Skills problems.

[Lord Xehanort]

I had a Squire learn 'Heal', and it does NOTHING!

Also, could some people list some powerful skill combos? I am playing the game for the second time, but never beat it the first time. The final dungeon whipped my ass, mainly because I had gotten in the habit of allowing Orlandu to do everything.

[-N-]

Heal cures status ailments, such as Poison/Silence/Darkness.

Skill combos vary depending on your style, but I'll list a few.

Ramza - Samurai with Guts - if you get the Masamune from Elmdor, you can cast Regen+Haste on everyone nearby on your first turn. Pretty crazy. After that, you can use Scream (from Guts) to boost Ramza's Speed, PA, and MA. And these make a difference. Give him the Two Swords ability from Ninja or use Both Hands from Samurai to cause some ownage.

I gave Agrias Dance as a secondary once when I was bored - it had some good results. If she wasn't in Holy Sword range, then bam - Slow Dance.

Have a mage learn a bunch of good spells and then learn Calculator skills. If I told you one spell from each mage class to learn, it would be Holy (white), Frog (black), Sleep (oracle), and Haste (time mage). Imagine the effects of these spells if you had the right calculator ability. Frog and Sleep work astoundingly well to eliminate enemy threats.

Sometimes I almost prefer using Chemists to mages for healing - they can use guns (good range attackers), and their healing is instantaneous (items). Mustadio almost always becomes a secondary Chemist for me, and his Snipe abilities make him very versatile.

That's all I can think of from the top of my head. I had a ton of trouble beating Tactics the first time around, but it gets easier with time, because you know what to expect. :p

[DocFrance]

If you press select while highlighting a skill, a pop-up will tell you what it does.

[Mikemyers64]

the best combo ive found for ramza is

lancer
draw out
blade grasp
two hands
ignore height

get the javalin from the cursed island and ramza will do usually between 700 and 900. have ramza use scream or have someone like a oracle boost his brave up to 97 (which is the max). every time an enemy uses a melee attack and a couple other ones there will be a 01% chance of hitting him.

EDIT: if you want ramza to have something to do while hes out of range switch draw out with guts. he can use scream to boost his stats.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Last run through I had Ramza as a Squire with Math Skills secondary, Auto-Potion (although Blade Grasp might be better in this case), Two-Swords, and Move+3, he was quite effective.

With the Math Skills, if you want to have a good calculator I'd make the main job Summoner and have it be a high Faith character, you'll get good results and have a magic powerhouse. Give them Equip Armor if you're looking for more durability.

[Raven Bladewind]

I had a Squire learn 'Heal', and it does NOTHING!

Also, could some people list some powerful skill combos? I am playing the game for the second time, but never beat it the first time. The final dungeon whipped my ass, mainly because I had gotten in the habit of allowing Orlandu to do everything.Draw out and punch art (i used knight skill at the battle with gafagorion and ramza on one side of the gate, damn night sword), 2 swords maitinece (or matinece if your fighting a group of knights) move + 3 (or any height)

[Lord Xehanort]

I recently discovered a glitch that allowed me to make super charas with ease. I just started chapter two, and I have Ramza as a master Geomancer. I also have a master Summoner, three master Chemists, and one unaltered chara. I normally wouldn't use glitches like this... but this game is so damned hard, I'm willing to make an exception.

So, now... I have a Summoner with Half MP Cost ripping my foes apart. Of course, I still need to do something with Ramza... I'll try your suggestions once I get the needed classes. (can't unlock Samurai r Lancer)

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Lancer is job level 3 thief. Samurai has requisites in Monk, Geomancer, and I think something else that I cannot remember.

[DocFrance]

Lancer is job level 3 thief. Samurai has requisites in Monk, Geomancer, and I think something else that I cannot remember.
Monk, Geomancer, and Lancer.

[-N-]

That doesn't sound right.

Ninja - L3 Archer, L4 Thief, L2 Geomancer

therefore

Samurai - L3 Knight, L4 Monk, L2 Lancer

[Lord Xehanort]

Okay, I just got Samurai ad Ninja unlocked, and so now all that's left to unlock are Calculator, Bard, Dancer and Mime... they all probably suck anyway.

Draw Out sucks so badly... they won't activate.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Draw Out is good if you've got the right katana.

Remember, you need it in your inventory to use it.

[Raven Bladewind]

I recently discovered a glitch that allowed me to make super charas with ease. I just started chapter two, and I have Ramza as a master Geomancer. I also have a master Summoner, three master Chemists, and one unaltered chara. I normally wouldn't use glitches like this... but this game is so damned hard, I'm willing to make an exception.

So, now... I have a Summoner with Half MP Cost ripping my foes apart. Of course, I still need to do something with Ramza... I'll try your suggestions once I get the needed classes. (can't unlock Samurai r Lancer)yes that glitch is fun if you just want to whoop everyone in the begining of the game pick to leanr and ability hit square and up/down to scroll then hit yes and get unlimited or 9999 jp
@ Ansem your crazy Draw Out is my favorite skill I have Ramza with Guts w/ Ultima, Draw Out, 2 swords, blade frasp, and move +3 he kick is unstopable

[Lord Xehanort]

I didn't have any katanas in my inventory... so I couldn't use anything.

How do I get Ultima?

Also, new problem... MONSTER ELMDOR!!!!! He is such a bastard!!!! All those damned status effects w/ 100% accuracy crush my group!

[BG-57]

There's already a thread that discussed how to get Ultima, although the title is misleading.

http://www.eyesonff.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66814

As for Elmdor, what is the state of Orlandu? Does he have Lightning Stab and Holy Explosion?

If you've cultivated Calculators, you can use Math Skills to hit him from a distance.

You can block many status ailments with accessories. Particularly Ribbons for the gals.

[Tama2]

Hurray for Ribbons!

[Lord Xehanort]

Okay... I am FINALLY done with this game! I was able to crush Monster Elmdor by using the ability glitch with Orlandu and mastering the Holy Swordsman class. Also, I had Ninja Ramza bust in and Double Punch like a madman. Monster Elmdor only took me two tries, where Elmdor, Arc Knight and his two hos took me seven tries...

Also, I never got Calculators, Mimes, Dancers or Bards... are they useful?

[BG-57]

While some people swear by Dancers and Mimes, I only found the Calculators useful. More specifically, the Math Skills neatly complement almost any profession.

The hard part is picking parameters to calculate against. The spells include White, Black, Time and Yin and Yang Magic, the range is unlimited, there's no charge time for even the most powerful spells and no MP costs! :D