[PS2] Final Fantasy XII

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Yeah it does:

Spoiler:

Judge Magister Zecht a.k.a. Reddas, was ordered by Cid to use Nabradia's' Nethicite shard (The Midlight Shard), and, not knowing what he was doing, the Nabreus deadlands were the result.

Not really:

Spoiler:

That's not very revelatory as to what exactly happened on the ground there. The entire event was given maybe an occasional nod, even though it felt like it really should've been a major and ever present reason in stopping the empire/Vayne. Reddas was the only one who really seemed like he cared, and that's because he ruined the lives of so many through his own ignorance.

Seriously, kill the Bangaa thieves in the Cerobi Steppe map that zones to Tchita. Make sure you empty the map mostly and then zone, and soon you'll have enough to complete their beastiary entry. Essentially, it has sense of tragedy that the commentary in the storyline lacked.

Yiazmat? At 72? Sure. You'll have to leave a few times to avoid catching his wrath as his health drops, but most of the fight is just boring Stone Breath, White Breath (be careful with this) and Rake. Sometimes he does Cyclone but that gets rarer as his HP drops.

If you feel like he's suddenly getting faster, or you can't buff fast enough, leave coliseum. He cools his jets while you cool yours, and when you go back he'll be busy buffing himself and warming up for a long bit to get back up to speed. It's only when you fight him for long stretches (like I did, stage 3 being the best example). He gets very aggressive, and as I bitched before in size 5 text, he'll OHKO you with Rake very often.

That's pretty much it. Decent Curaja healing net, gambits set to heal Stop, Petrify and Sap and you've just survived 70% of him easily. Hastega+Protectga are a given here. I don't know how effective Shellga is at defending you, but I believe all his attacks except for Death Strike are all physical in nature.

Give Chaos another try though, after you get some equips that are disable immune. Cheap? Yes, but so are the bosses. Toss them on when he does his worst.

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

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

Yea my bad about the whole character thing, first time in a forum didnt know how it really works, ill be more careful from now on and sorry if for anyone who i spoiled that for

Yeah, anything that has to do with the story and not gameplay, make sure you use those tags.

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Double Post:
I've spent about two hours trying to steal from this damn gnoma entite getting nothing but crystals, how long until he drops the damn halcyon!!??? although i have gotten a healthy supply of feystones in the process so its not all that bad.

Do you have the Thief's Cuff's on? If you do, your chances of getting the Halcyon is much higher than just stealing normally. Also, just keep coming back through the Wyrm's Nest map as it seems to generate sandstorms fairly often. Oh, and don't sell the Feystones, as they're an ingredient for the Tournesol.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Hey MS, where do I find the rest of those medallion pieces at?

You got the Blackened Fragment, already right? I think it's a reward for a hunt, Orthros IIRC. The next one I did was in Archades. Go speak to the Nu Mou in the Magick shop there and they'll mention Otto. You probably saw him as you were exploring Old Archades, as he's the only gentry down there. Speak to him and after a bit about love, he'll give you the medallion. Return this one to the Nu Mou at the shop and they'll leave for Nabudis.

The next one is down in the Garamsythe Waterway. It's not even in the waterway proper, just stuck in one of the sluice gates.

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Start with all gates open, and then do the following in order:
Close the 11th gate, close the 4th gate, open the 11th gate,
close the 3rd gate, open the 4th gate. When you do so a little
sparkling item will appear in the same room on the south side;
examine it to receive the fragment.

What he means by "south" is, literally, south on the map, just before going into the southernmost paths. It should be sparkling on the floor.

The last part is one is complicated, though. Find Kytes in Lowtown and speak to him. Then drop by the main square and talk to the NPCs until you find a woman who lost her memory and she mentions the necklace. Now, go to the Bazaar and ask about the necklace until one of them recognizes it and he says an Sotted Imperial bought it. You've probably seen him before, so head down to the magick shop. After some chit chat and a threat, go to the South Sprawl and look for Filo and her Sky Pirate gang (it's a bunch of kids). She'll mention that they found the lady. Choose the option that takes you back to the Imperial and after a revelation, you'll get this fragment.

So you should have these:

- The one from the Orthros hunt, Blackened Fragment
- The one from the above Amnesia Lady event (IIRC, It's Grimy Fragment)
- The one that falls from the Garamsythe Waterway sluice gate

The thing over in Archades completes 1 whole Medallion, and the Nu Mou in Old Dalan's has 1 already that the old codger was holding for him. The rest are listed above. Once you're done, head to the Deadlands via the Salikawood and talk to the Nu Mou there. They'll tell you that you have to head to the Overlooking Eternity map, so take their advice and move on. To get there, there's a hidden path on the upper part of The Slumbermead area that's hidden by foliage.

Once there you'll get a third medallion (Lusterless) along with Bravery and Love. Now you're ready to go off to the Necrohol.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Awesome, thanks. Time to fight some more horrible monsters.

Yes, horrible monsters, heh. Remember to enter via the Deadlands, as it makes reaching the first door much easier.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Speaking of horrible monsters, the Baknamy are the most annoying monsters in the whole game, by far. I have come to the conclusion that each 'Namy has his own person cloaking device, as they have a tendency to walk out of absolutely nowhere. When you encounter one, you can be sure two or three more will walk out of thin air. Their evade is enormous and they hit hard and quickly. Even at level 60 it is taking me two or three hits to kill just one when using the Zodiac Spear. But half of my time is spent hitting nothing at all, the word "PARRY" floating in mid-air, mocking me.

Ugh.

Also, I absolutely cannot find the lost memory woman.

Yeah, the Baknamy are absolutely brutal for a very long time, especially the ones in the Necrohol proper. You can see them walking around in the mist half-cloaked, and yes they often come in pairs or groups of 3. I know there's this one 'namy towards the end of the Necrohol that casts Death the instant you come into range.

You don't get the item that negates their parry advantage until way later (Cameo Belt in Balfonheim; improves hit rate to the point where parry/miss is nonexistant).

As for the lady, make sure you spoke to the Nu Mou about the medallion. Then Old Dalan will mention something about the kids probably knowing, then Kytes and then Filo. After that, go up to the square and she should be there.

Or are you talking about after you speak to the Sotted Imperial and she's vanished? If it's this part, go talk to Filo, the lady's with them.

Oh, and Necrofiends are actually masters of the confuse status effect. They spam Phantasmal Gaze like there's no tommorow, so much so that you have to throw on your gear to avoid it eventually snagging one of your characters.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

OK I defeated the Wild Malboro (a hunt) today! After saving at the screen before, I then travelled back through the Golmore Jungle to collect my prize, but I espied a lone Mantis around the left corner, and I thought to myself, "I've never seen a Biding Mantis in Golmore before, so I bet it's one of those rare monsters!" I proceeded to attack it, only to die a HORRIBLE DEATH when it killed everyone in the party with one hit each. JOY. I didn't manage to run away either.

Really, is it a rare game, or is it an uber strong normal enemy that I've just never seen until today? I failed to see it mentioned in the guide, but I'm sure I must have been looking in the wrong section.

P.S. I typed up several monsters for the Bestiary. Whoo, now I can get cracking on that.

Biding Mantis is a rapist in Mantis garb, I'm not even kidding. This piece of shit is the only monster who's ever hit me for 9999, without fail. I have no idea how to even beat him and have not found any help in taking it down.

To think, the team that beat Yiazmat, Hell Wyrm and Omega (this thing was a joke) can't take down some godforsaken rare game.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

Damn...so it was a rare game. I never thought that such a powerful monster could be lurking in Golmore. BIG MISTAKE. Wish I had known that before or I wouldn't have gone after it. Booo!

I'm thinking of going in there with Bubble Belts and Curaja, after throwing a Remedy+Nihaopaloa at it. I looked at the rare game guide now and they say this thing does 1k damage at level 40? What the hell? Are they talking about the same monster here?

Edit: What the hell. Apparently, if you go into that map and let him be, he'll start cannibalizing enemies. Seems like you have to catch him before he eats something or he gets ridiculous.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Spatula

I'm probably dead last in terms of story progression among you guys. Exams are done and I'm back into FFXII, albeit very tired and somewhat lacking in motivation. I'm up to where I recruit back the 9 moogles to fix the gate to the Phon Coast. I'm about to take on the bomb boss. I'm about 58 hours of play time and so far my party has the following stats:

Vaan - level 21
Balthier - 40
Fran - 26 (starting to use her a bit more now)
Basch - 41
Ashe - 36
Penelo - 34

How do my stats compare to how far I am? Yeah 58 hours already wow.

Hey, take it easy. This game is best enjoyed real slow. The levels are fine, but why are they all over the place? Characters died?

Just beat on him, take off Oil as quickly as possible. Oh, dispatch the bombs that flank him first, or they'll get annoying.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

I had to use my Quickenings to beat the bomb boss. They saved me quite a few times actually, especially during the Carrot hunt. I finished her off with a 38000 point blow.

Carrot was irritating because there was really no way of dividing it's attention, due to her size. I just reamed her, and hand Remedy gambits all around (thanks Golmore Malboros).

As for Renew? Don't worry about it, just keep nailing him. He usually does it when he's careening around and not doing much of anything. Expose him with all your characters at this point until they start to miss. He'll die from his compromised defenses before he does it again.

Nihaopaloa or however it's spelled, is an accessory that reverses an item's effect. Example:

X-Potion heals me for 2400 with all Potion Lore acquired.

With the accessory on, chops off 2400 points of HP. This applies to enemies as well. Now... what do Remedies do? Heal status effects?

Apply this thing's reversal and you inflict every status effect your remedies can currently heal. If you've acquired all the Remedy Lore licenses, the effect is brutal.

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

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

It'd take longer to kill him that way though, unless you don't mind it.

Staying alive takes priority over killing an enemy, that's how I fought Yiazface and that's how I'll approach this thing. Using this trick will cripple him, so chop his 68k down to nothing quickly.

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So assuming I got Nihaopaloa equipped, I could cast, say, Phoenix Down on an undead enemy and instantly kill it? That sounds very useful. Where can I get this accessory?

Phoenix Downs already OHKO undead enemies, though some seem to be immune to it (it doesn't work), so you wouldn't need to reverse it. What would kill an enemy in OHKO would be a reversed Megalixer.

You can get it in the Muthruu Bazaar after a certain rank. If you're up to Carrot, you should be able to buy it now.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

Ah! I already got Carrot in my Hunt list, but am too scared to go fight it now. Still have to finish VI hunts first. I am not looking forward to going back to Giruvegan to fight that Pescodemon or whatever it's called.

It's not even that far, just two screens. The layout is what makes it seem much longer, though. Piscodaemon? Easy as pie. Do you have Fafnir on your hunt board?

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I bet this accessory costs an arm and a leg.

30,000 gil, if I recall correctly.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

Just two screens, you say Well if you say it's not far, I guess I can go there. And I don't remember if I have Fafnir on my hunt list. I haven't actually checked the Job Board since I won the game yet.

Yeah, it really isn't far. The problem is that the path twists and turns, making the trip that much longer. He's another rank VII, harder than Carrot, that much is certain.

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30,000??? Damn, and I just spent all my loot on weapons and armour.

I have 3.5 million gil and 8.9 million clan points, 30k really isn't all that much. Try 600,000 gil for crafting the Tournesol, not counting the 15-20k for the Empyreal Souls, Gemsteel and Serpentarius.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

No! That poor necrohol-bunny!

Spoiler:

It cried when I killed it. As it lay on the ground, a single tear fell from its eye. T.T

Heh, you damn clown. That's why I didn't tell you guys what he is, it only makes his appearance and death even more hilarious. Now, go beat Humbaba Mistant! Make sure you steal Beastlord Horn from him though.

As for Mr. Humbaba, you won't be disappointed either, Piccolo.

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

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

Yea i actually dont have the theif cuffs ( i didnt have them for the gilgamesh fight either but still managed two of the items) and i remembered them while i was in the desert but was too lazy to go back and find them, i'll have to go ahead and take care of that now then.

Yeah, the cuffs really make stealing that much more effective. Otherwise you have absolutely horrible odds of getting what you want. Same thing with the grimoires.

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Humbaba was a pushover. The whole splat thing was funny though. I didn't steal anything from him.

This esper is pretty tough. Staying alive isn't a problem, but doing damage is. Magic in this game is so damn weak. Virtually useless, even.

Fury and Humbaba are easy, but they make you approach the final door as if it's going to be a joke. Unfortunately, Chaos is all too serious. I forgot what magic I used on him, but I believe it was Drain or one of those non-elemental spells. The fight still took forever because, as you said, magic is very weak in this game. It's also far too slow.

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Man this thread moves at lightning pace, I really mean it.

Yeah, we've got quite a few people playing/finishing the game all at once. There's tons of material that aren't covered too well in guides and a storyline definitely worth discussing.

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I just don't like using Vaan, and I never had a liking for Fran. I know this will end up hitting me where I need good reserve characters, so I guess I should start shaping them up as well. I think I've quite a few hankerchiefs, maybe 30 or so just sitting in my inventory. So I hear this boss can be taken on and again and again and you can nab nice goodies.

Unless you're horribly underleveled, you won't need the reserves to be strong or anywhere near your main team. You can finish the game at a very low level, as a matter of fact.

I never stole from the Bomb King when I fought him, nor did I know you could run away. Figured it was just another boss fight that I had accidentally run into, like the Elder Wyrm. If you want, go ahead and steal from him. If you can exit and enter and steal again and again, go for it.

I just have everyone at 99 for completion's sake. Going for the Yagyu Darkblade and Danjuro soon and I'll be done on the weapon side of things.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Karasu

Well...

Spoiler:

I FUCKING BEAT GILGAMESH. He has been by far the hardest i've fought in this game. Maybe its because I suck at the gambits, or he was just a total bitch, but I had so much difficulty with him. His bitch of a Dog Enkidu was very annoying, but I killed him first, then went for Gilgamesh. He kept killing me, but I got the upperhand at one point, which caused me to get him AND steal all the genji items. So now, my Vaan has all genji on him, plus the Masamune that you get as a reward.

I must say...Gilgamesh is quite the funny guy though. Who did NOT laugh when he entered the battle and then..fell off the bridge. I mean wtf, who does that? Overall..what a damn fight...the last part was funny though when he grabs the sword left behind. So Japanese... lol.

Spoiler:

Yeah, I flinched when he screwed up on the bridge.

Did you recognize all the swords he pulled out? I did except for 1 of them, that looked like a skull made into a blade. He even uses the Tournesol (sword with the bright orange, snake-like blade) and Wyrmhero blade (it's the sword stuck in the ground after the fight, you get it for handing in the uber-monster loot).

Glad you enjoyed the fight too. I loved the music, btw.

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Has anyone gotten a ribbon? I remember reading something about them but as i recall you cant purchase them.

Double Post:
HAHA thanks MS, as soon as i got the thief cuffs i stole the gnoma halcyon on my first try, not its off to get the Ultima blade!

I got a ribbon down in Henne Mines the first time I went into the Special Charter Dig area. The Ultima blade disappointed me, as I was expecting something much more aesthetically pleasing.

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After two attempts, I managed to take down the King Bomb. He wasn't hard, he just kept using renew, which brought him back to 100%, meaning whatever efforts you did to take down his lackies was in vain, since he keeps respawning them.

2 times? You should go grind on Panthers, since I was a solid 40 across all the characters and he used renew twice in the one battle I had with him and he never summoned them back. All he did was dash around after Renewing.

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I used about 10 or so hankerchiefs, and the fight lasted for about a good 25 minutes, seriously. I find that right when the boss is at 25%, that's the most optimal time to quickly hurry up with your quickenings to take out the King Bomb before he regenerates. Also, Mateus helps somewhat in the fight. She's okay to use about half way into the battle.

Here's some advice: Don't use Quickenings. You'll do more damage attacking normally in the same amount of time, and you'll have MP left to boot. The damage is unreliable for boss battles and if you don't kill them (which will often happen due to their critical defense boost), you'll be SOL.

Espers, unfortunately, are as useless as Quickenings later on too. Too much MP for too little damage. Mateus is a he, BTW. That's the ice goddess he used as a living shield when he took on the gods. Yes, it confused the hell out of me too.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Spatula

Yes, SOLDIER_2825, I do have protect, shell, haste, and regen set as gambits for all my members, however they don't have priority over attacks. Perhaps this is something I should look into for one member.

Easy, have the party leader (you) cast them manually in battle. Of course, make sure you run into the boss battle already buffed. God, did I hate not having Hastega. Constant one-by-one refreshing of haste was irritating.

If you're starting to have trouble with the boss battles, that's when you know it's time to level up. The storyline bosses in this game aren't hard at all.

BTW, SOLDIER, the Ultima Blade is a good weapon strengthwise. I completely skipped the Excalibur because it was a hassle and went straight for the Tournesol from the Ultima Blade. It's just that, it looks hideous. Do you have the grimoire that makes the undead drop more often? That will really help the drop rate of Death Powder.

If you've ever seen Frost Wave, you can see how it's not even her (she's just there for the ride, unfortunately).

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

I had all the grimoire's but for some reason he wouldnt drop it, but just as i was about to give up on it he dropped one so i have the ultima blade now, i think when i get through the Pharos section i might start to focus on the tournsoul since i fucked up the whole zodiac spear part (sigh). But i think it will probably take a good chunk of time.

The Tournesol easily trounces the Zodiac Spear and Wyrmhero Blade, though if you're interested in true completion, you'll try to get those two.

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

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

well i want the tournsol for this game, but i i missed out on the spear and early on in the game i sold the serpentskin so im missing out on a lot of sidequests, so i may just finish this one with getting the tournsol and use the guide and go for completion next time around. How long would you say it takes to get all the shit for the Tournsol?

Depends on how determined you are as well as luck. If you do the Shadowseer hunt, you'll end up getting a ton of Damascus Steel, for example. Just drop by the places where those enemies are as you're doing quests and stuff.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

That sucks, because the added holy damage is a HUGE help with dark monsters. It isn't that much less powerful than the Tournesol either.

It's not worth trekking all the way into the Grand Crystal, slogging through gate after gate and running back and forth just to get a sword by luck.

Not to mention the Excalibur is useless in the best test of a weapon's/character's strength, that being Yiazmat. He absorbs Holy, so you would either have to drop down to the Ultima Blade, or step up to the Tournesol + much needed evasion.

As a secondary sword for Vaan in the Henne runs I go on, it'd be fantastic (everything down there except for the Hecteyes are weak against Holy), but otherwise not so much.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Luckily, I picked up Excalibur on the first try. And really, you don't have to do that much gate-running.

I'm sure you'd feel the same way I do about the crystal if you'd been stuck somewhere between the XI and IXX or XX waystone for the better part of 2 hours. Same enemies, same paths, no map, easy disorientation, etc...

And damn you're lucky, 1 try. I've heard of people trying for 2+ hours, can't imagine how it would feel picking up your 200th Knot of Rust or something, heh.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

I got a Knot of Rust, AND the sword. From the same container, no less. I must be blessed by the Occuria themselves.

No, that's how it actually works. You know you're going to get the sword when you get a double reward, or like some folks say, "the second chest". Still not running around in that gloomy/confusing place until I go off some Ose (2... dear God).

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

Originally Posted by Rock

For those of you who have already finished FFXII: Does the game offer some completion statistics like Okami and the like? I'd be very disappointed if I couldn't share some figures with you once I beat the final boss ...

Nope, the game doesn't provide stats, like the Tales of games or Okami as you said. It'd be real nice if you did though.

The Crystal is hell, even at level 77 when I went back to get Ultima. It's actually pretty easy to get to the save point once you know the way, but otherwise it's some complicated crap.

I remember Shadonirs being particularly bad, along with Mom Bombs.

And Rock, the endgame is by no means disappointing, that much I can assure you of. When I finished it, I was at level 99 with everyone and they all had the best weapon for their weapon class. Though you should really do the hunts, at least one at a time. You could've done them as the story progressed so it wouldn't be a massive bunch of monsters to conquer, but a steady stream.

I was speaking idiomatically.

[QUOTE=Rock]I already did most of the hunts throughout the game, but I'm still missing a lot of the elite marks and didn't even join the hunt club. I'll probably just do the Gilgamesh battle (for the music) and be done with the game.[/qupte]

The rare game thing you shouldn't tackle unless you're looking for tedium, but the elite marks/last few board hunts are pretty fun.

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110+ hours is long enough, anyways. *g*

Well, go off and beat it and come back with impressions!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Musharraf

Honestly, how long did it take for you to beat the final boss? 20 seconds, 30 seconds?

Heh, the final boss would've gone down within that had it not put up palings/immunities. It then proceeded to use each one of it's special attacks in a row, fly around a bit, and then the paling came down and it was basically over. Stretched it out for several minutes, but the other ones before it?

15-20 seconds, this is including the one that uses Renew at 50% health.

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I’ve read a couple of missed sidequests and the like while browsing through this thread. My question is, besides the Zodiac Spear, what other sidequests, summons, and miscellanous non-story driven activites are considered “lost forevers” in this game? I haven’t really come across any real mini games as of yet, actually. I’m still in the Silkawood.

- Ruby the Thief is a "lost forever" sidequest that you have to start before you go off into the Mosphoran Highwaste for the first time
- Zodiac Spear, don't open 4 chests that appear in cutscene movies + any of the 16 chests in Phon Coast.
- Genji Gear, a certain hunt monster has these. Everytime a new sword is revealed, steal from him. This applies to both battles with him. If you don't get these now, you won't get them at all.

I believe that's it. If anyone has anymore, just post 'em.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Lionking-Cyan

What about these swords? Are them important in the endgame?

Which swords? No weapon is important or required in the end, the Zodiac Spear is just the strongest weapon in the game going by attack. There are other weapons that do more damage given the same amount of time, so it's definitely not a big loss. Unless of course you're a completion freak.

I might have misunderstood you just now, so feel free to correct me.

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