[PS2] Final Fantasy XII

Originally Posted by Simo

I kind of expected more publicity aside from the NY thing given the game is just over a month away...

It's not as if they need any publicity though is it? When they released FFVIII the only publicity really over here was a 2 minute video on a PSM cover disc and it still sold millions. These days the power of the internet means most of you who are proper excited about the game have already downloaded the entire soundtrack and know the entire story. It's not as if people are in the dark about the release.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Decoy Goat

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2207229.stm

I don't know if anybody from anywhere outside of America besides Shin actually reads this thread, but I just found this link on another board.

While the optimisation is nice, it's pretty hard to justify making us spend at least 2 or 3 months trying desperately to avoid spoilers from 13 year olds on the internet.

They might add a little content though. If memory serves, the NTSC version of FFX didn't have Dark Aeons in, they were added in the European version (And then a rereleased Jap version I think) so the wait might be worth it, you never know...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Each quickening after the first adds on an extra MP bar, the same length as the character's basic one so with three quickenings, your mp is triple what it would be with none.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Sepharite

Mucknuggle: Nope, poaching just slows down the process as you're obviously losing an attacker. But if you have embroidered tippet (sp?) which 2x the exp pts. gained, then you don't have to worry. Besides, stealing takes ~5 seconds. Anyways, I have my characters caste oil on the enemy while my magic caster (Ashe) spits Firaga -- instant kill. (Y)

Not true. If you poach an enemy, none of your party receive XP or LP. I generally have one active member with Enemy=HP critical -> Poach so occasionally a monster gets poached but more often than not you get the experience/license points.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Talaysen

Think it has to do with how the action queue is executed. I think normal attacks have higher priority, so they can go before some spells you have charged up or something. If you notice, during the "stalling", usually it's just a bunch of people attacking while one character is sitting there with a spell they should've casted a few seconds ago.

Not sure if that's entirely accurate, though.

I was fighting Exodus last night and noticed that everyone frooze and waited for the animation to finish on some of his attacks before they acted so I imagine that's the cause of it.

I have heavy armour on Basch and Fran (For the strencth boost), light armour on Vaan and Penelo (HP boost and speed boost, especially as Penelo uses a ninja sword in my game) and mage armour on Ashe and Balthier (For the magic power boosts naturally). You'll find that the higher level mystic armour has a huge boost to magic power and makes your mages very powerful. I've not even been to the Feywood yet in my game but I was clearing out fights in the Nabudis deadlands or whatever it's called with a couple of spells each time.

I was speaking idiomatically.

A katana's damage is based on magic power, not strength so heavy armour is a waste. For maximum damage equip all mystic armour and remember to cast faith instead of bravery.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Bukkake Bandit

But Director's Cuts are usually released around the globe, whereas the International versions and Final Mixes and whatnot are only available in Japan. I guess that's what irks people the most.

Wasn't the extra edition of FFX just the European version (With the dark Aeons) add a few cutscenes or something?

If people object to having to pay more to play the extra stuff, why not just not buy the game when it comes out and wait for the inevitable final mix version?

Personally, I've not found getting money in FFXII hard at all. I have one character with a stealing gambit and thief cuffs and all the grimoires and rather than using teleport crystals, I walk everywhere. Generally by the time you get where you're going you're carrying a sack full of loot and can sell it for hundreds of thousands of gil. I have spent quite a long time playing so far though. Gaara, how long was on the clock when you finished it because I think you started about the same time as I did and I've clocked up 95 hours so far and not gone to the Feywood yet. I have completed all the marks up to the last level 5 one, have 7 espers and quite a lot of the rare game hunted though and that takes some time.

I beat the esper in the Stillshrine of Miriam the other night, the one where you can't use any magic. Fuck me was that tough, especially as I didn't know you wouldn't be able to use magic and only had 15 X-potions on me. Thankfully, I've got everyone's level 3 quickenings and I got lucky with a quickening combo, chained 18 hits together and took about 50,000 hp off him. then switched to the other three, managed a 12 hit combo then threw hi-ethers at the reserve members, switched them back in and got another big combo in. Managed to use all the X-potions and about 45 phoenix downs in the process though. Possibly having more than one bubble belt for the whole party might have helped matters a little...

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Bukkake Bandit

It saves you a lot of potions when you equip your shield users with an Ice Shield and give someone else the dawn shard, and make sure everyone is shelled. Then kill the little elementals first before taking on Mateus. Using weapons with lightning element helps a lot too.

I never had too much trouble out there, actually. And you can still use magic there, right?

Wrong esper, Mateus is a pussy. You can go back into the Stillshrine after talking to a Nu-Mou (Sp?) on Mt Bur Omisace to get some item and fight another much harder esper. You can't use magic the whole fight and there's at least six respawning undead types as well as him. He casts slow, stop and bio a lot and punches pretty hard too. As Vaan landed the killing blow he was the last man standing and on barely 1,000hp and I was bricking it. He's certainly the hardest thing I've fought so far, even the fat cunt in the Garamasythe waterway when you're being perpetually drained. I think my team are all around level 47.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Leknaat

Did Dispel work for anyone?

Dispelaga and slowga are two of the most useful spells in the game for my money. All the higher level hunts come buffed with protect, shell and haste and getting rid of these makes killing them much easier and more importantly, faster. Also, when the monster is putting it's buffs back up, it's not hitting you so you get hurt less too! I generally start every big fight by having one character cast bravery and haste on everyone (Everyone has protect, shell and bubble on all the time through their gambits anyway), another casting dispel then slow on the boss while the third casts first blind, then silence. If all that lot hits you can basically put the pad down and let the gambits finish the fight for you, picking it up only to stop your thief stealing once the item has been acquired.

I don't use dispel so much against normal monsters except for the big ringwyrms and entites.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Quick question:

I've noticed that after I've killed certain rare hunts, I don't get a trophy for it. Notably the demon horse thing with 99,999 hp in the Necrohol of Nabudis which I've now killed twice. Is this because I always steal from them first or do you have to kill them in a certain order or something? I got one for killing the Crystal Knight in the Great Crystal last night so it's not like the game has completely stopped giving them to me.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ah, that explains a lot. I naturally assumed that all 80 rare hunts were trophy monsters. Is any of the stuff you get from the hunters shop worth tracking that lot down?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

All I can think of is the Sage's Ring or whatever it's called.

But I already have two of those without doing either of those things... Can't remember where from though.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?