Weird Dreams

Odd note: I was doing some test-battles with some normal fights before I finagled with numbers, to see how bad things were. I found that the "two skeletons" battle simply could not be won with a Level 1 character. Or, if it was possible, the case was pretty unlikely (a skeleton had to miss at least once). Testing with a level 2 character, I managed to survive, though I can't tell you much health (or mana) I had left.

While the above problem is pretty much negated, I will still have to run through the game to see, exactly, how much grinding is involved. If I find myself being bored at all (The grinding I did before this latest re-vamp was quite boring, I'll admit.), it's probably time to do something else. I don't quite know what yet, but something!


*Edit/update: I've got the first boss down to being manageable, but tough, for a level 15 character. I'm still going off test battle data, though, so who knows what this means in reality. Saying that, it's totally totally possible to obtain that without too much grinding. Anyway, the last boss is still bent on being faced by a level 35 character. My aim is to tone him down to be manageable, but tough, for a level 25 character (as the hardest encounter in the game is on the tough side for a level 20 character), but I've no idea what that could translate to when actually playing the game. I technically want players to be at level 30 before that fight, but allowing an earlier victory should be possible.


*Edit/update: The numbers I was using simply were not working with me. The final boss was insistent on being faced by a a level 30 character. So, bosses (in general) got another cut in damage output, dealing about 10% of health rather than 15%. It's possible, but rough, to defeat the final boss with a level 25 character using battle test data. In reality, well, I'm getting to that.

I know that to get to Level 12 (minimum level needed to defeat the first boss as of current re-vamp), to 20 (minimum level to defeat hardest normal foe), players have anywhere between 4 to 22 fights (very largely depending on what one fights, and survives to tell the tale for some cases). To achieve level 25 from 20, we're talking on the order of 5-33 fights (again, very largely depending on what one fights). I obviously haven't totally gotten rid of the grinding factor, but I think I'm happy enough with this outcome.


*Edit/update: That must have been the quickest playthrough of any game I've ever done. Like, ever. 17 minutes and 43 seconds according to my end-of-game save file. Perhaps I did grind a bit after fighting the first boss, but, seriously, I don't think difficulty is as much of an issue anymore.