Part 201: Gaia 2

Welcome back!





Gaia's second floor is more of the same.



And Rapp decides that forgoing agility for +2 to everything else is a good idea.



Sweet!



I really get the impression that you were originally able to backtrack to Zil Padon from here.



Speaking of, we can pick up this shuriken for Rapp.

Yes, it is exactly the same as could have been bought in Zil Padon as soon as we arrived there. In a small act of mercy, a lot of the enemies in the next section are insects.





And here we enter the second part of Gaia's innards, forsaking the tree-like area for more insectoid surroundings.



Gaia Slugs are just more powerful versions of the same slug monsters we've been fighting since Disc 2 started.



Slightly less annoying than their red Crimsona cousins, Gaia Aliens nevertheless do have something to note.

Look at that drop. Look at that fucking drop. These shitlords have a 1-in-20 chance of dropping a goddamn Mana Egg. An unusable, unsellable Mana Egg that just sits in your inventory. Fuck you, Gaia Aliens. I hope you die on the way back to your home planet.



... Huh. I didn't notice that the bats shared a type with the stars.



I guess if you wanted to use your Culture Media, these guys would be the best choice. They're the most defensive enemies here, so that's... something.



They, uh.... can cast a few spells?

Seriously, I'm trying my best to say something about each enemy instead of just plopping down a bunch of stat sheets and pretending that it makes for engaging writing.



Silk Orb is notable for reducing Wit by six levels and almost always inflicting Move Block. Other than that... Well, it's a beetle. Last time we saw one of these guys, we were still on the other side of the End of the World.

Still, one thing these enemies have in common is that there's quite a lot of them, and they can wear you down over time. If you're avoiding the save points and aren't drowning in consumables. Or spreading the SP/MP load.

... Yeah, on second thought, there's not much to be said about these guys.



So, this area's gimmick. There's this platform surrounded by a fleshy ball of goo.



When you step into it, the whole area rotates around you on several axes. Slightly disorientating, but since there's only two places for it to stop, it's not particularly confusing.



Back in the first room, on a part of the path we can only access once we've rotated the second room, is our next bit of Spirit gear. The armor is only equippable by Justin, and recovers 2% of his max HP every so often. It also gives the largest defense boost of any piece of armor in the game, for what it's worth.



The third room holds this beauty, the final piece of Spirit gear. It's equippable by everybody, and is a direct upgrade to the Holy Ring. Liete snags it.



And also gets herself a good level.



Anyway, the next area is just through this pulsating sphincter.

Seriously, Gaia is a pretty disgusting dungeon.



Oh, look. Yet another palette-swap.





Same as the Massacre Machines we've fought twice already.



It's half-dead before either of its parts get a chance to even think of attacking.



Its second chance goes exactly like the first.



Justin beats it to death with a wooden sword before it gets a third.



Still with the crazy amounts of gold.



And Justin breaks the streak of good levels with a mediocre one.

And to conclude this disappointment of a boss fight, because he had the chance to start charging a skill, it doesn't even count as a perfect victory.

Oh well. See you next time when things get more interesting!


... Oh, right. Boss videos are a thing I usually do, aren't they?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKT47odya0Y (Polsy link)