Part 46: The Clan Sawyer Pet Agency

Update 46: The Clan Sawyer Pet Agency

In This Update:
- Lions! Hellhounds!
- Tigers! Shellings!
- Bears! Cockatrices!
- Oh my!

---

Welcome back! The thread nearly unanimously decided we'll be rescuing some lost animals today.


Way back in Update 4, we took the quest "Beetle in a Haystack."


It was our first (and basically only) dispatch quest, and we failed it. In Update 6, we finally dispatched it a second time and actually succeeded!


- Mr. Grann

That was the beginning of Clan Sawyer's pet rescuing career. Now we've been hired by a Mr. Grann to find and rescue his missing pet drake, Goud.


We finally catch up to Goud in the Aldanna Range.


The gimmick of these quests is we need to defeat everything except the main target, who must only be brought down to critical HP. It's like the opposite of a headhunt quest.



: It looks rather worked up. We had better wear it down before we try to capture it, kupo. Taking care of these other monsters wouldn't hurt, either. Kupo!




Our levels are three times higher than the enemies'.


Curse my obsession with doing these quests in order!


It's a little embarrassing that Montblanc does so much more damage than Talf. Note that Montblanc is using Fire, while Talf is using Fira -- but still doing 40 less damage!


Can't complain about the results though.


Three left. The Werewolf is Addled and Disabled (thanks to Imino) so I'm not sure what the AI was thinking here.




Vaan takes care of the weakened Werewolf, and Talf and Montblanc do another Fire combo on the other Drake.


Meanwhile, Tsing and Vaan weaken Goud.


All it takes is getting the target down to HP Critical, but you have to be careful to not kill it!



---


- Fes

...You keep a what as a pet?



: Why are the other monsters attacking it?


They can tell she's domesticated? She's infringing on their territory? She's the wrong color?

: We have to save Chari!




We're still overleveled, and Bloody Orbs aren't particularly sturdy as it is.


Chari is more aggressive than Goud, but at least she's on our side.


OK, this fight is a little sad.




Let's just move on, shall we?



---


...You keep a what as a pet?




Same as the Drake battle, we only need to weaken the target.


Fortunately, we can check the enemies' names and make sure we don't attack the wrong one.

: I wonder if it hid with these other cockatrices on purpose...


Probably! I'm pretty sure cockatrices are social animals, to some extent.

: Well, it ran away from the Menagerie, so it will probably try to run away from us, too. Once we've worn it down, it should be easy enough to catch. The rest will just get in the way. Better take care of them first.


"It will probably try to run away from us too" is supposed to be a hint. But again, we can just check the names.


Here's Okta. Don't kill him.


The others are fine targets though.


Traps! Of course there are traps. Why wouldn't there be traps?


The cockatrices spend their turns Hasting themselves. Seriously, all of them except Okta, who decides to run away instead.


We're only twice as strong as these enemies, so my apologies if this battle takes a little longer.


But not, you know, too much longer.




Cockatrices are weak to water damage, which is a little rare. Lian has it thanks to the Bishop's Water spell.


Sorry Adelle. I forgot that spears have a 2-panel range.


Then we just need to weaken Okta.



---


- ...a pom-pom lashing from both of them, kupo!
Keeper Pirillo, Grann's Menagerie

Hmm. Grann's Menagarie again.


I'm not really sure what's up with the Legend of Zelda reference. A Moblin speaks that line, and they're more pig-like than anything.




Here's Titoise, the Shelling we're looking for. The enemies are finally catching up to our levels!



: This is certainly becoming a familiar problem...



: That one must be Titoise. Something sure has it spooked. I wouldn't want a bite from those jaws, that's for sure. And look at the size of it. We're going to have to wear it down before we can catch it. Taking care of the other monsters first should help.




There's a couple Chocobos here, too. They're mostly here to support the Shellings.


Like before, the plan is to focus down the other enemies and save the target for last.


These are definitely the most dangerous creatures so far. Can you see why? I didn't!


The white chocobo is a good first target, since it will heal the other monsters.




Right, that's the healer down.


The enemies haven't been doing much. They hit fairly hard, but we have enough HP that I'm not worried. Immobilize is annoying, especially on a mage.


This red chocobo is annoying, but not really a threat.


Do you remember why Shellings are dangerous yet?


Critical: Quicken + Limit Glove. What a dangerous combo.


But Frimelda has been training as a White Mage, so she can undo my mistakes.


I never learn.


But Limit Glove has a quirk: it only does damage when the user has single-digit HP. The AI is apparently not quite smart enough to check this.




The other problem with that strategy is you're one hit away from death.


Now we just need to weaken Titoise.


Oh, and kill the last chocobo.


Done.

: That seems to have done the trick. Come on. Let's get you back to Pirillo. He'll be glad to see you.



---


- ...Helda and bring her back before she's missed!
Keeper Leena, Grann's Menagarie

Look, I know all dogs are good dogs, but a Hellhound as a pet? Doesn't seem wise.




At least it's easy to tell which one is the good dog.



: She's running wild. Best wear her down before we catch her. Let's clear the rest of these out while we're at it.


I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how this one went.


The two purple Hellhounds and Helda are faster than us, so they move forward.


In fact, the three red Worgen are faster than us, too.


Each species of Hellhound has its own elemental "Blow" ability. Worgen have the fire version, "Fiery Blow."


All Hellhounds are weak to Water. It's a pretty common weakness for monsters.


The Blow attacks can inflict a status effect. Fiery Blow, for example, inflicts Silence, which of course lands on our Black Mage.


The damage and condition are worth it -- look at how grouped up they are!


Especially since Al-Cid can heal it away next turn.


The third-level elemental spells are some of my favorites just for the animation. That is an absurd icicle.


And Hurdy follows it up with a great double kill.


Shadowy Blow, the Hellhound Blow attack, looks like it deals either Earth or Dark damage. Not really sure which.


That's the last Worgen down.


Oh neat, there's traps.


One Hellhound down. Amazing how one tactical mistake can end a battle so early, isn't it?


Time to weaken our target and take out the last Hellhound.


To their credit, they do try to fight back. But 2 on 6 is not something any monster can win.


Which is a shame, I would like a bit more challenge in my battles.


Oh look, another trap. Thanks for playing, Adelle.


"Thank you for rescuing my dog by shooting her in the face." - nobody ever.



: And no more running away!



---


Last one! "Eyes were like unto a malboro's" is an interesting way of saying "completely and totally feral."


Wait.




WHY WOULD YOU KEEP A MALBORO AS A PET!?



: Strange... This one's different from the others I've captured. It's really gone wild. Sorry, but I think getting rid of the thing is our best option.


I... I guess you're right, Adelle.


Let's start by getting rid of the other monsters first.


Especially this Tonberry. I don't want it running loose when we're trying to deal with three Malboros.


Thankfully, I remember to actually check for traps, and I'm glad I did! The battlefield is absolutely filthy with Love Potion traps.


Carrot is quite the target. She is a Cassie, a special, strong Malboro breed that has innate Regen.


Even better, she can give her friends Regen and a defense buff.


Isn't it kind of weird that chocobos are almost always found with other monsters? They're like the capybaras of Ivalice.


That's our flank secured. I really don't want to see Malboros with Chocobo buffs.


Geomancer spells are great here, thanks to their range. Too bad the conditions don't seem to stick.


The Tonberry is fading, but it's going to be able to move soon. It's stalking Zoe, but she's mobile enough to stay away from it.


Well this is quite the furball. The Malboros will be here next turn, so we need to get the Chocobo and Tonberry out of the way.


Especially because AoE buffs are terribly annoying.


Fortunately, everyone is apparently fixated on Zoe, and she can easily handle their attacks.


Excellent! That's one enemy we won't have to worry about.


This is the best way to deal with stalkers.


Tsing's Lightning spells make him ideal for taking out Chocobos. Too bad seeqs don't get enough Magick Power growth to make good mages.


I always feel a little bad when this happened. At least we can focus on the Malboros now.


Now, they're pretty sturdy, but it's 6 vs. 2 and we've been wearing them down a bit. This one never received buffs from Carrot, making it an easier target.


And of course we can just remove Carrot's buffs entirely. Though this won't remove Regen, since that's an innate P-Ability.


A few turns later and the next Malboro falls.


Malboros are weak to Wind, which I guess makes a certain amount of sense. Blow the bad stench away, right?


Adelle finishes off both Malboros. Sorry, Carrot, I wish we could have rescued you.


"Sorry we killed your dog Malboro."

---


Waiting for us in the inn is an article about Grann's Menagarie.


And that's it. As far as I know, there's no followup for this. If anyone knows what it is, drop a comment in the thread and we'll take a look at it later.

For now, it's time for voting! These are shorter quest lines, so vote for 2 of the following:

1. Chita's Weaponers is doing some kind of workshop about weapons. Could be worth checking out.
2. Or maybe we should go check out the ecology of the Tramdine Fens.
3. Forget the swords, forget the fens, it's time to help the Galmia Pepe Fashion House!
4. Or maybe you'd rather I did some of the random filler quests instead?