Weapons Throwing RPG 2 Follow-Up
Mar. 5th, 2018 08:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroAs of February 2018, they finally released the “Heaven” area, with lots of new things to unlock. My original review is here.
A lot of the game's economy breaks down in the final two areas: The only thing you really can spend gold on is the blacksmith, and you get a lot of trash items which you can only pawn for gold. Which means that “gold box” slimes are only useful as a respite, but at least they're still better than treasure chests, which seem to contain the same random item selection as in every other part of the game: It's all stuff you've had for a very long time that's totally useless. For that matter, the random drops from common enemies in the Heaven area are all pretty much useless: They're either Elixirs / Goddess Potions (which are not useful at all) or third-tier weapons that you've already had for a long while. I was expecting a new round of accessories (+50% stat-boosters and the like), but that doesn't appear until the post-game area as the rare drops.
This means that for the majority of time spent playing stage 8, you're hoping for random drops from bosses while you grind for XP and maybe red gems. The first game let you buy red gems for an obscene price in the endgame, and that actually balanced the economy much better. I found myself hoping there was an extra town after 8-8, and yes, though the Arena was much more useful than the town turned out to be.
My loadout didn't change much going into the new levels: The Thievery Ring and BP Thievery Ring were critical, and I ended up swapping off a speed-booster with my drop-improving pendants. Having a dagger with Single-Strike Blade made a huge difference in the later stages or in just reducing time spent grinding. At higher levels, I abandoned armor (the % bonuses were much better than static ones by that point) and I realized how useful the Speed Bracelet was.
The “main game” officially ends after you clear 8-8, but there’s a post-game story, additional arena and a full addition set of levels with their own random drops.
6-1 Brown: Trishula (#59), Red: Thievery Ring (#50)
6-2 Brown: Celestial Arrow (#30). Red: Arrow Of Artemis (#31)
6-3 Brown: Magical Garment (#12), Red: BP Thievery Ring (#53)
6-4 Brown: Giant's Axe (#74), Red: Ax of Lemuria (#83)
6-5 Brown: Sword Breaker (#12). Red: Sword of Oroboros (#14)
6-6 Brown: Gigant Hammer (#101), Red: Hammer of Atlas (#102)
6-7 Brown: Ruler's Armor (#13), Red: Sword of Vanaheimr (#49)
7-1 Brown: Sword Breaker (#12), Red: Sword of Mag Mell (#13)
7-2 Brown: Trishula (#65), Red: Spear of Misteltein (#66)
7-3 Brown: Gigant Hammer (#101), Red: Hammer Of Mjolnir (#103)
7-4 Brown: Masamune (#47), Red: Sword Of Zothique (#48)
7-5 Brown: Magical Garment (#12), Red: Dark Orb (#111)
7-6 Brown: Celestial Arrow (#30), Red: Arrow Of Apollo (#32)
7-7 Brown: Trishula (#65), Red: Spear of Brionac (#67)
7-8 Brown: Dark Lord’s Robe (#14), Red: Axe of Yusdaril (#84)
8-1 Brown: Aura Arrow (#34),* Red: Arrow of Phoenix (#35)
8-2 Brown: Thievery Ring (#50), Red: Speed Bracelet (#84)
8-3 Brown: Punisher (#105),* Red: Hammer of Fenrir (#106)
8-4 Brown: Excalibur (#52), Red: Sword of Gram (#53)
8-5 Brown: Angel's Robe (#15), Red: Devine Sphere (#112)
8-6 Brown: Azoth (#17), Red: Sword of Jormungand (#18)
8-7 Brown: Vajrayana (#69),* Red: Spear of Areadbhar (#70)
8-8 Brown: Rune Ax (#88), Red: Ax of Forselia
*The Heaven Arena also offers these as prizes.
The Ex-stages include what I called “special enemies,” copies of your party members who are worth extra experience and have their own set of special rare drops.
9-1 Brown: Platinum Bangle (#20), Red: Heaven Bracelet
Random enemy drops: Rune Ax (#88), Spear of Misteltein (#66), Gigant Hammer (#101), Celestial Arrow (#30), Masamune (#47), Excalibur (#52).
Hunter (special enemy) Brown: Arrow of Artemis (#31), Red: Arrow of Apollo (#32)
9-2 Brown: Sky Pirate's Hat, Red: Heaven Helmet (#76)
Random enemy drops: Celestial Arrow (#30).
Mercenary (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: Spear of Brionac (#67)
9-3 Brown: Harpy Feather, Red: Cryptid's Tail (#79)
Random enemy drops: Titan Hammer (#100), Gigant Hammer (#101), Punisher (#105), Sword Breaker (#12), Azoth (#17)
Summoner (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-4 Brown: Feather Shoes, Red: Heaven Boots
Random enemy drops: Celestial Arrow (#30), Aura Arrow (#34), Sword Breaker (#12), Azoth (#17), Punisher (#105), Gigant Hammer (#101)
Beastmaster (special enemy) Brown: Ax of Lemuria (#83), Red: Axe of Yusdaril (#84)
9-5 Brown: Holy Gauntlet (#28), Red: Heaven Gauntlet (#77)
Random enemy drops: Rune Ax (#88), Gigant Hammer (#101)
Swordsman (special enemy) Brown: Sword Of Zothique (#48), Red: ???
9-6 Brown: Aegis Shield, Red: Heaven Shield
Maid (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-7 Brown: ??? Red: Vampire Ring (#91)
Witch (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-8 Brown: Ruler's Armor (#13), Red: Heaven Armor
Siloe (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-9 Brown: ??? Red: Ruler's Crest
If you beat the boss of 9-9, you get a final cutscene and 50 red gems. If you beat all four versions of every stage (get a star over everything), you can fight a final level 700 Master in the Heaven Arena.
Overall: The new update easily doubles the length of the game, though the pacing is iffy at best. And I really wish I had something to do with all of my gold (buying red gems, hint hint) in the later stages.
A lot of the game's economy breaks down in the final two areas: The only thing you really can spend gold on is the blacksmith, and you get a lot of trash items which you can only pawn for gold. Which means that “gold box” slimes are only useful as a respite, but at least they're still better than treasure chests, which seem to contain the same random item selection as in every other part of the game: It's all stuff you've had for a very long time that's totally useless. For that matter, the random drops from common enemies in the Heaven area are all pretty much useless: They're either Elixirs / Goddess Potions (which are not useful at all) or third-tier weapons that you've already had for a long while. I was expecting a new round of accessories (+50% stat-boosters and the like), but that doesn't appear until the post-game area as the rare drops.
This means that for the majority of time spent playing stage 8, you're hoping for random drops from bosses while you grind for XP and maybe red gems. The first game let you buy red gems for an obscene price in the endgame, and that actually balanced the economy much better. I found myself hoping there was an extra town after 8-8, and yes, though the Arena was much more useful than the town turned out to be.
My loadout didn't change much going into the new levels: The Thievery Ring and BP Thievery Ring were critical, and I ended up swapping off a speed-booster with my drop-improving pendants. Having a dagger with Single-Strike Blade made a huge difference in the later stages or in just reducing time spent grinding. At higher levels, I abandoned armor (the % bonuses were much better than static ones by that point) and I realized how useful the Speed Bracelet was.
The “main game” officially ends after you clear 8-8, but there’s a post-game story, additional arena and a full addition set of levels with their own random drops.
6-1 Brown: Trishula (#59), Red: Thievery Ring (#50)
6-2 Brown: Celestial Arrow (#30). Red: Arrow Of Artemis (#31)
6-3 Brown: Magical Garment (#12), Red: BP Thievery Ring (#53)
6-4 Brown: Giant's Axe (#74), Red: Ax of Lemuria (#83)
6-5 Brown: Sword Breaker (#12). Red: Sword of Oroboros (#14)
6-6 Brown: Gigant Hammer (#101), Red: Hammer of Atlas (#102)
6-7 Brown: Ruler's Armor (#13), Red: Sword of Vanaheimr (#49)
7-1 Brown: Sword Breaker (#12), Red: Sword of Mag Mell (#13)
7-2 Brown: Trishula (#65), Red: Spear of Misteltein (#66)
7-3 Brown: Gigant Hammer (#101), Red: Hammer Of Mjolnir (#103)
7-4 Brown: Masamune (#47), Red: Sword Of Zothique (#48)
7-5 Brown: Magical Garment (#12), Red: Dark Orb (#111)
7-6 Brown: Celestial Arrow (#30), Red: Arrow Of Apollo (#32)
7-7 Brown: Trishula (#65), Red: Spear of Brionac (#67)
7-8 Brown: Dark Lord’s Robe (#14), Red: Axe of Yusdaril (#84)
8-1 Brown: Aura Arrow (#34),* Red: Arrow of Phoenix (#35)
8-2 Brown: Thievery Ring (#50), Red: Speed Bracelet (#84)
8-3 Brown: Punisher (#105),* Red: Hammer of Fenrir (#106)
8-4 Brown: Excalibur (#52), Red: Sword of Gram (#53)
8-5 Brown: Angel's Robe (#15), Red: Devine Sphere (#112)
8-6 Brown: Azoth (#17), Red: Sword of Jormungand (#18)
8-7 Brown: Vajrayana (#69),* Red: Spear of Areadbhar (#70)
8-8 Brown: Rune Ax (#88), Red: Ax of Forselia
*The Heaven Arena also offers these as prizes.
The Ex-stages include what I called “special enemies,” copies of your party members who are worth extra experience and have their own set of special rare drops.
9-1 Brown: Platinum Bangle (#20), Red: Heaven Bracelet
Random enemy drops: Rune Ax (#88), Spear of Misteltein (#66), Gigant Hammer (#101), Celestial Arrow (#30), Masamune (#47), Excalibur (#52).
Hunter (special enemy) Brown: Arrow of Artemis (#31), Red: Arrow of Apollo (#32)
9-2 Brown: Sky Pirate's Hat, Red: Heaven Helmet (#76)
Random enemy drops: Celestial Arrow (#30).
Mercenary (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: Spear of Brionac (#67)
9-3 Brown: Harpy Feather, Red: Cryptid's Tail (#79)
Random enemy drops: Titan Hammer (#100), Gigant Hammer (#101), Punisher (#105), Sword Breaker (#12), Azoth (#17)
Summoner (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-4 Brown: Feather Shoes, Red: Heaven Boots
Random enemy drops: Celestial Arrow (#30), Aura Arrow (#34), Sword Breaker (#12), Azoth (#17), Punisher (#105), Gigant Hammer (#101)
Beastmaster (special enemy) Brown: Ax of Lemuria (#83), Red: Axe of Yusdaril (#84)
9-5 Brown: Holy Gauntlet (#28), Red: Heaven Gauntlet (#77)
Random enemy drops: Rune Ax (#88), Gigant Hammer (#101)
Swordsman (special enemy) Brown: Sword Of Zothique (#48), Red: ???
9-6 Brown: Aegis Shield, Red: Heaven Shield
Maid (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-7 Brown: ??? Red: Vampire Ring (#91)
Witch (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-8 Brown: Ruler's Armor (#13), Red: Heaven Armor
Siloe (special enemy) Brown: ???, Red: ???
9-9 Brown: ??? Red: Ruler's Crest
If you beat the boss of 9-9, you get a final cutscene and 50 red gems. If you beat all four versions of every stage (get a star over everything), you can fight a final level 700 Master in the Heaven Arena.
Overall: The new update easily doubles the length of the game, though the pacing is iffy at best. And I really wish I had something to do with all of my gold (buying red gems, hint hint) in the later stages.
