Part 132: Low-Level Run - Chapter 14

Last time, we... uh...


Oh right, thanks. When you aren't killing cops you're a nice guy, you know?


I forget if Mideel's accessory shop sells these before it explodes or if I just fail to find it until then, but, eh, elemental resistance accessories I'll never use.

No I'm not joking I never use them.


So here's the fun of the underwater reactor: It's got entire gauntlets of unavoidable battles we haven't seen since the likes of Shinra HQ.


And yes, I tried to run. There's quite a few fights here worth several thousand experience each, and the worst part is, I have to off my own characters so often.


CLOUD is designated EXP-getter because he's been out for so long.


Loses a bit of its punch when the game refuses to let you avoid this, huh?

...Wait. I could've tried petrification via added effect. Dammit!


One of the problems of having to off the party is that the party is damned tough compared to how awful they are at killing. Most of the emphasis is on surviving the enemy with the knowledge that eventually enough right arms and freezes will be fatal.


Then we throw in random encounters and lord am I thankful for Escape. That was the best gil ever spent.


For reasons unfathomable to even me Cop Killa becomes designated EXP haver. I think my justifcation was I had used everyone else but Clispaeth recently and he's going to be mandatory soon enough.


There are a lot of fights here with rewards screens like this.


Low levels in FF7 are in the low twenties for a reason, by the way.


And now for the third worst fight in the game behind Demon Wall and the Icicles.


Gah fuck how did this even happen


Wait what the hell is


What the hell


Woah fuck what is this shit I didn't even get a turn without barrier he one-shots my party


Okay seriously Lapis Laser can go to hell
Because he has a 1/3 chance of using it during his AI set-up at the start of the battle. Some enemies deploy minions or have dramatic pose changes that take advantage of battle models having higher detail.

Carry Armor kills you. Thankfully, Lapis Laser costs MP. Using Magic Hammer twice takes away all 200 Carry Armor has, making this fight possible at all.

His gimmick of grabbing people is dangerous as hell, too, if you don't know how it works. The arms have 10000 HP so killing them in one hit's impossible, and the lower their HP makes them more likely to grab. Given how hard Carry Armor can hit this can get pretty fatal. Now keep in mind at low levels I'm not doing more than about 4000 to all enemies even if all three characters use Right Arms. This would leave the arms at low health, so they'd grab two people - living ones, too. Taft is near perpetually dead so it's an instant loss.

The solution, then, is to ignore the arms entirely and hit Carry Armor with Freeze relentlessly. It isn't exactly obvious unless you're a cheating motherfucker like me who looks at AI scripts.


It's still a tense fight considering the lingering threat of grabbing, and it's also long because Freeze is not particularly strong of a main offense. Here, we see me violating various RPG sensabilities and using an Elixir.


And sometimes tactical suicides go very wrong.


It took me about eight tries, if I recall.

Two of them were to a preemptive Lapis Laser that ended the entire attempt before I could even move.

Fuck Lapis Laser.


Uh, a weapon for the perpetually level 7 character! Yay?


More important is this Trumpet. It's Cop Killa's time to shine.

Better you than me.


You see, there's a marathon of battles against troopers, and in order to conserve resources I don't revive CLOUD and Taft between fights.


I'm doing this on an emulator you know. If this fight wiping me meant I had to retry Carry Armor, well, I might've vomited.

I've beaten Ozma at level 1 at FF9 on console, okay? I deserve some fucking breaks.


Thank fuck we can not kill the last few guys. EXP gain spared!


Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


I just sorta launch torpedoes relentlessly and get the huge materia anyway!?


Finally, unqualified success! No failure, no exploits!


Immediately I head for the Gelkina. Some of the loot here will make the rest of my life significantly easier.


The rooms are short enough I can usually get through without a random encounter, and even then Escape is my new favorite spell.


Full recovery to the entire party! It'll be handy eventually.




I like elemental immunities, even if they don't come up that often from here on.


Now this is the real beaut here, especially when combined with the next chest.


So yes here's your confirmation that I'm getting Yuffie eventually.

The timing's very tactical I assure you.


Badass new sword for CLOUD makes his magic attack look like a real stat for late disc 2!


And that's all we can get. No Hades or Highwind, as Turks are in the way. Turks who are worth experience, and this fight not being mandatory means I am honor-bound to flee in cowardice and never improve unless I absolutely have to.

So tune in next time for-


FUCK

Actual next time: SPACE MADNESS