Team Shining Force II #18

[MXC]

I'll give it a shot. I started to do the battle, just to see what kind of damage we could deal and take. After a few rounds, I reset, cast egress, and prepared.

First thing I need to do is sort out these rings. What a mess! Since Eric is a beast but knocked down to 5 MOV, I gave him the Running Ring so he'd have his nice range back. That freed up Sarah to get a needed AGI boost from the Quick Ring. I also noticed that none of the stat boosters were used which will sort out a few more issues:

Pimentos to Sarah to give her range back and to Elric. I really didn't have a great candidate for it but it will help mitigate his bad agility as well.
Brave Apples (had to go to the Dojo to get one) to Luke, who received a very good level (each stat! Crazy for him!) and Elric since he was behind in stats across the board.
Bright Honey on Sarah, for a few more heals.
One Cheerful Bread on Slade, even though Luke could use it a tad more, Slade is more important.
One Quick Chicken on Bowie.
Two Protect Milks on Sarah because she's almost as important as Bowie right now and can barely take a hit.
The Power Waters were a tough decision because with our damage being kind of low, I felt like they would be better served on characters that would just do more damage instead of characters that needed it. So I gave them to Elric (who does kinda need it but is more likely to survive) and to Lemon, who is our next most reliable fighter, after Bowie. Sorry, Luke.
Lastly, we're missing a few boosters, but I'm too lazy to get them.

It's amazing how I have the muscle memory for the maze before Oddeye's Battle.

While playing the waiting game for the bottom three enemies to get in striking position, I managed to pull the Horesman down. I attempt to deal with the Horeseman, which proved a mistake as I quickly have to deal with the other three jerks closing in. In the ensuing chaos, I also trigger a Demon Master from the north, who drops Slade to 15HP before I can heal him. Fortunately, everything decides to go after Lemon and Eric. Bowie his smacked around by the Arch Demon, which is great for our HP situation, but awful for leaving me without my tank, since he has been slowed. After dealing with all the crap, I draw back from the choke point, just in time... or not. The second Demon Master comes down and casts Freeze 4 on Sarah. She survives but damn, healing her is going to drain my MP. I don't think I'll manage to get out of here with everyone alive. Fortunately, this means I'll be down to a few Pyrohydras, two Zeon Guards, and a weak Shaman.

After waiting for Slow to expire and everyone to be healed, I march over to the left since I know I can get some exp without taking much damage. I think it's worth the risk. My gamble pays off with only Eric taking damage (from his curse ) I let Lemon and Luke deal with the Zeon Guard since they're behind in experience. With the Demon Masters both gone, the left side will be considerably easier than normal (especially since the Pyrohydras don't have an attach boost!)

On Luke's return journey, he steps into the Blue Shaman's strike zone. This is the weirdest experience I've had with the battle. I'm usually more careful but playing during my break is making me a bit too loose with my placement. This forces me to run Eric over to help out, but ultimately only costs an extra heal, which is kind of worse than it sounds. I let Lemon get the kill on the Zeon Guard to level him up for his showdown against Zeon. He's better than Bowie since Bowie can cast a bit and since Lemon dying doesn't mean I have to restart

I'm left with everyone standing and having either full health or too little damage to waste a heal. Sarah only has 20 MP left, which might be tricky. If Zeon goes after Lemon only, I have enough for one Heal 4, or two Heal 3s. If he spams Demon Breath, I might be screwed. If I see an opening, I might cast Blast 4. The plan is for Luke and Eric to attack the top and side (hopefully Eric doesn't get stunned from the curse), have Lemon attack head-on, Elric attack from behind Lemon, and have Bowie + Slade casting spells from the sides while Sarah waits.

Eric 41 damage, takes 6 from curse and 18 from Zeon counter
Slade Katon 3, 48 damage
Luke 20 damage (Zeon showing blue)
Lemon 0 damage, Zeon dodge
Bowie Bolt 1, 14 damage
Zeon 40 damage on Luke (Luke at 48HP)
Elric 24 damage
Eric 39 damage
Luke 19 damage (Zeon showing green)
Slade Katon 3, 51 damage
Zeon 0 damage on Luke (dodge)
Lemon 29 damage, 19 damage from Zeon counter
Bowie Bolt 2, 18 damage (Zeon showing yellow)
Zeon 45 damage on Luke (Luke at 3HP)
Elric 21 damage
Eric stunned
Slade Katon 3, 47 damage
Luke FLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Zeon casts Demon Breath on damn near everyone. Not good.
Lemon 34 damage (Zeon showing red)
Sarah Blast 4, 34 damage
Bowie out of MP, uses White Ring so that 2-4 characters don't die from Demon Breath/ Lemon doesn't die from a normal attack. White Ring shatters, but my chances of survival do not.
Zeon 28 damage on Lemon (Lemon at 11HP)
Elric 21 damage (Zeon at 40HP)
Luke 24 damage (Zeon at 16HP)
Slade Katon 2, 17 damage. Fried Zeon for dinner, everyone!

Everyone is level 28 or 29, with Sarah at 30 (and ended with 12 MP and everyone almost dead!) I had wanted to get Bowie to level 29 to get an extra MP but you probably won't need it anyway.

I'm sorry that the White Ring is gone and nerfs Bowie but on the other hand, you can lose characters in the last battle and it won't really matter

[zexxar]

Good job MXC

But I also was suprised that I was able to navigate through the maze without going wronge once although I haven't walked through it in year (thanks to marathon or roulette) but somehow the correct way is burned so deep in my mind

About the statboosters I wouldn't be suprised if everyone else was just like me and thought we are forbidden to use because so many things where forbidden haha

[MXC]

When I had my first battle gap, I thought they were ruled out as well. But then I remembered that I kept saving them in case somebody died I figured the second last battle was long enough.

[greyskies]

About the statboosters I wouldn't be suprised if everyone else was just like me and thought we are forbidden to use because so many things where forbidden haha :lol:

Definitely... I thought I had read "no items", not "no healing items"...

Anyhow, great job!

[Antman 537]

Impressive; I really am curious how you avoid so much damage.

Also, fun fact: I've never played the secret battle before. Do I need to do anything to access it? And any general things I should know?

[MXC]

I quite a bit of damage early from not paying attention. But after the first wave, I could charge in and eliminate a lot of enemies before they attacked me. The most dangerous enemies here on the Demon Masters because their damage stays consistent between Normal and Super. If you stay in range of Freeze 4, they'll hit you with it and that's half your HP. Getting in close will often make them go melee (not sure the real odds). Other than that, hope the Arch Demon's don't cast Bolt (which is easier to avoid with a small party, or rather easier to only let one person get it )

But more importantly, why have you never played the final battle?! To access it, you'll have to let the credits play and leave it running for a few minutes (use frameskip 8) and a prompt will pop up. Head into the battle and take on all the bosses. Hint: a few are going to be a pain, despite being old bosses. Namely, Geshp, Red Baron, and Zeon. Have fun. Oh, and I just realized that if you really wanted to cheat the system (but technically, not really), you could use the Fairy Tears on Sarah. I guess if we had thought of that sooner, you'd have had no issue with Battle 43. Unless we decided Fairy Tears were "an MP healing item" or something... I just can't remember

[Antman 537]

Aha, got it! Quick update: I'm pretty busy with school projects this week, but I plan to tackle this Saturday

[Jonesy_Pants]

when is the next one?

[MXC]

Not until after this one is complete. And even then, I'm not sure. Starting during the holidays is usually a waste of time since people are out doing other stuff. Might not be until the beginning of next year.

[Antman 537]

Ok! I wandered around an embarrassingly long time looking for Astral, but now we're finally at the battle!
Also forgot to un-curse Eric, so it's evil lance all the way!

Round 1! Ugh, they have so many turns!
...
Round 6! ...Ok, I don't think desoul should be able to work on your commander. I feel robbed.

[MXC]

I told you to look out for Red Baron

[Antman 537]

Update: I'm now on attempt 15. I managed to reach Zeon having lost only Luke, and with 23mp left on Sarah. Tragically, my plan to "just rush him" prompted Zeon to demon breath everyone. Still, our intrepid heroes came close to defeating him before being annihilated. I've read on Moogie's guide that her go-to strategy is to attack one at a time, to avoid getting demon-breathed. While casualties are sure to be heavy, I plan to implement this moving forward. If I can just get back there again...

[Simpelicity]

Never give up, never surrender!

[MXC]

I'm not ready for the next TG anyway so take your time

[Antman 537]

Now that finals are done, it's time to tackle this battle once and for all!

...Round 27! It has become clear that beating this battle will require flawless execution. And probably a little luck. I got tired of re-doing the beginning of the battle, and just updated the savestate. Which is probably poor form, but I have ceased to care! I also used the Fairy tears
I let Cameela wail ineffectively on Bowie a bit, rather than lure Zalbard down too soon. Lemon and Bowie lved to 29! Sarah lvled to 31! Not that it matters.
Lemon lured Geshp into melee range, then Luke, Elric and Eric jumped him. Incredibly, he died before Oddeye or Red Baron attacked!
Oddeye took some coaxing and a heal 3, but I managed to get him into beatdown range. Elric lvled to 29!
No sooner did Oddeye die then Galam ran down to attack Luke. Exactly as planed. Luke limps away with 2hp, but the screaming jerk runs past the entire force to try and kill the now full health Luke and Sarah again! Luckily he dies before he can finish the job.
In a real stroke of luck, Red Baron attempts to desoul Slade and misses, then attacks Luke and misses twice. Lemon steps up and kills... himself?

And now for the daring finale! The party draws lots as to who should attack Zeon first. It's decided that Elric will shoot him from one side, while Eric distracts him from the other. This seems to be working pretty well! Luke trades off with Eric to let him get healed, then Eric steps out for the same. Sarah lvles to 32!
But there must be a price paid for victory. Luke is the first to die, while Elric is being healed. And Sarah has now run out of mp.
The force watches helplessly as their friends lay down their lives. Next Eric, then Slade, then Elric, who brings Zeon to 19hp before dying. The end in sight, Sarah kisses Bowie then rushes forward and kills the devil-god with a critical hit!

GAME OVER

In retrospect, I could have probably jumped in when Zeon hit 100hp, and saved a life or two. All in all though, it was a fun challenge. I'm sure our heroes will never forget their brave comrades.

[MXC]

We did it! Good work! Now for a nice break to #19. If anyone has ideas, post them here.

[Antman 537]

we could pick up all characters, and replace the oldest member with the newest

[Simpelicity]

Hm, the trap with this proposition (which makes it interesting I suppose), is that having to pick up all characters means you have to pick up the Creed leftovers, and you're stuck with them 'til the end of the game. Paired with the usual "no level grinding", that means for Flowers onwards, we're playing with 9.5 characters.