"Initial" because I've technically played it before, but I didn't understand anything, and I'm actually making an effort to understand now.
First of all, it doesn't seem to me to be Pay to Win because I've done my research, and it would appear that the only thing that is absolutely necessary to buy is a B-Slot and that is only necessary for certain characters (Elemental Masters, for example). I'm still not 100% sure what a B-Slot is, but I know it's important for some characters.
Knockdown is bad, but I haven't quite figured out how to avoid it. I found a list of "User-Created Combos," many of which promise to avoid knockdown, but they feel really difficult to execute. This all reminds me of Soul Calibur and how there are some really powerful combos that you can pull off in practice mode, but when you're actually fighting someone there is no way you'll be able to pull it off under pressure. I don't want to be yelled at by my party if I ever join one, but I also don't think I can pull off half those combos. I can do the infinite combo for Aisha (ZZ cancel with < > and then continue), but even that doesn't seem all that practical. Especially since that doesn't seem all that powerful. XXXholdX felt really powerful, but it knocks down, and I'm supposed to be content with ZZ stop ZZ stop ZZ stop? It feels weird! Regardless, it is all rather confusing and makes me afraid to join a dungeon group. So, soloing for now!
Soloing doesn't feel as painful as it does in some other games. I'm willing to accept the lower exp gains than I would get in a party, and I feel like I'm picking up the character easier on my own. Plus! Less stress! If I lose in a dungeon by myself, I am not putting anyone else out!
That said, I am worried about the Magician 3/4 quest where I have to complete The Suburbs of Wally's Castle on Very Hard mode. I managed to do 1/4 where I had to complete the dungeon on Normal with a score of B or higher, and I did that in one try. Took two runs through to complete 2/4 where I had to defeat a certain number of Phorus, because there weren't enough in the dungeon for one run through. Really worried about 3/4 though? I was barely alive throughout Hard Mode because Bomber Mongs beat me up. William Phoru himself isn't too bad because he can just be kited around and I can teleport away from his attacks, once I kill the Mongs. The problem isn't the final stage, it's the stages before that!
I remember having a lot more trouble with The Suburbs of Wally's Castle when I first played the game as an Eve. I'm glad that I'm not having that much trouble now. I suspect that the difference is that I hadn't played Soul Calibur yet when I first played this game, because Soul Calibur taught me how to do combos like this game.
On to soloing! Maybe someday I'll become really good at it and I'll do guides on how to do them or something! That would be nice, wouldn't it? I haven't died yet, but I know that the dungeons just keep getting harder, so we'll see how far I'll go.
You can buy b-slots with ingame money, i got 11 b-slots, no cash invested, same thing with costumes, pets, etc (got them all just from doing henir and selling stuff).
ReplyDeleteyou shouldnt feel worried or shy to join dungeon groups, its just going from point A to B and even if you afk your team wont have any trouble clearing everything in very hard, even lv 70 dungeons can be played with just 2 people and no one pays attention to knockdown except for pvp. also im not sure if those combo guides will help you with knockdown resets (they always get updated, so some of them dont reset anymore) pve is all about charging mana and spamming skills (at least in late game) if you need any help i play NA and am a big fan of your TPDP guide.
ReplyDeleteOooooh! I didn't know that! Thank you thank you thank you, now I might actually give this game another try! :)
DeleteAnd thank you for the reassurance as well. That really makes me feel a lot better about it. I might give the game another go soon because I really like the playstyle of it and just those two things were an issue for me. Actually, I'll definitely give it another go! Thank you thank you! :)