Project Octopath Traveller

[Hero-of-Time]

1 minute ago, Glen-i said:

Chapter 3 is all knocked out. I'd talk about it, but who would I actually be able to discuss it with right now?

 

 

Edited July 25, 2018 by Hero-of-Time

[Ronnie]

Is there any point going into optional dungeons before you're given a side mission to do so? I've been in a couple and apart from some treasure chests, there hasn't been a boss in either of them. I take it there will be if I do side quests?

[Glen-i]

8 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Is there any point going into optional dungeons before you're given a side mission to do so? I've been in a couple and apart from some treasure chests, there hasn't been a boss in either of them. I take it there will be if I do side quests?

Pretty much.

I can't be entirely sure if every optional cave has a boss though.

I went into a cave called Tomb of Kings and at the end, there was a guy who I could Scrutinize to get some info for a side quest. There might be a boss there, but I can't be sure.

[Glen-i]

I find a Level 50 dungeon and am like "Eh, 3 of my characters are only 5 levels below, what's the worst that could happen?"

Cue epic 30 minute fight with a boss that just wouldn't let up, had to keep stacking Shackle Foe just so it wouldn't one-shot everyone it touched.

And then halfway through, it decided to make all of it's attacks hit the whole party.

Not sure how I pulled it off really. You would not believe how many times I had to use Revive.

I love this game!

Edited July 26, 2018 by Glen-i

[Grazza]

5 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Not sure how I pulled it off really. You would not believe how many times I had to use Revive.

I love this game!

 

Your description reminds me of the epic post-game bosses in Dragon Quest IX.  The amount of times I had to activate a Coup-de-grace (solo) or Coop-de grace (team) was crazy, and then being the ones still standing at the end - incredible!

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, Grazza said:

 

Your description reminds me of the epic post-game bosses in Dragon Quest IX.  The amount of times I had to activate a Coup-de-grace (solo) or Coop-de grace (team) was crazy, and then being the ones still standing at the end - incredible!

Oooh yeah, those bosses were great! I didn't recognise a single one, due to it being my first Dragon Quest, but those really tested all your skills.

[Glen-i]

The official guide for this has the mechanics behind lottery of nonsense "Bewildering Grace"

You can find the details here.

It's definitely worth noting that the X100 EXP/JP multiplier can only be obtained if you use Max Boost.

[Ronnie]

6 hours ago, Glen-i said:

The official guide for this has the mechanics behind lottery of nonsense "Bewildering Grace"

You can find the details here.

It's definitely worth noting that the X100 EXP/JP multiplier can only be obtained if you use Max Boost.

Think I'll avoid reading that. I find it fun not knowing what or how likely something will happen. It's the only reason I'm keeping Primrose around for a bit. 

Next time I beat a Cait I might just make the battle last forever and keep spamming Bewildering Grace till something good pops up

Edited July 26, 2018 by Ronnie

[Hero-of-Time]

I've done a couple more of the chapter 2 stories and i'm starting to lose interest and motivation to play the game. I usually play JRPGs for the stories that they bring to the table but I don't think any of the stories on offer here are strong enough to encourage me to keep playing. It also doesn't help that interactions between characters are mainly done via a very brief chat and even then it's only one on one. All of this, and the fact that the story doesn't merge into one, is starting to take its toll. 

[Ronnie]

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I've done a couple more of the chapter 2 stories and i'm starting to lose interest and motivation to play the game. I usually play JRPGs for the stories that they bring to the table but I don't think any of the stories on offer here are strong enough to encourage me to keep playing. It also doesn't help that interactions between characters are mainly done via a very brief chat and even then it's only one on one. All of this, and the fact that the story doesn't merge into one, is starting to take its toll. 

Sad to hear you're losing interest. I doubt I'll be compelled to finish all 8 stories, but if I can manage four of them that'll do me.

Just did my first chapter 2 (Cyrus), wow the difficulty certainly ramped up!

[Hero-of-Time]

11 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Sad to hear you're losing interest. I doubt I'll be compelled to finish all 8 stories, but if I can manage four of them that'll do me.

Yeah, it's a shame but it may just be a bump in the road.

Another thing I don't really like is how levelling isn't as important as the gear you buy. I mean, i'm fighting enemies 30 levels lower than myself and I should be one shotting them but it's not the case. The gear you get also comes with complications in that you need to take a look at what stats you are needed to raise for the job you have and then make sure you buy one that compliments it. This is something I haven't been doing as i've just been doing what i've always done in JRPGs and buy the gear that raises the def and attack the most. If you have a mage then you need to get armour that raises the ELM ATK stat, even if that costs you a bit of defence. Basically the game has become a bit of a faff on as it seems I can't play it the way I like to, which is by steam rolling enemies due to overlevelling. 

[Grazza]

I started this yesterday and am loving it so far.  I've decided to just go clockwise around the map, and so have got Olberic, Primrose and Alfyn.

 

OK, I can see some potential reasons why I won't end up thinking it's a 10/10, but then I wasn't that grabbed by the demos anyway (which is why I was 50/50 about buying it).  For what it's worth, as much as I love pixel art, the great thing about those genuine 16-bit RPGs was that they used the best visuals they could muster to immersive you in a consistent world.  Octopath Traveler's playable sprites are gorgeous, but I'm less keen on the small graphics, dark lighting and diorama-type settings.  It's a subtle thing, but for me it's the difference between "art" and "arty".

 

BUT, I am hooked.  I'm actually enjoying it more than the demos.  The battle system seems a step-up from Bravely Default, and I'd say so far it's easily the best turn-based RPG on Switch (if not, I want to know what is!)  Buying new skills and passive buffs with Job Points is very addictive, and Olberic is turning into the tank I want.  However much I end up liking it, for now I can't stop playing!

[Ronnie]

Am I going crazy or do some towns not have Taverns? Saintsbridge and the one where Therion starts Bolderfall or whatever it's called

[Glen-i]

1 minute ago, Ronnie said:

Am I going crazy or do some towns not have Taverns? Saintsbridge and the one where Therion starts Bolderfall or whatever it's called

There's definitely a tavern in every town.

It might not be on the same screen as the shops and Inn.

[Grazza]

I've picked up Therion, H'aanit and Ophilia now.  I didn't realise before, but Primrose is the buffer and Therion is the debuffer.  The question is, are Primrose's boosts better than Therion's enemy downgrades?  The two things that swing it for me are that Therion only needs to cast a debuff on one enemy (usually the boss), whereas Primrose hasn't (at present) got a team-wide buff.  Therion also has the support skill where there's a 50% chance of a physical attack when lowering offence or defence.  If a boss is weak to one of his weapons, it's an invaluable way of breaking the shield down as you apply debuffs.

 

H'annit offers something different just by having a bow, and some of her summons can cause status ailments.  It's also handy having her in the team because you get the chance to surprise the enemy.

 

Lastly, I've just recruited Ophelia.  Her team healing is so good, I've had to swap her for Alfyn.  So, my current team is Olberic, H'aanit, Ophilia and Therion - a solid line-up, but I really don't know who to leave out when I find Cyrus.

[Hero-of-Time]

I stopped playing through the chapter 2 stories ( only done 3 of them) and decided to read up on various weapons and how to increase your stats. As such, I have started to make more progress in terms of dealing out damage. Once I got some new equipment and weapons I went and started farming high level areas and have shot up the levels thanks to being able to obliterate groups of enemies in a couple of turns. Tressa is now close to 60, 4 others are level 50+ and the rest are in their mid 40's.

I came across this earlier...

I didn't manage to kill the fat one but I did get some hefty exp. Speaking of which...

That was just from a normal battle with the dance dishing out some bonuses. I was well chuffed.  

[Glen-i]

Speaking of hefty EXP...

Got my first EXP X100. Feels good.

[Ronnie]

6 hours ago, Grazza said:

I've picked up Therion, H'aanit and Ophilia now.  I didn't realise before, but Primrose is the buffer and Therion is the debuffer.  The question is, are Primrose's boosts better than Therion's enemy downgrades?  The two things that swing it for me are that Therion only needs to cast a debuff on one enemy (usually the boss), whereas Primrose hasn't (at present) got a team-wide buff.  Therion also has the support skill where there's a 50% chance of a physical attack when lowering offence or defence.  If a boss is weak to one of his weapons, it's an invaluable way of breaking the shield down as you apply debuffs.

 

H'annit offers something different just by having a bow, and some of her summons can cause status ailments.  It's also handy having her in the team because you get the chance to surprise the enemy.

 

Lastly, I've just recruited Ophelia.  Her team healing is so good, I've had to swap her for Alfyn.  So, my current team is Olberic, H'aanit, Ophilia and Therion - a solid line-up, but I really don't know who to leave out when I find Cyrus.

I went anti clockwise from Cyrus and picked up my preferred party more or less straight away. Ophelia, H'annit (her multi arrow attacks and beast summons are very useful) and Therion. Not bothering with Alfyn, Primrose, Olberic or Tressa much. Though I'm sad that means I can't try for the XPx100 perk. 

That said I did use Tressa to buy a charm that gives the equipped character a HP boost after every move he/she makes. I stuck it on Cyrus and he's rarely ever in any danger.  

On another note, I was relieved after starting my first chapter 2 that character interactions were a thing, even if it was in a somewhat limited way. It felt so soulless not having them ever speak to each other before then. 

Edited July 28, 2018 by Ronnie

[Grazza]

38 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I went anti clockwise from Cyrus and picked up my preferred party more or less straight away. Ophelia, H'annit (her multi arrow attacks and beast summons are very useful) and Therion. Not bothering with Alfyn, Primrose, Olberic or Tressa much. Though I'm sad that means I can't try for the XPx100 perk. 

That said I did use Tressa to buy a charm that gives the equipped character a HP boost after every move he/she makes. I stuck it on Cyrus and he's rarely ever in any danger.  

On another note, I was relieved after starting my first chapter 2 that character interactions were a thing, even if it was in a somewhat limited way. It felt so soulless not having them ever speak to each other before then. 

 

Yeah, that was probably the better way, actually (I believe Tressa gets you a discount?  You could equip everyone really well as you go.)

[Glen-i]

I've been spending most of the day travelling to all the Chapter 4 towns and buying up their equipment.

I think I can declare Primrose/Dancer the least useful class. It's got it's uses, with the only readily available way to do dark damage and Bewildering Grace being great for grinding. But when it comes to an actual big fight, it's a bit of dead weight. You're better off debuffing the boss instead of buffing your party.

In my opinion, the best classes are Thief, Cleric, Merchant and Scholar.

Thief can nail knife weaknesses twice in one turn, debuff Physical attack and defense and has limitless SP with Steal SP. Combined with classes that eat up SP and it's awesome.

Cleric's party healing is pretty much required during the end game battles. It's pretty much the only amazing thing about it. But only Alfyn can rival it...

Scholar's great spells speak for itself, and analyse saves a lot of turns.

But Merchant has Donate BP, a truly broken move that I spam at every opportunity. It shouldn't be that cheap, but it is and it's wonderful.

[Hero-of-Time]

Yeah, I love the Scholar class. Both my mages dishing out high level spells = Win.

@Glen-i I've read that Prim really comes into her own if her second job is...

Spoiler

Sorcerer

 

[Glen-i]

58 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Yeah, I love the Scholar class. Both my mages dishing out high level spells = Win.

@Glen-i I've read that Prim really comes into her own if her second job is...

  Secret Job Class (Hide contents)

Sorcerer

 

Ah, I've been purposely avoiding talking about those. But...

Spoiler

Yeah, I've got three of those. Sorcerer is so insanely good that anyone could use it and be amazing! Strangely enough, I find it fits best on Olberic. It gives him 2 more weapons to use and all 6 spell elements. Whack out those triple hitting spells and bust out Brand's Thunder when the enemy breaks for huge damage.

As long as you remember to equip a Rod that boosts Element Atk, anyone will destroy everything!

I just found another LV 50 boss. I get it down to less than a quarter health, but couldn't break it when it charged up an attack. Luckily, I had Shackle Foe going...

My entire party took 6,000 damage anyway.

[Glen-i]

Changed up my strategy for that boss I mentioned in my last post. Battered it with no difficulty.

Utilising Tressa with a certain late game job class, I was able to apply Sidestep to the whole party at once constantly. This boss only ever used Physical attacks, therefore, it couldn't ever hit me once I stacked it for 9 turns.

It honestly felt almost as broken as Bravely Default's Hasten World Super Jump combo.

Pretty much how it went.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

Spent some more time grinding yesterday ( is it wrong that I like grinding more than actually moving the game forward?  ) and I read up some more about how skills work. I'm starting to get my head around a lot better now and as such I have now made Cyrus into a bit of a beast. I managed to take down one of the bosses to nab one of the secret jobs and gave this straight to Cyrus. His spells are now doing 9999 damage and i'm able to one shot mobs for some fast grinding. 

That's more like it!

The setup I have with him is to have Elemental Augmentation and Augmented Elements. These increase the damage of spells. I then add Elemental Aid which deals more damage to spells but costs double the SP. Finally I circumvent that cost by giving him SP Saver and that takes down the spells costs to the original level but still gives me the damage boost.

I've also dabbled a bit with Olberic's setup up and it has come in very useful for any challenges that I do. I equipped him with Patience and Second Serving and the amount of extra goes I get in battle with him is insane. The one on one fights are so much easier when you get over double the amount of turns than your enemy does.

I can now see why @Glen-i finds this kind of thing so satisfying. It's been a lot of fun experimenting with certain job setups and skills and it has made my grinding even easier!

 

[drahkon]

Can we rename this thread to:

@Hero-of-Time's grinding story