Uploaded January 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
More like DUMBhanda (get it, it's a mute joke, hahahaha)
Lowdown on the restrictions of this challenge:
- EXP gain is only permitted in boss fights and forced encounters, and must be minimised by only having 1 character active at the end of each battle.
- Autolevelling must also be minimised as much as possible. Argilla and Roland take all XP before they leave the party to reduce the impact of this later on, and Argilla's level must not exceed 12 so it doesn't affect Sera's starting level.
- This is a cycle 2 playthrough on hard difficulty with no data transfer bonuses.
- I will be fighting all bosses rather than doing a true minimum EXP run, cuz that's more fun. And let's face it, you're only here for Satan.
- The use of Data items to permanently raise stats is forbidden for as long as possible - at least until Shiva.
At last, an easy boss! Kumbhanda is a joke thanks to Makajam, which he is inexplicably vulnerable to. This renders him unable to use almost anything except Gorge, which Argilla can ensure she survives with the Vital Ring. Outside of that the Trick Ring and Phantom Ring are nice to help our moves connect. Fortunately we'll be getting Sukukaja before heading into the next dungeon.
Fun fact: this boss actually has a Focus Sash kind of thing going on, so you can't kill him until he says his final dialogue lines. This means I didn't even have to keep track of his HP to know when to dismiss the bois.
This is also a good time to talk about Cielo's gun combo damage, which was really joggin' me noggin for a while. There seems to be a hidden multiplier based on the character initiating it, which is why we get such wildly varying damage values despite relatively similar magic stats. I have no idea if this is an intentional feature or a bug. Apparently Gale's gun combo has similar properties. Serph/Sera initiating actually gives the best damage, which will come in handy later on...
More like DUMBhanda (get it, it's a mute joke, hahahaha)
Lowdown on the restrictions of this challenge:
- EXP gain is only permitted in boss fights and forced encounters, and must be minimised by only having 1 character active at the end of each battle.
- Autolevelling must also be minimised as much as possible. Argilla and Roland take all XP before they leave the party to reduce the impact of this later on, and Argilla's level must not exceed 12 so it doesn't affect Sera's starting level.
- This is a cycle 2 playthrough on hard difficulty with no data transfer bonuses.
- I will be fighting all bosses rather than doing a true minimum EXP run, cuz that's more fun. And let's face it, you're only here for Satan.
- The use of Data items to permanently raise stats is forbidden for as long as possible - at least until Shiva.
At last, an easy boss! Kumbhanda is a joke thanks to Makajam, which he is inexplicably vulnerable to. This renders him unable to use almost anything except Gorge, which Argilla can ensure she survives with the Vital Ring. Outside of that the Trick Ring and Phantom Ring are nice to help our moves connect. Fortunately we'll be getting Sukukaja before heading into the next dungeon.
Fun fact: this boss actually has a Focus Sash kind of thing going on, so you can't kill him until he says his final dialogue lines. This means I didn't even have to keep track of his HP to know when to dismiss the bois.
This is also a good time to talk about Cielo's gun combo damage, which was really joggin' me noggin for a while. There seems to be a hidden multiplier based on the character initiating it, which is why we get such wildly varying damage values despite relatively similar magic stats. I have no idea if this is an intentional feature or a bug. Apparently Gale's gun combo has similar properties. Serph/Sera initiating actually gives the best damage, which will come in handy later on...
