@Pandareus Eh... beating an RPG is more than enough for me nowadays, I really doubt I'll be doing much post-game anything.

Well, I've been playing the hell out of this game. I'm fifty or so hours in and I just got past shooting the arrow to form the light bridge. Right now I'm debating whether it's going to be worth training my armamentalist's (main character) agility using the martial artist's vocational set. I've already maxed out his own vocational set but what I want to do is max out the sword skill because I really want to be an omnivocational sword master because post game I want my main character to be a Paladin but I don't want to use a spear, hammer, nor a wand.

Right now I have 35 skill points invested in swordmanship, with 55 unused skill points as a level 35 armamentalist. I know that by the end of the main quest I'll have enough to max that out and then some. Also, I can farm two unused vocations to at least level 21 for 40 or so skill points which would leave me within a short reach of maxing out the focus tree of the martial artist since I already have 16 points invested there to get psych up. Then I've also yet to unlock the last couple of vocations which can leave me with another 80 points. If I also farm the couple of vocations that are level 11 I'll surely have enough to max out the Paladin's vocational tree. The problem is that I don't know if it's worth it to do to the agility thing, it could be all for naught. I guess I can always just get the points, save them, test them and decide if it's worth it. If not, I can always max out my shield and look for something else to use the spare points on. Shield right now is at 40 points.

Also, a lot of people say it's best to max out shields early on, but the only characters I've done it for right now are for a paladin that I will turn into a martial artist and a minstrel I'm still debating what to do with. I open to suggestions with that one. Last but not least I have a priest with maxed out mending, who I plan to turn into a sage. But before I do that I'll max out her magical might as a mage. I already have 97 points at this stage. All of my characters right now are level 35 or 36.

I actually haven't bothered putting a single point in shields in any of my characters that use them. Maybe I should have but eh, I beat the game just fine without it and have plenty of points to spare I'd like to be an omnivocational shield master for my Thief though. He could use the extra defense but 100 points just for a shield is quite hefty since I don't think he'd benefit from the other abilities... right? I'd have to check on that with using the sword on my Paladin.

I do have a question, one I'm not sure I want an answer on actually cause I don't want to spoil myself much I guess this could be a semi spoiler for those that haven't beaten it. But having beaten the game, I've noticed there's still some areas that I just cannot explore at all. I can't reach them by ship or by land. It's as if I'd need an airship but there's really no quests left to do aside from one story related quest which I have no idea how to complete. Is there something I'm totally missing here? All that seems left to do really is to go treasure map hunting and I think I have around 15 or so cleared out right now. I must say these get quite boring after a while...

@VofEscaflowne

That's just it thought, you'll need the shields for post game grottoes since the bosses are considerably stronger. The main story is a cakewalk.

@VofEscaflowneHead to the town that had that girl that summoned the whale monster thing. As you can tell the names of things in this game didn't leave much of an impression on me, lol. When you talk to the girl in her house she'll give you a quest that will in the end wind up solving your world traveling dilemma

There we go. Kept it as vague as possible as to not super spoil anything, heh.

@Tranquilo

Yeah but I'm still grinding here and there and will eventually put the points in there. They just weren't necessary in the main quest is what I'm saying.

@kgtennispro

Ah, thanks. I should have visited more areas first but was sticking to the "extra quests" for now thinking that would be the obvious answer.

I am at the spot where you can finally change vocations - I'm not sure what I want to be.. My team is Me (minstrel), Mage, Priest, and Warrior. I know there are bonus vocations out there so don't say anything!

What do you like to play as?

S

I really didn't explore much. My main character is a Warrior and my team is composed of a Mage, Priest and Thief. I might switch to other vocations to learn skills and gain stat bonuses but these are my main ones so far until I decide to grind a ton to make other vocations viable for the game.

When do you get to change vocations? Minstrels SUCK! All my lower level party members can deal more damage than me!

I've decided to try being a Mage now...Although you start off incredibly weak defense wise, if you stick with it, you can be quite powerful - also it's nice thata my priest, and thief can heal and that the warrior can help defend me while I level up...

I tried playing multiplayer last night - although nobody was 'hosting' a world. I read in NP that you can level up much faster while being a guest in someone else's world. The players don't all have to be in 'range' do they? Can't you play online a la Mario Kart?

You change vocations by visiting Alltrades Abbey. After arriving at Alltrades Abbey and liberating Abbot Jack from the Tower of Trades, you can switch any character's class at will, and as many times as you want. You'll of course be limited to what classes are currently available to you, but once you reach Alltrades Abbey, return there at any time to switch classes at will (ripped from IGN).

This is after you solve all the Wite Night issues in Storneway and you are able to go through the guarded gate East of Storneway castle.

S

Yeah there's no online to this.

I finally got this game through the Kmart deal last week. I'll be trying it out while I'm at the beach this week.

Playing DS games... at the beach?!? Interesting.

I have trouble playing DS games outside. It's hard to deal with the sun, and you get hot, and just... I actually don't like doing anything outside, except sunbathe and possibly listen to something, like music or a podcast.

I could actually get into playing DS outside during the evening hours, I think. Sitting on my back yard deck, at dusk. Playing games and maybe watching fireflies. If I could get my buddies into playing DS, I'd totally get down on playing some multiplayer DS games around a bonfire and making S'mores.

That way it'd be easy to see the screen and not have to worry about getting too hot and/or sunburned. I suppose the only issue would be mosquitoes... so better break out the OFF! spray, lol.

I play outside on my balcony all the time, only in the evening though, not when it's sunny, too hard to see the screen.

Speaking of vocations, what's everyone's party look like? I have Minstrel, Mage, Martial Artist, and Priest. Seems to be a pretty good combo though I'm lacking a really good warrior type, should I change my Minstrel (main character) into a warrior? She's badass in the way she has a nice mix of spells and attacks, but it's a little frustrating that she can't deal out more damage with her sword, and that she can't wear some of the heavier armor.

@GameDadGrant
Mosquitoes are a pretty big issue for me. Those bastards consume me. Especially this year. When I pull weeds or water plants these days, I wear a jacket and sweatpants (and tuck them into my shoes), even when it's, like, 100 degrees outside. And they still sting me through the sweatpants!

When I toured Europe with some friends, I tried to get everyone to (buy and) bring DSes. In the end, we just had the two I brought. And we only played a couple of times. Nertz.

@deathly_hallows

Holy crap... you and I have the EXACT SAME PARTY. Literally. Wowsers. .... ahem. Anyway, I like my party the way they are. My minstrel deals out a good amount of damage, and both my Priest and Martial Artist do clean-up with some of the tougher enemies. And of course, my Mage deals out some fearsome spells. Gotta love BOOM!

@anandxxx

That sounds eerily similar to my attempts to get my friends to play DS's on the road. A group of us went up to northern Michigan for a weekend, and like you, tried to get everyone to bring their DS. In the end, it was only me that brough the two that I owned. And we only played once... and not for very long. My buddy got motion sick trying to play the DS in the car. Gah.

@GameDadGrant
I know! People are so lame. I'm tempted to go to some DS meet-up, or something. That could be pretty fun.

@anandxxx

I have a feeling it'd just be you and me showing up, lol.