___________.__ .__
\_ _____/|__| ____ _____ | |
| __) | |/ \\__ \ | |
| \ | | | \/ __ \| |__
\___ / |__|___| (____ /____/
\/ \/ \/
___________ __
\_ _____/____ _____/ |______ _________.__.
| __) \__ \ / \ __\__ \ / ___< | |
| \ / __ \| | \ | / __ \_\___ \ \___ |
\___ / (____ /___| /__| (____ /____ >/ ____|
\/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/
___________ __ .__
\__ ___/____ _____/ |_|__| ____ ______
| | \__ \ _/ ___\ __\ |/ ___\ / ___/
| | / __ \\ \___| | | \ \___ \___ \
|____| (____ /\___ >__| |__|\___ >____ >
\/ \/ \/ \/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In the beginning there was nothing. The great UltimaterializerX, completer of
all 20 SCCs and destroyer of villages, had proclaimed that no SSCCs could be
done. Rising Chaos saw this as a challenge and completed a SSCC.
MinionofChaos soon completed another SSCC. The age of Chaos had begun.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
===~~===~~===~~===~~===~===~~===~~===~~===~~===
~=~ SOLO STRAIGHT CHARACTER CHALLENGE GUIDE ~=~
===~~===~~===~~===~~===~===~~===~~===~~===~~===
||| Table of Contents |||
I FAQ [1.0]
II Rules [2.0]
III General Strategies [3.0]
Powerleveling [3.1]
Leveling [3.2]
Brave Battles [3.3]
Consult [3.4]
Equipment Drops [3.5]
Equipment Drop List [3.6]
IV Classes and Specific Strategies [4.0]
Completed SSCCs
UberSquire [4.1]
Time Mage [4.2]
Monk [4.3]
Knight [4.4]
Priest [4.5]
Lancer [4.6]
Chemist [4.7]
Ninja [4.8]
Samurai [4.9]
Geomancer [4.10]
Archer [4.11]
Calculator [4.12]
Dancer [4.13]
Thief [4.14]
Summoner [4.15]
Wizard [4.16]
Oracle [4.17]
Mediator [4.18]
Incomplete SSCCs
Bard [4.19]
Mime [4.20]
Total Completion % [4.%]
GameShark SSCCs [4.GS]
V Strategies Sorted by Battle [5.0]
Chapter 2 [5.2]
Golgorand [5.2a]
Outside of Lionel Castle [5.2b]
Queklain [5.2c]
Chapter 3 [5.3]
Yardow Fort City [5.3a]
Wiegraf and Velius [5.3b]
Riovanes Rooftop [5.3c]
Chapter 4 [5.4]
Finath River [5.4a]
Bed Desert: Balk 1 [5.4b]
Outside of Limberry [5.4c]
Elmdor [5.4d]
Zalera [5.4e]
Dycedarg and Adramelk [5.4f]
Zalbag [5.4g]
Lost Sacred Presincts: Balk 2 [5.4h]
Hashmalum [5.4i]
Altima [5.4j]
VI Miscellaneous Information [6.0]
Zodiac Monster Information [6.1]
Wiegraf Riovanes Castle Battle [6.2]
VII Hall of Chaos [7.0]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I Frequently Asked Questions [1.0]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1.) There are many Final Fantasy Tactics FAQs. What's so special about this
one?
In addition to nine unique ways to beat the game and up to 15 plus ways to
beat most every battle, this FAQ contains information useful to all Final
Fantasy Tactics players. Nowhere in the numerous FAQs can a FFT player find
such detailed information on Zodiac Monsters (the toughest bosses in the
game) and equipment drops (for getting items earlier than they are available
in stores). Unlike some guides on GameFAQs this information cannot be found
simply by hitting select or looking through one of the game's menus. This FAQ
is a compilation of numerous play throughs and collective information that
would not have been possible without a GameFAQs board and hundreds of hours
of gameplay. This FAQ is a joint effort containing advanced and basic facts.
While some of them may be known to an experienced board member, much of this
information is not widely known yet often asked about..
2.) What is an SCC?
SCC stands for Straight Character Challenge. The name implies that the group
be made up of one type of class (Ninja, Oracle etc.) and that only the
abilities found in that class may be used. More information can be found here:
3.) What is an SSCC?
Ah glad you asked. An SSCC is a Solo Straight Character Challenge. It follows
all the rules of a standard SCC but makes one major stipulations: you can
only use Ramza.
4.) Why use the word 'straight'? What are you trying to imply?
Some SCCs are easier to complete with a party of all males. Add to that the
lack of any sort of love interest for Ramza (not to mention those weird butt
pants) and seeing him fight with a party of all guys might give people the
wrong idea. The word sets the record 'straight' so to speak.
5.) Hmm, okay that was really bugging me. What about those battles where you
need to use two parties? Don't you have to place at least two guys for those
battles?
No. If Ramza is the only non guest in your party then you will only have to
place one unit.
6.) This FAQ is too big. How am I supposed to find information for a specific
battle/equipment drop/Zodiac monster?
Take advantage of control F. If you're looking for Miscellaneous information
type that into the Find What box. If you're looking for specific help for a
battle go to the Strategies Sorted by Battle section (control F, strategies
sorted, find next). There you'll see information posted by battle, if you
want more detailed help control + F the reference number by the strategy.
That will take you to the exact post. For example if you were stuck in your
Time Mage SSCC and couldn't beat Balk. Control F to 'strategies sorted,'
scroll down a little until you find the Balk battle. They're you'll find a
brief summary on how each class beat Balk. Still want more info? Want to know
how many resets it took, what his rationale was for using that strategy, what
level he was on etc.? Control F the reference number in and that will take
you directly to a more detailed battle summary.
7.) How did SSCCs begin?
I am not too clear on the exact details but from what I can gather, mainly
from kern, is that Jungle Jim asked why more SSCCs weren't being tried.
redrocket tried a Monk SSCC and got all the way to Adramelk but due to his
poor compatibility he was unable to beat him. Ulti made a statement
suggesting that no SSCCs could be accomplished. Rising Chaos tried an
Ubersquire SSCC and kern started a SSCC thread and tried a Monk SSCC
(redrocket's previous work was very helpful). Others like MinionofChaos,
TwistedWillow, sqpat, TLTG, etc. soon picked classes and tried SSCCs. I for
one orginally wanted to do Oracle but since it was already being worked on I
chose one of the few classes that did not have any progress, Lancer.
8.) Did you write all of this guide?
No. I compiled more of this guide than I wrote. The Completed SSCCs sections
are almost completely written by the people who did the SSCCs. The
Miscellaneous Information section was gotten from a thread I started and I
took much of the information from there. Some of that info is my own posts
and some of it is other people's posts who know that I am using their
information for this guide.
8a.) Why are there additions to this guide by someone named CirclMastr?
Sadly, Overated has moved on to bigger and better things. The FAQ was left
without a maintainer and without an update for nearly 3 years. Luckily he
reappeared, and now I, CirclMastr, am here to right what once went wrong!
9.) So is there anything else I should know before I start?
Yes, good time to ask that question. Let's transition to:
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
II Rules [2.0]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1.) Party may consist only of Ramza and guests. Ramza must attain Job Class
before Dorter Trade City, and remain in that class.
2.) Ramza can not use any other abilities of any other class at all. Any
Support, Movement, and Reaction skills must come from his own Job Class.
3.) Special Characters are not allowed, as their enhanced growth can dilute
the challenge. Generic Characters are not allowed as their stunted growth can
dilute the challenge. All generics must and recruited characters must be
immediately stripped and booted. Especially Rafa (but then again she's gotten
the ol' strip and boot before am I right?).
4.) High leveling up is not allowed either. The following Level Caps have
been set as maximums for all job classes:
-Chapter 1: 20
-Chapter 2: 35
-Chapter 3: 50
-Chapter 4: 70 - Before Murond Death City
A few notes:
-Breaking the level cap is to exceed the value before the chapter is over.
For instance getting to level 20 in Chapter 1 isn't breaking the cap, getting
to level 21 is.
-The accepted practice is that you may exceed level 70 at any time in the
final Underground Basement series. Many classes choose to level up at
Underground Basement 4. That does not mean however that you can break the
Chapter 3 level cap at Riovanes.
5.) Again, you may not use Gained JP Up, Secret Hunt, Move-Find Item, etc.
unless your character naturally has it in their class. This is the same as
rule 2.), but I need to state it twice because this is the most common
mistake.
6.) Guest Characters can become whatever you wish. A strong Algus and Delita
are pretty much required to beat early battles for many
classes. Guest Characters may be stripped of their equipment (see 'III
General Strategies' for more info).
7.) Monsters can NOT be recruited. If a Human is recruited through
Invite, he may be stripped of equipment and then kicked out. Any Special
Character can also be stripped and then removed.
8.) You may not Dupe Weapons or use the Level Up/Down cheat. Neither of these
is technically possible if you stick to the challenge, but it should be said
anyway. [Thanks to Cyrus Viruz for pointing this out]
9.) At no time may Ramza or any other character change the Brave or Faith of
any character unless this ability comes from the selected Job Class (in other
words, only Mediator).
10.) You may not rise over the level cap to get better weapons from
boxilized enemies and then level down to finish under the cap. Shame on you
if you say you didn't but really did. You're going to hell, liar.
It has become accepted though to level down mid chapter if you're approaching
a the level cap. You still are technically not allowed to break the cap.
11.) Gameshark Rules: Gamesharks can be used in the following scenarios:
B)Easy Advancement: Too lazy to get to Bard, Dancer, or Mime? You may
use the GS to open up any classes instead.
C)Not Beneficial: You may use GS codes which make the game or the SCC
more difficult, such as using the Hard Mode code.
D)GS Classes: While not all of them will present the same challenge as
the regular set, I'm (Munki) now allowing GS class SSCCs. I (Munki) may even
begin to take some strategies for this...
12.) If you don't like the regulations placed on the SCC, then do it your
way. You won't be doing an SCC, you won't get any credit in this FAQ, but
bloody hell, don't complain about a video game challenge. You can go your own
way.
That's Munki singing. I don't sing.
13.) Unfair Advantage Rule (new to this FAQ)
At no time may you use some sort of cheat code, save state or any other such
technique that would give you an unfair advantage over someone playing FFT on
their Playstation without a Gameshark. Mainly this is added because
technically someone could play FFT on their computer and save a state before
their action and load it until they got the desired response. That is
obviously cheating.
14.) kern disclaimer:
The following are in dispute among the SSCC community -- some people feel
that they are 'illegal' and that if you do them, you are no longer doing an
SSCC. Others feel that they are simply exploiting loopholes in the rules and
that they are allowed and can be used freely. Finally, some people feel that
they are legal loopholes but should only be used as a last resort. Use these
if you want, but be aware that some people may not consider your win valid if
you do.
-Leveling in a different SSCC class up to level 20 and then switching to your
SSCC class. This has less of an effect than you would think but can be useful
for some classes
-Turning a guest into a Mediator and having them raise your Brave and Faith.
The rules are modified from the SCC rules given in Munki's FAQ. I sent him an
email asking for permission but I received no response. Here's where you can
find his FAQ and his exact wording of the rules:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/
final_fantasy_tactics_straight_char.txt
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
III General Strategies [3.0]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
:::// POWERLEVELING \\::: [3.1]
Any class can beat Chapter 1. A powered up Delita by himself is enough to
beat the first chapter. In case you're keeping score at home: Delita 1 The
Meager 0.
__- Delita -__
Delita can be powerleveled in a variety of ways. You have 3 battles to raise
his stats before Dorter and that is more than enough to teach him a variety
of abilities. Auto Potion, Monk Delita and Summoner Delita are three
effective ways to give Delita all he needs to beat chapter 1.
Auto Potion:
Delita should learn this battle in Mandalia Plains by the latest. He can
easily get it using spillover JP. In the first battle bring in both your
Chemists. Dispatch of all the enemies except for the Chemist. Delita will go
after the Chemist but he won't be able to damage it for more than 30, but the
Chemist will keep using Potions on itself that heal 30 HP. This loop will
continue until Delita lands a critical or two. Once I brought Delita all the
way up to level 15 but level 7-10 should be enough. While Delita is beating
on the Chemist have your two Chemists unequip their knives (Equip Change) and
have them beat each other and your Squires up. This will produce spill over
JP for Delita which he can use for Auto Potion. When the Chemists get low on
life have them use Potions, grab a crystal or have Ramza heal.
Monk:
Make Delita a Knight or have someone be a Knight long enough so that Delita
gets enough spill over JP to become a level 2 Knight. A Delita Monk and a
little help from Ramza is more than enough to beat every battle in Chapter 1.
However if you want that extra 2 Brave from Algus a Summoner will help you
dispatch him very quickly. Wave Fist, Move HP Up and Earth Slash are good
abilities to teach him.
Summoner:
Make Delita a Wizard in Mandalia and a Time Mage in Sweegy Woods. Have him
perform enough actions to get Magic Attack Up, Ice 2, Bolt and maybe Short
Charge. I found that Summoner Delita was only useful against Algus but others
tell me that he's helpful against Wiegraf. I think they're full of crap and
unless you're a Bard with Angel Song he probably won't have enough MP to kill
Wiegraf. In Dorter turn Delita into a Summoner with Black Magic secondary and
teach him Bolt. He should be powerful enough to beat the battle but not too
powerful to not get an adequate amount of JP for Shiva.
__- Agrias -__
Agrias can be powerleveled in Chapter 2. This makes Zirekile Falls, Zaland
Fort City and Barius Hill much easier. Save your game after Fort Zeakden (not
on the World Map in Orbornne but after Fort Zeakden) and load that save until
you get an Agrias that knows Hi-Potion. In the Save Boco (Araguay Woods)
battle strip Gafgarion and take away Agrias's sword. Give her the best
equipment, keep her as a Holy Knight, equip a mantle and Item secondary. Hop
on Boco and let her gradually beat the enemy to death with 10 or so damage
hits. Make sure you teach her Move +1 and then give her Holy Explosion. Crush
Punch and Lightning Stab are also good abilities. She gains a Speed point at
level 18 and if switched to the Knight class after Powerleveling she will get
another PA point.
:::// LEVELING \\::: [3.2]
The best place to level is going to vary for every class. There is
one constant though as Barius Valley has some battles that can be won by any
class. In Barius Valley there is a 'safe' spot that is surrounded by 2 deep
water, a piece 3 H above, a slanted-unable-to-stand-on piece and the edge of
the map. That spot renders you invulnerable from everything but Chocobos and
long ranged attacks. There are a few battles -- from Lenalia Castle comes to
mind -- where you frequently don't encounter either of those things. The best
part is that the enemies often run into the 2 deep water, opening themselves
up for attacks, and can't do a thing to counter.
For getting to level 99, UBS4 seems to be the preferred place to do so. It is
a generic battle and the Monks, Knights and Archer are not particularly
deadly. Strategies will vary by class but a method that should work for most
classes is this:
-kill everyone except for a worst/bad compat. Knight with Item
-attack the Knight down into healing range
-retreat and let him heal
-repeat (be careful not to kill him)
After about 3-4 hours the Knight will reach level 99 and you'll be getting a
lot of experience for every action. It took my Lancer about 6 hours to level
this way and my Ninja 5. Other ideas involve exploiting a Monk with Move MP
Up and getting some crystals.
:::// BRAVE BATTLES \\::: [3.3]
Those questions at the beginning of battles actually mean something. You can
get extra Brave and lose Brave in depending on your response. Some classes
want to maximize their Brave so make sure you do these things:
-Choose to Destroy the Death Corps at Mandalia Plains
-Defeat Algus before his second turn/get Ramza killed before Algus's second
turn at Fort Zeakden. If Ramza says "Gmmph" during that battle, then he loses
Brave.
-Choose to Save Boco
-Choose to Save Mustadio
Remember, Brave affects how often your reaction ability will go off and the
strength of your bare handed attacks. If you find that you will need to fight
bare handed at any time or have a decent reaction ability then try to boost
your Brave.
:::// CONSULT \\::: [3.4]
SSCCs can be very hard. Go here for help or to share your achievements:
-http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=584617
-#fftchallenge on espernet
Just use chocobo.espernet.net port 6667.
I found these Guides useful:
__- Battle Mechanics Guide -__
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/
final_fantasy_tactics_battle_mechanics.txt
By far the greatest FAQ I ever seen, maybe the greatest game FAQ ever.
__- Battle List -__
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/
final_fantasy_tactics_battle_list.txt
Useful for finding good battles to level up in and good places to get
equipment drops.
__- Zodiac Compatibility Guide -__
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/
final_fantasy_tactics_zodiac_compatibility.txt
Has great information in a well laid out format on Zodiac Compatibility. Good
to look at before you choose Ramza's birth date.
__- SCC Guide -__
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/
final_fantasy_tactics_straight_char.txt
Munki. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.
__- Growth Charts -__
http://www.geocities.com/Zouf300/charts.html
So you can determine when you're going to get that long coveted Speed/PA/MA
point.
__- Challenge Board -__
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/gentopic.php?board=584617
Official board of SCC and SSCCers everywhere.
:::// EQUIPMENT DROPS \\::: [3.5]
One of the most tedious aspects of SSCCs is fighting random battles to get
equipment drops from the enemy. Every enemy has a 50% chance to turn into a
box or a crystal when their timer reaches 0. Human enemies have a 50/x percent
chance of dropping a specific piece of equipment (where x is the total number
of equips that human has). So if you are fighting a Monk with a Black Costume
and a Feather Mantle and you kill it when its timer reaches 0 there is a: 50%
chance that it crystalize, 25% chance of being a box with a Feather Mantle in
it, and a 25% chance of being a box with a Black Costume in it. Some SSCCs can
not be completed without getting equipment drops.
This section is intended to streamline the process. I will try to list each
class, what equipment they needed during the challenge, and where the person
got it from.
__- UberSquire -__
No equipment drops needed
__- Time Mage -__
No equipment drops needed
__- Monk -__
No equipment drops needed
__- Knight -__
No equipment drops needed
__- Priest -__
::Holy Mitre or White Robe::
At Zigolis Swamp in Chapter 2 from Time Mages
__- Lancer -__
No equipment drops needed.
__- Chemist -__
::Judo Outfit::
Get sometime before Queklain from a Monk battle like Bariaus Valley from
Lionel Castle. You might be able to get it using Move-Find Item.
__- Ninja -__
No equipment drops needed.
__- Samurai -__
:::Crystal Helmet:::
Gate of Riovanes story battle (Knights randomly have it equipped)
__- Geomancer -__
Sabin collected many equipment drops during his play through but the only ones
I see as worth it are probably Judo Outfit and Rune Blade. The rest do help
though.
::Judo Outfit::
At Sweegy Woods in Chapter 2 from Monks
::Power Sleeve::
At Sweegy Woods in Chapter 2 from Monks
::Twist Headband::
At Lenalia Plateau in Chapter 2 from Time Mages
::Rune Blade::
At Mandalia Plains in Chapter 3 from Knights
::Crystal Shield::
At Mandalia Plains in Chapter 3 from Knights
::Thief Hat::
At Mandalia Plains in Chapter 4
::Feather Mantle::
At Mandalia Plains in Chapter 4
::Black Costume::
At Mandalia Plains in Chapter 4
__- Archer -__
::Judo Outfit::
At Bariaus Valley in Chapter 2 from Archers
::Ultimus Bow::
At Bariaus Valley in Chapter 3 from Archers
::Black Costume::
At Bariaus Valley in Chapter 3 from Archers or Monks
::Flash Hat::
At Araguay Woods in Chapter 3 from Archer
::Thief Hat::
At Araguay Woods in Chapter 3 from Archer
::Feather Mantle::
At Araguay Woods in Chapter 4 from Archer
__- Full Calculator -__
::Judo Outfit::
In Chapter 2
::Flash Hat::
In Chapter 3
::Thief Hat::
In Chapter 4
__- Dancer -__
More equipment might be needed but I am not certain.
::Judo Outfit::
In Chapter 2
::Thief Hat::
In Chapter 3
__- Thief -__
__- Summoner -__
::Black Costume::
At Bariaus Valley in Chapter 3 from Monk
::Thief Hat::
At Bariaus Valley in Chapter 4 from Archer
__- Wizard -__
::Thief Hat::
In Chapter 4
__- Oracle -__
::Octagon Rod::
At Zirekile Falls in Chapter 3 from Oracle
::Thief Hat::
At Mandalia Plains in Chapter 3 from Squire
The hat can be gotten from Mandalia Plains West from Squires. Petrify a
guy and create a 1 X 2 rectangular prison with the statue serving as the
gate. Enemies can come in but you can't go out. Petrify the threats then let
a Squire in. Kill him and hope for a drop.
:::// EQUIPMENT DROP LIST \\::: [3.6]
Aerostar has compiled a complete list that has what levels enemies start
wearing which equipment. Check out his FFT Battle Mechanics Guide for the
info. Here is the link:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/
final_fantasy_tactics_battle_mechanics.txt
With the permission of Aerostar I'm fixing the levels of where you can get
certain equipment that I already had listed. For a complete and accurate list
check out his site.
I'm not listing every possible place, rather I'm trying to list the places
where people have gotten these items. For a list of all possible places,
check the Battle List by Goryus. I think this RC quote is useful:
"Female Archer at Araguay East entrance is always five levels above you."
-Rising Chaos
And this quote from anyone who has done an SSCC:
"Trying to get equipment drops sucks."
||| Clothes |||
-- Judo Outfit --
Levels: 21-24
-- Power Sleeve --
Levels: 25-28
-- Earth Clothes --
Levels: 29-36
-- Black Costume --
Levels: 37+
-- Places to Acquire --
Barius Hill South (Monk), Barius Valley West (Monk), Sweegy West
(Monk), Mandalia West (Squire), Barius Valley South (Archer)
||| Mantles |||
-- Dracula Mantle --
Level: 49
-- Feather Mantle --
Levels: 50+
-- Places to Acquire --
Araguay East (Archer, 5 levels above you), Barius Valley West (Monk)
||| Hats |||
-- Flash Hat --
Levels: 38-45 (some say earlier than 38 some say later)
Places: Lenalia Plateau South (Time Mage), Zeklaus Desert South (Wizard)
-- Thief Hat --
Levels: 46+
Places: Zeklaus Desert South (Wizard), Araguay East (Archer), Mandalia West
(Squire)
||| Helmets |||
-- Crystal Helmet --
Levels: 27+
Places: Outside of Riovanes (story battle)
||| Weapons |||
-- Obelisk --
Levels: 29+
Places: Doguola Pass (story battle)
-- Octagon Rod --
Levels: 40+
Places: Zirekile Falls West (Oracle)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
IV The Book of SSCCs |Revised Standard Version| [4.0]
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
These are the words of the completers of the SSCCs. They were originally
written as update posts but now provide great insight into SSCCs.
__________________
/// I UberSquire I \\\
\\\__________________/// [4.1]
/// Recommended Zodiac \\\
Taurus
/// % Completed \\\
100%
/// First Completed by \\\
Rising Chaos
/// Strengths \\\
Cheer, Yell, Great growth and equips
/// Weaknesses \\\
Ummm your father dies
/// Hardest Battles \\\
Dogoula Pass, Zalbag
/// Surprisingly Easy Battles \\\
/// Standard Generic Strategy \\\
Yell/Cheer/Accumulate until you are a god among mortals.
The class was completed by Rising Chaos but much of the original text was
lost to the horrible 'Purge.' erodicatChaos had come to share some crucial
information.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Book of RisingChaos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Epilogue of erodicatChaos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2.1
Uber Squire
Dorter 2 2 resets
Well I let Argias and Gaff kill everything and they got slaughtered the first
time for some reason. The second time i wanted to keep gaffs cross helmet (it
got stolen) so i reset
Arugauy 1 reset
attempted to get argias auto potion. The black goblin had good compat with
boco and killed him before I got there. The second time I settled for getting
Argias lightning stab
Zierkile 0 resets
Delita killed a lot of knights
Zaland 0 resets
didnt save musty, had no trouble at all.
Now I'm trying to get a judo outfit. Not sure if its worth the trouble or
not.
2.2
Uber Squire
Barius Hill 1 reset
musty got ohko'd by a summoner with best and Argias didnt dodge anything. The
second try I won rather easily despite one of the summoners hasting
everything.
Zigolis 0 resets
this was a joke musty didnt miss a seal evil, i cheered up like twice and
accumulated a few times, only had to punch one monster.
Goug 1 reset
Again with a summoner hasting everything. The second time I got lucky, the
summoner with summons had a linen robe and could only cast one summon on me.
2.3
just insane
well that was my first truly frustrating battle with my uber squire, and here
i was just starting to think having an uber squire was unfair to the
eneimies. heres the update
Barius Valley 20 or resets
ugh well i got through it eventually. Apparently I was going about it wrong
and not going with my max pa setup (headgear, power wrist). I think Argias
needs to stop the wizard with her first turn too, which only happened 3
times. anyway i won the first time with max pa, still a lot of luck was
involved and i actually got a chance to use wish (twice actually) which was
also nessacary to win.
anyway on to golgorand.
2.4
i really dont know what i was doing, but i spent like 2 or 3 hours trying to
beat golgorand.
Grogoland 30+ resets
Well the first 20 or so I tried to find a way to run around the map while
accumulating and yelling, and its very tough to do. With a base speed of 9 i
got to go first, if i yell on the first turn i can double turn the two
knights on the bottom of the screen and get to the otherside. This still
didnt work out well, with gaff blocking my hits, my needing about 4
accumulates to do deccent damage. Then I went with the diamond armlet and
headgear combination and bum rushed gaff, i thought i had it won when i
ohko'd him with a critical, but nope a knight breaks my armor and then on the
next turn hits me for another 70 damage. Oddly enough I won again when a time
mage had haste2. That combined with half the field (including gaff) had
defend. That makes it a lot easier to outrun things and get double turns. I
made it around and up the other side and killed a time mage. Then I almost
got trapped up there but I ohko'd a knight to get down, while gaff, another
knight and a time mage were still out of range, as were the archers. Once I
came down essiantly doing a big loop I was ok because I had speed of 15 or so
by this point (although i had 56 hp left) double turned the other knight near
me and killed him. Ran around till a crystal appeared, yelled more timed it
right and got a crystal then I went about killing stuff at about 180 per
punch.
2.5
alright one last update before i go to bed, and i probably wont play again
for a few days.
Outside of Lionel 1 reset
forgot I went before gaff and stupidly didnt move out of his range after
accumulating. Also stupidly got hit by a summon for about 100. Second time
didnt do anything stupid. Wore Rubber shoes, green beret, gold armor.
Accumulated and avoided gaff best i could for 3 turns (i ate one night sword
i think) double turn him and kill him in two consecutive punchs. Then I let
the summoner use up all his mp casting 65 damage shivas (left me with 2 hp
when he was out). went and got gaffs crystal, opened the gate and killed
everything.
Inside of Lionel 15 resets
Never did get that judo outfit which would have helped here and in the
precceding battles at grogoland and barius valley. Oh well. Anyway speed 8
with headgear, and defense ring and mythril sheild (pa of 10 with this setup)
Need 3 bio 2's to miss (54 percent chance they hit me). About half the time
he casts bio2s till they either petrify you or you kill him. 3 misses will
give you two midcharge hits, and a regular hit. You go before a 4th one can
go off, but he physically attacked me instead of casting it so it didnt
matter, and i got the last regular hit to kill him. I got to see alot of
chicken race, and I dont think i've ever seen death cold used before, until
this fight.
as a side note i have about 10 or so resets at yardrow with my dancer. This
seems possible, it will take some luck, because neither me nor rafa can
usually survive one round of physicals from one ninja. If Rafa can hit a
significant heaven skill to do at least reasonable damage to two ninjas, or
if I can hit a good nameless dance, that inflicts like stop or frog or
something on two ninjas I should be able to win because I can almost ohko
everything on the field, its just hard to get close without getting killed
with my crap speed and move of 3. Wiznibus would work except the summoners
constant rain of moogles makes it hard to keep the ninjas away for long. Well
anyway I am off to bed.
3.1
Goland Coal City......2 resets
This could have taken a lot longer, but Olan did good on the third try, even
survivng one of my punches when i was charmed. Bascially go towards the side
Olan comes down and take out what you can, hopefully chemists and the
mediator first.
Lesialia......1 reset
got pinned in the corner the first time, still would have won but zalmo
dodged 2 out of three 75 percent punches that would have done 182. Second
time I yelled more, and made sure I didnt get pinned, and accumulated more to
ohko zalmo
3.2
Ubs 2 10 resets
yell a lot, hopefully you can avoid the lancers jumps until you are fast
enough that they cant jump on you, also manuvering back down the stairs helps
a lot too. then just accumulate and kill stuff.
Ubs 3 2 resets
yell once first so Izidule wont jump on you from halfway across the screen.
Then wait in the starting corner and accumulate once. Your third turn you
should be able to go kill the summoner(germanis boots), only one archer will
have gotton a shot in at this point. After this stay towards the far edge of
the map, Izidule will get there first, avoid him long enough to get to around
15 or 16 pa, whatever it takes to win in one hit, and then go and hit him.
Ubs 1 10 resets
Well there are a few ways this can work. I went with judo outfit, twist
headband, and elf mantle (flame sheild). With this setup and 95 brave and
good compat you will do 165 damage to Weigraf. Hopefully he doesnt have
lightning stab. If not he moves first but cant hit you. You go and hit him
for 165. His counter either needs to not go off or not hit you. Then you
should be able to survive to get a second turn and kill him (he needs 330 hp
or less for this to work, about 60 percent of the time this is the case). If
he has lightning stab or more than 330 hp you will most likely need a
critical (or if you are really good at running and accumulating, which is
hard to do with him having the same speed and move, plus sword skills) as was
the case with my winning run. He had 385 hp but did not have lightining stab
so I hit him with a critical 308 damage. His counter didnt go off thankfully.
He split punchs me for death sentance next. An archer got in my way but I got
to him on my last turn before death and had a 61 percent chance to kill him
and it hit.
3.3
grog hill 6-7 resets
This worked out better once I remember to equip my power sleeve and gained
one level for speed 9 as well as one brave point (at 96 now). Anyway Went
with twist headband, power sleeve, diamond sheild, elf mantle. Move to the
spot at the bottom where the chemists cant shoot you right up against the
wall. Accumulate 3 of the first 4 turns and yell once. At this point I am at
16 or 17 pa enough to ohko almost anything. I kill the theif and then run up
to where the two chemists and archer are left. The theif gets revived but it
doesnt matter. I kill the chemist with phonix down in one hit then the other
one the same way. The theif didnt have charm so that helped. Then I basically
kill whatever is closest. I needed one crystal but it was easy because by the
time i needed it 3 or 4 people were dead.
now I"m sorta stuck on yardrow. (10 resets or so) I think i need to go with
the yell every turn strategy and hope rafa does good with her elf mantle
because trying to fight 2 or 3 ninjas even with equal speed and high pa and
deccent evasion I still get slaughtered. The summoners werent helping either
but i went back and got a white robe and switched back to a flame sheild so
that should help hopefully.
3.4
i mean i knew rafa was stupid but that was insane. So yeah i get some insane
evasion, i'm getting hit 20% of the time instead of 50 (projected). I manage
to get turns to kill both summoners midcharge when they were charging lethal
summons, I kill everything expect one ninja who I critcal (like 35 hp) before
he finally finishes me off. Rafa is also in critical hiding the corner. So
I"m like ok I got this won, Rafa has a crystal she can get to before the
ninja, and just needs to hit him once with anything. But she decides she'll
just wait in the corner hoping i'll magically revive or something, the ninja
over the course of 2 turns get the crystal that rafa could have had and then
proceeds to kill her on the 3rd time all the while rafa just waits in the
corner not even attempting to fight........ugh.
3.5
ok big update here
Yardow 20 or resets. Eventually got past rafas stupidity, she actually did
some damage to a couple of the ninjas allowing me to ohko them with only
needing to accumulate once. Anyway the setup was flame sheild (this should
maybe be diamond since a water ball will do 144) Twist headband, white robe,
elf mantle. Yell or accumulate on your first turn (they both seem to be
equally useful). Then move to the spot in front of where rafa will move since
you have better evasion. Hope she hits a few things with heaven thunder. If
she has then you should be able to ohko whats she hit as it comes down the
stairs. The summoners are basically a non-factor, as long as they dont have
titan. The goal is to kill the ninjas as quick as possible. Hopefully yours
and rafas evasion holds outs long enough to win.
Yugo 2 resets
Reflect rings for both you and Rafa, made Rafa a Knight as she was stupid
with her gun as a chemist. Start in the back, yell/accumulate for 3-4 turns,
help rafa kill the ghouls as they come up. As long as you dont have really
bad luck this fight should be relatively easy.
Outside of Rivones 0 resets
make sure you have defend equiped here. Went with power plus elf mantle and
diamond shield. Basically the trick is to out manuver the knights to the top
of the roof and hopefully kill one or two in the proccess. Eventually the
damage adds up but with defend and the rest of the evasion arrows only have 1
perecent and knights have about 15 percent chance (unless u leave your back
exposed). With a few higher speed points just defend while you wait for a
crystal. There should be a few dead bodies laying around by the time you get
to critical. anyway
Inside of Rivones 0 resets
Very happy without a reset here
I go first against weigraf (chamleon robe/feather boots, obviously) run back
and yell. I only got to about speed 13 and i could easily out manuver
Weigraf, he got in about 3 wave fists but only one hit. Then I accumulated
until pa of 23. Ohko weigraf. Double turn velius (620 damage) hit him twice
for that and its all over.
Rooftop of Rivones 0 resets
again i'm impressed with the zero resets, Elmdor goes draws out on Rafa, I go
next with max pa setup. Hit one of the girls the one with lower hp and
criticals her.
4.1
Dougla 5-6 resets
Well i read in the faq that this was one of the tougher battles for
ubersquire so after a couple tries i levels up to 55 for a speed point and a
pa point. Green Beret, Power Sleeve, Reflect ring, diamond sheild. If any of
the wizards have level 4 spells its best to reset because that makes this
much tougher. You go first, scream and move to the top corner near where u
start. The archer will get a shot in, doesnt matter too much if it hits or
not, although the more misses the better. Everything else moves the bottom
wizard might have haste and haste stuff, this doesnt matter too much, I won
when he did that. Second turn Scream again and move forward so you are right
in front of the wizard on top. You will then double turn anything that isnt
hasted, and the top wizard wont be hasted. So ohko him on the third turn.
Then run back into the corner. Depending on the archers secondary he might
start shooting here (he had phonix down for me). Scream two more times and
move into the middle level. The knight will be able to attack you, but you
should have outmanuvered the lancers leaving them in the middle on top while
you are in back in the middle. Next kill the knight (hopefully ohko if its
good enough compat) otherwise you should be able to double turn or close to
double turn it.
then kill the bottom wizard. Now its just a matter of avoiding swings from
the lancers until you can get crystals, or ohko, or double turn. Scream in
the turns that you are avoiding stuff. The archer could cause a few problems
but with some luck you should evade enough arrows, and the ones that hit
hopefully dont do high amounts of damage.
4.2
Berenvia 2 resets
one was due my doing stupid stuff, the other due to getting charmed and
missing a 55 percent face shot. third try i ate a shellburst stab but hit her
and sent her to critical
Finath 4 resets
got 1 black and 4 yellows and an uribo this time, went with max pa, ohko'd
everything although i was in critical when i got down to the last yellow, a
black and the uribo, fortunantly it was just in time to double turn the two
chocobos and stay out of attack range of the uribo.
Zeltina 0 resets
well delita got hit once, but then got zalmo to cure him, so we finished with
full hp.
Bed desert 3 resets
one for bringing the wrong sheild, 2 more for trying to bum rush balk.
basically just stay back and scream, balk likes to come down so wait for that
and then go kill him, just make sure you can survive long enough to kill him
(usually takes two hits and possibly black magic re-direct)
Bethla South 3 resets
Well had some bad luck with my evasion at first that got better though. Ohko
the ninja on your first turn (he will have thrown something at you). Then go
after the archers. Then whatever is easiest.
Stupid sluice, will have to wait because i am done for now 5 resets or so.
just horrible luck, one wizard kept hasting everything so i didnt have a
clear path to the switchs, one of the archers keeps standing on one. twice a
wizzard had level 4 spells, i got persuaded 3 times in a row last time, and a
critical through at 20 percent (i was defending). once the luck evens out
this will be easy.
4.3
Sluice........5 resets
I waited in the starting corner and screamed the first turn. This made almost
everything come down the right side, leaving only a wizard and archer to
worry about when I got to the left, there was no time magic or level 4
spells, and I screamed more than usual.
Germanis Peak 0 resets
I took deccent damage but with excalibur it didnt seem to matter
Poeskes 0 resets
Excalibur still rules
Outside of Limberry 2 resets
Forgot black costume the first time, second time I died because of a good
compat bio 3 spell.
3rd time I got ultima and won. basically it was Excalibur Crystal Sheild,
Crystal Helmet, Black Costume, Nkai armlet. Scream on the first turn move
towards the blocks. Scream again and wait. One of the Assains will come down
and Physical you, hopefully one of the two attacks misses. Then the other
will charge Ultima. one or two apandas will charge spells too. One was a frog
when I won, it missed. The ultima and the other spell left me alive in
critcal, but I learned ultima and the other assian got a re-direct, I go
again after all the spells and physcial the assasian next to me for the win
Inside Limberry 4 resets
Tried a few different strategies but this one worked best I got it on the
second try with this one
Excalibur
Crystal Sheild (not that it matters)
Flash Hat
Reflect Mail
108 Gems
I go first Charge Ultima on myself and retreat to the back left corner.
Elmdor Teleports next to me and physicals me for 294. The girls move but cant
do anything. Ultima goes off, 135 on me and about that on Elmdor. I double
turn everything next. Ultima Elmdor for another 130 ish. first. Second turn
walk behind him and smack him (30 percent chance) for 280 ish. Enough to
leave him with about 20 hp, so he runs.
/// ALTERNATE PISCES STRATEGY for Altima courtesy of SaturngohanChaos
\\\OVERATED ASIDE: Pisces and Capricorn are both neutral to Elmdor. \\\
Elmdor Resets 30
So in the PBF Ramza starts at R
XXXX
XXXX
XRXX
Wear
Excalibur
Aegis Shield
Twist Headband
Black Costume
108 gems
Turn 1 Scream
Elmdor should come up and muramasa you. Lede will charge Ultima on you and
Celia will do nothing. You will then get a double turn seperated by ultima.
Move up and charge ultima on Elmdor. Then next turn hit him for 237.
200+100+237=537 I got a critical for 357 when I won but for once, I didn't
need it. ///
4.4
well I'll do more updates while I still remember the details just in they are
needed for future strategies
Zalera 1 reset
stupid confuse 2
Igros 0 resets
Theif hat,Reflect Mail, Jade armelet
move and scream, 3 times will be enough if Zalbag hits Dyce once. Then attack
Dyce once and kill him (you could scream more if u want to kill Adremelk very
fast). Anyway I triple turn Adremelk smacking him 3 times at 357 a pop. then
he confuses me. This got to be somewhat annoying then I was getting scared
because Ramza kept using cheer up on Adremelk. twice Ramza used wish bringing
him out of confusion and getting chances to smack Addy, finally I finished
him off while confused with an ultima.
Outside of Murond 1 reset
Scream twice then bum rush, doing it right away got me killed, but that could
have been bad luck
Inside of Murond 0 resets
no comments needed
Zalbag, 1 reset because i tried first with a twist headband, theif hat is
much better due to getting double turns a lot quicker.
Excalibur (obviosuly)
Crystal Sheild
Theif Hat
Power Sleeve
Bracer
You go first and scream, move to the right but where zalbag cant blood suck
you. He moves, you go again, Scream move towards the Archaic Demons(all the
while staying off blood suck panels, not sure that needed to be said but oh
well). They all get to go finally. The Archaic Demons both Charge Dark
Holies, the Ultima Demon runs off because it is enough to kill you. Zalbag
gets a physical in there somewhere, shouldnt matter if it hits or not. You
get to go before the spells resolve. Ohko one of the Archaic Demons. The
other ones spell goes off did 288 to me. Your next turn kill the other
Archaic Demon (should ohko, unless there is bad compat). Zalbag will again
physical you they only did 96 to me. Now the Ultima Demon Charges something.
Ohko it midcharge (I was at 2hp at this point but it didnt matter because
Zalbag couldnt get near me). Just you and Zalbag, with you already getting
double turns. Now just go back to Screaming until you have pa or turns that
you can just kill him without him getting to attack.
4.5
Completed
Ubs 4 1 reset
Trying to bum rush everything doesnt work every time
All these setups include Excalibur, thief hat and a crystal Shield unless its
balk 2, in which case its a flame sheild
Rofel 2 resets
Max MA (except Excalibur)
Scream first, move where Rofel cant hit you. Next insta cast ultima on Rofel.
Then on your second turn of double turning everything charge Ultima on Rofel
and retreat. Rofel can hit you now, hope for a spell charge instead, thats
what I got but it probabally wouldnt have mattered anyway. On your 4th turn
kill him with ultima or a physical.
Klietan 0 resets
Balk 2 1 reset
umm remember the flame sheild
Flame sheild
Rubber Shoes
Stay back and scream until Balk comes near you, and he does for some reason
even though he cant touch you. Then kill Balk, getting double turns and such
is very easy with Excalibur.
Hash 2 resets
Black Costume
Bracer
Scream First then move as far back as possible, its the only spot I think
that Hash cant hit you on the first turn
He will move but cant act. Then go down and hit him. Next he charges meteor.
I got to double turn him in midcharge. His meteor should then kill himself
Altima 2 resets
Power Sleeve
Bracer
Ohko 2 demons on you first turn, this will cause Altima to be very stupid and
charge Ultima on Alma for some reason. So Mbarrier goes off before Ultima,
and Alma gets to re-raise. Next kill the other two demons when you get to go
again (one will get an instant action i.e. physical, hurricane). They both
missed the two times I used this strategy. Much of the rest of the fight is
spent with Altima chasing Alma around killing her in an endless cycle of re-
raising and death. Alma was also sort of smart and re-directed two All
Ultimas, (although she never wanted to cast mbarrier on me for some reason).
Just attack Altima when you can, scream when you cant. One physical dodge may
be required(it wasnt for me, but one more would have killed me, Altima
apparently isnt that smart though), and you will also need to survive one or
two grand crosses without any major damage. I got slowed in my winning run,
frogged in one of my resets, and it was just after Altima managed to kill
Alma without her getting to re-raise. Anyway at over 500 per attack this
battle doesnt take all that long.
/// ALTERNATE PISCES STRATEGY for Altima courtesy of SaturngohanChaos
Altima Resets 15
Set up is
Excalibur
Crystal Shield
Thief Hat
Power Sleeve
Bracer
I start with a double turn. I move up 2 squares to see if I can kill both the
demons with 2 Ultimas. Altima will kill Alma her first turn. I charge Altima
and Scream. I am on her side. I then midcharge a demon who is trying to Dark
Holy me. Altima uses Ultima upon me. While shes charging I kill the other
demon. Then I scream a bunch. She tries to grand cross me but I double
midcharge her for 630 each. She gets to cast 2 spells against me. I hit her 3
or 4 times. She tries to Attack me and eats shield. I hit her 2 times and
then she casts return 2 on me. I midcharge and it goes off. Normal hits do
441 and midcharges do 630ish. I go 2 more after return 2 misses. She casts
Ultima and I midcharge her and redirectr it. I hit her once more and she
Grand Crosses me, which I guard. Then I he Grand Crosses me, which I guard.
Then I kill her.
Congratulations this game is complete! ///
4.6
Final Thoughts
I would reccomend a zodiac with good compat with the Virgos for an Uber
Squire. (Taurus, Capricorn, I used Capricorn) It makes for a lot less time
needing to accumulate and yell in a lot of the fights. And since with the
high brave you will already be doing a ton of damage before and after getting
Excalibur.
Hardest Battles: Yardrow, Grogoland
Honarable Mention to Barius Valley, although Barius Valley always seems to be
how long does it take for Argias to not be really bad.
Suprisingly Easy: Umm all of Chapter 4, especially Zalbag.
Other than the strengths already listed I think move of 5 should be included
there too because that makes a big difference in a lot of fights where it is
nessacary to outrun things.
Other comments: I think I was able to develop useable strategies for most of
the fights that may need them since all of the RC's got purged. Sadly though
I didnt come up with much for Golgorand and Yardow. Anyway this was a
relatively easy challenge, especially compared to a solo samurai. It was a
lot of fun though because there still was a good amount of strategy and
challenge involved. I think it would make for a good first time solo scc for
anyone that wants an easier one to get used to playing with one charecter
before attempting some of the other ones. Next up I think I'll try a ninja,
although maybe I'll get back to my dancer *cringes*.
4.7
Oh yeah I forgot to mention I finished around level 72, and the only time I
intentionally leveled up was about 5-7 levels before Dougla Pass. Of course
levels were naturally high from all that accumualating and yelling, and they
are high to begin with from doing most of the fights solo.
______________________________________________________________________________
___________________
/// II Time Mage II \\\
\\\___________________/// [4.2]
/// Recommended Zodiac \\\
Cancer (but there are many that would probably work)
/// % Completed \\\
100%
/// First Completed by \\\
MinionofChaos
/// Strengths \\\
70 Faith, Meteor, Short Charge, Teleport, Haste- especially on guests
/// Weaknesses \\\
Low HP, Screwed when MP runs out, sucks at Melee, Meteor/Demi are only damage
options
/// Hardest Battles \\\
Both Balks, Poeskas Lake, Germinas Peak, Goug Machine City
/// Easiest Battles \\\
Anything with a guest, any assassination battle (to include all Zodiac
Beasts), any battle with enemies in a close formation to start the battle
/// Standard Generic Strategy \\\
Meteor, stall, crystal, Meteor
/// Advanced Strategy \\\
Teleport, Quick, Meteor, Teleport out
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Book of MinionofChaos ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.1
Hello all. Long time lurker here, thought I would join in on some SSCC fun
(and by fun I mean frustration :) So without further ado: The Time Mage SSCC.
Preparations
I wanted this to be as close to true SSCC as possible, so I wanted to start
out as a lvl 1 Time Mage at Sweegy Woods (first story battle that I could be
a Time Mage), and I chose Cancer as my zodiac (reasoning for this is that
it's my birthday and I figured a neutral as can be Zodiac will help to ID
potential problems with spellcaster SSCC's). I got Delita Auto Potion in
Gariland and then opened up Monk for him at Mandalia. So, going into Sweegy
Delita was a Monk with Black Magic, Auto Potion, Gained JP Up, and Move +1.
Sweegy Woods: ...Resets 0
Pretty easy battle. Algus served as cannon fodder (his role for the entire
time I had him) while Delita went around killing everything. First problem of
my game was I could only cast Haste (my only spell) twice. JP is very hard to
come by.
Dorter ...Resets 2
I honestly thought that I wouldn't be able to get past this battle when the
rooftop archer was able to hit Ramza for 20 of his 38 HP right off the bat (I
didn't think I could go the whole battle without getting hit twice). Luckily
Algus had Potion, so he spent the whole battle healing Ramza while Delita
killed everything. BTW, a hasted, Auto potioning, Monk Delita PWNz (at least
for now).
Sand Rat Cellar ...Resets 1- should be 0
Once again a hasted Delita rocks, and Wave Fist didn't hurt either. The reset
came with the last knight scoring a critical that didn't get Auto Potioned.
Got Chakra.
Thieves Fort ...Resets 0
Delita did his thing again. Two things though: I was able to Haste 3 times
before needing a crystal and I took down a Thief with only my staff.
Lenalia Plateau ...Resets 2
Delita once agained ruled the battlefield. The two resets were from Ramza
attempting to get the Time Mage's crystal. Reasoning for this is that I don't
want to waste any JP on getting useless abilities. After all my trouble, I
only got Slow from him. Earth Slash for Delita.
Windmill Shed ...Resets ~10 and counting
Here's where the problems begin. Delita can hold his own without any
problems, until Stasis Sword stops him (which seems to always happen). I have
enough MP now (lvl 7 with Silk Robe) to cast Haste about 5 times before
needing a crystal. I've figured out the set-ups to have Delita either hold
back or rush forward. If Delita stays back the enemies are able to close
around Ramza. If Delita rushes then I can't send Ramza after to haste him,
and without haste Delita can't finish off the enemies before getting stopped.
The closest I came was with Ramza dead and Delita and Wiegraf duking it out.
Unfortunately Wiegraf had Item. Any suggestions???
Oh, and here's my current specs: Ramza lvl 7 Time Mage, knows Haste and Slow
with about 500 JP unused (saving for Meteor if I can make it, Short Charge or
Teleport if I absolutely must). Delita is a Monk with Wave Fist, Earth Slash,
Chakra, and Move Hp-Up. As you can see my JP is seriously lacking at this
point, but unfortunately there isn't a random battle I know of that I could
win to get some extra JP. Once again any suggestions are welcome, and good
luck to all the others with their SSCC's.
1.2-2.1
Time Mage SSCC Update
Thanks for the reply Kern, but like I stated in my first paragraph I wanted
this to be as true as SCC as possible. If I can't defeat a random battle by
myself it's no good (just my own opinion, plus I don't want to finish Chap. 1
at level 20-something just to be able to cast a Meteor or two).
Windmill Shed ...Resets 0- after those first 10 or so
Ok, what it came down to was a lucky string of Stasis Swords which didn't
stop Delita. That's it- keep him hasted and let him do his thing. I would
like to apologize for not trying hard enough before seeking help.
Fort Zeakland ...Resets 2
Both resets were due to Delita getting blinded from Algus' attacks and then
missing a Wave Fist. The time I won, Delita hit on 4 consecutive attacks and
Algus went down.
***End of Chapter 1***
To sum up, overpowered Delita > Chapter 1. At this point I still had only 2
spells (Haste and Slow) and was level 8. Moving onto Chapter 2:
Dorter Again ...Resets 5
You might be looking at that "5" next to resets, so let me clarify just a
little. I wanted to get as much JP as possible so I tried to have Gaffy be a
Time Mage for some spillover and let Agrias take care of everything. That
didn't work one bit. A hasted Agrias couldn't take down the entire
battlefield, and a Time Mage Gaffy always died in the first round of actions.
So I put Gaffy back as a Dark Knight and hid in the corner recasting haste on
myself 'til I ran out of MP while Gaffy and Agrias killed everything.
Araguay Woods ...Resets 0
I finally have hope. I once again tried Gaffy as a Time Mage and went to save
Boco. The funny thing is that I very shortly realized I could easily control
this battle and sit around and gain a lot of needed JP. So I began by
smacking Agrias into critical while Gafgarion and Boco played with the
goblins. Gaf had Item secondary with Hi-potion, so he held up well against
the goblins (which were doing like 15 points of damage). I helped him finish
off most of the goblins and then began beating him down to get every single
point I could get. Eventually a goblin wandered over to Agrias and she ended
the battle, but not before I broke the 1500 mark!!! I can now have Meteor
(though I only have 59 MP).
Ok, so now I have two saves, one saved after the Araguay battle I described
and one right before it. I think that I should be good, as in I should be
able to unlock Short Charge before I run out of guests to use as meat
shields, but if not I am fairly confident that if I go back into the Araguay
Woods battle with the intention to get as much JP as possible I should be
able to also get Teleport at this point in the game. But for now I only want
to make forward progress and see if I can at least get past Golgorand.
2.2
Time Mage SSCC Update
Zirekile Falls ...Resets 0
Hey Delita's back. And I also have Agrias and Ovelia on my side. Hmmmm... 4
on 7. I think I can manage. Spent the entire battle recasting Haste (as
always) to get as much JP as possible. Stole Ovelia's Triangle Hat and Wizard
Robe. I now have 71 MP at level 12, just enough for one Meteor.
Zaland Fort City ...Resets 3 plus however many times Musty went right
I first tried this battle with the strategy that got me this far- haste
everyone and let the guests do the work. I soon realized that that wasn't
going to work for this battle as Mustadio kept getting nuked by the Wizards
and the closer knight always seemed to have Elemental on secondary. So I
broke the bank and got Meteor. First battle with Meteor I walk up to the wall
and kill both knights, 1 wizard, and an archer. Agrias and Musty cleaned up
as I had no MP left whatsoever. Me likes the Meteor.
Bariaus Hill ...Resets 2
Took me a couple of tries to find a PBF that would have the knights advance
forward and the archers stay put. When I got it set up, it was a beautiful,
very destuctive sight as they all died horribly. Musty took out the summoner
on his side as the other summoner casted Mogri on her, allowing Agrias to
kill her rather easily. Hit level 13 (73 MP).
Zigoris Swamp ...Resets 0
I gave Musty Seal Evil before this fight (and obviously it was a joke). Ramza
went off to the corner to cast Haste a lot and get some more JP. On a side
note, I saw an Uribo here for the first time. It was kinda weird.
Goug Machine City ...Resets quite a few and counting
I suppose this is the first battle where I can't rely on guests to take care
of everything. Right now I am lvl 13 which I am thinking is quite inadequate.
I suppose I can win this fight if I get extremely lucky and am able to hit
both summoners and archers with one Meteor. I've been able to get 3 of them
so far, but with the Thieves' high speed and the summoner's low speed the
timing for the Meteor is kinda screwy (since I still don't have Short
Charge).
The current plan is to attempt this battle a few more times and if I can't
get lucky I will began the leveling up process. I should be able to win the
easier battles (I'm thinking Mandalia Plains would be best) with a single
Meteor, but the problem with that is I only get ~20 exp/25 JP a Meteor. So I
am looking at a very long leveling up process- lvl 13 now, want lvl 21 for
speed point at 18 and MA point at 21... might go higher for the additional MP
or if I don't get Short Charge, Teleport, and Demi by then. So 5 battles a
level, for 8 levels equals 40 battles which need to have perfect set-ups to
finish the battle with only Meteor. Sounds fun, huh?
And good luck to the rest of you.
2.3
Time Mage SSCC
Yeah, I definitely need to level up to 21. Luckily I found the absolutely
ideal place for spellcasters with a large area of effect spell (any level 4
black magic, summons, my Meteor obviously) to level: Zigolis Swamp. Let me
emphasize that: Zigolis Swamp. I was heading back towards Mandalia (I was
thinking that would be the easiest place, and Lenalia is right there- and
that has Priest encounters for better equipment if I could get it), but I
thought why not check all the battles on the way there. So I got into a
battle at Zigolis Swamp. I figure I might as well document this for at least
whoever is doing the Summoner SSCC.
PBF screen looks like this:
xx
xx
x
xx ----Ramza goes on the bolded X
The most common battle here is an assortment of Skeletons, Bone Snatches,
Ghouls, and sometimes Marlboros. Prior to level 18 we all have the same speed
(the ghouls are slower, but go down to 1 or 2 hits from a Rainbow Staff) so
the monsters go first then Ramza can cast whatever spell he wishes to (even
if it has an obscenely long charge time *cough* Meteor *cough*). The great
thing about this battle is all the monsters seem to want to go toward the
middle of the battlefield towards Ramza.
My first battle alone here was 3 Skels, 3 Bone Snatches, and a Marlboro. I
saw this and thought I was completely toast but being stuck in the story
battles I had nothing better to do but test my skills. The monsters moved and
sort of congregated in the middle of the map and I was like cool I can get a
few of them with Meteor and hopefully smack the rest to death. So my turn
came up, I selected Meteor just to test the range of the spell and found that
if I moved 1 space up and to the right I could get all 7 monsters with 1
Meteor! It was glorious, though I only got 20 exp total from the battle. I
have since began positioning the Meteor to leave one monster alive so that I
can get the exp/JP from killing it.
As for the other battle you can get here at this time, it is against two
parties of monsters- normally 3 monsters in both the right and left corners.
I was reseting these battles 'til I found out enemy Time Mages can appear
here and they know at least Demi. So I have been trying to Meteor one side of
the field, hang around long enough to grab a crystal, Meteor the rest (and
somewhere in there grab a Time Mage crystal to learn all those great spells
I've had to forego to get Meteor first). So far I've only won this battle
once and the one Time Mage that appeared dropped a stupid Small Mantle
instead.
Level 15 as I type, 6 more levels to go.
2.4
Time Mage SSCC Update
I loathe Mustadio. I cannot express the hatred I have for that jerk right
now. But I'll get to all that is a sec.
Leveling at Zigolis Swamp
This was a royal pain. I started this whole leveling process at level 13
hoping to get to 21. At lvl 13 I had the same speed as all the enemies (some
ghouls were a point behind, but it didn't matter). So all the battles went
like this:
Monsters move
Ramza charges Meteor
Monsters die
Every now and then I'd try to leave the lowest lvl/HP monster alive so I
could smack him down for the extra JP. But unfortunately, Skeletons get a
speed point at 16- which screwed my whole formula up because as far as I can
tell Bone Snatches don't get a speed point 'til after level 21. So some
monsters were moving after I started charging. This made things extremely
complicated, but on the bright side I learned a lot of lessons of proper use
of the Meteor spell.
So pretty much every battle after level 16 was drawn out whether I liked it
or not but somewhere near here I got enough JP for Teleport which enabled me
to manuever the map well enough to avoid monsters 'til a crystal popped up (I
also got some lessons on using Teleport... lesson number 1: 80% chance to
move 2 extra spaces is more equal to 10%). Then when I hit level 18 my speed
went up and I thought speed is good... until I realized that I was now
casting Meteor before the Bone Snatches were moving. Once again more
complication as I learned exactly which Bone Snatch would move where, and
then casted blind Meteors and hope the AI is stupid enough to walk into a
huge, burning piece of rock (just for reference sake, it is that stupid).
Please let me have one more rant: the alternate battle at Zigolis is a 2
enemy party battle that usually has Time Mages. Because I saved all my JP for
Meteor, Teleport, and Short Charge I don't have many spells. I had hoped to
get at least Demi from a crystal and maybe a few others instead of unlocking
them on my own, and they also started wearing Wizard Staffs (+1 MA would have
been nice) and Green Berets (+1 speed). I fought every battle that had a Time
Mage in it (losing about 85% of them) hoping that I could somehow kill them,
grab their loot, and then win. I could do the first easily, the second
wouldn't have been too much trouble on it's own, but managing to win was
nearly impossible as Meteor is my only way of dealing with multiple targets
(I have only enough HP to take down one monster in melee). Out of all the
battles I fought, the only useful thing I got for my effort was Stop. Time
after time when I picked up their crystal all it had was Eye Drops or some
stupid ability like that.
Ok, I'm done complaining... I know everyone here has their own complaints
about unlucky strings of battles. So after the dust had settled (and with all
the Meteors I was launching at Zigolis, that's a lot of dust in the air) I
was level 21 with 129 HP, 86 MP (enough for 1 Meteor and 2 Hastes/Slows), and
13 MA with current equipment setup.
2.5
Time Mage SSCC Update ...continued
Goug ...Resets- however many I wrote last time plus one
The last reset I had was just me fooling around seeing whether I could do
this battle or not. Like usual Musty went for the lower Thief, got killed,
and I played around with Haste, Slow, and everyone's CT trying to figure out
a way to launch Meteor unhindered. The next try Musty went for the higher
Thief for the bloody first time. I swear I played this battle at least 20
times before I started leveling and not once did I see him go for the upper
Thief. I make a big deal out of this because with both Thiefs hitting Musty
for their turns they were 2 panels closer to the Summoners and the height
difference was less than 3 (which is Meteor's vertical limit). If Musty had
ever gone for that Thief instead I might have been able to pull this battle
off without having to go through the frustration of leveling (then again I
still might have gotten killed, who knows?).
In any case, the bastard put the Thiefs where I needed them to be and I
charged Meteor (prior to the Summoners moving, but with their sorry movement
they were screwed) and teleported towards the rear. An archer finished off
Mustadio and the other headed out towards me. Meteor went off and got both
Thiefs and both Summoners. On my next turn I cast Haste on myself and tried
to figure out a way to not die and be next to the Thiefs when they
(hopefully) crystalized. The archers put up a good effort taking pot-shots at
me while I moved back towards all the corpses (I also had a failed move of 5
again- don't get me wrong I don't normally try for 5 spaces, so it's not that
often I try but I do seem to fail a lot when I do try) and luckily one Thief
turned into a box, while the other a crystal. Then I worked some magic. To
ensure that only 1 Meteor would kill both archers I had to Slow one, grab a
crystal, haste myself, take two arrows- one of which was a critical hit, and
then cast. I am really starting to hate all the thinking I have to do, but
that's why they call it a challenge.
2.6
Time Mage SSCC Update
Bariaus Valley ...Resets 2
This battle was pretty easy, actually all battles that I have a ridiculously
overpowered guest are pretty easy. The 2 resets were from trying to figure
out the optimal time to Meteor.
Golgorand Execution Site ...Resets 5-ish
This battle I actually had fun with, mainly because I could be cheap and
teleport on top of the center building thingy and not worry about anything
except Slow and Black Magic if the Time Mages had them. Began the battle by
Meteoring both bottom knights (neither can have Battle Boots), an archer, and
Gaffy (took a few tries to get the PBF right). Next step was Haste, move
towards the tower, take a hit from the other archer, 'port on top of tower,
and wait for a crystal to pop up. Standing on top of the tower made every
enemy retreat to a corner, which made it real easy to grab a crystal, launch
a Meteor, grab another crystal, launch the third Meteor of the battle, and
win.
Gate of Lionel Castle ...Resets 2
I was so confident after beating Golgorand that I thought this battle would
be a piece of cake. And why not, all I have to do is Meteor Gafgarion, grab
his crystal, and Meteor the other side of the map. Well first off the
Summoner has the same killing range as Ramza so I had to play it careful when
dealing with him. In my last reset, everything was going smooth and I was
able to nuke 3 enemy units (including the Summoner) while the other three hid
in the other corner. So I sat on top of the gate and waited for the corpses
to disappear. Only problem was they turned into a box, another box, and
*gasp* a third box. I was pissed as with no MP I had no way to finish off the
battle.
In the time I won, exactly the same thing happened: 2 Meteors, Gaffy dead, 2
knights and the summoner dead, waiting on top the gate for some crystals.
Then they all turned into boxes. Up to that point in time I never thought I
had an anger management problem, now I truly believe I may need counseling.
Anyways, this time instead of all 3 remaining units on one side of the map,
one archer was by himself. So I began attempting Teleport moves of 9 to try
to hit him with my staff. It took about 7 attempts but finally I appeared
next to him and hit him for a little over half his HP. The other archer moved
and hit me for 20 damage and the knight was well out of range to do anything
to me. The archer got his turn, moved and attacked, but he stupidly moved
back towards the gate which allowed me to hit him again for the kill and on
my next turn 'port on top of the gate to avoid being killed by the other
archer. This time the corpse turned into a crystal, I grabbed it, then
Meteored the **** out of the last two enemies.
Queklain ...Resets 0
Going into this battle I thought I might have problems, after seeing how
close I start to Queklain (I had forgot/not cared before) I was really
starting to worry. When Queklain moved next to me and hit me for 120 of my
124 HP I was certain it was over. But I got my turn and casted a Meteor just
to see how much damage it could do for future reference. To my suprise (and
extreme joy) it did 470 damage!!! Queklain must have some mad faith or
something.
Wow, Chapter 2 is done. Finished it at level 24 (124 HP/91 MP) relying
completely and utterly on the "Meteor then grab a crystal and Meteor again"
startegy. Hopefully it'll pull me through Chapter 3 as well.
3.1
Time Mage SSCC Update
First off, let me state a couple of things:
1. A overpowered guest is good to have in any battle. A hasted, overpowered
guest rules any battlefield.
2. I love assassination battles, purely because I can end them with one
Meteor.
3. The Time Mage SSCC has been really fun and I seem to be going through the
battles real quick so it keeps things interesting. That was until I hit the
brick wall known as Wiegraf/Velius.
4. I'm not quite sure if I will keep Critical Quick on for most of the
battles. It seems that the only time it goes off is either (a) I get hit
before I start my first turn/while charging Meteor on my first turn or (b) I
am waiting for a crystal to pop in which case I am trying to get all the CT's
to match as well as possible. I lost at Yardow because a Summoner hit me into
critical before a crystal popped that I had set myself up to get.
Goland Coal City ...Resets 0
See #1.
Back Gate of Lesalia Castle ...Resets 0
See #2. Ok, I guess see #1 also though Alma didn't do anything at all.
UBS: 2F ...Resets 0
Meteor right down the middle hit all 3 lancers and the Chemist. Had little
trouble Don't Moving the 2 Time Mages and then finishing them off.
UBS: 3F ...Resets 0
See #2.
UBS: 1F ...Resets 0
See #2.
Grog Hill ...Resets 0
Wow, that was a lot of death screams from 1 Meteor. Seriously, all the
enemies were hit and killed by my first Meteor. I'm beginning to think
Chapter 3 is a joke.
Yardow Fort City ...Resets between 25 and 30
Nevermind on that joke thing. It took _forever_ to get the right PBF/opening
move to be able to do something in this battle. Finally after experimenting
for what seemed like an eternity I was able to find a spot that would lure a
Ninja onto the wall (instead of going for Rafa) so I could nuke that entire
side of the battlefield so only Malak and the far summoner would survive.
Rafa was able to take down Malak quite easily (good luck on her Heaven Skill)
and I beat down the summoner.
Yugou Woods ...Resets 0
See #1. What?!? Rafa is an overpowered guest? Yep, turned her into a Chemist,
taught her Phoenix Down, gave her a gun, and let her do her thing.
3.2
Time Mage SSCC Update continued
Riovanes Castle Gate ...Resets around 10
Don't know why I'm writing this since the one time I beat it won't count for
anything. But here goes: finally learned my lesson and found a PBF that would
have the closest knight retreat instead of advance. 'Ported forward, launched
a Meteor to take out all 3 archers and that stupid knight. Rest of the battle
was Rafa and Malak duking it out while I Don't Moved the 2 remaining knights,
then Meteored.
Wiegraf/Velius ...Stuck at the moment
Ok, I'm stuck (don't worry there's hope). All the times I tried the same
thing happened:
Ramza (lvl 28) goes first (+2 speed equipment on)
Charge Meteor between Wiegraf and Ramza
Retreat
Wiegraf moves into kill zone of Meteor spell, Earth Slashes for 75
Meteor hits, Wiegraf *dies*
Velius comes out
Only enough MP for a reg. Demi
Velius takes 251 damage
Velius summons something on a defenceless Ramza
Right now I don't have enough MP to cast enough spells to finish off Velius
(or survive for any substantial amount of time). So, current plan is to level
to 45 for 3 more MA and 1 speed point- which will take a very long time. But
once I get there I should be able to take down Wiegraf/Velius like this
(please double check this to concur this is possible):
Ramza lvl 45
Time Magic
-----
Critical Quick
Short Charge
Float ...instead of Teleport to negate Earth Slash
Wizard Staff ...+1 MA
-----
Golden Hairpin ...best HP/MP boost I have right now
Chameleon Robe/Black Robe ...Cham. Robe prevents Lightning stab, right? If
not, Black Robe
Sprint Shoes ...need 9 speed for this battle
Ramza goes first, charges Meteor, retreats
Wiegraf follows, does not have an attack, waits
Meteor hits, Wiegraf *dies*
Velius, Apandas come out
Ramza charges Demi2, retreats
Velius is hit by Demi2, follows Ramza charges some summon
Ramza is hit by summon, goes into critical, reaction activates
Ramza charges Demi2 for the win
That above outline is very tentative but I think it should work. The only
problem is the need for at least 170 MP, more if I need to haste myself (I
did haste myself against Velius with 9 speed and I seemed to get a lot of
turns before he even got a chance to move). In any case, I will be off
leveling for the next week or so. Good luck to everyone else.
3.3
Time Mage SSCC Update
Wiegraf/Velius ...Resets around 50
First off, let me say thanks to Zaku... if only I had checked gamefaqs this
morning :( You would have saved me a lot of trouble.
Secondly, I'm an idoit. I leveled to 44 and 50 exp or so at Mandalia thinking
I would level up at Riovanes Gate (don't worry, I checked to make sure I had
170 MP with my set-up), but I completely forgot having +18 level difference
with the enemies you are killing gets you little exp. Luckily I didn't need
the MA point.
Here was my set-up:
Time Magic
-----
Critical Quick
Short Charge
Teleport
Wizard Staff
-----
Golden Hairpin
Black Robe
Sprint Shoes
With all that I had exactly 170 MP and 9 speed. So the winning battle went
like this:
Ramza charges Meteor, Teleports 3 spaces back-2 spaces to the left (80%) out
of range of Earth Slash/Wave Fist
Wiegraf moves, gets hit by Meteor (100%), lots of dialogue boxes, *dies*,
Velius shows up
Ramza Teleports forward 1 space, charges Demi2 (64%)
Demi2 hits Velius for 490+ damage
Ramza charges Demi2 (64%) on Velius, Teleports 7 spaces away (60%) to get out
of Loss' range
Velius and all Apandas move to nowhere significant
Velius is hit by Demi2, dies for good
The reason it took me so long to actually get this battle done is the actual
percentage chance for that to work is less than 20%. I can't express to you
the number of times that last Teleport or Demi2 did not hit. That and I kept
thinking there was a way to get Velius to summon Cyclops, in which case Demi2
would resolve first and I could do the battle with a speed of 8. None of that
worked simply because if he could not kill me with Titan he would Seal or
Loss me. In any case, Velius is dead.
Roof of Riovanes Castle ...Resets ~15
I already said I was stupid in this post, right? I thought this battle would
be easy (just like the rest of the recent assassination battles). But no, it
once again took me forever to find a PBF/Opening move to win. We all know in
a SSCC if Rafa is left to herself (as if you had speed 8 or less) she will
get killed whether she rushes the assassins or not. So first I tried with 10
speed (all enemies would not stay in Meteor's blast zone) and failed over and
over again. Then I tried 9 speed and was actually able to do it after a few
tries (I stumbled upon victory, so please don't think I actually know what I
am doing).
Elmdor moves, Murasamas Rafa for 90.
Ramza charges Meteor on the panel Rafa starts out on, Teleports to nearest
corner
Rafa moves, retreats to normal staircase retreat point
First assassin moves, Shadow Stiches Rafa, Rafa is stopped
Second assassin moves, charges Ultima on Ramza, Ramza is hit for 101 damage
Ramza's Meteor kills Elmdor
The reason for all the resets was I couldn't find a spot to Meteor that would
kill something until I realized Rafa is kinda smart. Whenever she could, she
would not stay in Meteor's kill zone (there are a few random exceptions).
Once I got that figured out, I just tried each panel 'til one worked, but
still this battle was a lot tougher than I was giving it credit for.
And after all that work, on to Chapter 4!!!
4.1
Time Mage SSCC Update
Dogula Pass ...Resets 0
Me > a bunch of generics.
Bervenia Free City ...Resets 0
I have mentioned before I love assassination battles, right?
Finath River ...Resets ~10-12
It sucks to be able to take only 1 Choco Meteor, so I had to reset 'til there
was only 1 Red Chocobo in Choco Meteor range when the battle starts. Time I
won was with 6 Yellow Chocobos though.
Zeltennia Castle ...Resets 0
Assassination battle.
Balk ...Resets 5 and counting
Everyone ready for the next roadblock on the way to Time Mage SSCC victory?
Well, here it is... in the form of Balk. But wait, this is an assassination
battle. Just figure out a way to Meteor him in the first turn before the
generics/poison kills you. Yeah, small problem with that, Meteor does 208
damage to him when it should do 333. I found that out on my first try.
This is what happened. Balk retreats tries to Arm Aim me, misses. I go,
charge Meteor, poison damages me. Wizard charges some spell, the archers put
me in critical, reaction activates, I move out of Wizard's spell's range.
Meteor goes off, does 208 damage, I die. I was thinking WTF?!? So I reset,
checked Balk's equipment/skills/zodiac/faith (62) and found nothing unusual.
So I 'ported in so I could target him directly, and sure enough 208 is the
damage listed (just to check my sanity I targeted an archer with 61 faith and
332 was the damage listed).
According to the good old BMG the damage for Meteor should be:
[Q * MA * (CFa/100) * (TFa/100)]
[60 * 13 * .70 * .62] = 338.52 -enough to critical him
[60 * RD(13 * 2/3) * .70 *.62] = 208.32 -with Magic Defend UP
So, the only conclusion I can draw is that Balk has innate Magic Defend UP
(which I could not find mentioned in the FAQ's that I trust). This means that
I must hit him with 2 spells, while avoiding all the generics, and not get
killed by his elemental gun or the poison. This is not going to be fun.
Best I could do is level up to 68 for 15 MA, wear Wizard Staff, Flash Hat
(get off a generic), Wizard Robe, and Magic Gauntlet. This would bring my
stats to:
HP 129-138 + 88 + 30 = ~264
MP 127-136 + 15 + 22 = ~168
MA 15 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 20
SP 9 + 1 = 10
With that, damage to Balk would be:
[60 * RD(20 * 2/3) * .70 * .62] = 338.52!!!
Does that look right to everyone? It doesn't give me much room under the cap,
but that last MA point is necessary (without it 312 damage... don't think
that's enough). Oh, and does anyone know if Balk also has Magic Defend UP in
the second battle too? If he does, then that battle will royally suck. But
even so, I might be able to do it since there won't be a time limit for
waiting around for crystals unlike this battle where I am permanently
poisoned. Hope everyone else better luck than what I have.
4.2
Oh yeah, and Merlin you bring up a good idea. My mentality for this battle
was simply to kill Balk (since that mentality works for every other
assassination battle). But if I can get both archers and the wizard with the
first Meteor (and find a place I don't get hit by those bloody archers) then
I should be able to get Balk with 2 more spells (Meteor will be out of the
question due to MP constaints). If that doesn't work, I will be at Mandalia
leveling to the brink of the cap.
4.3
WHAT??? You have to kill Balk at Bed Desert??? If that is the case, I must
resort to Demi2's (and their stupid short range of 3). Wow, this challenge
just got a lot harder.
4.4
The battle goes exactly like this:
Ramza starts in usual sport, poisoned
Balk moves to normal spot in the back, shots something (he keeps changing
between attack, Arm Aim, and Leg Aim)
Ramza has to move forward 1 panel to get Balk in first Meteor, charges Meteor
Knights move, Wizard moves near Balk charges some spell, Archers
attack/Charge Ramza
Archer attack goes off, second archer attack goes off, Ramza in critical gets
a quick turn
Move out of Wizard spell's range, wait to continue casting Meteor, takes
poison damage (depending on how much the archers did, I sometimes die here)
Meteor hits Balk and Wizard, 208 damage and death respectively
Ramza does whatever, dies to poison damage
Balk has around 360-370 HP I think. And yes you are right that 2 spells is
what I need, but with Balk, archers, and poison it's hard to even get a
second turn where I can do something.
(PS, I really appreciate the inputs.)
4.5
Sorry Kern for the misunderstanding. And yes I may need to do that.
Merlin, I will try some more (trust me when I say I don't want to spend my
time leveling up... I would much rather have forward progression). But the
problem with Haste is the damn poison. I'd rather deal damage then have to
run and take damage from Balk's gun and that damn poison. Anyways, I'll let
y'all know when I beat this battle (and I _will_ beat this battle eventually).
4.6
Time Mage SSCC Update
"Success is 2% inspiration, 98% perspiration." -Thomas Edison, he was a wise
man
And a big thanks goes to Merlin for challenging me to do this damn battle at
level 46 (don't know if I could have done it if I had any higher speed).
Balk ...Resets: I refuse to write how many times that bastard killed me.
After experimenting with every, let me repeat that every, skill at my
disposal I finally found a path to victory. It wasn't a good path, but it
worked. Here's the battle:
Ramza in normal starting point, poisoned
Balk moves first, retreats to 7 spaces directly in front of Ramza, shoots,
Ramza takes damage
Ramza 'ports 2 spaces forward, casts Quick* on himself, takes poison damage
(*key to victory I was missing)
Quick is cast, Ramza's CT to 100
Ramza charges Demi2 on panel next to Balk, retreats with a move of 7, takes
poison damage
All generics move, they all wait
Demi2 hits Balk for half his HP
Balk moves forward and over a bit, shoots Ramza
Ramza goes into critical, reaction activates
Ramza moves forward, casts Meteor, takes poison damage
Balk is hit for 208 damage, *dies*
Looks pretty simple, right? Well, this whole plan took forever to make up
since I kept counting on Meteoring Balk first and with where he was moving it
would have also taken out a couple of generics. Once I realized that was a
mistake and the generics did not matter one bit, it still took forever to get
both a Demi2 and a move of 7 to hit in the same battle (it doesn't help that
I was being stupid for the longest time and making that a move of 8 when it
didn't need to be). Oh, and the Wizard cannot have Time Magic, nor can Balk
Arm/Leg Aim off the opening (which he does about half the time). And I also
finished the battle still poisoned with 9 HP left. Can't wait to see him
again :^(
/// OVERATED ASIDE: possibly the greatest SSCC strategy ever///
4.7
Time Mage SSCC Update
North Wall of Bethla Garrison ...Resets 3
I chose this battle over the one with the a Ninja and 2 Archers that can hit
you from where they start. Pretty much same strategy of kill, grab crystal,
kill some more.
Bethla Garrison Sluice ...Resets 3
I recommend everyone play the Time Mage SSCC just to fight this battle. The
first couple of times I tried to kill the knights and keep Reflect up to keep
the Wizards at bay. Unfortunately, the archers killed me each time. Then I
realized the 2 knights on top of the switches always moved on the first turn
(must be the AI thinking it can wail on me, since it out-numbers me 8 to 1).
You know what's coming: 3 Teleports and 2 Quicks later the battle is over.
Quick is slowly becoming my most valuable spell.
Germinas Peak ...Resets about 10
This battle was quite difficult due to the closeness of the Ninja and the
great sniper spots the archers have. Basically got a few lucky teleports and
crystals.
Poeskas Lake ...Resets 4
The problem with this battle is those stupid Ghosts keep coming back alive
instead of giving me crystals. This battle is pretty easy considering how
long it takes for the undead generics to do something productive.
Tomorrow it's onto Limberry Castle!!!
4.8
Time Mage SSCC Update
In Front of Limberry Castle ...Resets 1
Assassination battle. You still have to get a miracle Teleport to get out of
the assassins' range, but an assassination battle none the less.
Inside Limberry Castle ...Resets 1
The first reset was due to me being stupid and forgetting the 108 Gems. The
winning battle went like this:
Elmdor 'ports in, does his Murasama thing, Ramza takes damage
First assassin moves forward, misses a throw at 95% (would have killed Ramza)
Other assassin moves and waits
Ramza charges Meteor, teleports into the corner
Meteor hits all 3 bad guys, Elmdor takes 470 damage, assassins die, Apandas
appear
Elmdor runs (but not very far...)
Ramza teleports for 5, casts Demi next to Elmdor
Elmdor is hit for 140 damage, *dies*
I could not believe my luck when I saw that throw miss, but after all the
resets I had with Balk, I am not complaining. I also found it weird that
Elmdor only teleported away about 8 spaces. I suppose the AI thought because
I have a Move of 3 and Demi a range of 4 I could not hit him. Stupid AI not
factoring in my willingness to risk losing to kill the bastard.
Zarela ...Resets 5
It took a few resets for the battle to go right. Here's how it went:
Zarela casts Nightmare next to Ramza, Ramza is Death Sentenced, moves forward
next to Ramza
Ramza charges Demi2 on Zarela, 'ports down into the water
Demi2 hits Zarela for 560 damage
A whole bunch of useless stuff from skeletons and the such
Zarela moves forward, casts Flare2 on Meliadoul, she dies
Ramza moves, charges Demi2 next to Zarela
Zarela is hit by Demi2, *dies*
It took a couple of resets to figure out that if I didn't move on my first
turn Zarela would kill me instead of Meliadoul. This is because we all had
the same speed so not moving would allow me to go before Zarela, then I would
have to cast Demi2 (Death Sentence would kill me before my next turn), and
Zarela would attempt to kill me prior to Demi2's resolution. Simply moving
made me not a threat on his second turn (once again because of the Death
Sentence).
Here I come down the home stretch. Not quite sure if I will attempt the next
set of battles at my current level (49) or level up some. Once again, good
luck to everyone else.
4.9
Time Mage SSCC Update
First off, my apologies go out to Kern. Sorry man, but my battles with
Adramelk didn't last long enough for me to gather any information that might
be useful to you.
Inside of Igros Castle ...Resets 2
Ok, I'm pumped and ready to go. Limberry Castle is out of the way and I've
got an elder brother in need of a good old butt kicking. So I go into this
battle with my 10 speed set-up thinking speed is good. I go first, launch a
Meteor, promptly get slaughtered by a Shellburst Stab. Ok, lots of speed bad.
Second try, speed of 9 to let Dycedarg go first. He walks onto the bridge
thing, Stasis Swords me down to critical. Reaction activates, I launch a
Meteor, Zalbag hits him for 140, Meteor hits him for 300-something, Adramelk
appears. Ok, cool, got this far. Go first, launch Demi2, miracle 'port to the
corner. Demi2 hits, Addy comes after me, pops off a Loss, I'm confused, Quick
him, he attacks, I die. Ok, more lessons learned. Here's the final battle
(level 49, speed of 9 with Sprint Shoes):
Dycedarg moves onto bridge, Stasis Swords Ramza into critical
Reaction activates, Ramza gets a Quick turn
Ramza charges Meteor, teleports straight across the map and 1 space over
(Move of 8)
Zalbag hits Dycedarg, Zalbag get hits by lots of knights
Meteor kills Dycedarg... and Zalbag... and a couple knights, out comes
Adramelk
Ramza charges Demi2 on panel in back of Adramelk, teleports into the far
corner (Move of 7)
Demi2 hits Adramelk
Adramelk moves towards Ramza, out of range to do anything, waits
Ramza 'ports forward 3 spaces, charges Demi2 next to Adramelk
Adramelk is hit by Demi2, *dies*
And there you have it folks, the death of Adramelk in a SSCC (other than
UberSquire). Now onto Murond!!!
4.10
Time Mage SSCC Update
Thanks for all the praise everyone. It makes a wasted afternoon all the
better.
Saint Murond Temple ...Resets 6
It took a while to find out how to take out both the Summoner and the Priest
with the first Meteor. Took out both Geomancers and a Mediator with the
second. Piece o' cake after that, though I did have to eat a Threaten from
that last Mediator (down to 69 brave, but at least I don't rely too heavily
on Critical Quick).
Hall of Saint Murond Temple ...Resets 1
I finally found a use for MP Switch. First reset was due to Kletian Counter
Magicing my Meteor (now I know how the enemies feel). Put on MP Switch, it
took the hit for me. I love assassination battles.
Zombie Zalbag ...Resets 2
Zalbag has a lot of HP. Played around with my equipment to go after Zalbag,
launch Meteor, 'port to the rear to stay out of Zalbag's range, 'port
forward, finish him off with a Demi.
As of this point I am level 50. I was debating whether to press forward or
level up to 70 first. But because I have nothing to lose I went ahead and
went to Orbonne (btw, I do have 200 MP with Golden Hairpin/Light Robe
equiped... Altima will go down).
UBS: 4F ...Resets around 10
Took a little while to get the archer and both Monks in the first Meteor (bad
zodiacs/low faith). After that it is very easy to out manuever 3 Knights with
a Move of 3.
Rofel ...Resets about 10 and counting
No, I am not stuck with Rofel. I haven't been looking forward to this battle
ever since I started this challenge because Rofel is the only opponent I have
Worst compatibility with. My Meteor will do 199 damage to him (with 10 speed
set up) out of 500-ish total HP, which means I must Demi2 him twice. Ok, not
a problem, except my chance to hit with Demi2 is 26%. I've already figured
out the path to victory (though it does cost me my armor), but it relies on
two 26% chance spells, a 70% chance to move, a 44% Silence Song missing, and
Rofel cannot get Hasted by the Time Mage. I've faced worse odds.
If you guys don't mind, I'm just going to throw out some ideas. After Rofel
is Kletian, who in most of my games rushes forward. So if I move after
him, 'port within 3 spaces of him, launch Meteor, Meteor hits, Meteor is
Counter Magic'ed, hits us both, MP Switch activates, I win. Sound good? If
not I can come up with something else pretty easily (or wear my high MA gear
and kill him in 1 blow).
And then there will be Balk... again. Not looking forward to this battle at
all. My best guess at this point (since it has been a while since I've played
that battle) is to teleport forward and hit a Don't Move on him. Then attempt
to get both him and any other enemies in a Meteor, wait, then launch a second
Meteor or Demi2 or something to finish off the battle. What I need to know
(but can't find in a FAQ) is what Balk's speed is and what Secondary he
normally has. Thanks to anyone who could provide this info.
After Balk, it should be smooth sailing as Hashmalum will go down with 2
Demi2's and Altima with 4. Well, I'm off to get some food, and then try to
finish this game.
4.11
Please don't hate me, but I need to take a break from this challenge. This
isn't me giving up, not in the slightest. This is me spending about 8
straight hours attempting to kill Balk, only to succeed to find Hashmalum
unbeatable at level 52. The problem with Hash is a Meteor will do 323 damage
to me and he is able to target Ramza directly with it as his opening move.
With max HP gear on, I have 315 HP (9 short from survival). If you heard
something like a scream coming from a very far off place about an hour ago...
that was me. The only way to survive to round 2 would be to put on MP Switch
which would make it impossible to launch a second Demi2. I'm sure I'll get
the motivation to backtrack and level up to 70 and redo all these battles
(YES!!! I get to fight Balk again) sometime later. Right now I have no desire
whatsoever (I hope you all will forgive me). Do note: I will finish this damn
challenge.
Minion
PS If anyone wants me to write out exactly how I killed Balk just let me
know. For the time being I just don't want to relive that experience in any
way.
PPS I've never casted Demi/Demi2 on Altima before. Is their damage capped at
999 also? If so, then I'll have to survive for at least 4 turns to Demi
Altima 4 times. That would suck.
4.12
Merlin, my current plan of action was to try and go first, Demi2 (50 MP)
Altima, hope Alma plays a good decoy and gets hit or something, Demi2 (100
MP) to get rid of first form. Then, for some unknown reason, I was thinking
about 2 Demi2's for the second form. But that form has about 4000 HP right?
So no good with Demi2's. Instead I will have to cast (and be able to survive
through) 4 Demis (196 MP total will be needed). I was not going to worry
about the demons since they dissappear with the first form and I thought that
with a couple good teleports I could avoid them. And I do think the corpses
dissappear as well, which would mean harvesting them prior to defeating the
first form, which would string out the battle far longer than I would like it
to go. In any case, I've shown that getting to Hashmalum is possible, and
with a level 70 Time Mage I should be able to get past him. After that I can
play around with Altima and do as I have always done: get my butt kicked,
persist through the pwnage of me, find a ridiculously low probablity chance
for victory, reset 'til I make it, be amazed by the sheer amount of
luck/determination that I inherently have.
4.13
Get to level 76?!? You're crazy if you think I could manage that. 10 exp a
cast, with 150 total MP (that's with my killing set-up), becomes a level and
a half. And I've learned to not count on crystals ever since Poeskas Lake.
I'm thinking no (and not to mention that even with an extra MA it wouldn't do
that much of a difference with Demi/Demi2's chance to hit).
Oh yeah, and that "break" I was talking about lasted about 4 hours (somehow I
just can't sleep if I have something to do). Anyways, I leveled up to 69 at
Mandalia and went back through all those stupid battles. At least they didn't
take as long this time, but Balk was a problem again.
So now I am up to Hashmalum again. Here is how all the battles so far have
went:
Hash goes first, moves forward, charges Meteor on Ramza
Ramza charges Demi2 on Hash (63%), 'ports a move of 7 to get 4 panels behind
and to the right of Hash
Demi2 goes off, Hash takes damage (~700)
Meteor goes off, Ramza takes 323 damage, goes into critical, gets a Quick turn
Ramza charges Demi2 on Hash, attempts to Teleport to the far side of the map
Hash follows, charges Melt
Melt goes off before Demi2, Ramza dies
In order to win this battle I must be outside of Hash's Melt's range. Hash
has a move of 5, Melt has a range of 4 and an effect of 3. Alltogether I must
be 13 panels away from Hash when he gets his second turn. Since I can start 4
panels away and still Demi2 him, that's a Teleport of 9 (40%) on top of two
60% Demi2's. It's possible, but once again very bad odds for the Time Mage
SSCC. Oh, and to help out just a little, I'm wearing Battle Boots for the
first time since Chap. 1.
As for Altima... I'll worry about that when I get there. Up to this point in
the game there has always been a path to victory. The hard part is figuring
out exactly what that path is. Sometimes it requires a 95% Throw to miss,
other times it requires multiple %60 chances to miss. But I have faith that
there is a way to defeat Altima. It will probably suck beyond all belief, and
it might take me days to get the right set-up, but until I've tried
everything and see no options I won't give up.
In any case, both Hash and Altima will have to wait 'til tomorrow. Good luck
everyone else.
4.14
Time Mage SSCC Update/Thoughts
I have found out a level 69 Time Mage can make it up to Alima II with little
to no difficulty. The problem comes from a lack of MP for finishing off
Altima II (if I only had enough MP for that last Demi... yes I have come
within one hit of finishing that bastard off). Just for the sake of
conversation, let's go through all the possibilities. First to get to past
Altima I:
1. You must have 13 speed. For a level 69 Time Mage you must wear Thief Hat
and Sprint Shoes (Wizard Staff and Light Robe finish the gear).
2. You must cast Haste (8 MP) first thing in the battle. Casting Haste
ensures that Altima will kill Alma and then you will be able to cast Demi2
twice before Altima kills you.
3. You must be able to cast Demi2 twice (100 MP) against Altima's first form.
4. You must be able to cast Demi 4 times (96 MP) against Altima's second
form. A hasted Ramza will get a double turn at the beginning of the Altima
II, which leads to 2 Demi's right there. If you move after the second Demi
(but stay within Grand Cross range) Altima will usually Grand Cross and run.
You can get a third Demi while Altima's charging Grand Cross and hopefully
either Grand Cross will only poison you, or a confused Ramza will launch the
final Demi.
All together, you must have 204 MP with Thief Hat/Light Robe on. My naked
level 69 Ramza has 145 HP/134 MP, with equipment my Ramza has 184 MP so I
need 20 more MP. Checking the stats for a level 69 female Time Mage, I see I
am 3 off the max for MP (not too shabby). Assuming that I stay 3 off the max,
I will need to level to 80 to reach 204 MP.
I know a couple of posts ago I mentioned that leveling to 76 for the MA point
would be quite tedious, but unfortunately leveling to 80 will be necessary
for victory. In order to do this, I need to skirt the rules of this challenge
as much as possible. When I get around to it (I'll be a little busy in the
next few days) I will level to 70 and 95 exp at Mandalia before entering the
final set of battles. The only battle which I think I can level up in is UBS:
4F. First Meteor to kill the Archer puts me to level 71, second Meteor kills
both Monks and 2 Knights, reset 'til all 5 of those enemies drop crystals.
With my max MP set-up (Golden Hairpin/Light Robe) I have 234 MP. 2 Meteors
bring that down to 94 MP, so there's 12 out of the 90 or so Hastes that I'll
need. Grab a crystal, do 23 Hastes, wash, rinse, repeat. I may be able to get
to 80 or higher. Note to all those who say this is prior to Murond Death
City: Ulti leveled here for his TrueCalcs.
This whole plan still hinges on Altima II being an idiot. But really, I
wouldn't have gotten this far if the AI hadn't been a complete idoit. Good
luck to everyone (especially Zaku- good job on Addy) and expect a victory
post from me sometime soon... I hope.
4.15
Yeah sure. First off, preparations for Balk II:
You must have 10 speed. This is to ensure that Balk, the Chemist, the Hydra,
and the Tiamat all go before you. Wear Wizard Staff/Golden Hairpin*/Wizard
Robe/Rubber Shoes- this will give you 18 MA at level 69 which is enough to
deal 285 damage to a Magic Defend UP'ed Balk. The Rubber Shoes prevent
lightning damage and Don't Move, so Balk's only move is to Arm Aim you. And
Ramza goes to the spot nearest Balk in the PBF. Almost forgot, take off
Critical Quick.
*The Golden Hairpin is necessary only if you are level 69 or above. If you
are below 69 (which would be pointless since you would get stuck on
Hashmalum, but my first playthrough I was 52 at Balk II) then a Flash Hat is
necessary.
The battle should unfold like this:
Balk moves, lines up straight across from Ramza, Arm Aims (63% chance to
hit), this must miss
Chemist moves forward, shoots Ramza- this is the only hit you will take,
Critical Quick cannot activate
Hydra moves forward next to Balk, Tiamat does nothing important
Ramza charges a Meteor 4 panels forward, retreats 2 panels back and 1 towards
the near corner
Hyudra moves forward, Behemoth does nothing important
Balk moves forward across ditch, Arm Aims Ramza (69% because Ramza is
charging), it must miss
Meteor goes off, hits Balk for 285 damage, critical/kills Hydra and Hyudra
Hydra (if not dead) has next move, retreats since it is wounded
Tiamat does nothing important
Chemist goes next, he must choose to revive/heal a monster (and he always
will if one is in range)
Hyudra (if not dead) will retreat
Behemoth will do nothing important
Ramza charges Meteor 4 panels forward, retreats to the corner
Balk moves, Move HP UP heals for ~50, but Balk stays in Meteor's blast zone
Tiamat gets a move, can't reach Ramza in the corner
Meteor hits Balk for 285 damage, *dies*
Looks complicated, huh? The main problem with devising this strategy was
originally I was trying it at level 52 and with only 15 MA (which would do
260 damage to Balk). Balk normally has 468-488 HP (from what I saw) and would
heal 48 HP every time he moved. So in order to kill him I had to reset 'til
he had 472 HP or less to get him with 2 Meteors. On top of that, those 2 Arm
Aims still had to miss and the Chemist could not have good combatibility
either. This is why I refused to write how many resets it took.
Oh, and it's quite important to lure both the Hydra and the Hyudra into the
first Meteor. The Chemist (as long as he didn't have Bad/Worst) could have
killed me in any of the battles I fought if he chose to attack twice in a
row. Getting both monsters with the first Meteor usually netted me with 1
dead and 1 critical and the Chemist would revive the dead one. Ideally, you
would like to see the Hydra die and the Hyudra go into critical. This is
because one time the Hydra had bad compat. which lead to him being on the
verge of critical, the Chemist hit him with an X-potion and he was able to
get into range to Triple Flame me. But this only happened once (that is, when
I got that far into the battle without something else screwing up the plan).
Re-reading that, I think I might have gone a bit too far into the details but
this battle still pisses me off and somehow I felt it necessary to point out
every little thing (I hope you'll forgive me). And thanks for the
appreciation, it's always nice to feel loved.
4.16
The problem with Don't Move/Stop/Slow is they'll only net me 1 exp a cast (if
successful, which isn't always the case). Of course I will probably have to
cast a couple to keep the knight at bay, but he's not that big of a deal to
manuever around since he should only have a Move of 3. And I don't want to do
it at UBS: 5F because those summoners can really **** you up, not to mention
those stupid Wizards. I was thinking I might be able to get a little more
with Kletian since his supporting cast never does anything. Oh well, this is
a challenge after all.
4.17
lol, thanks Merlin. That's a good strat for Rofel, I think I'll go with it...
wait, I can't Haste myself if I have a Reflect Ring on... so I guess I would
be stuck with slowing the enemies for 1 exp a pop... nope that won't work...
Maybe I can nuke the Wizards, nuke the Summoners, and hope Rofel somehow
retreats? I dunno, but this is definitely a problem for later.
Oh, and if I can get to 86 before Balk II, I'll come up with a new strategy
to beat him. That strat was because I was level 52 and when I went through at
69 I was far too lazy to come up with something new. At 86 with a Thief Hat
on (so that Balk can do squat to me) I should be able to take care of that
damn Chemist long before he gives me problems... hmmmm... if I am level 86
and kill the Chemist and Balk can't do anything to me then I might be able to
take down all the monsters, grab their crystals, Haste up to lower 90's...
I'll let you all know what I do when I get around to doing it.
4.18
You go Kern!!!
As for me, after a dozen resets or so I finally got all 3 Knights to have
Item/Nothing as their secondary. Found a way to kill off the archer and both
Monks in the first Meteor, and then got 2 Knights in the second. That left me
with a single Knight with no long range attack :)
So I began a 40 minute game of "Look I'm on the Bridge, Now I'm on the
Ground!!! Come and get me Sucker!!!" Let's just say that got really old
really quickly. Anyways, luck would have it, 4 out of 5 crystals popped.
Awesome!
So I got to level 82 and have 157 MP naked (207 with Thief Hat/Light Robe)
which might be enough to get me past the stupid final boss.
And one last thing: someone really needs to pay closer attention to what I
write and correct my sorry ass when I am completely wrong. I was worried
because I thought I could only get 23 Hastes per crystal, but for some reason
I was thinking (or not thinking at all) that Haste costs 10 MP when it
actually costs 8 MP. So out of my original level 69 MP of 234 I could cast
Haste 29 times for nearly 3 levels per crystal (which is why I was able to
gain 12 levels in that battle).
Oh yeah, and I was able to win a random battle at Sweegy on the first try and
leave at level 70 and 99 exp. It's a good thing too because I only got 1 exp
when I killed the first set of enemies (I thought I'd get 5 exp for some
reason... one day I'll devote some brain power to figuring out exactly how
much exp you get for every action). Tomorrow I will see if Time Mage SSCC
victory can be acheived. Good luck everyone else.
4.19
Time Mage SSCC Final Update
Let me say thanks to everyone on this board for the help... I couldn't have
done this if was not for all of you. And good job Kern on beating Addy.
Battles Leading Up to Altima
Just to recap: leveled to 82 at UBS: 4F, 2 Meteors for Rofel, 1 for Kletian,
2 for Balk, and a couple of Demi2's for Hashmalum. Now onto...
Altima
As always, preparations: you must wear Wizard Staff/Thief Hat/Light
Robe/Sprint Shoes to have 13 speed and over 204 MP (at level 82 I had 206 MP
with that set-up). Make sure to take off Critical Quick. Also, knowledge of
how Altima's AI works is also necessary. The key to victory was a very simple
rule: Altima will always physically attack a charging character. This simple
rule allows you victory against both forms of Altima. The final battle played
out like this:
Ramza goes first, casts Haste on himself, waits
Alma charges MBarrier on herself, moves
Altima moves behind Alma, attacks, Alma *dies*
You must cast Haste on yourself to ensure that you can cast 2 Demi2's prior
to Altima I's second turn. This is the only sure-fire way I have found to
reach Altima II. And there is no way to save Alma unless you are charging a
spell during Altima's first turn (in which case she will attack you
instead... and that's bad).
Ramza moves to the corner (Move of 6), charges Demi2 on Altima
Nearest Ultima Demon moves towards Ramza, casts Hurricane near Ramza, this
must miss
Other Ulitma Demons move and wait
Demi2 goes off, hits Altima
Ramza gets another turn, casts Demi2 on Altima
Demi2 hits Altima, Altima's first form *dies*, out comes Altima II
The only threat at this point in time is the Ultima Demon which can do 117
damage with it's Hurricane. It doesn't always hit (faith based %???) so it's
not that uncommon to make it to Altima II with full HP.
Ramza (still hasted) goes first, casts Demi on Altima, waits
Demi hits Altima
Ramza gets a second turn, casts Demi on Altima, waits
Demi hits Altima
If you wait with both of these Demi's then you will get a third turn to Act
but Altima will interrupt if you choose a spell (but don't worry, this is a
good thing).
Ramza gets a third turn, casts Demi one panel forward and one panel to the
right, waits
Remember when I said Altima will always physically attack a charging
character? By placing the Demi to hit there, you block off both sides to
which Altima could hit you. Therefore, when Altima moves in to attack you,
she will be hit by the Demi. And no, you can't cast Demi on Altima herself.
If you do, she will carry the Demi next to you and the Demi will finish you
off.
Altima moves to the side of Ramza, attacks for 300-something damage
Demi goes off, hits Altima
Ramza goes, casts Demi on panel behind Altima, waits
Demi goes off, Altima *dies*
Congratulations! This game is complete! This was a great challenge. It was
fun and original and challenging. Though it was also tedious and frustrating
at times as well. Once again, thanks everyone for the support.
Minion
---
Time has come... Crash down on the wicked!
______________________________________________________________________________
________________
/// III Monk III \\\
\\\________________/// [4.3]
/// Recommended Zodiac \\\
Taurus. (It's possible that Leo or Aquarius work, and it may be possible for
more than that, but if you want a guaranteed completable game, go with
Taurus.)
/// % Completed \\\
100%
/// First Completed by \\\
kern (if everyone was called Chaos it wouldn't be very chaotic now would it?)
/// Strengths \\\
- Excellent reaction abilities. Counter is not very good (I only used it
once, in Yuguo Woods) so stick with Hamedo for most story battles, and HP
Restore in random battles and certain story battles where Hamedo is not very
useful.
- Hamedo can take care of Velius, Queklian, and Altima with not much effort
because of their propensity for using physical attacks if your HP are low
enough.
- High damage. The Power Sleeve + Bracer combo should be the standard
equipment unless something else is required; but you can often kill enemies
in one round with this.
- You do not need to gain any equipment in random battles, nor do you need to
level much.
- Versatile skill set. Earth Slash and Wave Fist provides a great ranged
attack, and Chakra heals you.
/// Weaknesses \\\
- Lack of equipment slots makes it hard to block against certain attacks and
gives you low speed relative to enemies near the end of the game.
Hardest Battles:
- Igros Castle. Dycedarg is tough to take down before he can kill you with
Crush Punch, especially because Taurus gives you Worst compatibility with him.
- Goland Coal City. I don't know if this was just me, but this required quite
a bit of luck for me to win, and I had to level up to beat it.
- Lost Sacred Precincts. My method of winning depended on having bad
compatibility with a specific Hydra on the board, and you potentially have to
dodge a lot of Don't Acts, so if you're unlucky you could be in for a lot of
resets.
/// Unexpectedly Easy Battles \\\
- Velius, Altima, Queklian. They can all be taken down by Hamedo with little
or no trouble (a few resets should take care of it). For Velius, the strategy
I used required a 55% punch to kill Wiegraf, so a few resets were necessary
on that part, but Velius was easy.
- Yardow Fort City. The Ninjas and Summoners line up in the doorway so you
can stand at the back and Earth Slash them all to death before they can do
much.
/// Standard Generic Strategy \\\
- Stay back and Earth Slash as much as you can. Don't move if you don't have
to (you get turns more quickly). Chakra when you need to. If you are close
enough to an enemy, just walk up and punch, doing large amounts of damage.
Generic battles in general are very easy with a Monk, especially later in the
game.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Book of kern ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1.1
So, here goes the Solo Monk SCC. Now, I am doing this on the Japanese version
of the game, which may be stupid and ultimately futile. However, there is a
plus to this. If I succeed, then I my win is l33ter than other people who do
it with the American version. If I fail, then it was just because I was
playing the Japanese version. :-)
Ramza's sign is Taurus, following redrocket's advice.
A few notes on the pre-Dorter battles:
Gariland Magic City
I used Ramza and the two Chemists. Ramza and Delita were allowed to do most
of the work. After this battle I was able to get Move+1 for Delita. My goal
was to get enough spillover JP to unlock Black Mage for Delita, and I almost
did it, but Delita got a critical hit on the Chemist and screwed it up.
Thanks a lot, Delita, I WAS DOING IT FOR YOU!!!
Mandalia Plains
Delita still a Squire, Ramza is a Knight. Used Ramza + 3 Chemists. I gained
enough spillover JP for Delita to become a Black Mage. Ramza also gained
enough JP for Knight Level 2. I went to the status screen expecting Monk to
be available -- but no! I made the discovery that every job in the Japanese
version has higher requirements. Basically, add 1 to the job level
requirement for every class requirement except the ones that need Chemist or
Squire levels.
So this means that Summoner Delita is going to be a lot harder to set up
because I need Level 3 Black Mage and Level 3 Time Mage instead of level 2 of
each.
Sweegy Woods
Delita takes Thunder. The 3 Chemists and Ramza enter the fight. Delita has
fun creaming my own guys with his spells, but it's all good in the end. Algus
does his usual suicide run as a Chemist, but he can now become a Black Mage
too so it's all good.
Delita buys Thundara after this fight. I don't know whether this is a good
idea or not.
Pre-Dorter Levelling
Now I am going to get Wave Fist and Chakra for Ramza before I enter Dorter.
In case people don't know this trick, there's a good way to gain levels in
Mandalia even with solo Ramza (or Ramza + one other person).
Bring one Chemist into the battle, preferably who knows Eye Drop (to cure the
Goblin's blindness) and Antidote (to cure the cat's poison). Go to the bottom
left (I guess) of the map, and set up like this (2 = unclimable rock, 1 =
climbable rock)
2 1
C R
Now the Chemist cannot be hit, and Ramza can only be hit by a limited number
of people each turn (if you are only using Ramza, put him in the "C" position
instead.) Just have Ramza wait until enemies come near and then punch them
until they die. The Chemist can heal as necessary.
1.2
Dorter Trade City - 0 resets
Armed with "hadouken" (wave fist), and Chakra, it's time for Dorter. Algus
and Delita are both Black Mages.
I followed Delita and Algus up the house, helping Delita out by using Chakra.
I thought this was a great idea, but after he killed the rooftop archer with
Thundara, he was down to 1 hp and the fool ran into the corner where Chakra
wouldn't help him! And then he got killed before he could grab the Archer's
crystal.
Basically the strategy for this fight was to redirect the Black Mages' spells
onto the enemies, and use Chakra until they ran out of MP. Then it was just a
matter of punching them all until they died.
1.3
Sand Rat Cellar - 1 reset
Leave Algus alone, pair up with Delita (ooh, baby!) Things didn't work out as
well as they did in the last TDD I played. Delita died too early and I wasn't
really able to get teamwork with him going. Nevertheless, the strategy was
similar -- I hid in the area with the crate when a corpse was on top of it so
that only 1 enemy at a time could attack. Once that enemy crystallized, I
pulled back and used Wave Fist a lot when the enemies couldn't reach me to
attack.
(I died the first time because I took a move that should have gotten me down
to 7 hp, but instead the Knight had Charge and killed me.)
1.4
Miluda: Terror of the High Seas - 0 resets
A very easy battle. I followed Delita around using Chakra because I wanted
him to get some JP. He still went down in the end, but by that time Miluda
was the only enemy left so I just went in and punched her for the win.
Unfortunately the next fight isn't so easy, but a few more tries should do it.
1.5
Miluda II: Revenge of the Enchantress - 4 resets
Delita as Black Mage worked great in my TDD, but this time he kept killing me.
The winning strategy was to wait at the back of the map and Chakra until
Delita was dead and some enemies got in range. By this time, one Black Mage
and the Time Mage were out of MP. From this point is was fairly easy to use
my 4 Move to stay out of range of all the enemies (Miluda didn't hit me once)
and finish the battle.
I think I would have won the Fovoham Plains fight on my first try if Split
Punch hadn't given me Death Sentence. Oh well.
1.6
Wiegraf and Boco, the Duo of Destruction - 1 reset
A pretty easy fight. Two Earth Slashes is all it took to critical Wiegraf,
and he actually helped me by Death Sentencing me so that all the enemies ran
away.
Fort Zeakden is also a piece of cake, but I'm going to try it a few times to
see if I can do it without losing my Brave bonus (even 2 points of brave is
helpful for Monks).
1.7
Fort Zeakden - 2 resets
Wasn't that hard, actually. I had to finish off Algus in 2 of Ramza's turns.
That was one Wave Fist + Delita's Thundara + punch from Ramza. Bye-bye Algus.
Chapter 1 finished at level 13. This was a really easy chapter -- I have a
feeling that this SCC isn't really going to be that challenging until
Queklian (or maybe Golgorand).
2.1
Return to Dorter Trade City - 2 resets
Yes, 2 resets, don't laugh at me. I unequipped Gafgarion and tried to have
Agrias kill all of the enemies herself, but that was a bit too difficult for
her -- Ramza had to help out a little.
Araguay Woods - 0 resets
A big thanks to UltimateralizerX for his idea of letting Agrias do all the
work in order to teach her Crush Punch (would be fun to go for Holy Explosion
by healing the goblins until she gets 800 jp too). I killed Gafgarion as
quickly as possible and then Ramza just used Chakra for the rest of the fight.
Zirekile Falls - 0 resets
Does Delita always have Lightning Stab in this battle? I don't think I've
ever seen him chew through the enemies so quickly. I killed him so that
Agrias could get a little bit more JP -- now she's got enough for Crush Punch.
Next up: is it possible to save Mustadio on a solo game?
2.2
Mustadio Fort City - 0 resets
Well geez, that wasn't very hard. I gave Agrias Spike Shoes to let her reach
the enemies earlier. Mustadio was kind to me by running left on my first
attempt, and from there I just had to do to usual "Ramza uses Chakra every
turn because all the enemies are targetting him" while Agrias and Mustadio
softened them up. A few Earth Slashes finished things off.
2.3
Baraius Hill - 1 reset
Usual strategy of hiding in the corner until the Summoners have exhausted all
their MP on Agrias and Mustadio. Then I came out and cleaned up the remnants.
I'm at level 18 now, I think I'm going to level to 25 or 27 in preparation
for Golgorand.
2.4
Zigolis Swamp - 0 resets
*Yawn*
Goug is pretty tough. I almost did it on my first try but a stupid thief hit
me (Hamedo should have gone off, dammit).
2.5
Goug Machine City - 1 reset
Hey, this battle's not so hard when one summoner only knows Moogle and you
have Worst compatibility with the other summoner (26 damage from Shiva). The
archers tried to plink me with their 55% chances to hit (Wizard Robe + innate
evade), and the Thieves came up and got Hamedo'ed.
Unfortunately Bariaus Valley is a little tougher -- saving Agrias is hard
when she constantly runs into places that Chakra cannot reach. Even two lucky
Crush Punches in a row didn't win the fight for me last time.
2.6
You Suck Agrias - 5 resets
Luck, luck, and more luck. Agrias is an unpredictable force -- sometimes
she's really good, chewing through many enemies with her status effects,
other times she's totally ineffective. The time I won, a Mage and a Knight
got stopped by Stasis Sword on the first turn, and *both* Knights ended up
going mainly for Ramza, getting Hamedo'ed frequently. There were some close
calls but in the end I won the fight.
Now I'm on Golgorand. God help me. (The first time I tried it, one of the
Time Mages knew Demi!)
2.7
Also, Agrias kept alternating between having Crush Punch and Split Punch,
which was a great annoyance to me since I spent all that time building up her
JP to buy Crush Punch specifically for this battle. Crush Punch was far more
helpful, but on the time I won she had Split Punch so I guess it wasn't a
deciding factor.
2.8
I *hate* levelling up in Bariaus Valley.
The upside is that Archers can appear there with Power Sleeves, but I doubt
that I can win a fight there with Archers in it.
I'm going to level up to 29 for the PA point and then try Golgorand again.
2.9
Hmm, even at level 29 this is pretty tough. Of course it didn't help that
Hamedoru didn't work and the Knight got a Critical, but even so....
So far my strategy has been all out vs. Gafgarion. I'll try that a few more
times -- more levelling may be necessary (although I wouldn't feel safe going
any higher than 33; I might go over the level cap)
2.10
Golgorand Execution Site - 5 resets
Killing Gafgarion quickly is the key here. On the winning run I got him in 3
turns. Then I just ran up to the top of the wall, using Chakra every turn and
hoping for lucky misses and Hamedos. On the wall, I ran to the corner and
then eventually surrounded myself with corpses and Earth Slashed everyone to
death (the archers could still hit me but they couldn't really do enough
damage to bring me in danger of death).
Gate of Lionel Castle - 0 reset
A long and boring fight. Kill Gafgarion (which takes a long time if your
percentages are unlucky) and then Earth Slash everyone to death from inside
the courtyard (may have to open the gate at the end if there are a few
stubborn people outside).
Now I'm on Queklian. It seems pretty tough -- I have the choice between 100%
Sleep or 100% Don't Act, and it looks like I have to take the Don't Act since
the Sleep also comes with Death Sentence, which is instant loss.....unless
Stigma Magic can cure it? Redrocket, what's your call? Defense Ring, or
Defense Armlet? It seems like with the right luck I can win with the Ring,
but only doing 54 damage per punch it's going to take around 8 hits. That's a
lot of 2