Saga Frontier Remastered - T260 Part 9: Vitality Rune
I wanted to go do the optional dungeon, but it turns out that one of the runes will find you depending on the route you take. As a result, our ship is attacked by some kind of whale creature, which just so happens to contain the Vitality Rune. We have to navigate the insides of the beast where we will find a group of slimes guarding the rune. Unlike other situations where we can force our way through, we merely need to create an opening to have one of the party members be able to reach it to bring this scenario to an end. With the rune in our grasp, we can either look to obtain the magic immediately or head to the lab. Decisions, decisions... ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIahDIdRMMY
With Hanayome behind us, we can now move forward where we make our return to where everything started (that we can remember). Hanahiko was not the only occupant of that abandoned school, and with our new notebook in hand, we start learning how to control snakes so that we can explore the rest of the place.
In search of the beasts that can help Ochette deal with her upcoming crisis, we opt to go after the lowest level one in the bunch. Sadly, upon arriving, we quickly learn that the beast we seek is no more. Can we find a suitable replacement for it?
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPRpiQljKIg
This is an optional area, but it is necessary to get Rudy's ultimate weapon and I forgot the other piece of ultimate gear here, but there is another. Sadly, neither can be accessed just yet.
This is a decent grinding spot, but surviving it is a little difficult where we are currently. Overall, I had a lot more success farming Duplicators here than trying to steal them or get them as drops from the alien enemies. You can also get Secret Signs among other things here, so make sure to exploit things to their fullest here. I will get Magnum Fang down to a low cost eventually by using this, and the remainder of the Duplicators I need will be coming from here as well. It will break the balance of the game somewhat as I will be leaving here considerably stronger than needed for almost the remainder of the game. It will only be the optional bosses that pose any degree of danger to me.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDEUM3QW38M
And now, we are back to normal gameplay. I do not have the end game stuff, but actual equips that would be normal in this time frame. The targets this time are more monsters that are not relevant for my build, so I will not be going out of my way to fight them other than crown farming.
Of this batch, if element gunning worked like it is supposed to, Khezu would be a must fight so you can get his rapid fire thunder gun. Unless Capcom decides to buff it, I will not be recommending that gun. Ultimately, I think element gunning works a little better for HBGs, but even then it is still lackluster. Just stick to what you've been using for the most part, and charge forward.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TibUTnVd6JU
We have another fairly brief mission here with the objective of capturing cities. We do not have Kohaku for this to capitalize on her mobility, but we have Tsukumo with the restriction of not being able to heal or lock-on. In scenarios like these, I recommend using the indirect fire units to their fullest, softening targets before moving in for the kill. You are still able to merge units to conserve resources (and protect your heart score). I hope you enjoy the brevity here, because the next one will not be so swift...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpTYsujhdRc
The final Sonja mission, where Andy gets his turn to play in the fog. You need to work on your ambush skills here as Sonja has more than enough force here to overwhelm you. To get a good score, you will need to know in advance where to find her indirects that are camping in the woods, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. Depending on what you do with the western most peninsula, you can either go for a rout by seizing it or sneak the HQ by ignoring it and going around. Find what works for you and bring your time in Yellow/Gold Comet to an end.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8nBqB01PlA
There are a lot of scenes to witness before we can finally move onto the battle of the video (around the 20 min mark). Unfortunately, this is the SRPG equivalent of a water level, so we will suffer as if it were a platformer. Angles of attack are skewed and limited, and navigating the muck is difficult for some classes more than others. The game does have worse water levels, so we should probably count our blessings I guess.
Anyway, the one mission has ended and we've kicked off a new one that is sending us toward the end of the chapter where we will need to make a choice...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ9lHQIRO-M
We go up against Sami and Sonja, and it is a bit of a strange map. You have to be careful when attacking Sonja during her super unless you have indirects to spam. As for Sami, she is a lot more manageable if you are able to keep her using Double Time instead of stealing your properties with Victory March. Luckily, the AI cannot play Sami anywhere near as dangerously as a human can.
My strategy here is to seize the production facilities between the two of us, then abuse Kanbei's defenses so that they cannot push me back. Personally, I believe Sami is the more threatening of the two as her specialty units are the cheapest in the game. As such, I focus her first, and then work on forcing Sonja back. I might be able to hit Sonja through her super when using my own, but that is a choice you need to be very careful when making.
Anyway, as long as you don't let them fortify their positions and overwhelm you with numbers, you can smash through their defenses and run all the way to their HQ for the win. My only concern is with the amount of destruction you must inflict in order to get a perfect power score on this map...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEmV8RuMpZQ
With the bulk of the Halloween event behind me, I can play some more ranked. After some disappointment with teammates, I figured I would just try different characters and see what happens, which is where Garchomp comes in. His attack speed and Dragon Rush were recently buffed, but I still prefer Dig over it. The trick is finding a way to stick to the opponent, which is why I am running Razor Claw, but even it has limits.
As for the other two, Pikachu and Sylveon have been here countless times. I like Sylveon's flexibility, but with the buffed Volt Tackle, Pikachu has become more dangerous than some people may be expecting.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMTL-dbGEOQ