Part 138: The Epic of Gilgaluf - Chapter 11

Two updates in a row that start with bosses, huh?

The Epic of Gilgaluf - Chapter 11

Wonder if this'll become a trend...


First off: Preparation. Call me a cheater if you must, but when I checked the algorithms I found that it uses an earth-based death counter, which I'm sure I want none of. I also gave Enkidu Summon, for Golem. I expect I'll need it pretty badly here.


Vs. Gil Turtle. Told ya I'd challenge it at the end of World 2! I figured I'd get creative (or at least unconventional) with my strategy, incidentally. Level 2 Old's making more appearances than anticipated... (Sure, I sacrifice my offense- in the form of Level 3 Flare- for this, but I think survival's more important, and Old will slow it down to a more manageable level while nerfing its attacks.)
: Big turtle! BIG TURTLE!!!
: Stop panicking and do something useful, dammit!

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Weapons Used On Boss: Diamond Bell (when I rolled this I was thinking "this won't end well." It was about as effective as I expected)
Other Deaths: 8


Once is quite enough, thank you.


Anyway, after another nap to recover from that debacle, I'm ready for Exdeath's Castle Revisited! (In hindsight, I should've just used the healing spring on 1F, assuming it's still there. My memory is terrible...)


Titan's gonna be handy going through here. Cheaper than Aqua Breath, does more damage, and similarly non-reflectable.


Note to self: Remember to wear this more often. Even if I have to stop updating Enkidu's helmet.


: I'm right here, you know.


: Still right here.


As I was saying, Titan's only problem is that it can't hit flying enemies (in this case, Magic Dragons).


Aeroga deals with aforementioned Magic Dragons quite well, though.


Well, I can now simultaneously absorb two different elements with one setup if I need to. Theoretically, at least.


Somehow it failed to occur to me that Gold Needles would kill these guys until I looked them up.


This is one of the two best Staff-type weapons in the entire game (ignoring the BS postgame bonus dungeon and its contents), with its only competition being the Sage's Staff. You're more likely to steal Poison Rods from these guys though (which are still useful, don't get me wrong, but they're not endgame gear).


This, however, is pretty terrible outside of gimmicky stuff. I mean, instead of damaging the target it just casts Berserk. Very much a niche weapon.


Bow. Meh, except for the fact that it can randomly trigger Rapid Fire on attack.


New toy for the randomizer to screw me over with? Maybe, depending on the boss's Ice resistance.


Another katana too. This one's at least guaranteed to not be detrimental if I ever get it. (I was tempted to say "useful" until I realized that it could wind up obsolete later.)


As I said before: This is making more appearances than I anticipated when I learned it.


Hello again. Back for more Flaring? I don't mind.


Easy way to kill Yellow Dragons: Control them, make them Hurricane themselves, then hit 'em.


For the record, yes, all dragons here are vulnerable to this. Handy for crippling their offense while you kill them however you feel like (even the Attack command, if you want).


This could be interesting. Don't think it gives the Jump bonus, but hitting twice per turn is still nice. (Whole lot of new gear here, isn't there?)


Huh. A Dragon that isn't Heavy? Well that makes things more convenient, doesn't it?


Vs. Carbuncle. His semi-permanent Reflect is of very little consequence to me. I mean, I can't use the level-based spells or Aero since they're all reflectable (though you can Aero him just fine when he's getting ready to heal- and as a bonus, he's weak to EVERYTHING when he lets his guard down), but other than that I can pretty much attack with impunity, and his magic isn't too impressive to this team (the Break at the end was worrisome, but I got through okay, I think).
: Your shield disappeared again.
: Dammit, archery is NOT my preferred method of combat!

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Weapons Used On Boss: Elven Bow
Other Deaths: 8


Mass Reflect on command? I'd like this if I didn't have Reflect Rings. (I feel like I've said this before...)


I think I missed these stairs in Mozart's run.


Not that this and a Fuma Shuriken would've been interesting to him.


Vs. Gilgamesh (round 4). As one might expect, I'm going for the entire Genji set this run.
: I'm starting to hate that hammer...
: Probably hating me too.
: Considering how you're making a point of mugging him every time we've met since the ship, that's understandable.

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Weapons Used On Boss: Gaia Hammer (again)
Other Deaths: 8
Gilgamesh Deaths: 0


: I'm right here, idiot.


: Yoink!
: Mineminemineminemine...
: Dammit, not again!


Fortunately for me, Gilgamesh didn't know how to use this sword properly. Even more fortunately, I DO.
: If all else fails, punch things.
: But what about the times when punching doesn't work?
: In that case something else is guaranteed to work. Or just punch harder- that usually works too.
: It all comes back to punching with you, doesn't it?
: Not everything- magic is handy too. It's just that punching things is the most reliable way to attack, in my experience.


Vs. Exdeath (for real this time). He's not too tough (to me at least), but there's a spell I want to learn; he refused to use it on Enkidu for quite a while, though. Eventually I figured out that he was exclusively targetting Galuf because he's apparently programmed to cast it on a front-line character, so I swapped rows (and he was even nice enough to fix them for me with Reverse Polarity!); it still took a few resets to convince him to cast Doom when Enkidu was in front, though. Also: Reflect Rings. I would've laughed if he'd killed himself with a reflected spell...
: I will destroy you, fools!
: I will Flare you.
: Me too.

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 5
Weapons Used On Boss: Icebrand
Other Deaths: 8
Resets To Learn Blue Magic: 15, give or take


Why wouldn't I pick up a spell at the earliest possible opportunity? (That said, I expect there to be literally no occasion for me to use this one.)


And that's all I had planned for this update. Good place to leave off anyway.

Current weapon list: Knife, Main Gauche, Dancing Dagger, Air Knife, Kodachi, Ancient Sword, Sleep Blade, Great Sword, Excalipoor, Flametongue, Icebrand, Blood Sword, Spear, Javelin, Twin Lance, Partisan, Death Sickle, Gaia Hammer, Wind Slash, Kotetsu, Flame Rod, Frost Rod, Thunder Rod, Poison Rod, Healing Staff, Power Staff, Staff of Light, Judgment Staff, Morning Star, Elven Bow, Hayate Bow, Lamia's Harp, Blitz Whip, Diamond Bell, Moonring Blade
Current weapon total: 35

Next time: World 3!
: 'Bout damn time.
: I'm not very familiar with this part...
: That's 'cause Galuf dies in Moore in most runs.
: I'm not just Galuf, though- I'm GILGALUF.