Time Gem

[XtReMz98]

Howdy,

A bit alike my previous posts, but this is about the Time Gem. In other RPGs, the more you progress in the game, the better the gear becomes, but in SC, it seems like they always throw nasty malus on anything useful (like the Crimson Eye -SPD). While I can only assume that the Time Gem makes your arts almost instant (akin to a craft), -14%STR/DEF/ATS is one hell of a debuff. As an example, Joshua-san (our Lord and Savior) loses 139 STR, 105 DEF and 96 ATS. That's a massive blow on all fronts...

I find it pretty poor design (I would be okay with -STR/-DEF in order to make a caster Gem), only a party member specialised in buffs/debuffs/healing could make use of it if your okay with losing a big chunk of DEF. It's really questionable itemisation from the devs.

TL;DR: Is Time Gem useful/worth the massive stat drop?

Cheers!

[Berahlen]

Do you like casting Earth Wall / Gaia Shield? Maybe have a late game party member whose entire existence is based around keeping the party alive instead of doing damage?

[XtReMz98]

Originally posted by Berahlen:

Do you like casting Earth Wall / Gaia Shield? Maybe have a late game party member whose entire existence is based around keeping the party alive instead of doing damage?

I used Earth Wall in the early chapters of the game, then very sparingly once I got better quartz. I sometimes use Earth Guard in some boss fights. Kevin kinda have a free Earth Wall with his S-Break, but otherwise I didn't need to chain it to stay alive. Also, unlike FC, Earth Wall is quite EP intensive, so it wasn't really spammable. So Olivier would be the only one would could sustain it once I got him upgraded to lvl 2.

As it stands (chapter 8), the devs stole all 3 of my favorite casters (Olivier, Kloe and Kevin), so I'll have to wait for their return (or a difficult boss) to put the Time gem on an Earth Waller caster. Thanks!

[Serval]

Well, generally speaking, yes, Time Gem's primary use is for quick earth walling. Estelle would thank you a lot for it ;)

[Dr. Rudolf von Richten]

Time Gem gives a huge (95%, I think) reduction in casting time. As such, it's useful for support casters; i.e. casters who focus on Arts like (La) Tear/Teara/Tearal, Clock UP EX and indeed Earth Guard/Earth Wall. Estelle is particularly suited to this role.

On normal difficulty, it isn't particularly worth using. But on Hard (and, I presume, Nightmare), it is very very useful, since the SPD of opponents is cranked up so much, and you''ll have a hard time keeping your defense up without it.

[XtReMz98]

Originally posted by Dr. Rudolf von Richten:

Time Gem gives a huge (95%, I think) reduction in casting time. As such, it's useful for support casters; i.e. casters who focus on Arts like (La) Tear/Teara/Tearal, Clock UP EX and indeed Earth Guard/Earth Wall. Estelle is particularly suited to this role.

On normal difficulty, it isn't particularly worth using. But on Hard (and, I presume, Nightmare), it is very very useful, since the SPD of opponents is cranked up so much, and you''ll have a hard time keeping your defense up without it.

Yeah that how I felt about it; in my OP, I did state buff/debuff/healing since these are the only one which don't benefit from extra ATS. With Estelle now at T3, she could have enough EP to sustain Earth Wall, but I'd would need to rethink her current quartz setup. Her and Kevin both have similar dual lines so I think of them both as "Jack-of-all-trades".

I found only one setup to allow her to get both La Teara and Earth Wall (could be more, but her lines makes it difficult): EP Cut 4/Defense 4/Time Gem/Action 4/Scent/Ingenuity/Yin-Yang. Doing so I removed Heaven's Eye, which she held since the beginning for completionist's sake. I'd like a setup that allows me to get in back on while keeping La Teara and Earth Wall....

[Berahlen]

Even on Normal, when you get to the last boss gauntlet...well, Gaia Shield gonna look real appetizing real fast.

EP Charges are replaceable. Someone getting oneshot by a boss is very difficult to recover from.

[XtReMz98]

Originally posted by Berahlen:

Someone getting oneshot by a boss is very difficult to recover from.

On hard, I couldn't agree more, thus my deathless run so far (okay, I have 1 KO, but try to beat Mueller without Josette killing herself :P). Since I'm stuck with my current subpar party, I decided to give Time gem a go on Estelle (on an Earth Wall setup, with La Teara as backup). Going against Monster hunts and the Jenis Academy rescue, I must admit it was pretty effective. Compounded by Schera's heaven kiss, I could generally finish the battles vs the jaegars unscathed. While I'm a bit low on EP charge II, I do have lots of EP charge following chapter 7's towers.

The drawback is Estelle usually hit for 0 (even buffed) physically and her arts are 300-450, which is chip damage on hard vs monsters with several k's of HP. But once I get my sweet bard and lovely princess back, Estelle won't need to attack at all.

[Dr. Rudolf von Richten]

Originally posted by XtReMz98:

I found only one setup to allow her to get both La Teara and Earth Wall (could be more, but her lines makes it difficult): EP Cut 4/Defense 4/Time Gem/Action 4/Scent/Ingenuity/Yin-Yang. Doing so I removed Heaven's Eye, which she held since the beginning for completionist's sake. I'd like a setup that allows me to get in back on while keeping La Teara and Earth Wall....

OK Chapter 8, Estelle Caster Setup:
Central Slot: Impede 4
Line 1: Defense 4, Mind 4, Heaven's Eye
Line 2: Action 4 (or 3), EP Cut 4 (or 3), Cast 2

Impede 4 is the key: it provides not only 8 Green, but also 1 Gold and 1 Silver.

This means that with Heaven's Eye she has 8 Blue, 8 Green, 4 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Red in Line 1, which is enough for Earth Wall and La Teara, among other things.

Line 2 will have 8 Green, 11-16 Black, 5-8 Gold, 4-6 Silver and 2 Red in line 2, which is good enough for White Gehenna even with Action 3 and EP Cut 3, but not enough for Abyss Fall (or Death Scream) even with Action 4 and EP Cut 4.

[XtReMz98]

Originally posted by Dr. Rudolf von Richten:

Originally posted by XtReMz98:

I found only one setup to allow her to get both La Teara and Earth Wall (could be more, but her lines makes it difficult): EP Cut 4/Defense 4/Time Gem/Action 4/Scent/Ingenuity/Yin-Yang. Doing so I removed Heaven's Eye, which she held since the beginning for completionist's sake. I'd like a setup that allows me to get in back on while keeping La Teara and Earth Wall....

OK Chapter 8, Estelle Caster Setup:
Central Slot: Impede 4
Line 1: Defense 4, Mind 4, Heaven's Eye
Line 2: Action 4 (or 3), EP Cut 4 (or 3), Cast 2

Impede 4 is the key: it provides not only 8 Green, but also 1 Gold and 1 Silver.

This means that with Heaven's Eye she has 8 Blue, 8 Green, 4 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Red in Line 1, which is enough for Earth Wall and La Teara, among other things.

Line 2 will have 8 Green, 11-16 Black, 5-8 Gold, 4-6 Silver and 2 Red in line 2, which is good enough for White Gehenna even with Action 3 and EP Cut 3, but not enough for Abyss Fall (or Death Scream) even with Action 4 and EP Cut 4.

Thanks! I was indeed missing the space/mirage quartz on my first attempt at getting this setup. It never occured to me to get impede 4 on her!

P.S. I'm wrapping things up in Chapter 8 at the moment, but may I say that Abyss Worms are the bane of my existence XD May they rest in peace... forever!

[Dr. Rudolf von Richten]

Originally posted by XtReMz98:

Thanks! I was indeed missing the space/mirage quartz on my first attempt at getting this setup. It never occured to me to get impede 4 on her!

You're welcome! :-)