---
Taking in the Trash
-Sazh, Hope, and Vanille follow Lightning’s trail through the Vile Peaks.
-Encountered a new enemy type, a “daemon.” This one’s an incubus.
I mean, I guess he’s seductive in a robot bird sort of way.
-An old Pulsian warship looms in the distance. A leftover.
-There’s a continuing theme of Vanille not knowing Cocoon’s history.
-After the War of Transgression, the Cocoon fal’Cie used scrap from the war to help rebuild. That’s how they dragged a Pulse Vestige to Cocoon, and a stowaway Anima.
-Even during these sections of walking, I find the combat engaging. I like luring enemies out of their spawn point, bouncing out of range, and pre-emptive striking them when they turn back.
-We finally intersect with Lightning. I’m surprised there’s no “WHY TF DID YOU LEAVE ME IN THE DUST” from Hope, because… she kind of left him in the dust. (Even considering that this is a relatively small section and she probably knew the others would find him, it’s a dick move.)
---
Fugitives in Futility
Datalog: “Will Lightning help them find a way out of their hopeless situation? Unbeknownst to Sazh, the answer has already begun to form in her mind…” Uh oh. That sounds like a no.
-The level design has been bland – very straight-forward – but the names are flavorful as hell. I just went from the Munitions Graveyard to Devastated Dreams.
-Boss time – Dreadnaught! A cool junk monster.
Nice FFII callback too. The Dreadnaught was the Empire’s big bad warship.
I swear I’ve seen its design somewhere before, in some prior FF game. XII maybe? Idk.
-First phase goes well. Then it knocks the ground beneath us, and phase 2 is down there.
Great atmosphere. The arena down here is dark, focusing on Dreadnaught’s headlights.
-Victory! And four stars to boot. Feeling much more comfortable with the cycle of paradigms.
-Got “Lenora’s Garage” as a reward, and an Omni-kit.
-Lightning can now be a medic. Boo. Doesn’t really fit her, but okay. At least it came later. And Sazh can now use commando, which does fit.
---
Upgrade-Palooza
-OHO WEAPON UPGRADE TIME! I really thought we’d need Maqui, but looks like the Omni-kit is enough. I upgrade at save points.
[Later edit: I was hesitant only being able to upgrade at save points. No longer. If that weren’t the case, I’d feel the need to stop every time I get a new component. This helps pace things out.]
-Upgrade components each give exp to items.
“Certain components bestow a bonus to any EXP spent on a piece of equipment.” Others reduce an item’s EXP bonus.
[Non-rhetorical question: other than guides or trial-and-error, is there a way in-game to see the exp modifiers granted by component?]
I wonder if it’ll match by type. Like, if bestial items upgrade fist weapons while high tech components upgrade guns.
-When an item caps its level, you can transform it with specialized components.
-OOH I can “Dismantle” items to use them for scrap. That’s super cool compared to simple vendoring.
“There exist well over 100 different components. Obtain as many as possible, and experiment with their effects in order to determine the most efficient and effective ways to customize your arsenal.”
There must be some rare and expensive components that upgrade items into ultimate forms.Like, there’s probably some chip out there that you get as a 1% drop from five star kills against Mecha Ultra Behemoths, as long as you fight them when Jupiter aligns with Mars.
-Certain combinations of equipment grant additional hidden bonuses not seen when the items are equipped individually. “Synthesized abilities.”
-My characters are now at stage 3 of Crystarium development. CP costs have skyrocketed.
-Ooh, Role Level! I wonder what that is. It’ll be a while before I reach it.
-LOLOL I LOVE THE LENORA’S GARAGE LOGO
“n00b manuals not included.”
-Let’s check out these upgrades.
-Certain components impact different weapons differently. For example, the Passive Detector gives 300 xp to the Deneb Duellers guns, but 263 xp to the Gladius and 188 to Snow’s Power Circle.
-I tested a sampling of components. Most give the same xp to each item, with diminishing returns to higher level items. Passive Detector seems an exception.
Also, Hope’s boomerang earned less xp than other items.
-Testing out accessories makes me even less sure of any pattern. I checked how components benefit two accessories with the same “type” (each with the musical clef icon). They gave the Black Belt Lv. 1 more xp than the Magician’s Mark. I’m pretty lost.
-Upgraded my four primary weapons at least to level 3. Gonna see if this helps.
-Thickened Hides and Tears seem like they have good modifiers.
-Not understanding xp modifier components in any clear way feels like it’s gonna significantly hamper this blind play compared to a guided play. I’ll end up wasting components, using them super inefficiently.
C’est la vie. It’s true that this sort of hidden stat bonus frustrates me, and I wish the game would just say somewhere what modifier each item gives or be clearer, but I’ll muddle along.
-My general strat will be to save the “big-ticket” exp components for items with a decent exp modifier.
---
Eden or Bust
-Lightning has a plan. She looks up to a glowing white ship in the sky. Eden.
LIGHTNING: “Keep running and it’s die or turn Cie’th. There’s no place for a l’Cie to hide. They want a fight? Let’s take it to the Sanctum’s door.”
I mean, I guess? But how is that going to help save Cocoon?
“Pulse and Sanctum fal’Cie. They’re all the same. And we’re all the same to them: expendable.”
-She wants to destroy the fal’Cie.
-Sazh brings up a good point. If we do that, if we manage to kill Eden, isn’t that the end of Cocoon? Their Focus lost?
LIGHTNING: “Our Focus doesn’t matter. I don’t take orders from fal’Cie. How I live is up to me.” Jesus. Even with the threat of becoming Cie’th, she says screw the Focus.
-Incidentally, this plan would IMMEDIATELY make Snow her enemy with how gung-ho he is about following Serah’s wish to protect Cocoon.
-Vanille then gives some from-the-future narration. How they didn’t know at the time that thiw as Lightning’s suffering, reaching out for help.
VANILLE: “If only I’d been stronger, none of this would’ve happened.”
-omg I LOVE her and Sazh! Not as a ship, just their goofy and caring dynamic.
-Another split. Lightning walks off, ready to continue solo. Hope wants to join her, get stronger. Sazh and Vanille will go their own way for now.
-I love this about XIII. The group didn’t magically coalesce into a unified party since Anima. They all have different personalities, styles, goals.
-Lightning and Hope fend off a PSICOM hit squad. He impresses her with his spirit and skill. Aw!
-I also like how they play around with gender dynamics here. Dudes usually get the grumpy old master role.
Women in this role aren’t unheard of or anything (Toph in Korra jumps to mind), but it’s gotta be much rarer.
-Lightning warns Hope away. Does he really want to sign up for constant battle?
He’s determined. He wants to become stronger.
LIGHTNING: “…Call me Light.” AWWWWWWWWWWWW
-They’ll travel to Hope’s hometown of Palumpolum, then onto Eden.
-Some quick datalog notes. Palumpolum is one of the biggest cities in Cocoon.
-Eden is both the fal’Cie and the name of Cocoon’s capital. Eden lives deep within Edenhall, the seat of the Sanctum’s administration.
---
Next time: Lightning and Hope hit the road.
