Tales of the Abyss Luke & Tear Duo: Arc 3

Well, here it is! The conclusion to the Luke and Tear duo run that Stoven and I started back in September of 2023. I am very proud of all the fights here, but my personal favorites have got to be Asch 2 and our no damage duo of Nebilim! Nebilim in particular took us so much time and experimentation so I'm incredibly happy we managed to get over the barrier that was Nebilim's Indignation (by preventing it from ever happening lol).

Might as well use this space to say something sappy!
When we first started this run, Stoven was very inexperienced as he had only ever fought the Abyss bosses casually before. This means that every single boss was a learning experience for him. I think his growth as a player shows so much throughout all the arcs... almost as much as Luke's growth throughout Tales of the Abyss! Of course, if every boss is a learning experience then it's not always going to be smooth sailing. I can't lie, it was sometimes quite frustrating for the both of us to fail so many times on some bosses. Despite this, we were always able to channel our frustrations into overcoming whatever challenge that was laid before us. This is why I'd like to thank Stoven for being an amazing duo partner; a person with a weaker mentality could have never finished this run or would have settled for less on the takes.

As for myself, I think I also learned a lot. Of course, I learned a lot about playing Tear but I already had quite a bit of Abyss knowledge from my Jade solo run. I personally think that this duo run helped me grow more as a person rather than as a player. Duo runs have a very different feeling from solo runs since there's more of a human element to it. I remember at the start, I would get irritated/frustrated at Stoven doing what was, in my eyes, very sub-optimal gameplay lol. But at the end of the day, I truly believe the run is higher quality than if he was just like me. The harmony of our unique approaches to the game is what truly makes a duo run beautiful and I'm glad I learned to embrace that. Another lesson I learned was to simply speak up more. Early on, there were many things I should've been able to vocalize that could have made things much easier for Stoven. For example, I should have explained Arietta 1's AI patterns but I don't think I ever did and I genuinely don't know why I didn't. Later on, I made much more of an effort to try and explain things about bosses or what I'm going to be doing during the fight instead of just playing my own game. I think this growth showed the most in the Nebilim fight where every detail of the strategy was incredibly important. I guess you could say that I learned to be less of an individual and a much better teammate throughout the run. Even in most team-based games I've played, I've always tended to just play my own game and focus on my own performance so I definitely believe I learned some valuable lessons here.


Player 1 (Luke): @TailsGt1
Player 2 (Tear): Horangi

Game Modifications:
-Altered attack stats
-Altered Luke's Rending Thrust hitstun from 50 to 60 for better consistency
-Modified the party
-Removed HP restriction for Lost Fon Drive

Check out the series playlist for arcs 1 and 2:
   • Luke & Tear Duos  




Timestamps:
0:00 Fyr Bronc
1:14 Sand Worm
2:46 Sword Dancer 3
4:12 Arietta 2
7:13 Kaiser Dist XX
9:27 Largo
11:56 Gigant Mohs
14:04 Legretta 2
17:11 Asch 2
18:56 Sync 2
21:31 Replica God Generals
23:54 Replicantis
26:24 Nebilim
30:37 Cameo
34:34 Van 2 Phase 1
38:03 Van 2 Phase 2
39:37 Van 2 Phase 3
43:22 Conclusion (I’m so dead)


BGM list:
Fyr Bronc: Divine Spirit of Language - Star Ocean 3
Sand Worm: Mirage Town - Ape Escape 3
Sword Dancer 3: Sword Saint - Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Arietta 2: Strepitoso Fight - Trails in the Sky SC Evolution
Kaiser Dist XX: My Love, Far Away - Super Robot Wars 30
Largo: To The Death - Jak X: Combat Racing
Gigant Mohs: Rowdy Rumble - Kingdom Hearts II
Legretta 2 Intro: Oracle-Sorrow - Tales of the Abyss
Legretta 2: Femme Fatales - Parasite Eve
Asch 2: I’ll Face Myself(-Battle-) - Persona 4 REINCARNATION
Sync 2: Chapter 6 - Dark Pit - Kid Icarus: Uprising
Replica God Generals: To Make The End of Battle - Ys 35th Anniversary Music Works
Replicantis: Into the Crimson - Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram M.S.B.S. 5.66 (NAOMI)
Nebilim: The One They Call Witch/Moment of Truth/Daughter of the Dark God - Octopath Traveler
Cameo: Flash Frost - Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland
Eternal Mind Cover - @ECESMZ
Van 2
Intro: Dynamis - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Phase 1: Erebos' Prelude - Ragnarok Online 10th Anniversary
Phase 2: Between Heaven and Earth - Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Phase 3: With Hearts Aligned - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker