Wizardry Variants Daphne collab guide

[Alhanelem]

So the collab event in Wizardry Variants Daphne (a mobile game in the Wizardry franchise) started today. I've been playing the game a bit and aside from having your typical gacha mechanics it's pretty good honestly. Here's what's in the event since SE never made another post about it-

• Prishe, Zeid, and Iroha added to the game as playable characters with their own unique classes (Cait Sith also appears)
• special quest and side storyline
• event dungeon based on Castle Zvhal
• Enemies in the dungeon drop "dynamis" currency which can be exchanged to create weapons based on the FFXI relic weapons
• "Notorious monsters," and special battle mechanics based on FFXI within the dungeon (enmity, linking, skillchains, etc). Some FFXI enemies appear (such as the demons the castle is known for), and FFXI sounds and music.

The game doesn't explain it that well so here's what you need to do.
To get the event quest you need to have been through the first few floors of the Beginning Abyss. An event scene will automatically trigger upon returning to town once you're eligible (it will probably take you a few hours if you're slow).
Once that happens, talk to everyone in town and then when you open the world map, a new town will appear. Go there, talk to everyone, and then when you check the map, the dungeon entrance will show up on the map.


Once you get the quest above (you don't have to complete it) you will be able to receive your choice of one of the three FFXI characters, or one of three other Wizardry heroes if for some reason you don't want them, for free by entering the Beginning Abyss via the entrance, entering the first dungeon floor (B1F) and you'll find an NPC near the entrance that will give you the item to summon the character of your choice. The others you don't select, unfortunately, will only be available from the game's gacha mechanics. (Note this game uses a first person perspective from the player character. Other characters appear behind and jump on screen when they act).

I'm thinking the Wizardry team approached SE about this collab because the game uses a six-character party much like FFXI does so they thought it would be a good fit (I'd agree with that notion).

If FFXI is going to do anything in turn, they haven't announced it.

[Alhanelem]

After progressing enough through the event story, you'll be able to use the Dynamis currency collected within the dungeon to craft and upgrade the relic weapons, which are the same ones as earned from Dynamis in FFXI. There is also a trading mechanic where you can buy currency from other players or offer that which you don't need, or exchange them for the other types.

[nixRidge]

Thank you so much Alhanelem!! This is super helpful.

[Alhanelem]

Just don't ask me about the shadow lord battle, I haven't beaten it yet lol. My levels are a little low still and I don't have any defense against him charming most of my party and then oneshotting us lol.

After asking around, I found that while they are obtainable, the Attestations and such for the higher tiers of the relic weapons have limited drop rates until the Main Character reaches the Copper guild rank (40 level cap).

I'm a bit disappointed that the best FFXI itself could do is give us a replica of the Main Character's mask (which isn't even really special, you just kill some other masked adventurers who attack you and take the mask off one of them- since the game uses a first person perspective you don't even ever see the mask once you put it on lol)

As an aside, the Wizardry franchise began in 1981 on the Apple II (a few years before I was born!). the last main-line game in the series that was released globally was Wizardry 8 in 2001. There have been some spin-offs as well as remake of the first game with modern graphics and UI running on top of the original game code. But Variants, which has performed far beyond expectations since release (With good reason I think, I've been really enjoying it) alongside some recent events suggest a new main-line Wizardry game may be in the cards. Both Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest cited Wizardry as inspiration and probably at least partially owe their existence to it.

[radar]

From what I heard the game is very difficult and grindy, and although that is fine it's possible you will struggle to do the limited time event in time if you're new.

[Alhanelem]

It is, but in a way that really isn't unlike FFXI (which also isn't unlike the other games in the franchise)- there are a lot of narrative traps that test your ability to predict events. But (while this spoils things a bit), control over time is a key feature of the game. Mistakes you make in the storyline can be corrected by turning back time, keeping your own status but giving you chances to save lives or produce better outcomes with knowledge gained the first time around. The game is punishing in some aspects but I think they did this collab because it's something veterans of FFXI are capable of appreciating. The original 1981 game was in many ways more punishing than Variants. After all it is one of the grand-daddies of dungeon crawler RPGs. The biggest thing to remember while playing is your first time through a given dungeon is basically guaranteed to go badly (though you still have some influence over certain events if you make the right decisions). This is on purpose because of the time control mechanics.

As far as the event. I started playing the day the collab went live and I'm well on my way. Completing relic weapons as a newcomer will be a bit more difficult (I haven't reached the level required to get the full drop tables for Relic materials. If you haven't already started now you'll have to really put the time in for a fully upgraded relic. But getting all the characters and completing the event story is certainly doable still.

And really, the relic weapon grind in Variants is still not anything like the REMA grind in XI. extremely easy enemy kills net you dynamis currency. You do need a lot of it, but so did you in XI.

[radar]

I started playing this recently, not deep in but it's good so far.

They have supposedly changed this, from a month long event to a permanent game addition. Which seems a little odd to me, normally the use of copyright music/characters etc in another game is purely a limited time event.

[Alhanelem]

I started playing this recently, not deep in but it's good so far.

Well if you're going in blind, you're in for some really fun surprises as you get a little further in.

As far as the event, I got pretty lucky and got all three characters without paid pulls (one given free two with lucky draws from the scrolls given in the event). I should emphasize though, you're more or less free to form parties with the characters you like

They have supposedly changed this, from a month long event to a permanent game addition.

Well I'm not even close really to completing any relics so that would certainly be nice.

Square Enix posted the event details like two weeks late, so if this is the case, it's probably so that everyone has a fair chance to do all of it. Anyone who is just starting now will be hard pressed to complete everything before the end date.

See the thing is the history of Final Fantasy and Wizardry is very closely intertwined, and with FFXI in particular, the game applies a lot of the same tropes that FF does. After getting into it more and more, this collab honestly makes total sense.

One thing for everyone to be aware of: Characters have a chance to turn to ash if you attempt to resurrect them while their Fortitude is 50 or lower. Attempting to resurrect them under the same conditions again after they have turned to ash can result in them dying permanently (which is a thing in the series, not just this game). Using free gems will prevent this and guarantee resurrection, but it's something to be aware of.


I'll try to answer quesitons if anyone has any. Today they added a nice supply of relic weapon currency/materials to the gil exchange shop, probably in an effort to help players who started following SE's announcement.

[Alhanelem]

Just as in XI, completing the final stage of the relic weapons will unlock the relic's weapon skill while that weapon is equipped on a character. Gate of Tartarus is uniquely treated as a spell though, using MP instead of SP (skill points).
Not all of the relic weapons are represented however. You can obtain the bow, sword, greatsword, shield, staff, dagger, and great katana. In order to help complete the relic weapons, you can trade currency, attestations, and fragments with other players in the event town's tavern. This is actually pretty unique for the game which is entirely single player and features very little interaction with other players beyond a friend list and messaging feature. Some currency, attestations and fragments can also be obtained with Gil (event currency) from the event exchange shop.

To fully complete the story you will need to play through the dungeon (at least) three times.

[radar]

I quite enjoyed it for what it was, low barrier of entry being on so many different kinds of platforms (phone, tablet, pc) and being free.

It has done very well in Japan from this crossover.