SWR and IaMP - Story Mode Spellcards

[nintendonut888]

Thanks for the help after I've 1cc'd it? :V

[shadowbringer]

even though I avoid using spellcards (for SWR Story Modes) unless forced to (because using spellcards don't hurt your score in IaMP), especially if said cards are alternate ones (because imho the game should be balanced enough to not require me to grind for said spellcards), and I avoid letting the timer run out? (even though there's no score for this game besides the end-stage results. Playing for survival only isn't much of an achievement, and I'm too greedy.)

And I've 1cc'd the game before you, stop pretending you didn't watch my replay by now

[nintendonut888]

Spoiler:

But I didn't watch your video.

[ebarrett]

the final opponent left for me to crush in the entire series

Spoiler:

you still need a legit PoFV lunatic 1cc

[AlexX Unlimited]

Question: Does Reisen's Life Elixir work throughout story mode if I were to use 3 in the first round and never use a 4th one?

[nintendonut888]

Spoiler:

you still need a legit PoFV lunatic 1cc

Blah blah blah. :V Aya is an easy way out, but she's not cheating. Cheap, yes,just like Aya herself but it's not like I'm abusing a game-breaking bug like Marisa B in MoF. Besides, I really can't stand the game and its mechanics (a shame, because Fate of 60 Years is a good song and I wish I had a better environment to fight to it). If I ever get really masochistic I'll try for real, but I promise nothing.

[shadowbringer]

AlexX: I think that the card will retain its buffs through the stages (because the skillcards will stack through stages, at least from the last time I've tested them)

donut: it's not.. *sob*.. a video.. *sob* *sob* it's a replay file
(and I have no shame of using a certain character -- Suika -- in order to accomplish a 1cc, because 1: the game should be challenging and fair enough for all characters; 2: since the game isn't that fair in Lunatic Story Mode, I'm going to use the game against itself, and most importantly of all, 3: I didn't adapt myself as well with Youmu's gameplay as a character, due to the disadvantages in Story Mode and/or her playstyle, compared with other characters whose potential could be better explored by me. Playing a game well begins with choosing your character -- as well as the game itself -- and planning out how to use it beforehand, not right after you've finished choosing it. Not trying to correct you, but to explain why did I pick Suika, besides me being a lazy player that tries to avoid unnecessary effort :p)

edit: in order to clarify what I mean by unnecessary effort (because it's clear in my mind, but not much outside of it), it's because Suika has only 3 stages, and my choice to learn these 3 stages was an expression of how much I wished to just get through the Story Mode and move on to something else that's actually fun.

[AlexX Unlimited]

AlexX: I think that the card will retain its buffs through the stages (because the skillcards will stack through stages, at least from the last time I've tested them)

So in theory I could make my "Story Mode Reisen" deck dedicated completely to buffing her up into a walking tank of badassery and it will stay active the whole way through? Good to know. Now I just wish I knew how to make a good 'Vs Mode Reisen' deck.

[nintendonut888]

Despite it bringing out the sailor in me, I quite enjoyed SWR lunatic, especially compared to IaMP lunatic. While it certainly had its flaws, it's a lot more fun than most fighting games, and the story mode spell cards are pretty interesting.

[?q]

Blah blah blah. :V Aya is an easy way out, but she's not cheating. Cheap, yes,just like Aya herself but it's not like I'm abusing a game-breaking bug like Marisa B in MoF. Besides, I really can't stand the game and its mechanics (a shame, because Fate of 60 Years is a good song and I wish I had a better environment to fight to it). If I ever get really masochistic I'll try for real, but I promise nothing.

If I can beat PoFV Lunatic with Sikieiki, you can.

[Esoterica]

Now I just wish I knew how to make a good 'Vs Mode Reisen' deck.

Mind Explosion x3
Disbelief Aspect/Disorder Eye x3
Ultraviolet Field/Undersense Break x3
Life Elixir "Grand Patriot's Elixir" x4
Desolation "Scars of Absent-Mindedness" x2
Illusion Bomb "Myopic Firework" x2
(remaining cards: 3)

For the last three, I'd say these are your best choices (in no particular order):
-Poison Smokescreen "Gas-Woven Orb"
-Fascination "Corolla Glance"
-"Stare of the Gloomy Phantom Moon (Lunatic Red Eyes)"
-Guard Hangeki
-Spell Amplifier

Any combination in any number you wish.  You could also remove the 4th "Grand Patriot's Elixir" if you want more deck space, since it really only exists to increase your odds of drawing the first three.

Don't use this deck for UNL, though.  This isn't even close to being similar to my UNL Reisen deck.

[AlexX Unlimited]

Ultraviolet Field/Undersense Break x3

Yeah, I'm trying to get 2 more copies of this thing. I really like Reisen, but I absolutely can't stand how her bullets are just as spread as everyone else's, yet only ONE out of each wave is real.

Don't get me wrong, I realize mindgames are all part of her game (I especially like how you can use clone moves and personally choose which is the real one to keep your opponent guessing), but I really think her bullets could have been a lot better. Perhaps if they had pulled an Invisible Full Moon where only one is VISIBLE and the rest are also real, but can't be seen.

[nintendonut888]

Might as well warm this thread up. If the English patch is nowhere in sight, I suppose I'll have to try and deal with the fact that I don't understand anything.

ALRIGHT, this is the final frontier. 15 lunatics in the bag and one left to go. I've dehorned the oni, put the celestial being into the ground, now it is time to GO FISHING. YEAAAAAAAAH.

Ahem. I'm not sure if I'm actually going to get serious with UNL yet, but I do know one thing: I want to use Meiling. Both Suwako and Alice look like interesting opponents (as does Utsuho for that matter), but I've beaten them all in the past. I want to kill the catfish. /o/

Screwing around in practice (which BTW I have no idea how or even if you can make the AI center itself), I found a few interesting moves, but none that scream out at me like Youmu's (do you want a 3 hit combo against opponents with super armor, or do you want a grazing superslash that takes a fifth of their health per hit?). I'm also unfamiliar with UNL's new take on story mode spell cards. I know that you have to drain the spell card meter and then whale away on them while they're down, but how effective are spell cards? Do any of them work during the spell gauge? More importantly, which moves are most useful for story mode? I may as well get this all out of the way before even worrying about spell cards.

[Serela]

I know that you have to drain the spell card meter and then whale away on them while they're down, but how effective are spell cards? Do any of them work during the spell gauge? More importantly, which moves are most useful for story mode? I may as well get this all out of the way before even worrying about spell cards.

If I remember right, spell cards were highly ineffective for dealing damage compared to the other options. Stuff your deck with system and skill cards. I'm not sure which of Meiling's skillcards are best for story mode, but you should have 4 of Alice/Utsuho/Patchy system cards. Thats the one with puppets on it, the one with Utsuho's control arm thing, and the one with the book. These increase defense, attack power, and spirit gauge regain. Then you have room for 2 skillcards to pick.

[nintendonut888]

Ah right, this game added these character system cards. Didn't Suwako's give you temporary invincibility?

[Esoterica]

The only spellcards of Meiling's that I'd use are both tornados (reversals, so if you're about to get hit you can whip one out and do some damage while you're at it), the 3-card jumping kick, and the 3-card punch.  For system cards, I'd only use the Shanghai dolls and Grimoires (4 of each), as Control Rods will erase the defense you get from the dolls, and the extra attack isn't that necessary.  The rest is up to you.  Among other things, her alt.236 rainbow crystal rain could be useful since it does about 2700 damage point-blank at level 1 alone, and you'll have a grounded, stunned opponent to spam it on.

And don't use Three Heavenly Drops, you need to use three of them for just five seconds of invincibility, if that.

Outside of that, I haven't tried UNL's story mode and Meiling's my least-used character in UNL, so I'm not going to be much help this time.

[nintendonut888]

Oh, wow. Those dolls look like an absolute must.

Among other things, her alt.236 rainbow crystal rain could be useful since it does about 2700 damage point-blank at level 1 alone, and you'll have a grounded, stunned opponent to spam it on.

I hear her normal 236 is pretty effective at breaking the gauges in the first place though.

[nintendonut888]

Hmm, I think I created a deck I can use. From memory:

4 default 236s for wonderful golden chi
4 alt 214s for surprisingly effective and practical fists of fury
4 doll system cards because 30% damage reduction is holy shit
2 grimoire system cards because regaining spirit faster is pretty cool
2 alt 22s for MEILING KICK (will probably come in handy for those pesky spell cards where they won't come the fuck down)
2 alt 623s for getting up close and personal with certain unnamed giant barnsides, alternatively fodder for...
2 lower level whirlwind spell cards for when I want to bring the cost effective pain.

Thoughts? I should probably test it out myself on normal once I get motivated, but it seems pretty good.

[Esoterica]

Oh, wow. Those dolls look like an absolute must.

I hear her normal 236 is pretty effective at breaking the gauges in the first place though.

Dolls are kind of useless at first since the first 3 are only +5% defense each, but the last one's +15% I think.  You either use four, or you use none at all.  And odds are very high you want four at all times.

Eh, that could be useful I suppose.  Again, I'm not a Hong player by any means, so your guess is almost as good as mine. :V

[Esoterica]

Hmm, I think I created a deck I can use. From memory:

4 default 236s for wonderful golden chi
4 alt 214s for surprisingly effective and practical fists of fury
4 doll system cards because 30% damage reduction is holy shit
2 grimoire system cards because regaining spirit faster is pretty cool
2 alt 22s for MEILING KICK (will probably come in handy for those pesky spell cards where they won't come the fuck down)
2 alt 623s for getting up close and personal with certain unnamed giant barnsides, alternatively fodder for...
2 lower level whirlwind spell cards for when I want to bring the cost effective pain.

Thoughts? I should probably test it out myself on normal once I get motivated, but it seems pretty good.

-2 grimoires will barely make any difference.  Not that I can think of anything else to put in there, though.
-Use the other alt.214, it grazes, is air usable, does really nice damage, and is easy to combo into (or rather, will combo from anything and everything against a stunned opponent).
-Which alt. 623?  They both seem pretty useless to me, and that's before considering story mode.

I'd personally probably take out the 623s so you can have a full four grimoires.  Looking through cards to see if there may be something else of interest though.

Alternatively, "Roc's Fist" is a nice card to have.  Meiling unfortunately lacks efficient cheap cards, but that's about as close as you'll get.  If you were going to use it after stunning the opponent though, I'd wait to use it until just before the bar refills, so they spend a good bit of time airlaunched before they're allowed to continue their assault. Disregard that, it does way less damage than it did in IaMP.  Fooling around with cards right now and experimenting.

[nintendonut888]

Is refilling my gauge quickly really that important? I can't even find a way to drain more than two bars without enemy interference. Even at level 2 that 623 move does a lot of damage. Usually it'd be useless due to its ridiculously short range, but against the catfish it could really help out on the final spell card.

Also thanks for the tip of trying out the default 214 again. It didn't appeal to me at first but after powering it up holy crap. Combined with 3 hits from standard auto-comboing and then activating it (something so simple even I can do it

Spoiler:

70% of the time

), I have a 5 hit combo that can do do over 2000 damage. What really sold me was the idea that it would let me quickly jump over to the opponent after their spell gauge breaks.

[Esoterica]

Is refilling my gauge quickly really that important? I can't even find a way to drain more than two bars without enemy interference. Even at level 2 that 623 move does a lot of damage. Usually it'd be useless due to its ridiculously short range, but against the catfish it could really help out on the final spell card.

Also thanks for the tip of trying out the default 214 again. It didn't appeal to me at first but after powering it up holy crap. Combined with 3 hits from standard auto-comboing and then activating it (something so simple even I can do it

Spoiler:

70% of the time

), I have a 5 hit combo that can do do over 2000 damage. What really sold me was the idea that it would let me quickly jump over to the opponent after their spell gauge breaks.

The default 623 does the same amount of damage as Scarlet Inch Punch, so it's not worth the speed and range decrease.  And if you don't even use that much spirit then I'd forget the grimoires altogether.

And I was talking about the Flying Flower Kick 623 alt card, not the default punch.

[nintendonut888]

We can't be thinking the same card, because it is most definitely not a kick. Heck, I don't know WHAT she's doing other than looking really angry. Hold on.

...

Oh wait, it is. I have the Scarlet Inch Crush. I dunno, something about the fist one doesn't appeal to me. It seems slower in any case.

[Esoterica]

Alright, a bit of testing and I think I found a decent deck.

x4 Shanghai Doll
x3 Shui Xing Tai Chi Quan (alt.236 orb)
x3 Descending Flower Slam (alt.214 kick)
x3 Sky Dragon Kick (alt.22 kick)
x3 Colorful Sign "Colorful Light Wind Chime" (2-card tornado)
x2 Supreme Color "Colorful Light Chaotic Dance" (4-card tornado) OR Blazing Strike "Great Roc's Downfall Fist" (5-card punch combo)
x2 Qi Sign "Earth & Heavenly Dragon Kick" (3-card kick)

Gives you a versatile arsenal of attacks, five low-cost spellcards that do decent damage, and two high-damage reversals (which one you pick is up to you; Great Roc costs one card more for an extra 1600 damage and a potential followup if you have good timing).

And I'm sure you're wondering "Why the alt.236?"  Well, it's because of one thing that isn't obvious in practice mode.



It's homing.  You can also highjump out of it much earlier than the default without sacrificing damage, meaning you spend less time being vulnerable during the opponent's attack phases.  This is all theory though, it may actually end up being completely useless. :V

We can't be thinking the same card, because it is most definitely not a kick. Heck, I don't know WHAT she's doing other than looking really angry. Hold on.

...

Oh wait, it is. I have the Scarlet Inch Crush. I dunno, something about the fist one doesn't appeal to me. It seems slower in any case.

I was talking about both her 623 and 214.  Sorry if I confused you.  I assure you the default 623 is better, but if you want to use Scarlet Inch Crush then I'm not stopping you.

But you should definitely use the alt.214 kick instead of the default 214 punch >:V

[nintendonut888]

I'll keep your deck in mind, but I wanna try this one first. We'll see how it fares in the story mode proper.

[Esoterica]

I'll keep your deck in mind, but I wanna try this one first. We'll see how it fares in the story mode proper.

Good luck.  I'm going to bed. :V

[nintendonut888]

Wow. The default 214 is more useful than I could have ever imagined. Powered up to max, it is the only thing to do once the spell gauge is broken. It guarantees the enemy will be dead within two iterations. Just beat normal with only one death on Marisa. I don't know why people seem to think the fighting games get worse with each installment; I think they get better and better.

[Esoterica]

Wow. The default 214 is more useful than I could have ever imagined. Powered up to max, it is the only thing to do once the spell gauge is broken. It guarantees the enemy will be dead within two iterations. Just beat normal with only one death on Marisa. I don't know why people seem to think the fighting games get worse with each installment; I think they get better and better.

That's because you're only playing story mode. :V  But I'm not going to bother writing a huge essay on why IaMP > SWR, that's for another thread.

[nintendonut888]

I love how some people still think I'm going to play the real game after story mode. :V I don't care about the real game.

:suwakodwi:

So yeah. Hard 1cc last night so we can just cut the crap and go straight to lunatic.

[Esoterica]

I love how some people still think I'm going to play the real game after story mode. :V

I don't.  You asked why people think the games get continually worse, and I told you you wouldn't see why because you don't actually play the games beyond story mode. :V

That said, UNL's superior to SWR since it fixed a lot of stupid things like wrongblocking being better than blocking correctly.