Update is good!

Can't say for sure if we'll need Renne for the next gym (assuming we win this one). If she's not ready, we'll just fight without her. Guess we'll have to see how action economy looks on upcoming turns, though dunno if leveling up Renne's bond will be a priority for me (aside from taking advantage of the boost from the item we got).
 
Like, I agree that it's a fun storyline for Mariana to push herself to try and keep up with Nemona, but with Renne being able to fight we're not going to get a 2nd badge, let alone any further in our quest to Catch the Sun. Even this gym battle, where Roland and Driburr are both above the curve for the easiest badge is a touch and go because it's a 2v3, while if it was a 2v2 like everyone else we would be fine. Without Renne being willing to battle, we are not getting our 2nd badge, let alone attempting to keep up. It's mechanically impossible.
From the looks of it we'll be able to get Roland to third-badge level and Drilbur to second, that alone puts us into the position we are now, where the thread deemed the risks good enough to go for. I don't know if the math checks out but we might also have the chance to have Renne on board. If we're lucky with Friday's Crystalline Cat maybe.

Meanwhile, the third gym battle? We should definitely have Renne willing to battle by then, and Drilbur to third-badge level too. Maybe even Roland to fourth, and he'll probably be evolution ready by then too so that's another power boost.

By the fourth badge Mariana might be needing her anxiety meds and a hungry emotivore, but I think that's when we should start catching a fourth pokemon like Leaf suggested. I think so anyways, I can't be assed to check.

My point is I'm confident in our chances for the first three badges, and slightly iffy about the next two, and know nothing at all past that.

If Mariana was a meaner person she could aid her futile efforts to keep up with Nemona by using her position as class president to create bureaucratic obstacles that prevent Nemona from tackling gyms quite as frequently as she'd like to.
But our Saiyan Trainer Pride! What's the point in keeping up with Nemona and chasing that distant sun if we hamper it's progress? Our impostor syndrome and inferiority complex are strong enough without giving them genuine ammunition!
 
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Well, if we are going to go for a second badge before the next Field Exercise, we should probably start thinking about which one to challenge.
 
Can I just mention just the fact that Erika also shares Mary's tendency of using a bathroom for something like a discussion. She chose there to make the call while Mary's been going to have discussions with her Pokemon. Not sure if it would be more funny if the whole class just did that for whatever reason or if it was just the two of them. Bit like a running gag. Though with the later if others notice I wonder if they'll comment on it.

Just leads to a thought of Mary having to choose a location to discuss something with major region wide repercussions and chooses a restroom that for whatever reason is large enough to hold the entire class and their Pokemon. With only Erika and both their Pokemon not questioning it at all.

...Also Erika questioning if Mary even enjoys battling.


Though seeing Mary's battle from Erika's pov could've been interesting.
 
Yeah ToCS trivia for this one is that bathrooms don't exist in Zemuria, as far as I can tell. I'm pretty sure they don't in the Pokémon world either so they seem to be an invention of the QM :V
 
Well, if we are going to go for a second badge before the next Field Exercise, we should probably start thinking about which one to challenge.
Levincia. Drilbur and Roland have resistance to the Electric half and both have good moves for the Ghosts. Type advantage isn't everything, but it's still more significant early on than it will be later.

Yeah ToCS trivia for this one is that bathrooms don't exist in Zemuria, as far as I can tell. I'm pretty sure they don't in the Pokémon world either so they seem to be an invention of the QM :V
They exist, but only in Calvard.

Erebonia is too proud of its great traditions. No upstart from Calvard is going to stop them from crapping in the woods and burying it.
 
Well, if we are going to go for a second badge before the next Field Exercise, we should probably start thinking about which one to challenge.

Alfornada with Tulip as the psychic/fairy leader would be my choice. Fairy isn't great for Roland but not all her mons will be Fairy, and it's a big enough city the train links should be decent but also away from 2nd/3rd FE if it goes by game gym order.
 
Alfornada with Tulip as the psychic/fairy leader would be my choice. Fairy isn't great for Roland but not all her mons will be Fairy, and it's a big enough city the train links should be decent but also away from 2nd/3rd FE if it goes by game gym order.
I wouldn't count on game gym order too hard, because it's not necessarily going to line up with ToCS Field Study order. Assuming we're following the order that Rean's group went in that game, would be Barehard/Cascaraffa, Nord Highlands/Andosin Highlands, Heimdallr/probably Medali although this isn't a neat lineup, Legram/......honestly not sure here as we don't have a Laura and Lianne has been replaced with an Andosin Pokémon. Los Platos?*......and then Roer/Levincia before this line of speculation is cut off by the civil war starting.

It could be game gym order, it could be neither, but I at least hope the next one is Cascaraffa because if the Manuel/Jacinto hatred subplot lasts more than another month I might scream.

*EDIT after thinking about it maybe Porto Marinada would be the slot for this one if we're going by ToCS order. The non-Rean group went to its equivalent, the Jurai SEZ, fifth, and while Theadora has nothing in common with Laura besides cup size being the girl noble of the class, she has got that much.
 
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I wouldn't count on game gym order too hard, because it's not necessarily going to line up with ToCS Field Study order. Assuming we're following the order that Rean's group went in that game, would be Barehard/Cascaraffa, Nord Highlands/Andosin Highlands, Heimdallr/probably Medali although this isn't a neat lineup, Legram/......honestly not sure here as we don't have a Laura and Lianne has been replaced with an Andosin Pokémon. Los Platos?......and then Roer/Levincia before this line of speculation is cut off by the civil war starting.

It could be game gym order, it could be neither, but I at least hope the next one is Cascaraffa because if the Manuel/Jacinto hatred subplot lasts more than another month I might scream.
I don't know if there are QM statements on this that are not in the info thread marks, but it seems like the longer the quest goes, the less accurate the info from ToCS is due to just all of the butterflies and the differing setting.
 
I don't know if there are QM statements on this that are not in the info thread marks, but it seems like the longer the quest goes, the less accurate the info from ToCS is due to just all of the butterflies and the differing setting.
Well, it seems the Osborne equivalent has gotten laid some time in the last 17 years, so you're probably right that's already a huge difference.
 
If the order doesnt mather much (and we stubbornly decide to do gym 2 before the the next FE)...
I think someone mentioned Levincia and Iono? We have a good match up against her (except water gun Bellibolt) or maybe Tyme simce shes Rock? If A. I can just imagine poor Mary having to be part of Iono's stream (oh poor anxiety chiled), probably would be harder than even the gym leader battle (lol) as for Tyme... i think it was mentioned that her gym test was about goimg through caves to reach the city?
Either is probably our best bets for 2/3 badge, if we go by our current team. Choices could change depending on our choices and what pokemon we get as a 4th member.
 
I sometimes forget there's even a proper order for the gyms. I chose to start on Arven's and sort of work counter-clockwise. Basicly I challenged Katy and Larry last. Tulip was the only one who gave the most issue unless you count team Star and their fighting type specialist.
 
She
Erika. Gym clothes edition? Do they have gym class in, actually nevermind I just didn't want to draw a school uniform again.

There's physical activity clubs she's not in, but I'm sure there's some kind of mandatory PE at the military academy. There's a couple of obscure jokes I could make about school swimsuits but can't complain about how good this looks.
 
So, genuine question.

If Nemona is going to be Gym 4 Worthy by Field Study 2, how the hell is power scaling for the opponents going to work?

I can't really see how we could be challenged in that situation. Either the enemies are strong enough that we're basically helpless, or she's going to stomp anything that she comes across.

And that feels really bad.
 
So, genuine question.

If Nemona is going to be Gym 4 Worthy by Field Study 2, how the hell is power scaling for the opponents going to work?

I can't really see how we could be challenged in that situation. Either the enemies are strong enough that we're basically helpless, or she's going to stomp anything that she comes across.

And that feels really bad.

One option is to not have Nemona in our group, so she's in an entirely different city.
Another is to have her take on the leader, while we deal with the grunts.
Or once we've advanced the ToCS plot, she'll be the last to fall when we stumble into the big leagues.
 
Every non-League-or-training fight so far has been a big melee that's broken down into individual face-offs, which suits one person having an overpowered mon that can go deal with a singular powerful enemy well.

Narratively speaking, also, Nemona is a Champion contender through her extensive research and planning for fights against the members of the Pokémon League that she needs to beat. While she will have stronger Pokémon due to her singular focus on training, this is also an advantage she has for her own goals that won't (usually) apply against Joe Poacher or Team Soyuz or whatever.
 
Sun Door III: The Legends of Pokemon: Trails of Tera Steel(PC) — Walkthrough

The Legend of Pokémon: Trails of Tera Steel (PC) -- Walkthrough by Nerdorama


(page 3 of 42)
all in all great to use but very luck dependent until you get the Loaded Dice lategame.

Human combat is rare in ToTS 1, but obviously, when it does happen, you'll be glad you gave her a shotgun.

1.2.7 Mariana "Mary" Ganzorig


Combat Proficiencies
Glove: B
Knife: B
Bow: A
Gun: A

Non-Combat Proficiencies
Prowess: B
Knowlege: D
Skill: A
Charm: B

Club: Cooking

A lot of people sleep on Mary in Tera Steel 1 outside of her excellent recipe proficiencies and memes because, at first glance, she's the "jack of all trades, master of none" type, and you're already using Elise, a better all-rounder statistically, for 95% of the game. On easier difficulties, this is somewhat true, but thanks to ToTS's Nightmare Mode actually meaning something, even on NG+, she's got a lot of useful tools. First off is non-combat stuff: Mary might be second best at everything but Knowledge, but...she's second best at everything except knowledge. Because of how out-of-combat events work in ToTS 1 (see section 1.3 if you don't know what I'm referring to), that makes her a valuable addition to any party configuration, especially since the plot usually limits your choices. Theodora not available? You'll want Mariana for Charm checks. Atticus ninja vanished? Bring her along for acrobatics. No Erika for Knowledge checks? ....probably bring Jacinto, but you get my point.

Where it gets tricky is her Pokémon team. You see the list - Dragapult, Excadrill, Meowtwo Akira Top Percentage Meowstic Renne, etc - and think that you're building a damage and flinchhax team, and you think "I can build a better damage and flinchhax team with Elise". And you're right. Nothing is going to beat Rin with Tera-8L1B for sheer damage output except certain forms of advanced cheese from Nemona's Sunny or Thea's Sharon, and nothing's going to beat her for inflicting Flinch. On Hard and below when you can just faceroll things in a few turns with raw damage, Mary's squad can function as a second wave of screw-you DPS, but it's not really necessary with any kind of optimization.

On Nightmare, if you go this route, you're really missing out, and are gonna have a much more difficult game. Mary's actual specialty is battlefield control, with terrain moves, weather moves, status, etc. All it takes is a little investment in TMs and Roland can be the best DoT abuser in the game, with Will-o-Wisp, Curse, and Infestation, all of which stack, Infestation stacking with itself. Add in Sandstorm, Mud Slap/Dig/Earthquake to both damage and control movement, and the still-extant flinch moves, and the enemy will be lucky to even reach your party before they explode to DoTs (or Renne's artillery backing it up).

[TBA: late game party member commentary]

And on the rare occasion of human combat in 1, remember that Mary is the only character to get good proficiencies in both categories of ranged weapons, so swap out her default knife for a bow or a rifle if you want to use her there.

1.2.8 Atticus Henzo


Combat Proficiencies
Glove: B
Knife: S
Sword: B

Non-Combat Proficiencies
 
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The Legend of Pokémon: Trails of Tera Steel (PC) -- Walkthrough by Nerdorama


(page 3 of 42)
all in all great to use but very luck dependent until you get the Loaded Dice lategame.

Human combat is rare in ToTS 1, but obviously, when it does happen, you'll be glad you gave her a shotgun.

1.2.7 Mariana "Mary" Ganzorig


Combat Proficiencies
Glove: B
Knife: B
Bow: A
Gun: A

Non-Combat Proficiencies
Prowess: B
Knowlege: D
Skill: A
Charm: B

Club: Cooking

A lot of people sleep on Mary in Tera Steel 1 outside of her excellent recipe proficiencies and memes because, at first glance, she's the "jack of all trades, master of none" type, and you're already using Elise, a better all-rounder statistically, for 95% of the game. On easier difficulties, this is somewhat true, but thanks to ToTS's Nightmare Mode actually meaning something, even on NG+, she's got a lot of useful tools. First off is non-combat stuff: Mary might be second best at everything but Knowledge, but...she's second best at everything except knowledge. Because of how out-of-combat events work in ToTS 1 (see section 1.3 if you don't know what I'm referring to), that makes her a valuable addition to any party configuration, especially since the plot usually limits your choices. Theodora not available? You'll want Mariana for Charm checks. Atticus ninja vanished? Bring her along for acrobatics. No Erika for Knowledge checks? ....probably bring Jacinto, but you get my point.

Where it gets tricky is her Pokémon team. You see the list - Dragapult, Excadrill, Meowtwo Akira Top Percentage Meowstic Renne, etc - and think that you're building a damage and flinchhax team, and you think "I can build a better damage and flinchhax team with Elise". And you're right. Nothing is going to beat Rin with Tera-8L1B for sheer damage output except certain forms of advanced cheese from Nemona's Sunny or Thea's Sharon, and nothing's going to beat her for inflicting Flinch. On Hard and below when you can just faceroll things in a few turns with raw damage, Mary's squad can function as a second wave of screw-you DPS, but it's not really necessary with any kind of optimization.

On Nightmare, if you go this route, you're really missing out, and are gonna have a much more difficult game. Mary's actual specialty is battlefield control, with terrain moves, weather moves, status, etc. All it takes is a little investment in TMs and Roland can be the best DoT abuser in the game, with Will-o-Wisp, Curse, and Infestation, all of which stack, Infestation stacking with itself. Add in Sandstorm, Mud Slap/Dig/Earthquake to both damage and control movement, and the still-extant flinch moves, and the enemy will be lucky to even reach your party before they explode to DoTs (or Renne's artillery backing it up).

[TBA: late game party member commentary]

And on the rare occasion of human combat in 1, remember that Mary is the only character to get good proficiencies in both categories of ranged weapons, so swap out her default knife for a bow or a rifle if you want to use her there.

1.2.8 Atticus Henzo


Combat Proficiencies
Glove: B
Knife: S
Sword: B

Non-Combat Proficiencies

I admit to never touchimg a single trails game..... but I would play the s**t out of this if it was real.
Also nice formatimg, really gives that game faqs walltrough feeling.
Also also, *snort* Meowtwo? I ugly laughed ill admit it, also kinda funny coincidemce since ive playing pokerouge recently and one of the egg moves they gave to Espurr? Psystrike; she really is Meowtwo in that game.
I wonder if ToTS 2 Mary goes from sleeper pick for Nightmare difficulty to keep at all times, maybe one day Mary will reach the fabled title of Overpowered Female character... or maybe shell become one of those side characters that become even more popular than the protag.... *sigh* a person can only dream...
 
admit to never touchimg a single trails game..... but I would play the s**t out of this if it was real.
Speaking as someone who dabbled in software design once I think if someone told me to make an RPG with a minimum of 9 and maximum of like 30 in the sequels party members each of whom controlled up to six Pokémon with unlimited Pokémon moves on a tactical map with meaningful dynamic terrain, as a video game rather than a CYOA internet thread, I'd probably just drink myself to death immediately and get it over with.

But I AM fantasizing about how you could pare that down to plausibility.
 
So, genuine question.

If Nemona is going to be Gym 4 Worthy by Field Study 2, how the hell is power scaling for the opponents going to work?

I can't really see how we could be challenged in that situation. Either the enemies are strong enough that we're basically helpless, or she's going to stomp anything that she comes across.

And that feels really bad.
Doing the fourth gym by FE 2 is Nemona's most ambitious goal, it is by no means guaranteed that she actually wins that gym challenge and she said so herself when she set it for herself.
 
But I AM fantasizing about how you could pare that down to plausibility.
I think the sanest way to pare this down would be to make the pokemon give abilities to the people holding them in the form of more classical RPGs [maybe think the djinn in Golden Sun in terms of how that could work], trying to make a cast that large, each with individual teams is obviously an exercise in frustration.
 
I think the sanest way to pare this down would be to make the pokemon give abilities to the people holding them in the form of more classical RPGs [maybe think the djinn in Golden Sun in terms of how that could work], trying to make a cast that large, each with individual teams is obviously an exercise in frustration.
Djinn or Personas were my thought, yeah. Probably restrict them to the usual four move slots+Ability, although you could probably benefit from the modern Pokémon ethos of making moves easy to swap during downtime. Cap active party at 4 members, that is, four trainer+Pokémon pairs who share actions, and it's...feasible. Doable with currently existing designs, even, though translating all this to a 2D tactical-ish battlefield with terrain and positioning would be the next big hurdle. Also can be done, just only ever seen it done once with Pokémon and that was very different context.
 
An ideal form of gameplay for this system would probably be something more reminiscent of a combination of Final Fantasy 6/8 and The Last Remnant, to my view.

Equip Pokémon to a character out of a select list, and each Pokémon has a particular list of skills. These skills get AP (or the quest's MXP) as you have them equipped, and more as you use them. You slowly level up the strength of their skills, and eventually have a chance to upgrade/learn new moves when you use the old versions.

The Last Remnant doesn't quite have terrain in it, but it wouldn't be too much more complicated to introduce terrain with bonuses and the ability to throw up or overcome obstacles as you go. That's a system which already has mass battles as an integral part of it, so it works pretty well for the quest, I think.
 
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