Weapon Types

[Vermachtnis]

Since it's so customizable what weapons did you give everyone?

Vaan and Ashe: I kept them with Sword and Shield.
Penelo: Gave her Maces and Poles
Fran: Stuck with Bows, sometimes Katanas
Balthier: Spears
Basch: Don't use him all that much.

[Rantz]

Since my current playthrough is my first, I've been pretty disorganised regarding who uses what while exploring the different types, but a tentative grouping, as it has turned out towards the end, would be:

Vaan: Katanas, alternatively Bows for long range combat
Balthier: Guns mostly
Fran: Bows
Basch: Swords and Shields, alternatively Bows for long range combat
Ashe: Poles, alternatively Guns for long range combat
Penelo: Daggers and Shields, alternatively Crossbows for long range combat

I don't yet have a good grasp, only vague ideas, of what weapon types uses which stats etc. If/when I replay the game, I intend to decide on firmer classes for the characters and as a result, more determined weapon types for each character.

[Depression Moon]

Vaan: 1st Daggers, Sword & Shield, Doom Mace 2nd: Staves

Ashe: 1st Sword & Shield Axes and Hammers 2nd: Rods

Penelo: 1st Daggers, bows, poles 2nd: Poles, Sword & Shield

Fran: 1st Bows, crossbows 2nd everything except guns and heavy swords

Balthier: 1st and 2nd: Guns and Handbombs

Basch: 1st and 2nd Sword & Shield, Axes and Hammers, Heavy blades, Doom Mace

1st playthrough I was just equipping whatever was most powerful. 2nd playthrough I tried making a job party. It was sort of tough in this game especially for Thieves.

Rantzien if you're going to do specific classes like I did look at my list and weapons.


Classes

Vaan: Thief/Ninja & Black Mage (Thief: Weapons should be daggers only Ninja: Weapons should be ninja blades and katanas. Black Mage: Staves only)

Ashe: White Mage/Summoner (Rods Only)

Basch: Dark Knight & Berserker (Dark Knight:One handed sword, two handed swords Berserker: Axes and Hammers only)

Balthier: Gunner/Green Mage (I'm not sure what actually makes a gunner a gunner except for the use of guns. I just used guns and handbombs for both jobs)

Fran:A back up job character most versatile. I found myself making her a Time Mage and Monk most of the time (Time Mage: Staves or Rods Monk: Poles or unarmed)

Penelo: Red Mage ( Sword & Shield only)

[Vermachtnis]

I liked that Dagger idea for Vaan. I'm at the Henne Mines and they've settled with this.

1st Row:
Ashe (Heavy Armor): Sword and Shield (Arcane for Flying)
Balthier (Light Armor): Spear and Gun for Flying (Telekenisis when I can I finally buy that)
Penelo (Mystic Armor): Bow and Black Magic

VaanVanguard:
Vaan: Daggers and Crossbow
Basch: 2H Swords/Katanas and Guns
Fran: Poles and Bows

[ANGRYWOLF]

Since it's so customizable what weapons did you give everyone?

Vaan and Ashe: I kept them with Sword and Shield.
Penelo: Gave her Maces and Poles
Fran: Stuck with Bows, sometimes Katanas
Balthier: Spears
Basch: Don't use him all that much.

I used Basch as he seems to technically the strongest character.I gave him my best sword and shield.

I gave Balthier a gun although guns are terrible in this game imo..
Although I gave Penelo poles sometimes I gave her a crossbow.

Tha ancillary weapons in this game; maces, measures etc weren't too swift either.I didn't bother acquiring them.

[Roogle]

I used the following equipment for the playable characters:

Vaan: Knives, Swords
Penelo: Knives, Staves
Balthier: Guns
Fran: Bows
Balthier: Axes, Swords
Ashe: Swords

I mainly kept the characters using the weapon types that they are commonly affiliated with. I feel like there is a lot of individuality in the varying weapon types and equipping characters with whatever I felt like felt as though I was making every character generic copies of one another.

[Shin Gouken]

I just made sure to have one character with a one handed weapon and a shield for my tank, a 2 handed weapon for my damage dealer and a long range weapon for my support character.

I'd make adjustments for different circumstances... weapons with a shorter CT in battles where there were less opportunities to attack. Guns for high defense foes, weapons with elemental properties etc. Though after aquiring the tournesol and zodiac spear i pretty much just had them equipped all the time

[Raistlin]

Well, for the characters I used the most:

Vaan: knives/swords
Balthier: guns
Ashe: bows
Basch: big swords/axes.

I don't remember what sort of weapons I equipped to Fran and Penelo. Probably knives/swords or range weapons.

[Quindiana Jones]

Tanks: Vaan and Ashe. Swords and shields. Heavy armours. Some buff magic and healing spells.
DDs: Basch and Balthier. Katanas, Spears, that sort of thing. Heavy armour. Some buffs.
Mages: Fran and Penelo. Bows/Guns. Primarily healing.

My Gambits were set up in amazing ways, but unfortunately I can't remember what they were. In 12, Gambits mean almost as much as good equipment.

EDIT: I found it funny that Vermachtnis' First Row and Vanguard are the exact opposite as mine! Vaan, Basch and Fran FTW!

[black orb]

>>> Vaan: Katanas and GreatSwords
Penelo: Sword and Shield
Balthier: Guns
Fran: Swords and GreatSwords
Balthier: Guns
Ashe: Sword and Shield :luca:

[Mo-Nercy]

Vaan: Swords and Blades
Ashe: Ditto
Penelo: Ditto
Basch: Spears
Fran: Just bows
Balthier: Still guns, sometimes axes

[PeneloRatsbane]

I always give Fran guns, she looks pretty hot with a gun in Hand.
sometimes i give her and balthier a Katana each and watch them go to town.
I also like leaving Fran weaponless as she does those cool flips.
Balthier: Bow
Ashe: always a massive sword
Basch: the save the queen sword or an axe
Penelo: pole, cos shes a dancer
Vaan: those bomb things or a sword

[Vermachtnis]

Ashe: always a massive sword


Speaking of that, I was not expecting Excalibur to be a 2H Sword. It was at the end of the 1H Swords on the License Board. Boy was I surprised.

[Saber]

I've seen this topic a bunch and just now decided to share a little something I found. Under traveler's tips arm thyself! it states what weapons do what and details on what makes them good. Here's an Example :


3. Fast Weapons
-Daggers/ninja swords/bows
-Fast Weapons damage increases with a characters speed.


So pretty much the character with the fastest speed would work good with daggers, ninja swords or bows. Balthier has the most speed in my game with 38. So he would be best with those weapons.


Here's everything in the traveler's Tips section.


1. Standard weapons
-Swords (1H)/swords(2h)/spears/crossbows/rods
-Standard weapon damage is mitigrated by the target's defense.

2. Piercing weapons
-guns/measures
-Piercing weapons damage ignores the target's defense.

3. Fast weapons
-daggers/ninja swords/bows
-Fast weapon damage increases with a character's speed.

4. Magick weapons
-katanas/staves/maces
-Magick Weapon damage increases with a character's magick power.

5. Striking weapons
-axes/hammers/hand-bombs
-Striking weapon damage is erratic, with some strikes doing little and some doing great amounts of damage--Good weapons for those who feel lucky.

6. Magick Resist Weapons
-poles
-Magick resist weapon damage is mitigrated by the target's magic resist.

So Ashe and Penelo have at level 99 74 magick power so they would be great with magick weapons, katanas/staves/maces. While for standard and piercing it depends mainly who you are fighting. It the enemy has high defence you should have guns or bombs. Other then that since strength is known for helping with attack, Vaan and Basch has the highest on my save. Vaan and Basch should carry standard weapons. Fran on the other note has no better stat then others. So its hard to say what you should equip her.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.[!] google_ad_section_end [/!]

[Chloe.]

This is pretty much how I always have it:

Vaan: Sword or sometimes spear/pole
Ashe: Always sword and shield
Fran: Bow
Balthier: Spear or pole
Basch: Sword or axe
Penelo: Knive or crossbow

[Mo-Nercy]

So Ashe and Penelo have at level 99 74 magick power so they would be great with magick weapons, katanas/staves/maces. While for standard and piercing it depends mainly who you are fighting. It the enemy has high defence you should have guns or bombs. Other then that since strength is known for helping with attack, Vaan and Basch has the highest on my save. Vaan and Basch should carry standard weapons. Fran on the other note has no better stat then others. So its hard to say what you should equip her.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.
I remember hearing from somewhere that at maximum level, Fran and Balthier are the worst choices for bow and gun respectively. Which is strange seeing as you'd think they had started with those weapons.

[Vermachtnis]

Fran is outstandingly average in all her stats. I noticed it takes her longer to fire the bow longer the others. And I don't mean the wait gauge, just the actual firing.

[Saber]

Fran is average but I do wish they made her the best at something. In my game she is a black mage with an evasion of 86. There is also an accessory that helps improve this but it doesn't add any to evasion. I guess it just deals with luck. Anyways With all the element spells linked to the *element*-weak gambit is awesome. The high evasion means she don't get hit much... close to not at all.

[PeneloRatsbane]

she's the best at being foxy

[Sephiroth]

Vaan: Sword & Shield, Katana & Polearms
Ashe: Sword & Shield & Crossbow
Basch: Sword, Katana & Axes
Penelo: Staff, Polearms, et cetera
Fran: Bow & Arrow & Katana
Balthier: Gun & Crossbow

[Wolf Kanno]

Fran is outstandingly average in all her stats. I noticed it takes her longer to fire the bow longer the others. And I don't mean the wait gauge, just the actual firing.

Yet oddly in my file, she crits more with the Bow and the effects of the Arrows work more often with her then others. Balthier has something similar with guns I've noticed or maybe my mind is just playing tricks on me...

[oddler]

Vaan/Ashe - Sword, Shields, Heavy Armor. Mostly used as Tanks with an occasional Red Mage ability. High defense, evade, and attack when possible. Used a lot of Decoy, Cure, Protect, and Haste magicks.

Balthier/Basch - Hammer (if I remember correctly, the one that does weird random damage), Heavy Armor. Used as Damage Dealers. Crazy attack and speed. Usually ended Berserking them at the beginning of the battle.

Fran/Penelo - Bow, Robe, Hat, or Dagger, Shield, Robe, Hat respectively. Used as Healers mainly with support abilities in between for whatever was needed. Fran was usually safe from attack with ranged attacks and Penelo had ridiculous Evade from her weapon and shield (don't remember what they were).

Game was a cinch using this setup. :choc2:

[TheSpoonyBard]

Vaan - Katana, Light Helmet, Heavy Armour
Fran - Spear, Heavy Helmet, Heavy Armour
Ashe - 2h-Sword, Mystic Helmet, Mystic Armour
Balthier - Pole, Light Helmet, Heavy Armour
Basch - 2h-Sword, Heavy Helmet, Heavy Armour
Penelo - 2h-Sword, Mystic Helmet, Mystic Armour

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

My main team is Vaan, Balthier and Fran.

Vaan - DD - Light Armour - 1: Knives with Shield; 2: Ninja Swords
Balthier - Tank - Heavy Armour - 1: Poles; 2: Guns
Fran - All Around Mage - Mystic Armour - 1: Bows; 2: Katana

Poles are fricken awesome because too many enemies have low Magic Resist, making it very easy to do a lot of damage to them, especially when it multi-hits. On the other hand, it seems that "Reflect" will cause them to do no damage/miss (can't quite remember).

While statistically speaking Penelo is the best mage, I just love Fran. :D

[Rad Bromance]

I gave everyone the exact same sword and shield.

[Saber]

My idea set up is

Vaan - Zodiak Spear - With battle harness and Genji Armor for a good counter attack rate.

Bathier - Sagittarius bow, Artemis arrows or sometimes I perfer Assassins arrows for the Ko'ed effect. I have him with Cat ear hood too for fast speed.

Fran - Main Gauche, Zodiac Escutcheon, and jade collar for good evade. (I got her gambits with Foe *element* - Weak - *element*)

Basch - Masamune / Genji Gloves. With every other thing increasing strength to 99.

Ashe - Tournesol

Penelo - Wyrmhero blade

I have yet to find a good combo with Ashe and Penelo.

[TheSpoonyBard]

Ashe and Penelo work well with Katanas, Mystic Helms and Heavy Armours.

[Breine]

On this playthrough I have it like this so far:


Vaan - Swords.
Ashe - Swords.
Basch - Axes, hammers or swords.
Fran - Bows.
Balthier - Guns.
Penelo - Daggers or Staffs/Rods.

I don't remember what it was during my last playthrough, though. Generally I just like to keep Fran and Balthier equipped with bows and guns, respectively, and the rest are a bit of experimenting/whatever I feel like. This time around, though, I'm making Penelo more of a mage than the others, so staffs and rods are probably going to be the weapons I'll give her from now on. Oh, and I like giving Basch hard-hitting weapons, like e.g. Axes.

[Forsaken Lover]

I go with what weapon makes the most sense for the character.

Vaan's whole build and character screams Daggers. Maybe a sword.
(guess I was right as he is my fastest character and fastest characters should have daggers according to what sora_lion_heart posted)

Ashe is a Swordwomen be they regular or katana.
(she has a katana right now and, wouldn't you know it, she has the strongest Magical Power of my main party. I'm good)

Penelo can have anything really. I think she looks best with a bow, though.

Though I haven't bothered with guns at all in this playthrough, you guys think i should buy one for her?

In regards to armors, it seems pretty straightforward to me. You pick the one with the Highest Defense and the one with the highest Magic Resist.
Why get anything less?

[Wolf Kanno]

Guns are great because despite their stats saying they look weak, Guns never miss and they completely ignore defense. The Elemental Shots you get later give them an even bigger punch. I really love the Guns personally. :love: There only drawback is that they are the slowest weapons in the game but they also have better range than most of the Range Weapons. I love using guns to "fish" out enemies in packs from a distance. They're good mob control weapons.

Armor mostly factors in later when you are either covering for an elemental weakness like the Black Masks which are average defense-wise but make you completely immune to Dark elemental attacks (great for undead and Zodiark) or in most end game pieces, to Maximize damage output. Equip Lady Ashe with the Masamune, Magical Shishak, the Robe of Lords, and the Genji gloves and you have a nasty Samurai character with the highest damage potential in the game.

Most of the Armor by end game starts to be built around the weapons you choose to use.