First playthrough: Should I power-level?

[hhr1dluv]

Okay, this might be a stupid topic...
Anyway, I've decided to give Final Fantasy XII another try. I have two options. I can either play the game regularly, which means that I will go through the game, fight battles as they come, and progress the story as quickly as possible. For a normal playthrough, I despise leveling up unless it's absolutely necessary to progress.
Or, I could use a 'power walkthrough.' With this, intense leveling would be involved but only at the most efficient times.
I'm not sure which choice I should pick. My first go with XII was annoyingly difficult for me, which has led me to believe that leveling up at times is necessary. Now, if leveling up really IS necessary in this game, I would prefer to do the power walkthrough, as that would mean that I'd spend the smallest amount of time leveling up. Yet, power leveling early in the game usually means the game is less challenging and thus less fun. What do you all think I should do?

[Namelessfengir]

i power level when i get my ass kicked mostly chaining after the barheim passage i was chaining wolves and got some mystic armor i didn't take off til arcadieas

[Renmiri]

power level... FFXII is too exhausting to be played twice in a row. You will be glad you got it over with easily.

[mose-schrute]

Just power level when you need to. When I was playing, I didn't power level until almost the very end of the game, by about 35 levels for each character (they were all around 85 by the end) and I did just fine up until then. The next time I play I think I'm going to power level early on and beat it as fast as possible.

Also, I had my characters set up to level up while I was sleeping so I didn't have to exhaust myself with the job of doing it.

[FF9master9]

i always power lvl first time through the game

[Roogle]

Please make sure that the power leveling guide that you are using defines various methods of making Gil. It would be disappointing for you to be at a powerful level, but, being unable to afford any recent equipment, you still find that you are having trouble in certain areas —

[hhr1dluv]

Good point, Roogle. I'm pretty sure this guide accounts for gil. Off the top of my head, I think the initial strategy is chaining loads of wolves and then selling wolf pelts. 0.o

[Wolf Kanno]

I never found power leveling to be necessary in XII. I had to gil farm a few times but I never really needed to power level. This might have to do with the fact I did the Mark hunts as early as possible and I never had a guide to help lead me straight to them. As well as hunt down all the espers when I felt ready.

Doing this, I was actually 20+ levels higher than the recommended level to beat the final boss. In fact I'm just starting to power level in the game and its mostly to deal with Yiazmat and Omega Weapon XII. Mostly, I felt acquiring gil early in the game was the hardest part. Especially in this game where equipment affects your parties stats and play styles so drastically...

Good luck and I hope you have a better experience with the game this time.

[Bolivar]

I would definately, absolutely, positively recommend this to anyone starting a new game:

Explore.

I think alot of people didn't see it when the game came out - exploration is what most of the fun in the game is all about. Try to make out the entire map for yourself - if you get the map, check out all the areas you haven't yet. Hug the edges then move into the center. FFXII is a game with alot of attention put to environments, so seeing everything and taking part in the world is one of the parts the developers intended the gamer to get out of it.

If you do this, you'll most likely find a few good pieces of equipment out of random treasure chests, not to mention rare drops from some of the enemies. Also, if you take the time to explore every area before moving on, you'll more than likely have all the exp you need, and the gil to get the equipment you need. It's worth it for alot of reasons.

So by exploring, completing mark hunts, and playing through the storyline you more than likely won't have to powerlevel at all, you can just play right through and enjoy.

[Quindiana Jones]

I despise people who say levelling up makes the game less fun.

I level up as much as I can be arsed to. The game practically requires you to go around killing loads of things anyway, due to the way that you get money. You get the loot by killing things, so if you want to have the best stuff, you also need to have some bitchin' levels.

[Big D]

My friend tried to barrel through the game without getting sidetracked by sidequests. The occasional hunt, but no long power-leveling missions.
He did fine up to the dragon guarding the (SPOILER)Great Crystal, but was underleveled and underequipped to defeat that boss.

I'd recommend keeping at a fairly good level, without wasting too much time on getting 100-chain item bonuses or stuff like that. The game should be challenging - not a cakewalk, but not so difficult that random monsters are a serious threat.

[mose-schrute]

He did fine up to the dragon guarding the (SPOILER)Great Crystal, but was underleveled and underequipped to defeat that boss.

Not gonna lie, that dragon is the reason I stopped playing the game for about 2 months and then went back and managed to beat it my first time trying again. =[

I realized I had the wrong armor though, it was pretty embarrassing.

[Roogle]

Good point, Roogle. I'm pretty sure this guide accounts for gil. Off the top of my head, I think the initial strategy is chaining loads of wolves and then selling wolf pelts. 0.o

You should keep in mind to make more Gil than the guide states. Equipment accounts for a lot of the characters' defenses and having the latest equipment can make a huge difference on the outcome of a battle, so I took great effort to make sure that I could update my entire party's equipment at any given time; coincidentally, I was always at the ideal level for each dungeon, too.

[Namelessfengir]

i made it a point to have better armor than i could buy two cities later

[hhr1dluv]

So, I decided to powerlevel, and by powerleveling, I'm actually finding that I'm enjoying the game a lot more this time. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I probably disliked the game my first attempt for two reasons: 1) I was trying to get through everything too quickly, and 2)I expected it to be like FFX.
As a result of powerleveling, I've had to do what Bolivar suggested: explore A LOT. And I think it's great! Obviously, the explore aspect wasn't the same in the other FF titles, as this one is especially huge and beautifully detailed. So, I'm now understanding that this game is a very different sort of experience from the other FFs I've played, and I can appreciate it for what it is. I'm also paying a lot more attention to the narrative details, and reading the bestiary and stuff, and I'm impressed with all the detail. I'm also glad I chose to do the powerleveling strategy...it's nice to totally 'own' all the enemies.
I still have yet to see much of the story, so I can't pass judgement on that. However, I can sort of see why Vaan's role is the way it is. Most of Ivalice is new to Vaan, just as it's new to the player. You discover everything as he discovers it, and though this isn't much different from other FFs, the other player-characters had the entire save-the-world story revolve around them. Since this is a political storyline, I'm not entirely sure that Square could have given us a 'newbie' player-character. I might not be phrasing this well, but I feel this storyline necessarily includes key characters who are already worldly and knowledgeable of everything. So, if Square wanted a main focus of the game to be exploration and discovering Ivalice (which may or may not be true ), it wouldn't make sense to have us take on the role of a key participant in the political struggle. We get Vaan...the observer.
I'm sure most of what I've just written has been expressed more eloquently or quashed viciously elsewhere...but I just wanted to give my 2 cents.