My Phantasy Star Universe thoughts

[Kirk Foiden]

I saw your Room Decor. Nice. I like all the blue. Heck, I'd probably use that for my next character (who is definitely going to sport the blue look).

 

[GregN]

PSO (esp. low- to mid-level) didn't feel like much of a grind because there was a much greater sense of continuous progress and reward. Characters leveled faster. Mags leveled faster. Drops were much, much, MUCH more commonly useful, or at least worth decent cash. Even though there were only four dungeon sets (at first) you moved through them at a much faster pace than you do PSU's comparably small set of environments. (I thought PSO's level themes had more character, too.) And when you beat one set, the next higher difficulty beckoned with refreshed challenge, refreshed loot tables, and even more smoothly paced levels and character upgrades.

That is ignoring PSO's superior soundtrack, atmosphere and storyline. Hah, yeah, I went there. I'm not saying PSO had good storytelling, but I found the background story really spooky and enjoyable, and each mission had a little tie-in to it, however minor. In PSU you grind for the sake of grinding. No reason, other than, "Oh no, the monsters in Parum field are out of control, go kill them!" Absurdly minimalist. There is essentially no story in online PSU. They don't even try to sugarcoat the grind.

PSU is PSO stripped of its best Diablo-like qualities, replaced with questionable MMO conventions that extend gameplay time at the expense of variety and satisfaction. The grind is snail-like. 99% of decent drops are crafting items. Armor and weapons are money pits. PMs are money pits.

As for rare rares in PSO, I can see how it'd be frustrating if you were grinding for one of several specific rares (out of a wide variety of rares that lacks in PSU, mind). Okay, I'll give you that. But that doesn't take away from everything else I mentioned above. PSO was just a much, much more player-friendly game. PSU is Sega-friendly. It's designed to keep hamsters on wheels in the hopes that said rodents will continue parting with $10 a month for the most minimal possible rewards. I can't help but demand better, especially since I had it almost six years ago on DC and four years ago on GCN.

After a few months, I have to agree with this well-written post. PSO was much more fun (maybe because I was an online virgin?) and better paced. I was hoping the community would get better as people played longer. WRONG. People play solely with the intent to grind and get the best mst/xp/ hour and don't like to chat at all. At least games like PSO and FFXI had a good community. The 360 community might be different but I doubt it.

I will most likely be quitting within the next few months.

 

[Magician]

That is ignoring PSO's superior soundtrack...

I have to agree with NeoGAF when it comes to the soundtrack. PSO was far more memorable for me, I still listen to it often to this day. The PSU soundtrack, however, has already worn its welcome with me; I'm quick to pop in a alternative CD in the player or turn on 93X while farming. There's no suspense in the music, PSO was mostly a melodic, ambient experience, while PSU's upbeat tempo just makes my ears hurt after a while.

 

[Kirk Foiden]

After a few months, I have to agree with this well-written post. PSO was much more fun (maybe because I was an online virgin?) and better paced. I was hoping the community would get better as people played longer. WRONG. People play solely with the intent to grind and get the best mst/xp/ hour and don't like to chat at all. At least games like PSO and FFXI had a good community. The 360 community might be different but I doubt it.

I will most likely be quitting within the next few months.

I have a great community on the version I'm playing. Not to mention, the Geezergamers are on it. Probably among the best bunch of people one can ever play online with. Needless to say, I never had that kind of community on PSO. It was mostly friends, and then having to deal with the insane hackers and stuff.

In general, we fight, help each other, and have a ball chattin'.

The elite junk I left behind on FFXI. Even the best folk, on there, had to succumb to *particular* builds you have to play, with certain weapons, to get most powergaming abilities from. On PSU, there's quite a few folk out there, willing to help, if you find them. Sorry you've had not a great community experience with the game. There's so much to like, if you accept the differences and see how they do work here. There's still quite a lot of character freedom, where I've been, and you often find a great role to play no matter what character you picked.

Like PSO before it, it's simply about Jelling in a group. Not the fact that I picked a certain particular class and subclass, and have this particular weapon and armor. Most people know that every little bit to help out is always welcome. However, there are some folk coming from FFXI and bringing that mentality with them. For me, I say, let them be that way while I hang out with the members who simply want to adventure together and have a good time.

Expert classes brought an even better element to the game. Something PSO and FFXI never really had. A lot of people misunderstand the true party-usefulness of expert classes that are mixed. In their case, it's not simply about Who is the DD, or who is the Tank, etc. It's now about having a good selection of Multiple combat roles to play in a group, in which you can switch in realtime. With the Geezers, we all use voice, so it's quite nice in which at any time, we can quickly discuss who takes what role during the fight. If I need to switch to balance a certain amount of tasks, I hear it from another, and I immediately switch strategies while they alter theirs to compliment it. Sharing Ranger and minor Force responsibilities has given me a combat control I have yet to see in other online games. Going back to those would constitute as more boring, in my case. I love flexing my mind in combat outside the bounds of just following a routine.

 

[Magician]

Hmm, the grind continues.

Well, I have 400k in reserve meseta, plenty for the 360k Sori-senba armor once it's released on 1/12. 8* weapons, and room decor/decor ingredients are the best source of income at the moment. 8* at a base discount of 25% off npc price (165k) plus an additional synth fee for element power level usually ends in a quick sale, netting me 120k (10% element) to 200k (50% element) per weapon. I constantly mission pop for Jao Delmas, which are still the hot room decor next to the Grinna Bete S, as Jao Delmas move for 12.5k. It usually takes me an hour to get a Jao spawn, and I get at least one or two Delmas per spawn, 25k an hour...if I'm running hot; where as I usually farm 10k an hour without mission popping. The choice is an easy one; well, at least until the Delmas become common like the rappy feather that is.

I should come home to a hopefully successful 8* knuckle synth, but that one is for personal use, I haven't used knuckles in some time. There's still considerable time before the 1/12 update, the update in which we'll (NA and EU players) be just one step behind our JP PC counterparts in content. I'm hoping to have close to 1 million meseta by then, enough for my armor, units, and at least a couple 9* weapon boards (spear & knuckles most likely) and the necessary synth mats. Mo money, mo money, mo money.

I love this game.

 

[Ghost-Dog]

I've all but stopped playing. I logged into the 360 version recently to chat with a friend, but I didn't get pulled into PSU in the same way that I did with PSO. Either my tastes evolved too much, or PSU didn't evolve enough. Apparently quite a few people I played PSO and then PSU with got a similar feeling, because many of them have quit as well.

I'm a little sad about that, because I wanted this game so badly for a couple of years. I feel a little let down. I wanted to like it so much, if only to justify the hype I had built up for it.

 

[Magician]

I've all but stopped playing. I logged into the 360 version recently to chat with a friend, but I didn't get pulled into PSU in the same way that I did with PSO. Either my tastes evolved too much, or PSU didn't evolve enough. Apparently quite a few people I played PSO and then PSU with got a similar feeling, because many of them have quit as well.

I'm a little sad about that, because I wanted this game so badly for a couple of years. I feel a little let down. I wanted to like it so much, if only to justify the hype I had built up for it.

You're definitely not alone, a number of the members here feel the same. For me, PSU is the first time playing an MMO online, I always played PSO offline alone and so PSU is an all new experience for me. For the others, including yourself, you must have put considerable time into PSO online and perhaps the grind may feel like "same old, same old" to you folks. I can understand the "been there, done that" kind of feeling, and that seems to be the case with PSU and PSO vets.

But no biggie, if you don't dig it, you just don't. Plenty of other good stuff to play in the world today; too bad we didn't get to party together.

 

[Ghost-Dog]

If I added up all the time I logged across all versions of PSO, we'd be talking over a thousand hours easily. I got to a point where I just couldn't play it anymore, right around the time PSO:BB came out for the PC. I had just done it to death. So in a way I liked a lot of things ST did with PSU in making it feel somewhat different, but it never grabbed me the way the original did.

So like I said, maybe my tastes have changed a bit, I dunno. Maybe I just need to put more time into it, my playing time dropped off quite a bit before the first content download even came out, so I am sure there's a lot more stuff to do now.

 

[Kirk Foiden]

I guess my unusual aspect is that I'm also one who can gladly say I've hit the high hundreds if not kissing 1000 hours into PSO, and it's versions. I stopped pretty much around the time of PSO Blue Burst, as I didn't bother picking that up. By then, I was doing different dungeon crawlers and even WoW and FFXI. Though I really can't cound WoW and FFXI as they aren't realtime action games like Phantasy Star Online and the offline Dungeon Crawlers.

For me, it was about appreciating the new things PSU brought, but I can probably state that some of my interest and staying power is my utter and complete weakness for Dungeon Crawlers. I really can't get enough of them, and like a Street Fighter connoseur, find much more excitement in discovering tweaks than the average player, in them. It'll seem like more to me, than some others.

 

[Magician]

He he he, ha ha ha. Player store is still running hot.

Oh the selling of 8* weapons for loot is a beautiful thing. The saying is true, you need to spend money to make money. My update reserves stand at 500k, my 8* knuckles should be sold when I log in later today, putting another 123k in my pocket. I'll be putting up a 34% Ice 8* Spear today, which should net me another 156k easily. That should put another 50k into the reserve (kinda my daily quota), give me enough to purchase an 8* Jojiri Sword board (110k), provide enough for one Jojiri synth from the get (36-60k), and allow me to purchase a couple Vulcalines for the 9* boards at the update (12-16k). This doesn't include the sales of misc 2* weapons, usable items, and synth materials that move off my shelves quite well. I know I'm being a bit of a braggart, but times at Magician's Wares are very good right now.

Hmm, I've calculated the 9* melee weapon ("friend prices") for my store. NPC price for a non-element 9* weapon is 250k. My store prices discount 20% off the top available weapons, a 50k discount. Add an equal price for element power, 2500 mesta for every 1% of element power; 1% fee for 1% element power. My cost, board = 165k (3 uses, 55k each use), x6 Vulcaline (60k), x9 Ebon (36k) = 151k per 9* weapon. If successful, each synth's profit will bring me...

Element % = Store Price = Profit
10% = 200k = 49k
20% = 250k = 99k (NPC price)
30% = 300k = 149k
40% = 350k = 199k
50% = 475k = 324k

For 50% element weapons I add an additional 15% rarity fee. Of course this is a base profit chart, it does not include the discount on synth materials I find for cheap at player stores or those I manage to farm/trade for.

 

[TonK]

Someone Cliffnote this thread for me...

I logged over 1000 hours over DC, GC and XB versions of PSO - Is this game worth my time?

 

[Magician]

The beat goes on...

Reserves for the 1/12 update now stand at 750k. I'm hoping the one Jogiri I placed in my store will have moved once I get home today, with another synth also being completed at that time. That'll put another 50k towards the update and put me well on the way to an 8* claw board. That claw board may be the last board I purchase as I'll still have one Jogiri synth and and three claw synth sales should put me at 1 million meseta by the update, as planned.

To buy: 8* Sori-senba line shield, 360k. 9* Python handgun, 200-250k, once someone synths one and puts it up for sale. 9* Gudda Gant knuckles board, 165k, materials already set for one synth. 9* Muktrand spear board, 165k. Grand total, 940k. I'm on pace for that plus I should have enough fun money to buy the materials for a couple more synths.

 

[Kirk Foiden]

Yep. And yet you talk about the things which I would guess would be 200-300+ hours of gametime, into my future. It took 138 to get to where I am, and I'm not even close to talking about that money. In fact, I doubt I've actually seen 300K worth of meseta come through to me, in my PSU lifetime.

 

[Magician]

Sorry about last night, Kirk. My brother was emotionally unloading on me near the end of that Onma run, which is why I had to cut our party short; I couldn't give him and PSU equal parts of my attention so I had to stop playing.

I'll be on again today, as usual.

What was your question about weapons again? More power?

 

[Arthas]

Someone Cliffnote this thread for me...

I logged over 1000 hours over DC, GC and XB versions of PSO - Is this game worth my time?

Nope.

Take it from someone who spent 2 years of his life devoted to PSO in DC, and then GC.

Gregn's quote earlier in this page pretty much sums it up.

 

[Magician]

Hehehe, hahaha. Oh, sorry, I'm drunk with excitement and enthusiasm.

I've found deals on the necessary synth materials for five 9* synths, by friday's update I should have enough for six synths. Add to that my shift in weapon choice from Axes and Knuckles to just straight Claws and you have a recipe for minimal meseta spending at the update.

Gigush Line (8* GRM line shield) = 360k
Giza-Misaki (Claw) = 165k

Which leaves me with 285k for a particular outfit should it be released with this update, and all the necessary synths should I run out of materials. I also switched to the Gigush Line instead of the Sori-senba, to get use to having only an extra and an arm unit slot, those are the only slots available in the Crimsonline (9*) and Orpaline (10*) armors I'll be purchasing when they become available in the future. I figure if I follow a pattern of "make one, sell one" until I have a Claw of every element I won't run dry of meseta; a better path than if I were to buy two Giza-Misaki s and obtain those Claw asap, which was my original plan.

All I have to do now, is get a regular, trusty crew together to spam Agata S so that I can get ahold of a Hard / Power Charge arm unit. A rather nasty rare that boosts ATP by 150, and goes for no less than 500k in player stores; BS, I'd rather farm it. Things just keep getting better and better. I love this game.

 

[Kirk Foiden]

I'm right behind ya. Still, this morning, I bought a nice Railgun (grinded 4 times) only to find out that it was single-handed and not a twin. *grrr*. Well, I don't think it'll be much of a loss given if people find my shop, and are smart about it, they'd buy it off me in a heartbeat. It's definitely one of the best out there and is actually grinded to better power stats than a Bulletmaster (rank A). The funny thing is, I so don't want it as a single, so I'm selling it for a little loss. (Which actually means whoever gets it gets a very good deal).

Given the materials, I should make up the loss before I sign back on again. On the other hand, I'm still going to probably buy the Dual Rails, because I think I'll be using them for a while. They do good utilitarian damage, have a good reserve. Being able to do mild Hunter damage with status ailments is definitely a good thing. I'd get Bulletmasters (as some are selling at a good price), but I'll be so afraid to Grind them at all. Plus the grinded Dual Rails are better than stock Bulletmasters.

 

[neobuyer]

Here he is:

Angel Eye
LVL 11 Hunter
Likes using double daggers and gloves

 

[Kirk Foiden]

Not bad. Watch out, my character might take a liking to ya, if Magician wasn't already so dreamy. Heh heh.

Anyway, I'll definitely try to hook up with you when we next meet. I just got out of the party I was with, right after you left.

Anyway, I took a little time, this morning, to buy stuff from the updates. My experience exactly, could be summed up in song.

To the tune of "A Day in the Life" - Beatles:

"Woke up. Got out of bed. I bought some buffs just like I said."
"I went downstairs and bought a suit. Some swim wear when I'm in the Hot Springs."
"Bought debuffs, my funds are low."
"I'm one tech short, I'll afford it in one go."
"Out to Parum to test my spoils."
"Stacking buffs, new damage was a dream."

"ah-----------. ah------. ah----------."

"I'll speak the news today, oh boy. There's snowmen decorations all around."
"I saw new Techniques there, oh joy."
"One new set of clothes there in..."
"Clyde City, Parum, Neudiaz, but Moatoob simply has to wait!!"
"I'd love to tell you, why------------------------------------------"

 

[neobuyer]

I sense good times ahead.

 

[Magician]

Oh my, what great times. I played in party more this weekend than probably any other time so far in PSU. Character level is now up to 62, fortefighter class level 6. I've managed to synth two 9* claws, one 50% Ice (booyah!) and the other 44% Dark; quite happy about that. I'll be coming home to a couple more (hopefully) completed 9* claw syths. I'm hoping the 9* 26% Dark claw will have sold as well, that way I won't stress about meseta as I am now out of reserve vulcaline and soon ebon too, which means I'm dipping into my 400k reserve.

I certainly wasn't excepting the good fortune I've had with the 9* weapon element percentages, I was expecting to get 40%+ weapons within a couple weeks, but to get two of them with 24hrs of the update? Kinda wild. But the plan remains the same, produce 9* weapons at a reasonable price, make enough meseta for a gigush line armor and hard / power charge arm unit; the expected price for both combined is 1.2-1.5 million meseta. I make anywhere between 50k-450k per weapon depending on element %, minus 90k per synth failure.

I should have a claw of every element, each above 40% element, by the end of the week. If I come home to find that my claw has sold then buisness should be good, giving me all that I want by valentine's day.

 

[Kirk Foiden]

Oh, by the way. I sometimes forget which forums Magician is on, and which ones he isn't.

Sorry about that.

Let me post that picture I took of us, a few days back.

From left to right:
Tynselle Nbareh, Magician, Ender (aka. Afro-nilla), Bearur, IceeLady, Little Wing.

 

[TemJin3000]

edit: nevermind, thank you magician.
btw, finally hit lvl 60

 

[Magician]

Ah, another day, another wonderful grind. I managed to find a Hard/Power Charge for 600k instead of its average price of 1 million meseta, so I snatched it up with a quickness. Very nice arm unit, it adds another 20pts of attack, very nice. With that in hand I can now focus my meseta saving towards a single item, S rank armor, which won't be available in player stop for quite some time. But saving 25k a day should give me plenty by the time it comes out.

Other than that, the usual, running Moatoob missions to collect Ebon to put towards my Spear and Knuckle synths. To get even a little more meseta I'm going to stop using conversion boards on Ores, the ratio blows, 5 marseline to make one upteline? Silly. I'm better off just purchasing the higher level Ores and selling the lower level Ores at massive discount to move them.

At character level 65, fortefighter level 7. Let the grind continue...

 

[Kirk Foiden]

I had a nice casual day, yesterday, as well. In general, I didn't even realize that I was to have level 3 luck. Still, it was a decent surprise when I got on. Played for a good while with some of the folks I knew from the two other forums and I signed off for the day. I guess I just missed ya, Magician.