Part 36: Post 11 - Sodium
Walter the Chemist - Post 11 - SodiumIn spite of the post title, this probably won't be a very salty update.
It will end with a SPECIAL SURPRISE though.
So last time, we'd just fucked Exdeath's shit up, and Shit Went Down. We found ourselves god knows where, especially after all this talk about "returning the world to how it used to be".
...Oh. Well that's convenient.
Chancellor is fucking stoked, and he is not letting Lenna and Faris out of his sight ever again. I mean, they're corpses, but hey.
Jesus fuck just die and stop being a force ghost already.
Well, since the corpse puppets are on the throne and the dancers won't move, we're out of here.
A bridge!
Ah, right. God bless Choco-lojack.
Boco is off with us, leaving Koko behind. Chocobo waving is so cute.
I shouldn't need to save here, but just in case...
Our next boss, duh.
This mother fucker.
code:
Antlion (Heavy) 8100 HP 1000 MP Weak to Water. Immune to Earth. Vulnerable to Blind, Old, Sleep, Berserk, Silence, Slow. AI SCRIPT: {Fight,Sonic Wave,Specialty} {Fight,Sonic Wave,Specialty} {Fight,Sonic Wave,Specialty} {Fight,Sonic Wave,Specialty} Stomach Acid React:Death{ Escape }
Fuck literally ever user of Dischord ever. Just about everyone during this year's Four Job Fiesta inaugural run entered Antlion's Pit Of Dischord Hell where they were deleveled to level 1 and hit for peanuts. Walter is having none of that bullshit. New mix, please!
Drink up, asshole. Turtle Shell plus Holy Water, Bacchus's Cider inflicts Berserk. It shuts that whole AI loop down (including the on-death bit!) and replaces it with
10: attack
20: goto 10
which Walter can take care of in spades. Protect Potion, Speed Shake, some level boosting, and we're done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCfHzLu2pO0
GOOD RIDDANCE.
FINAL LEVEL: 96 (real level: 36)
RECORDED MIXES: 6
DEATHS: 0
Sigh. At least we get rescued by someone (obviously, right?)
Zombie Faris!
Oooooh. Now we know what's up.
This is the best goddamned sequence in the game.
Anyways, Tycoon is getting fucked up by the Void. Oh well, not much was lost.
Presented uncut without commentary because this fucking translation.
Anyways, we have a strategy meetup with a turtle, learn about the Twelve Sealed Weapons, and get told that we need to get them before we have any chance to fight Exdeath.
Spoilers: We're getting precisely three of them, two of which will be used at all.
If you walk far enough down before going left, you skip Krile's scene here.
Awwwww yeah. This is effectively our third legendary weapon - the all-powerful Chicken Knife.
WALTER'S MATHEMATICS CORNER - The Chicken Knife So the way that normal knifes work for their M is as follows:
[(Level * Strength) / 128] + [((Level * Agility) mod 256)) / 128] + 2
By "mod 256", I mean the "modulo" function, which effectively divides by 256 and then gives me the remainder. At Walter's Level and Agility without the knife (36, 29), that gives me 1044, and 1044 mod 256 is 20.
20 / 128 is 0 (remember, division truncates). The reason for this is basically the operations for loading a value into memory and switching that memory slot back to a 16-bit number (instead of 8-bit) are reversed in the SNES game - it's maintained through all versions because fixing this would make all knives busted like the Chicken Knife.
Why's the Chicken Knife different? It gets rid of that whole mod 256 bit, and gives me the exact Level * Agility multiplier too. With Walter's stats as they are...
quote:
<~Kyrosiris> .mcalc 36 30 chicken 34
<@CarbyBot> At level 36 with 30 Strength and 34 Agility, your Chicken Knife M is 19. To reach the next M, you need to reach level 39 for Strength or 38 for Agility.
127 * 19 is a lot of damage (2413 on average)!
These assholes are Gargoyles. A pair of them guard every tablet dungeon - which, again, we'll be doing one of. Minwhu and Zerky! are exploring the main heart of the game well - Walter wants to get on to those special challenges only he is capable of.
Once berserked and Walter is covered in defenses and some boosted levels, the Chicken Knife does its gruesome work. They die in two slashes each, and Walter only gets one "Can't flee!" proc.
Entrance is gained in blood. And now, the Pyramid.
Walter fucking hates the Pyramid. Why?
Fucking damn near everything in here is goddamned undead!
He does have one ace in the hole, though:
God bless you, hoary old Healing Staff.
With some careful ninjaing around them, Walter bypasses every Mecha Head. Fuck y'all, I'll kill your father later.
Got it. And now to get ready for our next boss!
Gotta go fast and be reflected.
Our next boss is ZOMBIE LENNA!!!!
Oh, lame.
code:
Melusine (Heavy) 20000 HP 500 MP (per form) Absorbs Lightning, Ice. Immune to Water, Air, Earth, Holy, Poison. Weakness shifts between forms. Vulnerable to Blind, Sleep, Paralyze, Confuse, Silence, Stop, Slow. AI SCRIPT: {Fight,Fight,Nothing} {Bolt3,Fight,Nothing} {Ice 3,Fight,Nothing} {Fight,No-Damage Magic,Nothing} {Bolt3,No-Damage Magic,Nothing} {Ice 3,No-Damage Magic,Nothing} {Fight,No-Damage Magic,No-Damage Magic} {Bolt3,No-Damage Magic,No-Damage Magic} {Ice 3,No-Damage Magic,No-Damage Magic} React:Magic:No-Damage Magic{ Change Target:Whole party Ice 3 Barrier Change Unhide Monster: Merugene (Random form) }
Melusine has four distinct forms - three of which are 90 physical defense/0 magical defense, and one of which has 0 physical defense but 90 magical defense. She has one big flaw though:
She can be confused! I use this to some extent in the fight to make murdering her easier. I do my usual buffing first, though - Speed Shake, Goliath Tonic, a dozen or so Hero's Cocktails. Then, we go on the attack!
20k HP doesn't stand up to this kind of offense for long!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goUj8T79wdw
FINAL LEVEL: 107 (real level: 37)
RECORDED MIXES: 10
DEATHS: 0
With that out of the way, world 3 is now fully open to us. Everything from here on is completely optional, aside from Walter's bout of road rage.
In fairness, Exdeath kinda did just erase his hometown from existence. Can't say I blame him. Now that we have control, however, it's time for a time-honored tradition.
Namely, kicking the door in of the Mirage armor shop, and buying ALL OF THEIR SHOES while selling all of this old detrius we've accumulated over the course of the game.
This might be Walter's endgame loadout. I may have to change it for certain situations. Flexibility is a key of the Chemist class - he can use both the light armor like the Black Garb/Hood AND the caster armor like the Circlet and Black Robe. Hermes Sandals are obviously a "unless I need the Reflect Ring" situation, like against Omega.
The medicine cabinet is looking a little bare, though, and honestly I'd like to have some more HP on Walter's bones for Omega. I need to have in excess of 3600 HP after a Goliath Tonic to be able to attack with impunity - any less and a Mustard Bomb followed by Wave Cannon is a one-two knockout combo. Therefore, we grind.
Melts Exdeath Souls, our source of Dark Matter.
A good weapon for farming, since the CK can flee on us.
Eh... cause why not?
Sage's Staff in action. Melts undead... dead. With Lifeshield and Dragon's Kiss up, nothing that an Exdeath's Soul can do to me (aside from melee attacks, I guess?) is threatening, while I bang away for nearly 3k. I get the Dark Matter I need in no time. Turtle Shells/Dragon Fangs... take more time.
There we go. And with all that grinding for Dragon Fangs...
Walter hit level 42, which is about where I feel safe fighting Omega! Yay! Let's blow this planet and head into the Void.
I'm going to be frank with you - I rush through the Rift. Anything that cannot be run from gets poked with the Chicken Knife until it activates. You're going to get the abridged version, which will start and end with bosses.
I'm also not doing the whole thing in this post - it's both long and I haven't fought Shinryu solo without berserking him in ages, so it's going to take time and practice.
Enough of that shit, though, let's rock and roll.
Pictured: a bunch of fucking chumps.
Welcome to Void: Forest. It's Moore all over again. And like Moore, it has an annoying but trivial boss.
code:
Calofisteri (Human, Creature, Heavy) 18000 HP 1000 MP Vulnerable to Poison, Blind, Old, Silence, Slow. AI SCRIPT: Condition:Status:Party Member:Wall{ Change Target:Single party member {Haste,Armor,Regen} } Condition:Self:Wall{ Change Target:Self {Wall,Bio,Venom} Change Target:Self {Wall,Old,Stop} } {Wall,Old,Stop} React:HP Damage{ Drain }
You know what's fucking hilarious about Calofisteri? Everything she does minus Stop is nulled (or turned against her!) with the Bone Mail. The Hermes Sandals prevent her Stop from landing at all. She is effectively useless.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIeeJRrxEew
Go away.
FINAL LEVEL: 102 (real level: 42)
RECORDED MIXES:
DEATHS: 0
Now... now it's time.
I use this encounter to do necessary prepwork.
I take a very, VERY mandatory save. It's time for Walter to set himself apart from the rest of these challenges. It's time for Walter to prove the superiority of Mix in a one-on-one rumble.
It's time... for Omega.
code:
Omega (Heavy) 55530HP 60700MP Weak to Lightning. Absorbs Water, Air, Earth, Holy, Poison, Ice, Fire. Vulnerable to Stop, Slow. AI SCRIPT: {Atomic Ray,Delta Attack,Blaster} Surge Beam {Rainbow Wind,Emission,Atomic Ray} Surge Beam No Interrupt{ {Delta Attack,Blaster,Surge Beam} {Maelstrom,Quake,Rainbow Wind} } Targeting {Rainbow Wind,Emission,Atomic Ray} Surge Beam React:HP Damage{ No Interrupt{ {Rocket Punch,Rocket Punch,Mustard Bomb} {Rocket Punch,Rocket Punch,Circle} } }
Let's go over what makes Omega so fucking horrifying. First, he has 190 defense and 150 magical defense. On top of that, he has ninety-five goddamned percent evasion (and 90% magical evasion!), innate/always active Reflect and Shell, and he's fast. Real fast. Plus, look at those counter-attacks - Rocket Punch we know, Mustard Bomb hits for 3k damage (1500 with Shell), and Encircle outright ERASES A TARGET FROM COMBAT.
Plainly put, he's a douche. Trying to solo it, he's ten douches. But I can do this. Walter can do this.
Before we can even go on the attack, Walter needs the following mixes and drinks active:
*Hasty-Ade, since needs a Reflect Ring or he dies
*Dragon Defense, for Protect/Shell
*Dragon Kiss, for heavy status
*Resist Fire, since Flamethrower/Emission can't be reflected
*Goliath Tonic, to have enough HP to eat a Mustard Bomb AND Wave Cannon back to back
*Enough Dragon Powers to push him to level 255
*6 Turtle Soups on Omega to reduce his Magical Defense to 2
It's... a slog. Especially with as fast as Omega is, and especially with the fact that I get one action to his one action. I have to do a LOT of healing.
Thank fuck for that, though! That lets me get Hasty-Ade up first fucking thing and I can match Omega turn for turn. The reason that Walter needs to wear a Reflect Ring or he dies is there's tons of instances of Delta Attack in the AI routine. Every one of those wipes the attempt if Walter has no Reflect up.
I could take a ton of screenshots and stuff, but I'm just going to post this one, plus the kill video. Spoilers: it's 20 minutes long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8LFDNrE-Vg
FINAL LEVEL: 242 (real level: 42)
RECORDED MIXES: 73
DEATHS: 2
One superboss down. One superboss to go.
Next time: More chumps, Shinryu, Necrophobe, and Neo-Exdeath. We end this.