Holding Hate/Aggro? Help Please

Hey guys...

I'm new around here and am going to get going on an introduction letter shortly but quickly, I have a question here.

I have about 30 hours of playtime on FF12 and I'm addicted...I have my characters up at lvls 20-22 and I just got on the dreadnought. Things are going well and I have specific roles for my party, etc.

This is my only problem as of now...everything else is falling right in place:

My main party right now is either this:

Vaan (Paladin)
Ashe (White Mage)
Fran (Black Mage)

or

Vaan (Paladin)
Ashe (White Mage)
Basche (Dark Knight)

Depends on the situation but that's how things are going right now.

Vaan uses Green and White magic, has over 1100 HP (about to be 1600+) has highest vitality,blocks almost everything with his shield, around 170 MP, etc...he's a great tank and with a pure white mage in the party, the "holy trinity" is well in effect here. Plenty of damage, plenty of heals.

That said, the only thing that I'm missing for him, and to make the party literally untouchable throughout the rest of the game, is a spell/technik/ability/whatever that allows him to "hold hate/aggro" from the mob. Something that works along the lines of a provoke.

I've considered giving him a 2H weapon that deals more damage (he has the zwill blade and buckler combo right now) or even giving him the ability to use black magic to deal more direct damage to the mob, but neither of these methods are 100% viable since he 1) really is a sword/shield pally style tank and 2) he really can't be spending his time casting black magic...that's not his job.

So, with the above info, can anyone help me? Is there a spell that someone will get later on (or can get later on) that will assist in this? What line of magic is it in (white, green, arcane, time, black, etc)? Is it a tecknique?

Thanks in advance for any help...this is greatly appreciated.

Hello and welcome, GrindingMobs. I may not be too sure of what you are asking, but if you are looking for a "provoke"-type skill, very much like that of FFX, then Decoy is the spell for you. Were you asking for an ability that makes enemies attack a person of your choosing? That's the one. Good luck!

Thank you very much...

Yes...that's exactly what I'm asking. I'm looking for more "hate management".

At this point in time, Vaan, because of his good swordsmanship, block and vitality, generally can hold hate quite well. Further, against a boss or other long strategic battle, I can use 1 of his 3 quickening bars of MP to open up with a special attack for large damage on the mob. 1800+ HP's of damage and a protect on himself, then one attack with sword, then blind/poison usually does the trick. That said, once we've reached that point in a battle, Fran or Basche have caught up to him on overall damage, by just nuking away (or in basche's case, nuking and striking melee counters). Once the mob moves attention to the back row at this point, I need an actual spell or ability to direct the mob back to Vaan.

What line of magic is "Decoy" in and how far into the game does it become for sale at a vendor?

If it's in green or white, that would make the most sense since Vaan can cast it himself. If it's in black, I could have the Black Mage cast it onto Vaan any time the mob attacks them.

Thanks again....and like before, any further help is much appreciated.

This is an arcane magic. (I guess that would be in the "black knight" category.) I don't think it is available for purchase until you reach Eruyt Village. If you are still on the Dreadnought, then it may be a while yet until you can obtain this spell. Glad I could help. :D

You did help :)!! Thank you very much.

Yeah...considering that I will continue the old-school tried and true 3 party team of Paladin, Black Mage, White Mage...I'll have the black mage learn decoy and cast it on Vaan to hold aggro. Or maybe I'll have Vaan himself just learn the one Arcane tile when I get the spell later so that he can repeatedly just cast it on himself.

I doubt that though...it's a black mage spell, I'll keep it as such. I actually like that system.

Thanks again

Try Bacchus Wine. It is available early and makes your guy berserk so he attacks a lot and attracts all monsters to him