Part 38: The Tower of Gears, Ghasfarost

Last time we left off we were about to climb Ghasfarost. So let's get to that! The first obstacle is easily solved by shooting the Sorcerer's Ring at the lever next to it, which lowers the stairs:




The guy to the right here sells some restoratives and ingredients, in case you're running low.

Up the stairs we trigger a cutscene:



Sure, yeah.
Okay. Then try this...



Huh? What's this?
The Limit Duo. Your battle spirit can allow you to use even more powerful Over Limits.
Oh yeah?
If your battle spirit is the real thing, that is.
So what else can you tell me about these strong Over Limits?
You can produce more power when attacking alone, or they say you can share battle spirit with something else...
Is that so... I still don't quite get it...
Really? Maybe you'll pick it up as you use them in battle?
Sounds good to me...
All right, let's get moving, then.

The Limit Duo allows your Over Limit gauge to fill up twice, up to 2. This allows you to spend two bars at once to enter Over Limit Level 2. Level 2 is, frankly, not really all that great considering it costs double that of Level 1; you're better off using Level 1 twice in my opinion. What it does is give you a damage boost as well as a slightly longer Over Limit. Also, the Burst Arte changes slightly, usually giving it more hits.

To use Over Limit Level 2, you press Down on the D-Pad; to just use Level 1, you use Right.


There's a floor to explore here, but we want to head outside first, because...


Watch the cutscene!


















There, that's the last of 'em!



Yuri!




Are you okay?! Were you hurt?
Never been better. You worry too much.



What do you expect? We were worried about you!
Hey, just for the record, I wasn't worrying about him.
Well, I for one was worried sick.
Yeah right. And when did you just start showing up wherever we go, anyway?
It's like this, see? The Don's havin a fit sayin' there's no way he'll let Barbos make a fool outta him, but I'm the one he sends to do his dirty work.



Well, the front door was locked.
That's not the point...



...A-and who might this lovely Krityan be? Is she a princess?
Layin' it on a little thick there, old man.
This is Judith. We were locked up together.
Hello.
Hi, I'm Karol!
I'm Estellise.
Rita Mordio.



Old man.
It's Raven! R-A-V-E-N! Raven!!
You have to wonder about people who introduce themselves like that.
Hmm... That didn't quite have the "zing" I was lookin' for.
I think that'll do for now.
Hehe... What an interesting bunch of people.
Ooh! I think she likes me!



Judith, what were you doing in a place like this?
I came to have a look at the blastia.
All the way out here? Why?
I--



Yeah, the Kritya do like their research...
...
Were you able to locate your aque blastia?
Nope, not this time either.
I wonder if it's somewhere here in this tower...
We'll just have to ask Barbos about it once we've caught him.
Okay, let's go.





Ah, nothing... Just thinking how you could really brag ta your friends if ya lived in a place like this.
Hmph... Repede, come on. I guess, you too, old man...








These kids are really givin' it a go. They could use your help every now and again.
If such a necessity arises, I shall interfere. No such necessity exists now.
All right, all right. I know you've got your own business to take care of.



Jeez, watch where yer pointin' words like that.




Note that, if you're playing the PS3 version, Flynn joins the party here temporarily until you beat the boss of this dungeon. He's pretty neat to use and has some nice Artes, but let's leave that for later.


Skit: Just Use Both
...
What's up, Yuri? Is something wrong with your weapon?
No, I was just thinking about how different axes and swords feel to use...
*Whine?*
Ah, you use both swords and axes, don't you.
Yeah, but my artes change depending on which I use. It's not a problem or anything, but...
Hmmm... Well, I think you look cooler when you're using axes, Yuri. It makes you look stronger, too.
*Woof!*
Really? I prefer Yuri when he's using swords, myself.
You should just use one in each hand.
Give me a break...


After getting the party back, I head back in to loot the 2nd floor and to show off Judith a bit:



As I already said last update, Judith is based around aerial combat. As such, even her some of her most basic moves revolve around throwing or juggling enemies in(to) the air, such as Crescent Moon:




or Luna Gale:





Others, like Moonlight Havoc, are designed to throw enemies back down:





Another unique thing are Artes that are only usable in the air, such as Luna Fang, which aims straight down:





And of course she's also got more "normal" attacks which go straight forward, like New Moon Blade




or Crescent Strike:





All in all, Judith is a very cool addition to the team and can do some really impressive combos, although she does have a kind of steep learning curve.


Skit: Touchy Subject
Ya think we might cut down on the battles a bit?
This old man can't take it fer much longer!
Really? We haven't been fighting any more than usual...
Yeah, but keepin' up with your youthful pace is killin' me!
Perhaps we should go at the pace of someone older and slower?
Who're ya callin' older an' slower?
Don't worry, you're still young and full of life.
Ah yes, I'm glad you understand me at least, Judith honey... ♥
He was the one who called himself an old man...
Cut him some slack, Karol. People his age get sensitive about these things.


Now that my party is full, I also take the opportunity to check if I can synth anything useful for any of them, although I don't get a lot:


Critical Guard: Guard + Forward to dash towards enemy / ignore attack if done at the right time.
EXP Share: Gain bonus EXP when not in main battle party.
Rise Attack: Increases attack power of normal attacks in exchange for 1 TP used per attack.


Step Away: Avoid staggering when hit during a Backstep.
Evade 2: Increase agility by 10%.


Skit: Together Again
I can't believe I made that kind of mistake! I should have moved right then! Damn it!
Somebody shut this old man up!
What "mistake" did you make?
Oh, you sweet girl, thank you for listening.
If I'd just met that Krityan hottie before Yuri, the two of us would be off together just...
Ha!
!!!
Whoa! Go easy on him, Rita!
You got a problem?
Uh-uh.
I guess the old man couldn't care less about me...
Ummm...well I'm glad you weren't hurt, Yuri.
Heh. Thanks.


Alright, now it's time to actually climb up.



Literally.

At the top of the ladder, we find Barbos' actual Tower of Ghasfarost.







...It looks like it's not moving because the gear's teeth are out of alignment. I think it might move if we put some energy into it.
Well, we needn't waste energy on moving strange gears.

Actually, we do, since that's this dungeon's gimmick: Shoot the brown-ish gears to make them turn, which fills up the middle tube with aer.





Once you've hit all gears, some stairs open up at the bottom of the room. It's fairly annoying, and the first time I played this game I somehow managed to miss one of the gears for quite a while and got kind of frustrated.

Attempting to go up a bit results in another cutscene.




Oh, do you know someone who also uses a spear?
Eh, well not quite. It just reminds me of some jerk.
Are you talking about that dragon rider?
Yeah... Hey, don't you have something you need to tell me?
What? Me?
Yes. So where is that dragon freak now.



Good, because I can't very well beat him up if he's already injured!
Whoa whoa, that's the whole reason you came here?
No! I also can't forgive this Barbos guy for what he did! Abusing blastia like that! Has he no shame?
That's no reason to bring the Princess along with you to a dangerous place like this.
It's not Rita's fault. I decided to come here, myself. I can't see bad people doing harm to others and simply let it happen.
I agree. Very well said.
Captain Karol, don't let me down! I'm counting on your skills!
Yes, of course! Come on, let's go take that jerk to school!

Karol, Estelle, Raven and Rita start going up the stairs.





Sure, I understand. That'll be best for both of our interests.




Skit: Repede and Judith
Is he also a member of your party?
Yeah, he doesn't get along too well with people, though. Don't let it get to you.
I'm Judith. Nice to meet you.
*Whine*
Hey... Why is he letting Judith pet him?
Maybe the little pup's a fan of pretty girls?
B-but I'm a pretty girl too...
My my.
...Why doesn't he like me?



Skit: The Tower of Ghasfarost
The bottom of the tower looked ancient, but the top is new...
It would seem someone built it onto a structure that was already here.
I had no idea there were any towers in this area.
I wonder when it was built?
Well, judgin' by how new the top looks, I'd say it was pretty recent.
Do you think Barbos built it?
The Blood Alliance is one of the bigger guilds, but even they couldn't build something like this.
Ragou. He must have been putting up the funds.
Hey, yeah. That would make sense.
We still ain't any closer to figurin' out WHY they'd build somethin' like this, though...





Skit: A Weirdo among Weirdoes
Your spear fighting is fluid and your footwork is amazing! I love watching you fight, Judith.
Oh, it's my pleasure!
Aren't all Krityans more of the nerdy, scholarly type? More indoors than outdoors people?
Yuri's anti-book comments aside, is it true that the Kritya don't fight in battles?
It seems most of us don't like fighting very much.
So you're an exception?
A weirdo among weirdos, then.
How strange. I've always thought it was normal to fight someone who was threatening you.
Yeah, true.
Really? Is that normal?
Sure, it's normal.
Totally normal.
I-I see...



Room number two introduces gears that cause some platforms to extend or gates to redact.




This thing here is another Wonder Chef, teaching us Salad:




Near the top of the room there's another cutscene reminding us that, yes, this room's puzzle is the same thing as the previous one.



So that means we've got some gears to move.
Whaddaya think they're protectin' with all these different layers of devices?
Maybe it's just their pride as a guild...






And of course there's a third room, too. Same old, same old.







Eventually we do reach the topmost room, which has a save point, a couple chests, and the lift up to the top of the tower.



Next time: Barbos!

---

Notable loot in this dungeon (so far):


Combo Plus: Hell yeah! This increases your basic combo by one hit, so Yuri's three-hit combo becomes a four-hit one. Which is, of course, very useful, especially when you combine it with other Combo Plus versions.
Combination: The description for this is "Increases damage once for a combo: 3-hit normal → base → arcane" but I'm honestly not entirely sure if this means once per battle or once per combo or damage only increases if you do exactly that or maybe something completely different.


Reflect: Reflects a tiny portion of physical damage taken, as in the enemy also gets damaged.
Roll: Halves damage taken while staggering.


Speed Up: Increases speed of normal attacks during Over Limit.
Hunter's Fang: Increases the bonus of a green (sideways) fatal strike.


Over Cast: Allows you to cast a novice spell for as long as you want by holding the Arte button during casting, only firing it once you let go, and also increases the damage of it based on how long you charge it. This does, however, consume extra TP.
Rise Attack: Increases attack power of normal attacks in exchange for 1 TP used per attack.


Medical Boost: Changes the power of healing spells based on how much HP the caster has. At max HP, healing spells have 1.5 times their normal power. I assume this also means that healing spells could be worse than normal when the caster has low HP, but I haven't really done much testing with that.