Part 33: A New Hope.
Post-LP Note: On getting murdered by the RNG again.Materant posted:
Oh, damn, that's bad. And I admit to snickering whenever you step on a Rust trap-it's like a pre-requisite by now.
Kgummy posted:
Well, at least you'll stop with the holy sword that apparently doesn't really do many special things at +20.
Also, you need to sacrifice some omelets to the RNG god.
Starkclamp posted:
Why were you even carrying that holy sword in hand? You knew about rust traps, and it's not like you actually attacked with it particularly often, right? Could have just kept a wand equipped, and switch to the holy sword just for when you actually needed to melee. Unless there's something I'm not understanding.
Krysmphoenix posted:
Well you see, that's...
Because...
...
Because that'd be practical, and that's obviously something I can't do! Although I really didn't use very much Mixture Magic this time, so I was using the Holy sword almost constantly. And I still haven't seen first hand the rumor about the Holy Sword, so I guess I'll pull out a gameshark at the end and see if it's true or not.
Omelets indeed...I'm almost glad I've stopped using Truth glasses on the eggs I find, otherwise it might have hurt more knowing what was inside them.
Dana Crysalis posted:
Oh god your Mirror Shield nooooooooo.I feel for you, that was a pretty bad blow to your gear. At least you don't need money anymore!
Glazius posted:
Oh, ouch. This is going to hurt up until the RNG hands you a trained wand and a mirror shield next dungeon.
Krysmphoenix posted:
Oh trust me, I'm not weeping in a corner. The RNG feasts on my tears. I must let it starve.
Alpha Kenny Juan posted:
RNG also feasts on overconfidence, and you've offered Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving.
... and pie. RNG loves pie.
Alright, so last time as I'm sure all of you remember I finally progressed up to a floor beyond the 29th. I made it to floor 30. And then promptly got killed by a Killer whom killed me in two shots because the paralysis attack missed.
And now I'm starting over from scratch. Again.Once again, I am very very thankful that monsters do not die in the Tower (except by Oleems which I refuse to use) and also retain all of their levels. I can keep falling in the tower, and it will set me back (and it will suck) but overall, it probably won't push me back too much, depending how far these guys can take me.
As far as stuff in the town goes, we're really running out of stuff to do now. Only Vivian remains to be conquered. This time, she's leading the dance.
Yeah, let's go! Let's go! It's amazing how quickly they turned around to start liking Vivian after being so rude to her for so long.
: Sorry, I already made arrangements for today.
With that cute guy again, right.The blue dancer then turns to Mamoru like usual, but instead we get this.
"Excuse me, I heard that you were the owner of this place. Is that ture?
That's true. But strangely enough, although this guy went to the trouble of building it, he lets the staff take full control. Pretty unselfish huh? You're kidding! I... I... I might have said rude things to you in the past... Don't worry, I told you, he's given full control to the staf. That means I, the manager, choose all the performers. Regardless, even if Mamoru was involved, Mamoru wouldn't ignore the true ability of any person when selecting. He's not the kind of person that will fire a performer (Dammit! I can't fire Fon!) or a personal grudge. He's not stupid! Cool! Excuse me, Mr. Mamoru, would you mind letting me through please?They finally leave, giving us the chance to finally talk to Vivian.
: You did great. || I didn't see you.
: If I knew you were coming ahead of time, Mamoru, I could have danced better. That's too bad.You'd think by now she would have realized that Mamoru shows up pretty much every day...Also, note the new pose. This means we're either pretty much done with Vivian or really close.
I wasn't joking when I said that there isn't much to do around town that we haven't seen yet already. Nico and Selfi are pretty much repeating old lines, Mia wasn't even at the Library today, Cherrl keeps giggling and if I go back to Patty I'll have to pay up.
I have a dream. I'm still a long long way from reaching the level of the Boss. But when it comes to detail, I'm very confident in my skills. I'd like to take advantage of this by building an amusement center someday filled with items that take advantage of these skills.Despite what he said, we still can't build the amusement center. I've actually been pestering him a bit over previous updates without mentioning it, but so far I've gotten this the past few times. They say you have to go higher in the tower to unlock it, but I remember building the Amusement Center before I reached floor 20 in previous game so who knows?
: It's not too bad. || It's a scary place.I'm actually not sure if that was the choices because I messed up my screenshot for that, but those are pretty much your two options. Both lead to the same place.
But you're looking so much more powerful, Mamoru. It's a good way to train your body. I'd like to go to the tower myself, but I've got to look after the store.The last building we can build is the Gym, suggested by Barry the Blacksmith. Once again, you have to somehow get him to tell you he wants you to build it, and this one is usually the last building people get because it takes him some time. Still, it's probably just a matter of talking to him enough now that we've gone far in the tower.
Speaking of the tower, I forgot to get an inventory check this time, but it's the +4 Gold Sword in the safe and the three monsters. I don't have a shield to bring in, so I bring in a Wind Crystal just in case.
Floor 1
Fortunately, even with this +4 Gold Sword, I'm able to one-shot Pulunpas without problems.
Noises too, although from a higher elevation.
Not quite yet for trolls, and once again you see how much damage they can do without a shield. That's almost a fifth of my life right there. But two shots gives me generally enough time to heal in between battles. I need to figure out how many turns it takes for Mamoru to regenerate 1 HP, but it's not very many.
Floor 2
This is defeat number 11 for Ghosh. Without a shield I take 11 from Ghosh. If I wasn't able to two-shot him, I might actually lose. Time and time again I cannot stress the importance of a good shield.
Floor 3
If you look at this image carefully, you'll notice that I used both a Trap loupe and a Monster loupe on the same floor. One thing I noticed is that the monsters wandering through the hallways and rooms far away from me were stepping on the same tiles as traps, but not triggering them. The computer is a cheating bastard!
Although this is odd because I know monsters can trigger traps, even when I'm not there. I still remember an update a while back where a Picket died on a bomb trap. There's probably some condition to make them trigger traps, likely a proximity thing to Mamoru. Still, they are stepping on traps and not exploding!
And once again, without a shield these guys are back to being terrifying. Fortunately this good sword keeps them at bay...barely.
Floor 4
Sorry guys, I'm really off with screenshots on this update. Nothing really interesting happened, got some good quality grinding in but still not finding a single shield.[/i]
Floor 5
Baloons are still a problem, although I noticed that they are only a little bit more dangerous than Cyclones on these floors when you don't have a shield. They have a little more health and attack power, but if you're able to sit and grind it's not too bad of a problem. I believe Mamoru gets a point of ATK every level and a point of DEF every two levels.
Still, these floors are tough if you're unlucky. Fortunately, I have monsters that can heal me. I don't leave Seuss out though because I can still handle these guys for the most part.
Floor 6
Another egg. Despite all the bad luck I seem to be having with the RNG (some of it is my own fault, admittedly, I tend to get a little over confident) I'm still surprised that my luck with eggs has not gone away. Granted, I'm at the point where new eggs don't really mean much anymore. They are still rather nice to have, and I still don't have a full collection of every monster I've encountered so far.
I also find my first shield!
It's a crappy Wooden Shield! 
It's cursed! 
I also pop Calvin out a few times to see him punch enemies to death. He one-shotted that Blume. That wasn't a critical hit.
Floor 7
Ooh! Red sand! I need these. I always need these.
A hazak seed for Samus...
And I decide to leave Calvin out now because Blumes and U-Boats are just a little too much for me now. Calvin just punches everything with no problem. They can't touch him.
Floor 8
Finally find my first Wind Crystal, even though I was carrying one. It seems like the worse my equipment is, the harder it is for me to find these.
Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit.
: Oh my, a little scared of your super-powerful monster?
No! Calvin! Stop! Stop casting LoDown and wasting all of your MP! Each time you use it it takes 9 MP away! Fortunately, Calvin just casts this a bunch of times and doesn't get adjacent to me so I'm safe. He never hits with LoDown, always casting it in a random direction (if I step in a direction he could hit me with). I think the RNG is just trying to scare me.
: Trying?
Ooh, nice. +6
Floor 9
Calvin quickly runs out of MP due to the confusion, so Samus comes out. Here is Samus obliterating a Clown. This is not a critical hit either.
An orb to carry me through in case of emergencies...
Okay. I was absolutely terrified right here. If Calvin or Seuss get brainwashed, I might have one turn left to live to get them back in the bag. If Samus gets brainwashed...well, you saw what she did to that Clown, right? Granted, that's with type advantage, but I don't really have any defense and she has over 100 ATK by this point. I'm glad the RNG is being merciful and just toying with me right now.
Floor 10
A pita fruit for Calvin, then right back in the bag.
Alright, Samus did 106 on a not-critical hit before. THIS is a critical hit. 160 damage. The Killer that killed me only did 52 damage per hit. ONLY 52 damage. Samus just did x3 that.
Floor 11
Not much to note, but I realize that even though I have monsters out, I'm spending a lot of accidental time grinding. This is bad with monsters out because their MP is going down and they aren't getting enough EXP to justify the grinding. The past few floors I'd grind then realize "Oh yeah, I don't need to grind anymore" then reach the elevator. By this point, I'm finally going straight for the elevator. Old habits die hard.
Floor 12
Most of the stat boosting items go to Samus because she needs them most. Seuss and Calvin could benefit from them, but for the most part their true power comes from their spells. Samus' true power lies in the melee range.
Yup. Good old Go Up traps. Fortunately I got most of the floor this time.
Floor 13
Samus runs out of MP too so I bring Seuss out.
And now I have another egg.
Floor 14
I'm still eternally grateful for Snow Shoot, giving me significant
Post-LP Note: I'm not joking.
Starkclamp posted:
What.
Krysmphoenix posted:
I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned that my local community college has a Video Game Development degree. The Game Design class mentioned here specifically goes into what makes a game good, from the obvious and main gameplay mechanics to even the more subtle things, like how to procedurally generate awesome hallways in a roguelike.
A few of the other assignments including writing game design documents, and one of the more fun projects was coming up with some table-top/dice/board game involving swords of some kind. A fun little class that I enjoyed taking.
And just to prove that I am not making this shit up, here is the book we used in the class. The Art of Game Design. It's worth reading, but I wouldn't exactly recommend picking it unless you were actually planning on going into the field because it is priced as a college book.
Drox posted:
There are entire colleges of schools that do nothing but game design. I've got a friend who is going to one right now. He went to Blizzcon once, met Hideo Kojima recently, has interned once for Microsoft, and has a job promised to him by the same when he graduates after this year.
It's not crazy! It's not tightening up the graphics on level three anymore!
Oh, and Seuss did 56 damage with this. This was with a non-wand weapon as well and with a type disadvantage. I used this on a Sword Troll later on and did 124 damage.
And 137 damage with the Fire orb is not bad either. I really like how these things scale with Mamoru's level (or if that's not how they scale, I like how they scale using whatever method they use).
Floor 15
Once again, I giggle to myself when I use an antidote herb on Seuss. This herb can do Seuss absolutely no good except for being an MP restore because Seuss is poison-immune.
Floor 16
Actually it occurred to me that the orbs might scale by the floor's level. I'm not sure anymore. Both are possibilities.
And...Dammit, this happened again! I have no idea how this happens, but Seuss was standing next to me, I wasn't aiming at him and yet Snow Shoot took Seuss down.
Calvin comes out and deals 114 damage to the second version Manoevas with Thunder Wave. Nice. Now all I have to do is wait for a Barong to come around so I can give him some of this crap and...
It never shows up. (The screen is fading to black to load the next floor. Awkward timing for the screenshot.)
The moment I hit floor 17 I use a Wind Crystal to get out. I want this crappy Wood shield off of me.
END OF DAY! KILL COUNT FOR THE DAY!
: 15 Pulunpas, 6 Noises, 30 Trolls (Hammer), 16 Flames, 17 Cyclones, 14 Baloons, 19 Manoevas, 5 Manoeva Clones, 9 Blumes, 1 U-Boat, 1 Griffon, 1 Troll (Sword), 8 Garudas, 1 Manoeva (v2). 143 KILLS TOTAL6 Traps disabled.
: 1 Volcano, 1 Griffon1, 1 Kraken, 5 Nyuels, 5 Trolls (Sword), 1 Garuda, 1 Manoeva v2. 15 KILLS TOTAL.Blizzard Sword assists: No Kill-Assists this trip.
Snow Shoot assists: 1 Manoeva Clone, 1 Kraken, 2 Nyuels, 4 Trolls (Sword), 2 Garudas...and Seuss...again. 11 KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL
Defeated by Suess...again.
: 1 Manoeva, 4 Blumes, 2 U-Boats, 9 Clowns, 12 Dreamin, 11 Trolls (Bow), 5 Volcanoes, 2 Griffons. 46 KILLS TOTAL.Heat Wave assists: No kill-assists.
Flame Sword assists: No kill-assists
: 4 Baloons, 8 Manoevas, 1 Manoeva clone, 19 Blumes, 11 U-Boats, 2 Clowns, 7 Trolls (Sword), 1 Garuda, 3 Manoevas (v2). 19 KILLS TOTALThunder Blade assists: No Kill-Assists this trip.
Thunder Wave assists: 1 Troll (Sword), 4 Garudas, 3 Manoevas (v2) 8 KILL-ASSISTS TOTAL
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: Good Morning. It's a beautiful morning. Gooood Mornin'! Ha, ha.Mamoru actually starts getting up around the Goooood Mornin' part, but remains crouched on the bed. I actually imagine Vivian singing for a moment on that line. Would it make sense for her to have a good singing voice in addition to dancing? Also, since she woke us up, I guess this means she's officially our girlfriend now.
Two more monsters, both repeats. I still don't have the heart to sell my eggs. I tend to get a little too attached to my monsters in whatever Mons game I'm playing. Every monster I find is like a new child. Even if I don't use them, I like the aesthetics of having a huge monster hut filled with monsters.
: I'm headed for rehersals again today. Please come to the theater to see me. If I knew you would be there to see me, Mamoru, I believe I could dance more graciously. See you again, Mamoru!Like Patty and Cherrl, Vivian is a girlfriend that hangs out at the door and leaves the moment you enter the main room.
Nico, Selfi, Fur and Mia are all room girlfriends that stay and ambush you when you try to leave the house. If one of them woke you up, they'll be the first to run over to Mamoru. If one of the door girlfriends woke you up, Nico will be first. I guess this means that the First Girl Wins rule applies here as well, since we met Nico first in the game.
I'm showing off the sell screen to show the sell prices of living monsters. Monsters in their eggs sell for significantly more, but living monsters are still worth a bit as well. Notice how much more valuable Calvin is compared to Seuss and Samus. This is because Calvin's base monster (Snowman) was found on the highest floor of the three, and therefore would generally be considered a better monster. Raw damage output, level, spells and traits are not calculated in the monster's sell price.
Oh, and I make $3825 selling junk from the Tower. Not that it matters.
So I spend $35000 on the Aura Bike and it's booster.
I honestly love this, although looking at it now when I'm playing this game as an adult and not as an innocent child, I'm noticing how incredibly phallic it looks. Still, the Aura Bike is awesome. With the booster it goes at about twice as fast as Mamoru's running speed, and if you jump off while riding it you'll go flying in that direction, at least an entire house of distance. It also floats on the stream in the middle of town so you don't get stuck in it. Awesome but impractical.
So, since I'm running out of stuff to show off in town, let's buy some more stuff from Fur's general store again. Here is the link to the site with all the item prices again. We have around $25000 at the moment, but by now you know how fast I can get money from the Casino. Anything you want should be up for grabs. House decorations only please, I don't care for gift items or clothes (the clothes don't do anything, by the way.)
And of course, name our two monsters too.
After 24 trips into the tower, Mamoru has captured the heart of seven women.