first notes
Read my challenge mode etitquite guide before you even read another line of this. That said, this is more how to TA not stage by stage walkthrough using the TA rules. I still have to write the regular guides for challenge mode.
Job Classes and their duties
Hunters
Dont even think of using the HUnewearl for TA, the JP will slap you lol
HUmar-An unusual choice for TA because he doesnt specialize in anything and he has no traps but ive opted for this choice and my HUmar has my second best srank time (and im not done TAing yet!). If youre a HUmar, youre job is relatively easy, use the weak, weak, strong combo on everything (except for big monster with low evade and bosses where you should weak strong strong or Strong strong strong). SAVE YOUR MATES! I cannot stress that enough, you have to pay constant attention to how much exp you have til your next level up so you dont waste mates. Using the suggested combo, you should not get hit too much (especially if youre good at being a hunter and run around a bit) so you shouldnt use too many mates. If you have a gun, use it to save mates. Give your scape doll to the Force in the party (there should always be a force in TA) about halfway through the challenge, if youre leary of giving it up, get your hands on a gun or some extra mates (the FO should drop them) so theres less of a chance of dying. As a HUm your def is pretty good but if your health drops below half, use a mate in case of critical hits (or use a mate if you get the full benefit of it, like if you get all 80Hp a monomate gives you). Always drop any fluids you have to the force. Hmm thats about it.
HUcast- The number 1 choice among JP players, though ive never TAed as a HUct, i still know what they need to do for the party. Much of the rules for the HUmar apply here, you still use the same combo. The notable difference is you never want to use a gun as a HUct unless it has exceptional %s (mainly hit) because HUcts have crap for ATA. HUcts can take the abuse of fighting with melee weaps so dont worry about wasting mates (dont go crazy but you dont need to be as conservative as the HUmar). As far as traps go, use confuse on big groups of grunt monsters (the lower class ones) and Freeze on higher level ones. You can also use damage on big groups and use damage traps on poufilly slimes when theyre in the ground as a puddle.
HUcaseal- This is a good choice, my HUcl has my best time. Shes got the best melee weap combos, best accuracy and evade of the hunters. Meleeing with her isnt too much of a problem because youll block many of the hits. Give all the good guns to her because she can equip and make use of most of them. The trap system for her remains the same as the HUct. The combo you want to do is weak strong strong on everything (except low evade monsters/bosses which is strong strong strong), give all daggers and mechguns to her.
Forces
All of the forces are generally the same, i would suggest using a FOneweral because of the highest MST and basic tech boost (which you will mostly use). However, if the fraility of a FOnl doesnt appeal to you, use a FOnm, hes the secod best MST and gets the gi/ra boost (you wont use too much of that though). I wouldnt suggest using FOmar or FOmarl in TA
FOanything-Know your elemental weaknesses well! That way you dont waste tp on spells that arent having maximum efficiency. Like the hunters, conserve your fluids and drop your mates for the HUs. Time your level ups so they come right when you run out of TP and also time it so you find a health ring right as you run out of tp. Cast Shifta and Deband on the party only when youre about to level up or when youre in a health ring. Get the scape dolls from the HUs and when you run out of fluids, arent close to leveling, and are nowhere near a health ring, die for tp using the extra scapes from the HUs. Try to only cast one to two spells on every monster, even though you have the extra scape dolls to die for tp and in TA Forces are the fastest killing machines, you probably shouldnt need more than 2 spells until C7 and up. If youre the only one fighting monsters in that part of the room then go crazy but just make sure you got a back up for your TP. Also, if youre close to leveling but out of TP, attempt to strike monsters once then run so you get exp and dont have to waste a doll however if youre goin for best time, just die and go crazy with your magic, thats how the JP have Srank times that are 3hours and 30 minutes or less.
Rangers
Dont ever use for TA, they just waste space.
materials: who uses which
Power: The HUm or HUcl uses the first 2 or 3 you find, the rest go to the HUcast
Def: Always FO unless you find like 4 or more, then the FO should give them to the others (id say HUcl first then HUmar)
Mind: Always FO
Evade: Always HU, start with HUct then HUmar
Luck: Any of the HUs
HP: Always FO unless,like mind, you get a crap load then distribute them to the HUcl then HUmar
TP: Always FO
Weapons:Which are good to use and who should use them
Melee-
Saber type: All HUs use this (hell you start with it most of the time lol). ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give the high hit% weaps to the HUct and the high % of the enemies youre fighting to the HUmar/HUcl. IF you get an abundance of hit % weaps, give it to everybody but make sure the HUct has the best of them.
Sword type: Stay away from them (even though you start with them on C3 C4 C7 and C8 lol). Theyre too slow and even leave the HUcl open to attack, not to mention inaccurate and they lower your evade. Even if you get one with high hit %, dont use it unless theres a big group (and by high hit i mean like 60% or higher)
Daggers: A good choice but if theres a HUcl in the party, give them to her, shes got the best combo ever for most melee weaps. Hi hit % and % on the monsters youre fighting make these one of the best weaps to use because they get 6 hits, and 6 strong hits with 50% or higher on the type of monster in the area=big damage and HUcl can use them REAL quick.
Partisan: A little better than swords but still i wouldnt suggest using them. Same rules apply as the sword
Slicer: Dont use, not worth it.
Ranged weapons:
Handgun: Good option for anybody (except FOs) especially if youre trying to conserve mates. If you get a good hit % handgun, give it to the HUmar, he can make awesome use of it.
Mechgun: Give the really good hit % to the HUmar and the semi good Hit %-> to no hit % to the HUcl.
Magic based weaps:
For all-Unless it has dim or shadow on it, dont even try to melee. If it does have on of those two, attempt to instant kill monsters when youre low on tp.
Misc Notes
NEVER EVER ATTACK THE SAME MONSTER AS SOMEBODY ELSE. This especially applies to forces, as that is SUCH a waste of TP. Unless its the last monster in the room DO NOT attack the same one as someone else.
I would suggest playing thru challenge mode around 5 times before attempting TA, that way you know all the puzzles well and youre able to distinguish a good map from a bad one within the first area (by good map, i mean how many monsters per wave and how many waves).
If youre going to restart due to a bad map, always let somebody different die each time so you get a new gravestone. Each person gets one grave and each grave has a chance of dropping mates/fluids so the more the better.
Often shout out the amount of mates and dolls you have in this order: monomate dimate dolls so itll look like 7 4 2 or something like that. That lets the team know to drop supplies at the door if you need it.
TA is A LOT of patience, you have to wait for a good team and there is a lot of restarting involved since many maps are bad. Get used to dying a lot in order to get the best map (to get a new map you cannot pick "try again" after somebody has died, you must quit, go back to the lobby, and remake the room. Annoying i know, but worth it? oh yes).
Im pretty sure ive covered everything, ill add in more if i realize i forgot a detail. Ill start writing the stage guides for EP1 real soon.
Read my challenge mode etitquite guide before you even read another line of this. That said, this is more how to TA not stage by stage walkthrough using the TA rules. I still have to write the regular guides for challenge mode.
Job Classes and their duties
Hunters
Dont even think of using the HUnewearl for TA, the JP will slap you lol
HUmar-An unusual choice for TA because he doesnt specialize in anything and he has no traps but ive opted for this choice and my HUmar has my second best srank time (and im not done TAing yet!). If youre a HUmar, youre job is relatively easy, use the weak, weak, strong combo on everything (except for big monster with low evade and bosses where you should weak strong strong or Strong strong strong). SAVE YOUR MATES! I cannot stress that enough, you have to pay constant attention to how much exp you have til your next level up so you dont waste mates. Using the suggested combo, you should not get hit too much (especially if youre good at being a hunter and run around a bit) so you shouldnt use too many mates. If you have a gun, use it to save mates. Give your scape doll to the Force in the party (there should always be a force in TA) about halfway through the challenge, if youre leary of giving it up, get your hands on a gun or some extra mates (the FO should drop them) so theres less of a chance of dying. As a HUm your def is pretty good but if your health drops below half, use a mate in case of critical hits (or use a mate if you get the full benefit of it, like if you get all 80Hp a monomate gives you). Always drop any fluids you have to the force. Hmm thats about it.
HUcast- The number 1 choice among JP players, though ive never TAed as a HUct, i still know what they need to do for the party. Much of the rules for the HUmar apply here, you still use the same combo. The notable difference is you never want to use a gun as a HUct unless it has exceptional %s (mainly hit) because HUcts have crap for ATA. HUcts can take the abuse of fighting with melee weaps so dont worry about wasting mates (dont go crazy but you dont need to be as conservative as the HUmar). As far as traps go, use confuse on big groups of grunt monsters (the lower class ones) and Freeze on higher level ones. You can also use damage on big groups and use damage traps on poufilly slimes when theyre in the ground as a puddle.
HUcaseal- This is a good choice, my HUcl has my best time. Shes got the best melee weap combos, best accuracy and evade of the hunters. Meleeing with her isnt too much of a problem because youll block many of the hits. Give all the good guns to her because she can equip and make use of most of them. The trap system for her remains the same as the HUct. The combo you want to do is weak strong strong on everything (except low evade monsters/bosses which is strong strong strong), give all daggers and mechguns to her.
Forces
All of the forces are generally the same, i would suggest using a FOneweral because of the highest MST and basic tech boost (which you will mostly use). However, if the fraility of a FOnl doesnt appeal to you, use a FOnm, hes the secod best MST and gets the gi/ra boost (you wont use too much of that though). I wouldnt suggest using FOmar or FOmarl in TA
FOanything-Know your elemental weaknesses well! That way you dont waste tp on spells that arent having maximum efficiency. Like the hunters, conserve your fluids and drop your mates for the HUs. Time your level ups so they come right when you run out of TP and also time it so you find a health ring right as you run out of tp. Cast Shifta and Deband on the party only when youre about to level up or when youre in a health ring. Get the scape dolls from the HUs and when you run out of fluids, arent close to leveling, and are nowhere near a health ring, die for tp using the extra scapes from the HUs. Try to only cast one to two spells on every monster, even though you have the extra scape dolls to die for tp and in TA Forces are the fastest killing machines, you probably shouldnt need more than 2 spells until C7 and up. If youre the only one fighting monsters in that part of the room then go crazy but just make sure you got a back up for your TP. Also, if youre close to leveling but out of TP, attempt to strike monsters once then run so you get exp and dont have to waste a doll however if youre goin for best time, just die and go crazy with your magic, thats how the JP have Srank times that are 3hours and 30 minutes or less.
Rangers
Dont ever use for TA, they just waste space.
materials: who uses which
Power: The HUm or HUcl uses the first 2 or 3 you find, the rest go to the HUcast
Def: Always FO unless you find like 4 or more, then the FO should give them to the others (id say HUcl first then HUmar)
Mind: Always FO
Evade: Always HU, start with HUct then HUmar
Luck: Any of the HUs
HP: Always FO unless,like mind, you get a crap load then distribute them to the HUcl then HUmar
TP: Always FO
Weapons:Which are good to use and who should use them
Melee-
Saber type: All HUs use this (hell you start with it most of the time lol). ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give the high hit% weaps to the HUct and the high % of the enemies youre fighting to the HUmar/HUcl. IF you get an abundance of hit % weaps, give it to everybody but make sure the HUct has the best of them.
Sword type: Stay away from them (even though you start with them on C3 C4 C7 and C8 lol). Theyre too slow and even leave the HUcl open to attack, not to mention inaccurate and they lower your evade. Even if you get one with high hit %, dont use it unless theres a big group (and by high hit i mean like 60% or higher)
Daggers: A good choice but if theres a HUcl in the party, give them to her, shes got the best combo ever for most melee weaps. Hi hit % and % on the monsters youre fighting make these one of the best weaps to use because they get 6 hits, and 6 strong hits with 50% or higher on the type of monster in the area=big damage and HUcl can use them REAL quick.
Partisan: A little better than swords but still i wouldnt suggest using them. Same rules apply as the sword
Slicer: Dont use, not worth it.
Ranged weapons:
Handgun: Good option for anybody (except FOs) especially if youre trying to conserve mates. If you get a good hit % handgun, give it to the HUmar, he can make awesome use of it.
Mechgun: Give the really good hit % to the HUmar and the semi good Hit %-> to no hit % to the HUcl.
Magic based weaps:
For all-Unless it has dim or shadow on it, dont even try to melee. If it does have on of those two, attempt to instant kill monsters when youre low on tp.
Misc Notes
NEVER EVER ATTACK THE SAME MONSTER AS SOMEBODY ELSE. This especially applies to forces, as that is SUCH a waste of TP. Unless its the last monster in the room DO NOT attack the same one as someone else.
I would suggest playing thru challenge mode around 5 times before attempting TA, that way you know all the puzzles well and youre able to distinguish a good map from a bad one within the first area (by good map, i mean how many monsters per wave and how many waves).
If youre going to restart due to a bad map, always let somebody different die each time so you get a new gravestone. Each person gets one grave and each grave has a chance of dropping mates/fluids so the more the better.
Often shout out the amount of mates and dolls you have in this order: monomate dimate dolls so itll look like 7 4 2 or something like that. That lets the team know to drop supplies at the door if you need it.
TA is A LOT of patience, you have to wait for a good team and there is a lot of restarting involved since many maps are bad. Get used to dying a lot in order to get the best map (to get a new map you cannot pick "try again" after somebody has died, you must quit, go back to the lobby, and remake the room. Annoying i know, but worth it? oh yes).
Im pretty sure ive covered everything, ill add in more if i realize i forgot a detail. Ill start writing the stage guides for EP1 real soon.
PSO is a game of my past but those I came in contact with are still a part of me.
Strength comes not from the size of your muscles, but the depth of your heart, and the cause you're defending with it.
Strength comes not from the size of your muscles, but the depth of your heart, and the cause you're defending with it.
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