Espers. Pointless?

[Shattered Dreamer]

Unlike in most of the other FF titles I have played I have noticed the espers in FF12 aren't very useful. They take too much MP to summon and then if the enemy is anyway strong they will get ko'd almost straight away. I can only think of two situations in 109 hours plus of play where they were of any use at all, Exodus killed Deathgaze & Belias killed Shielded Wyrm. Then when you consider how difficult some of them are to defeat, Exodus for example was no walk in the park, Cuchlainn & the disappearing HP & you couldn't attack Chaos who by the way lead to me using 2 elixirs, 1 megalixir & 3 hi-ethers & for what I'm probably never gonna use him & I'm sure Ultima & Zodiac are no cake walk either. Anyone else care to comment?

[Renmiri]

Aye Espers aren't very useful against bosses though I love Zalera and Exodus to use them in those areas where monsters gang up on you

[JAS4Yeshua]

I think I used Espers a couple times in the beginning. After that, I didn't see how beneficial they were to use. They didn't really offer much of a benefit beyond what my normal party could do. I'd rather use my MP for spells or quickenings.

[Disco Potato]

The whole idea that they used up so much of your mp led me to almost never using them...the only time I did was when you have to use Belias to enter Giruvegan :p

[rubah]

They're okay when you don't have much MP. Example, I would use Belias to decimate those wolves that always went in 3s in Ozmone Plains.

[JonyH]

I used them all, but it was only so I could see everyone's finishing attack. Zodiark's is my favourite, took off 50000 to all nearby creatures AND looked cool :cool:

But about Chaos (to the original poster), no need to use a load of magick, I just used telekenesis and any other damaging technicks.

[Cloud_Lion_Heart]

I use them when I level up but during bosses and some hunts they are useless. But they do good against multiple enemies. Anyone else agree?

[Markus. D]

I reckon they are pretty overpowered with the right character buffs and set-ups~

[Formalhaut]

I think they are very useful in the early parts of the games, but later on they are pointless.

[Cap'n Basch]

Most people's problem is that Espers aren't quite the PUSH BUTAN WIN GAEM Aeons of X. They aren't for boss battles or hunts, they're for either power-levelling (only the summoner will gain EXP given by the monsters killed while the Esper is around) or dealing with mobs.

And for this purpose, they're fine all through the game. The once I got badly mobbed in Henne heading for Zodiark, Ultima was a life-saver.

Solo character runs make a great deal more use of them as well, I've noticed.

[Captain Maxx Power]

I agree. Espers are actually useless.

[Renmiri]

I use them when I level up but during bosses and some hunts they are useless. But they do good against multiple enemies. Anyone else agree?

Yes. Love Zalera on the Necrohol against those pesky Baknamy or Exodus against those mobbing undead in Nabreus


Most people's problem is that Espers aren't quite the PUSH BUTAN WIN GAEM Aeons of X

They are weak and only last 2 minutes. I could live with the weakness but the limited time made them too annoying to bother.

And the diferent colored screen also made me lose loot and chests :mad:

[rikkugurl13]

the only good in espers are leveling up.I got Vaan from level 17 to 21 in less than 3 minutes with Belias.They level you up in like half the time it usually takes to level up once.

[Dr. Acula]

Belias is only useful for a while after you get him, and I found the others weren't useful at all.

[Zeromus_X]

ESPERS HAVE TEH AWESOME MUSIC

...I just felt like saying that.

I found Belias to be useful in killing Vossler in just a few rounds. Otherwise, I must admit that I didn't use them too often. But, they still have nifty special attack animations...

[f f freak]

I use them mainly for levelling up but they can be handy in taking away some of the heat from tough Battles like the Elder Wyrm. Belias was a life saver there. And I used Mateus on that guy in Bur-Omisace (Forgot his name) to win pretty quick. They were pretty useless in this game though.

[chrisguapo69]

Espers are only useful if you want to see awesome animations. Other than that, they are pointless, useless, insignificant, unimportant, a waste of time and pathetic.

[f f freak]

They also make good meat shields :D

[ValiantKnight]

They don't do too well in the pharos underground...
Pretty much get killed in 5 seconds or less.

[The black mage]

there good when you are been mobed.

I remember the Henn mines, those flans that drop just fell. one by one.

But in boss fights they suck.

[kurosaki_ichigo]

The only thing espers are good for ...are looking good when you summon them, and thats pretty much about it. I mean all they do is stand there and look goddamn cool

[Necronopticous]

It is really a shame that they are so useless.

Had it not been for the part of the game where summoning Belias is required to progress the storyline, I probably would never have even licensed any of them to my characters.

[Serapy]

Well it kinda makes sense when they made espers useless. I mean think about it, many people used summons as a cheaper way to beat bosses easily in the past FF games, so they wanted to make FF12 look more different, they also made it look a bit more difficult by balancing the use/power of epsers and normal attacking/magic, etc, i guess...

Though if they made espers more useful, it would bring me back to memories of playing the past FF games

[Shattered Dreamer]

Well it kinda makes sense when they made espers useless. I mean think about it, many people used summons as a cheaper way to beat bosses easily in the past FF games, so they wanted to make FF12 look more different, they also made it look a bit more difficult by balancing the use/power of epsers and normal attacking/magic, etc, i guess...

FFXII made the espers weaker & made the physical attacks stronger good trade in my opinion

[Lawr]

When you summon an Esper, you can always Syphon ALL of your MP back.
I call this "Free Damage" because it's like you summoned without a cost.

[JAS4Yeshua]

Syphon your MP back? Care to explain more?

[Lawr]

Theres a Magick called Syphon, when you summon cast it on the Esper.

[demondude]

syphon is a spell that costs 1 mp and steals mp from one target and gives it to the caster:)

[Lawr]

syphon is a spell that costs 1 mp and steals mp from one target and gives it to the caster:)

Very good perception.:D

[demondude]

syphon is a spell that costs 1 mp and steals mp from one target and gives it to the caster:)

Very good perception.:D

Thanks:)

[Goldenboko]

There's probably tons of spots they're useful, but, I'm too lazy to figure those parts out, so I usually just let my characters duke it out and forget about summoning.

[JAS4Yeshua]

I knew about Syphon but hadn't used it. Didn't think you could get all your MP back at one time, though.

[Lawr]

Well, you cast it multiple times, but the Esper always has enough.
They DO have a limited supply though.

[Shattered Dreamer]

But if you don't summon them at all you won't need to syphon. The espers are little more then entertaining boss fights in FFXII.

[Renmiri]

When you summon an Esper, you can always Syphon ALL of your MP back.
I call this "Free Damage" because it's like you summoned without a cost.

Oooo! Nice trick! It never occured to me to syphon MP from my own Esper! :eep:

Txs!!!! :love:

[Anno Domini]

i dont like espers. they hurt my life force because i can never use them right. Pouty face. i do however love the stiry part they play, the way they look, their strength that i can never seem to be able to master, and now this neat little trick...

[Lawr]

:jokey:

[Dynast-Kid]

You get double EXP whenever they kill an enemy, and with proper buffs they can be quite powerful. And if you're low on MP, you can also Syphon MP from the Espers since Espers don't need MP to cast their spells.

But I do agree, as the game goes on, the need for them wanes. But they do have stunning battle animations and funky music!

EDITGA: Dang it, someone already revealed the Syphon trick. :(

[Formalhaut]

Espers, you either love them or you hate them.

[demondude]

Is it me or does cuchulainn look a lot lke quina from ff9 i mean they're like cousins

[Formalhaut]

lol they do abit, Maybe they are related. :quina:

[demondude]

there is a family tree


quina + penelo = chuculain

[Sword]

I hate Espers. After I get them I kinda just forget about them. I still have to see loads of their final attacks. Btw getting them is quite easy when you're level 80+ lol. I sorta smash my way through them. Ultima was the last one I got although even at my level I'll admit that was a bit more of a bitch.

[Renmiri]

I loved their design and their back stories. Hated the different color of the screen when they are in summon and their weakness

[Formalhaut]

there is a family tree


quina + penelo = chuculain



How dare you insult My team BAP member Penelo! Grrrr

[gudkid]

i only use the espers when i'm power-levelling one character...
and i always use them the first time i get them coz i wanted to see their powers and stuff....

i wonder though...
would it be useful in solo challenges to activate for that character all those 14 espers????

[demondude]

there is a family tree


quina + penelo = chuculain



How dare you insult My team BAP member Penelo! Grrrr

penelo = chuculainn
balthier= young darth vader
ashe=hippo

There i had to say it:p

[gudkid]

this a gonna be nasty....

[demondude]

oh and man u suck

[gudkid]

who me???

[demondude]

no manchester united the football club:)

[Sword]

Um...Spam

I wish the Espers were Ifrit and Shiva and co. instead of the Zodiak XIII :)

[demondude]

Um...Spam

I wish the Espers were Ifrit and Shiva and co. instead of the Zodiak XIII :)

Nah i'm just messin with balthier rocks

plus is it me or is mateus weaker then belias

[Dynast-Kid]

I loved their design and their back stories. Hated the different color of the screen when they are in summon and their weakness

Same here. I was so fascinated with the history behind the Espers...I just wish they played a bigger part, and had different attack animations. I love the Espers, that's why they're always in my sig.:jess:

[gudkid]

i loved adremmelech coz he reminds me of an egyptian god or somthing like that

[Formalhaut]

demondude55 = chuculainn
demondude55 = young darth vader
demondude55=hippo

There i had to say it:p

need I ask?