Legend of Heroes The Legend of Heroes Series

[TheEnd]

I was warned of this as well before I played FC, but I actually like how relaxed the beginning is, because it gives some nice insight to the world you're about to experience, and getting to know some of the characters.

But maybe I'm just weird

Meanwhile, I've seen people get turned off because of how barebones the combat is at first, or how much it took for the plot to really get going...

Does ToCS2 actually spoil anything from 3rd/Zero/Ao or you might just be lost/confused at some things the game expects you to know.

Only one scene in Ao spoils 3rd

ToCS was supposedly made in a way that would allow players to enjoy either duology in any order (Falcom and their foreshadowing...), but you can be damn sure that a few things in CS2 will make zero sense for you.

[Jedi]

Meanwhile, I've seen people get turned off because of how barebones the combat is at first, or how much it took for the plot to really get going...

Eh you win some you lose some I guess. I think it has a very homey feeling at the start and it just chimes with me ^^

[Dotty]

I finally finished Cold Steel today.

Jesus Christ that cliffhanger, I was not prepared

Had a lot of fun with it, and I'm rrrreally eager to get my hands on CSII!

[Water Mage]

I finally finished Cold Steel today.

Jesus Christ that cliffhanger, I was not prepared

Had a lot of fun with it, and I'm rrrreally eager to get my hands on CSII!

I also finished it last month,

And yeah, that cliffhanger is evil.

By the way, what were your most used characters?

I'm kinda curious to see what characters people use and compare to the ones I used.

For example, I've heard that Jusis is not very good, but he worked out great for me. Especially when he was linked with Emma.

Julius+Emma works really well.

[Dotty]

Rean probably goes without saying so I'll skip him.

After him, Laura was easily my most used. I used her whenever I could unless some characters were underlevelled. Her auto-STR boosts and being one of the only two people that bothered to show up with an S-Craft at the start helped gain my favour at the beginning. Later on I mainly used her with the Domination quartz (the double damage on first attack one) to tear away a third or more of a boss' health at the start of battles.

I used Elliot and Emma pretty interchangeably. Obviously Elliot more for when I wanted to keep everyone alive and Emma for when I could afford to do more damage. I appreciated being able to use pretty low-level heals with Elliot thanks to his Master Quartz, and the Resounding Beat craft never really stopped being useful. Emma has that really vast EP total, so she could use those ridiculously high-cost spells fairly easily.

Usually my last party member was sort of filler buff support. Machias and Jusis do this pretty well (Noble Command is pretty dang nice). Their S-Crafts kinda blow but whatever. Alternatively I'd use characters with really good S-Crafts like Millium just to take chunks off bosses.

Alisa was probably the party member I struggled with the most. Her physical and magical attacks weren't really up to par, and she pretty much only has auto-revives and one or two good crafts to her name. I probably didn't give her enough of a chance, but it was hard to feel like she was contributing much.

[Water Mage]

Rean probably goes without saying so I'll skip him.

After him, Laura was easily my most used. I used her whenever I could unless some characters were underlevelled. Her auto-STR boosts and being one of the only two people that bothered to show up with an S-Craft at the start helped gain my favour at the beginning. Later on I mainly used her with the Domination quartz (the double damage on first attack one) to tear away a third or more of a boss' health at the start of battles.

I used Elliot and Emma pretty interchangeably. Obviously Elliot more for when I wanted to keep everyone alive and Emma for when I could afford to do more damage. I appreciated being able to use pretty low-level heals with Elliot thanks to his Master Quartz, and the Resounding Beat craft never really stopped being useful. Emma has that really vast EP total, so she could use those ridiculously high-cost spells fairly easily.

Usually my last party member was sort of filler buff support. Machias and Jusis do this pretty well (Noble Command is pretty dang nice). Their S-Crafts kinda blow but whatever. Alternatively I'd use characters with really good S-Crafts like Millium just to take chunks off bosses.

Alisa was probably the party member I struggled with the most. Her physical and magical attacks weren't really up to par, and she pretty much only has auto-revives and one or two good crafts to her name. I probably didn't give her enough of a chance, but it was hard to feel like she was contributing much.

Man, Resoundng Beat is so good, and it comes so early as well!

And Laura can dish some serious damage, it's almost ridiculous.

About Alisa, can actually contribute a lot, because she has a Craft that can restore CP, but I forgot the name. It's pretty when combined with characters that use a lot of CP.

Honestly, the only party member that disappointed me is Gaius, he really doesn't stand out much when it comes to combat, since there's usually a better option.

[Tamanoir]

I try to vary and use everyone, but my most used were :

Elliot. He's just so essential to survival in general (and he's one of my favourite character.)

Emma obviously, but I ike using her slightly less

Machias, mainly for standard battles (hiting many ennemies at once is cool.) TP Recovery is good too.

Laura too, for good bulk and immense strength.

Crow may have been my most used unit as soon as he joined my team.

He's just all around usefull.

In the end, it made the ending more impactfull, so I don't regret it.

Millum's S-Craft is quite great, but her low HP was not that great.

Gaius is pretty cool, but I didn't used him as much as I could.

Fie was OK, but was often to frail to be as good as she should.

I actually gave her Gaius' Master Craft Later on to make her an evade machine (with the craft that allow counter after avoidng.)

Jusis seems good on paper, but I wasn't able to make the most out of him.

And I could'n realy use

Edited April 18, 2016 by Tamanoir

[Dotty]

About Alisa, can actually contribute a lot, because she has a Craft that can restore CP, but I forgot the name. It's pretty when combined with characters that use a lot of CP.

Honestly, the only party member that disappointed me is Gaius, he really doesn't stand out much when it comes to combat, since there's usually a better option.

That's true, but I never really found myself struggling for CP in this game. Rean is practically drowning in the stuff and I always had enough Zeram Powder/Capsules to cover everyone else. I won't deny that it's a useful thing to be capable of though, and it definitely let's her stand out. I simply never felt the need (maybe in Nightmare mode though, haha). Her auto-revives eventually being able to fill up her CP guage entirely is also really good, I suppose. I dunno, I just felt like other characters had more to bring to the table at all times.

I get what you mean with Gaius. There's nothing wrong with him, but he doesn't really do anything special. Auto-Insight is pretty hella though, and I enjoyed using him earlygame, at least.

[Tamanoir]

Man, Resoundng Beat is so good, and it comes so early as well!
And Laura can dish some serious damage, it's almost ridiculous.

About Alisa, can actually contribute a lot, because she has a Craft that can restore CP, but I forgot the name. It's pretty when combined with characters that use a lot of CP.
Honestly, the only party member that disappointed me is Gaius, he really doesn't stand out much when it comes to combat, since there's usually a better option.

Resounding Beat is amazing.

And then later you get Holy Song :

Recuria and Holy Breath at once without charge time.

Gaius have great stats, and some really cool Crafts. and his weapon have god range.

I had more issue with Rean actually. You're forced to use him, but he just doesn't have the special thing that makes him stands out otherwise IMO.

Though, to be honnest, that's right he's hardly ever the first choice for some reasons.

[Water Mage]

That's true, but I never really found myself struggling for CP in this game. Rean is practically drowning in the stuff and I always had enough Zeram Powder/Capsules to cover everyone else. I won't deny that it's a useful thing to be capable of though, and it definitely let's her stand out. I simply never felt the need (maybe in Nightmare mode though, haha). Her auto-revives eventually being able to fill up her CP guage entirely is also really good, I suppose. I dunno, I just felt like other characters had more to bring to the table at all times.

I get what you mean with Gaius. There's nothing wrong with him, but he doesn't really do anything special. Auto-Insight is pretty hella though, and I enjoyed using him earlygame, at least.

Well, to be honest, I always hesitated to use Zeram items, a bad habit I need to stop. There's no need to hoard them.

Maybe that's why I used Alisa a lot.

I also noticed that some characters do better depeding on what type of party you have. For example, my party was mostly of spellcasters, so Jusis was pretty useful with his ability to boost the power of spells of the party member he is currently linked with. Laura is suprisingly useful is spellcaster party as her cover ability can protect the weaker party members, even thought is a bit luck based.

[Dotty]

I had more issue with Rean actually. You're forced to use him, but he just doesn't have the special thing that makes him stands out otherwise IMO.

I think Rean's big pros are his good Strength/Speed, Crafts and Master Quartz (though of course that can be given to another character). Honestly, his Crafts cover just about everything I could want from an offensive unit. Impede, wide range STR buffs, Delay, Line, big damage Burn/Faint...

And then there's Gale, which is borderline broken. 50% Seal chance on a wide range attack is no joke. Not to mention that with Domination quartz+Gale, Rean was ending every regular fight on the first turn for me, and then getting way more CP back thanks to Force Master Quartz. Rinse and repeat. (Gladiator Belt doesn't hurt either)

Well, to be honest, I always hesitated to use Zeram items, a bad habit I need to stop. There's no need to hoard them.

Maybe that's why I used Alisa a lot.

I also noticed that some characters do better depeding on what type of party you have. For example, my party was mostly of spellcasters, so Jusis was pretty useful with his ability to boost the power of spells of the party member he is currently linked with. Laura is suprisingly useful is spellcaster party as her cover ability can protect the weaker party members, even thought is a bit luck based.

I feel you, it's a bad habit I've only broken out of recently myself, haha

I actually completely forgot Arts Support was a thing; I definitely should have tried that!

And I could'n realy use

Really curious about what you were gonna say here!

[DodgeDusk]

I finished Cold Steel not so long ago, and yeah...

That ending. Phwoar. I'll see you in a few months, Fie and Jusis. And C

My team was, when given the choice, Jusis, Fie, Elliot, and Machias. Rean and Laura were in the back, and when the game lets you choose three reserves, Crow was the last person I chose. Noble Command is too good not to be used!

I didn't find the game too hard, despite me playing it on Hard mode. One fight in particular really frustrated me (Chapter 5's main boss). but outside of that no fight took me more than three tries. Well, apart from Chapter 6's main boss, that is. But I enjoyed that fight, and the fight before it. Logged just under 100 hours into it, and I loved every moment of it. Don't think it's as good as the two Sky games, but it's great nonetheless

Best track

Oh yeah, this is great too

Edited April 18, 2016 by DodgeDusk

[Water Mage]

Resounding Beat is amazing.

And then later you get Holy Song :

Recuria and Holy Breath at once without charge time.

Gaius have great stats, and some really cool Crafts. and his weapon have god range.

I had more issue with Rean actually. You're forced to use him, but he just doesn't have the special thing that makes him stands out otherwise IMO.

Though, to be honnest, that's right he's hardly ever the first choice for some reasons.

Gaius is a pretty good character, but his problems are that there's usually little reason to use him,

And he has pretty low availability, he only takes part in 2 Field Trips! And the party members in those field trips temd to outclass him.

I feel you, it's a bad habit I've only broken out of recently myself, haha

I actually completely forgot Arts Support was a thing; I definitely should have tried that!

Try linking Jusis with Emma when Jusis gets arts support,

Emma's spells will hit incredibly hard!

[Dotty]

Oh yeah, this is great too

Oh my god

Is this the actual voice actor? Where did you find this, it's amazing

[DodgeDusk]

Oh my god

Is this the actual voice actor? Where did you find this, it's amazing

Yes, that's Sean Chiplock (Rean's VA). I found it on NeoGAF, but I think it originated from 4chan

[Tamanoir]

Best track

This track kinda reminded me of The Mission to Complete (Especially starting 1:20).

It's never a bad thing.

Really curious about what you were gonna say here!

I was just gonna mention how few I use Alisa, that's all.

The fact she's hardly one of my favourite character didn't help.

(It took me up to chapter 3 to start liking her. But Chapter 3 is a miracle.

I will never have enough world to say how much I love that part)

[Dotty]

I think my favourite tracks were Atrocious Raid and Eliminate Crisis!, with Atrocious Raid especially earning points for being used in the killer opening sequence.

Unrelated, but one of the things that bothered me with this game is that characters just kinda got their S-Crafts out of nowhere. I thought Rean's "epiphany" moment was cool; they worked up to it by showing him practising in his room beforehand and it made sense for him to try it against a boss. I was hoping they'd all be like that, but nah.

[Water Mage]

Atrocious Raid and Eliminate Crisis are my favorites too! I love the heroic feel Eliminate Crisis has, it's a great way to end a chapter!

Yeah, the obtain the S-Craft was a bit weird, especially Elliot's and Gaius's. It came out nowhere.

Other than Rean, the only other one that was obtained in a fitting moment was Alisa, and maybe Jusis.

[eclipse]

Oh, hey, something I can answer~!

Final party: Gaius, Emma, Jusis, Machias (Rean was kicked out for good).

Jusis + Machias = eternal orders. Gaius hits hard physically, and Emma hits hard with artes. As long as Gaius could keep the enemy's attention on him, things died really quickly.

[Water Mage]

Oh, hey, something I can answer~!Final party: Gaius, Emma, Jusis, Machias (Rean was kicked out for good).Jusis + Machias = eternal orders. Gaius hits hard physically, and Emma hits hard with artes. As long as Gaius could keep the enemy's attention on him, things died really quickly.

Out of curiosity, why did you kick Rean of the party?

[eclipse]

Out of curiosity, why did you kick Rean of the party?

Gaius did more physical damage. Since Jusis + Machias made a great team (and Machias could shoot stuff when he wasn't being Jusis' battery), Rean was out of a job. Emma was able to nuke things or heal, and Jusis could heal in a pinch.

[Water Mage]

Gaius did more physical damage. Since Jusis + Machias made a great team (and Machias could shoot stuff when he wasn't being Jusis' battery), Rean was out of a job. Emma was able to nuke things or heal, and Jusis could heal in a pinch.

Now that I think about, Gaius does have great stats, and interesting skills. To be honest, I never paid much attention to him, gameplay wise.

I wish Gaius didn't have such low availability in the game, I think that if I had more opportunities to play as him, I would appreciate him more.

Then again, I shoudn't be blaming the game for the fact that I didn't use a character.

Another question for you guys:

Did anyone used a cross like formation on the bosses?

Ever since the

Nosferatu

boss battle, I used a cross formation on all bosses onward. I worked well for me, but at the same time, I couldn't take advantage of crafts like Resounding Beat.

[Gemma]

I found the best way to use Rean is to give him all the quartz and items that give him tons of CP gain, speed, and status effect infliction (master quartz to use is Force... which is default iirc) so he can safely spam aoe skills from a distance to pin down the enemy and keep them from doing anything. Also impede every enemy arte with Autumn Leaf Cutter. Spamming Motivate is good too. Yeah, just spam skills. I've been keeping him in my party the whole time~

I also beefed up Laura's attack as much as I could. Equip Brave for boss fights, and for normal encounters use Taurus stacked with the quartz that makes your first attack do 2x damage (Domination) so she can just Brilliant Spin and 1-shot everything raw at once. With her sword range and attack stat it's also good to give her high evasion so she doesn't have to worry about def and so she can counter everything for more damage. I can't tell you how many boss fights ended with a counter from Laura.

And yeah, Jusis + Emma link is op, holy dang. I just made Jusis all-around to cover the gaps and do anything that's needed in a pinch, then have Emma do dps with magic. Plus the fact that Jusis has a skill which lowers magic defense makes it all the better.

I've been playing the heck outta this game lately, currently on the final chapter. Got over 80 hours already... I've never spent anywhere close to this much time on a single playthrough in any RPG before.

It just feels weird that they still haven't revealed anything about Emma yet. It's all just a bunch of teasing with the cat and her magic abilities and stuff. -_-

Also Elliot and Jusis have the funniest lines in the game. Between Elliot's subtle, innocent wit and Jusis' snark, it's just a riot~

Edited April 19, 2016 by Gemma

[Tamanoir]

Now that I think about, Gaius does have great stats, and interesting skills. To be honest, I never paid much attention to him, gameplay wise.

I wish Gaius didn't have such low availability in the game, I think that if I had more opportunities to play as him, I would appreciate him more.

Then again, I shoudn't be blaming the game for the fact that I didn't use a character.

Another question for you guys:

Did anyone used a cross like formation on the bosses?

Ever since the

Nosferatu

boss battle, I used a cross formation on all bosses onward. I worked well for me, but at the same time, I couldn't take advantage of crafts like Resounding Beat.

Gaius is one of my favourite character (with Elliot.) in the game, so his low availability is indeed sad. At least it made him a primary choice for Old School observation.

And I'm repeating myself a lot, but "his" chapter was amazing.

I actually spent the final Dance scene with him.

That boss battle was surprisingly easy... At least for what I remeber anyway.

A cross formation would have been a god idea, but with 2 offensive attacker (Laura and Rean/Gaius, generally), it didn't realy worked out. Which leads me to have poorEliot "waste" a turn attacking to get closer to the rest of the team.

[eclipse]

I found the best way to use Rean is to give him all the quartz and items that give him tons of CP gain, speed, and status effect infliction (master quartz to use is Force... which is default iirc) so he can safely spam aoe skills from a distance to pin down the enemy and keep them from doing anything. Also impede every enemy arte with Autumn Leaf Cutter. Spamming Motivate is good too. Yeah, just spam skills. I've been keeping him in my party the whole time~

I wound up splitting Rean's role in half - Gaius took the full-on damage part (Domination + a damaging craft = a lot of dead enemies), and Jusis took on the utility. On the off-chance that Emma didn't have enough juice to deal damage from a distance, Machias pitched in.

'sides, Machias and Jusis have hilarious interactions.