Best end-game level-grinding?

[BlackDragon]

Well, I'm in 'saw the final scene then went back' do-everything mode. Minigames, weapons, titles, scenes, cooking, whatever. Problem is, my team's only around level 70... and neverminding all the optional bosses I need to buff up to beat, there's also the fact that Presea and Regal need to hit level 80 to get their Ultimate Weapons... and, for that matter, the Level 100 title for everyone.

So... what's the score? Should I just fight random enemies in the final dungeon? Endlessly re-fight the Gold Dragon in Ymir Forest? Maybe fight in the Optional 'Netherworld' dungeon? I suppose I'll need to make good use of Darkness and Demon Seals either way... and the XP Up EX Skill for everyone...

[Doc Shinpao]

There's an accessory that allow you to gain 100% exp for the character equiped.

[CaRmAgE]

The best place for experience is the Forbidden Anamnesis, due to the random "Earned EXP increased" floor effect. It's only safe to do so, though, if you already finished the Devil's Arms sidequest. If that isn't the case for you, grind in Vinheim instead.

The best way to earn gald is the Rune Bottles on Talisman trick (steal Rune Bottles > buy Talismans > use Rune Bottles > sell Blue Talismans). If Colette does not have Item Getter, equip two Rabbit's Foot on Zelos and hit on women to frequently get Miracle Gels, Energy Tablets, and Rune Bottles. Miracle Gels sell for 1500 and Energy Tablets sell for 2000.

If this is your first playthrough, don't bother grinding to 100; it will take forever (even getting to 80 takes a while). It's much less stressful on future playthroughs when you get the experience modifiers.

[BlackDragon]

Already knew about (and is abusing) the Rune Bottle/Talisman trick. And just took a trip to Forbidden Anamnesis to confirm that no, I'm NOT ready to grind there. :p You've got a point about reaching 100 being far easier once I've got the appropriate enhancements from the Grade Store, though... but I still think I'll aim for 80. I think that's the bare minimum I'll need to handle the various optional bosses, and I don't feel like putting all of THEM off 'till the next playthrough.

Heck, it'd be the THIRD playthrough. There's no way I'm buying the XP-plus enhancers for the next one. I still need to get the 'beat Rodyle at low level' title for Lloyd.

Come to think of it....... ugh. I WILL have to level Kratos to 100. I'm going to have to go through the game 5 times just to get all the titles, and the other four runs will require me to meet different people at the Flanoir Doctor scene... no way am I taking a sixth run just to level up Kratos, and I rather doubt it'll be realistic to level him all the way to 100 in Sylvanna even with full boosts.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have aimed for his ending on my first run. Hindsight is 20/20... guess I'm off to Vinheim for a while.

[CaRmAgE]

Yeah, that's what I did for my first playthrough (leveled to 80). In the end (with the Colosseum, Devil's Arms, and Forbidden Anamnesis quests saved 'til after power leveling), I barely made it above 85 with most characters.

For Kratos, yeah, it would've been better to save his for last, so you could get at least the 2x multiplier at that time.

[BlackDragon]

Well, I'm dedicated to getting Kratos to 100 now... at least it's easier to get just ONE guy up there than the whole crew. And I can grind cooking-skill while I'm at it.

A related question, though... what would be a good order to do the endgame content in? I gather that Amanuensis should come after Abyssion, but what about the Advanced Colliseum and Maxwell?

[CaRmAgE]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BlackDragon:

And I can grind cooking-skill while I'm at it.

I was actually thinking of bringing that up, since I'm currently doing that in my Kratos run.

Ursprungligen skrivet av BlackDragon:

A related question, though... what would be a good order to do the endgame content in? I gather that Amanuensis should come after Abyssion, but what about the Advanced Colliseum and Maxwell?

Maxwell should definitely be done first. He's not that difficult. His worst attack is Meteor Storm, but that can be avoided by simply interrupting him every time.

You can then use the Turquoise you get to do the Colosseum matches. The only difficult one, IMO, is Genis's, since he can't heal himself, except with cooking. Raine's might seem like it would be difficult, but it's actually really boring. Get the Concentrate Compound EX Skill, then just alternate between Photon and First Aid. The only part of the Colosseum you might want to save for after everything else is the Advanced Party Exhibition Match (or use an All-Divide), because those three cheat mercilessly.

The other two would follow, but even then, you'll want Revitalize on a shortcut and keep mashing it; otherwise, you would have to grind a lot to beat Abyssion single-player (although, if you have Genis with Absolute, that can help).

[BlackDragon]

Gotcha, thanks. I'm already in the mid-70's, so I guess I should get started on Maxwell at the very least.

Oh! And a question's occured to me. Can you STACK XP-booster accessories? Like, two Demon Seals on the same person for +200% XP? Or just a Demon Seal and a Dark Seal for +150%? I suspect not, since it would be fairly unbalanced - the disadvantages they provide can't get any worse than they are, after all, but... it's a thought!

[CaRmAgE]

I know stat and elemental resist boosts will stack, but I don't know about XP. Gald boosts definitely don't stack, though, so I'd imagine XP boosts would be the same.

[BlackDragon]

Yeah. Managed to find confirmation on the old GC-version forums. Would've been too good to be true, I suppose!

[CaRmAgE]

Since I just finished the Forbidden Anamnesis, I thought I'd do a little comparison.

When I got Kratos back, I put the Demon Seal + Krona Symbol combo on him as soon as I got it. By the time I started the Forbidden Anamnesis sidequest, he was around level 80-85 (don't remember exactly). I fought every enemy encountered at least once (including Blue and Cyan floors). By the time I finished all 20 floors, he was level 96.

So, you might have to go through the book more than once, but it is definitely viable to get Kratos to 100 w/o Grade shop XP modifiers and without it taking forever.

[BlackDragon]

Wait, Krona Symbol actually nullifies the effects of the Demon Seal? Damn... for some reason, I was convinced that didn't work. That'll make things way easier!