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  - [April 22, 2013, 11:08:14 AM]
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« Reply #130 on: April 22, 2013, 11:08:14 AM »
(...And I have obviously learned nothing about not promising specific dates that I inevitably fail to meet. Hurray!) Speaking of failure, the "real" update took so damn long because even just redoing things by noting the update caused me to the notice the absurd amount of embarrassing typos and omissions in it. Good times. With the majority of those fixed now (though I'll have to go back and do that for the actual post eventually), I can present the (current/latest) overhaul. For the most part, these changes are "definite", baring coding issues and changes and other fixes. The parts most likely to change, like RSMs, aren't getting post for that reason (and...other reasons). I was partly held up by Aevises, who admittedly still under reconstruction due to issues with Blue Mage and things like Petrify, but I'm not going to wait on them anymore. Most of their stuff is decided on anyway. It's just half of their skills that are being a pain. Without further ado: Chocobos: Notes:
1. Brown Chocobos replace Black Chocobos as normal monsters, though Black Chocobos still exist. Green Chocobos replace Blue Chocobos entirely, though it’s barely a change really outside of name and slight color; they’ll probably even be a sort of bluish green or greenish blue since it’s mostly cosmetic and those colors are pretty close anyway, especially in Japan(ese).
2. I'm not including Boco here still since this is normal monsters. “Ironically”, he’s a Black Chocobo now though, which used to be a normal monster.
3. The Classes of these are fixed now, with Green Chocobos definitely being the Class A ones while Brown Chocobos are “only” Class B despite being more offensive than Green Chocobos and Yellow Chocobos being the most common ones still despite having revival.
4. Choco Guard no longer exists on normal monsters and not just because Defending “died”/is planned to get a massive change. In its place, Choco Flame exists on Brown Chocobos, which Black Chocobos were going to get anyway.
5. Still a minor aside, but due to historical convention, Chocobos are (still) now the only monsters who be entirely going off the rather boring [Insert Color Here] [Monster Name] naming scheme. They shall (continue to) remain as such.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Chocobos: Weak: Dark.
2. Yellow Chocobos: Resist: Ice.
3. Brown Chocobos: Resist: Fire.
4. Green Chocobos: Resist: Water.
Shared Shared Affinities: Immune: Blind, Oily & Disabled (NEW!…and tentative).
Shared Abilities:
1. Choco Cure: Much the same in its instant healing. However, I’ve now decided that it will definitely be stronger than vanilla AND have a chance to add Regen(ing).
2. Choco Ball: No longer Black Chocobo’s exclusive move and not just because they “left”, this is physical distance move of Range 3 that may or may not be Direct and may or may not self-damage. It will definitely have a chance to add Oil(y) and Blind though as well as possibly another status.
3. Choco Barrier: This will now definitely add Protect(ed) & Shell(ed) at 100%, but in a Linear Self-Auto AoE of 1 rather than a non-Linear Auto-Self AoE 1 that saw me being ambivalent about its success.
Yellow Chocobos (YC): Still the "sharing" ones, they have innate Distribute and are the first monster you're likely to get that can resurrect with their Choco Revive Down, a close-range, instant, but not all that restorative skill. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Confused in Human Advancement.)
Brown Chocobos (OC): The replacement "surly" ones, these are the “desert” type chocobos…despite their being only two real desert areas in Ivalice. As such, they may take over Reds’ canon aspect of being the “mountainous” ones, but that’s of little import at present. Regardless, they are quite use to heat and flame and can us their own Choco Flame to barbeque or at least Slow down attackers with Fire elemental damage; Choco Flame will can a secondary status besides Slow(ed), though that’s dependent on whether its Embargo or Human Advancement. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Confused in Human Advancement.)
Green Chocobos (GC): The "skittish" ones (still), they are (still) the only mountable monster at present that can walk on water despite my making it so that very few monsters are(heavily) disadvantaged by water. They have now exclusively have Choco Esuna, which is back to being AoE 1, but will actually differ from Esuna now, especially since what Esuna cancels will remain “nerfed” across both versions. (Immune: Poisoned.) |
Goblins: Notes:
1. No longer quite monster Monks, they're more like monster (Embargo) Soldiers than pugilists since they are now modeled a lot more on their Baknamy "ancestors" from FFXII like they should have been from the beginning.
2. As such, "Blaknamy" might simply change to "Baknamy" eventually.
3. With “Steal Weapon” for sure dying in Embargo and being iffy in Human Advancement, where Thief is actually still available to the player, Gobbledeguck ends up not having Steal abilities like either of its brethren.
4. Regardless, "Ogre Run" is dead.
Elemental Affinities:
1. Red Caps: Resist: Fire; Weak: Ice.
2. Blaknamy: Resist: Lightning; Weak: Ice.
3. Gobbledeguck: Absorb: Ice; Weak: Fire.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Poisoned, Charmed, Doubtful & Blind (NEW!).
Shared Abilities:
1. Dash: The same skill as the hume Dash/Body Slam.
2. Goblin Punch: Currently a range 3, instant physical ability that deals semi-random damage and is Wind element.
3. Eye Gouge: Now adds Blind & Disabled instead of Blind & Confused, partly because Confused is dead in Embargo at present.
Red Caps (RP): The red-topped, most common of Goblins is capable of using the hume spell Fire, capable of forcefully putting others to sleep (especially from behind) with its Sleeper Hold and adept at Steal Shield like hume Thieves. (Immune: Sleeping.)
Blaknamy (BY): The black-topped Goblins tend to thieve wholesale from humes, being quite good at using their Cure and Bolt spells and their ability to Steal Helms. (Immune: Disabled.)
Gobbledeguck (GK): A goblin who tried to overcome its aversion to Ice and end up becoming absorbent of Ice at the cost of constantly shivering and chattering all the time it, its skin is hardened by ice crystals and it is quite good at using Ice to heal itself and hurt others. Additionally, it attempts to steal both health and magick through the obscure hume spells of Drain and Osmose respectively. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Confused in Human Advancement.) |
Bombs: Notes:
1. Yeah, I decided to go with Balloon over Red Bomb even since even as silly as Balloon sounds--sorry, Karnov—and may be something of anachronism, it at least has quite a bit of historical precedence and I was sick of having "Red" [whatever]. I then stuck “Fiery” onto as a part of an “obvious” description loophole—bet you can’t wait for “Wet Mindflayers” (Gone Wild). Other than, the other names are based on “puns” since, as aforementioned, in-universe it would both help to cut down on possible confusion between non-monster explosives and Explosives; that and it would just be something humanity would do.
2. Drench is now quite unlikely to die, seeing how it’s been done to not be either useless as broken as it once was in its doubtless absurd AoE 3 form. It being exclusive to Fiery Balloons is still up in the air, but I’m already having space issues, so….
3. It needs repeating (again) that Bombs aren't going to show up early on even as much as I want to try to balance monsters to be useful through the game. Them showing up at Sweegy Woods in that story battle would mean that you wouldn't get past that point. Ever. They probably won’t show up until Chapter 2 at this point.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Bombs: Absorb: Fire; Resist: Lightning; Weak: Water; Immune: Earth (by virtue of Floating).
2. Fiery Balloons: Resist: Dark; Weak: Ice
3. Living Grenades: Resist: Wind; Weak: Holy
4. Primed Explosives: Resist: Dark; Weak: Holy
Shared Shared Affinities: Immune: ???, Undead, Petrified, Poisoned, Regening, Oily, Immobilized, Reflective. (Reraised might still be here if it wasn’t dead…in Embargo at least; in Human Advancement, it’s still up in the air whether Bombs will be immune to Reraise there.)
Shared Abilities:
1. Fiery Emission: Currently a quite long range, magickal Fire-element attack meant more to cause a “spark” with its ability to perhaps add Oil on top of damage than to BBQ anything to death.
2. Fire Breath: Back on Bombs as a whole and shared with Flame Dragons as the usual Linear Range 2 Fire-elemental attack since it just makes too much damn sense for them not to have it otherwise it should still exist.
3. Blow-Up: Currently still the only "Shock"-based attack in Embargo, though that may change with Dimensionalists maybe getting Balance, it is also still has Auto-AoE of 2; it is still, however, now Critical Only currently. Due to the recent release of Journey of the 5 revealing its possible, its damage will probably “only” (HP Lost/2) rather than equal to HP Lost; I’m still not sure if it should be Fire element though.
Fiery Balloons (FB): Bright red orbs of death, it doesn't take 99 of these to kill you. Now the sole Bomb with the ability to Drench its foes and cover them in Slowing Oil, it’s more of a support unit than the other Bombs, but no less dangerous. (Immune: Slowed.)
Living Grenades (LG): Heavily armored Bombs, they are sometimes said to still be often employed by inquisitors for their supposed strength against unbelievers, earning them the nickname Hell’s Furnace despite no clear confirmations of their use. Said also to be wielders of the mysterious Chaos Fragment. (Immune: Blind.)
Primed Explosive (PX): Bombs made from darkest and most sinister flames, they harness fiery power that cannot be held at bay with Fire-proof means: the dreaded Flare spell. In addition to that dread magick, they hold the equally dreaded ability to Prime their enemy and turn them into a bomb of sorts. (Immune: Berserk.) |
Panthers: Notes:
1. Vampire Cats are now special monsters. So, like Boco, they're not getting mention here beyond this sentence.
2. Catnip and Cat Kick are now dead. It would have liked to test the former, but...meh. Just to clarify, Blood Suck does still exist, though it too has a changed a bit in that it no longer causes Undead (since that's self-defeating).
3. In talking with Panda_Tar in that same short back and forth that brought up the Workers, I somewhat agree with him that panther sprites would have larger whiskers at least. For my own purposes, a more squid-like head as with FFXII would also be beneficial, especially due to the Wolves I'm using and obvious similarities between them. Hardly a pressing matter, though.
4. Speaking of which, I admit that I'm (still) not really sure what color Grimalkin and possibly even Ose should be. Couerl is staying the same golden (brown) color though. Ose probably stays a reddish brown and Grimalkin is probably a purplish brown. Brown colors for everyone!
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Panthers: Absorb: Lightning.
2. Oses: Weak: Earth.
3. Couerls: Resist: Ice & Water; Weak: Fire & Earth. (Aside: It's always bugged the hell out of me how, in FFXII, an entire species that supposedly survived an Ice Age is weak to Ice. What.)
4. Grimalkins: Resist: Water; Weak: Fire.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Cursed, Slowed, Disabled & Doomed.
Shared Abilities:
1. Poison Claw: A single-target, pouncing ability much like 1.3, except that it does damage and slightly drains health while Poisoning.
2. Hastebreak: A stronger, close-range only physical ability that has a chance to inflict Slow.
3. Blaster: Previously the signature of Couerls, it is now a familial ability. It has also changed in that while it is still Lightning element and single target, it now inflicts damage and 100% Silenced, Slowed, Disabled or Doomed.
Oses (OS): Long thought to be servants of Hell who stalked in shadow, these large cats can actually be quite flashy with their Lightning-based Discharge ability, which electrifies everyone unfortunate enough to be in close-proximity to them and not absorb Lightning. (Immune: Faithful & Doubtful.)
Couerls (CU): Still thought to be some bizarre experimentation of those hellish, elusive beings known as Illithids, they share the Mindflayer's ability to Mind Blast targets, sending them into doomed confusion and damning rage. (Immune: Berserk.)
Grimalkins (GR): Thought increasingly to be familiars of witches who would hide from the Church's eyes, these cats can blasphemously walk on water and even more queerly generate water from nowhere, shooting it in a crashing line for their Big Wave attacks. (Immune: Oily.) |
Lamias: Notes:
1. Lamias (still) now "replace" Illithids (as normal monsters) instead of outright replacing Uribos, which is now Cactuars' "job".
2. Lamias are intentionally weaker against monsters than they are humans because monsters really, really don't care about mammary glans.
3. Innocence and Fire Kiss are still dead.
4. I am extremely wary of Poison Frog, but since Lamias tend to historically have it, I decided to let Blank Lamia have it, if only at close-range and with dubious accuracy. Unlikely to be any of this distance or at least multi-target Frogging BS.
5. Not really sure about the colors of these gals, though Blank Lamia is probably an icy blue, Lilith the more “normal” red and Morrigan is probably greenish.
6. Lamias now share the first two spells in the Dark series.
7. Morrigan has traded “White Wind” to the Behemoth Humbaba for the formerly Dark Behemoth only Night, which is now definitively called “Stardusted Night”
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Lamias: Weak: Earth.
2. Blank Lamias: Absorb: Holy; Resist: Ice.
3. Liliths & Morrigans: Absorb: Fire; Resist: Holy.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Confused (in Human Advancement at least), Oily, Doubtful & Charmed.
Shared Abilities:
1. Captivate: Shared with Vampires and the Assassins, the snake-women of Ivalice entice man and woman alike with their alluring hypnotism, Charming them from up to three panels away. Other monsters of Ivalice are immune to this type of allure.
2. Snake Dance: Disarming dance that currently potentially affects those in Auto-AoE of 2, regardless of allegiance, with Slowed, Immobilized, Disabled or ??? (Confused in HuA) if they don't look away.
3. Dark: Being monsters oddly concerned with the hearts of things, Lamias share an odd connection with Ivalice's Skeletons in their ability to tap into the heart of darkness, even though it's for the exact opposite reasons.
4. Darkra: Much like Skeletons, stronger Lamias can use the stronger abilities of the Dark as well.
Blank Lamias (BL): Lamias with cold, dead eyes, they are theorized to have burnt out any capacity to feel emotion long ago. It is said that some have been seen with a smirk as they listen to the pained croaks of those they have turned into Poison Frogs, but this has never been confirmed. (Immune: ??? in Embargo, Poison(ed), Frog(ged).)
Liliths (LI): Lamias especially attracted to displays of emotions, they easily shed false tears, using their infamous Chronos Tears to stop all but the most steel-willed or... literally monstrous in their tracks as they overcome by waves of guilt and remorse. (Immune: ??? in Embargo, ???, Faithful.)
Morrigans (MO): Conjectured to be something like Lamia royalty, these green-framed serpentine mistresses are masters of the Stardusted Night[/b], able to call upon shadow to lull all present into deep sleep. It is said that they even have spoken to some, offering the gift of eternally peaceful repose for the mere price of eternal bondage…. (Immune: ??? in Embargo, ???, Sleep(ing).) |
Flans: Notes:
1. These overachieving desserts are still pretty damn lazy. The only reason that I got away with giving monsters back 6 skills is because these guys (and Goblins) steal from everyone else. Goblins at least have their own unique skills; Flans stole theirs from the Dragons.
2. Similarly, Flans are the only monster who have only one shared ability...which is Common Malboro's "unique" ability "Goo". Or it was, rather. It’s now Acid, which is basically just a rename but also a technique that Common Malboro no longer has.
3. Previously held Aqualung before thieving from Dragons instead of Illithids.
4. Oh, right. These are Skeletons' "replacements" as normal monster.
5. Iced Flan is lighter blue in color. Flaming Pudding is a light red, maybe even orange. Shock Jelly is a bright yellow.
Elemental Affinities:
1. Iced Flan: Absorb: Ice; Resist: Water; Weak: Fire.
2. Flaming Pudding: Absorb: Fire; Resist: Water; Weak: Ice.
3. Shock Jelly: Absorb: Lightning; Resist: Wind; Weak: Earth.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: ???, Berserk, Frogged, Reflective, Disabled. (They used to have way more than this, but this is more than fine and should be actually fair; they might become immune to Petrified again, though. They're no longer immune to Undead for…story reasons. Hehehe.)
Shared Ability: Acid - Ranged ability that causes damage and can Poisoned, Immobilized or Disabled randomly.
Iced Flans (IF): These even harder than normal monstrous desserts are masters of Ice magick, capable of casting Blizzard, Blizzara, and Blizzaga in addition to what is arguably the pinnacle of Ice magick with their Freeze spell, which will encase an entire area in its icy ire. Despite the many cracks in their shell should one be unfortunate enough to come upon one or more of them, they undergo a quite constant state of regeneration that almost demands Fire be used to soften them. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Stop(ped) in Human Advancement.)
Flaming Puddings (FP): These more runny, red globs reduce all to ash and slag should they remain for long enough, fueled by powerful flames of madness. More akin to Bombs in this sense than their fellow Flans, they are still more solid than they look and rather likely to make things combust even before they begin slinging around Fire magick like Fire, Fira or Firaga or its arguable pinnacle of Ardor, a Fire-elemental magick with wide, explosive range. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Confused in Human Advancement.)
3. Shock Jellies (SJ): Rubbery yellow slime encases hard yellow eyes full of loathing, ready to electrocute or at least electrify any that fall in range of its powerful Lightning magick. Whether emitting Thunder, Thundara or Thundaga or its single-target, but quick and powerful Burst, it is best to keep one's distance from it or else one is in for a nasty, potentially fatal shock. (Immune: Cursed.) |
Flying Eyes: Notes:
1. Still not entirely sure why Floating Eye wouldn't Float while it had Fly the last time I tested things, though I finally realized that apparently it had Initial Floating status rather than Innate Floating status or Self-Levitate (Float movement) like it should have had. Initial status tends to override things anyway though....
2. Doomgaze’s name has been changed "back" to Plague Horror (as from War of the Lions).
3. Part of me feels like Flying Eyes should be weak to Water still as they initially were given that they're one of the few monsters that still can't enter water at all now. However, enough things--probably way too many--are already weak to Water that I'm wary of doing that simply to be "coherent". As long as I'm coherent with most things, I figure a few exceptions won't matter all that much.
4. At present, all Gazes are still Direct despite their massive overhauls. Whether or not they’ll still be able to be affected by Steel Will is up the air now though.
5. Piercing Gaze is now dead and the Flying Eyes no longer have Reflect either.
6. Finally “decided” on how to pluralize Ahriman, though that may yet change: Ahrimen. (Still tempted to go with "Ahrimani" though admittedly.)
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Flying Eyes: Weak: Wind.
2. Floating Eyes: Absorb: Dark; Resist: Holy; Weak: Lightning; Immune: Earth (by virtue of Floating).
3. Ahrimen: Absorb: Dark; Resist: Earth & Holy.
4. Plague Horrors: Absorb: Holy; Resist: Earth & Dark.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Blind, Frogged & Immobilized. (Actually might not get anymore since they're the one of only two families to all have two individually different immunities as well.)
Shared Abilities:
1. Stare: Distance AoE 1 magickal attack that damages all in its gaze, whether friend or foe, and has a chance to cause ??? in Embargo or Confused in Human Advancement.
2. Holy Circle: Imported from Human Advancement’s Paladin to Embargo, meaning Paladins & Flying Eyes in both versions have it now.
3. Stun Gaze: Now shared by all Flying Eyes, it has a random chance of Disabling, Immobilizing or even Slowing all the limbs of the target.
Floating Eyes (FE): Prying eyes of prurient indolence, they bob up and down, moving quickly only to flee when damaged. Of course, damaging them is difficult in the first place given the liberal use of their Charm Gaze, a hypnotic gaze that causes the afflicted to slip into a state of Charmed servitude or deep Sleeping. (Immune: Disabled & ???; Always: Floating.)
Ahrimen (AH): Eyes of evil malice, their stare is compared to that of the Devil, capable of bringing Blinding, Poisoned & Cursed misfortune upon any who fall under its Devil's Gaze. (Immune: Cursed & Poisoned.)
Plague Horrors (PH): Said to be the eyes of death itself and hence why images of the reaper have only hollow sockets, these monsters’ unblinking gaze whimsically dooms those it falls upon. The skin crawling before it begins to tear and bleed is the only warning that one gets that they have been affected by varying but all terrible fates of Doom's Gaze. (Immune: Undead & Doomed.) |
Aevises: Note:
1. Steel Aevis was initially weak to Lightning before trading that to Snowtuar for weakness to Dark instead.
2. Of the monsters currently without absorptions, Steel Aevis ties for first with...Blue Chocobo—well, Green Chocobo now—as the monster next in line to get one possibly.
3. With the changes I plan to make to Petrified, these will be the monsters most affected by that. (Still need to test those changes...and learn coding. Sigh….)
4. (04/27/2013) Okay, so Aevises are no longer “under construction”. In fact, they become the first monster to vary between both Embargo & Human Advancement though more are likely to follow: Steel Aevises in Embargo get Twister while in Human Advancement they get the hitherto missing Aera/Aerora spell. In addition to that, Feather Bomb becomes both shared and upgraded, Beak gets and upgrade and Stone Breath dies, becoming Stone Gaze. Beak may go back to being shared though. I’m not quite sure.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Aevises: Resist: Earth.
2. Axebeaks and Cockatrices: Weak: Wind.
3. Steel Aevises: Weak: Dark.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Blind, Petrified, Poisoned & Oily. (No longer universally immune to ???, though they haven’t been for a while. They may become Immune: Immobilized since I might do that for all Fly)
Shared Abilities:
1. Shine Lover: Being lovers of beauty, these avians take quite good care of themselves, able to meticulously clean their feathers and even the skin of others to bolster their resolve and their speed.
2. Hawk Glare: Direct glare that can be evaded like a physical attack due to the sheer weight of predation behind it, it Disables prey from a far range before the aevis swoops in.
3. Feather Bomb: To further aid its ability to hunt prey, the Aevises have the unusual ability to trap energy within feathers and then discard them, leaving to shortly blow up and fill an area with quill-sharpnel, even from a distance.
Axebeaks (AX): The most aggressive of the aevises, it is no surprise that it much enjoys divebombing down upon its prey, with such speed and ferocity as to cause heavy damage with its Beak. Given the Cockatrice does not possess a monopoly among its kin with regards to petrification, an Axebeak’s already devastating beak can Petrify its prey, turning them into a shiny statue waiting to further carved and polished before being eventually eaten. (Immune: Blind & Doomed.)
Steel Aevises (SA): The heaviest of the birds is not markedly less aggressive, though due to its weight it is generally less mobile than its brethen, preferring more to snipe from a distance with its feathers as it closes in. When it does close in, though, it quickly prefers to summon Poisonous Twisters, a sudden swirling tornado centered around the aevis that draws in and destroys all with flesh less than steel. (Immune: ??? & ??? in Embargo/Confused & Addled in Human Advancement and Floating in both.)
Cockatrices (CC): The most poisonous of the known aevises, it said even its very breath can fell almost instantly. Whether this is actually true is still unknown, as most close enough have met either its rending steel-hard beak & claws or been subjected to its lethal Stone Gaze, meaning they have already been felled. |
Treefolk: Notes:
1. I decided to go with Treefolk over Woodfolk as the family name as it is far more amusing to use the former. (Damn, I'm going to have remember to name at least one of these guys Doran....)
2. Not really sure if Dryad or Treant need an "s" to be plural, but right now I'm pretending they don't. I’m more definite on Feywood not needing to be plural.
3. Sap Spirit is now dead, especially since Treefolk kinda "stole" Pearl Wight's "Mighty Guard".
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Treefolk: Absorb: Wind; Weak: Dark.
2. Dryad & Treant: Absorb: Water; Resist: Earth; Weak: Lightning.
3. Feywood: Absorb: Holy; Resist: Fire; Weak: Ice.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Undead, Petrified, Floating, Frogged & ???.
Shared Abilities:
1. Leaf Dance: An Auto-AoE 2 of magickal nature, it may be somewhat weak, but its Wind-elemental quality makes it rather difficult to dodge, especially when it blankets the area after repeated uses. (I'm still really tempted to name this "Petal Dance"…and have it add Confused, at least in Human Advancement.)
2. Mighty Guard: A single-target ability that bestows Protected, Shelled & Hasted upon a single target. (That Hasted aspect might become something else given how...obsessed the AI is with applying to Hasted.)
3. Rootgrapple: Using the power of the earth, Treefolk are capable of using roots from the ground to damage and Immobilize and/or Slow enemies in a wide yet discriminating area of AoE 2 at range 3.
Dryad (DD): Fledgling wood golems, despite what is arguably a more obvious anger at man's world compared to the other Treefolk, they still possess a Spirit of Care that Cleanses in a wide area around the Dryad's self. (Immune: Immobilized.)
Treant (TT): More mellow than what are believed to be their beginning forms, their Spirit of Calm transcends fixing mere physical ailments, focusing on temporal ones as it Returns spatial and temporal oddities to their normal order. (Immune: Disabled.)
Feywood (FW): Elderly yet perhaps eternal guardians of the woods they are a part of, through the use of their discriminating Spirit of Life to restore the fallen, they prove that any life is precious...so long as it protects nature. (Immune: Stopped.) |
Bull Demons: Notes:
1. Not much to say about these guys outside of the fact that they were the first to make me aware of the Monster Talk issue, which has long since been addressed (at least temporarily), and they share perhaps too much with Orator now.
2. I said the above even before I recently (read: around mid-March 2013) decided to give them three more Orator skills across the board, partly because of Bull Demons’ story importance to at least Embargo. I’m not quite sure how they’ll act in Human Advancement, though even with the “death” of Orator there, they’ll probably be no less talkative. Still, it feels somewhat unfair to a lot of the other monsters….
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Bull Demons: Absorb: Earth; Resist: Fire; Weak: Water.
2. Minotaurs & Bull Devils: Absorb: Dark; Weak: Holy.
3. Sacreds: Absorb: Holy, Weak: Lightning.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: ??? (in Embargo)/Confused (in Human Advancement, Sleeping, Immobilized & Doubtful. (Lost immunity to Chicken’s replacement…a while ago. Got two new immunities, though one of those is patch specific since Confused no longer exists in Embargo.)
Shared Abilities:
1. Wave Around: Charging their axe with lightning, they then it swipe around their bodies, creating an unavoidable field of lightning that shocks their enemies.
2. Intimidate: Same as the Orator's.
Minotaurs (MU): Despite having an apparently brilliant mind for puzzles such as mazes, they focus primarily on violence. They are easily angered, lashing out with Rejections and Provoking insults that would make even the most surly Mediator blush when not lashing out with their axes. They will even thrash about like a petulant, overgrown child, shattering the ground in their pale mimicry of Titan with their Earth Shaker, a trait they and the Ochu curiously share. They can Converse calmly as well, but it’s usually just as a distraction for another monster’s deleterious blow; never listen to them. (Immune: Faithful & Blind.)
Bull Devils (BV): Channeling the anger that so steers the Minotaur to ever fouler ends, Bull Devils utilize a Curse of Rage that causes the afflicted to become Cursed by Berserk feelings, losing one's head figuratively before often literally losing it to the blade of the Bull Devil's axes. Even when not dabbling in blacker magicks, they possess an underhanded eloquence that can be used to Praise, Caution or even lull with a Drone as any silver-tongued devil, which is precisely why they too should never be listened to. (Immune: Cursed & Blind.)
Sacreds (SC): Monsters or perhaps even actual demons that would openly mock Ajora more than with just their mere presence, they claim to know the "truth" behind Ajora. Among their ludicrous claims, they are often reported saying that they can Preach, Refute or even Befriend better than any benighted human preacher or philosopher. Their blasphemies go further still, as they are able to utilize not only Raise, but the vaunted Holy to smite actual true believers. Increasingly, some have begun to think of them as God’s punishment, itself a crime quickly labeled as blasphemy. (Immune: Undead & Berserk.) |
Malboros: Notes:
1. Yes, I am aware that Ochus aren't really related to Malboros, at least outside of FFT. As much space (sprite-wise) and time as it might potentially save me to just make it a separate family of monster, I'm going to continue to run with Ochus as Malboro “cousins”. This rather than replace them with another types Malboro and separate Ochus into their own family of (same-looking) three entirely.
2. Ochus still have starting status Sleeping at present, if only because I still haven't been able to test that out, particularly to see how the (allied) AI reacts to it. (I'll have to remind myself to not put them with any Lancers/Dragoons, at least until that Jumping issue is fixed….)
3. As aforementioned under Flans, Common Malboros previously shared "Goo" with the deadly desserts. Flans then decided to be assholes and hog “Goo” all it for themselves, re-branding it as “Acid” before claiming legal rights. Common Malboros plan a class action suit.
4. Speaking of “legal issues”, Greater Malboro and King Behemoth somewhat switched names, with Greater Malboro becoming “Lord Malboro”. Please address it as such.
5. Cloying Breath is now exclusive to Common Malboros (for now) and Common Malboros & Lord Malboros now share Aero (for now) because air does not distinguish between class…unless you’re a filthy Ochu. Oxygen’s too good for those guys. [/speciesist]
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Malboros: Absorb: Water; Resist: Wind; Weak: Fire.
2. Common Malboros & Lord Malboros: Absorb: Dark; Weak: Holy.
3. Ochus: Absorb: Earth, Weak: Ice.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Blind, Poisoned, Doomed & ???. (No longer universally immune to Charm or Confused.)
Shared Abilities:
1. Constrict: Whether with tentacles that looks like green ropes or thorny vines, those within the Malboro family are able to Immobilize and Disable any prey they get close enough to catch, tenderizing them before consumption. Despite their multitude of limbs and eyes, though, they tend only to be able to focus on one victim at a time.
2. Bad Breath: Infamous for its detrimental effects, this breath is more than just "bad", even if very few other words would do it much justice in so succinct a space. Capable of causing hysterical Blindness, emetic Slowness, Poisoning, Silence through throat swelling and even immediate deep Sleeping or severe ???, it is best to never get close enough to partake of it.
3. Aero: Shared only by the Common Malboro and the Greater Malboro. Same as the hume spell.
Common Malboros (CM): These plant-animal hybrids are fond of swamps, but picky neither about environment or food. They can breathe a Cloying Breath that greatly differs from the more infamous Bad Breath of Malboros as a much more pleasant, sweet smelling breath used for alluring prey...and mates alike. Non-Malboros targets breathing in the Cloying Breath experience either Charmed delusions or even an immediate Sleeping state and the results of these effects are…less than lovely. Thankfully it takes breathing in a lot of the breathe to be affected unlike the repellent Bad Breath. (Immune: Sleeping & Petrified.)
Ochus (OC): Fond of sleeping more than 12 hours a day, they differ greatly from their Malboro cousins, being decidedly more plant-like in their physiology. It is guessed that they use photosynthesis for much of their energy despite their size given how quickly they can heal when they Rest. However, they are also decidedly carnivorous and violent if awoken, thrashing about violently with an Earth Shaker that puts the Minotaur's to shame. They are even capable of twisting the ether and mist into a likeness of the Aqua spell somehow. There’s a reason “Let sleeping Ochus lie” is a proverb. (Initial: Sleeping; Immune: Immobilized & Floating.)
Lord Malboros (LM): Older in age than the Common Malboro, their production of Fruit, goo and Cloying Breath has mostly “dried up” and they even have begun to upon a petrified looked at the end of their tentacles. They are still hearty and long-lived though. As such, in dire straits, they can still exhale a wretched, Putrid Breath capable of felling even the toughest warrior. (Immune: Sleeping & Charmed.) |
Behemoths: Notes:
1. I finally decided to make Dark Behemoth a special-only monster. At present, it is not Always: Undead, however, given that I already have a bunch of those anyway between Ghosts, Skeletons and other things that got bump in the night.
2. The new monster is named “Humbaba” and is the new “class C”. It takes White Wind from the Morrigan class of Lamia. Humbaba will probably of a greenish coloration. It may end up moved to Class B. Not quite sure yet.
3. The two previously existent Behemoths get moved up a “class” as a result, with Greater Malboro and King Behemoth somewhat “switching” names, the latter becoming “Greater Behemoth”.
4. The previous entire shared moveset of pretty much dead. Like “Disaster Warning” died a year ago (sigh), “Mark of the Beast”, “Luck's Nadir” and, to a degree, “Comet” died, which is part of the reason why Dimensionalist is losing it.
5. “Ironically”, the long-dead “Cursed Wail” returns, though it is massively changed.
6. I’m still debating if I “should” make an RSM like a "Counter Comet/Meteor" when I start (finally) changing RSMs. Counter Magick or Counter Tackle are likeliest to end up dying if that is made though.
7. These were previously the only monster family to resist more than two elements as a whole, though now with Humbaba’s inclusion, that’s been “broken”. Oh well.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Behemoths: Resist: Fire & Lightning; Weak: Water.
2. Humbabas: Absorb: Ice & Wind; Weak: Dark.
3. Lesser Behemoths: Absorb: Wind; Resist: Ice.
4. Greater Behemoths: Absorb: Earth; Resist: Ice.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Confused (now Human Advancement-only), Cursed, Floating, Charmed & Disabled. (Technically got one more immunity since Confused/Confusion is HuA only at present, but those immunities aren’t shared.)
Shared Abilities:
1. Cometeo: All Behemoths are capable of calling down debris from the sky that can bring devastation, though the extent of its destruction on any given person or area is directly tied to random caprice of the sky and the foul magick that backs it.
2. Cursed Wail: Marking the target through sheer magickal force of will now rather than needing proximity or physical contact, any Behemoth can afflict any unfortunate within its sight from with a heavy, constant Curse that causes great pain and eventually death.
3. Gore Abyss: Attempting to surround a Behemoth to take it out is just as ill-advised as trying to apply oil to a Bomb. Like the disasters they bring about and embody, a cornered or even just opportunistic Behemoth will thrash about wildly, goring and bludgeoning all near it with its sharp horns and tremendous weight & strength. Wounds inflicted by this tend to be horrific and are often susceptible to ???, Silence if damage the throat or lungs. a Doomed fate if more severe or at general Slowing of the afflicted.
Humbabas (HB): Long thought to not be closely related to other Behemoths despite their similar looks, these beasts manipulate their environs not to calamity but instead to restoration, being able to call a chilly yet soothing White Wind that restores the body. Still, given the supportive nature of this wind to their more destructive brethren and its innate ferocity, they are still disasters by association. (Immune: ??? in Embargo and ???.)
Lesser Behemoths (LB): Even the lesser of these disastrous beasts is capable of bringing utmost calamity to any area, capable of creating sudden Tornadoes of such wide-berth destruction that it is difficult to escape their paths unscathed even with the length of time that they take to create. (Immune: Imperiled in Embargo, ??? and Poisoned.)
Greater Behemoths (GB): The heaviest of the cursed beasts of burdens that spread, this particular Behemoth spreads that curse through the very earth it treads upon, they can create devastating Quakes to ravage the landscape if given enough time. (Immune: ??? in [i}Embargo[/i], Immobilized and Poisoned.) |
Dragons Notes:
1. I’m sure I mentioned this more than a year ago before the initial version of this, but "Green Dragons" have been "Common Dragons" for a well over a year. I might change the Common here to some else eventually since it and Malboros (still) sharing that slightly irks me, but it's far better than "Green". I can't really use "Lesser" here either due to the same issue with Behemoth.
2. I’m still not sure as to the fate of Dragoons (in Embargo) ultimately, but all the stuff that Dragons lost to Flan will go to good use. Besides, Frost Dragon at least got Aqualung out of the deal, even if that's still shared with Illithids. (Dragoner is probably dead though, at least in Embargo.)
3. At present, these all have still initial Reraise(d) in Human Advancement due to Dragon Spirit, but since Reraise(d) still needs a change overall and since Reraise(d) might be staying dead in Embargo.
4. Dragons were pretty much the only family to not get any changes to their moves, but instead see (only) changes to their elemental and status affinities. Lucky them.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Dragons: Resist: Earth. (I still need to check if Fly even works for them sprite, though. I still can't remember.)
2. Common Dragons: Absorb: Lightning & Wind; Resist: Fire; Weak: Ice & Water.
3. Frost Dragons: Absorb: Ice & Water; Weak: Fire & Lightning. (It’s actually absorbed Water for a while; I’m not sure why it wasn’t noted.)
4. Flame Dragons: Absorb: Fire & Wind; Resist: Lightning; Weak: Ice & Water.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Floating, Poisoned, Doomed, Petrified & ???; Initial: Reraise(d) (in Human Advancement at least—may get initial: Blessed in Embargo; shrug).
Shared Abilities:
1. Dragon Roar: Releasing a deafening roar in front or around it, a dragon can Slow, Immobilize or even Stop any who are unfortunate enough to hear it.
2. Tail Swing: An close-range ability of varying power, it is nigh impossible to avoid. Should one be unfortunate enough to in the tail's path, they can only hope that its blow lands more softly than usual.
Common Dragon (CD): The common dragon of Ivalice is rather attuned to the element of Lightning, breathing its terribly swift Light Breath upon foes faster than they can react. It also uses its Lightning-affinity to shred a particularly hated target to bit with a Gil Storm fashioned from the coins it loves to hoard, though this tends to take all of its concentration. (Immune: Cursed, Berserk & Faithful.)
Frost Dragon (OD): As with many Ice-favoring monsters this dragon is more frequently encountered in the north, its Ice Breath carrying with it the cutting, fatal chill of winter. However, it also is known to make its den near large bodies of water regardless of clime, seemingly having been the source of Illithids' ability to use the explosive bubbles known as Aqualung though perhaps the opposite is true. Regardless, as such it is frequently seen near coasts as well, oddly making little distinction between freshwater and salt water. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Confused in Human Advancement, Slowed & Charmed.)
Flame Dragon (LD): On the other hand, this dragon is rather peculiar about its habitats, tending to not venture very far from the again active Bervenia Volcano, where most of them nest. When and where it does venture forth, however, its devastating Flame Breath is sure to leave a trail of destruction as it rains down from the sky. Even the very Wind from its wings is a Choking Gust akin to the Poisoning, sulfurous gasses of that troublesome volcano. (Immune: Oily, Sleeping & ??? in Embargo/Confused in Human Advancement.) |
Tonberries: Notes:
1. These are perhaps the most difficult monster to balance after maybe Behemoths and perhaps Malboros since all three of these monster families need to be tougher than average due to historical "weight", but not so much that they obviate other monsters even despite different affinities and immunities. Ignoring the fact that Nietzsche would bitch at me for being so bound to history (and also for not being his sister), I'm leaning towards being "historically" conservative with regards to these guys being (rather) stronger than the average. As such, I'll (still) try to temper that more later on as statuses, RSMs and formulas as well while stats settle.
2. Related to that notion, Holy Tonberry is the only monster to have no elemental weaknesses. This despite the fact that it absorbs Holy (obviously) and that the other two Tonberries are weak to something. Even in light of what was said above, this might remain so; it’s partly balanced by also being the only monster to resist no elements at all.
3. Similarly, at present, Tonberry Guard is the only generic monster still capable of using Teleport.
4. They got Dispel (Magic) over Debarrier a long while and still retain it, though that's still kind...meh. As such, they all got other additions partly between Dispel (Magic) not being enough and “needing” to have Holy Tonberry not be such an outlier even among its brethren.
5. Finally, yes, I'm aware that my Tonberries (still probably) suck quite hard--they're basically porn stars right now--compared to everyone else's Tonberries presently in terms of power. I'm trying to rectify that without having them being kill-everything, instant-death machines. I think the most recent, pilfered additions have done are a decent step in that balanced direction, but they might yet need more.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Tonberries: Absorb: Holy.
2. Pug Tonberries: Resist: Dark, Weak: Lightning.
3. Tonberry Guard: Resist: Lightning, Dark & Ice, Weak: Wind & Earth. (Now weak to Wind instead of Ice, which they now resist.)
Shared Statues Affinities: Immune: Cursed (in Embargo)/Addled (in Human Advancement), Floating, Frogged, Disabled, Imperiled (in Embargo)/Confused in Human Advancement) & Doomed. (Yeah...they might still have a bit much, though like Flan [and Bombs], they were sadly [even] worse once upon a time. They lost immunity to Undead [universally], Hasted & Slowed already and they might lose Doomed, but I can't see them losing more than that to be honest, especially if they're not getting Petrified back. They might get immunity to Immobilized over Disabled, though. Cursed immunity is now patch specific currently for…reasons.)
Shared Abilities:
1. Chef's Knife: Unavoidable, knife-stabbing attack with rather varying power and the ability to cause ???, it's best to not let Tonberries near you in the first place.
2. Devil's Candle: The icy-chill of a cold flame marks the Tonberry’s chosen victim of the moment, making it more difficult for that selected target to escape between the injury, induced sluggishness and even the possibility of ???.
3. Dispel: The same as hume spell.
Pug Tonberry (PT): With its ability to reportedly swim for days in pursuit of its target, it is no surprise that it will aggressively stalk its target over land as well. For what reasons it Stalk/Pursues its victims so aggressively to corner & kill them is unknown, though it does so with the utmost preparation. Its seemingly boundless stamina may come from its ability to use the spell Regen, though some have speculated the reverse is true. Regardless, it can also use the inverse spell of Bleed to further press its advantage on unlucky targets that its knife or foul candlelight cannot yet reach. (Immune: ???.)
Tonberry Guard (TG): Despite rumors of a Tonberry King, these creatures are so named because one must be ever vigilant due to their ability to teleport. These wordless cowards are fond of teleporting behind their victims, fatally stabbing in the back. Though they speak no words, those who have encountered these creatures and survived without falling into madness or death have heard repeated whispers of "Everyone hates you!", “This is Karma!” or "Behold Everyone's Grudge!" before suffering through a bout of many maladies that arise from seemingly nowhere. Whether this is from the Tonberry itself or some ghostly, frequent companions have to be accurately determined. It has been determined that in addition to their ability to teleport, they can manipulate space to create Walls and even manipulate the mist to use Esuna. (Immune: Immobilized.)
Holy Tonberry (HT): Another mockery of Ajora's religion that befouls Ivalice, it is so-named not because it speaks of religion like its bullish counterpart the Sacred, but because it is said to be capable of smiting with a power equal to God with its Ray Bomb. Utter blasphemy and hyperbole aside, an increasing number of cults have popped up to pay homage to its silent, terrible glory. This rare monstrosity has been said to be able to Bless its followers with holy magicks such as Arise or even Reraise, though this has yet to be confirmed by captured, tortured cultists. (Immune: Undead.) |
Embargo-Only Normal Monsters Wolves: Notes:
1. These are Ghosts' "replacements" as normal monsters.
2. They are meant to parallel Panthers in being group and pack hunters compared to the more solitary hunters that the big cats are. As such, they are weaker individually than them and thus the new enemy most likely to show up first (probably as soon as the Sweegy Woods battle, if not sooner), but faster than the big cats.
3. Not really sure on the colors of these guys. White Fang is likely a pale blueish rather than pure white, though. Maybe. It depends significantly on if Beta Wolf is a gray or a brown color. Hellhound is probably a red, though it might be a black, however unlikely that ends up being.
4. Alpha Wolf has been made its own special monster and taken Wishing Star with it, causing the “creation” of Beta Wolf and its Interceptor Fang.
Elemental Affinities:
1. All Wolves: Resist: Dark
2. Beta Wolves: Weak: Wind.
3. White Fangs: Absorb: Ice, Weak: Fire.
4. Hellhounds: Absorb: Fire, Weak: Holy.
Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Blind, Disabled, Doomed & Faithful (NEW!).
Shared Abilities:
1. Screech: A Direct, sonic wave at range 3 that is generally unable to avoided.
2. Blood Fang: A close-range, physical life-draining move, it drains more than a cat's claws, but can still be evaded and thus carries a greater risk.
3. Eerie Soundwave: Producing sound akin to an Illithid, the monster wolf releases an eerie howl that destroys all of the enemies' buffs within a self-AoE of 2.
Beta Wolves (BW): De facto leaders of wolves when Alpha Wolves are not around, despite the contested nature between the cold climes of White Fang's preferred territory and the harsh reality of Hellhound's volatile nature. Their Interceptor Fang is a lunging maneuver meant more to cause distraction and rage that is suspected magickal in nature, opening the target to attack by the rest of the pack, than do significant damage. (Immune: Berserk.)
White Fang (WF): Seeming silver shadows of the snow, they quite easily can catch even the most aware of the north by surprise with how well they can blend in and how swiftly they can attack. To complement their ghostly nature, their Frost is said to be able to chill the very spirit. (Immune: ??? in Embargo/Stopped in Human Advancement.)
Hellhounds (HL): More direct than either of its counterparts, red eyes peek out from burning environs before its dread, poisonous Bushfire sprays out, marking its target in venomous, burning oil. (Immune: Curse(d), Poison(ed), Bless(ed) & ???.) |
Cactuars: Notes: 1. These are now Uribo's replacements instead of Lamias. 2. Yes, I know the names are (still) rather lackluster--pfft, “Snowtuar”--and everything, but I really don't have much to go off here even historically. So unless people want me to just name them "Cactuar" phonetically all with some spelling variation or go with Spanish--which I know almost nothing of, as amusing as "Cactuar Bandito" would be--or want to offer their own suggestions, then this is probably what they'll remain named. I suppose, thinking on it now, that I could have gone with "Cactrot, Cactuar and Cactoids", but that's not really better and Cactoids are technically different. Anyway.... 3. Not yet sure how I'm going to address the issue of 1000 Needles only doing 100, but there's no way in hell it's going to do 1,000 (read: 999) damage. Also not sure how I’m going to address the “problem” of fixed damage ultimately, even if I’m definitely “nerfing” Auto Potion in both games. 4. Rather needless to say, even outside of Snowtuars obviously being in the north, these little guys aren't going to be confined only to desert areas. They'll be more spread out, though perhaps not that much more, especially if they have to cross large bodies of water. 5. As mentioned before, Snowtuars were weak to Dark until they traded that to Steel Aevises for a Lightning weakness. 6. Color-wise, whenever/if-ever the sprites for the guys are made, Cactuar Rogues would be the normal green, Snowtuars would be a snow white (or light blue) and Flowering Cactuars would be a flowery pink. 7. As of just a few hours ago, Belief Theft is dead. In its place, Power Theft. Elemental Affinities: 1. Cactuar Rogues: Absorb: Earth, Resist: Holy, Weak: Water. 2. Snowtuars: Absorb: Ice, Resist: Wind, Weak: Lightning. 3. Flowering Cactuars: Absorb: Wind, Resist: Holy, Weak: Water. Shared Status Affinities: Immune: Undead, Petrified, Blind, ???, Frogged & Doomed. (Lost immunity to Charmed, even if that ??? is arguably a positive status, which is partly why they gained immunity to Frogged instead.) Shared Abilities: 1. Steal Accessory: The same as the hume Thief. 2. Power Theft: Cactuars aren’t just interested in shiny trinkets, but often steal the energy of passer-bys as well, sapping them of strength as sure as the desert heat. It’s unknown whether they do this for mischief, malice, sustenance or some other reason. The only thing that has been reported is that while the technique is dangerous, capable of easily fatiguing its target and even causing bouts of immediate Sleeping in some cases, there have been few deaths reported because of it. There have been many reports of missing lone desert travelers though.... 3. 100(0) Needles: Taking the more direct approach, a Cactuar will frantically strip itself of all its needles in an effort to ward off any who chase after it. A few have reported supposedly counting as many 1,000 needles fired in this manner, though on average its far fewer, numbering in the 100s. Cactuar Rogues (CR): As with human Thiefs, these green-clad desert-dweller delight in playing dirty to make their escape or just cause havoc, gleefully kicking up a sudden Sandstorms to Blind and Slow anyone who attempts to corner it or its brethren or even just catches its beedy eyes. (Immune: Immobilize.) Snowtuars (ST): Like the Ochu to their Malboro cousins, these miniature snowmen of the north are quite different from the cousins who dwell in more temperate climes, if only in temperament in and directness. More akin to ambush predators despite no known carnivorous habits, they seemingly enjoy sending miniature but highly dangerous Snowstorms towards people who stumble over their territories or whom they actively seem to stalk. (Immune: ???.) Flowering Cactuar (FC): More akin to the Treefolk of the forests than either of its more visible cousins, the Flowering Cactuar is ever-covered in blooms and quite passive. However, its passivity belies its utter willingness to follow and protect its fellow Cactuars or even other monsters or humans it has befriended, protecting them even from death with its resurrecting, blooming Budding. (Immune: ???.) |
Now let's see if I can get some actual work done for once. (Probably not.) Isolating EDIT: Wolves & Cactuars get "segregated" from the fourteen other monsters shared with Human Advancement. Besides that, Aevis is no longer under construction.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2013, 09:18:02 AM by The Damned »
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