this game makes me feel old

Just read the bolded questions. The rest is a rant.







So the FFs I'm used to are the 4-7 range. Playing this with so much stuff going on makes me feel outdated and I don't think I'm adjusting my play strategies appropriately to this game. This FF is particularly fight-centered (in the sense that I can't seem to find super-powered equipment or items that save my ass very easily without fighting/stealing/poaching a lot).

And I'm really underleveled. I don't know how it happened - I was cruising through 2/3 of the game at a good level, no game overs, pretty easy fights, but as soon as I hit Phon Coast - Sochen Cave it seemed like the enemies gained on me. Now I'm level 40ish and getting thrashed at the Cataract (whatever the level after Giruvegan is). I always seem to underlevel my first playthrough, but the Malboro enemies just nail me with status effects and I don't have any Ribbons.

Anyways, I don't think my battle strategies are really optimal, and I don't think my character setups are optimal, which is where I seek your suggestions. My equipment is alright, but money is freaking hard to come by. I fight every fight I can, so I don't see why I'm constantly lacking in resources. I don't really have the Gambit system down as well as I probably should (I do a lot of magicking manually, for example, or just leave the characters to auto-attack), and I don't have any bailout strategies when I'm getting mobbed (Espers don't help, Quickenings only seem to affect one monster, so I still end up mobbed).

I have Balthier and Basch as pure attackers that have some assorted Technicks, which I now realize are useless. Balthier uses guns and Basch uses katanas. Vaan, Ashe, and Penelo are all fairly strong magick users and Ashe has high atk (Vaan and Penelo have lower strength, but higher speed, so I have them using ninja swords and/or daggers, or crossbows for range). Fran is just kinda useless at this point at LV33(I think I screwed her up the worst). Should I have concentrated my magickers into one particular magick type or should I have kept them general? Should I even bother with Technicks? And how many weapons do you usually specialize in? Do all characters need to be the same level or can I get away with only using three the entire game? Is a conventional "class restriction" a la FFT better or worse for this game?

I don't really feel like going back and doing an asston of sidequests, since I'm so close to the end and I prefer to finish the story first and go through all the sidequests on a second playthrough. I don't have a big time commitment to powerlevelling, since I have a girlfriend (who doesn't game) and a full-time job. I've done Rank I-III hunts and a few sidequests, but the rewards I'm getting now for Rank IV don't really warrant me pursuing further hunts. I guess I'm just looking for easy places and ways to level up (I know the Negalmuur trick but I'm not a fan of leaving my PS2 on overnight, so I'd rather avoid it).

For future plays, is there any way to get powerful magicks or equipment earlier? I was always a fan of learning Holy at LV5 in FFT.

And finally, the chest system is smurfing stupid. What the smurf is up with these goddamn Knot of Rust :skull::skull::skull::skull:s.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Should I have concentrated my magickers into one particular magick type or should I have kept them general?

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You only ever really need White Magic. Normal attacks are enough for most of the game.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Should I even bother with Technicks?

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Steal, Charge and Telekenisis are the only ones worth buying, and you won't get the third til the very end of the game.

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Originally Posted by -N-

And how many weapons do you usually specialize in?

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Only two or three; swords, greatswords and spears.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Do all characters need to be the same level or can I get away with only using three the entire game?

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You can focus on three characters, but I like to have a second party in case something goes terribly wrong in a boss fight.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Is a conventional "class restriction" a la FFT better or worse for this game?

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To be honest, the Licence Board is so small you'll have most of it covered by the end of the game, even if you just rush through the storyline, so any class restrictions will have to be imposed by the equipment and Gambits you allow your characters to have.

I was underleveld at the phon coast at one point in the game there is always a part which requires training

and as for the magic question it works best avinng it general because youre characters have a chance if the spell caster dies

Heh....yeah most chests are completely pointless. I can see no reason why they should have done that - program it so you come accross a chest only for it to yield a knot of rust or a potion.

I found that doing all the mark hunts got me levelled, actually over-levelled. Not from the boss itself, but all the slaughtering trying to find the boss. However doing all the hunts is time-consuming. I've only been able to pick at it (what with a career, girlfriend and new house) over the past few months, and I still haven't finished it.

Gambits help - especially gambits like healing when at 30% hp, hasting slowed characters, casting esuna on those who need it, etc. It really automates the game, and saves you a lot of time in manually casting cure, esuna, haste, etc.

Combined with proper gambits, physical attacks are by far sufficient. I still haven't even tried all the technicks. And I've pretty much whooped every storyline boss up to (SPOILER)sky fortress bahamut.

Oh, and don't forget to acqurie equip those accessories that double exp gained. That'll help the levelling. Buy 3 as soon as you can.

I would say your problem doesn't have much to do with your character build, because as someone said, by endgame, your characters are clones, anyway.

Although it may seem late now, sidequests (mark-hunts) are the best way to make sure things go smoothely. I tried to keep up with the hunts as they became available, and I cruised through the story-parts really easy, especially the last dungeon.

That being said, one of the great things about this game is that you can do whatever you want. If you want 6 generic characters you can go right ahead, or if you want 6 very diverse roles, you can do that, too. If you want to delve into techniques, you may find it rewarding, although in my one playthrough, I didn't use much other than steal, libra, and poach. I usually had each character specialize in 1-3 weapons, as I had each in a different role/job.

If you want to use only 3 characters, I don't think there's anything that would compromise that, except it does help to have back-ups to relieve your current team.

as far as a restrictive job system, like I said, it's completely up to you. Although even the manual, and classical FF theory suggests that you should.

I think the best piece of advice is found in the manual - you should let the situation dictate how to adapt. Remember, FF is all about how you distribute the resources available to you. Keep these things in mind and you should be fine.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Should I have concentrated my magickers into one particular magick type or should I have kept them general?

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White for healing. Arcane and Green Magick are more useful than the rest IMHO. But as Endless said, physical attacks work best in this game.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Should I even bother with Technicks?

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YES!!!! Steal, Charge & Telekinesis of course but also:
- First Aid - gives you 1/4 HP back for free, no MP required, as fast as an item.
- 1,000 Needles - consistently hit 1,000 there are no monsters immune to it (iirc)
- Bonecrusher - Another one few monsters are immune, and takes their HP down a lot
- Revive - 100 % MP and MP for the character you revive. You still waste a Phoenix down on the character who cast it, but having full health and MP for "free" can't be beat :D

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Originally Posted by -N-

And how many weapons do you usually specialize in?

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Axes did all I needed.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Do all characters need to be the same level or can I get away with only using three the entire game?

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Second party should be at least strong enough to revive the main party (3 turns)

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Originally Posted by -N-

Is a conventional "class restriction" a la FFT better or worse for this game?

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Unless you are a purist, don't bother

for weapons and magic

Balthier and Fran----- bow
Basch and Vaan----- swords, daggers, spears, poles, or axes
Ashe and Penelo----- katanas, mace, staff, or rod


everyone except Basch should know all types of magic, even though you wont use black magic. Basch should only know white magic, and dont set it as a priority in your gambits.

My suggestion is to chain Mirror Knights in the Feywood. An hour of those guys can net you about 200,000 gil so you can easily gear up to better prepare for the last stretch of the game. It sounds like you might be a little under the usual level at that point in the game, but that doesn't mean it's not possible, it's possible to beat the game at extremely low levels with proper preparation, so I would concentrate more on that. Mirror Knights are probably the best way to go.

If you just want to beat the game, focus only on three characters and neglect the rest, you won't need them.

" The main party are dead! And the reserves are level 14! Im fighting Yiazmat! Omega Mark XII! Gilgamesh! the undying! OMG we are going to die!"

You will face that situation if negeclet people. I suggest making reserves about 5 levels behind your main. But thier levels is up to you. OR You could make everyone the same level. I suggest everyone same level. More safer.

DEFINITELY make sure that you level up more at Giruvegan, and the Feywood. Or go into the last section of Golmore Jungle, and defeat all the enemies there, then a wide host of skeletons will appear, and make sure you chain them up because they come quick, and easy to beat. They give good loot, and levelling experience, plus they hardly take over 20 minutes to kill off, and straight after there is a rare game monster.

Make sure you train up at Giruvegan, and demolish all the Behemoths, resulting in you getting loads of loot, Exp, and it's quite fun. Take on some of he hunts, because they get more fun later on. At the end of the game, or where you are- the Pharos, at least be level 55, because you'll find that the Vivians won't be able to touch you at point. Literally. I think it will tire you out if you level grind there, so just steamroll through it.

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Originally Posted by Balthier Rocks

" The main party are dead! And the reserves are level 14! Im fighting Yiazmat! Omega Mark XII! Gilgamesh! the undying! OMG we are going to die!"

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You're ignoring the fact that he specifically said he doesn't want to grind levels, and he doesn't have the time or interest to fight any of those guys you listed. If you're really worried about having the rest of your party on backup for the stuff you're going after just throw tons of buffs on them like bubble, shell, and protect and switch them back out, the buffs will stay on them forever if you're not using them, so that pretty much covers you for a quick phoenix down or two usually.

Oh the final boss Undying is not nessicery now then? Pfft.

So I did a 99-chain of Mirror Knights and got enough cash (like 500k) to trick out my party's equip and magic. Currently Ashe is my top character at LV50 (Penelo at 47 and Vaan at 46). I managed to complete the Pharos dungeon by the skin of my teeth three levels lower. (Well, the bosses weren't too bad, but getting mobbed was awful.)

A lot of you people have said that magic is fairly useless but I've found a cornerstone of my strategy to not get totally wiped is by exploiting elemental weaknesses with (black) magic. Graviga has been quite helpful. And what about Hastega, Protectga... those are pretty sweet magicks, and I use Arise and Curaga/ja all the time. Oiling Famfrit was huge to beating that boss battle, and spamming Aeroga helped me rock the Hashmal fight. What gives?

And it is true, I don't want to attempt sidebosses on this playthrough (although I'm excited to take them on my second time through). I'll be better prepared that time around... maybe.

So level 55, you say? Where's a good (fast) place to level? I have Embroidered Tippets.

I would probably advise to level up in site 11 of Lhusu Mines, but you have already stated that your not interested in doing side quests or resume the hunts, and you basically get to acsess the rest of the Mines through collecting keys, out of hunts and so on. You seem sorted out with Gil, and the best place to probably train would be Giruvegan in my opinion, and maybe you should attempt to get to the higher floors of the Great Crystal, but it is very time consuming and tiring, also the monsters are level 66+ and give you a great deal of hassle, even if you are in the mid 60's.

I've never been a fan of using magicks in the game, but only when drastically needed, I usually fare with straight out attack, and vary out what sort of weapons I want my characters to use, and organise a team specifically skilled in a wide range of skill.

Oh, and by the way, now that you've lost the use of Reddas, it may be difficult if you decide to take on the harder hunts, because he was incrediably useful for me. Explore Cerobi Steppe, because defeating the Ring Wyrms give you a great deal of Exp, and good selling loot.

I just beat it; thanks everyone for the tips.
Man this game was awesome in every respect.
10/10

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Originally Posted by -N-

I just beat it; thanks everyone for the tips.
Man this game was awesome in every respect.
10/10

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It's good to hear that friend, but would you replay it any time soon? I would give it another one week! :p

I definitely will be replaying it soon, but I agree, a few days off is in order. :p I only hope my work schedule and other extra-curricular stuff will allow me the time. :D

I've basically kept the same set-up for most of the game - I'm now tying up loose ends before hitting the Bahamut. In my party I have the following basic set-ups:

Thief/Tank/Party Leader (Vaan, Penelo)
Heavy Hitter (Basch, Ashe)
Ranged Fighter (Balthier, Fran)

Vaan and Penelo equip a sword/dagger and shield. Basche and Ashe equip 2H weapons and Balthier and Fran equip ranged weapons. I rotate each pairing so that the character at the lower level runs with the party.

All of the characters have the basic healing and quick-kill Gambits:

Self: <10% MP - Charge
Ally: Any - Raise
Ally: <20% HP - Curaga
Ally: <40% HP - Cura
Foe: HP = Critical - Attack
Ally: Any - Esuna

Penelo and Vaan have the following (and are equipped with Thiefs cuffs). They (ideally) attempt at least one steal from each mob, then go for the mob with the lowest HP. They only go for each mob once because the Heavy Hitters should knock each foe off 100% health after the steal:

Foe: HP = 100% - Steal
Foe: Flying = Flare (or another damage spell or Telekinesis)
Foe: Lowest HP - Attack

Ashe and Basch will run around and stop the Thief from redundantly stealing, then go for the enemy with the lowest HP. They also make sure that the party has Protect between fights.

Foe: Flying = Flare (or another damage spell or Telekinesis)
Foe: HP = 100% - Attack
Foe: Lowest HP - Attack
Ally: Any - Protectga

Balthier and Fran hang back and are usually the ones to bail the party out if they get in a mess. They also keep Libra and Shell up, and haste anyone who gets slowed.

Ally: Slow - Haste
Foe: Lowest HP - Attack
Ally: Any - Shellga
Self: Libra

Which leaves plenty of gambit slots for 'situational gambits'. For example, if lots of enemies are using a specific status effect, you can put in a cheaper healing spell above the Esuna gambit. Having Chronos Tear and Cleanse gambits helps where enemies use those status efects.

Using that rough set-up, I finished Ridorana in the high 30s, if I recall correctly.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Should I have concentrated my magickers into one particular magick type or should I have kept them general?

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I kept all of my characters in specific classes, but mostly because I didn't want every character to play exactly the same. It's personal preference and there are benefits to both, but it's up to you. Neither is really better than the other.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Should I even bother with Technicks?

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There aren't that many that are really useful, but you'll want telekinesis, steal and charge for sure.

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Originally Posted by -N-

And how many weapons do you usually specialize in?

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I have each character master two types. Again, I didn't want them all playing the same. Same deal for armour.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Do all characters need to be the same level or can I get away with only using three the entire game?

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I only used three the whole game. At the end the others were so low in level that the best they could do is try to revive everyone else before getting slaughtered if my main party died. Only happened once or twice, but I didn't want to take the time to level six characters for the whole game.

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Originally Posted by -N-

Is a conventional "class restriction" a la FFT better or worse for this game?

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Like I said before, not really better or worse. I prefer classes since it gives some variety to the characters. I hate having jack of all trades characters. It just makes things boring for me. But when you white mage gets killed by a boss and you're scrambling to heal them before someone else gets killed it's pretty exciting. And since I focused on three characters, I didn't get enough license points throughout the game to do any more of the license board than necessary to complete their self imposed class abilities. I think that sort of helped me stick to it. I could have had characters who could do a little of everything, or excel with certain magicks and weapons. I found the latter worked best for me.