Part 143: The Epic of Gilgaluf - Chapter 16

Well, it's been interesting, but I think it's about time I finish this one.

The Epic of Gilgaluf - Chapter 16

Everything has to end sometime, right? (I'd say "all good things" but that's a matter of opinion.)


First off, though, I just remembered I never got the Magic Lamp. Be right back.

While I'm at it, I might as well restock my consumables. I'm quite sure that 99 Ethers and 35 Elixirs'll let me get through the Rift no problem, though I'll try not to spam the latter too much. That's just cheap.


Okay, back.

: The ancients must not have considered using Quick, Reflect, and Bio.
: So THAT'S what you did!


Vs. Apanda. Well, THAT was incredibly one-sided... I swear I wasn't planning to completely shut him down like this, but that's what the randomizer told me to do. I think it's kind of surprising that a relatively-early World 1 summon like Ifrit is still viable even in the Rift, depending on what you target. Is this another of the reasons people like !Summon so much? I know one reason is that it can do pretty much anything you need it to...
: Why do I keep getting sticks?
: I dunno, but I think that one just pissed him off.
: Well, whatever. Help me light this guy on fire, OK?
: Ifrit, care to do the honors?
: FINALLY. I was wondering if you idiots had forgotten me.

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 7
Weapons Used On Boss: Power Staff
Other Deaths: 10


Incredibly appropriate, all considered.


Another weapon I'm not too thrilled with (especially since it's not even very strong- an annoyingly common problem with axe-type weapons; I mean, you expect them to have like twice as much attack power as they actually have, right?), but it's a weapon so I'll take it. Also, if (for some inexplicable reason) you find yourself wanting more than one of these, they're a rare steal from Death Claws, also found in the Rift Castle.


Vs. Azulmagia. It's kind of frustrating how it says he learns a spell every time you cast it on him. You'd think they'd add in a condition like "if current spell learned is NOT the spell that was just cast, set current spell learned to the spell that was just cast and announce it to the player;" this is just clunky and time-consuming. Complaints aside, there's a relatively simple way to deal with this guy: Use a Blue Magic spell he doesn't naturally cast which you are not susceptible to yourself (for example, me as a level 53 spamming Level 3 Flare). Not 100% guaranteed to trivialize him, but it simplifies him a lot. (Well, unless the spell you use is Self-Destruct, but that has its own perils.)
: YOUR HEAD ASPLODE.
: No, YOUR head asplode!
: Err, that spell doesn't work on us.
: DAMMIT! FOILED AGAIN!

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 7
Weapons Used On Boss: Twin Lance
Other Deaths: 10
Retries To Get Rare Item: 19 (I completely forgot to steal the first time; the rest he just gave his common steal)


Not that I need this, but gathering rare items IS an implied objective of this run.


You should probably try to steal these from Crystal Dragons instead. They're less dangerous, since you don't need to worry about an irreversible-instant-death-using first form. Anyway, no videos for these guys, since there's more than one and they're not too hard outside of their Alte Roite form (which only has 6000 HP).


They're vulnerable to Paralyze (when they're not old men), though, which Mind Blast conveniently inflicts on top of doing damage. So I guess these guys aren't dangerous to Blue Mages after all!


Still meh.


:
: Too many colors. It'd probably look better if it could decide on just one.
: Isn't this for women or something?


Vs. Catastrophe. Float and Reflect Rings for both. Standard strategy. Does this guy even count as a boss if he's this easy?
: I have no idea what that thing's trying to do.
: Whatever it is, it's not working.

Boss Deaths: You're joking, right?
Total Boss Deaths: 7
Weapons Used On Boss: Defender
Other Deaths: 10


...Seems someone's into more "mature" men this time.


Better known as "Kusanagi," but I prefer this name because, no matter how liberally you translate Murakumo, it can't be accurately referred to as "lawnmower" (not a very dignified name for a sword, I say). Anyway, this has the highest raw attack power out of all the katana outside the bonus dungeon, and has the second-highest critical hit chance in the same group to boot. Well worth stealing (from the samurai-looking guy, naturally). In multiples, even, if you're so inclined, though that might take a while since it's (naturally) a rare steal. Guess I got lucky that the first Yojimbo I saw decided to give me his sword without a fight.

For the record, if you find yourself wanting more Murasame (for the 5% extra crit chance over Murakumo), they're a rare steal from Rukh, which show up when you're sailing in World 3.


This is still a damn good weapon, for those of us who can use it. (Unrelated to the picture, but I wanted to mention this somewhere: If you're worried about Furies, just use Level 5 Death on them. They're Level 50.)


Vs. Halicarnassus. Apparently the randomizer doesn't want any of the hammers to feel left out, considering how often I get them. Also: !Summon is a BAD IDEA for this boss, as I demonstrate.
: Hammer time!
: Personally, I prefer "Hikari ni nare!"
: Weeaboo.

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 7
Weapons Used On Boss: Thor Hammer
Other Deaths: 10


Vs. Twintania. I know I don't usually do two boss videos this close together, but there are a ridiculous number of bosses in the Rift (and it's basically just like this anyway). Oh, and I learned from Mozart's mistake and equipped Coral Rings right off the bat. (And yes, THIS is EXACTLY why I hate the !Dance command- it ALWAYS does this to me.)
: ...That knife's almost as gaudy as that dress we found.
: There's some kinda spell on it to compel the wielder to dance, I think. Bleh.
: GIGAAAA...!
: Pond's Chorus. You're a frog.
: Death Claw. You're a DYING frog.
: ...I hate you.

Boss Deaths: 0
Total Boss Deaths: 7
Weapons Used On Boss: Dancing Dagger
Other Deaths: 10
Retries To Get Rare Item: 2


Probably the rarest item in the game; not only is it exclusively dropped by Twintania at 1/16 odds (or whatever), but he doesn't even have a chance to drop it when he's charging Giga Flare (instead dropping a Murasame at similar odds). That said, it certainly isn't the most USEFUL item in the game...

On a tangentially related note, why can Bards not equip Bells?


I don't think I'll count this as a boss fight either, considering how easy it is to deal 10,000 damage by this point (unless you're a low-level runner or something). All you need to know is that, yes, I stole this.

Also, I feel like the King Behemoths around here might be a bit easier if you have Mute, since that'd prevent their Meteor counters. Add Level 2 Old on top of that to nerf their physicals (but don't try it on one that can still cast- Meteor will WRECK YOU).


If you want more than just the one Bone Mail, they're a rare steal from Necromancers. Gorgimeras, meanwhile, have Aegis Shields.


Not dealing with you either, Shinryu. Yes, I know, two Quickleaks is bad from an LP-ing perspective. Thing is, I'm not in the mood to bash my head against a boss for hours on end until I get the exact RNG seed I need to win. (Hey, at least I'm not planning to do this to Exdeath.)
: CLOCK UP!
(another two hours later)
: CLOCK OVER!
: I repeat: Weeaboo.


And after a whole lot of waiting around, I get the Ragnarok (the last weapon I'll be getting this run ).


Vs. Necrophobe. I figure I've gotten the Gaia Hammer quite enough for one run, so I rerolled. That said, I had to keep trying for an hour to get the rare steal. It was incredibly frustrating, since I had to kill the Barriers before I could steal from Necro (which took at least 4 minutes EACH TIME) and I couldn't fast-forward in case it gave me the right item (I've found that fast-forwarding screws up the recording).
: ...If you've set up an otherwise-invincible barrier, why'd you put the generators on the OUTSIDE?
:
:
: Are you doing your lion tamer impression now?

Boss Deaths: 0 (not counting when I got so pissed off I had both my guys Self-Destruct to punish them for failing to steal the right item for over an hour real-time)
Total Boss Deaths: 7
Weapons Used On Boss: Dragon's Whisker
Other Deaths: 10
Retries To Get Rare Item: 21 (if I'd needed to retry AGAIN I would've posted a video called "You have failed me, Gilgaluf!" featuring my party self-destructing after getting the common steal)
Ragequit Self-Destructs: 4 (not counting against my deaths since I could've won no problem)
Time Taken To Actually Steal The Damn Thing: Over 1 hour (dammit, I JUST SAID I wasn't in the mood for this BS, RNG)


Just because it's in very limited supply (though not as much so as some of the other things I've accumulated).
: Do we really need these things?
: No, not at all. Taking 'em anyway.


And, of course, Gilga-yoink!
: Sweet, now I have the full set!
: Yay on you, now help me convince Gilgamesh not to self-destruct.
: Eh, he's Gilgamesh. A little thing like blowing himself up won't kill him. I mean, look at me!


Vs. Treedeath. Finally, it has come to this. Also, this is the only fight I'll be splitting into multiple videos, since it's basically the only one that deserves it.
: We meet again, mortal foe!
: Also: I'm here.
: ...How are you not dead?!
: I'm Gilgaluf. That's a good enough reason.
: Err, Galuf...
: ...God dammit, Enkidu. You HAD to jinx me.

Phase 1 Deaths: 0
Weapons Used On Phase 1: Knife, Rune Chime, Wonder Wand


Vs. NED. I switch weapons between phases, because why not. I mean, by this point my strategy has devolved to "spam Bahamut and hope Grand Cross doesn't screw me over" so it's not like Galuf's weapon matters much.
: Gotta get rid of this POS...
: Yeah, knives aren't good for cutting down trees.
: Or anything else, for that matter.

Boss Deaths: 2 (#1: Turns out Mighty Guard is reflectable. #2: Damn you, Grand Cross!)
Total Boss Deaths: 9 +4-ish Ragequit Self-Destructs (should you disagree about me not counting them)
Weapons Used On Phase 2: Gaia Hammer, Frost Rod, Kotetsu
Other Deaths: 10
Attempts Needed To Get All Rare Items: Lots
Time Procrastinated: Way Too Much
Final Weapon Collection: Knife, Main Gauche, Dancing Dagger, Thief Knife, Assassin's Dagger, Man-Eater, Chicken Knife, Sasuke's Katana, Ancient Sword, Rune Blade, Excalipoor, Enhancer, Flametongue, Icebrand, Blood Sword, Defender, Excalibur, Ragnarok, Brave Blade, Spear, Javelin, Twin Lance, Partisan, Holy Lance, Dragon Lance, Death Sickle, Gaia Hammer, Rune Axe, Thor Hammer, Titan's Axe, Wind Slash, Kotetsu, Murasame, Masamune, Murakumo, Flame Rod, Frost Rod, Thunder Rod, Poison Rod, Lilith Rod, Magus Rod, Wonder Wand, Healing Staff, Power Staff, Staff of Light, Sage's Staff, Judgment Staff, Hayate Bow, Aevis Killer, Yoichi's Bow, Artemis Bow, Lamia's Harp, Apollo's Harp, Blitz Whip, Beast Killer, Fire Lash, Dragon's Whisker, Gaia Bell, Rune Chime, Tinklebell, Rising Sun, Kaiser Knuckles
Final Number Of Weapons: 62 (counting the Kaiser Knuckles)
Bosses Killed Using Exploits: 2
MVP: Enkidu (despite my intentions of him being a support character, I ended up relying on him in all but a few fights, with most of those being the ones he wasn't present for)


: I think I'll go see if I can find Gilgamesh. I wanna go one-on-one with him again.
: Typical...

Incidentally, Galuf even counts towards Krile surviving for the ending if you hack her back into him.


That said, it kind of hiccups during the character summary thingies if you've got Galuf instead of Krile, as shown here- kind of odd, since in all other cases they're interchangeable for events. Anyway! Galuf's final level: 54, Enkidu's final level: 53, neither one ever used a Job other than the ones I assigned them at the start. The Gilgaluf challenge run is now officially complete! I'm not planning to come back to this game for the foreseeable future; if I do ever do the bonus dungeon, I will drop all gimmicks and grind my entire team to level 99 with all jobs mastered before even entering. No kill like overkill, right?

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you around sometime! Oh, and a final challenge I'd like to issue for anyone interested: Final Fantasy 5, Living Off The Land No Armor Run. Good luck to anyone who decides to try that one!