-=MR2 Hard Mode v0.15 Changelist=- (If it is not mentioned below, it is the same as the base game) DL: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1M87l-NVnLAPwDAIgWxZBNgxBH4IxalUz v0.15 Changes Plant, Naga, Suezo, Mock (Unfinished), Pixie again (Unfinished), Some rebalancing, Arena movespeed and Battle Specials corrected for all currently redone tourney opponents, Bug Fix for Gali's POW Growths, Minor Centaur error correction, Major 4, Legend Cup [You can search for v0.15 specific tech/monster changes to v0.1 monsters with ctrl+f "v0.15"] ------------------Contents---------------------- A1 - General A2 - Ape A3 - Centaur A4 - Colorpandora A5 - Gaboo A6 - Gali A7 - Ghost A8 - Hopper A9 - Kato B1 - Metalner B2 - Mock B3 - Monol B4 - Naga B5 - Niton B6 - Pixie B7 - Phoenix B8 - Plant B9 - Suezo C1 - Unsorted C2 - Tournament Changes (Use Ctrl+F to jump to a section) ------------------------------------------------ GENERAL [A1] * The Swim Glitch is fixed. Defense gains from swim now properly are based on defense growth rather than life growth. - Credit to STARWIN for the Swim Glitch Fix # Saves from regular MR2 are compatible. Changes to base stat growths ands guts rates will not be reflected in monsters you have in the freezer or already on the ranch. You must shrine or combine for a new one. However, I highly recommend starting a new game to experience the mod freshly. # Changes to Force translate to approximately a +15 damage increase per point of Force at level 20. So a 34 -> 38 Force buff translates to a 510 -> 570 damage ceiling before accounting for defense, guts factor, and Your guts vs. Enemy's guts # Guts rates are calculated by ((Guts Rate of Main x 3) + (Guts Rate of Sub x 2)) รท 5, then rounding. If any guts changes below seem odd, this is the reason. # Total Tech Value is (Force + Hit + Withering + (1/2 Sharp)) - (Guts Cost). Though having a higher tech value than another tech does not necessarily mean the higher value one is better in every scenario. # If while producing a monster Chaille prompts you to "Correctly enter the Monster Rancher 2 disk" and you already put the modified .cue file back in, just press X. It'll work anyway. The majority of changes below are buffs. Very few dedicated nerfs are occurring- and only to reshuffle power such as in the case of the Metalner. This is due to many monsters being outclassed. Additionally, many stat paradigms are affected by Swim now working properly. Many techs receive worse values in one area, but higher in another. When discussing stat growths, I use a 0-4 scale rather than a 1-5 scale, as that is the same measure the internal data uses- and it's easier for me that way. --------------------------------- -= APE =- [A2] Overview pending until actual changes determined. Apes have more alterations to come, I just wanted to get the Tasty Banana one out of the way early. * General Changes: The following Apes are impacted by changes to other monsters. + Ape/Gali: Guts Rate: 18 -> 17 (1.66/sec -> 1.76/sec) * Tasty Banana is now called Magic Banana, and has been buffed. [v0.15: Guts Cost lowered from 55 to 50] + Recovery Force: 30 -> 40 + Hit: -25 -> -9 - Guts Cost: 40 -> 50 + Total Tech Value: -35 -> -19 ([B]/E/-/- |>| [A]/D/-/-) [INT] [I'm glad Apes are first on the list, because it lets me get this explanation out of the way early. Recovery and lifesteal techniques in regular Monster Rancher 2 have a solid theme- the one wherein all of them except Plant's "Life Steal" are total garbage. They have abominable hit, and if you're on the ropes, why would you spend a ton of guts healing instead of hitting your opponent harder than you would have healed for? The idea is sort of there, but aside from the Plant, they don't work in execution. To this end, I am altering every single purely healing technique somewhat, while life steal moves are receiving much smaller changes since they innately suck less. Keeping your enemy on the ropes and squeaking out a win with a last second heal may be irritating to face, but new playstyles are better than worthless techs. Their tech value will generally still be rather negative, but that's for the best. I don't think this will make Tasty Banana "good", but I think it will be "not complete trash".] More tech changes to come... --------------------------------- -= CENTAUR =- [A3] [v0.15: Fixed an error regarding Centaur/Centaur's guts rate] Overview pending until actual changes determined. * General Changes + Centaur/Centaur Guts Rate: 16 -> 13 (1.87/sec -> 2.31/sec) [This is an error/typo in regular MR2. All Centaurs are treated as base 13 guts rate in calculations EXCEPT the purebreed. Maybe it was changed during development or something, but only the purebreed is suffering this slowdown. Instead of dragging all Centaurs down, the purebreed's guts rate has been hastened.] --------------------------------- -= COLORPANDORA =- [A4] If you've ever raised a Colorpandora, you may recall it as a painfully slow experience, which it is. However, out of all the monsters affected, Colorpandoras and Plants are the harshest struck by the Swim Bug fix. If they were unpleasant before, then in post they would be miserable as they are good at only life. So, to remedy what would become the most unpleasant monster possible to make powerful, Colorpandora's base growths are being shuffled and their less useful techs are being looked at. They're not far from being great, but they're struggling a bit post-fix. * General Changes: + POW Growth: 1 -> 2 - SPD Growth: 2 -> 1 + DEF Growth: 0 -> 1; This has the following effects on Colorpandoras (There are no affected non-CP as no /CP exist): + CP/CP: 4/1/1/2/2/0 -> 4/2/1/2/1/1 + CP/Pixie: 2/1/2/2/2/0 -> 2/2/2/2/2/1 + CP/Jell: 3/1/2/2/2/1 -> 3/2/2/2/1/2 + CP/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Colorpandora. [My apologies to those who would've preferred +INT to +POW, but they couldn't get both and their techs are mostly Power-based. Though, the CP/Pixie is probably the go to for intelligence Pandoras anyway, and that keeps the 2 speed growth. This leaves CPs with a decent growth total of 11, though it's scattered aside from high LIF. Centipedes aren't particularly fast, and Colorpandoras can survive trading some SPD for POW+DEF. These growths should be sufficient since the CP has a fairly long lifespan, but the sting of the Swim Fix will be felt.] * Triple Shots is now an Intelligence-based technique and has been buffed. # Classification: Power Technique -> Intelligence Technique + Withering: 5 -> 8 + Total Tech Value: 15 -> 18 (remains as C/C/E/B) [INT] [Triple Shots was flipped since Colorpandoras lack intelligence techs, and it chains into Delta Attack (which is an int tech)- but mostly because they lacked int tools. It received a little bit more withering to compensate for the fairly long animation as it does not pack the biggest punch, critical or not.] --------------------------------- -= GABOO =- [A5] Unfortunately for the clay dudes, Gaboos are receiving a harsh blow in the form of the Swim Bug fix. Gaboos are definitely pretty solid in general, but they do have a recurring weakness wherein many of their techs take rather long amounts of time. During this time their enemy generates guts and they do not, and their guts rate isn't amazing. Anyways, Gaboos are receiving a bit of stat compensation for the loss of their "4" in defense. Since most Gaboo techs are quite decent, only a couple will be getting changes to make them more worth actually having. Also, giving higher stat gains to monsters which aren't subs for other monsters is fairly safe, since the buffs are all self contained and don't spill over to 20 different breeds like changing Pixie would. * General Changes: + POW Growth: 3 -> 4 + SKI Growth: 0 -> 1; This has the following effects on Gaboos (There are no affected non-Gaboos as no /Gaboo exist): + Gaboo/Gaboo: 4/3/0/0/3/0 -> 4/4/0/1/3/0 + Gaboo/Jell: 3/2/1/1/2/1 -> 3/3/1/2/2/1 + Gaboo/Tiger: 3/2/1/2/3/0 -> 3/3/1/2/3/0 # Gaboo/Joker: 3/3/2/2/2/0; No change due to growth calculation + Gaboo/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Gaboo. [With the Swim Glitch fixed, Gaboos lose their monopoly on a Dragon-level growth total and being stellar in all aspect of defense. Since that almost certainly was not intentional in the first place, I'm not going to patch up their defense. However, a +1 growth to Skill is a deceptively large buff. The boost in gains from 0-1 is rather noticable. Going from 3 to 4 power is not really that useful, but maxing POW sooner gives time for other stats. This places their stats similar to Hares, but trading speed and skill for more life. Since Spd/Ski are generally better than LIF, I think it's fine for them to match the Hare's growth total.] Tech changes to come... --------------------------------- -= GALI =- [A6] Galis are fairly good (both figuratively and game-wise). However, they suffer from having the guts rate of almost a Golem without the absurd moves. Rather than encroach on them, or do sweeping changes on their techniques, Galis can be brought up to the desired power-level with some minor changes. To this end, their guts regeneration is being made slightly faster, and are receiving very minor tech changes. Another weakness is a large number of tech chains with their short lifespan, but generations or having a specific plan right from the start can negate that issue. As another note, things which are part Gali have a running issue where their power is miscalculated as though Gali had a "2" in POW, rather than the "3" it actually has- Which I'll naturally be fixing. I assume this was a buff done later in development, but only applied to the Gali/Gali, but no longer. * General Changes: [v0.15: Bug, oversight, or miscalculation regarding Gali's POW growths has been fixed.] + (Bug Fix) All Gali Main Breeds and Sub Breeds have had their power recalculated using 3 as the Gali's POW Growth instead of 2 + The base Gali guts rate has been buffed from 17 to 15. Pure Galis are covered below, and all /Galis will be covered in that main monster's section instead: + Gali/Gali: 17 -> 15 (1.76/sec -> 2.0/sec) + Gali/Pixie: 13 -> 12 (2.31/sec -> 2.5/sec) + Gali/Golem: 17 -> 16 (1.76/sec -> 1.87/sec) + Gali/Zuum: 15 -> 14 (2.0/sec -> 2.14/sec); 1/2/3/2/1/2 -> 1/3/3/2/1/2 + Gali/Tiger: 14 -> 13 (2.14/sec -> 2.31/sec) + Gali/Hare: 16 -> 15 (1.87/sec -> 2.0/sec) + Gali/Suezo: 15 -> 14 (2.0/sec -> 2.14/sec); 1/2/4/2/1/2 -> 1/3/4/2/1/2 + Gali/Jell: 16 -> 15 (1.87/sec -> 2.0/sec) + Gali/Plant: 13 -> 12 (2.31/sec -> 2.5/sec); 2/1/3/2/1/1 -> 2/2/3/2/1/1 + Gali/Monol: 17 -> 16 (1.76/sec -> 1.87/sec); 1/2/3/2/1/3 -> 2/3/3/2/1/3; Also benefits from the Monol LIF Growth buff. + Gali/Worm: 16 -> 15 (1.87/sec -> 2.0/sec); 2/2/3/2/1/2 -> 2/3/3/2/1/2 + Gali/Naga: 15 -> 13 (2.0/sec -> 2.31/sec); 1/2/2/2/1/2 -> 1/3/2/2/1/2 + Gali/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Gali. [As mentioned in the overview, the biggest shortcoming of Galis in base MR2 is that their guts are just a bit too slow. Since their techs are already quite good, a faster guts rate is a natural change. While they are counterparts to Jokers, having the same base guts rate of 13 would be excessive. Growth changes are a result of a bug fix and buffs to other breeds.] * Back Blow has been buffed. + Force: 19 -> 21 + Total Tech Value: 22.5 -> 24.5 (D/A/D/E |>| C/A/D/E) [POW] [Back Blow was very slightly lackluster for the cost. While 2 force is not a massive increase, a damage boost is always useful.] * Heavy Blow has been buffed. + Force: 26 -> 28 + Total Tech Value: 26 -> 28 (remains as C/S/D/E) [POW] [Same reasoning as the Back Blow buff.] * Giant Blow has been buffed. + Withering: 17 -> 21 + Total Tech Value: 26 -> 30 (B/A/D/E |>| B/A/C/E) [POW] [Same reason. The force increase from Heavy Blow to Giant Blow is already fine, so a tiny bit of utility comes in its stead.] * Cutting Mask has been buffed. + Force: 19 -> 23 + Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 18.5 (D/C/E/B -> C/C/E/B) [POW] [Cutting Mask takes a long time and doesn't really carry the oomph to warrant it. Hashing Mask takes even longer, but has more force and some nasty withering to accompany it.] * Spirit Smash is now an Intelligence-based Technique. # Classification: Power Technique -> Intelligence Technique # Total Tech Value: 35.5 (B/D/A/E) [INT] [It's always been strange that Gali techs have had a hybrid duality, and then both have 5 Power Special Techs and 2 Int, of which the last two of the "Spirit" tech-chain are basically the same move with the Force and Withering swapped (Yes, I do get the Good vs. Bad Nature requirement thing). So, to give INT Galis an option besides Thunderbolt in slot 4, this change was made. Trivia: This technique translates as "God Final" in the Japanese version.] --------------------------------- -= GHOST =- [A7] [v0.15: I overdid it somewhat on the Ghost buffs in v0.1, so they've been pulled back a little bit] Most people will agree, that while Ghosts in MR2 are not totally horrible in the baseline game, they are below average. This is due to their abundance of low accuracy techs, low efficiency techs with long animations, and on-ranch aspects such as life stage and stat gains. Since I feel Ghosts should be a somewhat advanced monster to raise/pilot, Ghost techs have been altered to have slightly larger niches of being Intelligence-based Witherers or Power-based heavy hitters lacking withering, and very poor techs have been made somewhat worthwhile. The changes may seem somewhat drastic, but Ghosts were very low on the power-level scale initially. * General Changes: [v0.15: LIF Growth reverted to 0. Arena Movespeed buffed to "A". Base stats shuffled slightly] + Arena Movespeed: B -> A + POW Growth: 0 -> 2; This has the following effects on Ghosts (There are no affected non-Ghosts as no /Ghost exist): + Ghost/Ghost: 0/0/3/3/3/0 -> 0/2/3/3/3/0 + Ghost/???: 0/0/3/3/3/0 -> 0/2/3/3/3/0 [In the base MR2, Ghosts have a very substandard stat total. This patches up their Power to make it more reasonable for them to invest in Power techniques if they wish to do so. This brings Ghosts up to the same stat total as their counterpart: Pixies. they retain a poor combo of dreadful life and defense, and a negative life stage pattern.] * Base Stat Changes: # Ghost/Ghost Base Stats: 100/90/120/140/150/80 -> 100/110/120/140/150/60 (BST remains as 680) [The slightly odd rearrangement of Ghost's base stats was to make combining more efficient, by placing its POW ahead of its LIF in the Ghost's initial stat order.] * Charge is now called Ghost Rush (to differentiate from the 50 other "Charge"s in the game) and has been altered. [v0.15: Force reduced to 18. Withering reverted to 0] - Hit: +3 -> -6 + Force: 9 -> 18 - Guts Cost: 10 -> 15 - Total Tech Value: 2 -> -3 (E/B/-/- |>| D/D/-/-) [POW] [Charge has been re-purposed as a "mini" Heavy tech for Ghosts with Power. This can allow a Ghost's Power to be useful outside of just Uppercut/Combination. This does lower the tech value, but that's sort of how "Heavy" techs work, losing utility to do more damage. This is a very high force basic tech, even if the Force is rated "D", 18 is up there.] * Toy Hammer has been buffed. + Hit: -5 -> +1 - Force: 12 -> 10 + Withering: 0 -> 6 + Total Tech Value: -4 -> 6 (D/D/-/- |>| D/B/E/-) [POW] [Toy Hammer is one of the victims of "Ghost accuracy". This has been shifted to a weak, but fairly cheap and accurate Power tech.] * Uppercut has been altered. [v0.15: Force reverted to 30] + Hit: +1 -> +2 - Withering: 25 -> 8 + Guts Cost: 50 -> 30 + Total Tech Value: 8.5 -> 11.5 (B/B/C/E |->| B/B/E/E) [POW] [Rather than having two Power based finishers, Uppercut is re-purposed and now gives the Power Ghost an option to strike more frequently with powerful attacks. The idea behind the Power Ghost I'm peddling is that it does a lot of damage quickly, but doesn't wither enough to stop the foe from counterattacking with big stuff.] * Combination is now called Tombstoner, to differentiate it and make it easier to edit, and has been altered. [v0.15: Force reduced to 40. Withering increased to 14] + Hit: +1 -> +10 + Force: 35 -> 40 - Withering: 30 -> 14 + Sharpness: 5 -> 25 - Guts Cost: 55 -> 60 + Total Tech Value: 13.5 -> 16.5 (B/B/B/E |->| A/A/D/A) [POW] [Combination has been made the Power Ghost's dedicated finisher, becoming more expensive, but being more useful on average. This does pay 30 more guts than Uppercut for +10 Force, +8 Hit, +6 Withering, and +20 Sharpness. On the other hand, at Level 20 power this deals 900 damage on a crit before reductions on a Ghost's guts rate. Maybe this is overpowered, but I can always change it later.] * Energy Shot is now called Soul Beam as a reference to MR1, and to make it easier to edit among several Energy Shots. + Withering: 5 -> 8 - Sharpness: 5 -> 0 + Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 15 (E/S/E/E |>| E/S/E/-) [INT] [A minor tech parameter shift to make Intelligence Ghosts better at withering.] * Surprise has been buffed. [v0.15: Force reverted to 9. Withering lowered to 26] + Hit: -10 -> -4 + Withering: 20 -> 26 - Sharpness: 5 -> 0 - Guts Cost: 17 -> 19 + Total Tech Value: 4.5 -> 12 (E/D/C/E |>| E/C/C/-) [INT] [Surprise has been made more accurate, and a more dedicated withering tool. Surprise and Astonishment are honestly the Ghost's best techs, but they could still use a little help.] * Astonishment has been buffed. [v0.15: Withering reduced to 40] + Hit: -7 -> -6 + Withering: 36 -> 40 + Total Tech Value: 10.5 -> 15.5 (D/D/B/E |>| D/D/A/E) [INT] [Same reasoning as the "Surprise" buff.] * Necromancy is now Skull Beam and has been buffed (to differentiate from Wracky's for editing, and as a MR1 reference). - Hit: +29 -> +22 + Force: 8 -> 11 + Withering: 10 -> 16 + Guts Cost: 25 -> 24 + Total Tech Value: 24.5 -> 27.5 (E/S/D/E |>| D/S/D/E) [INT] [Necromancy is a complete waste of guts in the base game compared to Energy Shot. Increasing the force and withering makes it somewhat worth using as a very accurate tech despite its long animation.] * Dove Bomb has been buffed. [v0.15: Guts Cost reverted to 23] + Hit: -17 -> -8 + Withering: 10 -> 14 + Total Tech Value: -2.5 -> 10.5 (C/E/D/E |>| C/D/D/E) [INT] [Another Ghost tech which has had its tremendously poor accuracy patched up, and to further specialize Ghost into a semi-witherer.] * Pigeon Bomb has been buffed. [v0.15: Force reverted to 34. Withering increased to 18] + Hit: -17 -> -10 + Withering: 10 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: -0.5 -> 14.5 (B/E/D/E |>| B/D/D/E) [INT] [Pigeon Bomb has been buffed due to being fairly lackluster overall, although not in the force department.] * Magic Card is now called Mulligan and is a Power-based technique. [v0.15: Hit lowered to -4. Guts Cost increased to 20] # Classification: Intelligence Technique -> Power Technique + Hit: -5 -> -4 + Force: 11 -> 16 - Withering: 10 -> 0 + Sharpness: 15 -> 30 - Guts Cost: 19 -> 20 + Total Tech Value: 4.5 -> 7 (D/D/D/C |>| D/C/-/S) [POW] [Magic Card has been re-purposed- both to give Pow Ghosts an option in a slot other than close, and because Int Ghosts would rather use Magic Cards instead. It's keeping in the newer theme of Ghost's Power attacks being high on the damaging side for the cost, but much worse at withering. Note that Magic Cards is still an Intelligence attack. It's unusual for a Pow tech to chain into a Int tech, but Colorpandora's do that in the base game, and if I can deduce a good way to unlink them I will.] * Magic Cards has been buffed. [v0.15: Sharpness reverted to 18] + Hit: -10 -> -2 + Withering: 10 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: 1 -> 17 (C/D/D/C |>| C/C/D/C) [INT] [Magic Cards has been buffed to not be a waste of guts.] --------------------------------- -= HOPPER =- [A8] Hoppers have a lot of good points. But, like the Ghost, they're paying a hit tax on their techs because they're good at Skill. This is dumb; Golems don't have low force techs just because they gain power by existing. This is a nasty trend in MR2 that troubles many high skill monsters like Pixie, Ghost, Hopper, Suezo, and Metalner. While the worst in this regard was indeed the Ghost which was already addressed, Hoppers could use a little more impact behind their techniques. As Hopper techs are built around monopolizing the clock primarily in tandem with a swift guts rate, their force values will mostly remain the same. Instead, their hit, withering, and sharpness are being looked at to bring Hoppers from "irritating but kinda below average" to "irritating". Many Hopper techs are undergoing a "Metalner-esque" shift, and receiving +sharpness. It's a common point of contention that Hoppers are bizarrely "not very good at speed" despite their playstyle. Personally, I don't see this as a real issue, since their speed gains are fairly decent and it gives the Hopper/Kato a reason to exist. Additionally, having a 4 in both speed and accuracy would be severe since those are the two best stats in the entire game. For the time being, I'm leaving their growths alone as I feel Hoppers suffer in the tech value department, rather than on the ranch. Personally, I think Hoppers are decent, but the consensus always seems to be "No, they suck." So, I'll try giving them somewhat light buffs, and see if it works out, but I'm willing to revert them if it's too much. * General Changes: + Hopper/Mock: 1/2/3/3/2/0 -> 1/2/3/3/2/1; Due to Mock's DEF buff. * Hook has been buffed + Hit: 0 -> +2 + Sharpness: 5 -> 10 + Total Tech Value: 2.5 -> 7 (D/C/-/E |>| D/B/-/D) [POW] [Do you use Hook after getting other techs? No, because half the Hopper's moveset is in slot 1 and Hook is bad. It will still be outclassed, but at least a better use of 12 guts.] * Jump Blow has been buffed. + Withering: 5 -> 12 + Sharpness: 15 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: 6.5 -> 15 (D/B/E/C |>| D/B/D/C) [POW] [Jump Blow is a little on the "unimpactful side" force-wise. Rather than pump force, Jump Blow can instead set the opponent back a bit more on the guts side.] * 2 Jump Blows has been buffed. [v0.15: Sharpness reverted to 23] + Hit: -3 -> -2 + Withering: 5 -> 14 + Guts Cost: 29 -> 28 + Total Tech Value: 4.5 -> 16.5 (C/C/E/B |>| C/C/D/A) [POW] [This is mostly carryover from the Jump Blow buff.] * 3 Jump Blows has been buffed (really creative tech names here, Tecmo). [v0.15: Sharpness reverted to 30] + Hit: -9 -> -6 + Withering: 14 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: 15 -> 22 (remains as B/D/D/S) [POW] [Same reasoning as other the prior Jump Blow changes.] * 1-2 Jump Blow has been buffed. [v0.15: Hit lowered to -7] + Hit: -9 -> -7 + Withering: 18 -> 21 + Sharpness: 7 -> 11 + Total Tech Value: 8.5 -> 15.5 (C/D/D/E |>| C/C/C/D) [POW] [Despite the name, this tech doesn't have a ton in common with 3 Jump Blows- though it could use a little help.] * Hopper Combo has been buffed. [v0.15: Hit lowered to -12] + Hit: -15 -> -12 + Withering: 21 -> 24 + Sharpness: 8 -> 10 + Total Tech Value: 15 -> 22 (A/E/C/E |>| A/D/C/D) [POW] [This tech is hits surprisingly hard for being on a Hopper, but it wasn't quite worth 44 guts.] * Jab has been buffed. + Sharpness: 0 -> 8 + Total Tech Value: 6 -> 10 (E/A/-/- |>| E/A/-/E) [POW] [Hoppers have problem regarding slot 2. Namely, Jab is their only tech in slot 2. However, it's a nice timer scam technique, and just could occasionally use a little more impact.] * Flick has been buffed. + Sharpness: 5 -> 9 + Total Tech Value: 12.5 -> 14.5 (remains as D/A/E/E) [POW] [Just a little somethin' somethin' for Flick.] * Phantom Claw has been altered. + Force: 15 -> 23 + Withering: 5 -> 12 + Sharpness: 5 -> 12 - Guts Cost: 25 -> 37 + Total Tech Value: 12.5 -> 19 (D/S/E/E |>| C/S/D/D) [POW - Hopper/Kato exclusive] [Hey, I get to talk about Crossover technique changes. As an experimental shift, crossover techs are being modified to be have shifted power and usability. This is intended to bring some reason to actually desire a crossover tech rather than them being fodder for your movelist. The bonus that would've gone to hit was instead distributed to withering and sharpness. The modifier in this case was a 50% increase to attributes, rounded up (guts cost instead rounded down).] * Rapid Flick has been buffed. - Hit: +17 -> +15 + Withering: 7 -> 12 + Sharpness: 7 -> 12 + Guts Cost: 30 -> 28 + Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 22 (D/S/E/E |>| D/S/D/D) [POW] [Rapid Flick was mostly Flick but for an extra 13 guts. So, now it's not. Though, it still doesn't do much damage.] * Flick Combo has been buffed. [v0.15: Sharpness lowered to 15] + Hit: +7 -> +10 + Withering: 16 -> 19 + Sharpness: 11 -> 15 + Total Tech Value: 12.5 -> 20.5 (C/A/D/D |>| C/A/D/C) [POW] [I don't think people really use this tech, but it could use a hand anyways.] * Lightning has been altered. + Hit: -10 -> -6 - Force: 14 -> 9 - Withering: 32 -> 19 + Guts Cost: 30 -> 15 + Total Tech Value: 11.5 -> 9.5 (D/D/B/E |>| E/D/D/E) [INT - Hopper/Pixie exclusive] [Similar to Phantom Claw, this tech has been scaled around- though this time to be smaller instead of bigger. Trivia: This move can be improperly inherited by other Hoppers. ] * Flame has been altered. + Force: 35 -> 43 + Hit: -16 -> -12 + Withering: 25 -> 31 - Guts Cost: 36 -> 44 + Total Tech Value: 10.5 -> 20.5 (B/E/C/E |>| A/D/B/E) [INT - Hopper/Pixie exclusive] [Bad crossover technique turned into a possibly enticing crossover technique.] --------------------------------- -= KATO =- [TEMP] [A9] This is a temporary change for Katos which I'll be reverting later when I get around to debugging the Oil Fire lockout normally. For the time being, I'm going to change Oil Fire to a basic tech and let Katos just start with it. Fixing some incorrectly assigned growths as well. Overview pending until actual changes determined. * General Changes: + Katos now start with Oil Fire (Temporary Implementation) # Some Katos have had their base growths fixed: # Kato/Suezo: 1/1/3/2/4/2 -> 1/1/4/2/3/1 (Miscalculation where this monster's growths are what Kato/Mocchi's should be) # Kato/Mocchi: 1/1/4/3/3/1 -> 1/1/3/2/4/2 (Miscalculation where this monster's growths are what Kato/Joker's should be) # Kato/Joker: 1/1/3/2/4/2 -> 1/1/4/3/3/1 (Same reason as Kato/Suezo.) + Kato/Gali Guts Rate: 17 -> 16 (1.76/sec -> 1.87/sec), due to Gali's guts rate buff. [A few Katos had the incorrect parameters in the base game, so I cleaned that up. Turns out Pink Kato was great in regular MR2- just really ugly!] * Oil Fire has been temporarily altered. # Classification: Heavy Technique -> Basic Technique + Hit: -6 -> -4 - Force 28 -> 22 + Guts Cost: 17 -> 15 - Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 12.5 (remains as C/D/E/E |>| C/C/E/E) [INT] [I haven't set aside time to work through the OF bug yet. So until I get around to that, I'll give Katos a free pass and give them a third basic tech. This'll be reverted later. For now let's just say they couldn't set down the bottle long enough to exclude it from their base techs. To that end, it's been tuned to be more of a starter tech- for the time being. This affects combining as well, and it's treated as a Basic Tech there too, so it can't be used to get easy Heavy techs on other breeds.] --------------------------------- -= METALNER =- [B1] Hooh, boy. Metalners. These guys are nutty, and by that, I mean they're the best monster in Monster Rancher 2. They have consistent withering, high sharpness, and the fastest guts rate in the game. That isn't to say they don't have downsides, because they do. Their base stats are almost as bad as Wrackies, guts correction is really not on their side, and they're bad at Power, Intelligence, and Speed. Since their guts rate is their defining feature, I'm not touching it- they still get 5 guts/sec. Instead, I'm reshuffling the power on their techniques, because it all seems to be concentrated in 3 or 4 techs while the rest are worthless. Metalners may be the only monster where a header says "nerfed". Since almost every other breed will be getting better, Metalners don't necessarily need a heavy hand smashing them right out of the gate, but they will be getting improvements only on their bad techs, and getting their best tools weakened to try and bring them in line. If this is an unsuccessful tweak to bring them in line, there are many alternative plans in the works for Metalners- though I hope better foes, tech changes, and their harsh guts correction will bring them down from S+ viability. * Base Stat Changes: + Metalner/Metalner Base Stats: 50/20/10/160/30/170 -> 80/40/30/160/50/170 (440 BST -> 530 BST) [Their growths aren't changing, but Pure Metalners don't have the lifespan to warrant such abysmal base stats. Having such dreadful bases and growths makes combining them rather ineffective, and it's not a big enough boost to be that important. Metalner/Pixie and Metalner/Suezo have passable bases and are not being buffed. This still leaves the purebreed with one of the lowest starting stat totals.] * Back Charge has been nerfed. + Hit: -8 -> -6 - Force: 26 -> 23 - Withering: 26 -> 23 - Sharpness: 35 -> 30 - Total Tech Value: 32.5 -> 26 (remains as C/D/C/S) [POW] [I think that's the first instance of the term "nerfed"? You may note it's not a gigantic downgrade, but it's not supposed to be. It's just supposed to make it less worth using every moment you're in slot 1; Lowers the critical damage ceiling from 585 to 517 before defenses. I honestly love this move's animation and SFX, but it's too good in its original state.] * Right Slap has been altered. - Hit: +8 -> +1 + Force: 10 -> 14 + Withering: 5 -> 8 # Total Tech Value: 13.5 (D/A/E/E |>| D/B/E/E) [POW] [So, Right Slap sucks. In the "even with 950 power you don't want the AI using it" kind of way. This is deceptive because it seems good for a basic tech, but it takes 5 seconds and is up against way better techs everywhere. Instead, it has had its hit shuffled into other attributes to make it less lousy on average.] * Straight has been nerfed. - Withering: 10 -> 5 - Sharpness: 15 -> 10 - Total Tech Value: 24.5 -> 17 (D/A/D/C |>| D/A/E/D) [POW] [This tech is odd. It's really good but hard to nerf because most of its values aren't really that high. So the auxillary effects in withering/sharpness are being shifted away. This change should make it so that the Metalner cannot just mash Straight to wither slow monsters out the match completely.] * High Kick has been buffed. + Force: 15 -> 18 - Sharpness: 25 -> 20 + Total Tech Value: 19.5 -> 20 (D/B/D/A |>| D/B/D/B) [POW] [Okay, so we're at one the techs that you don't use because why wouldn't you use their better techs instead? But again, Metalners have numbers in every category so changes may look smaller than they really are. It might look minor but it's a decent buff.] * Double Kicks has been altered. + Force: 19 -> 27 + Withering: 10 -> 14 + Sharpness: 30 -> 35 - Guts Cost: 25 -> 36 + Total Tech Value: 19 -> 22.5 (D/C/D/S |>| C/C/D/S) [POW] [This tech is a bad version of Back Charge. Even post-nerf that would be the case. Instead it's being shifted into a higher cost move which is stronger relative to the cost bump. This makes it instead a more damage invested version of Back Charge, trading away a lower cost for raw punch (Or kick in this instance).] * Elbow Strike has been buffed. - Hit: +16 -> +15 + Force: 15 -> 21 - Sharpness: 15 -> 10 + Total Tech Value: 20.5 -> 23 (D/S/D/C |>| C/S/D/D) [POW] [This is the worst Metalner tech in the game. It's Straight, but really bad. The tech value is misleading because it's mostly +Hit which has diminishing returns, but it's a complete waste of 30 guts. Instead, it has been made more competitive and not a "probably shouldn't put that on my movelist" technique. This makes it quite good, but not amazing.] * Double Palms has been buffed. [v0.15: Withering reverted to 10] + Hit: -13 -> -8 + Total Tech Value: 4.5 -> 9.5 (remains as C/D/D/C) [POW] [Good at skill, techs with atrocious hit strikes again. It was pretty shoddy, especially when Back Charge and UFO Attack exist, so now it's a little less bad.] * Palm Strike has been altered. + Hit: -8 -> -5 + Withering: 25 -> 31 - Sharpness: 15 -> 5 - Guts Cost: 22 -> 24 + Total Tech Value: 16.5 -> 18.5 (D/D/C/C |>| D/D/B/E) [POW] [Metalner + Withering Tech sounds like a good combination, but their entire kit already does a bit of withering, so it's redundant when you could be pumping damage too. In addition it has poor force and hit. So, it has been shuffled to be less of a move you get because you want something besides UFO attack in Slot 4.] * Metalner Ray has been buffed. + Hit: -6 -> 0 + Total Tech Value: 21.5 -> 27.5 (B/D/A/C |>| B/C/A/C) [INT] [This is mostly a novelty move, but it could stand to be more reliable. I'm ok with it being strong considering the investment, and that 50 guts is a bit costly even for a Metalner.] * Burning Palm has been buffed. + Hit: -11 -> -9 + Total Tech Value: 16.5 -> 18.5 (remains as A/D/C/C) [POW] [Burning Palm was generally not where a Metalner wanted 50 guts going. It might still not be, but a little more reliability never hurts an outclassed technique. I don't plan to change it beyond hit at the moment, as Metalner + High Force is a dangerous proposition- and speaking of:] * UFO Attack has been nerfed (surprise). [V0.15: Force lowered to 40. Withering increased to 13] + Hit: -22 -> -16 - Force: 50 -> 40 - Withering: 17 -> 13 - Total Tech Value: 22.5 -> 14.5 (S/E/D/C |>| A/E/D/C) [POW] [This is the Metalner tech people talk about if Back Charge/Straight isn't in the sights, and for decent reason. 50 Force for 30 guts, which a Metalner generates in six seconds. I feel that's there a slight misconception about this tech since most AI opponents have lackluster speed, and that's the -22 hit modifier. This is extremely low. Combined with guts correction, the odds of actually landing this against a decently statted foe is a massive gamble. That said, it is a bit too good, and can stand to be reigned in a little bit on both extremes to be closer to CP's Giant Wheel. This lowers the non-crit damage ceiling by 150, but it will still be devastating to be slammed by. It's a heavy tech, after all.] --------------------------------- -= MOCK =- v0.15 (Partial) [B2] My opening statement on Mocks is that I don't think sucking at everything but intelligence is a real niche. On that note, Mocks aren't so good. Not just because their stats gains are shoddy and their premiere use is "expeditions" (which is code for "lives a long time but sucks at fighting"), but because they're lackluster in the arena as well. While Mocks have a decent guts rate, they have nothing of note when it comes to fighting. Their techniques are lackluster, and do not synergize. Ultimately they end up relying on going for one-hit KOs with Twister(s), like a discount version of the Phoenix. Mocks fill no niche and their only unique tech "Energy Drain" is so inaccurate it's basically unusable (well, they do ALMOST have the gimmick of having zero POW techs, but Headbutt had to ruin that). So, to wrap up, they're a breed that needs some help. To this end, they'll be getting some assistance on the defensive side of growths, and their techs. * General Changes: + LIF Growth: 0 -> 1 + DEF Growth: 1 -> 2; Pure Mocks are covered below, and all /Mock will be covered in that main monster's section instead: + Mock/Mock: 0/1/4/1/1/1 -> 1/1/4/1/1/2 + Mock/Joker: 1/1/4/2/1/1 -> 1/1/4/2/1/2 + Mock/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Mock. [I decided to boost Mock's defensive growths rather than skill, as skill is not particularly hard to raise for an intelligence monster. Especially one that lives for so long. This should save weeks when it comes to getting Life/Defense, and give more time to get that speed above 50.] * Base Stat Changes: # Mock/Mock Base Stats: 200/70/140/50/60/40 -> 160/20/200/60/50/70 (BST remains as 560) # Mock/Joker Base Stats: 200/80/170/120/90/60 -> 180/40/210/120/80/90 (BST remains as 720) [If the change in the base stats doesn't make sense to you, don't worry, because it's mostly for the benefit of combining- as Mocks had the worst stat ordering for combining in the whole game. As fun as high base LIF is, it's a hinderance in the long run. It's still a bit tricky due to the defense growth being higher than life, but not as much a hassle.] Tech changes to come... --------------------------------- -= MONOL =- [B3] There's no getting around it- in base Monster Rancher 2, Monols are bad, and not just figuratively. They're almost without question the worst monster even if you're experienced at the game. This is for a variety of reasons: a short lifespan, long tech chains, poor stat growths, and slow guts. However, it does pay to recall that due to guts correction, having faster guts is not all upside, and slow guys can be very strong. Rather than completely redo them, I plan to play to what Monols are supposed to be good at: Being resilient and having good techs. Being the third side of the Gali/Joker/Monol triangle, they are the ones which should take the most effort to K.O. To this end, they are receiving much greater LIF growths and very minor tech tweaks, but will still suffer from their original shortcomings. Since their original techs are actually pretty good, I'm just looking at the ones which are completely redundant or outclassed in comparison to their other tools. They can get more love later if they still blow with these changes. * General Changes: + LIF Growth: 1 -> 4; Pure Monols are covered below, and all /Monol will be covered in that main monster's section instead: + Monol/Monol: 1/2/2/1/0/4 -> 4/2/2/1/0/4 + Monol/Pixie: 1/2/3/2/1/2 -> 2/2/3/2/1/2 + Monol/Golem: 1/3/2/1/0/4 -> 3/3/2/1/0/4 + Monol/Zuum: 1/2/2/2/1/3 -> 3/2/2/2/1/3 + Monol/Tiger: 1/2/2/2/1/2 -> 3/2/2/2/1/2 + Monol/Hare: 1/3/1/1/2/2 -> 3/3/1/1/2/2 + Monol/Gali: 1/2/3/1/0/3 -> 3/2/3/1/0/3; Guts Rate: 18 -> 17 (1.66/sec -> 1.76/sec) from Gali's guts rate buff. + Monol/Suezo: 1/2/3/2/0/3 -> 3/2/3/2/0/3 + Monol/Jell: 1/2/2/2/0/4 -> 3/2/2/2/0/4 + Monol/Plant: 2/1/2/1/0/2 -> 4/1/2/2/0/2; Also benefits from Plant's SKI buff. + Monol/Worm: 2/2/2/1/0/3 -> 4/2/2/1/0/3 + Monol/Naga: 1/2/1/2/0/3 -> 3/3/1/2/0/3; Also benefits from Naga's POW buff. + Monol/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Monol. [Giving Monols more life to play with makes them better at being a wall, which is strange that it was not already the case in MR2. Considering all the other crap they put up with, Monols have no reason to have one of the lowest growth totals too. This affects the LIF gains from Pull and Swim as well, so it adds up quickly over a Monol's lifespan. Alongside the Swim Glitch fix, Monols will gain Life and Defense at a vastly faster rate. It is a gigantic buff, but I'm inclined to say it's a deserved one. This also puts them at the same growth total as Galis at 13.] * Triple Rays is now called Stonehenge and has been buffed. + Withering: 45 -> 50 + Total Tech Value: 40 -> 45 (B/C/A/D |>| B/C/S/D) [INT] [This move is actually a bit under the radar in MR2, being a contender for best withering tech in the game. I am going to to lightly touch it since it's very expensive and primarily based around withering for a Monol, which isn't exactly the strong suit for an 18 guts rate breed. Though only its premiere use is being boosted, which is dunking the opposition's guts. I'd call it an instance of not being the strongest technique in the kit despite having the highest overall numbers. It does break the linear progression of +5 Force/+5 Hit per Ray tech, which I did appreciate, but Sharpness and Hit weren't linear either. I renamed it just because I like dumb wordplay, and the original name is rather repetitive.] * Flattening has been buffed. + Withering: 0 -> 5 + Total Tech Value: 9 -> 14 (D/A/-/- |>| D/A/E/-) [POW] [The Monol's "Flattening" tech chain is deceptive. On the surface, they're not bad for the price. When you factor in the animation time, you're just wasting guts. There's no point in a match where you would want to use the Flattening tech chain over something else, including the other basic tech, Charge. Five withering isn't a lot, but it offsets a small part of the weakness, and starting techs shouldn't be too stellar anyhow.] * Three Knocks is now called Knockalypse and has been altered. + Force: 42 -> 45 - Withering: 21 -> 20 + Sharpness: 5 -> 10 + Total Tech Value: 30.5 -> 35 (A/S/C/E |>| A/S/C/D) [POW] [There's really no reason to get this tech in regular MR2. It's Double Knocks but pays 5 more guts for 7 withering- which is offset by the Monol's guts rate to get the extra five guts. Instead, it's making an identical leap in attributes that Knock-> Double Knocks makes, but trading in the extra +5 hit for some sharpness.] * Flattening-L has been buffed. + Force: 19 -> 23 - Guts Cost: 15 -> 16 + Total Tech Value: 14 -> 17 (D/A/E/- |>| C/A/E/-) [POW] [Flattening-L is the least bad of the Flattening line, but it's still outclassed. Interestingly it manages to take less time than regular Flattening.] * Flattening-X has been buffed. + Force: 24 -> 30 + Withering: 5 -> 14 - Guts Cost: 20 -> 22 + Total Tech Value: 13.5 -> 26.5 (C/B/E/E |>| B/B/D/E) [POW] [This move takes a healthy 8 seconds to complete, which is the Monol's longest animation time. That's nice for running the clock at the end, but bad the rest of the time.] (I have plans to alter Strange Light, but I'm considering numbers on how that should be done still) * Double Beams has been buffed. + Hit: -6 -> -4 + Total Tech Value: 19.5 -> 21.5 (B/D/D/C |>| B/C/D/C) [INT] [This tech is, well, okay-ish. It's outclassed and not really worth 5 more guts than regular Beam. It loses hit and gains a little withering and negligible force/sharpness. Unless you're fighting another really slow guts rate dude, the withering is mostly irrelevant since the animation is longer. Hence, it gets a little tweak for reliability.] * Triple Beams is now called Odyssey and has been buffed. + Hit: -6 -> -5 + Sharpness: 25 -> 30 + Total Tech Value: 26.5 -> 30 (B/D/C/A |>| B/D/C/S) [INT] [When you're working with a Monol's guts rate, techniques worth 40 guts need to pay out. Similar to Double Beams, this adds minor reliability to what the tech wants to happen.] --------------------------------- -= NAGA =- v0.15 [B4] Nagas are a pretty average monster, but simultaneously underrated. They have a low lifespan, good offensive growths, average defense growths, above average guts (A nice middling rate where it's not too unfavored by guts correction no matter the foe), and fairly decent techs. The area where Nagas particularly excel is comboing several cheap techs together right after another. Unfortunately, this is not a great niche in its current state as the Naga is left in a very poor position if this combo does not result in a KO, as the Naga is left with basically no guts while their enemy uses guts correction to annihilate them. Supplementing their "meh" defensive growths, Nagas lack passive defense due to their unimpressive withering. Additionally, Nagas have a somewhat low growth total when compared to almost anything that lives less than 550 weeks. The result is a monster that has nothing special of note, but is okay regardless. Given that downtrodden tone, you can probably tell I have a few buffs in mind, and indeed, I do. Both a minor one in the growth department to assist the Naga and make it less of a negative sub, and a slight defensive boost in the direction of their techs to give them some protection by doing what they like to do- chain several particular techs in a row. Nagas are sporting one of the highest DPS potentials in the game, but their face usually gets blown off before they can use it. * General Changes: + POW Growth: 3 -> 4; Pure Nagas are covered below, and all /Naga will be covered in that main monster's section instead: + Naga/Naga: 2/3/0/3/1/2 -> 2/4/0/3/1/2 + Naga/Pixie: 1/2/2/3/2/1 -> 1/3/2/3/2/1 + Naga/Golem: 2/3/1/2/1/3 -> 2/4/1/2/1/3 + Naga/Tiger: 2/2/1/3/2/1 -> 2/3/1/3/2/1 + Naga/Hare: 2/3/0/3/2/1 -> 2/4/0/3/2/1 + Naga/Gali: 2/3/2/3/1/2 -> 2/4/2/3/1/2 # Naga/Suezo: 2/3/2/3/1/2; Guts Rate: 13 -> 11; (2.31/sec -> 2.73/sec; Error fix where Naga/Suezo was a copy of Naga/Gali); Base Nature: +50 -> -70; Lifespan: 350 -> 390 + Naga/Jell: 2/2/1/3/1/2 -> 2/3/1/3/1/2 + Naga/Monol: 2/3/1/2/1/3 -> 3/3/1/2/1/3; Benefits from Monol's LIF buff, but no POW change. + Naga/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Naga. [I considered whether or not I wanted to boost the Naga's power or skill, ultimately I decided Nagas would benefit more due to the way a power monster's heavy drills are set up, and many Naga-subtypes can do more with 4 Pow than with 4 Ski. Nagas are still average in the defense department, but that's intended. Nagas are still a skill and power monster, but generally "Shoot" is easier to weave in than more Pulls. Though, with full disclosure, this is mostly a benefit for /Naga sub-breeds. Nagas were very rarely a good choice of sub, but this adds a bit more incentive.] * Thwack has been buffed. + Hit: -5 -> -3 + Withering: 0 -> 5 + Total Tech Value: -3 -> 4 (D/D/-/- |>| D/C/E/-) [POW] [Thwack isn't bad but there's not really any reason to use it. Now it's a little more reliable and withers a little, but it's still not great.] * Belly Punch has been altered. + Withering: 5 -> 8 + Sharpness: 0 -> 5 - Guts Cost: 10 -> 11 + Total Tech Value: 1 -> 5.5 (D/D/E/- |> D/D/E/E) [POW] [Belly Punch is decent but somewhat inaccurate for a basic tech. Nagas are good enough at skill for it to probably not matter, though.] * Pierce has been altered. - Hit: +8 -> +4 + Withering: 10 -> 16 + Total Tech Value: 19.5 -> 21.5 (D/A/D/E |>| D/B/D/E) [POW] [Nagas have two hit techs which are fairly similar, with Pierce just being a bigger and less efficient version. You may have noticed I did nothing to Stab, because it's already good at what it's for. So instead of being redundant, Pierce is now a bit more oriented towards withering compared to Stab's high +hit. Still, +4 hit isn't bad.] * Life Steal has been buffed. + Hit: -19 -> -10 + Total Tech Value: -9 -> 0 (B[B]/E/-/- |>| B[B]/D/-/-) [INT] [While this still pales in comparison to Plant's version, the Naga's variant could at least stand to connect now and then. Some incentive to give /Suezo, /Gali or /Pixie a try.] * Poison Gas has been altered. + Hit: -4 -> -2 + Withering: 19 -> 26 - Sharpness: 8 -> 5 - Guts Cost: 15 -> 20 + Total Tech Value: 16 -> 18.5 (D/C/D/E |>| D/C/C/E) [INT] [People don't really raise Intelligence Nagas, but that's no reason for their int techs to be lousy. Poison Gas is a little more dedicated to its use case now.] * Energy Shot is now called Magic Bullet, and has been altered. + Hit: -13 -> -8 - Force: 21 -> 19 + Sharpness: 15 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: 13.5 -> 18 (C/D/D/C |>| D/D/D/C) [INT] [It's a good trade, I promise. The name is for differentiation purposes, and as a more direct translation of the tech's original JP name.] * Turn Assault has been buffed. + Withering: 29 -> 30 + Total Tech Value: 31.5 -> 32.5 (B/A/C/E |>| B/A/B/E) [POW] [I mean, technically that's a buff. Kinda.] * Drill Attack has been altered. - Hit: -13 -> -15 + Withering: 12 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: 16.5 -> 20.5 (B/D/D/E |>| B/E/D/E) [POW] * Energy Shots is now called Magic Volley, and has been buffed. - Force: 27 -> 26 + Withering: 15 -> 19 + Sharpness: 19 -> 20 + Total Tech Value: 18.5 -> 22 (C/D/D/C |>| C/D/D/B) [INT] [Similar reasoning to Energy Shot change.] --------------------------------- -= NITON =- [B5] Nitons are underrated. They get a bad look because the ones you fight in MR2 (Pirrateu and Mahoroty) are total jobbers who couldn't beat any other opponent in their respective rank. They're actually fairly similar to Metalners with consistent withering and sharpness, but with less extremes. That said, even if they're not trash like the game implies, they could stand to be a bit more effective. Their gains are a little lackluster, and some of their techs lack usefulness, so they're getting a few buffs. It won't be a huge increase, but it should make it more concerning that the Niton's opponent could actually get knocked out. Since defense is the worst stat in the game, and it's the only stat they're good at, I'm willing to give them a little more offensive power than usual on the growth side- though it's a hybrid boost and not as powerful as just increasing one offensive stat. * General Changes: + POW Growth: 1 -> 2 + INT Growth: 1 -> 2 + Niton/Niton: 2/1/1/1/1/4 -> 2/2/2/1/1/4 + Niton/Golem: 2/2/1/1/1/4 -> 2/3/2/1/1/4 + Niton/Durahan: 2/2/1/1/1/4 -> 2/2/2/1/1/4 + Niton/Kato: 2/1/2/1/2/3 -> 2/1/3/1/2/3 + Niton/Bajarl: 2/2/1/2/1/3 -> 2/2/2/2/1/3 + Niton/Metalner: 2/1/1/2/1/4 -> 2/2/1/2/1/4 + Niton/Jell: 2/1/2/2/1/4 -> 2/2/2/2/1/4 + Niton/Mock: 2/1/2/1/1/3 -> 2/2/3/1/1/3 (Trivia: Niton/Mock should be LIF Growth 1 by calculation, but it's 2 in base MR2. After my Mock LIF buff, it's accurate again!) + Niton/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Niton. (Disk doesn't seem to be present, it may just run right off the regular Niton/Niton instead?) [This should make Niton's feeble tentacles pack a little more force. The Swim fix also is heavily in Niton's favor. They're also getting a few tech tweaks, but they'll be on the smaller side of changes. Nitons originally had the worst growth total of all 450 breeds, but now they're tied with Gaboos- though they still struggle on speed/skill. The difference between growth 1 and growth 2 is decent, and adds up to about a 20% increase in stat gains during prime, shifting slightly up or down based on stage.] * Base Stat Changes: + Niton/Niton Base Stats: 90/40/30/70/50/160 - > 110/50/40/70/60/160 (440 BST -> 500 BST) * Stab has been buffed. + Hit: -1 -> +1 + Force: 12 -> 14 + Sharpness: 0 -> 5 + Total Tech Value: -1 -> 6.5 (D/C/-/- |>| D/B/-/E) [POW] [As stated, the tech changes are going to be fairly minor. Nitons are on the brink of being very good, but their outclassed techs could use a little love in most areas.] * Numbing Stab has been buffed. + Hit: -1 -> +1 + Force: 15 -> 17 + Withering: 0 -> 6 + Total Tech Value: 1.5 -> 11.5 (D/C/-/E |>| D/B/E/E) [POW] [Same reasoning as Stab changes.] * Electric Stab has been buffed. + Hit: -6 -> -3 + Force: 22 -> 24 + Withering: 6 -> 9 + Sharpness: 10 -> 15 + Total Tech Value: 6 -> 16.5 (C/D/E/D |>| (C/C/E/C) [POW] [Same reasoning as Stab changes. Since it's a balance technique, it's pretty middling in every area.] * Sound Wave X has been buffed. - Hit: +15 -> +12 + Force: 19 -> 22 + Withering: 18 -> 22 + Total Tech Value: 24.5 -> 28.5 (D/S/D/C |>| C/A/C/C) [INT] [While this tech does little damage for the price, it's consistent. However, the animation is quite long and this hinders the tech somewhat. This is being offset slightly by more withering. The reshuffling of Hit/Force is to make the changes from Sound Wave -> Sound Wave L carry over more consistently, and because 3 force is usually more useful than 3 hit.] * Numbing Whip has been buffed. + Hit: -7 -> -3 + Total Tech Value: 10.5 -> 14.5 (D/D/E/A |>| D/C/E/A) [POW] [A little reliability never hurts. Speaking of, Nitons have pretty negative hit modifiers on average.] * Electric Whip has been buffed. + Hit: -10 -> -5 + Total Tech Value: 12.5 -> 17.5 (remains as C/D/D/A) [POW] [Same reason as Numbing Whip buff.] * Million Whips has been buffed. + Hit: -10 -> -7 + Total Tech Value: 18.5 -> 21.5 (remains as B/D/D/S) [POW] [Deja Vu.] * Shock is now called Electrify, and has been buffed. + Hit: -10 -> -7 + Force: 18 -> 22 + Total Tech Value: 8 -> 15 (D/D/D/D |>| C/D/D/D) [INT] [Shock was a bit weak for the cost, so it's been patched up a little in the important areas. The name was changed to make distinct the Niton's "Shock" among other "Shock" techs.] * Severe Shock has been buffed. + Hit: -12 -> -8 + Force: 28 -> 33 + Sharpness: 10 -> 15 - Guts Cost: 26 -> 28 + Total Tech Value: 10 -> 19.5 (C/D/D/D |>| B/D/D/C) [INT] [This is a buff alongside a minor cost increase. Shock and Severe Shock were low impact heavy techs, and are being made a bit heftier.] * Maximal Shock is now called Electrocute, and has been altered. + Hit: -12 -> -9 + Force: 38 -> 44 + Withering: 19 -> 23 + Sharpness: 10 -> 15 - Guts Cost: 35 -> 40 + Total Tech Value: 15 -> 23 (B/D/D/D |>| A/D/C/C) [INT] [This makes Maximal Shock similar to an INT Niton's version of Violent Shell (albeit with worse hit/withering for less guts).] * Niton Ink has been altered. + Force: 2 -> 7 - Sharpness: 10 -> 5 # Total Tech Value: 21 -> 23.5 (E/B/B/D |>| E/B/B/E) [INT] [Why is there 10 sharpness for a tech that does a maximum of 30 damage? Anyways, Niton Ink is trading sharpness for some force, which should make it worth using on occasion.] * Shell Attack has been buffed. + Withering: 5 -> 15 + Total Tech Value: 5 -> 15 (B/C/E/D |>| B/C/D/D) [POW] [While Violent Shell is very effective, the prerequisites could use a little help.] * Spiked Shell has been buffed. + Withering: 5 -> 20 + Total Tech Value: 5 -> 23 (B/C/E/B |>| B/C/C/B) [POW] [Same reasoning as Shell Attack buff. As an aside, have you ever actually seen Violent Shell? It's a really good tech, but quite hard to get.] --------------------------------- -= PIXIE =- v0.15 (Partial) [B6] Pixies are a breed which tell a story- the kind with a slightly surprising ending. In Monster Rancher 1, Pixies were debatably the best breed and definitely the best sub-breed, to where you wanted to be /Pixie if possible (Unless the main is Pixie- then you wanted Pixie/Tiger). In MR2, Pixies got nerfed a lot. The end conclusion is that Pixies are still pretty decent monsters in MR2, but have many techs which are mostly worthless. A Pixie using its entire kit is lousy, but one using only 2 or 3 techs is pretty good. Obviously I'm not looking for a return to MR1's Pixie, but Pixies can stand to get a little help with their tech-list fillers. I'm also going to do a minor revision regarding Pixie/Hare. Also, this isn't really relevant to anyone but myself really, but Pixie techs are the worst organized in the internal data of any monster. Every single Pixie has a copy of their tech list. As for why, I have no idea, maybe padding the disk space. There's literally 50 copies of every Pixie tech. I can replace them all at once so it's not more work, though. They were probably the first monster done, but come on. * General Changes: + Pixie/Hare now starts with 1-2 Punch. + Pixie/Gali: 0/1/4/3/2/0 -> 0/2/4/3/2/0 and Guts Rate 11 -> 10, due to Gali Guts Rate buff and growth bug fix. + Pixie/Monol: 0/1/3/2/2/2 -> 2/1/3/2/2/2; Due to Monol's LIF buff. + Pixie/Mock: 0/1/4/2/2/0 -> 0/1/4/2/2/1; Due to Mock's DEF buff. [After becoming more familiar and doing testing with MF2, I discovered that Pixie/Hare is just supposed to have 1-2 Punch by default. That's actually not just laziness on my part, that's just how it is in the Japanese version. It was never supposed to be learnable by errantry, because it's flagged as an initial tech and a crossover tech. With that revelation out the way, I've reverted the sloppy localization on this issue and given Lepus her punch back.] * 1-2 Punch has been buffed. + Guts Cost: 15 -> 12 Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 17.5 (remains as D/S/-/E) [POW] [I do get the reasoning why the tech is like this, because Lepus's guts rate is 50% faster than a pure Hare's, their version of 1-2 Punch is the same thing for 50% more guts. But I'm of the opinion that crossover techniques should be an incentive, and the Pixie's has a much longer animation anyways, so I'm fine with it being closer to the Hare's version.] * Refreshment has been buffed. [v0.15: Much like the Ape, just getting this one out of the way for now since it's comedically bad] + Hit: -20 -> -10 - Recovery Force: 30 -> 10 + Guts Cost: 50 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: -40 -> -18 ([B]/E/-/- |>| [D]/D/-/-) [INT] [As part of my ongoing crusade against worthless recovery techs, Refreshment gets a turn- sorta. It's now a much smaller heal, but vastly cheaper and more consistent. Maybe good for timer scams, or just to patch up to guard against hit techs. Either way, it's better in almost every situation except with less than 5 seconds on the clock.] --------------------------------- -= PHOENIX =- [B7] Since Phoenixes are already, for the most part, fine and mostly balanced (If actually a bit underwhelming) in base Monster Rancher 2, what is there to talk about for them? Well, the issue with Phoenix is that of a thematic one- namely that, despite getting preferential treatment when it comes to base stats and stat distribution, Phoenixes don't really have a theme going. The current strategy is "Use Fire Wave/Lava Stream at the start and hope that KO's the opponent, if not spam Fire Twister or wait to use Fire Wave again." Additionally, Golems lack a Intelligence-based counterpart (I don't count Katos as that), which seems like an obvious gap in the monster lineup. So while this may not be a wholly necessary change, I'm going to embrace the concept of a "Legendary" Monster and give them attributes to match. To this end, their guts rate is being slowed- which is a nerf, but their techs are becoming brutal to endure. Not just for Fire Stream and Fire Wave, but every tech is becoming harsh to take. If this rework doesn't work out, I can just revert Phoenixes back to how they were before- but I think it's overall a buff. * General Changes: + LIF Growth: 2 -> 3 - SPD Growth: 2 -> 1 - The base Phoenix guts rate has been lowered from 14 to 18. Phoenixes are covered below, and all /Phoenix will be covered in that main monster's section instead: - Phoenix/Phoenix: 2/0/4/2/2/2 -> 3/0/4/2/1/2; Guts Rate: 14 -> 18 (2.14/sec -> 1.66/sec) - Phoenix/???: 2/0/4/2/2/2 -> 3/0/4/2/1/2; Guts Rate: 14 -> 18 (2.14/sec -> 1.66/sec) [As mentioned in the overview, this is not a buff. It's a pretty harsh nerf; slowing their guts rate by 22.4%. However, a blow like this comes with compensation in the form of technique buffs. MR2 is saturated with high speed monsters, but not enough monsters with freight-train attacks. Though, I do apologize to Garuda, as this is bad news for him. However, keep in mind through the rest of the tech changes that Guts-Based hit correction will now give the Phoenix higher hit% and damage against anything with faster guts.] (Aside: These guys have stupid base stats, but I don't want to nerf any monster's bases.) * Beak has been buffed. + Force: 19 -> 22 + Sharpness: 0 -> 8 + Total Tech Value: 6 -> 11.5 (D/C/-/- |>| C/C/-/E) [POW] [I know people don't really use Phoenix's Power-based moves, but they're not that bad. Now it's even less bad.] * Talons has been buffed. + Withering: 0 -> 10 + Total Tech Value: 9 -> 19 (D/A/-/- |>| D/A/D/-) [POW] [Boosting up another Phoenix Power tech, with an added bonus of not being a total waste when a regular Phoenix uses it on accident.] * Rapid Beaks has been buffed. + Force: 25 -> 31 + Sharpness: 5 -> 16 - Guts Cost: 23 -> 26 + Total Tech Value: 19.5 -> 28 (C/A/E/E |>| B/A/E/C) [POW] [I was willing to make Rapid Beaks a little over the top since it's the only high-end Power-based tool a Phoenix has. Hence, now it's pretty dangerous.] (Aside: Curiously, this tech is last in the Phoenixes' tech data, after Fire Wave. I assume it was made last as well.) * Flame Shot has been altered. - Hit: -3 -> -8 + Force: 15 -> 19 + Withering: 19 -> 28 + Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 22.5 (D/C/D/E |>| D/D/C/E) [INT] [The overview said something like "Intelligence version of Golem", which is something I plan to deliver on. Flame Shot is less accurate, but much more dangerous.] * Flame Cannon has been altered. - Hit: -4 -> -9 + Force: 18 -> 27 + Guts Cost: 30 -> 28 + Total Tech Value: 26.5 -> 32.5 (D/C/A/E |>| C/D/A/E) [INT] [I don't blame you if you didn't know this was a tech that existed. It requires a Bad Natured Phoenix which takes some effort. Speaking of effort, Flame Cannon places the enemy on the backfoot for quite a while unless they have extremely fast guts regeneration.] * Fire Twister has been buffed. + Hit: -4 -> -2 + Force: 22 -> 24 + Sharpness: 16 -> 22 + Total Tech Value: 14 -> 21 (C/C/E/C |>| C/C/E/B) [INT] [Fire Twister was kind of underwhelming in the base game, but the DPS on it doesn't need to ramp too much since the crit percentage gets pretty high. Instead it's becoming more reliable to give an out in dire situations as many other Phoenix techs are losing Hit, somewhat similar to Charge or Palm Strike.] * Fire Tornado has been buffed. + Hit: -10 -> -8 + Force: 31 -> 34 + Withering: 9 -> 16 + Sharpness: 22 -> 30 - Guts Cost: 26 -> 29 + Total Tech Value: 15 -> 28 (B/D/E/B |>| B/D/D/S) [INT] [Fire Tornado has mostly had values moved around to make it worth the price. Nothing can shake off a crit from this tech- as it should be.] * Heat Beam has been altered. - Hit: -13 -> -16 + Force: 46 -> 57 + Withering: 8 -> 17 - Guts Cost: 29 -> 38 + Total Tech Value: 14.5 -> 22.5 (A/D/E/E |>| S/E/D/E) [INT] [This tech is now most similar to "Roll Assault" on Golems. Sometimes a last ditch effort is all a Firebird needs. The Phoenix is docking itself 23 seconds of guts, however.] * Fire Stream has been altered. - Hit: +3 -> +2 - Force: 39 -> 37 - Withering: 16 -> 13 + Guts Cost: 45 -> 35 + Total Tech Value: 18 -> 22 (remains as B/B/D/D) [INT] [This may look strange, and I agree. This may not come up much, but Fire Stream is part of a tech chain. The guts cost, hit, and withering have been cut by approximately ~16-33%, and the force gets by with just a scratch. 37 Force is still plenty if you want to mash it right out of the gate, but it gives it an option as an intermediary tech rather than the premiere strategy. I consider it a buff.] * Fire Wave has been buffed. - Hit: -1 -> -4 + Force: 50 -> 54 + Withering: 18 -> 31 + Total Tech Value: 24.5 -> 38.5 (S/C/D/C |>| S/C/B/C) [INT] [As intended, this places Fire Wave as one of the most powerful techniques in the game alongside techs like Golem's "Fist Missile." Not much to say here- if the opposition gets hit, they're hard pressed to come back.] --------------------------------- -= PLANT =- v0.15 [B8] So, Plants are interesting. They're probably one of the most unique monsters in the game, gameplay-wise. Similar to Pixies and Ghosts, they were heavily nerfed in the transition from MR1 to MR2 for being too strong. They're almost built to be misleading when the AI fights you with one, since they're really bad unless a person is operating them. When played perfectly, they're probably a top 12 breed. My balance target is Hares, who I consider the 5th best in the game, so Plants get a few buffs. The Swim Bug being fixed is also quite harsh on the Plant, since it leaves their growth total down there with Wrackies and Mocks (Who I also will be paying some attention to). So, they could use a little hand in the growth department due to that. Since Plants are based around being total jerks who mess with your guts and win at the last second by time out, I'm gonna embrace that. Additionally, since Plant techs are so weak in the force department, I'll let them do a little more chip damage as well (although still lowest damage overall in the game). Most of the tech buffs are quite small, or are just reshuffling a bit- but I am giving special treatment to Toxic Nectar and Toxic Pollen as those are the defining techs of the monster. You still don't have to worry about Plants bringing the fat damage, as their highest force rating is still "C". * General Changes: + SKI Growth: 2 -> 3; Plants are covered below, and all /Plant will be covered in that main monster's section instead: + Plant/Plant: 4/0/2/2/1/0 -> 4/0/2/3/1/0 + Plant/Pixie: 2/0/3/2/2/0 -> 2/0/3/3/2/0 + Plant/Golem: 3/2/2/1/1/2 -> 3/2/2/2/1/2 + Plant/Zuum: 3/1/2/2/1/1 -> 3/1/2/3/1/1 # Plant/Tiger: 3/1/2/2/1/1 -> 3/0/2/3/2/0 (Fixed error where Blue Plant had Plant/Zuum's growths. No change in SKI from Plant's buff.) + Plant/Hare: 3/2/1/2/2/0 -> 3/2/1/3/2/0 + Plant/Gali: 3/1/3/2/1/1 -> 3/1/3/3/1/1; Guts Rate: 12 -> 11 from Gali's guts buff. + Plant/Suezo: 3/1/3/2/1/0 -> 3/1/3/3/1/0 + Plant/Jell: 3/0/2/2/1/1 -> 3/0/2/3/1/1 + Plant/Monol: 3/1/2/2/1/2 -> 4/1/2/2/1/2; Due to Monol's LIF buff. + Plant/Worm: 4/1/2/2/1/0 -> 4/1/2/3/1/0 + Plant/Naga: 3/1/1/2/1/1 -> 3/2/1/3/1/1; Also benefits from Naga's POW buff. + Plant/???: Have been modified to match the gains of their corresponding derived Plant. [This leaves Plants with a Growth total of 10- Which is on the lower end, but they have the lifespan to handle it. Mostly this is compensation for the loss of their great defense, but it's fine for Plants to be bad in that regard, I think. Looking at their techs, they have the +Hit% of a skill monster, and since there's no heavy SKI drill it makes sense to me. As with Hoppers, their main offensive stat doesn't raise that quickly without paying the price be /Pixie, /Suezo, or /Gali.] * Base Stat Changes: # Plant/Plant Base Stats: 160/40/120/110/100/70 -> 160/40/110/120/100/70 (BST remains as 600) + Plant/Pixie Base Stats: 120/40/140/110/100/60 -> 120/30/140/130/100/60 (570 BST -> 580 BST) # Plant/Zuum Base Stats: 150/80/120/110/100/90 -> 150/80/110/120/100/80 (BST remains as 650) # Plant/Tiger Base Stats: 140/70/120/110/90/50 -> 140/70/110/120/90/50 (BST remains as 580) # Plant/Hare Base Stats: 160/130/100/120/110/60 -> 160/120/100/130/110/60 (BST remains as 680) # Plant/Jell Base Stats: 140/50/120/110/100/80 -> 140/50/110/120/100/80 (BST remains as 600) # Plant/Naga Base Stats: 130/70/120/110/100/90 -> 130/110/90/120/100/70 (BST remains as 620) # Plant/Worm Base Stats: 170/80/110/100/90/50 -> 170/80/100/110/90/50 (BST remains at 600) [The start of a very long process of rearranging base stats on sub-breeds to be better offspring choices for combining. Nothing too substantial if you don't care about that.] * Slap has been altered. - Hit: +8 -> +3 + Force: 7 -> 8 + Withering: 0 -> 5 # Total Tech Value: 4 -> 5 (E/A/-/- |>| E/B/E/-) [POW] [If you actually compare Slap to Jab, Slap is basically just worse. So now it trades hit for a little something of what Plants like to do: wither.] * Root Attack has been altered. - Hit: +22 -> +16 + Force: 6 -> 10 + Withering: 5 -> 8 - Guts Cost: 13 -> 14 # Total Tech Value: 22.5 (E/S/E/E |>| D/S/E/E) [POW] [I know people basically go out of their way NOT to use the Power techniques on a Plant (because they suck), so I think it's okay for them to be more optimized. I still don't think their power techs will be great, but maybe worth some investment on the side. This is probably a bit too good, but it can be knocked down later if it's overbearing.] * Root Combo has been buffed. - Hit: +21 -> +18 + Force: 12 -> 15 + Withering: 5 -> 14 - Guts Cost: 21 -> 24 + Total Tech Value: 19.5 -> 25.5 (D/S/E/E |>| D/S/D/E) [POW] [Anyways, since Plants are the quintessential "antagonist" monster since MR1, I'm going to push them a bit more in that direction- Even the POW ones. The Tech value is pretty high, but that's usually the case for "hit" techs. I suspect I may have to nerf this later as it's very strong.] * Life Steal has been buffed. + Force: 25 -> 27 + Total Tech Value: 0 -> 4 (remains as C[C]/C/-/-) [INT] [That's all. Just a bit better at what it does. Did you know this tech had "B" force, "B" hit, and "S" withering in MR1? Wacky.] * Jab has been altered. - Hit: +11 -> +10 + Force: 6 -> 7 # Total Tech Value: 7 (remains as E/A/-/-) [POW] [Just a minor boost in force. Basically unnoticable, but it will occasionally help out.] * Jab Combo has been buffed. - Hit: -1 -> -2 + Force: 15 -> 16 + Withering: 5 -> 10 (D/C/E/E |>| D/C/D/E) [POW] + Total Tech Value: 3.5 -> 8.5 [I don't have much to say here. I made it better.] * Plant Combo has been buffed. + Hit: -11 -> -6 + Withering: 10 -> 18 + Total Tech Value: 1.5 -> 12.5 (remains as C/D/D/E) [POW] [Similarly, there's not much to explain here. Makes standing in slot 2 against a Plant the whole fight a little riskier.] * Toxic Nectar has been buffed. + Force: 4 -> 7 - Sharpness: 5 -> 0 + Guts Cost: 26 -> 24 + Total Tech Value: 11.5 -> 14 (E/A/C/E |>| E/A/C/-) [INT] [I hope that header didn't worry you too much. Toxic Nectar and Toxic Pollen are THE Plant techs, and define the breed pretty much by themselves. So they should be pretty much the best in class. This does make the Plant better at what it already does, but niches give players a reason to want to raise a breed. Additionally, Plants have a below average arena speed, so keeping them out of slot 3 is not hard for most breeds (notably the Plant/Pixie and Plant/Tiger have the best arena speed of all Plants, giving incentive).] * Toxic Pollen has been buffed. + Hit: -1 -> +2 + Force: 8 -> 10 + Withering: 33 -> 42 + Total Tech Value: 7.5 -> 21.5 (E/C/B/E |>| D/B/A/E) [INT] [Same reason as Toxic Nectar change. Cements Plant as the witherer of choice throughout the entire monster roster. This is extremely strong, but it's also the big reason to raise a Plant in the first place. I accept that this will be irritating to face. Though, this is still worse than the Toxic Pollen from MR1. Much like with many other monsters, there's a slot you really don't want them standing in, and for Plants- that's slot 3. If it's totally busted, I'll nerf it back down.] * Face Drill has been buffed. + Withering: 17 -> 21 + Total Tech Value: 15.5 -> 19.5 (C/A/D/E |>| C/A/C/E) [POW] [Guest Starring: Not your guts.] * Seed Gun has been altered. + Force: 12 -> 14 - Sharpness: 19 -> 15 # Total Tech Value: 11.5 (remains as D/B/D/C) [INT] [Yeah, that's it.] * Seed Gatling has been buffed. + Force: 20 -> 24 + Withering: 10 -> 13 - Guts Cost: 27 -> 30 # Total Tech Value: 11.5 -> 15.5 (remains as C/C/D/A) [INT] [Just a little bigger all around.] --------------------------------- -= SUEZO =- v0.15 [B9] There's not really a ton to say about Suezos. They're a pretty middling monster that has strong points and shortcomings, but manages to be mostly average in the end. I don't have anything drastic in mind for them, and their stat growths, lifespan, and guts rate are all totally fine. So, that leaves their techs, which could stand to be made a bit better. They do have a neat theme for being half witherer-half nuker, which is an effective combo- but they don't quite pull it off enough to be great. Thus, they have some tech buffs coming, as the new average in this mod is "pretty good". Suezos are a decent soft-counter to slower guys like Golems and Zillas, and that's not changing. The changes will be relatively light compared to many other monsters, as Suezos are packing one of the most dangerous propositions in the game with a Damage+Withering specialty. * General Changes: + Suezo/Gali Guts Rate: 14 -> 13 (2.14/sec -> 2.31/sec) due to Gali's Guts Rate buff. + Suezo/Monol: 1/2/3/2/1/2 -> 2/2/3/2/1/2; Due to Monol's LIF Growth buff. + Suezo/Naga: 1/2/2/3/1/1 -> 1/3/2/3/1/1; Due to Naga's POW Growth buff. * Tail Assault has been buffed. + Hit: -4 -> +1 + Total Tech Value: 3 -> 8 (D/C/E/- |>| D/B/E/-) [POW] [Of the Suezo's two starting techs, Tail Assault is the much worse one. Spit is a great starting tech, but its power equivalent needs a helping hand. On that note, I have no changes for Spit, as it's a rather ideal basic tech as is.] * Tongue Slap has been buffed. + Hit: -16 -> -13 - Force: 42 -> 40 + Total Tech Value: 20.5 -> 21.5 (A/E/C/E |>| A/D/C/E) [POW] [This is just a consistency buff. It still hits plenty hard, but now a little more often.] * Kiss has been altered. + Hit: -8 -> -7 + Withering: 39 -> 44 - Guts Cost: 29 -> 32 + Total Tech Value: 20.5 -> 23.5 (D/D/B/E |>| D/D/A/E) [INT] [If you're using Kiss, it's obviously for the withering- so might as well specialize.] * Bite has been buffed. + Hit: -12 -> -10 + Force: 25 -> 26 Total Tech Value: 8.5 -> 11.5 (remains as C/D/D/E) [POW] [Just a little better in general.] * Lick has been altered. + Hit: -7 -> -6 - Force: 13 -> 12 + Withering: 29 -> 30 + Total Tech Value: 15.5 -> 16.5 (remains as D/D/C/E |>| D/D/B/E) [INT] [Mostly just a reshuffling of Lick's stats to make it do more of what you'd want out of a withering tech.] * Chewing has been buffed. + Withering: 22 -> 30 + Total Tech Value: 19.5 -> 27.5 (B/B/C/E |>| B/B/B/E) [POW] [Fairly self explanatory.] * Teleport has been buffed. + Force: 12 -> 13 + Withering: 10 -> 12 - Guts Cost: 16 -> 17 + Total Tech Value: 18.5 -> 20.5 (remains as D/A/D/E) [POW] [Equalizing the Suezo's niche of dual-purpose offense. Teleport wasn't too bad, but was generally not worth using. A little more impact might make a difference.] * Telekinesis has been altered. - Hit: +21 -> +18 + Withering: 10 -> 13 # Total Tech Value: 24.5 (remains as D/S/D/E) [INT] [Let's be honest. Do you REALLY need +21 hit?] * Telepathy has been buffed. + Sharpness: 15 -> 18 + Guts Cost: 21 -> 20 + Total Tech Value: 10.5 -> 13 (remains as D/D/D/C) [INT] [Telepathy generally doesn't see use after the Suezo gets Eye Beam. So having it crit a little more often might give it more utility as a dialed down version when the need arises.] * Eye Beam has been buffed. + Force: 28 -> 30 + Withering: 10 -> 14 + Sharpness: 22 -> 25 - Guts Cost: 31 -> 33 + Total Tech Value: 11 -> 16.5 (C/D/D/B |>| B/D/D/A) [INT] [Little bigger, moderately better. Eye Beam isn't as stellar as some think, but it can sure shear squishy opponents. 30 force isn't much more than 28, but every point counts.] * Yodel has been buffed. + Hit: -5 -> -4 + Total Tech Value: 27.5 -> 28.5 (C/D/A/E |>| C/C/A/E) [INT] [Every bit helps, and Yodel is already quite dangerous, so I think a minor boost in reliability is plenty.] --------------------------------- = UNSORTED =- [C1] Currently Unsorted Changes for monsters without their own section yet If a monster's sub was changed/buffed but it has no changes here, it was due to their numbers after calculation not changing. The following monsters have also received recalculated guts and possibly POW growths due to Gali's guts rate buff and growth calculation bug fix. + Dragon/Gali: 18 -> 17 + Golem/Gali: 18 -> 17 + Zuum/Gali: 15 -> 14 + Tiger/Gali: 12 -> 11 + Hare/Gali: 16 -> 15 + Jell/Gali: 15 -> 14 + Worm/Gali: 16 -> 15 The following monsters have also received recalculated stat growths due to Monol's LIF buff. + Dragon/Monol: 2/3/3/2/1/3 -> 3/3/3/2/1/3 + Henger/Monol: 1/3/2/2/2/2 -> 2/3/2/2/2/2 + Golem/Monol: 2/3/2/0/0/4 -> 3/3/2/0/0/4 + Zuum/Monol: 2/2/1/2/1/3 -> 3/2/1/2/1/3 + Tiger/Monol: 1/1/3/3/2/2 -> 2/1/3/3/2/2 + Hare/Monol: 2/3/1/2/2/2 -> 3/3/1/2/2/2 + Jell/Monol: 2/1/3/2/1/2 -> 3/1/3/2/1/2 + Worm/Monol: 3/2/2/2/0/2 -> 4/2/2/2/0/2 The following monsters have also received recalculated stat growths due to Mock's LIF/DEF buffs. + Wracky/Mock: 2/0/3/0/2/0 -> 2/0/3/0/2/1; + Wracky/Mock Base Stats: 60/50/150/40/120/30 -> 70/40/150/50/120/60 (450 BST -> 490 BST) + Golem/Mock: 1/3/3/0/0/3 -> 2/3/3/0/0/3; + Zuum/Mock: 1/2/2/2/2/2 -> 2/2/2/2/2/2; + Durahan/Mock: 1/2/3/2/0/3 -> 2/2/3/2/0/3; + ArrHead/Mock: 1/2/2/2/1/3 -> 2/2/2/2/1/3; The following monsters have also received recalculated stat growths due to Naga's POW buff. + Zuum/Naga: 2/2/1/3/2/2 -> 2/3/1/3/2/2 + Worm/Naga: 3/2/1/2/0/1 -> 3/3/1/2/0/1 The following monsters have also received recalculated stat growths due to Plant's SKI buff. + Tiger/Plant: 2/1/3/3/2/0 -> 2/1/3/4/2/0 The following monsters are impacted by changes to the Phoenix. - Durahan/Phoenix: 2/2/3/2/1/3 -> 2/2/3/2/0/3; Guts Rate: 14 -> 16 [Sorry, Garuda- but Phoenix changes hit you too.] --------------------------------- [C2] -= CLASS E =- E Rank is the least affected rank in this patch. It's intended to remain as an area where the player can still earn some cash if they're struggling, without being too punishing. That said, the monsters will likely require you to train a little rather than bring a monster right off the disc and standing a good chance. Rank E may retroactively become harder in the future as some of the participating breeds are slated for changes in future patches. Just for fun, each rank (E-S) will have an "EX" opponent, which is just a harder version of that original foe. I'll either choose the most irritating foe in the base game for that in each rank, or a random one if none of them stick out. There's also a running theme in the base game, where a lot of the AI opponents have lackluster Skill and Speed- which I'm cleaning up as those stats are the most important ones. For gimmick opponents, or just in some special cases, I'm going to let the AI "cheat" and have an illegal moveset, to make them actually pose some threat rather than "stand in slot 1 and let them lightly tap you."Lastly, for particular foes, I'm going to let them cheat on their arena movespeed, but generally I won't. Let's just say, some of the opponents figured out how to get their monster to forget techniques? E Rank is now composed of the following monsters: Mock/Joker Hare/Tiger Zuum/Jell Ape/Ape Gaboo/Gaboo Arrowhead/Mock Spoilers for altered opponents: * Lontar - Now a Mock/Joker "Zosral" with the stats 196/101/200/152/108/88 (677 BST -> 845 BST) [Techs: Headbutt / Leaf Gun / Twig Gun] [There are no Mock opponents in base MR2. Actually, there are a lot of breeds with that problem in MR2.] * Leone - Now an Arrowhead/Mock "Buzzsaw" with the stats: 157/188/48/152/66/252 (691 BST -> 863 BST) [Techs: Punch / Claw Assault] [Hey, it's Hailfall but for E rank.] * Nats - Now a Hare/Tiger "Mondo" with the stats 88/255/52/212/164/53 (525 BST -> 824 BST) [Only has 1-2 Punch] [Here's to you, Tubular.] * Harikicks- Now a Zuum/Jell "Malphiel" with the stats 156/157/154/152/161/133 (777 BST -> 913 BST) [No tech changes] [Harikicks, but better!] * Junomoule - Now an Ape/Ape "Jangmou" with the stats 149/127/208/211/122/157 (871 BST -> 974 BST) [Techs: Slap / Sneeze / Blast] [An Ape who never learned to Thwack, but instead to Sneeze.] * Oakleyman - Buffed to "Oakleyman EX". Stats buffed to 212/208/13/154/154/66 (663 BST -> 807 BST) [No tech changes] [Back with a vengeance.] # Average BST: 700.2 -> 871 (+ 170.8) --------------------------------- -= CLASS D =- D Rank is where things step up a bit compared to the base game. While E is still no trouble, D sees the opponents start pulling out specific strategies and stat totals that monsters fresh off disks just can't compete with (not even you, Phoenix). While still not particularly difficult, Rank D can pose some threat to young monsters with no central strategy. None of the monsters in D really stand out as particularly strong in the base game, so I just chose one on a whim for this rank's EX. D Rank is now composed of the following monsters: Henger/Zuum Golem/Arrowhead Suezo/Gali Mew/Pixie Hopper/Hopper Plant/Golem Monol/Tiger Naga/Worm Spoilers for altered opponents: * Winston - Now a Henger/Zuum "Gamma-316" with the stats 159/262/79/255/316/127 (966 BST -> 1198 BST) [Techs: Punch / Kick / Laser Cutter / Yoyo / Hammer Fall] * Capella - Now a Suezo/Gali "Antares" with the stats 248/154/264/327/105/52 (969 BST -> 1150 BST) [Techs: Tail Assault / Spit / Telekinesis / Telepathy / Eye Beam] * Sakura Art - Now a Golem/Arrowhead "Shumahoth" with the stats 264/358/55/128/92/259 (1127 BST -> 1156 BST) [Techs: Kick / Slap / Punch / Palm Strike / Heavy Slap] * Sleetbomb - Now a Monol/Tiger "Yawarakai" with the stats 178/251/278/266/173/185 (875 BST -> 1331 BST) [Techs: Charge / Flattening / Scratch / Sound Wave / Beam] [High stats for D, but too rounded to be that threatening.] * Harrimaoh - Buffed to "Harrimaoh EX". Stats buffed to 134/324/103/272/274/109 (958 BST -> 1216 BST) [Techs: Hook / Jump Blow / 2 Jump Blows / 3 Jump Blows / Jab] [Harrimaoh is EX, so I let him cheat on his moveset a little, and get 3 Jump Blows even though it's a special tech.] * Palmer - Now a Plant/Golem "Dedan" with the stats 344/315/77/213/62/173 (736 BST -> 1185 BST) [Techs: Slap / Root Attack / Root Combo / Jab / Jab Combo / Plant Combo ] [Dedan will probably get harder in version v0.15 since I'm probably going to tweak the force on Plant techs a little bit.] * Hailfall - Now a Naga/Worm "Eurikadus" with the stats 162/274/43/378/176/162 (839 BST -> 1186 BST) [Techs: Thwack / Stab / Belly Punch / Tail Assault ] * Milliam - Now a Mew/Pixie "Marianne" with the stats 194/102/303/284/305/32 (968 BST -> 1220 BST) [Techs: Stab / Miaow / Song of Mew / Recital ] [Marianne is an utter novelty monster. I let her cheat on her moveset extremely hard because it's an INT Mew, and they're not working with much. Not so much an opponent as an idea. Your monster should never really lose unless it's too weak for D rank, or you get lucksacked really hard.] # Average BST: 929.8 -> 1205.25 (+ 275.45) --------------------------------- -= CLASS C =- C Rank is one of the "odd man out" ranks, like E and A- since experienced players and speedrunners usually just skip it in favor of B rank. Which is understandable, since there's never any particular NEED to actually fight in C Rank whereas B is where the cash is. That said, I'm not just going to leave it alone. So, in fitting with its rarely visited nature, I'll use a few rarely raised monsters in this rank and some specialist stat allocations to at least leave the rank a bit memorable the one or two times it is fought near the beginning. Similar to D, there's not really any standout monsters in C (Unless you count Ofrey for being extremely bad), so I chose the EX on a whim. C Rank is now composed of the following monsters: Niton/Kato Colorpandora/Colorpandora Kato/Tiger Pixie/Wracky Joker/Bajarl Worm/Naga Tiger/Suezo Jell/Jell Baku/Dragon Centaur/Durahan Spoilers for altered opponents: * Ofrey - Now a Worm/Naga "Jorgumand" with the stats 369/425/112/234/229/233 (1213 BST -> 1602 BST) [Techs: Bite / Somersault / Sting / Tail Lash / Pierce-Throw / Pinch-Throw / Tusk Slash] * Gunburn - Now a Jell/Jell "Nepturus" with the stats 299/314/126/327/168/362 (1436 BST -> 1596 BST) [Techs: Stab / Pierce / Suffocation / Whip / Two Whips / Jell Press / Jell Cube / Three Cubes / Jell Top / Spiked Top / Fly Swatter / Fly Smasher] * Susvain - Now a Niton/Kato "Shalezane" with the stats 246/157/418/275/124/569 (1195 BST -> 1789 BST) [Techs: Sound Wave / Sound Wave-L / Electrify / Severe Shock / Niton Ink] [This is basically Pirrateau a rank earlier with shuffled stats, but Pirrateau sucks in B so it's fine. He found the move deleter and dropped those chump slot 1 tech.] * Zamber - Now a Joker/Bajarl "Marx" with the stats 233/372/418/366/211/104 (1486 BST -> 1704 BST) [Techs: Death Punch / Death Smash / Death Cutter / Death Energy] * Nicolle - Now a Tiger/Suezo "Azaka" with the stats 246/172/334/481/309/134 (1370 BST -> 1676 BST) [Techs: Bite / Lightning / Thunder / Ice Bomb / Blizzard ] * Pivorus - Buffed to "Pivorus EX". Stats buffed to 498/216/258/354/255/3 (1234 BST -> 1584 BST) [Techs: Face Attack / Tail Swing / Giant Whip / Vital Ritual / Cracker / Megacracker / Triple Shots / Shotgun / Megashotgun] [I have plans to make Vital Ritual suck less later, but for now I'll go ahead and put it on Pivorus here.] * Hyoue - Now a Kato/Tiger "Desperado" with the stats 234/19/562/276/486/53 (1268 BST -> 1630 BST) [Techs: Twister Claw / Tornado Claw] [I think there's maybe 4 or 5 people on the planet who might get this. All unnecessary techs have been eliminated.] * Recknen - Now a Baku/Dragon "Magmerit" with the stats 443/377/102/176/184/338 (1247 BST -> 1580 BST) [Techs: Dust Cloud / Bite / Two Bites / Charge / Gust Breath] [Unrelated: Have you heard the high-pitched screech Bakus make during Diving Press? It's unpleasant, in my opinion.] * Rockgeiger - Now a Centaur/Durahan "Ivan" with the stats 306/292/167/374/233/225 (1203 BST -> 1597 BST) [Techs: Smash / Smash Combo / Triple Stabs / Stab Throw / Turn Thrust / RearLeg Kick / Javelin / Death Thrust] * Waranmo - Now a Pixie/Wracky "Kokono" with the stats 163/176/339/356/484/72 (1370 BST -> 1590 BST) [Techs: Pat / Slap / Bang / Bolt / Lightning / Flame / Gigaflame] [Waranmo cheats in MR2 by having a special tech. Turns out, his replacement does too. Though, to be honest, Bang isn't really that great a move- like most Pixie techs.] # Average BST: 1302.2 -> 1467.2 (+ 165) --------------------------------- -= CLASS B =- B Rank is another one of those "mandatory" ranks. Though in the original game, this rank varies a lot- as it has many weak contenders in Pirrataeu, Dewless, Tiravail, and Aspin. Then on other side, stuff like Epsilon and Liquel which can do you in pretty quickly (but seriously- why is Tiravail here, it wouldn't be good in the original C rank). This is when Special Techs open up, and the competition is going to be aware of this as well. Only a few cheaters like EX Enemies and Marianne had them before, but here they'll be around. B Rank might only be a little harder than Epsilon & Co., but that applies to every enemy in the rank. Naturally, the EX will be the monster responsible for the most KOs in the original game. B Rank is now composed of the following monsters: Jill/Tiger Gali/Plant Undine/Undine Dragon/Metalner Arrowhead/Suezo Hare/Gali Ghost/Ghost Beaclon/Henger Naga/Jell Durahan/Mock Spoilers for altered opponents: * Aspin - now a Ghost/Ghost "Ezzy" with the stats 317/428/473/464/456/22 (1877 BST -> 2160 BST) [Techs: All Ghost Techs] * Epsilon - now a Beaclon/Henger "Dirge" with the stats 443/634/141/318/222/353 (1944 BST -> 2111 BST) [Techs: Punch / Heavy Punch / Maximal Punch / Horn Strike / Horn Attack / Beaclon Combo / Dive Assault / Horn Combo / Horn Smash / Rolling Bomb / Fist Missile] * Ghoulshine - now an Undine/Undine "Lenneth" with the stats 290/168/532/471/555/108 (1942 -> 2124 BST) [Techs: Ice Sword / Splash / Cold Fog / Arrow / Aqua Wave / Ice Coffin / Ice Arrow / Water Gun / Icicle Arrow / Cold Geyser / Water Cannon] * Sanjuras - now a Gali/Plant "Faelanx" with the stats 365/358/421/356/318/307 (1827 -> 2125 BST) [Techs: Back Blow / Fire Wall / Blaze Wall / Napalm / Heavy Blow / Whirlwind / Spirit Blow / Straight / Red Wisp / Spirit Punch / Thunderbolt / Giant Blow / Spirit Smash] * Dewless - now a Dragon/Metalner "Novaheart" with the stats 462/468/213/503/234/309 (1635 BST -> 2189 BST) [Techs: Tail Whip / Tail Attack / Bite / Dragon Punch / Wing Attack / Wing Combo / Claw Combo / Trample / Glide Charge / Slamming Down / Flying Combo] * Tiravail - now an Arrowhead/Suezo "Zasz" with the stats 372/408/168/360/218/673 (1332 [Dude, why is it so bad] -> 2199 BST) [Techs: Punch / Claw Pinch / Somersault / Long Punch / Tail Swing / Claw Assault / Acrobatics / Hidden Sting] * Baluum - now a Jill/Tiger "Pierre" with the stats 644/368/377/254/328/153 (1846 BST -> 2124 BST) [Techs: Double Slaps / Ice Spikes / 1-2 Straight / Slap Combo / Ice Wave / Cold Breath / Snowstorm] * Pirrateau - now a Durahan/Mock "Curtis" with the stats 418/37/632/477/266/400 (1499 BST -> 2230 BST) [Techs: Air Shot / Lightning / Blast Shot / Gust Slash (+Thunderbolt later)] [Another gimmick monster. But hey, every rank could use one. Also, I gave him Grit just because I find it amusing. I skipped Sword Throw since Curtis's Skill isn't that high.] * Liquel - Buffed to "Liquel EX". Stats buffed to 326/555/114/427/416/271 (1663 BST -> 2109 BST) [Techs: Straight / Hard Straight / Kung Fu Fist / Kung Fu Blow / Bang / Back Blow / Rolling Blow / Smash / Spin Kick / 1-2 Punch / Kung Fu Kick] [Liquel's Guts rate is also hastened from 16 to 15 due to the changes to Gali earlier in the changelist. Interestingly, Liquel doesn't have Gas in the base game either. Also, Bang!] * Robeneal - now a Naga/Jell "Vasuki" with the stats 334/473/175/562/269/314 (1789 BST -> 2127 BST) [Techs: Thwack / Stab / BellyPunch / Tail Assault / Roll Assault / Drill Attack] # Average BST: 1735.1 -> 2149.8 (+ 414.7) --------------------------------- -= CLASS A =- Technically the player never has to visit A Rank. Though in practice, cash cows usually bounce between farming B and A, so it's not nearly as desolate as C or E Rank. Interestingly, it also only has 8 opponents, rather than the 10 of C and B Rank (S Rank shares this 8 member trait, though technically the Major 4 opponents are S rank too). The only real chumps here initially are Caplan (Who gives Duckens a bad look even though they're great) and Goatrek- who is now worse than Dirge in B Rank and is in general the Tiravail of A Rank. I decided I would go ahead and make the weak duck the EX to show that Duckens don't suck. A Rank will be substantially harder now, but it was honestly really easy before so that's probably ok. A Rank is now composed of the following monsters: Golem/Metalner Plant/Pixie Ducken/Ducken Ape/Gali Metalner/Suezo Wracky/Wracky Monol/Worm Joker/Tiger Spoilers for altered opponents: * Arculon - now a Wracky/Wracky "Janteloven" with the stats 377/656/166/554/679/325 (2429 BST -> 2757 BST) [Techs: Weapon / Weapon Combo / Twister Kick / Punch / Heavy Punch / Wracky Combo / Spin Slash / Twister Slash / Beat Dance / Cursed Dance] [I considered making Arculon the EX, but there was an Arrowhead in B Rank as well so it seemed a bit soon for another. So now it's power Wracky.] * Catalina - now a Plant/Pixie "Okakiyo" with the stats 778/157/573/516/428/277 (2132 -> 2729 BST) [Techs: Life Steal / Jab / Toxic Pollen / Toxic Nectar / Seed Gun / Seed Gatling] * Caplan - Buffed to "Caplan EX". Stats buffed to 389/414/567/571/688/161 (2217 BST -> 2790 BST) [Techs: Ducken Dance / Surprise / Bound / Eye Beam / Beam Shower / Maximal Beam / Bound Charge / Bound Stamp / Missile / Two Missiles / Frantic Beam] * Kitty - now an Ape/Gali "Aurum" with the stats 502/558/502/483/251/476 (2436 BST -> 2772 BST) [Techs: Slap / Sneeze / Thwack / Blast / Boomerang / Grab-Throw / Roll Assault / Bomb / Magic Banana] [Fell for the "balanced stats" meme.] * Goatrek - now a Metalner/Suezo "Lee" with the stats 418/612/63/759/316/560 (2016 BST {nice job Goatrek} -> 2728 BST) [Techs: Left Slap / Back Charge / Right Slap / Straight / High Kick / Double Kicks / Dash Straight / Elbow Strike / Double Palms / Palm Strike / Burning Palm / UFO Attack] [Hey, a Metalner. It's the worst sub-breed of a Metalner, but one nonetheless. Watch out for its grit.] * Siva - now a Golem/Metalner "Hissatsu" with the stats 542/615/101/774/212/464 (2493 BST -> 2708 BST) [Techs: Heavy Punch / Slap / Uppercut / Punch / Brow Hit / Palm Strike / Double Palms / Heavy Slap / Charge / Brow Smash / Fist Shot] [I'm counting this as the gimmick monster for this rank. Forget POW, it's all about the SKILL for Golems.] * Sharkin - now a Joker/Tiger "Azrael" with the stats 318/568/718/660/357/173 (2441 -> 2794 BST) [Techs: All Joker Techs] [Stat Check: Does your monster get OHKO'd by Death Energy or no?] * Lamsweet - now a Monol/Worm "Ourodooros" with the stats 577/516/152/571/366/659 (2732 BST -> 2841 BST) [Techs: Charge / Spike Stabs / Needle Stabs / Flattening / Spike Bite / Knock / Two Knocks / Knockalypse / Flattening-L / Flattening-X / Tentacles] [A cocooned Monol, with a guts rate to match.] # Average BST: 2362 -> 2764.875 (+ 402.875) --------------------------------- -= CLASS S =- S Rank isn't bad in the base game, but the heat could stand to be higher. Foes like Goliath, Mahoroty, and Aqualine don't really pose much threat (I find my thoughts drifting towards Tiravail once more). I give the distinction of the EX to Ordorf, because, I mean, the only other one who might deserve it is Thanatos. I'm not shy about giving monsters really high stats like the base Monster Rancher 2 was. S Rank will be quite difficult now- but not unsurmountable, hopefully. S Rank is now composed of the following monsters: Hopper/Pixie Gaboo/Joker Phoenix/??? Tiger/Worm Bajarl/Joker Pixie/Gali Henger/Metalner Niton/Bajarl Spoilers for altered opponents: * Aqualine - now a Hopper/Pixie "Burgundy" with the stats 462/517/801/973/620/304 (3015 BST -> 3677 BST) [Techs: Jump Blow / 2 Jump Blows / 3 Jump Blows / 1-2 Jump Blow / Hopper Combo / Jab / Flick / Lightning / Flame] [Surely I can fit one last gimmick monster in here somewhere. Though at stats this high, big gimmicks sorta stop working.] * Ordorf - buffed to "Ordorf EX". Stats buffed to 914/823/201/614/752/279 (3069 BST -> 3583 BST) [Techs: Slap / Diving Press / Samurai Kick / Chop Combo / Chop / Shockwave / Back Blow / Electric Blow / Ninja Kick / Straight / Long Punch / Jumping Chop] [The EX absolutely nobody but myself wanted to face.] * Goliath - now a Phoenix/??? (Cinder Bird) "Japhet" with the stats 588/422/782/789/418/567 (2726 BST -> 3566 BST) [Techs: Beak / Talons / Rapid Beaks / Flame Shot / Flame Cannon / Fire Twister / Fire Tornado / Fire Stream / Fire Wave] * Zagref - now a Tiger/Worm "Houtenjin" with the stats 628/856/313/833/577/451 (3026 BST -> 3658 BST) [Techs: Bite / Scratch / One-Two / Combination / Charge / Stab / Roll Assault] [Houtenjin will probably be pretty weak in v.011, since Tiger's power techs are "pretty bad". When I do a passover on the Tiger, he'll probably get stronger as a result.] * Thanatos - now a Bajarl/Joker "Apollo" with the stats with the stats 677/716/278/879/503/544 (3048 BST -> 3597 BST) [Techs: Hook / Right Jab / Straight / Uppercut / 1-2 Uppercut / 1-2 Smash / Magic Punch / 1-2 Mystic Combo / Mystic Punch] * Daphiel - now a Pixie/Gali "Providence" with the stats 480/96/964/858/843/312 (3096 BST -> 3553 BST) [Techs: Bang / Big Bang / Bolt / Lightning / Life Steal / Kiss / Flame / Gigaflame / Ray] [She's holy, and she blatantly cheats on her tech list.] * Prometheus - now a Henger/Metalner "Nelson" with the stats 404/614/501/762/986/318 (3160 BST -> 3585 BST) [Techs: Kick / Heavy Chop / Yoyo / Two Yoyos / Laser Sword / Napalm Cannon / Burst Cannon / Hammer Fall / Sound Wave / Fist Missile / Drill Shot] [I wonder how many people actually played all the way through MRBC2? Anyways, Nelson is fast. In fact, the fastest monster in the game. Modified to max efficiency.] * Mahoroty - now a Niton/Bajarl "Ul-Shazir" with the stats 614/669/302/678/504/882 (2912 BST -> 3649 BST) Breed: 1E 12 Guts: 0B [Techs: Whip / Stab / Numbing Stab / Electric Stab / Whip / Numbing Whip / Millions Whips / Niton Ink / Shell Attack / Spiked Shell / Violent Shell] [Mahoroty, 'not garbage' edition.] # Average BST: 3006.5 -> 3733.5 (+ 727, which is a lot, but S rank IS supposed to be about the end of the game) [S Rank is now as strong as the old Major 4. Which I think is fine since the original Major 4 was mostly pushovers aside from Loveless and Carmine.] --------------------------------- -= MAJOR 4 =- [DONE UP TO HERE - TO DO] Part of me was always disappointed that you can pump your stats high enough that the Major 4 isn't any threat. Now even a monster with one or two maxed stats has cause to be concerned. Since it's not really a rank, there's no EX, and all the competitors are new. There's not much to say, but none of the monsters in the original Major 4 can compete with the new opponents. You may even have to wait for a second generation monster now. At this point stat allocations are made under the assumption that the player will need to both manipulate the AI and have good stats of their own to win. Or rather, every M4 enemy is at least about as threatening as Loveless now. There's a very light theming based on the seasons the tournaments occur in, but I'm sure you can figure that out without me saying explicity who fits where. The Major 4 is now composed of the following monsters: February May August November Baku/Joker Worm/Gali Baku/Joker Worm/Gali Zilla/Tiger Gali/??? Gali/??? Zilla/Tiger Mock/??? Jell/Plant Durahan/Metalner Suezo/??? Spoilers for altered opponents: * Astound - now a Jell/Plant "Groovy" with the stats 712/306/800/801/519/988 (3367 BST -> 4126 BST) [Techs: Stab / Suffocation / Two Whips / Beam Gun / Beam Cannon / Cannon / Slingshot / Gatling Gun / Jell Copter] [I don't take naming opponents very seriously. But hey, you don't want to get dunked by a dude named 'Groovy', do you? I have some plans for Jells and INT techs in slot 1/2 later, but for now Groovy will just be a total jobber up close. To compensate until then, Groovy has arena movespeed "A".] * Carmine - now a Baku/Joker "Xervah" with the stats 692/569/914/943/503/487 (3523 BST -> 4108 BST) [Techs: Dust Cloud / Bite / Two Bites / Roar / Two Roars / Million Roars / Sneeze / Mating Song / Foul Wind / Hypnotism / Nap] [Xervah is kind of a gimmick, but the kind with high stats. As with most monsters like this, Xervah will get stronger after my passover on Bakus.] * Siarra - now a Suezo/??? (White Suezo) "Poritoka" with the stats 615/552/999/866/608/503 (3591 BST -> 4143 BST) [Techs: Tongue Slap / Kiss / Spit / Lick / Chewing / Telekinesis / Telepathy / Eye Beam / Yodel] [Yeah, Poritoka got demoted- but he'll show the Major 4 what he can do! He's got the highest intelligence of any opponent in the game, that's for sure!] * Zelandia - now a Zilla/Tiger "Ordrum" with the stats 873/822/368/826/589/632 (3428 BST -> 4110 BST) [Techs: Belly Attack / Headbutt / Knocking-Up / Scratch / Tail Lashes / Body Press / Earthquake / Charge / Zilla Rush] [If you're wondering why I opted to replace Zelandia rather than Drewguard with the Zilla, the answer is that it really doesn't take any more work, and it helps with the seasonal theming. Ordrum is putting that Tiger subbreed to work and pumped his skill. Also, he doesn't have Roll Assault because that move is trash and I haven't fixed Zillas yet.] * Drewguard - now a Worm/Gali "Amenti" with the stats 787/804/666/720/418/665 (3282 BST -> 4060 BST) [Techs: Bite / Somersault / Tail Lash / Three Lashes / Roll Assault / Pierce-Throw / Pinch-Throw / Tusk Slash / Poison Gas / Wheel Attack] [She's a good Worm.] * Brigandy - now a Durahan/Metalner "Einhander" with the stats 665/810/432/880/465/813 (3586 BST -> 4075 BST) Breed: 09 16 Guts: 0B [Techs: Swing / Twister Slash / Slash Combo / Flash Slash / Triple Slash / Million Stabs / Punch Combo / Rush Slash / Dash Slash / Kick Combo / Charge / Rolling Slash] [Haha! I'm making dumb references and nobody can stop me! You can consider this "Loveless EX" if you'd like.] * Loveless - now a Mock/??? (White Birch) "Antagonis" with the stats 908/79/906/883/612/634 (3883 BST -> 4022 BST) [Techs: Leaf Cutter / Leaf Gun / Leaf Gatling / Twig Gun / Twig Gatling / Energy Steal / Twister / Twisters] [Probably the laziest name so far. Naturally as Loveless' replacement he has to be a pain the ass.] * Rouge - now a Gali/??? (Happy Mask) "Jubilee" with the stats 364/916/931/912/850/168 (3089 BST -> 4141 BST) [Techs: Galis have a lot of techs, so it's all of them except Straight, Hurricane, and Hashing Mask] [Seriously though, why does every Plant in the game have really bad stats? Every single Plant is the Tiravail of their rank. Anyhow, now there's a chipper Gali here instead. Jubilee has probably the strangest stat allocation of anyone in the Major 4, but you'll be feeling the hurt if you lose the race.] * # Average BST: 3468.6 -> 4098.1 (+ 629.5) #---= LEGEND CUP =---# I don't really think this needs its own section since it's basically just an extension of the Major 4. These are intended as the strongest opponents in the IMa circuit (though not the strongest in the game). Seeing as this is a "hard mode" mod, your monster has to be pretty top notch to win. * Most - stats buffed to 818/824/800/848/852/875 (4612 BST -> 5017 BST) [Techs: Most of them] [Hey, it's Most. If you kept up with the rest of the ranks, you'll notice it's the only Mocchi in E-S rank. But they were a scourge in the base game so that's probably fine. Anyways, Most has pretty decent stats. For thematic reasons, I left the name alone. Most got some tips from his alien buddies about cranking up his guts rate even further.] * Poritoka - has been demoted to the Major 4. Replaced with a new Legend Cup strength opponent with the stats 907/914/982/871/653/704 (3856 BST -> 5031 BST) [I mean, it's not really a surprise if you think of all the Monster Rancher characters that could fit in this spot.] # Average BST: 4234 -> 5024 (+ 790) [This is mostly Poritoka's fault for being a chump in the base game.] --------------------------------- Changelog History: v0.1 Changes: Ape (Unfinished), Colorpandora (Unfinished), Gaboo (Unfinished), Gali, Ghost, Hopper, Metalner, Monol, Niton, Phoenix, Kato (Temporary Change), Pixie (Unfinished) E Rank, D Rank, C Rank, B Rank, A Rank (S Rank/M4/Other cups not modified yet), Swim Bug v0.11 Changes: S Rank, all modified tournament opponents made slightly more difficult