It's exam time!

And I'm not studying just yet. ... I really want to finish the 2nd run first before getting to it. Besides, my first exam on the 10th doesn't actually require any studying whatsoever since it's open-book and the fact that most of the info required is given in the exam itself. It's more of an exercise to see how well you can connect the dots under a time limit.

Anyways, moving on.

As mentioned above, I've started my second run with what I touched upon in my previous post. Essentially, I'm emulating what would have happened if I were stuck with the 360 version's Leader limit (only 6 can be deployed, including Rush). The mercenaries aren't bad, seeing as how most people would end up hiring McGrady for his Remedies until Rush learns it/you get tired of using Herbs. They're just rather limiting because they don't learn new skill trees at certain BRs. And the fact that they're counted as "leaders." That's where the soldiers come in handy. They're free to hire and come in tiers depending on where you are in the story. So for me right now, I can hire up to Tier 6 because I haven't tripped the event flag for entering the Aqueducts yet.

As for the soldiers themselves... They're not that bad. Limited, but what can you do? They don't ask for better equipment and they only bother raising HP and AP with accessories, unlike the uniques who sometimes ask for the weirdest things (which I can't quite remember, but it involves David asking for something that he didn't need). I wouldn't mind giving them better equipment, seeing as how I'm not exactly fond of finding their materials. It also means that I have to be on the lookout for them while also taking apart some older equips. You can only get Imperium that way... It's also infuriating how even though you HAVE THE STUFF IN YOUR INVENTORY, that they don't just ask for it! It's not like I need Platinum Orex100 for an extended period of time.

Using only soldiers isn't too bad. Didn't end up scraping by the Nest of Eagles fight at all. I had an easier time, probably because I've kept my BR a little on the low side, spread out my units with certain formations and didn't stack my healers. Having at least one person in each union able to heal is a real life saver... The mobility of a stacked healing union needs to be really high if you don't want them to be raidlocked or intercepted along the way. A combination of Remedies, Herbs and Lotions is a good idea as well, seeing as how learning "Kiss of Life" takes a freaking long time and costs 129AP when you first get it. That's more than me force triggering Blackout 4 times in a row. Which reminds me, I need to stock up on some herbs.

The main limiting factor for the soldiers is their arts. They only know one style, and they stick with that style for the rest of the game, unless it's one of the ones that can alternate. One-handed to Power Grip. Gives them a few more options, but it also affects their damage output upon a regular attack. What also sucks is that there aren't any dual-wielding soldiers. Guess it's not orthodox/they need to be a General of Athlum. Those that only start with Item Arts or Mystic Arts can eventually learn Wield Arts and Weapon Arts, making more versatile, but they tend to start with lower stats. Straker was rather annoying at first because his HP wasn't exactly impressive. When I was doing the PC grind, he started with about 288HP, whereas everyone else was already approaching 350HP. He had One-handed Katana arts and Remedies. Hm. Well, he's getting better, although everyone else is still ahead by quite a bit. Rush's stats are already approaching the 70 range, which is pretty much overkill at this point (before Aqueducts). The ones in Reserve are also gaining a few stats here and there. Judging by the distribution, Dave is geared towards a balance of Str and Int, Emmy is Str, Pagus with Int (obviously...) and Torgal with Str. What's funny is that Dave is the fastest out of all of them. So... Are they supposed to chase their lord?

Anyways, to do list for the day: Chopping veggies (not with a sword), studying some anatomy (not going to kill someone), poke at biochem (no drugs to kill someone with either), and grind until the team can get +50AP per round and Rush learns Kiss of Life. Oh, and stop using Dragonfly. It has the Mighty/Peerless art modifier, since I want the Nimble/Swift modifer.

EDIT: Holy crap BR50 kill of the Enlightened Seven.