June 2025 Mini Archipelago (In progress)

[Devalue]

• My Running Shoes are Renaissance Civic 26 in Civ 6.
• My Shovel is found in Elm's Lab, as a gift for returning the Mystery Egg.
• I need a Headband, so Devalue will need to beat Morty in Crystal and go get me his headband.
• The Shell Necklace is the item on 5F of Radio Tower in Crystal.

Currently fully blocked in Crystal, but as an idea:

• Running Shoes: Probably doable. Received a healthy stock of Progressive Eras. Heading into Civ next.
• Shovel: Requires the Mystery Egg item. (Probably? Already talked to Elm. Shows red everywhere on the tracker.)
• Headband: No Squirtbottle or SS Ticket.
• Shell Necklace: Maybe close? Received a ridiculous number of badges (8). Set the Radio Tower takeover to 5-13 badges, if memory serves. Has not triggered it yet.

 

[Explorer of Time]

Starcraft 2:
Mission 4/21: Sky Shield

The Spear of Adun traveled to Korhal to defend the last free Terran world from an attack by Moebius Corps, who were attempting to crash the Sky Shield space station onto the capital city. We deployed mostly Dark Templar with a couple Carriers and Annihilators for anti-air, and retrieved Pottery (Civ6), Fire Black Magic, Bolt2 Sword Magic, Steal Ability (all FF5), and a Piece of Heart for LttP. No Progression items, though.

I've also hinted for my own Orbital Assimilators and they are local, three missions away.

 

[Alex_Among_Foxes]

I just realized I beanz'd up a setting in Prime... I started in Chozo for some reason when I meant to start at the ship, that's probably why the Missile Launcher got locked to default unlike last the last run... >.> I'm so annoyed with myself it hurts lol.
Edit: No, I didn't... It just spawned me there anyway for whatever reason. Just... Why? It doesn't say that's a side effect of shuffling elevators in the AP file settings description (at least in the elevator section) so then...
Prime is a great game, and a randomizer for it is really cool, but this one? It's got a lot of little 'quirks' that I could sure do without tbh.

For those of you who are curious as to why I have such a bad time playing Prime this way, it's because just giving me all the important stuff right from the beginning makes the game feel more like a glorified collectathon than it does a proper Metroid game, and if I wanted to play a collectathon, I'd have picked Emerald or M&L, not Metroid. I need difficulty, and innovation, not just 'go clean up all the dropped items in all the zones'.

 

[Devalue]

@Explorer of Time Got the Running Shoes and Headband.

@Vendily Progressive Preserve at BH Ship Log: Northern Glacier 1 - Identify in VendilyOW's World.

@Setsuna Progressive Era is at Steamship - Steamship Chest (Cabin) in SetsunaFFV's World.
And also: Progressive Era is at Underground Gallery: Harpy mantis tackle hallway in SetsunaOfTheMoon's World.

Cannot remember how many more Progressive Eras are out there. Welcomes any besides those (from anyone).

Pokemon Crystal (Update 2)

Went from 0 badges to 8 (mostly before finishing Civ's Update 1). Also got Cut, Strength, and Fly, including the necessary badges. Certainly makes this much nicer. Stands pretty far away from Surfing, however, with neither the HM not the Fog Badge.

Ran into some trouble at Whitney. Faced an even(ish) level Nidoqueen that was super-effective with Absorb. Won between a Revive and using Celebi to put Nidoqueen to sleep.

Hit the end of the Goldenrod area. Picked up a few nice things from backtracker, like the Zelda 1 Book of Magic and a Boss Relic for 5qwerty. Guaranteed a free fly point with the map card (which was not shuffled). Goes to Silver Cave. Okay, sure. Scales according to sphere and maybe distance. Might be level 10 or...nope. Level 40s outside. Sorry, Sandslash. Cannot compete at level 20.

Caught several Pokemon around the area and in the cave: Starmie, Snorlax, Scyther, and Charizard. Was not that impressed. Either skewed defensively or similar to Sandslash. Coincidentally found a Sandshrew outside. Fed it a Rare Candy to now have a level 45 Sandslash with a 133 power (Psychic) Thunder. Added a 103 power Electric Cut to that.

...Is this the Elite Four already? Set it to 8 badges. Turns out: no. Needed 16 badges to go from Silver Cave to the Elite Four. Flew back to Goldenrod to take the train to Saffron. Covered most/all of western Kanto for very little. Just a Black Mage Crystal and maybe some magic?

Skimmed some patches of grass here and there. Looked generally much lower level. Was not all bad, however. Strolled through the patch of grass west of Celadon to find a level 27ish Mewtwo. Had a pretty good stat spread. Was not as strong as Sandslash. Is not that far off, though (like...80 versus 110ish). Ought to be better in the long run. Switched to the pure Flying Mewtwo with a very strong 120ish power (Flying) Horn Attack. Needs to check the TMs at some point for better moves.

Cleared everything in logic and the dark caves too, so onward to another game.
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Slay the Spite (Update 2)

Restarted from the second area, just to see if the rewards could tip the scales. Barely beat the stabbing book. Died to the boss, though.

Started over from scratch. Seemed better than trying to make Rampage go the distance. Drew very little good stuff from the normal card draws. Definitely liked Feed (+max hitpoints if you kill something with it) from the rare card draw. Chose the Busted Crown, which is not nearly as much of a drawback in Archipelago. (Does not affect card draws from Archipelago, just the post-battle reward every other fight.) Nothing too exciting on the standard relic front.

Focused on fights more, in case of them being Sphere 1. Kept an eye out for something to build a deck around. Not really. Took Pommel Strikes, Flexes, and Shrug it Off as they came up. Other than that? Meh. (Saw fewer cards, to be fair.) Felt a fair bit stronger, regardless (perhaps because of the energy)...for a time. Became clear that Pommel Strikes and ~36 extra hitpoints from Feed would not cut it on the Act 2 boss (Bronze Automaton). Lost with about 50 hitpoints or less on the boss. Cleared out some card draw checks, if nothing else.
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Civilization 6 (Update 2)

Forgot to mention: Continents map. Started on a good-sized continent with just Portugal. Crammed the other four civs on another continent. Pretty nice.

Amassed way more Progressive Eras than before. Allowed a lot more progress. Welcomed the end-game governments too. (Just realized. Forgot to switch out of the -10% tourism one. Whoops. Was not generating much before. Hated to reduce science.) Added some new units and improvements, but not much in the way of districts.

Job #1 of the day: Expand. Grew from 3 cities to 7 (later 8). Stopped there because of the Audience Chamber benefit maxing out there (good stuff with a governor in the city, 7 total governors in the game). Hates to go too huge because of cities flipping on a Dark Age.

Dealt with zombies more frequently, finally. Proved no match for the Vampires and Hercules. Feared the annoying amount of storms more than them. Erases improvements and breaks districts in a wide area, not to mention lopping off half of every unit's maximum health in the area.

Entered a Dark Age once. Flipped the two tundra cities, as expected. Took one back via loyalty pressure and one with some Bombard Cannons. Came in handy after all versus the 45 strength cities with walls from Steel. Not too bad. Got some nice benefits from the Dark Age card giving trade routes bonuses. Recalls something like 10 food, 7 production from trade routes with several trade policy cards in place.

Bought Heroic Relics to take advantage of Reliquaries (triple tourism and faith from relics). Still feels too light on tourism. Really needs National Parks. ...Probably ought to hint for that (and some more Progressive Eras).

On the wonder front: Built the Colosseum. Saw a nice 3-4 camp spot for a very late Temple of Artemis. Finished Cristo Redentor and the Taj Majal near the end. Cannot remember if Estadio do Maracana finished or not. May have stopped one turn off.

Grabbed a good number of checks, probably beyond the intended amount for the number of eras. (Why is Link to the Past's Lamp always in Civ?) Is not going really well on the win condition, however. Received Cartography while writing this. Could not enter the ocean before that. Bought a boat from the barbarians to find the other four civs, at least, if a little late. Might stand a chance on a religious victory. Only created two religions so far this game, with Portugal (on this continent) making the other.

Speaking of Portugal: oh boy. Got absolutely destroyed by all these modes. Lost their capital to free city pressure. How embarrassing for them. Converted their capital out of Catholicism before that. Runs unopposed on religion at present.

Forgot to screenshot the vampire castles. Is not at full power yet, though. Needs more Preserve buildings. (Only built a few Preserves, in the end.)
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Pokemon Crystal (Update 3)

Snagged the SS Ticket in Civ. Crawled up most of the western half of Johto, starting from Olivine. Found the last Progressive Theatre Square for Civ, the hinted Headband, and Link to the Past's Cape. Probably needs Surf and the Fog Badge to make much more progress, plus maybe some other stuff (like a Machine Part or Whirlpool).

 

[Setsuna]

Circle of the Moon got off to a really strong start, though I was remembering particularly why it's not really my favourite Castlevania. But between a YAML setting to enable the Double jump in my own world early, getting lucky enough to pick up my Kick Boots, and receiving the Roc Wing very early, it means most of the castle is immediately open to me. I could clean out about 70% of the game right now if I wanted to, but the big issue is just having to fight overleveled enemies in Circle of the Moon where movement isn't very good. It's a pain. Getting specific cards (Unicorn, Thunderbird, maybe a couple others, I was lucky enough to get Uranus on my own) and HP/MP upgrades would definitely help, but it'll mostly just be a war of attrition I'm fighting through on my own for this one. Cleansing was something I hinted for and could grab immediately in FFV, so the only things I really need are my Tackle, my Heavy Ring, and my Maiden Detonator. Since I'm doing all bosses, all of these three are mandatory eventually. 58/124
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Tackle is at VendilyOW's Ship Log: WHS 1 - Warp Towers
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Heavy Ring is at AlexZ1's Level 2 Key Drop (Ropes Entrance)
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Maiden Detonator is at VendilyRW's Sky Islands - Karma Flower - SI_A20)

Circle of the Moon is BK now! It was hell getting up to the top of the castle and I'll be honest, I don't really feel like playing this game for a long while once I finish with this Archipelago. Tackle and the Maiden Detonator both open up a lot for me, but everything else has been cleaned out and that does feel satisfying. Started today with a little bit of clean-up I was missing last night, then anything I could grab after receiving the Heavy Ring, then realized I could go pay my gorgeous girl Camilla a visit, and used the levels I got from her to desperately try and fight through the top of the castle. Thankfully it means the hard part is over, and I'm now going to be overleveled for the rest of the game, meaning the only issue I might face before my goal is the fight against Dracula himself. Thunderbird would make that easier, and Unicorn would help with a lot of self-healing as I get the rest of my checks, but neither are necessary for me, so don't stress super hard about going out of your way for them. 77/124
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Tackle is at VendilyOW's Ship Log: WHS 1 - Warp Towers
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Maiden Detonator is at VendilyRW's Sky Islands - Karma Flower - SI_A20
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Thunderbird Card is at VendilyOW's BH: Southern Observatory (Tornado Text Wall)
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Unicorn Card is at AlexPrime's Phendrana Drifts: Phendrana Shorelines - Spider Track

Final Fantasy V was also off to a fantastic start once I picked up my Samurai Crystal from CotM. It's incredible how powerful of an attack Zeninage is, and I've cleared out a third of the game either just by exploring and picking up items, or by decimating bosses that I'm severely underleveled for with the timeless strategy of having more money than them. Cleaning out that much of FFV in something like 1 or 2 hours is really something, and I managed to get my Adamantite as well meaning a decent chunk of the next part of the game is open to me, I'm just gonna get to that later. I stopped playing once my wallet felt empty and the trail of blood I was leaving behind was getting thicker.
Getting things like high level Summon and Black magic will really help if I ever need it, and Mystic Knight is really nice to have as a starting option. Things like Equip Ribbon, Break Sword Magic, Haste2, the standard White Magic (Cure3/Cure4, Raise/Arise, Heal), and any kind of equipment is always going to be helpful as I'm very comfortably in the midgame. I haven't done any hints yet since I'll still need a lot and FFV is still pretty open, but I'll mention again that I need all 4 Tablets (though I already have the 4th) and the Bracelet for my goal, but the Bracelet is the thing that really opens up the game. From there, any page or key is much appreciated. If I need anything, I'll probably hint tomorrow. 117/360

Putting FFV into Soft BK for now. A lot got done, and honestly, I have a huge new admiration for the summons in this game. Between Odin's Zantetsuken completely cleaving apart a boss I was struggling with and killing it instantly, and strong consistent damage with Bahamut, I'm sleeping on summoner a little less now, though that's partially because I'm really lacking any good defense or healing, so the only remaining solution is to DPS smarter or harder. Either way, I've cleared out everything I think I'm comfortable with tackling right now, and remaining roadblocks include the remaining three tablets to finish the game, but also good enough equipment to get there, the right jobs to equip what I need, and I'm begging for some proper healing. Any of the remaining keys would also help. Basically, a lot got done, I have a team of complete glass cannons, and most things you end up getting for me are bound to be useful somehow. 211/360

@Setsuna Progressive Era is at Steamship - Steamship Chest (Cabin) in SetsunaFFV's World.
And also: Progressive Era is at Underground Gallery: Harpy mantis tackle hallway in SetsunaOfTheMoon's World.

Seems like there's a couple things in my Steamship people are wanting, so I decided to hint for the key to it:
SetsunaFFV's Steamship Key is at VendilyOW's ET Ship Log: High Energy Lab 3 - ATP
and it feels like everything I hint for is something @Vendily has. Let me know when this is grabbed, the Steamship is easy so I can quickly go and clear that out if I have the chance. As for the one in CotM, I'll be heading there anyways once I get Tackle, so no problems there.

 

[Vendily]

Damn you guys have been very busy.
I'll try and clear out Outer Wilds first as I didn't make much progress on it last night.
To update on the clues though

ExplorerOfPast's Progressive Sword is at VendilyOW's GD: Enter the Ocean Depths -> Needs Tornado Aerodynamic Adjustments
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Tackle is at VendilyOW's Ship Log: WHS 1 - Warp Towers -> Needs Translator (Other)
ExplorerOfTrails's Wristwatch is at VendilyOW's GD Ship Log: Probe Tracking Module 1 - Millions -> Needs Tornado Aerodynamic Adjustments AND Electrical Insulation
ExplorerOfTrails's Fishing Journal is at VendilyOW's DW Ship Log: Starlit Cove Archive 3 - Anomaly -> This one is open, just very slow to do
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Thunderbird Card is at VendilyOW's BH: Southern Observatory (Tornado Text Wall) -> This one is open
DevalueCiv's Progressive Preserve is at VendilyOW's BH Ship Log: Northern Glacier 1 - Identify ->Honestly skill issue, I should have activated this check last night
SetsunaFFV's Steamship Key is at VendilyOW's ET Ship Log: High Energy Lab 3 - ATP -> This one is also open, it's just very finicky on 50% O2 (I suffocated trying to reach it last night) so now with 100% O2 capacity, it's a walk in the park cave.

These are both accessible, and along the same path, so it works out.
SetsunaOfTheMoon's Maiden Detonator is at VendilyRW's Sky Islands - Karma Flower - SI_A20
ExplorerOfTrails's Bucket is at VendilyRW's Farm Arrays - Echo

EDIT: Took a nap and quick break from archipelago because OW has a lot of checks. Might clean up the hinted items in RW before going back at OW to BK it (But I feel I might not BK much if this is the pace we are doing ahah)
I see a new hint was added (I was wondering who had your item Alex, since I saw you hint for it)
AlexPrime's Ice Beam is at VendilyRW's The Wanderer - 12 pips
This means I need to have access to 12 different regions, so that I can sleep in a shelter there. There is also 12 regions in the vanilla game, so I need access to all of them. Feels rather mid to late game, if you were looking for that item on a reasonable time-frame. I currently have access to 6 regions, but not necessarily the shortest route to them.

 

[Devalue]

Slay the Spire (Update 3)

Saw some more cards in. Figured "why not?". Welcomed the Fossilized Helix (negates the first damage taken in a fight). Stands corrected on the Busted Crown. Reduces the number of cards you get, including from Archipelago. Only applies once you enter a new floor, however, not the floor you get it. Typically grabs all the cards and relics at the start. Never noticed.

Stumbled across a lot of Pummels (5 hits of 2 damage each). Interacts nicely with The Boot relic (minimum 5 damage on unblocked attacks) and the one Flex in the deck (temporary Strength).

Somehow got a different boss this time. Cannot explain why. Fought the Harvester at the end of Act 2. Beat the boss thanks to combining a Flex Potion with an Ancient Potion to keep the +5 strength for the battle.

Traveled the path of least resistance in Act 3. Bought some fine relics between Acts 2 and 3: Meat on the Bone (heal 12 hitpoints if at 50% HP or less at the end of combat) and Shuriken (+1 strength per 3 attacks played).

Challenged the Awakened One at the end of Act 3. Is not a terrible final boss. Saw very few powers all game and took none. Fell maybe 50 hitpoints short of a win, however. Hit too hard for a largely blockless deck. (0 Shrug it Offs all game.)

Gave it another shot, only to find Donu and Deca at the end. Sure. Popped a Power potion for a meh Berserk (+1 energy at the cost of 2 turns of Vulnerable). Upgraded it via Armaments into something more palatable. Drank a Strength and Duplication Potion during the fight as well. Brought down the duo with 37 health left. Gained 34 max hitpoints via Feed over the course of the game. Was not quite the difference. Probably healed earlier through Meat on the Bone, though, so maybe.



Sent Setsuna a Circlet from the Act 2 boss, as well as a Psych Sword Magic and Mirage Radar from the auto-release (and some other less interesting sounding things). Nothing too earth-shaking, probably. Cannot see what type of item it is (like useful or progression) in-game.
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Quick Crystal note: Checked out the TMs finally. 123 power (Water) Rollout. 100% accurate too. Favors physical on Mewtwo. Cannot not use that, though.

Got a Progressive Mail Upgrade for Explorer of Time's Link to the Past too, out of logic (behind Flash).

 

[Explorer of Time]

A Short Hike
Update 4

I got all the fishing and shop checks, and picked up an out-of-logic Seasteads tech for getting all the fish. This is a future tech that has an ocean improvement useful without endgame production levels, IIRC, so it'll be very nice if Egypt has some lakes or coastlines somewhere.

Since the Progressive Fishing Rod I actually got was not the one I hinted for, the other one can be safely ignored. as can the Fishing Journal. The only items left that I need are the Shovel, Shell Necklace, Wristwatch, 3 more Golden Feathers, and 4 more Seashells.

I didn't get a lot done in my other games today, but I'm hoping to completely clear out Starcraft over the weekend since it's in Go Mode.

 

[Explorer of Time]

This AP is definitely moving too fast to bother with more creative writing for it. If we keep playing at this rate, we'll be done this weekend.

Starcraft 2:
Mission 5/21: Unsealing the Past

I lost my first attempt on this mission, during the path to the fourth Stasis Lock. I had massed Carriers and the Megalith was taken down by Zerglings faster than I could kill them. My second attempt, I brought in more Colossi, Destroyers, and a couple Dark Templar to help deal faster AoE damage, and rushed the path to the problematic Fourth Lock earlier so the Megalith didn't move in too early. I found the Flippers for my LttP, a Relic for 5qwertyDefect1, and my own Blood Hunters, though I'd rather train the Dark Templar I already have over them.

Starcraft 2:
Mission 6/21: Echoes of the Future

I basically rushed all the Overmind Tendrils with Zeratul and ignored base-building altogether. No Progression here, and the only relevant item was the Staff of Light Item for FF5.

Starcraft 2:
Mission 7/21: Templar's Charge

I won this mission with mass Carriers, finding my own Orbital Assimilators, a Blue Ring for Zelda 1, and the Trainer Crystal for FF5.

@Vendily My Time Stop is at Outer Wilds' EotE Ship Log: Cinder Isles Secret Room 2 - Slide Reel. I'm already in Go Mode so it doesn't unlock anything, but this'll make my remaining levels easier.

 

[Vendily]

@Vendily My Time Stop is at Outer Wilds' EotE Ship Log: Cinder Isles Secret Room 2 - Slide Reel. I'm already in Go Mode so it doesn't unlock anything, but this'll make my remaining levels easier.

Rushed over to grab it for you before bed.