Friday, March 17, 2017

TLS 0.25.2 Public Release

Download*: https://mega.nz/#!TkdD2QqJ!__hAfjxYGTx1H7zcBo9kzvmezmUyVh49u0KbjvR943M
Mirror*: http://www.mediafire.com/file/1y8i2xg8rrzey32/TLS+0.25.2.exe
RTP: https://mega.nz/#!SkciiazA!nO8VT1u_WizS6VZEHSNss5oCQ-3yCSpz1zTTRduqvJM

*Requires RPG Maker VX Ace RTP to be installed. If you don't know what that means, use the RTP link.

Version 0.25.0 [3/3/17]
 - New iteration of Yhilin.
 - Four new plot sex scenes.
 - Three new affection sex scenes.
Version 0.25.1 [3/11/17]
 - New synergy skill system introduced!
 - The bug with restarting the game via F12 has been fixed.
 - Assorted bugfixes and polishing.
Version 0.25.2 [3/17/17]
 - More bugfixes and polishing.
 - Hardcore hugging action added to the reunion section.

This update covers a very busy visit to Yhilin, plus the new system of synergy skills. Lots of fun content in this update, as well as a development I know may be controversial for some. As always, I welcome all feedback and criticism.

That covers it for this release, so I'll be beginning work on the next section of the plot. However, you're also going to see some other fun things here in the near future. So stay tuned for those, and meanwhile enjoy the release!

136 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Finally!!! I've been checking in the blog every 30 minutes for the new update the whole day!

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  3. Huzzah Pubby Build! Now to dive in and then replay this version too many times, hahahahwhaha egerk gerk. Anyway >.> Thanks for the release Sierra.

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  5. Well there is that update played. That twist where the update didn't end one the first I'm finished with Janine was actually quite surprising. I mean i wouldn't really call it a twist but it was nice. Also that Hug with Robin sprite, Adorable. I can hardly wait to go see more of Eustrin and Aram seeing as we saw so little last time. At least ill have Mass Effect Andromeda to bide the time. Thanks again for the update Sierra.

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  6. Couple things I've noticed so far:

    Wynn and Sarai's conversation about her accommodations still plays even if you visited her at the Archon Inn first. I don't mind it, since it's a good little character piece. But for some reason the barrel orc in Yhilini Square will still play that little scene with Balia, even though finding exceptional orcs is over and done with (I assume).

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    1. The first one is intentional to avoid forcing players to retrace their steps - consider it a flashback if you prefer. The second is also okay - it's harmless and I don't want to restrict that content. But thanks for checking the details!

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  7. So if I'm understanding this new synergy gimmick, it affects all throughout the playthrough? Like if I were to start a new game I'd see these synergy abilities pop-up like during the Unhuman boss fights?

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    1. No - the idea is that the characters have learned to work together through their time fighting with each other and coming to appreciate their relative strengths and weaknesses. You'll only gain them in this update.

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  8. When you fight with Hilstara game is crashing. Game don't have melancholy music.

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    1. The file seems to be there, and I can't reproduce the bug. Maybe try redownloading in case the music file got corrupted?

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    2. Well. i just took files from another update.
      There missed more music files than one but that not so critical. Don't know how that happend. ^-^

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  9. Hmmm, am I having an actual issue with Dari's Unpeople Recriters quest, or is it somethng I'll have to come back to later?

    I ask because I've scoured every area and located the Recruiters in the Cathedral, Slums, Miner's Junction and Square - though the last one was just a shopper - and I cannot find any others to finish up the quest. Is this for a future release or is the game bugged?

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    2. How do you get this quest? Do you need to do Dari's research?

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    3. You get it only if the Unpeople mobilization motion passes during the Ardford summit.

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  10. I hope you don't mind if I list some, well, not bugs but completely insignificant aesthetic issues in the game. I noticed some of them back in 0.23 and 0.24, so I apologize if they've already been fixed:

    1. In the free succubus quarters (northeastern room on ground floor) in the Withered Mountain fortress, interacting with the side of the table next to the bookshelf brings up the dialogue for the bookshelf.

    2. Robin does not draw power from the Stineford Academy during Hilstara's fight.

    3. Aka and Yarra are not locked into the first party spot on their respective routes, so one can actually have stuff such as two Orcent sprites in one room.

    4. Unfortunately, I do not remember which day this happens on, but during Yarra's Route, when a draconic succubus appears near the slave trader to appraise her stock, simply running into her triggers her dialogue.

    5. During the Endgames, after closing off paths with snow boulders, interacting with the boulders from a cliff causes them to roll once more. It doesn't change anything though and they reset (in their positions blocking the path) when you exit the map.

    6. Might I request that we are given the choice to accept or refuse the offer from the Lord of Blood's succubus? Although I realize that this might not be feasible given the flow of plot.

    7. The mage in the room west of the armoury in the Yhilin palace appears to have acceptance-gated dialogue, but even when I have enough acceptance for him to praise the succubi, he only does so at the beginning of each section and reverts to his complaints when I exit the palace even once.

    8. Even when only Simon and Uyae are visiting the Plaza Slums, much of the dialogue is as if the group is actually Yarra's.

    9. Even after I chose to support Qum's research, I was able to have Robin research a topic of her own. It was only after the refugees were accepted that they spoke about Qum's research. If this is the intended behaviour and Robin can actually research two topics in this section, might I suggest that she gives us a hint about Qum's proposal and mentions that that work would not affect any topic chosen right now? Right now, it is not intuitive that Robin can research a topic even when you agree to Qum's suggestion.

    I apologize for the following obnoxious questions given the spoilers involved, but... I had to try. I don't really expect to get answers:

    1. Will saving Carina's soldiers ever be useful or do I have to resign myself to wasting money simply because I don't want to let them die?

    2. Will Commander Geoff ever be reintroduced, maybe even a major role? I actually really liked his character, although I might be in a minority of one here.

    3. Is there any advantage to completing Robin's trials to become a full member of the Order as quickly as possible? Given exp maximization, I'd rather wait. For example, the single team fight trial was more useful to me after Zirantia given Uyae's addition.

    4. ...I'm not going to get extra funds for the second House of Petitions, am I? D;

    Finally, thank you for creating this great game. Would you believe me if I said that this game was actually recommended to me due to its plot rather than as a porn game? Not that the latter is any less enjoyable.

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    1. I appreciate the attention to detail! Some replies:

      3/5) These two behaviors aren't ideal, but I consider them acceptable.

      7) Huh. I can't duplicate this one or think of a reason why this would occur.

      9) I didn't want to complicate the choices needlessly, but it seems not everyone finds this as intuitive as I did. Basically, you get two research topics during this section, and if one of them is Qum's, it uses up the second choice.

      Responses to questions:

      1) If they're still alive, they'll have one more role to play.

      2) You won't have to wait too long to see him again, and he'll do more than in his first appearance.

      3) While you don't want to delay them too long, there's no real reason to do the trials ASAP.

      4) Nope, one round of funding only.

      Glad you like the game! There are quite a few people who are here for the plot - I even get occasional messages from people who say they don't like the sex at all, either because they aren't interested in heterosexual content or because they just don't like my style. My goal is to make sex and plot inextricably intertwined, but I'm grateful for everyone who feels the game is worth their time regardless!

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    2. 9)I second this. Why the hell would suddenly now be an option for 2 researches instead of 1? If I haven't read it here, I doubt I would try (thus figured it out) myself.

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    3. The reason is that you're there for a second period of time after the succubus refugee event. If you talk to Robin during that time having chosen earlier to let Qum do a research, she'll say she could do more but she's busy helping Qum. You also get a (smaller) amount of extra funding for the House Of Petitions during this time.

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    4. Aesthetic issues:

      7) I actually played around a bit. It seems that the mage's response reverts to complaints when Discretionary Funds are lower than 40%.

      Questions:

      2) Yay!

      4) Awww... Time for Playthrough number whoknows! Really grateful for those 99 slots.

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    5. Whoops. >.< The mage's dialogue is attached to a variable with a very similar name to the one it actually should have been. When I checked it, I saw what I expected to see instead of noting the inconsistency, my bad. It's fixed now, thanks!

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    6. Yeah, in retrospect I kind of wish I'd gone for one of the other options - maybe Dari - instead of all the stuff necessary to get Robin made a full Yhilini mage this section. I was mostly doing it out of spite so I could get into their stupid clubhouse that read 'No Robins', but no such luck.

      Same thing with the elf renovations- I was hoping they'd give me access to their settlement already, daddy needs his emotional payoff for his beneficent deeds already! I might have doomed us all by not securing the Aram border just so I could fix up that shantytown!

      Still, lots of great stuff this update. Robin, Smart Orc's apotheosis, Yarra being a bridge between succubi and normal people, Wynn having both an Affection score and a Simon's Anger score.

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  11. Great, a new update, but we don't get any new funds for first house of petitions in this round?

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    1. You should have received another 100 at the start of the section!

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    2. Well, it seems I didn't...
      Also, I noticed that Trin in negotiations room says she can handle now 8 copies, when in her menu used and free copy slots sums up to 9. Earlier she could have 7.

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    3. The incorrect copy count is due to an earlier bug where Yuanuon wasn't counted. If you go back to a save from before the point where that happens (i.e. just before the last battle of the Zirantia trip), the count will be correct.

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    4. On funding: I don't see a way that could happen via a simple bug, so feel free to upload a save from Zirantia for testing.

      On copies: Yes, the count will also get fixed going forward, so you can just ignore it for now.

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    5. Redoing last fight in Zirantia seemed to fix both problems, thanks for help.

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  12. I just wanted to say I absolutely LOVE your game...everything about it, really. The storyline has been incredible thus far, the choice of music is great, and I absolutely love all of these characters...even the ones I hate. I'm constantly on the verge of dying of laughter at the humor and I'm not ashamed to admit I've actually cried a couple of times. I find myself completely torn every time I finish each update...waiting impatiently for the next release and simultaneously wishing it would come faster and hoping you take all the time you need to continue making it just as good as it has been. Also, when I first tried to play this new update, I actually couldn't for a little while 'cause I couldn't stop shaking with anticipation long enough to actually play it. (Though that could have been a combination of that reason, blood loss from donating about a litre earlier that day, and the fact that it was the dead of the night and cold as all hell.) All in all, I hope you keep up the good work! Now I'm gonna go back to finishing this new release.

    PS. Not sure if this is a bug, but I've noticed that the Aramite Jade Clerk didn't get removed from my list of duplicates with the rest when you raid their operation, and I'm just wondering if anyone else had noticed the same.

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    1. I suspect the Aramite clerk's copy is being kept deliberately, since he might be useful in the upcoming Aram/Eustrin section...

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    2. That actually makes a good bit of sense, I was just wondering if it was actually a bug or not...hadn't considered that, though...now that I have, I feel like I really should have.

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    3. Glad you enjoy the game so much! I'll definitely keep at it!

      Anyway, yeah, the Aramite clerk is a special case who will be relevant fairly soon.

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    4. I was also wondering something about the second house of petitions. (as if it's not bad plenty of questions asked about it already. Hahaha) I get you only get the funds once, I was just wondering if there was some sort of mechanic that determines the percentage you got, or if you only get 50%...I ask because someone mentioned 100 below, and I was just wondering if there was something that determines how much you got or not.

      Next up is a comment on the Synergy skills, they're rather cool and I sure as hell like the idea, though they seem a bit weak at this point in the game compared to other skills you would undoubtedly have by then. Still love the idea, though...but I kinda think it would be more useful implemented earlier on...though I'm just gonna guess that would take a shitload of work to rework that stuff back further toward the beginning of the game, so I think I get it.

      Anyways, last thing I have to say is that I'll honestly be rather sad once this is all over. You've made one hell of a world there.

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    5. I got 70% for my funding.

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    6. Your percentage is directly based on your ProN income. The game calculates how much ProN you'd be getting if it was a normal investment cycle, then awards you with a funding percentage based on how high that number is.

      For synergy skills, I'm more interested in flexibility over strength. Yarra's skill with Hilstara is a good example of that. However, there are other planned skills that are straight upgrades to characters' skills, so you'll see some variety. In any case, I don't intend to add any retroactively.

      Glad you're enjoying the world of TLS! While I always try to emphasize that I don't intend to drag things out any longer than necessary... the story I've planned is extensive. ^-^ You're not going to have to say goodbye just yet.

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    7. Figured it was something like that. I apparently invested quite poorly in terms of returns. One of the things I like about the game is it has pretty good replay value. Hell, I may end up restarting for a fourth time after a while. Anyways, I actually was also wondering if you'd considered making a sequel once it was finished, though obviously as you've already said, it won't be any time too soon.

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    8. I love the world and characters, so I might return to them for stories or games of a different type. But there won't be a sequel as in another long RPG or a continuation of the story. The ending of TLS will be definitive.

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    9. I will say that Aka's fire stab thing got an immediate workout in the final Yhilini mage trial where magic is needed, and it worked out great.

      I guess I could have taken elf mage with me instead, but target:all magic usually doesn't end up working out well for me since any fight where you need to get around elemental resistances odds are good that half the mooks are resistant to whatever element you're dropping on them. So her spells which are already far weaker against any individual opponent than Robin's X Lance spells are then further diluted by half the mooks' resistances.

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  13. I used Robins hug-option at least five times.
    That funding decisions are always so hard. :D..
    Also the second "funding" house at the slums, are the 100% really for the whole game or did I misunderstood it?

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    1. That's right, you only get funds for the second House of Petitions once.

      As for the rest: ^-^

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  14. This is great, so much stuff! Can't figure out if there's supposed to be a trigger for that "quality time" with Megail though. She keeps talking about it but only have the regular options with her.

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    1. Glad you're enjoying it! Sorry, though, there's no new Megail scene. She just really wants to make sure she gets laid while she's in town. =D

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    2. That would definitely explain why it's so hard to find!

      My only complaint is that there aren't two of you making this twice as quickly.... ;_;

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  15. game crashes when i try to load robin and aka in the same fight presumably because of their new skill together.

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    1. Hmm, it doesn't on my end. While the new skill system can cause crashes, it would likely be in the skill menu, not combat. Three questions:
      1) Is there an error message?
      2) Is the crash repeatable with different battles and party combinations?
      3) Have you fought a battle without that combination in this version?

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    2. Then you're encountering a bug no one else has. Can you upload a save just before a battle that crashes?

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    3. I encountered a crash with Robin/Aka in my party as well, when I tried to have a training orc fight right after Aka learned the synergy skill. Reloaded and no crash happened the second time.

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    4. thats the same fight it crashed on for me should of mentioned that.

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  16. I have a few things to metion. First, I wanna ask, is it intentional, that you cannot get the candidate on the square near the Doom King statue for the Forging Ties quest rectroactively (after Yarra had her speach already), if you get 40 acceptance later? Seems unnecessary, if that's intentional.

    Second, there is no logical reason, why a soldier/warrior as intelligent as Orcent would intentionally choose to wear an eyepatch, when both of his eyes are working fine (after the transformation). You could argue, that he takes it off as soon as a combat starts or w/e... I won't bother arguing this, it is obvious to anyone, that this is just stupid. If you wanna talk recognition, he could wear a medal around his neck or a pin or something (or nothing at all, really). Anyway, what I'm asking for is, give us (the players) the choice to choose, which version we prefer (the same as it was with support slaves/servants/allies). I mean there might be people prefering Orcent with eyepatch for whatever reason... sure, w/e. I'm just asking for an option to not see that in my game, because it's dumb.

    Third, how about changing the reply of Dari after you choose either collars/Kingsmen to focus on. It seems a bit confusing, that both replies are exactly the same. I'm not asking for a complete rewrite, just some minor alteration like: "Okay, collars/Kingsmen it is! Now let's go..."

    Fourth, what the hell happened between dominated Varia and Simon? Did he like erase her memories from before they met? This is not an issue, I'm just genuinelly not sure; so I'd like a confirmation on this.

    Fifth, maybe I'm just dumb and this thing is clear as ice to everyone else (me excluded), but about the whole trade agreement in the negotiation hall. Which sites do the people get payed for (when we choose that site) and which ones do we sieze by force not paying anything? Or is it that all of them are siezed? Or none of them? I understand I as a player don't pay anything (from the budget), but even so, the game implies some of them do get payed for the place (in the dialogues with the people). But then Janine says at the beginning that all the offers are unacceptable and also says which one do you wanna sieze in the end. Meaning you actually don't give anyone any money and sieze all of them (whichever you choose)? Because an unacceptable deal doesn't mean we don't pay it, it means to me we don't wanna pay it, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do, even if you don't like it. This is really confusing for me. Even if I'm the only human on this entire planet, who finds this issue confusing, I'd like it explained a bit better. And I mean in the game, not just here.

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    1. Orcent's eyepatch seems logical enough to me. It's one of his defining characteristics, and he is well known as one of the Doom King's army commanders, so it's probably a good idea for him to continue to be recognisable. I'm sure a friendly succubus could sort him out with an illusory eyepatch which doesn't block his vision.

      With regards to the choice of airship site, it's pretty clear from every discussion that only one site will be chosen, hence all the competition. The conversation between Janine and Simon at the start of negotiations also makes it clear that the competing site owners are all trying to make a deal (i.e. get paid), but that unbeknownst to them, the Doom King is just going to seize the chosen site. I get that you're looking for an explanation in-game, not here, but I'm not sure what could be done to make it more obvious, short of being immersion-breakingly specific.

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    2. >he could wear a medal or something

      And Qum makes him the medal! It would be super boss, and he would be the envy of all the other Orcs (especially the Fancy Walk Orc) (except Ravager, and we all know he's just a sourpuss).

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    3. The missable bonus is intentional.

      Giving the player a choice about Orcent's eyepatch would mean that every single line of his dialogue for the rest of the game would require a conditional branch and a duplicate. That's a non-trivial amount of work.

      I added lines for Dari based on investigation choice, probably should have had them in the first place.

      I'm leaving the Varia scene up to player interpretation because people have such different feelings about how that should play out. I didn't intend for Simon to erase any memories, though, he just improves his control with all the skill he's gained since the first time.

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    4. Orcent - I mean I don't like it, but what can I do.

      Varia - "he just improves his control" - What does this actually mean though? I mean I'm sorry, if I ask about this like a newbie or something, you know, when we had mind control in the school, I was probably missing or didn't pay attention... It seems weird to me in a game, where you know what each specific character is saying/meaning by exactly specifying such in concrete words (because the story is just a text, right), that you would choose to basically make that a secret by not specifying what exactly happened. That can lead to misinterpretation, confusion and such... I mean how the hell am I as a player supposed to know, what is happening, what does one think/feel, when the only feedback (the text) doesn't tell me so? I can't is the answer to that. Leaving it like that seems like a really odd choice... But ok, it is your decision after all. I mean I get it's not a major plot point or some such, it's a minor thing most people don't even know about (most people have reshaped Varia), but it still doesn't feel right to me.

      meeting hall - Again, the player isn't actually there, he doesn't know what is trully happening. Simon lying to some to make them feel better (or whatever his reason) about getting paid, then siezing it by force is like a perfectly understandable situation, except the player based on what the game is telling him can only assume that. He doesn't really know, maybe the player feels like some of those people should be compensated, if he chooses that site, but he can't be certain whether that's what is gonna happen or whether Simon's gonna sieze it anyway. The game doesn't exactly specify that, the player can't know for sure, he's not actually there, he doesn't know what will trully happen, he can only see what is Simon saying and since he says two opposite things (you will get paid/you won't) and the game doesn't say ok, this is what happened after you chose this (Janine just says everyone was impressed, how that went/it will be worth it in the end... but people being impressed with the deal OR people getting paid are two different things and Janine doesn't say anything else), the player cannot know for certain, he can just assume. Now obviously, it is clear to me now, because Liam here confirmed it, that no one is getting paid in any case (Sierra didn't disagree with him). But like this final confirmation of what trully happened is written NOWHERE in the game. That is my point.

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  18. Are we going to get any new party members any time soon? I've been putting off the Order Trials for a long, long time-want to maximise dat sweet, sweet xp gain.

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    1. By the time you get other party members, you won't be able to do the trials anymore, so go ahead!

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    2. Oh, good. One more thing: Concerning Discretionary Funding I've always been trying to hit 0% each round since I thought unused funding was wasted. Is this not the case? Because I have 50% left and saving them all that up for the next round is looking really attractive. Especially since I can't actually get anything else I want.

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    3. The Discretionary Funding that you don't use will be available in the next visit: in your case the total will be 150% in your next round in Ari-Yhilina.

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    4. That's correct. While it might be more realistic for excess discretionary funding to be wasted, I felt that would incentivize players trying to use up the exact amount instead of choosing the investments they thought were best. So feel free to save it up another round.

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    5. That it's very kind of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'm really struggling with a stupid 5% with this system, I would another detailed guide just to do Investments in this phase of the game and it really took a lot of time to decide about the first round of Investments back in Chapter 1.

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    6. I'm more worried about DOING the Final Order Trials in time. See, my research planning made the order study last or second to last (next to Dari's condition) so I'm not worried about maximizing limited EXP gains for once.

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  19. I think monsters should be respawnable and that areas can be returned to because I sometimes miss some monsters or areas because I head a bit further in looking for chests but am then cut of from returning

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    1. Sorry, but this game's basic M.O. isn't that forgiving. I generally try not to surprise players with the ends of areas, though, and clearly signal points of no return. So if you do head too far, just reload.

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    2. It might be just because TLS was the first-ever RPG I played, but I feel TLS not having respawnable enemies makes it *more* forgiving. With a set number of enemies, I can eliminate them all and know that the game's toughest challenges will be designed to be beatable at my level, if not a lower level.

      With respawnable enemies, I wind up grinding and grinding without knowing if I've done enough to face the boss... or if I've done far too much and have just wasted my time.

      It's kind of like buying a car at a dealership with a fixed price instead of a dealership where you have to haggle for hours on end; with the latter, I might get a better deal, but there's no way to know for sure, and the time investment is potentially much higher. With the former, I can be confident I've optimized what I get out of the process... er, game.

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  20. In case, do you plan to make some change (aka decoration) to the Succubus (along with special outfit, they are dedicated to handle quite a specific duty), could be minor, but, some flower, books and others like minded items.
    As one say there, they plan to do something with the place ;)

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    1. Hello! I'm not 100% certain which succubi you mean here, but I've tried to increase variation among succubi by adding the hat, robe, and priestess models.

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  21. Hey, I've run into a small problem at the thaumaturgic trials. The green contruct uses mass heal every round, so im unable to kill it in 1 round with its magic resist.

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    1. Okay, so the fight isn't too bad when you know all of the resist types and spam disabling attack on the healer so you can kill him after getting the attackers. But it seemed like you tried to make mass heal a once every 3 rounds thing (though I dont know how to use rpgmaker so I might be wrong)

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    2. Hmm, it's possible that the AI script is no longer working as it should. However, it's not a simple every third round thing, there's some RNG involved, it's just supposed to be on average 33% of the time.

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  22. Succubis :
    In the castle tunnels, the ones who know that Simon is the Doom King.
    "Caves are more of an orc thing, but I'm sure we can make them feel more like home..." Given the time passing, they could have made some changes there it is not ?
    Say on the red clothed succubi there.
    Not sure if possible, but if they could receive specifics outfit, secret service v1 ? :p

    As to Orcent, identity, he has been know with eyepatch since day 01.
    That said, if worrying about coherency, a note about having upgraded the eyepatch (we have now three highly developed mages, along with (very new) cross continental trade (meaning access to specials resources). So, it would not be that surprising to know it has a special meaning for him.
    (Not like they are not quite a lot of human who actually modify themselves as to be more "unique", some even going toward unpractical if not directly limiting (yes, Ive some acquaintance who practice SM at a advanced level), meaning they have seance where some peoples bodies get quite changed.

    Otherwise, the end of the trade negotiation took me quite by surprise, is there a confirmation there ? (Guess I could have overlooked it, still). Or is there a check as to see if the player have already completed "all" the available bits ?

    +1 as to Robin hug, nicely done, congrats !

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    1. I'll at least take some of that into consideration, thanks.

      Regarding the end of the trade negotiation: it ends when you choose a site with Janine. How many other actions you do along the way is up to you. Which actions you want to do will depend on your motives and what you get from the context clues.

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    2. Speaking of the trade negotiation, shouldn't we have gotten an explanation of the northern site? Was that the one your uncle (my longtime Trin doll) controlled?

      I ended up picking all of them, then going back and taking east because Janine claimed it had the least political fallout.

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    3. +1, that section could have benefited from some more dialogues>explanation + a confirmation as to end that phase, quite a deception to have been excluded once a choice had been made (furthermore as the Empress is then gone, this while she clearly told Simon she wanted to spend some time with him).

      One thing also missing = negociation, given the Empress have a Succubi empire, she could provide quite some assets, first as to teleport mages, then as to ensure the devellopment (cultural, societal, religious) is as efficient as possible.
      This of course if both Simon + her are stepping for the better.

      This said, a clarification as to how long distance can be reached trough teleport would be useful (or if there is no such condition, only and already quite conditional knowledge as to the destination (as to not arrive in a wall/hole).

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  23. Also, when will the guarded/locked area in the Cathedral library be available ? (Guess it is still locked as to be used in a quest, still).

    +1 for the Succubi Nun, quite fitting they have as many aspiration than humans (even if it require quite some more insight as to know how far she will go, abandoning sex altogether or going the "liberated" way ? Guess it could also be seen on the third path, as to the awakening of a new religion, fitting for all races and so quite special (unique a of yet ?).

    Quite interested by the discussion about higher beings.

    Been following the games for quite some time now, very appreciated (if not logical).

    Thanks (again) Sierra Lee.

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    1. There are just restricted books in there, nothing earth-shaking. Players might get there eventually, but I put it there are flavor since I doubted they would let visitors just explore the entire thing.

      You're welcome!

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    2. In case, if the books stocked in the guarded section are "dangerous", putting them "visible" is not the way to go at all, out of a way to see use it as bait maybe ?

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    3. It's a normal part of game design to include areas which the player can see but not visit. It makes the in-game world feel bigger than just the player-explorable area.

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  24. Oh, and looking forward the Elven ghetto being retrofitted (planting tree, helped with magic support from the two Mages ? (accelerated grow + use as done in the Elven Lands)

    Curious, curious, this knowing the area we see/know is only the entry area (what is behind the barrier ?)

    Oh, and, thinking about an upgrade for the palace armors ?
    Given it is know they can be used as sentinels ..
    (Given the number they are in the areas, it would provide quite a security boost). Guess it is a little to soon, as there is still nobody with strong enchanting ability’s, is there ?

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    1. You'll get to see more changes to the elven ghetto eventually, but not part of the Yhilin iterations. Beyond the gate is just more houses - it's not a secret so much as me trying to keep the world compact instead of spread out.

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  25. (Spoilers ahead for anyone that cares)
    Ahh finally I am able to help my dear orc friend that has grown on me for such a long time. I can't wait to help my other orcs and give them the characteristics they want. Although I'm having an internal struggle on what to do with the stubborn orc that I had spared during the intense raids around my station/town that we started in. He asks for strength and doesn't care what I do to give him it, but he would dislike being changed personality wise. This is insanely troubling to me morally, on the one hand we could say the price for his strength is the change in his core values, on the other we could say that me changing him makes it not him in either scenario and him being willing to change in the first place means he'd be someone else in the end anyways. Then comes my friend with a unwillingness to live but a constitution so strong he persists through mortal injuries. After "rescuing" him and not giving him his wish for death. Did I not also deny him his right to essentially exist for himself? This game makes seemingly simple decisions really complicated for me morally. I feel like I am on the same page as Simon and am unsure what line is "evil" and "good".

    On another note I loved all the character developments that were put into the game and gave everyone so much more life. Getting to know so many more of my party members felt really good and it made me extremely happy to make so many of those around me happy with what I could do.

    As always keep doing what you do Sierra, can't wait to play through the next release. Take care!

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    1. Glad to hear there are some people enjoying our orc friends. ^-^

      This kind of character development is definitely one of my favorite things about long games like this, so you can expect plenty more. There are a few elements of a crapsack world here and sometimes things go wrong, but I include those so that when you do manage to make characters happy, it feels earned. So if you like what you've seen so far, you have a lot to look forward to!

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  26. Hey Sierra I have to ask something. The choices in the game means something in the story? Because I totally failed at the votation and other things. Should I start new game and do the good choices,or they are indiferent?

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    1. Depends on which ones failed/Passed but otherwise there will be minor alteration to how certain events happen.

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    2. The choices will definitely have some impact on the story, but it's not like you'll be locked onto a bad path or the story will shift onto some darker branch. So it really depends on which story details matter to you.

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  27. Are the other custom weapons just not implemented yet? I am almost positive i have the materials for 2 maybe 3 of them but i cant seem to make any of them.

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    1. You could have most of the materials for a few, but not the expertise necessary to craft them. You'll finally acquire some of the necessary requirements in the next iteration of Yhilin.

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  28. Great the crazy paladin of justice got free and is running around the world again not like anything bad can come of that. "sarcasm lots of sarcasm" Honestly though the paladin of justice types are the ones I hate the most in video games and movies they always end up ruining things for everyone else with their holier then thou attitude and next to zero flexibility. Hope we can meet and recapture her again soon as having someone like that running around is a disaster waiting to happen.

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    1. ... She's really not, though. I mean, not a disaster for us, not any time soon; she's said she's going back to knocking off Incubus Kings, and she's not the type to lie.

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    2. Which causes tons of problems. Tell me which do you think is better for the general population orcs that are being controlled by an Incubus King or orcs just running around doing whatever they want, Incubus Emperor is an exception of course since his army has zero discipline unlike the other Kings armies. We both know the answer to that question and this isn't even considering the factors such as you would be throwing entire empires into chaos which is going to be dangerous for everyone that is even remotely close by.
      That is why I hate paladin of justice characters they are always short sighted and end up making things worse as they don't consider the ramifications of their actions. She didn't even consider the ramifications of trying to kill Simon till it was directly stated to her face, letting someone like that run around is unwise. She just ran in without even looking at the state of the country and what was going on, when someone is that narrow minded and short sighted as well the most likely outcome is disaster.
      Even Yarra said during the gathering when told Incubus Kings would always rule succubi "Would we really want it any other way?" Succubi want Incubus Kings as their rulers they just want the freedom to choose their master. That is completely incompatible with Ginasta's beliefs as she kills shard holders just for being shard holders and considering it was hinted in the conversations with Esthera that there are at least several minor shards out in the world probably tons of minor shards actually it would make sense for the smaller shards to be far more common then the large ones after all.
      So Ginasta is going to be trying to kill those people even if they aren't actually doing anything wrong. So yes it is bad that she is free again.

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    3. I'd rather fight the orcs not being led by the near-deity with sex god magic, thanks.

      Yeah, in the process of the Incubus King's armies imploding you'll probably get plenty of blowback for the poor peasants. But it's still better than, for example, having to live in the Fucklord's domain.

      You also seem to be imagining tons of would-be Incubus Kings that are pretty swell guys, now at risk from mean ol' Ginasta. Why would you assume this? Pretty much all the Incubus Kings we HAVE met are evil fucktards, and that's pretty much as I expect it to be. If you give a guy unlimited power over all the women around him, odds are good he's not going to use his mind-bending hentai powers for good.

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  29. +1, even if, she could have somewhat understood>progressed on the input received from Simon + Girls, as she had both time + relative tranquility (..).

    Guess we will have to see later on in any case. That said, quite curious as to how it will be handled.

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  30. Hi, I'm really enjoying your game, but I have a question. Are we more or less around 1/4 of the story that you have in mind, since this is the 0.25 version?
    Also (silly question, I know, but I can't wait) how much time do you think we will have to wait for the completed game?

    Thank you for every little details that you add to your games. Keep up the good work!

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    1. Sierra has stated previously that she doesn't want to give any concrete details of how many more updates there will be, but that we're more than halfway through at the moment. The version number 0.25 just means that the game isn't complete yet (hence the '0.' part), and this is the 25th build of the game to be released.

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    2. Thank you for taking the time to explain it to me. I appreciate it.

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  31. spoiler: What happens when megail dissapears in chapter 1? i am not native american and i didnt understan shit. Megail scaped or got kidnapped or was working with the merchants, i dont know. Sierra pls can you explain me that part since reval fight

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    1. Have you actually gotten her back yet? Or is she still AWOL?

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    2. Hello! Thank you for playing my game! Sorry, but I am not good at simple English. You may want to ask people on forums or the wiki.

      My attempt to explain:
      - Megail is afraid of her reaction to Simon and runs away.
      - She is captured by unknown people who hate Janine.
      - They force her to cause a riot among the merchants.
      - Simon and the party rescue her and she explains.
      - No one knows who captured her or is against Janine yet.

      Hope that helps a little!

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  32. Is it the near future yet? Pretty, pretty, pretty please? Well? Is it? ^_^;

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    1. Not yet, but if you like statistics or demographics, something fun is coming up soon!

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    2. Actually, I just remember something. Is anything planned for the succubus in throne room who has the crush on Yarra? After seeing her there for so long it feels like she's being snubbed.... :(

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    3. Haha, nothing huge, but she'll show up again.

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  33. At the end of chapter 1, what are the best investments?

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    1. Depends on what you want to achieve! There's a list of all the benefits of each investment on the wiki:
      http://thelastsovereign.wikia.com/wiki/Investments

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    2. and what happens if i get money from megail after her rescue?

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    3. My recommendation is: Focus on getting the Bank with Trin's discount, Premium Steel, and investing in the Mine. Gift the 25k to Megail since it's the best deal you're probably going to get, and after that it's your choice. Those investments up above will take care of all your basic needs and make a tidy profit-plus Premium Steel will open up custom equipment if you keep investing in it.

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  35. I thought this was fixed ages ago, but apparently not... You still get 1000 Sx for the running thief north of bounty office in Aram even if your dominated Varia chooses NOT to use her body. Is this like impossible to fix or what? Because I know I saw people report this months ago... Basically after you read the bounty at the back of the office, the game pretends you said YES even if you chose NO. And you get 1000 Sx, even though in the case of NO it should be half.

    Also I remember the door to the academy actually crumbling (dissapearing) after Simon says "crumble" after defeating demons with Qum in Robin's academy... But now the door just stays closed even after he supposedly crushes them open with magic. A minor thing, sure.

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    1. Also why does Megail say: "I think not listening to his problems was worth 500 Sx." after killing the lone bandit in the south west (the one that can be convinced to go home with reshaped Varia), when the bounty is actually 1000 Sx? I mean again minor thing, but just change the text in Megail's response from "500 Sx" to "1000 Sx", no?

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    2. Ah, it seems these bugs persisted in certain branches while being fixed in others. I guess since relatively few players choose dominated Varia, no one had encountered them again. Fixed, thanks!

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  36. Doubt I'm the first person to suggest this but don't suppose you could add more groups of enemies that have lots of weak things instead one a few strong things?

    As it stands Altina doesn't even get to really exercise her niche of AOE damage because her AOE spells are weak, cost a metric ton, and are more often than not 'useless' because there aren't that many enemies on the field.

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    1. Yeah, I kind of always have in the back of my mind that I should try to design more areas with larger groups of enemies. The problem is that there are only so many ways to do this and so my mind tends toward other types of enemies...

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    2. I beg your pardon? Did you say that Altina's AOE spells are weak? WEAK? Her Quake is WEAK?!? Say what now? Are we playing the same game? What is going on here? Can someone please explain?! (j/k)
      Seriously though. I don't give a fuck that Quake costs 100 MP, she can cast like 6 of them w/o using potions or what not. Show me a party that can survive 6 Altina's Quakes. I dare you!

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    3. Nothing. But that takes six turns, and takes out one group of enemies when there are probably like a dozen more on the map. Oh, and six quakes is basically all of her MP.

      It's just completely inefficient. I like using it-the animation is satisfying-but there are so few chances where there isn't something better for the task.

      And the raw damage of her other spells isn't really that great either. If those spells got a damage buff, or had their costs cut, then I'd be definitely using them more often but as it stands Robin is just miles better with her elemental lances.

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    4. I mean yea, but you do realize it's AOE, right? Obviously, if Quake was as strong as Robin's lance spells, Robin would basically have NO USE what so ever (she would be a 2nd, worse Altina). I, for example, am using Altina in my main group and don't use Robin at all. Now sure, you may argue that maybe overall the lance spells are better for you than storm spells/Quake. It depends on the enemies use face throughout the game. I would argue that most common type of enemies are a bunch of trash mobs (a group of a few bandits or something like that). And usually for those fights, the lance is an overkill (my mages being well equipped can usually kill those with just their basic spells, thus using lances is pointless). Now, if for example the common enemy would be of the strength of, say, fallen chosen skeleton guy, then absolutely, lances are suddenly great. But... I don't know about you, but I have met like 5 of such enemies throughout the whole game. And you argue we need even MORE trash mobs? Meaning even LESS "boss" fights (I mean those aren't really boss level enemies in difficulty, but you take what you can get, right)? Making lance spells even MORE pointless? Why? Seriously, why?

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    5. It depends on the enemies "YOU" face throughout the game. -typo

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    6. Double checked and good point. Also it turns out that because of gear there's like a 60 point difference in magic strength between Robin and Altina so that....probably skewed my view a bit.

      Side note: I have bought literally nothing up to this point. Yes I know there is no real point since we've seen most of the best gear already, but still.

      And of course they shouldn't be as strong-honestly it's more the cost I have an issue with by this point. If they didn't cost 50/100 MP I'd glady use them.

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    7. Actually, now that I think about maybe using the Lances on literally everything is a bit overkill. I have a bent towards actually one-shotting everything I see though so....

      Eh, still feel that the AOE spells are too expensive for their cost. Feel like making them cheaper (tie it to a quest or something?) would be best since, well, AOE shouldn't be too strong.

      What are your stats btw? Robin is at like 230, Altina about 170. MAG, in case it wasn't obvious.

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    8. Not the person this is addressed to, but Robin currently for me sits at 274 MAG and Altina has 177. I put the best on Robin since in most encounters I've faced within the game so far, it's always been better to focus on one target at a time rather than try to kill them all at once, with the exception of a few encounters (Like Varia's Second fight).

      The problem more comes with the gear I have acquired. If I give Altina the Ancient Linguine and Crown of Lust, I can get her up to 237 MAG (both Robin and Altina use the Freezing Staff), but it takes that gear away from Yarra and Qum. Because I also opened the War Vaults and got the Unperson Circuit at the Ardford Summit, Robin just has the potential for much better stats overall, and can hit on average between 3-5k per Lance, depending on the enemy.

      Earlier in the game, I did use Altina more and she when equipped well could hit just as hard as Robin with the regular magic attacks, but maintaining that puts strain on my other party members equipment.

      What I'm taking away from a lot of these posts I'm seeing on the blog, is that equipment is part of the discussion here, and who you're actually equipping said gear to. Which makes sense.

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    9. How did you get Robin's stats so high? Go shopping?

      Also: Off topic, but anyone know how to check your current VP's, Chaos, and Collateral? I should have C and C at zero (did a whole mess of work with the Battle and preparation to make sure of that) but I have no idea how many VP's I have. The noble lady just says she's done all she can.

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    10. She's currently Lvl 41 equipped with the Freezing Staff, Mystic Sphere, Unperson Circuit, Crusader Robe and Barrier Pin. That Circuit Gives 60 MAG and the Robes give 50 MAG, so it's a heck of a boost. If I equipped the Givini Pin (On Simon), the Crusader Staff (On Carina so she can heal better) and got the Sylvan Gloves (instead of the Gauntlets), it would sit at 304 ._.

      You can't check those values since they're meant to be hidden. I did that same mess of work you did, but I counted them and calculated my final outcome based on the guide on the wiki.

      I just tested Altina's Quake vs Robin's Lances on the Training Orcs (274 vs 237). Lances hit around 3k-3.8k each, Quake hits for about 1.6k-2.1k. Also I think the Training Orcs have 2950 HP, since Robin nearly killed it with Ice Lance via 2934 damage.

      Also tested Uyae's Takedown. Pretty good with Aura of Might, but not as strong as Nalili's Orgy of Blows overall after 1 Combat Masturbation. The former can Crit though.

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    11. I've also found there are relatively few times where Altina's AoE spells are particularly useful, since there needs to be a lot of enemies with the same elemental weakness for their overall damage output to be similar to Robin's lances, and when there are that many enemies, they tend to be fairly weak so I tend to prioritise mana efficiency over taking the enemies out quickly.

      The two places where I always use them are Varia's prospective gangrapists and the second half of the orc battle in the Incubus King's domain. Beyond those fights, I tend to find they're not worth the high mana cost, since you need a lot of enemies to get the same amount of damage per MP spent as the basic spells or the lances.

      One thing that would definitely make them useful would be swarms of glass-cannon enemies (i.e. enemies that hit hard but also go down fast), particularly if they all shared the same elemental weaknesses/resistances. That would make single-target party members like Robin or Aka less useful than those which can attack multiple or all enemies, like Altina or Uyae, and would also make Hilstara and Carina's defensive skills more useful (assuming the mob's AGI wasn't too high).

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    12. A few points then. First, my Robin has 300MAG and my Altina has 290MAG. So clearly, that's the main difference between us. That being said, blaming the skills for being useless while you just underequip your characters (compared to mine at least) is not really fair, when talking game balance at least. Obviously, the lower MAG you have, the less useful Altina is, so there's that.

      Second, there is a way to look at your hidden stats. It's called RpgMakerSaveEdit (it's meant for editing=cheating, BUT when you just view the stats in the program and DON'T change them... voila). It's in the "Variables" section. Here's where you can get that (comments) http://thelastsovereign.wikia.com/wiki/Cheating

      Third, I for one tend to use Yarra together with my Altina in my main group (to AOE the shit out of my enemies). The main benefit of that is, that Yarra has not only strong AOE (exept when facing lust resistant/immune enemies), but she also has Sexual Mana. That helps with Altina's MP considerably. Now I'm not saying my way is the optimal way, use Robin, if you want to. But back to my main point: saying Altina's AOE skills are "weak" is just plain wrong. Maybe for your playthrough that is true, however it is not so for everybody. And again, you want some variability amongst your characters, otherwise the combat becomes not only easy, but also boring (which, arguably it kinda is already, but hey). Again, assuming everyone has the same experience as you and then talking game balance based on YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE is just wrong.

      Also, Aka also doesn't feel all that great. Why debuffing a guy when you can just kill him? Against bosses, yes, sure. But there aren't all that many bosses to begin with.

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    13. Oh wow, certainly aren't skimping on the good stuff. No wonder they're hitting so hard.

      And huh-never thought of that. Weird since I have Yarra with a buttplug just for getting to use the hard hitting spells ASAP.

      And good point. Keep forgetting my way isn't the only way because I tend to minmax with the variables and such.

      And really? I mean forceful lunge is cheap and can one-shot an enemy with her crit rate. Her speed means if you get lucky with a tough enemy or not with a relatively weak one you can take one enemy off the field instantly. And for bosses she is the debuff queen.

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    14. Well Aka is basically just weaker Robin, except when fighting against something strong enough so, that it's worth debuffing. So unless you specifically plan on taking on a boss, you probably don't need Robin and another slighty weaker Robin(=Aka). And there are just a few actual "boss" fights, so considering how rare they are, might not even bother. That's for me having 300MAG on Robin, your experience may vary. Also again, I'd rather AOE them all down in 2 turns, than to take them 1 by 1 (of course this is a generalization as that doesn't work everytime, but you get my point).

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  38. Playing this for the first time- is the game supposed to continue after purifying the Queens? Thanks for making such a great game- put in 20 hours playing this over the last three days! Off to try Noxian Nights now.

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    1. Yes, after purifying the Queens, there is several more hours of content.

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    2. Shit dude, my save is stuck in "New Yilhin", whatever that is. Get a message from the creator saying something about an update. Would be real sad because if I can't recover it.

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    3. What you are experiencing is happening at the end of the content for the given version you play. Meaning? The rest of the game that is out (not all of the game) is clearly not in your version of the game... Meaning? Well, download 0.25.2 from the links provided up there in this thread (don't forget to copy the saves from your old version) and get going. If you actually have 0.25.2 downloaded from the sources provided on this page, then there is something really wrong with your copy of the game... Try redownloading (again, you need to copy your save files). If the bug persists, might be that your saves got corrupted or something. In that case, well, tough I guess... You can try providing your save files to Sierra Lee (if you are 100% certain you have the newest version of the game downloaded from sources on this page), maybe she could somehow fix your save files (if she's willing). Otherwise, you might have to start from the beginning. Not what you wanna hear, I know. But again, the most likely to me seems to be you just don't have the newest version of the game.

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    4. I checked- it's version 20.2. Thanks! Let me see if I can download the game again- I think I got the downloading link from another site which must've thought it was the newest version.
      Again, thanks dude! Now to enjoy post-exams stress relief with Aka :P

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    5. If this was reddit I would've said username checks out, but anyway :D

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    6. Well, 20.2 certainly used to be the newest version at some point in the history... But that's the thing, those other sites don't usually get updated... I mean why would they, when a site that is dedicated to it (this one) exists. Anyway, Sierra tends to make a new version each month (usually), so check back in a few weeks.

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