The Guildmasters

Yes I eventually reached Guild Rank 10 last night at 1:30am so my original estimation of reaching GR10 from GR9 was a little bit off, all in all it actually took me around 10 hrs not 20 which I first estimated.

We had some good runs grinding it out on the Big Red 2 quest, played with some excellent players who were even forgiving when I let them down a couple of times.

I’ve started working on my Georama a bit, i’m not purchasing any download content so i’m trying to make the most of whats available which is quite a bit.

This whole game now is going to be based around how much money you can make, or I should say Guilder which is the in game currency. I read a review somewhere and it said don’t even bother with Georama until you reach the 10 million guilder mark, that’s a trophy by the way, at the time I thought he must be joking but since hitting GR10 and arranging some stuff in my town some extra stuff became available in my general store which I thought was cool, until I saw the prices, it looks like 10 mil won’t be enough for the things you can do here.

After thinking about it and trying to get it in my brain about how the georama town actually works I did start to make some sense of it all.

I’ve started off with miners and warriors and got a couple of chefs and also a couple of farmers, when I eventually reach GR13 i’ll be able to upgrade my town again and have more space and i’ll go for more specialist stuff but for now I have 7 houses with 14 residents, 2 chefs, 2 farmers, 4 miners and 6 warriors.

You need to put two people in each house with the same skill, it’s no good putting a farmer with a miner as they won’t produce much, if you put two together with the same skill your stats will improve a lot and you’ll get better items.

This farming of items is almost needed because it’s free stuff being produced and if your a little bit wise about how you work your town you can can some good stuff which may otherwise be hard to come by.

Also I have been at it again by getting a few more quests open to me since reaching my new level, no chance of completing them, at least not alone but I still popped in there to see what kind of loot I could get my hands on, turns out it was worth it, i’m picking up things i’d never seen or heard of before these quests and i’m sure they are going to come in handy for binding weapons and so forth.

Next week i’ll be opening my room up every evening to anyone who wants to drop in, a room gives other players access to your hometown in Georama and we can do some quests together.

Even though i’m GR10 and level 50 I don’t mind helping out any newcomers who need some S rank quests, I really don’t mind doing some early level quests if you need the help.

Most online questers know me already by my character Assassin and i’ll list my room as The Guildmasters or Assassins Hideout so keep an eye out for me, once I open the room it will be open for 4 or 5 hrs so plenty of time to pop in and have chat, nick some of my produce, it’s not heavy stuff at the moment but it’ll do nicely for some of the lower ranked players or just play out some quests.

I’m still looking for players wanting to do something different other than Big Red, i’d really like to work my way through all the quests and try to get the S rank if anyone feels the same, there is a trophy for 20 S rank quests and I think there is also one for 50 S rank quests so no excuse not to try them all out and you’ll pick up some decent items and hopefully get some decent coin in the process to start adding to your own hometown.

If you don’t yet have this game believe me when I say your missing out on one of the best games so far this year, the relatively short story mode is almost a preview of what is to come once you get online and start questing, of all the players in this game i’ve only come across one A’hole and that’s a real plus, jeez I met a bunch of em in resident evil 5 versus, the difference with this game is you have to enjoy RPG final fantasy type games to appreciate all this has to offer and you don’t really get idiots playing this type of game, at least not that many, so far i’ve enjoyed over 300hrs of this game and it really feels like i’ve only scratched the surface, with around 500 items to bind i’ve probably only achieved binding less than 100 and this hometown thing, this could be never ending.

As a last thought I read a little about White Knight Chronicles 2, not much info on it but there will be a dash mode which could come in handy, and it will be more dynamic with seasons being put in the game.

My own thoughts on WKC 2 would be you wouldn’t have wasted money building up your town, I would hope that you can upload your WKC town to WKC 2 and keep adding to it which would be awesome.

Before you say it WKC has been out more than 2yrs in Japan so it’s not too early for a second one, although it probably won’t reach other countries so soon it’s definitely something to look forward to.

Ok i’m back off to play some more and I apologise for not posting any other games at the moment but i’m so into this one and so are all the other players. I will post some more upcoming games later in the week but probably won’t get around to reviewing any for a little while, hey life is short so let’s enjoy it at least for a little while.

Tony 🙂

Well here we are two days later and i’m back at level 50, the problem now is do I continue trying to grind for Guild Rank 10 or re-incarnate again?

Both have their advantages and I think i’m going to grind to get my guild rank up to 10 before re-incarnating again. I’ve worked it out it will take around 20hrs if I stick to big red 2 maybe a little less.

According to my save file i’ve played for 275hrs and yes I do have a life besides gaming, that’s been spread over a couple of months so there is tons of playability in this game.

I’ve only achieved 23% of trophies, i’m only at 300k in guilder, my georama is only level 7 so there is tons more to do, oh yeah and I only have about 11 S ranks in my quests so if there is anyone wants to help me clear up all the level 1 quests i’m available most evenings.

My hometown is open to all and I would prefer a change from grinding on just big red alone, it would be nice to try some of the other quests. Station attendant 1 isn’t too bad with 4 players and you get around 30+ thousand in guild rank points, I did it once with 3 others last night for the first time and the score was 32000 for the S rank so quite a bit more than red but it does take a little longer, but you do get some different gear dropped to so it makes up for it and it did only take us 13 minutes.

I’m still trying to enhance my weapons which is difficult enough finding the right items and I haven’t even started to try and understand fully the binding part, I have binded some early items but I think my guild rank has to be at least 10 in order to bind those decent pieces of armor and weapons.

Here is a link to some wiki pages which are going to be really helpful to me, newbies and mid level players, check it out if you want to know about quests, binding, enhancing and so forth, tons of info there:

Wiki info on WKC

Well hope to see more of you in my hometown, and if not will see you on the quests, may the grind be bountiful.

Tony 🙂

Well here we are again and for my latest trick I decided to re-incarnate, which as you know put me back down to level 35.

Initially I didn’t like this idea as I knew I wouldn’t be able to equip the weapons i’d been using at level 50 and I also wouldn’t be able to do my grinding at big red 2.

I needn’t have worried though as it only took me 3 hrs to get up to level 40, i’ve just stopped for the night and i’m now at level 43, so from level 35 to 43 took about 5hrs, much quicker than the first run through, this is due to the fact you have a lot more equipment, access to many more areas which brings me to a little tip I found out.

When you re-incarnate and go back to level 35 I found the best place to go was the “boot camp 2” quest to get your levels up pretty quick, the quest is to kill 50 monsters but what’s cool about it if you got a decent weapon you can kill these in one hit, two at the most, each kill gives you around 200 experience.

Once you get to level 41 you can go back to “Big Red 2” on solo, you know your not going to get an S rank but what I did was run around for an hour killing all the scorpions, each of those is worth around 300 experience points, I leveled up twice here from 41 to 43 just using the scorpions and the wasps, the wasps are even better as you can kill those in one or two hits and still get 300 experience.

Another tip for rarer items is to enter quests even though you can’t complete them, if you get a quest which requires you to be level 30 and Guild Rank 8 you know your not going to complete that solo if your just level 30 and GR8 but it’s still worth going into it to check all the areas for items, you’ll end up with items you wouldn’t normally get until much later in the game.

In case you were wondering, from level 35 I hit the wind dragon quest but didn’t bother with the dragon, if you go to the sandy areas of the map you’ll find the giant spiders, if you can equip a decent enough weapon at that level and maybe hit a combo those spiders are worth around 1,000 experience points and from level 35 to 36 only requires 9,000, level 36 to 37 requires 11,000 and so on.

I’ll be trying to hit level 50 again tomorrow, then i’ll be grinding for Guild Rank 10, when I hit GR10 then i’ll re-incarnate a second time.

If anyone is interested in grinding on a few of the other quests instead of just Big Red let me know and i’ll join you, I actually only have 11 S rank quests so if your interested in going for all quests as an S rank i’ll do that too, just let me know. There is a trophy for completing 20 S rank quests I believe.

Also my hometown at Geo is open for anyone so if you want to stop by there feel free to harvest yourself a couple of items, not much there at the moment, i’ll probably wait until I hit the 10 mil trophy before I upgrade that more.

I’m actually working on my armor and weapons at the moment, i’m fully skilled in longsword and I know there is some kick ass weapons and armor out there, it’s just finding the right items to do the binding.

Also if you haven’t tried it yet, make sure you check the armory shops for enhancing your weapons, get the right items to enhance your weapon and you can really add some power to it, just be careful when you add elemental to your weapon, I made the mistake of enhancing my longsword with fire only to look like an idiot in a big red quest as when I hit big red I was only taking 60 off him because he’s a fire giant.

The best way is once you find a weapon your happy with get two of them, enhance one with the element of fire and one with the element of ice, having two opposites to switch between will come in handy, hitting an opposite effect enemy can take as much as an extra 50 points per hit off.

To make it clear, let’s say your fighting a lot of ice elementals, you’ll be better off using a weapon which has the added effect of elemental fire, where as if your hitting big red who is a fire giant then hitting him with a weapon that’s been enhanced with ice element can take up to an extra 50 points or more off him.

If anyone wants to post any tips here please do so, or if you just want to let everyone else know where your at, or have any questions or just need some help let us know, this is a cool game and without players helping each other out it can get a point where you get burnt out on it.

Will update more as and when I get to the various levels and upgrades.

Tony🙂

Ok i’ll admit it, i’m hooked on this one, the disappointment in how short the game was has been replaced by the fact that you get some real enjoyment out of playing through this rpg several times.

I’m on my fourth trip through the game as i’m trying to get my levels up to 50 so I can enter the quests which require level 40 and above.

I won’t be completing the game for the fourth time as i’ll spend most of the time maxing out my levels on the last area but one, this way I leave all the unlockable areas open.

I’m also looking at playing online over the next few days, there are quests you can choose to do alone or with multiplayer, my guild rank is only 3 and I noticed a lot of players complaining because the higher ranks won’t play with them, which is why i’m writing this post.

If anyone wants to join me on some quests send me a message, my world id is knightofthe9 as always, i’m almost always signed in but that doesn’t mean i’m actually playing but i’m mostly on in the evenings for about 5 or 6 hrs and i’m GMT – 5 if you can work that one out,lol.

I have started my geo town and believe i’ve only scratched the surface of what can be done here, i’ve got 4 houses each with two residents and some shops, I haven’t found out how everything works so if your willing to help each other i’m your player.

One thing I don’t know about is how to change my main character for playing quests, I would like the option to do the quests using leonard but it always picks another character, is there a way to change this?

So far i’ve got 10% of the trophies and these are going to be harder than most games simply because they take a long time, if your just going for trophies this could get boring, i’m a trophy hunter myself but it really helps if you enjoy this type of game, one trophy is to aquire 10 million in gold and even though i’ve completed the game 3 times now I still only have 100k so that gives you some idea of the time you’ll spend on this if you want all the trophies.

This is another reason i’m looking to play online with others, hopefully it will add some fun and seem less tedious for the trophy hunt, I don’t see me getting bored with it any time soon, and with the added quests which are being added every couple of weeks it should add lots more playability to the game, some quests will be permanent ones and some temp quests which will only be available for two weeks at a times so keep your eye out for those, you’ll need to be signed in for them to show up.

That’s about it for now, feel free to post here or catch me on the geo network.

Tony 🙂

Update:


Wow this takes a long time to get your levels up, i’m at level 41 now and Guild Rank 5, i’m re-doing the big red quest to get my rank up to 7 so I can use the more powerful weapons then i’ll go for getting level 50, I was hoping to have been there by now so that I could have entered the higher quests for the chance to win one of the figurines this weekend but that isn’t going to happen now, hope they do something like that again.

Remember i’m always willing to help out lower level players complete some online quests, just let me know.

Tony 🙂

Second Update:

Well I decided to give multiplayer a go today and it was great, first time I tried the “all in the cards” quest a player called Fran joined me and thanks to the way that played out I found it to be quite fun, decided to give it another go and 3 other playes joined me which gave me an S rank, I would have never got that on my own, it’s a shame I didn’t get those names as I would have liked to thank those players too.

I’m now at level 43 and guild rank 7, rank 8 is going to be a long haul, can’t believe some players are at rank 12.

I’m doing something wrong though here as my attack with the ornate longsword is only hitting around 67, but I noticed other players were hitting with over 200, i’m guessing it’s because of the higher levels, i’m still not sure about the binding but i’ll keep at it and experiment, if anyone has any help for me please let me know and if anyone needs any help if I can I will.

Tony :)

I don’t think i’m going to be writing a play by post on this game, instead i’m writing the review even though I haven’t completed the game yet.

A play by post would probably do the game an injustice as the main game offline isn’t really it’s full potential and I don’t think it was a game that was intended for offline play.

From what i’ve read so far from others who have completed the game is that the main story mode offline is fairly easy and quickly completed, the main idea of this game in particular is they have turned it into a MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) which is cool and makes for a game which can be played forever more, a bit like world of warcraft, the difference being is it is a more final fantasy type rpg.

For the game itself,for me personally there were a few disappointments but on the whole I was impressed. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so much like a final fantasy type rpg. Being bought up on final fantasy type games it was cool to have one on my ps3 and I will definitely finish this game.

I will also try the online play once i’ve finished the main game and write a seperate review on that also.

Anyway the game so far is very graphical, the storyline is fairly basic and nothing new, princess gets captured by bad people and the good kid has to rescue her, it was the storyline which disappointed me most as I thought with such a long time in the making they would have come up with something a little more original but it’s not a big deal as the gameplay will satisfy any final fantasy fan.

Very open ended, many different sections of the map to explore, many different types of monsters to fight to get your levels up which is where i’m at right now, it didn’t take too long to work out how to use the combat system although there are still elements of it I don’t quite understand.

You can switch characters and learn different abilities, use a points system to learn extra abilities like archery, longsword, healing, magic etc..I’m not going to give any spoilers away yet as I would rather people ask questions and i’ll answer them as I go. As before I will only write a walkthrough if enough request it but I think the real gameplay is going to come into effect on the online play.

You can also visit guilds in this and buy quests and I believe that is probably how the online part will play out but will update as I reach that point. So far it’s definitely worth playing if your an rpg fan and are waiting on FFVIII which should be out later this month I believe.

There are trophies in this one too for the added extra playability, I picked up a trophy last night and I haven’t yet checked what they are but i’m guessing it’s the same as most trophy games, there will be some easy ones and some hard ones, will update that as I go along.

Tony 🙂

Well I have new game coming on Monday which i’m looking forward to, White Knight Chronicles: International Edition, this game was released earlier this month so i’m pleased to be getting it so early, it sounds awesome as does the story and the playability, if you read further down you’ll see what I mean.

Available at amazon from as low as $20 used which seems more than fair if the game hold up to it’s promises.

First the gameplay:
White Knight Chronicles is a Japanese RPG (JRPG) centered around a turn-based battle system in a local single player story-driven campaign that is supported by online multiplayer functionality. Gameplay questing occurs from a third-person perspective and follows Leonard and up to three other AI companions, which can include the customizable character that players assume in multiplayer mode. Once quest members are assembled, players utilize the strengths of the overall group as a whole, and are able to switch between characters at will. Combat being turn-based, players must be able to cue up and control the actions of each character in quick sequence for each combat scenario faced. The game facilitates this via the Function Palette, located in its Battle Preparation menu, allowing players to prepare in advance a series of commands for each character to carry out. These can involve magic or weapons use and can be merged into combos. Multiple palettes can be saved, making it possible to optimize actions for specific types of enemies, and making for quick changing of commands. As with any RPG, throughout quests players accumulate experience which allows their character to level up, purchase items and abilities and generally grow stronger with an eye towards besting the increasingly challenging creatures, bosses and situations faced.

Want to know more? Here is the story:
The story of White Knight Chronicles is set in the fictional Kingdom of Balandor and follows the adventures of a boy named Leonard who realizes his role in a drama started thousands of years in the past. Working in the proximity of the palace, Leonard stumbles on a plot to kidnap the enigmatic Princess Cisna. As he helps her escape he also becomes aware of his connection to a transformative power which allows him to take on the ancient shape, and harness the devastating power of the White Knight. Yet there are other elements at work here as well, including the forces of an evil wizard with powers that stretch back to the same ancient times which produced the White Knight. With the help of his friends and the power of the White Knight, these are the forces that Leonard will have to face in his quests.

So what about the online multiplayer?
Along with a compelling single player campaign, White Knight Chronicles also contains an exciting online multiplayer component. Within this, up to four players can engage in more than 50 multiplayer quests, with each player creating their own unique customizable character which can be leveled up in a combined group effort, and take advantage of created items and new skills. Although unique to the online game mode, which is designed for multiplayer action, these quests can also be played alone if players wish. In addition to this functionality available in the online multiplayer mode also includes a variety of ways to interact with the wider White Knight Chronicles community on the PlayStation 3 platform. Included in this is town building through the Georama functionality, which allows players to construct a town to their own specifications that can be populated offline with characters from throughout the single player campaign and then taken online where it serves as a base for quests hosted by players, as well as a persistent online location that other players can visit and buy items your town’s population has for sale. The game also offers an online interface known as GeoNet that allows players to communicate with others via blogs, forums, quest logs and voice chat functionality, as well as post snapshots from their journeys using the Crystal Camera in-game tool.

Key Game Features:

* White Knight Transformation – During single player combat players can transform into the giant White Knight, gaining the ability to challenge large enemies as well as troops of soldiers throughout the adventure.
* The Customizable Avatar Character – Using a wide array of sliders and customization options, players are able to create a unique character that can join the adventure in single player mode as well as online.
* Combo Battle System – Engage in an accessible, active turn-based battle system that caters to players of all levels allowing both default attack settings and a system for for maximum damage.
* JRPG (Japanese RPG) Action for PS3 – Experience true JRPG action on PS3 that incorporates a variety of online gameplay elements.
* Beautiful Environments – Players traverse through 13 stages, as well as visit up to six towns/villages to visit and purchase items at shops or interact with NPCs. Stages include lush fields, open desert, vast wastelands, tunnels, and ruins.
* Multiple Playable Characters – Six playable characters are available, with up to three controllable characters on the screen at the same time.
* Build Special Weapons and Items – Combine different weapons and items to create a huge variety of weapons.
* Quests Galore – Engage in 50+ unique online side quests in which players can gain special items along with unique weapons and armor.
* Town Building – Build an online village for your character where you can invite friends to complete quests online and purchase unique items and gear.
* GeoNet – Through the online component, players have the ability to write their own blogs, communicate with other players via voice chat and more.
* Take Snapshots with Crystal Camera – With Crystal Camera functionality players can take pictures during their journeys which can be shared with other players via their GeoNet page.

Here is the actual product description which could have actually been put in the story part:
White Knight Chronicles is an epic fantasy tale about two kingdoms in midst of a longstanding war. The King of Balandor, wishing to put an end to the war, invites the duke of Faria to his castle to celebrate his daughter’s coming of age. But this celebration is sabotaged by the Magi, a rogue sect seeking to steal the White Knight, an ancient weapon of war sealed beneath Balandor castle, in order to take over the world. During the ensuing chaos, a young man named Leonard accidentally unlocks the power of the White Knight as he attempts to save the princess. With this power, Leonard manages to fend off the Magi attack, but not before they escape with the princess. With the kingdoms in chaos, Leonard is entrusted with the mission to find the Magi and rescue the princess. With the help of his trusted companions, they travel throughout Balandor and beyond on a quest to save the princess before the Magi unlock the other knights. The journey is fraught with danger, with Magi warriors at every turn, mythical beasts and monsters to battle, and forbidden powers revealed. As Leonard learns more about the power of the Knight, he realizes that unsealing all of them could trigger a calamity that could end the world.

Ok by now your either bored stiff or your thinking about giving this one a go yourself, if you do drop us a post here and if requested we can even do a play by post right here, let me know ok? Oh yes, i’ve just checked and it appears to be exclusive to the PS3 so hopefully that’s what you have.

Tony 🙂

Hustle Kings is my most recent purchase on the playstation network or playstation store to be more exact, at $9.99 I wasn’t too sure about what to expect but I certainly didn’t expect such a realistic pool game.

The graphics are really sharp,everything is crystal clear, it runs so smoothly too and it’s definitely the most realistic pool game i’ve ever played and I have a few from the older systems which were pretty cool.

If there is a shot that can be made on a real table then it can be made on Hustle Kings tables also.

PS3 trophy hunters will be pleased to know there are trophies in this game but some are going to be fairly hard to come by, 11 trophies in all, the harder one’s being silver.

This game will suit anyone that is interested in pool, the beginner, the novice, even pro’s can play this one it’s that good. There is a career mode which covers pretty much all the different game types as well as a couple you may not have heard of depending on what country your from.

There are trick shots which you can learn and to be fair they look really cool and are not that hard to accomplish with a bit of practice, the tuition is easy to understand and if you follow what it written you’ll be performing some pro trick shots in no time, i’ve decided to upload all my trick shots to youtube if anyone wants to check them out, I think i’ve put about 4 up at the moment.

This is the link to go to to check out my trick shots and see for yourself how cool this game really looks. Tony’s Trickshots

At only $9.99 it's well worth it plus you have online play, one trophy is to beat 100 online players so if you want to go for it there is plenty of action in this game, you can purchase que's, balls and more with your career earnings, basically a lot of fun.

If you want to catch me for a game my username on PSN is Knightofthe9, catch you later.

Tony :)