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FFT: WOTL - Valeria 2.4 "Ivalice Remastered"

Started by Windows X, December 11, 2017, 04:33:54 am

Windows X

FFT: WOTL Valeria 2.3 - Finishing touch to Valeria 2 milestone update

Since Valeria 2.2 release, I've been testing and refining Valeria 2 modification updates without game progression for a long while. Now it's time for finishing touch of Valeria 2 update milestone with massive re-balance and adjustments.

I must admit that unique job skill and level scaling changes affect re-balance I've applied before more than I anticipated. I tested and adjusted so many things that fell behind trying to make 2.3 as completed patch below.


Tricky Luso fight re-balance
Luso fight is surprising tough on high level scaling battle. I later added Defender with Shell buff on Luso but it's still too challenging for some people without proper preparations.

My approaches in 2.1-2.2 didn't hit the right spot because Behemoth's new ability to extend attack range with wide area is the main culprit. So I changed Gigaflare to have self target with original damage, 2 effect area, and 2 vertical.

This way Bahemoth will only trigger this skill to nearby units without hitting their allies. I still let Luso keeping his Defender as that would be cool to have allies wielding Defender in case you fail to steal one from Meliadoul later.


Magic Pillars re-balance (again)
As there's a lot of mechanics changes applied such as chance to inflict status, effect area/vertical expansion, CT scaling, and unique job abilities causing inconsistencies between magic pillars, I tested everything and revised my approach again in 2.3.

Without swiftness, most players would rather use Time Mage with Summon skill set over Black Magicks for more utilities and better AoE damage rather than status infliction that may or may not happen with Black Magicks.

So, I revised Black Magicks to have higher damage factor from 14/17/23/32 to 15/19/26/36 and lower CT scaling from 3/4/6/8 to 2/3/5/7 without status infliction. Black Magicks will focus on high damage burst with shorter CT.

Chance to inflict status infliction is now moved to Summon with Ifrit for Blind, Ramuh for Silence, Shiva for Immobilize, Titan for Confuse, Leviathan for Stop, Salamander for Disable, and Lich for Dead.

Since you can no longer assign Swiftness support ability, I reduced CT and damage factor on higher tier offensive summon abilities to be lower than Black Magicks except Bahamut and Cyclops as non-elemental but still weaker than strengthened -ja spells.

Another reason I decreased CT on 4-tier spells is first tier will be single target so CT and damage didn't scale well like original. From chance to hit multiple targets become 1 is too high with CT3.

That leads to revising White Magicks too revising Cure spells with higher healing factor from 25/35/50/100 to 35/50/65/100, lower CT scaling from 2/3/5/7 to 1/2/4/6 and increased hit rate from 180/200/220/240 to 200/220/240/255.

This way white magicks can perform healing reliably starting from Cura with 50% + regen heal to multiple units. I also nerfed Moogle and Faerie to heal with original power with MP costed added a little for re-balance purposes

I thought lower hit rate and healing percentage will provide better challenges to game content but level scaling on over level may not work well for some players so I hope these changes will help them better.


Status support/debuff/recovery re-balance
As Black Magicks are buffed with higher damage and lower CT, players may need to rely on support/debuff spells more. Most magic users in story fights are black mages and they will be more fearsome in this 2.3 update.

To make sure you can prepare for the worst better, I reverted CT of Protect/Shell/Haste/Slow back to 4 and decreased CT of Protectja/Shellja/Hasteja/Slowja down to only 1. I considered instant but that'd be too OP for AoE.

Testing abilities related to status recovery made me realized how too effective Purification is. So, Purification will perform as AoE Salve removing Blind/Silence/Poison status and restore 20% of HP as basic dispel with improved sustainability.

This will affect gameplay design but this will make make sense to use Esuna/Remedy as single target better. Esuna will also remove Stop status too with MP cost increased to 10.

I also changed Carbuncle ability to perform mid-tier level status recovery like Choco Esuna since AoE Reflect is often overlooked because it won't reflect back to caster. Since it uses 30MP comparing to 10MP Esuna, it can perform well for AoE status recovery.

Knight and Archer also have status infliction improved with higher hit rate to 65% + MA with physical evasion added so ignoring physical evasion will allow enemies to apply status debuff easier on you now.


Finishing Samurai Katana and Iaido with complete elemental attribute set
Back then only Kotetsu has Dark elemental attribute added due to description. I intended to make katana and Iaido having complete element attribute but I need to make sure new formula will scale properly first.

Now in Valeria 2.3, I'm certain they're stable enough to add complete elemental set with 8 elements to all Samurai's weapons and abilities. You can use Japa Mala to buff all elemental damage of Samurai kit.

To make sure DPS burst won't be too high, I decreased damage factor of Samurai's abilities around 16% and decreased PA/MA Multiplier by 5 for re-balance purposes. This will make Elmdore's Muramasa less dreadful too.

I also made some adjustments on Murasame reduce HP restoration from 35% to 25% but provide Regen status instead so you can always use it with gradual HP recovery. This should be good change for Geomancer with Lifefont innate ability too.


Dark Knight job now requires full level 8 of Knight/Black Mage with some buffs
I thought Orlandeau would get Dark Knight job by default but he still needs to get 20 crystalization and master Knight/Black Magicks first so I changed job level requirements back to 8 giving him more access to those jobs upon recruit.

As Dark Knight has innate Vehemance dealing 50% more damage but also take 50% more damage too. It makes Dark Knight job struggling a lot in over grind run with limited equipment to survive in tough fights.

So I buffed HP Multiplier (85 -> 100) and increase PA Multiplier (100 -> 120) making this job performing better with given risks. You can add HP Boost to improve survivability.


Cloud's Soldier job get refinements to perform better
I realized Cloud's soldier job having a bit too low HP without armor and he doesn't have broken offensive stats like PSX although I added Doublehand and buff stats growth a bit.

So, I decided to buff Cloud's HP Multiplier to 150 which is very high and should help him survive better with some moves since he doesn't wear heavy armor.

I also decreased CT of his early abilities by 1 and change Finishing Touch to apply all status instead with increased CT a bit so Cloud will surely neutralize his target with this ability.


Changes to handle over-grind fights better
As 2.0 being the first update with auto level scaling, it's really hard to fine tune changes from fixed level scaling as some changes I applied before may not work well on over-leveled run.

Since healing in high level scaling won't allow Chemist to keep up with potions, I changed potions' HP restoration to 30/80/180 with priced increased to 100/400/1200 so over grind run can manage better with Throw Items and Auto-Potion.

Mustadio in story fights may dive in and get hit hard from archer in over grind run so I changed his Tame ability to Defense Boost instead which should be a good pairing skill with Agrias having Arcane Defense (I ship them too).

There's also protecting Ovelia, Mustadio, Agrias, Orran, Luso and Rapha missions where they often run for genocide on high level scaling. So I adjusted their AI behavior to focus on Ramza and be more defensive for protect missions.

Iaido abilities like Muramasa from Elmdore and late game bosses seem to be over tuned on over grind run so I tuned damage factor down a bit but they have elemental attribute now so you can strengthen elemental bonus damage.

Lucavi bosses in chapter 2-3 seem to have over tuned multiplier to compensate lower base levels. I decreased PA/MA/Speed Multiplier of Cuchulainn and Belias according to chapter progression to work with level scaling better.

I also reverted Slow status immunity on Lucavi bosses so you can Slow them and buff your team's speed for better chance to win tough fights. Ramza's Dawnblade also have chance to inflict Slow status too.

With CT1 of support/debuff spells, I hope you will consider using them as those abilities will help controlling tide of battle a lot. Curaja will also heal everyone in very large range to full HP and won't hit enemies too.



2.3
-Added Blind status infliction on Sylph ability
-Added chance to inflict Blind status on Ifrit ability
-Added chance to inflict Dead status on Lich ability
-Added chance to inflict Immobilize status on Shiva ability
-Added chance to inflict Silence status on Ramuh ability
-Added Dark element attribute to Kotetsu's weapon and ability
-Added Dark element attribute to Muramasa's weapon and ability
-Added Earth element attribute to Osafune's weapon and ability
-Added Fire element attribute to Chirijiraden's weapon and ability
-Added Fire element attribute to Kiku-Ichimonji's weapon and ability
-Added Ice element attribute to Ashura's weapon and ability
-Added Lightning element attribute to Ama-no-Murakumo's weapon and ability
-Added Holy element attribute to Masamune's weapon and ability
-Added MA Bonus (0 -> 1) to Nagnarok
-Added PA Bonus (0 -> 2) and increased evasion (10 -> 25) to Materia Blade
-Added Stop status to be removable with Esuna ability and MP increased (8 -> 10)
-Added Water element attribute to Murasame's weapon and ability, decreased HP restoration (35 -> 25), and changed status removal to add Regen
-Added Wind element attribute to Kiyomuri's weapon and ability
-Changed AI behavior of Ovelia, Mustadio, Agrias, Orran, Luso and Rapha to focus on Ramza and be more defensive during protect mission
-Changed Carbuncle to cancel Blind/Silence/Poison/Immobilize/Disable/Stop/Stone with CT 5
-Changed Dark Knight job requirements to also have Knight lv.8 and Black Mage lv.8 so Orlandeau can join with both jobs maxed
-Changed Dawnblade ability to have chance to inflict Slow status
-Changed Gigaflare to target self, increased damage factor (5 -> 7), and increased vertical (0 -> 2)
-Changed monster's reaction ability in Hydra family to Nature's Wrath
-Changed Purification ability to remove only Blind/Silence/Poison and heal 20% of HP
-Decreased CT of Arise ability (8 -> 7)
-Decreased CT of Blade Beam ability (5 -> 4)
-Decreased CT of Brave Slash ability (3 -> 2)
-Decreased CT of Cross Slash ability (4 -> 3)
-Decreased CT of Hasteja/Slowja abilities (2 -> 1)
-Decreased CT of Lich ability (10 -> 8)
-Decreased CT of Protectja/Shellja abilities (2 -> 1)
-Decreased damage factor of Ama-no-Murakumo ability (24 -> 20)
-Decreased damage factor of Ashura ability (14 -> 12)
-Decreased damage factor of Bahamut ability (42 -> 38) and decreased CT (13 -> 9), and decreased JP cost (1000 -> 900)
-Decreased damage factor of Chirijiraden ability (48 -> 40)
-Decreased damage factor of Cyclops ability (44 -> 42) and decreased CT (12 -> 10), and decreased JP cost (1000 -> 800)
-Decreased damage factor of Geomancer's abilities (7 -> 5)
-Decreased damage factor of Kiku-ichimonji ability (28 -> 24)
-Decreased damage factor of Kotetsu ability (18 -> 15)
-Decreased damage factor of Leviathan ability (34 -> 28), decreased CT (10 -> 8), decreased JP cost (860 -> 600), and add chance to inflict Stop status
-Decreased damage factor of Meteor ability (50 -> 48)
-Decreased damage factor of Muramasa ability (30 -> 25)
-Decreased damage factor of Odin ability (36 -> 32) and decreased CT (10 -> 8) and decreased JP cost (900 -> 700)
-Decreased damage factor of Salamander ability (36 -> 30), decreased CT (10 -> 8), decreased JP cost (860 -> 600), and add chance to inflict Disable status
-Decreased damage factor of Titan ability (27 -> 24), decreased CT (8 -> 7), and add chance to inflict Confuse status
-Decreased healing factor of Moogle ability (12 -> 10) and increased MP cost (8 -> 10)
-Decreased healing factor of Faerie ability (24 -> 20) and increased MP cost (28 -> 30)
-Decreased MA Multiplier on Belias (140 -> 138)
-Decreased MA Multiplier on Cuchulainn (150 -> 138)
-Decreased MA Multiplier on Samurai job (100 -> 95)
-Decreased MA Multiplier on Time Mage job (125 -> 120)
-Decreased PA Multiplier on Belias (142 -> 140)
-Decreased PA Multiplier on Cuchulainn (144 -> 134)
-Decreased PA Multiplier on Samurai job (125 -> 120)
-Decreased Speed Multiplier on Belias (132 -> 130)
-Decreased Speed Multiplier on Cuchulainn (138 -> 132)
-Fixed Bravely Charge/Rend Action/Rend Vision/Rend Magick AI behavior not targeting player's units properly
-Increased CT of Finishing Touch ability (5 -> 7) and changed status infliction from Random to All
-Increased damage factor scaling of Fire/Thunder/Blizzard spells (14/17/23/32 -> 15/19/26/36), decreased JP cost (0/150/400/700 -> 0/150/300/600), decreased CT (3/4/6/8 -> 2/3/5/7), and removed chance to inflict status
-Increased healing factor of Chakra ability (5 -> 6)
-Increased healing factor scaling of Cure spells (25/35/50/100 -> 35/50/65/100), decreased CT (2/3/5/7 -> 1/2/4/6), and increased hit rate (180/200/220/240 -> 200/220/240/255)
-Increased hit rate of Rend Vision/Rend Magick/Leg Shot/Arm Shot abilities (55 -> 65)
-Increased HP Multiplier on Dark Knight job (85 -> 100)
-Increased HP Multiplier on Soldier job (125 -> 150)
-Increased MA Multiplier on Geomancer job (95 -> 100)
-Increased MA Multiplier on Mystic job (120 -> 125)
-Increased Move on Soldier job (3 -> 4)
-Increased PA Multiplier on Dark Knight job (100 -> 120)
-Increased potions' HP restoration (30/60/120 -> 30/80/180) and increased price (100/350/1000 -> 100/400/1200)
-Removed equip status "Regen" to Murasame and Healing Staff as starting status
-Removed hit enemies on Curaja ability
-Replaced Tame with Defense Boost for Machinist's innate ability
-Reverted CT of Protect/Shell/Haste/Slow abilities (5 -> 4)
-Reverted MA bonus of Runeblade (1 -> 2)
-Reverted monster's reaction ability in Piscodaemon family back to Counter
-Reverted Slow status immunity on Lucavi bosses

FFT: WotL - Valeria 2.3 Info - https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=11872.0
FFT: WotL - Valeria 2.3 (PSP USA) - http://www.mediafire.com/file/a11sqlqd217g2uw
FFT: WotL - Valeria 2.3 (PSP EUR) - http://www.mediafire.com/file/q3hw1erl3739nc4

This should give proper experience of Valeria 2 as intended. It's the most ambitious update and I couldn't finish everything I wanted to do on 2.0 but it will keep getting better over time with your feedback.

Feel free to share your experience about Valeria 2.3 update for better updates in future and I apologize not being able to completely finish Valeria 2 project until now. :)
  • Modding version: WotL

Rodane

February 16, 2021, 02:43:38 pm #121 Last Edit: February 16, 2021, 03:27:31 pm by Rodane
Hello I was wondering If you can put in a way  to get the Items from Rendezvous if you have not already... I would even be happy with doing Rendezvous solo if there is a way to patch it... Otherwise Great hack so far!!.
  • Modding version: WotL

Windows X

Quote from: Rodane on February 16, 2021, 02:43:38 pmHello I was wondering If you can put in a way  to get the Items from Rendezvous if you have not already... I would even be happy with doing Rendezvous solo if there is a way to patch it... Otherwise Great hack so far!!.

Most items in rendezvious are quite OP so I didn't port them. There's also item limit so I can't put them in main event without removing others too. I guess net play with secondary account can work for now.
  • Modding version: WotL

Rodane

One problem I am running into is it is crashing a lot when any menu comes up. Is there an emulator that you suggest playing it on?
  • Modding version: WotL

Windows X

Quote from: Rodane on February 18, 2021, 05:55:23 pmOne problem I am running into is it is crashing a lot when any menu comes up. Is there an emulator that you suggest playing it on?

Did you apply patch on modified ISO? Please try applying patch on clean USA/EUR iso, without slowdown fix too.
  • Modding version: WotL

silenthill27

February 20, 2021, 04:25:40 pm #125 Last Edit: February 20, 2021, 06:29:38 pm by silenthill27
I have played through this mod 3 times now and recently started a 4th run to check out 2.3. I never really post here, but recently signed up for an account and just wanted to say thank you for all your amazing work. It's so awesome to be able to play this game in 2021 and still get a different experience.

I tend to try out mods that change up active abilities or sprites more to get a more "active differences" sense and feel like I'm playing a new experience, rather then stuff that's more under the hood, but this mod has always given me Ogre Battle One Vision vibes - which is to say to me, this is the "definitive" FFT experience.

If I had any feedback to offer, I would just say it would be cool to see more active abilities on jobs, for example dragoon is a sick job, but very boring to play as all you ever wind up doing is jumping, so the only improvements to the job are going to be jump potency. This leaves dragoon feeling like a boring job to play compared to something like samurai or monk. I think older FF games could be a great source of inspiration. Of course then you have to worry about muddying job identity, and I know there are other hack limits/constraints that I don't even understand, but just my 2 cents!

Truly, thank you for your work my friend!
  • Modding version: Other/Unknown

Windows X

Quote from: silenthill27 on February 20, 2021, 04:25:40 pmI have played through this mod 3 times now and recently started a 4th run to check out 2.3. I never really post here, but recently signed up for an account and just wanted to say thank you for all your amazing work. It's so awesome to be able to play this game in 2021 and still get a different experience.

I tend to try out mods that change up active abilities or sprites more to get a more "active differences" sense and feel like I'm playing a new experience, rather then stuff that's more under the hood, but this mod has always given me Ogre Battle One Vision vibes - which is to say to me, this is the "definitive" FFT experience.

If I had any feedback to offer, I would just say it would be cool to see more active abilities on jobs, for example dragoon is a sick job, but very boring to play as all you ever wind up doing is jumping, so the only improvements to the job are going to be jump potency. This leaves dragoon feeling like a boring job to play compared to something like samurai or monk. I think older FF games could be a great source of inspiration. Of course then you have to worry about muddying job identity, and I know there are other hack limits/constraints that I don't even understand, but just my 2 cents!

Truly, thank you for your work my friend!

I'm happy to see people understand the original charm from Tactics Ogre which is Matsuno's original work before Final Fantasy Tactics. I really like how you phrase this as "definitive" FFT experience. :)

Actually, I never like FFT gameplay before. I tried several times including mods but gave up. After trying Tactics Ogre in PSP, I thought it was going to be boring at first with no job and slow grind of abilities. However, I instead got hooked up and had a blast till the game ends in one route.

Rather than trying to complete all routes, I decided to try FFT again. Then I realized FFT has inconsistencies in game mechanics like job's speed multiplier not properly balanced and abilities of archer are gimped hard. So yes this is how Valeria was born as revising FFT with changes based on Tactics Ogre and future Tactics in series.

About Dragoon job, I also felt the same way. I'd rather use Samurai with Jump equipping spear rather than Dragoon as main job. The issue with Dragoon is Jump command can't have other abilities mixed in. As he can move around freely, using White Magicks or CC/debuff as sub should a good idea. :)
  • Modding version: WotL

Herbalmix

Tried the 2.3 patch to a clean US iso but when trying to play it it becomes unreadable by the hardware, 2.2 runs fine
Mind if you can upload a new 2.3 patch?

Thank you very much for your hardwork!
  • Modding version: Other/Unknown

Windows X

Quote from: Herbalmix on March 02, 2021, 12:18:06 pmTried the 2.3 patch to a clean US iso but when trying to play it it becomes unreadable by the hardware, 2.2 runs fine
Mind if you can upload a new 2.3 patch?

Thank you very much for your hardwork!

Did you apply the patch on 2.2 ISO? Please try re-applying again on clean US ISO that worked with 2.2 patch before. I'm also playing US and it worked fine.
  • Modding version: WotL

Herbalmix

Quote from: Windows X on March 03, 2021, 06:31:51 pmDid you apply the patch on 2.2 ISO? Please try re-applying again on clean US ISO that worked with 2.2 patch before. I'm also playing US and it worked fine.

Tried using another computer, it seems that my other one didnt copied the file succesfully

The whole revamp of this version is so good, every unit needs to be specialized
And has bearing in every situation

I like how you made each job has its own unique passive which broke the vanilla version of mixing and matching

Just passed Wiegraf/Belias at level 22
Took 5 retries though
Defenese and offenese is really needed to be balanced

Thank you so much for this update!
  • Modding version: Other/Unknown

LeetMiniWheat

March 06, 2021, 03:31:23 pm #130 Last Edit: March 06, 2021, 04:18:03 pm by LeetMiniWheat
Thanks for the fun and refreshing mod. Enjoying it so far, despite a few annoyances.

Personally I hadn't done a playthrough in many years, but became addicted after play-testing in PPSSPP prior to intended use by an elder who was a huge fan of the original FFT and WoTL (Currently set up on a TV with docked PSP-Go and bluetooth paired PS3 controller, which he's enjoying from bed).

-Innate abilities each job has is interesting as it encourage players to use more of a variety
-Refreshing balance of many broken/OP things, though I haven't played enough yet to accurately judge.

Annoyances:
- Too much Rend(Helm/Armor/Shield/Weapon), which seems more common in this mod. IMO this was flawed and simply not fun. Adds frustration and encourages save scumming (or safeguard on everyone). I assume the developers original intention was some sort of physical method of debilitating, but overlooked any sort of equipment durability system. Without a durability system, they should have been temporarily rendered broken or replaced with alternative ways of nullifying equipment and/or sundering armor(s). This is especially frustrating on unique and non-replaceable items.
- Thieves... similarly as frustrating as Rend(Helm/Armor/Shield/Weapon). Stolen items should have been programmed to be additional "rewards" after defeating said enemies, though I can imagine the complexity it might add.
- JP Boost: Waste of space in 3rd ability slot if JP costs are lowered. I always disliked the irrisistable urge to always have Gained JP Up there. Similarly this is a waste of a slot if everyone needs Safeguard. (Some mods remove this ability in favor of lowered costing skills)

These are the most immediate annoyances I've noticed thus far, but I have no easy suggestions to remedy them without a rehaul of many abilities.
I'm not familiar with the modding tools, but I'd probably temporarily put safeguard as an innate ability on more jobs (if space permits) or somehow make unique items unbreakable/non-stealable and remove JP Boost (or make it innate ability on jobs like Mime/O.K. for JP spillover. EDIT: maybe "squire" jobs too)
  • Modding version: PSX & WotL

Windows X

Quote from: Herbalmix on March 05, 2021, 06:29:57 pmTried using another computer, it seems that my other one didnt copied the file succesfully

The whole revamp of this version is so good, every unit needs to be specialized
And has bearing in every situation

I like how you made each job has its own unique passive which broke the vanilla version of mixing and matching

Just passed Wiegraf/Belias at level 22
Took 5 retries though
Defenese and offenese is really needed to be balanced

Thank you so much for this update!

I'm happy to hear that you like the changes in Valeria update. The removal of obvious offensive boost and unique job makes you want to try job and abilities combination without breaking the game balance. :)

Quote from: LeetMiniWheat on March 06, 2021, 03:31:23 pmThanks for the fun and refreshing mod. Enjoying it so far, despite a few annoyances.

Personally I hadn't done a playthrough in many years, but became addicted after play-testing in PPSSPP prior to intended use by an elder who was a huge fan of the original FFT and WoTL (Currently set up on a TV with docked PSP-Go and bluetooth paired PS3 controller, which he's enjoying from bed).

-Innate abilities each job has is interesting as it encourage players to use more of a variety
-Refreshing balance of many broken/OP things, though I haven't played enough yet to accurately judge.

Annoyances:
- Too much Rend(Helm/Armor/Shield/Weapon), which seems more common in this mod. IMO this was flawed and simply not fun. Adds frustration and encourages save scumming (or safeguard on everyone). I assume the developers original intention was some sort of physical method of debilitating, but overlooked any sort of equipment durability system. Without a durability system, they should have been temporarily rendered broken or replaced with alternative ways of nullifying equipment and/or sundering armor(s). This is especially frustrating on unique and non-replaceable items.
- Thieves... similarly as frustrating as Rend(Helm/Armor/Shield/Weapon). Stolen items should have been programmed to be additional "rewards" after defeating said enemies, though I can imagine the complexity it might add.
- JP Boost: Waste of space in 3rd ability slot if JP costs are lowered. I always disliked the irrisistable urge to always have Gained JP Up there. Similarly this is a waste of a slot if everyone needs Safeguard. (Some mods remove this ability in favor of lowered costing skills)

These are the most immediate annoyances I've noticed thus far, but I have no easy suggestions to remedy them without a rehaul of many abilities.
I'm not familiar with the modding tools, but I'd probably temporarily put safeguard as an innate ability on more jobs (if space permits) or somehow make unique items unbreakable/non-stealable and remove JP Boost (or make it innate ability on jobs like Mime/O.K. for JP spillover. EDIT: maybe "squire" jobs too)

I agree that rend/steal equipment can be annoying at times but you can also use it to take advantage of situation better yourself too. Normally I'll nuke thief and knight first or use Monk with evasion cloak to bait them.

As for JP Boost, it's more like a habit of player who wants to min/max. I considered adding this into innate ability of all jobs but there're a few issues I'd like to address below.

1. Some special characters or jobs like Reis who has all 4 abilities by default can't have that on her main job. Some jobs I modified like Mime/Onion Knight won't have free slot too.

2. It makes job progression too fast. In Valeria I modified job requirements to unlock endgame jobs at more natural pace. You can get Samurai/Ninja jobs unlocked around the time you can get their items and JP Boost will make it unlocked way sooner and allow player to cheese with endgame abilities too early.

I also decreased JP cost of many abilities so even without JP Boost, you can still gain those abilities on time. I only use JP Boost until I can get core abilities I need. After that I'll focus on making units performing better.
  • Modding version: WotL

LeetMiniWheat

Quote from: Windows X on March 06, 2021, 10:35:13 pm
Quote from: LeetMiniWheat on March 06, 2021, 03:31:23 pmThanks for the fun and refreshing mod. Enjoying it so far, despite a few annoyances.

Personally I hadn't done a playthrough in many years, but became addicted after play-testing in PPSSPP prior to intended use by an elder who was a huge fan of the original FFT and WoTL (Currently set up on a TV with docked PSP-Go and bluetooth paired PS3 controller, which he's enjoying from bed).

-Innate abilities each job has is interesting as it encourage players to use more of a variety
-Refreshing balance of many broken/OP things, though I haven't played enough yet to accurately judge.

Annoyances:
- Too much Rend(Helm/Armor/Shield/Weapon), which seems more common in this mod. IMO this was flawed and simply not fun. Adds frustration and encourages save scumming (or safeguard on everyone). I assume the developers original intention was some sort of physical method of debilitating, but overlooked any sort of equipment durability system. Without a durability system, they should have been temporarily rendered broken or replaced with alternative ways of nullifying equipment and/or sundering armor(s). This is especially frustrating on unique and non-replaceable items.
- Thieves... similarly as frustrating as Rend(Helm/Armor/Shield/Weapon). Stolen items should have been programmed to be additional "rewards" after defeating said enemies, though I can imagine the complexity it might add.
- JP Boost: Waste of space in 3rd ability slot if JP costs are lowered. I always disliked the irrisistable urge to always have Gained JP Up there. Similarly this is a waste of a slot if everyone needs Safeguard. (Some mods remove this ability in favor of lowered costing skills)

These are the most immediate annoyances I've noticed thus far, but I have no easy suggestions to remedy them without a rehaul of many abilities.
I'm not familiar with the modding tools, but I'd probably temporarily put safeguard as an innate ability on more jobs (if space permits) or somehow make unique items unbreakable/non-stealable and remove JP Boost (or make it innate ability on jobs like Mime/O.K. for JP spillover. EDIT: maybe "squire" jobs too)

I agree that rend/steal equipment can be annoying at times but you can also use it to take advantage of situation better yourself too. Normally I'll nuke thief and knight first or use Monk with evasion cloak to bait them.

As for JP Boost, it's more like a habit of player who wants to min/max. I considered adding this into innate ability of all jobs but there're a few issues I'd like to address below.

1. Some special characters or jobs like Reis who has all 4 abilities by default can't have that on her main job. Some jobs I modified like Mime/Onion Knight won't have free slot too.

2. It makes job progression too fast. In Valeria I modified job requirements to unlock endgame jobs at more natural pace. You can get Samurai/Ninja jobs unlocked around the time you can get their items and JP Boost will make it unlocked way sooner and allow player to cheese with endgame abilities too early.

I also decreased JP cost of many abilities so even without JP Boost, you can still gain those abilities on time. I only use JP Boost until I can get core abilities I need. After that I'll focus on making units performing better.

Agreed on Rend/Steal being a viable tactic for players and enemies alike. I also noticed shops seem to eventually sell the rare items I save-hacked in with LionEditor.

I also see your point on leaving JP Boost as an optional choice by players - personally I had done the same thing, as it's useful on newly recruited characters so they can catch up in JP.


I always loved the Valeria job system, though am also a fan of some brilliant ideas in Emergence as well - so these are all a matter of personal taste. The intended person I set this up for is old and stuck in old habits and easily breaks the balance - which is no fault of Valeria - thus I fiddled around a bit with FFTPatcher and probably butchered your beautiful mod (lol) - but was excellent starting point for FFTPatcher learning curves.

I'll list some of the changes I made which are all personal preference and most likely could burn my house down or glue my cat to the rug, as well as break game balance in many areas. One thing I'd like to experiment with is changing some spell formulas to scale better late-game and not be overpowered early-game if learned too soon. Arguably higher level magic should have been learned or "obtained", due to SE using spell levels as a broken way of balancing magic (or only available later after chapter/story progression) like weapons/gear. I love the single-target modifications to many spells as well as the speed increases in Valera though, as it was always tedious to look up turn order (whereas modern tactical RPG's display it on main UI/HUD)


butchering/experimentational changes I made to Valeria 2.3 (for personal use):

- JP Boost -> Reequip on all jobs, made it innate ability on primary "squire" jobs for characters obtained later in game (Not sure if this works with JP spillover).

- Thief changed to more rogue-like job (Still experimenting to make the class feel more unique or like an assassin). Balthier save-hacked in early so player can still "steal" via plunder, but could maybe modify ENTD for new games.
    - Skill set: Steal Gill, Rush, Eye Gouge, Poison Strike, Steal Exp, Rend Magick, Doom Fist
    - Innate: Poach, Concentration, Dual Wield(since they are a lesser form of Ninja, two daggers not too bad.
    - Equips: Added flails for experimentation (not enough jobs use these)

- Knight: changed to more of a front line tank or paladin of sorts (unsure where I'm going with this, maybe precursor to DK but you get knight early...)
    - Abilities: Aim +1 (+3), Aim +2 (+4), Intimidate, Cyclone, Rend MP, Rend Action, Rend Vision, Rend Magick, Cure, Purification, Stall
    - Equips: Added Polearm and Pole, since many go to waste after surpassing their native subpar jobs

Few other minor changes while I was in editor (personal preferences of course)
- Archer:
    - slight modification for innate dual wield if player decides to use knives (since archer also similar line of job as thief)

- White Mage (slight modification to feel more like D&D cleric):
    - Equips: +Flail, +Shield

- Black Mage:
    - Equips: +Knife (most FF game allow BM to use daggers), +Bow (because only archer use bow and some bows give magic, not game breaking since BM have low PA. some FF allow bow on BM)

- Time Mage (FFXII had time mage as heavy armor crossbow class with optional sword usage. still experimenting with possible heavy armor):
   - Equips: +Sword, +Crossbow

- Dragoon - always felt like a week stepping-stone job, not even the AI can use it properly. (Made a few changes somewhat inspired by Uhlan class from FFXII, which are almost DarkKnight-ish, but doesn't quite fit lore of Holy Dragoon(s) etc):
   - Equips: +Sword (Many polearms suck until late game, and Kain from FFIV can use swords. seems natural w/o Equip Sword ), +Fell Sword (possible precursor to DK)
   - Skills: Unchanged, but possibly considering holy dragoon style with slight support utility since jump sucks (and fell sword removed).

- Agrias: Added some base skills that felt more "Holy Knight", though kind of redundant with Orlandeau having most of these. Luminous Robe suits her style too
   - Skills: +Dispel, +Dispelna, +Raise, +Holy

- Cloud: Soldier was always mediocre for a job you get so late in the game, though I save-hacked him in.
    - In the spirit of FF7 movies/games I added Hor/Ver Jump+8 and innate Ignore Elevation/Height (FFVII: Advent Children demonstrates his almost supernatural mobility, though needs more thought like possible built-in parry and stat modifications. Limit should follow target though, and possibly some cost system to simulate the limit break system. He's still really out-of-place in FFT though, presumably added for fans since FF7 and FFT were in development simultaneously, with FFT released 6 months after FF7

- Ramza: -brawler, +dual-wield (chap 2/3), -brawler +dual-wield (chap 4) (and many more equips, because at that point you likely have tons of gear going to waste and he's almost an onion-knight anyways). With this setup he has both dual-wield and doublehand like O.K. has, albeit slightly quirky when equipping some items (not sure what use Brawler is at that point, unless it does something more than increase unarmed attack)

Other than this, I think I threw around some more polearm, pole, flail, and knife use on some jobs since many go to waste later in game. Maybe a book and harp here and there. Still experimenting.

Sorry if I sound like I'm criticizing your work or if I butchered it with my crude and haphazardly untested modifications, which I can now appreciate the enormous amount of work you must have put in to this. The base Valeria 2.3 is still an excellent improvement since last I played (1.3.1).
  • Modding version: PSX & WotL

Windows X

To be honest I used to have OCD about missing JP Boost too but I decided to focus on gameplay experience after replaying for a while and I didn't lose as much. You use good support ability and your gameplay gets a lot better and more enjoyable.

Feel free to apply changes on your custom run as you see fit. Everyone has to start somewhere and Valeria is a good place to start too.

I also used to consider giving Thief more abilities like Balthier but buffing Speed/PA makes thief a lot better with Concentration. You can't miss landing hit.

Aim abilities can't be fixed with non-Aim command due to having special skill set flag so you can only tweak ability to work like Aim if you want to mix in.
  • Modding version: WotL

mikih

Hello,

Just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying this mod so far! It's one of the most refreshing things in replaying FFT, with all the changes to skills and jobs so far. I personally really like this mod as it takes me a bit of time to spend time modifying characters to my liking, grinding JPs and class is really rewarding in some sort. (i use frog and berserk to gain JP up very quickly with JP boost). I usually finish this game no longer than 3 days playing for a whole day, but this game takes a while to finish which I really appreciate. Though currently i'm on chapter 4 after 2 weeks of playing :)

However, just one thing remains.

At first, i downloaded this mod and played in on my original PSP handheld, everything was working fine and perfect. But since this mod takes a quite a bit of time to poach/grind JP and gain useful items, i figured it would be best to play in on the PPSSPP emulator with speed up animations. But the only thing that bugs me is the sound of swords when attacking (sword skills by agrias, or just physical attack), the sound that it makes is like weird 8-bit in a way, which doesn't deliver the satisfying blow upon hitting enemies like on my PSP handheld.

I tried finding more information about this, but can't find any resolution to this? Anybody know how to fix this? I'm guessing this is a bug within the emulator itself.

  • Modding version: PSX & WotL

Windows X

Quote from: mikih on March 18, 2021, 03:59:32 pmHello,

Just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying this mod so far! It's one of the most refreshing things in replaying FFT, with all the changes to skills and jobs so far. I personally really like this mod as it takes me a bit of time to spend time modifying characters to my liking, grinding JPs and class is really rewarding in some sort. (i use frog and berserk to gain JP up very quickly with JP boost). I usually finish this game no longer than 3 days playing for a whole day, but this game takes a while to finish which I really appreciate. Though currently i'm on chapter 4 after 2 weeks of playing :)

However, just one thing remains.

At first, i downloaded this mod and played in on my original PSP handheld, everything was working fine and perfect. But since this mod takes a quite a bit of time to poach/grind JP and gain useful items, i figured it would be best to play in on the PPSSPP emulator with speed up animations. But the only thing that bugs me is the sound of swords when attacking (sword skills by agrias, or just physical attack), the sound that it makes is like weird 8-bit in a way, which doesn't deliver the satisfying blow upon hitting enemies like on my PSP handheld.

I tried finding more information about this, but can't find any resolution to this? Anybody know how to fix this? I'm guessing this is a bug within the emulator itself.



I'm happy to hear that you enjoy Valeria mod. You can try changing audio backend to WASAPI or DSound and adjust latency to fix it.
  • Modding version: WotL

Dr.Clovis

Hi, I had started this mod and I'm asking myself, on psp version the on-line items are accessible?

Windows X

Quote from: Dr.Clovis on April 14, 2021, 06:56:20 pmHi, I had started this mod and I'm asking myself, on psp version the on-line items are accessible?

If you participate in Rendezvous missions, you can get them.
  • Modding version: WotL

Sparky

May 13, 2021, 01:09:17 am #138 Last Edit: May 15, 2021, 07:45:59 pm by Sparky
I started this mod a couple months ago and really enjoyed it, especially in the beginning. Later in the game I got kinda bored with it but that's normal for FFT for me because once I've unlocked all the jobs and classes I want to use, I lose interest a little bit. I liked the rebalancing, there was an actual challenge to the game that made me rework old strategies. Some of the new job abilities were fun to play with, Rangers and Orators were actually worth using, and the innate abilities made me use some classes I wouldn't have normally used. I still sent my characters down the paths to ninja, samurai, and arcanist but I didn't have much use for the ninja or samurai in this mod so I actually used other classes. The only drawback to the rebalancing was that with all the abilities that you removed, there weren't many support or movement abilities left to use. I mostly stuck to Move +1 for movement, and jp boost, defense boost, and arcane defense for support. All of those can be picked up early and most of the good late game options were removed. This wasn't entirely your fault since there are a lot of useless abilities in the game to begin with, especially in the movement ability options. The only way to make it better would've been to create brand new abilities to replace the overpowered abilities that were removed. Overall I have had fun playing it and enjoyed the new challenges and strategies that your mod presented.

I'm still playing the game and I've had some issues with the Onion Knight class. Nothing game breaking but a little frustrating and odd.

Some of my characters can't use some onion knight abilities while others could use them all. I'm only referring to the 5 abilities that the class starts with, not the monster abilities. Only a few can use Celestial Stasis and some couldn't use charm or one or more breath abilities even after they're unlocked. Is there a level requirement or some reason that some of those can't be used by certain characters?


Thanks for the mod, it's been fun. Let me know if you have any solutions for the OK issues and thanks again.
  • Modding version: PSX & WotL

Filil

Quote from: Windows X on April 16, 2021, 01:18:31 amIf you participate in Rendezvous missions, you can get them.

Hi! I'm a brand new FFT mods player. And i'd like, if possible, that you could explain how to do Rendezvous missions. I'm using PPSSPP program on my Android to play the game. Could u tell me how to do it, please?

Thanks! And congratulations for the mod, i just began and i'm liking it so much!
  • Modding version: PSX & WotL