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Tales of Zestiria |OT| - Sorey, Modders did what Bamcouldn't!

K

Ketkat

Member
Kasumin said:
with Ludger's brother and Ludger's parallels to Victor. The bad ending seems to indicate that Ludger follows Victor's path, but it focuses only on Julius who has hardly been show in the game anyway. Why not refer to both?
It's like the person writing the story can only focus on one main theme at a time. It comes off as sloppy at best and lazy at worst tome.
Click to expand...

The bad ending actually had the entire world cease right after he killed them all. Julius ended up becoming a catalyst which would have put the counter over the mark. Ludger could never really follow Victor's path directly because Victor mentioned that he killed his brother AND father for their power. We never got any real confirmation on who Ludger's father was, let alone having him just kill his family for power. The only reason that he killed Julius was so that he could use him as a bridge to the Land of Canaan. The Land of Canaan only existed in the prime dimension as well.

Really, if you want to say that Ludger went down the Victor-ish path, that'd be the Elle disappears ending. He becomes CEO of Spirius and meets his future wife and will eventually have Elle there. In the end though, the multiple dimensions problem is solved, so they would still have a pretty normal life without Ludger needing to kill everyone.
 
L

Layell

Member
Just playing through this game I can't help but want to just play Graces and its sublime battle system over and over again. Steam has me at 6 hours in and comparable to that point in the adult section I remember seeing just all these titles and abilities, realizing the full potential of its battle system. I don't have that same feeling here, I barely have anything and it seems that every seraphim party member is a spell caster, which I hate.

I am really enjoying the plot though, and Sorey is a good RPG character.
 
I

irfaanator

Banned
Kagari said:
I played a bit of the PS4 version while my fiance played the PC version last night. Both seem like real solid ports. My only gripe is having to completely exit the game to swap languages.
Click to expand...

thought you hated tales or is that grimm

Also again w/ my question, Should I fuse items whenever or should I wait till my dudes max the item proficiency or w/e it's called
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Kasumin said:
You're all making it sound like Alisha being uninteresting is a justification in and of itself. Isn't that the writer's fault? It's like getting a subpar dish at a restaurant and blaming the dish sitting on your plate for not being better instead of, you know, the chef who actually cooked it.(...)
Click to expand...

It sounds like you have a beef with the writer. XD; But Zestiria's story is, in my opinion, leagues above the Xillia stories, and is far more focused, at least to the point I'm at. Alisha being uninteresting stands out since all the characters are actually fairly interesting in their own ways and have good development, but Alisha also stands out since there was Japanese outrage for her, while most of us don't understand since there's more limelight on the other cast, which are more interesting, and anyways I think Alisha's role in the game makes sense. She has other responsibilities and duties, so she comes in and out a lot.
 
K

Kasumin

Member
Ketkat said:
The bad ending actually had the entire world cease right after he killed them all. Julius ended up becoming a catalyst which would have put the counter over the mark. Ludger could never really follow Victor's path directly because Victor mentioned that he killed his brother AND father for their power. We never got any real confirmation on who Ludger's father was, let alone having him just kill his family for power. The only reason that he killed Julius was so that he could use him as a bridge to the Land of Canaan. The Land of Canaan only existed in the prime dimension as well.

Really, if you want to say that Ludger went down the Victor-ish path, that'd be the Elle disappears ending. He becomes CEO of Spirius and meets his future wife and will eventually have Elle there. In the end though, the multiple dimensions problem is solved, so they would still have a pretty normal life without Ludger needing to kill everyone.
Click to expand...

That's why
the bad ending bothers me so much. It's entirely pointless no matter what spin you put on it. There was no reason for it to happen except for some tryhard dark and edginess. If he isn't even following Victor's path, what's the point? It contradicts Ludger's personality up to that point, anyway.

And Ludger's father is Bisley. So Victor killed Bisley in his own dimension.

And if that's the case in the Elle disappears ending, that makes even less sense because it seems like Ludger in the prime dimension could never become Victor. Why even have that be a thing, then?

Oh well, that's not really appropriate or this thread. I could go on for days about how badly Xillia 2's entire plot holds up when subjected to even a moderate amount of scrutiny.

Dusk Golem said:
It sounds like you have a beef with the writer. XD; But Zestiria's story is, in my opinion, leagues above the Xillia stories, and is far more focused, at least to the point I'm at. Alisha being uninteresting stands out since all the characters are actually fairly interesting in their own ways and have good development, but Aisha also stands out since there was Japanese outrage for her, while most of us don't understand since there's more limelight on the other cast, which are more interesting, and anyways I think Alisha's role in the game makes sense. She has other responsibilities and duties, so she comes in and out a lot.
Click to expand...

Compared to Xillia 2? Sure, whatever. And it's subjective, but in terms of world building alone I think the first Xillia is one of the best in the series. The execution was botched due to being rushed. Zestiria's world puts me to sleep. The worldbuilding just does not interest me at all.
 
C

Crevox

Member
Also again w/ my question, Should I fuse items whenever or should I wait till my dudes max the item proficiency or w/e it's called
Click to expand...

Maxing item proficiency is just for unsealing the abilities on an item, which depending on the situation, will be a good or a bad thing. It's up to you if you want to unseal it.

Besides that, it makes the fusion with that item cheaper on gald, but early on, it's pretty cheap either way.

it seems that every seraphim party member is a spell caster, which I hate.
Click to expand...

Some are more oriented towards casting than others, but all of them attack and can cast at the same time. Honestly, it's not that much different than Graces. Malik, Cheria, and Pascal were all hybrid casters, and technically Sophie as well with some of her spells and her charge attacks.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
Layell said:
Just playing through this game I can't help but want to just play Graces and its sublime battle system over and over again. Steam has me at 6 hours in and comparable to that point in the adult section I remember seeing just all these titles and abilities, realizing the full potential of its battle system. I don't have that same feeling here, I barely have anything and it seems that every seraphim party member is a spell caster, which I hate.

I am really enjoying the plot though, and Sorey is a good RPG character.
Click to expand...

The battle system unravels itself quite slowly, an example you don't get Mystic Artes until something like 12-15 hours in. It does make the battle system a bit uninteresting at the start, but it does get more fun and interesting as more of it unravels and opens up. I think part of the reason they did this is because there's some big difference in the battle system of Zestira compared to other entries that most people would probably dismiss as being minor without realizing how integral they are to the game, so they introduce one concept at a time to ease you into it. It has some pros and cons, though one pro is the battle system does get more interesting over time over the first fourth or third of the game rather than less interesting. In general, the game opens up a lot more the deeper into it you go.
 
S

Stuart444

Member
Kagari said:
PS4 streaming is blocked by Namco. I'll have to set up my capture device if I want to stream which is really annoying.
Click to expand...

Ya, it's annoying but I'm almost glad because I didn't know Hauppauge released a new program that makes my HD PVR 2 work with the PS4 until now.

Not that I need it that much but it's handy for any games that block streaming I guess. Though hopefully Berseria and future PS4 tales games don't do that :/
 
K

Kaibutsu

Member
Persona7 said:
Is the pre-order code the same content as the code inside the CE?
Click to expand...

That's what I really want to know. I didn't get any codes from Best Buy for preordering the Limited Edition (which I haven't opened yet).

edit: nevermind, I found the answer in a more recent post
 
M

Moonlight

Banned
Kasumin said:
You're all making it sound like Alisha being uninteresting is a justification in and of itself. Isn't that the writer's fault? It's like getting a subpar dish at a restaurant and blaming the dish sitting on your plate for not being better instead of, you know, the chef who actually cooked it.
Click to expand...
...I mean, I thought 'Alisha is boring because of the writer's failing' goes without saying. I don't know what implied a belief that Alisha being boring was some bizarre anomaly that just appeared in the script and the writer was perfect otherwise. She's not interesting, especially compared to the (IMO) gold standard that is Estelle. But that also doesn't really dismiss the fact that I've found the rest of the cast to be quite enjoyable for the most part, and I appreciate that Alisha, being largely uninteresting, doesn't monopolize as much time as she could have. The only thing that's worse about a character you don't care for is having that character crammed down your throat.

And regardless of how the situation was handled, I find the fact there was 'outrage' at all over this extremely dumb. For the talk of it I was expecting something more serious than people mad that she wasn't as important as was originally suggested for reasons that I don't think flatter them.
 
RPGCrazied

RPGCrazied

Member
Played about 5 hours maybe. I got to the part when Sorey
turns into the Shepard, and gets new clothes.
I'm loving the setting, characters and the music very much. But that equipment/skill system is really annoying. I still don't understand it. lol
 
A

Aeana

Member
RPGCrazied said:
Played about 5 hours maybe. I got to the part when Sorey
turns into the Shepard, and gets new clothes.
I'm loving the setting, characters and the music very much. But that equipment/skill system is really annoying. I still don't understand it. lol
Click to expand...

You probably feel like you don't understand it because you're certain there has to be more to it than there is. I promise, there isn't. You get the skills that are on the equipment you have. You also get bonuses for stacking the same skill, for lining up skills horizontally, or for getting all 5 skills in a column vertically. That's it.
 
P

Pancakes

hot, steaming, as melted butter slips into the cracks, drizzled with sticky sweet syrup OH GOD
Only thing I'm confused about with the skill system is how fusing works. It's clearly not just adding the skill marks together which would make things a lot easier. Does it even change the skill mark locations when you fuse? I'm just kinda fusing blindly and seeing what gives me higher stats and good new skills.

Laliah got a high tier skill somehow that blocks 40 damage from all attacks, seems pretty strong early on.
 
C

Crevox

Member
When fusing 2 pieces of equipment, we have equipment A and B. Let's look at the second slot of their skills (each equipment piece has 4 slots).

1. If A or B has that slot open, but the other has a skill, we'll take that skill.
2. If A and B both have the same skill in that slot, we'll keep that skill.
3. If A and B both have that slot open, there will be no skill in that slot.
4. If A and B both have that slot filled, they will fuse and make a new skill depending on what the skills were. It will be sealed, and you will have to level the item proficiency to unlock it.
5. If A or B have that slot sealed, the skill from the equipment unsealed will replace the sealed skill. If that slot is empty, there will be no skill.
6. If A and B both have that slot sealed, then no skill will transfer over.

You can abuse the above rules to purposely manipulate which skills your equipment has. For example, purposely putting a sealed slot on your highly enhanced equipment will let you transfer any other skill into that slot. By being particular about the order in which you fuse your equipment, you can get the skills you want on your enhanced equipment.

On the skill grid with the runes, each rune corresponds to a specific skill. Each slot in this grid never changes. For example, the first column is always +4% to each different stat, with attack being on top and focus on the bottom.

If you manage to get every skill in that column (ATK, AATK, DEF, ADEF, Focus) then you will form what is called a G-Union, and get a special skill depending on the column that was filled. In the case of the first column, you get a skill which grants +20 to all stats. You can enhance this further by getting a 2 stack on each of those stats (so 2 instances of every stat skill on your equipment), making it +40 to all stats.
 
F

Falk

that puzzling face
Stuart444 said:
Ya, it's annoying but I'm almost glad because I didn't know Hauppauge released a new program that makes my HD PVR 2 work with the PS4 until now.

Not that I need it that much but it's handy for any games that block streaming I guess. Though hopefully Berseria and future PS4 tales games don't do that :/
Click to expand...

It almost always is music-related, particularly when vocals get involved because vocals are special snowflakes (and the modern music industry is a giant cesspit of contractual-band-aids stacked on top of one another for the past 50 years)

It wasn't our fault for Zestiria. Honest
 
KainXVIII

KainXVIII

Member
Crevox said:
After using gedosato, DSR, and SGSSAA, 8x SGSSAA certainly seems like the best of the three. Yeah, there's still some pixel crawl, but the difference is amazing with it on.

I imagine downsampling and SGSSAA would be a good combo, but that is too much for my single GPU right now (and why I'm hoping for some SLI bits).
Click to expand...

Yeah, maybe.
Also noticed that with DSR or Gedosato downscaling DOF effect is far much less pronounced (which i don't like)
 
F

Falk

that puzzling face
KainXVIII said:
Yeah, maybe.
Also noticed that with DSR or Gedosato downscaling DOF effect is far much less pronounced (which i don't like)
Click to expand...

Derp, yet ANOTHER gotye of engines specifically designed to target one specification. It happens with Sonic Generations PC (DoF blur, fixable by mods scaling a value w.r.t resolution settings), FFXIII/XIII-2 with shadows getting hilariously sharper at higher resolutions, etc. etc. etc.
 
F

Fisico

Member
Kasumin said:
And honestly, I haven't been impressed with Zestiria's main scenario writer (if I recall, his surname is Yamamoto). He was also main scenario writer for Hearts and Xillia 2 from the info I've found.
Click to expand...

Not sure who is the main scenario writer for each episode but here are the people credited for scenario for the three games you mentionned:

Tales of Hearts
Scenario (シナリオ)
Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基)
Scenario Support (シナリオサポート)
Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介)

Tales of Xillia 2
Scenario Work (シナリオ)
Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基), Itsumi Hori (堀 いつみ), Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介), Takashi Hasegawa (長谷川 崇)

Tales of Zestiria
Scenario Work (シナリオ)
Takashi Hasegawa (長谷川 崇), Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基)

But Yamamoto was also involved with every episode post-Vesperia so it's kinda hard to blame everything on a single person

Tales of Xillia
Scenario Work (シナリオ)
SWOT by NTS
Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介), Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基), Itsumi Hori (堀 いつみ), Takashi Hasegawa (長谷川 崇)

Tales of Graces
Scenario Work (シナリオワークス)
Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介)
Scenario Support (シナリオサポート)
Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基), Itsumi Hori (堀 いつみ)

Source (thanks Datschge for his work there)
 
K

Kasumin

Member
Fisico said:
Not sure who is the main scenario writer for each episode but here are the people credited for scenario for the three games you mentionned:

Tales of Hearts
Scenario (シナリオ)
Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基)
Scenario Support (シナリオサポート)
Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介)

Tales of Xillia 2
Scenario Work (シナリオ)
Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基), Itsumi Hori (堀 いつみ), Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介), Takashi Hasegawa (長谷川 崇)

Tales of Zestiria
Scenario Work (シナリオ)
Takashi Hasegawa (長谷川 崇), Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基)

But Yamamoto was also involved with every episode post-Vesperia so it's kinda hard to blame everything on a single person

Tales of Xillia
Scenario Work (シナリオ)
SWOT by NTS
Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介), Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基), Itsumi Hori (堀 いつみ), Takashi Hasegawa (長谷川 崇)

Tales of Graces
Scenario Work (シナリオワークス)
Daisuke Kiga (木賀 大介)
Scenario Support (シナリオサポート)
Naoki Yamamoto (山本 尚基), Itsumi Hori (堀 いつみ)

Source (thanks Datschge for his work there)
Click to expand...

From the info my friend and I dug up, Yamamoto didn't work on main scenario for Xillia. He did for Hearts R, Xillia 2, and Zestiria, however.
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
Crevox said:
When fusing 2 pieces of equipment, we have equipment A and B. Let's look at the second slot of their skills (each equipment piece has 4 slots).

1. If A or B has that slot open, but the other has a skill, we'll take that skill.
2. If A and B both have the same skill in that slot, we'll keep that skill.
3. If A and B both have that slot open, there will be no skill in that slot.
4. If A and B both have that slot filled, they will fuse and make a new skill depending on what the skills were. It will be sealed, and you will have to level the item proficiency to unlock it.
5. If A or B have that slot sealed, the skill from the equipment unsealed will replace the sealed skill. If that slot is empty, there will be no skill.
6. If A and B both have that slot sealed, then no skill will transfer over.

You can abuse the above rules to purposely manipulate which skills your equipment has. For example, purposely putting a sealed slot on your highly enhanced equipment will let you transfer any other skill into that slot. By being particular about the order in which you fuse your equipment, you can get the skills you want on your enhanced equipment.

On the skill grid with the runes, each rune corresponds to a specific skill. Each slot in this grid never changes. For example, the first column is always +4% to each different stat, with attack being on top and focus on the bottom.

If you manage to get every skill in that column (ATK, AATK, DEF, ADEF, Focus) then you will form what is called a G-Union, and get a special skill depending on the column that was filled. In the case of the first column, you get a skill which grants +20 to all stats. You can enhance this further by getting a 2 stack on each of those stats (so 2 instances of every stat skill on your equipment), making it +40 to all stats.
Click to expand...
I'll use this chance to post a simple tip to anyone who might be confused about the game's systems: press start everywhere. Pretty much every menu has an explanation when you press start. For example, you can review the fusion slots info if you press start while you're fusing:

0iXnQFK.jpg
Click to expand...

You can also see what each stat/icon means if you press start in the character profile screen:

lwVVoGo.jpg
Click to expand...

Plus, the System Book keeps all the explanations and tutorials you've seen so far so you can access them anytime. ToZ may seem overly complicated at first, but I'm finding that the more it opens up the clearer it gets. And like Aeana said above, the skill system is also much simpler than it appears to be at a first glance.
 
F

Fuu

Formerly Alaluef (not Aladuf)
The skits when you eat and save at different times in the Ladylake inn helped explain some stuff about the seraphim that I was wondering about.

Not really spoilers, just skit content regarding lore:

Seraphim can eat, but they don't need to. Mikleo and the rest of Elysia Village had normal meals so Sorey felt normal among them (Sorey is sort of taken aback by this). They are able to enjoy the taste of food normally, which is another reason why Mikleo does it. Lailah starts doing it at the inn too after they insist.

After you buy equipment at the shop Sorey wonders if Mikleo's staff will just stay floating on the air when humans see it. Mikleo explains that items humans can see become invisible when seraphim infuse mana into it. The opposite is also true - seraph items become visible if mana gets infused in that item, although that's a rarer ability. They mention that this is what made Grandpa's pipe visible to humans.
 
D

Dugna

Member
Fuu said:
The skits when you eat and save at different times in the Ladylake inn helped explain some stuff about the seraphim that I was wondering about.

Not really spoilers, just skit content regarding lore:

Seraphim can eat, but they don't need to. Mikleo and the rest of Elysia Village had normal meals so Sorey felt normal among them (Sorey is sort of taken aback by this). They are able to enjoy the taste of food normally, which is another reason why Mikleo does it. Lailah starts doing it at the inn too after they insist.

After you buy equipment at the shop Sorey wonders if Mikleo's staff will just stay floating on the air when humans see it. Mikleo explains that items humans can see become invisible when seraphim infuse mana into it. The opposite is also true - seraph items become visible if mana gets infused in that item, although that's a rarer ability. They mention that this is what made Grandpa's pipe visible to humans.
Click to expand...

also
seraph can gain weight like humans if their mindset happens to end up in it but they can't force lose weight by thinking the opposite they have to naturally ease into each thought which transforms them. Sorta like humans in ways.
 
S

Stone Ocean

Member
I really hope the plot starts picking up soon, I'm enjoying the game but boy does it take it's time revving up, 6 hours in and I'm still restricted as fuck.
 
S

Saikyo

Member
Fuu said:
After you buy equipment at the shop Sorey wonders if Mikleo's staff will just stay floating on the air when humans see it. Mikleo explains that items humans can see become invisible when seraphim infuse mana into it. The opposite is also true - seraph items become visible if mana gets infused in that item, although that's a rarer ability. They mention that this is what made Grandpa's pipe visible to humans.[/SPOILER]
Click to expand...

Thats strange because when Sorey
is invited to a dinner at the palace the room that you await the guard says to you about a "flying book"because Mikleo is reading near the bookcase but dismissing it later
 
D

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
Saikyo said:
Thats strange because when Sorey
is invited to a dinner at the palace the room that you await the guard says to you about a "flying book"because Mikleo is reading near the bookcase but dismissing it later
Click to expand...
It's because Mikleo didn't infuse mana into it.
 
D

Dugna

Member
Saikyo said:
Thats strange because when Sorey
is invited to a dinner at the palace the room that you await the guard says to you about a "flying book"because Mikleo is reading near the bookcase but dismissing it later
Click to expand...

Because Mikleo is just reading the book not infusing his mana into it.
 
P

PKrockin

Member
I'm thinking of making a tutorial for something in this game like I did for Abyss's Field of Fonons mechanic. Or at least some kind of tips and tricks video. I get the feeling few people are actually paying attention to the monuments and battle tips and trying to learn from them...

Things like people using martial artes on an enemy and not staggering them, not realizing the enemy is using a hidden arte or remembering the rock paper scissors system.

texhnolyze said:
So, what's the deal with battle score in Zestiria?
Is there any bonus if I regularly get high scores in battles?
Click to expand...
Do you mean grade? You spend grade to unlock new game+ bonuses. Also, earning grade in each area will unlock bonuses in your current playthrough through the "lord of the land" feature.
 
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