The GWJ JRPG Club - Q2 2020 - Bravely Second: End Layer

Godzilla Blitz wrote:
Malkroth wrote:

Finally completed the Prologue last night. I like the game (although do not like Yew and still am meh on Tiz as characters), but I just have such a hard time making myself play a 3DS game when my PS4, Switch, and PC are all staring me in the face. Feels like such a waste a time to play on a handheld system when better systems are available. Growing up my Gameboy, Game Gear, etc. were always only for playing while traveling, so maybe that is part of my block. Really wish this game was available on Switch instead.

Hopefully I can force myself forward and get some good progress this week.

This is interesting. I was thinking the exact opposite the other night as I was playing BS. I was thinking that the 3DS is relaxing to go to now because it's so disconnected from everything, kind of why I like the Kindle for reading because there are no distractions. And I really like that I can just flip the cover open and start to play in like 2 seconds, no matter where I am. Because I'm working from home all the time now, my home office has morphed into a complete workspace, so it's harder for my mind to disassociate from work there. Escaping to the 3DS in the living room, or somewhere else in the house has been really positive for me.

I'm in the same boat, getting the 3DS out has resulted in me sinking in more time than I normally would.

With the kids around during the day and only limited time with my wife in the evenings I'm always a little conscious of the time I spend on the consoles or PC, they feel like they take all my focus, and often require a big time commitment. The DS, on the other hand, is great for just picking up for a quick session, the kind of time I would often spend looking at social media/news on my phone, but still comfortable for longer play when the time permits.

I’ll second basically everything Cronox said. In addition, having the 3DS sleeping until I have a few moments to play it means that the base keeps getting built, and keeps the game going. I’m getting some seriously good stuff to add to the special moves, long before I’m probably supposed to.

Conversely, while I’m also interested in playing DOS2 with the CRPG club this quarter, sitting down for a couple of hours on the PC almost feels like an event that needs to be planned right now.

Cronox just made me realize something. The 3DS's biggest problem is it is designed to be bite-sized, pick up and play. When I play an RPG I want to sink into it for hours at a time (a luxury I have as a single adult), not pick up and play it for 15 minutes before putting it away to attend to some other adult activity. I find myself spacing out or looking at my PC/Phone when a cutscene starts to play and then get frustrated I am missing some of the dialogue because my attention is split. When I am traveling or away from home, I can focus on it easier since it is the only game point of focus available to me. I do really like this game and want to get into it, so I either need to figure out how to focus on it, or weave it periodically into my day picking up and playing it in small spurts. I know this isn't directly related to Bravely Second, but you all have helped me figure out something that has been bothering me about the 3DS, thank you!

Darkhaund wrote:

Guys... Where is is good to level up some jobs? I made changes on my characters and would apprecia pointers

Because of the way the game handles random encounters, anywhere can be a good place to level up jobs. Have you been trying doing the "one more opponent" thing?

bobbywatson wrote:

Off-topic, but I just have to say it:

Amoebic did a fantastic job with your Stan, LastSurprise!

She sure did! I love it.

I made a bit more progress last night. I explored Al-Khampis then set out on a side quest. I ended up doing a bit of grinding on the way, then started to get sleepy. Party is up to Level 12-13. I'm definitely locked onto the game though, and am thinking this might finally be the thing to get me to Level 2 with the JRPG Club! #excited

OKAAYYYY

WHAT is this CHOMP CHOMP THING i just ran into?
Am i now delusional for the quarantine... or what is this lol?

As far as I've seen, it's a weird money making scheme.....and the Chompers are basic enemies a bit later in the game. Or something.

I'm afraid to look further, since this could either be a reference to the first game that just got jammed in suddenly, or a crazy, mind bending twist later in the game.

EDIT:

Spoiler:

Well, I did run into a Chompmillionaire Ba'al on the moon. It died to one weak hit, and I got 10k pg for my effort. So maybe they're based on some interdimensional demons or something?

Darkhaund wrote:

OKAAYYYY

WHAT is this CHOMP CHOMP THING i just ran into?
Am i now delusional for the quarantine... or what is this lol?

Yeah, that was ... weird.

Seems like you could just crank away making money if you leave the 3DS open, but I'll prolly pass.

It is weird.. ill see whast to do with it

I don't think it's a reference to the first game at all. There might have been some similar-looking enemies, but I don't remember anything from the first game that gives context to the Chompcraft minigame.

Darkhaund wrote:

OKAAYYYY

WHAT is this CHOMP CHOMP THING i just ran into?
Am i now delusional for the quarantine... or what is this lol?

I came to ask the exact same question.

I played around a little bit (because it's easy to leave the DS running while working from home) and the returns so far seem to suggest this will take a massive time investment to get to the point where you are really earning anything.

I just found an "Enemy Crab" who used "Massive Damage" on me and I couldn't stop laughing. Love it!

Can we ignore this chomp nonsense ?

Darkhaund wrote:

Can we ignore this chomp nonsense ?

As far as I can tell, it can be safely ignored. The base building shouldn't be, however.

Darkhaund wrote:

Can we ignore this chomp nonsense ?

Sure! I think's solely a way to make money, so you can pass on it if you don't like it. But I don't think it has to be a massive time sink to be effective. I've played it like 3 times for 10 minutes each, and already have had a pretty good uptick in how much cp I rake in. Those gains required me to actively play the clicker game; I get the sense that, like many idle clicker games, you won't see much progress unless you engage.

In other news, I just finished Chapter 1. The last dungeon was pretty good, and I enjoyed the design of having the exit right next to the entrance, but needing to roam through a maze to find the necessary switches. It was also great to have so many Catmancy skills available from enemies close to where you pick up the Catmancer asterisk. 2 more in that last dungeon!

I'm at around level 25-26, which is slightly above the recommended level for each dungeon. I think I'm a little bit higher because, as opposed to the last time I tried this game, I'm better at setting up multiple battles to get that bonus XP. Being willing to spend money on consumable attack items, and then use those items, has helped a lot.

The boss was interesting! There was a mechanic that caught me totally off guard. My setup was really poor, given its strengths and weaknesses, but I managed to pull out a win anyway. Spoiler in case you want to read about the end-of-chapter boss's gimmick.

Spoiler:

It's a two-headed creature; one head can only be harmed by physical attacks, the other can only be harmed by magical attacks. And, magical attacks actually heal the physical head, and vice versa. All four of my characters were physical attackers, and no one had a backup magical skill. But, fortunately, attack items count as magical attacks.

I also really enjoyed the conversation with your foe at the end of Chapter 1. It feels like the game is sowing the seeds of that deeper story to come ...

A_Unicycle wrote:

I just found an "Enemy Crab" who used "Massive Damage" on me and I couldn't stop laughing. Love it!

I came across these last night, hilarious touch.

Its “no weak point” ability was pretty good too!

Pro tip: At some point, pigs show up in the cities. I think it happens sometime in Ch.2, or at least this is the first time I noticed them. You can use them to teleport to other cities you've been to already.

Telepigs.

I am REALLY REALLY enjoying this game.

Thanks for the explanation guys btw... I will of course not skip the moon thingy.. but the comp think will most likey try it out once im doing home office during work hours. Very enjoyable game so far.

Feel like I’m missing out on a lot of good discussion here! Currently pushing hard to get through Ys: Memories of Celceta, then I’ll be back into this.

Mr GT Chris wrote:

Feel like I’m missing out on a lot of good discussion here! Currently pushing hard to get through Ys: Memories of Celceta, then I’ll be back into this.

Same, but in my case it's because I'm way behind! Still in the prologue (I just got my first asterisk).

One quick thing I learned yesterday: apparently, to use the Charioteer's Wild Toss ability -- where he/she throws a weapon at all enemies -- you need multiple copies of the weapon. Presumably, you need one for each enemy.

Well, Chapter 2 is chugging along, and this area is clearly based on Japan, with many of the tropes that come along with that in JRPGs and various anime. Like, when the opportunity for something anime to happen comes up, it’s probably going to happen at some point. With one notable exception so far.

Spoiler:

The whole hot springs bit felt like a refreshing subversion of how these normally go.

And I’ve done the next sidequest, and went with getting the White Mage class. Not sure yet how it will differ from Bishop, but at least I know WM leans Holy, plus gets a really good ability in Group-Cast Master, which I definitely want Magnolia to learn down the road.

So far my party looks like:
Yew: Wizard/Astrologer (or Summoner)
Magnolia: Bishop/Wizard
Edea: Hawkeye/Charioteer
Tiz: Thief/Freelancer

I’ve mostly been taking the Magic classes in the sidequests instead of the melee classes, so Edea and Tiz have largely been relegated to Thief/Charioteer/Fencer until just recently since I didn’t have anything else. As such, they really don’t have much diversity in their skills or support abilities. Fortunately, Thief’s speed and attack capabilities have made Tiz a force regardless, but he's fragile as all get out, and is the only character who gets KO'ed at all. Edea felt like she was lagging behind as a Charioteer even while dual wielding, so I jumped at Hawkeye when I got it, and her damage output when way up.

EDIT: And don't try to Steal Breath with a Thief on zombies. You take damage instead of healing. It seems so obvious now.

I drank some coffee way too late in the day yesterday, so I couldn't fall asleep until like 4am. I ended up playing a good couple of hours. Party is at Level 15, and we're heading toward the first Ba'al, I think. Good times.

I am having, um, issues, with my party though. Right now I've got Wizard, Charioteer, Red Mage, and Fencer.

I ended up getting the Red Mage in the first sidequest, as I just couldn't stand the Red Mage character from a moral perspective. Does that mean I'll never have access to the Thief class? I assumed I'll be able to get it later, but maybe that's not the case?

In any case, Wizard kicks butt with damage, but I feel like he's the only class doing good damage. The Charioteer is meh. I switched my Bishop to Red Mage, and that's a bit better, but still not strong. Fencer seems kind of punchless as well. So I'm finding that the random encounters are taking time and we're picking up damage. They feel harder than they should be. Level-wise, we're fine, but I feel like I should have more functional characters. The Wizard's damage is often many times that of everyone else.

My special attacks seem kind of broken too. I wonder if I'm not setting them up right. I only got 300-500 damage from two of them last night, and I was expecting way more.

Anyway, things for me to figure out.

LastSurprise wrote:

One quick thing I learned yesterday: apparently, to use the Charioteer's Wild Toss ability -- where he/she throws a weapon at all enemies -- you need multiple copies of the weapon. Presumably, you need one for each enemy.

ouch... good to know...

I also need to know... If we can eventually get all asterisks? I am at that dungeon where

Spoiler:

I will save the Oases and fight DeRosa.. will I never get Thief?

Per the sidequests where you have to choose an asterisk (like Red Mage vs. Thief):

Spoiler:

My understanding is that you can get the other asterisk, but it is much, MUCH later in the game. So for completion's sake you can still catch 'em all, but at that point you may not want to grind jp for that class to get the later skills. So, whichever class you pick is probably who you're going to have to work with.

And FWIW, I often approached the sidequests from the standpoint of which class do I want to get, regardless of who I agree with in each quest. I supported the Thief's cause more than I did DeRosa, but I wanted his asterisk so he had to get knocked down a rung.

Well... I took my chance and got the Redmage asterisk!

Sundown wrote:

Per the sidequests where you have to choose an asterisk (like Red Mage vs. Thief):

Spoiler:

My understanding is that you can get the other asterisk, but it is much, MUCH later in the game. So for completion's sake you can still catch 'em all, but at that point you may not want to grind jp for that class to get the later skills. So, whichever class you pick is probably who you're going to have to work with.

And FWIW, I often approached the sidequests from the standpoint of which class do I want to get, regardless of who I agree with in each quest. I supported the Thief's cause more than I did DeRosa, but I wanted his asterisk so he had to get knocked down a rung.

Spoiler:

Oops. Thanks! I will live with my choice. Forward.

Just got the Redmage Asterisk.. and maybe it is tooo early to tell.. but what a great game. I dont know what took me this long to have played it. Especially after me loving Bravely Default 1

Godzilla Blitz wrote:

In any case, Wizard kicks butt with damage, but I feel like he's the only class doing good damage. The Charioteer is meh. I switched my Bishop to Red Mage, and that's a bit better, but still not strong. Fencer seems kind of punchless as well. So I'm finding that the random encounters are taking time and we're picking up damage. They feel harder than they should be. Level-wise, we're fine, but I feel like I should have more functional characters. The Wizard's damage is often many times that of everyone else

I'm at a similar point think (I'm just starting the thief side quest) and finding the same issues with my party. the wizard damage is fantastic, but all the melee ones so far have not been so good.

Still mucking around with different equipment set-ups and hoping that the thief job will help out here too.