Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 Dreamcast: Aleron Ives Enhancement Pack

Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2 Dreamcast: Aleron Ives Enhancement Pack Self boot



Dated: Thu Jun 04, 2009 5:21 pm







After a good sixth months of tinkering, I'm pleased to announce that the PSO Ver.2 Enhancement Pack is complete!



The pack is available for both PC and Dreamcast. For the Dreamcast, I have compiled a new disc which has the EP as well as the Offline Map Pack.



The Enhancement Pack makes multiple changes to the game; here are the main categories:



   1. New Drops: The drop rate modification is included to fix the terrible chances of getting 90% of the items in the game. Now all drops should be obtainable, and some drops have been shuffled around from one location to another, as well as some drops being removed from the charts so that those items can be used as quest rewards. A chart of the new drops is available on my site.

   2. Ludicrous Mode: Ultimate mode has been increased in difficulty, so that even when characters have maxed their stats and have good equipment, the enemies still put up a fight. The Ludicrous enemies are significantly more difficult than their Ultimate counterparts, so low level players may not want to use the EP until they are strong enough to not get killed. A general list of requirements for surviving Ludicrous mode is ~700+ base ATP, 20%+ rare weapons, 500+ HP, and Shifta/Deband/Jellen/Zalure 14+. Such stats would allow characters to survive Ludicrous Forest, though they would get 1 hit KOed by critical hits. If playing in a team though, it would become much easier to survive, especially if Forces and droids were present to provide Technique and trap support.

   3. Revised Item Statistics: The stats on many weapons, armor, shields, and units have been altered. The drop mod allows for previously unfindable rares to be obtained, but many such weapons are from Ver.1 and consequently were designed by Sega to be effective in Very Hard mode. These weapons have been upgraded to work in Ludicrous mode, and many of the lackluster Ver.2 weapons have also been improved so that they are useful as well. Some shields have had their level requirements changed, and many units have also been improved. A list of the new item statistics is available on my site.

   4. Fixed Item Text (PC Only): Sega gave many item names typoed names as well as several items erroneous descriptions; since PSO PC uses the same format as BB for its item text, I was able to rebuild the text file to fix many of these errors. Since the item stat mod also changed some weapon specials and item requirements, these changes are also reflected in the new item descriptions. Unfortunately there is no tool to edit and rebuild the Dreamcast's text file, so no changes have been made to its text.





A note: the contents of the pack are separate modifications to drops, enemy statistics, and item statistics, but they are all designed to be used together. I specifically designed the patches with this in mind, and I do not condone people attempting to install only some of the EP. I realize that I have no power to stop anyone from doing so, but I ask that if you want to use it, please honor the spirit of my work and install either the whole thing or don't install it.



I have long awaited the chance to make these kinds of changes to PSO and be able to, in my eyes, improve its gameplay. I do not claim that these changes will be perfectly balanced (for one thing, the drops are easier than I had imagined), but I do think that they will make PSO Ver.2 more enjoyable. I also do not expect these changes to make people flock back to the game; I merely hope that they will make it more fun for those of us who still like it. That being said, I hope that the fruits of my labor will bring at least a few people other than myself some happiness.