Final Fantasy VI Advance - Perfect Playthrough

[Holy Lancer]

You can't hotlink from GameFAQs, so just copy/paste the URL into your browser window.

oh, thanks lol.

[Ebeneezer Goode]

I actually already finished almost the entire game perfectly, the only mistake I made last time was that I didn't steal the second Kazekiri from Number 128 in the mine cart escape. I know it sounds trivial, but it's essential in creating a Wind-God Cyan, I just didn't feel right without it.

If your having trouble stealing the Kazekiri from Number 128 in this playthrough, you can alway's wait until you come across him in the Soul Shrine. I think you can fight every random enemy and boss in there, and their'll still have the same item on them from the main game, although it is possible to steal it and still beat him in the main game, I did it last-night on a test run-through, just keep the Thunder Rod you get from South Figaro cave and a few Ice Rods to easily take out the Cranes you fight on the Airship, so you won't have to do it all again.

Where about are you now?

[Necronopticous]

I've been setting up preparatory guides before I even get started this time around. I don't want there to be any chance that I miss anything this time, and since I'm planning on sort of turning this into a guide I'm really taking my time reading and combining the most important information from all of these guides. One of the things I want to do this time is clear not only every enemy for rage, but every single enemy formation possible so that every monster formation in the game appears on the veldt.

I turned a segment of Djibriel's Rage Guide into a checklist, much like the Treasure Checklist, so that it can be printed off and monster formations can be checked off as you encounter them. I'm also setting up another checklist to accompany that one which lists the monster formations by area that you should clear before moving on...that one is taking awhile. I'm ripping that info piece by piece out of Djibriel's walkthrough while cutting out unnecessary duplicates of monsters you should have already cleared, etc. Pretty soon here I should have these checklists up and be able to write a sort of guide to piece everything together as I go through. Here is the pack checklist and unfinished formation-by-area checklist.

[Necronopticous]

I know I haven't been journaling like I originally planned, but I've been sick and busy. Writing the guide has been about ten times more work than I originally estimated, but I'm making good progress and still going through with it.

As far as the guide goes, I'm waiting on about a dozen different confirmations to use data from existing FAQs, and most of the guide at this point is in a state of notes to myself on what to write when I actually go back and edit it all together. Very few parts are actually in their finished state.

Personally, I just completed what I consider the first of three "difficult" or "patience trying" parts in the perfect playthrough, which is Kefka's raid on Narshe for Valigarmanda.

I'm not sure how I want to present various parts of the guide yet, for instance, I'm not sure if I want to have all of the checklists strewn throughout the guide or separate to be printed off and used alongside the main step-by-step walkthrough portion.

Anyway, since I haven't posted much, here is an example of one of the finished segments of the guide, the very same part I was just telling you I most recently completed:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	Safeguarding Valigarmanda
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the story sequence, you'll be in control of Terra. It's time to set up
your characters. Since you'll be forced to accept some exp in this scene,
you're stuck with Terra, Sabin, Edgar, and Celes for your assault team. What
follows will be a true test of patience; one of the most frustrating parts of
a perfect playthrough. The following steps will ease the pain of this sequence
as much as possible:

Unequip Locke and put him in the front row.

Unequip Celes

Put Cyan in the front row.

Finally, set up your assault team:


Terra               Sabin               Edgar               Celes
----------------    ----------------    ----------------    ----------------
Great Sword         Mythril Claws       Mythril Spear       Great Sword
Mythril Shield      Buckler             Heavy Shield        Heavy Shield
Green Beret         Green Beret         Green Beret         Green Beret
Silk Robe           Ninja Gear          Iron Armor          Leather Armor
Hermes Sandals      Earring             Hyper Wrist         Barrier Ring
White Cape          Earring             Mythril Glove       Ribbon


Save your game after everyone is set up and prepare to go one-on-one with the
seemingly spiteful random number generator of Final Fantasy VI Advance.

This is how your teams should look:

Team 1:
	Celes*
	Terra
	Sabin
	Edgar

Team 2:
	Cyan

Team 3:
	Locke

*I have to note that, while I have no concrete proof that this has any bearing
 at all on the encountered formations, in my experience it seems that putting
 Celes in the first slot of Team 1 makes the rare 12-0 formation appear
 significantly more often. It might be a completely bogus observation, however,
 it can't hurt to go with it just in case.

This will probably take many tries, but it is entirely possible to clear all
five formations here while only gaining a single level with Terra, which will
be okay since her level will be averaged to 6 the next time she joins the party
anyway.

The timing and positioning is complicated, although you will quickly pick it up
after a few tries, just follow these steps every time until you get the right
encounters:

STEP 1                    STEP 2                    STEP 3
######################### ######################### #########################
############# ########### ############# ########### ############# ###########
############# ###  ###### ############# ###  ###### ############# ###  ######
############# ### S ##### ############# ### S ##### ############# ### S #####
#############B##   ###### #############B##   ###### #############B##   ######
############     ######## ############     ######## ############     ########
###########     ######### ###########     ######### ###########     #########
###########2 1 3 ######## ###########2   3 ######## ###########      ########
###########  .   ######## ###########.   . ######## ###########      ########
###########  ....      ## ###########.   ..      ## ###########            ##
########    ####.#####  # ########   .####.#####  # ########    #### #####  #
######## ## ####.###### # ######## ##.####.###### # ######## ## #### ###### #
######   ## ###.. ##### # ######   ##.###.. ##### # ######   ## ###   ##### #
### ## ####    .####    # ### ## ####2   3####    # ### ## ####2   3####    #
### ## ###  ###.#### ## # ### ## ###  ### #### ## # ### ## ###  ### #### ## #
### ## ### ####.####    # ### ## ### #### ####    # ### ## ### #### ####    #
### #  ### ####.#####  ## ### #  ### #### #####  ## ### #  ### #### #####  ##
### #####      ....   ### ### #####             ### ### #####             ###
### ##### ########.###### ### ##### ######## ###### ### ##### ######## ######
##  ###     ######.###### ##  ###     ###### ###### ##  ###     ###### ######
## ###  ###   ###..###### ## ###  ###   ###  ###### ## ###  ### G<###  ######
#  ### ######  1..####### #  ### ######  1  ####### #  ### ######..1  #######
# #### ###### ### ####### # #### ###### ### ####### # #### ######.### #######
# ####   #### ##      ### # ####   #### ##      ### # ####   ####.##      ###
#  ##### ###  #  #### ### #  ##### ###  #  #### ### #  ##### ###..#  #### ###
##  ####     ## ######### ##  ####     ## ######### ##  ####   ..## #########
###      ## ### ######### ###      ## ### ######### ###      ##.### #########
########### ### ######### ########### ### ######### ###########.### #########
########### ### ######### ########### ### ######### ###########.### #########
###########  ##   ####### ###########  ##   ####### ###########. ##   #######
###########       ####### ###########       ####### ###########@      #######
###########      ######## ###########      ######## ###########%     ########
###########     ######### ###########     ######### ###########&.   #########
############   ########## ############   ########## ############1  ##########
############K############ ############K############ ############K############
############ ############ ############ ############ ############ ############
######################### ######################### #########################

The instant you gain control of your parties, Team 1 should move as quickly as
possible into position as shown in STEP 1. The green assault teams will not
enter this small alley, and since you have an empty space on either side of you
you'll not encounter any green guards.

In this position you'll have to wait a few seconds for all of the green teams
to pass, take this opportunity to quickly move Team 2 and 3 into position as
shown in STEP 2.

If your timing is right when you switch back to Team 1 the last green guard on
the left should just be passing, you'll want to make a mad dash south along the
left wall as shown in STEP 3 just as soon as the guard is moving left into his
position shown by G< in STEP 3.

At position @ you'll encounter your first battle with a brown soldier in a
line formation to the right. Hope for the more rare encounter, 12-0: Heavy
Armor, Corporal, Corporal. If you get the common encounter, 12-1: Fidor,
Corporal, it is still possible to encounter 12-0 in %, so don't give up just
yet.

To handle 12-0: Heavy Armor, Corporal, Corporal, I recommend using Auto
Crossbow once with Edgar, then taking out the Corporals one by one with single-
target Fire and Blizzard, courtesy of Terra and Celes, respectively. Once the
Corporals are dead, make a run for it to avoid the exp.

To handle 12-1: Fidor, Corporal, just abuse Auto Crossbow and Aura Cannon while
healing up with multi-target Cure with Celes. You'll have to take the exp on
this one so make sure everyone is alive to distribute it correctly.

The timing on the next part is bizarre and tricky. In order to avoid a third
brown team battle you'll have to wait a split second after getting past the
encounter at position @ before moving down a space to encounter the formation
at position %. The easiest way to time this is to go into your menu the instant
you finish with the first encounter. It will look like you're going to get
caught by a guard moving in on you from the right, but you'll be able to move
out of the way in time if you move down the instant you exit from the menu. I
recommend using the menu time to heal up everyone with potions.

At position % you'll encounter your second brown team battle, hope for the
one you didn't get at position @. If you do get the same one, reset and try
again, unless of course both of the previous encounters have been 12-0. In this
rare case you can quickly encounter a third brown formation hoping for 12-1
this time.

Eventually you will get lucky and encounter both 12-0 and 12-1, the next step
is to quickly move down to avoid an extra brown battle that will ensue if you
fight Hell Rider from your current position in position %. If you have gotten
the timing right so far and entered the menu after the battle at position @ as
I suggested, Hell Rider should be out of your way after you finish off the
encounter at position %, allowing you to move down into his line at position &.

You should have a split second to heal up with potions in the menu before
fighting Hell Rider if you need, although he shouldn't give you too much
trouble either way. Have Sabin use Aura Cannon and Edgar use Auto Crossbow
every turn as usual. Use Terra for multi-target Cure to keep your HP up. Celes
can cast Blizzard for a little extra damage.

As soon as Hell Rider is taken care of, position yourself directly in front of
Kefka, facing him, so that all you need to do is press A to initiate the
battle, this is very important so you have as much time as possible to
encounter the last two formations. If you need to heal up Team 1, do it before
switching parties or you'll risk having a pesky green team seize Banon.

As soon as you're prepared to fight Kefka with Team 1, quickly switch to Team 3
and walk down to face a green team as quickly as possible. Pray for the more
rare 12-4: Hunting Hound, Corporal, Corporal, as facing this formation right
off the bat probably means you just succeeded. Regardless, if you face 12-3
Corporal, Corporal, Corporal, Corporal, you still have a couple chances to get
12-4.

Allow yourself to get killed by the formation, it shouldn't take long at all
with no equipment in the front row. When you die, you'll appear up at the save
point location with 1 HP, quickly head back down to fight more green team
formations. Before you're able to fight another one with Team 3, Team 2 will
probably get attacked by another green formation. If it's the one you didn't
face in the first battle with Team 3, you win, if not, work as fast as you can
to fight more formations with Team 3 before they seize Banon. You can probably
get in three or four total battles in if you're really quick. The instant
you've encountered both green formations switch to Team 1 and rapidfire the A
button to engage Kefka.

Kefka is easy, so if you've made it this far you're home free. Keep Runic up at
all times with Celes and you disable his only means to do serious damage to
your party. Have Terra heal up your party with potions while Edgar and Sabin
do the Auto Crossbow/Aura Cannon thing again. It's very important you don't
accidently use Cure with Terra as it could invalidate your Runic right as Kefka
decides to multi-target you with a powerful spell.

[Ebeneezer Goode]

What do you plan on doing when you get around to the mine cart escape? There's four different enemy formations for the Magna Roaders, those plus the fifth battle will result in you gaining an extra level for one of your characters, no matter which way you do it, stopping you from gaining perfect stats.

[Necronopticous]

Actually it works out quite perfectly, I've developed a strategy so that you encounter both the purple and red Magna Roader and only Locke gains a single level. Since I max out his strength anyway, we already have Bismarck at this point, which is +2 to strength, the most you'll ever get. With Bismarck equipped Locke naturally goes up a level just like he would after this point, and the overall average is still maintained.

[ljkkjlcm9]

I'd just like to point out, in case you were not aware or something, if you die, you'll keep all your EXP and levels, start from the last save, BUT, you'll lose any bonus from Espers at those levels. Just a fair warning. For when later you start fighting in the Dragon forest or whatever to gain levels, save every level, because you can die easily there.

I was just reminded of this fighting there, Cyan was level 77, but then died, from a rear Bite attack for 8000 damage... he was still level 77, but had the Magic stat he had when I had last saved, at 70. That was 14 good points I lost cause I hadn't saved for awhile, so I reloaded the level 70 game.

THE JACKEL

[Necronopticous]

Yeah, I learned the hard way my first time through FFVI Advance, almost ruined my game (That game ended up being ruined anyway, but eh.)

[Holy Lancer]

Can you do this for Final Fantasy V Advance too?

[ljkkjlcm9]

Can you do this for Final Fantasy V Advance too?

Basically, master all the jobs in FFV advance and you'll be set.

I'm kinda doing a "perfect" game. I didn't stress over the stuff early on, but now that I have the best bonuses I can get, I'm trying to get the best stats.

THE JACKEL

[Ebeneezer Goode]

Apologies from hijacking your thread Necronopticous, but I've got a problem I thought you'd like to know about (and help me out on ;) ).

According to Leviathan Mist in his Perfect Stats Guide, at the Imperial Banquet it's possible to flee from the three soldiers except the Mega Armour and still get the Charm Bangle (which is a one-off item and a big help for the Floating Continent) if I answer the questions right and defeat the Imperial Elite soldiers. The thing is I did that part last-night as was stated, but only got a Tintinabar. I did it again defeating three of the four soldiers, answering the questions right and fighting the Imperial Elite, but still only got a Tintinabar.

The only way it's possible to get the Charm Bangle is to do everything possible, which I can't do without the party I've got gaining levels.

Any Advice?

P.S. I know it might seem like I'm going over the top with this, but I'm hardcore when it comes to a ("perfect playthrough") I need everything possible to be perfect.

[Necronopticous]

No problem about the questions, please ask away, that's what the thread is for.

Leviathan Mist's guide is totally wrong about the banquet, I'll explain...

The only way you can possibly get the Ward Bangle is by fighting--and killing--every single enemy in this graded area. This includes the SP Forces during the banquet break, and all 4 battles while talking to soldiers. (You get one point for talking to them, and five points for actually killing them)

Someone's going to gain a level if you want the Ward Bangle. Sucks, right?

Actually, no. The good thing is that Leviathan Mist also made a mistake thinking that you need a level average of less than 6.50 to have your character's levels round to 6. In actuality, it is decimal truncation rather than rounding. What does this mean for you? You can safely have a level average of up to 6.99 and it will still average incoming characters to level 6.

Yes I'm sure, yes I've tried it. Equip a +2 esper on someone and let one person in your party take a level. I don't remember how exactly I did that right at the moment, but I think I had Edgar kill one battle by himself with everyone dead, and then everyone distribute the rest of the exp between the four characters evenly with them all alive. Can't be sure, but just do a little math with some enemy stats guides and your current exp and you should be able to easily figure it out.

Good luck!

[Ebeneezer Goode]

The problem with that is I had to level Locke up to level 7 during the Mine Cart ride, before the banquet I've got a party of;

Terra - lv 6
Locke - lv 7
Sabin - lv 6
Edgar - lv 6
Cyan - lv 7
Gau - lv 7
Setzer - lv 6

I take Terra, Edgar, Sabin, and Setzer who all have about 384 exp to play with before next lv up. I'm not great with maths, but if one of them gains a level wouldn't that then be above 6.99, meaning Shadow joins at 7 instead of 6.

I'll try it out, but I think I'm screwed, was Locke only mean't to gain one level during the Mine Cart ride?

Edit: I'm about to leave the WoB now, and need to level Gau up for the fight with Air Force, but with the GBA version having a bonus Esper with HP +100 (Diablos), does this completely change how I can level up Gau and the rest?

[Necronopticous]

No, it's the same. Everyone should be level 25, with the exception of Gau who should be less than 68 I believe. Also, you might want to consider making every 24 instead of 25 so LV 5 Death won't kill your party.

[Ebeneezer Goode]

I plan on leveling everyone except Gau up to around lv 20, I think there's some enemies in the Pheonix Cave I can't escape from and one in Owzer's Mansion I'm forced to take EXP from, so I'll leave them with a few levels to play with.

Also, you were right about being able to gain an extra level at the banquet and still keep the average below 7, I let Edgar gain the extra level, got the Charm Bangle and Shadow was still only lv 6 when I picked him up on the Floating Continent. The rest should be a breeze now.

Thanks!