Part 117: Erase

Rock the Omni-Blue Mage - Part 6: Erase

When we last left Rock, he was hitting the books.



Now he's back at Karnak to resupply and watch Mid abuse his grandad. Fun!



Also he finally gained a level, miraculously avoiding leveling up at all in the Library.



Rock's a (mostly) prudent planner, grabbing a couple of Thunder Rods for some upcoming and unfinished business.




Since access to the Fire Powered Ship is back, it's possible to kill Defeaters last and grab a !Blue spell from Motor Traps.

As Alpha3KV already mentioned in the thread, they tend to use Self-Destruct when low on HP. As I've mentioned, Thunder will cause them to instantly use it. And as KataraniSword mentioned, a hit from a Thunder-elemental weapon (i.e. a Thunder Rod) will also count.

Thanks guys! Additionally, for those wondering, Self-Destruct deals damage equal to the user's current HP before KOing them, ignoring the target's defense. It will not be used this LP



Speaking of Thunder, Sahagins and Thunder Anemones can show up en route to Crescent. Thunder Anemones tend to drop free Thunder Scrolls that can be used with !Throw. This will become relevant.



To fast forward the plot a bit, shortly after landing in Crescent an earthquake happens, the Fire Powered Ship sinks and Rock learns that crystal-eating Black Chocobos are not extinct.



Also, this guy's a dick.



With his new flying feathered friend, Rock hits up his hometown for more scrolls.



Fast forward a bit more, Rock stops by the Library where Cid and Mid drop knowledge that King Tycoon was spotted floating about the desert, and decides to head there himself.



The only way in, apparently, is to eliminate the notorious monster known as the Sandworm and use its corpse as a bridge.



Rock isn't worried in the slightest and ignores Mid's blatant lies.






DEATHS:



As mentioned in the last update, the Aqua Breath spell has a hidden attribute attached to it - it does 8x normal damage on Desert monsters.



Anyway, Rock finds the King, avoids death by teleport, finds airship, etc. etc., Cray Claw.




DEATHS:



There's some islands near Crescent now accessible through Rock's newly acquired airship. They seem innocent enough.



Too bad they're patrolled by mechanized demons. Prototypes hit hard, are capable of inflicting instant death (which is why Rock is going again), and also have the next two !Blue spells.
It actually took me a bit to realize I should have a Ribbon on for this fight DEATH: 15



The first is a move called Missile. It shoots a missile (go figure) that reduces the target's HP to 25% of its current total.



The next is Flamethrower. It throws flame at a target (go figure) for decent fire-elemental damage that can be boosted through equipping a Flame Rod.



It's generally not advised to fight Prototypes just for these spells, as they're pretty much a boss at this point in the game and the normal way of getting them is actually through mandatory fights.
Though it is possible to get them to Self-Destruct (among other things) through !Control if you want to go crazy.

In either case, there's one more !Blue spell for Rock to pick up while he's in the area.



Around Crescent there's enemies called Black Flames tha- what the?



Huh. What is going on here?



Uh, shoot, let's see, where was I? Oh right, the flying fortress flies again.

Cid says Rock needs to score some Adamantite-grade plot device, and the spirit of old man Galuf tells him he keeps a stash in his meteorite. What he doesn't mention is the guard turtle he keeps.




One Vampire and Frost Rod later, Rock scores some rock.

DEATHS:

And with that, he fast approaches the giant enemy battleship.



Before he can take on the big gun, Rock has to take out the auxiliary batteries. Flame Throwers are a good chance to pick up the !Blue spell if you didn't bother fighting any Prototypes.
Rocket Launchers will also use Missile so you can grab it from them, too.
Just watch out for the RNG to chain Rocket Punches and killing yourself off with confusion DEATH: 20 or being stingy with Thunder Scrolls DEATH: 21 or getting chain flamed on Flame Throwers before realizing you can negate damage with Vampire DEATHS: 25]

Once all 4 batteries are cleared out, Rock takes on the Soul Cannon.



This boss consists of the aforementioned Soul Cannon and two smaller Launcher enemies. The Launchers can inflict old and cause general annoyance. They are also level 50,

Level 5 Death posted:

If Enemy Level % 5 = 0 && Enemy != Undead, THEN THEY'RE FUCKING DEAD. HEAVY FLAG BE DAMNED.

Breaking Thunder Rods and !Throwing Thunder Scrolls nets an easy win for Rock. The abilities of a Blue Mage trivialize a lot of fights in the early game, which is one of the main reasons for the lack of video - in some cases, the screenshots posted are literally the entire fight!

ENDING LEVEL: 23
DEATHS:
And because I forgot to post it in recent updates:
TOTAL BOSS DEATHS: 3

Next Time: This ain't your dad's Tornado Hold!