Let's Play Atelier Rorona! Update 13, Part 1
Welcome back to Atelier Rorona!
This is going to be a big update for pretty much one reason - here at the end, there's a whole lot of people who have a lot of things to say to us. But that's not to say that it's all talk and no action...
I'm going to start off by talking about the assignment. (Unfortunately, this is going to get a bit wall-of-text. But, well, the screenshots would be pretty boring.)
I didn't really think of it in these terms until after something Valtiel said in the rpg.net thread, but there's two ways to approach this - the game mechanics, or in-universe reasons. I'm going to start with the latter. And this in turn ends up divided into another two approaches - the Astrid path and the Rorona path.
The Rorona path is to take the request seriously, and select an item that has some fundamental importance to alchemy, or represents the height of what's possible in some area of practice, or something like that..
And when I think of something fundamental, it has to be the Supplement. Simplest and most humble creation of the art, yet it's infinite versatility makes it fundamental to (a large number of) the greater mysteries.
Well. That wasn't quite what I was hoping for.
Let's try a different tack. No one can deny that items for combat make up a vital part of the alchemist's repertoire - both because of the dangers the alchemist's customers seek aid in handling, and the ones the alchemist themself faces in pursuit of their craft. So, what of our Dragon Statues and Blitz Symbols, which have proven their worth against numerous foes?
6 stars and 7 stars, as it turns out. Respectable efforts, but not quite satisfying. Perhaps the Mystery Ankh, an item with restorative properties that let us stand toe-to-toe with some of the strongest enemies in the land?
7 stars again. We seem to be in a rut. Perhaps a Victory Charm? It may be a specialized tool, but it's a very useful specialty.
Why, that'd be 7 stars again! Accessories in general seem to have difficulty getting past this point. And weapons and armor, not being exclusively an example of our craft, don't qualify.
And speaking of things that aren't our craft...
Valtiel wrote: I assume you can't just give them Hom.
Nobody else is laying their hands on our cute little Homhom!
*ahem* Moving on. Valtiel also suggested (along with Bira) the Ruby Prism.
That and Gold both get 8 stars. Well, it's a step up, but I don't feel satisfied. Together, they represent a major achievement, but they're also... pretty specialized, for the most part. I'm not sure I like this for a representation of us as an alchemist.
(Also they're really expensive, so I don't want to give any away.)
So, that's all I've got for the Rorona path. What about the Astrid path?
This Elixir is a perfect example - it gets 6 stars, nearly as good as some of our best items. It's not really good for much of anything - in fact this one was just made for practice, without even caring if it'd succeed or not. But it's eye-catching, so it got noticed. So what if we play that up?
We get this. It's elaborate and fancy, but basically useless - every trait on it is either pointless in this context, or actively gets in the way. It gets 10 stars.
The Astrid path is appeasement - it doesn't really need to be anything with fundamental signficance, it just needs to look impressive.
And that brings us to the mechanics side of things. Here's the evaluation screen after turning in that Elixir.
As you can see, half the stars (and possibly a bit more, since there are hidden fractions) come just from the level of the item. There aren't many things in Rorona's repertoire that go above even level 30, so the jump up to level 37 is a big deal here. Ruby Prism and Gold both get six stars from this, with their levels being 40 and 42. (Oddly, I got 7 stars there for a Purifier, which is also level 40. Maybe there's some other hidden factor at work here.)
The rest is quality and traits. And while it might be possible to get more than two-and-a-fraction stars in either category, it seems like you could put a lot of effort into it and not match the results of just making an Elixir with whatever you've got lying around. Even if you had to savescum a bit for a success the difference from level is just too big.
Looking at it like this, it makes Ruby Prism and Gold start looking pretty silly options too. To 10-star with one, you'd pretty much have to put the traits on an Elixir anyway, and if you're doing that, you can just turn the Elixir in and save the rest of your good stuff.
And of course, there's the lazy path - if level alone can give you so much, why not just grab a Mont Blanc from Iksel's regular stock and turn that in? Other than your pride as an alchemist, that is. It's only five stars, but that's enough for some purposes.
I went off to the Dark Woods to see if there was a boss enemy there.
And there was, but the screenshots are all so dark that you can't see much of anything. I wish I knew what was making that happen.
Anyway, it's called Witch Rose, and it's a lot like a bigger, but less mean Grow Plantze.
I say "less mean", because despite it being a lot tougher, most of the time it does this attack. It can stun and poison at the same time, but it usually does neither, and since it only hits one party member it's not particularly threatening.
It can do the fireball launching thing too, but it usually doesn't. This one didn't take too long.
Back in town, it looks like there's another game of Hide and Seek going.
There might be a problem with your brilliant plan...
Wait, let me rephrase that. There might be several problems with your brilliant plan.
Well, you aren't ruined from the beginning, at least. Still... maybe the three of you should consider playing a different game, is all I'm saying.
Meow!
Looks like this cat has adopted Non.
Us? Well, we're...you know? Hmhmhm...
I'm kind of curious, too...
Looks like things have been patched up over here.
Over in Factory Way, I don't think this cat was here before.
Cats everywhere... hehehe.
... Were you supposed to have taught us something?
Laura's home! Since it's so close to the end, you'll stick around now, right?
(Nope. Sigh.)
Here you go. It's a souvenir from our last trip.
Received Dragon Tusk x1,
Dragon Scale x1, and
Dark Dew x1.
Unlike most of what they've brought us, this stuff actually is rare. Theoretically, anyway.
I was just dropping in to buy something from Iksel's shop, but there was a scene...
Oh, y-yeah...
You don't look too happy. I thought you'd be celebrating by now.
Your job's finally gonna be over, right? You're gonna be free to go.
I know...but the more I think about it, the more nervous I get...
I keep thinking about the worst thing that can happen...
You haven't changed a bit in that regard.
I realize that...
You got through these past three years. You should be more confident in yourself.
More confident...?
If anything, we'll hire you at the restaurant. You can be a waitress.
What do you think?
A waitress...?
I kind of like that idea...
But I wanna wear a cute uniform...
Yeah, alright. We should ask your master to make your uniform. I think she'd love to do that.
She'd probably be good at it too.
Nevermind! I'm sorry, I'll just stick with being an alchemist.
Come on, was the swimsuit that bad? I think she'd probably come up with something suitable for this too.
Here I made one last visit to Traveler's Way, to check out the remaining branch.
Even though it says "Scoop water", you can't actually do it.
This guy doesn't chase you or anything, he's just staring at the well. You can't get any without beating him. Like the one in the Dark Woods, it's a free source of unlimited 60 quality water.
Using a Meteor to blow up a rock looks really weird. It might actually be a good option if you don't have the Secret Bag though, since you get multiple uses out of one inventory space.
At first I thought this was a farmhouse in the background, like it showed on the map around this area. Then I saw the blades and realized it was one of the windmills.
There wasn't anything else interesting here, so I reloaded a save from before coming out here.
Sigh... isn't there anything out there to give us a challenge?
Well, there is this bit past the dragon that we hadn't fully explored.
And the first thing we're greeted with is a gathering point with a super-high-quality pebble. That would have been useful a few months ago, maybe.
(Actually, I do wonder if the high-quality pebbles actually were put here specifically for people to use them to make gold. Pebbles of any quality hadn't shown up for a while before.)
Another long bridge of those odd blocks. There's some wolves and birds hanging around too, though I'd already beaten them up by the time I took this screenshot.
And a Black Fang waiting at the end to block our path. But... what's that red glow about?
What the hell is that.
(The first time I came through here, I seriously did not notice that before getting over to the end of the bridge, even though it's clearly visible for most of it. Don't ask me what I was paying attention to.)
So, that was Dark Sign. o.O What are they keeping up here?
You can't really tell in screenshots, but these rock cylinders are sort of spinning around the platform we're on, and it's much faster than anything in the earlier areas. Feels a bit like we're inside some kind of motor.
Who leaves a bear trap in a place like this?
To one side, a Black Fang is guarding a chest with a Witch Salve.
And on the other side, one of the most mixed groups I've seen in this zone is blocking another chest. I forgot to pick it up*, but it's a healing salve.
*Due to something that happens later, I'm going to say now that I really, truly did forget to grab this chest.
We cross a narrow section, surrounded by more spinning rocks...
Some of which can end up completely blocking the camera, which isn't something I've seen anywhere else in the game.
And reach a big open section. There's a chest there too, but no enemies.
Also, that's a lie. When you get too close, there's a crackling noise...
The ground crackles and glows red...
And from the darkness...
Something emerges.
Rorona doesn't like the look of this one at all. (Since we're level 50, it's safe to say this isn't like what happened in Orthogalaxen - she'll react this way no matter what. Also unlike that, there's no dialogue.)
There's no escaping from this fight - win or lose, we're committed until the end.
The Demon has four arms. One holding a book, one a sword... and the other two mostly just wave around dramatically.
So, if it's a demon, the Angel Shot should be the most effective, right?
...You're letting me down here, Rorona.
It can attack with it's sword, doing some damage and healing itself. It actually did this a lot more this time around than I'm used to seeing.
Usually it would just do this right off the bat.
It actually does more damage than it looks like, because not all the damage numbers appear at once. Cory's getting off easy because she's blocking for Rorona. That skill of hers is just incredible for defense. Still, something feels a bit different...
Getting hit by this attack has made the cost of skills triple. Cory's not really hurt though, since hers are pretty cheap to start with.
Lionela, on the other hand, isn't so lucky. Even her weakest heal is going to use almost an eighth of her own HP. But to really gain ground we need to use Aranya Recovery, and that's almost a quarter. Looks like it's time for Rorona to step in with her stock of recovery items.
...
Or not.
At least Rorona's skill costs are still normal, since she hasn't gotten hit by that attack yet. Angel Shot actually did some pretty good damage this time around too. (Though I'm not sure what that -81 is from. When I used the same skill later, only the one big damage number appeared.)
But that's not the only trick it's got up it's sleeve.
"Cure"? I'm gonna be honest, I have no idea what the point of this move is.
Water element is strong enough that Lionela's new attack move opened up, so I decided to try it. This was a mistake.
It certainly does look cool. (Pun unintended.) But as an AoE attack, it's not really great against a single enemy.
Also, it seems to have made the Demon mad.
This is another one that hurts more than it looks, though once again Cory got off easy by letting Rorona get off easy. Lionela, though, was taken from 186 HP to 71.
And then it chopped off some more.
This is it. If this doesn't work, we're probably going to lose Lionela...
And... it worked.
The Demon stumbles to the ground, losing it's grasp on both book and sword.
(It might be a bad idea for us to try and steal the book now.)
The mask falls away. (Eeew- Hey, if it's got one eye like that, how can it see wearing the mask?)
And finally the whole thing dissolves into a cloud of darkness and boils away.
Cory's definitely earned that smug look today.
Since it's pretty cool (and screenshots don't do some of it justice), video here.
The drops are pretty interesting, at least thematically - one each of Dark Coral, Dark Dew, Midnight Flower, and Shadow Grass. In other words, all the "dark" ingredients.
I find myself once again wondering if selling Dark Dew was really such a good idea.
Oh, and the chest?
You could probably use this to satsify Esty's last request, but it leads to some odd mental images.
("Why does this dress have a spade-shaped tail?" "... No reason.")
After heading home, I figured that maybe some of our other friends had new conversations like Iksel did, so I went around to everyone. First Cory...
Um, I'm not sure, but they asked me to bring the innermost secret of alchemy.
That's a vague request...
So what are you gonna do?
Are you gonna be okay?
Well...yeah, I'll be fine. I think...
And where are you getting that confidence from? Oh well, if you say so, I won't worry about you.
*sigh* Finally, you won't have to drag me around anymore.
I'm sorry for making you help me all this time.
Don't mention it.
I actually enjoyed most of it.
But you sounded like you were complaining?
I don't think I could've done all this without your help.
Thank you, Cory. Really.
Huh? Stop it!
Don't get all sappy on me now!
Anyway, you had my help all this time, so you better go through with it!
Or else!
I'm gonna do my best.
I'm gonna save the workshop.
And Lionela...
Hi, Liona.
What's wrong?
Umm...I heard that you started your last assignment...
Yeah, I just got it a little while ago. They told me to bring them the innermost secret of alchemy.
Oh...umm...I'm so sorry!
o.O?
What? Why?
You were going through such hard times, but all I did was cause more trouble for you...
Oh, don't worry about it. I did that because I wanted to. Plus, that was all because of Master...
Anyway, you helped a lot too! So it's only fair for us to help in return.
See? I told you, you shouldn't worry.
But you should.
Quiet, you.
I'll do anything to help you through this.
...Thank you, but don't worry.
I'll do my best to pass!
Time for one more trip to Orthogalaxen.
This exit on floor 13 leads to the floor with the Emerald Plate, but there's another path to the right here that I hadn't gone down.
There's really a ton of Gargoyles here.
Towards the end we're going up...
And it actually looks like it on the map too. Too bad that's not always a good way to predict where an exit will go.
Floor 15 starts with a three-way branch.
To the left, there's a bunch more Gargoyles. It's hard to see, but that chest has a yellow light on it, instead of green like most of them. Is this supposed to be like the "rare" gathering points?
Gotta admit, this one was pretty good.
And to the right, some Gold Punis have us in a pincer.
There's a yellow chest this way too.
I was less than impressed with the contents though.
And going down the middle takes us up. This is probably the closest I've been able to get to one of these spinning crystal things and the spinning pillar things that they're attached to.
Looks like this is the last floor. If the map is to be believed, we're going quite a ways further down.
The first thing you'll notice on floor 16 is the very claustrophobic camera.
As we go, the camera pulls out. It's still hard to see, but we're going down...
And down...
And down some more. There's been a couple chests, but no enemies.
Finally, the path levels out. It looks like there's something at the end there...
And another crackling noise alerts us to something barring the path.
Someone called upon the giant robot!
It's actually shown falling in from above several different angles.
It lights up one eager eye... (okay, so it's the only eye it has)... and the fight is on! This battle is also inescapable.
The Iron Giant is a simpler enemy than the Demon, but I'd rate it as more dangerous. It doesn't have any life drains, it doesn't do any fancy tricks to mess with your skills.
It just punches really hard, and with a defense down effect that means it can hit you even harder next time. (Though the effect doesn't seem to be as dramatic as in the fight with Scarlet.)
It can also bash everyone in the party with the iron ball on it's right arm for some good damage. Once again we don't have any healing items... good thing Lionela will get a turn to top herself up before it gets to attack again.
After you do a certain amount of damage, this happens. I'm not sure what it is, it doesn't look like it gets a stat boost or anything.
It didn't use this move until after that, but I think I've seen it happen earlier in the fight before.
Gotta love Cory's defense assist against AoE attacks.
A few times during the fight, I used normal attacks instead of skills to help reduce the healing load on Lionela.
When it's HP got low, it did this dramatic charge up...
And pretty much just beat the hell out of Lionela. This move looks suspiciously similar to one Gio used during the Martial Contest...
This has led me to conclude that the robot belongs to him.
But it's strength was already running out. Cory leaps over and pummels it some...
And that was all it wanted.. It collapses, covered in soot from what looked like something inside exploding.
Uh... might not want to touch it though. Looks like there's still live current in there.
Or you could salvage it for materials. Okay, sure, whatever works. Three Gold is probably the most valuable treasure anything in the entire game has ever dropped.
Oh, and that yellow chest behind it?
A beehive.
This is Orthogalaxen!
Video for this fight is here.
Here's another place where we're close to one of those pillars. This one came out better in screenshot though.
Continued in Part 2...