Anyone interested in a completed Hardcore Mod?

[ARMs]

Ok i spent alot of time on a mod that i think is pretty hardcore.  Anyone interested can contact me on MSN at [email protected] so i can send it to you guys.  I repeat this is hardcore you may encounter some normal enimies that will wipe you out easily and not have a chance if your not decently leveled up. 

Unfortunately i didn't play test this from the beganning.  I started from the cargo ship and onward.  However i did play test all bosses. 

All I ask is that you post your progress and tell me what area or boss is easy, so i can make the neccessary changes. 

PS.  I also like to ask anyone who has created some super bosses to please send them to me so i can add them to the word map and dungeons in disc 3 just for challenge sake.   I have created a few but I'm running out of Ideas.

[zero88]

I created one of these a while ago. Unfortunately, I couldn't complete it, because Guard Scorpion kept owning me at level 18 or lower. I figured most people aren't too willing to level up to level 20 in the first reactor, so what was the point of doing the mod? ... The thing about your mod is, you really need to test it from the beginning and bench mark character levels for bosses, like I did in mine for Guard Scorpion. Truth be told, the hardest part of the game, save for a few bosses, is the entire game up until around mid-disc one, since you don't have too powerful materia, accessories, weapons, etc.... You only have levels and strategy to go on.

To be honest, in my opinion, leveling up has to be the most boring thing this game has to offer. While I mean no offense towards you or your mod, that's all these "hardcore" mods do--make you have to level up insanely for parts that used to be easy. I'm sure some people would like the change of pace, but when I look at "harder difficulties" in RPGs, I tend to think of the Star Ocean series: when you increased the difficulty, the random encounter rate increased, enemy attacks damaged more, their HP multiplied itself, their speed increased, but most importantly, they were smarter with each increasing difficulty!

THAT is what these "hard" mods need...smarter AI. Not many people like to sit around for hours, mindlessly fighting battles to gain levels to beat a boss that used to be easy (which only adds insult to injury). Personally, I don't know how to increase the enemy AI, but I have a few ideas of what could be done. I think you'll attract more people if you make it so bosses will kill you because they outmanuevered you, not because they overpowered you. You might have to gain an additional level or two, not six or seven.

[Matt]

It was fun the first time when being overleveled, but then I kind of grew to like FF8's system where the enemies' levels were around the same as yours for the entire game. It kept the challenge in the game for the entire game... well nearly the entire game.

It also might be better to give some enemies new attacks with that new AI because most enemy attacks suck, don't see the point in making them smarter if their attacks aren't up to par with that as well.

[ARMs]

Yes I know what you mean.  I wasnt' satisfied with just pumping up the bosses stats and HPs.  So i spent alot of time on this mod and added effects to their attacks and increased thier attack..  Materia and accessory set up is very important.  I didnt' test the game from the beganning but I tested the bosses with levels levels that i had from older saves.  like you can beat guard scorpion with level 7.  Its just tougher but not truely tough becuase its the beganning and the only thing you have is bolt and potions.  As you advance the difficulties will increase. 

I beaten disc 1 at level 40.  disc 2 at level 70.  And compensated the bosses at the end of disc 1 for the player having meteor rain.  and the required level for midgur is level 16.  At these levels expect a tough fight.  so basically this mod just require that you at least level up about 3 levels in between most bosses and you need to abuse the HP plus materia with the enimie skills.  Some bosses that has all elemental attacks had thier elements removed.

So if you dont want to level up alot you seriously need to consider buying 6 HP pluses and equiping double growth materia weapons and armors.  and get as many enimie skills as possible.  Obatining Nuts for chocobo breading is more difficult now since you can't jsut steal the nut from the dino.  And hes been modded to be one of the super enimies where you probably have slim to no chance of winning unless you are level 70 and higher with ultimate weapons.  Obtaining some enimie skills will also prove very difficult.
I have also changed drops of x=potions and turbo eithers.  You can no longer morph enimies for sources. And for star ocean i didnt' notice the AI being smarter.  They just attack more ofthen other then that they act the same as normal difficulties.

[zero88]

Then you must've just blasted through the game, because Star Ocean's AI is so much more effective and efficient on Universal than on Earth (or whatever they called the default difficulty). And you cannot tell me they weren't faster. And their damage didn't do a lot more. My ass, they only attacked more.

Whatever. I still highly dislike these "hard" mods, but you can do as you please.

[Izban]

if i were going to make a hard mod i'd make it so that you  need to use your enemys weakness's like elentor (or was it skillster i can't remember) was making so you could do the gam with little or no leveling

[ARMs]

I guess i must have type it wrong what i ment was that.  The enimies in star ocean did have more dexterity and strengh and HP and Magic strenght.  But other then that I saw nothing new from them.  They didnt' have new moves they don't attack differently.  They just attack more frequently.  Like lets say in Earth Mode the AI may stay their doing nothing for 3 to 5 seconds but in the Harder difficulty they perform an Action every .5 to 2 seconds.

I didnt' change much of the enimies Elemental weakness.  But i'm sure nearly all bosses and enimies have them.  All you can do is either double the damage or cause instant death.  I really dont like to cause Instant death as that would make the game extremely easy.  Then thier are death attacks that you can use.  Some enimies are so strong you have to used magics like slow and stop mini and frog just to kill them to get armors or other things from them.   Even demi magic is useful now.  Magics is what causes most of the damage untill i get a hold of championship belt or curse ring because i normally play threw the game with rune blade. 

So yeah you can exploit thier weaknesses to make it easier on you.  And you actually have to fight the bosses cause i got rid of every bosses weakness to poison.   That was totally cheap how nearly every boss wasn't immune to poison.

[Izban]

id have the grunts take extra damage from bullets there armor is left from the war with wati who would use sword  them things that cast fire you'd have to ice the tank things bolt you get my drift