Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) demo+full version

[Silvergun X]

I'm on this for the rest of the night now - Anybody fancy some games, let me know and i'll host a game for us

[Number45]

This is out on the UK PSN tomorrow. Assuming it's not ludicrously priced, expect many questions hereafter...

[Number45]

http://blog.eu.playstation.com/2010/10/06/heads-up-game-store-update-6th-october-2010/

Woot! Acceptable pricing.

[Number45]

Brought my PSP to work today in the hope that I would be able to get it downloaded before going home, so obviously the store update today is late.

75 minutes until I leave, 3 hours remaining on the download.

[hudson]

[Number45]

It's actually looking like it'll finish right around 19:00. I'm not one for staying at work a minute longer than is necessary however, so I'll probably wait until tomorrow.

[Silvergun X]

Aww, i'd have speed levelled you up a bit.

I'm back into A rank mission territory now - Got my character back to level 70+ from scratch so hit me up for some lovely delicious online missions.

[Number45]

It'll be waiting for me to transfer it when I get in tomorrow morning, so I can have a go at lunch time to try and get a feel for it. I assume it's easy enough to get started with? I obviously won't have a manual to flick through.

[Riskbreaker]

Actually, the US PSN release had a full blown manual you could access so the EU release maybe the same. But yeah, it's straight forward and the first mission gives you a tutorial.

Can't believe you've already levelled back to 70 Silvergun. I've only just hit 70 with my first character.

[Number45]

Had a quick flick through the manual and played some of the opening level at lunchtime. Don't have a lot more to say than that at the moment, still fiddling with the controls to get where I want to be with them - it's AGES since I played an action game on the PSP.

Are there any useful resources for tips on the game, like a guide for the basics or should I just play the game and learn that way? Started a Beast Hunter (Female, obviously) because it seemed like the best way to start for a total newbie.

[Riskbreaker]

Basic Tips:

Map Monomate, Dimates and Trimates to your item palette. They're faster to use than the Resta techs while starting out.

Try to time your physical attacks accurately to maximise damage. The bottom right corner shows a circle that decreases in size after each button press. Time subsequent attacks when circle has shrunk fully.

Combo's are your friend, higher combo's equate to higher damage from the finishers so use basic hits to up the number before capping it with a Photon Art. Easier said than done during solo though as the CPU will just throw finishers into the mix.

Dodge. Evade is really useful so make the most of it.

Defend. Dual handed weapons and shields let you block. Some hits are easier to block than others but a well timed defense ups the power of your counter attack.

Elements. Choose a shield with the same element as your enemy to maximise defense. Choose a weapon of the opposite element to maximise damage.

Don't forget to visit the Type counter at the back of the Battle Shop. When your type raises a level you can spend points to grant access to better weapons. Don't worry if you make a mistake, you can undo any changes and get your points back. Same goes for abilities, have a play to see what works best.

Solo mode. Client requests don't have to be done straight away, you can take a job and complete the challenge whenever you meet the requirements. Useful for hunting missions.

Hope that helps

I've always found http://www.pso-world.com to be the best resource for any PSO type stuff.

[Silvergun X]

psp2.psupedia.info is also an amazing reference point.

[Number45]

Thanks for those tips Riskbreaker.

Played some of this last night (Although I started a new character, a female Cast Hunter and IMMEDIATELY regretted calling her Number45 - even though it kind of fits for a robotic character. ). I played through the first story mission and a couple of the open missions, the second one was pretty tricky! Needed to use most of my healing goodies to get through it, but get through it I did (In fact I got an S rank I think. ).

I have the healing items mapped to the action palette, but I'm finding selecting them mid-battle pretty tricky, because if I have L held down for targeting hitting the d-pad puts you into goggles mode - are people changing the lock to toggle, or am I doing something wrong?

I'm running a sabre and shield at the moment. I'm comfortable enough with dodging already, but still working on getting the block/parry mechanics down.

I'm just approaching level 7 at the moment - I guess it's too early for me to be worrying about gear just yet? I'm just using what I find. Also, do you switch your items between enemies or do you usually find that each mission contains enemies of a certain element type only and equip for that mission accordingly?

Also, can I take my MySynth into missions when I'm just playing by myself? If so, how do I do that?

There's a lot to take in!

Also, playing for a couple of hours last night CRIPPLED my hands.

[Dogg Thang]

I can answer your last question - yes, you can. If you press start, go to (I think) community, you can invite member to your party and your MySynth should be in there. Then you can go on single player missions with it. I don't think they go on story missions though.

As for the other questions, well I'm at level 20 and still don't know the answer to them!

[Silvergun X]

The best way to use healing items is to map them to your palette, then when you're in battle, hold in Circle, tap L, let go of circle.

Using the D-Pad to select items should only be used when there aren't any enemies around. Use L and R to cycle through healing items and weapons in your Circle palette.

As far as gear is concerned, just play through the story mission and keep checking the battle store after every mission. You will get up to 8* weapons unlocking throughout the course of the game for you to buy.