Final Fantasy XV: Cup Noodle XV Special Edition

[Inshiya]

Really just starting to play this. At first I didn't like the combat, seemed chaotic and like nothing I did really mattered. I'm slowly learning how to move around though and use my team's skills, so it's getting a lot more fun.

With that in mind, I don't have any understanding of why to use any particular weapon of Noctis.. or what to equip on the other guys. I basically just use whatever weapon of Noctis's is the newest I've upgraded (because that's usually my highest damage weapon). Is there any strategy as to what weapon to use beyond best damage one? At least early on?

Also any guides on what skills I should be unlocking first?

[Gokulo]

Enemies have weaknesses to certain weapons, you need to analyze them to find them out.

[NynJa]

Turn on wait mode
Libra enemies (use lock on button)
Some enemies are weak to certain weapons, or strong to certain once.

[Inshiya]

Cool.

Also, I bought the guide, but it seems like any part of the quest/mission I go to, I can just use the local tipster to mark my map, and just go down the quests that way.

Are there hidden things I should be using the guide to find, or can I just play the game and explore without the guide and hit the majority of the stuff I need (special weapons/etc)?

Basically I'd love to just explore the game by myself, but I don't want a "zodiac spear" problem popping up, where I missed something critical in a chapter.

[Shenrien]

Strategy with weapons is find what an enemy is vulnerable to (gold numbers appear) and what they're resistant to (purple numbers) and using that to your advantage, white is just neutral.

[Laugana]

I was late to buying this game and have about 60+ game hours (lvl 65) and only on chapter 6/7 at the moment. Everything's great but for the life of me I can't figure out how to activate Armiger when I need it. I mostly trigger it by accident.

So I press L1 + R1 at the same time and nothing happens. Do I need to be warping, moving, stationery, pressing something else? I tried the tutorial but was barely able to activate it a couple of times without figuring out a sequence.

[Gokulo]

I found out I just need to stop for a second and then you'll notice the button combination for it appears in the lower left corner

[BerenTebogo]

The scene where you have to do it for the story was super fucking annoying. I didn't think they did a good job of explaining that mechanic or how to trigger it for the forced story event.

[Laugana]

I found out I just need to stop for a second and then you'll notice the button combination for it appears in the lower left corner

I've seen this underneath the technique gauge but when I try I get nothing. I've read that you have to press them perfectly at the same time which is something I obviously can't do. Do I have to have full mp as well? Once it's activated do I keep holding down L1 + R1? Do I keep pressing triangle too?

The scene where you have to do it for the story was super fucking annoying. I didn't think they did a good job of explaining that mechanic or how to trigger it for the forced story event.

Something to look forward to... (if it hasn't already happened, it's a blur lol)

[Gokulo]

No idea, I have issues with it too, haha. Usually works if I let Wait Mode activate and then try to press it.
I got Armiger before it was mentioned in the story, don't think I had any training sequence for that. Or not yet at least, lol.

[Vaspinne]

Pretty intersting stuff if true, also about the last 5 or so minutes, after thinking about it i pretty much agree with. (Its a near 50 min videos, just warning ya)

This video is kind of depressing. If the 4chan rumours are true (which you obviously have to be somewhat skeptical about given 4chan) then it's just a huge shame to think about all the shit that got cut and left out. At this point I'd absolutely buy a FFXV-Final Mix that includes all the areas and cutscenes and etc that didn't make the game. But at the same time I wouldn't mind them just using all the lessons they learned (and they sure as fuck better have learned a lot) from developing this game to make FFXVI a hell of a lot better.

I have no idea how this game is selling, but if it's over-achieving the financial goals they aimed for than I do hope they modestly invest some money and quality time into fixing all the issues and adding in things that didn't make the final cut due to a lack of time.

And yeah, I totally agree with you about the last 5 minutes of the video and how SE wasted time, money and resources on pandering to the fans and SJWs when it came to gimmicky things like the airship and moogles and Luna's story. I can legitimately say that I haven't used a single moogle and that I've only flown the car once in my 60+ hours of gameplay. And cutting what they did about Luna's story is a shame. Obviously it's a sensitive issue they'd have to carefully tell, but cutting it outright really diminished how deep her character was and how determined she was in completing her personal motivations. Not to mention adding to both Ravus and Noct's motivations for wanting to save her.

[Vaspinne]

In response about activating Armiger above, I found that the most consistent way of activating it is to have Noctis be stationary when you press L1+R1. Have to press them simultaneously and it should activate. Don't need MP, just have to have that blue circle around your weapon display in the bottom left corner be full. The bar drains when activated and doesn't stop until you either run out or the battle ends. And it should be pretty obvious when you are using it as Noct just spams a variety of weapons (whichever royal arms you've collected thus far).

The 2 things I couldn't ever figure out was the Lucis ring L1+Triangle insta-death move (which I don't even know if I have the right buttons for) or what Armiger Chaining was (IE, whatever the team Armiger attack is that instantly drains some gauge or bar or whatever).

Edit: Just youtubed and figured out how to Armiger Chain >_>. Just have to press L1+R1 simultaneously again when Armiger is activated lol

[Scythiroth]

The Ring of the Lucii Deathga (forgot its name >.>) move is just locking on to something and holding Triangle when you have full MP until it finishes "casting" I guess. The name of it and triangle show up around your weapon wheel when you have enough MP to use it.

edit: Not sure if the button changes when you change button layout, I didn't really use it much.

[Gokulo]

@Armiger Chain - of course you want to wait until you depleted most of the bar before using it. Just don't wait too much or you might not be able to activate it.

[Vaspinne]

The Ring of the Lucii Deathga (forgot its name >.>) move is just locking on to something and holding Triangle when you have full MP until it finishes "casting" I guess. The name of it and triangle show up around your weapon wheel when you have enough MP to use it.

edit: Not sure if the button changes when you change button layout, I didn't really use it much.

Ahh that makes sense. I didn't know you had to be locked on. Figured since it was an AoE that attacked multiple targets that locking on wouldn't work

Edit: Platinum complete! Was kind of anti-climactic as I had the game running with rubberbands on the controller for a few hours while I did other stuff just to get the last trophy lol

[Kirin]

Finished the main story. Spoilered for obvious reasons, but wanted to share some of my thoughts.

Spoiler: show

Final Fantasy XV is summed up in a few quick phrases for me.

The concept was too big.
The revamp was too narrow.
It ended up with the worst of both.

Thats not to say the game was bad, not at all. It was simply on the upper end of average.

The largest glaring issue is the story presentation and pacing. The story itself is pretty good, almost a reverse FFX. Everyone knew Yuna was fated to die except Tidus, and in the end he ended up returning to what conjured him after saving her. Noone knew Noctis was fated to die except Luna, Ravus, and Regis and in the end, he accepted the bargain in a plea to save everyone (and live up to the standards Regis set for him as heir).

But where Chapter 1-8 are exploration heavy without much story context, the rest of the game was story heavy without much backstory. That let you really appreciate the battle and game mechanics. Unfortunately, when you begin the fast paced last few chapters you're left with not even tiny hints about whats going on. For the hits that XIII took for shoving a lot of the backstory into those database entries and "telling, not showing" the story, XV would have benefited from this a TON. I know the Cosmology books you find kind of give a story behind the Astrals, but a lot more foreshadowing about their roles and how they relate to the Crystal would have been greatly appreciated. Those paintings in the Citadel before the Ardyn fight would have been an amazing collection type questline to visit these paintings around Eos and get backstory on the Astrals they represent. Could have even tied it into the Chadarnook hunt.

As for Ardyn. I feel like we needed more clues to his lineage much earlier on. Having him be the imperial chancellor to me was just him being "another guy" until he stabbed Luna. His villain motives were pretty sound too. Not quite at the "I sympathize with the villains plight" level, and not on the "just pure madness Kefka" level, but his revenge quest was fair and sound. Unfortunately they FFIX'ed him way too far into the story and it just becomes a "I was the bad guy all along, even though I was already the bad guy!". To compensate this, Ravus needed a lot more gray area than he got for the role he was playing. He needed to be a little more menacing at times, but then turn around and command Aranea to go assist the party at certain points. I feel like this would have been the area Stella would have shined in most, as I feel her counterpoint to the original Noct would have carried this dynamic a lot further than Ravus did.

I understand now why Stella was removed in favor of Luna, they needed a much frailer character to play that martyr role. Not weaker, just frailer. Stella was way too strong for that and I get it, but I feel like there could have been a strong dynamic between Luna and Gentiana to compensate for that and it was missing as well.

I always applaud the inclusion of Dragoons in any FF game. So I was hype as fuck for Aranea Highwind. That lasted all of 3 minutes between her one fight and the 2 times she jumped out of an imperial carrier to help me, only for me to hop back in the car and fast travel back to town. Then you find out later on shes been ferrying people out of harms way. Like I mentioned earlier, there was just so much more she could have been utilized in that she was just another "just here" character.

Regis and Cor i'm sure were better carried in Kingsglaive. As I have not seen it yet, I won't pass judgement. I will say that where the hell was Cor after Leviathan? Where the hell was Cor in the 10 years since Noct's imprisonment?

Speaking of Noct's imprisonment, where the hell did the World of Ruin come from? I understand how it occurred, but a little mention of it in the Cosmology books would have been nice.

Nocts friends. So much there, but so much just Deus Ex'ed away. Oh hey Ignis, you're blind...thats cool. Hey Glad, you're going away for a minute? Okay, be sa...hey, what happened with that GIANT FUCKING GASH across your chest that magically scarred over in a few short days? Oh god, Prompto, I'm so happy you're safe after falling off a speeding train. What's that? You're a construct that magically has keys to all the doors in the dungeon we're in? I knew I kept you around for a reason.

Can I get a LITTLE mention of how this happened? Flashback? Details? Random NPC mentioning how they pulled Ignis from rubble with his face burnt? Local diner with information at bringing an unconscious Glad into an Inn to stich up the GIANT GASH in his chest? Some explanation in those papers scattered around Niffleheim about experiment #338 and why he isn't succumbing to the darkness sickness like the other daemons are? This is vitally important information crucial to charachter development AND the story at hand, and it's likely to be packaged separately for 15.99. Unacceptable.

Thats another thing. This game is clearly incomplete. Ignoring the rumors on the internet about what was cut, it is very clear they would not have met a September release under any means, and only met the November release because incomplete portions were stitched together and (poorly) play tested to ensure it was working. I know SE was juggling public perception that this was a 10 year game as well as admitting their golden boy Nomura had way too much on his plate, but this issue is now just a symptom of SE's corporate environment I feel. This has taken the "look pretty above all else" mantra to the extreme, which is sad because for once they actually got the gameplay down pat. It's the story that suffered the most. For something that was conceived as a pretty damn epic quest to reclaim a stolen throne turned into Teen Idol goes to Insomnia with story stops at points A, J, C, B, L, and Z.

If SE really wants to do right by the fans, and cure this "Final Fantasy" sickness they talked about, they should be compelled to do Versus as either Versus XV or the original Versus XIII. I hate to talk about being "owed" something as a fan, but after the XIII cycle and now this, I feel like the fans are owed this. Not now, not even soon, but somewhere between XII Zodiac Age and FFXVI. Hell, make it FFXVI for all I care. Thats a story I want told.

Overall, the good mixes fairly well with the bad. There is some separation between oil and water here, but the bulk of it stands up under its own weight. It finds itself somewhere near the upper middle of the pack as far as FF's go, not as strong as series favorites Tactics, 6 (or 7 if you're one of those people), IX and X, but better than earlier titles. Maybe it's fair to say the whole package is comparable to IV, VIII, and non-international XII - which shared similar development issues.

tl;dr - If you're going to tell a story, tell it, but you're always better off showing the story. Make better use of characters. Lightly tweak the battle system and it will be a new series mainstay in the vein of Tales of... and Star Ocean's. 7/10.

[Omniyoji]

1.03 patch now live. Why is it 11GB >_>;;;;;;; for a new game + and a few extra items??? Those must be some serious bug fixes...

[Vaspinne]

11GB? I'm reading just over 3GB online.

NG+ seems nice. Carries over items, costumes and settings, weapons, levels and Ascension skills. Except Ultima weapon. That reverts back to it's base form... which doesn't really matter considering it's not the strongest weapon by a long shot lol. If/when they inevitably add more cutscenes, should be easy to cheese through the main game and get to the points where you watch them.

[fliprock]

Ultima blade still carries over. You just get the original as well

[Tyrath]

They need to add a cutscene viewer if they are gonna patch in story cutscenes in the main game.