Holiday Greetings to the Spambots!
Things are going back to what passes for normal around here. Currently, I'm tearing through Borderlands 2 and getting my hands on all the nifty loot. So far I've had the good fortune to acquire a third Volcano (it should have been the fourth, but tragedy struck last night, story later this post), three Slayer of Terramorphus mods, a nice Flakker, and--DUN DUN DUN--my first Conference Call!
As should surprise no one, this game is at its best with at least two people. I'm commenting on simply because I was soloing for most of the last eight or so months. It is fun, but not nearly the fun it can be with friends. I'm not sold on the matchmaking system. FPS trolls plus RPG trolls equals Xbox on fire. I prefer my Xbox unburnt, thank you.
Some notes I've made:
Unless you're running a Gunzerker or with a Gunzerker using a Hoarder class mod, friggin run at least four types of guns and get as many SDU ammo upgrades as possible. Almost all of the best guns chew through ammo like crazy.
Torgue shotguns are close to broken, especially the Three Way and Ravager variants. Because of the way explosive rounds work, these guns true damage output is at least 150% the value on the item care, with this number increasing radically when critical hits are scores, and increased again when accounting for any bonuses to gun and grenade damage, and yet again from any bonus to explosive damage.
Be on the lookout for splatguns, the E-tech version of shotguns. These are more of a grab bag that other E-techs, but there is some nasty potential there. The shot acts as a splashy grenade, with higher-level guns typically getting increased range and the ability to have bouncing projectiles. With practice, you can actually wind up with a gun that acts as a mid to long range mortar. This is especially useful against large groups of mooks at standoff range when you're trying to hang on to rockets and grenades for upcoming nasties.
And finally, whoever decided that the bigger robot enemies are immune to DoT effects needs to be slapped. I'm looking at you, Saturn.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Wreckonomics - Legend of Mana
Legend of Mana is Copyright Square Enix. Any and all references to content are strictly for review and discussions therein.
Well well, a post for Wreckonomics has finally come to pass! Be advised that things discussed below, especially crafting and the Gas Pedals, will assume some working knowledge of the game and may contain spoilers.
Legend of Mana is one of Square's entries into the World of Mana aka Seiken Densetsu series of RPGs. This series is well known for it's quirky, cartoonish presentation, which is often countered by some very dark themes and elements weaved throughout the story and characters. It also is part of the PS1 era of RPGs, which is both good and bad. Good because this when the giants of the RPG world were really hitting their stride, and the attention to graphics, sound, and in-game mechanics really showed. Bad because the demand for these sort of games and the subsequent frenzied production and translation really made for some horrible missteps in actual storytelling. This game is very much of the "obscure equals profound" school of storytelling. What this translates to is that while there is a over-arching story and plot, you had to piece it together from hints and dribbles found in all sort of places. The whole thing was exacerbated by making this a open-world style of RPG, so lots and lots of wandering around and hoping that you can a picture of things ensued. Many players really stopped giving a damn about ten hours in, and proceeded to find the real meat of the game, crafting and combat.
The good parts of this game are very good indeed. Combat is fun and intuitive, with both normal attacks and special moves (called Killer Moves) for all sorts of weapons, plus an intricate magic system using eight elements. The monsters are very colorful and varied. Characters are even more so. The whole graphical style is designed to evoke a children's storybook setting, with characters and monsters having a pop-up feel. The music is an absolute joy, very much adding to the experience. The crafting system is far and away one the biggest reasons to play this game. It eschews the now traditional A plus B equals C recipes for an extremely deep and versatile upgrade system. You can even recruit pet monsters with actual practical combat benefits, and create golems from your crafted gear, both of which have all sorts of nasty moves and spells to unleash on the forces of badness.
If you have a console that run this game, and you like smacking things like killer bunny slippers, angry treasure chests, and ridiculously large bosses, feel free to try this out. Just don't bother figuring out why until you've beaten the game at least once; some evil soul decided that the background material needed to be made into journal snippets unlocked as you progress, and then decided to place it somewhere you'd get no real indication to check.
Crafting System: Holy crap does this game have a crafting system! This is by far one to the deepest and most varying systems I've ever seen. Weapons, armor, and accessories are directly created through the use of materials known as Primaries (metals, woods, stones, etc.), and are altered using Secondaries (magic crystals, potions, elemental coins, magical fruit, etc.). Spells are derived from magical instruments, using a Primary and an elemental coin to determine properties. All these are furthermore the building blocks for golem companions. The whole process is very involving, and can be addictively fun. Whole sites and fandoms have sprung up for this part of the game over the years. I could literally go on and on about this.
Theoretically Unlimited Wealth: Very present, with both a decently large-capacity wallet and a massive inventory. Farming for drops in this game is relatively painless, with fixed encounters that respawn infinitely upon leaving the screen and re-entering.
Limitations: Very low cash drops that do not improve over the course of the game, plus many of the best crafting materials command premium prices in shops. Even if you diligently farm and sell unwanted drops and equipment, you'll rarely get enough cash together to get more than a few of the goodies at a time. The good news is that the best of the materials are monster drops. All this is actually compounded by the crafting system, which is very much based on experimentation and trial-and-error techniques, with results that usually will not surface until you alter the same piece of gear at least three to five times. Finally, the drop system is reliant on monster level, with each monster type having a tiered table of drops. The kicker is that lower-level items are still dropped by high-level monsters.
Gas Pedals: The good news is there are ways to speed up both the cash acquisition and rare drop rates. The first and most direct way to acquire a pet Polter Box, which gives you a vastly improved drop rate. Each monster is considered to be two drop tiers above actual, which bypasses the experience crystal/cash drops in favor of items. This also allows mid- and high-level monsters to drop the higher tier items far more often, though you'll still need to fight the high-levels (50+) to see the highest tier drops (Adamantite, Dior Wood, etc.).
The second way is to use the crafting system. Effecting enough changes in a piece of equipment produces a Mystic Card. These determine specific special properties for equipment, and except for a certain one (Pixie) tend to increase the selling price. One the most efficient ways is to acquire a WindCap (dropped by Spiny Cones) and four Clear Feathers (dropped by Stinger Bugs). Altering the WindCap with all four feathers will result in three Lord of Flies cards, which take the dirt-cheap WindCap into the realm of 20000+ Lucre. There are many other ways to get quick cash, but this one has the benefit of requiring low-tier drops from extremely common monsters (these can even be found in good numbers on the Luon Highway, the usual starting combat zone) and an extremely dramatic price increase because to the WindCaps starting properties. This wonderful tidbit was published by Marcus Majarra on gameFAQs (link: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/256525-legend-of-mana/faqs/10806 ) and helped my personal quest for the best monster masher. This article is also a very nifty way to learn the nuances of Legend's crafting system. Go read it!
In any case, Legend of Mana is a very fun little game, and armed with this knowledge, you can now go forth on your quest to wave a sword made from hemp at angry rabites and actually do damage!
Well well, a post for Wreckonomics has finally come to pass! Be advised that things discussed below, especially crafting and the Gas Pedals, will assume some working knowledge of the game and may contain spoilers.
Legend of Mana is one of Square's entries into the World of Mana aka Seiken Densetsu series of RPGs. This series is well known for it's quirky, cartoonish presentation, which is often countered by some very dark themes and elements weaved throughout the story and characters. It also is part of the PS1 era of RPGs, which is both good and bad. Good because this when the giants of the RPG world were really hitting their stride, and the attention to graphics, sound, and in-game mechanics really showed. Bad because the demand for these sort of games and the subsequent frenzied production and translation really made for some horrible missteps in actual storytelling. This game is very much of the "obscure equals profound" school of storytelling. What this translates to is that while there is a over-arching story and plot, you had to piece it together from hints and dribbles found in all sort of places. The whole thing was exacerbated by making this a open-world style of RPG, so lots and lots of wandering around and hoping that you can a picture of things ensued. Many players really stopped giving a damn about ten hours in, and proceeded to find the real meat of the game, crafting and combat.
The good parts of this game are very good indeed. Combat is fun and intuitive, with both normal attacks and special moves (called Killer Moves) for all sorts of weapons, plus an intricate magic system using eight elements. The monsters are very colorful and varied. Characters are even more so. The whole graphical style is designed to evoke a children's storybook setting, with characters and monsters having a pop-up feel. The music is an absolute joy, very much adding to the experience. The crafting system is far and away one the biggest reasons to play this game. It eschews the now traditional A plus B equals C recipes for an extremely deep and versatile upgrade system. You can even recruit pet monsters with actual practical combat benefits, and create golems from your crafted gear, both of which have all sorts of nasty moves and spells to unleash on the forces of badness.
If you have a console that run this game, and you like smacking things like killer bunny slippers, angry treasure chests, and ridiculously large bosses, feel free to try this out. Just don't bother figuring out why until you've beaten the game at least once; some evil soul decided that the background material needed to be made into journal snippets unlocked as you progress, and then decided to place it somewhere you'd get no real indication to check.
Crafting System: Holy crap does this game have a crafting system! This is by far one to the deepest and most varying systems I've ever seen. Weapons, armor, and accessories are directly created through the use of materials known as Primaries (metals, woods, stones, etc.), and are altered using Secondaries (magic crystals, potions, elemental coins, magical fruit, etc.). Spells are derived from magical instruments, using a Primary and an elemental coin to determine properties. All these are furthermore the building blocks for golem companions. The whole process is very involving, and can be addictively fun. Whole sites and fandoms have sprung up for this part of the game over the years. I could literally go on and on about this.
Theoretically Unlimited Wealth: Very present, with both a decently large-capacity wallet and a massive inventory. Farming for drops in this game is relatively painless, with fixed encounters that respawn infinitely upon leaving the screen and re-entering.
Limitations: Very low cash drops that do not improve over the course of the game, plus many of the best crafting materials command premium prices in shops. Even if you diligently farm and sell unwanted drops and equipment, you'll rarely get enough cash together to get more than a few of the goodies at a time. The good news is that the best of the materials are monster drops. All this is actually compounded by the crafting system, which is very much based on experimentation and trial-and-error techniques, with results that usually will not surface until you alter the same piece of gear at least three to five times. Finally, the drop system is reliant on monster level, with each monster type having a tiered table of drops. The kicker is that lower-level items are still dropped by high-level monsters.
Gas Pedals: The good news is there are ways to speed up both the cash acquisition and rare drop rates. The first and most direct way to acquire a pet Polter Box, which gives you a vastly improved drop rate. Each monster is considered to be two drop tiers above actual, which bypasses the experience crystal/cash drops in favor of items. This also allows mid- and high-level monsters to drop the higher tier items far more often, though you'll still need to fight the high-levels (50+) to see the highest tier drops (Adamantite, Dior Wood, etc.).
The second way is to use the crafting system. Effecting enough changes in a piece of equipment produces a Mystic Card. These determine specific special properties for equipment, and except for a certain one (Pixie) tend to increase the selling price. One the most efficient ways is to acquire a WindCap (dropped by Spiny Cones) and four Clear Feathers (dropped by Stinger Bugs). Altering the WindCap with all four feathers will result in three Lord of Flies cards, which take the dirt-cheap WindCap into the realm of 20000+ Lucre. There are many other ways to get quick cash, but this one has the benefit of requiring low-tier drops from extremely common monsters (these can even be found in good numbers on the Luon Highway, the usual starting combat zone) and an extremely dramatic price increase because to the WindCaps starting properties. This wonderful tidbit was published by Marcus Majarra on gameFAQs (link: http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/256525-legend-of-mana/faqs/10806 ) and helped my personal quest for the best monster masher. This article is also a very nifty way to learn the nuances of Legend's crafting system. Go read it!
In any case, Legend of Mana is a very fun little game, and armed with this knowledge, you can now go forth on your quest to wave a sword made from hemp at angry rabites and actually do damage!
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Brain Barf
Hello the Sixty Spambots that clicked my blog.
Been busy with the Christmas Chainsaw Massacre. Many trees were brutally mauled and dismembered, much to the delight of small children and bored retail associates. More trees shall follow, after the taste of their fear is allowed to ferment into sweet sweet scents of despair and sap.
I've also been screwing around on Star Ocean: The Last Hope. I really would like to know what Squeenix was smoking at the time. It clearly wasn't as potent as the stuff Infinite Undiscovery and Romancing SaGa was developed with, and not near SO: Till the End of Time (which needed less 4D bullshit and more Rassilon). I'm running around with Edge the Space Paladin, his not-a-Rosa-ripoff, his not-a-Rydia-ripoff, and space elves of one kind or another. The good news, I get to play as Bacchus D-79, AKA SPACE ELF ROBOCOP! *random manly squee noises* Rockets and killsats and Sith Lightning and frickin' black holes! So many black holes! 400 BLACK HOLES. Give Bacchus to your black holes and they can kill shit dead! Make shit die abnormally fast!
You can say I'm a fan. But whoever decided on the English voice acting for Sarah really needs chastening.
Anyway, welcome to my Brain Barf section, where randomness reigns and dignity is slowly lowered into a pit filled with rabid Pomeranians. Very yappy death.
Been busy with the Christmas Chainsaw Massacre. Many trees were brutally mauled and dismembered, much to the delight of small children and bored retail associates. More trees shall follow, after the taste of their fear is allowed to ferment into sweet sweet scents of despair and sap.
I've also been screwing around on Star Ocean: The Last Hope. I really would like to know what Squeenix was smoking at the time. It clearly wasn't as potent as the stuff Infinite Undiscovery and Romancing SaGa was developed with, and not near SO: Till the End of Time (which needed less 4D bullshit and more Rassilon). I'm running around with Edge the Space Paladin, his not-a-Rosa-ripoff, his not-a-Rydia-ripoff, and space elves of one kind or another. The good news, I get to play as Bacchus D-79, AKA SPACE ELF ROBOCOP! *random manly squee noises* Rockets and killsats and Sith Lightning and frickin' black holes! So many black holes! 400 BLACK HOLES. Give Bacchus to your black holes and they can kill shit dead! Make shit die abnormally fast!
You can say I'm a fan. But whoever decided on the English voice acting for Sarah really needs chastening.
Anyway, welcome to my Brain Barf section, where randomness reigns and dignity is slowly lowered into a pit filled with rabid Pomeranians. Very yappy death.
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