Post by addition1 on Mar 19, 2016 5:30:06 GMT -5
So I feel it is finally time for me to try a REAL challenge in FF8, after much prodding from a few of you on here. 
I am not quite sure how this challenge will play out as it was something I came up with while watching Kynos' lastest PB on YouTube, and thinking about later while at work. Unfortunately, I do not have the means I would like to record my playthrough, but I will keep updating this thread with my progress as I go. I will be playing the steam version with broadcast on (though I don't know how well it looks to a viewer) so feel free to check in if you see me on. I will admit that this ruleset is very obscure and specific and that is what makes it fun to me, and hopefully, you.
DC - Dual characters - Only able to use 2 characters for any given battle. If a third character is in a battle, one must be killed before any damage is dealt, voluntarily, to the enemy.
C - Critical - Must be in critical HP as often as possible.
HMO - Healing Magic Only - Magic such as Cure, Life, and Esuna only. Even Protect and Shell are disabled.
LJ - Limited Junction - Only battle and character abilities allowed to be junctioned. No magic junctions at all.
NWU - No Weapon Upgrades - Using a junk shop is prohibited. Realistically, Squall is the only one whose weapon truly matters, so this rule may be open to interpretation at a later date.
OLB - One Limit Break - Seeing as how much of the game will be played in critical HP, Limit Breaks will readily be available. This is to hinder the use of the limit break override in the game's code to prevent enemies from getting turns. Each character is only allowed to use their limit break once per battle.
LL - Low Level - FF8 is one of the few Final Fantasies (or games in general) that it is entirely possible to complete at the original level upon joining the party. I, admittedly, dislike playing at such a low level and do tend to fight random battles here and there. That being said, remaining at as low a level as possible is expected. Another rule that may be open to interpretation at a later date.
Everyone has their own idea of difficult and fun, and this just so happens to be my personal seventh level of Hell.
Dual characters was chosen for a few different reasons. 1) In the Trabia Canyon Laguna Dream you have at least Laguna and Kiros to fight a Ruby Dragon. If you ask about Ward while in Winhill with Laguna then Ward will join for the Ruby Dragon. This is a large (no pun intended) reason why Ward's throat was cut in the Centra Excavation Site Dream, to reduce his lines, as he is not necessarily a permanent character. The Ruby Dragon also uses Breath if all 3 party members are alive. 2) A solo character run at critical HP just sounds impossible, whereas adding a second character seems like it would give a slightly higher chance of survival. This is more to avoid menial grinding of bosses than to make it actually possible. 3) Some bosses may change their AI depending on how many characters are alive, of this I am not certain. This is another reason I am choosing to only run with 2 characters. Since Kingdom Hearts has a critical mode selection, I have been fascinated with the idea. This is the sole reason of why I chose to make this a rule; it simply sounds like fun to me. Healing Magic Only is to encourage use of items for all purposes, and to prevent Rinoa from abusing Angel Wing as that would fall within the parameters of the challenge, but would kill all the fun. Angel Wing is technically one Limit Break, but it buffs her magic by a ridiculous amount and by stacking up the Magic +% on her, she could do a lot of damage quickly and negate needing all the other rules. Plus Protect, Shell, and Aura can still be applied with stones. Limited Junction was chosen because it would simply be impossible without the Item command. As far as character abilities go, it is again only to reduce the grinding and frustration against certain bosses. No weapon upgrades is only to prevent the use of Lionheart. Upgrading weapons may be the only way I can come up with to beating a boss, and I don't want to rack my brain for a week trying to find a specific strategy to beating said boss if all I need is the Bismarck for Irvine. One Limit Break is to add a sense of desperation to the game. Every battle is going to feel like the final boss. Every turn will matter. Will the limit kill the boss before it kills your party? Will that Mighty Guard with Quistis be just what you need to tank the next hit and turn around the battle? Who knows. That is a chance that may be worth taking. As I said above, I simply dislike the idea of forcing yourself to stay at a low level. I have always liked being as strong as possible as early as possible, which is a large reason why I have never tried any challenges. While I will try my hardest to stay as low a level as possible, I may break this rule occasionally to get a few extra AP for another ability. That ability may just be what I need to avoid breaking any other rules.
Challenges are supposed to be just that: a challenge. But they are also supposed to be fun. I am making this a personal challenge because this ruleset appeals to me best. While I will admit that it does not seem excessively difficult, I do not expect to beat the game without losing once (especially to the flying soldier battle
). I do pride myself, however, on coming up with ideas that are quite original. Who else would come up with dual characters and critical HP only in a Final Fantasy game? I will try to keep this updated as frequently as possible and I hope that you manage to catch me on Steam occasionally. I do work a graveyard shift, unfortunately, so probably only the Europeans will be able to catch me online. All that being said, it's about time I get started and see where the first real spike hits me!
I am not quite sure how this challenge will play out as it was something I came up with while watching Kynos' lastest PB on YouTube, and thinking about later while at work. Unfortunately, I do not have the means I would like to record my playthrough, but I will keep updating this thread with my progress as I go. I will be playing the steam version with broadcast on (though I don't know how well it looks to a viewer) so feel free to check in if you see me on. I will admit that this ruleset is very obscure and specific and that is what makes it fun to me, and hopefully, you.DC - Dual characters - Only able to use 2 characters for any given battle. If a third character is in a battle, one must be killed before any damage is dealt, voluntarily, to the enemy.
C - Critical - Must be in critical HP as often as possible.
HMO - Healing Magic Only - Magic such as Cure, Life, and Esuna only. Even Protect and Shell are disabled.
LJ - Limited Junction - Only battle and character abilities allowed to be junctioned. No magic junctions at all.
NWU - No Weapon Upgrades - Using a junk shop is prohibited. Realistically, Squall is the only one whose weapon truly matters, so this rule may be open to interpretation at a later date.
OLB - One Limit Break - Seeing as how much of the game will be played in critical HP, Limit Breaks will readily be available. This is to hinder the use of the limit break override in the game's code to prevent enemies from getting turns. Each character is only allowed to use their limit break once per battle.
LL - Low Level - FF8 is one of the few Final Fantasies (or games in general) that it is entirely possible to complete at the original level upon joining the party. I, admittedly, dislike playing at such a low level and do tend to fight random battles here and there. That being said, remaining at as low a level as possible is expected. Another rule that may be open to interpretation at a later date.
Everyone has their own idea of difficult and fun, and this just so happens to be my personal seventh level of Hell.
Dual characters was chosen for a few different reasons. 1) In the Trabia Canyon Laguna Dream you have at least Laguna and Kiros to fight a Ruby Dragon. If you ask about Ward while in Winhill with Laguna then Ward will join for the Ruby Dragon. This is a large (no pun intended) reason why Ward's throat was cut in the Centra Excavation Site Dream, to reduce his lines, as he is not necessarily a permanent character. The Ruby Dragon also uses Breath if all 3 party members are alive. 2) A solo character run at critical HP just sounds impossible, whereas adding a second character seems like it would give a slightly higher chance of survival. This is more to avoid menial grinding of bosses than to make it actually possible. 3) Some bosses may change their AI depending on how many characters are alive, of this I am not certain. This is another reason I am choosing to only run with 2 characters. Since Kingdom Hearts has a critical mode selection, I have been fascinated with the idea. This is the sole reason of why I chose to make this a rule; it simply sounds like fun to me. Healing Magic Only is to encourage use of items for all purposes, and to prevent Rinoa from abusing Angel Wing as that would fall within the parameters of the challenge, but would kill all the fun. Angel Wing is technically one Limit Break, but it buffs her magic by a ridiculous amount and by stacking up the Magic +% on her, she could do a lot of damage quickly and negate needing all the other rules. Plus Protect, Shell, and Aura can still be applied with stones. Limited Junction was chosen because it would simply be impossible without the Item command. As far as character abilities go, it is again only to reduce the grinding and frustration against certain bosses. No weapon upgrades is only to prevent the use of Lionheart. Upgrading weapons may be the only way I can come up with to beating a boss, and I don't want to rack my brain for a week trying to find a specific strategy to beating said boss if all I need is the Bismarck for Irvine. One Limit Break is to add a sense of desperation to the game. Every battle is going to feel like the final boss. Every turn will matter. Will the limit kill the boss before it kills your party? Will that Mighty Guard with Quistis be just what you need to tank the next hit and turn around the battle? Who knows. That is a chance that may be worth taking. As I said above, I simply dislike the idea of forcing yourself to stay at a low level. I have always liked being as strong as possible as early as possible, which is a large reason why I have never tried any challenges. While I will try my hardest to stay as low a level as possible, I may break this rule occasionally to get a few extra AP for another ability. That ability may just be what I need to avoid breaking any other rules.Challenges are supposed to be just that: a challenge. But they are also supposed to be fun. I am making this a personal challenge because this ruleset appeals to me best. While I will admit that it does not seem excessively difficult, I do not expect to beat the game without losing once (especially to the flying soldier battle
). I do pride myself, however, on coming up with ideas that are quite original. Who else would come up with dual characters and critical HP only in a Final Fantasy game? I will try to keep this updated as frequently as possible and I hope that you manage to catch me on Steam occasionally. I do work a graveyard shift, unfortunately, so probably only the Europeans will be able to catch me online. All that being said, it's about time I get started and see where the first real spike hits me!
If you are just banning weapons to ban Lionheart though, why not just explicitly ban Lionheart?