OFFICAL FF13-2 THREAD (Use spoilertags plz)

[Rowan]

I just started mine today... and I'm disappointed as I predicted that I'd be. Me, and my boyfriend who was with me at the time, weren't as blown away by the cut-scenes and action sequences as we thought we'd be. Might be some spoilers ahead, but you wouldn't be missing much in less than an hours worth of game play.

I also felt very disoriented by the way it just sort of puts you straight into the action, in what feels like a dozen chapters through a story. I know I'll probably come to learn who and where everything is if I keep playing, but I felt it was too much too soon. I'm sitting here wondering what Nahalla is, and some kid starts falling from the sky. Then I'm on Odin, fighting something chasing Lightening and the kid. Then Lightening is apparently dead, Serah knows "the truth", and Snow isn't with his fiance (or wife?) to protect her during an attack on the village they live on. And I wasn't once blown away by it.

In fact, I was frustrated and bored with it before I'd even switched to Serah. Someone, please tell me it's worth continuing? Without spoilers, just in case.

I felt very similar. Keep playing, its worth it. The gameplay plays the biggest role in keeping people entertained. There are plenty of rewards for sidequests. The story will become less confusing as will the historia crux, you just need to invest more 'time' (lol) into the game for it to make more sense. its very unconventional in aspects that play to its advantage. As I said before, like you, at first I was confused and not impressed nor did I feel a connection to the characters, but the game became more enjoyable the more I played. If you dont like it after reaching chapter 3, then I think its safe to say you dont like it.

[Zargabaath]

I just started mine today... and I'm disappointed as I predicted that I'd be. Me, and my boyfriend who was with me at the time, weren't as blown away by the cut-scenes and action sequences as we thought we'd be. Might be some spoilers ahead, but you wouldn't be missing much in less than an hours worth of game play.

I also felt very disoriented by the way it just sort of puts you straight into the action, in what feels like a dozen chapters through a story. I know I'll probably come to learn who and where everything is if I keep playing, but I felt it was too much too soon. I'm sitting here wondering what Nahalla is, and some kid starts falling from the sky. Then I'm on Odin, fighting something chasing Lightening and the kid. Then Lightening is apparently dead, Serah knows "the truth", and Snow isn't with his fiance (or wife?) to protect her during an attack on the village they live on. And I wasn't once blown away by it.

In fact, I was frustrated and bored with it before I'd even switched to Serah. Someone, please tell me it's worth continuing? Without spoilers, just in case.

I share some sentiments with Rowan. I'm currently in the middle of Episode 4. The game does start off with everybody seeming to know everything there is about paradoxes which I felt should have taken some time to learn. There tends to be a lack of build-up in this game with some plot points. I differ from Rown because I feel that story gets sillier as it goes on and that Toriyama is working his "magic" the more the story is revealed. Not on the level that I found in FFXIII. This game's story seems to be slightly better, even though things started off well, it has deteriorated.

To me the gameplay is much better than the first. The inclusion of monsters is a great feature. If anything that should keep you hooked.

[Rowan]

I have begin to understand the story, but I also agree that its silly. For example.

Major spoilers. dont read unless you have played upto chapter 5 or something.

Spoiler: Caius motivation for antagonism is the fact that the timeline had been changed when lightning and crew defeated orphan all those years ago, to have the goddess grant mercy and free them from their L'cie fate and in doing so created a paradox in which Yeul was killed over and over in every different possible timeline which makes Caius want to destory time all together. That in itself is very farfetched. There are far too many hypocrisies in the game according the time travel guide as well. I really dont have the energy to explain this because its so incredbily complex, that might head just might implode. its to do along the lines of people cant die in the future if they are saved in the past, meaning that they never died in the first place (paradox, right?) but paradoxes cannot exist theoretically speaking. If you can see into the future and see someone die, then you cant save them in the past because what you saw then would not have been the future because you saved them so they didnt die etcetc these things are not possible in the world of time travel.

EDIT:

I want this. badly. FF13-2 DLC swimsuit. Gimme. Gimme now.

[Alpha]

Yeah, the beginning totally blows.

Between working full time and moving into a flat, I've squeezed like 3 or 4 hours into this since getting it in release day (**** you to everyone who's finished).

I have a question. Is there any point to 'catching em all'? I spent like 40 minutes getting a rare monster crystal, and the thing isn't even as good as what I already had in that role. Do I bother catching everything? Is there a trophy/rare infuse-able abilities?

[Andromeda]

Yeah, the beginning totally blows.

Between working full time and moving into a flat, I've squeezed like 3 or 4 hours into this since getting it in release day (**** you to everyone who's finished).

I have a question. Is there any point to 'catching em all'? I spent like 40 minutes getting a rare monster crystal, and the thing isn't even as good as what I already had in that role. Do I bother catching everything? Is there a trophy/rare infuse-able abilities?

To answer your question, no there is no trophy for collecting all of the monsters or infusing. There is one trophy for capturing a specific monster, but that is the only. If you're only a few hours in it is not like you're going to find amazing monsters yet. But also keep in mind that most monsters won't start out looking great. Like your characters, they have to built up to actually be good. In addition, combining and mixing and matching monsters with infusion will help you get the type of monster you want. Anything you capture during battle can be re-captured. So the only thing you'll be out is the materials and if the monster you infused helped make another one even better, you're not really out anything.

I'm a bad judge on being confused by the story, since I've followed the game since it was announced and read all of the supplementary material about FFXIII before going into the game. So I already knew what Valhalla was and everything that was going on. The only thing that was still a mystery at the start was why Caius was going around doing stuff.

But everything does get explained in the course of the game. The game's a lot of fun and the story and characters are interesting to follow.

[Zargabaath]

I'm a bad judge on being confused by the story, since I've followed the game since it was announced and read all of the supplementary material about FFXIII before going into the game. So I already knew what Valhalla was and everything that was going on. The only thing that was still a mystery at the start was why Caius was going around doing stuff.

I don't think it is confusion as much as even in the first episode NORA was talking like they had a fundamental understanding of time paradoxes. Time Travel is hard to understand because of its complexity. They and everyone talked about it as if it were kindergarten knowledge. If anything it is confusing because they don't explain how everyone got so smart. Having mysteries in the beginning of the game is nothing new or inherently bad for RPGs (Ex: FFX or Xenogears). But making something trivial when it shouldn't be is poor. That's how I feel at least.

[Andromeda]

It is certainly true that I felt the characters spoke with too much certainty. I think it is probably a case of poor direction. My guess is that the characters are just making guesses, but the voice actors come off sounding way too confident in what they are talking about. The only one that should really be able speak with confidence is the kid labeled a "genius".

The matter you've brought up can be simplified a bit, Rowan. You might not have reached the point where they explain, but I'll put it in spoilers and leave it up to you decide.

Spoiler: The short of it is that when history changes Yuel is forced to see the future. Etro's intervention and Serah and Noel's journey are indirectly killing Yuel. Caius is trying to prevent this, but additionally he's also wanting a world where time doesn't exist so Yuel can't die. The long of it. Etro's actions are not causing Yuel to die in the method you're explaining. The way it works is that seeing the future eats away your life, see it too many times you die. Yuel being who she is, is destined to die early because of this. When Etro interfered, it sent changes and ripples through all of the timeline, which meant Yuel had to see those changes. Shortening her life. Though additionally, because Serah and Noel are changing things, Yuel is forced to see those changes as well. So Serah and Noel are killing Yuel indirectly by their actions, which Etro began. Caius knows all of this and wants them to stop because they are killing her. Though that is just a part of it. He is also wanting to create a world where Yuel is able to live with no fear of death. That is his primary goal, the problems Noel and Serah are causing are complicating what he's doing and killing Yuel. Valhalla is such a place that he wants, it is the Unseen Realm. He wants to create a place like the Unseen Realm for Yuel.

Additionally, your bikini DLC you want is coming either the end of the month with the Sazh story DLC or in early March. I forget which, but they announced that Serah and Noel's next outfits would be coming soon.

[Alpha]

Alright then, is there something for completing the bestiary? I'm just wondering why they bothered including several rare enemies per location.

[Andromeda]

The variety is likely because of the fact that monsters have different stats, abilities and passives from each other. Two ravagers won't build the same way even if you use the same items on them. Because of that you will want to capture more than you would actually plan to ever field. The extras would be used in your infusions.

If you look at infusion suggestions for creating the "ultimate" commando it is a combination of like 7 or 8 monsters just to create the one that you would actually use in fighting. So it may seem like excess, but they are there for a reason.

Completing the bestiary is a quest, but you don't have to capture monsters to complete the bestiary quest. You just have to defeat one of every single monster in the entire game, which is a very long list of monsters.

[Gummy]

Alright then, is there something for completing the bestiary? I'm just wondering why they bothered including several rare enemies per location.

Yer, there's a side-quest where some old fella challenges you to get a more complete bestiary than him. They all rewards fragments and CP.


Oh yeah, finished the game now. :>

[Lockduck]

Just finished the game last night. The final boss fight was incredible. I loved everything about it. I am still on the fence with the ending though. Overall, I loved this game and want to thank SE for a great game. I think this game was a step in the right direction.

[Tezcat]

Got two new recruits tonight from the DLC, got them quite quickly too.
Following that I tried a couple of the fights from earlier - Atlas and Royal Ripeness and beat them both. Then I took out Long Gui. Think my team is strong enough to end the game now.

my team is now:

Lightning as a RAV, Cichu as a COM and Silver Chocobo as a SEN

after the fights:

I enjoyed the two paradox endings. The flan one was definitely my favourite of the two, although what was with Noel's weird voice!?

[Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima]

Okay, Update On My Last Post: Serah And Noel Now Have 4/6 Roles At lvl 99. They Both Have One Extra Role At lvl 94, And The Other One Is At lvl 50. I Now Have Twilight Odin(Currently lvl 48) As A Commando Monster In My Paradigm Pack, So HAPPY About That! I'm At The Final Episode, Just Before The Final Boss Battle Begins. I'm Trying To Finish Other Things First Before I Finish The Game. Maxed Out A Few More Monsters Or Atleast Leveled Them Up A Bit Since Last Time I Posted. Gained A Lot Of New Monsters Too! I'm Enjoying Everything So Far, The Story Is Awesome, Especially The Graphics And Everything, Kinda Sad That It Is Somewhat Short Though...XD Oh Well, Still A Pretty Good Game. Will Update Again Sometime Soon. Have Fun Guys

*Note: I Got 5 Stars On Both Twilight Odin Battles On The First Try. Awesome Fight!

[Sakaea]

Ok, I'm not very far in the game, only 20 fragments, but can someone tell me what synergist they think is the best? I'd like a monster that can do haste and protect, ideally.

[Joe]

Ok, I'm not very far in the game, only 20 fragments, but can someone tell me what synergist they think is the best? I'd like a monster that can do haste and protect, ideally.

I've personally never used a synergist as part of the story unless it was Serah or Noel, but Gigantaur seems like he'll be a good one (Archylte Steppe). I know he gets Faith/Bravery pretty early, and a lot of Syn buffs, so I'm thinking he'll get haste or protect at some point. Will keep you posted.

I finally finished the Main story. Apparently I'm not leveled enough to finish the very last fight in less than 20 minutes, and even that took three attempts.
Levels (Com/Rav/Sen/Sab/Syn/Med)
Serah: 52/60/27/50/30/31
Noel: 63/50/40/28/33/36
Monsters Used: Golden Chocobo (COM, lvl 18), Goblin Chieftain (Sen, lvl 12) and Flanitor (MED, lvl 28). Flanitor is a friggin' Lifesaver with his Hyper Rescue Feral Link ability.

Pretty disappointed with the ending, but I guess now it's sidequest time. Anyone have any ideas where a good place to start would be? I only have 39/160 fragments at the moment.

[Sakaea]

I got the Gigantuar, and also a Purple Chocobo! I also got 3 Green Chocobos; my fiance is pissed, they won't drop their crystal for him, and I got 3 in a row, LMAO!

[Firefly]

As I have already completed the game,I am trying very hard to fully complete it. So far,here are my stats:

Fragments Collected: 111/160
Gates Opened: 28/32

Serah:
Commando: Lvl 99
Ravager: Lvl 99
Sentinel: Lvl 99
Saboteur: Lvl 53
Synergist: Lvl 99
MedicL Lvl 99

Noel:
Commando: Lvl 99
Ravager: Lvl 99
Sentinel: Lvl 99
Saboteur: Lvl 99
Synergist: Lvl 53
Medic: Lvl 99

..Currently I am using a Lvl 54 Chocobo and a Lvl 20 Dragoon as my alternate Commandos,I am using a Lvl 50 Green Chocobo as my Medic,and a Lvl 11 as my rarely used Synergist.

-Right now,I am trying to fully complete my Historia Crux and get all the Fragments and/or Paradox Endings(which as of now I have 4/8). Hopefully I'll get this stuff done before I have to go back to school in a couple of days lol

Update:
Up to 30/32 Gates Opened, Got all the Paradox Endings, Got Noel to a Lvl 63 Synergist as well as I got Serah to a Lvl 63 Saboteur.
Fragments Collected: 115/160

[Rowan]

Okay, So I am upto the final chapter at academia 500. I have 144/160 fragments and Ive maxed all roles except for one (lvl 70). Noel is using a grasitha (lvl 5. chain bonus) and Serah just the standard Izanami. Ive defeated all at archalyte steppe and basically just have the anoyying fragments left to obtain. Im dreading the beastiary one.

My paradigm pack consists of Silver chocobo (sent) Omega (com) and Lightning (Rav) *finally got her, YES*. To those that are curious, Lightning is apart of the DLC as is Omega. I was planning to use an all chocobo paradigm, but the stats of lightning and omega are superior anyway. If only there was a way to remove (leadenstrike) from omega, he'd be brilliant. My lightning (when infused with buccaboo for +20% strength and +20% magic) now has a 950 strength stat and 918 magic stat.

Spoiler: Im attempting to explore all over academia for the battlemania fragment skill so I can then hunt tonberry etc for trophys. I had a lot of trouble versing the rare boss in oerba 400. Any tips would be appreciated since I found the guide rather unhelpful in this battle.

[Andromeda]

I didn't find the Oerba boss to be that challenging so it is hard to say what to tell you to do differently. In fact, I would probably say that aside from not being maxed out in the roles, your characters and monsters are probably built better than the ones I used for the fight. So it should be very easy for you to complete, just time consuming.

I went in with Golden Chocobo, Flanitor and the Sentinel flan, I forget its name. Flanitor and Golden were maxed on leveling but did not really much in the way of infusion. They were pretty much as I received them, same with the Sentinel, I just hadn't finished leveling him. I was using ATB +30% on Serah and I think Odin's weapon on Noel along with the best version of the Kaiser Knuckles. Serah was just +33% physical resistance.

Paradigms were COM x3, RAV x2/COM, SABx2/MED, SYNx2/SEN, MEDx3, SENx3. When I fought it I focused on killing the minions it spawned first before continuing back on the boss again. I made sure to get the stagger to 999 before going all Commando. Take advantage of the Paradigm switch bonus every 2 turns. Keep your buffs up and what debuffs you can on. I think the Deshell and Deprotect had trouble sticking, so if you want once it is stagger debuff. While enemies are staggered they are easier to debuff. Then after that just unload Ravager until ready for Commando.

[Gummy]

Having deprotect on it seemed the most important thing to me when fighting it (probably because my gear wasn't the best). I think the guide said something about putting imperil on it? Wouldn't bother...

You got a sweet team there, so that helps.


Anyways, got my platinum today. 56:31 on the clock. ^^

[Rydia Lover]

i have to say this game was pretty easy, but in a way, it made it more enjoyable with the story to wich i didnt have to stop and grind instead of just being able to enjoy the story so anyways onto my party:

paradigms: - relentless assault - my standard attack party
- attrition - my recovery party from status ailments and such
- variety - primary healing party
- tortoise - a defense anticipation party, most notably against the tetra flair
- cerberus - my all out physical attack crew
- combat clinic - my last ditch effort healing crew

serah: commando - 62
ravager - 99
sentinel - 53
medic - 99

all abilities unlocked for all roles

noel: commando - 99
sabateur - 48
sentinel - 99
medic - 51

all abilities unlocked for all roles

Monsters:

twilight odin - commando - 99
silver chocobo - sentinel - 99
blue chocobo - ravager - 99

(incase you havent noticed, chocobos are pretty much my favorate monsters, they start of slow but around 70 or so they absolutely destroy in battle)

[Odin1199]

Chocobo pawnage? That's something new.

[Tezcat]

Started episode 5 yesterday, beat Caius with Serah in 21 seconds, might be a little overlevelled... I think it was the 90,000 CP from beating Long Gui, Immortal and Ochu that did it =p
Using a max level Cichu with attack over 1,000, a max level Silver Chocobo and a nearly maxed Lightning. Not sure whether to use Amodar instead of Cichu seeing as Amodar isn't finished levelling and already has over 10,000 HP

[GranFran]

Hi guys.. Been awhile since I've been on.. Hope everyone is fine and dandy..

I've already played the game through once, very fast and on easy mode.. I always get so involved in the storyline that I can't hardly wait til the end.. I will absolutely give no spoilers on this..

So, yesterday I started it again, this time taking my time, want to get ALL monsters and most of the trophies.. I say most, because you cannot get all the trophies unless you have a saved game of FF13 on the PS3.. I do have a saved game but it's on my XBox and I'll be damned if I'm going to buy FF13 for my PS3 just to get every trophy in this game.. Pretty sneaky of SE, though..

Now, here's the weird thing, I'm still playing in easy mode but this time through it's really hard to get any monster crystals.. The first time through I got the Blue Chocobo on the second attempt, made her my RAV and kept her all the way to the end.. But now, I've fought like a dozen or more and haven't gotten the crystal yet.. I did finally get a Red and made her my COM.. I don't know, there are several monsters that I got sooo easy the first time I played through that I can't get now.. Very strange..

There is also a little bone I'd like to pick with SE about the adornments.. Even the big strategy guide is not very helpful when it comes to the exact location of these items.. It's like ok, you'll find such and such an adornment at Oerba 200AF, and that's it.. Oerba may be a small town but it's a lot of area to throw a moogle around, agreed?

But, I LOVE the game.. I think it's fun, it has a convoluted but interesting storyline.. (Time paradoxes are always convoluted).. Likeable characters and a whole bunch of fun and cute monsters (and some really awesome ones too).. Like I love using the Feral Behemoth! I also raced my Silver Chocobo some the first time around, made a bundle but didn't really get deep into it.. Am planning to really race and win every one this time around..

I hope you all are having as much fun as me..

P.S. Had to stop playing today... 60 mph wind storm blowing here, keeps knocking the power out... ARRRGGG!

[Tezcat]

Finished the main story last night. Final battle was about 5 minutes long. Currently at 104/160 fragments. My team was Amodar, Lightning and Silver Chocobo although I rarely needed to use the Silver Chocobo. It was pretty much COM/RAV/RAV until staggered then COM/RAV/COM with Noel using potions with the grimoire hat equipped.

[Andromeda]

There is no trophy for having played FFXIII. They are all earned by completing FFXIII-2. It would be a little weird if there was one.

[GranFran]

There is no trophy for having played FFXIII. They are all earned by completing FFXIII-2. It would be a little weird if there was one.

Andromeda, pardon me, I meant an adornment.. Serah's Mask requires you to have a saved FF13 game on your console in order to get it.. Since I have FF13 for my Xbox and not my PS3, then I cannot get that adornment..

Finished the main story last night. Final battle was about 5 minutes long. Currently at 104/160 fragments. My team was Amodar, Lightning and Silver Chocobo although I rarely needed to use the Silver Chocobo. It was pretty much COM/RAV/RAV until staggered then COM/RAV/COM with Noel using potions with the grimoire hat equipped.

Congrats, Tez.. I'm really taking it easy this time around.. Going for all the trophies and adornments (except one, which I can't get).. Just got my Silver Chocobo and am working on raising his levels in order to race him.. I love this game, there is so much to do..

[Rowan]

Andromeda, pardon me, I meant an adornment.. Serah's Mask requires you to have a saved FF13 game on your console in order to get it.. Since I have FF13 for my Xbox and not my PS3, then I cannot get that adornment..

There is also a bonus theme of lightning for ps3 for having an ff13 save file thats unlocked before you even start a game.


Okay everyone. I have 149/160 fragments. I think I am ready to complete the main storyline now. Wish me luck!

[Sakaea]

I can hardly wait to play this weekend! Hoping to get thru quite a bit of storyline this weekend. Spent a lot of time last weekend leveling monsters and going back to get fragments I missed. <3 this game so much!

[Freya]

Awesome - I'm NOT the only one who hasn't finished the game until now?
Seriously, I thought I'd read through lots of spoilers here... (I even didn't want to look at the posts here right after buying the game... which is mostly because I didn't have ANY idea what the game was about when I bought it. I love just being clueless when starting a game. <3)

Nevertheless, I've played for about 30 hours now, but I don't remember how many gates I've opened so far. I don't really know the levels as well, but I think:
Serah: Commando - ~ lvl 80 ; Ravager - lvl 99 ; Sentinel - lvl 99 ; Medic - ~ lvl 60
Noel: Commando - lvl 99 ; Ravager - lvl 99 ; Sentinel - lvl 99 ; I think I started Synergist, now on lvl 30 or something like that - I should look that up later

As for the fragments, I've collected about 50 by now. Sad thing is: I can't go on with the main story before collecting as many fragments as possible. That's just like in XIII - there I couldn't go on with the main story before finishing every single mission. Don't know why I push myself to doing such things in every game. But it's fun. At least most of the time.

Still, the missions disappointed me. Everytime when I've opened a gate, I complete the map (as much as possible) and pick up everything I find. When I then finally start the missions, I've already completed them, because I found all the stuff they need on my way... :/ That's kinda disappointing. Though I had to search pretty much for some missions.


As for the characters: I'd like to say something about the main characters of XIII - spoilers ahead!

SPOILER!!:

So, I'm really disappointed I still haven't found Sazh after 30 hours - ALTHOUGH he's clearly somewhere in the casino. But I'm way too bad at chocobo racing and all the other attractions, so I have only gotten 2 fragments so far (and one was because I was purely stupid, won't mention it now for the ones who haven't found it yet).
I DO like Hope, but he has WAY too much presence in the game. That's okay, but I would've liked the other characters to be there as much as him.... but I know it's not possible to meet Fang and Vanille. :/
And I DO like Noel for saying he HATES Snow. Just saying. Snow got on my nerves the first time he'd openend his mouth and said something about him being a hero. -_-" Great to have Noel to answer back to him - Serah clearly can't.

Okay... what else is there to mention?
I like the main story so far, the time travelling part is pretty interesting, though not as complicated as I thought in the beginning.
Still I miss a real goal.

SPOILER!!:

Yes, changing the future to a better future and finding Lightning, but that's so...

I don't know, I miss the typical FF scent of it.

I'll update as soon as I've progressed.... which means in a few hours. *coughs*