Espers really worth it?

[yojimbosoul]

Today I saw a website with all the espers and stats for them, then I thought, is getting the Espers really worth it and all the trouble? could you win the game without them?

[Zeromus_X]

Yes, it's quite possible to clear the game without using any Espers whatsoever.

But, I had to get at least Zeromus.

[Nominus Experse]

I have yet to summon any of them once, though I do find it fun to acquire them all the same.

[Renmiri]

Yes, it's quite possible to clear the game without using any Espers whatsoever.

But, I had to get at least Zeromus.

Gee, I wonder why

Espers are weaker than quickenings IMHO. But cool graphics on their special attacks :

[yojimbosoul]

so... I souldn't get them, and concentrate on quickings?

some people say their great in tight spots......but, can you use them in boss battles?

[Zeromus_X]

By all means, you should get them just to listen the the track 'Esper Battle'. The fights against the Espers are often fun and challenging themselves. It's just that the Espers really aren't too useful. The only boss battle I ever found a use out of them for was when (SPOILER)I fought Vossler in the Leviathan. Belias quickly made work out of him.

Quickenings are much more useful, but even they lose usefulness later on when you'll want to conserve your MP for spells and other abilities.

[neo_sporin]

agreed, i used to use quickenings on every boss/hunt, but now im too busy with curaja, esunaga, bravery, faith, protect and raise/arise to bother with quickenings until the last little bit of health when the bosses decide to start throwing out huge combos

[Wolf Kanno]

They're more for strategy than anything. Though they can help you level up a specific character quickly if you use them liberally.

Basically, they aren't the demi-gods they were in the previous installments. But they are useful for exploiting elemental weakness'. A few of them are still pretty useful. Chaos, Ultima, and Zodiark are all still useful by the end.

The main problem with them, is they have no defense, so if you don't watch it, they get killed quickly before they can do anything useful. The end game summons also have weird conditions to activate their powers. They're not as bad as people say you just have to watch them carefully. You can't just summon them and watch them wave a path of destruction, they can do it, you just have to watch their health and you have to give them a few buffs (like Bubble).

I personally like how well balanced they are compared to previous games in the series.

[Renmiri]

A few of them are still pretty useful. Chaos, Ultima, and Zodiark are all still useful by the end.

I like Mateus with Cura and that ice lance thingie

The main problem with them, is they have no defense, so if you don't watch it, they get killed quickly before they can do anything useful.

Aye, plus having your character there makes you even weaker.

I personally like how well balanced they are compared to previous games in the series.

I don't follow....

[Tavrobel]

I suppose, yes, because Belias is required for one part of the game. But I still have yet to activate Mateus and up.

Quickenings > Espers, especially when you reach the higher numbers, like 25+.

[abrojtm]

I really only used them to see their cool special attacks, but they are so hard to activate that it's not even worth the trouble for that.

[Renmiri]

I suppose, yes, because Belias is required for one part of the game. But I still have yet to activate Mateus and up.

Quickenings > Espers, especially when you reach the higher numbers, like 25+.

You do need to defeat Mateus to finish the Stillshrine of Mirian, iirc.

It is worth getting him / her just to see the special attack: it is very cool. Besides, Mateus casts Cura on itself so it usually lasts longer than Belias

[Tavrobel]

Renmiri, I do sorely hope you don't think that I haven't finished the game, and that when I say "activate" doesn't mean using the Lisence board. Activate != Encounter. Even you should appreciate this, and no, you DON'T need to (SPOILER)summon Mateus at the Stilshrine of Miriam.

You only need to actually summon one of the Espers to continue the plot ((SPOILER)Belias before Giruvegan).

And yeah, because I want to see some random flashy animation that winds up serving the same EXACT purpose of all three of my (used) characters, but with less efficiency, and less DpS. Thanks. I needed that kick-myself-in-the-balls type logic.

[Wolf Kanno]

I personally like how well balanced they are compared to previous games in the series.

I don't follow.... [/quote]

Compared to the summons in the series starting from FFVII and up, the summons have been battle ending spells. Getting your ass kicked? Summon a giant dragon to deal ungodly damage on creatures that could have been beaten had you put more effort into normal combat.

IX is sorta've an exception to this rule since it brought back the decent damage cap. Half the summons in VII are overpowered monstrosities that sucked the fun out of the game for me. VIII did the same thing by allowing you to summon them over with no real consequence. They may have had health bars, but their health was so much higher than your characters and with the right placement, they could be summoned in mere moments.

Basically, these summons made me wonder why I should even bother really using my characters or abilities when I could summon a few creatures to wipe the floor with everything and end the battle in a single round? FFX tried to balance it a bit, but I found the summons grew too quickly and before I knew it, I was facing the same scenario as above (though I can't finish them in a single round anymore without using an Overdrive but meh...).

I enjoy having them, but I don't want to feel like I need them. I prefer FFIV and FFV where they were powerful but not all mighty.

[Moon Rabbits]

I find Espers very useful sometimes.

When I fought Addremalech, I opted to use Quickenings to defeat him. After I failed at chaining enough attacks to kill him on about 3 different tries, I attempted to defeat him without Quickenings, and failed again. So then I summoned Mateus, had him die after he dealt a good 1/5 of Addremalech's HP. I fought, healed up, and then had Penelo summon Mateus again. After Mateus used his finishing blow, I summoned him once more with Penelo. When Mateus was dismissed the third time (Penelo died), Addremalech had about 2/3 of his HP left. I revived Penelo and used a long Quickening chain (17) and Addremalech had like a sliver of HP left, and I won.

So yes, Espers are useful to me. They only take up one MP bar (well, all the ones I have anyway) to use, whereas Quickenings take up all 3 (2/1). I can summon Mateus/Belias/Addremalech three times for every Quickening chain I can initiate, so I exhaust one summoner's MP, then have someone else start the Quickenings.