …? Sophie … Protect it well … Plachta. You’re the only one I can entrust our shared future to. I don’t want to lose it. I promise to protect it, Sophie. I swear. Our future is safe with me!
The top level effect, Judgment XXL, means Plachta recovers 15% of her MP after inflicting any debuffs and her skills are 50% stronger during thunderstorms.
…The first half of that effect makes something else viable for her to use: her signature bomb, which has been available for synthesis since the Thunderbolt Palace!
I wasn’t able to get enough Fire links to add in a Gas ingredient with Wind components, but what matters is that by maxing out Fire, using the Twilight Prism will not put Plachta on death’s door. The one Wind component I had was just the right shape to let me hit the minimum Wind effect threshold to remove a buff from the enemy. As for the ones maxed out:
Wild Rainbow does Magical damage (200 base power), consumes all of Plachta’s MP, with power increasing by 1% for every single point of MP expended.
Rainbow Trial has Tri-Suffer’s effect, but with 7 stacks of a debuff instead of 3.
Goldnaire
Now, for the Crimson Dragon Fangs, one of its ingredients is dropped by the Groll Aura mini-boss at Heaven’s Sword Peak. That’ll be my opportunity to test the Twilight Prism.
And while I’m at it, I need to do this Dual Trigger again to unlock Alette’s final weapon.
That “get ‘em!” flick of the finger is gold, and each point of Plachta’s colossal MP stat went into making her signature bomb hit like a truck. And you can see why Judgment XXL made the Twilight Prism just viable instead of unusable with these specs: Plachta only recouped 147MP for it. Still, that’s better than being left with no MP at all, and even if the Twilight Prism would be markedly less powerful if used a second time in this battle, Plachta still has something left to fire off her higher-power, more MP-intensive skills once she’s up again. (She wasn’t up again, because the Goldnaire went down very shortly thereafter.)
It's possible to really make good use of the Twilight Prism for boss kill strategies, but you have to really go out of your way to build not just Plachta, but the whole team for it.
This here is why we took the trouble of fighting the Goldnaire. We now have everything we need for the Crimson Dragon Fangs, but before we can synthesize it…
Ramizel’s Goal
Yeah. what is it? It’s nothing much … but let’s go someplace else. I don’t think I could talk about it very well here.
Umm … You’re not wrong about that. What did you want to talk about? Ahaha, relax! It really isn’t a big deal or anything. I have … decided something, and want to share it with you … Originally, I was planning on going straight back to Kirchen Bell once I returned to the real world. I was only wandering around because I like traveling and learning new things, without any real goal in mind, anyway … And I was already reaching the point of thinking it was time for me to go back. So, that’s why you were traveling … I had no idea. Did you bring me here just to tell me that, though? Haha, no. Here’s the most important part. You said you started traveling because you admired me, right? When I heard you say that … I felt something spark in my heart.
Wait … You mean …! That’s right. Once I get back, I’m heading straight to the royal capital to train. I’m going to study up well so I can be a licensed alchemist worthy of your praise and admiration. Ramizel … Ahaha, I shouldn’t talk so big for someone so unskilled, but … Aw, geez, I’m starting to blush. That’s why I had to bring you here of all places. I feel like I’m going to combust on the spot. … Do you think I’m being silly? Of course not! How could I ever think that?! How I feel about you won’t ever change … You’ll always be the alchemist I admire the most in the whole world! …
I swear I’ll get that license! Just you wait! Yeah … I believe in you!
Is this a goal Ramizel would have ever come to, and would she have become the alchemist Sophie looked up to, had she not met her future granddaughter here in Erde Wiege? It’s an open question!
quote:
The 2 Gunpowder requirement quite complicates this synthesis. Heck, this ended up not being my best; there’s a point I added and then took out a Philosopher’s Stones because it doesn’t add to any of the effect thresholds I’d missed for this, and I’d hit 10 Lightning and 10 Ice anyway to add three extra ingredients in.
Still, an additional Ōkeagyrn was very easily doable. And the added critical boost pairs well with the Eaglescope.
The Knight of Legend
What I would give to have a chat with the alchemist who wrote it … Maybe study from them … Oops, I’m getting carried away. I need to get these swords to Diebold as soon as possible!
Um … Here. I made this for you. Please, take it.
Do you remember the recipe I showed you the other day? I had Sophie make it.
Pirka, perhaps you forgot what I told you? I have no right to wield such swords. I remember. … And I knew you would say that, too. But I know these swords are meant for you. You’ll need them for the road ahead, I can just feel it. What do you mean? I do not understand. I mean that if you’re gonna protect more people, you’re gonna need something really strong. If more monsters like the one before appear, you can’t just leave them be, right? I am no longer a knight. As such, I have no right to–
… What? When you talk about your “right,” you really mean your shield, aren’t you? But weren’t you only given it because someone else recognized you as a knight? Indeed … and then I sold it. When I heard I was to be relieved of my post, I was lost. So someone gave you a token of their approval, and you sold it when they threw you away? That’s not proof of your knighthood. It’s just a hunk of metal some arrogant guys gave you. … Um … Maybe I don’t know much about shields and knighthoods, but … I see you as a knight, Diebold.
Sophie … You’re always the first to leap to someone else’s defense, and that’s the most knightly thing there is. So please, accept these swords. It’s our gift to a true knight, Diebold. … How could I have been so foolish? An emblem does not a knight make. True knighthood is something earned in the eyes of others. And yet, I failed to see that … That shocked him quite a bit, huh? Can I really do this? Am I truly worthy of calling myself a knight once more? Of course you are! Who else could wear those swords better than you? You are a hero who never hesitates to wield his blade in service of those in need. Or at least, that’s what everyone in this world thinks. So please, take it. … Thank you.
And I also pledge to you, my friends … that I will be a knight worthy of this gift. Hehe, we know you’ll do that anyway. Right, Pirka?
Sturdy Blade XL increases physical damage by 30% (and thus applies to all but one of Diebold’s offensive skills) and decreases enemy’s aura gauge by an additional 1 when attacking.
And this is armor for Diebold too. Guard Dog’s Howl increases his chances of being targeted, Beast Hide increases his resistance to status effects and Sturdy Iron Plate reduces damage received from critical hits. That’s all fitting for the tanky member of the party.
Demonic Wing
Fighting this Groll Aura mini-boss in the Verdigris Paradise is how you get an otherwise-unobtainable ingredient for the Gunfighter Talisman. And while I’m here…
What more can I say, it’s an AoE heal.
There’s our bounty: the Feurige Feather can only be found by beating up the Demonic Wing. Now to grind up DG for the last Dual Trigger needed…
Yep, an AoE debuff.
Now to craft the weapons for Ramizel, Sophie, Alette and Olias!
The Ōkeagyrn already comes with stacked Ice components, and having Light and Thunder thresholds to hit means that hitting 10 Lightning and Light links for adding in an extra Ōkeagyrn and Philosopher’s Stones will come very naturally.
Einsamkeit, das meint “loneliness.” As for the top-level effect, Selflessness XXL increases Ramizel’s critical hit rate by 50% and when she crits, she does additional physical damage that bypasses enemy defense; think Luna from Fire Emblem. So with the threshold for increasing crit damage by 30% and in tandem with the Eaglescope, Ramizel is guaranteed to crit the enemy and her crits will really, REALLY hurt.
As it turns out, I can make it so that I use literally nothing BUT Ōkeagyrn and Philosopher’s Stones for the Enlightenment Staff. And with only two relevant elements in play, it’s the easiest to synthesize of all the final weapons.
Getting rid of all my Lightning links just to add another Ōkeagyrn, and the extra Philosopher’s Stones can come with 10 Light links en route to maxing out the Light effects.
Spring of Wisdom XXL reduces Sophie’s MP consumption by 40% and increases her TP gain by 40%. The latter effect is always useful to keep up Twin Action momentum and the former helps mitigate Flame of the End’s MP consumption if I’m in a long boss fight and I need to blank its aura repeatedly.
Getting a Licht Kalpasmós was the third condition for the Hollow Walker and it can be found by Rank 3 gathering at the corrupted Dream Cradle. Now, this synthesis calls for Misc items.
Cloths also all count as Misc, so I can add two of my Geranóvirgen for this–unique among all the final weapons.
Adding in another Philosopher’s Stones was a foregone conclusion with all those Light components floating around, but I cut it damn close with the additional Ōkeagyrn. Gunning for 10 Lightning links cost me the SPD +50 threshold; still, in this case, I’d choose the boosts from the extra Ōkeagyrn over another 20 points of speed.
Sky Dasher XXL cuts Alette’s wait time by 40% and increases her evasion by 20%.
Last but not least, the Millio Quartz I made for this synthesis is finally going to fulfill its purpose. 2 Magical means two more Philosopher’s Stones go in too, and this is also a very easy synthesis to hit all my effect thresholds for and to add in an additional Ōkeagyrn and Philosopher’s Stones while I’m at it.
Banishing Bullet XXL increases Olias’ skill damage by 30% and gives an additional 20% chance of debuffing enemy defense. And with that, that’s all the weapons!
This will be the final armor for Olias and Alette; for the alchemists, I just resynthesized their Alchemy Mantles with a Geranóvirgen in the Cloth slot and got to add in another Philosopher’s Stones for them.
In practice, I was consistently unable to hit 10 Lightning links when synthesizing the last round of armor. After this, I had to go and make another Alles Welt for another Resurrection Wear because Alles Welt costs like 20k to duplicate and the Resurrection Wear, even more so.
After all my syntheses have been completed, I’m now investing my AP reserves in stat boosts. And these boosts stack–maxing out MP here means Plachta has 300 more MP than she would had I not invested a single point of AP toward increasing her MP. So here’s how everything looked before entering the final dungeon:
I wasn’t kidding when I said party members would be breaking 1000 in certain stats by endgame! Everyone in the party’s got at least one stat up there–sometimes, even WAY up there!
One last errand: making sure all my weather tools were completely topped off.
…Maybe I went overboard, because 50+ uses is literally “never run out of juice again” territory. But each and every one of these tools will be needed once we pass the point of no return.