In terms of actual power yes most 2H swords will be better, but the benefit of having a 1H sword is the fact that you can equip a shield and therefore will obviously have a higher evasion and such.

The bestiary. There are a ton of monsters whose secondary entry is hints and nods towards the materials you need to make certain weapons. It's both amusing and informative to read, as they often provide a ton of extra backstory for Ivalice.

In raw (and reliable) power, 2H swords are king. 1H swords, with the Durandal being the best, are the ones you want for the perfect balance of power and defense. Seriously, seeing the Ensanguined Shield and Durandal in a fight with 95 evasion is far more godly than Msamune + Genji or Tournesol.

Ok so I think I need something that is confuse proof while wondering down in the Abyssal part of the subterra. Those damn necrofiends love to use Phatmazal glaze or whatever it is. I would normally hand them there asses but my guys just kept killing each other before I even had the chance to give them some smelling salts. So I'll take care of that I think and pick up a Durandal or two while im at it.

Yeah, pick up some Bowline Sashes if you don't have a Ribbon. Confuse, as mentioned before, is easily one of the most brutal status effects in the game. That coupled with Disease will put you in a world of hurt.

BTW, you don't even have to spend too long down there looking for Lifewicks as they drop them very often, and you only need about three of them for the Durandal.

Guys, if you get a bit of time in between blitzing the game (:rock:) draw up a list of things you expect (or at least hope) to be tweaked in the european version. Judging by some of the comments over the last hundred-odd pages, there seems to be a fair few of them (even if they're only minor).

Yea I just finished the Seer hunt, it was one of the most fun fights I've had due to all the pallings and stuff, it made it interesting. But I made it out of the subterra with a ribbon, venetian shield, another ultima blade, and a niapholoa. The lifewicks do get dropped pretty often, I had something like 20 when I left, that should be more then enough for some Durandal's!!

Now with all those hunts down I just have Yizzy, Omega, and Hellwyrm (I don't think he is a mark but still). I think I'll try to get to level 99 though first either at the deadlands or down in the Henne mines (Haven't been there yet even though I unlocked enough espers). Maybe pick up a couple rare weaons too while I'm at it. Is there any armor better then the maxmillian and megashiak or am I just wishing here?

Wow, you made it out of there pretty well. The hardest one to get is definitely the Emperor Scale, and even that's a breeze with the method I described a few posts back.

Grand Armor and Helm are the best armor in the game, dropped by Helvinek and Tower respectively. You could also get a Ribbon from a Vishno in the Pharos while you're up there. They're marginally better than Maximillian and Magepower Shishak, but some people will still want them. I've only managed to snag 1 Grand Armor, though.

Maybe I am not paying enough attention, but all it seems to nod to is what kind of item it (the enemy) drops. I don't imagine how I'd know how to make a Tournesol without the guide, but if you say it pushes you in the right direction...

I'm trying to do the Antlion hunt now, and let me say that I didn't expect the headless trolls to be somewhat tough. They get deadly when they are in packs of three or more. I'm somewhat scared now to take down the Antlion, despite seeing that it eats up the Killer Mantises, which according to the book, I should target first.

And pardon me for asking this nutty question. Where exactly is this "Nabreus Deadlands" that I am supposed to go to, for me to continue my Nabreus's Medals? Is the Necrol of Nabudis (off of Salikawood) an optional dungeon or story driven?

If you're afraid of the Antlion, don't go to the Nabreus Deadlands. Also, use Warp Motes on the mini-mantises. You can get to the Deadlands by going through the Salikawood, but stay out of the Necrohol. You will get killed.

Second time cutting through the Diabolos wasn't nearly so bad. Didn't even have to switch out of my primary group (at the time). One big reason is that he didn't spam curse at me so often this time, so I didn't have to deal with disease.

Gilgamesh Part II, on the other hand, was a beast that took me almost an hour and a half. I had to heal so much - I hadn't really prepared myself for him, and had half my characters in even-numbered levels, which meant I slept whenever they were active. Reddas was level 50, and to make matters worse Vaan was 60 - which meant that level 3 disable and level 4 break also hit him. Enkidu raped me until I could finally get him down, then I had to lay low on the damage at times so I could get the Genji stuff stolen - and then most of it is worthless where I'm at already (though the armor's upped countering is quite nice). Here's to hoping Penelo with the Murasame makes it all worth it.

I have only the Fenrir hunt left before I head off to the Pharos.

Of course, it doesn't tell you how to make some weapons explicitly. The game basically assumes you'll explore the world completely, including hidden areas, rare game, etc... Many ingredients are only used for one recipe, so those materials will stay there as you sell off you items.

Eventually, you'd get a Tournesol, but I agree that without any guide you'd never know how to get it. For other weapons? Pfft, references all over the place. Often times it's hearsay, and then the description mentions if you mix this and that, MAYBE you'll get something. Heck, you can get Hermes Sandals pretty early if you get the secondary entry that says how to make them.

Finally got Cubus to show up, took down Avenger in the Pharos too. That thing was fun to kill, and I had a hoot stealing a Muramasa off of it and then kiling it. One of the few non-boss monsters that actually:

• Puts up a paling (physical immunity)
• Uses Ardor

Grimalkin was also another fun one. Definitely refreshing to have a monster that isn't a pushover. Whoa, I agree with PN. You should definitely steer clear of the Deadlands and the Necrohol if you're afraid of the Antlion or are having trouble with the Headless. Though, if you've got a good gambit setup and you're daring, try reaching the gate crystal just north of the Slumbermead.

Heh, try defeating the Gate Crystal. Even when my party was in the late 60's, several of them got knocked out while fighting it.

Oh yeah, palings. I now hate those with a fiery passion. There's something wrong with getting an enemy down to almost no life, then having them put up a dual physical/magical paling and having to wait it out and survive until it dissipates. Is there any way to speed the process or end a paling?

I don't recall the gate crystal being that bad. Then again, it seems like the battles everyone else finds difficult have been pretty easy for me, whereas the ones that you all have said were cake have wiped the floor with me.

Oh shit, I completely forgot about that thing. It's on a completely different level than the save crystal monster in the Stilshrine, that's for sure. I was in the low to mid 50s when I fought it, and had definitely had a bit of trouble. Loved that difficulty spike when compared to my trek through the Deadlands at that point.

Same thing with Avenger today. Nice way to finish off the Headless-class rare game group.

Nope, there's no way to accelerate its dissipation, nor have I heard of any way to do so. The Behemoth King pulled that crap towards the end IIRC, Zodiark flicks them on/off so much that the combat log can't keep up, and the Shadowseer hides behind it during your fight with it. I'm not of a fan of it, to say the least.

Though, I thank God Yiazmat or Omega didn't use them. That alone would ramp their difficulty up a few notches, especially in the final stretch. Of course, things like White Breath, Curse or any Death-spell variant would do the same.

One last thing, I found out that poles attack an enemy's magic defense. That might explain why Penelo went from doing ~800-900 on Omega's critical state to ~2k per hit (7 hit combo with it ended the fight).

What do you guys think about the auto leveling guide on gamefaqs? Does it really work? If so, what lvl can you get there?
Actually, i'm just going to the dungeon described there, but i still haven't got some foe target gambit, that the guide says are necessary. So, should i go there again later, in order to autolevel?

If you are going to the Stilshrine for the first time, then you won't have the nessecary gambits to pull it off - nor will you be strong enough. Go back there once you got the gambits in question. And yes, it really does work. You just need to make sure your equipment and so is at a level where you'll be able to kill the ghosts at an efficient pace (and without them killing you!).

wow the imperial swordsmen on the bahamut give you 150+ gil, this is tremendously helpful if you consider that you can leave the bahamut at any time and go to your favorite dealer dot dot dot

Ok, i got a question for all you FF whiz kids, i just been doin a coupla hunts now just so i can pass some time and after reading the last coupla pages you guys seem to discuss fighting really hard side (?) bosses. Well could ya let me know who and where i can find a coupla of these? I feel like having some fun :)

The are referred to as really hard for a reason, you know. If all you've down as far as hunts go are "a coupla", then you might want to concentrate on doing more of those first, or I doubt you'll have much fun when facing said bosses. Not to mention that most of them only become available towards the end of the game.

I know what im doing, im on the part of the storyline where i can board the bahamut to on2 the mission to complete the game, so um yeah i guess i am towards the end of the game :shade: And by a coupla hunts i mean a coupla more than previous. So, any suggestions for fun?

Yiazmat - without the use of gambits.

No, seanne's right, Jimmy. If what I read is correct, you're around level 50-ish. The harder marks we're talking about would wipe the floor with you, and to beat them at that level would require you to have a pretty good Gambit setup.

Though, if you're adamant about this, the first rank VII mark you can fight is Carrot. I was in the 40s when I fought it and it gave me a hard time, largely due to a shitty setup, poor damage and putrid breath.

If you want a semi-challenge for your level, go find Disma over at Lhusu's Site 11 area or Avenger on the 63rd floor of the Pharos.

Mush, you can just run around a bit in a high level area and get more money from enemies than that. It's the other reason why I hate Baknamy (aside from their cloaked status, and parrying madness) as they give you terrible gil.

Edit: Damn, seanne. Chances are he would get hit with a White Breath that actually stops everyone, as happened to be a few times during that fight. Of course, it's best to stick a Bubble Belt on them and have Tear gambits all around rather than switching in a Ribbon every 5 seconds.

ugh so today I finished the game and well it was a bit boring at level 80 since even the last boss took like two minutes to beat and the ending song has to be the worst I've heard since MGS2 but well whatever...

Gambits
 

You know, to be honest with you i dont really find the gambit system that useful personally. I mean, the only gambits i have is Ally status KO>Arise for every character and for the one whse got the thief's cuffs i got nearest enemy>steal. Thats about it. Got through the game without any problems so far :)