Surviving Kingdom Hearts on Expert Mode
May. 9th, 2010 11:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Yesterday, I finally beat Kingdom Hearts on Expert Mode! I first tried it years ago, and found it so impossibly hard -- Proud Mode on KHII is tame in comparison. I haven't seen any specific tips for this difficulty anywhere on the internet, so I decided to contribute some more for
three_weeks_for_dw and share some tips with you all. :D If you're as impatient as I am for the Western release of Birth by Sleep, you might want to give it a shot too, so I hope this helps. Hell, even if you don't want to take on Expert Mode, you might learn something new about the gameplay for if you decide to replay sometime. Some of this may seem really obvious, some of it may not, but I know I've learned a lot on this playthrough that I've never known before, despite owning the game for 6-7 years.
Firstly: I know everyone has different playstyles and plays games differently; this is just based on my own playthrough. YMMV, and if you have anything to add, feel free.
Whew, I think that's everything. This is officially proof I've played this game one time too many. If you have any questions, need help with specific bosses, or you think I've missed something, feel free to ask.
So, I hope this helps you enjoy the higher difficulty more! It's more challenging, but ultimately more fun and satisfying, and you'll be getting more out of an old but great game you probably shelved years ago.
Edit: Temporarily disabling comments due to large amounts of spam. Sorry for any inconvenience!
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Firstly: I know everyone has different playstyles and plays games differently; this is just based on my own playthrough. YMMV, and if you have anything to add, feel free.
- The difference between the standard mode and Expert is that enemies do something like twice to four times as much damage. That's obviously a huge difference, and if you're not prepared, you'll see the game over screen a lot. I know I did, on my first try. One of the most important things is actually the opening Dive into the Heart sequence, because it dictates how Sora develops for the rest of the game.
- Unless you really want to make things difficult for yourself, when you have to choose one of the three weapons, take the shield. It means Sora's defence stat will be higher, and he'll learn more defensive abilities early on (like Second Chance, or Jackpot, which means more HP/MP/Munny drops!). Goofy will also be your highest level party member and learn a lot more abilities more quickly.
It's up to you whether you drop the sword or the rod; dropping the sword lowers your attack stat, dropping the rod means Donald will have the lowest level (dangerous because his HP is low, so he'll get KO'd a lot), and you'll have less AP. I chose to drop the wand, but it's up to you. You should not drop the shield, because your defence will suffer, and you'll sustain even more damage. (Unless you're really hardcore, in which case, I salute you and you probably don't even need to read this.) - When Tidus, Selphie and Wakka ask you their questions, your answers will decide at what pace Sora levels up. If you get the message 'your journey will begin at dawn', this means that initially, Sora will level up very quickly, then slow down on the latter levels, so overall you need to earn more EXP. 'Midday' means he'll level up at the same pace throughout, and dusk/evening/I forget means he'll level up slowly in the beginning, and more quickly for the higher levels.
For Expert, I'd recommend dawn or even midday, so choose your answers accordingly. If you're not going for a completion run to do all the endgame content and max Sora's level, go for dawn, because you'll get to the final boss at about level 50-55 anyway, and it means less early grinding. I would NOT recommend the late start Sora, because his health is so painfully low in the beginning, you need all the levels you can get. One plus is that, overall, late Sora needs less experience to reach Lvl. 100, though.
I chose midday just because they're what I'd choose from a personal standpoint (afraid of being indecisive/friendship is most important/want to broaden my horizons) rather than for the sake of gameplay mechanics, but hey, whatever floats your boat. ;) - Always keep track of your equipment. You can afford to neglect it on normal difficulty, but not here. This doesn't mean you have to drag up the menu obsessively, but before every boss fight or before exploring a new world, it pays to make sure your weapons, accessories and abilities are all up-to-date, and heading back to Traverse Town to restock/upgrade is always useful. Giving Sora and Goofy a good supply of Potions is also useful (and Donald, before he learns Cure), especially in the long-haul coliseum tournaments. Prioritise the best defensive/HP-boosting accessories to Sora (after all, if he gets killed, it's game over), then Donald (very low HP and defence), then Goofy. Weapons are less important -- choose a Keyblade that most suits your playstyle, don't give Donald an MP-decreasing hammer, and, if you like, make sure Goofy has one of the larger defensive shields as opposed to the smaller attack shields. His attack stat will suffer, but he'll block more often, making him an even better tank.
- By that same token, keeping your gummi ship well-equipped is vital. Like your party, your gummi ship also takes more damage on Expert Mode, and putting the effort and munny in to keep upgrading will save you a lot of restarts and frustration. I know the gummi garage has awful controls and is generally boring, but it doesn't take long to put on a shiny new laser or cannon or cockpit, and besides, what's not fun about having a big frakkin' laser beam to blast Heartless ships with? You don't have to start from scratch, either: I always end up just heavily modifying an existing blueprint.
- Your guest party members (Ariel, Tarzan, etc.) are incredibly useful in comparison to Donald and Goofy pre-endgame. They have more abilities, better stats, and when they first join your party, come with their own supply of Potions, Ethers and accessories. Don't get too attached to Donald and Goofy and neglect them! Do keep in mind you can't use them to activate trinities, though, and you can't change their weapons. Their AP also doesn't rise, so they can never equip all their abilities at once.
- Cure, Aero, and Blizzard or Thunder are all very useful to have as L1 shortcuts. Once you obtain Tinker Bell, she's an invaluable summon, too: she has no summon gauge and therefore won't disappear, has a regen effect for your entire party, and she can save Sora from death once per battle before disappearing. Summon her at the start of every boss battle. In one-on-one battles like Keyblade Riku you can't summon her, though, so don't rely on her too much.
- Heal whenever you need to. Learn how much of the HP gauge your Cure/Cura/Curaga spell heals, and cast accordingly so you don't waste MP. Don't rely on Donald too much, but don't heal if he can heal you -- the AI has a 1-2 second delay, and he'll cast Cure even if you've already started to, and that'll be one heal gone to waste. Don't worry about healing Donald himself too much, as he'll take care of that, but always keep an eye on Goofy's health as well as your own. If you have the MP to spare, Aero is great against the hard-hitters. Save Ethers and Potions in the event of an emergency.
- Donald and Goofy are stupid. Or, more specifically, their AI is stupid. For example, they don't run away from damaging attacks, just let them hit them, or they can waste Potions. You can control them to some extent in the Customise menu, but you can also control their behaviour in the field. Press triangle twice when locked on to a target to direct them to attack it, which is great for distracting an enemy, getting to safety, healing and then getting back into the fray. If you want to get them away from a damaging attack -- like Maleficent's fire breath that they just stand around in like they're getting a nice, hot shower of death -- run away, de-lock from a target, and press triangle twice, and they'll run to your side. It's also useful if they've mysteriously vanished and you need them at your side.
- You can actually skip some worlds altogether (Monstro, Olympus Coliseum) in favour of ones that advance the story, or you can skip easier worlds first in favour of the more difficult ones. It isn't recommended, however, because you'll want all the experience, items and equipment you can get, and it makes better sense to play the easier worlds before the more difficult ones. Pay attention to the battle rating for each world, and play through them in order. Try not to ignore Heartless, either, as killing every enemy you see as you explore is also a very useful way to rack up EXP without it feeling too much like grinding.
- Finally, Block and Dodge Roll are your best friends! Use them well. Learning to time your blocks is incredibly useful and often stuns enemies, leaving them open to attack. The shared abilities, like Superglide, High Jump and Mermaid Kick are also very useful for dodging or quickly getting away from enemies.
Whew, I think that's everything. This is officially proof I've played this game one time too many. If you have any questions, need help with specific bosses, or you think I've missed something, feel free to ask.
So, I hope this helps you enjoy the higher difficulty more! It's more challenging, but ultimately more fun and satisfying, and you'll be getting more out of an old but great game you probably shelved years ago.
Edit: Temporarily disabling comments due to large amounts of spam. Sorry for any inconvenience!