NullPointer
05-21-2009, 02:36 PM
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/title.gif
Hey guys, blog #4 comin’ at ya! I almost thought I wasn’t going to make in time, what with all the E3 prep we are doing.
So far, we have enrolled our students, and created our team. Now it’s time to actually head out into the labyrinths. Naturally, you can just go poke around the labyrinths at your leisure, but this is a school after all. It might be a good idea to pick up a class or an assignment or two before you set out. This can be done at the library by checking out the Bulletin Board.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/missions.png
The labyrinths are a set of mysterious pathways that suddenly appeared in the not-so-distant past. They connect various points in the world together, and offer a quick, yet treacherous way of crossing the terrain.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/world.png
On top of being filled with traps, treasure, and strange creatures, they have the unusual property of constantly changing. Each labyrinth consists of a left entrance, a right entrance, and an inner sanctum. For each Labyrinth, the Inner Sanctum never changes, but the floors leading to it change every time you enter. The map layouts are present, but the map you get is random.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/layout.png
Once you are in a labyrinth, other than hordes of monsters (4 rows of 5 monsters each can be daunting), there’s lot of things you need to look out for. Shock tiles and walls can instantly cripple a novice team. Spin titles can disorient you if you’re not paying attention. Dark zones are pitch black. Null Magic zones disable all magic spells, in-battle and out. Deep Zones, while generally harmless, can become the bane of your existence (http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/comic/16.jpg) should your levitation spell run out while on top of one. Or worse, a treasure box trap could you warp you right onto one...
Most often, your first objective will be to find the Magic Key, which will open sealed doors for that map. Once they have been unlocked, it becomes easier to traverse that particular map.
Another interesting feature of the Dungeons is the Magic Orb located on every map. This orb has two functions: it allows you to warp back to Particus Academy instantly from any dungeon, and also has the ‘Recycle Bin’. The Recycle Bin is an interesting feature I’ve never seen in any other dungeon RPG I’ve played. Any item, ANY item you throw away will appear in this Recycle Bin. It holds up to 100 items. Once full, the oldest item is replaced by newer items. This allows you to send items to students deployed in the dungeon. Simply station a team near a Magic Orb, switch to Particus via the Station option, have another student buy an item and throw it away. Then, switch back to your deployed team and access it from the Recycle Bin.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/orb.png
Class of Heroes has another interesting feature that allows you to have multiple teams deployed simultaneously. The world of CoH is big, so sometimes you will want to have teams in various locations to speed things up. Yes, that’s right. You can have multiple parties at the same time. As many as you want. You can have a hundred 1-person parties, or sixteen 6 person parties (and some left over).
If a party is annihilated in the labyrinths, it’s not game over. The 6 bodies will stay on that floor, but over time they will become… let’s just say, harder to resurrect. You can send a rescue team to pull the students out, but remember, you need an open student slot for each student you will rescue. Alternatively, you can hire the Infirmary staff to extract them.
That’s just sort of a broad overview of the things you can do. I’m sure you’ll have questions.
And now, some Q&A!!!!!
>What kind of combat skills do the fighter-type classes get? Do they simply have one option of attacking, or do they get a couple different skills they can use in battle? I'm thinking of non-magical classes like the Warrior. Are they as deep as the spell casting classes?
The attack-oriented majors will get a couple of skills. Some skills require you to charge a turn before they become available. Other skills also include passive things like dual-wielding.
>If you make a group full of students who hate each other (like 3 good and 3 evil students), can they eventually learn to love one another, or will they never be as good as a team of all good or all evil students?
I’m not too clear on the details about how all this works, but I do know that, for example, performing group gambits together can make a team Affinity go up over time. However, as the students go up in level, I believe they get more resistant to putting up with other students they don’t like.
-What are the differences between Diablon and Drake breath? Or is it similar to the ID mechanic amongst Priests/Alchemists?
It's the same skill.
-How about Psychic Magic in more detail as to the dynamics of it versus White, Black, and Evoking?...things like Telekinesis are quite nifty sounding at the onset. Plus it doesn't really come into play in most games.
Psychic magic tends to be more supportive. Their spells do things like raise resistance, make your characters move fast, or the enemy move slower. At higher levels, there are spells that allow you to teleport around the labyrinths and magically identify items.
-Bah at lack of Nunchaku Skills....but I assume there ARE skills for the Monk class in terms of Unarmed Combat stuff right?
There are nunchaku in the game, so you’ll just have to bring your own skills. For unarmed fighting, there is a skill that gives the student a chance of a one-hit-kill when fighting unarmed. Monks are not the only class that has it either.
-Are any New skills unlocked for a Class at higher Level or is it just a matter of getting better at the assorted ones each Class has as standard at creation?
Skills are unlocked as you level up the character, and are not available until the character has reached that level.
-Purpose of the Tension Gauge? Or did you mean that's where the Gambits come from?
Sorry for being unclear. Yes, the Tension Gauge is for the gambits. Each group gambit has a specific tension cost. When used, that cost is deducted from the Tension Gauge.
-Is there a Bestiary in the game? :crosses fingers for yes and it being a robust one:
Yes. It lists the monster, its elemental properties, genus, and allows you to scale its level to see what stronger versions of it would be like. Monster level is not set in this game and floats depending on the dungeon and how far in the game you are.
-Is there a Master Item/Armor/Weapon/Treasure list or book thang? : "" :
Yes. There is also a recipe book for alchemy as well.
> Is there an affinity chart showing how well the different races get on with each other in the game or manual? Or is it down to the player to mix and match and see what happens?
It's in the manual. Sorry, we couldn't work that info into the game.
> Are status bonuses/penalties a character gets through affinity permanent, or just for when the character is in the party?
It's based on who they are grouped with at the time.
I usually use only two characters in games like this, so will group gambits still be available to my pair?
You are a very brave man (woman?). If you clear this game using only groups of two, you get a super duper magical air cookie. Every gambit requires at least 2 people. But depending on the major and whether or not they like each other, the gambit may not be available. So a group of 6 will likely have all the gambits available, groups of 2 may only have a couple.
Is there a status menu or screen that shows the affinity value a character has towards all your other characters?
Yes, on the status screen, there is an Affinity value shown as a percentage. The value doesn’t show how the character feels about particular other characters, but rather how they feel about the team they are in as a whole. But let me give you an insider tip: value only goes to a max of 100%, but in actuality, the value can and does go higher internally. So just because it says 100%, don’t think that you have a maxed out team.
Only a week in a half or so until E3. If you happen to be attending, come by the booth!
-Sam
Hey guys, blog #4 comin’ at ya! I almost thought I wasn’t going to make in time, what with all the E3 prep we are doing.
So far, we have enrolled our students, and created our team. Now it’s time to actually head out into the labyrinths. Naturally, you can just go poke around the labyrinths at your leisure, but this is a school after all. It might be a good idea to pick up a class or an assignment or two before you set out. This can be done at the library by checking out the Bulletin Board.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/missions.png
The labyrinths are a set of mysterious pathways that suddenly appeared in the not-so-distant past. They connect various points in the world together, and offer a quick, yet treacherous way of crossing the terrain.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/world.png
On top of being filled with traps, treasure, and strange creatures, they have the unusual property of constantly changing. Each labyrinth consists of a left entrance, a right entrance, and an inner sanctum. For each Labyrinth, the Inner Sanctum never changes, but the floors leading to it change every time you enter. The map layouts are present, but the map you get is random.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/layout.png
Once you are in a labyrinth, other than hordes of monsters (4 rows of 5 monsters each can be daunting), there’s lot of things you need to look out for. Shock tiles and walls can instantly cripple a novice team. Spin titles can disorient you if you’re not paying attention. Dark zones are pitch black. Null Magic zones disable all magic spells, in-battle and out. Deep Zones, while generally harmless, can become the bane of your existence (http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/comic/16.jpg) should your levitation spell run out while on top of one. Or worse, a treasure box trap could you warp you right onto one...
Most often, your first objective will be to find the Magic Key, which will open sealed doors for that map. Once they have been unlocked, it becomes easier to traverse that particular map.
Another interesting feature of the Dungeons is the Magic Orb located on every map. This orb has two functions: it allows you to warp back to Particus Academy instantly from any dungeon, and also has the ‘Recycle Bin’. The Recycle Bin is an interesting feature I’ve never seen in any other dungeon RPG I’ve played. Any item, ANY item you throw away will appear in this Recycle Bin. It holds up to 100 items. Once full, the oldest item is replaced by newer items. This allows you to send items to students deployed in the dungeon. Simply station a team near a Magic Orb, switch to Particus via the Station option, have another student buy an item and throw it away. Then, switch back to your deployed team and access it from the Recycle Bin.
http://www.atlus.com/classofheroes/images/blog/04/orb.png
Class of Heroes has another interesting feature that allows you to have multiple teams deployed simultaneously. The world of CoH is big, so sometimes you will want to have teams in various locations to speed things up. Yes, that’s right. You can have multiple parties at the same time. As many as you want. You can have a hundred 1-person parties, or sixteen 6 person parties (and some left over).
If a party is annihilated in the labyrinths, it’s not game over. The 6 bodies will stay on that floor, but over time they will become… let’s just say, harder to resurrect. You can send a rescue team to pull the students out, but remember, you need an open student slot for each student you will rescue. Alternatively, you can hire the Infirmary staff to extract them.
That’s just sort of a broad overview of the things you can do. I’m sure you’ll have questions.
And now, some Q&A!!!!!
>What kind of combat skills do the fighter-type classes get? Do they simply have one option of attacking, or do they get a couple different skills they can use in battle? I'm thinking of non-magical classes like the Warrior. Are they as deep as the spell casting classes?
The attack-oriented majors will get a couple of skills. Some skills require you to charge a turn before they become available. Other skills also include passive things like dual-wielding.
>If you make a group full of students who hate each other (like 3 good and 3 evil students), can they eventually learn to love one another, or will they never be as good as a team of all good or all evil students?
I’m not too clear on the details about how all this works, but I do know that, for example, performing group gambits together can make a team Affinity go up over time. However, as the students go up in level, I believe they get more resistant to putting up with other students they don’t like.
-What are the differences between Diablon and Drake breath? Or is it similar to the ID mechanic amongst Priests/Alchemists?
It's the same skill.
-How about Psychic Magic in more detail as to the dynamics of it versus White, Black, and Evoking?...things like Telekinesis are quite nifty sounding at the onset. Plus it doesn't really come into play in most games.
Psychic magic tends to be more supportive. Their spells do things like raise resistance, make your characters move fast, or the enemy move slower. At higher levels, there are spells that allow you to teleport around the labyrinths and magically identify items.
-Bah at lack of Nunchaku Skills....but I assume there ARE skills for the Monk class in terms of Unarmed Combat stuff right?
There are nunchaku in the game, so you’ll just have to bring your own skills. For unarmed fighting, there is a skill that gives the student a chance of a one-hit-kill when fighting unarmed. Monks are not the only class that has it either.
-Are any New skills unlocked for a Class at higher Level or is it just a matter of getting better at the assorted ones each Class has as standard at creation?
Skills are unlocked as you level up the character, and are not available until the character has reached that level.
-Purpose of the Tension Gauge? Or did you mean that's where the Gambits come from?
Sorry for being unclear. Yes, the Tension Gauge is for the gambits. Each group gambit has a specific tension cost. When used, that cost is deducted from the Tension Gauge.
-Is there a Bestiary in the game? :crosses fingers for yes and it being a robust one:
Yes. It lists the monster, its elemental properties, genus, and allows you to scale its level to see what stronger versions of it would be like. Monster level is not set in this game and floats depending on the dungeon and how far in the game you are.
-Is there a Master Item/Armor/Weapon/Treasure list or book thang? : "" :
Yes. There is also a recipe book for alchemy as well.
> Is there an affinity chart showing how well the different races get on with each other in the game or manual? Or is it down to the player to mix and match and see what happens?
It's in the manual. Sorry, we couldn't work that info into the game.
> Are status bonuses/penalties a character gets through affinity permanent, or just for when the character is in the party?
It's based on who they are grouped with at the time.
I usually use only two characters in games like this, so will group gambits still be available to my pair?
You are a very brave man (woman?). If you clear this game using only groups of two, you get a super duper magical air cookie. Every gambit requires at least 2 people. But depending on the major and whether or not they like each other, the gambit may not be available. So a group of 6 will likely have all the gambits available, groups of 2 may only have a couple.
Is there a status menu or screen that shows the affinity value a character has towards all your other characters?
Yes, on the status screen, there is an Affinity value shown as a percentage. The value doesn’t show how the character feels about particular other characters, but rather how they feel about the team they are in as a whole. But let me give you an insider tip: value only goes to a max of 100%, but in actuality, the value can and does go higher internally. So just because it says 100%, don’t think that you have a maxed out team.
Only a week in a half or so until E3. If you happen to be attending, come by the booth!
-Sam