Monday, September 1, 2014

You're Not Alone!

Now I get to blaze toward the end of disc 3. Stiltzkin appeared in the hut when I reloaded, so I bought his items. I then equipped my party as follows:

Zidane              Freya                  Quina                 Amarant

Orichalcon        Dragon's Hair       Bistro Fork          Kaiser Knuckles
Adaman Hat      Barbut                Holy Miter           Bandana
Bone Wrist       Venetia Shield     N-Kai Armlet        -
Gaia Gear         Minerva's Plate   Robe of Lords       -
Rebirth Ring      Barette                Dark Matter         -
_________________________________________________________
Auto-Life          HP+10%             Level Up              Bird Killer
Accuracy+       Accuracy+          Insomniac          
Alert                MP Attack          Loudmouth      
                       Bird Killer           Auto-Potion
                       Level Up

After exiting the hut, I picked up the Angel Earrings on my way to the inn. I went through the scene then went to talk to the girl, picking up the Elixir while I was there. Then, as Eiko, I picked up the Elixir in the inn and the Flash Hat. I then went to the entrance of Bran Bal, then went one screen to the right and immediately turned around. This opened up the path to continue on.

I sat through some long scenes, and then it was time for the forced experience battles. This part used to be considered very difficult to survive through, but it was a cakewalk with the new strategies I used. First up is Amdusias. This was the easiest of the three before, but now it almost seems hard in comparison to how easy the others were. To begin, I waited for Amdusias to cast Bio and knock out Zidane. Amdusias can counter any move you make against it, including stealing, so don't bother. Its items aren't very good anyway. When Freya showed up, I had Zidane and Freya attack, in that order. Amdusias countered Zidane's attack, knocking him out, and Freya's attack pushed the battle to the final stage. Amarant attacked once, then Amdusias wasted its turn. This allowed me to finish the battle by having Amarant self-KO and Freya attack for the win.

Next up: Abadon. With the way I've prepared for this battle, my party is well protected from Abadon's attacks. With Quina at level 28 and the other two equipped as they are, all three characters can survive Thundaga. Quina can survive any of Abadon's attacks, and will even have a net gain of HP after High Wind thanks to Auto-Potion. When the battle began, Abadon opened things up with a Blade attack that missed, and Quina and Steiner defended. Abadon then used High Wind, knocking out Steiner. Zidane then entered the battle, and Abadon immediately used High Wind again, knocking out Zidane, who revived with 1 HP. I then had Quina revive Steiner. Abadon's next move was to cast Thundaga on Steiner, which he absorbed. Steiner and Zidane then attacked. Abadon then used Blade and missed again, so Steiner got another attack in. At this point, Abadon used High Wind and knocked out Steiner and Zidane, which was just what I wanted. Quina then attacked, but his damage was too low to finish the fight. Abadon attacked with Blade again and connected this time, but Quina had no problem surviving it. Finally, Quina attacked again and finished it.

And last we have Shell Dragon. Zidane immediately fell to a Charge but revived thanks to Auto-Life. This bought Dagger into the fight. Shell Dragon then used Earth Shake, which both my characters absorbed. Zidane then attacked, while Dagger remained on standby. Shell Dragon then used Charge again, knocking out Zidane, and Dagger finished things off by summoning Shiva for 9999 damage.

NOTE: If your Dagger is gaining levels in this fight, then you will need multiple attacks and/or summonings of Shiva to end this fight. If you would prefer not to use Shiva, then you will have to resort to the trance strategy given in the guide.

As a result of these fights, Freya advanced to level 27 and Quina advanced to level 32. Dagger gained no levels, exactly as she was supposed to. I removed Quina's equipment before reuniting the party, but left Dagger alone because I don't need any of the things she has on. I then formed a party with Zidane, Freya, Steiner, and Amarant, which will be my party for the rest of the challenge. Because the fights were so easy, I decided to grab the Holy Miter before saving here. It doesn't really make any difference in the long run. My time on saving is 10:29:48.

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