Questions about Gau's rages

I've played through FFVI three times now, and one character I never use much of is Gau. Part of the reasons behind not using him are that I don't know which rages are most effective and some of the attacks he does aren't very well explained as to exactly what they do.

Here is what I know about Gau:
In early WoB I use Stray Cat (exptremely powerful) and Hazer rages (Bolt 2). Late in the game I'm stuck to only using stray cat, because its the only Rage I've found to be effective at high levels. I've looked through the list of rages provided on this site to get an idea of what I should be looking for and I have some new ideas (ie SrBehemoth for fire3 spell).

Here are my questions:
What are other more effective rages for Gau?
What is more powerful, Giga volt or Bolt 3?
What does Flare star, Step mine, overdrive and gravity mine do and how useful are they?

Any help would be appreciated.

Let's see. . .

Flare Star, I believe, simply halves any enemy's MP, which is pretty nice.
Step Mine deals damage either 1/16 or 1/32 to the amount of steps you've taken. I can't remember which.
I think Gravity Mine actually does the same thing as Flare Star. . .

Hmm. Now that I think of it. . . you'd better just wait for Kishi to post.

I don't know much about Gau, I usually only use Stray Cat. During the battles in Narshe, I use Pteredon, but only because their Fireball can hit multiple enemies.

*ahem*
(SPOILER)If you want to get Pearl all the time, go fight the White Dragon in Fanatic's Tower--he's not too far up-- then go pick him up on the Veldt. Other than that...I can't remember what their names are, but you can find them on Triangle Island--they look like Slam Dancers and throw things a lot--those are pretty good too. Or Outsiders, which can also be found there. Or you could go through the Underground Castle and see if you can pick up some of the tougher enemies there.

Actually, I usually just let Gau use magic--he's got pretty good magic power. And if you take the time at the Coliseum to get another Snow Muffler, DEFINITELY use it. Gau, Umaro, and Mog are the only ones that can wear it, but it's more than worth what is bet for it, or what it could be bet for. And if you get a Snow Muffler, you could also put Beads and a Zephr Cape on him, and most everything'll miss him.

Well being Gau's #1 fan, I'm sure I can help you out. :)

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What are other more effective rages for Gau?

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Templar (Fire 2, Safe) and Stray Cat (Catscratch) are the best when you first get Gau. As soon as you get the airship get Aspik (Giga Volt).

Other good WoB rages:
Brawler (Stone)
Rhinox (Life 3)
Slamdancer (Ice 2)
Hazer (Bolt 2)
Ninja (Water Edge)
Over-Mind (Elf Fire)
Behemoth (Meteor)
Chaser (Plasma)
Chimera (Aqua Rake)
ChickenLip (Quake)
Wyvern (Cyclonic)
Pterodon (Fireball)

Good WoR rages include:
Io (Flare Star)
Retainer (Shock)
Didalos (Merton)
Vectaur (Pearl Wind)
Spek Tor (Blaster)
Enuo (CleanSweep)
Prussian (Land Slide)
Tom Thumb (Step Mine)
Toe Cutter (Shrapnel)
Harpiai (Aero)
Rhyos (Surge)
PowerDemon (Flare)

Catscratch is great throughout the game.

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What is more powerful, Giga volt or Bolt 3?

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Bolt 3's attack power is 120. Giga Volt's attack power is 110, and is not reflectable.

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What does Flare star, Step mine, overdrive and gravity mine do and how useful are they?

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Flare Star: Lowest Target's Level * 80 = Attack Power
Step Mine: Steps / 32 = Damage
HyperDrive: Strength = 118, causes seizure (there is no overdrive attack)
Grav Bomb: Same affect as Demi (there is no gravity mine attack)

Thanks a bunch. This should help me get the most of Gau while I'm using him.

Other good WoB rages are:
Anguiform(Aqua rake) - good multi-target water damage
Fossilfang(Sandstorm) - multi-target, dunno about element, probably earth or none.
General(Cure 2) - always done on all of party.
Bomb/vaporite(Blaze) - (You can get this right away when you get Gau, and then it's his best multi-target rage, fire damage)

I've assembled a new Q&A about Gau's rages for another forum. It's probably the most informative answer you'll ever get. Here it is:

Question: What are Gau's best rages throughout various parts of the game? Which ones should I get?

Answer: When Gau first joins your party get Stray Cat (Catscratch), Over-Mind (Elf Fire), Bomb/Vaporite (Blaze), Templar (Fire 2, Safe) and Hazer/Ghost (Bolt 2). Trilium (Bio) also pretty good if you need a poison attack, as is Bleary (Doom) if you need an instant death attack. The Over-Mind rage is a hard one to get since you only see this monster in one enemy formation. Therefore it's alright if you don't have the patience to get it since you already have good physical and magical attack rages. For attack power reference, Catscratch > Elf Fire > Blaze > Bolt 2 > Fire 2 > Bio.

Right after the Narshe battle go back to the Veldt for the Aspik (Giga Volt) rage. This will roast Ultros in the Opera House and every monster in the Magitek facility beyond belief (except Rhinox). However as with the Over-Mind rage, this one is also hard to get. Because of this you'll have time to collect some other rages while waiting for Aspik to show up. If you go to Zozo before heading back to the Veldt, you can pick up the Slamdancer (Ice 2) and the HadesGigas (Magnitude8) rages now. This will complete Gau's level 2 elemental spell collection via rages before you even get espers. Wind Slash is a powerful wind attack that's unblockable and the damage doesn't split among multiple enemies. You can get this from the Marshal rage. For attack power reference, Catscratch > Giga Volt > Magnitude8 > Wind Slash > Elf Fire > Blaze > Ice 2 > Bolt 2 > Fire 2 > Bio.

Rhinox (Life 3) is a rage that becomes available after you go through the Magitek facility. This is good for boss battles. It's a poor offensive rage, but if Gau dies you can revive and assign him to another rage. By this time most of your characters will have Life 3 status, which is a pretty good deal this early in the game. If you would rather have Gau attacking with his full power then you may not want to bother with the Rhinox rage.

The floating continent has a few decent rages if you're willing to go back down to the Veldt. If you do, grab the Behemoth (Meteor) rage. You're not supposed to get this spell until late in the WoR but Gau can have it so it may be in your best interest to take advantage of this opportunity. It's power is somewhat limited but it can't be dodged and enemy defense is ignored. Brainpan (Blowfish) is another goodie at this point in the game, guaranteed to deal 1000HP damage to a single target. For a more standard attack get the Ninja (Water Edge) rage, with a water attack almost as powerful as Giga Volt. All of the above rages will bring out Gau's full potential in the WoB.

Since there is no order for which you have to do things in the WoR I will simply provide a list of good WoR rages. You'll definately want Retainer (Leo's Shock), Harpiai/Sprinter (Aero), Vectaur/Peepers (Pearl Wind) and Spek Tor/Wild Cat (Blaster). Lesser but still good WoR rages include Tyranosaur (Meteo), Io (Flare Star), Didalos/Mover (Merton), NightShade (Charm) and Barb-e (Love Token). Cutter/Gilomantis (Shrapnel) is fun to watch but Bolt 3 is just as powerful. The only dfference is that Shrapnel is a physical attack.

Rages that are mostly obsolete by the time you get them due to espers include SrBehemoth/Brontaur (Fire 3), Punisher/Goblin/Rain Man/Karkass (Bolt 3), Woolly (Ice 3), White Dragon/Orog/Warlock/Madam/Outsider (Pearl), PowerDemon (Flare), Osteosaur (X-Zone), Nohrabbit/Dahling (Cure 2) and Magic Urn (Cure 3).

For attack power reference (standard attacks only), Catscratch > Merton > Shock > Aero > Ice 3 > Fire 3 > Bolt 3 = Shrapnel > Giga Volt > Pearl > Water Edge > Meteo > Magnitude8 > Wind Slash > Elf Fire > Blaze > Ice 2 > Bolt 2 > Fire 2 > Bio

For more information on attacks, check out Master Zed's FF3us Attack Guide v1.2. Use your browser's find feature to quickly find the specific information you're looking for.

or you could just use that rage guide i made up awhile back.