Labyrinth of Touhou 8F

[SealedDarkness]

Thank you very much! A few more questions before I proceed...

I see Iku come up a lot as a fantastic character, but I must not be using her correctly, as I cannot see the appeal. I can see that her debuffs are stellar, and Stickleback looks good, but I find trouble keeping her alive and even when she's out, I can't seem to have her do much. Perhaps I'm a bit too defensively minded and focus on buffs too much, but whenever her turn rolls around I go "Ahhh, fff, what can you do, ahh no idea SWITCH OUT" (This probably speaks more about me than it does about her, though.)

Also, I know that putting people with high defenses in the front is a sensible idea, and ones with high mind but squishy defenses in back is also fine, but I appear to have run into a problem where everyone is squishy and nobody has decent defense, save Tenshi  and Meiling. My Reisen in particular suffers from squishiness, as she has non-notable Mind and a defense of 2K even now. A shame, because I've grown to love Discarder. I just can't keep everyone alive as much as I'd like, it seems, and I always end up with something like Meiling -> Ran -> Reimu -> Anybody

Also, here is my proposed party... Just checking to see if there are any glaring troubles, as I will probably be carrying these fellows into Plus Disc, if I can best Maribel with them.

Reimu
Meiling
Aya
Sanae
Minoriko
Ran
Suika
Nitori
Alice
Patchouli
Remilia
Komachi

[Esoterica]

Party looks more than fine.  Pretty similar to what I was running my first playthrough.

Iku's sole purpose is to megabuff your heavy damage characters with Thundercloud Stickleback.  Don't even bother attacking with her.  Stickleback is by far and away the best offensive buff in the game.  She also has good affinities and HP and stellar MND, making her a sturdy character for slot 2 or 3.

As for the party you listed, Remilia and Komachi are both perfect slot 2 candidates.  Ran, Suika, and *maybe* Alice or Reimu could probably be put in that slot if needed too.

Regarding Reisen, I don't know if she really has enough SP to abuse it yet or not, but are you abusing Grand Patriot's Elixir to keep her buffed?  +40% to all stats and it only puts her at 86% delay, allowing her to full-buff herself in no time flat then ream opponents with mass Discarder debuffs.

[Parallaxal]

Reisen has to have low base stats. If her stats were any higher, Grand Patriot's Elixir would be ridiculously broken (well, more broken than it already is right now). She is limited by SP to start with, but I find that usually by floor 16 she's able to quickly chug 2 or 3 Elixirs and then go to town, refreshing the Elixirs every 2 or 3 turns. In my last Plus Disk run, she was my 2nd best damage dealer come endgame (when she had no SP issues whatsoever). With enough SP to keep herself permanently at 50-80% buffs, she was tankier than all but the dedicated tanks and off-tanks.

Iku is arguably the best MND tank in the game. Just dump all of her level bonuses into MND, and watch her take next to no damage from most MAG-based bosses. I've had Iku take slot 1 against some heavy MAG bosses. Patchouli and Yuyuko could potentially get more MND than Iku, but at the expense of their MAG, which they also need to deal their damage. Iku can cast nothing but Thundercloud Stickleback and still be MVP for your team.

[Frogbuster]

Oh my god, just finished 12F Eintei.
Wow, that was really hard. Definitely the hardest boss yet, even with using cheat engine to count health.
I think the only reason I survived is Eirin didn't use Astronomical Entombing until her fourth or fifth turn.

Oh, and Iku's buffs are pretty much the reason why she's so good. As long as you have some PAR resistance, it's relatively easy to boost your attackers to full, which lets them do a LOT more damage. In addition, her MND isn't bad either. I only ever use her DEF debuffs when I've accidentally switched her in so that the nuke moves first.

For example, (my) Suwako hit 20-30K against Kaguya, but with Iku's buff her attack shot up to 55K.

[Serela]

In my last Plus Disk run, she was my 2nd best damage dealer come endgame (when she had no SP issues whatsoever). With enough SP to keep herself permanently at 50-80% buffs, she was tankier than all but the dedicated tanks and off-tanks.

In the same vein, Ran's def/mnd buff can be infinitely spammed (Give her high sp bonus gear in plus disk, it practically doubles your SP, seriously) endgame to keep your entire party at 70~100% def/mnd. This has a massive effect due to how the damage formula works, considering that it's like 20~50% more buff then you'd normally consistently have on. (Reimu has too much of a delay for this, and Yukari has the same delay coupled with low speed so hell no)

I normally don't like Ran's buffs much, but using them like that is just faaaaaabulous.

[SealedDarkness]

Oh, wow...I never quite understood Stickleback. But then, I was always wary about the status stuff because I have a tough time understanding resistances in this game. Maybe later I'll give it a shot, for now I'll just try to stick with what I have.

I didn't realize the Elixir trick. I should pump some more into her SP pool and maybe a little into her speed, just to help her get going. My biggest problem was her getting oneshotted before she even got a turn, so that should handily circumvent that.

I'll go grind up a little more and see about facing Maribel. Overgrinding probably won't kill me, as I hear Plus Disc is a killer and having a good baseline will help me along.

Oh, one last thing, one of those star things, it says "Get every item on the first ten pages" in the wiki, but I've heard it as "Get every item in the game." Which one is correct, or are there simply more than one stars like that?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

First ten pages. The bonus stars were in the game before the Plus Disk was released, and before the Plus Disk, the first ten pages were every item in the game.

[I have no name]

So I just did some more of my draft team run, and I think it's actually working out the way I expected it to.

I beat the first 2 of Wriggle's bugs (the second of which I used DTH on because boring repeated fight is boring) without anything eventful occurring.

Reimu was level 9 when I fought Cirno, it was an easy fight that would have been easier had I remembered Alice had a single target fire move.

Reimu was only level 10 when I went on and fought Youmu-this fight was much harder, although Mesh of Light and Darkness made it go easier (PAR+SPD debuff on Youmu both times while the ghost half was out).  Keine is shaping up to be as tanky as expected although she died to 3 Slash of Eternity attacks in a row.  Yin Yang Orb ended up being the final attack.

Then I went and fought Rumia at level 13-it was another hard fight, she decided to open with Demarcation, and she also used it several times in a row later in the fight.  Mystia was MVP for being able to heal those debuffs, Yuyuko had some solid damage but Youmu and Suika dealt the most.

[Raikaria]

Then I went and fought Rumia at level 13-it was another hard fight, she decided to open with Demarcation, and she also used it several times in a row later in the fight.  Mystia was MVP for being able to heal those debuffs, Yuyuko had some solid damage but Youmu and Suika dealt the most.

I can see Mystcia being a complete troll to Rumia [Boss].

Oddly enough, it sounds like your draft run against Rumia went identically to mine. She opened with Demarcation and Dark Side of the Moon for me. Except I didn't have Mysti, so my best option for removeing debuffs was buffing, which few of my characters could do, or one of Yuuka's skills, I forgot the exact one.

[I have no name]

I can see Mystcia being a complete troll to Rumia [Boss].

She would have been a bigger troll except lack of SP.

Anyway, Ifrit was uneventful despite me derping and losing Mystia and Suika immediately.

Alice, on the other hand, took 2 tries, the first of which had Alice and Reimu barely hanging on at the end (I failed), and the latter of which...almost has to be seen to be believed.  Minoriko and Mystia dual MVPs here, Minoriko for being the only one who can hurt Magical Light consistently and Mystia for Poisonous Moth's Dark Dance.  Reimu gets honorary MVP for surviving the Little Legion that wiped Yuyuko, Keine and 1 other character with only 2 HP left.  Yes, that was 2 HP away from a game over.  Probably would have been easier had I gone in with Reimu at a higher level than 17, but whatever.

[Raikaria]

Fought Tam's Foe after entering every single teleporter on the level to unlock him.

Actually lost the first time because I underestimated Flowing Hellfire's power, because Ifrit's was like a tickle. I instantly lost Sanae and Aya.

2nd time I was still sacrificeing characters to HellFire [Orin and Utusho could each only take one, but that's all they need to do, absorb the first blast, and Remillia was taken out towards the end, although Tenshi tanked like a boss].

Kanako's CLD nuke was hitting over 10k. Cirno was actually the MPV in terms of damage, I buffer her with Aya and Sanae, and she was hitting 5k+ with each Icicle Fall. Not to mention Cirno's sped debuffs. Had 6 standing when the fight ended.

[I have no name]

Just did St. Elmo's Fire, Reimu level 20.

It has less health than Alice, but even still...it wasn't an easy battle.  Wind of Souls was an absoulte killer on my party, thankfully Utsuho and Yuyuko could comfortably tank everything (Bonfire+Wind of Souls).  Youmu dealt 4k with 3 slash of eternity, single-handedly knocking off half its health.  Chen, Rinnosuke and Alice dealt most of the rest.

I see Yuugi as being the opposite of this fight-I'll know for sure in another 150 or so battles  :V

[ExPorygon]

Finally got started with my draft run. I'm about ready to take on the 1F bosses. One reason this took so long is that I've decided to do a full video Let's Play for it. The first episode is uploading right now. The first part won't be very exciting for most of you guys who have beaten the game several times over, but I'll post a link here just in case. I'm also wondering in which forum I should make a general thread for my Let's Plays. Any ideas? I'm currently LPing danmakufu scripts and LoT, nothing else for right now but that could change.

[Pesco]

LP threads go in Akyu's. For a Labyrinth-specific LP, just post the updates here. We're all pretty much doing informal LPs here by posting our progress.

[ExPorygon]

LP threads go in Akyu's. For a Labyrinth-specific LP, just post the updates here. We're all pretty much doing informal LPs here by posting our progress.

Thanks for the info, I'll get that up soon. In the meantime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkUQ1Gw1dSs

Here's part 1. Nothing interesting yet.

[SealedDarkness]

I've been grinding on floor 20 for a while now, and I have to ask, what's with this "Heaven's Lightning" attack? Everything here spams it, and I've seen Hellfire Demon Kings cast it up to six times. I wouldn't complain, but when one of my squishier members gets caught in the blue, six bolts of lightning tend to hurt, and even Meiling has trouble recovering from it when it's followed by a stronger attack. Also, while I've seen The Norns listed as dropping Ribbons, they only ever seem to give Elder Dragon's Jewels, which while nice, are not exactly what I'm looking for. Can you tell me where to find them, if not dropped by the Norns?

[I have no name]

I've been grinding on floor 20 for a while now, and I have to ask, what's with this "Heaven's Lightning" attack? Everything here spams it, and I've seen Hellfire Demon Kings cast it up to six times. I wouldn't complain, but when one of my squishier members gets caught in the blue, six bolts of lightning tend to hurt, and even Meiling has trouble recovering from it when it's followed by a stronger attack. Also, while I've seen The Norns listed as dropping Ribbons, they only ever seem to give Elder Dragon's Jewels, which while nice, are not exactly what I'm looking for. Can you tell me where to find them, if not dropped by the Norns?

Heaven's Lightning has a post-use delay of 10200.  A character gets their turn when their gauge is the highest above 10000.  That's why it gets spammed.

I believe the Truth Seeing Eyes that come along with The Norns drop the Jewels-The Norns themselves drop the Ribbons on a 1.5% chance.  I ended up being very lucky and got 2 Ribbons in 7 fights when I needed 2 more for some Plus Disc stuff.

[Zil]

There's a box with a ribbon as well, in case you missed it. Actually, it's kind of advantageous to skip that box since the Norns give you the ribbon more easily if you don't already have one, so you can get one from the Norns, then return to the box to get two ribbons.

[SealedDarkness]

Heaven's Lightning has a post-use delay of 10200.  A character gets their turn when their gauge is the highest above 10000.  That's why it gets spammed.

Oh that's just NASTY. I guess I've just been having bad luck with the RNG then, to have them get caught in loops like that. Guess it's time to heavily invest in everyone's Mind again.

There's a box with a ribbon as well, in case you missed it. Actually, it's kind of advantageous to skip that box since the Norns give you the ribbon more easily if you don't already have one, so you can get one from the Norns, then return to the box to get two ribbons.

Ahh, if only I'd known that a few floors back. Oh well, and thanks for the trick, I'll try it on my next run. As for now, I'll just keep trashing Norns until I get a Ribbon for Minoriko. It always sucks when a healer gets nailed by instadeath, and I might as well increase her debuff resistances too. Honestly, I'd pull a Gold Cloth off Reimu if it weren't for the fact that I'm pretty sure she needs everything, whereas Minoriko only really needs defenses.

[I have no name]

Oh that's just NASTY. I guess I've just been having bad luck with the RNG then, to have them get caught in loops like that. Guess it's time to heavily invest in everyone's Mind again.

Yeah, the amount of Heaven's Lightnings used varies from 1 to 6-thankfully it's capped.
You'll see something similar with a Bloodstained Seal boss later...

The ribbon Zil mentioned is on the 13th floor I think-I'd check the wiki though.

[Raikaria]

"Ooh what's this explanation mark?"

Suddenly Sanae's Fow; Flowing Hellfire insta-wipe

Yay for not being boss symbol :/

[GuyYouMetOnline]

That's not a boss fight until you have at least 20 characters. I'm surprised you had 20 before you found it.

[I have no name]

That's not a boss fight until you have at least 20 characters. I'm surprised you had 20 before you found it.

New Game+, 40 characters from the beginning.

[SealedDarkness]

Hey, does anyone know how to make one of those Charagraph images? I'm aware it has something to do with transparency and the names and sizes and whatnot, but does anyone have the actual dimensions? I've downloaded every image pack I've seen, but I haven't found any particularly badass looking images of Aya, and I'd like her to fit into my dark & gritty character portrait set, so I figure I might as well try and make my own.

[Pandaology]

Making the Charagraph images is simple (but kind of hard to get it right). First you need a picture that you want to use (it can be of any dimensions as scaling is easy). Secondly a image editing program that can create a transparent layer, I use Gimp for this as paint can't do it. Then in that program go around cropping out the sections you don't want and convert them to a transparent layer, this part can take a bit as even the smallest pixel is really obvious so the cropping has to be really tight. The scaling should be easy but if the image is to flat it might cause issues. The dimensions of the Stand image is just a height of 360 but the width can be whatever. The face icons are a little harder, for the Large face select an area with a ratio of  0.9:1(I think), and the smaller one is just 1:1. The larger one scales down to 104*112 pixels and the smaller one to 50*50. It can take a long time (the cropping) but the results tend to be worth it.

[Raikaria]

Just popping in to say that someone hacked my computer, infecting it with a lock-out malware. This required me to completely reset my computer and re-install Windows, which has resulted in the loss of EVERYTHING.

Needless to say, I've lost my draft run file. As that is part of everything.

[I have no name]

@ the above
That really sucks 

As for me, since I fixed my recording, I can proceed.

However, since I'm behind on uploading, have what I currently have up:
Wriggle's first bug: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hswf_BzVAh4
Cirno (level 9): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yYH3gydltM
Youmu (level 10): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OyJOMVX0vk

[Frogbuster]

Phew, just went through Rinnosuke.
First of all, his boss art... O.o

And he was surprisingly easier than I had thought. Maybe it helped that I had a variety of elements to choose from, but even boosted Youmu dealt 90K with non-elemental Slash of Eternity. Suwako was hitting upwards of 200K when fully boosted and with type advantage.

Maybe it helped that I managed to kill him before he used world shaking military rule, but even then Gungnir, Croaking Frog, and Slash of Eternity killed him using only one shot each.

[Raikaria]

Can't say for certain yet, but I *may* be able to salvage some of my files. My draft run may be recoverable. When I reinstalled Windows most of my files got moved to Windows.old, and not outright deleted as I anticipated. Ofc, I need to ensure that I can pinpoint the virus before I fish around and see exactly what is recoverable, but from going to my old desktop folder I see my shortcut there at least, which is a good omen.

[Pesco]

I haven't forgotten about my draft run.

7F: No real problems running around. Got a Forbidden Tablet in the first run of the area and another one when I came back to grind a bit before fighting Suwako.
8F: Underestimated Komachi's event souls a little. First one almost wiped me so I left them alone until I cleared 9F. Got 2 Gutsy T-shirt drops very early and sold them.
9F: Straightforward stuff and fully explored it in 2 trips with good TP management. Haven't fought Nitori yet but took Reisen out easy.