-Final Fantasy Tactics- 1.6 Powergaming 101 (AKA: Training, Tricks and Story Appreciation Guide) =BEST VIEWED IN NOTEPAD/WORDPAD WITH WORDWRAP= With the (flawed) rerelease of FFT for PSX, interest has again provoked people (and you) into playing and finding help for this lovely game. I won't preach that this game is tough (I don't think so most the time), but 'tis timely. In order to really understand the story, you need to be buff enough so that your focus is on the story. If you wanna use out-of-game methods/'cheats' for this, go ahead, but there's more of a feeling of reward by doing this yourself. =IMPORTANT NOTES= While there's some prestiege that comes with that little gold star indicating class mastery, 'tis mostly impractical to have. Therefore, since the game allows it, get the most useful abilities from each class and move on. Also, realize that you're up against a set of programmed reactions; have no mercy for what you do to them because their job is to kill you most of the time. (You're free to sympathize with your characters and others named in the story.) The method I propose will help you focus on the story's events; training a bit after each story segment doesn't help you to recall what's going on. (AKA: The story's easier to understand when you aren't forced to level ~every plot battle.) ="TRAINING" DETAILS= This term refers to anytime you purposely use abilities to gain EX and JP, often keeping 1 foe barely alive somewhere onscreen. =AREAS= Mandalia Plains is your main training ground. This place has the easiest foes (Goblins/Imps, yellow Chocobos and Red Panthers) and 6 max per battle. You COULD train on anywhere with random fights, but those tend to be more difficult. =PREPARTION= The easiest way to get into training is to get each character's Squire JP+ and Accumulate. There are variant methods (sometimes you need to deal with very tough foes) such as getting your party into a + formation and casting Haste (2) on the center person, along with having someone with a potent Chakra along in the middle of a +. Having singing talent to perform Cheer Song to raise speed is also a good thing, when you're thrice as fast as your crippled opponents, they won't be bugging you as often. Also, you may need to resort to 'sparring', or fighting other group members to get EX and JP. There's nothing wrong with it, but make sure to have revival onhand. There are some things to consider when training in the next section. =THINGS TO CONSIDER= #1: Real time. Each training session takes about an hour with a quick hand and few problems, and in that time you can get (or 'suck' as I call it) the useful abilities from each class. #2: Class viability. Make sure the class combination you've chosen will last long enough to train successfully. If you're uncertain, have one person 'sit out' and choose a powerful class they're experienced in. #3: Items. Keep tabs on stores and make sure you have the latest stuff you can buy, steal or/and find. (Also note that it may be better to wear a Wizard Robe with its +2 magic attack than a Black Costume for 100HP.) #4: Subskills. These are 'secondary' class skills, like white magic on a Monk. If your class skill set doesn't allow for easy training (like white mages), pick a subskill that allows you, but that will also help you get to the training stage of battle. #5: Opponents. Sometimes you get a very bad creature selection for your training needs. In such cases, reset. (L1, L2, R1, R2, Select and Start allow for a quick reboot when not loading.) #6: Deaths. 3 turns after a foe dies, it becomes a chest or a crystal. Crystals dropped by non-humans rarely contain abilities (approximately 1%, the only one I've gotten this way is Spin Punch) while crystals dropped by humans probably will have abilities. (If you train as I suggest, these will rarely be helpful.) Be careful of how you arm your group, having someone with white magic and Raise, item throw and some Phoenix Downs or monks with Revive (though this is the hardest method; Revive only works as + on the same elevation) are very helpful backup. If it looks as if you won't win the fight without someone dying permanently, reset. (Unless this is before you start heavy training, then let the sucker die if you want.) #7: Positioning. Because of map layouts, you can trap some units with less than 4 characters. =POPULAR TRAINING METHODS= #1: Accumulate madly. #2: Performing madly. #3: Sparring/Potions. #4: Sparring/Chakras. Notes: Adding Auto Potion and Haste to these can take up more time, but some think it viable. Using Haste can make certain people train faster. If you train often, Haste2 (higher chance than 1) is a worthy investment. =I THINK I'M READY= Then get your group in a viable combo of your choice, outfit 'em with the best materials (and preferably something in their class to make them useful, like Ice or Invite) and walk around until you get a Mandalia Plains battle. Clear out all foes but 1 and get the last one to critical/weakened (kneeling), focusing on 1 at a time when possible. (Things die faster that way.) If you get a goblin, it'll move to attack then move away. A chocobo will peck at you and occasionally use Choco Cure, a + ability. A panther will usually run away into a corner and stay there. Hope for that. =AND?= You're limited only by time, HP, MP and the death timer. Use your training abilities over and over and... until you get enough JP to buy what you want. You can check your JP through status>>O. Remember to only buy what you want and think you'll use, any more and it'll cost more real time to scroll to that ability to use it. (Another trainer deterrer, no 'memory' for the cursor.) =WHAT AM I TRYING TO GET?= S=Squire (not all characters will have these abilities) M=Monk K=Knight Sa=Samurai B=Bard D=Dancer O=Oracle T=Time Mage BM=Black Mage WM=White Mage C=Chemist N=Ninja G=Geomancer Ca=Calculator Me=Mediator T=Thief A=Archer Dr=Dragoon/Lancer Su=Summoner [Class Abilities- Highest Priority (save for these first!), you decide the order] Accumulate S Flare BM Bahamut Su Chakra M Revive M Haste TM Raise WM Cure1 WM yCure2 WM Phoenix Down C Potion C Nameless Song B Cheer Song B Nameless Dance D Slow Dance D Jump 8 Dr [Mezzo Priority (helpful, but can be gotten off training time)] Invite Me Berserk Me Steals T Breaks K Yell S Throw Stone S Earth Slash M Wave Fist M Stigma M Angel Song B Last Song B Battle Song B Magic Song B All other dances D Blind Fury O Frog BM Haste 2 TM (just like Haste, but with a higher MP cost, chance to work and can't be used with Calculators) Meteor TM Quick TM All Calculator abilities All Ninja throws All other White Mage spells All Geomancer surfaces Life Song B Regen/Haste Draw-out Sa Ice1-3 BM Bolt1-3 BM Frog BM [Reactions- Highest Priority] Counter M Hamedo M Auto Potion C (Note: Have the best restoring potions available in large numbers and sell the lesser ones) Short Charge TM [Mezzo Priority] Regenerator WM Sunken State N Arrow Guard A Speed Save A Dragon Spirit Dr Weapon Block K HP Restore M [Bonus Abilities- Highest Priority] JP+ S 2 Swords N Equip Sword K 1/2 MP Cost Su Magic Power+ BM [Mezzo Priority] Equip Gun Me EX+ Ca Equip Shield K Equip Armor K Equip Spear Dr Secret Hunt T 2 Hands Sa Talk Skill Me Monster Talk Me Item Throw C Attack+ G [Movement- Highest Priority] Teleport TM Ignore Height Dr [Mezzo Priority] Move+3 B Move/Find Item C Move/Get JP Ca Move/Get EX Ca Move/HP+ M Phew, what a list! I didn't bother with low priority things because things not listed are up to your discretion to get. I don't advise getting things not listed here unless you have a certain plan. =AND AFTER ABILITIES?= Heh heh, then you can get goin' on the game. I very highly suggest you train all the abilities you want for all your characters BEFORE heading to Dorter, but after visiting Igros the first time. However, just because you're totally set for the rest of the game in abilities doesn't mean you'll be unstoppable. Items make up for about 92% of all HP and MP and you'll prolly need 1/2 MP Cost to use Flare or Bahamut (insert mocking of your choice) ONCE in Dorter. Also note that by raising JP to get these abilities, you'll raise EX levels fairly high. Having level 35 after getting what you want is probably low if you buy all these abilities with JP+ for all your characters. =SEMI-TRAINING= Sometimes in a plot battle, you have the battle (almost) under control and you want to use the opportunity to train. Some plot battles (every one until around 1/3 the way in Chapter 2) has you with Guest help. These are fine when you want to kill things, but when you want to sit around and beat on each other, they're annoying. Guests are easily dealt with- just kill them and train. Because they're so vital to the story, they won't get a death timer. WARNING: On 'protect' missions, you'll lose if you kill your target. =SMART PLANNING= Characters WILL leave you after joining, so if you sense or know someone's goin', strip them and redistribute/sell the stuff. For example (--MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD, BUT THE FORESHADOWING IS IN THE GAME IF YOU LOOK HARD ENOUGH--), Algus scrams when you visit Igros after Teta is kidnapped, Delita has no choice but to separate after Fort Zeakden, Gafgarion leaves you at Zirekile Falls (make him a Chemist and whack him with rods and staves for some laughs) and Ovelia leaves at Lionel Castle, never showing up in combat after Zirekile Falls and Atma doesn't stay long after she joins in Lesalia. These are minor details, but they're good to know so you can strip these people of their stuff. Also in this category are battle tactics. If you notice humans in the fight, check their stats. Item is a very deadly command when you're trying to hurry a fight along (death timer) and ranged attacks tend to be very annoying. If you know that your foes have spells that damage a certain distance when your party's jammed near each other, foil that tactic and spread out, or kill the spellers AFAP. Also be careful about casting spells and having the target move close to enemies; often they'll benefit from the placement. (Sacrificing someone just so foes nearby won't get helped or so you can kill them are common tactics.) Positioning yourself also helps- you want your front exposed as much as possible to physical attackers keeping sides and back out of their reach. You also want to attack enemy backs and sides AMAP. Using 'Wait' helps as well, it makes your turn come 20% faster if you move or act (and you almost always want to act for the JP and EX) and 40% faster if you don't move or act the previous turn (for dancers and bards mainly.) You can get a jump on your opponents by letting them come to you while you buff yourself with Accumulate, Yell, Protect, etc. Also, you can see when something will be performed by pressing LEFT while that ability/spell has the hand pointing to it. =AGRIAS?= The question mark is intentional and this method proposes an important question; will you use Agrias (and other heroes) after buffing your own so much? I've gone through the game on both methods and say that if you have the room, keep her around. If you don't much like someone in your group, you can ax 'em or keep 'em in reserve but switch in Agrias. NOTE: If you plan to get Cloud, you MUST keep Mustiado in your group! =CHARACTER VARIETY= There are many heroes and creatures that join you and you must decide if you'll use them. I advise using red and black chocobos only for the creatures (besides the creature that joins you in Deep Dungeon; I'm not telling this time!) and whatever heroes you see fit. However, Ramza will always be in plot battles (duh), so make sure he's up to the challenge. I suggest having both sexes in your active party at once because of Dancers/Bards, items and costume looks. (I don't recommend Mimes, they aren't worth the trouble of getting to most people.) Also, having a diverse skill base (AKA: getting everything recommended above) will almost assure you that you can outdo your enemy in some aspect. =AUTOBATTLE= Only use this if you want to do something else while you semi-train. You're likely to die if you aren't seriously overpowering the other side. =FAITH AND BRAVERY= (Magic and Physical Composure) High means you do more damage (with high brave, you react more), low means you block more. Get to 97 and they leave you, except Ramza and Guests. A good place to be is between 60 and 80- being able to do high damage and have high spell success rates on your group. There are abilities to boost defense and offense without changing these stats. =EX AND JP= Most people put on JP+ whatever the job level, but that isn't wise. JP+ makes all actions give 30 JP, but if you're at JLevel 8, you get 30 JP per action. (I've heard that using JP+ will get you more than 30 JP at JLevel 8, but this in unconfirmed.) The formula for EX is simple: A unit ("you" for simplicity) gain 10 EX for actions done to someone of your level. (Accumulate gives you 10, beating on someone your level gives 10, healing someone your level gives 10.) From there, every level the actor is above the target, you lose 1 EX (from 10), down to 1 EX per act. For every level your actor is below the target you gain 1 EX (from 10). Simple, eh? NOTE: When hitting targets of multiple levels, you get credit for the highest level one. At least they're generous in some respect. NOTE 2: It is very aggravating to know that doing 529 damage with Bahamut gives the same EX and JP as if you'd just pinched it for 3. Maybe FFT2. =VARIOUS OTHER TRICKS= "The Insane Frog Deathmatch" or TIDS. (I found this on a website that no longer exists, so thanks to whoever discovered this!) To start, make sure everyone is in the class you want them and that they have no weapons, strong armor, low magic resist/evade and at least 65 faith. (You can raise faith with Mediator's Preach in other battles to make it permanent, 1 point per battle.) Frog all your foes on the battlefield, break everyone's power until they do only 1 damage or are at 1 physical attack and berserk your party. This is quite effective and funny; I managed to get 9999 JP for my summoners in several hours while the frogs pecked at each other. "Item Duplication" or duping. -DISABLE 2 WEAPONS!- Put the item in the top hand and go to a shop with equipment at least as powerful (or if equal power, at least as expensive) as the shop's best/priciest. (Change class or use an "equip" ability if needed.) Head to the fitting room, "try on" a weapon or shield (depending on the item you want to dupe), then "best fit". Pay for everything if necessary and repeat if desired. (Don't blame me if you end up with 99 Excaliburs, Chaos Blades, Save The Queens, etc.) Thanks to Mahgnitton@hotmail.com for this. "Stealing Yourself Strong" or SYS. Level a bit; you want to have a much higher level than the game expects you to, thereby allowing humans to spawn in random battles with better equipment than you have. You need someone who can steal the item type you want (preferably having all item steal skills learned for your stealer) and a random human foe with something(s) you want. Your stealer should have the highest speed they can get and still be viable in battle- Yell, Cheer Song and Speed Save help in that order. Concentrate and going from the back also help, but doesn't ensure a 100% success rate, as does using the opposite sex and giving the stealee negative status. (Frog, chicken, blind, sleep and charm are useful things to give stealees.) Also, if you aren't trying to get their shield or weapon, break it to lower the missed steal chance. Steal Heart: 50% + MA Steal Helmet: 40 + Speed Steal Armor: 35 + Speed Steal Shield: 35 + Speed Steal Weapon: 30 + Speed Steal Accessory: 40 + Speed Steal EXP: 70 + Speed (Thanks to dragonknight_zero@hotmail.com for this chart and most the SYS section!) "Dealing with Velius." You'll eventually get 1 on 1 with Wiegraf/Velius which can be very difficult. Besides using an unreliable Jump, I have my way. Be a Knight or Squire (I recommend Knight for the equipment) with Battle Skill, Guts, Auto Potion (C), Equip Gun (Me) and Teleport (TM). Yell yourself until you have at least 4 turns for every one Velius has (by a combination of Yell and Speed Break, but know that 50 is max speed), accumulate (S) your way into high damage (some say for 999, but that's a bit much; if your speed is about 4x that of Velius, you can afford to have it less.) Velius has about 1600 HP, but go for about 450 damage per shot. (I also recommend beraking his shield and sword.) If you are powerful enough, your reinforcement (and his) shouldn't get a turn. If you were REALLY mean, you could Accumulate to level 99! (Accumulate doesn't stop getting you EX and JP when you hit 99, I've proven it.) NOTE: With guns, Accumulate doesn't raise damage any. At least it's logical, unlike FFVIII. "Calculators' Night Out" or CNO. Calculators are notoriously weak and slow; don't use them in battle until they've all dance/bardic performances you want. Once you have that, I suggest using Cheer Song, Life Song, Wiznaibus, Nameless Song and Namess Dance. Also, Yell, Haste and items like Sprint Shoes and Green Berets help very much for your blue-clad sinkrocks. "When Peace Works" or WPW. This is unconfirmed by me, but I've heard you can invite almost all enemy characters that don't go way of the Zodiac on their last fight. (That means Gafgarion at Lionel, Miluda at the pass, etc.) "Zeus' Rage" or ZR. Equip your group with Rubber shoes then have someone with Math Skill cast Bolt 3 on CT 4 or 5. Mwahaha. =WHAT WE WANT IN FFT2/REMAKE= Classes: Red Mage, Blue Mage The Red Mage is a fairly skilled swordsman as well as a competent magician, he can cast two low-level spells in 1 turn. (Play FFV if you don't know what I mean.) Requirements: Level 6 Knight, Level 6 White Mage, Level 6 Black Mage Equipment: Normal/Vest armor, robes, shields, normal swords, normal hats Skill: Red Magic- Can cast 2 spells from the White and Black magic spell lists per turn. If the cast times are different, they are cast when the slower spell is cast. Reaction: Magic Gamble- Casts a random White/Black magic spell on the target, even if not known by that person. (Deters cheapness.) Bonus: 2 Spells- Cast any 2 non-summon spells in 1 turn. Movement: Move-Faith Up The Blue Mage learns creatures' attacks to aid in battle. Requirements: Level 2 Mediator, Level 2 Knight, Level 2 Geomancer Equipment: Normal swords, normal knives, guns, normal/vest armor, normal hats, shields Skill: Blue Magic- Calls upon creature abilities. Reaction: Ferocity- Lowers attacker's brave by 1-20 points. Reaction 2: Observation- Raises chance of learning ability by 1-5%. Reaction 3: Self-Assurance- Raises self brave by 1-5 points. Bonus: Learning- Allows all classes to learn creature abilities. Movement: Move-Brave Up, Move-Brave Down. Abilities learned through JP: "Treat"- Raises Brave by 1-20. "Scare"- Lowers Brave by 1-20. "Impress"- Confuse foe. "Piss Off"- Berserks foe. "Ensnare"- Prevents movement. 16+ more unit slots 2-4P (depending on system capabilities) Multiplayer (on and offline) "Tactics Editor" [With the editor, you could change character looks AND abilities. You could edit what abilities went with each class, the equipment allowed, ability MP/time costs... Anything but what the abilities did (damage, effect, etc) and possibly their animations.] Skirmish mode ('Load Custom' in SC) No translation errors Option to disable spell animations A quick scroll up/down button for lists. (L/R buttons?) Ability to go press UP to go to the bottom of a list with more than 7 items. Scenarios where you're a plot hero (Vormav, Wiegraf, Elmdor, etc) and command a legion, or play truly tactical battles. (4 Black Mages against 2 Altimas anyone?) Ability to play all plot fights in multi. (Golgorand anyone?) More Final Fantasy series tie-ins. Limit breaks that don't require the Materia Blade. Guard against attacks while charging. Remove damage limit. Raise max speed to 99. Option to have "memory" mode for cursor. Ability to rearrange various menu item placements. (Like move Act to the top.) "Unlearning" of abilities to gain half their JP worth. M a g i T e k A r m o r All for now, folks. "It is not enough to win, you must outdo and embarass your opponents in every aspect." Guide (version 1.0) by Endarire on 8}\/{17}\/{01 and finished around 3:04 AM because he couldn't sleep. Version 1.1 finished around 4:24 PM of that same day by Endarire. 1.2 finished around 12:24 AM 4 days later, because he didn't find the effort before, as well as having Lunar 2 Eternal Blue Complete. Endarire completed 1.3 August 23, 2001 with the clock time being around 1:28 AM; I was considering (not) going to a party then. Links were added after this time. He finished 1.4 ~4 days and 20 hours later. On September 22, 2001 the following needs statement: Endarire hath finished 1.5! It was then that his stomach prevented him from dancing. Around 12 hours later, he finished 1.6. Guide sites I recommend and that may post this: www.gamefaqs.com www.rpgamer.com www.neoseeker.com Other sites you might like: www.fftactics.org www.ffonline.com www.fizzban.com/thekeep www.icq.com www.mirc.com www.aol.com pub44.ezboard.com/fauspexstudiosfrm1 www.somethingawful.com www.kali.com www.thehungersite.com www.starcraft.org www.gameconfig.net www.mp3.com www.musiccity.com www.dogpile.com www.adventurescomic.com www.rpgworldcomic.com www.nuklearpower.com/comic www.battle.net www.alexchiu.com www.winboost.com www.nethack.org www.larabiefonts.com www.zophar.net www.netzero.com fusoya.cjb.net www.spiritonline.com www.voy.com/43872/ www.voy.com/5104/ www.diabloii.net www.warcraftiii.net www.javanoid.com www.thespark.com www.vkmods.de www.newgrounds.com The latest version of m' guide'll prolly be on those sites. Mail: R340@wi.rr.com, Endarire@hotmail.com ICQ: 33013974, 43937461 AIM and most other places: Endarire Legalish print: All stuff here was found by me unless stated and are my opinions. Yer free to distribute this unmodified, but if y' wanna mod it and post it publically (as in anywhere on the net, boards, etc) CONTACT ME FIRST! I'll prolly allow it, but I wanna know what's goin' on. Stealing stuff is considered "bad" to most of civilization and you'll prolly feel sorry if y' do it; so avoid it and jump the trouble. Guide copywronged 2001+ AD Endarire.