Yes, I'm doing another update. Amazing, huh?
Searching for Friends- Part 1: A Song of Ice and Fire... and A Few Other ThingsSo, last time Lithos joined our party to help us combat some sort of malice we don't really know much about. Let's talk about her!
Lithos is... interesting. First of all, she starts out at the average level of your entire party from the end of the main game. She has a lot of powerful attacks that she and her sisters had in the main game, most important of all being Pegasus Meteor Strike. Her Family Members Growth tree grants her Divine Barrier, which is not a common thing in the game to get for yourself. However, her usefulness is limited to the beginning of the expansion to make sure Reimu doesn't flat out die alone. To be honest, my appreciation of the expansion characters isn't that high considering I was perfectly fine with the original characters and I'll be perfectly fine with them once I get them back, plus the expansion characters are really only good in certain situations. Feel free to try to convince me otherwise, but I'm firm in my belief.
Growth Trees: Evil Eye (Boosts spellcards and bombs), Golden Wings (Boosts magic), Golden Sword (Boosts physical attacks), Family Members (Boosts HP and MP and grants Divine Barrier and Regen)
Unique Weapon: Rapiers (Piercing weapon that has high accuracy yet low power)
Last Word: Super Void Cavitation (Deals 7777 damage to all enemies (777 to bosses))
Commander Bonus: +2% XP to all party members, 1 Bomb: Purify (Reduces Land Power), 3 Bomb: Evil Gaze (Inflicts temporary Petrify on all enemies)
Starting Skills: Maenad (Deals 666 damage and inflicts Petrify), Blaster (deals damage and can inflict Petrify or Instant Death), Ras Algol Gorgops (inflicts Petrify to all enemies, costs two bombs), Land Amp (Increases current land powers)
Additional Skills Gained Due to Starting Level: Aging Drizzle (May reduce all enemies to 0 HP or deal 9999 damage if they have more than 9999 HP, costs two bombs), Muscle Revolution (a powerful Blunt attack, costs a bomb), Energy Riot (Medium power all targeting Mystic spell), Pegasus Meteor Attack (1-9 time randomly-hitting attack, costs a bomb)
So, how are we going to combat this unknown malice?
We're going to have to take a look at this Incident Board. The entire expansion is based around this board, and it contains all of our quests.
We have a few quests to start out with. There are three types: Character, Story, and Other. Character quests have us attempt to seek out one of our old party members as well as a few new ones in order to build up our party again. This makes sense, as all of our old party members have been overtaken by what I'll just refer to from now on as the Malice until we find our who's really behind it. And no, that doesn't mean Marisa+Alice.
Story quests will unlock after completing most of the Character quests, and completing one will unlock the next. They all have to do with going into areas where the Malice is gathering in search of the culprit, and they are necessary to complete in order to beat the expansion.
Other quests are just random fights. Each character will have one Other quest tied to them which awards their material as a reward. There are other Other quests that will reward other materials, such as Adamantite and Orichalcum. Other quests can be taken multiple times and are cycled randomly upon finishing any quest. Grinding the Other quests is necessary to get all of the materials to craft all of the ultimate equipment. It's not the greatest thing ever, but we're not at the point where we can grind those.
To start off with, we need to gather party members. Cirno is the easiest to get, so let's go after her, shall we? She's up at the Giant Toad's Pond area of the Youkai Mountain.
Every area you go into with a Character quest will have four new chests with this design. They contain new equipment and materials for the new characters, more often than not.
Each area with a Character quest will also have new enemies! This is a Rastpuin (not a Rasputin, although that would make more sense as a name). It's just like its Gapuin cousin from earlier, Damage Net and all.
Here's a Death Matango and a Komodo Dragon. The Death Matango is weak to Fire and can inflict Sleep, while the Komodo Dragon is weak to Water (I think?) and... really doesn't matter.
Super Void Cavitation. It. Is. Awesome.
The Rainbow Bentoras here have a rare weakness to Mystic. They aren't that much of a threat.
Whenever entering the room with the character, this message shows up. One of the enemy icons will be the one you're looking for, but you won't be able to tell which one it is. The unique thing about that enemy, though, is that if it runs into you, it won't start a battle unless you move into it, unlike other enemy icons.
High Fairies are our new Fairy-tier enemies. Weak to Dark as usual. Packing spells and different varieties, as usual.
Of course, we have Cirno herself here! She'll cast Water spells, but they aren't that strong. She'll start out with an attack that inflicts Freeze, but it really isn't too annoying. Omnidirectional Demon Binding Circle isn't necessary, but if it helps you sleep at night...
Spam Pegasus Meteor Strike and you'll be fine.
Why thank you, game.
Hey Cirno. Stop. Fighting. Us. You'll. Never. Win.
It depends on what you mean by "normal," Lithos. Is she stupid and have suicidal overconfidence? Then she's normal.
"Snake girl?" Is that the thing that stands out the most about her? Besides the green hair, the extra eye on her forehead, or her mismatching stockings?
Good old Strawberry Bose Reimu. I knew you haven't left us.
By the way, Cirno... What happened to you?
I see... the Malice got to you, huh? Well, I guess we beat the Malice out of her! Or something. I really don't know.
No kidding.
Lithos, she's a fairy. She's CANNON FODDER. Why should she join us?
Apparently coming with us is equivalent to pulling pranks on others. Okay? Oh, she starts at level 1, unlike Lithos.
She's... not too great. She can get some good Water regen and can inflict Freeze and Instant Death, but that's about it. She's useful in only a couple of boss fights. That's it. I won't really be using her besides those moments.
Growth Trees: Fairy Power (Boosts support abilities), Strongest (Boosts offense), Motivation (Boosts HP, defense, and Water regen), (9) (Boosts MP among other things)
Unique Weapon: Ice (Slash weapon that is stronger than swords and inflicts Freeze)
Last Word: -500 Degrees (Deals Water damage and inflicts Freeze on all enemies that do not resist it)
Commander Bonus: Boosted resistance to Quick effects, 1 Bomb: Active (9) (Increases Water Land and reduces all other Land), 3 Bomb: Frreze (9) (Inflicts Freeze on all enemies)
Starting Skills: Icicle Attack (Low power Water spell that inflicts Freeze), Ice Barrier (Counterattacks attacks with a Water attack), Perfect Freeze (Medium power all-targeting Water spell that inflicts Freeze, costs a bomb)
So... yeah. I tried to go Yukkuri grind after this in order to build up Cirno's levels.
These are two separate TPKs. Maybe later, when my party is a bit more full.
Nitori's next on the recommended order. So, to the area before the midpoint, then! Before I do that, I really need to go see Akyu.
Yes, we have.
Among being the queen of the Gorgons and controlling snakes. With that, we get stuff from her for Lithos. Check back here for the other new characters too.
Someone's knocking at the door. Who is it?
Is this a cutscene I missed in the main game? Huh.
Getting recipes. Keine, the mist is taken care of. It's the Malice you should be worried about.
That would be pretty helpful, actually! Keine...
Damn it.
A formation? Really?
Okay...?
Oh yes, you'll get recipes after finishing certain quantities of quests. Check here often.
You can get Ostracon now. It's our next tier of materials. We'll be finding a good deal of it on our own for now, but we'll need a LOT of it for all of the upgrades we'll be making to our equipment.
Here we get a Super Kedama and a Queen Bee. The Queen Bee is weak to Water and I think it can inflict Poison with its normal attacks. The Super Kedama acts like the Kedamas from earlier, which means they can use that suicide move from before.
That's an Issun Boshi. What that's supposed to be, I don't know. I think it's weak to Light, and it's... really not dangerous.
Crap, a Top Ace! Weak to Dark like the other angel enemies, but it HURTS. Spam everything you have and pray at this point.
Come on!
Here we go...
Nitori, Nitori, Nitori... Our good old engineering Kappa is a bit more difficult to beat than Cirno. She uses a camouflage move to block the next three attacks. You can override that with Pegasus Meteor Strike. While she still has camo up, she'll use her elemental skills that she had as a playable character. Use Reimu's elemental-blocking barrier and you'll be fine.
Of course, I can totally fail. That's always a great idea.
Did you really appear here, Nitori?
Super Void Cavitation. Not. Good. Against. Bosses.
Wow, I'm failing today...
I missed this enemy before. Of course, I HAD to run into it while looking for Nitori again... It's the Red Dragon King. Weak to Dark and uses those Zapper moves like Paralysis Zapper and Death Zapper. Annoying? Definitely.
Took long enough...
Sorry, we had to do it, Nitori.
Does Reimu ever hold back in danmaku?
Well, it's not your fault. Blame the Malice.
Possession, huh? Well, it's a better descriptor than what Cirno said...
She might as well.
Hurray, we got Nitori back! Finally, a more useful party member!
And next we have Mokou. Off to Muenzuka, then!
Yes, I have Cirno in my active party. There's a reason for that. As for the enemy, we have a Death Ghost. Weak to Light, Water, and Fire, and is really not dangerous.
The Harpy Queen can summon more allies like before and is weak to Electric and Piercing. Not too troublesome... unless it summons things. Then you're screwed.
The Phoenixian Amaryllis is weak to Fire and Slash and can put you to sleep, and then can inflict Instant Death on you. Fun!
The Fuuri can inflict Varieties on you, but is not really that bad. Weak to Fire, if I remember correctly.
Of course, Mokou is who we're after! She is pretty tough. Essentially, Cirno should have as much IND as possible and just try to continuously freeze Mokou. Everyone else should just spam their attacks, except for Reimu, who should use Super Duplex Barrier whenever possible just in case Cirno screws up.
This is what happens when Cirno screws up.
Again, more enemies while trying to find Mokou after having been beaten by her already! The Royal Earth is just like the Earth from before... except worse. Weak to Electric. Be careful.
You are awfully close to the fourth wall, Cirno.
Cirno, you suck. You know that, right?
Just to be clear, I don't hate her as a character. By now you should know which Touhou character is the only one I hate. >.>
Of course, I manage to do it. I'm not completely terrible at this, you know.
Sounds like you just got woken up or something.
Was she ever really asleep?
"Some trouble?" Ahahahahahahahahaha... *sighs*
Yeah, we're not sure about this whole situation yet.
So it was more of the Malice... I actually am wondering how the Malice is managing to do this.
Technically, there was that person that you all should totally know by now, but of course, Lithos and Reimu didn't see that person.
You were so useful against a couple of bosses...
Hell yeah, Mokou's back!
I don't show it, but we're heading for Aya, who's at the first area of the Youkai Mountain. We've spent a LOT of time there today, haven't we?
High Ghosties are weak to Light and... do stuff. Not really a problem.
Not the Godly Catfish! It uses some seriously bad Electric attacks. Weakness? I think it's Earth, but I can never be sure with enemies I tend to run from.
Aya's the one we want, though. She'll use some physical attacks and buff her EVA with Tengu's Newspaper Deadline Day, so you might want to try to kill her quick. She's weak to Earth, so Nitori can deal serious damage. So can Mokou.
Not too problematic, although Aya almost killed me. I only had Mokou left.
You can't dodge forever, Aya. You should learn to accept that.
At least she's okay. Not that I really care too much...
Let me guess...
Indeed. The Malice is everywhere. EVERYWHERE.
Gensokyo seems to have a lot of masochists around...
Well, she's rejoining the party. Hurray, I guess.
Next up: Sanae. She's up on the top of Youkai Mountain. I think that covers every area of Youkai Mountain.
The Eight Raijin has some attacks that don't do much. I think he might be weak to Light, but then again I don't tend to stick around enemies for that long.
What the?
If you talked to Chen after finding her beaten up, you would have gotten this from her. I guess she must have left it here.
The Ungaikyo can use Reflect Magic in order to... reflect magic. I have absolutely no idea what it's weak to.
Of course.
That's a Okiku-mushi. It's weak to Fire, I think, and it uses Death Breath or something like that. I can only remember it due to Phantasmal Summoners (I have it. You can get it from upgrading an Antilon Larva).
Sanae is not that hard. The main thing she'll use is...
A move that summons people. They counter physical attacks. And they're susceptible to Instant Death. Cirno, here's your last moment to shine. After this, you're as good as off the team. Sanae herself will buff herself and her minions, and that's about it.
That was easier than all of the other fights!
Don't be sad, Sanae. At least you're back to normal.
That's what I said, damn it!
Hurray for violence! It solves everything!
Possession is definitely what's going on here.
Did anyone else mention hatred? Huh. Well, then called this the Malice is certainly on the mark!
At least the Malice isn't possessing you, Reimu.
Hell yeah, our favorite party buffer and healer is back in business! Well, that should be enough for today. Next time we'll find more of our lost party members as well as a certain red-eyed friend of ours from earlier.
Summary:
Treasure: Pretty Mirror, Magic Shard, Blank Scroll, Silver Tray x3, Ostracon x3, Magic Medal x2, Mithril Sword, Sewing Needle (drop), Donation Box, Mother Nature Ring, Lunatic Morian (Cirno), Iron, Rock, Snakeskin, Kunai, Frozen Frog, Magic Mushroom, Spare Parts, Adamantite Shard
Skills: Ice Beam (Low+ power column Water spell that inflicts Freeze, Cirno), Icicle Fall (Medium power piercing Water spell, costs a bomb, Cirno), Ice Storm (Low- power all-targeting Water spell that inflicts Freeze, Cirno), Freeze Blood (inflicts Instant Death, Cirno) Minus K (High+ power Water spell that inflicts Freeze, costs a bomb, Cirno), Icicle Mirror (reflects magic, Cirno), Divine Fantasy (High power Light spell that always hits, costs a bomb, Reimu), Death Freeze (inflicts Instant Death to all enemies, Cirno), Chrysaor Golden Slash (Column attack that can inflict Instant Death, Lithos)
Recipes: Bellerophon, Perseus, Agincourt, Nagato, Eternal Ice Wall, Watermelon Bar, Ice One-piece, Cirno Robe, Powerful Spirit Gohei, Dragon Broom, Asklepios, Meteor Fan, Durandal, Nakoto Manuscript, Royal Ordinance, Crusade Greaves, Angel Eye, Itsurou Nyuudou, Saint Hand, Achar's Scroll, Orion, Ice Slugger, Cataplexy, Ragnarok, Suika, Darkness Robe, Mirror Pajamas, Kindergarten Master Uniform, Legendary Shrine Maiden Clothes, Yasaka's Shrine Maiden Clothes, Great Tengu's Clothes, Improved Refitted Optical Camo, Priest's Robe, Sacrlet Devil Mansion Maid Uniform, Impregnable Doll, Powerful Fencer's Clothes, Kirin Overalls, Giant Melon Sword, SANOH Knife, Sacred Akiba Cherry Blossom, White Bolg, Animate G-Pen, King Tiger Axe, Pro Gamer Fan, D&D STAFF, Flame Robe, Aqua Robe, Land Robe, Lightning Robe, Ifrit's Breastplate, Furfur's Breastplate, Dryad's Breastplate, Djinn's Breastplate, Fire God's Armor, Water God's Armor, Earth God's Armor, Elec God's Armor
Synthesis Done: Powerful Spirit Gohei (Reimu)
Formations: Gensokyo Wall, Shikigami Attack Formation
TPKs: 7 this update, 7 overall
Frustration: Well, this started spectacularly. Let's see if my luck will stay the same.
