Well when I reach a dungeon for the first time, I don't like to grind at the entrance before moving onward, because that kind of kills the exploration for me (even if it is a game I've played 95 million times) I find it a more rewarding experience to take my chances and keep moving on.
But I do go out of my way to get the best equipment. For example, the story doesn't require me to visit Kouan before heading to Lake Toran, but I still go to Kouan to buy all the strongest equipment first.
The most disappointing dungeon for me is probably the cave at Qlon Temple. Those Banshees are ridiculously weak for that point of the game. And I think it could have done with a boss.
Every dungeon, I always grind first until I can let go
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sticky-runes
- Posts: 1939
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Belle
- Posts: 314
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Re: Every dungeon, I always grind first until I can let go
I agree about the difficulty spike, although... I believe you can just run away from the battles around Kaku/Seika at that point. It's a lot better than engaging the enemy (which ends up with you getting your ass kicked for little to no reward/exp anyway).Eltaire wrote:The difficulty spike in this game is incredibly steep at some points.
For example, the enemies around the Gregminster area are a cakewalk compared to the enemies around Kaku and Seika when you first get there.
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wataru14
- Guide Writer
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Re: Every dungeon, I always grind first until I can let go
You don't really have to "grind" in this game, at least not in the traditional sense. The enemies are designed to give you enough experience to bring any underleveled companions up to snuff quickly and characters who are leveled up fully will increase after just a few battles. Most times I find that normal exploration will net you enough levels to move ahead without grinding. When I think of "grinding" I think of Dragon Warrior on the NES (otherwise known as "Level Grinding: The RPG"), where you have to grind for hours and hours at a time to be able to get anywhere. Grinding is also only really useful for warrior types. MP doesn't increase as you level until you rest. If you're using an underleveled mage and trying to train them up for a boss battle, you have to grind them, then leave the dungeon, rest, and return. This is not always possible.
There are only a few times I ever need to grind in S1. The first is if I'm going on the optional trek to Sarady at the beginning of the game. You need to be around level 8 or so to be able to Let Go the enemies there (as I recall), and since you start at Level 1, you have to grind (and finding the one or maybe two enemy groupings that won't kill you immedaitely at Level 1 is a pain). The other is getting Pahn up to snuff for fighting Teo. But in that case, he usually gets to the level I want while I'm waiting for Opals to drop. It's rare that I get an Opal early enough for Pahn to need further leveling. The third is getting Fukien ready to face the Neclord (you have to grind a little to make sure he gets 131 Magic and a Level 4 spell slot).
You can usually avoid the need to "grind" by anticipating bosses. For example, I like bringing Varkas, Sydonia, and Eileen to Shasarazade. Bandit Attack is the best two-person unite in the game except for Fishermen. I like it better than Fishermen because it can be spammed without Turtle Runes and Varkas can take melee hits from the front row, which Tai Ho can't. Eileen is a long-range mage and Earth magic rocks against the Shell Venus, allowing me to save Judgment for Sonya. I don't use these characters hardly at all before this, so they need to be leveled to have a chance against the two bosses in the Loating Fortress. Having Varkas and Sydonia level in Shasarazade is fine, but Eileen would end up at Level 50 with hardly any MP. I would have to leave, go home, rest, and return. However, if you bring her to Moravia before that (which has no boss, so you can pretty much bring anybody), she will level up to just under what she would be in Shasarazade, and you can visit the soldier on the first floor to rest after leaving, thereby restoring her with enough MP to tackle Shell Venus. Just going through the castle normally twice (which you need to do anyway to get Vincent and the Mother Earth Rune) will get her leveled enough to go into Shasarazade.
There are only a few times I ever need to grind in S1. The first is if I'm going on the optional trek to Sarady at the beginning of the game. You need to be around level 8 or so to be able to Let Go the enemies there (as I recall), and since you start at Level 1, you have to grind (and finding the one or maybe two enemy groupings that won't kill you immedaitely at Level 1 is a pain). The other is getting Pahn up to snuff for fighting Teo. But in that case, he usually gets to the level I want while I'm waiting for Opals to drop. It's rare that I get an Opal early enough for Pahn to need further leveling. The third is getting Fukien ready to face the Neclord (you have to grind a little to make sure he gets 131 Magic and a Level 4 spell slot).
You can usually avoid the need to "grind" by anticipating bosses. For example, I like bringing Varkas, Sydonia, and Eileen to Shasarazade. Bandit Attack is the best two-person unite in the game except for Fishermen. I like it better than Fishermen because it can be spammed without Turtle Runes and Varkas can take melee hits from the front row, which Tai Ho can't. Eileen is a long-range mage and Earth magic rocks against the Shell Venus, allowing me to save Judgment for Sonya. I don't use these characters hardly at all before this, so they need to be leveled to have a chance against the two bosses in the Loating Fortress. Having Varkas and Sydonia level in Shasarazade is fine, but Eileen would end up at Level 50 with hardly any MP. I would have to leave, go home, rest, and return. However, if you bring her to Moravia before that (which has no boss, so you can pretty much bring anybody), she will level up to just under what she would be in Shasarazade, and you can visit the soldier on the first floor to rest after leaving, thereby restoring her with enough MP to tackle Shell Venus. Just going through the castle normally twice (which you need to do anyway to get Vincent and the Mother Earth Rune) will get her leveled enough to go into Shasarazade.