So you may be wondering why i'm back so sudden, or maybe why i left suddenly after i came back after leaving. Well...There's no reason why i left... i just didn't login. (this goes for basically every time i vanish)
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As for why i'm back, aside from being linked to the site by Sala, I'm planning on doing a Run of golden sun.
I haven't played in about a year and a half which is the longest I've gone with out playing. The reason I'm bringing this up here is because I want to do a quick perfect 100% play through. I don't want to go full speed run yet but I want to beat GS1 quickly, 100% and at as low a level as possible in a normal game with out any hacks.
My previously best run i finished in a few hours, 100% at level 19, with 0 character deaths (that mean no dieting or reviving even in battle)
I intend on doing better this time.
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What I need help on is more or less advice. I want to know how you guys go through the game the fastest.
Tips i need include:
#1: efficient battling (psynergy usage)
#2: avoiding encounters (how many to avoid and which ones to avoid)
#3: equipment suggestions (for each stage of the game)
#4: low level boss fighting.
#5: stuff i can't think of atm...
I've always had trouble with games and picking up tactics. it took me 3 years to beat golden sun 1, and i didn't get good at the game until only a few years ago. I only use the basic classes though I've gotten past just spamming psynergy or summons. i'm also slow when deciding what to do so getting second opinions on things will help me figure things out.
Keep in mind the goals are:
100% (all djinn, all bosses, all field psynergy items(so no skipping the orb of force) and all optional events which cause events in GS2)
no deaths
low level as possible while keeping no deaths
And as fast as possible.
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Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
So you may be wondering why i'm back so sudden, or maybe why i left suddenly after i came back after leaving. Well...There's no reason why i left... i just didn't login. (this goes for basically every time i vanish)
Oh hey, it's the other active luna clan member.
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
#1: efficient battling (psynergy usage)
When I was young and just got Golden Sun, I never used any psynergy. I only used normal attacks and somtimes summons to summon-rush bosses. Now I would say you attack with Isaac and Garet (or use single target psynergy like Ragnarok), offensive psynergy wit Ivan and Mia does healing. Easy.
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
#2: avoiding encounters (how many to avoid and which ones to avoid)
Avoid Thunder lizards. :happy:
Also, you might look into dodging that Storm Lizard.
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
#3: equipment suggestions (for each stage of the game)
Be sure to get those special items like Kikuichimonji later in the game.
Since you're doing low-level, it might be a good idea to get the best shoes from the Lucky Wheels in Tolbi.
I also suppose you're gonna do Deadbone isle?
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
#4: low level boss fighting.
Barrier trick always helps. (using Granite one turn, then use Flash while setting Granite and then use Granite again while setting Flash etc..)
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
#5: stuff i can't think of atm...
IDK
Be sure to notice the thiefs in vault after Dodonpa.
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
I've always had trouble with games and picking up tactics. it took me 3 years to beat golden sun 1, and i didn't get good at the game until only a few years ago. I only use the basic classes though I've gotten past just spamming psynergy or summons. i'm also slow when deciding what to do so getting second opinions on things will help me figure things out.
Do you know about class setups?
http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/468548-golden-sun/faqs/24951 (http://www.gamefaqs.com/gba/468548-golden-sun/faqs/24951)
Just use the #1 class setup after you got like 5 djinni's for everybody. It helps alot.
Quote from: zman9000 on 27, April, 2015, 01:59:30 AM
Keep in mind the goals are:
100% (all djinn, all bosses, all field psynergy items(so no skipping the orb of force) and all optional events which cause events in GS2)
no deaths
low level as possible while keeping no deaths
And as fast as possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITza_WCpFP4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITza_WCpFP4)
Have you ever seen this video?
Most of that advice is terrible. Kikuichimonji is irrelevant in final battle, barrier spam is effective but is very slow (and only doable in the last battles of the game anyway), and the class setup guide is completely irrelevant to low level play because you don't get access to any good psynergy at that level.
The most class changing you should be doing at endgame in a low level run is swapping djinn for the dual element classes, since your boss strats are going to revolve heavily around using summons. Early game, there's quite a bit more class changing that tends to be done, since you can actually make use of different psynergy at that point, and different elements get priority for different battles.
QuoteMy previously best run i finished in a few hours, 100% at level 19, with 0 character deaths (that mean no dieting or reviving even in battle)
I hope your characters weren't getting too fat then =p
Er... anyway, plexa's run should serve as an excellent model for you; every battle in the run is routed so as to take as few fights as possible. It may not be the absolute lowest level possible (as rainbow kills were intentionally routed in for the extra experience), but it does finish the game at lv17 with some extremely optimized strats. I think plexa has improved on some of them since that was recorded, but it'll be plenty good for your purposes.
I think I posted it in Skype and the gs2 document, but I'll add it here for easy reference.
In GS (or at least GS2, but I haven't noticed any obvious differences in the code aside from the Sol Sanctum Jenna/level checks yet), one of the values that are assigned to encounter groups is a "recommended level" of sorts. How this works for Avoid is that it takes this recommended level and subtracts it from the average party level. There are three checks involved with this:
a: If there is a difference that is >/= 0, it jumps to check b; if not, then the average is set to 0 and it still goes to b anyway;
b: If there is a difference that is </= 5, it jumps to check c; if not, then the average is set to 5 and it still goes to c anyway;
c: If there is a difference that is </= 0, it skips the Avoid check; proceeds as normal otherwise
So basically, as long as your average party level is higher than the random encounter level, Avoid should always block it (ignoring fixed battles obviously, which aren't random). If you're going for a low level run, then it might be better to just constantly use Avoid and fight everything that doesn't get blocked by it if you're good at staying alive and can accurately use elemental differences to your advantage. The counter is also movement-based, so you can stand in place if you ever need to for any reason and not worry about wasting the effect.
Oh, and Cloak = 100% effective Avoid for all battles in places you can actually use it. Which I think is only two dungeons with random encounters in GS1. Still worth exploiting along with Avoid to effectively speed run them.
The average level gets too high by endgame for avoid to be useful like that. You'll end up doing *a lot* of fighting if you try to keep avoid always active, probably ending up quite a few levels higher than you would've if you'd just ran from everything. The main point avoid is useful during a speedrun is after mercury lighthouse, since speedruns do saturos before tret. I think there might be one or two other points where avoid is useful, but that's the big one.
Cloak being a 100% success avoid is really cool though. Which dungeons does that work in, and is it only a couple rooms?
Oh yeah, you have a point there. Might help a bit more to consider the formula that allows for fleeing battle, but I don't remember how that one is set up at the moment.
As for Cloak, pretty much wherever you can use it. Which is Crossbone, Lunpa, and that cave you find Babi in. However, I'm pretty sure the first of those has no random encounters, and the third should already be 100% done by the time you get cloak... Which I guess means one location? I can't remember if Lunpa has encounters in the areas you can actually use it either, now that I think about it.
So, yeah. Even though it negates all battles, it's only useful for backtracking to find missed collectibles and maybe slivers of Lunpa. The Cloak check exists in both GS1 and GS2 though, so theoretically it would be extremely useful if the utility itself were usable more often.
IIRC, there's no random encounters in lunpa fortress, just the guards. I might be wrong, though.
Ah, okay then. So... Um, I guess you'd kind of fail at doing a speed run if you have to backtrack for missed collectibles, but I guess Cloak would be useful for returning to the cave you rescue Babi from.
I love how they programmed this in as a feature, and then made it inaccessible in the average playthrough. And also kept it in for GS2.
Quote from: Lord Squirtle on 28, April, 2015, 12:08:01 PM
I love how they programmed this in as a feature, and then made it inaccessible in the average playthrough. And also kept it in for GS2.
I forgot if Cloak was actually needed anywhere in GS2... I guess you didn't need it anywhere, but there were one or two shadowy spots IIRC...
http://goldensun.wikia.com/wiki/Cloak
"The Cloak Ball and its Psynergy can appear in the inventory of Isaac's party in Golden Sun: The Lost Age if any form of data transfer is used. However, there isn't a single instance in the second game where the Cloak Psynergy is actually usable or useful. "