PSO ep1

Edit history:

JoChi: 2007-03-26 07:49:03 am

2007-03-25 10:36:03 pm

Just so we are clear, there is a way to dodge DF's heavent punishment (the fix damage attack). That attack doesn't hit everywhere on the map.

Here's how to do it. Let DF be at the 12:00 position. when he/she/it starts Heavent Punishment, start running around the edge counter clock wise. You will need to get past 10:30 position. (and yes, I tried it and it worked)

Unfortunately, if you're going to do that, your time will be impacted severly.

I think the biggest problem for any low level force run is still obtaining usable disk, and having enough MP. Fluids are more expensive than mate. You can't learn ryuker until lvl17 without equipment, and realistically speaking, MST bonus from equipment won't be higher than +20 at the level this run is intended. This means you have to get pass cave and mine using telepipe. At least you won't be buying alot of mate.

edit: finally got a cave run done. Now my total time reads 1:08.

JoChi

2007-05-14 11:11:19 am

Finally got a Mine run done. My timer now reads 1:56 (3min. faster than the DC run). Than again, I suppose that's no surprise, seeing how I have the advantage of trap.

But I have to admit, my current run is horrible. I have gotten lost in multiple location, and I take alot of time on trivial stuff (shopping, etc). The only thing done well is my combat. But even that have a few mistake. Sad

I think I will finish this run first, but not submit it immediately. Hopefully I can get a better run during summer.

Sorcerer88

2007-05-14 12:26:37 pm

I have no solution, but i admire the problem.

That one's on tje HUCast character, right? I'm looking forward to an improved HUCast run, but what i'd still favor would be a force character run. And keep in mind that i've set up a bounty of 60$ for anyone to do such a run ( look at the bounty topic in general chat ).

Anyways, keep it on!

nate

2007-05-15 02:56:23 am

hmmm ...

JoChi

2007-05-23 06:29:47 am

Finally completed an ep.1 run as HuCast. All I can say is ruin is way too exhausting...

The timer now reads 3:09, and I am almost certain that a perfect run can get sub-3 hours (or close to it). Not to mention there's still map manipulation that need investigation.

However, for now i'll need to focus on real life for awhile (or just go brain dead for a day or two Tongue

)

nate

Edit history:

nate: 2007-05-23 07:13:40 am

2007-05-23 07:06:50 am

cool. that was dreamcast again right?

i guess i'll go ahead and reveal that i'm working on a force run. first segment is already recorded, something like 20 minutes. faced dragon at level 3, level up to 4 when he dies and almost instant level up to 5 next few enemies i kill. forest doesn't really have many good drops so i'm not going to worry about that until later. probably the last segment will be absolute hell on earth.

it's on gamecube so it seems as though i'll have to go activate the monuments after mines first time (even if you can activate them the first time you can't in a non-new game plus situation afaik so i have to wait). however i think that may be not so bad depending on experience. already though i've seen that experience/multihit techs are not all they're cracked up to be at de rol le ... if i try for extra exp and drops i can just barely learn gifoie before him, but the thing is that even though it hits 3x as much, it costs 3x more tp and takes 3x longer to cast, so there's no point. might as well just rush straight to the boss the way i see it.

small blooper video for yall, mothmant gets a critical on me, takes off half my hp and i die: http://nate.quandra.org/malaria.avi

cool. that was dreamcast again right?

i guess i'll go ahead and reveal that i'm working on a force run. first segment is already recorded, something like 20 minutes. faced dragon at level 3, level up to 4 when he dies and almost instant level up to 5 next few enemies i kill. forest doesn't really have many good drops so i'm not going to worry about that until later. probably the last segment will be absolute hell on earth.

it's on gamecube so it seems as though i'll have to go activate the monuments after mines first time (even if you can activate them the first time you can't in a non-new game plus situation afaik so i have to wait). however i think that may be not so bad depending on experience. already though i've seen that experience/multihit techs are not all they're cracked up to be at de rol le ... if i try for extra exp and drops i can just barely learn gifoie before him, but the thing is that even though it hits 3x as much, it costs 3x more tp and takes 3x longer to cast, so there's no point. might as well just rush straight to the boss the way i see it.

small blooper video for yall, mothmant gets a critical on me, takes off half my hp and i die: [url]http://nate.quandra.org/malaria.avi[/url]

JoChi

2007-05-23 07:40:18 am

actually, I am doing the GC ver.

nate

2007-05-23 07:42:23 am

so you went back to activate after mines first time?

Alexis

2007-05-23 07:51:23 am

I

Nate - I'm not quite sure what you're talking about. But certainly, if you own PSO 1&2 on the GameCube and start a new character, you can activate the monuments on your first visit to each of Forest, Caves and Mines. There's no need to go back.

JoChi

2007-05-23 08:04:19 am

wow, i didn't realize those mothmant can be such a mean killing machine. Tongue

Still, there's nothing more frustrating than an death due to critical hit.

Quote:

so you went back to activate after mines first time?

No, there's no way I achieve those time if I have to go back to reactivate the pillar. I activated them as I go along the first time, one of the many advantage of playing on GC or Xbox.

nate

2007-05-23 05:00:34 pm

oh, could have sworn that was a new game + thing. oh well, time to redo my first segment!

dexter

2007-06-26 05:40:06 am

Quote:

oh, could have sworn that was a new game + thing. oh well, time to redo my first segment!

Are you still working on this run? I would really like to see it.

I recently did a playthrough as FOnewearl and here are my two cents. Due to lack of time and money I did caves, mines, and ruins each twice (I didn't reset) so you might want to take this with a grain of salt. Sorry if what I point out is obvious.

De Rol Le at level 7 doesn't seem to be a big problem if you either bring some difluids with you or let him kill you to store some additional monofluids on the raft. Most of his attacks kill you in one hit but those are fairly easy to dodge. I didn't have gifoie but foie and zonde worked well (zonde when he is in front or behind the raft). Unfortunately I had only 10 monofluids and got accidently killed while I was sitting still to let my TP recharge. To make things worse I didn't have enough money to refill after the fight...

I was lucky to get Gizonde and Razonde early in the mines which made things pretty easy. Vol Opt 1 is somewhat annoying but if you stash lots of monomates you are fine even if you run out of sol atomizers. On my first try I completely forgot that it is not enough to just destroy all monitors though. Oh well... Vol Opt 2 goes down fairly quick with gizonde but can kill you in one hit.

Ruins were easier than expected. Barta works like a charm against Delsabers. It doesn't do as much damage as foie (IIRC) but they are knocked back for a second when you hit them so you can easily take them out without being hit. Multiple Delsabers tend to line up nicely so you can barta them all at once Smiley

Chaos Bringers are a pest though and should you be at such a low level that they kill you in one hit you have a problem Wink

When I fought Dark Falz the first few times I was at level 21. His sky beam killed me in one hit and I barely survived his rafoie and rabarta attacks (rabarta sometimes hits twice or critical or whatever but in that case you are toast anyway...)

Some guide I read recommends Gizonde against the first form but Razonde worked a lot better for me. You can keep some distance to the mouths and still hit multiple targets without much aiming. Most of the time the darvants were killed this way before they could hit me (although this might not work at a lower level). This way DF1 was down after about 4 difluids (when he didn't kill me). I also experimented with getting behind him but this didn't turn out well since the darvants and foie/barta attacks still reach you (maybe even the sky beam) and it is more difficult to hit.

The second form was a bigger problem. While it is possible to dodge each type of his attacks he attacks more often and you waste quite some time running around and not damaging him. I am also not sure how much luck is involved here but it was certainly frustrating and I ran out of money to buy difluids.

When I fought Dark Falz again I was at level 23, had a Digger/HP (HP+10) and two HP Materials (IIRC) and survived the sky beam with 5 hp. The barta attack still killed me two times so I tried to dodge only that and hammered away at DF2 with barta and zonde as long as he didn't raise his left arm. This finished him off pretty quick.

However, it is probably possible to beat DF at a significantly lower level without too much trouble. When I fought him the first time I had due to a complete lack of forward planning only an armor with one slot. I should have bought the lowly frame with four slots when I had the chance Wink

Since all attacks are magic or do constant damage DEF doesn't matter against DF, and Digger/HPs are available pretty early for only 2000 mesetas. This way you could boost HP by 40 points which is obviously quite a lot for a force.

Of course it would also be possible to dodge all attacks but considering the speedrunner unfriendly save system this would probably not be funny.

I spent quite some money feeding my mag which maybe was not such a good idea considering that I was broke a few times. On the other hand, if you are not going to accept accidental boss deaths in a speed run this hardly matters.

Anyway, I hope to see your FOnewearl run some day Smiley

[quote]oh, could have sworn that was a new game + thing. oh well, time to redo my first segment![/quote]

Are you still working on this run? I would really like to see it.

I recently did a playthrough as FOnewearl and here are my two cents. Due to lack of time and money I did caves, mines, and ruins each twice (I didn't reset) so you might want to take this with a grain of salt. Sorry if what I point out is obvious.

De Rol Le at level 7 doesn't seem to be a big problem if you either bring some difluids with you or let him kill you to store some additional monofluids on the raft. Most of his attacks kill you in one hit but those are fairly easy to dodge. I didn't have gifoie but foie and zonde worked well (zonde when he is in front or behind the raft). Unfortunately I had only 10 monofluids and got accidently killed while I was sitting still to let my TP recharge. To make things worse I didn't have enough money to refill after the fight...

I was lucky to get Gizonde and Razonde early in the mines which made things pretty easy. Vol Opt 1 is somewhat annoying but if you stash lots of monomates you are fine even if you run out of sol atomizers. On my first try I completely forgot that it is not enough to just destroy all monitors though. Oh well... Vol Opt 2 goes down fairly quick with gizonde but can kill you in one hit.

Ruins were easier than expected. Barta works like a charm against Delsabers. It doesn't do as much damage as foie (IIRC) but they are knocked back for a second when you hit them so you can easily take them out without being hit. Multiple Delsabers tend to line up nicely so you can barta them all at once :) Chaos Bringers are a pest though and should you be at such a low level that they kill you in one hit you have a problem ;)

When I fought Dark Falz the first few times I was at level 21. His sky beam killed me in one hit and I barely survived his rafoie and rabarta attacks (rabarta sometimes hits twice or critical or whatever but in that case you are toast anyway...)

Some guide I read recommends Gizonde against the first form but Razonde worked a lot better for me. You can keep some distance to the mouths and still hit multiple targets without much aiming. Most of the time the darvants were killed this way before they could hit me (although this might not work at a lower level). This way DF1 was down after about 4 difluids (when he didn't kill me). I also experimented with getting behind him but this didn't turn out well since the darvants and foie/barta attacks still reach you (maybe even the sky beam) and it is more difficult to hit.

The second form was a bigger problem. While it is possible to dodge each type of his attacks he attacks more often and you waste quite some time running around and not damaging him. I am also not sure how much luck is involved here but it was certainly frustrating and I ran out of money to buy difluids.

When I fought Dark Falz again I was at level 23, had a Digger/HP (HP+10) and two HP Materials (IIRC) and survived the sky beam with 5 hp. The barta attack still killed me two times so I tried to dodge only that and hammered away at DF2 with barta and zonde as long as he didn't raise his left arm. This finished him off pretty quick.

However, it is probably possible to beat DF at a significantly lower level without too much trouble. When I fought him the first time I had due to a complete lack of forward planning only an armor with one slot. I should have bought the lowly frame with four slots when I had the chance ;) Since all attacks are magic or do constant damage DEF doesn't matter against DF, and Digger/HPs are available pretty early for only 2000 mesetas. This way you could boost HP by 40 points which is obviously quite a lot for a force.

Of course it would also be possible to dodge all attacks but considering the speedrunner unfriendly save system this would probably not be funny.

I spent quite some money feeding my mag which maybe was not such a good idea considering that I was broke a few times. On the other hand, if you are not going to accept accidental boss deaths in a speed run this hardly matters.

Anyway, I hope to see your FOnewearl run some day :)

nate

2007-06-26 05:05:44 pm

my experiences parallel yours. only major difference was that i didn't know you could go straight into the ruins after mine first time on gcn so i went through the first three levels again. unfortunately i don't have my notes here with me but basically the only thing i have to add is that buying a four slot armor and loading it up with dragon/hp and resist/ices was enough to let me survive everything except the heaven punishment, and that's really easy to dodge (second form). i was just pounding the monomate button during his attacks and could use 2-3 mates to avoid dying from the machine gun damage (assuming i could avoid being frozen, thus the resist/ices). however being at a much lower level going in in a real run casts doubt on this strategy.

oh, another thing i found recently was that gifoie against de rol le is not worth it. you do 3x the damage but you use more than 3x the tp so there's no point in struggling to learn it. should just go in asap and handle him with foie as you said. btw, do you know how to dodge the falling rocks attack? i'm assuming it has something to do with his position but i couldn't find it in any faqs, most just say "stay at the corners" but that doesn't always work.

unfortunately i have to say that although i really want to get a force run up on the site, i'm not going to be able to do it this summer due to hella other things taking up hella time. having to redo the first segment (see above) was sort of the final blow. if someone else wants to do it and claim the bounty then by all means be my guest.

my experiences parallel yours. only major difference was that i didn't know you could go straight into the ruins after mine first time on gcn so i went through the first three levels again. unfortunately i don't have my notes here with me but basically the only thing i have to add is that buying a four slot armor and loading it up with dragon/hp and resist/ices was enough to let me survive everything except the heaven punishment, and that's really easy to dodge (second form). i was just pounding the monomate button during his attacks and could use 2-3 mates to avoid dying from the machine gun damage (assuming i could avoid being frozen, thus the resist/ices). however being at a much lower level going in in a real run casts doubt on this strategy.

oh, another thing i found recently was that gifoie against de rol le is not worth it. you do 3x the damage but you use more than 3x the tp so there's no point in struggling to learn it. should just go in asap and handle him with foie as you said. btw, do you know how to dodge the falling rocks attack? i'm assuming it has something to do with his position but i couldn't find it in any faqs, most just say "stay at the corners" but that doesn't always work.

unfortunately i have to say that although i really want to get a force run up on the site, i'm not going to be able to do it this summer due to hella other things taking up hella time. having to redo the first segment (see above) was sort of the final blow. if someone else wants to do it and claim the bounty then by all means be my guest.

Sorcerer88

Edit history:

Sorcerer88: 2007-06-26 11:08:51 pm

2007-06-26 11:08:30 pm

I have no solution, but i admire the problem.

What a pity.. i'd really liked to see this run in the near future. But i'll gladly wait until it's done, take all the time you need, nate.

Hey, dexter, wanna earn 60 bucks? Grin

Namcofan

2007-06-27 02:57:47 pm

WAFFLES!

"PSO"? Does that stand for "Phantasy Star Online"?

Sorcerer88

2007-06-27 03:32:02 pm

I have no solution, but i admire the problem.

Yes. Do you know any other game with the abbreviation PSO?

dexter

2007-06-27 10:24:23 pm

Quote:

unfortunately i don't have my notes here with me but basically the only thing i have to add is that buying a four slot armor and loading it up with dragon/hp and resist/ices was enough to let me survive everything except the heaven punishment, and that's really easy to dodge (second form).

Did you get the Dragon/HP from random loot or could you buy it?

Quote:

oh, another thing i found recently was that gifoie against de rol le is not worth it. you do 3x the damage but you use more than 3x the tp so there's no point in struggling to learn it. should just go in asap and handle him with foie as you said. btw, do you know how to dodge the falling rocks attack? i'm assuming it has something to do with his position but i couldn't find it in any faqs, most just say "stay at the corners" but that doesn't always work.

I simply retreat to a corner (usually the lower left). So far I was lucky and didn't get hit.

However, I just watched Brightstar's De Rol Le fight again and compared the rock attacks. It did that four times and seems to always move in the same pattern. If the falling rocks actually correspond to the position of his upper body part the lower left corner (upper right when you are facing him) might be a good position.

Quote:

Hey, dexter, wanna earn 60 bucks? Grin

I am going to do a few more tests but don't get your hopes up Wink

[quote]unfortunately i don't have my notes here with me but basically the only thing i have to add is that buying a four slot armor and loading it up with dragon/hp and resist/ices was enough to let me survive everything except the heaven punishment, and that's really easy to dodge (second form).[/quote]

Did you get the Dragon/HP from random loot or could you buy it?

[quote]oh, another thing i found recently was that gifoie against de rol le is not worth it. you do 3x the damage but you use more than 3x the tp so there's no point in struggling to learn it. should just go in asap and handle him with foie as you said. btw, do you know how to dodge the falling rocks attack? i'm assuming it has something to do with his position but i couldn't find it in any faqs, most just say "stay at the corners" but that doesn't always work.[/quote]

I simply retreat to a corner (usually the lower left). So far I was lucky and didn't get hit.

However, I just watched Brightstar's De Rol Le fight again and compared the rock attacks. It did that four times and seems to always move in the same pattern. If the falling rocks actually correspond to the position of his upper body part the lower left corner (upper right when you are facing him) might be a good position.

[quote]Hey, dexter, wanna earn 60 bucks?  ;D[/quote]

I am going to do a few more tests but don't get your hopes up ;)

nate

2007-06-27 11:19:07 pm

Quote:

Did you get the Dragon/HP from random loot or could you buy it?

I simply retreat to a corner (usually the lower left). So far I was lucky and didn't get hit.

However, I just watched Brightstar's De Rol Le fight again and compared the rock attacks. It did that four times and seems to always move in the same pattern. If the falling rocks actually correspond to the position of his upper body part the lower left corner (upper right when you are facing him) might be a good position.

I am going to do a few more tests but don't get your hopes up Wink

dragon/hp iirc was in the shop. so i ended up checking the shop every time at p2 when i was doing my run to check for rares.

and thanks for the de rol le info.

dexter

2007-06-29 12:32:18 am

Well, maybe I am going to do a run sooner or later. I just finished Forest in 0:14, one minute faster than Brightstar and without door walking Smiley

The other levels and boss fights could probably also be done faster (except Vol Opt 1 maybe) so the question seems to be whether Dark Falz can be beaten without leveling (and if not, how much is needed).

I am now level 4 and need 183 points for the next. Since there is not much good loot in the forest I skipped most crates. I had to reset quite a few times though since I didn't get enough fluids or a telepipe. For some reason it occured to me only after a few visits to the dragon without barta that you can save right at the beginning after the first shop visit (and reset if you don't get barta and zonde). It even saves a few seconds since you don't have to run all the way back to the teleporter. (What an irony if a run on a game with such a save system would be labelled as using save warping Wink

Unfortunately, I didn't record it. I could dust off my old VHS but I am not exactly keen on messing around with tapes in the middle of a run. I am still skimming the tech support forum for something decent with a hard disk and PAL60 support.

While playing today (six forest runs in a row without a single telepipe...) I noticed something interesting. I got the same forest 1 map seven times in a row. Then I got a different map three or four times in a row. Forest 2 maps were not always the same but also highly biased. Does anyone know how the map is selected? My first guess would have been that the section ID influences the choice but I always played with the same character. Might also be the daytime, pure chance, or a bad random number generator. I will do a little more testing. (Would setting the system clock count as illegal hardware modification? Wink

Something else: Does anyone know whether it is possible to switch memory cards for multiple saves? I can't really test it since I have only two memory cards and PSO completely refuses to work with one of them (it is not an official nintendo card).

Well, maybe I am going to do a run sooner or later. I just finished Forest in 0:14, one minute faster than Brightstar and without door walking :)
The other levels and boss fights could probably also be done faster (except Vol Opt 1 maybe) so the question seems to be whether Dark Falz can be beaten without leveling (and if not, how much is needed).

I am now level 4 and need 183 points for the next. Since there is not much good loot in the forest I skipped most crates. I had to reset quite a few times though since I didn't get enough fluids or a telepipe. For some reason it occured to me only after a few visits to the dragon without barta that you can save right at the beginning after the first shop visit (and reset if you don't get barta and zonde). It even saves a few seconds since you don't have to run all the way back to the teleporter. (What an irony if a run on a game with such a save system would be labelled as using save warping ;)

Unfortunately, I didn't record it. I could dust off my old VHS but I am not exactly keen on messing around with tapes in the middle of a run. I am still skimming the tech support forum for something decent with a hard disk and PAL60 support.

While playing today (six forest runs in a row without a single telepipe...) I noticed something interesting. I got the same forest 1 map seven times in a row. Then I got a different map three or four times in a row. Forest 2 maps were not always the same but also highly biased. Does anyone know how the map is selected? My first guess would have been that the section ID influences the choice but I always played with the same character. Might also be the daytime, pure chance, or a bad random number generator. I will do a little more testing. (Would setting the system clock count as illegal hardware modification? ;)

Something else: Does anyone know whether it is possible to switch memory cards for multiple saves? I can't really test it since I have only two memory cards and PSO completely refuses to work with one of them (it is not an official nintendo card).

nate

2007-06-29 05:00:47 am

if i had to guess i'd say the level is determined by the second at which you enter the teleporter counting from 0 when you load OR from 0 when you started the save file. if it's the system clock though then that's fine too, changing it definitely doesn't count as "hardware modification". good call on saving after the first shop visit. i don't think i'd ever have thought of that haha. no idea on the memory card thing. and good luck with your run; i'll be looking forward to hearing more about it.

Sorcerer88

2007-06-30 02:59:44 pm

I have no solution, but i admire the problem.

So you'd try to improve the HUCast run, dexter? That would be great as well. I wonder how you shave off a whole minute of forest without doing the door glitch!

Quote:

Something else: Does anyone know whether it is possible to switch memory cards for multiple saves?

As far as i know, PSO doesn't allow character files to be copied from one memory card to the other. But it could be possible to load them onto your pc via adapter/software, then load them onto another card. If the char files aren't somehow technically bound to a certain memory card.

nate

Edit history:

nate: 2007-06-30 11:28:02 pm

2007-06-30 11:27:47 pm

ah, yes, i must have been asleep when i read that. you will need a usb memory card adapter thing. then you can make as many copies as you want using your computer. and yes the pso files are copy protected but the usb thing will get around that.

dexter

Edit history:

dexter: 2007-07-01 12:48:26 am

2007-07-01 12:30:45 am

Quote:

So you'd try to improve the HUCast run, dexter? That would be great as well. I wonder how you shave off a whole minute of forest without doing the door glitch!

No, I am going to do the FOnewearl run. If I can somehow beat Dark Falz without leveling and there are no other show stoppers I am not aware of it might actually end up faster than the HUcast run. In the forest segment I saved some time by picking up less stuff and I saved right after talking to the mayor. After shopping I am also at 0:15 so it was probably a high 0:14.

I did a pretty smooth test run through the caves yesterday (didn't save) but it might be necessary to pick up more stuff. De Rol Le is no problem but if I need special equipment for Vol Opt (Resist/Shock?) I have to get the money in the caves so I can luck manipulate the shop.

I am using this test run to see how stuff works out at really low levels. I might use multiplayer mode to get money without experience so I can fight against bosses multiple times in a row. If things work out I will record a run.

If leveling will be necessary the Mines are probably the best place for that. There are lots of big enemy groups that can be killed quickly with gizonde or razonde.

I will look for a card reader that supports GC memory cards. I didn't find anything GC specific at amazon but thanks for the info.

Edit: I might also need to get money in the caves for feeding my mag. I will only be at level 8 after defeating De Rol Le and the requirement for Gizonde 1 is MST 100.

[quote]So you'd try to improve the HUCast run, dexter? That would be great as well. I wonder how you shave off a whole minute of forest without doing the door glitch![/quote]

No, I am going to do the FOnewearl run. If I can somehow beat Dark Falz without leveling and there are no other show stoppers I am not aware of it might actually end up faster than the HUcast run. In the forest segment I saved some time by picking up less stuff and I saved right after talking to the mayor. After shopping I am also at 0:15 so it was probably a high 0:14.

I did a pretty smooth test run through the caves yesterday (didn't save) but it might be necessary to pick up more stuff. De Rol Le is no problem but if I need special equipment for Vol Opt (Resist/Shock?) I have to get the money in the caves so I can luck manipulate the shop.

I am using this test run to see how stuff works out at really low levels. I might use multiplayer mode to get money without experience so I can fight against bosses multiple times in a row. If things work out I will record a run.

If leveling will be necessary the Mines are probably the best place for that. There are lots of big enemy groups that can be killed quickly with gizonde or razonde.

I will look for a card reader that supports GC memory cards. I didn't find anything GC specific at amazon but thanks for the info.

Edit: I might also need to get money in the caves for feeding my mag. I will only be at level 8 after defeating De Rol Le and the requirement for Gizonde 1 is MST 100.

bmn

2007-07-01 02:53:51 am

Back on the DC it was possible to email yourself the save and download it onto another card. I forget if the GC has that sort of functionality, but...

dexter

2007-07-01 05:10:39 am

I haven't heard of this functionality but I don't have a GC network adapter anyway, so the way to go would probably be the card reader.

I did two more cave runs today. The first one was pretty good until De Rol Le dropped some stones on me. Unfortunately it seems that the upper right corner (when facing him) is not completely safe either. The second run was pretty bad but I kept it since this is only to check for low tactics anyway. I was careless and got killed twice which cost me about four minutes. I also got most chests which were on the way (although this might not be necessary; see below). Despite these slowdowns the save time is 1:03. In a speedrun 0:59 seems to be possible without too much hassle. The current run is at 1:07.

MST at level 8 without any boosts is 99 (gizonde requirement is 100). This is no problem since only three monofluids would have to be fed to the mag.

This is however where the good news end. It seems that the shop sells neither gizonde nor armor mods (like resist/shock) at level 8. I checked the shop six or seven times when I was level 10 but I still didn't get gizonde. I got it at level 11 but if you are going to wait this long you can do mines without gizonde in the first place.

It seems that there are the following options:

- Hope to find gizonde in the caves. While this might happen in caves 2 and 3, the drop percentage is very low (0.054% and 0.072%, according to pso-world.com). This would likely take *lots* of tries just to get yourself killed by De Rol Le. Nothing for me.

- Do mines without gizonde. This is certainly possible but it wastes quite some time. I have not yet run the mines with the shortest path so I am not sure how many enemies have to fought but even if this slowdown was acceptable fighting Vol Opt would be a lot harder and a lot slower. This would not be very satisfying since such a run could have been a lot faster with a little more luck.

- Enter mines, kill the first big group of enemies, and reset if you don't get gizonde. Drop percentages for gizonde are a little higher in mines 1 (0.122%) but this would still take qutie a few tries. Sounds much better than option 1 though.

Any ideas?

I haven't heard of this functionality but I don't have a GC network adapter anyway, so the way to go would probably be the card reader.

I did two more cave runs today. The first one was pretty good until De Rol Le dropped some stones on me. Unfortunately it seems that the upper right corner (when facing him) is not completely safe either. The second run was pretty bad but I kept it since this is only to check for low tactics anyway. I was careless and got killed twice which cost me about four minutes. I also got most chests which were on the way (although this might not be necessary; see below). Despite these slowdowns the save time is 1:03. In a speedrun 0:59 seems to be possible without too much hassle. The current run is at 1:07.

MST at level 8 without any boosts is 99 (gizonde requirement is 100). This is no problem since only three monofluids would have to be fed to the mag.

This is however where the good news end. It seems that the shop sells neither gizonde nor armor mods (like resist/shock) at level 8. I checked the shop six or seven times when I was level 10 but I still didn't get gizonde. I got it at level 11 but if you are going to wait this long you can do mines without gizonde in the first place.

It seems that there are the following options:

- Hope to find gizonde in the caves. While this might happen in caves 2 and 3, the drop percentage is very low (0.054% and 0.072%, according to pso-world.com). This would likely take *lots* of tries just to get yourself killed by De Rol Le. Nothing for me.

- Do mines without gizonde. This is certainly possible but it wastes quite some time. I have not yet run the mines with the shortest path so I am not sure how many enemies have to fought but even if this slowdown was acceptable fighting Vol Opt would be a lot harder and a lot slower. This would not be very satisfying since such a run could have been a lot faster with a little more luck.

- Enter mines, kill the first big group of enemies, and reset if you don't get gizonde. Drop percentages for gizonde are a little higher in mines 1 (0.122%) but this would still take qutie a few tries. Sounds much better than option 1 though.

Any ideas?