What Are You Playing?

[Griffith]

Well, you're definitely our better angel here (glad it's not just me that thinks Aerith is practically rendered useless in combat), and it's not all as negative as my ranting, but... when I finally went back last night, took your advice and skipped the tournament, I was treated to Red's special character development in this game... as the coolest cat this side of Chester Cheetah (glad they finally worked in the actual area music instead of that awful "fun" track with the wanky guitar). I also managed to win despite not knowing what I was doing and just randomly placing cards until it was over. I actually wanted Red to have his moment, oh well.

So, that really sucked, and so did the rest of the reinterpretation of this trip, which went from a simple, if a bit silly, stowaway mission on a commercial/military vessel that turned out pretty dark ("Sephiroth" murders the entire crew!) to a big dumb goofy pleasure cruise where a bunch of tertiary characters and some monsters showed up (and the cutaway to an infamous Shinra official was as unnecessary as it was embarrassingly cliche and stupid; I guess I won't find him mingling among the ladies on the beach).

That's kind of my issue with this game in a nutshell. Everything is a big, glitzy, amusement park version of the original, but it's also like seeing these events in a fun-house mirror, and the point gets lost and so they're just translating all these checkpoints into a "funner" format out of obligation. Costa Del Sol doesn't look any better.

The first Remake stumbled on something by just deep-diving into Midgar, which is clearly where the developers were taken when they asked themselves the question, "Where do we WANT to go with this?" There was something organic there. It was a Remake, sure, but also sort of a completely different game that infused the themes of FF7 overall, and beyond, into a self-contained Midgar-centric adventure. Basically, it was novel, creative, and therefore a pleasant surprise.

Whereas this feels more like what you'd fear from this project, a point by point retelling scantly translated for modern sensibilities that feels perfunctory and therefore tedious, at least to me so far. This is where they felt they HAD to go with this. I keep getting excited to see what's next, how are they going to portray this, that, etc., but I keep getting disappointed one way or another; too big, too small, rarely just right. Somehow while the scale of everything you see has obviously gotten objectively bigger, the world actually feels relatively smaller (maybe that will change), like all that's there is whatever you're seeing any given moment, but all the walls are cardboard backdrops and there's nothing behind them (I especially got this sense in Junon). Then there's also the matter of whatever reality fuckery they're doing in the background, which I haven't seen a hint of since the opening, because am I reliving all this FF7 crap just so they can retcon it one way or another?

Anyway, I'm STILL engaged and curious to see how it ends, precisely to see where/how they cap it off, and if it will be similar to the last game since I found all that... interesting. My preference would be: When they initially discover the real Sephiroth frozen in the lifestream at the Northern Crater, the black materia is activated and the Weapons awaken. Maybe you could even fight one as a final boss, but then I'm sure there will still be some proto/pseudo-Sephiroth battle. That's about the biggest turn left that you could make into a climax while maintaining enough material for another game since originally disc 3 was basically just the last area and the world in an endgame state. In any case, hopefully the best is yet to come.

 

[Dark Emperor]

For the longest time, the only job I cared to play on a serious level in FFXIV was Dark Knight, but I decided to try Reaper last week. Holy shit, is that job fun! I now found the perfect alt job.

 

[Dar_Klink]

That's kind of my issue with this game in a nutshell. Everything is a big, glitzy, amusement park version of the original, but it's also like seeing these events in a fun-house mirror, and the point gets lost and so they're just translating all these checkpoints into a "funner" format out of obligation. Costa Del Sol doesn't look any better.

Yeah, that's my misgivings in a nutshell. I think certain things were at the level I liked such as Junon, Gold Saucer, Barret and Dyne's story, and the Nibelheim flashback(which was pretty much untouched). I think they rendered Hojo perfectly in all his greasy nastiness but I did not enjoy that segment of the ship. Should have just kept out the Midgar slums goofballs and let the original scenario play out after the card game, have a shocking moment after something that makes you put your guard down. Or just have it stick to the original script... If you're gonna make things bigger then maybe have the summons be in the real world at times causing havoc instead of just being handled by the robot boy? Again, I wish the open world got rid of the towers and cookie cutter stuff to give it better context even if it was the same content almost. Hunts instead of robot boy checklists, optional mini dungeons instead of 3 caves for lifespring, 3 caves for summons, and treasure squares on the maps, maybe get some Super Metroid style areas you can only get to with later chocobo breeds/vehicles, which was how the world map worked in the old game(s). Iunno, there's ways to make almost the same exact thing work without it feeling like every other AAA open world game. I am okay with the card game, I always did enjoy Triple Triad etc though.

I won't go into too much more so as not to spoil anything else. I sound like I hate the game but I enjoy the characters and gameplay enough to get through all the stuff I dislike.

For the longest time, the only job I cared to play on a serious level in FFXIV was Dark Knight, but I decided to try Reaper last week. Holy shit, is that job fun! I now found the perfect alt job.

I enjoy a lot of classes nowadays since I've been playing since not too long after ARR launched but I only beat my first extreme last year(Golbez). I wish I could wrap my head around rotations to do more than that, but I do enjoy playing Scholar(main) Summoner, Dark Knight, Paladin, Samurai, and Red Mage a lot. I want to try out Sage and Reaper more though.

I really hope that the Dawntrail post-game is better than Endwalker's. EW itself was a great story and I enjoyed the 8-man raid but I really really felt the lack of a Bozja/Eureka equivalent. The variant dungeons didn't hit the same way even if they are neat.

 

[Griffith]

Yeah, that's my misgivings in a nutshell. I think certain things were at the level I liked such as Junon, Gold Saucer, Barret and Dyne's story, and the Nibelheim flashback(which was pretty much untouched). I think they rendered Hojo perfectly in all his greasy nastiness but I did not enjoy that segment of the ship. Should have just kept out the Midgar slums goofballs and let the original scenario play out after the card game, have a shocking moment after something that makes you put your guard down. Or just have it stick to the original script...

Well, I can agree on the flashback and Junon, those were the best parts, but they also didn't add a lot and I still preferred the original version of events because most of the additions, though relatively minor compared to the completely revamped or brand new segments, didn't enhance the plot (there was gonna be a truce, but it fell through, so you're still enemies anyway... Ok!).

I regret some of my vitriol for the ship, but only because I should have reserved it for Costa HELL Sol! As I was literally doing the same filler mini-games quests with the second half of the party so I could again get the required beach attire to join the rest of the gang on the sands with the black robes, it occurred to me... WHY CAN'T I JUST LEAVE!?

All I hear is how great this game is yet it's one the most obviously padded-out, required-filler fetch quest fests I've ever encountered. I try to bypass it all as quickly as possible only to get more; I feel like I'm taking crazy pills (and might have gone crazy, because I'll admit I liked the 4-way Red XIII soccer, it was like a random PS2 flashback =)!

I was happy to see my dude made it to the beach after all, I couldn't help but smile as the chopper flew in, even though they basically took an Easter egg from the first game and made a whole crazy battle scenario out of it to highlight characters that weren't there or basically didn't exist before (but of course). Anyway, so far Mt. Corel has us back on track, "You're becoming one with the mountain..." "What are you doing, Red?" "...If she passes out I'll carry her."

So, along with Hojo's Mojo () back in full swing, I'm 0-2 on predictions with the Weapons basically already out there, but man it looked dumb with it's 75% materia orb body compared to the organic mecha/kaiju of the original. I forgot they retconned all that in subsequent FF7 projects to make like a dozen of them to justify fighting more in other games. Pff.

If you're gonna make things bigger then maybe have the summons be in the real world at times causing havoc instead of just being handled by the robot boy?

Yeah, that would have been interesting, and still using Chadley and the VR simulator to this degree is silly now given that it's whole purpose was a workaround to incorporate content from outside of Midgar, except now they're actually outside of Midgar so why am I encountering summons from specific locations with shrines and shit exclusively in a simulation? That should basically be for training and replaying enemies and boss fights, etc.

Again, I wish the open world got rid of the towers and cookie cutter stuff to give it better context even if it was the same content almost. Hunts instead of robot boy checklists, optional mini dungeons instead of 3 caves for lifespring, 3 caves for summons, and treasure squares on the maps, maybe get some Super Metroid style areas you can only get to with later chocobo breeds/vehicles, which was how the world map worked in the old game(s). Iunno, there's ways to make almost the same exact thing work without it feeling like every other AAA open world game.

Great points, a lot of the raw material is there and and fine but it's all presented so artificially and checklisty. Like I said, it's like the amusement park version of everything, it's almost literally all presented as a mini-game rides, rather than one attempting some sort of true immersion.

I won't go into too much more so as not to spoil anything else. I sound like I hate the game but I enjoy the characters and gameplay enough to get through all the stuff I dislike.

No, you sound pretty fair and gracious even, the positive is outweighing the negative for you and I hope I get there too because so far it's not been grabbing me like the last one.

 

[Aazealh]

Just letting you guys know I'm almost getting annoyed at the game just from reading your posts, I can practically taste the frustration!

 

[Griffith]

Mortal Kombat 1 - So, I've been playing exclusively with Reptile all season, I'm at 4,000+ total matches with him since game launch, I thought I figured out how to really play him at a high level with Sareena (for some continuity) by watching match replays of this Elder God Reptile/Sareena, and as I result I started 9-4 in Kombat League with him and immediately vaulted up a few tiers. Reptile's back, baby! Then in those mid tiers... everyone just easily blocks all my shit. A few struggle wins and half dozen frustrating losses later and Smoke's back, baby! I didn't even practice, just back in to immediate W's, even as I screwed up and my hands did Reptile things still. This character just carries you and his mixups hit everyone online sooner or later. Anyway, after leveling up my Smoke I tried more...

Anal Fantasy 7" Regirth - Things were going so well, I liked the Corel area and the Gold Saucer was appropriately lively, but man, then they have to make the Corel Prison excursion extra contrived, and add contrivance on top of contrivance so now I'm running around a Sector 7 clone, instead of a desolate desert wasteland, looking for enough Chocobo greens to proceed! Because you always have to collect some stupid MacGuffin to proceed: marching soldiers, bathing suits, greens, etc. Every town or new area you gotta do the thing you don't want to so you can proceed to the thing you presumably want to but it's just more of the thing you don't want to do.

I remember a lot more battles in FF7, like in every area and outside every town all there was to do was fight shit. Remember that? It could get annoying, but since this game's combat is supposedly so fun I'd like a moderate amount of it, please. I refurbish my party with the latest gear and I don't even have anything worthwhile to use it on. I think I've tinkered with it several times without actually facing anything to warrant it (it's just something to do every once in a while, and I didn't even bother with folios until now =). Come to think of it, the last three boss battles, spread between many wasted hours of collecting worthless filler objectives, were retreads from the previous game! Best game ever, right? It's starting to soil the legacy of the original for me, and I don't even mean the original FF7, but the previous Remake game.

No joke, I'd already done my Kombat League for the night yesterday, so rather than continue this crap I just went to bed so I'd be well-rested for work. A harsher indictment I cannot fathom.

 

[Lawliet]

@Griffith I’m honestly surprised you stuck with MK1 this long. Pretty much everyone I know has almost nothing but negative to say about it! It’s why I reinstalled MK11 when it came out instead. 11 was my 3rd most played game of ’23 according to PSN. What made MK1 click with you?

Anyway, I finished Dragon’s Dogma II. Not much to add to the impressions I posted earlier. A good solid game, despite being awkward and rough and insultingly badly written. I’d recommend it on a sale. 7/10.

 

[Griffith]

@Griffith I’m honestly surprised you stuck with MK1 this long. Pretty much everyone I know has almost nothing but negative to say about it! It’s why I reinstalled MK11 when it came out instead. 11 was my 3rd most played game of ’23 according to PSN. What made MK1 click with you?

I just play it and don't get caught up in the drama. I talked about this in my GotY post but while some complaints may be individually valid, it was rushed and imbalanced at launch and they're still bringing it up to speed essentially, all fair though not abnormal with fighters, the incessant complaining wasn't valid and was largely based around lack of extra features, premium skins and "customization" (essentially weirdo gamer politics about how much it costs to play dress up; remember when this was the acceptable compromise as opposed to pay-to-win?). It's been an issue with SF5, now SF6 and even Tekken 8. Costume 3 in SF6 costs over $100 for all characters (who needs this anyway? yeah, this shit's for suckers, don't get it), then Tekken 8 was supposedly the ultimate paragon and "MK1 killer" until it was allegedly bespoiled by its own premium DLC and battle pass, so now people are complaining about it too. This is a broader issue with gaming, especially fighting games, in which MK1 is caught up and unfortunately now a poster child for.

I'm also probably the only person that actually enjoys the BS RPG elements of Invasion mode (better than FF7R!), but I really only care about practicing and playing competitive matches so I could care less about all that other stuff. If you liked MK11, unless it was the extra features part, just ignore the noise, wait for vanilla MK1 to be on sale (I've yet to care about the DLC), and enjoy.

BTW, maybe the DLC part is about to change:

JK, I only care that Reptile shows off two new moves in the trailer, a teleport cancel and his acid spit looks completely different and full screen now. Reptile's back, baby!

 

[Lawliet]

I just play it and don't get caught up in the drama. I talked about this in my GotY post but while some complaints may be individually valid, it was rushed and imbalanced at launch and they're still bringing it up to speed essentially, all fair though not abnormal with fighters, the incessant complaining wasn't valid and was largely based around lack of extra features, premium skins and "customization" (essentially weirdo gamer politics about how much it costs to play dress up; remember when this was the acceptable compromise as opposed to pay-to-win?). It's been an issue with SF5, now SF6 and even Tekken 8. Costume 3 in SF6 costs over $100 for all characters (who needs this anyway? yeah, this shit's for suckers, don't get it), then Tekken 8 was supposedly the ultimate paragon and "MK1 killer" until it was allegedly bespoiled by its own premium DLC and battle pass, so now people are complaining about it too. This is a broader issue with gaming, especially fighting games, in which MK1 is caught up and unfortunately now a poster child for.

Makes sense, and I’m in the same position when it comes to MK11 now that I think about it. I love that game, and the same people think I’m weird for it, saying that it’s the worst one in the series by far (which I don’t get to be honest; I like it a lot more than X at least).

The main complaints I hear though were about the unusually disproportionate imbalance with the characters. My buddy is a Sub-Zero guy, and I’ve seen him pull off combos with (if I remember my numbers right) 30 hits with not even 50% damage, while characters like Ashrah take off a good 35% with not even half that (6 hits I think). Like, it sucks to play as good old Subby Z even on casual. I’m a Scorpion fan myself (no kidding, I played almost exclusively as Scorpion in my 200+ hours in MK11) and I’ve heard he is the second worst. It’s almost as if Ed Boon hates his series icons.

(Also, what’s up with Scorpion being Kuai Liang? Give me back Hanzo, Boon you troll!)

But yeah, purely on a gameplay front, it looks fun and I want to try it, but I’ll definitely wait for a sale, as you suggested.

BTW, maybe the DLC part is about to change:

JK, I only care that Reptile shows off two new moves in the trailer, a teleport cancel and his acid spit looks completely different and full screen now. Reptile's back, baby!

Maybe I should leave fake Scorpion behind and join the Reptile fan club haha.

 

[Griffith]

Final Fantasy VII: Chocobo Greens Hunter - Got past that bullshit and Barret's big arc, which, again, was more overwrought but not necessarily better, and now I'm back to the alternate reality shit that doesn't even reflect the original plot in any way, let alone mirror it. It seldom does mirror the original, not that it always has to, but if you change everything, even slightly, it eventually becomes something else altogether. Anyway, I have a bad feeling about this fuckery and that dumb ghost asshole. They're gonna fuck this up.

Makes sense, and I’m in the same position when it comes to MK11 now that I think about it. I love that game, and the same people think I’m weird for it, saying that it’s the worst one in the series by far

I almost brought up the unwarranted MK11 hate, even though I get why it's not everyone's cup of tea, but, it means a lot to me. MK11 during the pandemic brought me back in to MK and the FGC in a way I hadn't been since I was a teenager. I had played 9 and X, and SF4 and 5 etc, but very casually. I really dug the way 11 felt like a modern MK2, and I got good with Shang Tsung, started playing KL regularly and eventually even some online tournaments. It also got me to play MK9, X, and SF5 more seriously, get a fightstick(s), hitbox(es), etc. Aesthetically it felt like the closest thing to a modern version of the "photorealistic" pixels of the original trilogy, basically a modern version of digital scans of real people, the plot was fun, felt like the MK equivalent of Avengers Endgame or something (and they way they seemlessly incorporated movie Shang *chef's kiss*).

Everything in it is pretty top notch from a production value and quality of life standpoint. So, I have a lot of time logged and fond feelings about MK11, it really brought me back into the FGC fold more than I ever was before (which Wally cam attest to because i think we tried to play Street Fighter Alpha 2 online randomly and I was hapless).

The downsides to MK11? I was really holding a torch for Reptile and it does hurt it in my eyes that my main/favorite character was ultimately left out, the only MK2 character to be, but that's a personal issue (and I had Shang's Reptile slide and Reptile-skin Scorpion myself). Objectively, I can also see why the kombat doesn't hold up for many, myself included; it is very deliberately-paced and grounded, most of the special moves aren't too special by design, and it's relatively limited combo-wise and with all those breakers and defensive options. I get what they were trying to do to level the playing field between casual and hardcore players but it's just not what most people are used to or probably find fun about these games. People want to connect that one string to open up a 40-50% dial-a-combo! MK9, X, and 1 are great for that, obviously, so I can see why 11, despite being probably the best and most polished game/product in the franchise, is sort of the odd man out as a fighter.

The main complaints I hear though were about the unusually disproportionate imbalance with the characters. My buddy is a Sub-Zero guy, and I’ve seen him pull off combos with (if I remember my numbers rights) 30 hits with not even 50% damage, while characters like Ashrah take off a good 35% with not even half that (6 hits I think). Like, it sucks to play as good old Subby Z even on casual.

Yeah, this is has been the refrain of Sub mains since launch. I played Sub during the beta, he's a go-to sub for me, no pun intended, and he was really good but unfortunately they seriously nerfed his ice clone, mid and added a lot of damage reduction tied to his freezes (same for Reptile's force balls), which of course he does a lot. There's even memes of people doing 50-hit combos with him for miniscule damage, like how low can you go? BUT, that's obviously not optimal and you're better off doing less hits for more damage, which is a factor for every character. Everyone has damage reduction the longer you extend a combo, a point of finishing returns, and the crazy damage ones get the high damage early, thus why your optimal combos probably aren't going to be over 20 hits because that's when you really hit the ceiling. Anyway, long story short, Sub does have decent damage options now with the right kameo (he even had a vortex with Kung Lao, don't know if that's still viable), and he's also good online if you're patient, methodical, and good at reading your opponent, which are his strengths. I'm never feeling confident or gung-ho going against Sub-Zero because if you are he's going to bait and ice klone you to death.

I’m a Scorpion fan myself (no kidding, I played almost exclusively as Scorpion in my 200+ hours in MK11) and I’ve heard he is the second worst. It’s almost as if Ed Boon hates his series icons.

Eh, the jury is still out, he's placed high and even won some tourneys, so maybe not as bad as people thought (at the very least he can get big damage now). Again, I always assume when someone is playing Scorpion they know what they're doing. The main complaint I hear now is he's boring, BUT, he's also getting a new move along with at least Reptile and Rain (I thought Rain had enough moves already =).

(Also, what’s up with Scorpion being Kuai Liang? Give me back Hanzo, Boon you troll!)

He's really battling Liu Kang for the most important hero in the series since he's now donned the identities of BOTH the two most iconic characters. He's not a bad Scorpion either, very honorable I must say. BTW, Hanzo is already in the new canon and Bi-Han is destined to go dark, so you may not have to wait long for them all to return to their former identities.

But yeah, purely on a gameplay front, it looks fun and I want to try it, but I’ll definitely wait for as sale, as you suggested.

Yeah, the basic gameplay is fun, if a bit repetitive, but should still be evolving. Part of the problem with all these games is people are so good at finding everything and sharing that it can feel like we immediately know the optimal way to play and anything else is a waste of time, true or not.

Maybe I should leave fakeScorpion behind and join the Reptile fan club haha.

Well, he is the most fun to me, thankfully, but if you want to win with a ninja learn Smoke. I had the luxury of my favorite-to-play character also being the one I was best with in MK11.

 

[Dar_Klink]

I still need to finish Rebirth... Unicorn Overlord completely overtook me, as well as this indie game Voices of the Void.

In UO, I am doing the Bastorias quests right now, having a lot of fun but I sometimes get frustrated messing with groups, I have a few people too overleveled and a lot that are not exactly underleveled but just not overpowered so I'm trying to balance my teams a bit but I think I need to grind a bit for the lower guys since some are struggling to be useful(mainly Bruno my Berserker feels hard to place into a team without feeling un-needed). Managing groups is a lot of fun but does take a lot of time if you want to shake things up. I have my Cav unit that destroys most things (Great Knight, Great Knight, Sainted Knight, and then a Witch or another support type) and then my Alain unit that I pop people into and out of depending on the situation. I find myself wanting to just barely win most fights instead of plowing through them even though I easily could but find sometimes I end up with either "completely destroys with no damage taken," "dies to everything" or "does 3 damage but takes no damage" as the outcomes a lot. Either way, even with spending so much time on unit building rather than straight-up gameplay the game is a blast.

I had a lot of fun beating the entire Colosseum with characters mostly in the 20-25 level range since you just need to win the battle, not kill all the enemies. So I'd have fun figuring out how to disable the enemies to the point where enemies 10-20 levels above me could do almost nothing. Using a thief/rogue of course makes it almost too easy but I mostly just messed around with freeze/stun along with good tactics set-ups. Currently trying to see if I can beat the boss that gives you the ultimate sword for Alain using units in their late 20s/early 30s, which is tough since you actually need to kill him instead of just winning the encounter.

As for Voices of the Void, it's a game where you're in a remote station that researches deep space signals to send back to another research lab via drone. The main stuff you'll be doing is finding signals with a detector, downloading them, processing them, putting them on cassette drives, then shipping them off in a box. You'll also be asked daily to send codes from 3 random stations located around your main base that you'll have to drive/walk out to to get and write down on a paper to send with the drives. Some servers at your station and the remote stations go down so you may also have to go out and repair them.

During this gameplay there's a pretty good creepy atmosphere as you listen to creepy deep space signals and some random and some story-related surreal/creepy events happen related to cryptids and aliens. You also have to keep up on sleeping/eating.

Either way, all that said, it's really fun/addictive, it has just the right level of simulation/survival elements to not be super annoying, all the things you do such as moving cassettes from one station to another is manual as far as picking it up and moving it rather than just button presses. It takes some getting used to and some of the stuff can be hard to figure out but the tutorial does help a lot with that and I think it will get more intuitive over time since it's a "pre-alpha" game.

https://mrdrnose.itch.io/votv

I will try to pull myself away from UO for a day to finish up 7 Rebirth, which I just burnt myself out on doing all the extra fights/exploration right before what I'm sure is the final stretch. I want to get on the FF16 DLC as well which came out last Thursday(and finish the previous DLC).

 

[Aazealh]

I've been meaning to write a review of UO but just haven't found the time yet...

In UO, I am doing the Bastorias quests right now, having a lot of fun but I sometimes get frustrated messing with groups, I have a few people too overleveled and a lot that are not exactly underleveled but just not overpowered so I'm trying to balance my teams a bit but I think I need to grind a bit for the lower guys since some are struggling to be useful(mainly Bruno my Berserker feels hard to place into a team without feeling un-needed). Managing groups is a lot of fun but does take a lot of time if you want to shake things up.

Unit management and tuning is really the heart of the game once you reach the midway point (and before that too, honestly), and I'd say spending the time to build 8-10 proper units that are all super solid is worth the investment. You can get away with some only being useful for specific scenarios but IMO you might as well just make them as good as you can.

For Bruno, there's really only two cases: undying tank that counters or back row damage dealer. Personally I like the second option better, and it can work decently if you give him Truestrike and a damage boost or guaranteed critical. Sadly I don't like Grand Smash very much, I think Wide Smash is a better ability, so I'd stick with that. Overall Gladiators aren't among my favorite classes, but they can be made useful.

I had a lot of fun beating the entire Colosseum with characters mostly in the 20-25 level range since you just need to win the battle, not kill all the enemies. So I'd have fun figuring out how to disable the enemies to the point where enemies 10-20 levels above me could do almost nothing. Using a thief/rogue of course makes it almost too easy but I mostly just messed around with freeze/stun along with good tactics set-ups. Currently trying to see if I can beat the boss that gives you the ultimate sword for Alain using units in their late 20s/early 30s, which is tough since you actually need to kill him instead of just winning the encounter.

My team was level 32-33 when I got him I think, about the same for Amalia. And I also had a lot of fun with the Coliseum, online fights and all, but it does get old relatively quickly.

 

[Walter]

(mainly Bruno my Berserker feels hard to place into a team without feeling un-needed)

Bruno has been one of my favorites, because he can just absolutely turn the tables on an encounter with one swing. I've given him a bunch of strength based items and I've also boosted his evasion (just in case). And he's in my favorite team: The reformed Tricorns (of course!)—Travis up front, Bruno behind him, with a mage and Berengaria(Act 2 Spoilers) on either side. I've recently added a fifth, but they're inconsequential honestly. This team has been extremely effective throughout most of the game. Travis' insane evasion makes them really tough to touch, and the back row hits hard. They only struggle a bit with duelists. They're my second best after Alain's, and in the important missions, they consistently do most of the work.

I've also really taken a liking to Breakers (hammer users) after ignoring them most of the game. I've leveled Kitra up and given her every initiative boosting item I can, so that she will regularly ONE SHOT someone in the opening volley, then get that AP restored, ready to use for another big swing after she gets self-buffed from other allies being attacked. It's a beautiful thing.

The running theme here: Kitra and Bruno have both dealt out attacks that were so ruinous that it made me bust out laughing.

I'm in Bastorias, too. Around Lv 28. Been taking it pretty slowly, a mission or two a night. At this stage, I probably have spent equal time messing around in menus optimizing my teams and doing mock battles to test stuff as I have in battle.