Tales of Graces F (PS3)

[bcruise]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

So I beat the game on Normal, felt like I had shortchanged myself a bit on the game's difficulty, and started a new one (with no new game+ enhancements - I want to earn this) on Hard. And it's, well, HARD.

The slime boss* wiped my party once on normal when I wasn't prepared and then I destroyed it the second time. On Hard...oh man. I lost count, but it took well over 10 tries and an All-Divide. I'd always get wiped when the little ones came out - those little buggers surround you OR your other party members and it's curtains! I've also unlocked an Evil difficulty now but I'm a little afraid to try it...lol!

It's great that I can go back and play through the game again and still enjoy it because the battle system is just so good. I didn't get much into hitting weaknesses and using different attacks on Normal (didn't need to), but it's almost a necessity on Hard.

* said boss is not really a spoiler because it doesn't pertain to the plot at all.....it's just there.

[Burns11]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Moderate is the sweet spot for a first time playthrough.

[erickonasis]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Thinking about grabbing this for a change of pace.....how hard is this game?

[Burns11]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

It can be as hard as you want it to be, it's very flexible. If you set it to easy and put the fighting on automatic, it's almost impossible to fail.

[bcruise]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Does anyone else have the awful habit that I do of pressing x right after Asbel finishes a B-arte (in an attempt to continue a combo)? It sheathes his sword and delivers the slowest A-Arte combo opener known to man, and pretty much any unstunned enemy will knock you right of it every time.

There's definitely an art to knowing when to fight with the sword out, when to fight with it in, and when to sheathe it, as the in-game tips say.

[Cyros]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Does anyone else have the awful habit that I do of pressing x right after Asbel finishes a B-arte (in an attempt to continue a combo)? It sheathes his sword and delivers the slowest A-Arte combo opener known to man, and pretty much any unstunned enemy will knock you right of it every time.

There's definitely an art to knowing when to fight with the sword out, when to fight with it in, and when to sheathe it, as the in-game tips say.

Yeah, I do it since I'm used to the way other Tales games work. I'm trying to get better about backing off before I sheathe his sword.

[Flawless]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

I guess it's not wrong that I haven't needed to buy much new equipment in awhile (weapons and armor), because the gear I've been duelizing constantly is still better. Only in Yu Liberte though, so I guess this could change.

[Cyros]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

I guess it's not wrong that I haven't needed to buy much new equipment in awhile (weapons and armor), because the gear I've been duelizing constantly is still better. Only in Yu Liberte though, so I guess this could change.

I wish I had a better concept of what I was doing with dualizing. Right now I'm just tempering, dualizing two weapons, then doing it all over.

[Flawless]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

I wish I had a better concept of what I was doing with dualizing. Right now I'm just tempering, dualizing two weapons, then doing it all over.

That's exactly what I'm doing too.

I haven't really paid to much attention to the qualities, or learning which combinations create what, but I doubt it's a big factor on anything other than the high difficulty levels or wanting to get a lot of Gald.

[Flawless]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Optional Boss:

Spoiler

Fighting Bryce a second time in Orlen Woods.

That fight was intense. I was clearly under-leveled, and had to do some serious micromanaging of AI strategies/switching characters, and burned through several Elixirs/Life Bottles to get through.

[bcruise]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Optional Boss:

Spoiler

Fighting Bryce a second time in Orlen Woods.

That fight was intense. I was clearly under-leveled, and had to do some serious micromanaging of AI strategies/switching characters, and burned through several Elixirs/Life Bottles to get through.

Spoiler

Yeah...I actually had a save from before that fight, and tried loading it up to do the fight on Hard. He wiped the party that I beat him with on Normal (levels varying from 52-54) pretty handily. To be fair, I wasn't using items and the fight might have gone differently if I had, but I could tell that was going to be no cakewalk anyway. He loved going after the healers, so a few life bottles probably turn that fight.

It was impressive seeing the power that he gained from the difficulty boost though. The difficulty level difference is basically boosted enemy levels, and in Bryce's case he's at 41 on Normal, and 49 on Hard. It's pretty easy to see the difference - you can look at the enemy book on one difficulty, back out to options, change it, and the level and stats in the book will reflect the new level! This also explains why I had a tough time with the Queen Slime on Hard - it's 4 levels higher than its Normal counterpart, PLUS up to 6 regular slimes trying to smother you at the same time!

[Flawless]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Spoiler

Yeah...I actually had a save from before that fight, and tried loading it up to do the fight on Hard. He wiped the party that I beat him with on Normal (levels varying from 52-54) pretty handily. To be fair, I wasn't using items and the fight might have gone differently if I had, but I could tell that was going to be no cakewalk anyway. He loved going after the healers, so a few life bottles probably turn that fight.

It was impressive seeing the power that he gained from the difficulty boost though. The difficulty level difference is basically boosted enemy levels, and in Bryce's case he's at 41 on Normal, and 49 on Hard. It's pretty easy to see the difference - you can look at the enemy book on one difficulty, back out to options, change it, and the level and stats in the book will reflect the new level! This also explains why I had a tough time with the Queen Slime on Hard - it's 4 levels higher than its Normal counterpart, PLUS up to 6 regular slimes trying to smother you at the same time!

My first playthrough has been on Moderate, so I'm guessing he was somewhere between 41-49. Asbel and Sophie were level 36, and everybody else was either level 34 or 35. I might have been 7-10 levels below? Either way, it was tough, and it took a few tries before I finally won.

[Spongedaddy]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Damn. I am only a few hours in and can see a plot twist coming from a mile away. I hope they at least explain it in an effective way.

[bcruise]

Damn. I am only a few hours in and can see a plot twist coming from a mile away. I hope they at least explain it in an effective way.

Spoil me, I'm curious.

I won't tell you either way but I've got a pretty good idea of what you're referring to....

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[Spongedaddy]

Re: Tales of Graces F (PS3)

Spoil me, I'm curious.

I won't tell you either way but I've got a pretty good idea of what you're referring to....

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

Spoiler

The thing that killed Sophie in the cave is possessing Richard