How do you party?

[Marky Tee]

So what part set up do you guys use?

At the minute I've got Firion and Guy as my warriors types( innovative, no?) and Maria as an archer/black mage (revolutionary, I know).

Firion generally takes care of my white mage duties and Guy is on status buffs and the like, though these are rarely used.

Thing is, I can never decide whether to have Firion rocking the two swords ala Spartacus from the TV show of the same name or with a sword and shield. Admittedly Spartacus also fought like this for a time....

Also sometimes I give Guy either 2 axes or an axe and a mace, but when he dual wields there is no challenge to the game at all, so had him on axe and shield for a while.

I try to imagine how they would all look fighting if the game was in 3D or live action and go with what would be most aesthetically pleasing.

What do you lot do??

[Electroshock Therapy]

I'm still experimenting to find a comfortable and all-out rockin' party. I've been playing it safe, really. One is white mage, one a black mage, the other character and the guest are fighters. I want to experiment further.

I finally decided to try the bow, but seeing as how I gave it to a mage, that quickly became useless when I focused on magic. I'll probably never use it again, to be honest.

I tried dual wielding on my last playthrough. To compensate for the lack of evade, I used armor this time around. Somehow, I had a tougher time than before. Previously, giving everyone one weapons, a shield and next to no armor, my HP was low by endgame. However, I was also able to dodge most of the killer strikes by enemies who deal 1000+ damage. This time, I kept getting killed by Generals and Death Riders. So I think dual wielding was actually a disadvantage.

I'm thinking about trying out a third mage, preferably black mage. I might have the guest characters be the fighter while one of the three main cast can be another black mage or red mage. I really want to try out more status spells that isn't Berserk. Then again, I also want to try out more protective white magic spells (rather than healing spells). The only problem I have with the leveling system is that you can't really experiment with spells unless you want to spend time grinding for magic levels. Especially when status spells are always useless at the first two levels.

After the brutal playthrough I experienced recently, I'm not looking forward to picking it up anytime soon. But when I do, I'll probably do just that. Make the main three full-time mages or red mages, and make the guest character a fighter. I might have to dual wield the guest just to boost their attack considering they start out pretty weak. But I think they grow faster than your permanent characters, so...

I don't know.

[Marky Tee]

Magic points seem to be too rare a commodity for me to rely on that many mages, the only reason Maria is pulling her own weight is I got the ice bow and it's damage is great for my point in the game. Dual wielding seems to be ploughing straight through everything for me, only downside is not being able to escape from random battles. There are a lot.

[Electroshock Therapy]

Yeah... MP is the one thing I kinda cheat on. I abuse not using auto-targeting. I get fairly enough MP to get by, but I still buy some ethers just in case. Dual wielding does make physical combat easier. By the final dungeons, I suffered by not having enough evade and my fighters, even with high HP, got butchered. But if you're doing better than I am, then awesome!

Everything in this game seems to be a double-edged sword. Build your characters one way and certain sections become easier, but others harder. I'm still determined to find that perfect party!

[Senshi Xion]

I've played enough to have a strategy for every character including SoR and the bonus labyrinth. It's my favorite FF to just plow through even though 10 is easily my favorite.

With the core party, I go very similar to Marky. Firion usually has a sword and shield or 2 swords along with white magic. Maria is my black mage and either is an archer or given dual knives if the labyrinth isn't an option. Guy is given and axe and shield or dual axes and has all the buff spells, black or white. ALSO learn Toad, Mini, Death, Break, Teleport, or Warp and level it up. Even in the anniversary edition, you can 1-shot bosses with them (except the Dark Emperor or Zombie Borghen due to ploooooot).

The rest vary in how you should use them. Minwu is a White Mage, so USE HIM FOR THAT. Josef can be lacking in HP, but his attack and defense can make him somewhat of a tank powerhouse. Gordon is fast despite being squishy, so he can easily use items or help in escape. Leila is already dual wielding, but I change her sword to another knife and KILL EVERYTHING. Ricard, also short on HP, can become nasty in damage, especially in SoR, so give him the best lance you can and hope for the best.

With Leon and Scott....their HP and defenses are gross, but their damage output can be insane. Scott has the black magic on the team as well as a sword, and he can be a crutch for Minwu and Josef early on. Leon, meanwhile, can go a few ways. My favorite tactic is to give him the Blood Sword, a Fire spell, and a second sword or axe. The Blood Sword acts as a pseudo-heal for him, and he does more damage with it than Firion (since his Stamina is super high and will make his HP grow fast. I checked this.) Of course, then you have Longinus from the labyrinth, so that's always an option if you can.

Yeah....please don't judge me for the detail in this! I get bored!

[Marky Tee]

Hmm what is this not abusing auto target for MP that you speak of,Electro? Not sure what you mean....


I was the opposite with Leila, Senshi, I had to replace the knife with a sword just to make her usable. Knives were ALWAYS hitting for roughly the square root of FA every single time. It's a shame too cos I loves daggers/knives.

In games of course.....

[Motdrafin]

What I do is make Firion and Maria white mages/warriors (level up white magic and equip them with swords) and focus on Guy as a primary attacker (level up axe skills). I also give Firion and Maria a few black magic spells, but do not focus primarily on them. I use the fourth slot character as what they are intended to be (Minwu as white mage, Josef as Monk, etc.) For all, I try to level up HP the most.

[Electroshock Therapy]

Hmm what is this not abusing auto target for MP that you speak of,Electro? Not sure what you mean....

I turn auto-targeting off so it plays like the NES game. When grinding on the overworld, I have everyone attack one enemy at a time, and mages use magic. With auto-targeting off, my fighters will hit empty space rather than killing the next enemy. This way, I'm able to use more MP than if I have auto-targeting on. So I basically prolong the battle just so I can get more MP. I do consider it it cheating somewhat. I do it because they finally made magic useful (unlike half the spells in the first game) and yet MP is the hardest thing to gain. I should say though that it isn't perfect. Even with that trick, it's not very likely you'll be raking in the MP like mad. It's still difficult to gain, and I often have to conserve or use at least an ether (more if I lose myself in dungeons).

I draw the line at sapping MP out of a character to make it grow. That's too much like the beating yourself up trick for HP, and I'm not fond of that. I'd rather have my characters grow normally, and the auto-targeting trick falls in the category for me.

[Senshi Xion]

I was the opposite with Leila, Senshi, I had to replace the knife with a sword just to make her usable. Knives were ALWAYS hitting for roughly the square root of FA every single time. It's a shame too cos I loves daggers/knives.

In games of course.....

We must be playing different versions, then. The NES and Origins versions are similar to each other in combat, so I can see how some things would be difficult. Using weapons and spells 100 times per level, hidden Int/Spr penalties, awkward reductions in one category if you use another, sacrificing HP and MP for more....they live up to the "black sheep" title imo.

But in Dawn of Souls and the 20th Anniversary versions, they fix a lot of this. Now they have regular HP growth based on your stamina, weapons and spells can level up easier, no one stat decreases, and there's no penalties in the weapons. That's what I usually play, and that's how I know Soul of Rebirth and Arcane Labyrinth well enough.

And in those versions, Leila's speed and evade are pretty high, so dual wielding knives will actually make her strong, especially once she has the Oricalcum knife.

[Electroshock Therapy]

I would like add that the Origins edition on the PS1 also fixed the weapons problem. They don't have hidden int/spr penalties.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think all spells have to be cast 100 times, at least in the Origins version. Elemental spells seem to take longer to upgrade, but status spells appear to take much less time. I find that odd.

[Snap Jumper]

I usually use Firion as a mage, both white and black. Maria, until my latest playthrough, is a straight up monk. However, last time I played I gave her a shield in one hand and left the other barefisted until I got a Blood Sword, and she became almost unhittable. She was blocking nearly everything. Gus gets to be my warrior and backup mage. I try to avoid making Gus a mage because if there are only three party members, I can't go back if I hit a wrong button while targeting. I try to equip Firion for spirit; Maria for agility, speed, and protection from confusion; and Gus gets the best of what's left. BTW, I play the Origins version. I think it takes ~50 castings to level up a spell.

[Vermachtnis]

I'm about to play this again and I've been thinking. Firion is going to by a Palidin-type. Going to give him a Mace and Shield with White Magic. Maria is going to be a Rouge-type. Duel knives and Black Magic. Gus is going punch things!

[Masamunemaster]

I give everyone the basic spells, the elementals and cure right off the bat. Firion I usually send him off with a sword and spear and warp/teleport with a few simple buffs. Maria is my main mage, curing, attacking whatever needs be and I give her the first osmose I find to keep her mp up the rest of the game. Guy gets two axes, or an axe/staff combo whatever boosts his attack the most. He also gets beserk and blink to use on himself. The fourth person I try to keep with what they have, but make sure they can help keep everyone healthy with esunas and potions.....other than that they are just extra damage.

[Marky Tee]

I was the opposite with Leila, Senshi, I had to replace the knife with a sword just to make her usable. Knives were ALWAYS hitting for roughly the square root of FA every single time. It's a shame too cos I loves daggers/knives.

In games of course.....

We must be playing different versions, then. The NES and Origins versions are similar to each other in combat, so I can see how some things would be difficult. Using weapons and spells 100 times per level, hidden Int/Spr penalties, awkward reductions in one category if you use another, sacrificing HP and MP for more....they live up to the "black sheep" title imo.

But in Dawn of Souls and the 20th Anniversary versions, they fix a lot of this. Now they have regular HP growth based on your stamina, weapons and spells can level up easier, no one stat decreases, and there's no penalties in the weapons. That's what I usually play, and that's how I know Soul of Rebirth and Arcane Labyrinth well enough.

And in those versions, Leila's speed and evade are pretty high, so dual wielding knives will actually make her strong, especially once she has the Oricalcum knife.

I'm playing on the PSP version, I did have origins back in the day but only got to Deist Cavern (which is where I am this time too). Can't remember why I stopped playing way back then.

[Masamunemaster]

You would think someone like Richard would start with more hp. You get him in a very small dungeon where you can't heal at an in, and the boss not to far away one hits him first attack.