The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Blink and it's almost the end of another year. And, believe it or not, I have gone back to playing Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire *argh* I have no idea WHY -- maybe because I like the FFXV lore? -- but despite being terribly cheated/conned/swindled by the greedy developer who reset the game in April, and therefore wiped clean what I'd spent on the game, I'm drawn back to it ... cos it now has a better gameplay/mechanics. Though still after players $$$ at least it is now possible to progress in the game without having to fork out $$$ just to catch up. The dev seems to have found a balance between satisfying their main clients (or whales, who can drop US$1,000 without thinking) and free2play (like me). Since I started playing the game again I did spent several hundred dollars but that I am okay about ... they just better not reset everything again next year. 

How are they going to take the game forward is everyone's guess since they seem to have exhausted every character in the original game -- the latest hero is a dog! But since I'm now in a new guild (the old one had v sadly dissolved) and there are several whales around (they pay so I don't have to) I'm quite happy to stick around for a bit longer. Besides, I seem to have pretty much caught up with the mid-tier players anyway so I can lower the protective shield without the fear of being OHKOed... 

Meanwhile, have bought a couple of new games for my Switch: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 and The Witcher 3... I wish I'd known about the latter being ported to the Switch so I'd have waited on getting the former. Neither game is easy to get into first but am playing the Witcher game now, which looks really interesting -- though will need a guide cos right now am not sure what I should be doing (as I like to do lots of sidequests -- hence I am still in chapter 2 in Final Fantasy XV !!)

Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age (Endgame)

After having beaten Hell Wyrm I'd decided to leave the final two bonuses Omega and Yiazmat for now -- they are not unbeatable but just take a darn long time (endless rounds of buffing and debuffing) to kill ><! Besides, there are no more ultimate gear/ accessories to be had at this point.

So I finished the main game -- which has a FAB ending (Balthier!!!) -- and started New Game+ to do a full Trial Mode run. I had to speed play *arghhh* a good chunk of the game again (including several awful/ lame side quests) to have the full team of six unlocked.

To make this run more, err, challenging -- I practically OHKO my way through story mode given my invisible weapons and accessories all carried over -- I will only use three jobs.  

Vaan -- Shikari

Balthier -- Machinist

Fran -- Red Battlemage

Basch -- Bushi

Ashe -- Knight

Penelo -- White Mage

Shikari because I want Vaan to wield a Ninja sword (Yagyu Darkblade) and administer Remedy 3 (with  Nihopalaoa *evil*); Bushi for the Masamune Genji Gloves combo for Basch; and a healer.  

There are 100 stages in Trial Mode and I've reached level 36. So far everything is manageable (though Vaan still got OHKOed with Gendarme shield and Ribbon on!) but it is not as much fun as I'd wished. 

Vaan and Basch are great for dealing damages (with Vaan doubling up as thief and Basch able to cast Shades of Black). The problem is with the third job. 

White Mage is needed for Dispel and Esuna ... but that's pretty much it since there is no need for constant healing. So either swap Fran in  or make Penelo a Red Battlemage instead (and Fran an Archer). At least then I have a team member that can cast spells as well as buff/ debuff.

Another problem is none of these three jobs can cast the four Breaks, which I think is important. And there is NO way to accommodate that without opening a second licence board, and maybe give Foebreaker to Penelo/ Fran. 

Something to think about. Just as well I teleported back to Rabanastre so I can go to Montblanc to have licence boards changed ...

     

Final Fantasy XII - The Zodiac Age (Part 3)

Shame I cannot transfer a saved video from my Switch to PC cos I have a cool clip of my kickass team beating a boss LOL

(I quite like this long scene... as credit)

Well, I am now reaching the end of the game, with just a few more side quests and non-story bosses to beat. Like many other RPG games, the beginning is always the hardest. By mid-game I had so many good weapons even non-story bosses became a bit of a walk in the park. Now I have just got a couple of awesome spells like Ardor and Flare I can finally attempt the more challenging dungeons.

It's also time to re-group my teams ...

Vaan, Balthier and Fran definitely cannot be all on the same team cos that would mean the other team would have no one to administer Remedy3. That pretty much means Fran and Balthier will always be together (thematically also makes sense since they ARE a couple); and Vaan and Penelo also need to pair up (bro and sis). 

I incline to group Princess Ashe with Balthier and Fran cos 1) they are the game's protagonists IMHO and 2) she can cast Bravery and Faith on them; which means I have to give Basch the same if I team him up with Vaan and Penelo (Hashmal). I will give Penelo Dispelga and Arise (Famfrit). So...

Vaan -- Black magic + Yagyu Darkblade & shield for physical attack + Remedy 3 + Steal

Penelo -- physical attack + Bubble (+ Shellga/ Protectga) + Dispelga + Arise

Basch -- physical attack + healing + Bravery/ Faith

Balthier -- physical attack + Remedy 3 + Steal

Fran -- Black magic + physical attack + healing + Arcane magic + Remedy 3

Ashe -- Bravery/ Faith + Bubble + healing + Shellga/ Protectga + Dispelga

Final Fantasy XII - The Zodiac Age (Part 2)

Just finished watching the Final Fantasy XII "movie" (all the cut scenes) and have decided to change my team lineups a little:

Princess Ashe

Vaan

Penelo

Cos they are all from Dalmasca ... 

Basch

Balthier

Fran

They all seem to have a past of sorts...

Gameplay-wise it's good to put Vaan (dark mage) with Ashe (white mage) and Penelo (monk/ time battlemage), as all three of them can do physical damages and cast magic. While Basch (tank) with both Balthier and Fran who are range attackers. Fran also serves as a red battlemage so she can cast basically all sorts of magic (the guys are just hitters). Balthier is probably the weakest of them all (wielding a gun is kinda cool but just not very practical in a fight) but he is, by far, THE BEST character in this game. 

Final Fantasy XII -- The Zodiac Age

First of all, things have certainly taken a turn for the worst in my Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire game since the last post. For reason unknown -- other than stupidity and/or greed -- the developer decided to just completely reset the game so whatever items/ troops/ strategies and real money that players had invested had literally turned to rubbish overnight. They practically started the game on a clean slate and expect gamers to continue to invest time and money into it? 

So, the good news is I am finally done with it. I still log on maybe once or twice a day to catch up with fellow players but that's about it. My empire is completely useless. Let that be a lesson learnt! Never spend money on mobile games.

It's lucky perhaps then that Square Enix decided to port Final Fantasy XII to Switch :-) This is one of the FF games that I knew very little about (it was released on the PS2 more than a decade ago) except for the two characters - Vaan and Gabranth - who appeared in the Dissidia Duodecim, which I played before. It has quite an epic story and the gameplay is super fun (think the combat system is even better than the dresspheres in Final Fantasy X2, which I love).

I've now reached the point where I have to decide how to split my six characters into two teams... I initially want to (since I'm obsessed with thematic/ canonical setups) put the lead characters - the knight, the princess and the sky pirate - all onto one team but having given this some  more thoughts, I think it'd make sense to have two balanced teams of physical/ tanks and magic wielders.

So now each lead character will, well, lead their team: 

Team A

Ashe (the Princess) White Mage/ Foebreaker

Balthier Ulan/ Machinist

Fran Archer / Red Battlemage

Team B

Basch (the Knight) Knight/ Bushi

Vaan Shikari/ Black Mage

Penelo Monk/ Time Battlemage  

(Optional)

Team C

Balthier (the Sky Pirate)

Ashe (the Princess)

Basch (the Knight) 

Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire (continues...)

Around this time last year I took this yoga teacher's training course and one exercise we had to complete was to write ourselves a letter, which was put away by our teacher for a year before she posted it back to us. So last week I received this letter from 2018 Kevin and he wrote (among other things): "Oh, I hope you have long stopped playing FFXV: ANE!"

Well, guess what? I am STILL playing the MMO game (on my LG G5)  ><! This game is pretty crap (v unbalanced) but addictive at the same time. Partly because we've been playing with that same group of people for, like, a couple of years and we've become online friends. Have to say I have done pretty well (with moderate but still v wasteful spend) ... and just this morning I defeated two big marches from a Citadel 93 (max is 100 right now), which is not bad at all especially I am only a Citadel 50! 

But things are not always what they appear to be so I think I am a good trap :-)

Also have returned playing Marvel Trading Card Game (on the OLD PSP too) lately thanks to all the hype surrounding Avengers: Endgame... 

... and the Dark Phoenix saga in the X-Men...  

I love this game cos even the most obscure characters in the Marvel universe are included. And no win is guaranteed even after all these days ><

Now, going back to that letter I wrote myself. The last year me said: "I have [the] duty to remind you that come what may, you need to continue to cherish every moment you have, and the people around you. And to remember what you [have]: happiness and hope".

I honestly cannot remember writing this down LOL

Some Good News

So I had a bit of a health scare recently. 

Just before the Chinese New Year I caught a cold and had a swelling on the chest right below the collarbone. It was quite painful but the swelling soon went down but there appeared to be bone spur/ lump, which I'd never noticed before (mind you, I seldom look into the mirror so for all we know it has probably been there for ages).

Anyway, my GP recommended me to see an orthopedic surgeon so I went to this guy who drained my knee about a year ago (these doctors are on my company's medical care plan). Wish I didn't though cos without lifting a single finger he just asked me to have a X-ray and MRI (!) scan ... in case it's something serious. Like, shouldn't he at least examine my frozen shoulder, which could well be the cause? 

So that kinda freaked me out during my two-week holiday and throughout the whole CNY period (doing the scans and then waiting for the report)... finally, I received a clean bill of health today, which is a big relief (and, no, the clinic didn't even call me up to follow up). The orthopedic surgeon just told me Good News, everything is fine -- but didn't explain to me why this bone is protruding ... only said that a muscle has pushed it forward (like, what does THAT mean?) 

This was the first time I actually got this strong sense of mortality... and for a few days I felt extremely depressed. The sense of uncertainly was daunting ... and I turned to my yoga practice as a form of refuge (focusing just on the present). Let's have no illusion about this though, it was difficult.

Now that the cloud that has been hovering my head is cleared, it really does make me appreciate life more. 

And I am so glad I won't have to see this orthopedic surgeon again! 

A Decade of Blogging

... or slacking (?!) Okay, it hasn't been quite 10 years but am quite amazed that I've kept this blog going (kinda ... on/off) for almost that long. And how the world has changed since. Not that *I* have changed much though (cause for alarm?) I'm STILL into gaming (currently playing The World of Final Fantasy on the PS Vita, Final Fantasy XV on PlayStation 4, and Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire on my mobile), yoga and mobile phones (BlackBerry, LG, Samsung and Sony). 

Mobile phones I have stopped buying as many (my contribution to environmental protection by cutting digital waste) partly because they are just not as fun & creative as they were in the past (design-wise anyway) and partly cos I get to sample them as part of my day job now (which is pretty neat). Most smartphones now pretty much offer the same functions and features (other than calling in and out) I just don't get excited about them anymore. 

Voice activation/ assistance (OK Google) still my favourite/ geeky feature and it's amazing how this function has evolved so much with artificial intelligence. Camera functions I am not so keen (never into taking photos/ videos other than the occasional posts for Instagram) but you can pretty much take very clear snaps in the dark now -- also thanks to AI. My current favourite phone is the Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, which is small and versatile. It also takes 3D images but that is just a gimmick. The slow-mo function I also like.

I'm still practising yoga -- as a student and teacher -- but recently I realised I have been neglecting my practice a little ... hence my tight hamstring and this IG post:

(Hmm, still cannot cut and paste an image straight onto the blog page!!)  So I am looking forward to spending more time yoga-ing (and less time at my desk at work!!!)

Life is not just about phones, yoga and gaming though. Just finished reading a much-hyped book by Sally Rooney called Normal People. Not sure why it got such raving reviews; it's very well written for sure but what is it trying to say? The two main characters are like-able but not relate-able ... or maybe it's a generation gap thing (perhaps the story appeals more to Millennials.  

Okay, it's Chinese New Year today (Year of the Pig) and I'm wishing everyone Good Health. Even if you do have all the wealth in the world, without health, all would be quite meaningless.