Final Fantasy IV: The After Years

2009-07-29 10:19:01 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

There might be a way, if I sell some of the equipment people are wearing and some other random stuff I pick up. I'll have to think about that one for a bit.

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-07-30 08:59:31 am

2009-07-29 10:44:24 pm

I don't know how much difference that and maybe a headband or Green Beret or Power Bracelet would make. If you could get an attack multiplier or two up, and if Adamantoise takes a lot of hits, it may be worth it. Sorry I gave you more to think about and maybe more work :S

My main story test speedrun time was 1:35.

messenger, it'd be great if you beat my Edge video Grin

because mine is messy.
edit: *reads next post* Ah, well good luck with that.

messenger

2009-07-30 12:56:26 am

Sorry, I currently discovered Heroes of Newerth and that is maxing my time.

slowbro

2009-08-03 06:36:04 pm

Porom's Tale:

This one looks interesting to run. Earlier dungeons would probably be tough because the mages don't have good speed (making running away take too long), but I think the last dungeon and the final 2 battles would be a breeze for low-level Porom with everyone else at their high starting levels. I suspect the challenge would be the first half.

Sir VG

2009-08-04 04:39:53 am

Fucking Weeaboo

I'm still trying to improve The Lunarian's Story, but I've been stuck in the crappiest RNG for the past few months. I kid you not, I can call every single random battle (monsters, monster count, how I'm attacked) from when I hit the moon surface until at least the first Count Malboro fight. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Random battles my ass.

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-05 10:59:39 pm

2009-08-04 02:34:32 pm

Wow, yeah, I know the battles aren't truly random. Somehow taking a little longer in one fight could alter the RNG to make the whole rest of the dungeon faster, etc etc. It sounds like you've put some serious time into the Lunarian story.

So far the Lunarians seems to me like the hardest to run out of the new three. (edit: Wait a second, levelling doesn't help FuSoYa's stats at all except HP, and Golbez's max HP never goes up, so maybe levels don't matter much, i.e. maybe this chapter isn't as hard to speedrun somewhat decently as I think.) I just reached the Count Malboros; I've got to think just they would cost major time and MP. In Edward's there are no bosses pre-Challenge Dungeon, so the biggest challenge would be to survive two trips solo through the Underground Waterway. Ed's pretty speedy so it might not be too bad, but I doubt you could do it at level 8 x_x

Sir_VG, I'm really glad to know you're still working on this game.

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-06 07:44:24 am

2009-08-06 06:00:09 am

Lunarian's Tale:

If you don't use physical attacks, I picked up a neat tip from GameFAQs user jak7733. Swipe Ebony Blade during the dream right at the start.

It's weak but it improves Golbez's intellect. Like most of my untested tips, I don't know how much or if it actually helps :S

edit: That very first floor is the only place to buy Tents. Possibly use a Tent immediately to switch to Full Moon?

Do you collect Mythril Helm on Subterranean B2? It's a big improvement from no helmet and isn't far out of the way.

I'm guessing that beating two Count Malboros in one visit would be a big time saver (but probably an impossibility). Could one extra Dry Ether make it possible? Or ... (unlikely) I just tried beating one at minimum levels with Slow/Haste/Berserk and physical attacks. It can be done but it is slow and takes lots of white magic. Maybe a FuSoYa black spell or two added in?

btw, I know you can go Crash Site then Bahamut. I'm about to test whether you can go Bahamut then Crash Site.

Lunarian's Tale:

If you don't use physical attacks, I picked up a neat tip from GameFAQs user jak7733.  Swipe Ebony Blade during the dream right at the start.

It's weak but it improves Golbez's intellect.  Like most of my untested tips, I don't know how much or if it actually helps :S

edit: That very first floor is the only place to buy Tents.  Possibly use a Tent immediately to switch to Full Moon?

Do you collect Mythril Helm on Subterranean B2?  It's a big improvement from no helmet and isn't far out of the way.

I'm guessing that beating two Count Malboros in one visit would be a big time saver (but probably an impossibility).  Could one extra Dry Ether make it possible?  Or ... (unlikely)  I just tried beating one at minimum levels with Slow/Haste/Berserk and physical attacks.  It can be done but it is slow and takes lots of white magic.  Maybe a FuSoYa black spell or two added in?

btw, I know you can go Crash Site then Bahamut.  I'm about to test whether you can go Bahamut then Crash Site.

Sir VG

Edit history:

Sir VG: 2009-08-06 03:03:19 pm

2009-08-06 02:12:47 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

The Lunarian's Tale:

Quote:

btw, I know you can go Crash Site then Bahamut. I'm about to test whether you can go Bahamut then Crash Site.

You don't have to test. That's the way I actually go.

As for the Dry Ether, it's a possibility, since I know there's an Elixir that can be gotten on the way back down to Zeromus. But I didn't know you can go to the crash site first. Hmmm...this opens up new possibilities.

As for how I fight the Count Malboros presently, here's what I do:

CM1: (New Moon) Fusoya Nuke x2 + Golbez Thundaga x2
CM2: (Waxing) Fusoya Holy x2 and generally be done. Golbez Thundaga just in case he heals.
CM3: (Full Moon) Fusoya Nuke x2 + Golbez Thundaga x2

Just mentioning that you can go to the creator first opens up some new possibilities, since I only need an ether for the boss fight there, which I've gotten that before hand. For Bahamut's lair, I'd fight the first, warp, then drive through the other two in one go, since they're close together. In theory, anyways.

So I would need 2 tent/cabins to get to the full moon, and probably 1 for the middle of the Malboros.

Edit: I like the newer strategy better, actually. But I got screwed by Zeromus.

Golbez got blasted with Bio, killed him. Fusoya is working on casting Arise, when he gets nailed by Flare.
At that time he had 1422 HP.
Flare hit for 1425.

...no, I'm not kidding. That. Sucked.

The Lunarian's Tale:

[quote]btw, I know you can go Crash Site then Bahamut.  I'm about to test whether you can go Bahamut then Crash Site.[/quote]

You don't have to test.  That's the way I actually go.

As for the Dry Ether, it's a possibility, since I know there's an Elixir that can be gotten on the way back down to Zeromus.  But I didn't know you can go to the crash site first.  Hmmm...this opens up new possibilities.

As for how I fight the Count Malboros presently, here's what I do:

CM1: (New Moon) Fusoya Nuke x2 + Golbez Thundaga x2
CM2: (Waxing) Fusoya Holy x2 and generally be done.  Golbez Thundaga just in case he heals.
CM3: (Full Moon) Fusoya Nuke x2 + Golbez Thundaga x2

Just mentioning that you can go to the creator first opens up some new possibilities, since I only need an ether for the boss fight there, which I've gotten that before hand.  For Bahamut's lair, I'd fight the first, warp, then drive through the other two in one go, since they're close together.  In theory, anyways.

So I would need 2 tent/cabins to get to the full moon, and probably 1 for the middle of the Malboros.

Edit: I like the newer strategy better, actually.  But I got screwed by Zeromus.

Golbez got blasted with Bio, killed him.  Fusoya is working on casting Arise, when he gets nailed by Flare.
At that time he had 1422 HP.
Flare hit for 1425.

...no, I'm not kidding.  That.  Sucked.

slowbro

2009-08-06 06:05:38 pm

My %#?!ing gosh, was that a SS? That's cruel.

Anyway, I'm glad my one tip about possible dungeon orders is probably helpful Smiley

Probably stupid question, but do you use Slow on Zeromus?

Sir VG

Edit history:

Sir VG: 2009-08-07 10:40:57 am

2009-08-07 04:03:28 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Heh, I don't use slow on anybody. They actually fall pretty fast without really needing it, though Zeromus could be a good strategy.

And yes, that was SS. That's pretty much how I've done every attempt here.

Edit: Thanks for the suggestion of Slow on Zeromus and taking the Ebony Sword off of "Evil" Golbez (which makes the end cutscenes funny because he's doing punching attacks!). I've not chopped my time down to 0:45. I figure 0:44 should be possible, as long as bitch queen doesn't just decide "You know what? I'm gonna hit Fusoya with every super strong spell I have. Sequentially." Ugh, piss off, bitch. I'm sure I lost a minute on the 2nd battle against her since it took all 3 Phoenix Downs and 2 X-Potions I had to get back on track partway through.

Looking over some of my revisions, it appears that Mysterious Girl has about 20,000 HP in the boss fights. I tracked the HP damage and 18-19K wasn't enough, and in one fight 22,323 damage was enough to kill her.

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-09 09:37:53 pm

2009-08-09 10:29:26 am

The general consensus at GameFAQs, which I agree with, is that Slow is the best spell in the game. It seems to work against every boss. I'd recommend trying it against the Lunarians' Mysterious Girl fights, but I understand that some fights can end faster without it (using that turn for Nuke or whatever).

Porom's Tale:

I'm giving this an unrecorded shot, fighting only the required battles. There's no challenge before the first boss. The first boss Cooler Mammoth can indeed be beaten at level 10 on the initial moon phase; the biggest challenge is to get Slow then Cura cast before Cooler Mammoth finishes somebody off.

There are no more required fights until Kain has joined. So the challenge level hinges on how easy it is to run from enemies in Path to the Eidolons and on Mt. Ordeals.

edit: Passage to the Eidolons: Run to end, Warp, Warp, Warp. It would be quite dangerous in a SS.

edit: Mt. Ordeals is a lot safer than the previous dungeon. Just make sure that before the back-attack where Kain joins you either heal well or put everybody in the front row.

We don't know Warp or Teleport. I doubt it would work until we're almost out, anyway, since there's another cutscene on the way. Then take a Chocobo, and all that's left are two forced battles in Mysidia (plus a story battle).

edit: Woohoo, in the initial moon phase Jump's damage is increased Smiley

Golem: Kain jump twice

Then probably heal

Blood Eye:
Probably Slow once
Kain Jump three times and attack once
danger in a SS: Kain may recieve a status ailment like Paralyze x_x

Scripted fight: I think Mysterious Girl summons Ramuh after you attack 5 times. It's alright if your attacks miss. Then do nothing.

My basically effortless time was :31. Lol, I never had a single item in my inventory.

I don't know, :29 might be good to shoot for.

Rydia's Tale:

I'm an idiot! I never thought of using Warp to run from fights. This chapter's fights are very hard to run from. I don't remember for sure whether Rydia knows Warp right away.

edit: Huh? Maybe Warp never works to escape a battle. I tried it a bunch of times, inside and outside Sealed Cavern; no luck.

edit:
Edward's Tale:

Ha! You can pretty easily finish Edward's chapter without winning a single battle. Buy 2 Tents at the start so you can change to Full Moon (required for Antlion's Den, but also helpful for all three trips through Underground Waterway). Also buy Potions; you have enough money for way more than you need. Only cure when Edward's alone.

Underground Waterway solo would be scary in a SS. If you face a Gigas Gator, quickly choose Defend (while trying to run).

My final time was 0:32 (unrecorded).

If anyone wants to record an easy chapter or two, try Edward's and/or Porom's! Of course the easier the chapter, the more perfect it probably has to be.

edit: Hmm, does anyone alter the settings for speedrunning? I've just been using the defaults.

edit: I just realized what a good item-drop RNG manipulation would look like for speedrunning:

Load some file, run X times, die, load speedrun file, fight a certain monster a certain way, item drops.

Does anyone know if there is precedent on SDA for doing something like this? I mean, I think manipulating the RNG before starting a segment would be acceptable, but it kind of feels like that extra time should count.

I bring this up because I really think manipulating for some Giant's Gloves would be a good idea early in The Crystals (in a NG run). For all I know, doing some stuff then dying then starting a SS of a shorter chapter might make a significant difference too.

The general consensus at GameFAQs, which I agree with, is that Slow is the best spell in the game.  It seems to work against every boss.  I'd recommend trying it against the Lunarians' Mysterious Girl fights, but I understand that some fights can end faster without it (using that turn for Nuke or whatever).

Porom's Tale:

I'm giving this an unrecorded shot, fighting only the required battles.  There's no challenge before the first boss.  The first boss Cooler Mammoth can indeed be beaten at level 10 on the initial moon phase; the biggest challenge is to get Slow then Cura cast before Cooler Mammoth finishes somebody off.

There are no more required fights until Kain has joined.  So the challenge level hinges on how easy it is to run from enemies in Path to the Eidolons and on Mt. Ordeals.

edit: Passage to the Eidolons: Run to end, Warp, Warp, Warp.  It would be quite dangerous in a SS.

edit: Mt. Ordeals is a lot safer than the previous dungeon.  Just make sure that before the back-attack where Kain joins you either heal well or put everybody in the front row.

We don't know Warp or Teleport.  I doubt it would work until we're almost out, anyway, since there's another cutscene on the way.  Then take a Chocobo, and all that's left are two forced battles in Mysidia (plus a story battle).

edit:  Woohoo, in the initial moon phase Jump's damage is increased :)

Golem: Kain jump twice

Then probably heal

Blood Eye:
Probably Slow once
Kain Jump three times and attack once
danger in a SS: Kain may recieve a status ailment like Paralyze x_x

Scripted fight: I think Mysterious Girl summons Ramuh after you attack 5 times.  It's alright if your attacks miss.  Then do nothing.

My basically effortless time was :31.  Lol, I never had a single item in my inventory.

I don't know, :29 might be good to shoot for.

[s]Rydia's Tale:

I'm an idiot!  I never thought of using Warp to run from fights.  This chapter's fights are very hard to run from.  I don't remember for sure whether Rydia knows Warp right away.

edit: Huh?  Maybe Warp never works to escape a battle.  I tried it a bunch of times, inside and outside Sealed Cavern; no luck.[/s]

edit: 
Edward's Tale:

Ha!  You can pretty easily finish Edward's chapter without winning a single battle.  Buy 2 Tents at the start so you can change to Full Moon (required for Antlion's Den, but also helpful for all three trips through Underground Waterway).  Also buy Potions; you have enough money for way more than you need.  Only cure when Edward's alone.

Underground Waterway solo would be scary in a SS.  If you face a Gigas Gator, quickly choose Defend (while trying to run).

My final time was 0:32 (unrecorded).

If anyone wants to record an easy chapter or two, try Edward's and/or Porom's!  Of course the easier the chapter, the more perfect it probably has to be.

edit: Hmm, does anyone alter the settings for speedrunning?  I've just been using the defaults.

edit: I just realized what a good item-drop RNG manipulation would look like for speedrunning:

Load some file, run X times, die, load speedrun file, fight a certain monster a certain way, item drops.

Does anyone know if there is precedent on SDA for doing something like this?  I mean, I think manipulating the RNG before starting a segment would be acceptable, but it kind of feels like that extra time should count.

I bring this up because I really think manipulating for some Giant's Gloves would be a good idea early in The Crystals (in a NG run).  For all I know, doing some stuff then dying then starting a SS of a shorter chapter might make a significant difference too.

Sir VG

2009-08-10 02:19:02 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

The Lunarian's Tale:

Quote:

The general consensus at GameFAQs, which I agree with, is that Slow is the best spell in the game. It seems to work against every boss. I'd recommend trying it against the Lunarians' Mysterious Girl fights, but I understand that some fights can end faster without it (using that turn for Nuke or whatever).

For the Count Malboro fights, it's definitely a no way to Slow. I'm skimping by on MP as it is on the last two in a row, but they fall in 2 rounds anyways, so wasting a turn on Slow instead of Flare isn't worth it.

It does have an affect on Mysterious Girl, but she's still been a bitch to me by pretty much strictly targeting Fusoya with like, oh, every strong spell...I almost hate to use yet ANOTHER turn to use Wall or something, but damn she's being annoying.

Using it on Zeromus is an absolute MUST. He falls REALLY easily with it, especially if you manage to get lucky "GIVE YOUR POWER TO METEOR!" which is guaranteed 9999.

I managed another high 0:45. I'm struggling to get it down to 0:44. I just can't seem to get it down further...it's been tough. I'm gonna keep trying, but 0:44 is probably the limit.

The Lunarian's Tale:

[quote]The general consensus at GameFAQs, which I agree with, is that Slow is the best spell in the game.  It seems to work against every boss.  I'd recommend trying it against the Lunarians' Mysterious Girl fights, but I understand that some fights can end faster without it (using that turn for Nuke or whatever).[/quote]

For the Count Malboro fights, it's definitely a no way to Slow.  I'm skimping by on MP as it is on the last two in a row, but they fall in 2 rounds anyways, so wasting a turn on Slow instead of Flare isn't worth it.

It does have an affect on Mysterious Girl, but she's still been a bitch to me by pretty much strictly targeting Fusoya with like, oh, every strong spell...I almost hate to use yet ANOTHER turn to use Wall or something, but damn she's being annoying.

Using it on Zeromus is an absolute MUST.  He falls REALLY easily with it, especially if you manage to get lucky "GIVE YOUR POWER TO METEOR!" which is guaranteed 9999.

I managed another high 0:45.  I'm struggling to get it down to 0:44.  I just can't seem to get it down further...it's been tough.  I'm gonna keep trying, but 0:44 is probably the limit.

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-12 10:13:55 pm

2009-08-12 07:47:03 pm

Lunarians' Tale -

Just a tiny little random tip, Bio is enough to beat the very first fight (shorter casting time than Blizzara or Blizzaga).

Final flashback fights - In the first one I think use Defend immediately, or just attack, the difference would be very small. In the second one you don't have to do anything.

Mostly for the fun of it I'm going to try a low-level playthrough in the dungeon order you use, but I doubt I'll come up with anything useful.

Sir VG

2009-08-12 10:43:07 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

The Lunarian's Tale:

I'll remember that. Yeah, I love how Bio has basically ZERO wait time before being casted.

With the final flashback fights, defend might have a minor advantage over attack, but I seem to get the conversation to occur quicker when I actually attack. When I attack, it seems to occur on the 2nd command appearance. Usually when I've defended, it takes longer. Don't know why it's that way for me. For Tellah, I just defend mainly to get the command box out of the way for when the actual text comes up.

I almost had a 0:34 happen, but then I screwed up Zeromus. Go figure, right? ^^;;

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-13 12:45:37 pm

2009-08-13 11:18:22 am

Lunarians' Tale:

Well, I found somebody Slow doesn't work on Grin

Mysterious Girl's summons.

I'm 99% sure you know this, but you can teleport out of the crash site right after the boss fight.

I might be missing something, but I think there's only need for two moon phase switches the whole way. The first Mysterious Girl can be beaten on the initial New Moon. I had a pretty easy time going through 2 Count Malboros on Full Moon ... maybe you could get all 3 in one visit? (with a Dry Ether) Two on Full doesn't seem to require any Ethers. (Antidotes can be bought at the very beginning in the sleeping chamber.) Then you could heal with FuSoYa and use the MP tile at Crystal Palace. I think you could heal after the last Mysterious Girl fight at one of the jars in the Subterranean or the tile 2 floors before the boss, then fight Zeromus on Full Moon.

I haven't tested all of this, and some of this might be what you're already doing ... or a lot of it might be stupid ...

edit: Oh, I suggested that helmet before, but I don't think there are enough physical attacks for that to be worth it. I think the initial gear is all fine, unless you want to equip Ebony Sword.

edit: I see what you mean about the first flashback fight at the end. To use Defend, you'd probably have to wait a (possibly random) amount of time before doing so.

Lunarians' Tale:

Well, I found somebody Slow doesn't work on ;D Mysterious Girl's summons.

I'm 99% sure you know this, but you can teleport out of the crash site right after the boss fight.

I might be missing something, but I think there's only need for two moon phase switches the whole way.  The first Mysterious Girl can be beaten on the initial New Moon.  I had a pretty easy time going through 2 Count Malboros on Full Moon ... maybe you could get all 3 in one visit? (with a Dry Ether)  Two on Full doesn't seem to require any Ethers.  (Antidotes can be bought at the very beginning in the sleeping chamber.)  Then you could heal with FuSoYa and use the MP tile at Crystal Palace.  I think you could heal after the last Mysterious Girl fight at one of the jars in the Subterranean or the tile 2 floors before the boss, then fight Zeromus on Full Moon.

I haven't tested all of this, and some of this might be what you're already doing ... or a lot of it might be stupid ...

edit: Oh, I suggested that helmet before, but I don't think there are enough physical attacks for that to be worth it.  I think the initial gear is all fine, unless you want to equip Ebony Sword.

edit: I see what you mean about the first flashback fight at the end.  To use Defend, you'd probably have to wait a (possibly random) amount of time before doing so.

Sir VG

2009-08-13 01:02:11 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

The Lunarian's Tale:

I know Slow doesn't work on them, because NOTHING works on them. All spells miss. ^^;;

Yes, I'm using Teleport after MG #1 and after reaching Bahamut.

As for the moon switch thing, I think switching to Full Moon right away actually helps a lot in not only beating MG #1, but it also seems to make going up through the Crystal Palace a lot easier too, since the 2nd fight is all physical attacks by the enemy, and they get dampened.

Beating all 3 Count Malboros on one go with 1 Dry Ether I don't think is reasonable for speed purposes. Even if you carry antidotes Flare just eats up too much MP while being too beneficial. You could do it with like, 4 Thundagas...maybe. If he has 10,000 HP like I figure he has, and if they do about 3-4K a piece, and he doesn't cure too much, that cuts out 20MP worth of casting per spell for Fusoya (40 per battle). Cutting out Esuna by having antidotes saves 20MP per use too. And yes, you can buy Antidotes from the Sleepingway Tongue

at the beginning. Ok, now that I'm post rambling, it just might be more reasonable. Let's see here -

Fusoya - 190MP
Fight 1 - 2 Curagas (36 MP) + 2 Thundagas (60 MP) = 96MP (94 MP Left)
Use Esuna x2 (54 MP)
Use an Ether - 104 MP
Fight 2 - 2 Curagas (36 MP) + 2 Thundagas (60 MP) = 96MP (8 MP Left)
Use a Dry Ether - 158MP
Fight 3 - 2 Curagas (36 MP) + 2 Thundagas (60 MP) = 96MP (62 MP Left)
Use Esuna x2 - 22 MP
Use Teleport - 12 MP

Since I know there's an Ether just before Fight 1, and a Dry Ether on the first floor, it's possible even w/o antidotes, but it never seems to work the way I want it too. But at least there's a working theory.

The main reason why I use Full Moon on MG fights is that it beats her faster since I'm just using entirely Flare and Thundaga - black magic spells which are upped during that phase.

Well, I have some ideas in my head. But the one thing that seems to remain is that I need 6 tent/cabins - 2 to get to a full moon, and 4 used at other points to get healed before Bahamut's lair and then get back to a full moon.

I'll try some of this idea out later.

The Lunarian's Tale:

I know Slow doesn't work on them, because NOTHING works on them.  All spells miss. ^^;;

Yes, I'm using Teleport after MG #1 and after reaching Bahamut.

As for the moon switch thing, I think switching to Full Moon right away actually helps a lot in not only beating MG #1, but it also seems to make going up through the Crystal Palace a lot easier too, since the 2nd fight is all physical attacks by the enemy, and they get dampened.

Beating all 3 Count Malboros on one go with 1 Dry Ether I don't think is reasonable for speed purposes.  Even if you carry antidotes Flare just eats up too much MP while being too beneficial.  You could do it with like, 4 Thundagas...maybe.  If he has 10,000 HP like I figure he has, and if they do about 3-4K a piece, and he doesn't cure too much, that cuts out 20MP worth of casting per spell for Fusoya (40 per battle).  Cutting out Esuna by having antidotes saves 20MP per use too.  And yes, you can buy Antidotes from the Sleepingway :P at the beginning.  Ok, now that I'm post rambling, it just might be more reasonable.  Let's see here -

Fusoya - 190MP
Fight 1 - 2 Curagas (36 MP) + 2 Thundagas (60 MP) = 96MP (94 MP Left)
Use Esuna x2 (54 MP)
Use an Ether - 104 MP
Fight 2 - 2 Curagas (36 MP) + 2 Thundagas (60 MP) = 96MP (8 MP Left)
Use a Dry Ether - 158MP
Fight 3 - 2 Curagas (36 MP) + 2 Thundagas (60 MP) = 96MP (62 MP Left)
Use Esuna x2 - 22 MP
Use Teleport - 12 MP

Since I know there's an Ether just before Fight 1, and a Dry Ether on the first floor, it's possible even w/o antidotes, but it never seems to work the way I want it too.  But at least there's a working theory.

The main reason why I use Full Moon on MG fights is that it beats her faster since I'm just using entirely Flare and Thundaga - black magic spells which are upped during that phase.

Well, I have some ideas in my head.  But the one thing that seems to remain is that I need 6 tent/cabins - 2 to get to a full moon, and 4 used at other points to get healed before Bahamut's lair and then get back to a full moon.

I'll try some of this idea out later.

RaneofSOTN

2009-08-13 04:06:39 pm

I want off the ride....

you should only need 6 tents, each tent is 100MP; i doubt you'll be using more than 200MP in any given setting (for recovering) So cabins would be a waste of money.

since tents are 100; you can buy them at Sleepingway (with the antidotes). That should fix the moon phase problems yes?

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-14 12:22:58 am

2009-08-13 07:04:27 pm

Lunarians' Tale:

edit: You can still try my 2-sleep suggestion if you want, but man, I had underestimated how much time is lost vs. MG1 without a full moon. I'll still finish my test 3-4 segment run with just 2 Tent/Cabins, but I don't expect great results.

Well, just in case somehow you can learn from it, here's what my post was going to say ...

"My suggestion would be to keep New Moon at the start, and use the pot after the first two fights. Use one Cabin between MG1 and the first Count Malboro. Use another Cabin or Tent before the second Count. (Or use them both before the first if you can beat 3 in one visit.) Heal with the tile before MG2, and with the Lunar Core tile after MG2, and fight Zeromus on Full Moon.

You'd clearly lose time against MG1 this way. But it seems to me like switching moon phases four less times would be worth it. I am not an expert like you though; if this would add enough time to cancel out the four less sleepings, then this is bad advice."

edit: I think I just discovered something about that Binding something paralysis move. I think it is triggered when MG's health drops to a specific level. If I had to guess, I'd say it's after she's taken 10,000 damage.

edit: I don't think you have to heal the poison after each Count Malboro. Walking while poisoned costs 1 hp per step.

edit: In my 4-segment, 2-moon shift test run I got a :44. I am completely unsure whether just 2 Tents/Cabins is best. I had good but not great luck against all 3 bosses, which is too much to ask for in a SS. Anyway, I wish we could watch each other's runs, so we could learn more from each other. edit: By counting seconds on the completed save file, I can see that it was about 44:15.

edit: Count Malboro has just over 13,000 HP, maybe 13,200 or 13,300. It appears MG1 has exactly 20,000, and uses Binding Glare her next turn after going below 10,000. I would guess MG2 shares those same stats. It is possible to win a Mysterious Girl fight without giving her time to Binding Glare.

Lunarians' Tale:

edit:  You can still try my 2-sleep suggestion if you want, but man, I had underestimated how much time is lost vs. MG1 without a full moon.  I'll still finish my test 3-4 segment run with just 2 Tent/Cabins, but I don't expect great results.

Well, just in case somehow you can learn from it, here's what my post was going to say ...

"My suggestion would be to keep New Moon at the start, and use the pot after the first two fights.  Use one Cabin between MG1 and the first Count Malboro.  Use another Cabin or Tent before the second Count.  (Or use them both before the first if you can beat 3 in one visit.)  Heal with the tile before MG2, and with the Lunar Core tile after MG2, and fight Zeromus on Full Moon.

You'd clearly lose time against MG1 this way.  But it seems to me like switching moon phases four less times would be worth it.  I am not an expert like you though; if this would add enough time to cancel out the four less sleepings, then this is bad advice."

edit: I think I just discovered something about that Binding something paralysis move.  I think it is triggered when MG's health drops to a specific level.  If I had to guess, I'd say it's after she's taken 10,000 damage.

edit:  I don't think you have to heal the poison after each Count Malboro.  Walking while poisoned costs 1 hp per step.

edit:  In my 4-segment, 2-moon shift test run I got a :44.  I am completely unsure whether just 2 Tents/Cabins is best.  I had good but not great luck against all 3 bosses, which is too much to ask for in a SS.  Anyway, I wish we could watch each other's runs, so we could learn more from each other.  edit: By counting seconds on the completed save file, I can see that it was about 44:15.

edit: Count Malboro has just over 13,000 HP, maybe 13,200 or 13,300.  It appears MG1 has exactly 20,000, and uses Binding Glare her next turn after going below 10,000.  I would guess MG2 shares those same stats.  It is possible to win a Mysterious Girl fight without giving her time to Binding Glare.

Sir VG

Edit history:

Sir VG: 2009-08-14 12:09:45 pm

2009-08-14 04:30:02 am

Fucking Weeaboo

All of my Yang and Lunarian runs that I've successfully completed are up on my YouTube account. This includes my Lunarian 0:45 and my Yang 0:41.

Edit: I managed 0:43 SS thanks to your ideas. Things I did differently then my 0:45:

1. I tackled all of the Count Malboros in one go, using an Ether after the first and a Dry Ether after the 2nd.
2. Little better luck on both Mysterious Girl fights, and having Fusoya cure a couple of times early in the 2nd fight.
3. Zeromus was much nicer here.

0:42 would be possible, but would need much better luck and fewer random battles - I got what I feel was a pretty good amount of luck as it was, but missed it by about 20-25 seconds, from rough calculations. So it might be possible, but I'm pretty happy with what I've got.

Now I just need to find my DVD+Rs, burn it, and rip and encode it for viewing.

slowbro

Edit history:

slowbro: 2009-08-14 10:44:09 pm

2009-08-14 01:05:52 pm

:43! That kicks butt!

I spend more time messing around in this game than working on speedrunning :S I managed to get myself killed in the second flashback fight at the end. Sure enough, if anything besides Meteor finishes me off, it's game over! I also picked up a tiny bit of info ... Zeromus's HP is 30,000 or maybe a little bit more.

That's really great that you finished in 0:43. I'll watch your runs on YouTube.

edit: I watched your :41 Yang video. In my mind Yang's is one of the easiest chapters because at what I'd consider normal levels the enemies pretty much go down without a fight. But I can see that's not the case in a speedrun! Winning just the right number of battles to have money to buy just enough items to get you through ... none of the 5 tales where I've completed test runs have required that kind of planning. I was a moron at the start of this thread when I said Yang's seemed like the easiest chapter to speedrun so far!

Sir VG

Edit history:

Sir VG: 2009-08-17 08:07:37 am

2009-08-14 10:46:47 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

The Lunarian's Tale:

I did some more calculating on the HP count, and 20,000 for Mysterious Girl sounds right. In my first fight against her in my 0:43, I took 20,000 and subtracted all of the damage I did and made it by 520. What's funny is that you mentioned the first sub-10,000 attack is Blinding Glare, which I almost had 1 round earlier - if one of my magic spells did 5 more damage (I was sitting at 10,004 HP at one point in the battle, which then left Fusoya to finish her, not that big of a deal)...

It also appears that during my Mysterious Girl 2 fight that I wouldn't have had to use Unicorn Horn when she was finally able to hit me with Blinding Glare. I actually got her down to 2,792 HP before she hit Fusoya with it, which that amount of HP can easily be taken out with Golbez using Thundaga. But it is hard to do those type of calculations on the fly... ^^;;

As for Zeromus, I agree with the 30,000 HP mark. I did 30,740 in my 0:43.

Edit: v5 video is up, with a few annotations. Mostly to note current HP of the Mysterious Girl and Zeromus fights.

Edit 2: Apparently from testing I've found out that you can get through the first 3 fights with simply 1 casting of Bio on all monsters. The rest can be done with 2 castings. Done on a Full Moon with the Ebony Sword equipped. That should save some time. Smiley

The Lunarian's Tale:

I did some more calculating on the HP count, and 20,000 for Mysterious Girl sounds right.  In my first fight against her in my 0:43, I took 20,000 and subtracted all of the damage I did and made it by 520.  What's funny is that you mentioned the first sub-10,000 attack is Blinding Glare, which I almost had 1 round earlier - if one of my magic spells did 5 more damage (I was sitting at 10,004 HP at one point in the battle, which then left Fusoya to finish her, not that big of a deal)...

It also appears that during my Mysterious Girl 2 fight that I wouldn't have had to use Unicorn Horn when she was finally able to hit me with Blinding Glare.  I actually got her down to 2,792 HP before she hit Fusoya with it, which that amount of HP can easily be taken out with Golbez using Thundaga.  But it is hard to do those type of calculations on the fly... ^^;;

As for Zeromus, I agree with the 30,000 HP mark.  I did 30,740 in my 0:43.

Edit: v5 video is up, with a few annotations.  Mostly to note current HP of the Mysterious Girl and Zeromus fights.

Edit 2: Apparently from testing I've found out that you can get through the first 3 fights with simply 1 casting of Bio on all monsters.  The rest can be done with 2 castings.  Done on a Full Moon with the Ebony Sword equipped.  That should save some time. :)

slowbro

2009-09-03 12:11:05 am

Wow, I see this game in the verification forum! I can only assume Lord_VG is ready to submit something (but I could be wrong Grin

).

I also assume this means submissions are being allowed without a complete set of chapters. I'm not complaining! If this is the case, maybe I should get cracking at one of the chapters I know decently well.

Sir VG

2009-09-03 06:28:53 am

Fucking Weeaboo

No, I've been gone for the past few days. I'm still trying to get The Lunarian's Chapter down one more minute, but haven't had luck.

thri11ki11

2009-09-04 11:16:51 am

Don't MAKE me come down these stairs

I was the one who submitted this game for verification. I have completed three of the sections, my times are as follows:

Main Story: 1:15 (Prologue 0:17, Ceodore 0:22, Kain 0:36) (16 segments)
Rydia's Tale: 0:46 (8 segments)
Yang's Tale: 0:35 (7 segments)

I'm currently working on a Palom run which is an unrecorded 0:46 in 5 segments (I think... it may be a bit more).

Sir VG

2009-09-04 11:38:15 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Wow, that Yang is a very good time, even if it's segmented. Can't wait to see it, as well as Main and Rydia's stories.