The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (Part 2)

WOW! First of all, dunno why it's taken me this long to write (more) about this game (just realised my last entry was 2019!) 

SO, I took a couple of weeks off work recently and really stuck my teeth into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and this game is completely mind-blowing. I am a latecomer to the title (think it was released back in 2015) but better late than never! Also, it's kinda NEW on the Switch! 

It took a bit of time -- maybe the first 4-5 hours -- for me to get the hang of all the controls (yah, I've always been a bit slow in the department) but once I mastered things like dodging and blocking and how to skill up (which is actually quite complex), then it was, like, Let's Do It!

So the game is, like most RPGs, split into two parts: there is the main story, and there are the side quests. The first 20-30 hours or so it was fun doing EVERY SINGLE side quest -- exploring all the "?" and "!" on the huge map -- and it was great getting some practice on the gameplay mechanics. And Geralt being a detective-like Witcher, it was fun doing all that CSI stuff in solving different murder mysteries etc.

But after awhile it got a bit repetitive -- like, always using his "Witcher sense" to find things -- and it transpired then that the ENTIRE game is about looking for things. The crashes also started to set in so close to my 100th hour I decided to just do the minimum and stick to the main plots.

Of which -- thank God -- there are only a few and they determine how your game will end: badly, happily, or majestically -- apparently. NOT that many people are reading this blog but ***SPOILER ALERT*** ahead ...

So, the main, main story is Geralt'a quest in, yes, FINDING his ward Ciri (who is his "child of surprise" ... go watch Netflix's The Witcher if you don't know what that is) and to save her from the Wild Hunt (the game's ultra baddies). Then there is the sub plot of whether the expanding Nilfgaard empire (of which Ciri is the would-be-heiress) will succeed in swallowing up the powerful kingdom of Redania. There is also this minor but steamy plot on who Geralt will end up with, Yennefer or Triss, both his love interests and very powerful sorceresses. 

I'm now close to endgame -- am opting for the happy ending -- but because the Switch version of the game also comes with two expansions I have just started playing those too.

Which is pretty good timing because I have just unlocked the entire skill tree for Geralt. And here is the thing. Now that I'm near the end of the main game, I finally realise that this Skill Tree is probably the most important mechanics that determines how good your Geralt is. Definitely, IMHO, more important than the level/ gear set + weapons.

For instance, you can take on monsters/bandits/ guards that are of higher levels with basic gear and weapons... It was more than half way through the game when you gain access to Geralt's canonical Wolven set, but by which point it is already out-levelled -- yet it doesn't really matter.

The Wolven armour set

What does matter (to me, anyway) is it is its looks. And here lies the only problem I have with this game: why are the armours so ugly? Like, before I unlocked the Wolven set I was wearing the low level Nilfgaardian set for the longest time (it was a DLC item) cos it looks half decent. Then I got the relic version of the Redanian halberdier armour, which I think is one of the best mid-game armours that I still wear to battles.

And finally, the skill tree. At level 30, all the skill slots are unlocked and I've just re-spec my skills so my build focuses more on "alchemy", i.e. on buffing. So forget about sword and magic skills (which I still have) but I am working on how to keep my Health bar full all the time by using potions, decoctions and oils. I'm still fumbling my way through trial & error but I think THIS is what gives this game's combat system depth, and what makes playing it fun. 

Perhaps I can finally give up playing (the stupid) Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire (???) 

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