General Gaming Final Fantasy XVI – Information Thread, update (08/22): PC demo patch and system requirements released

[BloodyHell]

1 hour ago, legend said:

I'd say the combat isn't "hard." I've died a few times, but generally because I decide in those fights to refuse to use a potion (which is a matter of principle more than actual cost and abundance of potions  ). I've beat almost all boss fights themselves on the first try. The last boss I did gave me some trouble (though I did still win on the first try), but that's mostly because I was using the generally more fun Berserker ring, but which has the downside of zooming the camera so close you can't see anything but Clive's head, and since the boss (like many others) continues unimpeded through many uninterruptible attacks, the close zoom ins sometimes left me unable to see where they were to time the next dodge  

 

And that's mostly okay. The game doesn't need to be "hard" to be engaging. My main issue is I dislike how long unresponsive boss attacks are. One unresponsive attack at a time... okay fine I guess. Five in a row and you're getting me to roll my eyes.

Wait, did you beat it already?

[legend]

6 minutes ago, Slug said:

Oh I meant to ask you about this before. Are you using an accessory or something that enhances your magic? Because my magic blasts barely even do chip damage. Even charged. As a result I almost never use them. The only time I magic blast is if I'm too far away for one of my gap closing abilities; I fire as I'm running at an enemy to get in range. That's literally the only time.

 

Nope, but my finding with that was with respect to staggerable enemies specifically. While the magic blast does minimal damage, it does a lot of stagger and it seems like for these enemies, the overwhelming amount of damage you do is the damage you do once they're staggered (at either the 50% mark or the full). So just using the charged (and mastered) magic blast to get them into stagger and then unloading all your abilities is very effective. The one extra twist is at the 50% stagger, you should use the pull move to ground them and then use the Gouge move to tear through a lot of their remaining stagger (and do damage).

 

That said, I've mostly stopped fighting that way not because it's ineffective but because it's boring  Now I try to restrict it to when they're in the middle of a charge up that I can't be near them for. If I want to close the gap for melee I usually use the dash attack (square + x) or the Phoenix circle then square move.

 

[legend]

1 minute ago, BloodyHell said:

Wait, did you beat it already?

 

Oh no, not at all. But there are enough bosses in the game to reach that conclusion. I don't expect the game to seriously change beyond what it is where I am at this point based on everything else I've read too.

[BloodyHell]

32 minutes ago, legend said:

 

IMO it's not important that a game is hard so long as it's engaging. When a game is too easy it often means you don't really have to think about what you're doing. But that's not always the case. I think FFXVI actually does fine in this regard: it's easy, but I do have to stay engaged and that's good. (Well, at least I stay engaged if I stop myself from just doing magic blasts from a distance which is far more effective than it ought to be  ) I have other issues with it -- i.e., the unresponsive enemies is unsatisfying -- but all in all it's still fun.

I don’t see how you call magic blasts effective. It takes FOREVER to kill anything, to the point I only used them in attacks of opportunity when im too far to attack right away.

 

edit: read above post. Even for stagger, wind abilities are far better 

[legend]

1 minute ago, BloodyHell said:

I don’t see how you call magic blasts effective. It takes FOREVER to kill anything, to the point I only used them in attacks of opportunity when im too far to attack right away.

 

You may have missed the original post or more elaboration above: I don't use it to do damage, I use it to stagger and then just unload all abilities in their stagger. When these enemies are not staggered, you don't do much damage anyway.

[legend]

9 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

edit: read above post. Even for stagger, wind abilities are far better 

 

Gouge is great for stagger, which is why I said at the 50% mark I use it to whittle away the rest. But to get the most out of Gouge, you have to run it fully out, but you can't run it fully out because it's a long attack and the enemies are unresponsive to your attacks (my first gripe). You will have to abort it partly through with a dodge to avoid their uninterruptible attack, and if you abort it, you still have to wait for the cooldown again. So in the end, it's more effective to use magic blasts to the 50%, then pull them, then Gouge during their mini stagger to get its full use, then magic again if they're not fully staggered, then nuke, then repeat.

[eventide11]

This is an amazing game. SE is trying to make up for years of sub par FFs with this one. I hope they keep this team in tact for a little while and maybe open up the world a little more in future titles. But as this is, it's a damn impressive accomplishment from SE and I didn't think they had it in them anymore 

[BloodyHell]

God I can’t wait to kill

Spoiler

Annabelle.

 

[BloodyHell]

1 hour ago, legend said:

 

Gouge is great for stagger, which is why I said at the 50% mark I use it to whittle away the rest. But to get the most out of Gouge, you have to run it fully out, but you can't run it fully out because it's a long attack and the enemies are unresponsive to your attacks (my first gripe). You will have to abort it partly through with a dodge to avoid their uninterruptible attack, and if you abort it, you still have to wait for the cooldown again. So in the end, it's more effective to use magic blasts to the 50%, then pull them, then Gouge during their mini stagger to get its full use, then magic again if they're not fully staggered, then nuke, then repeat.

Gouge followed by the other power that launches you in the air almost completely decimate most stagger bars.  Staggering enemies really hasn’t been a problem for me. Those and lightning, stagger, semi prime, and unleash phoenix powers once it’s down 

[legend]

13 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

Gouge followed by the other power that launches you in the air almost completely decimate most stagger bars.  Staggering enemies really hasn’t been a problem for me. Those and lightning, stagger, semi prime, and unleash phoenix powers once it’s down 

 

I don't think the cooldowns and the fact that you usually cannot do a full Gouge on an unstaggered enemy without aborting in practice to be worth the squeeze vs saving them for the 50% stagger. I haven't played with lightning all that much beyond using it in the full stagger nuke set though. Mostly because I don't like it  But also because again, cool downs suck and it seems better to make sure you can activate them on the full stagger to get the most punch. But maybe I should try giving them more of a chance.

 

I should also reiterate, I mostly stopped using this strategy because it was boring. Although when I do do it, it still seems far more effective than it has any right to be.

[BloodyHell]

1 hour ago, legend said:

 

I don't think the cooldowns and the fact that you usually cannot do a full Gouge on an unstaggered enemy without aborting in practice to be worth the squeeze vs saving them for the 50% stagger. I haven't played with lightning all that much beyond using it in the full stagger nuke set though. Mostly because I don't like it  But also because again, cool downs suck and it seems better to make sure you can activate them on the full stagger to get the most punch. But maybe I should try giving them more of a chance.

 

I should also reiterate, I mostly stopped using this strategy because it was boring. Although when I do do it, it still seems far more effective than it has any right to be.

I mean, I can usually do most powers before 50% stagger and after, the cooldowns aren’t that long, and the strongest powers all have -12s to cooldown trinkets.

 

Im just not having any problems using my powers multiple times in a fight, or having a bunch ready for when they stagger

[Xbob42]

After thinking about it for a while, the best way I can sum up the combat is: DMC but with cooldowns on every ability, only one real combo, 30 FPS (or "almost 60" in performance mode) and the enemies don't flinch for most moves.

[Biggie]

10 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

I mean, I can usually do most powers before 50% stagger and after, the cooldowns aren’t that long, and the strongest powers all have -12s to cooldown trinkets.

 

Im just not having any problems using my powers multiple times in a fight, or having a bunch ready for when they stagger

I’m the same. I’m using my ability powers at will and switching between them and I always have some available for when an enemy gets staggered. 

[legend]

23 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

I mean, I can usually do most powers before 50% stagger and after, the cooldowns aren’t that long, and the strongest powers all have -12s to cooldown trinkets.

 

Im just not having any problems using my powers multiple times in a fight, or having a bunch ready for when they stagger

 

Maybe I need better trinkets, because I've absolutely been left cold on some of my abilities when I get to the full stagger if I don't use them strategically. 

[Slug]

Holy hell..

Spoiler

..the Titan fight is so long. o_O

 

[Bacon]

I've found myself "skipping" the FF14-like quests. By skipping I mean, I read the subtitles but don't listen to the dialogue. Like, just now, I'm on a quest that is part of the main story, where a pass is stolen and Clive and Co need to get it back. So, the game has you questioning many NPCs. Practically none of it is actually relevant to the actual plot nor is it particularly interesting.

 

The game actually has a lot of this filler content. It doesn't really even expand the game's lore or setting. Sometimes it does, but most of the time it feels like a 2-bit side quest tacked on to the MSQ. It is very much like FF14 in this regard, tho if it was FF14 this part wouldn't be voice acted which would be actually better. Like, if the pass wasn't stolen we would just be moving on directly to the main destination. I mean, I guess there is some world-building with this detective quest but not in a way that is relevant. We already know the world is awful, no need to show more of it at this point.

[Best]

I woke up at 10pm and played for 4 hours. I focused on doing all side quests that were available in all towns/hideaway etc. I have them all completed up to the point where I'm at. 

 

I thought they were pretty solid overall. It’s your typical side quests stuff but I enjoyed it. I'll focus on the main story now until more side content opens up. 

[Bacon]

HOLY

FUCKIN

SHIT

LETS

FUCKING

GO

[Bacon]

-1 point

[Best]

Now I'm tired. It reads I'm 20 hours in but it seems more than that. 

[Biggie]

3 hours ago, best3444 said:

I woke up at 10pm and played for 4 hours. I focused on doing all side quests that were available in all towns/hideaway etc. I have them all completed up to the point where I'm at. 

 

I thought they were pretty solid overall. It’s your typical side quests stuff but I enjoyed it. I'll focus on the main story now until more side content opens up. 

So wait…..you weren’t doing any of the side quests before?

[Best]

9 minutes ago, Biggie said:

So wait…..you weren’t doing any of the side quests before?

 

Maybe one or two. So I made an effort to do them all last night. 

[Biggie]

Just now, best3444 said:

 

Maybe one or two. So I made an effort to do them all last night. 

It’s called playing the game lol. I don’t know how you just focus of the main story line when you play games like this or TotK. 

[Bacon]

So, what I really love about the standard boss theme is how triumphant it is. It is a song that is in your favor. It is a song that believes that you can win. Most boss themes are like "Oh no, a boss, ahhh!" But not, No Risk, No Reward, the boss theme in question. That theme is like "YOU CAN DO IT! KILL THAT FUCKER!" It's almost like it's Clive's theme rather than a boss theme.

 

[Best]

26 minutes ago, Biggie said:

It’s called playing the game lol. I don’t know how you just focus of the main story line when you play games like this or TotK. 

 

Because I was reading here that the side quests were lame. But I want to fully experience everything this game offers so I'll do the side quests too. 

[BloodyHell]

4 hours ago, Bacon said:

HOLY

FUCKIN

SHIT

LETS

FUCKING

GO

Im doing the Empire quest,

Spoiler

Bahamut/Phoenix

and the music with everything going on around me insane.

 

Running through the destroyed city while “That” goes on around me, with the music pumping, just crazy.

 

[BloodyHell]

HOLY SWEET JESUS!

[Bacon]

7 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

HOLY SWEET JESUS!

Told ya. I clapped IRL lol

The fight is pretty mid tho tbh.

[BloodyHell]

11 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Told ya. I clapped IRL lol

The fight is pretty mid tho tbh.

Agreed, but damn. Edge of the seat type shit.

[BloodyHell]

Spoiler

I really wanted to be the one who killed dear old mom.

@Bacon was that your-1?

[BloodyHell]

Also, I know I said it before, but I love having a “Spoony Bard” in my camp.

 

For those who haven’t played FFIV

Spoiler

it’s a reference to Edward, a prince bard in that game. It’s what Tellah (the father of a girl who ran off with the bard and later died) calls him when they fight at one point early in the story.
 

Tellah later forgives Edward (it wasn’t his fault Anna died anyway). 
 

“You Spoony Bard!”

 

[Bacon]

21 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I really wanted to be the one who killed dear old mom.

@Bacon was that your-1?

 

No. Honestly, I can't say anything other than no without it being too spoilery.

[BloodyHell]

3 minutes ago, Bacon said:

 

No. Honestly, I can't say anything other than no without it being too spoilery.

That’s fine, if it’s further on tgan the battle we just mentioned, I don’t want to know. I basically went through those cutscenes and went back to the base. Talked to everyone, but haven’t continued on, I have a bunch of stuff to do around the yard this afternoon.

[Best]

After my playthrough last night this is my favorite game this year so far. The only game that could top it is Starfield. I'm in love with this shit. 

[Bacon]

27 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

That’s fine, if it’s further on tgan the battle we just mentioned, I don’t want to know. I basically went through those cutscenes and went back to the base. Talked to everyone, but haven’t continued on, I have a bunch of stuff to do around the yard this afternoon.

 

I think you might have the wrong idea. No spoilers in this spoiler, but I haven't

Spoiler

even encountered what I'm giving the -1 for.

 

I'm also not much further than you as, like, 4 sidequests popped after another round of "filler" quests and I just put down my controller.