Sky SC Nightmare mode run thread. (SPOILERS)

[RTSsence]

FC thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/251150/discussions/0/4763089742392046810

So, It seems I'll be making threads like this from now on detailing how my runs went down throughout the Sky trilogy. There will also be spoilers throughout. So, anyone who has yet to experience the game fully has been warned.


So, I'll be starting via non-NG+ save data from FC where I managed to get Estelle to level 42.
Hopefully the prologue won't be much trouble considering Kurt's OP.

[Serval]

Good luck, friend, I know this feeling too well. If you manage through the Prologue, consider the game done.

[Evil Gambio]

Originally posted by AGuy:

Hopefully the prologue won't be much trouble considering Kurt's OP.

That's the easiest part btw.

[Gambio]

If you want some Kuuuuuurt!!!! tips

invest into cookies, they do massive damage. You lose access to the shop after the not kidnapping, so make sure to buy stuff beforehand

[RTSsence]

What's the deal with the very first monster chest? I hate those frogs with a burning passion.

[Oguzhan]

Originally posted by AGuy:

What's the deal with the very first monster chest? I hate those frogs with a burning passion.

Yeah they are quite difficult and can be annoying. I hope you have fun. SC's nightmare is truly accurate of the namesake at times. It is certainly unbalanced, that being said, I still can't play the game on any other difficulty. The game does give you a lot of resources when you start chapter 1. You can get stuff like Evade 2, EP2, Laundry Pole+ from monsters and you can even fish Gigangora, a fish that can give you Emergency Puppets, Tiger Hearts and Crimson Eyes. The latter 2 being some of the best physical and magical accessories respectively and the former being one of the best accessories in Trails in general.

One thing I would like to mention is the difficulty mod for this game. It is quite fun, it balances out a lot of stuff and even updates characters in some major ways (for example Estelle has a different orbment line). I don't think it is quite finished yet but I have had fun with the current version.

[Serval]

1) 200 CP S-Break from Anelace oneshots slugs
2) Fire Bolt oneshots frogs/slugs
You need to get lucky so that frogs don't summon new frogs and not get delayed by slugs. The best way is to get as far away from the enemies as possible during the pre-battle positioning. Frogs are better dealt with by fire bolts, physical attacks are pretty much useless.

[RTSsence]

Well, I did beat the monster chest after a few failed attempts, but as mentioned above. I had to raise my hopes that those stupid frogs wouldn't summon one of their ugly siblings to gang up on me, and I was glad to see the water cannon miss Anelace when she was nearly gonna die. Honestly, I don't recall FC on Nightmare being this BS at the tutorial dungeon. It feels way too early to start throwing hard-hitters my way, when the enemies are not even bosses.

[Serval]

Sadly enough, most of the battles at the beginning of the game can be won only with good rng. It'll get a lot easier the moment you get out of the plot rails in chapter 1, but still there will be some battles where rng is a must.
Other than that in general SC Nightmare is pretty much okay.

[RTSsence]

What struck me odd after beginning the game with FC clear data was my level being reset to level 40 despite the fact I was level 42 by the time I completed FC.

Originally posted by Serval:

Sadly enough, most of the battles at the beginning of the game can be won only with good rng. It'll get a lot easier the moment you get out of the plot rails in chapter 1, but still there will be some battles where rng is a must.
Other than that in general SC Nightmare is pretty much okay.

I hope so, the non-monster chest normal enemies are already a pain to fight as is.

[Serval]

Originally posted by AGuy:

What struck me odd after beginning the game with FC clear data was my level being reset to level 40 despite the fact I was level 42 by the time I completed FC.

All levels above 40 are downscaled to 40 in SC. I had Estelle at lvl 38 or 39 AFAIR at the beginning of SC and I'm not sure it's a huge difference since I got a bit up to speed after grinding Poms in Saint-Croix (didn't help that much though).
I have a full playthrough recorded if you need it for a reference but it's NOT in English, so some additional explainations might be required from me.

I hope so, the non-monster chest normal enemies are already a pain to fight as is.

And it will be an issue up to the end of the game: almost everything will two-hit KO any party member in your group. Tita will be downed probably in one hit.

[RTSsence]

Originally posted by Serval:

Originally posted by AGuy:

What struck me odd after beginning the game with FC clear data was my level being reset to level 40 despite the fact I was level 42 by the time I completed FC.

All levels above 40 are downscaled to 40 in SC. I had Estelle at lvl 38 or 39 AFAIR at the beginning of SC and I'm not sure it's a huge difference since I got a bit up to speed after grinding Poms in Saint-Croix (didn't help that much though).
I have a full playthrough recorded if you need it for a reference but it's NOT in English, so some additional explainations might be required from me.

I hope so, the non-monster chest normal enemies are already a pain to fight as is.

And it will be an issue up to the end of the game: almost everything will two-hit KO any party member in your group. Tita will be downed probably in one hit.

So, the Poms appear in Le Locle? Well, looks like I'll have to hunt them this time around too.

Oh, no. Tita's THAT fragile in this game as well? FC was already a mess while trying to fend off the worms when you first meet her.

[Serval]

So, the Poms appear in Le Locle?

They do, but in specific monster encounters at random. Round rolling wisps can spawn a circle of 6 poms. Bush Lancers can spawn one pom which is oneshotted only by Estelle's break under 200CP. Keep in mind that it's best to hunt Bush Lancers in the location of your tent. It seems that only specific monster encounters spawn poms in battle and the one located in the very first location can spawn them.

[RTSsence]

So, got past the Kurt fight and it was thanks to this strategy from a thread posted 5 years ago: https://steamcommunity.com/app/251290/discussions/0/485622866438759464/
It took some trial-and-error with the battle positions, and not having to deal with the illusion art because of how much he spams it, should I place Estelle and Anelace very far away.

To which I thank the topic maker as his Sky 3rd Nightmare thread was what I used during my playthrough back in late 2018 despite not using for Nightmare difficulty.

[Evil Gambio]

Originally posted by AGuy:

So, got past the Kurt fight and it was thanks to this strategy from a thread posted 5 years ago: https://steamcommunity.com/app/251290/discussions/0/485622866438759464/
It took some trial-and-error with the battle positions, and not having to deal with the illusion art because of how much he spams it, should I place Estelle and Anelace very far away.

To which I thank the topic maker as his Sky 3rd Nightmare thread was what I used during my playthrough back in late 2018 despite not using for Nightmare difficulty.

Good, you got past the easiest part (not kidding btw, it only gets harder from here)

[RTSsence]

I seriously wanna drop kick the 2nd jaegar right in the face... What is it that I'm exactly doing wrong? Do I gotta get to level 44 or something?