Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-10-22: Combat explainer, Anuénué Port, Komo Mai

Lia @liareplaysbk · 06:48 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Tonight is a bit of grinding of items, plus going to Anuenue if I can do that before our power gets cut off at a silly time again, so might be Combat Explainer Day? We’ll see, gonna harvest screenshots and ramble once the computer stops working :D

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:06 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Poof goes the power, time for the combat explainer!
This is a weird game, and combat is one part of that.
Key things:
- No random encounters, enemies are visible on the map;
- Card-based, semi-realtime;
- Turn-based, results are calculated at the end.

An exploration screen in the Cloud Passage, showing visible enemies moving around.

The combat screen, showing a hand of cards.

Combat turn result screen, totaling up the damage.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:11 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Let’s start with an attack turn, i.e. when one of your characters gets to go and is targeting the enemy.
You’re initially given some time to look at your hand and make a plan. Here it’s “Okay, I’ve got the Overture finishing move (greyed out), which has a 1 and Light element”

Combat screen, showing a hand of cards. It’s mostly trumpets i.e. Lyude’s basic attack cards, plus a greyed out finishing move.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:14 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Meaning I’m going to want:
- at least one attack so the finisher becomes available;
- to build pairs with a 1, or a 4-3-2-1 straight;
- not to use Dark.
You can at most have one card going, and one queued. Hence semi-realtime, you have the animation duration to pick the next one.

Combat screen during a turn. Lyude’s finishing up an attack at the next card slides into place and the finisher is about to be selected.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:18 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

An attack turn concludes when you:
- pick an invalid card;
- use a finishing move;
- max out your combo count (ideally with a finisher, like here).
Which is when the damage gets calculated:
- opposite elements cancel out;
- enemy defense is subtracted;
- number bonuses get added.

An 8-8-1-1 two-pair combo result screen, showing 94+78 raw damage, minus 18 physical defense, plus 13% bonus from the two pairs, totaling 174 damage.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:19 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

I absolutely adore this system. Because it gives you the breathing room of turn-based combat, but forces you to think on your toes, especially once your combo count gets way larger than your hand.
How do you start a straight and gamble on taking it the whole way? Etc.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:21 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

That’s attack turns. If you instead target an ally, the same system lets you chain healing items and build up bonuses that way too.
You can also use healing items on enemies! Which occasionally results in slightly ridiculous choices that end up with better results.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:24 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

The other type of turn is defense. While you’re being targeted, you can use (some) cards to reduce the final damage. Same principles: opposites cancel out, straights / pairs reduce final damage.
Gibari and Kalas have the MASSIVE advantage that their weapons can serve as defense.

Defense turn underway, showing a 6-5-4 combo already active and the cursor on a 3 card.

Defense turn result screen, showing 94 physical damage, defended by 48 physical, 37 water and 71 wind, totaling 46 damage further reduced 31% by a 4 straight, for a final hit of 32.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:26 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Damage is split between elements: physical, Water / Fire, Light / Dark, Wind / Time. As you can see above, I still took damage even if there was excess elemental defense.
This gets a bit technical at time because good elemental armors are... not the most common items.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:29 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Finally, since I mentioned animations... It’s all GC-era but there’s some lovely movement and effects work, each character really has their own style.
Xelha fires magic from afar, Gibari whacks things with paddles, Kalas has a sword and a dagger, Lyude’s got that weird rifle.

Xelha hovering and sending off a Fire Burst.

Gibari whacking a monster with his paddle.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:31 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Savyna, joining us next, is a brawler, who attacks much faster than everybody else and is challenging to play as a result! You get less time to pick the next card.
Combat’s also the main time we see the wings, which is still weird, but hey it looks cool and that’s enough.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:33 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Either way, after getting everyone to level 15 and collecting some cucumbers and dark swords, we’re off to the Castle again to check on His Majesty.
Pretty sure I missed that convo previously, more Hinting At Gibari’s Background, which I don’t think gets clarified until BKO.

Ladekahn, in the throne room: “Besides, I’m not that fragile. Compared to the injuries of my youth, this is only a scratch.”

Ladekahn: “You know that well, don’t you Gibari?”

Gibari, laughing: “Ha ha ha! You haven’t changed at all! Diadem will be safe with you on the throne.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:36 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

After the Giant Turtle Express Liner, we get the Weird Fluffy Creature Carriage. It’s kinda cute I guess?

A Knight: “The vessel behind me is His Majesty’s ship, the “Mindeer”.”

Ladekahn: “When you arrive at Anuénué, go to the palace, and give this letter to Queen Corellia.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:38 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

We pass over a weirdly ominous sea of clouds, which definitely is not foreshadowing anything on Disc 2. There’s no way anything can survive down there, after all.
The sailor / skyfarer thing has been done to death but it works well enough with Gibari.
World map, and we’re there!

Xelha: “The Taintclouds... A bottomless sea of poisonous gas...”

Gibari: “For those who make a living flying the skies like myself, it’s known as the pit of hell, my friends.”

The world map, showing Anuénué on the left-hand side.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:42 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

It’s SO GREEN and SO PRETTY.
Two hints at the port:
- There’s a festival on?
- An “awfully important-looking man” arrived before us, and that ship docked above us has the same design components as the Imperial Goldoba. Uh oh.

A random NPC: “Did you come for the Thirty Year Festival?”

Another NPC: “Just before you came, an awfully important-looking man arrived in a very big ship.”

A medium ship with golden crescent mood design elements like the battleship we encountered earlier.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:46 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Walk into town, and there’s happy music, decorations everywhere, stalls (some of them staffed by Greythornes?), and people dancing all around.
Routine celebration of a giant tree flowering, apparently. Xelha, how do you know all this anyway?

Gibari: “What’s this? They sure seem to be enjoying themselves.”

Xelha: “Must be the Festival of the Celestial Tree.”

Xelha: “There’s a gigantic tree here. They say its flowers only blossom once every thirty years.”

Xelha: “The people of Anuénué hold a huge festival to celebrate the year it blossoms.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:48 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Kalas Being A Jerk, exhibit number 372.
But also narrative misdirection: this starts suggesting he might care somewhat, when he’s... very much a key part of making the crisis come true.

Kalas: “To think they’re having the time of their lives, with no knowledge of the coming crisis. Ignorance is bliss, I [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:53 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Miscellaneous town things.
Turns out the tree failed to bloom the last two times, continuing the “nature is kinda wonky” pattern.
Anuénué is isolationist and doesn’t necessarily care about other nations.
And the absolutely beautiful shop screen.

A random NPC in a house filled with plants: “Holding the festival is all well and good, but the Celestial Tree didn’t even bloom the last two times.”

A random dancing NPC: “I say, “who cares!” The world can deal with its own problems, we’re dealing with our festival.”

The shop screen, lavishly rendered. The shopkeeper looks like a plant-human hybrid, greeting you with “Hello there.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:58 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

We’re briefly introduced to A Mysterious Huntress who only showed up recently, doesn’t talk much but is a great hunter, apparently. NOT SUSPICIOUS.
(That’s Savyna, she’ll be saving our sorry asses in a few hours)

Shop Owner, to Savyna: “Thanks again! Come back when you’ve got more game to sell.”

Savyna, name still question marks: “Right.”

Shop Owner: “She’s a hunter living in the mountains. Popped up around six months ago, and found herself a [cont]”

Shop Owner: “[cont] home in Waterfall Village.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 08:59 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Kalas what is WRONG with you.
(His excuse is that we’re in a rush, but COOKIES)

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:01 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

We’re blocked by the Portable Shrine dancing procession, and get a bit of background on the Queen, who’s apparently more than human.

The main path towards the palace, blocked by dancers holding a portable shrine.

A NPC: “This portable shrine was designed in the likeness of Queen Corellia, a Fairy Guide who leads us all.”

A NPC: “Her powers as a prophetess are considerable and her predictions have never proven false.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 09:04 PM · Oct 22, 2020 Permalink

Kalas, PLEASE.
Aka the game telling us “go explore and get some lore”, but we’ll do that next time.

Kalas, looking surprised: “Huh? What’s this? We can’t get through all this.”

Kalas, looking mischievous: “We have no choice. Let’s force them out of the way.”

Xelha: “We can’t do that, Kalas! Let them enjoy their festival.”

Xelha, turning back and showing Meemai in her hood: “Let’s check some other places, and come back later.”