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Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
No, I didn't forget about Taunt (if that's indeed what you were hinting at)
Well, then you have all the major pieces. After that, it's just a matter of optimizing for damage without pushing yourself into game-over-from-damage territory. As I've said, he's really hard right now, harder than he's going to be when he's not the last boss anymore. And he has some design issues. Currently, it isn't really clear what the optimal setup is to beat him, you just have to tweak until the numbers are right, and I intend to make it more obvious what is optimal in the next version. And the HP bars I intend to add would be more helpful here than anywhere else.

I'm assuming you got the unique weapons from Naraka? You pretty much need all the damage you can get.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
1: Agony keeps failing. I only ever can fight him 1/3 or 1/4 times because agony fails the rest.

Agony's landing rate is Will-based, and pretty high if you take advantage of that. Also, you have two chances to land it before his healing begins. And yes, what LockeZ said.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
But the thing is, I can't predict when he'll use it. If I use fire guard and he uses his force spell, I just wasted a turn.
iirc, it's a sacrifice you just have to make. It enables you to be a bit more offensive in your setups of your other characters, though, which makes up some of the damage. Note that knowing one of your characters is going to rally each round can definitely affect which formation you'd wanna use.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
I mean 3500 before Eclipse, Fire Guard, and Guard on every character but those two. After that, it does around 1000. I certainly survive the 1000, but then he follows it up with another Whelp Breath, which does around 1400 more (if I don't guard with every character).

Subsequent breaths shouldn't deal any additional damage (unless he's enraging). Are you aware that Fire Guard only lasts for the turn that it is used?

author=EdgeOfChaos
I am assuming the instant Hyper/ChargeUp/Whelp Breath at the start of battle is scripted?

Yeah, it's scripted.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
Yes, I did find whelp. I was searching in the right place before, but his spawn rate is like 5%? so I didn't find him. When I did find him, he did around 3500 to all with a breath. I still can't beat him, and it's worse because there are about 20 battles inbetween each whelp. How are you possibly supposed to beat them? I am using Eclipse and Fire Guard from the shield, does not help.
His spawn rate is 12.5%. Eclipse and Fire Guard should be the only Whelp-specific things you need... There's the standard tactic of Weak, too, of course. 3500 is way higher than the breath should deal under these circumstances, but you may need to use Eclipse with a tanky character and Guard with everyone else.

Yeah, the spawn rate for when people are trying to fight these enemies on purpose is a problem. I'm considering creating an item that the Preta would be looking for and adding it to one of the chests in Naraka. Once you retrieve the item for him, he could sell you a consumable item that summons Siegfried and Dragon Whelp for farming purposes.

Sidenote: I really am curious to hear what you think of the Numb skill compared to Gloom, though. I'm not just saying that to be contrary. :P

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
The thing about Gloom is when I initiate vs. a 4 enemy team, it's probably going to kill at least one and make the battle so much easier.

If removing enemies from the battle is what you find makes Gloom overpowered, then I'd think Numb would feel even moreso. Have you tried using that skill?

author=EdgeOfChaos
I don't find daybreak all that useful. I deal about as much in Daybreak as I do in party Sword damage abilities. And daybreak has diminishing returns as the battle goes on.

If that's true, then you're able to clear the enemies in two sword attacks? There isn't much point in bothering with any type of Body/Mind/Wrath/Malice attacks in those kinda situations.

author=EdgeOfChaos
How do you beat Ares? I see the theory, but I can't get enough damage to beat him even after making my two attackers have the most offensive build I can. Maybe dragon whelp would help, but apparently I can't find him.

Dragon Whelp would help, if not be vital. As would Siegfried and the loot from Naraka. And Dragon Whelps hang out where there's a lotta fire~

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
Nabraka is unfair, because when you drop down into the lava part it's game over 9/10 times. Maybe not for you, but if you don't know the layout, you die immediately. Is the labyrinth required to play? Because if not, I'm skipping it; not taking the hours to learn the lava layout. Is that dang dragon in there? Cause if so, I have to go get it. I'm guessing he is a "boss random encounter" like that stupid swordsman who swept my team in 2 shots.
It's basically required, yes. It doesn't block your path, but some of the loot is too useful to skip. Siegfried and Dragon Whelp can both be tricky to beat, because they both basically require a mechanic that you've never *needed* to use before.

Hmm... perhaps the map could be redesigned in such a way that you wouldn't wind up taking the wrong path before reaching the stairs. For now, though, if you keep track of your position relative to the stairs, that's the direction you need to go once you drop down.

author=EdgeOfChaos
How are you supposed to deal with Ares heal? If I can get the heal down, I might be able to beat him - I can survive his attacks quite easily. I thought of using Agony, but that only reduces it to half. Half of 15000000 heal is still too much for me to beat.
Agony is an important part of it. Then it's just a matter of pumping out the damage. If you are surviving his attacks "easily", then you probably need a more offensive setup to get the job done. His gimmick forces you to make him a dangerous battle.

author=EdgeOfChaos
I also address this in the video, but gloom is quite silly.
Gloom only has a ~20% chance of working, depending on your Will and the enemies' Will. With a good spec, you might be able to get this up to 25% (and less than 10% against hypers). So it's basically like doing 25% damage to all enemies. It could possibly be toned down a *little* (players certainly wouldn't mind this when they are on the receiving end of it), but I don't think it's *that* bad. Have you tried using Daybreak? That's not nearly as devastating when it hits, but it hits a lot more often. I wonder how you'd think they compare. You could try some of the more potent ailment skills, too. Will-based attacks can be quite strong, a lot of people make it through the whole game without ever really giving them a chance.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

Some comments about Ares... I tend to make what is *currently* the end of the game harder than it will be when it is no longer the end of the game. Once I have more content, I feel okay with going back and making things a bit easier, as I have repeatedly done with the very beginning of the game. Also, if you thought lack of a life bar was annoying against Kerberos... Yeahhhhh. Future versions will have some sort of life bar, though. Sooo, definitely give Ares a shot, and he has been beaten by me and at least one other person, but if you get frustrated with him: know that he'll be easier once I finish more game, and there's currently nothing to see beyond him so you could always wait if you want. Also, his design needs a little thematic work, aside from just being really hard. And on a stylistic note, I'd rather he be Tyr than Ares... I just don't have an appropriate one-armed swordsman graphic. :/ So he may wind up getting a total makeover, too. He's not currently a boss that I'm fully satisfied with.

Naraka may also be a *bit* much right now. It isn't really too *hard* it's just so *long*. Several people have cleared it, though, so it isn't prohibitive. I'll let you come to your own conclusions.

How has the soul drop rate and general grind level of the game felt so far? I imagine this varied a lot from area to area, so if it only felt bad in some areas and not others, feel free to specify.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
I went to every side of Dustopia, into the Labyrinth, into the Rat door, into both caves (on the plains area), into the castle (east area) and explored the whole ruins (north area).

Someone else had this issue as well, so it seems I definitely need to address it. When you go into the labyrinth, before going into the lava basement, there are paths to either side you can take. These paths are not dead-ends, they're part of a unique mechanic for this area.

author=EdgeOfChaos
I guess I'll look some more o.0. I'm assuming Dragon Whelp is a boss? Or is he a random encounter?

I'm going to go ahead and answer this question with: Yes. ^_^

You probably still wouldn't be able to take down Ares as you are now, but there is something you need to do to address his healing, yes.

Let's Play Soul Shepherd 6-10.

author=EdgeOfChaos
What about the Dragon Whelp soul? I never found that one. Perhaps it's after Ares (but I assumed he is the second boss, and the end of the game).

Dragon Whelp is before Ares, I haven't seen parts 7/8 yet to know if you went to the area where Dragon Whelp is yet.

Sidenote: The reason there are people beyond the door you need Kerb's soul to get through is the Black Gate is supposed to send people to random locations on this world, not the same spot every time. But I don't really mention that anywhere soooo... I should see about working that in.