Level One Ozma challenge!

[Croyles]

Yes! Even though I have work to be doing at the moment, I stupidly decided to attempt this!

I will post some screens of it when I get a little further.

Wish me luck! :D

[Quindiana Jones]

Yarr! Ye'll catch that white devil, cap'n!

Seriously though, good luck. Kudos to you for even trying it. I'll give you some more if you do it. :)

[Vermachtnis]

Wow, good luck. You're crazy.

[Necronopticous]

I did this challenge a few years back. It is a very fun challenge. Some of the most fun I've ever had with Final Fantasy.

Here is my thread from back then:

http://forums.eyesonff.com/final-fantasy-ix/54748-final-fantasy-ix-level-one-ozma-challenge-whole-thread-may-contain-spoilers.html

It's full of strategies that got me through, so it may be helpful to check out, especially if you get stuck.

[Croyles]

Thanks a lot Necro! Would it be considered cheating if I used a gamefaqs guide for this? I especially needed it against Sealion, which was a bitch.
Would like to know straight up, because im not sure I would have the patience without using the guide I cried aloud with mirth and merriment.
The guide hasnt exactly made it easy so far, I have no idea how I would have figured out how to kill Sealion without it though.

Also, is it bad that I didnt get 100 in the sword fighting mini game? Will I be able to get enough gil for later on without it?

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

There are some things you'd miss without a guide, like stealing the Needle Fork from the Zaghnol in Lindblum, which is crucial. I'd definitely use one (and will, when I do this challenge, someday).

[Croyles]

Cheers Kawaii for the help.
Im at Lindblum now and just bought my equipment. Necro your tip about the 99 Wrists and Steepled Hats was brilliant! Thanks! About to do the Festival.

[Ultima Shadow]

Did it long ago as well, though I don't think I ever made a thread about it. Low-level challenges really are awesome (except in FF8). But in any case, yes you must absolutely not forget to steal the Needle Fork! I'm not completely sure who it was, but I think it was Necro who accidently forgot to steal it and ended up having to do everything all over again just because of that. So... absolutely make sure you steal it. :p

...and once you DO have it, prepare for a pure hell trying to stone all of the Black Mages in that cavern, whatever its name was. >_>

[Croyles]

Yeah I got the needle fork and just got all the first bunch of chocographs, about to enter the Grotto.... oh oh.

[Necronopticous]

Have fun in the Grotto. It's the first real hurdle in this challenge.

[Croyles]

I passed the grotto. The black mages were really really annoying! But the boss was really easy with limit glove.

I got the blue chocobo, all the available choco treasures and learned magic hammer.
Nearing end of disc 1 :D

[Necronopticous]

It sounds like you're doing very well -- keep it up. I suspect you won't have much trouble until Cleyra.

[Croyles]

oh god cleyra, i dont remember too much from that part of the game, but im sure there were quite a lot of those 'unavoidable' battles.

EDIT: Im at Treno now, and I realised I forgot one the Leo stellazio from Alexandria, which means I cant get the blood sword yet, is this a big problem?

EDITGA: Oh wait, cant get that till disc 3, i forgot the Taurus because i reloaded the save and didnt pick it up I cried aloud with mirth and merriment.

Im at Alexandria again now. Im really annoyed with my walkthrough because it told me that buying REFLECT RING really was just an option, it didnt tell me how much easier it makes life otherwise i would have bought it. GRRRRRRRRR.

[Croyles]

Sigh, ok, after the 5th try I actually managed to get past the 3 mages and to the second last bandersnatch battle with freya and beatrix before they put beatrix to sleep and then killed her GRRRRRRR!!!

Now i have to try all over again :(

EDIT: YES! YES! YES! I just managed to get past all the mages and bandersnatches. I think that might have been THE most INTENSE series of battles ive ever played in a Final Fantasy. I was so frustrated but now im just elated!! :D

[Ultima Shadow]

EDIT: YES! YES! YES! I just managed to get past all the mages and bandersnatches. I think that might have been THE most INTENSE series of battles ive ever played in a Final Fantasy. I was so frustrated but now im just elated!! :D
That's the very reason to do these kind of challenges. The intense feeling when it's getting close in a battle you've tried and failed numerous times before, and especially the feeling when you finally manage to win. No normal playtrough ever offers you the same intensity.:cool:

[Croyles]

EDIT: YES! YES! YES! I just managed to get past all the mages and bandersnatches. I think that might have been THE most INTENSE series of battles ive ever played in a Final Fantasy. I was so frustrated but now im just elated!! :D
That's the very reason to do these kind of challenges. The intense feeling when it's getting close in a battle you've tried and failed numerous times before, and especially the feeling when you finally manage to win. No normal playtrough ever offers you the same intensity.:cool:

Yep, it was definitely fun. Frustrating, but also fun l0l.

BTW, the guide is telling me to synthesise a relfect ring (havnt got one yet) in the black mage village, but I need an Anklet to do so. Now, I checked in all the guides and there seems to be no way to get an anklet up to this point in the game, so why is it telling me that he did so and that I need it?

I should of just auctioned it in Treno, but the ironically the guide told me I didnt need it and it was 'entirely' optional. l0l.

So um, is it really necessary to have it now?

[Necronopticous]

Honestly, it's been too long for me to remember such a small detail. I remember having the same trouble that you had due to missing the reflect ring in Treno the first time around, but I can't really remember when I actually did get it, and where else it was necessary. I don't seem to have written anything else about it in my thread, but I probably left a lot of things out. I would say to definitely synth it if there is a way, but if there is no way then there is nothing that you can do about that. Have you looked at all of the possibilities of getting an Anklet? Can you synth one? Can you steal one?

[Croyles]

Nah theres no way to synth one yet. First time I get a Anklet is in the desert place, or synth it in Alexandria or Lindblum on Disc3. I guess im just gonna have to try and get past. If you did it, it must be possible :)

Thanks for the help though. I think im just getting paranoid cause i dont wanna go back to earlier saves and do everything again :)

[Croyles]

Sorry for all the double posts, but since this is about updating, I dont see why I shouldnt be allowed to.

I JUST managed to get zombie status on Zidane. The zombie dragon kept targeting Vahjaja (thats my Garnet :D) instead of Zidane and I was getting inpatient, then the one time Zidane gets inflicted with zombie he uses auto-potion because I forgot to take it off, GRRRRR. I wondered why Garnet kept getting targeted and the only thing I could come up with was character positions, so I put zidane on slot two and BINGO! it was even the first attack the dragon did after I cast shell on zidane.

I was so worried that zidane was gonna die on the way back to the save point, but i managed to get there with just one battle thankfully.

I dont know if I wanna carry on playing right now because im really dreading getting down the lifa tree + the 2 forced battles :(



EDIT: Im probably boring everyone to death with this, well everyone meaning like 2 people lol, but I just finished the first part of Lifa Tree! Getting to the 2 forced battles proved really difficult for me, as zombies kept killing me and dragons kept zombifying everyone else (couldnt steal any more magic tap to cure it). But after I actually got to the battles, I managed it in one turn!!!!! I think luck was on my side. The zombies killed all the right people and against the dragon everybody except zidane died cause i actually messed up, but then i just used an elixir :D

Now to fight Ginger Pubes.

[Ultima Shadow]

Im probably boring everyone to death with this
Not really. I totally love these kind of threads. So keep it up! :cool:

[Necronopticous]

These are the most worthwhile threads on this message board, really. The reason they don't get the attention that they deserve is that few regulars actually play Final Fantasy. Don't let it discourage you.

Also, as this thread is like a journal of your progress on this challenge, it is perfectly fine to post successively when you update.

You're doing very well. You'll be clutching your Strategy Guide key item between your dainty level-one fingers in no time. Keep it up!

[Rantz]

I'll have you know that my not posting doesn't mean I am not reading! You're doing well so far, keep it up! And definitely post your progress and more if you can. I'm learning lots.

[Croyles]

Im on Disc 3 just doing the card tournament, ive always hated this part just because I dont like the card game (even though I really like FF8's card game).

The Lifa Tree was a lot easier than I thought. So far the biggest challenge ive had is the escape from the mages and bandersnatchers in Alexandria, but im guessing there will be something tougher coming up?

[Necronopticous]

I think the worst is behind you. The Desert Palace and Esto Gaza might give you some trouble, but after what you've already been through by then it's hard to feel discouraged. Those areas are the last real hurdles in the challenge, anyway. After that it's just a matter of grinding through a series of tedious preparations and slapping Ozma around.

Also, Iifa. Common mistake. ;]

[Shotgunnova]

A lot of people I've talked to said the bandersnatch stairway battles are probably the most annoying in the challenge, so it's mostly uphill from there. Don't cause Ozma too much pain now, haha...

[Marshall Banana]

EDIT: Im probably boring everyone to death with this, well everyone meaning like 2 people I cried aloud with mirth and merriment, but I just finished the first part of Lifa Tree!
I'm keeping up with your progress, too! There's nothing I can add to help you, though.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

I can tell you that it's Iifa, not Lifa. That's about it, though. :salamander:

[Croyles]

Oh yeah, I actually got corrected about that loooooong ago, seems like I forgot again, been so long since I played lol.

Once I remember thinking it was called Tifa Tree lol.

[Marshall Banana]

Guess who else is doing this now. =D

[seiferalmasy2]

I can tell you that it's Iifa, not Lifa. That's about it, though. :salamander:

I got corrected within a few weeks of having the game.... my cousin noticed the font for i was the same elsewhere and then it all made sense....

Iifa Tree - The Final Fantasy Wiki has more Final Fantasy information than Cid could research (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Iifa_Tree)

[Necronopticous]

Guess who else is doing this now. =D
Go! Go! How far along are you?

[Croyles]

Guess who else is doing this now. =D

Who?

:p

[FFIX Choco Boy]

Guess who else is doing this now. =D

Good luck girl.

[Marshall Banana]

Guess who else is doing this now. =D
Go! Go! How far along are you?
As of now, Gizamaluke is a dead fish monster!

Maybe I was lucky, but Gizamaluke's Grotto was pretty easy! I petrified the first pair of Mages during my first battle (or was there a second?) with them; the second pair of Mages were petrified after five to seven different battles, although I lost half of my stock of Potions in the process (one of them was a real soldier, and I spent about thirty minutes trying to petrify him); getting Quina's HP to 1 took ~15 tries; and Gizamaluke was defeated quickly, of course!

The GameFAQs guide for this challenge is faulty, by the way. Real faulty.

[Necronopticous]

You guys are zipping through this challenge. Where are you at now, Croyles?

[Marshall Banana]

Prior to fighting Beatrix in Burmecia, reviving Quina with 1 HP took only four tries! Haha!

The pair of Mages in Burmecia were easy, too. They were practically running away from me! That's how tough I am!

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m285/fofonda/emoticons/miu_bigsmile.gif

So, I went into the giant tornado.

The first part of the siege on Cleyra (fighting Alexandrian Soldiers in Cleyra's trunk) was easy! Yeah! The second part (fighting in town) I tried to do for about two hours before I was successful. I battled Beatrix just a few minutes ago, and, now, I'm on Brahne's airship! Phew.

Despite that, the most frustrating part of this challenge - so far - is following Hyprophant's guide. It's confusing, because it's poorly written. It's forced me to reset many times - most recently because it gave me the wrong directions in Cleyra.


In order to save every citizens on your way, the answers in order are: left, right, left, and "not safe yet".
No! The correct order is right, left, and right before Zidane says, "We're not safe yet," and sends the survivors to the cathedral.

[Croyles]

You guys are zipping through this challenge. Where are you at now, Croyles?

I got the ocean chocobo, still need 2 chocograph pieces but i think their available after i get the Hilde Garde III. Im now levelling up thievery (SOOOOOOOOOO BOOOOORING!).
Any tips for what the easiest setup and place to level up thievery is? Dali or beach south of choccobo forest? Somewhere else?

I wont be able to play much for a while unfortunately because I gotta work a bunch, but i'll definitely get back to it.

Oh and congrats MB on getting that far already.
Yeah that guide is frustrating but its the only real lvl 1 ozma guide there is and considering that, he did a very good job.
BTW, I should have said this earlier, but did you get the Reflect Ring from Treno?

[Necronopticous]

Powering up Thievery takes forever no matter where you go. I can't remember exactly where I leveled it up, but I think I just chose a place where the enemies were easy to steal from, and came in pairs. Remember to save every 15 minutes or half hour as you're leveling these skills up. I found it refreshing to do other things to break up the tedium. Take a break every now and then and tackle some other little errand, like synthing 99 cotton robes for cash a few times for money. You might also want to take a trip to Vile Island to get the friendly Yan, and grab virus for your party members--you'll need it.

Dragon's Crest doesn't take nearly as long to power up.

[Quindiana Jones]

I'd love to do the level 1 challenge for this game, but I think my chance has past. I'm not going to have enough time for years now, I don't think. Good job though, you guys.

How come you don't write your own guides? Or at least take notes on what Hydrophant has got wrong or done badly, then edit his one? Or ask someone else too. I'm sure there's a few people here who would happily write up a better guide for the site, and they'd most likely be even happier if they could just copy and paste the good bits from Hydrophants. xD

[Necronopticous]

How come you don't write your own guides?
I kind of did in my thread, but it gets really discouraging to put so much extra effort into it when nobody really shows any interest. That is why I stopped reporting on my strategies after a certain point.

It's really a shame that these threads get so little recognition here, because it is really discouraging for those who take on a challenge, and dissuades others who might otherwise be interested from giving it a go, themselves.

[Quindiana Jones]

I can't imagine the writing of the guide would be that difficult, as long as you had all the information and research down. I'd quite like to see guides like this put into the site, because the challenges are probably very popular. And as is apparent in some of these posts, Hydrophant is an illiterate moron who can't seem to remember what actually happens in the game long enough to report it accurately, so it would be nice to have some info. that I can trust to be accurate.

If I ever do get round to doing this, or any, challenge, I'll see about writing my own guide and chucking it up on the forums. I've always been pissed about the clarity of most (all) internet guides: "which smurfing left? Oh brilliant, I died". I kind of wish I'd written a Halo 3 Legendary Solo guide when I did it, because I did something completely different to what the guide told me and it took a lot less time that it usually does.

[Croyles]

I think the only reason no one is interested in these kind of threads is because they just cant imagine themselves ever doing them lol.

Hydro is NOT a illiterate moron, yes the guide has a few mistakes but it has mostly been helpful.

[Necronopticous]

Hydrophant is an illiterate moron
Actually, I believe that English is not his primary language.

[Quindiana Jones]

Exaggerate for fun.

[Marshall Banana]

BTW, I should have said this earlier, but did you get the Reflect Ring from Treno?
I did!

[Marshall Banana]

After save Dagger, save your game. Use a Tent to recover your party. The first tough part of your quest is coming soon, so prepare your team.

Steiner: Must have ICE BRAND, MYTHRIL GLOVE and POWER BELT Equipped and enable Steiner MP COSTING ATTACK and MAN EATER. Place Steiner in front row.

Fryja: Must Equip Partisan + MYTHRIL HELM + Thunder Glove + MYTHRIL ARMOR and GOLD CHOKER. Enable Fryja with AUTO POTION, INSOMNIAC and Cover abilities. Place Fryja in back row.

Zedane: Must Equip THE OGRE, bandana and Reflect Ring if you have one. Enable Zedane with the ability MAN EATER and AUTO REFLECT if you have Reflect Ring in your inventory. Place Zedane in back row.

Vivi: Must Equip OAK STAFF, SURVIVAL VEST and CORAL RING. Place Vivi in back row.
Impossible! I don't have them yet, and this is the first time they're mentioned. According to the same guide, I'll be finding and/or buying them in upcoming areas. Was I mistaken?

Anyway, I'm finished with Alexandria! For me, the first battle with Bandersnatch was the hardest (I was unlucky). The battle with Type C Mages wasn't as hard as it was lengthy, because I quickly silenced all of them. The third battle (Zidane and company versus two Bandersnatches) was lengthy, but easy. The last three battles were quick and very easy!

By the way, Hyprophant's guide advises players to sell Ethers for Gil, but I needed Ethers during the battles in Cleyra and Alexandria. I used what few I hadn't sold yet and, in Alexandria, resorted to using Elixirs to restore Vivi's MP. I used about sixty Potions and twenty Phoenix Downs, too!

[Necronopticous]

The battle with Type C Mages wasn't as hard as it was lengthy, because I quickly silenced all of them.
And because you picked up the Reflect Ring in Treno!

You'd better kick it up a notch, Croyles, or Lamonda is going to take the lead. ;D

[Croyles]

I cant! Cause I have to work for a while.

Congrats on your progress so far Banana :D

[Marshall Banana]

Thanks! I'm starting where Jeremy left off (http://forums.eyesonff.com/956557-post23.html) - on the Outer Continent (disc two)!

Chocograph
Choco dug up the treasure at "Abandoned beach." That's it, though.

-

I skipped frog catching.

-

Black Mage Village
I synthesized everything the guide told me to (Cachusha, Extension, Madain's Ring, and Rune Tooth). I already had a Reflect Ring.

-

I de-equipped all of Quina's armor upon returning to Conde Petie.

-

Hilgigars on the Mountain Path
Zidane equipped Rune Tooth and Power Belt, so he could also equip MP Attack, Man Eater, and Auto-Potion (he stood in the front row, by the way); Dagger and Eiko both were equipped with Lamia's Tiaras; and Vivi was equipped with Magician's Shoes, Magician's Robe, etc.

Out of Dagger and Eiko, Eiko got a turn first, so she used Float on my entire party. Dagger was killed right away, but, once she was revived, she used Tents on the boss until one of them worked, so the girls didn't have to continually cast Float. Zidane attacked, and Vivi used Bio.

-

I equipped Germinas Boots on Zidane again (Flee and Alert weren't mastered yet). Can't forget! Also, for the remainder of the disc, everyone stayed in the back row!

-

Iifa Tree
Watch out for Stropers! They look like tree monsters with branches for tentacles, and they can wipe out the whole party with one attack (Sweep)! :kaocry2:

In preparation for Zombie status: Zidane equipped Mage Masher (for Flee), Ritual Hat, Adaman Vest, and Madain's Ring. Dagger still had Mythril Rod equipped (for Shell).

Getting Zombie status: after saving at a Moogle, I sent my party down the elevator. Below, Zidane ran around until he and company encountered a Dracozombie. Dagger used Shell on Zidane. Dracozombie burped on Zidane, and Zidane ran away. Somehow, everyone else was lost in the process. I saved again! No problems!

I almost forgot to equip Germinas Boots again!

I used the start and stop trick, so my party encountered only two battles while they walked to the bottom! I equipped Vivi with Spirit-raising armor before my party reached the moving platform.

-

Zombies
Two characters other than Zidane used Elixirs on two of the three Zombies. Zidane offed Eiko. Dagger and Vivi were killed off in the process by Zombies. Zidane used an Elixir on the last Zombie, ending the battle. I almost messed this up, though! Vivi almost survived! Everything happened so fast!

Dracozombie
Zidane, Dagger, and Eiko were in charge of reviving fallen members. Vivi used Stop until it worked (took six tries). I wish I had purchased Magic Tags prior to visiting the Iifa Tree, because characters who are killed with Zombie Breath can't be revived with Phoenix Downs unless Magic Tags are given to them first.

Soulcage
Elixir. Bye-bye!

-

After all that, Zidane was supposed to have mastered Auto-Potion, and he would have, if I had remembered to equip it before he fought Soulcage. He was six points away from mastering it, so I made Vivi Stop enemies on the Lucid Plains (mainly Goblin Mages) until Zidane mastered it. Didn't take long! Flee and Alert were mastered, too.

Auto-Potion has been available for a while, so the guide should have mentioned the necessity for mastering it with Zidane before my party reached the Outer Continent.

-

Amarant at Madain Sari
I optimized Zidane's armor and equipped him with MP Attack, Man Eater, and Auto-Potion (must be mastered) abilities. Counter can cancel out Auto-Potion, so I didn't equip Counter.

-

I left Madain Sari with the default party (no Amarant).

-

Mistodons on the Iifa Tree
Zidane equipped The Ogre, Adaman Vest, and Reflect Ring (for Auto-Reflect); Dagger and Eiko received the best armor for raising Magic Defense and equipped Auto-Potion; and Vivi equipped Glass Buckle and other Spirit-raising armor.

Everyone other than Vivi used Tents on the monsters or revived fallen members. Zidane used Soul Blade once or twice. Vivi used Stop. Pretty easy!

-

Disc three!

[Necronopticous]

;O

[Marshall Banana]

=O

[Croyles]

Yeah your gonna finish it before me lol, but I dont mind :)

[Slothy]

I love threads like these. I still remember Necro's old thread actually. I tend to miss this stuff at the time it occurs just because I don't check the individual game forums everyday, but I'm glad I caught this one. I tried this challenge myself a few years back but remember getting side tracked by school and such shortly after Lindblum. I might go back and try it again someday because it was really fun.

Good luck with this guys.

[Quindiana Jones]

These are awesome, guys. I think both Croyles' and MBs posts are really well written. It really makes me wanna get back on the game, challenge or no challenge. If only Eyes on FF Plays IX was in June or July. :(

[Ultima Shadow]

If only Eyes on FF Plays IX was in June or July. :(Let's just have some "EoFF plays CHALLENGES" next!

I mean, there are a few actually challenging parts in the "EoFF plays" threads already, but most of the silver and gold "challenges" are only stuff that's in fact very easy but boring and time-consuming, like "leveling everyone up to 99", "get every card", "get every equipment", "get every materia" and so on.

An "EoFF plays" focused completely on different kinds of handicaps instead would be so much cooler. :cool:


Putting that aside... wow you're progressing at an incredibly fast rate Marshall Banana! =O

[Quindiana Jones]

Good idea, Ultima Shadow. (http://forums.eyesonff.com/feedback-forum/126843-eoff-plays-challenges.html#post2718550)

[Rantz]

Let's see some game timers when you guys finish! Obviously it won't be a good measure of the time you spent on it, but anyway! :)

[Marshall Banana]

Hippaul
I hate him! The guide says to race Hippaul to level 60 for cards, and I mistook one of the prizes to be a Ribbon, but, it seems, the prize is actually a Ribbon CARD. I picked up Hippaul's cards in the bell tower instead. I hate this mini game!

-

Card Tournament in Treno
I didn't send Vivi home. I'll visit Quan's Dwelling later (for Scorpio).

I bought the Coral Sword and Dark Matter. I sold all of my Phoenix Pinions, which paid for the Dark Matter.

I didn't fight Catoblepas or whatever it's called.

I won the card tournament for a Rebirth Ring, of course!

-

Mistodons in Alexandria
I followed the guide almost exactly.

Battle one: Steiner was killed right away by Fira! Convenient! Beatrix used Shock. End!

Afterward, I used an Ether instead of Elixir on Beatrix to refill her MP. See? Don't sell your Ethers.

Battle two: Beatrix attacked twice. End!
Battle three (Mistodon x2): Beatrix used Climhazzard twice. End!

I restored her HP and MP immediately after this battle!

Battle four: Beatrix used Shock.
Battle five: Beatrix attacked twice.
Battle six: Beatrix attacked once, used an Elixir, and attacked again.
Battle seven (Mistodon x2): Beatrix used Climhazzard twice. End!

-

Now I'm digging up Chocographs and will begin powering up Thievery while I eat chocolate chip cookies!

[Necronopticous]

Hippaul
I hate him!
I nearly spat the water I was drinking all over my monitor.

[Marshall Banana]

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m285/fofonda/danger.jpg

[Necronopticous]

How's it going?

[Marshall Banana]

Currently, Thievery does 4,002 points of damage!

[nik0tine]

EDIT: YES! YES! YES! I just managed to get past all the mages and bandersnatches. I think that might have been THE most INTENSE series of battles ive ever played in a Final Fantasy. I was so frustrated but now im just elated!! :D

This is the absolute truth. I will never forget the intensity of that scene at level 1. I jut barely made it without dying after nearly exhausting all of my phoenix downs.

Anyhow, I'd wish you luck but what you really need is patience.

[Ultima Shadow]

...any progress? It's been quiet here for a while now.:greenie:

[Marshall Banana]

I just continued powering up Thievery this morning - after two days of no playing. I started school this week, and, uh, well, it's been kind of a bad week. :kaocry2:

[Necronopticous]

What's the damage at?

[Croyles]

Sorry all ive been busy with trying to change my university course and its been hell. I will get back to the game as soon as I can, in the mean time Marshall can carry on entertaining you guys :)

[Slothy]

I'll throw my hat into the ring on this challenge as I started it again this morning. Not sure how often I'll get to play but I'm up to the fight with Black Waltz 1 in the ice cavern now. Should be able to beat it a little later and continue on with little trouble.

[Necronopticous]

This is what I like to see.

[Marshall Banana]

What's the damage at?
5,071. I'm halfway there. :kaoclove:


I'll throw my hat into the ring on this challenge as I started it again this morning. Not sure how often I'll get to play but I'm up to the fight with Black Waltz 1 in the ice cavern now. Should be able to beat it a little later and continue on with little trouble.
Don't sell your Ethers!

[Slothy]

Don't sell your Ethers!

Is there a reason why? The guide I've been following specifically says to sell your ethers (at least when you get to Dali). It's been a long time since I played the game last and I wouldn't usually sell them anyway, so I'm not sure where they'd come in handy in a low level game.

[Marshall Banana]

Don't sell your Ethers!

Is there a reason why? The guide I've been following specifically says to sell your ethers (at least when you get to Dali). It's been a long time since I played the game last and I wouldn't usually sell them anyway, so I'm not sure where they'd come in handy in a low level game.
You'll need them during the battles in Cleyra and Alexandria. It can take up to eight or ten tries for Vivi to stop an enemy, but he has low MP, so you'll have to replenish it often. I had to resort to using Elixirs at one point, which was a little risky, I think (they're needed in the Iifa Tree and for Beatrix).

You won't need the money that Ethers can fetch, anyway, if you do the Cotton Robe trick!

[Slothy]

Is there somewhere between Dali and those battles where ethers can be stolen? I did sell some, but I'm guessing that may be a mistake unless I can steal or buy them between now and then.

[Marshall Banana]

You'll collect enough between now and then. No worries!

[Slothy]

Glad to hear it. I'd hate to do the ice cavern again just to keep my ethers. Especially when I did the boss fight there twice today. The first time I attacked Sealion twice before hitting it with tidal flame instead of three times because I wasn't paying close enough attention. He of course countered with a back to back Tsunami & Blizzard combo that guaranteed my death. Anyway, I'm at Dali right now, but won't get to play again until tomorrow morning, so hopefully more updates then. I'll remember to buy some wrists before leaving Dali too so I can get some cash with the Cotton Robe trick after looking it up. Anything to give me a bit of an edge in completing this challenge.

[Marshall Banana]

7,199! 9,999 feels so close!

[Slothy]

Played some more today. Not a lot, but I made it through Dali and the fights with Black Waltz 2 and 3 no problem. Headed to Lindblum, synthed a bunch of Cotton Robes to get me up to about 30,000 gil and then did the festival of the hunt. Zidane managed to steal the needle fork with a whole 14 seconds to spare (even managed to get Freya to win the hunt too, though it finished with Zaghnol very much alive) and now I'm ready to head out of Lindblum. Next stop is the Marsh to grab Quina then I'll spend some time hunting Chocographs before heading to Burmecia.

[Marshall Banana]

We're playing at the same time!

8,130!

[Marshall Banana]

9,085! I CAN TASTE IT!

[Marshall Banana]

9,999!

THAT'S ENOUGH FOR TONIGHT.

I have some things to say about Thievery, though.

Thievery
I ran around the areas outside of Dali, Lindblum, and the Ice Cavern, and the area around Dali seems to be the best out of those three! I equipped Zidane with Mythril Dagger (for Bandit), Coral Ring (to absorb the Thunder spells), and Adaman Vest (to half the damage of Fire spells).

At first, I took breaks after every 30 or 50 steals, but, eventually, I took breaks after every 80 or 90 steals. This is because, today, I realized that Zidane can steal twice from each Python or Carve Spider (sometimes more). This meant more steals per battle, and, the fewer battles I was in between saves, the less tedious the process felt! My rule was: if Zidane steals something other than a Potion from a monster (Hi-Potion, Ore, Phoenix Pinion, or Tent), he continues to steal from it until he does collect a Potion. Usually, a Potion is Zidane's first steal, though!

:zidane:

[Necronopticous]

Hallelujah!

[Slothy]

Got Quina and dug up all of the Chocographs I can at this point. Next up will be teaching Quina the required blue magics when I play again a little later, then I'll finally be moving on.

[Ultima Shadow]

Great job, Marshall Banana! Dragon Crest takes no time to level up compared to Thivery, and then there's only Ozma left! :cool:

[Marshall Banana]

Thanks!

Blue Narciss

Collected and turned in all Stellazio that I missed
Found all available Chocographs so far
Dug up all available Chocograph and Dead Pepper treasures so far
Cotton Robe trick
Stocked 99 Softs and 99 Phoenix Downs
-

Oeilvert
My party consisted of Zidane, Dagger, Steiner, and Amarant. Once the airship dropped off Zidane and company, I called Choco and found the two Chocograph treasures and two Dead Pepper treasures that I couldn't get before!

Oeilvert was easy! I used Softs on Epitaphs (they can be encountered in the room where the Moogle waits) until Zidane mastered Bandit, Soul Blade, and Thievery! My characters mastered many other abilities, too.

Ark
Important equipment:

Kaiser Knuckles and Power Vest (Amarant)
Light Robe (Dagger)
Diamond Sword and Power Belt (Steiner)
Dagger was equipped with armor that gave her the highest Defense possible.

Important abilities:

Auto-Potion (Dagger)
Bandit (Zidane)
Bird Killer (Amarant and Steiner)
Clear Headed (everyone)
MP Attack (Amarant and Steiner)
Dagger was invincible, but the rest of my party was wiped out easily. I revived Amarant and Steiner long enough for both of them to attack Ark twice. Afterward, I revived only Zidane over and over, and stealing Holy Lance took 17 tries! After Zidane collected Holy Lance, he used Thievery to finish off Ark.

After the battle, I unequipped everything.

-

Desert Palace
This place is hard! I didn't realize that there is a Moogle in the hourglass room, because the guide refers only to the Moogle in the library. A random encounter wiped out my party, and I had to fight Ark again!

I used the start and stop trick throughout the whole palace, so I encountered only two battles - one with two Grimlocks and one with a Torama. I had to reset a lot of times, though, because encounters here are tough. After collecting Shield Armor from a Bloodstone, I retraced my steps back to the hourglass room and saved. This saved me a lot of time!

Tents are effective against Toramas; Grimlocks are rather easy to stop; and Drakans seem impossible to survive.

If Eiko summons Carbuncle, the Grimlocks' Stop spells will bounce off of the party and stop the Grimlocks instead! :kaolaugh:

Valia Pira
Freya jumped twice; Eiko revived Quina who was killed off too early; Quina used Auto-Life on herself/himself; Vivi attacked and killed Quina; Eiko summoned Carbuncle; and Quina used Limit Glove. End!

[Marshall Banana]

Ozma is defeated! http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m285/fofonda/emoticons/mb_miyakoarimafight.gif

But I'm jumping ahead!

-

Esto Gaza

The music here is nice.

-

Mount Gulug
I avoided all items.

I'm glad that Vivi mastered Stop a long time ago. Otherwise, I would have been forced to take a detour! I equipped Vivi with Octagon Rod, Headgear, N-Kai Armlet, Black Robe, and Gold Choker. I also equipped Vivi with Auto-Potion.

Red Dragons
Vivi focused three times and stopped the dragon on the right. Shortly after, he tranced and stopped the dragon on the left!

Saved.

Meltigemini

Amarant: Reflect Ring; Devil Killer and Auto-Reflect
Quina: Rebirth Ring; Auto-Life
Zidane: optimized
The boss attacked Quina, but Quina came back to life. Zidane used Thievery, and Amarant threw Wing Edge. Eiko used Holy, and Zidane used Thievery again. End!

-

Dragon's Crest
I found the last two Chocograph Pieces in Chocobo's Forest. I found the Mist Ocean treasure. Choco turned gold!
Choco flew everyone to Vile Island where they encountered Yans until everyone had Virus status. Not too hard!
My party killed 100 dragons outside of Chocobo's Forest. I think the whole process took about an hour and a half?
-

Final preparations

Final party: Zidane, Eiko, Freya, and Quina.
I finished the friendly monsters quest, but now I hate Ragtime Mouse. At least a lot of abilities were mastered!
I purchased two Egoist's Armlets and one Golden Hairpin, and I synthesized a Sargatanas (I had to purchase the ingredients for it, too) at Daguerro.
I equipped everyone except Quina with Auto-Life, and I equipped the appropriate armor for everyone (everything the guide told me to equip).
-

Ozma
I chose all commands during Ozma's attacks - not between!

Ozma used Flare Star, and everyone survived
Eiko threw Dark Matter
Quina used Auto-Life on herself/himself
Freya used Dragon's Crest
Ozma used Berserk on Freya, but it missed
Zidane used Thievery
Ozma used Berserk on Zidane, and it took
Ozma used Mini on the whole party (not that it mattered)
Freya used Dragon's Crest
Eiko used an Ether on Freya
Zidane attacked, because he still had Berserk status
Quina used a Gysahl Green on Zidane
Ozma used Meteor, which killed everyone, but everyone was revived automatically
Ozma used Curaga
Freya used Dragon's Crest
Zidane used Thievery
Ozma killed Freya with a Death spell
Quina used Limit Glove

End!

Afterward, my game time was 49:04. http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m285/fofonda/emoticons/Object_Message.gif

[Rantz]

Wow, great job!

[Slothy]

God damn you flew through that. I wish I had the kind of time to put almost 50 hours into this challenge in a couple of weeks. Congrats on beating this most excellent challenge.

[Quindiana Jones]

49:04?

It took me 56 hours to complete the game the first time I ever played it, haha. And that was without doing chocograph crap and only getting to the 50s. xD

Great stuff, MB.

[Necronopticous]

This makes Lamonda and I the first couple on the face of the Earth to have both beaten Ozma at level 1. Everything is proceeding as I have forseen.

[Quindiana Jones]

Officially the Saddest Couple 2009. :laugh:

*worships in secret*

[Marshall Banana]

This makes Lamonda and I the first couple on the face of the Earth to have both beaten Ozma at level 1. Everything is proceeding as I have forseen.
:snowman: :snowgirl:

[Formalhaut]

Hows Croyles doing?

[Slothy]

Didn't have much time to play today. I taught Quina Limit Glove, then headed off to Gizmalukes Grotto. Attempted the first black mage fight and petrified one of them, only to have Quina critical hit the other for 500 damage from the back row some 5-10 minutes later. Don't have time to attempt it again tonight, so I'll give the fight another go tomorrow.

[Ultima Shadow]

Congratulations, Marshall Banana! Great freaking amazing job for completing this challenge!:cool:

[Croyles]

Wow! congratulations Banana!

I am pleased to announce that from Saturday onwards I will have more free time which should make it possible for me to finish my game, although I still need to level up my Thievery l0l.

[Marshall Banana]

Thanks! :mymelkiss:

I am pleased to announce that from Saturday onwards I will have more free time which should make it possible for me to finish my game, although I still need to level up my Thievery l0l.
Now that I'm done, I'll be your cheerleader!

[Slothy]

Played a bit tonight.

The black mage fights went well. Used tents on them to make them helpless followed by antidotes to keep them from accidentally dying, then just hit them with Quina over and over until they petrified. I had the crap scared out of me for a second in the first fight when I petrified the first one and then Quina got a critical hit on the second. Luckily though, it was only for 350 hit points this time so it didn't die.

Killed Quina before fighting Gizmaluke and lucked out in that it came back with 1 HP after using a Phoenix Down on the first try. One Limit Glove later and I made it through the Grotto with only Vivi killed.

Got my river Chocobo and Vivi's Oak Staff for Stop, so next stop is Burmecia. I've thought about learning some abilities while I'm still near the south gate and it's handy healing fountain, but I'm not sure. At this point I kind of just want to move on and finish the first disc. I might just have Zidane learn Flee and then move on.

[Slothy]

Little update. I played a few times over the weekend and made some progress. Burmecia was a cake walk mostly. The black mage fight, despite Vivi having a higher chance of stopping them than Quina does petrifying them ended in petrification. Go figure. Collected the treasures around town, killed off Quina and brought her back at 1 HP and proceeded to one hit Beatrix. Cue the end of disc 1.

Once it switched over to Steiner and Garnet, I picked up Marcus and we dealt a beat down to Black Waltz no. 3 again. Nothing spectacular there, just cure and attack till he died. Once I made it to the other gate I made a slight detour to Dali to stock up on wrists because the low level walk through told me that Zidane's party could get into Lindblum before heading to Clayra. I'm sure we can see where this is going, but all in due time.

Made my way to Treno, got the necessary treasures and skipped some of the things the guide says were optional since I was starting to run low on cash. Met Dr. Tot to get the Supersoft and headed down to Gargan Roo. This place was a pain in the ass without Flee or the ability to save every few steps. Only had one fight I really needed to run from, but it took me five phoenix downs and probably 15 potions to do it. Equipped Steiner with the Blood Sword and MP attack. Gave everyone else the best armour I could and fought the boss. Garnet used Protect on Steiner and Marcus and healed as needed. With Steiner doing about 600 damage in the front row the battle was over before Garnet got to use protect on herself. Got to Alexandria, got captured and things switch back to Zidane's party.

Now after buying the wrists earlier I made the detour to Lindblum to try and synth some cotton robes for cash. Get to the dragon gate and the trams aren't running. So unless I'm missing something I've got 99 wrists, 2,200 gil and no way to get into Lindblum. Wonderful. But all isn't totally lost. I now get the joy of playing some more Chocobo hot & cold to make money. Spent about half an hour at it and made 3,500 gil yesterday through digging it up and selling some items. I might try some more later today, but suffice it to say that this is kind of annoying.

[Marshall Banana]

The fun is about to start (or maybe it already has since your post was made yesterday)!

[Marshall Banana]

What happened? =O

[Slothy]

Honestly, I had a bunch of stuff come up in my life that got me away from this challenge right after my last post and then some games I've been looking forward to for a while started coming out and eating up the free time I do have. I plan on getting back to this challenge eventually, but I probably won't be able to focus on it until after New Year's from the way things are looking. I certainly haven't given up, but the challenge is on the backburner for the time being.

[RedPouch]

This is a new one.

I actually went ahead and tried this and I defeated Trance Kuja with a level 1 party. It never occurred to me to try defeating Ozma at level 1. It sounds cool though.