Tales of Tales of Zestiria

[Fateborn]

Really? Lailah's armatization always feel slow and clunky to me. I wonder if I'm doing anything wrong or maybe there is something that I should be doing while armatized Lailah.

Is there some specific way to use the fire armatization? I will admit, I still haven't completely mastered the mechanics of this game.

I really like the battle mechanics of Zestiria, but it takes quite a while get used to it.

Nope, all combat speed for all armatizion are the same, replaying them in my head + from playing ToZ again. They're more or less the same.

Which is why I didn't give any of the element "Speed" in combat role.

It's more of preference to which combat suits you the best.

Do you want raw damage? Lailah will synergy you.

Need to be safe from enemy's punchings? Mikleo will meld with you.

Too much pain? Edna will cuddle with you and prevent enemies from hurting you cuz ADORABLENESS

Enemies moving around 2 much? Dezel/Zaveid will truly make the tailwind behind you.

[Magical CC]

Nope, all combat speed for all armatizion are the same, replaying them in my head + from playing ToZ again. They're more or less the same.

Which is why I didn't give any of the element "Speed" in combat role.

It's more of preference to which combat suits you the best.

Do you want raw damage? Lailah will synergy you.

Need to be safe from enemy's punchings? Mikleo will meld with you.

Too much pain? Edna will cuddle with you and prevent enemies from hurting you cuz ADORABLENESS

Enemies moving around 2 much? Dezel/Zaveid will truly make the tailwind behind you.

How about flying enemy?

[Fateborn]

No difference with flying enemies.

Sleeping Dragon which is ground based hits them regardless of their airborne status.

If I recall from my experiences, Flying Enemies are tough to kills save for pixies type which could be considered floating instead, same for eyeballs one.

[eclipse]

My personal preference is wind/water, then earth/fire. Wind gets an extra nod for having a normal attack in the hidden artes chain, which is fun when picking on weaknesses.

[Water Mage]

Say, anyone else had trouble with the Griffin boss at the Ridge?

It seemed bit to high level for that part of the game, or was I underleved? My party levels are around 24-25, and I hardly avoid battles.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Water Mage

[eclipse]

That battle's a bit of a doozy.

Eat something to get a bonus (which bonus is up to you. . .you DO have someone on Snack Prep, right?), and pick on its weaknesses, if possible. If things get dicey, there's always the reliable strategy of armitizing with Mikleo and kiting like crazy, while reviving others when you need a distraction.

[-Cynthia-]

Say, anyone else had trouble with the Griffin boss at the Ridge?

It seemed bit to high level for that part of the game, or was I underleved? My party levels are around 24-25, and I hardly avoid battles.

I was underleveled too...I didn't have much of a strategy for it though just kinda grinded it out.

[Water Mage]

That battle's a bit of a doozy.Eat something to get a bonus (which bonus is up to you. . .you DO have someone on Snack Prep, right?), and pick on its weaknesses, if possible. If things get dicey, there's always the reliable strategy of armitizing with Mikleo and kiting like crazy, while reviving others when you need a distraction.

I do have Mikleo on Snack Prep, and did it have weaknesses? I don't remember. I did armatize with Mikleo and Edna, but, speaking honestly, I ended up spamming Arrow Squall and Crystal Tower.

But still think that Griffin was a bit overleved for that part of the game, it drained almost all my life bottle, and the trolls after didn't help either.

Also, you were right, the Fire Shrine music is amazing! And it even plays during battles!

Edited November 15, 2015 by Water Mage

[eclipse]

I do have Mikleo on Snack Prep, and did it have weaknesses? I don't remember. I did armatize with Mikleo and Edna, but, speaking honestly, I ended up spamming Arrow Squall and Crystal Tower.

But still think that Griffin was a bit overleved for that part of the game, it drained almost all my life bottle, and the trolls after didn't help either.

Also, you were right, the Fire Shrine music is amazing! And it even plays during battles!

There's two types of weaknesses: elemental weakness (what you see front and center) and species weakness. I don't think that the Griffin had an elemental weakness, but I'm positive it had a species one! Check your artes for any that have the same species as the Griffin - that's what you can use against it for super-effective damage.

Good luck in the fire shrine~!

[-Cynthia-]

I found the Fire Shrine boss to be kind of a doozy btw- I had to armatize with Mikleo and kite.

[Water Mage]

Just finished the Fire Shrine, and let me say, the bosses are hitting harder and harder every time now.

I'm finding it easier to armatize with Mikleo and attack from affar, when it comes to bosses, but it does hurt losing a healer for a while.

Also, I'm at the shrinechurch, and it's getting on my nerves:

I mean, it's easy to get lost and you have to keep going back and forth all the time.

And thanks for the advice on weaknesses eclipse! I knew about species weaknesses, but I kept forgetting because I used to weaknesses only involving the elements, but I gotta remember the species now. It becoming very important, even on regular battles.

[eclipse]

Heh, no problem~!

Check the enemy's level versus Sorey's level. If it's a really big gap, in favor of Sorey, hack out a Holy Bottle. It should alleviate some of the headache in the shrinechurch!

[Water Mage]

Just finished shrinechurch,

wasn't expecting

Dezel to be blind

It was an interesting twist.

But, wow, so many sidequests... I'm a bit overwhelmed, it's like the sandbox was opened.

I think I'll start with ruins north of Pendrago.

[Fateborn]

Just finished shrinechurch,

wasn't expecting

Dezel to be blind

It was an interesting twist.

But, wow, so many sidequests... I'm a bit overwhelmed, it's like the sandbox was opened.

I think I'll start with ruins north of Pendrago.

I'll give you a bone since that quest is easy to miss later on, (it's stopped because you can't progress the last part until you unlock the area)

After you get all seraph's powers, go follow the quest.

[Swift_Assassin]

So, I'm pretty sure I'm near endgame now. I've gotten Rising Up playing in the background because I just loved that fight.

[eclipse]

So, I'm pretty sure I'm near endgame now. I've gotten Rising Up playing in the background because I just loved that fight.

I do my dishes to that theme. I feel 50% more badass.

I'm in postgame~!

Hexen Island is SO full of gold! I'm not going for super-ideal-builds, but knowing that I have the ability to mess with my party's equipment on a whim is a huge help! Speaking of, I need to bug the Katz again.

[Water Mage]

I just finished all the 4 elematal shrines.

Which ones had the best music in you guys's opinions?

Mine were:

1 Earth Shrine- The mix of instruments in this one is amazing, and there's something about the music that fits after you discover Minatauros's true nature. It's a sorrowful tune but at the same time it doesn't make you depressed, this music it's an interesting mix of sorrow and upbeat.

2 Water Shrine- I'm a sucker for classical music, and the piano is just divine, and it fits so well while you read Asura's diaries!

3 Fire Shrine- It really gets you fired up! Pardon the pun.

4 Wind Shrine- It wasn't bad, but it just didn't have the majesty of the other three, and a bit disapointing, for the last shrine.

Also, I just went back to Pendrago and...well, to put it in an eloquent way:

Noooooooooo!!!!!! Dezeeeeeeel!!!!! Whyyyy?!!!!

...

Zaveid is cool though.

Edited November 21, 2015 by Water Mage

[eclipse]

My reaction to Pendrago at that time:

Holy shit, Dezel had sexy eyes before he went blind!

Ahem. . .the shrine music goes something like this: Fire > Wind = Earth > Water

Fire - The musical style was perfect, the melody was amazing, and even though I took a while in here, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Earth - My favorite shrine in terms of difficulty, and the music fit really nicely (though not as badass as fire)

Wind - Not as catchy as fire, but didn't get on my nerves, which was good, because I got lost

Water - Kept me from throwing my controller into the screen, so yay?

Even if water is dead-last, it's still one of the better tracks in the game. Which should tell you, dear reader, just how amazing all of the shrine music is!

[DragonFlames]

I've had high hopes for Zestiria and it was one of the games I really looked forward to in 2015. And I must say... I was not disappointed. The story felt fresh and was amazingly well done (of course, storywise, the Tales series is right up there with the best RPGs... heck, for me, the Tales games ARE the best (J)RPGs (eat your heart out sideways, Final Fantasy!)

Note: This next part may be a teensy bit spoiler-ish, so... you have been warned or something. Even though by this point, you've probably all finished it.

The lack of a noticeable romance plot was astounding to me. After the romantic undertones between Jude and Milla in Xillia and its sequel which made next to zero sense (still love Xillia 2 to death, though), it was a welcoming change, although Alisha did seem to have a small crush on Sorey, but that was never expanded upon, which, again, is welcome. I don't mind some romantic undertones if the characters in question have a chemistry with one another or a full on love story like in Tales of Hearts (even though Shing/Kor's obsession with Amber/Kohaku CAN get a bit irritating at times. I feel sorry for Beryl...) and pretty much most other Tales games.

Gameplay-wise, I loved that you couldn't just mow through everything with the same party throughout the whole game and had to actually switch out your Seraphim partners a lot to adjust to elemental weaknesses. Speaking of the Seraphim: Edna is probably my favourite character in any Tales game ever... she has Jade's snarkiness and Sophie's badassery (Shooting Stars ftw!).

Also, the game managed to turn Beast (here known as Lion's Roar) into my personal favourite arte. (dat ending!)

And one other thing: was I the only one that got some serious Asuna (Sword Art Online) vibes from Rose's Fire Armatization outfit? I don't know... it looks eerily similar...

Sorry for the wall of text. Have an Apple Gel or something... :D

[Water Mage]

As I keep playing this game there's something I noticed but forgot to mention, or rather, avoided to mention because this sort of discussion can get ugly.

But there's a bit too much of it.

Here goes...

Is it just me, or do the characteres praise Rose a little too much in this game?

I don't hate her or anything, but you can't help but notice it.

[eclipse]

As I keep playing this game there's something I noticed but forgot to mention, or rather, avoided to mention because this sort of discussion can get ugly.

But there's a bit too much of it.

Here goes...

Is it just me, or do the characteres praise Rose a little too much in this game?

I don't hate her or anything, but you can't help but notice it.

Not just you.

She's pretty boring, TBH.

[wponinw]

all i know about this game is that its gay

[Water Mage]

Not just you.She's pretty boring, TBH.

The whole thing about Rose is weird, considering the Tales series is usually so good at avoiding this sort thing.

If a character is constantly praised by the other characters, these characters are revealed to be pretty flawed in reality.

I'm not sure if you played it, but Stella from Tales of Legendia is a very good example of this type of character, she is very praised by another character but she is revealed to be pretty flawed.

[eclipse]

The whole thing about Rose is weird, considering the Tales series is usually so good at avoiding this sort thing.

If a character is constantly praised by the other characters, these characters are revealed to be pretty flawed in reality.

I'm not sure if you played it, but Stella from Tales of Legendia is a very good example of this type of character, she is very praised by another character but she is revealed to be pretty flawed.

I feel that Tales of Zestiria's strength lies in gameplay/music, with some plot as well. The characters are good, but not great (best one IMO is Alisha, weirdly enough). I've been spoiled rotten by Tales of the Abyss, though.

[DragonFlames]

As I keep playing this game there's something I noticed but forgot to mention, or rather, avoided to mention because this sort of discussion can get ugly.

But there's a bit too much of it.

Here goes...

Is it just me, or do the characteres praise Rose a little too much in this game?

I don't hate her or anything, but you can't help but notice it.

I agree. She does appear Mary Sue-ish at times. But I heard that she was the favourite character of one of the creators so that might be the reason for that.