[PS2] Final Fantasy XII

Jesus Christ, this game... I just found out I completely missed out on the Genji set because the only way you can get it is stealing from Gilgamesh. Now that makes 2 things I've missed out on, the Zodiac Spear and the armor. Hopefully there's nothing else.

seanne, I've filled up all the altars of night in the Penumbra at Ridorana, how the hell do I get to the Umbra and Abyssal? I can't remove orbs or put them anymore, how do I reset them?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by WraithTwo

I used the hoods on 5 and the gloves on the last one. For the most part, I just didn't think the hoods were big enough to replace the gloves. The only problem with the hood is that any time there's area effect magic, they hardly even matter, because the game allows all the bars to fill then freezes anyways. With of the end game hunts/bosses, this becomes a huge problem.

Also, when your guys have haste on, the boost in speed is dimished further.

- WraithTwo -

Damn, thanks Jarllax and WraithTwo. I'd love to have the gloves on Balthier or Vaan when I finally make the Tournesol, but looks like they're not all that great it seems. I'll try the altar thing soon, because after I filled them the only option the elevator gave was 1st floor.

WraithTwo, the hood is useless if you're using it for a speed boost, it's main purpose is to make speed weapon users far stronger than they normally are. I've tried it myself using the Sagittarius + Artemis Arrows (w/ Hood) and without. The difference is staggering, same thing with the ninja swords and daggers.

Oh, and thanks Musharraf, it does. Now I'm looking for armor better than Maximiliian before going and getting Zodiarc. I've already got plenty of black and white masks.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Jarllax

Embroidered Tippets are by far the most superior item anyways. Nothing beats Double Experience Points gained.

Also, a little tip I picked up was that if you have the Golden Amulet equipped you gain double LP whether you are active or not. So...as soon as you get any Golden Amulets throw them on your inactive party members.
I managed to save up 15,000 LP on Balthier and went from an empty License grid to a completed grid.

15k? I've got something around 22k on one of them at the moment, and all this tme I assumed the limit for LP was 9999, looks like that's not the case. Well, it doesn't matter as I've had a full grid for everyone for quite a while now. I'm sure you've already got

Spoiler:

Vossler in your Sky Pirate's Den, right? Technicks is definitely easy to finish, so it's not hard to get him in there.

Tippets = Awesome, and they're the main reason why the Overlooking Eternity map goes from a great leveling area to just... WOW.

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

Originally Posted by WraithTwo

Eh, Tippets aren't so hot 90 hours into the game, after everyone has finished their grids and are max level. :/

Well, that's after everything's said and done. Back when you were leveling and filling your board, they were true godsends. Imagine maxing out your level without the Tippet, and you'll see why I'm grateful they're in the game. Amulets aren't anywhere near as useful, since you're going to be killing hordes of enemies to level before getting the ET, as I did. I had 95% of it finished before getting it, for example.

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Also, good point Metal. I haven't used daggers for a while in my game, and I hated the Ninja Swords because so much of the game is immune to them.

I've already got these ultimate weapons:

- Whale Whisker (6.5k-7k is real nice with this spear-like pole)
- Gastrophetes (very nice attack, even with the Sap-bolts, can't wait for Grand Bolts. The Penetrator Crossbow looked more like a final weapon though)
- Masamune (the color scheme fits my SamuraiFran perfectly especially the red line along the blade and Fran's red fringes on her outfit)
- Sagittarius (The best looking ultimate weapon I have so far. This thing, for all the damn effort you have to put into getting the materials, is fantastic. The damage is sublime without the Cat-Ear Hood, and incredible with it on. Throw on the Artemis or Ice Cloud arrows for even more damage. If the enemy's resistant or immune, Assassin's arrows for them.)

I've given up completely on the Zodiac Spear, worst time sink I've ever seen in an offline console game. Excalibur's a 2 handed sword, right? If it's not, I'm going to go and get that in Giruvegan, because while the Durandal's nice, I'd like to start getting the best for my people. Tournesol's already on the way, though I'm not looking forward to chaining Tartarus and Cerberus enemies until the latter drops the thing every 100 to 200 chain.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by WraithTwo

I was mostly joking on the tippet thing, the 2x xp and lp accessories were godsends. Also, luckily, I got the Zodiac Spear the easy way. Also, Sagittarius is nice, but I'm natually biased against bows, because comboing seems very important to me. When all my characters are doing max/near max damage, number of hits becomes most important. Bows were decent/great earlier on, but they eventually start to diminish in usefullness.

- WraithTwo -

Well, I missed out on the Genji gloves which would've been great for combos, so that really isn't all that important. Plus, my leaders are bow users which keep them out of the range of most range spells/techniques especially when one of my attackers has decoy on them so I can go behind the enemy and Expose/Buff/Revive to my heart's content.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Just defeated Zodiark, earning me 2 Sky Pirate Den folks instantly

- Belias ('Awarded for obtaining ever Esper, earning you the title of High Summoner')
- Zodiark ('Awarded for defeating Zodiark, earning you the title of Zodiac Knight)

And since I had my license board filled with the exception of ole Z, I went ahead and gave him to Penelo. Now everyone has at least 2 summons, and Penelo has 3 (Zodiark, Ultima, Zeromus). When I did that I got another Sky Pirate character the new one being:

- Rasler (Awarded for learning every License, earning you the title of Conqueror)

Needless to say, I'm ecstatic, especially after defeating one of the cheapest FF bosses I've ever faced. This cat spammed Darkja 15 TIMES when he was in HP critical . This on top of the first 10 times really started to irritate me, but the attack itself is nothing. Bringing Black Masks with you to absorb Darkja's damage and heal yourself is a godsend, but that attack has a shitty little trick: It randomly uses death on one of your active party members.

During the battle I had this happen:

- 1 party members KO'd - 17 times
- 2 party members KO'd - 5 times
- Active Party Wipeout (3 party members KO'd) - 3 times

Needless to say, your backup guys better be strong because he's unbelievably fast in every sense. His buffs go up like lightning, he spells often interrupt/precede yours and he switches immunities on a per-attack basis. He does it so frequently that the combat log still has his first switch showing, which only adds to the confusion.

Lastly, make sure you bring White Masks along too (just don't forget to take them off for Darkja), since he does use Banishing Ray which is a Holy-based spell/attack. So the difficulty isn't even genuine, they made an enemy that used every cheap trick they threw in this game to artificially add to the difficulty.

Hopefully Yiazmat/Hell Wyrm/Omega are actually challenges, and not Zodiark 2.0s.

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

Originally Posted by Karasu

Unlike that geek Metal Sphere [lol], I haven't had the time to get where he's at, However I just beat my own esper, Cuchulainn. He wasn't as hard as Adrammelech to me, however despite using Curaja, I had to use my mega elixirs, for the quickening chains.

I don't know if I'm remembering this correctly, but a steady drip wears the rock or something like that. I take care not to play more than maybe an hour or two, since it's easy to get burned out on this game (like an MMO, unsurprisingly).

I was level 93 when I entered Henne Mine's secret area, and level 95 when I reached Zodiark. This was without Embroidered Tippets, the enemies (Abysteels, Hecteyes, Necrofiends, Etme, Gizamalukes,) were handing over at least 3k. The Abysteels were on the low end, the Etme and Gizamalukes (new plate wyrm) on the high end.

I had Bubble Chains all around, since you can't withstand 2,000+ HP Leech attacks even with Protectga up. Brutal, but if you manage to survive, it's an incredible leveling area.

Oh, and finally went to Montblanc after I beat Zodiark and he gave me:

- 1 Serpentarius (this is ridiculously complicated to make)
- 2 Teleport Stones

Oh and Wolf, don't use Quickenings. You can do far more damage with normal attacks, and they're FAR removed from the semi-randomness that is Quickening damage.

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

Originally Posted by Musharraf

Yay, more teleport stones!!

Yeah, I don't know why he keeps giving us these things when it's pretty clear that he's got far better stuff stashed away (example: Serpentarius, Gemsteel, etc..)

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Have not played for quite a while but geez, incredible that some of you guys are level 90+ already and still discover tough enemies...

Nabreus Deadlands + Embroidered Tippet made 50s-70s completely forgettable, and if you're really persistent you could go all the way to 80, but I went off to do hunts and leveled a bit faster.

Oh, and I shared that same sentiment with you when I first into the second part of the Henne Mines (speak with Yugelu, to the south of the item shop in Jahara after you have 10 Espers so he can open the way). They're level 62-65, but they're brutal. As I mentioned up there, Abysteels leech an ungodly amount of health and they often come in pairs or groups of 3. Maybe it was just me, but they also seem to have a much larger awareness range, since many will come for pretty far off to defend an ally.

Gizamaluks are often (actually, always) found duking it out with a bunch of Abysteels. This is good for you, since all the enemies are at least 1/4 of the way dead and a nicely placed Scathe or two will take down the weakest ones.

Hecteyes are just fucking horrible. It's like all the irritating shit about Malboros and Flans all mixed together. They spam Mithril Bubbles and Thundaga, you don't ever fight one alone and they're often accompanied by a pair of Abysteels. ....Yeah, it gets pretty hairy in those situations. My advice is not to cast spells or you'll end up in "WAIT" hell, while the bats suck you dry.

Etems (there's an accented e there), are the ultimate ghost creature it seems. They pull every trick in the book from all the others you've faced. Annul, Death, Darkga, frequent warping to provide themselves with temporary invulnerability. They do drop a new book though, those have always interested me due to the descriptions given of the item. Their's is the Orgain-Mille.

I heard you can get a Zodiac Escutcheon in here, along with a few other rare items (Ensanguined Shield) and the few chests I encountered came up with 1 gil, which seems code for "I have something very rare but you have to keep trying" in this game.

The last thing I did though was save and then go and try out my new Esper's technicks/limits/etc..

Zodiark - Final Eclipse (Trigger: Easy as hell, Summoner must be in Petrify condition)
Just summon him, and cast Break on whomever summoned him and his bar will automatically start readying him for Final Eclipse. Basically, it's some ridiculously grandoise attack. It starts off with a black and white full moon ocean scene. Zodiark jumps up at the moon and splashes into the water, and a few moments later a giant egg pops up and comes up into the sky. This egg cracks revealing ole Z with enormous leather (black) and feather (white) wings.

The next part is confusing, but he flys up into the sky and does what my limited vocabulary would label a "sunburst" while spreading his wings and he's enveloped in fire. While like this he flies off into space, through an asteroid field/belt with flaming wings and tail behind him and you can see the enemy as a little speck. Some spiraling upwards and a sharp slam into the enemy causes a good bit of special effect destruction and finally white out.

Trust me, it's far better than it sounds. Amazing that I've gone from hating the little bastard for all that trouble, to actually thinking it's pretty cool. He uses different spells based on an enemy's weakness, but sticks to the highest level magic (Scathe, Shock, Scourge, Flare, etc..). I was in Ozmone Plain just coming out of Jahara when a snake came around and he promptly hit it with Banishing Ray (Holy) and the pack of Black Chocobos with Scathe. That's when I decided to see his special.

Oh, damn. I went on for way to long, I'll put up a few brief descriptions of the other ones and their triggers (I'm never going to see Ultima's, damn) tommorow.

Cuchulainn - Blight
Shemhazai - Soul Purge
Famfrit - Tsunami
Chaos - Tornado
Hashmal - ...kept doing Roxxor

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

So, I saved my game in the rest area of the highwaste, only to now find that I cannot load my game. I swear to God, if my save is corrupted, I'm going on a shooting spree. It says that the file has been loaded successfully, but the game never loads.

I'm so pissed right now. All of that time spent leveling, all of those marks hunted, 70 hours put into the game and I'm not even halfway through, and then everything fails.

Holy shit, damn man. I've heard about this happening to a few people, but it always seems to strike well into the game (not just an hour or two in).

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, I'm thinking about what I should do since I beat the Shadowseer yesterday. Montblanc won't give me any more marks, the hunt board says "all the marks on the board have already been dispatched" and I've gotten all the Espers. My guess is that I have to beat the Hell Wyrm to get him to give me the Yiazmat hunt.

Oh, and before all that I thought I'd keep myself busy by making the Tournesol. But I damn near fainted (not really) when I read what I need:

• Empyreal Soul x 3
• Gemsteel x 3
• Serpentarius x 3

And to make the above you need:

Empyreal Soul

• High Arcana x 1
• Soul Powder x 1
• War God's Band x 2

Gemsteel

• Damascus Steel x 2
• Hell Gate's Flame x 2
• Scarletite

Serpentarius

• Serpent Eye x 2
• Snake Skin x 4
• High Arcana

High Arcana

• Arcana x 10
• Feystone x 1
• Soul of Thamasa x 1

Damn. Looks like I better get to it.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Musharraf

I agree that the soundtrack sucked. The only good songs were not composed by Sakimoto, but oh well, you can always mute the TV (?) It's awesome that some people who started four weeks after me already finished the game, I must be terribly slow.

Heh, you think that's slow? I got this game right on the 31st and I've yet to finish it. This game is chock full of things to do, and I'm trying to get all that done before going to the final area.

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By the way, an excellent place to level up if you're level 50~60+ would be

Spoiler:

the secret area in Nabreus Deadlands, there are lots of skeletons who give 1.5k exp and are very easy to kill with Holy Lance. Also, since there are tons of them, you can create some cool chains!

I gained like three levels per hour.

Wha?! That's what we've been saying for the past few pages, Mush. You can actually level well past the 60s, into the mid 80s. The trick is, you have to break the chain kill a few monsters that aren't Deadbones and then go back. I've noticed when the chain gets large enough, you start getting less experience per baddie. I've seen the number go as low as 1199 from the usual 1500.

Ah, and I managed to get Ultima and Penelo into HP critical so she could do her special, Eschaton. It was nice and you get a close up of her face when she opens her eyes and "Fires her LAZOR". Not impressive enough for me to go through all that hassle just to see it.

Anyone know how to trigger Hashmal and Exodus' specials?

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

Damn, I wish I had more hunts. Anyone know how to get Montblanc to give you the Yiazmat rank VIII hunt? I'm almost done getting the Tournesol stuff (only need five Soul of Thamasa) and I'd like to test it out on something fierce.

Oh, and I accidentally ran into a rare game called 'Biding Mantis'. The first words out of my mouth were:

"What the fuck!?" as it unerringly did 9999 damage to each of my party members. Luckily I retreated in time. I'm guessing you have to fight that thing with Reverse on?

Edit: Ah, and A-Team has finally reached 99. Reached 96/7/8 down in Ridorana's Subterra and ran back to the ole faithful Deadbones area. When I started getting the items for the Tournesol, I noticed the mines were far easier at 99, but still not cakewalk. That area will permanently be on this game's very short "places to be wary of" list.

I was trying to get Etems to drop Soul Powder, and those bastards are cheap. Cheap as in casting Death 7/10 as the first thing after you target them. They'll even warp in the middle of casting to avoid being killed. Doom is spammed everywhere, as is stop and the Aga spells. This seems rather easy to deal with, but it isn't. Their regular strikes are 900-ish and their combos frequently go up to 3 or 4. When they die they leave behind a Necrofiend which is even worse. Phantasmal Gaze, even more frequent warping, all the "touch" technigues.

Being the idiot that I am, I ran into 3 of these things. I kill off one and had 2 Etems and a Necrofiend. With all the spells going on, it looked like someone was literally stopping time every few seconds.

Hmm, one last question:

Is the Excalibur a 2H sword or 1H? And is there a map of how I can get to it?

Damn, it's 2H. Looks like there's no point getting it since I'm about to finish up with the Tournesol. Looks like the Durandal really is the best 1H sword. Can't see myself giving up the shield, too big of a sacrifice IMO.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by seanne

Have you done all 44 hunts and defeated Majinryu?

Ah, so I have to do Hell Wyrm, eh? Got a link to where and how I can find him?

I've already completed all the hunts board hunts, that's for sure.

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It's almost funny how burned games seem to actually work better than originals many times. I used to have problems with originals making the game freeze/hang quite a lot back a couple of years ago. Downloading and burning a copy always solved that problem =D

This isn't related to the above quote but, to those of you who've finished the hunt "Truth Shrouded in Mist", you can a good rod over at Bur-Omisace. Unequip Vaan's weapon and head towards the snout near the pot of soup. Examine the tip and smack it. Your reward is 500,000 gil and the Rod of Faith. Enjoy. Just thought I'd throw this up, since I actually managed to do it.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

So, I managed to get the Zodiac Spear. Unfortunately, I'm now trapped in the Necrohol. All of the zone transition areas are backed up with enemies that followed me through the first time. Wish me luck getting out of there. (And back out of the Deadlands!)

Edit: Killer. It was actually a lot easier getting out than it was getting in...

Wow, congrats. Hopefully I have it as easy as you one of these days. I got a Ribbon (!!!) of all things while looking for Soul Powder for the Tournesol. Man, was I a happy camper then, especially since it makes a lot of the Etem's move repetoire absolutely pointless. It's endless Doom spamming is nothing more than a slight nuisance, same with Phantasmal Gaze and all that other junk it throws at you. Now if only I can get 2-5 more, though with my luck I'll just keep getting Megalixers.

Oh, and I finally finished the Tournesol. This thing looks pretty nice, and it's color scheme makes it look like it was always meant to go with Baltheir, unlike the Fomalhault. Very nice avoid for a 2H sword, and the damage is great. I'll tell you all this much, though: Finish your hunts.

I only needed to make 2 Gemsteel, 2 Empyreal Soul and 2 Serpentarius, because Montblanc gives you those as rewards for certain accomplishments. I put it up recently that Serpentarius is given to you for obtaining all 13 Espers. The others are for 8 Espers and a hunt, IIRC.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Yep. This thing rules. I'm doing 3000+ damage even on tough enemies. And I'm only level 40. Right now, I'm trying to get the golem mark in the deadlands, and I'm having a hell of a time of it. The skeletons keep respawning over and over, and I can't handle all of them. Oh well, at least I managed to beat the Antlion. The spear took care of him easy.

Wow, it must be the way the game is, but that seems like ages ago to me. Roblon is actually fairly easy if you use the Nihoapaloa trick to inflict him with the few status effects he's susceptible to. The rest of the fight is just having one person chip away at him while you deal with the ridiculous mob.

I'm almost done with the Hell Wyrm requirements before I go fight him (Age-worn key, etc..) and I wondered if this strategy would work (anyone who's beat him or Yiazmat or Omega, go right ahead and mention how you did it):

One person gets Decoy + Reverse cast on them before the fight starts, and the gambits will be set to refresh said person's Reverse/Decoy if they happen to get killed. Healing gambits will be set to X-Potions and Curaga, since Curaja would likely kill the Reversed person. Bubble Chains on all, just in case.

Does that sound alright?

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

Originally Posted by Grim Gibber

I have finished the desert bloom hunt and the nidhogg but accidently sold the great serpentskin. Now i'm trying to finish a hunt and a esper but i need the barheim key. I already have the flower to give to the wife but she's not taking it.

She keeps saying, "There's trouble on the north bank, I'm sure of it. I wish dantro were here. But i know he can't leave the outpost unwatched"

Also the boy is says the father took the boat to the north bank and i checked the north bank. There's nobody at the north bank. I'm not sure what i'm missing. I even have the cactus flower in my inventory.

help please

Well, from what I remember you have to do the North Bank thing first (get the Cactoids to bring everyone back to town). You have to speak to Dantro first at the Estersand outpost, and he tells you to go give it to his wife. After you do so, she'll take the flower and fork over some needles (you can make something with them, don't throw them out just yet).

After that, leave and come back to the village and talk to Tchigri, at the dock. He'll take you over to the other side and after a scene, go back across the river. Speak to Dantro's Wife and she tells you the item you're looking for is out behind the house. Examine it and go back to Tchigri to take him across the river.

Zig and a zag and you get the Wyrmfire Shot and some change, as well as being able to cross the Nebra for free. Now you can do the Dantro's Wife quest for the Barheim Key.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Grim Gibber

there's nobody in the north bank, just a moogle selling maps

You have to go talk to Dantro, like I said, before she'll accept the cactus flower.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Grim Gibber

ok, gonna try that

Basically it's this:

Finish the Cactoid hunt, and obtain the cactus flower. Head over to Dantro at the Estersand outpost and he'll tell you to give his wife the flower. After that's done, the North Bank sidequest will begin. Read what I posted above to find out how to do that.

Edit: As for the Snakeskin... It only effects what you get as a reward when you start handing Dantro's wife (fucked up she doesn't have a name) the ingredients she asks for.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Grim Gibber

oh boy, i can't believe i had a simple thing to do was just go back and meet with dantaro... now i can finish this up lol. Thanks

No problem, glad I could help.

Oh, and during her fetch quest, don't sell or toss any of the items you find. IIRC, you can only find one of each.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by seanne

If you're at lv.99 with three of your characters you shouldn't have any problems with the Hell Wyrm (specially considering that you can leave the battle at any time and resume it after healing).

Damn, that's awesome. One question though: I've heard that if you leave for too long, Hell Wyrm and Yiazmat will get all their HP back. Is this true?

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Yiazmat is another story though. The main problem with this battle is the status effects he gives you all the time, including lots of Death. I see you've got the Ribbon though - that will certainly come in handy in this battle (though does it protect against Death as well?).

I'm going to try and get another one from Henne, but yeah, it really helps against monsters where the main bulk of their attacks and threat lies in status inducing attacks. Oh, and it doesn't protect against Death. Think of that spell as a convenient "Instant KO" status attack. KO and HP critical are the only two things it doesn't guard against. But I'll have bubble belts on, will it really get that crazy that I'll want to throw the Ribbon on whomever is about to eat a Stop/Disease/etc..?

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It can be pretty nervracking, since he has such a crazy amount of HP and you might find yourself with a lot to do, even with your Gambits set.

Oh, DAMN. This clown has ~50 million HP! He has 7 bars of health right? I just did some quick bad maths and it came out to around 7,142,857 points of HP per bar. It'll be like almost killing Hell Wyrm every bar, jeez.

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Omega was also a real pain. His attacks are truly deadly and can easily take you down in one hit if you're not careful (sufficiently leveled/properly equipped). This could just the most difficult battle in the game - though if you make use of Reverse in the right way (sort of like you mentioned) you should be able to defeat him easier than what might have been intended. Reverse is almost too good, I think.

Reverse, I've heard, is a game breaking spell. But it does have a flaw in that it doesn't last all that long. If you equip whomever is going to the the Reversed Lure with vitality stat increasing items (Cat-Ear Hood for example), it'll last longer (as will any beneficial status effect).

Another question: I saw some people complaining that his attacks often berserk his victim, this would be a boon in my situation, no? He'd bump the attack and attack speed of someone who is getting healed by damage. Later today I'm going to go in and try Hell Wyrm with everyone set to Reverse with one person as the lure.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

I just beat the orthos hunt, what use does the blackened fragment have, and where are the other 3?????

You have to get the other 3 in order to complete a medallion. A little sidequest is involved, where you have to go to a certain map in the Deadlands to get the other 2 medallions. Once you have all three, you can fight the bosses behind the doors in the Necrol of Nabudis. One of which is an Esper (Chaos).

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Cetra

No, but it seems they will cast regen on themselves if you run around in the same area without attacking them for a while, and uh....they regen a lot per tick.

.....

Jesus Christ, they really went out of their way to make these guys just absurd, eh? Well, I've got damn good news:

Reverse + Lure works like a bloody charm. Ran in there with Balthier inflicted with those two, and Penelo and Vaan (Durandal + Demon Shield) were set to refresh Reverse and Lure respectively. I took off what looked to be a decent chunk and left.

So you're telling me there's a good chance that they can just regen themselves in the time it took me to get to the save point and save?

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

Originally Posted by Cetra

Na, AI is only active when you are in the same area. For example, if you run around the tunnels of the arena for a while, Yiazmat will eventually start buffing himself including throwing up a regen. He seems to be coded to do this only if he's not able to attack someone I'm sure mostly to prevent using his size against him by making use of the tunnels as cover. If you are in another area, the game just stores his current HP and it will always be set to that value once you return to the arena.

Ah, okay. That seems much more reasonable than what I was assuming. Looks like it's best not to fool around near them so they won't do that. Seanne was right about Hell Wyrm, thing isn't all that tough (especially at my level). I've got the second team at level 99 finally, so that's some added insurance.

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

Originally Posted by Rock

Regarding the Zodiac Spear, I just learned that your only chance to procure it is not opening certain treasure chests in the game. I've already completed the Giruvegan crystal and naturally opened all treasure chests I've encountered so far. Do I still have a chance to get the spear?

Yes, but it's ridiculously fucking small. In the Special Charter Dig map, the one just before you fight Zodiark (infested with level 62+ monsters), there's a little nook in which a treasure chest may appear. Now, I don't remember the exact percent but I believe it's something like 90% of the time it won't be there, 5% of the time it'll be gil and the other 5% it'll be either an Elixer or the spear.

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Damn, this is pissing me off.

Tell me about it, it infuriated me too, but you'll make do. The spear is likely slower than the Tournesol and probably not as good (the evasion alone makes The Sunflower real nice). What really ticked me off was missing the fucking Genji gloves which would've made Franamune into a comboing machine.

Though if you want to get annoyed/irritated, try getting the Bombshell rare game at the Lasche span in Lhusu Mines to drop the Yagyu Darkblade (best ninja sword in the game). You can't chain them because of:

• Godforsaken Aeronites
• Pestering Vampyrs

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Rock

At least I know where to get the Genji equipment. Are there any other things you can miss and that'll be gone forever?

Hmm, not that I know of. I'm basically a step away from finishing the game, so if I've missed something that can't be found elsewhere, I'm screwed. I think it's only the Zodiac Spear and Genji gear. Oh, IIRC, in the Great Crystal there's a chest that if you get the Zodiac Escutcheon in it, you won't get the Brave Suit from it, ever.

But that can be found in a chest in Henne Mines (that's where I found mine, along with a Ribbon). Also, the rare game that drop trophies often have very good/rare items to steal. An example of this is Arioch in the Nabreus Deadlands. Kill all the enemies on that map and wait a bit near the empty part where the Deadbones usually spawn and you'll find him. If you're doing the Phon Coast hunt thing, once he's dead, that's it. You can get Sage's Ring from him that cuts MP costs in half and absorbs holy element attacks.

So steal from him, and move a screen away, back again and steal until you're satisfied.

If you kill him without getting it, you're going to have to rely on luck while milling around the Henne Mines, which isn't fun.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?