Time to begin disc 2! We open with some scenes in which we reunite with Marcus and Cinna. I like to break away from them after saying "hi" to do my shopping and Mognet because I think it's more streamlined that way, and I think it's funny to do all that right in the middle of the conversation.
I bought and sold as instructed with the following exceptions:
- I kept the Mythril Spear, the Leather Wrists, 1 Cotton Robe, and 1 Germinas Boots.
- I sold the Ice Staff I got from Gizamaluke as well as 2 Antidotes that I got from Chocobo Hot & Cold.
- I also bought 2 Magus Hats. I'll need to use one of them before I hit the weapon shop in Treno, so I might as well get them both now.
After taking care of Mognet with Nazna, I set up my party for the upcoming battle and boarded the car to Alexandria. I skipped saving here because there's nothing luck based at that point since the last save. I optimized both Steiner and Dagger, then gave Dagger the Feather Hat and Wrist and Steiner the Bronze Armor. This will put him only 1 AP away from mastering Bird Killer. I also made sure to activate Man Eater from the newly bought Mythril Gloves as well as Bird Killer because it was convenient to do so now.
My battle with Black Waltz #3 wasn't the best, but I still beat the target time for this circuit, so I kept it. BW3 opened with Thunder on Steiner, which he survived. Steiner and Dagger did nothing but attack whenever their turns came up. On his first turn Marcus stole the Steepled Hat (oh well). BW3 then attempted to Freeze Marcus, but he missed. This gave Marcus another chance to steal, but he blew it. I thought I was going to have to reset, but then BW3 missed with his next attack as well! Marcus was then finally able to steal the Lightning Staff, and then Dagger finished him off.
You may be wondering why I insisted on getting the Lightning Staff when I already have a Coral Ring. My strategy for the Alexandria rescue involves three Coral Rings, so I'll be synthesizing two in Treno. The third one isn't absolutely necessary, but it will make things a bit easier. I actually had two attempts where Marcus stole the Flame Staff, but couldn't get the Lightning Staff, so I had to reset.
I then went to Dali, saving along the way. In Dali, I bought 99 Wrists and a Rod, then grabbed the Elixir and left. I crossed the plain to South Gate without saving, went through, then saved again halfway to Treno. My time is 02:45:20.
EDIT: I decided to redo this part because of a change in my plan for a future circuit. I plan to use a Headgear before the guide tells you to buy one, and this is my last chance to do it before then. My battle with BW3 went better this time, and I am now saved outside Treno with 02:45:11 on the clock.
EDIT (again): When I got to the part where I was planning on using the Headgear, I changed my mind again and ended up not using it. At least I got a better time by redoing it!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
Burmecia
The first order of business upon approaching Burmecia is to set up for the last Type A battle. The strategy is pretty much the same as the first one. The difference here is that Vivi now has access to a much more powerful spell (Bio), so I don't need to remove everyone's headgear, thus making it easier to survive the fight.
With my strategy the chance of successfully completing the battle in one round is approximately 2/3. For me, this is high enough that I'd rather not backtrack to the world map to save afterwards. You can do so if you want, especially if you're going to have Steiner take Abadon's experience as that path has a large time buffer. With this battle Freya gained another level and has now mastered her first ability -- Antibody.
After the battle I proceeded straight through Burmecia, eventually getting no encounters. In the balcony area after rescuing Wei and Kal, I went through the first opening and back out again to reduce the chance of an encounter. In the next screen after that I opened the first chest for a Tent to give me some extra gil.
After saving with Atla I made some changes to my equipment to prepare for Beatrix and to switch over to Dagger and Steiner. I gave Zidane the Mythril Dagger, Yellow Scarf, and Wrist, and gave Vivi a Wrist. Then I removed Vivi's Cotton Robe and Yellow Scarf, Freya's Bronze Gloves, Quina's Cotton Robe, and Zidane's Bronze Vest and Feather Hat, and activated Zidane's Bandit. From Beatrix I stole the Phoenix Down and Chain Plate. It's definitely not worth going after the Mythril Sword. After skipping the FMV and saving my time at the end of disc 1 is now 02:36:26.
With my strategy the chance of successfully completing the battle in one round is approximately 2/3. For me, this is high enough that I'd rather not backtrack to the world map to save afterwards. You can do so if you want, especially if you're going to have Steiner take Abadon's experience as that path has a large time buffer. With this battle Freya gained another level and has now mastered her first ability -- Antibody.
After the battle I proceeded straight through Burmecia, eventually getting no encounters. In the balcony area after rescuing Wei and Kal, I went through the first opening and back out again to reduce the chance of an encounter. In the next screen after that I opened the first chest for a Tent to give me some extra gil.
After saving with Atla I made some changes to my equipment to prepare for Beatrix and to switch over to Dagger and Steiner. I gave Zidane the Mythril Dagger, Yellow Scarf, and Wrist, and gave Vivi a Wrist. Then I removed Vivi's Cotton Robe and Yellow Scarf, Freya's Bronze Gloves, Quina's Cotton Robe, and Zidane's Bronze Vest and Feather Hat, and activated Zidane's Bandit. From Beatrix I stole the Phoenix Down and Chain Plate. It's definitely not worth going after the Mythril Sword. After skipping the FMV and saving my time at the end of disc 1 is now 02:36:26.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Gizamaluke's Grotto
Now it's time to take on the black mages in Gizamaluke's Grotto. Before engaging the first Type As, I made some last-minute changes to my equipment so they ended up as follows:
Zidane Freya Vivi Quina
Butterfly Sword Javelin Mage Staff Fork
- Iron Helm - -
Glass Armlet Bronze Gloves Leather Wrist Leather Wrist
Bronze Vest Linen Cuirass Cotton Robe Cotton Robe
Coral Ring Glass Buckle Yellow Scarf Yellow Scarf
_________________________________________________________
Man Eater Millionaire
It is essential that Freya be equipped exactly as shown. Here's how the first Type A battle went: Zidane attacked first for a guaranteed one-hit kill. The remaining Type A hit Freya with a Blizzard spell, but she survived. She then jumped and Quina attacked. Due to Quina's random damage formula, there's a chance s/he might not do enough damage, but s/he did. Vivi then toasted the party with a Fire spell to knock everyone out, and Freya finished the battle with her landing. Freya went up to level 5, and I got some bonus gil. :) It's possible to get through this battle without the Type As ever getting a turn, but I was satisfied with this result.
After this battle, I revived only Zidane, healed both him and Freya just in case, and then immediately engaged the other Type A. Since taking the experience results in much easier battles, I rearranged the order of things here to make it a bit easier overall. I had Zidane attack for another one-hit kill, and Freya attacked since I didn't have Quina to do that this time. The remaining Type A used Thunder on Zidane (guess I didn't need to heal them. Oh well). Zidane then knocked himself out and Freya jumped to end the battle. Freya gained one more level to reach level 6.
I handled the scene with the moogles and saved. After reloading, I revived everyone, making sure Quina was revived with 1 HP. When I got that, I made some equipment changes to take advantage of Gizamaluke's AP. I gave Zidane the Feather Hat and Yellow Scarf, Freya a Yellow Scarf, and Vivi the Leather Hat and Coral Ring. I also activated Zidane's Steal Gil just for fun. I got really lucky in the fight because I was able to steal the Ice Staff (1/16 chance). I would have been happy with anything because the gil difference isn't all that great here, but it was still nice to get the best thing. I then fired off a Limit Glove and Gizamaluke died without even getting a turn.
I screwed up a lot in South Gate, but it only cost me a few seconds, so I kept it. I've found that talking to the worker on the left, then his boss, then Mary is fastest. Other than that, there's not really much to say about this part.
Getting back to Zidane and company, it was now time to dig up some Chocographs! Since leaving Gizamaluke's Grotto is scripted, the RNG is fixed when you leave, allowing you to run a great distance without fear of random encounters. I ran until just short of the gap between the mountains past Cleyra before saving. Then I ran to the tracks, called Choco, and dug up the Healing Shore Chocograph to get the Reef transformation. With that, I rode back to the Grotto and ran back through, picking up the other Gizamaluke Bell from the dead Burmecian soldier that you get the first bell from.
Back on the Lindblum side again, I ran toward the chocobo tracks, saving by Qu's Marsh. I then dug up the Small Beach and Streamside Chocographs for some goodies (especially the Oak Staff) and returned once more to the grotto. The only thing left to do here was to get the last Gizamaluke Bell from the soldier at the end of that long walkway. It took quite a few tries to get it without any encounters, but I eventually got it. With that done, it was time to finally say goodbye to Gizamaluke's Grotto and head to Burmecia. I ran a little over halfway to Burmecia and saved with a time of 02:25:35.
Zidane Freya Vivi Quina
Butterfly Sword Javelin Mage Staff Fork
- Iron Helm - -
Glass Armlet Bronze Gloves Leather Wrist Leather Wrist
Bronze Vest Linen Cuirass Cotton Robe Cotton Robe
Coral Ring Glass Buckle Yellow Scarf Yellow Scarf
_________________________________________________________
Man Eater Millionaire
It is essential that Freya be equipped exactly as shown. Here's how the first Type A battle went: Zidane attacked first for a guaranteed one-hit kill. The remaining Type A hit Freya with a Blizzard spell, but she survived. She then jumped and Quina attacked. Due to Quina's random damage formula, there's a chance s/he might not do enough damage, but s/he did. Vivi then toasted the party with a Fire spell to knock everyone out, and Freya finished the battle with her landing. Freya went up to level 5, and I got some bonus gil. :) It's possible to get through this battle without the Type As ever getting a turn, but I was satisfied with this result.
After this battle, I revived only Zidane, healed both him and Freya just in case, and then immediately engaged the other Type A. Since taking the experience results in much easier battles, I rearranged the order of things here to make it a bit easier overall. I had Zidane attack for another one-hit kill, and Freya attacked since I didn't have Quina to do that this time. The remaining Type A used Thunder on Zidane (guess I didn't need to heal them. Oh well). Zidane then knocked himself out and Freya jumped to end the battle. Freya gained one more level to reach level 6.
I handled the scene with the moogles and saved. After reloading, I revived everyone, making sure Quina was revived with 1 HP. When I got that, I made some equipment changes to take advantage of Gizamaluke's AP. I gave Zidane the Feather Hat and Yellow Scarf, Freya a Yellow Scarf, and Vivi the Leather Hat and Coral Ring. I also activated Zidane's Steal Gil just for fun. I got really lucky in the fight because I was able to steal the Ice Staff (1/16 chance). I would have been happy with anything because the gil difference isn't all that great here, but it was still nice to get the best thing. I then fired off a Limit Glove and Gizamaluke died without even getting a turn.
I screwed up a lot in South Gate, but it only cost me a few seconds, so I kept it. I've found that talking to the worker on the left, then his boss, then Mary is fastest. Other than that, there's not really much to say about this part.
Getting back to Zidane and company, it was now time to dig up some Chocographs! Since leaving Gizamaluke's Grotto is scripted, the RNG is fixed when you leave, allowing you to run a great distance without fear of random encounters. I ran until just short of the gap between the mountains past Cleyra before saving. Then I ran to the tracks, called Choco, and dug up the Healing Shore Chocograph to get the Reef transformation. With that, I rode back to the Grotto and ran back through, picking up the other Gizamaluke Bell from the dead Burmecian soldier that you get the first bell from.
Back on the Lindblum side again, I ran toward the chocobo tracks, saving by Qu's Marsh. I then dug up the Small Beach and Streamside Chocographs for some goodies (especially the Oak Staff) and returned once more to the grotto. The only thing left to do here was to get the last Gizamaluke Bell from the soldier at the end of that long walkway. It took quite a few tries to get it without any encounters, but I eventually got it. With that done, it was time to finally say goodbye to Gizamaluke's Grotto and head to Burmecia. I ran a little over halfway to Burmecia and saved with a time of 02:25:35.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Chocobo's Forest
After grabbing the Tent on my way out, the first order of business upon leaving Lindblum is to recruit Quina. Once that was out of the way, I headed straight to Chocobo's Forest. I got pretty far before saving; I managed to cross the bridge over the river before stopping to save. This made the next bit easier.
I entered the forest and met Mene and Choco. I played my first game and got the Stone with Patterns, then immediately played another game. I didn't bother saving after the first game because getting the Stone with Patterns is just about guaranteed. In my second game I got a Chocograph Piece and the Healing Shore Chocograph, so I went over to South Gate, looted it, and saved.
At this point it was time to learn Limit Glove. I prepared my party for the upcoming battles by optimizing everyone, then removing everyone's headgear except Freya's and giving Zidane the Mage Masher and Coral Ring and Freya the Glass Buckle. I then activated Zidane's Man Eater and Quina's Millionaire. I was hoping for a preemptive battle against the Mandragora. I didn't get one, but the battle I got was still pretty good. Zidane, Freya, and Vivi all attacked, Quina ate the Mandragora, and Zidane used Flee. None of my characters got hurt.
With Limit Glove learned, it was time for another game of Hot & Cold. The Small Beach Chocograph proved more elusive than Healing Shore. I eventually got it, though, as the last item in a game with a nice limit bonus to boot! I don't remember what the other items I got in my games were, but they were all junk, and I can't be bothered to compare the item stashes in my files to see what the differences are.
Now I'm done with Chocobo Hot & Cold until disc 3, so I headed over to Gizamaluke's Grotto and saved outside. My time is now 02:08:05.
I entered the forest and met Mene and Choco. I played my first game and got the Stone with Patterns, then immediately played another game. I didn't bother saving after the first game because getting the Stone with Patterns is just about guaranteed. In my second game I got a Chocograph Piece and the Healing Shore Chocograph, so I went over to South Gate, looted it, and saved.
At this point it was time to learn Limit Glove. I prepared my party for the upcoming battles by optimizing everyone, then removing everyone's headgear except Freya's and giving Zidane the Mage Masher and Coral Ring and Freya the Glass Buckle. I then activated Zidane's Man Eater and Quina's Millionaire. I was hoping for a preemptive battle against the Mandragora. I didn't get one, but the battle I got was still pretty good. Zidane, Freya, and Vivi all attacked, Quina ate the Mandragora, and Zidane used Flee. None of my characters got hurt.
With Limit Glove learned, it was time for another game of Hot & Cold. The Small Beach Chocograph proved more elusive than Healing Shore. I eventually got it, though, as the last item in a game with a nice limit bonus to boot! I don't remember what the other items I got in my games were, but they were all junk, and I can't be bothered to compare the item stashes in my files to see what the differences are.
Now I'm done with Chocobo Hot & Cold until disc 3, so I headed over to Gizamaluke's Grotto and saved outside. My time is now 02:08:05.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Lindblum
This is a pretty easy segment. The reason it took so long is because I spent a lot of the past week working out changes to my plan that come due to an amazing discovery I made. More on that later.
I grabbed the gil in the inn's lobby on my way out, then proceeded to loot the Business District. After that it was time to execute the first Cotton Robe trick. Since it's not possible at this point to have enough money to do it all at once, this one has to be done in stages. I started by selling off all my extra stuff and buying 10 Steepled Hats. I kept my Bronze Armor and Rubber Helm to use later, however. Then I went over to the synthesis shop and synthesized 11 Cotton Robes (remember I already had 2 Steepled Hats from the Black Waltzes) and 4 Desert Boots. The Desert Boots are why I bought the Leather Shirts back in Dali. They give me a nice profit -- not quite as nice as the Cotton Robes, but it certainly helps!
After doing that, I went back to the equipment shop, sold the Cotton Robes and Desert Boots, and bought 20 Steepled Hats. I then synthesized 21 Cotton Robes and sold them. Next, I bought 31 Steepled Hats, synthesized 31 Cotton Robes, and sold them. For my final round of buying and synthesizing, I bought 1 Javelin, 1 Glass Armlet, 41 Steepled Hats, and 1 Linen Cuirass, and synthesized 1 Butterfly Sword, 36 Cotton Robes, 4 Yellow Scarves, and 1 Glass Buckle. I don't need The Ogre yet, and I'll get one for free before I do need it, so I don't bother getting it now. This means I don't need to buy the Dagger and Mage Mashers. The Linen Cuirass is so Freya can wear it against Beatrix and still leave one for me to synthesize in Treno. The Glass Armlet is so I can make the Glass Buckle, which I will be using shortly.
Looting the rest of Lindblum is very straightforward, so I'll skip the details. I will say, however, that I skipped getting the Silver Gloves in the synthesis shop because they're not missable, and getting them now would mess up Freya's optimization. When I reached the moogle in the castle guest room I exchanged letters but skipped saving. This part only has a small amount of luck with my new strategy so I figured it wasn't necessary. This whole segment only took me 2 tries once I got the practice down.
Now on to the Festival of the Hunt! This is where I make the biggest time savings in the entire challenge! Thanks to my new discovery it is possible to skip getting the Needle Fork from Zaghnol on either Ordered with Final Equipment stat path. It's also theoretically possible on the guide's Path B and Path C, but it's incredibly difficult on those paths. If you want to do it, you would have to dig up a Barette in Chocobo Hot & Cold. The only thing you have to watch out for in the festival is making sure Freya gets at least 100 points. I should also mention that, if you don't want Freya to win, you have to run down the festival clock anyway, so you might as well get the Needle Fork. If you want Freya to win or you don't care who wins, then this is a great way to save a lot of time on Ordered With Final Equipment!
After the festival I went through the scenes, picked up the Wyerd card, handled Mognet with the moogle at the Dragon's Gate, and saved. My time is now 01:55:21.
I grabbed the gil in the inn's lobby on my way out, then proceeded to loot the Business District. After that it was time to execute the first Cotton Robe trick. Since it's not possible at this point to have enough money to do it all at once, this one has to be done in stages. I started by selling off all my extra stuff and buying 10 Steepled Hats. I kept my Bronze Armor and Rubber Helm to use later, however. Then I went over to the synthesis shop and synthesized 11 Cotton Robes (remember I already had 2 Steepled Hats from the Black Waltzes) and 4 Desert Boots. The Desert Boots are why I bought the Leather Shirts back in Dali. They give me a nice profit -- not quite as nice as the Cotton Robes, but it certainly helps!
After doing that, I went back to the equipment shop, sold the Cotton Robes and Desert Boots, and bought 20 Steepled Hats. I then synthesized 21 Cotton Robes and sold them. Next, I bought 31 Steepled Hats, synthesized 31 Cotton Robes, and sold them. For my final round of buying and synthesizing, I bought 1 Javelin, 1 Glass Armlet, 41 Steepled Hats, and 1 Linen Cuirass, and synthesized 1 Butterfly Sword, 36 Cotton Robes, 4 Yellow Scarves, and 1 Glass Buckle. I don't need The Ogre yet, and I'll get one for free before I do need it, so I don't bother getting it now. This means I don't need to buy the Dagger and Mage Mashers. The Linen Cuirass is so Freya can wear it against Beatrix and still leave one for me to synthesize in Treno. The Glass Armlet is so I can make the Glass Buckle, which I will be using shortly.
Looting the rest of Lindblum is very straightforward, so I'll skip the details. I will say, however, that I skipped getting the Silver Gloves in the synthesis shop because they're not missable, and getting them now would mess up Freya's optimization. When I reached the moogle in the castle guest room I exchanged letters but skipped saving. This part only has a small amount of luck with my new strategy so I figured it wasn't necessary. This whole segment only took me 2 tries once I got the practice down.
Now on to the Festival of the Hunt! This is where I make the biggest time savings in the entire challenge! Thanks to my new discovery it is possible to skip getting the Needle Fork from Zaghnol on either Ordered with Final Equipment stat path. It's also theoretically possible on the guide's Path B and Path C, but it's incredibly difficult on those paths. If you want to do it, you would have to dig up a Barette in Chocobo Hot & Cold. The only thing you have to watch out for in the festival is making sure Freya gets at least 100 points. I should also mention that, if you don't want Freya to win, you have to run down the festival clock anyway, so you might as well get the Needle Fork. If you want Freya to win or you don't care who wins, then this is a great way to save a lot of time on Ordered With Final Equipment!
After the festival I went through the scenes, picked up the Wyerd card, handled Mognet with the moogle at the Dragon's Gate, and saved. My time is now 01:55:21.
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