Istealdreams

@istealdreams: I probably need to make some clarifications:

- The things I have said I have done are all done in the normal difficulty, which is the first playthrough. [ I am starting out on the "hard mode" of the game ] implies a second playthrough. Right now I have beaten the first boss in hard mode under the same conditions (small steps first), but it'll take way more leveling and learning to replicate that kind of feat in hard mode.

- I did have friendly AI helping me, but only for one stage. [ No friendly AI characters until the final boss ]

- I did die. A lot [that achievement came off all tons of trial-and-error (sic)]. But thanks to the process I did manage to go through each stage without getting the HP bar to zero.

- I probably implied that the stages are in sequence, which isn't the case. Once you beat a stage you get back to the hub world. That being said, with the knowledge gained from the trial-and-error process I think such a run through multiple stages is not out of the question. It is an option made possible midway from the first playthrough, where the game drops you at random dungeons, and you have the option to continue entering dungeons or returning to the hub world. The only problem I can foresee is that the items can break after many uses, which greatly reduces their effectiveness.

- Though the sorceress is a support-class, as you've noted, in reality she can handle herself quite well. There's the spell to generate food, as I've mentioned, that can keep hit points high. But she also has a dodge/teleport that can make for a great escape tool. Most importantly, with an ice staff, she can spam whirlwinds through the Up+Circle command.

The whirlwinds do moderate damage because they deliver a lot of hits. But the most important thing about them is that for their duration [4 seconds] they can crowd-control a large percentage of normal enemies the game throws at you. This ability gives the sorceress a window to either continue spamming whirlwinds or back off, recharge her mana by holding down square and then continue the fight.

In short, if you dodge well, invest points in the "Create food" spell, and take advantage of the ice staff's Up+Circle, then yeah. At least in the normal difficulty stages it is very possible to defeat both normal minions and bosses without sustaining too much damage.

- What makes the game easier too is that characters level up, which adds on HP and damage output, even though there is a level cap for all difficulties.

Meh, you still have to pay for multiplayer, not totally satisfied till they get rid of that, might wait for the price drop if that's the way there doing things.