[PS2] Final Fantasy XII

Originally Posted by Spatula

Ah shit, there goes one. Was the reward for this quest "good?" or can I just go pick it up at a shop?

I missed this one too. I found out about it just as I was entering the Salikawood. Definitely kicked myself for it. IIRC, you get a Salamand Halcyon for it.

Double Post:

Originally Posted by Metal Sphere

I missed this one too. I found out about it just as I was entering the Salikawood. Definitely kicked myself for it. IIRC, you get a Salamand Halcyon for it.

Originally Posted by Lionking-Cyan

I meant the swords from genji, sorry.

Oh, you don't steal the swords, just gear. The best one of the bunch is the Genji Gloves that basically increases the maximum combo amount and also makes combos much more frequent. Couple this with a weapon that already gets multiple hits in often (Masamune) and you have a damage dealing machine.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

You need to control 10 espers, then talk to the Garif Geomancer. The gate in the big room (where you fought tiamat) will be unlocked. Be careful, the enemies there are super tough and will mob you like crazy. I made it all the way in, coming close to losing everyone several times, got Zodiark about 3/4 of the way down, and somehow he suddenly increased in power and killed everyone in one hit.

How do I defend against Darkja?

When he does Darkja, throw on Black Masks. They absorb dark damage, but there's no way to avoid the random Death effect.

When he does Shining Ray, throw on White Masks.

Both can be bought in Balfonheim.

And there really isn't any average level, just what you think is best to take on level 62-65 enemies.

Originally Posted by seanne

Just make sure you've saved your game right before going to open it as it seems there isn't a 100% certainty of you getting it. Furthermore it seems you actually have to have a Diamond Armlet equipped for it to contain it at all =o

Actually, you can try over and over again, it's just that there are horrible odds working against you:

90% of the time the chest isn't there, 5% of the time it's just gil and the other 5% it's either than elixer or the spear. You can keep trying over and over again by going 3 maps a way. It make the treasures respawn/refresh. I've only had it appear for me once or twice.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

Well I just took down gilgamesh! My level was kind low I think for it so it made the fight pretty fun! I'm not sure weather I should go on with the story line now or try to get the Tournsol before i go on???

That, my friend, is entirely up to you. Do you want to rape every enemy from the moment you get the Tournesol onward (yes, this includes Hell Wyrm/Yiazmat/Omega) or go with something else?

Double Post:
Oh and would it detrimental to my party if i had all of them using greatswords and Katana's? i have the Excalibur, Ultima Blade, and the Masamune? I'm just not sure if I should have everyone in my party not using a shield?[/QUOTE]

Well, it would put you at a disadvantage against flying foes, of which there aren't very many. Like you said, you won't be blocking/evading very often, but your team's average attack power will be high.

Me, I smoothed it out like this:

1H Sword, Attack+Defense (Blocks enemy attacks)
2H Sword, Attack (No blocking, pure offense)
Bow, Attack (No blocking, defense = range, priority white mage)

The other team is the same, except Franamune uses the Masamune and Ashe uses the Gastrophetes instead of a Bow.

I've tried other teams like Gun, Bow, Crossbow and have fun that it really works. They end up attacking like a firing squad. One downside is that they don't get multiple hits in and their overall attack is lower than other teams.

Another is the "stick" team, that mixes up the staves/rods/staffs so that the damage inflicted is based on different aspects of the enemy's stats. Whale Whisker was pure sex as Penelo's secondary weapon against Yiazmat because she often got 7-hit combos in on him.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

I just defeated Fafnir, and I was reminded of MS's post about the Viera on Omisace, so...

Spoiler:

I heard the Viera's words. I can see what she is saying, but I still agree with the Occuria about humanity's stupidity. I found this quote in the Pharos. I like it a lot:



As for the Entites, well, listen to this quote from the Sylphi Entite's entry:



There are others, too; it is said that the gods gave man fire, but he used the fire for the taking of life. All sorts of stuff like that. It certainly doesn't cast Man in a very positive light. The Occuria were right to punish them utterly. Perhaps I am just a pessimist. Mark my words, without the Occuria to keep things in check, the Humes will turn their wold into a facsimile of the world portrayed in Soylent Green. ;(

Spoilers abound below, including some endgame stuff, so beware.

Spoiler:

Yeah, methinks you're being a tad bit pessimistic. The problem with the Occuria is that they don't want autonomous beings that do as they see fit according the conditions around them, to their benefit in order to survive and thrive. What they want are drone-like beings with no agency or self-determination, who mindlessly obey the will of The Undying. Whose wisdom are detached from the reality of the world, whose "fixes" are destructive and insensitive. If indeed they created Man, in FFXII, than it's fitting that their creation reflects the best and worst parts of their creators.

Ironic that you take proof of man's stupidity/ignorance/etc from creatures of violence, created from heavyhanded and irrational displays of anger from the gods.

Notice how infuriated Gerun got when Venat, someone giving humans even more power than they already had. Power to take their fates into their own hands, and out of those least fit to decide such a thing. I can imagine the greek gods likely had a similar reaction to Prometheus giving fire to man.

IMO, the Occuria are nameless/faceless manipulators who operate under might makes right. Reading the bestiary entries, you see they only respond either when they're threatened, begin to lose control, or decide that the world needs to be changed to their benefit.

Even while I doubt Venat's intentions were wholly good, she definitely comes out better than her brethren in the end. Hopped off the ivory tower and actually tried to help, although not in the best way.

Either way, for a game with such a thin story, it definitely left quite an impact.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Spoiler:

You should read some of the story translations at Gamefaqs. It really portrays Venat in a much better light. I can't agree with her methods, but I think that her intentions were good and that she truly wanted to help the humans.

Spoiler:

Neither can I, nor can I agree with whom she chose. Someone mentioned it earlier, but I think she chose Vayne as the one to be the next Raithwall. The one to bring an long era of piece.

Heck, she even acknowledged that even all that they'd done was enough to keep the Occuria from meddling and let herself become mortal/vulnerable by making Vayne stronger in that last battle.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Spatula

I'm still sticking around Phon Coast for the time being. Honestly, not only have I started including Fran in my party more often, I love seeing her with a Katana. I even have her as party leader now. Before she was my 2nd least favorite playable character and now she's up there with Balther. 4 hit combos for the win. How do I increase combos, please enlighten me.

Genji Gloves increase the combo limit as well as increase combo frequency. I'm glad you're seeing the benefits of the Fran. The katana's length doesn't look alien when he has it unequipped, or even when she's attacking (she has the coolest stance during said moments). Heck, it even has a matching red trim like her sleeves.

Balthier + Fran = Coolest characters in FFXII, and IMO, up there as some of the best in the series. You'll see by the end of your journey.

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Now from time to time I'm getting a 9,999 hit from some of my characters and i don't have say the Tournsol or Zodiac spear. Is there something in this game like the break damage limit that you could get for FFX?

No, there's not break damage limit items in this game, but Quickenings and Espers can exceed 9,9999. IIRC, Zodiarc's Final Eclipse can do 64k+ and the most I've done with a Quickening chain was 45,800 on Exodus.

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Double Post:
WTF? I thought you needed to not sell the serpentskin from the nidhog hunt in order to acquire the Barheim key?? Well I sold that item and just got the key?

Nah, that just changes the reward that you get from him slighty, but you still get the reward.

Anyone do the Bloodwing hunt? Shit, I still remember how sad the situation was with those two Bangaa.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Musharraf

I am currently fighting Hell Wyrm. This faggot seems to have like ten million HP, this is so boring, I can even post on GFF

IIRC, he does have 10 million, or something like 8.3 million. Omega has about 1 million, even though he had 10 in the Japanese release. If you think Hell Wyrm is boring, try Yiazmat. 75% of that fight is chopping away at his health, and the last bit is brutal if you want to do it in one sitting.

My advice: Get the hell out. He de-aggros, loses his Growing Threat buff, his Rakes lose their 90%+ OHKO, uses Death Strike less often, and is just turns into a pussy cat. If you don't heed this, you're going to see what happens when a monster AI programmer is told to make a monster as cheap as possible.

Oh, and Hell Wyrm? Watch out for Invert towards the end. These guys would be harder if they used crap like Fearga and Putrid Breath.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Musharraf

I love invert. Saves me ethers

But thanks for the advice`!

Heh, just had to mention it since it was the bane of some folks who had their gambits setup without it in mind.

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Edit: Do you mean that Yiazmat has even MORE hitpoints than Hell Wyrm??? O_O

50 Million, my friend. Absolute boredom for 75-80% of that, though the last 10-20% takes you almost as long as the rest of his HP. At 50%, his defense jumps and makes your 9999 attacks hit for 6999. Yes, this was after I used Expose until I could drop his defense no further. And with Bravery on my characters AND with a dark attack weapon (Koga Blade). You cant hit for more than that after that point.

Just know, when you get to the lower reaches of his HP and he starts KOing you characters with ease, leave. Take it from someone who had him within the last 1/3 of his final life bar and he was KO'ing level 99 characters with:

Rake (I swear, this had a 90% Death effect on it at that point)
Rake (12 hit Rake combo on Penelo @ 3k each)
Death Strike (spams to interrupt spells, off caster)

He almost always targets the character who revived another, so you get stuck in a revival chain. That's why I said leave, I did and came back and he was a pussy cat and bled HP until he finally croaked. Satisfied as all get out.

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

There are male Viera, obviously, but they remain hidden away in even more secluded forest villages. When you think about it, it has to be this way. If the male to female ratio was equal, their population would go out of control very quickly, with their extremely long and (mostly) danger-free lifespans. Other races don't live as long and die far more frequently.

Yeah, IIRC in FFTA, it was explained that there are male Viera and I think you actually get to see one but that was a while back and my memory is fuzzy. If I hadn't known this, I would've assumed that the Viera were simply birthed by the Wood.

But the Wikipedia entry shows that much of the forests they lived in are gone, which explains the low Viera population in general.

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Anybody got some tips for setting up the party? Gambits/roles, etc...?

I always have Ally Status: KO, Arise/Phoenix Down as the first or second. On Vaan, it's the top priority since he's the most likely the one to be alive (highest HP) and Balthier has it second after HP-Critical Renew/Curaja. The first one before the slash is for intense battles, the second one is for regular stuff.

Healing comes next at various percentages and then status effects, with debilitating ones like Disease, Stop, Confuse and Disable taking priority when in a difficul battle (and common ones outside of those situations). The rest is attack gambits and post-battle buff refreshing.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

So what's the deal with the fishing mini-game? Is it just a waste of my time trying to unlock all of the areas or do you actually get something out of it?

Lu Shang's badge, one of the badges needed to get the Wyrmhero Blade. Other two are:

Godslayer's Badge - Received for defeating the final mark, Yiazmat, from Montblanc.

Omega Badge - Received for defeating Omega

Turn them all in and you get the Wyrmhero Blade.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

How hard is Omega? Also, how hard is the Seer? I want to know before I bother running around in subterra, only to die horribly.

Shadowseer is incredibly easy, but he drags the battle out by summoning the monsters you fought on the way up the Pharos:

- Pandemonium
- Slyt
- Fenrir

and the Phoenix which you should've fought on the Penumbra subterra. While you fight these, he has complete Physical/Magic immunity and he debuffs you constantly and buffs his summonsed creatures. Oh yeah, he also uses Fearga like crazy along with Dark/Holy spells, so get those White and Black masks out.

Omega isn't a pushover, especially with it's considerable defense after the halfway point, but he only has one bar. His physical attacks are brutal, but IMO it's like a shorter (but more intense) Hell Wyrm battle. Oh, you can't run out of that one, but why would you?

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

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Are they at the same levels they were when I fought them the first time? Because I killed them all in a few hits when I did.

Don't remember if they were, just that they were still the same pushovers as before. If they got any significant level boost, I didn't notice. Fearga got irritating though, since he also casts Death.

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

Yeah, definitely take PN's advice:

Spoiler:

All the hunts that you can do before the Pharos are definitely a bit easier due to them splitting their attention among four characters. Almost felt like an FF of old.

I have a little theory: The Sun-Cryst is a large magicite crystal, no? It's obviously not nethicite because that absorbs mist, while this thing spewed it forth endlessly. Could we see an end to the Mist soon after the game? Or is it coming from somewhere else?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

Spoiler:

Nethicite absorbs Mist and magical energy, true, but it also seems to be capable of expelling it back out, to very great effect. This is what happened at Nabudis and also what happened when Judge Ghis had the Dawn Shard analyzed. All of the mist that was contained within was immediately and forcefully released, creating an enormous explosion. Afterwards, the Garif leader told Ashe that the shard was dead, meaning that it had spent all of its energy.

Spoiler:

Yeah, but that's only when an external forces tries to reverse the stone's very nature (ie: release mist, rather than absorb it). If it was actually Nethicite, that massive crystal would've taken out all of Ridorana, Pharos and a good bit of the ocean around it.

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Dr. Cid said that the Sun-Cryst was "glutted" with Mist, implying that it had been absorbing (or feeding on, if you will) Mist for a very long time.

Now that I think about it, it probably is Nethicite since that's the soruce of the Dawn/Midlight/Dusk Shards. Just strange that the smaller stones when forced to expel their energy took out entire areas, while the source merely destroyed the top floor of the Pharos.

Now, as for magicite and the source of the Mist? I have no idea. They never even mention that, IIRC. One peculiar thing I noticed, was that the Occuria were positively seething with it. Could they be the source? All the stones they make have to do with mist one way or the other.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I've yet to get Lu Shang's badge, though I'm close. I rather do this than fight some bosses with ungodly amounts of HP.

Here's a nice picture of Ultima:



FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Xellos

There's really no reason to level up the characters you don't plan on using. I didn't and I am 150 hours in the game without ever having a situation where everyone died and had to use the backups.

If you don't level up your reserve team and you go to fight Zodiark, you're going to get owned. They have to be at least level 40 to survive long enough to revive your main team. Darkja will wipe them all out at least once during that fight. There's several other battles where having the other guys close to or at least somewhat leveled is good insurance policy against losing.

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I guess if you do have situations where your entire main group dies it helps to have high level backups, but from my experience this never happend, and I really don't feel like leveling them to 99 just so I have a strong backup team which most likely never gets any action. Level 40ish with some shields and measures should be enough I'd say.

Leveling in this game is unbelievably easy, not to mention it rarely gets boring. You end up looking for loot/doing quests/hunts and you level up during that. Not to mention with a leveling method mentioned before (there are two) it takes less effort than you put in going from Bur-Omisace to Archades.

But, I agree, the main game? Unless you do something dumb, your main team will likely be enough.

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

Originally Posted by Spatula

Even if the main objective is levelling up or not, I'm also thinking of the long term effects of FFXII in itself as a game. I know for sure once I complete everything and get 100% and beat the game, I am not going to touch this game again for a long time, so levelling everyone at level 99 isn't such a bad idea after all. At least I get my play times worth. And levelling up isn't too too bad.

Not to mention that a good chunk of the hunts/special areas will be hell for someone who only leveled to finish the game and nothing more.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Spatula

A two hundred hour game. Oh shi~.

FFX so far has taken me the most time at about 87 hours, and I didn't complete the last Aeon summon - the Magus sisters. Getting 10 of every monster in every dungeon. To hell with that. Althought I'm sure the demands for sidequests in XII are more severe.

Nah, there's just an ungodly amount of them, that's all. Of course, that's not counting fucking Hell Wyrm or Yiazmat. Their HP is little more than padding to keep the fighting running a long time.

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You know at this rate, my highest level is 43, and Balthier has about 2800 HP. I haven't looked at the guidebook yet, but logically, would it be safe to assume that a level 99 character has OVER NINE THOUSAND HP, or do you need some special accessory (I'm thinking bubble or something like that)?

Balthier has 6050, Vaan has 6208 and Penelo has 5717. With the Bubble Belt, those numbers double, even though the game only shows up to 9999, you can see that the HP bar goes beyond that. You can also see it of you highlight the character when choosing leaders.

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It's probably linked up with the vitality stats and the like. I need to start reading my book more, and even bring it to work during lunch breaks like right now. Another question is can you break the 9999 damage limit with whatever "celestial" or "ultimate" weapons in this game?

Esper specials can break the damage limit, and so can Quickening chains. I've done 45,000 on Exodus to finish that fight and ~64,000 with Zodiark on some random enemy. Oh, and 242 hour FFXII save game says hi.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rock

Why not just steal manually?

I didn't even use Gambits other than attacking and healing throughout the entire game. I prefer having control over the flow of battle myself.

Wow, some folks are real control freaks. There are a lot of occasions were keeping to this just makes stealing/fighting rather irritating, since the enemies will hold onto the items like fiends.

Auto buffing+healing/reviving+attack FTW. Black magic is useless in this game, though I love Scathe like nothing else. Definitely something that should show up in some form in later titles.

BTW, anyone notice that most of the Archadian ships are named after classic FF summons? Perhaps the opposite scions to your Espers are said summons?

- Just defeated Vagrant Soul down in the Subterra. Trying to get Luxollid to come out so I can steal the Staff of the Magi.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Spatula

Well that's nice. Basically everyone is almost or above level 42, except Vaan is still at 32, but I'm more than pleased. I just took down those 5 damned tomato faggots. They just kept running everywhere, but I did a pretty decent quickening to take down most of their health down to 1000 hp left, which is somewhat disappointing, considering I think a 14 chained quickening with a concurrance of Whiteout.

That's not the last time you'll see the little bastards. They're extremely rare monsters, in that you have to go through quite a bit of trouble just to get them to appear again. Location? The Feywood, and the larger maps at that.

Nice that you got the second or third strongest concurrence. I've yet to get Black Hole...

Goddamn, how do you kill Magick Pots? I need the bestiary entry for it.

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

Originally Posted by Spatula

I actually did get the Black Hole when I least expected it at the Stillshrine of Miriam where I fought the three dragons. I just kept chaing and chaining. When I saw the Black Hole, I was like FUCK YEAH, TAKE THAT. I usually see Ark or Torrent or something like that. I try not to get Infernos.

Damn, I've got everything except Black Hole and I got them early in the game:

- Inferno
- Arc Blast
- Cataclysm
- Torrent
- White Out

IIRC, that's from weakest to strongest, and literally the order I saw them in, but I can never manage to get Black Hole. I'm going to jump for joy when I actually nail it. What's everyone's favorite Quickening? I'm torn between Flame Purge, Ruin Impedent, Pyroclasm and White Whorl. The others seemed too tame/boring.

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So, fought Yiazmat for... 4 hours and a half today. >_>

My first time, lost of course.

Got him to around 3%, lost control and Cyclone + Death Strike screwed everything, learned very much about his attacks and I think I have a good strategy now. Gonna need a couple more stronger katanas (Orochi, Yagyu) then try again. This bastard is going down.

That's why I mentioned the best advice for low-HP Yiazmat is to leave the coliseum. He stops doing his insane move combos and becomes much easier to manage.

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Give them an elixir, just like in past Final Fantasy games.

I did, it just ran around gleefully. Was I supposed to kill it afterwards? Last time I saw a magic pot was in FFX and that was a long time ago.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Cetra

Yeah they become vunerable once they start running around.

Damn, I wasted my godforsaken elixer. Will a megalixer do? The good news is that while hanging around Abyssal, hoping to find a Venetian shield, I found myself a Dueling Mask to complement the Brave Suit from Henne.

Anyone managed to find a more reliable Seeq spawn spot? The thieves in the Highwaste only spawn sporadically without any apparent rhyme or reason to it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Xaekid

Use gil toss against Magic Pots, works.

What the hell? Are you serious? If it doesn't, and it nukes Balthier with Flare.... I'll just revive him. Won't hurt the next time I run into one.

Got the Magi staff from the Diakon derived rare game.

Edit: It works, like a charm too. You just to have make sure you either set it to a Gambit (too much of a hassle) or give each character the command twice. That way you kill it before it stops being "appalled and dismayed" and starts raping you.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

Where do you get the Grand Helm and Armor? I read somewhere that "Tower" drops it, where do I find that?

Grand Helm - It's one of those Mithril Golems, or at least a derivation, and it's literally called Tower. Rare drop, too. I've never got it, though it's easier to get him to appear than the next guy:

Grand Armor - Helvinek, in the Necrohol of Nabudis. Many of you guys may know this guy as the clown who appears out of the blue (mist) after killing all six Oversouls in the Necrohol. From what I've observed, there's 1 on each map and 3 in the Cloister of the Highborn map.

Unfortunately, you have to leave the Necrohol entirely and move two maps away to make the Oversouls respawn. Anyways, he has something like 99,999 and is weak against Holy. He drops High Arcana (keep them for the Tournesol) and some other things, like Aidhed Togail. But the armor is just as rare as the helmet.

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For sure. Basch is so badass. Balthier's tidal wave one is pretty cool, too. "Heads up!"

Yeah, that one's awesome. Balthier's really mesh with his overall demeanor, as does Basch's. I thought Ruin Impendent was too awesome to be a 2nd tier quickening... until I saw Flame Purge.

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Sadly, I've never chained higher than Arc Blast, which is actually stronger than Torrent, I think.

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Black Hole
Whiteout
Ark Blast
Luminescence
Windburst
Torrent
Cataclysm
Inferno

Right on the money! Damn, it wouldn't be so bad if I needed 1 or 2 more along with Black Hole, but it's going to take a lot of luck to get Grabanth in the Den.

Edit: Ah! Forgot to mention, after I killed the necessary amount of Magick Pots, I got some nice info. It mentions the origins of the Kiltias religion, and what it's based on. The last part would throw a wrench into the timeline we had cooked up.

It mentions that soon after Kilitias started spreading the light, or what he saw in his vision, St. Ajora said that Faram (the holy god in their dualistic/polytheistic) religion was the one true god. Unless this is simply a nod to FFT, then disregard all this.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Spatula

Metal Sphere, if you want Black Hole to complete that part in Sky Pirates Den, just keep fighting a monster near a save point and if you fail, go back and recharge via save crystal and take it out on some poor regular enemy. Poor bunny.

Hmm, good plan. There's this one place in the Tchita Uplands that's a good spot. It's also the same map where the croc that drops Antarctic Wind for the Ice Cloud Arrows spawns, if anyone wants to do this and get more ammo.

Jam it back in, in the dark.