That’s why I left it as a secondary job for Balthier. It’s all cool though, as I’ve never been big on red mages so it’s nice to see Fran kick ass as one. Also, just stole my Gladius!
Tell me about it. It's pretty OP until Bushi and Knight get their later weapons and some of their optional spells/skills. Time Battlemage is also surprisingly good. I think White Mage is the only weak link of the mage classes.
Red Battlemage is MVP, tbh
That's kind of how IX is for me. I don't give it much thought most of the time, but when I play it I keep asking myself why I don't play is as often as I should cause it's just so fun.
I’ve come to the conclusion that FFXII has a very similar status as IV, V and VI in my mind - when I play the game, I just feel like I’m home, for lack of a better word, and I have no idea why I don’t replay it more often. And I don’t know why that is, but there’s just something about it that just makes me feel so good. Remember how I was burnt out on FF after the marathon? Well, with XII it’s yhe exact opposite. It reminds me why I love the series and why I joined this community in the first place. I really don’t know what makes XII special, but I don’t care. It just is.
It breaks the early game for sure, especially since a lot of things in the early game are weak to Wind, but it does start to lose it's luster after awhile, depending on what you combo Shikari with or when Ninja Blades become more prominent in the second half of the game.
I have heard about the Gladius, but I’ve also heard it pretty much breaks the game once you get it, so I’m not sure I should get it now. Then again, I don’t really see any other new knives around now, so my Vaan is still rocking that starting dagger which is not that wild tbh
Yes, though the treasures don't always have a 100% chance to spawn except for low level stuff. So it is still possible to miss things cause the treasure chest only spawns 30 to 25% of the time. There are some chests that still stick to the annoying 1% spawn as well, but there is usually another way to get the item. Lots of gear has been moved around as well and if you want to break the game early, I'd advise doing the Gilgamesh fight as early as possible cause the Lhusu Mines have some insane gear/spells waiting for you in the second half. This does kind of create some awkward balance though as I was able to get Scathe long before I unlocked Holy, Scourge, or Flare which is as broken as it sounds except that elemental damage is still way overpowered in this game. The Zodiac Spear and Zodiac Shield are now attached to the Hunt Club quest. You can either get one of them by giving all of the trophies to either Atak or Bloc depending on which you want, or you can give each of the brothers ten trophies apiece and the merchant will sell both items for a ridiculous price. Treasures have been moved around, but not enemy drops. So you can still farm the really powerful Gladius Knife from the Rare Game Wolf in the Westersand (I highly recommend this since it will be the best weapon for Shikari for awhile) to name a few. Some item rewards for Mark Hunts and side-quests have been changed as well though not too much.
Am I correct in assuming that, despite that, they’re not missable? As in, no more Zodiac Spear shenanigans - you can always go back to a place and hope for a red pawn?
Yeah, a good chunk of the magic and most of the Techniks are now treasures you have to find.
