The Legend of Heroes series.

[Arrashi]

Haha well I don't know I just do the same in CS series as I did in Sky just spamming aoe massive S craft and almost one shooting every encounter. And just before every boss encounter I just fill my entire characters roster with 200CP for S craft spam and thats it. :P

and if one or two S craft didn't kill them yet then I use Zeram to refill the CP and again spam.

In Sky I mostly used Joshua aoe S craft and Kevin in 3rd Sky.

You sure you weren't playing it on easy ?

Also, weren't there like 10 zerams in entire game ? Doesn't sound like a ultimate strategy for me.

[Danner]

I'm so late to the party. Took me the entire weekend to complete my TOCS 1 nightmare newgame+ run.
Complaint: FUCK that final gear fight on nightmare mode. Took me some 40 attempts; and depended on RNG to pull off. I remember Valyrian complaining about this earlier. The pain was indeed real.
When I finished, I found that it was 03:30 am and ever so slightly too late to start playing TOCS 2.

I did wake up at 7 am and spent a measly hour playing before work.
My subconciousness somehow thought this was a great idea, and I easily woke before the alarm bell.
My body doesn't agree. My poor tortured sleep budget is now so heavily in deficit that I'll likely fall asleep once I finish my workday

But: hype!

[Cattleya]

Though I won't specify which ones, some of the story complaints amuse me as someone who knows the full events of CS2 and CS3

[Velshin]

You sure you weren't playing it on easy ?

Also, weren't there like 10 zerams in entire game ? Doesn't sound like a ultimate strategy for me.

Haha nope hard for sure also I have over 25 Zerams because of the dlcs they gave you a lot of items, including over 20 zerams and another 20 of the stronger zerams version. :P

Yeah it's not strategy at all which is why as you said the game is so easy. :P

[Arrashi]

Haha nope hard for sure also I have over 25 Zerams because of the dlcs they gave you a lot of items, including over 20 zerams and another 20 of the stronger zerams version. :P

Yeah it's not strategy at all which is why as you said the game is so easy. :P

Well, no point talking about difficulty if you are using cheats

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Though I won't specify which ones, some of the story complaints amuse me as someone who knows the full events of CS2 and CS3

The only spoiler from CS3 i know is that falcom finally realises how bland class VII is and just outright brings some of old characters back.

[Velshin]

Well, no point talking about difficulty if you are using cheats

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Well to be honest I only used it three times so far. Xeno and Leo fight, and Mcburn, fight and the optional Volglyph boss. The rest of the bosses I just fill the cp bar by using the true gladiator belt and headband. :P

[Val the Moofia Boss]

The only spoiler from CS3 i know is that falcom finally realises how bland class VII is and just outright brings some of old characters back.

I think it's more of a case that the scope of the story expanded in CS3, just like it did in Ao. It wasn't just a Crossbell problem; it was all of Zemuria's problems, thus why help was sent to Crossbell.

In CS3, there's still a group of big bads and their GM running around trying to do stuff. With the government restored there is no risk to sending help.

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I dunno, sky had its fair share of interesting and challenging bosses (tho ironically its never the last ones). So far in CS2 majority of bosses can be killed without any use of healing.

I kinda wish this game had something similar to kurts rape-engine.

You haven't fought the latter Act 2 bosses I take it.
@Arrashi , you will be pleased...

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Playing the game on hard. The first twenty hours were a pain, especially towards the end of Act 1, but then I perfected a solid build: (there are no spoilers here, just trying to keep the size manageable)

Spoiler: 

Gaius the evasion tank
Jusis the buffer
Alisa the CP engine
Emma the nuker

(With Laura the destroyer and Rean the delayer in the back)

My setup:

Gaius
Falco
Evade 1
Action 3
Evade 2
Attack 2
Shining R
Action 2
Dragon Vein
Attack 3
Ebony Vest
Ebony Boots
Phantom Thief's Cape
True Gladiator Belt

Emma
Criminal
Reaper
Flood
Mind 3
Aerial
Searing Sun
Silver Bell
Mind 2
Black Bell
Gorgeous Gown
Jeweled Boots
Quick Caliber S
Medal of Charity

Alisa
Canon
Impassion
Information
EP Cut 2
Breath R
Burn
Action 2
HP 2
Action 3
Cloud Robe
Military Gear
True Gladiator Belt
Gladiator Belt

Jusis
Moebius
Golden Sphere
Heal
Holy Breath R
Effort
EP Cut 2
Action 2
Action 3
Move 3
Shield Coat
Wind Shoes
Golden Emblem
Yellow Pendulum

Laura
Tauros
Attack 2
Domination
HP 1
Shield Breaker
Attack 3
Action 2
HP 2
Action 3
Dragon Skin Jumpsuit
Dragon Skin Shoes
Warrior Badge
Brave Heart

Rean
Force
Impede 1
Impede 2
Action 2
Detection
Attack 2
Action 3
Chrono Drive
Suzaku
Battle Jacket
Strega-Omega
Nord Bracelet
Bunny Watch

I have two party compositions using these setups: one for breezing through random battles, and one for I am facing the latter Act 2 bosses.

For random battles:

Rean and Laura one space apart in the front, Jusis one space behind in the middle, Alisa one space behind Jusis. Jusis double stacks NC, then proceed to cast arts or feed someone. Rean should be spamming Arc Slash which - when combined with his impede stacks - should mean that Laura will have all the time in the world, even with Tauros. Laura should use Earth Cleaver or Whirlwind to wipe out groups of enemies. Otherwise, you Armor Breaker. Alisa should cast Heavenly Gift at the start and pump out CP with Blessed Arrow.

If you want infinite turns, bring Machias (stack speed on him) and have him spam the Acceleration craft on Laura and Rean. I would not recommend this against the Act 2 bosses, as they are invulnerable to delay and their mechanics WILL wipe the party if you do not have an enduring setup like the one below.


For the Act 2 boss fights:

I have Gaius at the top of the formation, while Jusis, Alisa, and Emma are all the way in the back. Jusis' Noble Command can reach Gaius from far away, and Gaius has a natural ranged advantage over other melee, so Gaius should always be buffed. Gaius has 50% evade plus shining, so as long as he has shining up he's untouchable and should be pumping out counter damage. One Jusis has double stacked NC, he should either be casting arts or force feeding the girls. Alisa should be spamming Blessed Arrow and using Heavenly Gift to refresh Gaius' shining. She can off-nuke as well. Emma's job is to use crescent shell, detect the enemy to lower their defenses, then begin nuking.

If the boss summons a large group of enemies, swap out Emma for Rean and have him seal and take out all of the adds using Gale EX.

If the enemy's health is low enough, you may swap out Emma (if arts aren't especially effective against them) for Laura and go for the kill.

[Velshin]

So which female character you guys are increasing the bonds with the most?

For me it's Laura, Fie, Emma, and a little bit of Towa. :P

[Val the Moofia Boss]

So which female character you guys are increasing the bonds with the most?

For me it's Laura, Fie, Emma, and a little bit of Towa. :P

You can't fight fate; I've been going with

[Velshin]

You can't fight fate; I've been going with

Grrrrr I know but god damn she is so annoying and her English voice is not helping at all!!!

Although she is slightly more tolerable in CSII than in CSI...just slightly...

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Another memorable song:

[Arrashi]

So which female character you guys are increasing the bonds with the most?

For me it's Laura, Fie, Emma, and a little bit of Towa. :P

Going the lolicon way of flat justice. Aka fie and millium. Now rean has more than one dark side.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Up to 12/26

Spoiler: 

How'd he get on our airship WHILE IT WAS IN FLIGHT!?!?

Thanks for your... consideration.

Pretty sure he hasn't actually kidnapped and replaced anyone and is just trying to get us to attack each other.

This a whole new level of mindscrew.

This side quest is tied with the unholy sheep mecha of SC for the title of best side quest in Kiseki, period.

"Or was I?" Princess Alfin is going Anelace!

===============================================

Blue is the moonlight on the castle
Stately he stands with the soul of Holy Saint

Nobody knows when his bell "will" start to sing
Only the saint knolls his voice to loud

Now we can't hear the sound in this quiet fog
While feelin' he watches over us all the time

Holy Saint, Holy Spirit
Tell us the place where you emerge!
Help us understand what to bear

Holy saint, Holy Spirit
Tell us the cause why you arise
Only under the blue moonlight night

Gray is the enceinte of the castle
Finely he stands with the soul of Holy Saint

Nobody knows when his gate "will" start to break
Only the saint chooses one to come

Now we can see the face in hundreds of years
Still calmly he watches over us evermore

Holy Saint, Holy Spirit
May save us all from the surge!
Help us overcome what we fear

Holy Saint, Holy Spirit
May keep us all from the fight
Watching over the blue peaceful knight

Holy Saint, Holy Spirit
Tell us the cause why you arise
Only under the blue moonlight night

===============================================

Except Ordine was from Ordis, not Castle Lohengrin. If I remember correctly, Celine said the DK from Lohengrin was long gone, so Saint Sandlot/Arianrhod should have it. Is that the "Blue Knight"? Trying to make sure that they aren't talking about the "Azure Knight".

===============================================

12/24

SCREW YOU DUKE!!!

Masha! Otto! Becky!

Otto died!?!?

Not Louise too!

First you made me cry when the orphanage burned down and I thought that they had all died (no thanks to the red screen of death), and now this...

*sniffle*

Wow, you can really hear the emotion in Machias and Jusis!

===============================================

12/25

LOL Duke called the Craig and Claire "shamless fiends"

Scarlet, not you too!

Please don't cyanide yourself...

Yes Duvalie, I really do think it will be that simple. We kicked your ass along the highway a couple weeks ago, and we've become even stronger. We are even more powerful than Lloyd and friends are right now, and we all know how that went down. We even managed to force McBurn to use his power to save you!

That just leaves the liberation of Heimdallr left and the rest of the shrines to complete, and then its on to the grueling Act 2 boss rush.

I'm on 12/26, so I'm the final week of the Crossbell crisis, which coincides with the end of the ToCS1+CS2 story. That said, I'm particularly excited because the CS2 epilogue actually goes as far as March of 1205, so that'd be the first time I get to see what Zemuria looks like afterwards.

[blackpink]

So if I'm not mistaken there's a subtle spoiler lol during the convo after the boss at the watchtower in act 1 part 2 about renne =/

[Val the Moofia Boss]

So if I'm not mistaken there's a subtle spoiler lol during the convo after the boss at the watchtower in act 1 part 2 about renne =/

I think that, along with the casual spoiler about a party member's identity in Trails in the Sky (to be fair, none of the LoH games after TitS treats it as a reveal; said party member's identity is an open secret afterwards) are the only two direct spoilers I've come across in the entirety of Cold Steel.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm so late to the party. Took me the entire weekend to complete my TOCS 1 nightmare newgame+ run.
Complaint: FUCK that final gear fight on nightmare mode. Took me some 40 attempts; and depended on RNG to pull off. I remember Valyrian complaining about this earlier. The pain was indeed real.
When I finished, I found that it was 03:30 am and ever so slightly too late to start playing TOCS 2.

I did wake up at 7 am and spent a measly hour playing before work.
My subconciousness somehow thought this was a great idea, and I easily woke before the alarm bell.
My body doesn't agree. My poor tortured sleep budget is now so heavily in deficit that I'll likely fall asleep once I finish my workday

But: hype!

Fortunately the DK system in CS2 is a vast improvement over CS1; you will never feel like you don't have control of the situation. Yeah, CS1's amazing ending was stained by the frustrating dependence on RNG, that could only be countered by grinding up in the Old Schoolhouse.

- - - Updated - - -

I've reached the point of no return. Going to start the climax tommorrow. Here are my thoughts up until the finale on 12/31:

Spoiler: 

12/26

Darn it Laura, there was no way to tell how deep that river was. You could have hit your head on a rock!

LOLOL Valimar!

Just call everyone with your ARCUS!

*Kea flashbacks intensify*

To the chamber holding the prime fragment of the Sept-Terrion of Fire.

Obviously there are still records of the DKs that survives the reset, being the statues in Nord and Byronia Isle, and the legends of the Great Knights.

I wonder what Celine Aura would look like. Hopefully we'll find out in CS3/4!

So... did Vita sacrifice her familiar thinking it'd kill us? If she did, she's an idiot. If she didn't, then how is she going to communicate privately at will?

WTH, familiars can survive being killed, or Vita's so powerful she conjure multiple birds.

I'm not expert, but with the level of knowledge the writers have presented to the audience (bearing in mind the Conservation of Detail, see TV tropes on that), this almost certainly a feint. The NA is dominating in the West, while it's Eastern front has almost completely crumbled. If anything, the NA should be shifting forces from the West to reinforce the East (which we saw Rufus do by recalling Wallace and Aurellia). If I had to guess, they want to bait an all out assualt by the Imperial Forces, and then crush them on the spot. If the NA is playing their cards right, they'll have actually kept a sizeable army inside Heimdallr that has been training since the occupation began, which will ride out to meet the 3rd, 4th, and the RMP once they arrive at the gates. With Crow, Zephyr, Rufus, Aurrelia, and Wallace as their aces.

When I talked to them at the end of CS1, Patrick and Ferris didn't approve of the NA's actions. I don't believe that they are actually comitted to the NA's cause. The upper class students decided to use the opportunity to stay and continue their studies without having to join a cause they didn't support, nor fight against their families. I'm pretty certain that once we arrive at the academy, Patrick won't bar entry. As for whether or not he will join us...

=======================================================================

12/30

Wow, the Tachi looks great!

Ah, good, they're not really AGAINST us, they just want a good brawl. Let's do this!

I'm curious to know what Ordine is like.

LOL Mint's plan worked in the end after all. Mary x Makarov FTW!

In retrospect, Rean's actions over the past year have become the stuff of folk legend, and that's before he's going to save the world (for the first time) from Ouroboros.

I wonder what happened to everyone's stuff; is Rean's family picture stored somewhere?

=======================================================================

12/31

Kudos to dad for owning up to his son about his birth. Looking forward to it!

It looks like this is going to take at least a couple dozen more hours. There's a lot of plot threads that need to be resolved, and CS2's story goes far beyond Ao. At this time, the story of Ao is pretty much over, with the epilogue of that story about to begin right now.

I really hope that Falcom will add the ability to import your CS2 saves to CS3. Wouldn't surprise me if they did that, considering the changes they made at XSEED's request. Going to start my NG+ play-through once I finish this one.

[Mavecryst]

Man you guys are progressing really fast. I'm only up to the Watchtower in Act 1. Really enjoying most of the game so far, though I have my gripes. It's been a great ride so far!

Things I like:
+ Voice acting for the most part is still on point.
+ The story and characters continue to charm me. Millium's usual enthusiasm (IT'S MILLIUM TIME! keeps me smiling.
+ The new areas and dungeons I'm seeing despite revisiting old locations. When Trails in the Sky SC did this, it was really boring at times but it feels a lot less boring with Cold Steel 2.
+ The catch ups with the Class VII characters have been quite touching. Just wish people would quit asking Rean if it was really him.

Some gripes:
- Rean's lines. Some are pretty cringe, and despite liking Rean's english VA, can't blame him for not being to pull off the worst of the lines.
- Tying AP bonuses into that fight with Xeno and Leonidas . That fight is such a sudden increase in difficulty, and abit of a slap in the face considering how the previous boss fights have taken a couple of S-crafts and some minor other abilities to beat.

*Major gripe* Honestly wouldn't have minded the second gripe all that much if I found out I could SKIP CUTSCENES / DIALOG earlier. Seriously they built in the awesome Continue straight from last save feature but still don't have a skip cutscene button? Took me multiple tries to get the fight right and some better RNG (twice I didn't see a Critical bonus throughout the entire fight, and other times the fight started with the enemy going first and half destroying my team before I could even move). Multiple tries means way too much time scrolling past the trash talking etc and entire scene.

so...PSA:
Apparently you can progress through the text-heavy portions much quicker by holding down CIRCLE (gotta wait about 3 seconds). I'm gonna try this first thing when I get home. Ugh wish there was some sort of note about it in the game.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

so...PSA:
Apparently you can progress through the text-heavy portions much quicker by holding down CIRCLE (gotta wait about 3 seconds). I'm gonna try this first thing when I get home. Ugh wish there was some sort of note about it in the game.

That's holding down right click, which I believe was stated in CS1. Combined with setting field turbo mode to 4x, I was able to breeze through my 3 NG+ runs of CS1 very quickly.

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Currently on the final dungeon's final boss, though given the fact that this is Kiseki, I doubt that it's the final boss of the game.

[Mavecryst]

That's holding down right click, which I believe was stated in CS1. Combined with setting field turbo mode to 4x, I was able to breeze through my 3 NG+ runs of CS1 very quickly.

- - - Updated - - -

Currently on the final dungeon's final boss, though given the fact that this is Kiseki, I doubt that it's the final boss of the game.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up for the people not using a controller. (WHY would you do that to yourself though???)
And geez final boss. Or at least close to final. Wish I had the time to binge play, all I can think about at work is my next experimental build for Millium (thinking to make her a status inducing bot with all her AoE abilities... doesn't help with boss fights but reduces random battles to hilariously easy proportions).

Kinda makes me wish I could save Orbment setups. So I could easily switch between random battles and boss destroyer loadouts.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Just reached the credits.

Spoiler: 

Finale

12/31

Hey, it's Theed Palace!

Termination Slash is one of the best ultimates in a game I've ever seen, going up on my favorites list!

Sept-Terrions and their cradles:
Sept-Terrion of Space - Liber Ark
Sept-Terrion of Water - Hollow Phantasm
Sept-Terrion of Fire - Infernal Castle

Ready for a fourth beat down Duvalie? Also, it'll be nice to send Bleublanc scurrying away a second time too!

Oh look! The Harlequin archaisims are back!

DIE BEAUTIFULLY!

McBurn demon form HYPE!

Now would be a good time for Victor to come.

Called it.

The Vermillion Throne looks very reminsicent of the Phantasmagoria Castle from the 3rd.

Shut up Vita.

Crow, having been defeated by Rean in a duel before, whips out his double saber thinking he can take on Class VII, who have only grown even stronger since their last confrontation. I couldn't help but chuckle.

Oh look, it's the Promised Day. We have gone Fullmetal Alchemist boys!

Wings sprouting for a malevolent castle? Throw Final Fantasy VIII on the list too.

CROW NOOOOOO, OH PLEASE NOOOO

*sniffle*




Grandmaster wants to enact the Human Instrumentality Project too!

LOL RIP Grianos! Nice one Rufus!

So Rufus was in deep cover, infiltrating the coalition that would eventually rebel, amassing power so that he could restrain it when it did, and take out all of the Chancellor's enemies in one fell swoop. After this, no one will ever openly revolt against Osborne.

Whoa, okay unless the Grandmaster has been playing 4D chess and had this planned all along, then the GM actually got one uped by Osborne! Olivier's gonna need to step up his game.

Just leaves the epilogue story to finish.

[Velshin]

I don't know why but whenever I hear this theme:



It kinda give me the vibe of that theme just a little bit:

[Mavecryst]

The artwork for the game is really gorgeous. They should have more cutscenes using their artwork (kinda like the Rean flashback scenes), I think it would be a great way for them to ease the text-heavy scenes and show off that artwork.