Post by BusterTheFox on Aug 12, 2012 0:36:57 GMT -8
Anyone who's played Stick Adventure 3½ should know that it comes in three different difficulty levels. One's NormalType, the most balanced of the three. And then there's EasyType, which is made to give newer players an edge. And then there's HardType.
If you like to grind for EXP, it gets easier once you get going. But the hardest part is the "getting going" part itself. You start with only enough MP to cast Fire one time before you need to stay at an Inn, and even with that, you don't have the strength to take down even a single Goblin. So what do you do? How are you supposed to move on?
That's what this topic is here for! I'm here to explain different strategies for how to succeed in the HardType difficulty mode. If you find yourself frustrated, just follow these tips and you'll be one-hit killing and taking minimum damage in no time!
- The Power Struggle
Since you can't beat anything with regular attacks alone (even with the help of Fire), you'll have to rely on Limit Breaks. To begin, I'll explain how the Limit Gauge's mechanics work.
Every time you take damage, your limit gauge goes up by the amount of damage you took. To be more exact, it goes up by the PERCENTAGE of you HP that you lost. For instance, if you have 100 HP and you take 32 points of damage, your Limit Gauge will will at 32% (although the in-game meter will say it's at 20% since it goes up for every 20%). Once your Limit reaches 100%, you can use a Limit Break.
Of course, this means that you have to lose 100% of your HP before you can use a Limit Break. That's clearly not possible; however, healing Stick, whether by using the Heal spell or by staying at an Inn, does not affect the Limit Gauge. Use this to your advantage!
Once you start the game, make a bee-line to Luster Town. Flee from any enemies you encounter. You're going to want them to hit you once or twice to fill up the Limit gauge a bit. This is the most frustrating part of the HardType challenge since failing to Flee from enemies enough can end your game before you've even had a chance to start.
Once you get to town, stay at the Inn. Then, go back out to one of the Luster Fields maps and fight until your Limit Gauge is full. Stay at the Inn one more time. Finally, find a Goblin (Flee from any Killer Bees you find, and if they hit you, heal again). Start by hitting it with Mega Overdrive, which should take out most of its HP. One more attack and it will go down. Rinse and repeat until you meet the 35 EXP criteria and level-up! Once you get those stat boosts, you should be able to kill Goblins without Mega Overdrive, at the very least.
- SAVE OFTEN.
It's best to save right after the first time you stay at the Inn. This way, if you die, you can load up your file and continue from where you left off.
Save after every time you stay at the Inn, especially if you've just gained some experience points. Even if you haven't gain any EXP, your Limit is sure to be higher than it was. Making good use of Mega Overdrive is the key to getting through this first part of the game.
- May the Force be With You
PRAY that you get good stats at Level 2! If your Attack or Defense only go up by 1, it could be trouble. It's also problematic if your MP increases by the minimum of 2, since that'll mean you're one short of casting Fire a second time. If need be, continue the above process until to reach Level 3.
- Mid-game
Even if you get terrible level-up stats, Level 3 should be safe for you to make your way up to Sunset Valley. Once you're there, you can start training on the more powerful Snock enemies that give you a healthy 15 EXP per kill. That boost will help you level quickly for a level or two. Just remember NOT to use magic on them unless your Magical Attack is MUCH higher than your physical Attack. Their weakness to Foam doesn't make much of a difference since you don't learn that spell until level 10, and by that time you're so strong that you can one-hit kill a Snock with a regular attack.
In Sunset Valley, the first thing you should do is go through the Stem event. This gives you the Ultra Heal Limit Break, one that's VERY helpful during the first boss, even on NormalType. Once the event is over, you can talk to Stem as an NPC and she'll heal you just like an Inn would. Abuse this like you did the Inn near Luster Fields while training on Snocks and Killer Bees. And remember that by Level 3, you can ALWAYS cast Fire twice, and Killer Bees are weak to fire. Since you'll be giving Snocks regular attacks anyway, save your MP for the bees.
- The Beast
Level 5 is a safe level to go against the first boss at, although if your stats turned out terribly bad, it's not by any means a bad idea to go for Level 6, as that's when you learn Heal. Once you have that spell, you can start using multiple Limit Breaks per battle, adding a lot more options to how you battle the Horned Beast. If your stats turned out well, don;t hesitate to go for Level 6 ANYWAY, since overleveling is a GOOD THING in a HardType game.
Try to come at full health with your Limit Gauge a bit full. If you can do this, you can easily ready your Limit Break before you really need to use Ultra Heal.
That's about it for now. Good luck, and have fun!
If you like to grind for EXP, it gets easier once you get going. But the hardest part is the "getting going" part itself. You start with only enough MP to cast Fire one time before you need to stay at an Inn, and even with that, you don't have the strength to take down even a single Goblin. So what do you do? How are you supposed to move on?
That's what this topic is here for! I'm here to explain different strategies for how to succeed in the HardType difficulty mode. If you find yourself frustrated, just follow these tips and you'll be one-hit killing and taking minimum damage in no time!
- The Power Struggle
Since you can't beat anything with regular attacks alone (even with the help of Fire), you'll have to rely on Limit Breaks. To begin, I'll explain how the Limit Gauge's mechanics work.
Every time you take damage, your limit gauge goes up by the amount of damage you took. To be more exact, it goes up by the PERCENTAGE of you HP that you lost. For instance, if you have 100 HP and you take 32 points of damage, your Limit Gauge will will at 32% (although the in-game meter will say it's at 20% since it goes up for every 20%). Once your Limit reaches 100%, you can use a Limit Break.
Of course, this means that you have to lose 100% of your HP before you can use a Limit Break. That's clearly not possible; however, healing Stick, whether by using the Heal spell or by staying at an Inn, does not affect the Limit Gauge. Use this to your advantage!
Once you start the game, make a bee-line to Luster Town. Flee from any enemies you encounter. You're going to want them to hit you once or twice to fill up the Limit gauge a bit. This is the most frustrating part of the HardType challenge since failing to Flee from enemies enough can end your game before you've even had a chance to start.
Once you get to town, stay at the Inn. Then, go back out to one of the Luster Fields maps and fight until your Limit Gauge is full. Stay at the Inn one more time. Finally, find a Goblin (Flee from any Killer Bees you find, and if they hit you, heal again). Start by hitting it with Mega Overdrive, which should take out most of its HP. One more attack and it will go down. Rinse and repeat until you meet the 35 EXP criteria and level-up! Once you get those stat boosts, you should be able to kill Goblins without Mega Overdrive, at the very least.
- SAVE OFTEN.
It's best to save right after the first time you stay at the Inn. This way, if you die, you can load up your file and continue from where you left off.
Save after every time you stay at the Inn, especially if you've just gained some experience points. Even if you haven't gain any EXP, your Limit is sure to be higher than it was. Making good use of Mega Overdrive is the key to getting through this first part of the game.
- May the Force be With You
PRAY that you get good stats at Level 2! If your Attack or Defense only go up by 1, it could be trouble. It's also problematic if your MP increases by the minimum of 2, since that'll mean you're one short of casting Fire a second time. If need be, continue the above process until to reach Level 3.
- Mid-game
Even if you get terrible level-up stats, Level 3 should be safe for you to make your way up to Sunset Valley. Once you're there, you can start training on the more powerful Snock enemies that give you a healthy 15 EXP per kill. That boost will help you level quickly for a level or two. Just remember NOT to use magic on them unless your Magical Attack is MUCH higher than your physical Attack. Their weakness to Foam doesn't make much of a difference since you don't learn that spell until level 10, and by that time you're so strong that you can one-hit kill a Snock with a regular attack.
In Sunset Valley, the first thing you should do is go through the Stem event. This gives you the Ultra Heal Limit Break, one that's VERY helpful during the first boss, even on NormalType. Once the event is over, you can talk to Stem as an NPC and she'll heal you just like an Inn would. Abuse this like you did the Inn near Luster Fields while training on Snocks and Killer Bees. And remember that by Level 3, you can ALWAYS cast Fire twice, and Killer Bees are weak to fire. Since you'll be giving Snocks regular attacks anyway, save your MP for the bees.
- The Beast
Level 5 is a safe level to go against the first boss at, although if your stats turned out terribly bad, it's not by any means a bad idea to go for Level 6, as that's when you learn Heal. Once you have that spell, you can start using multiple Limit Breaks per battle, adding a lot more options to how you battle the Horned Beast. If your stats turned out well, don;t hesitate to go for Level 6 ANYWAY, since overleveling is a GOOD THING in a HardType game.
Try to come at full health with your Limit Gauge a bit full. If you can do this, you can easily ready your Limit Break before you really need to use Ultra Heal.
That's about it for now. Good luck, and have fun!