Part 12: I really hate Pickets!
Post-LP Note: A user, Mr. Locke, had been discussing really good strategies and ways to basically break the game in half. He also made a bunch of predictions of how I could get totally lucky and screw the RNG over...a lot of these predictions ended up being true, like Blue October. I'll be quoting him a few times in this update.Zebrin posted:
How the hell are you getting that many eggs anyways? It took me getting that useless palunpa egg from selfi before I even got a second monster... I got the second collar and didn't even have a useful second until I got a manoeva... now I don't get anything else!
Mr. Locke posted:
I don't know WHAT he's doing, but it's driving me batty. I mean, first getting a U-Boat this easy was bad enough, but now he's also got a Nyuel and a Manovea. (For non-AD vets- one of the best pure support platforms around and a potential game breaker for many, many reasons) and at this rate I won't be surprised if he finds an Arachne egg and a Block egg sitting in the same room on either side of a Trained Wand placed just below a Wind Crystal. Or some other really silly bullshit.
THIS IS A BAD EXAMPLE OF AZURE DREAMS DROP RATE, I SWEAR. This is practically Scrooge McDuck dropping the keys to his Money Bin right in front of you. This is absurd. This is insane.
Krysmphoenix posted:
Speaking of luck...Mr. Locke, I would like you to check your loaded gun at the door before you read the update (finished playing, now gotta transcribe stuff). I'm afraid you'll eitheror
. I swear, this is the most unusual playthrough I've ever had of this game.
Materant posted:
Oh dear. This does not bode well for you or Mr. Locke.
Krysmphoenix posted:
Eh, not really. I just don't want him to kill himself or me.
Seuss and T-1000 won the voting. As for what to do with Blue October, you guys decided to keep him instead of fusing him over to Seuss. Anyway, lets check out the stuff that's changed since we last visited town.
they say he's only a 15 year-old boy who attained manhood this year. Also, his started constructing buildings, one after another, with the money that he earned. Wow. Impressive. You, are you a monster tamer too? You've got to keep it up.Lady, you have no idea.
You build such a magnificent theater for me! What ? Not for me ? Don't be so uptight. I will make Monsbaiya the best place for entertainment. We will finish the preperation soon, so look forward to it, won't you?Even though we built it, we can't enter just yet. I guess we have to wait another week. Anyway, I wandered around town, but didn't see Nico anywhere, so I went to her house
: I was just talking to Ghosh about what we could do next to make Monsbaiya more cultural.
: Ahem.That bastard! Well fine, if he's going to take Nico, then I'll just go to the restaurant and eat in peace and quiet.
Nope...he's there and yells at us like he usually does. This guy is fast! I fucking hate him. Anyway, our food porn for the day is Yakitori Chicken ($100)
: I hear Koppe owns a Niwawa bird at home. The comb of this Niwawa apparently grows fairly quickly. Every morning Koppe will cut a bit of the comb off, and use it for cooking. He'll soak this with sauce several times. The meant and onions are cooked with this sauce until they soak up the taste. The harmony between the juicy meat and the fresh onion is just perfect....wait...what? So how does the Niwawa bird fit into this at all? Is the comb the brush to put the sauce on? Today's meal leaves me confused, so let's go somewhere else that is simpler.
And who else is as simple as Selfi?
: But you and I are no match.: Selfi sure looks heavy. || I don't want to be a match.: How rude.Just to make me hate Selfi even more, I imagine her speaking with Jar Jar Binks' voice for that line. It oddly suits her. Anyway, just being around her makes me feel dumb. I wonder how that old professor guy is?
If only this city had a Library. Well, there's no sense asking you, is there?: I'll build it for you. || You're right.You do realize who donated for half of that fountain, recently upgraded his house, built a theater for no fucking reason and also improved the church and local hospital?
Wh... what did you say!? You can never judge anyone from their looks.I get this feeling the translator deliberately did not want to say "You can't judge a book by its cover." I think I would have preferred the pun.
If it's true, then I express my sincere gratitude. Just concern yourself with getting the Library built, and leave the management of the books and details to me.
I go ahead and buy it, because it's required for the yet another girlfriend to even appear. Besides, $8000 is nothing anymore. Last stop is Cherrl before we go to the tower.
And I walk in to see Cherrl arguing with her mother.
It's right here when you need it.
: Then, what if I want to get changed? You can get changed yourself. Then Mamoru walks up and Nadia notices we're here.
Oh Mamoru, I'm sorry. Whenever I have to go out, she will sometimes act in this manner. Mamoru is here to see you. I have to get going now. Mamoru, can I ask you to take care of her while I'm gone?: Sure, I don't mind. || No way. She's too selfish. Thank you very much.Then she leaves me with Cherrl. Mamoru's only known this girl for a few days, and already Nadia trusts us with her very sick daughter whom I'm assuming can't even get up, though they never really talk much about her illness.
: I know myself. But I'm here sleeping in bed all day. All I have is this rectangular window. Outside this window I can see the big blue sky and all those people walking around. All I can do is...watch the scenery that appears on this window. I'm all alone. Unless I take a selfish attitude toward my mother, sometimes I'm not even certain whether or not I'm alive.: I still came through this window. || Still, no good to be selfish.: Hey, that's right. By throwing Chuppie out the window, I was able to meet you, Mamoru. By taking action myself to do something about the outside world, I accomplished something! It's not that I could only look at the outside world, but rather I would only look at the outside world, that's what you mean, right Mamoru?Then she gets tired and falls asleep. Man, I really feel sorry for this girl. We need to get her better, so we can show her the awesome fountain, and watch some
No wand this time, I don't think I really need it, since I can't buff them and I'm finding so many anyway. Same with the Wind Crystals, although I do enter the tower with a small degree of hesitation like this. We'll see how it plays out.
Floor 1
First things first. A Vital sword is natrually at 5 ATK, so this is as strong as one of those.
Floor 2
: How do you feel coming across an oasis like me in the desert of the dungeon?: Not too bad || You, an oasis!?#Self: I am an oasis.
Yeah...when do I start fighting Ghosh again? I want those Medicinal Herbs, dammit.
Floor 3
...I'm running out of things to say. Seriously.
I there was a pair of Truth glasses in the room as well, the egg is another Flame.
Well, there goes that fear.
And this celebrates our 100th Pulunpa slain. I'm somewhat surprised that I got not only Trolls before Pulunpas, but also Cyclones and Blumes.
Floor 4
This one picture sums up my entire forth floor pretty well. Not a single coin or monster. Just this one trap.
Floor 5
And now 100 Flames have been put out. If you notice, all of my pictures of the hundreth kill have been Mamoru mid-jump as part of the attack.
Floor 6
White sand is pretty meh still, but Binding orbs can really help out. Too bad they don't last very many turns. I think I might prefer a Blinding orb, but this is all I got.
And now 100 Manoevas have been dissolved into nothingness. Still haven't killed 100 clones yet. Special note: All Manoeva clones are equal, even the v2 Manoevas produce the same exact clones.
Floor 7
Uhh...pretty boring actually. Don't have a single picture for this one.
Floor 8
I think I was close to leveling that time too! I really hate Clowns. Oh, and I learned something interesting. Mamoru's stat and HP gains are set in stone, not randomized. I got demoted like four times back to lv. 11, and every time when I went back to lv. 12 I had the exact same stats. And I've been paying attention to the HP gains for several updates now.Floor 9
Oh, NOW the game starts sending insane amounts of these my way.
Floor 10
Good, this will help me in case I lose Blue October by accident.
Ugh, this room was almost a Yet Another Stupid Death. I foolishly took down the Trolls first, leaving me within one hit of dying from the Volcano because he was doing more than 1 damage through my shield.
I love my Gold sword.
Floor 11
Sweeeeet. I've been waiting for this baby for a long time. Clowns have the Trait where the spells of the monster increase twice as fast, easily going way past the monster's current level.
Floor 12
Another Medicinal herb tossed Blue October's way. I leave the monster out this time because Krakens will ruin me.
It's kinda hard to tell, but I gained six life from this attack because I was using a Life wand. I mentioned before I wasn't sure if they gave you more than 2 HP back, and clearly they do. This is my main wand for a while.
Floor 13
Again, nothing interesting. Krakens don't get one-shotted with the Life wand, but the restored life means I only take a net total of four damage on average.
Floor 14
Hazak seeds are supposed to be rare too. You know what, I'm just going to shut up about rarity.
Garudas will do this to you. They warp to a separate part of the Tower together, and then the Garuda pounds your monster into the dirt.
Blue October didn't stand a chance, the Garuda is wind-elemental. Maybe next time. Either way, I use that Restore scroll now.
Floor 15
This was the first one I took a screen shot of. I've been running into an unusually high number of paralyze traps. A troll ran into the first one, and this is my third I activated.
Floor 16
NOOO! I don't have a restore scroll!
It's around this time that I realize I still have Blue October set to only use mixture magic. While its away, I set it to attack, and then my "Octobr seems to be in battle" messages double in number, meaning that Blue October got hit and was attacking something. Shortly afterward, I get this message. Note to self: put Magic support monsters on "attack" if they get lost.
Doh! I forgot to switch to my Gold Sword before using this. Total, I get a Red sand (wasted) and two Blue sands from the three Barongs I encounter.
Mr. Locke posted:
Fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff-
I should mention right now that weapons do not transfer to their bonuses when used with Mixture Magic. This is why wands cannot be tempered with Red sand. So despite the Training wand's ability to get bonuses from red sand, it won't transfer through mixture magic. Instead, think of the Training Wand as a Gold Sword that also gives the "Wand bonus" to mixture magic.
Floor 17
Damn Pickets, I get this one back fortunately.
What the...fine, keep it! Or come back later and give it to me (it did).
No! That one's mine! (Also got it back)
NOOOO! The room collapsed right as it stole the wand! (Lost forever)
Floor 18
"Monster Book" posted:
No. 20 ARACHNE Habitat: Water's Edge
ARACHNE is a monster which has 8 limbs, resembling a spider. At water's edge, a typical habitat of ARACHNES, one can often see an ARACHNE weaving a spider's web on a tree to hunt prey. It eats prey that are larger than itself, but seldom attacks humans.
In the mean time, these are the games Demonic Spiders...literally. Fortunately, they have low HP so most of the time Blizzard Sword will kill them in one hit.
As for the Pickets, I switch over to a Stream wand to help take them down while I'm in a room (love the new floor design by the way). Snow Shoot will hit them when they try to rush past me, because their AI has them avoid combat...but not avoid me. Odd.
Oh....no...no...no no no no nonononononoNONONONONONONO!!!!!
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU---
Floor 19
Eat the Medicinal Herb, Blue October. It'll help you kill more Pickets.
They deserve it.
"Monster Book" posted:
No. 12 WEADOG Habitat: Monster Tower
A kind of monster that has been protecting the Monster Tower since the days of antiquity. Why it protects the tower is unknown. It is skilled in taming other monsters, and is said to be capable of pacifying even the most atrocious monsters at once. Some people say it is a "Servant of the God of Monsters."
AH HELL NO! YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!
AND DON'T YOU COME BACK!
Mr. Locke posted:
This might be the one time I've ever cheered Pickit on. It's bordering on mean-spirited, but this LP just took a dive to the complete batshit. This is Diablo dropping the Godly Plate of the Whale to someone on their first Hell run.
Or, in other words:
(In all seriousness, congratulations and I hope your sudden upswing on sheer broken power serves you well, since about floor 25 is when the game normally stops playing nice and you really break into a grind to have to start making upward progress again, and you might be able to skip most of that and keep rolling with the LP at a good rate with a combo of good monsters- U-Boat, Nyuel, Manoeva, Clown- and already having the best shield and weapon avaliable. Also, you're doing a fantastic job with the LP proper and it's kinda nice to see a game with such a genuine mean streak built-in at times actually work with the LPer.
Of course, that doesn't mean I hate you any less for getting the kind of luck I never had with this game or even knew this game was capable of giving out. I'd replay the game, but it'd probably just spite me and take six or seven runs just to get my first egg. And that'd just break my wee little spirit. It seems I spent all my lootgrind luck for life on a legit max-% To Hit Spread Needle in PSOv1, way back.)
Floor 20
Alright...finally got this item. Good. Now to take it to the bar lady. (And wait a second...why haven't I found Guru's oil pot yet? It was supposed to be on the 15th floor!)
"Monster Book" posted:
No. 28 Viper Habitat: Jungle
A monster shaped like a viper and human combined. It hides in a dense forest, and attacks invaders. Its claws and fangs have poisons that paralyze nerves, and the power of the attacker is weakened by it. This poison cannot be neutralized with the common Antidote Herb. Its favorite food is eggs, gulping them down no matter how big they may be.
Oh, and yes, they will eat any eggs they come across in the Tower if its an enemy.
"Monster Book" posted:
No. 36 UNICORN Habitat: Tree Top
This monster has horizontal stripes all over its body. It spends its childhood in a nest built by its parents on a tall tree. Since its wings are too weak to fly, it is fed by the parents. It lives exactly like ab ird chick, but it fights bravely against invaders.
Floor 21
But the first time they use it on Blue October, it works right away. And because its blind, Blue October won't help me with Mixture magic. I manage to take down the Unicorn before any serious damage is done, but it's hard with a Life wand with little ATK.
Oh yes, Pulunpas make a reappearance here, and they start using a new ability: Collar Jack. They will randomly remove your monster's collar, forcing them back in the bag. Very rarely will they use it, and they have the exact same stats as before. Yum...pudding...
But the Viper there took out Blue October before I could destroy it.
I won't stand a chance if I stay. I'm out of here.
END OF DAY! KILL COUNT FOR THE DAY!
: 18 Pulunpas, 4 Noises, 21 Trolls (Hammer), 18 Flames, 24 Cyclones, 20 Baloons, 33 Manoevas, 44 Blumes, 21 U-Boats, 16 Clowns, 16 Dreamins, 21 Trolls (Bow), 9 Volcanoes, 13 Griffons. 278 KILLS TOTAL7 Traps Discovered.
Reached 100 kills for: Troll (Hammer), Cyclones, and Blumes.
: 1 Garuda. 1 KILL TOTAL.Snow Shoot Assists: 7 Pickets. 7 SNOW SHOOT KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL
Blizzard Sword Assists: 2 Trolls (Hammer), 1 Manoeva Clone, 7 Dreamins, 5 Trolls (Bow), 19 Volcanoes, 12 Griffons, 16 Krakens, 17 Nyuels, 27 Trolls (Sword), 19 Garudas, 17 Manoevas (v2), 3 Barongs, 13 Pickets, 25 Arachnes, 10 Weadogs. 9 Unicorns, and 9 Vipers. 208 BLIZZARD SWORD KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another flame, stats are the same. You know the drill, give it a name.
You can already see the Trait in action, Clowns start with lv. 2 LoDown. Give this buddy a name too.
: Look, when you open the top like this, you can hear beautiful music. It would be the perfect present for a girl. I'm certain that whoever gets this will fall in love with you in an instant.
: Thank you very much! It's a gem. You've got a great sense for quality.I wouldn't go that far, but it is a nice gift that does nothing. Still, I get it because I have nothing better to do. Who do you goons want to give this too? I'll give it to any girl in the city.
Anyway, I sell the stuff loot from this run for $6405. Not great, but lets us break even with the loose change we found in the Tower as well. Currently at $28383.
So, vote for the Flame's name, Clown's name, and who to send the music box to. (Oh, and our Monster Hut has only one open slot. You know I'm going to find more eggs. Next expansion gives us 7 more slots for $6000. Go for it?)
I swear...this was one of the most bi-polar runs I've done. Two eggs, awesome loot, blue cape...with awesome loot stolen. Broke even, but I HAVE A FUCKING TRAINING WAND NOW!