I've been putting off and putting off playing this game because it didn't measure up to other video game alternatives, but I've finally finished what I started a year ago. I like finishing what I start, and I like it when artists finish what they start and I get to see the ending too. I like things that finish in general.
The last boss was trivial, my bravebearer equipped class had no problem with it. The real last boss was the Bravebearer-Black Mage-Bastion trio you have to beat to unlock the class' true power. I spent all day trying to defeat that boss, changing equipment, changing strategies, changing jobs and sub-jobs, changing how I fought and who I targeted, and slowly but surely learning the fight and getting better results. One time I'd defeated the Bastion and the Black Mage and the Bravebearer killed my whole party all on his own. If the AI chooses the right skills there's really nothing I can do to beat that guy. You have to get lucky on top of everything else.
At last I won through perseverance and luck, targeting the Bastion first with a released monster and then mimicking the monster's attack so as not to trigger any Bastion autoguards which don't react to monster attacks but only to real human spells/skills. It took me a long time to figure out that trick. It took me a long time to equip reflect rings which neutralized the threat of the Black Mage, and to mimic my salvemaker's wide-area elixirs so that the expensive potions I only had four of could be used all fight long. I pulled so many tricks out of my sleeve to win that one fight, it was tougher than the rest of the game combined. Of course for this real fight all four of my characters were Beastmasters and they all had the spearhead skill so I could go first and pound the Bastion with everything I had before he started guarding and counterattacking, and before the Bravebearer started draining my BP and requiring I concentrate solely on defense and healing. It was an intricate dance to counter every skill the enemy had which after an entire day of fighting the same people I'd memorized.
By the end I'd unlocked the level 15 skills of all 24 available jobs in the game and maxed out all the ideal builds for all four characters. I didn't get everyone every class' max job points because that would be too much of a grind, but I reached the peak performance level I was aiming for. The game is officially beaten.
Unfortunately Ukraine is taking longer to beat. Russia is not committing all of its forces to this war, but the West and Ukraine are. Its creating a force disparity where Ukraine outnumbers and has better, more advanced equipment than their opponents. The only reason Russia is still winning is superior training. And then on top of the limited deployment of only volunteer professionals instead of conscripts and reservists, Putin has handicapped the Russian army by insisting they avoid civilian casualties even at the expense of their own lives. If they win the war it will, in hindsight, look like a stroke of genius. At low expense and low disruption to Russian life in the homeland, and with low expense and little disruption to the defeated Ukraine, everyone can live happily ever after. But losing the war due to not fighting seriously enough is a very stupid gamble to risk. As Putin himself said, the Russian army is the last bastion preventing the full victory of the Satanic New World Order. So why not give it any and every tool it needs to completely and decisively trounce Satan? Why hold back in a war with Satan?
I assumed when Russia went in that it was serious, and I just don't see that level of seriousness in a 40-mile long convoy of troops idling for weeks outside of Kiev, pursuing no objectives at all, just camping out for the fun of it. (heck, they could have done that without entering Ukraine, so why enter at all?) If you can win without getting serious then fine, there's no deadline for victory, nor is there any rush. The only thing that matters is winning. But if they blow what should be an easy win against the poorest and most backwards country in Europe it will redound to Russia's eternal shame. Unless Russia knows something I don't, putting in doubt whether or not Russia can even defeat Ukraine much less real world powers like Germany, France, the U.K., etc. loses them more diplomatic credibility than the initial invasion was meant to gain. Why not make it clear to the world that Russia is going to win by removing all doubt and marshalling the full armed might of Russia to completely steamroll the opposition? Aren't you trying to make a point that you're not to be trifled with? Well guess what, Zelensky is trifling with you. He's mocking you and calling for your surrender. The war objectives are not getting fulfilled.
This is not the Russia I'm used to -- the bold and merciless Russia that leveled Grozny in the Chechen war. The Russia that destroyed the entire Japanese army in a couple weeks in Manchuria, that doggedly sent so many men and tanks to the front that Germany couldn't believe their own eyes. Could current-day Russia even beat their own militaries from decades ago? Are they regressing in effectiveness over time? If so that's bizarre. Technology and the economy have been improving all this time, so why can't they field as many tanks and supply them as well as they did 70 years ago? That should be the bare minimum floor of their capabilities.
Why isn't, just for instance, the Black Sea Fleet bombarding Odessa's military garrisons with all their naval might, every day, continuously, until there's nothing left to stop an amphibious assault? What is the navy for if not this moment? What better use will it ever serve? What are you saving it for?
Why aren't strategic bombers unleashing Dresden-like waves of bombings that completely obliterate any city that refuses to surrender? They've had all the time in the world to come to the negotiating table. Give them an ultimatum and be done with it! The Allied forces of World War II had no compunction about wiping cities off the map to win their war.
Why aren't the borders of Ukraine interdicted with aerial patrols that take off from Belarus just a few miles away? Every single car that crosses the border should be blown away before they've even gotten their feet wet. You have this ideal staging ground for your air force, in a forward position, but completely safe, right next to the Polish/Ukrainian border. Use it!
And why are you letting your ground forces be outnumbered when Russia has three times the population of Ukraine? There should be four million men flooding into Ukraine right now!
If I were in charge I could win this war so easily!
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