My god the encounter rate in the game is ridiculous

[blackmage_nuke]

Im not crazy right? It's like a battle every 5 steps

Actual topic: does running make me encounter more enemies? I sense it does but i cant tell if its just bias

[Jiro]

I remember like every single step yielding an encounter at one point. Painful!

[Slothy]

Actual topic: does running make me encounter more enemies? I sense it does but i cant tell if its just bias

I'd say it's probably just some confirmation bias. You run because you don't want to fight, get back to the map screen quicker than if you fought, run however many steps, get into another fight, get frustrated because you just ran from a fight, run again, take a few more steps, etc. I doubt running changes the actual encounter rate (my god you'd have to be a real dick to program the game that way), but you are encountering more fights in less time so it probably feels that way.

[blackmage_nuke]

I just meant map running, not running from battles. As much as annoying as I find some of the battles I assume I need the grind for the bosses. Im asking because Im pretty sure there are some rpg's out there that DO increase your encounter rate when you sprint.

It actually wasnt too bad on the fire ship but the first four or so dungeons were irritating.

[Gamblet]

You should see what happens in "the forest".

[blackmage_nuke]

And speaking of running, does the braveblade decrease strength whenever the user uses the Flee command and doe it count if the enemy uses escape?

[Flying Mullet]

Sounds like your flux capacitor needs calibrating.

[Jowy]

And speaking of running, does the braveblade decrease strength whenever the user uses the Flee command and doe it count if the enemy uses escape?

Using flee or running causes the Brave Blade to lose one point of strength per escape. The enemies being scared and retreating has no negative connotations.

[Flying Mullet]

However, the Chicken Knife will get stronger every time you run.

[Jowy]

Note that the drawback to that weapon will cause you to randomly flee battle if it is equipped!

[Roogle]

You might want to consider using Game Genie codes if the encounter rate is ruining your gameplay experience. I have no hesitation about using codes to fix outdated mechanics like that in games. I wonder if there is a code to half the encounter rate? That sounds like a happy medium for you.

[Wolf Kanno]

Actual topic: does running make me encounter more enemies? I sense it does but i cant tell if its just bias

I'd say it's probably just some confirmation bias. You run because you don't want to fight, get back to the map screen quicker than if you fought, run however many steps, get into another fight, get frustrated because you just ran from a fight, run again, take a few more steps, etc. I doubt running changes the actual encounter rate (my god you'd have to be a real dick to program the game that way), but you are encountering more fights in less time so it probably feels that way.

It's still a possibility, in FFIII, attempting to run from battle drops your whole party's defense to 0 for that battle. So I can see them doing something where running actually increases the encounter rate.

As for actual map running, it does technically increase the time between encounter rates but its because encounters are calculated by how many steps you take so actually running would increase the encounter rate times because you are taking more steps in a shorter period of time, though not running would not actually change the rate, it would just make it feel like it's not as prevalent.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Which version of the game do you have?

The Oracle job class found in the Game Boy Advance version has an ability called "Read Ahead" which greatly lowers your encounter rate.

[noshowmillk]

One thing I know about Final Fantasy is that it has an insane encounter rate. I have this issue in other FF games as well.

[Greatermaximus]

And with Chrono Trigger many of the enemies were optional. I liked it how in the beginning of the game the little enemies are resistant to fire and lightning and you start with your fire character and lighting character.