The evening of the 15th, Youka woke up all of a sudden in the evening and started doing pushups right out of bed.
Are you okay?
I'm fine. I'm just tired.
Considering the amount of exercise we get on a daily basis, do you really even need to do this?
Shit, I don't know. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should just sleep.
You do seem like you could use more naps than you give yourself.
Sure, sure. Then, starting tomorrow, I'll start sleeping more. Maybe I'll quit feeling so damn tired all the time.
In that case, do you mind helping Mio and I with a bit of documentation? I would hate to bother you when you're conserving your energy, but if you're already working.
Yeah, sure, I can do that.
Unremarkable Changes
Accuracy
Forward Punch: Reduced from 1.5x to 1.3x.
Double Hook: Reduced from 1.5x to 1.3x.
Spinedge Blow: Reduced from 1.5x to 1.0x.
Fang Breaker: Increased from 1.5x to 2.0x.
Claw Smasher: Increased from 1.5x to 2.0x.
Breath Render: Increased from 1.5x to 2.0x.
Mach Drop: Reduced from 1.5x to 1.0x.
Fiend Shifter: Increased from 1.5x to 2.0x.
Skill Changes
Parry Shield:
MANA cost increased by 2 at all levels.
Destroy React:
Activation chance reduced.
Old: 50%/55%/60%/65%/70%
New: 30%/32%/34%/36%/40%
Hard Target:
Removed.
Became the last five levels of Counter Stance.
Skyhigh Meteor:
SP cost reduced from 9500 to 9000.
Effective damage reduced from 1950% to 1500%.
Generally I guess I feel a bit slower than I used to. My body's just a little bit worse at making those snap reactions.
Really glad I have you to help with that, Mio.
Well, you are forty-six now.
And you've spent years outputting the kind of force human bodies aren't really supposed to.
Hey, don't make it sound like Mama Fudoji's out for the count!
I mean, have you seen her jive? She could keep fighting well into her sixties if she wanted!
I'd really rather not, though.
Well yeah I don't want you to. But you could!
I suppose 'slowing down' is relative to yourself. You are still likely Earth's mightiest martial artist.
Noteworthy Changes
Tier 1 Skills
Counter Stance
Increases the user's chance of being targeted by enemies for the rest of the turn. When the user is user is targeted by an enemy, they will deal melee ATK-based damage to the enemy.
Changes:
Exhaust gain reduced from 1.5% to 1%.
Effectively merged with Hard Target, with Counter Stance becoming the first five levels, and Hard Target the last five levels.
Now has 10 levels instead of 5.
The merging of the skills results in this skill introduces three quirks:
MANA cost increases to 3 from 0, starting at level 6.
Counter Stance loses its guaranteed D-Depth infliction starting at level 6.
Hard Target's aggro increase was not rescaled to count for being the last five levels of a skill, resulting in the aggro increase being set back to 60% at level 6, and scaling back up to 80% again at level 10.
So, my basic stance. I decided, 'fuck it', as I was going through some basic fights, so I just started deciding once I got to that point I'd just start hitting them as hard as I could. I mean, it's allowed now.
I fail to see how that's different.
Do you know what hitting them as hard as I can means, Koron? It means I hit them really goddamn hard. Fuck having different moves for it, sometimes I just get sick of things in front of me.
Frankly, Youka, the level of force behind the strongest attack you could possibly muster is a level of raw force I don't fully understand, no.
This is largely an academic change to ensure your basic counter doesn't get capped out at any point. Sure, there are minor changes because of it, but Hard Target is Hard Target.
Earth Breaker
Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy. If the target is afflicted with D-Depth, the damage is increased, and their D-Depth is removed.
Cannot inflict D-Depth on an enemy, even if the user is under the effect of Depth Charge.
New skill.
So, since I'm a bit slower than I used to be, I thought, what if I couldn't reach someone who was open? So I started thinking that I could bring my fist to them.
Thought maybe I'd give myself a rocket punch or something!
But instead, I figured out if I hit the ground hard enough, I could blast the force out through the ground to knock 'em around.
Sora ni, sobieru, kurogane no shiro~
So this is what it means to have power that can become either god or devil...
Don't think about it too hard. 'Power that can become either god or devil' is more Chisa's bag. I'm just a woman.
That is curious, though. I wonder how that redirection of force occurs? We've seen it happen in wholly artificial ground... perhaps Youka's prowess as a hunter causes the strike to seek out its target through the ground?
Ooh, I like that. Makes me feel cool.
So it is like a rocket punch!
Maybe if you tried hard enough, you could start punching blasts of wind, then it would be like a real rocket punch!
Earth Breaker is a pretty interesting skill. Since resetting D-Depth can be used to chain Destroy Reacts, having a way to manually reset it is a good thing to have—plus it has a fixed duration anyway. It's a bit expensive, but hey, it can come in handy!
Tier 3 Skills
Crippling Kicks
Requires that the target have at least 1 stack of D-Depth to use. Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy. Increases the target's chance of being afflicted with ailments for a set amount of turns.
New skill.
Anyway, I thought for a while, and I decided I might try kicking the bastards.
Just... kicking them?
Yeah, give 'em a little one-two like this, shake 'em up a bit. Nobody expects Mama Fudoji to go for the kicks. It opens them up for you kids, too.
It's true. Curiously, I've noticed they become more vulnerable to various ailments after she's kicked them. Perhaps she crushes their immune systems with the force of her legs.
...How horrifying.
Okay, listen. Back up here. Can we talk about this? Sure, I'm really damn strong. We know that. But you can light your sword on fire and shit. Koron can make peoples' brains explode. I don't even know what Mio does but somehow she makes people move faster and yells so hard that Dragons explode, and Richter, shit, look at Richter, I don't even understand half the things he does but he hacks into dragons. How am I really the scariest person in this unit?
it takes the least effort to understand why you're scary
Yeah, it's really obvious why you're scary, so it's easier to be afraid.
I just think you're cool though.
Aww, thanks, Mio.
Crippling Kicks is a really nice tool. It's solid damage and it's really hard to complain about ailment vulnerability buffs. There's really no party that doesn't at least appreciate that a little, and it's invaluable for Tricksters and Hackers.
Homicide Hold
Requires that the target have at least 2 stacks of D-Depth to use. Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy. The damage is increased based on how many ailments the target is afflicted with.
The damage values for rank 3 in the skill table are not an error.
New skill.
I've also been thinking of trying to choke some of the Dragons out, see if I can pull a good submission hold, too.
Ah, your pit fighting instincts striking again?
I mean, some of those guys I had to choke out. It gets easier if they're already busted up. If I can't output as much direct force as I used to, then I've gotta compensate by getting crafty.
See see, this is why I think you could keep fighting for decades. Any time you'd get a bit weaker you'd find like three new tricks to start using!
Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence!
But I'd really like to retire soon.
Oh well yeah of course.
This skill kinda sucks. If you're on 2 D-Depth and you want to deal damage you might as well go for Double Hook or Spinedge Blow or something. While the gimmick is theoretically interesting, the scaling isn't really high enough to justify it and getting it really up there requires some finagling. Plus, enemies have much more varied ailment resistances in this game, and IIRC the list of ailments that actually 'count' for this is a bit weird. The erroneous damage table is funny though.
Tier 4 Skills
Quintet
Requires that the target have at least 3 stacks of D-Depth to use. Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy.
Changes:
Now a tier 4 skill, instead of tier 3.
Damage reduced.
Old: 600%/650%/700%/800%/900%
New: 500%/550%/600%/650%/700%
Drill Crawler
Requires that the target have at least 3 stacks of D-Depth to use. Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy. Heals the user for a percentage of the damage dealt. The amount of healing is capped at a specific static amount.
Changes:
Damage reduced by 100% at all levels.
Healing is now capped.
20/40/60/80/100 LIFE
Most of all I think my big drive-in combos've slowed down a bit. Don't know if I can punch through guys quite as well anymore. Comes with getting older, I guess.
It's alright, Youka. Like Sumie said, I believe in your ability to find new ways to fight to make up for it. And... well, I have to imagine they still hurt quite a lot.
It's kinda weird. When I start tearing through guys, it doesn't give me quite the same rush, either.
What would? You killed a god with your bare hands.
...
Hey, that's true! I guess so, huh?
Youka Fudoji: "Yeah, I guess I did kill a god, huh?"
So modest!
the kind of down to earth role model we all need in our lives
I can't believe I'm a role model.
How long have you spent surprised by that?
...Uhhhh... A long time, huh?
Both of these are pretty fair nerfs, I think. Youka was able to output bonkers amounts of damage pretty free in the first game, and slightly mitigating that is fine. Both are still pretty decent skills, especially when you Order Action and get them for free.
Hammerhead
Requires that the target have at least 2 stacks of D-Depth to use. Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy. Attempts to inflict stop on the target.
New skill.
One last thing I've been thinking about. Why don't I just headbutt the dragons? Seems like my head has a lot of stopping force.
That might work alright, but please take care of your head. You need that, and some of the Dragons have quite tough skin.
Eh, I'm dense as a rock, anyway. Never even finished high school, y'know.
Oh, come off it. You're perfectly intelligent, you're just unusually blunt and direct.
Hey, Koron. You know what a 'zinfandel' is?
It's a type of black grape that was grown in California vineyards. Used in certain red wines. Why?
Okay. So when a hoity-toity asshole says a bunch of words about wine like that, it's talking about the kind of grape that it's made out of, right?
Where is this coming from?
I knew a guy once, tried real hard to be hard society even though he was just as much of a meathead as I was. Asked me once what kind of wine I liked. And I mean, shit, I didn't know anything about wine. Still don't.
I wonder how he's doing. I mean, I figure a stubborn bastard like that wouldn't die that easy.
Don't change the subject. You're perfectly intelligent.
Sure, sure.
Solid. Lower damage than Double Hook or Spinedge Blow on the same tier, but if you get lucky and land the proc you can start rolling the enemy. It's a cute skill.
Now that I'm getting a bit weaker, I have to wonder if I might eventually find a weapon that makes me hit harder.
man THAT would be the day
Seriously.
Perhaps not in knuckles, but I have to imagine you could do some serious damage with construction equipment or the like.
What, you think I should lug a cement mixer into combat?
No, I was just saying. It is rather entertaining to think of you beating an enemy with a cement mixer, though.
Maybe a lamppost? If you can lift one, it's fairly flexible.
Yeah, I'll stick to beating things with my fist.
Super EX Skill
Bunker Buster
Deals melee ATK-based damage to one enemy. Inflicts 3 stacks of D-Depth.
Youka's SEX skill is cute because it means Skyhigh Meteor has a separate, useful niche, being multi-target. I definitely don't mind that. Anyway, normal amounts of damage.
Okay, I think we're good! Thanks, Youka.
Sure, sure. Wow, look at me, I get free time. Maybe I'll read a book or something.
Hey, Mio, Otacon's in the closet, right? He got any Jojo in him? I never did catch up past part 3. Might do me some good to just read some manga.
Oh, yeah, I've been keeping a ton of manga in Otacon these days. He's got my private collection in him. Pretty sure I managed to keep some of my volumes of Jojo.
Thank you thank you! Much appreciated.
Man, I'm not used to this. With all the construction work and stuff after the last War, I'm not sure what to do with myself.
I believe that fighting to ensure you no longer have to fight is part of our goal, as well.
...
I really couldn't have asked for a better bunch of friends, you know that?
