Whoa, I guess it was because I was a pretty high level when he joined, so the enemies weren't catching up to him like they are to your Reddas. In that case, off him unless you want to use him as a decoy.

Oh, I'm not involved with the whole bestiary thing. If those who are doing it (IIRC, Freelance + Cobalt) want any help, I'll be happy to join in. I just took the shots after getting the loot and to test out my new webcame. Also, some folks are probably interested in seeing what some of FFXII's brutes look like.

What's Gamebridge, btw?

Yeah, it definitely sent me for a loop. It got me up off the couch to check if my three year old PS2 was kicking the bucket. Luckily that wasn't the case, because I'm still not done with FFXII.

GameBridge is a USB device that lets you run gaming systems that use audio-visual cables and/or S-video cables to connect. When I'm at school, I typically run my PS2 through to my monitor and have GameFAQs or Gamingforce open on my laptop screen, and multitask. It allows for easy screenshots, and I know they were looking for some way to get good screenshots, but that's the last I heard of it. Mostly just curious how everything was getting along with that.

Upon checking the mark hunting faq, I still have Gilgamesh, Piscodaemon, Carrot, Fafnir, Catoblepas, and Behemoth King as options before Pharos. I think. My PS2 is hooked up in my basement and I'm too lazy to go check. :p We'll see how many of those I get through tomorrow. I have a sneaking suspicion my gaming time will be greatly reduced by family activities.

In order for me to reach the Seer mark I have to activate the pedistals in the subterra? does that sound right or am I missing something here? I thought you had to fight the other mini-bosses?

Shit, are you kidding me, so you need 168 black orbs just to get to the fucker?????

On a brighter note though I finally got the cactoid compact! Only took me ohhhh about 5 hours!! Although it doesn't sound like it's all that worth it.....

Damn, that sounds pretty convenient. I'd give it a try, but my current setup is already rather complicated and I noticed that you excluded component cables from the listed methods of PS2->monitor connection. First I've heard of it anyway, care to link me to their site? I would love to have something like that handy.

Heh, not far off from Yiazmat. Of course, if you attempt rank VIIs at the levels you're at now, you're going to have a bit of trouble. Definitely ditch Reddas during those (even though there aren't that many). Carrot might be a pain for you, Fafnir and Behemoth King are on completely different levels than most of the other hunts (these are like mini-Yiazmat/Hellwyrm battles). Enjoy the holidays though, you can get back to the game anytime.

In order to reach the Unknown level where you fight the Shadowseer, you need to:

• Defeat the Phoenix in one of the rooms on the Umbra level (B1F)
• Give each altar on each floor the required number of black orbs. There's several guides that tell you what amount pertains to which altar.

Tip: To make orb-gathering easier, don't pick up the black orbs left behind by enemies. Yes, you read right. If you leave them alone, they flash and begin to move towards the massive black orb somewhere on your floor. Keep killing enemies by going around the floor, from area to area and then go find the massive orb. It will have absorbed all the black orbs that you didn't pick up. This makes advancing down to Unknown very easy.

Using the above method, you'll have that in no time. The enemies often force a Necrofiend spawn after they die, and those almost always leave an orb behind.

Damn, I feel bad. Remember, you have to fish perfectly in order to get a chance at getting it. Once you nail it, the rest is actually very easy (especially hidden shoals). Too bad the Wyrmhero Blade is little more than a glorified staff.

Edit: Hmmm, I think there may be a way around the blade's abysmal speed. Couldn't you simply set the Foe: Nearest [Telekinesis] gambit? It'd still be slower than a standard physical attack, but you'd still be making some use of the 130 attack power.

Should i develop swords or axes or katana for ashe? I'm having difficulties with the demon wall, and i see that axes have a lot more damage.

Axes can do a lot more damage. But they can also do hardly any damage at all. I found them to not be worth the trouble.

Your safest bet is to just fill out the entire license grid.

You'll end up filling out the entire License Board anyway, so early decisions won't get you into trouble later on.

Do you still get the black orbs from the first ascent? I walked around there fighting for god knows how long and not a single black orb was dropped?

You only get black orbs from the Pharos Subterra levels. In other words, only the basement areas have enemies that leave orbs behind.

Ugh. Figured I would deviate from the main story and do some hunts and start on some side quests last night and apparently it looks like I just screwed myself. Again. It looks like I won't be able to finish Patient in the Desert which means I can't get the Barheim key which means I can't get Zalera since I already sold the serpentskin.

I'm at the point now where it would probably be better to just wrap up the game and start over. I have about 60 hours clocked in with my main group at level 50 and next stop is Giruvegan.

Damn, where is this misunderstanding stemming from? Not having the serpentskin only changes the item you get as a reward, you still get the Barheim Passage key regardless is you sold the skin or not. I sold it, and did the sidequest later on and got the key without a hitch.

Whoa, start over? Why? Did you miss the Zodiac Spear or Genji Gloves? Those, IMO, are the only two items that one would restart the game for. You've got quite a ways to go before the game is over though.

Lol, not to change subjects but DAMN Metal Sphere...if thats the TV you use to play Ace Combat on, I am floored. How I would love to play that game on THAT screen, hahaha.

I'm so bad though...I stopped playing XII, I haven't touched it in days. :(

Sorry, yes. I read the quest again. My confusion came from the book saying, Complete the hunt and give the skin to Dantro's wife. When I read I interpret things very matter of fact. Since I no longer have the skin I just assumed that meant I could not complete that step and carry on with the quest. I study logic in my spare time if that's any excuse so I tend to pick sentences apart for their individual meaning instead of looking at the whole passage. Maybe I'm not as bad off as I thought. I was two hours in the game when I realized I missed the zodiac spear but decided to keep going. As long as I can do all my hunts and esper gathering along with some of the side quests I should be happy.

Heh, I'm glad you like it. I picked it precisely because it's one of the better rear projectors out there and handles SD-anything like a champ. It's also nice that it makes a fantastic monitor for DualView.

Heh, I'm the one that should take a break from the game. I'm up to 249 hours now and 4.2 million gil.

You won't be disappointed, that's for sure. I've yet to go back to Archades and do yet another little sidequest there or check in on the Hunt club fans in the Grand Arcade for my Zodiac gem rewards. This game is ridiculously packed with things to do.

Last time I played an FF like this is was maybe FFVI/VII.

My 3 main characters (Ashe, Basch, Balthier) are lvl 62 average. i still can't get through the Nabreus/Nechrol. i keep encountering some 99000hp ghost/spirit that kills me quickly. it's aggravating b/c i want to finish exploring the area especially for the Chaos sidequest.

Did you encounter this phantasm?? how'd ya kill the bastard?


Metal sphere: how do get that much gil? i have only 345,000 w/tons of loot, but i'm saving the loot to get the weapons/armor.

Helvinek. 99,999 HP and loves to use status inducing spells along with some offensive magic. If you don't kill 6 Oversouls in the Necrohol, he won't appear. That's how you avoid him. Of course, that's hard to do when you have Bakanamy that deliberately engage your party and Elvorets with a massive detection range.

I just throw up the defensive suite, use the Nihoapaloa trick if I'm really trying to go all out, and take advantage of his vulnerability. Oh, and spam Expose for a few turns.

Using the Dead Bones to level, you get an ungodly amount of Ancient Bones + Blood Darkened-Bones. Throw in Dark Crystals, my running through high level areas repeatedly for rare items (hey there Wyrm Bones, Moon Rings and Ambrosia). Oh, and I rarely buy anything, so I save quite a bit of cash.

Is that the warped nightmare thing you're talking about? He wasn't so bad. I think the reason I do alright and rarely have to raise my characters is that I have them smartly outfitted, I always make sure I have a good balance in my active team (typically two melee and one range/mage, though with Reddas I sometimes go for two range/mages), and I have everyone with haste, regen, and bravery or faith, plus protectga and shellga if I'm fighting a more difficult enemy. It's pretty rudimentary, but it hasn't failed me yet. Even venturing into the great crystal in level 42 I was able to get completely and hopelessly lost and still get out with my skin, along with plenty of decent loot items to boot.

Yeah, when I first encountered him, he was tricky, but not impossible. I found the Baknamy hordes to be more of a problem, due to their attack power and speed. Nice feat there with the Great Crystal at 42. How far did you wander in?

The Baknamy haven't been too bad because I've got Vaan pretty strong and with a Cat Hood, so he hits more often than not, and I ended up getting one of the stronger guns probably before I was supposed to for Balthier, and he rarely misses (and hits them for something in the 4000s, typically).

I actually got pretty far into the Great Crystal before I realized I was in over my head. At least 8 or 9 platforms. Once I got to the second platform of Mom Bombs I knew I had to get out, but instead of turning around I went forward to see if there was a save point or something I could replenish my health at. Ended up finding one and turning around to get back when I realized there was no other exit. Mind you, I hadn't realized that there were maps of the place online, either, so I was going the whole thing blind. It was quite the experience. :p

I remember him! It was a long battle, if I recall correctly. And he was pretty nasty. My characters were in their mid-50s but it wasn't so bad as long as I kept up the usual defensive spells and just slammed away at his HP.

What's a recommended level and skills for fighting Chaos? My team is at level 52/48/48/51/52, and the Esper wiped the floor with me.

So instead, I typed up a lot of entries for my bestiary project.

Oh, and where can I buy Soulmate?

Oh noes, I'm trying to do a hunt Nr 16 - Deserters Rvenge - BLOODWING. How do I get into Barheim Passage? I have the Barheim key but that's for unlocking a door. I saw that there is a red save crystal, and I'm 10000% sure that I saved at that one. And for some reason I can't seem to teleport nor enter into Barheim Passage! HELP!

And yes, somehow I'm starting to play FFXII again, despite having a 360 for 2 days.

If you have the key already, then you can already enter the passage. You can get there in the Estersand. There is another entrance to the dungeon south of the South Bank Village. The now-recovered traveler and her men are at the entrance, so you'll know you found the right place when you see it.

You can't teleport inside the passage until you get inside by the alternate entrance. Otherwise there'd be no reason to get the key then.

You have to go west for a long way to reach Bloodwing (south and west I believe). If you continue further, you can fight one of the optional Espers.

But I visited the Eastersand and all I see is just the rubble to the entrance of where I fought the mimic queen.

Also, just took down one of the hunts in the Cerobe Step. Not that bad. And the Lindwyrm hunt was pretty easy. Just sleep, blind him and keep casting non-MP magic (ie Shades of Black) and start using Bio at the end of the battle.

Nay nay, there is another entrance north of the collapsed entrance. From the old entrance, go north to the next map and go all the way to the east. You'll see the new entrance there. There's also one of the Mimic enemies at that location, so you can't miss it.