---
Partings and Promises
-Serah’s crystalline form crash-landed down here.
-The party starts trying to hack her out. Lol that’s not happening.
-The camera goes black and white, zooms in on Lightning, and erases everyone but Serah from view.
“This is goodbye.” I interpret this as a visual representation of Lightning’s focus, despair.
-Omg snow, stop it. PSICOM’s on the way, but he’s all, “I’ll fight the whole world! I’ll save ALL the things! I’ll save Serah!”
At least this brings on one of my favorite recurring things. Lightning decks him. Repeatedly.
-Her reasons seem complicated. She’s frustrate with his impracticality. I think she also blames Snow for Serah becoming l’Cie in some way (though idk, that doesn’t quite make sense to me yet). Or maybe takes his gung-ho faith in Serah’s redemption as a rebuke to her own goodbyes.
-A craft interrupts this, one of those mech scorpions attacks. And kills me a couple of times until I remember to swap to Solidarity when it’s about to blast me.
[Non-rhetorical questions:
-Why does Lightning’s auto-selected attack series pick “Ruin – Attack – Attack”? Doesn’t the variety thing make “Attack-Ruin-Attack” better all the time? Or does the variety increase the chain gauge more but maybe attack does more raw damage?
-If the game provides a specific queue as its auto-battle, is it safe to assume that’s the optimized damage against that particular targeted enemy?
-If I choose a custom chain (e.g. attack-ruin-attack instead of the auto-battle’s attack-attack-attack), is there a button I can push to repeat that next time or do I have to enter each ability manually?
-Lastly, do you get more CP for higher rated wins, or just a chance at better loot?]
-Snow’s a bit of a mess. He’s in a fucked up situation and I get it though. He doesn’t want to leave Serah, but he also wants to go save the world.
I like Lightning’s attitude a lot more, but again, I get where Snow’s coming from.
LIGHTNING: “Snow? You’re nothing but talk.”
SNOW: “I’ll finish my Focus AND keep Serah safe!” Ok.
-Wait, we’re splitting up? I guess so. He’s really staying behind.
-This Snow-Hope relationship is a time bomb. Snow think Hope looks up to him.
He’s totally oblivious to Hope’s grief and barely-suppressed desire to murder Snow’s face.
---
Datalog – Status Effects
-Synergists can buff/protect the recipient. Looks like I was right about them as a support role.
-Saboteurs (an as-yet undiscovered role) inflict negative status ailments. A debuffer role.
-Up to 8 status effects can stack.
-Protect, shell, bravery, and faith are all old abilities, but I spy two new ones. Deprotect and Deshell.
---
Casting the Net
-Team Lightning continues on its merry way through Lake Bresha.
-New technique tutorial! Techniques use technical points (TP).
“Successfully unleashing a full ATB gauge of queued abilities or earning a high battle rating replenishes TP.” More incentives for high ratings, and a new incentive to not blow the ATB early when possible.
-I can view enemy intel mid-combat with RB. Had no idea. That’s really useful.
-OOH AND REVEALING ENEMY ATTRIBUTES IMPACTS AUTO-BATTLE COMMANDS! “The most effective actions known are always chosen.” Love it.
-We creep towards a giant craft full of PSICOM hunting Purge survivors.
VANILLE: “People really hate Pulse, don’t they?”
SAZH: “More like ‘fear.’”
-It’s so fucked up how Cocoon SUPPORTS Sanctum and the idea behind the Purge. Most citizens are comfortable if it gives them even an iota more protection from Pulse.
-PSICOM starts sealing off the area, trapping stragglers. We gotta escape before the dragnet falls.
Got one star on a motorcycle enemy which is a wake-up call in two ways. I haven’t been paying enough attention to the specific elements and abilities my party members get. I also need to use stagger better, really go all out then.
-Ooh, datalog: Eden is a boss fal’Cie, not just Cocoon’s capital!
“While Cocoon’s other fal’Cie do not communicate with humans, Eden does. Presiding over Sanctum’s otherwise human administration, the fal’Cie is known to issue orders to the Primarch and step in to correct political gaffes on occasion.”
That’s WAY more hands-on than I would have expected.
-Eden is the “operational nexus” linking massive numbers of fal’Cie. That’s a lot of eggs in one basket.
---
Ability Interlude
-Most of Lightning’s abilities are for Commando.
-Lifesiphon: Killing blows recharge one ATB gauge segment. Good incentive to “overkill.”
-Ruin deals magic damage while blitz deals physical damage.
-Each ravager can use different elemental magic. Lightining uses thunder, Vanille uses air and water, etc.
-Sazh can use both physical and magic fire attacks.
---
Casting the Net (continued)
VANILLE: “Hey Lightning, did Serah say anything to you about her Focus?”
LIGHTNING: “Nothing.”
Ouch.
-Reached a new area: the Gates of Antiquity.
-Jeez. A group of three Watchdrones obliterates me. I gotta switch to Diversity to heal before they start their joint lightning attack and use potions more actively.
-This ancient temple area is so cool!
SAZH: “Even the flames turned to crystal. This is ridiculous.” So THAT’S what the orange crystals are.
-I’m still a bit confused about this temple/city. Was it below the waves before Lake Bresha was crystallized, or was it just on lowlands or an island?
-Lightning now knows water. Heh. Water and lightning.
-Fighting a PSICOM Executioner with very high chain resist. Needed to go to Relentless Assault (COM-RAV-RAV) instead of Tri Disaster (3x RAV) because its chain gauge kept depleting early in the fight.
-This far area in the city is called “Echoes of the Past.” Hm.
-Boss time. FLAPPY BIRD!
-It’s a Garuda Interceptor. Weak to wind, which we got plenty of.
-uhhh it’s done? …nm. “It’s charging up… for its last moments.”
-And she goes down! Though again, I got two stars.
I’m a bit frustrated and confused. What did the game want me to do differently to get more stars? I’ve maxed my crystarium and can’t access Stage 2. I can’t level up my weapons. Relentless Assault seemed the best paradigm for pure damage.
Maybe I should have used Fortisol when I smelled a boss fight.
[Non-rhetorical question: is there a fundamental mechanical misunderstanding I’m having about combat?]
-New roles! Synergist for Sazh and Saboteur for Vanille.
-There’s a giant containment vessel ahead of us. Or a rocket, like something from FFVIII’s Esthar.
-Yeah, it’s a frigging jet!
-The camera also focuses multiple times on a suspicious bird watching us.
Perhaps a Sanctum or Pulse scout.
---
Next time: blast-off?
