What is the best team (Chapter 9 and beyond)?

[Ashi]

At first I used Lightening/Hope/Fang but then switched to Lightening/Vanille/Fang. I still can't really decide what I wanna do, especially since I have everyone at their main role on lv3 and nothing beyond that. If I stick to the latter team one of them needs to learn to be a SYN, but yeah...too early for me to stick to one team I think. Gonna mess around a bit more!

[Dignified Pauper]

I go Lightning, Hope, Fang. I want to use Sazh more, but I need a defensive role, which he doesn't have, and Snow isn't as good as Fang. Vanille might replace Hope.

I use this same team, rarely replacing Hope with Vanille.

Hope is just so awesome.

[Masamunemaster]

I prefer lightning hope and fang

Fang may not be the best SEN but she makes up for it by having mediguard so soon, and she is the best COM there is. I had her hit for max damage on a behemoth with only 600% stagger(made me happy)

Lightning is a very well balanced character...even better with her first weapon than any other. if you can keep her madic going pretty fast then she makes a decent secondary healer(I usually have hope as my party leader so I can make sure nobody dies[and alexander is so bad @$$])

Hope's healing is better cause the AI seems to react faster than vanilles, and it heals for more(her cure did 200, hopes did 350).

I would honestly recommend this party to everyone....it makes the later boss fights so simple

[Loony BoB]

Regarding "he heals for more" - that is largely down to what equipment you put on each of them. I'm not entirely certain, but I believe that Vanille probably maxes out better for cures if she has a fully upgraded Healer's Staff (or whatever).

However I've found that as you go up the levels, you can pretty much improvise with all of the characters. I've had a very unlikely trio come out victorious against Neochu (with his Picochu minions) recently despite forgetting to adjust far from the main three paradigms - I had no RAV or COM in my paradigm set at all! I won using SEN/MED/SAB, with Vanille casting Death and Snow using Vendetta.

[demondude]

I have discovered that this game is much easier if you don't stick to the same three characters.

[Loony BoB]

That's definitely true.

[demondude]

Chapter 12 against the midboss. I died so many times until I switched Lightning for Snow, where it was a breeze because its really fast attacks all directed at Snow making it much easier to attack. The Umbra was helpful too, and if anyone is unsure whether to go for Umbra or Paladin for a Sentinel Snow, I would advise Umbra.

I'm generally unimpressed at Fang's Sentinel ability. :/ I will concede she's good, but Snow can be left alone and take so many more blows than Fang can.

[VeloZer0]

It's a shame the upgrade system really discourages having a flexible party make up. It is nice everyone gets CP, but upgrading rewards dumping large sums of money into one item at a time, you are basically punished by spreading item exp around.

[asukaevaunit02]

I started off with Lightning/Snow/Hope for a while, worked well... but relied heavily on staggering.

Recently changed to Hope/Vanille/Fang, and it just kicks ass. Default set up is SYN/RAV/SAB, for buffs to make Fang even stronger, by time thats done Vanille/Fang have done enough damage and then switch to RAV/RAV/COM to finish easily.

[Loony BoB]

Ooh, that's one I don't think I've tried. I might have a go at it later on. I suppose I've tried Hope/Vanille/Snow which is kind of similar (and fantastic for Neochu destruction).

[Rinoabella]

We have the Official FFXIII walkthrough and it has a bunch of bargraphs and fancy charts. Hope excels in Medic over Vanille because his maximum magic is higher. It suggests these are the best roles for each character:

Commando: Fang
Ravager: Lightning
Snow: Sentinel
Synergist: Sazh/Hope equally
Saboteur: Vanille
Medic: Hope

[Loony BoB]

I've got the same guide - it doesn't take equipment bonuses into account, nor does it take into account ultimate weapons or power leveling. Basically, it's for the "standard and direct route through the main game", to quote the guide's text next to the graphs (opposite page). Vanille has a staff that enables her to get 20% extra out of her healing, so it gives it a pretty big boost - enough, I'd say, to outdo Hope.

Hope and Sahz are also debatable over who is the better Synergist depending on what angle you're wanting in your battle. Hope, with the right weapon, can increase the duration of defensive buffs such as Protect and Shell by 80%. Sahz, meanwhile, puts the same 80% onto offensive buffs such as Enfrost (again, with the right weapon).

[VeloZer0]

When I tested with Vanille's magic vs healing staff they both healed for the same amount. Which is extremely disappointing. And when I switched to Hope for healing he outdid both weapons with his magic weapon. Since healing is the only thing in the game I can really keep effective tabs on and the dedicated healing weapon didn't come out on top, it makes me wonder how useful the other specialty weapons really are.

[Loony BoB]

I have Vanille's debuff & heal specialty equipment upgraded to the point that the next stone makes them into an ultimate weapon and I can tell you that I alternate between them depending on the enemy because it makes a whopping big difference. I don't know how far you have them leveled, but Vanille definitely does a notable difference with her healing/debuffing between those weapons. Hope is pretty even with her without the staff for curing, but with the staff I notice a difference immediately. Maybe you have other equipment boosting Hope up with things, or maybe you just have him powered up to a different point than I do.

EDIT: Does anyone know what Simurgh does, btw? Even the guide doesn't tell you. "A very special synthesis" or something along those lines. Interesting...

[VeloZer0]

I tested between Vanilles +healing and +magic weapons maxed out on the first level at the start of Ch11. The extra magic bonus on the magic pole was enough to make up the difference the +healing bonus made. Naturally the healing version would easily outperform the debuffing one.

The reason Hope was healing for more was he straight up had a higher Magic stat.

Does anyone know what Simurgh does, btw? Even the guide doesn't tell you. "A very special synthesis" or something along those lines. Interesting...

Interesting indeed. And by interesting I mean total bulls*** that it is so cryptic.