Part 26: Update XXVI - Did you know that the earliest form of rocketry was missiles used for war?
Update XXVI - Did you know that the earliest form of rocketry was missiles used for war?
Music: Chapter Title
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Music: Secret Glacial Activity
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Right off the bat, we got two purple crystals visible from the teleporter. There are also two blue crystals to the left that are just out of view.
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The purples hold a set of Tank Parts and a Mechaniloid part. This is the fastest time from entering the dungeon to finding the Tank Parts in the game!
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The blue crystals hold tokens, with a free Rabbid right next to them.
Music: Irregular Battle II
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This outdoor area is crawling with Gun Bits, the big brother of the Rabbids from Gaudile's Laboratory. They have all the same moves as a Rabbid, but also add in Giga Blizzard and Cryogenic for elemental coverage.
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While the Wolfloid uses Coercion to cancel your turns and Staredown to inflict Bind, but will start to add in normal attacks and Smash! on the party member with the lowest LE once any other enemy is killed.
Pour one out for the Wild Dog, one dungeon later and it already has a palette swap.
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Last time, we got the Bait Sub Weapon. Bait is a very simple thing, it costs 5 WE, and forces all enemies to target the user until their next action.
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Now if only...
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...we had a way...
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...to completely negate single target attacks.
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Oh wait, we do!
This is Axl's other main niche, being able to cripple enemy offense by Baiting enemies into hitting him while in Stealth Mode. While it doesn't do anything against party attacks, end game and post game will have a lot of bosses with incredibly scary single target attacks, and being able to completely ignore those for 2 full turns can be a godsend. Axl is a very good pick for a few Build Hypers for this very reason.
On top of that, if you know an elemental boss is coming up, you can combine Bait with a Reverse Force Metal for a similar effect without needing to burn Stealth Mode.
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While I was here, I wanted to see how much damage a boosted Incentas can dish out. It turns out to be fairly decent, actually! You can't even chalk it up to the grinding I did for Rafflesian either, I've been using Zero as a measuring stick for where I 'should' be in levels, and he's only 2 levels behind by this point.
Which is also incredibly damning for Axl's Rafflesian AT, now that I think about it, considering this is roughly where you could take her on in a straight fight, and she deals a fixed 2,000.
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Video: Ferham and Scarface
Music: Resistance Line
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When the villains are baffled at the hero's survival in two separate scenes, you might have a case of bad writing.
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Music: Secret Glacial Activity
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I hope you guys weren't expecting a trip through a snowfield, because that was the only room in the dungeon that takes place outside. Honestly, one of my bigger complaints with Command Mission is that you're in generic corridors like 99% of the time when in dungeons.
Anyways, that blue crystal holds an Ultra Thunder.
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This right here is the last optional door in the game.
Last as in when we find it, mind, we're still not finding the Central Key for a long while yet.
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Hope you guys like elevators, because this dungeon is packed with them.
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You can't see it in a screenshot, but this dungeon has these small connecting hallways that are inside a rotating drum. It honestly looks pretty cool in motion!
Video: Entering the Plant
Music: Talking Funk
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We can see a long, shaft-like object on the other side.
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Music: Secret Glacial Activity
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New goal: Take as many photos as possible to rack up some PP and get some le-wait no we're still 2 years early for that.
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This dungeon loves branching paths. One leads to an elevator, the other leads to loot, both have a photo spot. At least we get a Build WE for going out of our way.
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This dead end has a Figure Token as well as our first Treasure Token.
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Each peephole has this text when you examine it.
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How mysterious!
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The intended path has a Build LE.
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And at the end is the elevator down and another hole.
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Hmmmmm, a long cylindrical object in a chapter called The Ultimate Weapon. What could it possibly be?
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And another hole first thing.
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On the way, we run into the accurately named Zwei Hammer. Similar to their red counterpart waaaaaaaay back in Chapter 2, the Zwei uses multiple hard hitting attacks, and will use Break Shield if all their allies are killed and will then follow up with Wild Attack to gamble on crits.
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Another Mini Battery. I think this dungeon has the most purple crystals so far.
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Another token, and another hole.
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800FME. Seriously, game, the most expensive FMG recipe costs 99,999 FME, 800 is a pittance.
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And the last hole on this floor.
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I think the real reason Gaudile didn't want to make weapons for the Rebellion is because he's absolute trash at it.
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It was at this point I remembered to check the center hallway, so I doubled back and got this Build Shield.
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We have to be getting near the end of this.
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A Tank Energy 50. At this point I intentionally use a full heal whenever I see one of these just so I won't have to grab it later.
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The center path is locked.
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At least we get a free Wolfloid for the detour.
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This last peephole is so important the game forces me there.
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Video: The Ultimate Weapon
Music: Respond!
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For those of you who slept through Geography:
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Every single Reploid above that line goes Maverick.
All of Canada, of the US, of Europe, of China, of Russia, of Japan, well over half of Africa, and a small chunk of Brazil. I'm not entirely sure how many Reploids are in the world, but if you aren't in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, that small bit of Africa, or most of South America you are well and truly fucked.
Like, Repliforce had the Final Weapon, sure, but they made it to also act as their Reploid nation so they could all fuck off to space and be left alone, plus they were being played by Sigma the entire time. Here? The Rebellion wants to hold a monopoly on an entirely new resource that outclasses everything else in the world. Remember, the Sky Room files flat out state that Force Metal is flat out better at creating Reploids, improving Reploids, and even power production, and now it can double as a nuke!
This, more than Jango, Silver Horn, or Psyche, should be first thing you think of every time the game tries to paint the Rebellion as being these noble freedom fighters.
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Music: Secret Glacial Activity
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The text on the peepholes updated, now that we know what's going on. The crystal holds another token.
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And it turns out that the photography could have been skipped if X just hit this button first.
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With that, the center is unlocked.
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A save point, now that we're a ways into the dungeon.
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And just ahead is Botos. He certainly didn't take his time coming back, now did he?
Video: Battle with Botos?
Music: Talking Funk
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Music: Executive Battle
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It feels a touch too soon, but we're having our first refight!
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...That was over 2/3 of his health bar.
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...Eh?
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Music: I'm Borock!
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What is this music?
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Next time:
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