Relic Banner: FFT: "Trapped by the Past" event (Alma) (15th -25th Feb 2018)

I promised everyone an Orlandeau banner review and I had one drafted for months. Here it is.

If you thought the OSB was broken, you haven't seen Orlandeau's Excalibur Trueblade. This does 12 auto-crit Dark/holy attacks, sets his crit rate to 100%, and gives him EX: Sword Saint. This increases his ATK by 50% and gives him a True Dualcast of Darkness and Knight abilities. I don't need to explain the power of 10-hit Assault Sabers or 8-hit Reaping Scythes. Hell, in 4 or 5 months, he even gets to do the same with Earth Saber! And that's assuming you didn't pull his LMR, which gives you a 25% chance to Dualcast Knight and Darkness abilities and stacks with both. He's even useful with Divine or Gaia Cross and Earthbringer. In short, this Soul Break has three elements to cover primary DPS with, guaranteed crits, and a possibility to Triplecast. The tri-element versatility puts it above even Cloud USB in “what the fuck were they thinking” territory. Rating: God Mode/10 – Game-breaking

Alma's Nirvana tries to do way too much buffing with a lot of well-proliferated things. It does *breathe* Hastega, Shellga, Protectga, a 40% Reraise, Heavy Regen, and Status Blink, all in one SB. The problem is that Unicorn covers the latter two, Rikku (and in the future, Tyro and Sarah) cover the former three, and Reraise is outclassed by Last Stand. It's Cid Mission-level, and I would much rather her have something like a Medica or Stockga. Rating: 6/10 – She needs a Medica

Marche's Burglar Sword is an amazing relic. Entry is 10x ST Holy/non, Enholy, ATK+30%, and Knight Combo, which is just ridiculous. This gives a charge of Physical Thundercast to everyone in the front row when using a Knight ability, including Marche himself. The only real downside to this is that it's hard for Marche to hit the Guardbringer/Earthbringer threshold. I'd personally use Divine/Gaia Cross and Mako Might, personally. Either way, you have strong DPS (from the Thundercast/Knight stuff) and obscene utility for anyone in the front row. Rating: Marche/10 - Game-breaking

Orlandeau's Saintly Excalibur is notable for being one of three OSBs that give utility, and the only one which is sustainable. Its elements are Lightning and Holy – the two most easily boosted elements in the game – and a 50% longer cast time. However, it is slightly more powerful than most OSBs, and it gives the Thunder God status. This decreases cast time by 66%. To put it plainly, it provides large amount of utility and DPS, and is best used with his USB. Hell, with Marche's Ultra, the CT isn't much of an issue. Rating: 10/10 – You just won the banner!

Alma's Staff of the Magi is a great healer BSB. This does an AoE Curaga, Magic Blink, and Burst Mode. CMD1 is a CT0 Curaja, while CMD2 is an AoE Cure. I'd put this on par with Y'shtola. Rating: 8/10 – Pretty strong

Ramza's Kiyomori is very good, even in the Onion Age. I personally refer to it as super-Shout. It does exactly what it says on the tin: it gives Shout and Enholy. CMD1 allows him to do some DPS, with a 5-hit ST Holy attack that doesn't add to the SB gauge. This is probably best used in JS modes or limited SBs. However, CMD2 is a Wrath slot-save. Considering this is the same character who has access to the rare Kritzkrieg buff and one of the best buffs in History's Truth, this is an amazing CMD2. Actually, it's technically better than Wrath, considering it doesn't overwrite the ATK buff from super-Shout. Rating: 10/10 – You just won the banner!

Marche's Linen Cuirass is strong. This does 8x ST Holy/non attacks, gives an ATK/MND+30% boost, and Burst Mode. Attack is 3x ST Holy/non and a 15% Knight boost, and Defense is a 2x Holy/non ST attack and Sentinel. It's meant to be a Guardbringer booster, and it's certainly one of the better ones/ Rating: 8/10 – Solid

Orlandeau's Cloak isn't nearly as busted as his OSB. The BSB itself deals 10x Dark/Holy damage with a chance for instant death, and a self-HotE buff. The commands are also very good, with four Holy-elemental hits and Break Bloodlust and two Dark-elemental hits with 20% HP drain. So what makes this BSB shit? Double the cast time, even for its commands. Despite its massive DPS potential, its value is very dependent on certain setups. Unless you're lucky enough to pull the OSB, you're hamstringing your RM slot with Orlandeau's RM3. If you go the RW route, you're hamstringing your RW. If you treat it like it slot-saves Full Charge, you have to run Powerchain and hone it up to R4. Thankfully, after using the OSB/BSB setup you don't need a Wrathtruster, so that's good. But still – it's a 1% chance to draw the Sexcalibur itself. Rating: 3/10– Way too inflexible for my tastes

Gaffgarion's Chaosbringer sucks. Entry is 8x ST, Endark, and Burst Mode. CMD1 is 2x ST Dark/non and an Ether. CMD2 is a single-hit AoE and a 30% HP heal. CMD2 sucks – Galuf's is 2 hits. For CMD1, there really isn't a need for a hone refresh because of how common major orbs are, Crushdown straight-up sucks, and Omega Drive is better used on someone like Cloud or Noct. In short, it's a glorified Enelement. Rating: 3/10 – It's a BSB

Orlandeau's Flame Shield gives him a 25% chance to Dualcast Darkness and Knight attacks. It only adds to his obscene versatility. Rating: 10/10 – You just won the banner!

Ramza's Brigandine is the best LMR in the game. This gives him a guaranteed Full ATB and a CT0 charge at the start of the battle. In short, with Mako Might, he can instantly spread a CT0 charge to your party (to pair with your Hastega) or instantly use Shout/Supershout. It's stupid. Rating: Instant SB/10 – Game-breaking

Alma's Cacusha is weird. This consists of a 3000 HP Stockga and Barholy. As I previously covered, I don't like Barelements on my Soul Breaks. They're too situational, and generally if I'm in a situation where I want to heal, I'll use Eiko's or Rosa's USB. In short, it's a Curaga-tier heal. No strings attached. Rating: 3/10 – Low-tier Medica SSB

VERDICT: The banner's very impressive. Like OK's banner and the Dissidia banner, you've got a lot of top tier relics. I will tell you right now, if you pull Orlandeau and Marche's USBs, you will be set for life in three elements. It also has super-Shout and Ramza's game-breaking LMR. Orlandeau LMR is great too, albeit the USB is the essential part. Unfortunately, this banner is also very top-heavy. Gaff's BSB sucks, Alma's SSB sucks, and Orlandeau's BSB is too old to be useful. There's also the KH collab, which might have some game-breakers as well.

Overall, I would wait and see what the future has in store.

 

He’s baaack!

 

Considering 3 pulls, bye bye myths....

 

I think he promised reviews, but didn't promise he'd be back haha. That being said, obviously I'm pumped for this banner. I skipped the last FFT in favor of this one. With KH stealing some of the hype thunder, it doesn't change that TGC's USB is still a fantastic relic that is still used today in JP. I'm also really pumped for a shot at Marche's USB and the LMR for him, TGC and Ramza.

 

That's two dupes for me on the main banner (Orlandeau BSB and Marche LMR) and two other relics that I very actively don't want to get (the orphan Gaffgarion BSB and Alma's SSB). Everything else is wants: I still don't have a medica for FFT, Orlandeau's OSB has long been a white whale relic for me, Ramza and TGC LMRs look great, and Marche USB seems to be the one top USB nobody RWs (saw it a few times immediately after his banner, but haven't seen it since--that might be the way that the game has deprecated the RW function more than the relic being unpopular, but it gives me pause).

Sitting around 125 mythril (thanks, Elarra!) I should be budgeting at least two pulls here, but then again, there's a nonzero chance I delete the app if I'm hit with a bad 1/11.

 

Banner 2:

Mustadio's Glacial Gun is one of the better Quickcast Ultras in the game. This does 10 RT Fire/non attacks and Imperil Fire while giving him a Quickcast charge and a Quickcast cycle for every Machinist ability used. While I frown on Quickcast Ultras most of the time, Machinist Quickcasts are better due to having stacking Imperil abilities. Rating: 9/10 – Stacks are awesome.

Meliadoul's Gaia Gear does 10 RT Earth/Holy attacks and debuffs the enemy's MAG/DEF/RES by 50%. This has somewhat fallen from being a banner win due to debuffs being phased out, but it's perfectly serviceable for damage boosting and synergizes very well. Meliadoul also has Imperil Earh on her LD. Rating: 8.5/10 – Not bad

Agrias's Durandal is mediocre as far as Ultras go. This does 10x ST Holy/non attacks, a stacking offensive debuff, and gives her a flat 15% Knight damage boost. While the utility can be useful, it is useless for Magicites, and the Knight boost is going to be weaker for hardcore players than, say, Basch's Rank Boost. Rating: 8/10 – An okay Ultra

Ramza's Sasuke's Blade is very good. This gives one charge of CT0 to everyone and increases their ATK, MAG, and DEF by 30%. This buff stacks with pretty much everything in the game, and is on a character with an embarrassment of options to Wrath/LS-chain with. Rating: 10/10 – You just won the banner!

Mustadio's Stoneshooter is one of those Soul Breaks that tries to do two things at once and... actually does a serviceable job at both. The entry is 8 RT attacks and a stacking offensive debuff. CMD1 gives 2 CT0 Machinist charges, while CMD2 is a ranged Armor Breakdown slot-save. While it's useful in a pinch, Mustadio's Burst has declined due to Machinists switching to a chain-building and Imperil stacking role. The CT0 charge takes away from that. Rating: 5/10 – Average

Meliadoul's Save the Queen is a very strong debuffing relic. Entry is 7 Earth/Holy RT attacks with ATK/DEF-50%. CMD1 is 4 ST hits and ATK-50%, and CMD2 is 2 hits ST and ATK/MAG-20%. It neutralizes physical bosses and does decent DPS too, but runs into the fatal problem of debuff relics being useless. Rating: 6.5/10 – Shame debuffs are phased out

Agrias's Excalibur is a relic that really got a lot of help from the Imperil buff. At first, a 4x AoE entry and Imperil Holy looks pretty lackluster, especially with no dual-element or non-elemental failsafe. The first command is 2 Holy hits and Sentinel, which is good for a boost, and the second command is 2 ST hits and RES+50%. The Imperil buff makes this even better, considering it has great synergy with Guardbringer. Rating: 7/10 – Great imperil BSB

Montblanc's Firewheel Rod shows how to do a multi-weakness attack right. This does 10x ST Fire/Ice/Lightning attacks, gives a MAG/DEF boost, and Burst Mode. CMD2 is 2x AoE Fire/Ice/Lightning with a MAG+/RES- buff, while CMD1 is your standard-issue 4x ST Fire/Ice/Lightning. I'm personally more a fan of Vivi's version due to his Legend Dive (which, while in Trance, gives him a 50% chance to Dualcast Black Magic abilities compared to Montblanc's Haste/3CT0 dive), but this is fine too. Rating: 6/10 – Solid relic for what it does

Mustadio's Empyreal Armband gives Mustadio a 35% chance at adding a Quickcast charge after every Machinist attack. Considering the only thing separating him from everyone else is a Quickcast Ultra, I'm not a fan. Rating: 3/10 – I don't see the point

Meliadoul's Venus Blade gives her a 25% chance to do more damage with a sword. It's universal +Earth, which is nice, and it's a decent relic. I would personally prefer Dualcast for the increased chance at proccing her Imperil Earth, though. Rating: 7/10 – Nice relic

Montblanc's Silken Robe gives 35% chance to Quickcast when you're using Black Magic. I think I was drunk when I wrote this portion, but I would really rather have Dualcast rather than Quickcast. Rating: 4/10 – Quickcast LMRs

Ramza's Genji Gloves are a great relic. Stoneskin is alright, but the Kritzkrieg is where things start to get great. It synergizes with OK PUSB, which is the prevailing meta. You can use this with OK PUSB or Cloud or Orlandeau's Ultras for even more ridiculous crit potential. I referred to this as “odd yet advanced tech” on release, but started to appreciate and love it after using it myself. It's yet another great option Ramza has in the swiss army knife of buffs. Rating: 9/10 – Kritzkrieg is awesome.

VERDICT: I would skip. Most of the LMRs suck, Meliadoul, Montblanc, and Mustadio are mediocre, and Agrias has better relics in the upcoming Ramza event

 

Right. I actually had this drafted for a while.

 

It's waiting to be proofread. Since my interest in the game has (admittedly) dropped, I'm having other people look over it for QC. I think the forum would rather not have a rushed, sloppy project like the reviews before we took over.

 

The short version:

There are a lot of game-breaking items on here. Ramza's LMR is quite literally the best in the game due to having 4 (soon to be 5 in 4-6 months) top tier buffing options. Orlandu's Ultra is top-tier in 3 elements (especially combined with his LMR), and Marche's Ultra is a combo of high-tier DPS. The fact that Kiyomori doesn't even break the top 3 says a lot.

That being said, there are a lot of duds. Orlandu's BSB is crap, Gaffgarion's BSB is crap, and Alma's relics range from CM fodder to dogshit. I would wait a week until the KH banner gets datamined.

 

Not sure why Derek's posts got deleted (especially the last). I didn't really get a confrontational vibe from them at all.

Anyways, through no fault of anyone, the edit process has stalled. I'll post my rough draft for now and make corrections once it's done being edited.

 

About banner 1, I'll quote Starcraft's dropship pilot: "Strap yourselves in, boys."

But to be honest, after my ridiculous luck on the OK God banner, I'm not really expecting much here. I doubt I'm going to have all that much luck again anytime soon.

 

im going nuts on this banner...got over 800 blues, orlandeau usb here i come...

 

I wanna pull on banner 1 but I already have dupes of a number of the banner win items - TGC OSB, Super-Shout, Ramza LMR.

Basically I'd have to pull TGC USB or Marche USB, and given that I only have enough myth for one pull I'd rather hold for KH banner or anniversary.

 

First try: fail



Now with 3 dupes in the banner (this, Ramza BSB2 and Gaffgarion BSB), I'm after the big prizes here!
:I've been waiting::So Sorry:

 

All indications show me I will not get a good pull today. Pass for 1 day.

 

Happy Lunar new year to all!

Let my daughters do the relic pulls were best idea for a good start to new year!

Only need 2 for Banner win pulls!

 

pulled once, got the sword...im done

 

Sorry, I got it last night, and, well, long hours to work in the middle of the week.

Anyway, I got four of the items on banner one, all good ones. Skip.

 

Spoiler: 1st roll: game trolls me

Both dupes. ::Frog::

Spoiler: 2nd roll: better

Better but not yet great. Ramza LMR, plus one dupe.

Spoiler: 3rd roll: woo!

No dupes! And I already had Marche LMR

Spoiler: 4th roll: game trolls me, round 2

TGCid BSB is new, but still. ile of #$%@:

Spoiler: 5th roll: WOO!!!

Aaaaaaand that's a wrap!