STAGGER LOCK???GTFO!

[Garnie]

Ok so I maxed out my weapons and got a funky little star, then i go up to some vampires and start kicking ass. But oddly I just couldn't stagger them. I was all like "gee...this is odd" So I restart my game but i still couldn't stagger. them.
I then notice that Sazh is like really weak and im like " Gee you were like my second hardest geezer, this be odd" and i then go look at my status.

Why oh why do the weapons have crappy effects on em when they level up. I thought they were supposed to be better!!

Can someone help me with Weapons upgrades they just mind boggling.

[demondude]

Some weapons start with Stagger lock, and it's usually a trade off for better stats.

[Garnie]

yah i was with you till the word usually......

[demondude]

I dunno, maybe the good stats come in on the tier 3 phase.

[Garnie]

umm...........what?? ENGLISH PLZKTHNX!!!

Seriously how does the weapon system work in like dumb ass speak lol!

[Ezme]

One set of weapons from each character has stagger lock. All these weapons have wildly larger stats than the other weapons as a trade off. Use these weapons with characters who you don't employ in the direct use of creating a stagger chain. I currently only have one "stagger lock" weapon and that's on fang who doesn't increase the chain anyway with commando and sentinel. They still "maintain" the stagger, just don't increase it. There's no way around it, they won't evolve out of it.

[Garnie]

So How do I evolve these weapons? Do i Need to buy new ones or will the stagger locks come of to the next stage. And what is the next stage??

Seriously....a weapon manual would be handy, its just mind boggling lol

[Ezme]

No. As I have already said, if a weapon has stagger lock it will not lose it. Weapons evolve through a transformation catalyst. If you notice once a weapon is "stared" only it's relavent catalyst will be "clickable." Use it and it will change into the next weapon.
Here's a list of weapons with their catalysts.
Final Fantasy XIII Weapons

Catalysts are expensive but you can find most through the game, just traps are rare and insanely expensive.

EDT: Or if you want guides go to GameFAQ
Final Fantasy XIII FAQs, Walkthroughs, and Guides for PlayStation 3 - GameFAQs

[Garnie]

Oooohhhhhh!

That's actually really helpful thanks ^_^

[Raistlin]

Some weapons have beneficial attributes (e.g. increased healing), which is a trade-off for worse stats. Other weapons have negative attributes (e.g. Stagger Lock) which is a trade-off for better stats. None are objectively better than others; it depends how you use the characters. For instance, I have Fang equipped with her weapon that has Stagger Lock, because it has the highest combined Strength and Magic stat. She is a badass with it, and I let my other two characters, who are predominately Ravagers, cause the stagger.

[Goldenboko]

Fang tends to be the perfect character for Stagger Lock weapons, as she usually focuses on the COM/SEN for me during combat and the bit of Stagger lost when switching to SAB is nearly insignificant. Having a party full of a Stagger Locked weapons would just be silly though.

[Mo-Nercy]

I initially didn't think it was very helpful either, but when I realised that my Fang rarely plays as anything but COM and SEN, I came around to it.

But I don't use Fang very much anyway. I like having the option of the Tri-Disaster paradigm.

[Raistlin]

Having one character with a Stagger Lock weapon, even one that's often a Ravager, should have negligible, even unnoticeable, difference in staggering. Stagger Lock does not affect the raising of the stagger bar in any way, so I have still been able to use Fang as a Ravager and Saboteur with great effectiveness (arguably even more effectiveness than otherwise, since that has a great boost to Magic as well). Stagger Lock only prevents that last hit from causing the stagger effect. I can only remember a couple of instances where an enemy's stagger was delayed at all due to Fang's stagger lock (when fighting the Adamantoises and physical fighters have to run all the way across the screen to attack).

[Loony BoB]

I have the random 'Instant chain' on Fang, so she gets around it that way fairly often. Also, if you use her as SAB, she'll still push the numbers up, she just won't kick it over the edge towards stagger, so ensure you have someone backing her up (or in your case, Sazh) so that they can get that extra level.