Just got my hands on Final Fantasy Tactics

[Goldenboko]

Anything I should know? I'm psyched. No spoilers please.

[BG-57]

Complex plot is hard to follow at times, but the game play is great and the job system hasn't been beat, although it takes a while to figure out all the intricacies. Some matter more than others: Zodiac affinities have a much greater impact on battle damage than weather effects.

[Raistlin]

Couple of general tips:

There are some good abilities for Squires that should pretty much be learned by everyone (off the top of my head: Gained JP Up and Move +1, and I also found Accumulate very useful as something to do to gain JP when no baddies are nearby).

It's probably a good idea to try out some extra random battles early on to get used to the combat system and the jobs. The random battle enemies level up with you, but the story battle enemies don't, so it can also help make some of them easier as well.

During combat, it is ok if a party member dies, because they'll just come back at the end, UNLESS they're dead long enough to turn into a crystal, in which case they're gone for good (unless it's Ramza, in which case game over).

FFT is a great game, so you should enjoy it. Have fun.

[ANGRYWOLF]

I assume you have the handheld version and not the original playstation version.

Some differences between the two versions.

I haven't played the handheld version so I only know what I have read about it.

Have fun friend.

[Goldenboko]

I assume you have the handheld version and not the original playstation version.

Some differences between the two versions.

I haven't played the handheld version so I only know what I have read about it.

Have fun friend.

Nope, got the original from the PS3.

During combat, it is ok if a party member dies, because they'll just come back at the end, UNLESS they're dead long enough to turn into a crystal, in which case they're gone for good (unless it's Ramza, in which case game over).

Ah, okay, I was worried about letting my characters die. Now I'll go ahead and let'um faint if the battles just about in my pocket.

[VeloZer0]

Yeah, Gain JP Up is virtually essential, you don't ever really equip anything else until the end of the game, or if you are having a lot of trouble with a battle.

Save before ever random battle, you never know what the luck of the draw will be. Some times you get a super hard encounter and lose a character and have to reload.

I always try to make sure I take at least one character who can heal/revive into every battle, because things can go bad.

And enjoy! Welcome to the greatest gaming experience this planet has to offer.

[BG-57]

Generally a good rule of thumb is to check out shops every time the story advances. Usually the stores get equipment that's one notch better.

Some bosses require strategy to beat, but even the hardest ones can be defeated by an overleveled party. I generally spend time in random battles until the current armor becomes ineffective.

This game is super cutomizable, so you can alter your party's composition and skillsets until they can be anything you want them to be. Kind of like in FFI, but you can change your mind later.

Getting through the game is mildly difficult, but getting all the sidequests and rare items requires a lot of time and patience. This is the only game I've ever completed everything.

The game has several exploitable glitches that will make your life easier. I suggest that you wait until the second playthrough before exploring these.

[Wolf Kanno]

My biggest suggestion is simply this, if you want to know how useful a job class is, make Ramza the class. He starts off with all around above average stats and he's actually incredibly good as either a mage or warrior. His Squire class is actually ungodly powerful in the later parts of the game.

Ramza can pretty much show you how useful any class can be and while some classes are much more exploitable than others, I don't think there is a bad job class in this game if you build the proper set up. There are a ton of story character to recruit in this game but my advice is to try to keep a few of the generics as well.

[BG-57]

Generics are useful in two ways: you can send them out for Propositions, and they are cool aesthetically since their character design changes with their class while nongenerics do not.

And they're no reason to stick with the Generics the game gives you. You can pitch them and recruit your own. I like starting out with four Generics with Brave and Faith of 70 each. You can tweak Brave and Faith eventually, but I like going out the gate with high stats.

[Raistlin]

I actually prefer using generics in battles to most story characters, because I've already put work into customizing them to my liking by the time those story characters are recruited (Mustadio is a notable exception who I like to use for a time after he joins, because guns are badass). And as BG said, their appearances change with the jobs, so it looks cooler.

[ANGRYWOLF]

as I prefer the storyline characters and by the time I get them I end of having to delete /release the generics to keep them all. Then I have to take the time to build them up.
Fortunately you can use the time to try to steal /acquire special items and that relieves a little of the boredom of grinding.



It's still my favorite FF game.

I guess it's not a spoiler to tell you to get those special items when they become available to you.

[Goldenboko]

Woah, lots to try and absorb. Been busy all day. Going to pick up the game again tonight. Haven't gotten very far at all, headed through some forest atm. Plan on picking it up right now and doing a few randoms, although it doesn't appear I can really switch my party members yet without having no armor to equip!

EDIT: Outfitted my party with better armor, but how do I get these non-story encounters? :O

EDIT2: Nevermind, apparently it's by running around randomly like in other FF's. It just seems weird via the world map.

[Raistlin]

Yeah, you have a certain percentage chance of encountering a random battle on the green non-city map points. I've heard a bunch of rumors about how to lessen/increase your chance of a random encounter (such as clicking on the map point when it's flashing the brightest to avoid a battle), but I don't know of any with a real affect.

I will further say that I <3 monks early on.

[Goldenboko]

Alright, so, I never bothered to start by getting a party with good beginning faith and bravery. Will those stats rise as I level? Is it a big deal?

[VeloZer0]

They will never change unless you do it manually in battles. My first play through of the game I never knew about it at all until the end of the game. If you just want a quick break down, BR gives counter chances and Unarmed damage, FA increases magic damage given and taken.


*Warning, more in depth mechanics below*
As a general rule 1 Brave is equal to 1% chance to trigger your counter ability. So 40 BR would be a 40% chance to counter, 70 BR (max you can recruit a generic with) would be a 70% chance to counter. 97% chance( max you can raise it to permanently) combined with a counter ability that avoids the attack gives you a very broken 3% chance to be hit at all. Also, for unarmed damage multiply by your BR as a percentage. So attacking unarmed with a character with 70 BR will do twice as much damage as a character with 35 BR. You can't raise Brave easily until Chapter 2 when Ramza learns a unique ability to do it.

Faith predominantly affects spells, generally [Caster FA as a %] * [Target FA as a %] * [Spell effect chance or damage]. So the more FA your casters have the more damage/healing/success rate they will have, same with FA of the target. Also, if they have above 89 FA they leave your party forever. No joke. FA is much harder to raise than BR.

Hope I didn't get into too much depth and ruin the mystique of the game for you. You will notice FFT fans generally like to delve fairly deeply into the nuances and mechanics of the game.