Final Fantasy: Record Keeper OT

[Yanksfan]

I know the iOS board is rarely used, but here is an attempt on CAG to discuss the newly released Final Fantasy: Record Keeper.

What is it?

Essentially, it is a hardcore Final Fantasy's dream come true. You will revisit the worlds and stories of all the previous FF games, with a dream team of your favorite characters from the series. Ever wanted to team Cloud, Cecil and Sabin together? Well, now you can.

What's the backstory?

In a glorious kingdom that thrives on the harmony between magic and art, epic tales of valor and hope have been passed from one generation to the next. The records of these great chronicles uphold the peace and prosperity of all civilization. The kingdom sealed these records inside paintings, to safeguard the balance of the world. That is until, without warning, the records within the paintings began to fade away... Darkness fell upon the world, bringing catastrophe and ruin. The time has come for you to save the kingdom’s future. (Game's official prologue)

How much does it cost? Is it IAP?

It is free, and yes, there is IAP. Normally, I do not condone or play IAP games, but the concept here drew me in. I have played 5 hours so far and have yet to spend a penny.

The most important thing here is that you do not pay to unlock the characters from the series. You acquire them as you progress through the game's main story. If you're gunning to always have the new, elite weapons and armor, you will probably end up paying at some point to buy some Mythril. That is what is used to roll for the elite weapon's and armor. You do get Mythril for each new dungeon you clear out, so it is not a requirement to buy it. It just provides the player a way to acquire it faster.

The other catch is the Stamina system. Each time you run through a dungeon, it uses Stamina. You start off with a healthy amount of it though and replenish a Stamina unit every 3 minutes. You can purchase more if you run out, but from my perspective, I am ready for a break by the time I get low and I am recharged when I go to play again. It is actually handled pretty fairly and isn't a hindrance from progressing like it is in other games.

Is there Post Game Content?

Yes! They have daily and weekly challenges to tackle with your elite team. dungeons and elite areas and bosses from the series that you can level up your team to challenge.

Helpful Links

Official Website

Official Wiki/Strategy Site

Tips and Tricks

• Manage your Stamina wisely. If you're about to take a break from your phone, do a quick run or two through some easy dungeons. It will only take a couple of minutes, but your Stamina is going to be recharging anyways, might as well use it up and gain some EXP/items/gil before you put it down.
• As you are fighting bosses, remember their strengths and weaknesses from the main series. They are still very much present here. For example, the first boss from FF7. Remember to not attack while its tail is up!  If you're using Auto Battle, take it off for the boss, or you will likely get wiped out quickly.
• Post your tips and tricks and I will add them here, as well as more of mine.

 

[madcatz1999]

Note that there is a whole lot of gated content at this point.  They're evidently releasing stuff at the same rate as the Japan version (which has been out for a while).  So, there's only 11 characters or so (including the 6 core characters) available right now, whereas Japan has dozens of characters.

 

[Yanksfan]

Good to know. I figured this would be the case, as I knew it had been out in Japan for awhile, but I hadn't read up on it.

There is still a lot of content available as of right now and it is nice that this will be a game with a roadmap already established for future content.

 

[shivan128]

I downloaded this game on Saturday evening and completed the basic difficulty scenarios. Keep your mithril and draw relics when you can. There ate several cheap bosses in iv and vi which prevent you from going with all out attacking. Most monsters I encountered had weakness to lightning, so if you hone anything choose that one.
Also the scoring at the end of each boss fight can't be determined unless you remembered how to beat them the most efficient way in the original games.

 

[madcatz1999]

I was a little disappointed with today's daily dungeon.  Normal mode supposedly drops lesser orbs, but I ran it twice (6 levels), and all but one orb was minor.  Back to farming orbs the old-fashioned way.  At least each dungeon has its own set of drops, so makes it easy to focus on what you want.

I'm seeing some references to things that must've been taken out of the US version (or just not added yet).  Like one of the screen says "See xxx part of the help menu for detailed drop rates by rarity for relics", and said screen doesn't say anything about drop rates.

Still haven't spent any of my mythril yet.  Saving up for 50 to get the buy-10-get-one-free relic draw thing.  They can also be used on extra inventory space, which might be helpful, particularly once they start adding in the extra content.

BTW: There is an official online strategy guide (as well as unofficial wikis) that have the target goals for each boss, if you don't want to go through the whole dungeon just to figure them out.

 

[madcatz1999]

New event started tonight.  Says it can unlock Tifa and Sephiroth.  The first summon orb has shown up in it, as well.

 

[shivan128]

I've made it up to floor 56-60. Trying to hone thundara as much as I can to face up to the boss on that level. Anyone able to get through expert daily dungeons yet? I can only clear the first set of battles... i'm wiped by the time I get to the second one, but the drop rate is much better in expert. My team has an average level of 25.

I was a little disappointed with today's daily dungeon. Normal mode supposedly drops lesser orbs, but I ran it twice (6 levels), and all but one orb was minor. Back to farming orbs the old-fashioned way. At least each dungeon has its own set of drops, so makes it easy to focus on what you want.

I'm seeing some references to things that must've been taken out of the US version (or just not added yet). Like one of the screen says "See xxx part of the help menu for detailed drop rates by rarity for relics", and said screen doesn't say anything about drop rates.

Still haven't spent any of my mythril yet. Saving up for 50 to get the buy-10-get-one-free relic draw thing. They can also be used on extra inventory space, which might be helpful, particularly once they start adding in the extra content.

BTW: There is an official online strategy guide (as well as unofficial wikis) that have the target goals for each boss, if you don't want to go through the whole dungeon just to figure them out.

You almost have to play the elite stages to farm lesser and normal level orbs. You can also try FFVI normal for lesser drops. There really isn't any consistent way other than to play expert level daily dungeons for decent drop rates. Also, with regard to saving up mithril, here's my thought:

You have a chance at the inception of the game to get ahead faster by using the mithril to obtain equipment otherwise unobtainable. Spending that mithril enables you go get things done with better rankings where you would otherwise struggle. For this new event, it really helps to have better equipment, as the monsters up after 40 hit pretty hard with level 2 - 3 armor. I spent my mithril as soon as I could just to try to get ahead... who knows, maybe the game is adjusted/nerfed in a week or so when they decide to balance the game a little more.

It does help to get 11 relics over 10, but in the time you spend extra saving up, you probably could have used to clear harder levels with better equipment.

 

[madcatz1999]

Yeah, I've been keeping a list of which orbs drop from which level.  Not too hard to farm.  I just expected the normal daily dungeon to drop 2-star orbs, since every other normal daily dungeon drops the 2-star variety of whatever is being offered for that day (eg. armor upgrade materials, weapon upgrade materials, etc.).  Plus, it's the 2-star orbs are listed as item drops in the rewards screen.

I also assumed that the daily dungeons rewards would reset each week, so I'd be getting 2+ mythril a day.  Looks like I was mistaken.

I beat the 56-60 boss, but only after using a mythril (first one I've spent).  Next boss is also ranged, so I'm putting it aside to level up my lesser-used characters some.  Now trying to find a good way to level up characters.