Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)

2012-04-03 02:26:19 pm

Building up a Supernova to reliably kill the final bosses. I make the steal gun for chapter 6 Sirus and as a backup incase Steve gets cut down by Gaspard phase 1(I had quite a few close calls on the last run) In Moonflower palace I equip it and the Heavy Hammer and pick up abs from ridepod kills. When the Steal Gun hits level 3 I trade it out for a Soul breaker and do the same thing until the Hammer and Soul Breaker is level 5. I synth 27 Metal and 5 Cloth to the Hammer and 19 cloth to the Soul Breaker and synth them both to the Steal Gun. After that I kill with Max and I switch to the second Soul Breaker until it hits level 5, then I also Synth 19 cloth to it and synth it to the steal gun. After I finish the Georama I get a moonstone which has the last little bit of stats I need to upgrade to Supernova.

I would estimate I probably spend like 7-8 minutes to do everything I need for the gun.. 2-3 minutes to fully clear the level in chapter 5 to get the Bandit Coin and about 5 minutes to invent the guns and get the extra abs and do all the synthing. If I didn't do that I would probably have to spend even more time getting Steve good enough for the endgame and all forms of Griffon are super ridepod resistant + im pretty sure(dont quote me on this) Dark Element is immune to Ridepod.

Having that gun makes the last bosses SUPER easy. Griffon takes a little bit to kill, about as long as Ultimate Gaspard, but Dark Element and the glorified trash mobs die super quick. Biggest thing im worried about there is dealing with Griffon 3 and his stop status. On the last run I got a bunch of Mighty Healing and Gooey Peachs from chests, but I cant really rely on that. Doesnt Dr. Dell Sell Mighty Healing? I have tons of money at the end of Chapter 7, I'll be sure to check that when I get home.

Building up a Supernova to reliably kill the final bosses. I make the steal gun for chapter 6 Sirus and as a backup incase Steve gets cut down by Gaspard phase 1(I had quite a few close calls on the last run) In Moonflower palace I equip it and the Heavy Hammer and pick up abs from ridepod kills. When the Steal Gun hits level 3 I trade it out for a Soul breaker and do the same thing until the Hammer and Soul Breaker is level 5. I synth 27 Metal and 5 Cloth to the Hammer and 19 cloth to the Soul Breaker and synth them both to the Steal Gun. After that I kill with Max and I switch to the second Soul Breaker until it hits level 5, then I also Synth 19 cloth to it and synth it to the steal gun. After I finish the Georama I get a moonstone which has the last little bit of stats I need to upgrade to Supernova.

I would estimate I probably spend like 7-8 minutes to do everything I need for the gun.. 2-3 minutes to fully clear the level in chapter 5 to get the Bandit Coin and about 5 minutes to invent the guns and get the extra abs and do all the synthing. If I didn't do that I would probably have to spend even more time getting Steve good enough for the endgame and all forms of Griffon are super ridepod resistant + im pretty sure(dont quote me on this) Dark Element is immune to Ridepod.

Having that gun makes the last bosses SUPER easy. Griffon takes a little bit to kill, about as long as Ultimate Gaspard, but Dark Element and the glorified trash mobs die super quick. Biggest thing im worried about there is dealing with Griffon 3 and his stop status. On the last run I got a bunch of Mighty Healing and Gooey Peachs from chests, but I cant really rely on that. Doesnt Dr. Dell Sell Mighty Healing? I have tons of money at the end of Chapter 7, I'll be sure to check that when I get home.

deathfire123

2012-04-03 06:48:53 pm

Gimme some sugar Shaggy!

Make sure to remember to go out of the way for the enemies you need to kill.

HavokMoobii

Edit history:

HavokMoobii: 2012-04-04 12:38:29 pm

HavokMoobii: 2012-04-04 12:31:07 pm

HavokMoobii: 2012-04-04 12:05:59 pm

HavokMoobii: 2012-04-04 11:50:41 am

HavokMoobii: 2012-04-04 11:47:49 am

2012-04-04 01:20:33 am

For the Supernova? Two of them are gatekeepers and the Diamond is KOS in MFP.

Steve needs two core upgrades to use Barrel Cannon III, so 2100 EXP. It is very easy to accumulate this much in chapter 4. He needs a third upgrade to use Jet Hover which needs 2000 EXP, but that can wait until the Chrono Union, so that shouldn't be a problem at all.

Edit: Just did a run up to chapter 5 with saves to watch the time not for optimization, though I did have a couple of embarrassing gameovers to Gaspard.
Here are the saves.

After Halloween 0:22
Second Visit to Fish Monster Swamp 0:39
After 2-9 0:55
Before Rainbow Butterfly 1:11
After 3-4 1:37
After 3-14 2:23
Chapter 5 Start 3:38

I played the entire run on fast time speed. The fishing contest started on day 8 and I unlocked the Finny Frenzy on day 11. It was 11:30PM Day 12 when I started Chapter 5 and the Event didn't start on day 13 either. It will probably start on day 15 and my chapter 4 was shit, so I'll probably just have to deal with 3 days of Barrel Cannon I. Maybe I could pick up a Samurai Arm at the beginning of Chap 5 to hold me off until the FF. It would cost 1100 Exp.

Edit2: Day 15 now, no Finny Frenzy.. taking a break. I'll probably finish this run tonight.
Edit3: Decided to wait it out abit. Day 17.. Nothing. I really have no idea anymore.
Edit4: It started on Day 18. I definitely need to change something.

For the Supernova? Two of them are gatekeepers and the Diamond is KOS in MFP.

Steve needs two core upgrades to use Barrel Cannon III, so 2100 EXP. It is very easy to accumulate this much in chapter 4. He needs a third upgrade to use Jet Hover which needs 2000 EXP, but that can wait until the Chrono Union, so that shouldn't be a problem at all.

Edit: Just did a run up to chapter 5 with saves to watch the time not for optimization, though I did have a couple of embarrassing gameovers to Gaspard.
Here are the saves.

After Halloween 0:22
Second Visit to Fish Monster Swamp 0:39
After 2-9 0:55
Before Rainbow Butterfly 1:11
After 3-4 1:37
After 3-14 2:23
Chapter 5 Start 3:38

I played the entire run on fast time speed. The fishing contest started on day 8 and I unlocked the Finny Frenzy on day 11. It was 11:30PM Day 12 when I started Chapter 5 and the Event didn't start on day 13 either. It will probably start on day 15 and my chapter 4 was shit, so I'll probably just have to deal with 3 days of Barrel Cannon I. Maybe I could pick up a Samurai Arm at the beginning of Chap 5 to hold me off until the FF. It would cost 1100 Exp.

Edit2: Day 15 now, no Finny Frenzy.. taking a break. I'll probably finish this run tonight.
Edit3: Decided to wait it out abit. Day 17.. Nothing. I really have no idea anymore.
Edit4: It started on Day 18. I definitely need to change something.

deathfire123

2012-04-04 02:13:18 pm

Gimme some sugar Shaggy!

you can definitely shave at least 3 minutes off that first split, I was getting consistent 19's when I was practicing chapter 1.

HavokMoobii

Edit history:

HavokMoobii: 2012-04-05 12:51:41 pm

2012-04-05 12:50:48 pm

Im thinking of just totally scrapping the Barrel Cannon III idea and getting the Nova Cannon. That adds about 1500 Gilda to Veniccio and an extra Geostone to the route, but it speeds up Chapter 5 and I wont have to deal with the Finny Frenzy. It also puts 3 chests with gems to sell in Luna Lab.

Edit: Also I have to build the Windmill in Chapter 5 anyway.

deathfire123

2012-04-05 02:53:20 pm

Gimme some sugar Shaggy!

I think thats a better idea overall anyways

Moob

2012-04-05 05:22:06 pm

Yeah I agree. I wont be able to do another test run until the weekend and then I'll start practicing until im able to record. Hopefully in a couple weeks.

Rakuen

2012-04-05 09:09:12 pm

Weegee Time

I'm glad to see so much work getting done on this game so quickly now. Keep it up!

rainbzer

2012-05-29 08:15:36 pm

I would be interested in helping plan. Also seeing videos would be GREAT. This game is amazing.

HavokMoobii

2012-05-29 10:33:55 pm

Yeah.. Sorry. Not much has been happening from me recently. I still want to run this though. The last two months have just been pretty busy for me.

HavokMoobii

2012-12-02 10:48:01 am

So I picked this game up for the first time in months and played through my route (Which has been tweaked abit since I posted it). The final time I got was 9:11. This was just a casual playthrough full of mistakes, and well over an hour could EASILY come off of that. Theres no way I can commit to working on this right now, but maybe, eventually I can do something worth submitting.

Notes:
Harvesting a stack of Ridepod Fuel before Gaspard 2 seems worth it. With 3 you can consistently Ridepod through all of MFP with no breaks.
For some reason I built 2 Windmills in my route.. that has been fixed.
Griffon 3 is terrifying after 8 hours of work.
With Stamina Drinks, Supernova rapes Dark Element

Maybe

2013-03-28 05:55:19 pm

About Twin Buster- how well does it fare against Griffon? It is fairly easy to invent and has decent attack able to damage bosses. The damage can be much better improved though.

Maybe

2013-03-28 06:11:34 pm

The Twin Buster needs lots of Stamina Drink to finish Dark Element when it's raw and does 16 damage to all minibosses when fresh out of the invention box. It could be useful for a photo album run.

Mewbii

2013-03-29 12:26:20 am

Twin Buster should be effective against Griffon 1, but you can only get it that early on a photo album run. I doubt it would do much damage to the later Griffons. Supernova probably takes 10 minutes of extra effort, but absolutely shreds the endbosses, especially if you get a bunch of stamina drinks.

One day I will seriously work on this. Sorry for being so lame.

Maybe

2013-05-21 01:58:15 pm

Ridepod works on Dark Element.

tjp7154

2013-05-21 06:27:57 pm

#Casual

It's okay, I'm in that same "one day" party as well.

FinnyFrenzyUsable?!

2013-05-25 04:03:49 pm

Nonky can easily get 20+ Stamina and around 15 Tenacity when they are caught. Easily done with the infinite Mimis in the Fish Monster Swamp.
Umadakara get around 15 Boost when they are caught consistently at the end of Chapter 3 with a carrot.
Tarton or Den both of which can be accessed in Palm Brinks get around 10 endurance.

For the first Finny Frenzy, the stats that are really needed seem to be at least around 22 stats in Boost, Endurance, and Stamina.
Under breeding mechanics, it should be easy to obtain a fish with 15 Boost, 20 Stamina, and 10 Endurance : not including whatever was fed in between the stages or the free meal before breeding or the other breeding bonuses. I would be able to explain more if someone actually streamed though.

Acefrog

2014-01-31 04:41:48 pm

So I guess I should make a post here finally.. I have started looking into speedrunning this game, and already done one REALLY BAD run which ended in over 10hours (Check my twitch if your curious). And I guess I should post my findings? Even if not many.

So far my route has taken most of what this thread has considered. At the moment looking into making a few changes to hopefully speed it up more. I will mention in brief here..

1. Skipping cannibalizing towns, wastes time and if money can allow it then you might as well.
2. Major slow down at Chapter 5 with Nova Cannon gun.. I am skipping Barrel Cannon 3 at the moment, FF too unreliable or late.. Need a weapon alternative?
3. Making a Laser Arm 3 for Final dungeon. Cheaper than the Nova Cannon 3, but not sure how reliable. Maybe even skip this all together and just use a upgraded Steel Gun?
4. Definite time saver.. Final Bomb on Griffons first phase = Instant kill

I guess a pointless post.. but ye, I cant think of much else.

tjp7154

Edit history:

tjp7154: 2014-01-31 06:48:29 pm

2014-01-31 06:40:56 pm

#Casual

Quote from Acefrog:

So I guess I should make a post here finally.. I have started looking into speedrunning this game, and already done one REALLY BAD run which ended in over 10hours (Check my twitch if your curious). And I guess I should post my findings? Even if not many.

So far my route has taken most of what this thread has considered. At the moment looking into making a few changes to hopefully speed it up more. I will mention in brief here..

1. Skipping cannibalizing towns, wastes time and if money can allow it then you might as well.
2. Major slow down at Chapter 5 with Nova Cannon gun.. I am skipping Barrel Cannon 3 at the moment, FF too unreliable or late.. Need a weapon alternative?
3. Making a Laser Arm 3 for Final dungeon. Cheaper than the Nova Cannon 3, but not sure how reliable. Maybe even skip this all together and just use a upgraded Steel Gun?
4. Definite time saver.. Final Bomb on Griffons first phase = Instant kill

I guess a pointless post.. but ye, I cant think of much else.

Since it's after AGDQ 2014, as I've promised, I'm also picking this back up. I'll be using Ace's notes as well until I have my own findings. We'll just have to solidify the weapons used.

Another point about the route, it's been confirmed that we don't have to upgrade Monica's weapons AND Max's -- just one or the other (Ace used Max's Heavy Hammer and Soul Breaker gun to start off with)

Here's the Pastebin for Acefrog's current route (subject to change): http://pastebin.com/DcVenNLK
Here is the link to the first run Acefrog's finished: http://www.twitch.tv/acefrog/b/498665454

After looking through Acefrog's VOD, it looks like he didn't run into too many problems with the materials for the final build in the Moonflower Palace. However, it might still be worth seeing if the lure duplication glitch can still save minutes that would be spent opening chests (We'll need to compare the time it takes to set up the glitch).

Ace's notes are already adjusted from what he ran in the video.

I'm currently going through his route myself. I'll be streaming occasionally during the next coming weeks (possibly tomorrow as well).

[quote="Acefrog"]So I guess I should make a post here finally.. I have started looking into speedrunning this game, and already done one REALLY BAD run which ended in over 10hours (Check my twitch if your curious). And I guess I should post my findings? Even if not many.

So far my route has taken most of what this thread has considered. At the moment looking into making a few changes to hopefully speed it up more. I will mention in brief here..

1. Skipping cannibalizing towns, wastes time and if money can allow it then you might as well.
2. Major slow down at Chapter 5 with Nova Cannon gun.. I am skipping Barrel Cannon 3 at the moment, FF too unreliable or late.. Need a weapon alternative?
3. Making a Laser Arm 3 for Final dungeon. Cheaper than the Nova Cannon 3, but not sure how reliable. Maybe even skip this all together and just use a upgraded Steel Gun?
4. Definite time saver.. Final Bomb on Griffons first phase = Instant kill

I guess a pointless post.. but ye, I cant think of much else.[/quote]

Since it's after AGDQ 2014, as I've promised, I'm also picking this back up.  I'll be using Ace's notes as well until I have my own findings.  We'll just have to solidify the weapons used.

Another point about the route, it's been confirmed that we don't have to upgrade Monica's weapons AND Max's -- just one or the other (Ace used Max's Heavy Hammer and Soul  Breaker gun to start off with)

Here's the Pastebin for Acefrog's current route (subject to change): http://pastebin.com/DcVenNLK
Here is the link to the first run Acefrog's finished: http://www.twitch.tv/acefrog/b/498665454

After looking through Acefrog's VOD, it looks like he didn't run into too many problems with the materials for the final build in the Moonflower Palace.  However, it might still be worth seeing if the lure duplication glitch can still save minutes that would be spent opening chests (We'll need to compare the time it takes to set up the glitch).

Ace's notes are already adjusted from what he ran in the video.

I'm currently going through his route myself.  I'll be streaming occasionally during the next coming weeks (possibly tomorrow as well).

Acefrog

Edit history:

Acefrog: 2014-01-31 07:07:53 pm

2014-01-31 07:04:51 pm

I havent really checked out Finny Frenzy yet.. will probably start testing it a bit when I get a chance. The only thing I see is that by the time it comes up you already have enough gold for everything afterwards, which is around the end of chapter 4/beginning of 5 I believe?

Before then you are still going to need to farm chests or struggle with money.. Also checking out the Finny Frenzy rewards, that bandit coin caught my eye haha. I have no clue how any of this works yet, so dunno if its viable to get rather than Spherda..

EDIT: Actually after a quick look I just found out that Finny Frenzy isnt so random.. it starts when you enter the Return of the Serpent stage.

mybrothersco

2014-03-12 09:12:20 pm

I was wondering if anyone here still runs this.

tjp7154

2014-03-16 05:45:47 am

#Casual

Yep. Still working on it. I took a break to finish classes and have spring break (college). I'll be picking right off with route testing and practice soon, but my pace is casual.

I don't know about Acefrog, though...

Acefrog

2014-03-16 06:34:28 am

Still plan on running it sometime, just not had time atm. Lots of work, hopefully new life changes Wink

Haha.

mybrothersco you should post your findings here which you PM'd me.

FinnyFrenzyQ

2014-05-11 02:31:04 am

Does the Finny Frenzy appear 10 days after the Fishing Contest appears assuming the Return of the Serpent stage in chapter 4 was reached?

Braydon

Edit history:

Braydon: 2014-06-27 02:57:28 am

2014-06-27 02:57:04 am

I haven't seen any runs of this game yet and also haven't read anybody mention the fact that diagonal running is marginally faster than just walking straight.
Heres a small comparison.
Holding up/left and moving directions via the camera saved me about 3 seconds over a course of what would have been 15 seconds. I know this game is not a very popular speedrun but I figured I might as well post this just because it's so essential to any run.