Adam R. Wood (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} zotmeister) wrote in ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} disgaea,@ 2007-06-06 13:09:00 |
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Hardcore, Episode 1
In much the same way that players who finished Final Fantasy Tactics seven hundred times over or so started coming up with extra challenges - most notably only ever fielding Ramza - I've declared battle against the power-leveling, map-repeating, tactics-free approach to Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and have been attempting to complete the game hardcore: fresh save with no previous cycles, Game Over = erase save and start over, best ending or bust, no repeating maps, and never visiting the Item World apart from the required ten-floor progression for a single piece of equipment at the start of Episode 3. This puts a finite limit on the number of battles I can fight. In addition - because I swear it's possible - I'm adding an additional restriction: no summoning the Dark Assembly. That last one means no creating new characters, never raising the shop's rank, and perhaps most importantly never claiming Longinus (which would break the game, which is why I'm guessing they made one summon the Assembly to be able to claim it in the first place). Just about the only further reasonable restriction I could put on it is a turn limit for battles, but I've been playing that one "by ear" (so I theoretically could abuse weapon mastery, but I'm trying to keep that in check to a point).
Most people I've mentioned this to before think I'm insane for even trying - the same thing they said when I was trying to hardcore Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, and for that matter Dynasty Warriors 4 - but I've made it as far as Episode 13 and really see no further obstacles to victory (and for the record I was successful in hardcores of those other games), so I'm fairly sure one or two more tries will give it to me. As it happens, I recently started another run, and given the current drought of war stories in this community I thought I'd chronicle my current attempt here. This first episode is largely from memory, as I completed it last weekend, but in the future I hope to update as I go along for better accuracy and more detail.
You may find my tactics unorthodox, but I maintain that the vast majority of battle walkthroughs for Disgaea available online are very much flawed, or at least are unfeasible for a hardcore-strength party (I can't guarantee I'll reach the so-called "required" levels without repeating maps), so I have to resort to fighting smarter instead of harder. If nothing else, it'll help reduce the number of people that think I'm full of it as I post these. With that said, cheers and jeers are both encouraged, along with any other feedback. (I can always move this to my own journal if it turns out that no one here wants to see any of this.)
I'll put each of my exploits behind cuts so as to avoid spoilers (not to mention that they can get long). Without further ado...
I was actually in a rented cabin with a couple of friends at the time I began this; we were participating in an arcade-game tournament that weekend, and we had about an hour before the arcade opened. I figured that was plenty of time to finish the first episode, so I began my run then.
As you're probably aware, a single level-x character is generally better than n characters with x/n levels each - that is, one big guy is better than a bunch of little guys. With that in mind, I try to concentrate powering up just a single character... and for me that character is Etna, not Laharl. The reason why is that Etna is the only character available at full strength for every battle of the game (Laharl is handicapped severely that one map...), not to mention that spear plus Prinny Raid equals a well-balanced range of attack. Shame that Sexy Beam (and INT in general, really) are pretty much useless for this. I give Etna the Imperial Seal Laharl starts with, along with stealing one of the Amulets off a Prinny.
Before I even get to the first Tutorial map, I sell off Laharl's Common Sword and replace it with a Double Slap. This got me questions and funny looks from my friends almost instantly. The simple fact is that I need a fist-weapon user; I need someone able to knock enemies and Geo Symbols around. With Etna using a spear, Laharl is all I have left for that. He also takes the other two Amulets off the other Prinnies; after the Tutorial maps I don't even really use the Prinnies for anything other than decoys anyway. They could stay at level 1 the entire game for all I care, although I do pull them out of the base to get experience bonuses from the Bonus Gauge when possible (and I remember to...).
Battle Basics 1: I tried to use the Prinnies to boost the combo count and let Etna get all the kills, but I'm pretty sure Laharl got one. Oops. It's early.
Battle Basics 2: Let the monster merging begin! I don't remember exactly, but I think I ended up pairing off the ghosts here, taking down three level-2 opponents. I think Etna got the KO on each of them here.
Geo Symbols: I try to take more and more advantage of this battle every time. The extra defense coupled with the experience boosts means getting a nice little early-game jump by merging the enemies together and still being able to survive. Sometimes I go too far, forgetting I need to leave one alive before I set off the Geo Chain... I didn't screw that up this time, at least not completely: I left a level-2 ghost behind when I set the chain off, which of course means I wasted a throw. Oh well.
Magnificent Gate: I break the Enemy Boost x3, put the EXP +50% on, and pair off the enemies before having Etna take them out. I almost lost Etna to the Red Skull, but thankfully I didn't screw up the earlier battles that badly that she wasn't able to take it.
Blessed Court: Fun. I paired off the four in front of the Base Panel before offing them with Etna, and then Laharl and Etna took to the Geo Panels to clean house. Strangely enough, I didn't lose Laharl this time around - a merged enemy usually manages to do him in - so I used him to toss those two losers that hide in the wings in towards Etna so that she could get the KOs on them.
Corridor of Love: I learned something new this battle! That ghost in the pool? It's a boss! Toss a higher-level enemy into it, and the ghost still wins! Given that the idiot never moves or attacks - or at least, it didn't when I was playing (I had Laharl Triple Strike it from behind, then Etna picked it up and tossed it out of the pool - it seemed depressed or something) - and that it has no counters, I had a major boon. Sticking to the pool except to lure enemies down the stairs as needed, I merged most all the enemies into the boss ghost and attacked the super-leveled opponent in complete safety. This is just as good as Terrible Cold in Episode 5! Laharl and Etna alone actually couldn't damage the guy, so I pulled the Prinnies out for comboing purposes. (I could have stuck around to build up weapon mastery, but I wanted to finish the episode before the tournament started. I didn't even max out the Bonus Gauge.) Etna got the kill, and was level 9 as a result. (The Prinnies actually got some experience from the Bonus Gauge as well - they were all level 4. Go them.)
Hall of Caresses: So how does one survive against the Wind Mage and Archer when you can't take out the Geo Symbols first turn? Easy - you go around them. (Duh.) Laharl and Etna leave the Base Panel and turn right - being careful not to stop inside the Archer's three-panel range - and hide in the corner for a couple of turns. (The one boggart in Etna's way was SO dead from a single Sky Lunge.) Mid-Boss advances and promptly wastes his one use of Adonic Shot on a single Prinny that I pulled out of the Base Panel for that specific purpose; much to my surprise, the Prinny actually survived it, not that it mattered. Sticking him back in the bunker, I let Vyers do what he always does - chase straight after Laharl - but Etna always stayed just in front of Laharl and just outside Vyers' movement range... so in much the same way that DOOM players attack those pink monsters by running backwards while constantly firing the shotgun, Etna (and Laharl) ran from Vyers, luring him all the way around the back of the map to the left side near the Geo Symbols and poking him with a sharp stick every four panels. With two Prinny Raids near the goal, Vyers was finished off - having never damaged Etna or Laharl - and the Geo Symbols were right there for the destroying, and from outside the Wind Mage's range (one was removed by tossing a boggart on it). Mopping up from there was trivial (Etna was level 10 already).
I'm hoping, but can't guarantee, that I'll get to Episode 2 tonight; failing that, I should be able to tackle it sometime this coming weekend. - ZM
In much the same way that players who finished Final Fantasy Tactics seven hundred times over or so started coming up with extra challenges - most notably only ever fielding Ramza - I've declared battle against the power-leveling, map-repeating, tactics-free approach to Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and have been attempting to complete the game hardcore: fresh save with no previous cycles, Game Over = erase save and start over, best ending or bust, no repeating maps, and never visiting the Item World apart from the required ten-floor progression for a single piece of equipment at the start of Episode 3. This puts a finite limit on the number of battles I can fight. In addition - because I swear it's possible - I'm adding an additional restriction: no summoning the Dark Assembly. That last one means no creating new characters, never raising the shop's rank, and perhaps most importantly never claiming Longinus (which would break the game, which is why I'm guessing they made one summon the Assembly to be able to claim it in the first place). Just about the only further reasonable restriction I could put on it is a turn limit for battles, but I've been playing that one "by ear" (so I theoretically could abuse weapon mastery, but I'm trying to keep that in check to a point).
Most people I've mentioned this to before think I'm insane for even trying - the same thing they said when I was trying to hardcore Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem, and for that matter Dynasty Warriors 4 - but I've made it as far as Episode 13 and really see no further obstacles to victory (and for the record I was successful in hardcores of those other games), so I'm fairly sure one or two more tries will give it to me. As it happens, I recently started another run, and given the current drought of war stories in this community I thought I'd chronicle my current attempt here. This first episode is largely from memory, as I completed it last weekend, but in the future I hope to update as I go along for better accuracy and more detail.
You may find my tactics unorthodox, but I maintain that the vast majority of battle walkthroughs for Disgaea available online are very much flawed, or at least are unfeasible for a hardcore-strength party (I can't guarantee I'll reach the so-called "required" levels without repeating maps), so I have to resort to fighting smarter instead of harder. If nothing else, it'll help reduce the number of people that think I'm full of it as I post these. With that said, cheers and jeers are both encouraged, along with any other feedback. (I can always move this to my own journal if it turns out that no one here wants to see any of this.)
I'll put each of my exploits behind cuts so as to avoid spoilers (not to mention that they can get long). Without further ado...
I was actually in a rented cabin with a couple of friends at the time I began this; we were participating in an arcade-game tournament that weekend, and we had about an hour before the arcade opened. I figured that was plenty of time to finish the first episode, so I began my run then.
As you're probably aware, a single level-x character is generally better than n characters with x/n levels each - that is, one big guy is better than a bunch of little guys. With that in mind, I try to concentrate powering up just a single character... and for me that character is Etna, not Laharl. The reason why is that Etna is the only character available at full strength for every battle of the game (Laharl is handicapped severely that one map...), not to mention that spear plus Prinny Raid equals a well-balanced range of attack. Shame that Sexy Beam (and INT in general, really) are pretty much useless for this. I give Etna the Imperial Seal Laharl starts with, along with stealing one of the Amulets off a Prinny.
Before I even get to the first Tutorial map, I sell off Laharl's Common Sword and replace it with a Double Slap. This got me questions and funny looks from my friends almost instantly. The simple fact is that I need a fist-weapon user; I need someone able to knock enemies and Geo Symbols around. With Etna using a spear, Laharl is all I have left for that. He also takes the other two Amulets off the other Prinnies; after the Tutorial maps I don't even really use the Prinnies for anything other than decoys anyway. They could stay at level 1 the entire game for all I care, although I do pull them out of the base to get experience bonuses from the Bonus Gauge when possible (and I remember to...).
Battle Basics 1: I tried to use the Prinnies to boost the combo count and let Etna get all the kills, but I'm pretty sure Laharl got one. Oops. It's early.
Battle Basics 2: Let the monster merging begin! I don't remember exactly, but I think I ended up pairing off the ghosts here, taking down three level-2 opponents. I think Etna got the KO on each of them here.
Geo Symbols: I try to take more and more advantage of this battle every time. The extra defense coupled with the experience boosts means getting a nice little early-game jump by merging the enemies together and still being able to survive. Sometimes I go too far, forgetting I need to leave one alive before I set off the Geo Chain... I didn't screw that up this time, at least not completely: I left a level-2 ghost behind when I set the chain off, which of course means I wasted a throw. Oh well.
Magnificent Gate: I break the Enemy Boost x3, put the EXP +50% on, and pair off the enemies before having Etna take them out. I almost lost Etna to the Red Skull, but thankfully I didn't screw up the earlier battles that badly that she wasn't able to take it.
Blessed Court: Fun. I paired off the four in front of the Base Panel before offing them with Etna, and then Laharl and Etna took to the Geo Panels to clean house. Strangely enough, I didn't lose Laharl this time around - a merged enemy usually manages to do him in - so I used him to toss those two losers that hide in the wings in towards Etna so that she could get the KOs on them.
Corridor of Love: I learned something new this battle! That ghost in the pool? It's a boss! Toss a higher-level enemy into it, and the ghost still wins! Given that the idiot never moves or attacks - or at least, it didn't when I was playing (I had Laharl Triple Strike it from behind, then Etna picked it up and tossed it out of the pool - it seemed depressed or something) - and that it has no counters, I had a major boon. Sticking to the pool except to lure enemies down the stairs as needed, I merged most all the enemies into the boss ghost and attacked the super-leveled opponent in complete safety. This is just as good as Terrible Cold in Episode 5! Laharl and Etna alone actually couldn't damage the guy, so I pulled the Prinnies out for comboing purposes. (I could have stuck around to build up weapon mastery, but I wanted to finish the episode before the tournament started. I didn't even max out the Bonus Gauge.) Etna got the kill, and was level 9 as a result. (The Prinnies actually got some experience from the Bonus Gauge as well - they were all level 4. Go them.)
Hall of Caresses: So how does one survive against the Wind Mage and Archer when you can't take out the Geo Symbols first turn? Easy - you go around them. (Duh.) Laharl and Etna leave the Base Panel and turn right - being careful not to stop inside the Archer's three-panel range - and hide in the corner for a couple of turns. (The one boggart in Etna's way was SO dead from a single Sky Lunge.) Mid-Boss advances and promptly wastes his one use of Adonic Shot on a single Prinny that I pulled out of the Base Panel for that specific purpose; much to my surprise, the Prinny actually survived it, not that it mattered. Sticking him back in the bunker, I let Vyers do what he always does - chase straight after Laharl - but Etna always stayed just in front of Laharl and just outside Vyers' movement range... so in much the same way that DOOM players attack those pink monsters by running backwards while constantly firing the shotgun, Etna (and Laharl) ran from Vyers, luring him all the way around the back of the map to the left side near the Geo Symbols and poking him with a sharp stick every four panels. With two Prinny Raids near the goal, Vyers was finished off - having never damaged Etna or Laharl - and the Geo Symbols were right there for the destroying, and from outside the Wind Mage's range (one was removed by tossing a boggart on it). Mopping up from there was trivial (Etna was level 10 already).
I'm hoping, but can't guarantee, that I'll get to Episode 2 tonight; failing that, I should be able to tackle it sometime this coming weekend. - ZM
