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Walter the Chemist - Post 8 - Oxygen

Last time, Krile dropped us off in our new base of operations, Bal Castle. This castle has everything I could want - a great source of cash (at low XP gains, to boot), a full item shop, and a cheap inn. But whose castle is it?



Huh. I'll be damned.



Galuf decides to be useful and have a strategy meeting.



Walter acts like an ass.



Well, I'm in trouble then.

Anyways, Walter hurries through all this pointless plot and races to Bal Castle's basement. Something important awaits.



Oh come on, come in packs of two you assholes.



Much better. These are Objets d'Art, also known as Statues in the SNES version, also known as the most enemy in the game. Why?



That's from two Objets. I don't risk fighting the 5-packs, because they hit hard and can petrify, both of which will take Walter out in a hurry. They give me good enough gold as-is in twos. How do you kill them, you ask?



Using a Gold Needle on them forces them to cast Vanish on themselves, which is a guaranteed-hit instant death attack. It's a riff on the "became too soft to live!" mechanic that has been in other FF games, and it serves our needs well.

In a normal game of FFV, you'd spend time down here farming these guys for AP - they are one of the most efficient encounters for AP grinding in the game, and Bal Castle is usually what most people consider the "halfway" point of the game. You stop off here, grind some abilities you're close to earning, and move on. Walter's just here for cash.



It's getting there, but it's not good enough. MORE STATUES MUST DIE.



Better. A fully stocked drug cabinet is a happy Walter and an unhappy Exdeath!



Anyone that does solo Time Mage or omni-anything needs to remember this treasure chest. It contains Teleport, and god bless. Walter gets no such luxury.



Back to the plot. Krile is moping around for some reason.




This is going to upset Lenna, obviously.



No. Not again. I remember last time.



No one listens to me, do you?




NOTHING CAN GO WRONG FROM THIS.



WE WILL NOT REGRET THIS IN ANY WAY.

Also another Abductor shows up and he's just as pathetic as the last time we foughnt an Abductor.

Anyways, we got told that the dragon nesting ground, Drakenvale, is beyond the city of Quelb. There's a problem though:




Sigh. Stupid werewolves. Wait, how do I know it's werewolves?



I read ahead in the plot, duh.



Faris: still knows what's up.



But I don't even use one. I'm pretty sure I have the Healing Staff equipped, even.



Oh it's on.



Man-to-man-to-chemistry-set.



He should've had more magic defense.



We're here. I'm excited. Real power awaits us here, and you'll see why soon.



Oh yes. Zombie Dragons. I want to fight as many of these as possible. Why?



Joy of joys, my final chemist mixing ingredient! So many wonderful tricks come from the Dragon Fang - +20 levels, boss immunities, all sorts of shenanigans. You'll see my depth of mixing grow greatly against bosses now. They're also blessedly easy for Walter to murder:




Like so. I had 50 phoenix downs coming into Drakenvale, and while they can miss, I make out with a goodly haul:



That should do well enough until I get to world 3. In World 3, I get the Sage's Staff, which murders undead, including Zombie Dragons. If not, Drakenvale doesn't go anywhere, so I can always come back.



Oh fuck you. Maybe Lenna will take pity upon you, but don't come crying to Walter when you get attacked by dragons, asshole.



Oh yes. The Bone Mail is a fantastic piece of defensive gear, as demonstrated below:

code:
ARMOUR: Bone Mail
DEFENSE: 30                   MAGIC DEFENSE: 5
EVADE%: 0                     MAGIC EVADE%: 10
WEIGHT: 3                     PRICE: 2
STATS: Vitality-5
ELEMENTAL ABSORB: Poison
ELEMENTAL IMMUNITY: 
ELEMENTAL HALF: Ice
ELEMENTAL WEAKNESS: Holy, Fire
INTIAL STATUS: 
STATUS IMMUNITY: Dead, Poison, Darkness, Aging, Charm, Berserk, Regen
MAGIC ELEMENT UP: 
SPECIAL: Become Undead


30 fucking defense, 10% magic evasion, and look at those status immunities! The biggest downsides, obviously, are the Holy and Fire weakness, and the Fire one can be fixed with a dose of Resist Fire. Once Holy magic is in play, Walter will have way more options to fade it.



Everyone gets stuck here the first time they play FFV because you must fall in this hole to progress.



Ganpp will like this thing eventually. Walter likes it because it sells for a fat stack of cash.



We find what we're looking for, but...





I love this sequence. Time for our next boss.



code:
Dragon Pod (Human)
HP: 12000
MP: 1000
Vulnerable to Death, Blind, Old, Berserk, Stop, Slow.

Condition:V00=01 & Alone{
     Unhide Monster: HiryuuFlowr (All)
     }
Condition:V00=01{
     Nothing
     Nothing
     Nothing
     Nothing
     Nothing
     Unhide Monster: HiryuuFlowr (All)
     }
Unhide Monster: HiryuuFlowr (1,4,5)
Unhide Monster: HiryuuFlowr (1,3,4)
Unhide Monster: HiryuuFlowr (2,3,5)
Unhide Monster: HiryuuFlowr (All)
Set V00=01
Nothing


I omit the info on his little helper assholes, but they each have a special attack that they use 2/3 of the time, and each adds a special effect: Aging, Poison, Blindness, Paralysis, or Confusion. This would've been a good time to equip my Bone Mail, but I'm stupid.





Yeah. At least Dragon Pod himself goes down without a fight:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoA54JLUE3U

FINAL LEVEL: 34
RECORDED MIXES: 1
DEATHS: 0, thankfully (the plants very well could've stun/confuse locked me)




Well said, Lenna. Except since we aren't an Omni, we get to walk all the way back. I guess it's more chance at Dragon Fangs.




I FUCKING TOLD YOU.



Free money!




AGAIN, I FUCKING TOLD YOU.



Ready for the best line in the game?



This fucking translation.



lenna.png




Lenna unnecessary poisonings: a lot



We got a dragon for world 2! Let's go visit Ghido.




Or not. Exdeath: Still a badass.



Huh, wonder what these boats are. Let's land on them.




Xezat's royal navy! He's going to try and blow Exdeath's barrier to hell.



Exdeath has other plans.



And Xezat is a badass action hero. Speaking of badass action heroes..




Gilgamesh!

code:
Gilgamesh (Human, Heavy)
HP: 8888
MP: 888
Vulnerable to Death, Blind, Old, Berserk, Silence, Slow.

AI SCRIPT:
Condition:V00=01{
     {Fight,Missile,Fight}
     {Fight,Fight,Specialty}
     {Fight,DeathClaw,Fight}
     }
Condition:HP < 6000{
     No Interrupt{
          Unhide Monster: Enkidou
          Display Text: Gilgamesh:  What took you so long?
          Display Text: Enkidou:  That  old man...
          Display Text: Gave me a bit of trouble...
          Display Text: Gilgamesh:  First aid...please!
          Change Target: Enkidou
          No-Damage Magic
          }
     }
{Fight,Fight,Specialty}
{Fight,Missile,Fight}
{Fight,Fight,Specialty}
{Fight,DeathClaw,Fight}
React:Death & Alone{
     No Interrupt{
          Display Text: Gilgamesh:  Enkidou!
          Display Text: I'll leave the rest to you!
          Reverse Polarity
          Display Text: Enkidou...
          Display Text: Hey, don't leave me!!
          Nothing
     }


You aren't going to see any of that bit about Enkidou or anything. Why?



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtX8u_JfH7w

FINAL LEVEL: 35
MIXES RECORDED: 1
DEATHS:





Next time: Barrier Tower, and beyond!