Part 18: Update XVIII - An old robot like you can't beat me... This can't be true!!

Update XVIII - An old robot like you can't beat me... This can't be true!!

Music: World of the Abyss


Before anything else...



I need to re-grab the token, Radar Killer, and Tank Parts here after Rafflesian killed me.



I also swap Massimo back to the Shock Lance.

This right here? This is the reason I got the Shock Lance, way back when. Having early access to Critical for Psyche and Jentra was nice, but this plan is dead in the water without the Shock Lance.



There's another Treasure Token in a side area in Maze Area 2.



Another in an optional room during those Simon Says puzzles.



And one more token in Silver Horn's arena, plus a free Blowfish.



Which works out nicely, since we got the Mini Battery in Chapter 5.

Music: Irregular Battle I


The Tripuffer is the weakest enemy in the game with a 200% Thunder weakness.

Now then, class, what do you get when you combine a Tripuffer with:



One Boost Power,



A second Boost Power,



A Power Charge,



Glint Armor,



Another Power Charge,



And a full power Thunder element Berserk Charge?





The answer, naturally, is a ton of damage!



Doing 10K damage in a single hit is the milestone needed to unlock Massimo's final bar.



Behold, Multistage. It takes the most effort out of any bar to fill, but makes his AT deal 3/5/8/12 hits.



Each added hit is weak, but it does add up to a ~50% increase.

You know, after doubling his base damage with Attack, and a separate 50% increase with Critical.

Massimo is strong, you guys.



Massimo swaps back to the Interceptor.



While I now have all the tools I'll need for this, I still need raw numbers to bridge the gap a bit.



So I head back to Ulfat for a bit of grinding.

Music: Unknown Energy




Marino and Massimo are both using Power Charge, while Spider is there for Clubs. This also has the added bonus of giving a trickle of Build items thanks to the Preons here.



I stop after getting another 5 levels on everyone, plus enough zenny to grab a Limit Buster for X.

For those of you playing along, I highly suggest heading to the next dungeon to grind against the stronger enemies there. I just wanted to see how long it would take to do it in Ulfat. The answer, as it turns out, is a while. The Build items from all the Preons were a nice side benefit, at least.



Marino hitting level 20 is also the trigger for getting her first AT upgrade. Scattered Flower is an S-type attack with a high chance to inflict DOA.



With all the pieces in place, my plan can go forward. First, Massimo gets the Build Hyper that's been sitting in my inventory since Silver Horn.



Massimo's role is critical. He needs to inflict as much damage as possible in a single turn.



Massimo won't be able to kill Rafflesian in one hit, but hopefully X will be able to come in with X Collider and finish her off once she's been softened up. His loadout is centered around getting him to 100% as fast as possible.



Cinnamon needs the extra health to make sure she can't be killed quickly. The bonus WE means I have the option to use Energy Field with her initial WE.



Marino role is to fling out items like candy, so she gets a few speed boosters plus a small boost to health for safety.

Spider and Axl will not be appearing in this fight.



The fight will open with X, Massimo, and Marino.

Video: Battle with Rafflesian


Time to get to work.

Music: Cheerful Thief Marino




Even with all this prep, the fight is still on a tightrope.

If either Belladonna uses Electromagnetic Field, that's a reset.



If Rafflesian opens with Riot, that's a reset.



The entire reason X is in the initial lineup is for a turn of WE.



Cinnamon comes in to do her thing.

I happened to get an Injector while grinding, so now she has needles for hands.



Marino needs more Speed to get more turns.



Massimo gets his first Boost Power.



For whatever reason, Boost items miss when used on someone in Hyper, so Massimo stays in his base form and Charges. At the very least, he has enough natural bulk to survive a Sunburst if it comes to that.

(From some testing after the fact, it turns out that this is because Hyper Mode completely resets all stat changes, making all these turns slinging items an utter waste. Oh well, a win's a win.)



Massimo gets his second Boost Power.



And after healing herself for safety, Marino swaps out for X.



Here's me, forgetting that you can't boost someone in Hyper.



All the prep work is done. X and Massimo will both get to act before Rafflesian, and both will be at 100% WE for their turn (Massimo is a bit off, but Energy Field takes care of that).



Massimo goes into Glint Armor.



By using Power Charge and then his Generator, he'll be able to use his AT at 90%.



Which gives him just enough time for this.





That dealt over 50% of Rafflesian's LE in one go!



Everything is resting on X here. If this doesn't kill she'll regen 50% of her LE before I get another move. By the time I'll be able to set up again, she'll be back at full, and I can't win that tug-of-war.





X couldn't get the kill.



But he barely pushed her into Final Strike range.



Nothing survives a Final Strike.



From here, the fight is solved. The Belladonnas don't have a threatening offense so long as you leave them alone, so I can wait until everyone is back at 100% before blitzing them down.



Between attacks, I exit Hyper to conserve Hyper turns.



Then, when X and Massimo can both act before one of them, I go for the kill.



That's one.



And that's two.

Music: Victory Jingle + Trajectory of Battle I






Axl picks up Rafflesian's Sunburst, albeit a weakened version that only hits for 200 damage a shot. While that does sound nice, keep in mind that by the time you're intended to fight Rafflesian, 2000 damage to all enemies can easily be matched by other people, and the fact that Sunburst is fixed damage means that the massive Power boost from Stealth Mode does nothing. The poor kid just can't catch a break.

Music: World of the Abyss


With her gone, I can finally get at the loot she was guarding. The blues are regular Figure Tokens, but what could be in the purple crystal? Couldn't be another set of Tank Parts, we already got two from this side trip.



Oh, its just the fucking Ultimate Armor , no big deal!

Why is it in a random crystal guarded by a wannabe idol singer in a death camp instead of being held in a series standard Dr Light capsule? Your guess is as good as mine, but this does make Command Mission the only X game to have absolutely zero screen time for the good doctor.

Now, the Ultimate Armor, at its core, has always been about having an option to every challenge. Mainline MMX games are platformers with combat, so it gave you tools for platforming and combat. It gives you an air dash and a hover, to deal with the many jumps you have to do. It either gives you unlimited base weapon shots (in X4) or halves energy use (X5/X6), to have more leeway in a fight. It has the Nova Strike for bosses. It has a piercing Charge Shot for enemies. In every aspect, the Ultimate Armor is designed to have a counter for anything you could face.



But what, then, does an 'Ultimate' Armor consist of, when in another genre? What does it become when movement is no longer a factor, when there's no longer bottomless pits and enemies wait patiently for their turn?





A flying artillery platform, that's what!

The Ultimate Armor gives +100% Power, +50% Speed, +40% WE gain. You may find it odd that it doesn't boost HP at all, but with this level of power, it doesn't have to.

Ultimate Armor swaps out X's Sub Weapons, just like X Fire. This time around, he gets the powerful Strike Bullet and Impact Cannon.



His normal attack is also a god damn BEAM CANNON.



Full power, here we go!



His new Action Trigger, Nova Strike, can best be described as,





An on-demand Final Strike.

The Ultimate Armor is ludicrously strong, and the game is nowhere near designed around me having it this early.

So, naturally, I'm keeping the damn thing and shredding everything in my path until the difficulty curve catches up.

Don't get your hopes up. There's only one more secret Hyper Mode in the game, and we all know none of the new guys have a chance of getting it.



One last token before I leave, as I misread the radar and thought it was in Rafflesian's room the entire time.



And with that, we're pretty much done with Tianna Camp for the rest of the game!



During all this, I ended up completely clearing out Lagrano.

This puts a hard cap on how many Mechaniloids you can level, as you'll eventually clear out every place, which is probably why the Hall of Fame is purely cosmetic.











Let's go bust some heads.

Next time: