Team talk

OpenStars, 10 months ago

I like grinding, depending on the circumstances. I find most TV shows boring, so being able to combine two activities makes it more fun for me. Although my first red-key AD, Jade's, I enjoyed entirely on its own just for the fantastic artwork and gorgeous soundtrack:-). Ten minutes at the end of each day to relax listening to that music is not a bad usage of time at all:-). In fact, I took him all the way to 255 before I even started Main Story part 2 GoT. As a completionist I am going slow, savoring and doing each activity as it unlocks, before opening up new ADs to have to do. I am even thinking that for my next red-key target I may do Saki's AD - with Enemy Encounter Down it should once again become barely noticeable battles, and importantly on those the music continues during them (like Underworld too), which is NICE!:-D If you hate grinding and want that more immersive musical experience, consider Jade or Saki, that could actually make you look forward to rather than dread doing it each day. You will definitely needs breaks from it either way though:-).

After Jade I did the same for Clarte in Zerberiya, although that was a lot more annoying b/c of all the twists and turns in the AD, and b/c I decided to farm 3 sets of all the gear, in case they ever make them reforgeable in the future. The variety was nice at least - 4 ADs for the one character, and some like Shade even change their artwork, music, and enemy set as you progress and THAT aspect was great, plus the art & music is gorgeous... except every battle interrupts the immersive experience with that fast-paced music so I did not like it nearly as much as I had hoped:-(. I do REALLY enjoy the task of setting up 1TnoAFs though, at which point SPD-altering gear helps enormously.:-)

Now I am taking Nona to 255 too (she is at 140 atm), and b/c I accidentally bought an extra Time-Restored Ax, I got the bright idea to purchase and fully upgrade a second one of each weapon & armor...THAT is going to take a minute to finish off - hopefully I do not end up regretting that:-). Especially since that messes with my teams - like Eva can kill all the bosses in 1TnoAFs (needs different skills though, like ch. 3 one absorbs water), but the ch. 3 horror absorbs all magic, so I am having to use an entirely different team for that one, until I finish getting enough of those. Atm I am putting up with the pain of doing all 15 battles per AD run, which since I can make Kid one-shot literally every common mob is not so bad, and right now I am even enjoying it, but also I know it will get old fast, and especially if I ever got busy and felt like it was a burden, then I would not do it. Then again, I keep other ADs on standby to run at a moment's notice, and I do enjoy the high level variety of having multiple projects ongoing, and of constantly fiddling with teams to optimize the interests of the day.

Another thing I wanted to do is clear out all of the enemy achievements from my Record screen - which since I already did Otherlands means Alarmed Botony (done) and Conid (88/100), and then I will be entirely done with that long-term goal! I usually do those during boring (videoconference) meetings, maybe 1-2 times a week, so it is a win-win for me:-). If I want to run an AD FAST I will run Riftbreaker, until I finish Eva's TVC. At some point I will shift to MEM for Iphi's, or remain in Riftbreaker for Minalca's. I am purely F2P btw but I did get very fortunate lately, after two years of almost nothing but crap (except like NS Myunfa & RCF, who are quite enough for most tasks:-).

I do have but avoid AS Hardy like the plague, for AD runs anyway - he is fantastic for Superbosses but he slows down every battle and I do not enjoy how it lengthens the grind. Conversely, I go to extreme lengths to optimize the factors that I want out an AD, so like as a completionist my need for git is quite large, so I most often try to make Kid kill everything in one blow while also stealing while also buffing for horrors & bosses, and then have someone (lately Eva:-P) do a 1TnoAF of the horrors & bosses. I will often try to make it theme-appropriate though, like while farming Clarte I wanted him to be the primary DPS - fortunately I was able to get AS Milsha that really allows him to shine:-).

Zingarinha, 10 months ago

Thematic parties for ADs is a fun idea.

I've been trying to work on getting one of each piece of gear maxed, but haven't been inclined to do multiples of any of them even for the really useful ones like the Pitch-Dark set, so I salute your dedication there.

What makes AS Hardy slow for you? Is it the flash zone animation? I always have pre-emptive attacks in my parties so he doesn't get to actually do much, but the zone definitely helps with that power boost. Although having alternative options for that is also nice.

OpenStars, 10 months ago

Yes, it is the flash zone animation that I do not like. It definitely must be happening for you - for one, I recall seeing that myself when I tried him + AS Tsubame in Otherlands, and yes it is a rather nice power boost, but it also definitely SLOWS every single battle down. https://anothereden.wiki/w/Turn_Order confirms that Battle Start effects go into play (turn stage #1) prior to any preemptive actions (#4).

So you must mean his Eclipse Cannon attack then - yes that is quite nice as well, and for someone who cannot do any better it is a great source of utility, but I much prefer the quicker battles. I even notice the difference b/t having to fight 3 vs. 5 battles per floor in an AD - it's not all that much more work! But it seems much more pleasant to head straight towards the end goal rather than meander around aimlessly trying to get those to trigger, even with 3 stacks of Enemy Encounter Up effects.

I much prefer to us AS Tsubame's quick attack (caveat: needs 3 other blunt users in the part to max out its effectiveness), or NS Flammelapis, or if I put in the strategizing to make it happen, even Kid's if that can get the job done (if not, then at least it steals:-). Or there are so many others - Violet Lancer's is pretty handy as well, plus she can make anyone else's (except Lele's) require 0-mp, so you can use whatever one works best, or looks the coolest, or functions most quickly pr efficiently, or whatever:-).

Boringnameman, 10 months ago

I'm running BKC for Walkure tomes and Feinne shadow, using Cerrine AS/Hardy AS/Tsubame AS/Flammelapis/Feinne and a grasta mule. Similar setup for green keys, farming Cerrine light at FGAD. It's pain-free and can be done while watching or playing something else. Episode dungeons are a little more strenuous, but only in that everything needs to be killed - I still try to set up a one-tap team where possible.

I tend to use a magic or slash team for running around doing character quests and general exploration just so I don't have to change the AD team.

beithioch, 10 months ago

I am SUPER casual, F2P except the occasional SDE, and my patterns reflect that.

Mostly I do passive leveling of characters with a level 80 to do the work. Right now that's May (to get frog stomp) and Joker (for double attacks on weakness).

For dungeons, I don't really run them. I find the grind feels too much like work, and I have focus problems so doing them while watching a movie, for example, doesn't work for me. As a consequence, I haven't side-graded many characters, don't have much grasta, struggle with current content, and pretty much ignore super bosses.

niantre, 10 months ago

im also skipping daily dungeons these days since im just trying to finish the actual story content. but i guess i could do beast king's castle since it's the fastest red key dungeon.

when i run around maps, i equip mariel with the low encounter grastas because i hate random encounters (even if i dont fulfill the X number encounter rewards), and i need a healer for boss battles. and then i add zero mp units like flammelapis and tsubame AS to beat regular encounters. i add Aldo because he's fairly strong since i maxed out his light and someone who can beat bosses like iphi. i guess it's my lazy team..

Zingarinha, 10 months ago

I find that as long as you don't need to get the drops from red key dungeons they're pretty quick to run, but of course everyone's priorities are different, so all play styles are valid. And hey, I imagine we're all here for the story, so prioritising story content is always a great choice.

I really appreciate that they've kept giving Aldo power boosts as we go through story, so that he doesn't get completely pushed to the sidelines by all the fancy gacha characters.

OpenStars, 10 months ago

And others too. Clarte is amazing, as is Nona, and so many others as well.

Plus, they occasionally go back and tinker with older characters, like Cyrus not only got a personal weapon (at one point - although this was before I even heard of the game mind you so I'm talking history here not 1st-hand experience - he was considered better than Aldo iirc, before Aldo got multiple skills added such as the powering-up of his 5★ skill along with his Light value, at the end of Main Story part 2 GoT, and then his Origin Force in the second Mythos) but also they retroactively made even Cyrus' 3★ form have the ability to guarantee infliction of pain. For me, I don't find it worthwhile to keep trying those 70-80% chances of application, especially when the enemy can cure themselves of it starting the very end of that same turn!:-( So a guarantee, ignoring enemy resistance, and then not only that but also a guarantee that it will last a fixed duration, is ENORMOUSLY helpful in trying to make use of him, even if only as the pain setter in order to set someone else up for a nice hit.

Similarly, Helena's 4★ skill Earth Edge did not used to be Preemptive like it is now, but when they made it that way, I was able to use her for 1TnoAF strats. Like it was a great set up for AS Tsubame to entirely one-shot all the horrors and bosses in the Azure Rebel overworld & AD without having any grastas yet, or like I used her vs. Uquaji and manifest battles as well - she would die immediately upon the slightest hit ofc, and after that first turn could not be counted on to even so much as swap herself back to take advantage of someone else's VC, but still she is far more useful with that than the vast majority of 4★ characters in the game! (and even for someone lacking AS Tsubame, Helena could do the same for Violet, who is a WORTHY F2P DPS character indeed, especially hitting up against weakness)