Part 12: Chapter IX - I think I'm allergic
I think Im allergic
Music: Glittering Gold
- Video: Celapaleis Flyover
The capital of Celapaleis. This down has a modern air that is seen in few others.
Celapaleis Grants Way: This sprawling boulevard runs down the middle of town. It is lined with ships on both east and west sides.
Friendly Man: This is Celapaleiss main street, Grants Way. You see the palace down the way, do you not? That is where our ruler, Duke Qubine, resides. All along this street are shops offering every eartly delight, so you should take a look.
Weapons, items, accessories, components You can find anything down this street.
Whats your favorite?
My favorite is Oh, certainly, the high-grade medicinal herbs imported from the south. Once you get a whiff, youll be sold for life.
Smarypants Qsiti: Isnt the view amazing? There isnt any other place in the world thats covered with a Remnant like this! Every one of those crystals floating in the air is the Remnant Umbermarici. So long as Lord Qubiine has bound the Remnant, those crystals will glow, and the people of the town will be happy and healthy. The might and glory of Celapaleis is linked to the Umbermarici, for certain.
Hey, its Emma, whats she doing here?
Oh, oops. Um, I thought you were someone else
Hmph! Make sure you have the right person next time!
S-sorry
Hmph Ill let it slide this time. Of course, thats on the condition that theres never a second.
(That temper is familiar too.)
Did you say something?
N-no!
Calling someone old lady is rude and inconsiderate especially when they arent old!
Well, that was uncanny. Lets just get on with shopping, yeah
- Video: They call him MISTER Diggs.
There is no voice acting for this video, but the animations are great.
*curious noise*
What the-?
*explaining noise*
The creature does a little dance, leaps up, and disappears.
A thief ? But the store isnt ready yet. Theres nothing here to steal.
Lets see The first thing Ill need is some light metal. Cant do customization without it! Time to hit the pub!
Also, after seeing that, I need a damn drink.
Celapaleis Lamberro District: The glow of the Remnant Umbermarici defines this residential area. Many of the residents are very familiar with the area, as most have been here since birth.
Over here is the Amber Tavern, the local pub. Its very popular with some types
You mean like the type that frequents the Athlum pub?
Oh, I dont mean how you think apparently the beautiful barkeep is the Ambers big draw.
The guild of the Golden Chalice is the building with the blue door on the left.
You here from Athlum?
Uh, sorta.
Ahh how ya like seeing a real city? Celapaleis aint anything like your backwater hole. At least you make a good guard dog, haw haw! S thanks to Athlum that those Ghor scumbags dont try anything. Or at least, if they did, theyd have to go through you first, haw haw!
I dont like you.
Heh, well, keep up the good work, Athlum schmucks!
Note another guild seal there. Its locked as well.
Legend Loving Child: A long long time ago here in Celapaleis, there was a really pretty stone. It was so pretty that people were totally mesmerized by it enough to do evil things. Pretty soon the town was in trouble. But one day a traveler came through town, and saw the stone, and bound it. From then on, it didnt do anything else bad, and everyone was happy.
Huh?
Legend Loving Child: Whaaat, you still dont know what Im talking about? Its the story of the Umbermarici! Man, youre stupid! Everybody here knows that!
His Highness, Lord Qubine may look young, but he is quite adept at mystic arts. I have heard there are rabble-rousers within the Ghor castle guard who are so afraid of his strength that they spread rumors about it Outlandish claims like Lord Qubine is an alien or some Academy-produced magickal boy or something Ridiculous. Of course, what else could be expected to come from a town like that? Those uncouth boors are lucky to be able to string two sentences together Its certainly not worth worrying about what they think.
Ah, so youre looking to pick up some Guild Tasks, too?
Well, maybe, it depends
Eh you dont think you can do em? Dont worry. Ill take you under my wing. If it looks like itll go well, then own it! If the going gets tough run away! That is some number-one top strategery right there, so dont you forget it!
Theres no way to run from battles. The closest the game comes is Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R, which resets the game and kicks you back to the main menu. Its actually a handy time-saver if you realize that the battle is hopeless.
Different towns attract different types of adventurers to their guild. If you arent finding the type youre looking for here, try checking a different town. Once you visit a few other guilds, youll understand.
The quests are still the same here, but each place has its own unique recruits. But there are no unique leaders here yet, so who cares. To the tavern!
Music: A Friendly Ear
Barkeeps Admirer: Even if they were, my lovely tavernkeep, you have no need to worry! I would protect you with my life!
Gossipy Girl: Some weird things been lurking around Celapaleis, giving people the willies. Thats the latest scoop, anyway!
Bartendress: Ah Ive seen it! Ugh, it was terrible
Gossipy Girl: It was cute!
Rush So, speaking of strange creatures, I was wondering -
Bartendress: Some strange animal or something has been seen around the stores on Grants Way. Ooh, if something like that were to come here, I dont know what Id do
(It might not be a bad idea to try and find someone important here who could help me find Irina.)
Do you know about the important people in this city?
Aristocratic Man: You wish to know the powerful families in Celapaleis? Hmm The House of Nielsen, the House of Zita Those two and the House of Gilles-Barre are the most well-known, I believe. However, since rule of Celapaleis passed to Lord Qubine, the Gilles-Barres have fallen into a deep decline. Their patriarch, Count Givern, passed away some years ago Its said that was the reason for the Houses fall. Conversely, the Nielsens have risen in standing, especially after Count Gieverns daughter was married into the family.
Sounds complicated.
Aristocratic Man: Well. Even the high-born have drama, hmm?
Sweet-Scented Maiden: Fallen in love, of course!
With who?
Sweet-Scented Maiden: With one of the Celapaleian guards Hes beautiful, his eyes sparkle like the Umbermarici I cant really see under his helmet, but I just know it! But for now, its just a one-sided love Im so worked up I feel like I could burst! *sigh*
This girl, found on the second floor of the Amber Tavern, will eventually serve as a good example of why you should talk to NPCs. But thats a long way off.
Waitress: Did you see the kind of, er, rough yama sitting by himself downstairs? Hes one of our regulars, but unlike a lot of the people here, hes traveled all over and knows a lot. If you have any questions about other parts of the world, try screwing up your courage and asking him, okay? I know he looks scary, but hes really a sweet guy.
(Maybe I should head for Elysion to look for Mom and Dad.)
What do you know about Elysion?
The Lords hold a meeting of the Congress every couple years at the sacred city of Elysion you know, at the center of the continent. But from here, its a long hard journey. If youre planning on heading to Elysion, make sure youre stocked for a long trip.
I was going to practice on my gear, but since I know its mine, I cant get into it. Will you help me out?
Okay
Light metal is a good component to hone my customization skills with. I gotta open shop soon, but would you mind fetching me some?
Uh any idea where I should look?
Harvesting points
Got it? Good! Oh, one more thing. You obviously have harvesting tools, right?
Errr
Right?
Well
What? You dont? Now thats a problem.
Couldnt I just borrow some?
I have some, but theyre a family heirloom and priceless Sorry.
Hey! You again!?
*excited noise*
Hmmm, interested in harvesting points, huh? Raring to go, huh?
I think Im allergic.
*sad noise*
I said, He wants to go too, it seems.
*sigh* Well, if he REALLY wants to
See you soon!
Accepted quest: Mr. Diggs
The customization guy in Celapaleis wants me to get him some ore while I carry around this ugly little creature.
Monster drops arent the only way to get components for weapon upgrades. You can harvest things in dungeons as well, and you use Mr. Diggs to do that. This is a special version of Gaslin with just the one digging point, usually dungeons have a lot of these.
In a fresh game you start out with 5 digs per dungeon, but can find upgrades through the course of the game, and those carry over, so I have 20 to start out with. I also inherited the upgrades that increase the chances for finding additional and better items. This combined will make searching for components a lot easier than in the first playthrough.
And this is a harvesting point. Each one gives us different chances to get specific items. If youre looking for a specific component, you should use the wiki to search for that component. It will tell you where it can be found, and those pages will tell you which points have the best chances of producing the item.
This tutorial one is scripted to give us light metal only. In the actual dungeon there are other things it can produce, and other points are available. After we get it, we immediately are transported back to the pub.
(Reward: 1000 G)
Ill meet you back at my customization shop on Grants Way. Ill be waiting! Oh, and in case you didnt know, there are harvesting points everywhere. You should keep an eye out for them.
Completed Quest: Mr. Diggs
Mr. Diggs Status has been added to the Party Menu.
Found some ore! Made the customization guy real happy. The ugly little creature likes me and decided to stay with me and help me out.
Mr. Diggs has three stats, Power, Technique, and Instinct. There are different types of harvesting point, each of which increases a different stat. This is another case of overdesigning, because it really doesnt matter at all.Thats pretty unimportant though, especially on NG+, where you carry over all the upgrades, which are maxed out in my case.
So, what the hell are all these components were lugging around actually GOOD for? Now that the customization shops are open, lets find out.
Theyre to both strengthen your equipment, and to create completely brand new stuff. Let us strengthen Rushs Katanas. (This is an extremely good idea to do before the next main plot stuff, by the way.)
Any craftsman can do any upgrade and create any item, the town doesnt matter.
Increasing to a Battle Katana will up the weapons strength and mystic strength by 8 and Physical defense by 3. The Daimyo Katana will let us skip to the fourth upgrade immediately, at the cost of more G and rarer components used.
I have two Katanas, so Ill need twice the components, so 4 Copper Ore, 8 Fly Needles, and 14 Mystic Fiend Furs. Darn, I dont have enough.
Okay yes, technically, I have enough, but even though its NG+, Im playing this fairly close to a fresh game, which means I am keeping track of the components I need to do an upgrade, and wont be upgrading until I gather enough on this playthrough. I need to go harvest 4 Copper Ores. But first, its time to create an item. I have just the thing in mind, too
Ragna-rock
Stone that prophesizes the end of the world.
- Unknown Bonus (Read as: Bonus damage to enemy type "Unknown")
- Immunity: Enthrall
- Unique Arts + 5
- Growth Boost: All Arts +2
- Growth Boost: All Skills +2
-
Growth Boot: Equipment + 2
Oh yesssssssss ha ha ha ha hahahahahahaha
If the 888,888 G price tag and long list of effects didnt clue you in, this is a top-of-the-line item. It boosts the rate at which my Arts improve (which is not the same thing as the individual skills in the art. Dont ask me, I dont get it either), the rate my skills improve, it grants me immunity to the very nasty Enthrall (Charm) effect, and I get a 30% damage boost against certain specific enemies (the clue is in the description). The Growth Boost: Equipment effect is bugged and doesnt work, but the rest is more than good enough to have this little charm on all game long.
what, I said that I wouldnt cheat TOO MUCH. I never said I wouldnt cheat at all. Anyway, to become a Ranger, I have to learn at least one new Mystic skill. So lets go try it out by fighting in Dillmoor.
Music: Rolling Hills, Sprawling Plains
Thatll do. Rush got a Mystic Chance in the battle, and he has qualified for enough Psionics XP to learn two skills. However, when Rush has multiple possible mystic skills to learn, he can only pick one. The other one isnt gone, itll just have to wait for the next time he gets a Mystic Chance. I grabbed Confuse, because Paralyze seals enemy Combat Arts, and that is better than Enrage, which lowers the enemy Defense (good), but increases their Strength (bad).
With that done, Ill be avoiding any further battles in this area. That battle took me up to BR 4, the next dungeon is quite doable at that level, and while Im not doing a low BR run, I still want to avoid unnecessary battles.
Instead, we can talk about harvesting.
Last Remnant Wiki posted:
Harvesting Mechanics
- Rare Item: The base chance to find a rare item is 10%; finding one supersedes the normal item chances for that harvest.
- Item Bonus: Mr. Diggs retrieves more than one of a certain item.
- Loop Chance: Mr. Diggs gets a chance to achieve an Overdrive.
- Overdrive: Mr. Diggs harvests the same spot repeatedly. A "Chain" counter at the bottom right displays the exact number of harvests.
- Nothing: There is always a chance that Mr. Diggs won't find anything. This is a 10% chance for the majority of the harvesting points, but a select few have a much higher chance than this (60%-80%).
When Mr. Diggs goes into Overdrive, hell harvest extra times, in this case 5 extra times. Its usually only in the low single digits, but if you get lucky, he can hit the teens or even higher.
Randomly found (in specific locations) in dungeons are these sparkling red/orange Excavation Points. These are one-time harvests for that instance of the dungeon, but can reappear if you re-enter . They contain either recipes, money, or components. This one just had a Herb component and a smidgen of G.
Alert! Rush is sprayed with a strange liquid. The stench wards off even monsters.
Some points have a chance for extra effects some good, some bad. This one grants Rush the Terrify aura for a few minutes, which means monsters will avoid attacking him. The effect is the same for the same point each time. The possible effects are:
Last Remnant Wiki posted:
- Charm Aura - Rush is sprayed with a liquid which charms nearby monsters. (lasts 20 seconds) (This makes monsters follow Rush around, making it easier to create a large chain.)
- Provoke Aura - Rush is sprayed with a liquid which angers nearby monsters. (lasts 20 seconds)
- Terrify Aura - Rush is sprayed with a liquid which scares away nearby monsters. (lasts 20 seconds)
- Angers Monsters- A loud sound echoes throughout and angers nearby monsters.
- Digs Decreased - Digs Count decreases by one.
- Digs Restored - Digs Count is fully restored.
This is obviously a rare, but really good effect, letting you harvest longer. I now only need one more Copper Ore, but why waste good Digs? I harvested this point repeatedly (and got a second replenishment along the way) until I got down to one Dig left, which Im saving for something
Obtained Gaster Morsel! or so you thought Mr. Diggs ate it!
The (maximum) Digs count has been increased by 1! The Digs Count has been restored to Max!
This is a very special Excavation Point Morsel excavations appear always in specific spots of certain dungeons - until you harvest them, after which they are gone for good (until NG+). There are a lot of the Morsels in the game. I got 15 of 16 in my first playthrough (no I dont know which one I missed). Digs count maxes out at 99 if youre willing to replay the game 5 times, but 20 should be more than enough for my purposes.
If you know where the Morsels are (or save often), you can use this to your advantage by using up all but one Digs, then getting this to fill back up and keep harvesting.
This treasure chest is hiding behind the Rubber Soul. The necklace I think just has a bonus to some resistances on it. Now back to Celapaleis to upgrade my weapons.
Look at all that Copper Ore, and thats just from that one dungeon. I didnt even use up all the extra digs from the morsel. Dig sites which replenish your digs are pretty good. Needless to say, getting money in this game is not hard, as much as you want is free for the taking if you want to put the time into harvesting and selling components.
You there, you arent Rush Sykes, are you?
I wonder who gave that description to the soldiers?
Youre mistaken, old man.
*snort* Playing dumb wont get you anywhere if youre playing at all. Lord David put out a summons he said he needed to speak with you about something. Hurry to the castle.
When David wants to find someone, he doesnt kid around. Theres a soldier in every town location and tavern. Were done fooling anyway, lets go.
- Video: Request from Celapaleis
That is all, Lord David. I pray for your success.
Youre here!
Music: The Young Marquis
Who was that?
Uh *ahem* Yes... a messenger from Celapaleis, sent by the Duke of Qubine. He wanted to warn us of some unidentified troops invading Blackdale.
He believes theyre troops from the Duke of Ghor. We are to look into it immediately.
But I thought Blackdale belonged to Athlum. Whys this guy butting into your business?
*sigh* It was merely a request, not an order. And although we are allies, Athlum is actually under the control of Celapaleis. We have little say.
For once, Torgals irritation is directed elsewhere.
If you look at the flags, Athlums official colours are red and black. Now, scroll up, and compare the Celapaleis emblem on the soldiers backs to Lord Davids outfit.
Huh so what do you need me for?
You will be joining us in our investigation.
Whys that?
Pagus?
Yes *a-ahem*. According to the report, the troops from Ghor that have entered Blackdale were led by a mage dressed in white. Not only that, but they were accompanied by a flying Remnant.
That sounds like someone we know. Like those guys we saw at Dillmoor.
Rush sounds surprisingly calm here.
*nods* We must make haste. Prepare for departure at once.
Wait, youre going? Arent you too important for this?
I was requested to go as well. And if nothing else, it should satisfy my curiosity.
We are leaving for Blackdale immediately! Is that clear?
Yes, my Lord!
Music: City of Heroes
Thanks, Dave!
David and Torgals squads have joined the party.
There is no armor rating in the game, so the jacket doesnt do anything except make Rush LOOK more like he belongs on a battlefield. Speaking of battlefields, were about to see our first real one. Dave will be our last mandatory party member for a while, so lets look at his profile
David Nassau
The ruler of Athlum. Cool-headed and poised. Controls the Remnant Gae Bolg.
Class: Mysticknight
Initial BR: 7
HP: (400)
Str / Int: (26 / 24)
Current Arts
- One-Handed: (Knee Splitter)
- Invocations: (Spark)
- Herbs: (Restorative Herb)
- Unique: (Ex Machina)
- Conjurations: (Gae Bolg)
- Remedies @ BR 34
- Shards @ BR 50
- Arcana: Blackout, Crimson Flare
Comments
Dave is a Mysticknight, a fighter-mage hybrid. That means you can build him in either direction. He has both Herbs and Remedies. Both are good, but herbs mostly for the easy revivication option, and youll want to use Remedies for the healing. The problem is that mixing combat arts and mystic arts muddies the battle commands somewhat, and slows progression of both arts and stats, so youll probably have to turn off the side he wont use. Theres little risk of him becoming a Scout, especially on the Mystic path, so Herbs are safe.
Dave's special arts are pretty good though: Ex Machina does heavy damage to a single target (which should also kill the entire union), but it requires high union morale, and Davids Division cant be in Deadlock. Gae Bolg is just as impressive in gameplay as in the cutscenes. Itll wipe out an entire screen of enemies at once. The trick is that you can only use it if 3+ unions are on the field, Davids Division is not in deadlock, and has enough AP to cast it. Once you know that trick, you can fairly reliably trigger it at will in certain story battles. He can learn a couple Arcanas if you send him down the mystic path, or a Weapon art if you send him down the combat path AND fully upgrade his weapon.
Tags: Combat, Healer, Mystic, Unique Arts, Shards, Arcana
New Arts Summary
learned Bluff II !
Video: Celapaleis Flyover
Video: They call him MISTER Diggs.
Video: Request from Celapaleis
Now it is time for the official vote on party configuration for the next little while. See the next post for details.
Next Time: I shant dare do anything to put you out.