[PS2] Final Fantasy XII

Originally Posted by Drex

I'll definitely have to take that into account, thanks. I'll probably just venture in a little at a time and remain near a save point while I get my feet wet, just to make sure I know what I'm getting into. I don't like dying.

Well, like russ said, there's no save crystals in the Necrohol. The nearest ones are at least 2 maps away from either exit from there. If you need to get out of a hairy situation quickly, try using phoenix downs/healing spells on the undead monsters to wipe them out quickly. Or switch your gambits to heal up early/exploit elemental weakness.

Oh and as I've said before, one Baknamy in one of the maps approaching the Deadlands likes to use Death the instance he de-cloaks himself.

If you're around 40-ish, you'll have problems as they're brutal well into the 70s/80s.

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Dead serious here. If it weren't for sephirosuy's Crystal Grande Upper Layer map, I wouldn't have even attempted going for Ultima. The guidebook tells you how to get to him, using sentences, as if that would do anyone any good. Using that guy's map, I easily made the trek through that complicated junk, even stopping for the Excaliber on my way to Ultima and had no problems at all.

Wow, the area that most needed a map and clear descriptions as to what you needed to do got skipped over. Sounds like the guide is only worth it for the artwork.

BTW, I'm still running back and forth down here trying to get my second Zodiac Escutcheon. Too good to be passed up, especially the better odds at this chest than the Barheim one. Maybe I'll go for Ensanguined, but retries are going to be long and ardous.

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

You know, I don't know what I should be happier at this point in time. Taking down 6 hunts one right after the other, or getting FUTARI XBOX 360 DESU. So yeah, I'm gonna retire from this thread for a while.

SEE YA!

I was speaking idiomatically.

Wow, I did it. I managed to get a 2nd Zodiac Escutcheon. If I'm understanding how the Grand Crystal chest works, as long as I don't get a Brave Suit from that chest, I'll still be able to get more shields. While it takes a lot of back-and-forth, it's far easier than Barheim.

Oh, and the shield rocks. I finally figured out how to stablize the damage for Axes/Hammers/Handbombs. Just throw on things that increase vitality, like the Cat-Ear Hood.

I'm going to attempt to get Lu Shang's Badge again. Hopefully I can do it so I can get the Wyrmhero blade. Amazing how I leave the easiest part last.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I used a save from Gamefaqs to take a look at the Wyrmhero Blade (because I'll never, ever see it otherwise) and it's not as good as I thought it would be. It has a high attack, 50 evade, and added holy damage, but it drastically slows down its user. With it equipped, it will take several seconds to charge up your action gauge. Seriously, truly, a team member with Wrymhero Blade + Haste will attack more slowly than a normal member with Slow. I have tested this.

FELIPE NO

I think i would rather sit through a long fight though then have to fish the whole damn time! With only a 10% chance of moving to the next location for every perfect trip, grrrrrrrr, enough to make you want to punt a kitten, believe me because I have.

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

Damn, I feel your pain. I remember when I started this minigame, I figured it'd be easier than the Yiazmat/Omega affairs. Unfortunately, while it isn't more difficult, it has them both beat in the "tedium" factor.

This little game alone makes the sword not worth it, and this is having known that is sucks beforehand.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yea I think I will have to postpone my efforts with the fishing for now, just to goddamn frustrating. So instead I went and fought King Behemoth. The fight took awhile because to make it fun I decided to turn off all my gambits aside from "foe nearest visable=attack". I must say that the 500,000 gil and the rod of faith extra reward definetley made it worth the while. But I am really getting pissed with the whole deathscytche hunt. Every time I have one character critical and the second almost there one of them dies, and when I res them there health is basically full and I have to start it all over. That too has made me want to go to my nearest animal shelter and punt kittens!!!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

Yea I think I will have to postpone my efforts with the fishing for now, just to goddamn frustrating. So instead I went and fought King Behemoth. The fight took awhile because to make it fun I decided to turn off all my gambits aside from "foe nearest visable=attack". I must say that the 500,000 gil and the rod of faith extra reward definetley made it worth the while. But I am really getting pissed with the whole deathscytche hunt. Every time I have one character critical and the second almost there one of them dies, and when I res them there health is basically full and I have to start it all over. That too has made me want to go to my nearest animal shelter and punt kittens!!!

All you need to do is turn off all your gambits and manually knock down one of your characters' health. I did that with Vaan and Drain and it appeared the instant his health dipped into the red. Then I simply flicked my gambits on, and went to town. Beware though, he's one of those irritating hunts. Becomes physical immune somewhere along the line and then starts spamming Death for the remainder.

I figured out how to finish the fishing sidequest, so I'll do that and get the blade tommorow. During my wandering today, I went over to the Cerobi Steppe and got a Venetian Shield from one of the chests. Definitely a nice surprise, and a welcome one after doing these things today:

- 2nd Zodiac Escutcheon
- Larva Eater finally located (nowhere near Necrophobes...) and defeated, added to bestiary
- Crystal Knight located and defeated, stole Glimmering Robes before killing him and received the Skull Trophy. I made sure to take the robes, or else I would've missed them. Added to bestiary.

I'm going to see if my luck keeps up, so I'll try for the Ensanguined Shield down in Henne/Balfonheim/Feywood. Or maybe even... the fabled Zodiac Spear?

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

Do you only need one person to have critical health or is it two? fuck this is pissing me off. Maybe I was misreading this before but doesn't the Esunaguined shield put negative status effects on you? Or was it the other way around?

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

Originally Posted by SOLDIER_2825

Do you only need one person to have critical health or is it two? fuck this is pissing me off. Maybe I was misreading this before but doesn't the Esunaguined shield put negative status effects on you? Or was it the other way around?

Only one. The FAQ says two, but I only had Penelo drop Vaan's HP to critical and he popped up faster than a crackhead looking for their fix. Oh, and yes, the Ensanguined Shield does inflict status effects on you. If they can be negated with an equipped Ribbon, then you have an awesome shield on your hands.

I'm guessing that's the case, or else it severly cripples its usefulness.

I was speaking idiomatically.

It's my understanding that nothing can negate the negative statuses from the shield, so I assume just make sure your healing gambits are in place to keep the shield bearer healthy. Then just keep decoy on the shield bearer and you have a tank. Which, that setup would be pretty useless if you ask me, but hey, to each his own.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Don't mean to hijack or anything, but i've played 110 hours without beating it yet, mostly from the sidequests. honestly, i think you can spend 200+ hours on the game trying to get all the hunts, espers, weapons, armor...

God Bless FFXII!!

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by russ

It's my understanding that nothing can negate the negative statuses from the shield, so I assume just make sure your healing gambits are in place to keep the shield bearer healthy. Then just keep decoy on the shield bearer and you have a tank. Which, that setup would be pretty useless if you ask me, but hey, to each his own.

No, no you're right. If you can't somehow remove the status effects while you have the shield on, it's simply a crappy piece of equipment. 90% evasion isn't worth it when you've got to constantly heal Slow/Sap/Etc...

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

Should i make ashe learn to use swords, or another kind of weapon then?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'm currently exploring the upper layer of the Giruvegan Crystal. I didn't find any treasure chest tables, though. So where do I find the good stuff in there and do I have to equip that Diamond Armlet?

Also, are the Henne Mines the only place to get Ribbons?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

When going back to the Pharos's for the Ixion and Seer hunts do you have to go all the way through the maps again or is the elevator now working?

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

Originally Posted by Rock

I'm currently exploring the upper layer of the Giruvegan Crystal. I didn't find any treasure chest tables, though. So where do I find the good stuff in there and do I have to equip that Diamond Armlet?

http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/f...ande_upper.png

Oh, go to Gamefaqs and get the Great Crystal/Crystal Grande map from there. The Zodiac Escutcheon/Brave Suit is behind the Taurus II gate, while the path to Omega is behind Taurus I. If you look at the map, you'll see that you need the Aquarius switch to be pushed in order to cross Aquarius I and get to the Taurus switch.

But, before you do that, make sure you do this: Open Virgo II, Capricorn II and Libra II. This way, when you're coming back from Aquarius and the timer is running, all you need to do is pass through Virgo II, pass the Libra switch and head through Capricorn II and then simply follow the map to the Aquarius I gate.

Like I mentioned before, trigger the Taurus switch and head to whichever gate you want to get through. Both of them can't be open at the same time, so if you're going for the Escutcheon/Brave Suit, you can't get to Way Stone XXI. That means you have to do the whole Aquarius -> Taurus thing just to open the gate again.

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Also, are the Henne Mines the only place to get Ribbons?

Nah, you can get one randomly down in the Pharos Subterra B3F (Abyssal).

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When going back to the Pharos's for the Ixion and Seer hunts do you have to go all the way through the maps again or is the elevator now working?

If you've already put the required number of black orbs in all the alters in each of the levels, all you'd need to do is defeat the Phoenix on the Umbra level and then head to the elevator and pick Unknown.

Edit: Oops, I forgot about the Excalibur. If you look at Map 2, it's the 2nd chest from the right, the one that's not behind a gate. The way there is pretty straightforward if you have the map. While you're in Map 2, keep an eye out for a Crusader enemy called Crystal Knight. If you've already joined the hunt club and you kill him, he's gone for good and you get the Skull Trophy. So make sure you steal Glimmering Robes from him, throw on Black/White Masks and/or Sage's Ring to absorb Shining Ray and Darkga.

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

So do I need a Diamond Armlet for these things (especially Excalibur)? What's the drop percentage? I'm already past map 2 and I'm pretty certain I only got one Gil out of that particular chest.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Rock

So do I need a Diamond Armlet for these things (especially Excalibur)? What's the drop percentage? I'm already past map 2 and I'm pretty certain I only got one Gil out of that particular chest.

Ah, I forgot to mention that. You need to have the Diamond Armlet equipped for both of them. For the Zodiac Escutcheon/Brave Suit chest here's the stats:

- 50% appearance rate (I'm not sure about this, as it wasn't there far more often than it was)
- 50/50 split between the shield and armor when equipped with the Diamond Armlet
- You must have the Diamond Armlet on
- If you get a Brave Suit, you can't get any more Zodiac Escutcheons from the chest. The only other location being the Barheim Passage chest.

Here's the Excalibur chest info

- 50% appearance rate (This, I'm sure of, as I ended up with tons of gil before I finally got the sword)
- Must have Diamond Armlet equipped

Oh, and there's also a Ribbon chest in one of the Cerobi Maps. I believe it's on a hill in the Northsward map. Oh, and with all chests you have to keep trying. You'll know it's the right chest when the surrounding maps have Shadonir and the chest itself is right over a trap.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I got my Excalibur without a Diamond Armlet. In fact, the Diamond Armlet has gotten me more Knots of Rust from otherwise good chests than I received during the entire game before I bought the Armlet.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek

I got my Excalibur without a Diamond Armlet. In fact, the Diamond Armlet has gotten me more Knots of Rust from otherwise good chests than I received during the entire game before I bought the Armlet.

That's because it changes the drop rate of the chest. IIRC, it changes the rate to whatever it was to 90/10. 90 of the time, you'll get either one of the regular rewards, a knot of rust, low amounts of gil and the other 10% you get ungodly amounts of gil, higher-order items and the rarest stuff.

Oftentimes, that 10% rate for the rare stuff is higher than what it would've been otherwise. Some people get lucky and get the sword on their first try without the armlet, many more spend hours trying for it. It's essentially the "grimoire" for chests, as it sets a higher drop rate than what you'd normally be given.

Edit: Wow, I finally did it. The most irritating part of the fishing thing was definitely getting the Cactoid Compact. I fished forever before finally getting it. Secret Shoals was incredibly easy after all that practice, and all you need to do is fish perfectly once so you make the Cactoids gather around the fishing spot. You then receive the commendation and off you go to the Den of the River Lord. Memorize the combo and whittle his 9 "lives" down and you catch him and take Lu Shang's badge from his belly.

Here's the description for all three badges (spoiler tagged for those who enjoy earning and reading them):

Spoiler:

Godslayer's Badge - Badge awarded for slaying the most powerful creature of all time, the great Wyrmgod, Yiazmat. The mark of a true knight of Ivalice.

Omega Badge - Badge awarded for felling the legendary weapon, the Omega Mark XII, the sign of a true hero of Ivalice.

Lu Shang's Badge - A badge said to be handed down from the great angler Lu Shang himself. The mark of a true fisherman of Ivalice.

The last definitely doesn't seem as prestigious as the first two. BTW, anyone else enjoy Omega's death? That's all I can really remember after such a boring battle. In fact, the endless hordes of Forbidden on the way there had more of an impression on me than the actual boss.

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

Sick, all this manipulating odds and retrying save games is making me really dread moving on to later levels of the game.

So I went through the Nabreus areas and all the accessible areas of the Necrohol today. Started out with my guys averaged at about level 49 and ended up with the average around 53. Didn't really have an issue with anything, although some of the level VI hunts were bothersome for a while. I was expecting more to be down there, but I guess I have to wait until I can open those doors. Not much stopping me from ridding myself of Reddas now. :/

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Drex

Sick, all this manipulating odds and retrying save games is making me really dread moving on to later levels of the game.

So I went through the Nabreus areas and all the accessible areas of the Necrohol today. Started out with my guys averaged at about level 49 and ended up with the average around 53. Didn't really have an issue with anything, although some of the level VI hunts were bothersome for a while. I was expecting more to be down there, but I guess I have to wait until I can open those doors. Not much stopping me from ridding myself of Reddas now. :/

Eh, don't worry about it. Only if folks want the very best or are striving for completion will bother with all that, since you can beat the game very easily at the levels you were at when you entered the Necrohol.

Don't get rid of him just yet, since he makes the hunts somewhat easier (and unless you're going for a challenge, this is a good thing). If you need to poach/steal just petrify him or something so he'll stay out of the way.

Here's some shots of some big-wig monsters:







Shot of the loot used to make the Wyrmhero Blade, and impressions of the weapon after:



Remember PN's look at the sword a few posts back? You have no idea how right he is. The sword, even with Cat-Ear Hood and Haste buffing the character, takes forever to to use. With Vaan equipped with the Excalibur/Durandal and Balthier with the Tournesol, Penelo never even gets to use the sword.

What happens when they do manage to swing and damage an enemy? An ungodly SNES-like noise screams out of your speakers. I thought there was something wrong with the game, so I tried again, but it was still there. The same thing occurs when it's used to block attacks. My conclusion:

This sword is not meant for melee characters.

I went and threw on Lordly Robes, Circlet and some magic-accuracy+ accessory/Sage's Ring/Gauntlet on along with the sword and set Penelo's gambits to spell casting, buffing, etc... It works very well like a giant staff, with the Bravery+Faith status it gives upon equip. Magic isn't affected by the sword's pathetic speed, you gain a very nice status (no buff refreshing), 50% blocking (more if you equip the Gauntlets) and very high physical attack power if you're forced to use it like that.

Worth it for fighters? No, stick with a Durandal+Zodiac Escutcheon for the best offensive+defensive setup in the game or the Tournesol/Excalibur for pure offense.

Worth it for mages? Hell yeah, it'll bump their attack power even higher. Unfortunately, it still doesn't help that the higher level magic somewhat slow.

Most amazing jew boots

I'll have to take a look, but I think I've only got 3 or 4 more hunts to go before I'm done with all the ones that can be had before I off Reddas, so yeah, I guess I'll finish those ones up and move on. He's stuck with horrible HP in level 50, so I find myself mending him half the time in large battles. He's was a good target for all of the Oversouls' Annuls, though.

Those shots are pretty sweet. Did all y'all involved with the bestiary/compendium/whatever you were going to call it find someone with a GameBridge to help you out on screenshots yet?

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

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I thought there was something wrong with the game, so I tried again, but it was still there.

Haha! You too? I could have sworn the game's sound engine had crashed when I hear that sound.

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