Final Fantasy 6 Advanced Character FAQ
Meeplelard
Date: 8/15/07 Version: 0.3
Table of Contents:
FAQ History
Legal Stuff
1. Overview of the game itself
2. Introduction to the FAQ
3. Summary of the FAQ
4. Abbreviation Index
5. The characters!
-Terra
-Locke
-Cyan
-Shadow
-Edgar
-Sabin
-Celes
-Strago
-Relm
-Setzer
-Mog
-Gau
-Gogo
-Umaro
6. Character Growth Suggestions
7. Character Team Suggestions
8. Equipment Locations
9. Character Rankings
10. Frequently Asked Questions
11. Credits
FAQ History:
Version 0.1
-Creation of FAQ. I refuse to go into detail here
Version 0.2
-Fixed a universal mistake of spelling "Apocalypse" as "Apocolypse" as
well as a less universal spelling mistake of "Snow Scarf" as
"Snowscarf."
-Changed a few more outdated instances in terms of names
-Removed that extraneous mention of 9999x8 regarding Locke in
Miscellaneous info section (in that there were two of them, now there's
only one)
-Added in a new way to get some equipment here and there
-Added to the FAQ section
-Added a few more comments on characters
-Started the Team section
-Added in the Abbreviation Index
Version 0.3
-Added in a few more set ups here and there
-Some grammatical errors fixed (mainly spelling), which this FAQ
really, really needs.
Legal Stuff:
This FAQ is a copyright of Meeplelard, and should be found only at
GameFAQs.com. Should someone want to use Info from my FAQ for some
other source, or post it somewhere else, please contact me at
Meeplelard@Hotmail.com, or ask me directly on instant messenger, either
AIM (DbzFFlord) or MSN messenger (Meeplelard@Hotmail.com)
------------------------------
1. Overview of the Game Itself
------------------------------
Ok, I think at this point you know what Final Fantasy 6 is. Its the
6th installment in an ever growing series that has started back on the
NES, a game about a war 1000 years prior set civilization back a bit,
and now an evil empire is trying to use magic to take over the world,
and there's a mysterious girl in giant armor that attacks a city for
the sake of a frozen esper...come on, I know you've played this. If
you haven't, why are you reading this FAQ? What? Personal amusement or
tips before you start the game? Well, in that case, this is a FAQ about
game play, NOT about plot; if you want plot details, play the game or
something, or find some plot summary somewhere else. Yeah, I know, I
sound like a jerk, but who's the bigger jerk? The jerk who doesn't tell
plot details in a game play FAQ, or the jerk who goes into a character
FAQ hoping to find plot details cause they're too lazy to play the
game? ...no, don't answer that.
So what is FF6 Advanced? Well, after a point, Square-enix decided they
could milk a lot of money by re-releasing some older games, especially
if they threw in some random extra features here and there. This
started with Final Fantasy Dawn of Souls, which was Final Fantasy 1 and
Final Fantasy 2, using their FFOrigins graphics, rebalanced and some
aspects changed here and there, with new dungeons in FF1's case and a
new after game in FF2's case. This led to the creation of the
"Advanced" series, which was the 3 SNES Final Fantasy's (aka Final
Fantasy 4-6) being released, with some additions that fit the game, and
an after game. In Final Fantasy 6 Advanced's case, the game had a few
noteworthy bugs removed (Evade, Blind, and Vanish/Instant Death spell
are the big ones), and three new Espers added on. It also had a new
translation, for better or worse.
If its not obvious, this FAQ is based on the Final Fantasy 6 Advanced,
but by this point, it should be obvious. Oh, also note that, to avoid
confusion, the game that this is a "remake" of was originally released
in the US as "Final Fantasy 3" back on the SNES. When it was ported
and re-released on the PSX (complete with random extra features like an
intro and ending FMV!), it was given its proper name in "Final Fantasy
6." While most people know this by now, there are some who still don't
and get confused over this fact. Sad, but true, felt it was worth
noting.
--------------------------
2. Introduction to the FAQ
--------------------------
If this FAQ seems kind of familiar based on the name and table of
contents, the person writing it...well, maybe perhaps cause it is. I
wrote a FAQ for the original version of this game (or at least, FF3US,
since its SLIGHTLY different than FF6j) and figured I'd write one for
this version too. So...why not just C+P the old FAQ and shove it here?
The reason being that FF6 Advanced has more changes than you might
think offhand? I'll get to that later.
For those that this FAQ does NOT seem familiar, the FAQ exists to take
an in-depth look at each character, note their strengths, weaknesses,
miscellaneous strategies, good set ups for them, random objective facts
like their base stats, what have you. I'm trying to take as an
objective as possible stance on these characters though bare in mind
that I am a puny mortal, so there's a good chance I'll accidentally
fall into the realm of subjectivity, so don't get all crazy if I do.
I'll be forced to unleash the trained death gorillas...which aren't yet
trained...nor do they actually exist yet...on you if you do.
Regardless, why write this FAQ, ignoring that I already wrote one? The
reason being a lot of people take a look at a character, see a scrubby
skill set, and dismiss them as useless. Sadly, this smacks some
characters like Celes who have other redeeming features. Other
characters have a nice skill here and there, and absolutely nothing
else, yet because the player is too lazy to even try anything else, the
character looks relatively great. Other characters get the hype they
deserve, but for all the wrong reasons, like take Edgar who gets hyped
sometimes for his late game Tools worth, when Tools are rather
unimpressive by that point, however, they totally ignore what really
makes him good in his potentially strong set ups due to equipment.
Now, why write this FAQ since I already wrote one? FF6a added in a few
changes since the previous versions of the game. Most notable is the
fact that Evade now works and M. Block is no longer the god stat it use
to be. This alters some set ups as now some weapons like the
Swordbreaker have an actual use. A few other differences include how,
compared to the SNES version anyway, the game uses Japanese MP Growths
so your MP is higher throughout the entire game (most notable early on
when that 30 extra MP you have matters when your magic costs 4-5 MP
each.) It also added in Dragon's Den and Soul Shrine, as well as new
equipment that alter characters. Lastly, name changes...this is
another huge reason. The old FAQ used terms like "Stunner," "Tempest,"
"Offering" and "Pummel" while in FF6a, those don't exist and the
equivalents are "Kagenui," "Kazekiri," "Master's Scroll" and "Raging
Fist" respectively. If its not obvious, I'll be using FF6a terms best
to my ability, though I might accidentally slip in an old translation
term, since I'm use to it; if I do, feel free to e-mail me so I correct
it, for consistency purposes.
---------------------
3. Summary of the FAQ
---------------------
Alright, now that you know what this FAQ is about, how am I going about
doing it? Ok, sure, everyone at level 99 with godly equipment can rip
apart crap easily enough, since levels are factored into algorithms and
you have over 9k HP, etc, but that isn't much of a FAQ now is it? No,
I'm assuming reasonable levels. This is to say, levels you'd get if
you didn't level grind much (something beyond, say, level 50 feels over
leveled, at least prior Dragon's Den.) Naturally, I'll be assuming
reasonable levels throughout the game, relative to that point of the
game. So while level 50 at, say, Kefka's Tower isn't too bad, level 50
at the Floating Continent is clearly over leveled, let alone level 50
at the Narshe Battle sequence cause you abuse the Lete River Tricks.
Naturally, I won't assume you're doing a challenge either. This isn't
to say I might bring up as a side note about a characters worth during
an LLG or something, but primarily, I'll be focusing on normal play.
This is to say, all equipment allowed, no trying to avoid levels
(though again, no trying to GAIN them for no other purpose beyond power
leveling), Espers allowed, what have you. If you restrict yourself,
that's your own fault, I don't know how you play, I'm going to assume
universal normal playing styles.
In other words, don't expect to see much hype regarding the Genji Glove
+ Master's Scroll + Ultima Weapon + Valiant Knife (or in the after
game, Ultima Weaponx2) being 9999x8, cause really, that set up won't
happen at levels that are reasonable.
I'll also evaluate characters over the course of the game. I mean,
sure, Sabin having great damage with Phantom Rush is nice in the second
half of the game for damage, but what about before he gets that?
There's a whole half of the game earlier, so how he is without that
kind of matters, be it good or bad on a relative scale.
Also, if this is the first time you've read one of my FAQs, I try to be
humor toned and not totally serious at times, cause who wants to read a
total wall of text and have nothing but seriousness? What? You do?
Well, tough! If you want a serious FAQ, go read something else, as this
one is going to be an attempt to entertain while providing good info! I
mean, geez, why must all of you be critics? ...ok, I apologize for that
outburst, but my point stands!
Anyway, intro Mumbo Jumbo is done, now for cheese, cake, pie, and THE
CHARACTERS THEMSELVES!
---------------------
4. Abbreviation Index
---------------------
I will be using a lot of abbreviations, acronyms, short hand, whatever
you want to call them, in this FAQ. Why? Cause it's a lot easier to
write "FC" than "Floating Continent" every time, and it saves space.
However, while this lingo is pretty common talk on the message boards,
I can't assume everyone who reads these FAQs is common message board
folk. So without further ado, here are the abbreviations! Note that
some might not have been used, but I can't keep track of everything I
use, so I'm listing them anyway!
HP: Hit Points. Damn near every RPG, and many nonRPG games for that
matter, have these; they're what lets you live.
MP: Magic Points. What you need to cast magic, every time you cast a
spell, a certain value, dependant on the spell, is subtracted from
this. A lot of RPGs use this fundamental too (though, recently, RPGs
have been moving away from using tradition MP...)
MHP: Maximum HP. Refers to the HP score where you are considered "Fully
Healed."
CHP: Current HP. The exact HP score you have, which is what matters for
living.
MMP: Maximum MP. Pretty much self-explanatory
CMP: Current MP. Also self-explanatory.
ST: Single Target. Hits only one enemy/ally.
MT: Multitarget. Hits more than one enemy/ally.
WoB: World of Balance. Refers to the section of the game starting from
the very beginning until the end of the Floating Continent (IOWs, the
first half of the game)
WoR: World of Ruin. Refers to the part of the game that is after the
Floating Continent (IOWs, the second half of the game.)
FC: Floating Continent. A specific dungeon that often gets abbreviated,
mostly because it's a big dungeon that's used as a landmark for the
halfway point.
ATB: Active Time Battle. The style of combat FF6 takes, where battles
are sort of real time, instead of strictly turn based. Anytime this is
mentioned, it's referring to an aspect of the battle system (like "ATB
Gauge" refers to the little bar that fills up to indicate a character's
turn.)
AKA: Also Known As. I assume most people know this, but in case you
don't, this basically means the thing in question has an alternate name
or way to refer to it.
IOW: In Other Words. See above, except this exists more as a clarity
statement, rather than referencing the item in a possibly more
recognizable manner...if that makes sense.
IIRC: If I Recall Correctly. Basically, this indicates I am speaking
out of memory, and haven't quite double checked it, as in, I am only
human, I can make mistakes when I rely on my own memory, this is here
to indicate a chance of error.
FF6: Final Fantasy 6. If I have to explain what this is, I will cry...
------------------
5. The Characters!
------------------
Alright, yeah, see? Told you I'd come to the character themselves!
Well, first and foremost, the set up of the FAQ. Kind of important you
know what things are going to look like, so C+Ping from the OTHER FAQ I
made like this, and modifying when modifying is necessary, here's how
the layout will be done!
====
|Name|
====
Stats: Characters base stats listed below, w/out equipment or Esper
level ups.
Extra HP: The HP gains + This = Raw HP. Given how FF6's HP system
works, this is the ONLY difference in HP, so don't expect characters to
have varying HP scores. It is worth noting, in fairness, that Gau now
gets a unique helmet (the Dueling Mask) that adds 25% HP, and Umaro
gets a unique relic (Bone Wrist) that adds 50% HP, so if they have
unexplained HP boost coming from somewhere, that'd be why.
Extra MP: The MP version of the above
Strength: Stat that determines physical damage. Generally, 1 point of
Strength = 2 points of Battle Power, as a quick comparison
Speed: This + 20 = Characters Linear speed, or rather, how fast the ATB
gauge raises. Just need to note this so you know just how fast
characters are. Also, near as I can tell, it plays a role in how much
the ATB gauge starts filled at the beginning of the battle.
Stamina: Stat that determines HP healed from Regen and Tintinnabulum,
damage done from Poison and Seizure, and the hit rate of certain
attacks…yeah, this stat sucks, just listing it for completion purposes
(same with Extra HP)
Magic Power: Determines damage dealt by magic attacks. All things
considered, this is a raw multiplier
Battle Power: Character's base battle power. This + Weapon's Battle
Power = True Battle Power. Note that the status screen will claim its
10 higher than this w/ no weapons. This is cause you're ACTUALLY
equipped with a weapon that has 10 Battle Power (Fists, or "Empty" as
the game calls it), odd as it sounds.
Defense: Characters base defense. This + Helmet + Shield + Armor +
Relics (if anyway) = True Defense. Higher this value, lower damage you
take from physicals.
Evasion: How good you are at dodging physicals. Note that this stat is
a bit misleading, since it uses 128 as a base, not 100, despite the %
symbol, so yeah, for true evade, divide the value you have by 128.
Magic Defense: See Defense, more or less, changing what should be
obvious.
Magic Evasion: The Magic version of evade
Desperation: Also known as "Near Fatal Attacks"; characters use this
move when they are at low HP (when they crouch, IOWs) and use the Fight
Command, with a 1/16 chance of kicking in. All character's
Desperations are Magical Attacks that ignore Evade and Defense. The
exception to this are Relm and Strago's which are simply instant death
that doesn't fail barring Immunity.
Special ability: What their unique ability is.
Effects: Quick explanation of the special ability.
Character Analysis:
Lengthy look at the character, descriptive and such. The boring yada
yadas. The meat of the FAQ or something. Also, I will be noting how
the character changed compared to their original self, if there's a
significant difference.
Strategies for Character X throughout the game:
Point by point tips for how to make the character effective at
different parts of the game.
Character X's Ultimate and Noteworthy equips:
Weapons:
Ultimate and/or Noteworthy weapons listed here (no particular order)
If you are curious where to get these, they will be listed later in the
FAQ.
Helmets:
See above, replace Weapon with Helmet
Armor:
Figure this part out for yourself <_<
Note: I am skipping Shields, since for all characters, ultimate shields
are universal (sans Umaro, whose speshul) This just saves time, and
makes things look overall cleaner. The exception to this is the
Crystal Shield, which is a decent supplement shield usable only by
Terra, Celes, Edgar, Setzer and Cyan. For those wondering, the
universal Noteworthy shields are Paladin's Shield, Genji Shield, Aegis
Shield, Thunder Shield, Force Shield and Tortoise Shield (even if you
aren't an Imp, this has some uses due to that 30% Evasion and Magic
Evasion)
Note 2: Some items I'm just listing for completion purposes, even I
myself don't believe they are actually worth using. This is just to
avoid later complaints like "What about the X weapon!" or "You Forgot
Armor Omega!" and such. Its mostly just showing they have that option
available.
End game Character X Set Ups:
Several set ups, and descriptions about them for making a character
useful later in the game. Things to aim for, per se, in the WoR. I
will be factoring in Dragon's Den here, mind, so if you don't have
something cause its really late, look at the list of noteworthy equips
to find a supplement, or look for a different set up that keeps that in
mind.
Set Ups are done in this order:
Right Hand (usually weapon)
Left Hand (usually Shield)
Headgear
Armor
Relic 1
Relic 2
Description of Set Up here. Do note that I am purposely trying to
avoid some exclusive equips in these set ups, so don't expect to see
"Paladin's Shield" unless the set up desperately calls for it (like
128% Evasion 128% Magic Evasion set ups, for example.) Often though, I
will be noting alternatives for equips to save space (like saying Red
Cap/Genji Helm) for this reason, as well as it partially coming down to
what the user wants.
In fact, to help explain this, I'll show you one universal set up that
works for just about any character! This also lets me get this out of
the way now, and explains why I listed certain equips on every
character when no one ends up using them <.<
Death God Dragoon Imp:
Impartisan
Tortoise Shield
Saucer
Reed Cloak
Dragoon Boots
Dragon Horn
For this set up to work, if the equipment and name don't give it away,
you MUST, and I must emphasize this again, ****MUST**** have the
character in question under Imp status. Done that part? Good. This
set up yields a totally one dimensional character who is also a
complete tank to physical AND magic damage, who immunes Water to boot.
Since Impartisan still counts as a spear, it gets the full benefit of
Jump, and is being used with its 255 Battle Power as well. If you have
a character you want to use, but feel like they're lagging on damage or
defenses, you might consider this Imp set up, though it does change
their sprite, so it might not feel like that character. Granted, this
set up has a few noteworthy flaws. For starters, uses both Relic
slots, so only thing guarding you against Status effects is that Magic
Evasion (which Tortoise Shield does grant a decent amount, in
fairness), which also applies to enemies casting Imp on you, thus
REMOVING the status, yielding you with a near defenseless (to
physicals) character wielding a weak weapon. Also, being an Imp, it
can't cast any magic but the Imp spell, so it can't fall back to
utility purposes. Finally, if you are hit with a status, you can't
heal using a Remedy item (Esuna still works, mind, since that doesn't
heal the Imp status.) Despite these flaws, this set up isn't half bad,
just indicating it's not PERFECT.
...see how I did that? Yeah, equipment descriptions will look something
like that. Again, while that was a demonstrative one, it *WAS* a
serious set up, just a universal one, so instead of indicating it for
every damn character, figured I'd toss it here. So it's serving a dual
purpose (demonstrating how sets are going to look, and showing a
universal set up.)
Miscellaneous Info about Character:
Bringing up a few points about the character, be it positive, negative,
non-factors or whatever, which just didn't seem to fit anywhere else,
for people to take as they will.
Skill set:
Lists the characters skill set, if they have one. For Terra and Celes,
this will be their natural magic. If character has an actual skill set
(meaning not just Steal, for example), and its NOT Magic, I'll give
thoughts about the abilities as well.
Final Thoughts: quick recap of the character, and my personal thoughts
on them.
The order of characters I'm going in...well, since apparently going in
order of appearance threw some people off regarding my previous FAQ,
I'll be going in order of numerical character value. This is the same
order characters appear in shops and on the airship, purely cause
that's the number they were programmed as.
=======
| TERRA |
=======
Stats:
Extra HP: 40
Extra MP: 16
Strength: 31
Speed: 33
Stamina: 28
Magic Power: 39
Battle Power: 12
Defense: 42
Evasion: 5%
Magic Defense: 33
Magic Evasion: 7%
Level Readjustment: +0
Desperation: Riot Blade
Special Ability: Trance/Revert
Effect: When used, all damage dealt is doubled, and all magic damage
received is halved. This does not effect damage if it ignores defense
(see Ultima) or if the damage follows some special algorithm (like
Gravity.) While in Trance status, healing from Regen status and damage
from Poison/Seizure status are doubled as well. Using this does *NOT*
reset the ATB gauge, as she gets a turn instantly; same applies to
Revert. After using Trance, her ATB gauge will turn into a Green Bar
that slowly decreases, which when emptied, she will automatically (as
though a free action) revert back to normal. Trance's length is based
on how many Magic Ability Points earned after fight (the kind that
teach Magic, IOWs), and you need at least 8 for the command to even
work. Note that Terra does NOT start the game with Trance, only gains
this after a certain plot event when she rejoins. Also worth noting
that when she rejoins in the World of Ruin, Trance's length doubles.
If Terra is under some status that stops the ATB Gauge (Sleep, Stop and
Freeze, for example), and the gauge runs out while she's in this
status, she will remain in Trance status until either Revert is used,
or the end of battle, due to a bug. Note that Trance's damage boost is
a multiplier in the same vain as Critical Hits, Jump and Berserk, so if
one of those is in effect, the damage boost won't be strictly double
(it actually adds 1 more Mult to damage, in practice, so if you have
Berserk, you'd be doing 2.5x damage (1 base, 1 from Morph, 0.5 from
Berserk), not 3x damage, if that makes sense)
Character Analysis:
Terra is one of the most respected, often debated as the best,
character in the game. Between her good magic stat, great equipment,
and Trance turning her into a nasty boss fighter, she has a strong case
for this argument. While it may sound unintuitive that a character
whose special is totally situational and needs to be used
conservatively is top tier, this actually is a good example of how FF6
characters are not based entirely on their skill set. In fact, even if
situational, Trance is one of the few skill sets not rendered obsolete
by Magic or Fight.
At first, Terra might not seem like that much. Sure, she's not
horrible, but hardly all that stellar either. Fire's damage is
passable, and can nail a weakness and be Multitarget, but its still
behind the likes of what Edgar and Sabin can dish out. To her credit,
she's your only source of MT healing, which is also better than Potions
to boot, during a section of the game where Hi-potions are still kind
of pricey, so the healing is nice for some fights. Note that unlike
FF3US (the original version of this game), FF6a uses the Japanese MP
Growths, so characters have more MP. This isn't that noticeable later
in the game, but early on, it means Terra can cast magic a bit more
freely, which certainly helps her out a bit.
Another thing that stands out about Terra early game is her being a bit
under leveled, so she looks frail in comparison to Edgar, Locke and
Sabin (especially since they have higher defense to boot.) This is an
artificial flaw, granted, but its still there. The reason this occurs,
mind, isn't cause Terra levels slowly, its just how FF6 treats starting
levels on characters. Locke, Edgar and Sabin joins at +2 to average
level (which is to say, Locke joins at Terra's Level +2), so Terra
looks relatively worse. This difference slowly works itself away by
the Narshe Battle Sequence mind (heck, at that point, Locke ends up
under leveled since he misses out on all the Lete River EXP), but
they're noticeable on, say, Mt. Koltz.
Terra's relative greatness starts showing when she rejoins. Despite
that this is the point of the game you get Trance, that's the not
reason (mostly cause its still a while until you fight your first
boss.) The reason is because Terra's equipment starts to show at this
point, with all that magic boosting stuff, and stronger magic is now
available to teach her, which off her game best (for that time) magic
turns her into a quick Death Goddess. There's also Osmose existing,
which kills MP arguments, being a spell that makes MP a self-renewable
resource. Its nice too, since Terra is forced into the next few
sections of the game (Sealed Cave, and the whole Thamasa arc), so
you'll want your characters at your strongest. When faced against a
boss? Outcomes Trance, and watch the boss go splat in only a few turns.
To be blunt, if set up properly, using Trance, Terra can actually one
hit kill Flame Eater, and hit the damage limit on bosses like Ultros.
Its worth noting that Terra does learn some magic naturally. However,
most beyond the early game, there's a good chance she'll learn these
spells through Espers faster anyway, since a lot of them are gotten at
levels higher than you'd like, or Espers teach them earlier than you'd
expect, what have you. For what spells she can learn, refer to a bit
further down in Terra's "Skill set" section.
When the World of Ruin kicks in, and Terra rejoins, she only gets
better. As a minor boost, mentioned earlier in the skill part, Trance
now has double the duration. The main things Terra gets now, however,
are the godly equipment options. While things like the Enhancer isn't
as good as it use to be (due to Evasion working properly), they're
still damn fine equipment, since the +7 Magic Power is certainly not
something to scoff at. And then there's the Minerva Bustier, which is
about as good an armor as you'll get in this game beyond arguably the
Snow Scarf. Sporting defenses just a bit below the Genji Armor, it
grants a good boost to stats (most importantly +4 Magic Power), 10%
Magic Evasion, resists all 8 elements, including nullification of the
big 3 (Fire, Ice and Lightning, for later reference when I say "Big
3"), as well as Wind. This armor alone secures Terra's spot in
equipment greatness, as only one other character (Celes) gets this.
While at first glance, Terra might seem like a strict mage, especially
with all the plot hype, the second highest Magic score in the game,
those early magish equips and the low end physical stats, she is in
fact not that. Terra is actually more closely resembling a Red Mage
type character; she might be better with Magic than physicals, but her
physical side isn't a total lost cause. Her weapons are never bad, in
fact, early on she gets Rune Blade which has Critical Hits at the cost
of MP (though the MP cost actually matters now instead of being totally
negligible like it is for later weapons), in addition to boosting
Evasion as a bonus, and when she rejoins, the Elemental Swords exist
for nailing weaknesses, the Morning Star works if you want to keep her
in the back row, and Ultima Weapon exists for ignoring defense (though
its power is a bit limited at lower levels and being HP reliant makes
it probably not optimal.) Later in the game, she gets some really
nasty weapons in things like the Lightbringer, Ragnarok, and
Apocalypse, all of which have 255 Battle Power (in practice), +7 vigor
and 100% Critical Hit rates at the expense of MP (and unlike, say,
Ultima Weapon, these get boosted with Trance.)
Speaking of those last three weapons...
Terra is one of the only 4 characters to naturally get Lightbringer
(meaning no Merit Award) and thus can STILL achieve perfect evasion,
though actually has to work for it now, as it can only be achieved with
Paladin Shield or dual Lightbringers. Disregarding that set up? Just
being able to use the darn thing is notable enough, since its an evil
little weapon that is completely unmatched in greatness; even Dragon's
Den stuff can't compare. If you for whatever reason missed
Lightbringer (or Ragnarok for that matter; despite mentioning it above,
I tend to assume you get Lightbringer if you have a Ragnarok, since its
generally better in everyway. From now on, assume I'm skipping
Ragnarok for that reason), Terra can still get a reasonably strong
weapon in Apocalypse in Dragon's Den. Not quite the same level of
Lightbringer, but still pretty darn good and better than her other Non-
Lightbringer options (which says a decent amount on its own, since
Terra's weapon draw is hardly lagging), and also one of the only
Dragon's Den weapons actually worth noting.
All in all, Terra's damn good character. While her uses might not be
quite as obvious as other characters due to a situational special
ability, she doesn't really need anything more than that; a special
that works well in situations combined with a nice equipment draw and
stats to bolster a good universal skill set, and even brings in a
competent physical and decent defenses at the same time. All in all,
as I said earlier, she's sort of like a Red Mage, except taken a level
up cause she more excels at both Magic and Physical damage, instead of
being balanced in them.
Strategies for Terra throughout the game:
-Put Terra in the back row, until/unless you seriously start
considering using her physical with non Chain Flail/Morning
Star/Lightbringer weapons (all row ignoring.) She has enough MP to
last her in the early parts, and you want your healer to not die. Not
to mention early game Edgar is sufficient enough for offense.
-Genji Glove + Gigas Glove works nicely as a combo if you want to
conserve MP for Terra on Lete River or Narshe Battle sequence. If you
don't mind losing MP, giving her a Rune Blade for even better damage
works too. Not ideal, though, as Locke probably wants that Genji Glove
more, but just remember the option exists.
-Give Terra the Silk Robe and Magus Hat for Narshe Battle Sequence;
defense loss from Iron Helm is negligible, and only Green beret is
debatably better than Magus Hat, though that is usable by everyone and
they have worse supplemental options anyway (barring Celes, who also
gets Magus Hat.) Silk Robe's boost to Magic Power, better speed (Iron
Armor lowers speed by 2), and higher magic defense make it a better
option as well.
-If you want, give Terra an Earring or two as well, for the extra
punch. This partially relies on what team Terra is paired with granted
(if she's paired with, say, Edgar, I'd advise against it, since Edgar
can cover offense well enough by himself, so Terra can focus on casting
Cure to keep the team alive.)
-When Terra rejoins, get her the Ara spells (recommended through
Maduin, unless you're fine with just one, in which case, Ifrit or Shiva
works), Osmose (recommended through Zona Seeker; if you don't have him,
Shiva works too), and Bio (can only be done through Catoblepas.)
Obviously, teaching her healing magic through Seraphim is a good idea
too, but that is something you should be doing with every character
anyway (more healers is always a good thing!)
-Its also around this time that you should start deciding whether you
want Terra to be a Mage or a Fighter, and try to raise her appropriate
stat accordingly. Especially if you choose fighter, as you'll need as
many Strength boosts as possible for it to have an impact, so you will
want that head start.
-White Dress is probably Terra's best armor in the World of Balance.
While worse defensively than the Golden Armor and the Gaia Gear, the +5
Magic Power more than makes up for it. Gaia Gear might be worth
considering though, as it stops a few attacks on the Floating
Continent. Regardless, overall its probably worth sticking with the
White Dress, even if you're building Terra as a fighter, since Magic >
Physicals at this point.
-Elemental Weapons should be Terra's weapon of choice, due to the Magic
Power Bonus, and how she can often hit a weakness with one of them for
optimal physical damage, especially if the random spell kicks (though
probably requires Front Row here for best effects.) Morning Star
doesn't hurt if you want to keep her in the back row, yet shove a Genji
Glove and use her as a fighter there.
-Once Terra gets the Mystery Veil, it'd be a wise idea to keep this on
her. The only time I might advise against this is if you feel you need
defenses, then use Genji Helm or Oath Veil (Genji Helm is in limited
quantity, so you might not have enough to go around; Oath Veil works as
a substitute), OR if you really want to boost Vigor and want to use Red
Cap. This should be Terra's helmet of choice regardless, though, if
she's going the Mage path, at all points in the game (those above
options mainly exist for Fighter Terra route.)
-While back in the original game, Terra had a debate between her best
armor (Force Armor vs. Minerva), in this version, Minerva Bustier is
the clear winner, since the 30% Magic Evasion Force Armor gives isn't
quite as awesome as it use to be.
-Unless the weapon you plan on using is Lightbringer (which beats
EVERYTHING), Terra should always be using Apocalypse after you get it,
regardless of what route she went. Before that? If she's a mage,
Enhancer. If she's a fighter? There are a few weapons she's going to
want to hold onto, depending on the situation, though something like
Ultima Weapon or Organyx probably wins (though you'll need a bunch of
Organyx, granted, since the thing can break)
-Obviously, if taken down the mage route, Terra should be learning
strong spells. I don't just mean "Teach her Ultima, watch things go
splat!" (for all that teaching Ultima is never a bad idea <.<), I'm
more referring to things like the Aga spells, Flood, Flare, Holy, what
have you. Those are enough to keep her damage going throughout the
rest of the game for the most part. I know this sounds obvious, but
you'd be surprised how many people think strong magic automatically
assume "Ultima" so I figured I'd explain that. Note that I won't be
saying this for any other character, mostly cause it'll get old; when I
say "teach strong magic" assume I mean the spells I was referring to
here (again, not favoritism, its laziness; just getting it out of the
way here.)
-Use Trance SPARINGLY in Dragon's Den, more so than usual. I say this
because not a single enemy in Dragon's Den gives you AP, so once Terra
runs out, its either leave Dragon's Den to "refuel" Trance, or just
continue the rest of the way without it. This isn't to say that Terra
becomes worthless without Trance, but its something to keep in mind
when you plan on using it.
Terra's Ultimate and other Noteworthy equipment
Weapons (listed in no particular order):
Lightbringer
Ultima Weapon
Enhancer
Apocalypse
Ragnarok
Zantetsuken
Excalibur
Organyx
Impartisan
Helmets:
Mystery Veil
Circlet
Red Cap
Genji Helm
Oath Veil
Green Beret
Saucer
Armors:
Genji Armor
Minerva Bustier
Force Armor
Mirage Vest
Reed Cloak
End Game Terra Set ups:
Set Up of Evil:
Lightbringer
Paladin's Shield
Green Beret
Force Armor
Zephyr's Cloak
Prayer Beads
Perfect Evade and Magic Evasion yields near immortality, especially
since it also nulls things like Meltdown due to the shield. Granted,
the flaw of this set up is, due to the Paladin's Shield, only one
character can take advantage of it. It also isn't as high on offense
as you might like, though its hardly bad (Lightbringer alone takes care
of that.)
Set Up of Evil Mark 2:
Lightbringer
Lightbringer
Green Beret
Force Armor
Genji Glove
Prayer Beads
Also gives the Perfect Evasion and Magic Evasion, however, this one is
a bit more free due to how there's unlimited Lightbringers and only one
Paladin's Shield (though hording Lightbringer's is time consuming...).
Also this set up implies you've finished the game at least once, so its
mostly a Dragon's Den/Soul Shrine thing. Anyway, advantages to the
above set up is its much stronger offensively, however it lacks total
elemental immunity, and has much lower defense and magic defense which
can matter against attacks Leaf Dance or something which cannot be
blocked but don't ignore defense, as well as back hits in a Surrounded
attack. Nevertheless, this is an extremely effective set up,
especially for Terra on the Fighter Route.
Set Up of Relative Balance:
Apocalypse
Genji Shield/Aegis Shield
Mystery Veil
Minerva Bustier
Given the set up isn't trying for anything in particular other than
overall balance without using rare, not unique or easy to get enough of
equipment (Paladin's Shield and Lightbringer anyone?), what Relics you
want are up to you, though I highly recommend against using Master's
Scroll, as all it does is essentially split Apocalypse damage among 4
hits while making it cost 0 MP; not really worth the relic slot, or
wasting a rare relic when the effect that matters (Evade ignoring) can
be covered with a store-bought relic in Sniper's Eye. For Genji Shield
vs. Aegis Shield, depends what you want. Genji Shield is better on
physical defense (especially noteworthy for Fighter Terra who will
probably be in the front row), while Aegis Shield is better against
magic.
Terra Smash:
Lightbringer
Apocalypse
Red Cap
Minerva Bustier
Genji Glove
While I'm not a fan of the Genji Glove in general (late game anyway),
Terra is probably the sole character in the game who can use it
effectively, since she gets 2 very strong Automatic Critical Hit
weapons in Lightbringer and Apocalypse, without having to use the Merit
Award. Anyway, Red Cap was mainly chosen cause lowish defense means
defense boosts won't be that noticeable, so HP will matter more, and
then the Strength and Speed Boosts are just icing. Minerva Bustier, as
always, serves its purposes of stopping elemental damage. Obviously,
if you have a second Lightbringer, replace Apocalypse with that, or if
you have a second Apocalypse (requires getting rid of Save the Queen or
beating the Soul Shrine), and wish to give Lightbringer to someone
else, then using that works too; I'm just assuming Soul Shrine hasn't
been beaten yet, and you only have one Lightbringer on hand. Either
way, outside of dual Lightbringers, this is probably the best use of
the Genji Glove you'll see in the late game.
If you want, swap out Apocalypse for Ultima Weapon since depending on
your level, this might do more damage (ESPECIALLY if the enemy has high
defense), though do note you lose that 20% Evade and Magic Evasion.
Nukage Personified:
Lightbringer
Genji Shield/Aegis Shield
Mystery Veil
Minerva Bustier
Soul of Thamasa
If you want to maximize Terra's magic damage, this is the set up you'll
want. If you don't want to use Lightbringer for whatever reason,
Apocalypse works too, or if before the Dragon's Den, Enhancer fits.
Obviously, Paladin's Shield works here, as always, but you only have
one, and its best to avoid using it when possible, in case someone else
has more need of it (with the Minerva Bustier, Terra's not exactly
starving for Elemental Protection.)
Tank Half Esper Go!:
Apocalypse
Genji Shield
Genji Helm
Genji Armor
I left off Lightbringer for the usual reasons, and Apocalypse being
unique to her, no reason not to put it on. Ditto to Paladin's Shield,
just change "unique to her" to "you can get unlimited amounts of these
easily" for Genji Shield. Anyway, this is the best defense Terra can
achieve, and Genji Armor even boosts Strength by a decent amount. This
set up is not something I recommend, though its not useless as Terra
might want a lot of defense if she's going in the front row for the
purposes of physical damage. I'd highly recommend against this set up
if you're using her primarily as a mage, and wouldn't be using this set
up myself honestly, though listing it for those who might care.
Magic Tank Half Esper Go!:
Lightbringer
Force Shield
Saucer
Reed Cloak
White Cape
White Cape
Terra is one of the only characters in the game who can actually max
out that Magic Defense stat. With this set up, she pulls that off;
note that nothing less will work, and Terra has the 3rd highest Magic
Defense stat (Umaro not included, since he can't use equipment like a
normal character anyway), and she just barely hits it too, so yeah.
This set up makes Terra immune to any magic that doesn't ignore
defense, while resisting some elements just in case something like
Meltdown comes her way, though, the physical defense is pitiful. A
clean hit and she'll probably die, so using Lightbringer is kind of a
must for that 50% Evasion to provide SOME compensation (summoning Golem
and Fenrir wouldn't hurt either, or opening by casting Protect on
Terra.) This is definitely a set up where I strongly urge sticking with
Lightbringer like I suggested, as Apocalypse isn't going to be enough
here, ESPECIALLY if you want physical damage as Terra is going to need
that back row, which Lightbringer ignores while Apocalypse does not.
If for whatever reason you feel like you need that extra magic tank
(might matter against the likes of Holy Dragon in Dragon's Den, for
example), then remember this set up.
More Damage than you'll ever need...at high levels:
Ultima Weapon
Ultima Weapon
Red Cap
Minerva Bustier
Master's Scroll
Genji Glove
While I am very much not a fan of this set up (stylish as it maybe; how
can you NOT love a Pink Mystical Entity dual wielding Blue
Lightsabers?), I'm listing it anyway. This would be the highest damage
potential you can get from a physical set up after a certain level with
Terra, and it is one of the ways you can hit constant 9999x8, assuming
your HP is max, though you do need to be over leveled beyond reason
(we're talking something above 80), so its really not that reasonable
of a set up considering all the downsides (like totally lacking a
shield, or the evasion to offset it like Apocalypse gives.) Red Cap is
listed here cause Terra's defenses will be too low for Genji Helm to
salvage, so the HP Boost, as well as the stat bonus you get on the
side, will probably be better, though, it does make maxing out your HP
for full Ultima Weapon use a bit tougher, and you may wish to use Genji
Helm anyway.
More Damage than you'll ever need...at high levels Mark 2:
Ultima Weapon
Lightbringer
Red Cap
Minerva Bustier
Master's Scroll
Genji Glove
Another set up I'm listing for completion purposes. Better than the
above since at least Lightbringer grants defenses to make up for lack
of shield, but otherwise? You'd probably be getting better damage off
using Apocalypse in that weapon slot and Gigas Glove in that first
Relic Slot, until the damage limit starts hurting you. Note that this
set up can also hit 9999x8 on most things at those extremely high
levels, though Terra will probably need to be tranced unless the
defense is low. As a side note, Apocalypse works too for the 9999x8 in
this case, just Lightbringer is naturally better.
Unorthodox use of Equipment:
Lightbringer
Tortoise Shield
Saucer
Reed Cloak
Prayer Beads
Prayer Beads
This set up grants near perfect evasion (Green Beret can max it out,
but at a cost of Magic Defense), which makes you get past most physical
damage, and the Imp stuff grants good magic defense to cover that side.
This set up is an alternative to the "Max out both evasions" set up,
generally worse, but not completely so as there are still a few moves
(like Forsaken) that this nails better than the 128/128% Set Ups.
Another advantage is the only significantly rare equip here is
Lightbringer, and even that can be horded with patience. This set up
still manages to have over 80% Magic Evasion too. If you are bold, you
can drop a Prayer Bead, and make the evasion merely excellent instead
of perfect, and put in a relic of your choice. Regardless, good Set Up
for Mage Terra, defensively anyway, and probably works for Fighter
Terra due to Lightbringer.
Miscellaneous Stuff regarding Terra:
-Terra is one of the easiest characters to get back in the World of
Ruins. Simply requires beating a boss (assuming you did the first half
before the Falcon, which is recommended just so you get it out of the
way.) that isn't particularly hard, especially if you grabbed the early
Minerva Bustier via Coliseum, and she joins. As a fun side note, Terra
rejoining forces you into a 3 party team, which makes getting Gau right
after her ideal since you're already set up for that. In any event,
try to take advantage of this and get Terra back as early as possible.
-Terra is the only character in the game with easy access to the Drain
spell. While other characters can only learn it at a x1 rate from
Ifrit, Terra learns it naturally and at a relatively low level to boot
(its conceivable to have it by the Narshe Battle Sequence, for
example.) Not all that useful, but still interesting to note.
-Infinite Esper Form! Well, for one battle anyway. If you actually
read the description on Trance (the whole complex thing; yes, I made it
sound more complex than it really is, but that's cause there's a lot
associated with the move, a lot of which is minor <_<), you'll notice
the thing about the Auto Revert not kicking in if Terra is disabled at
the time through something like Stop or Sleep. If Terra's gauge is
running out soon, hit her with the status, wait for the gauge to run
out, then cast Esuna on her. Useful trick against Kaiser Dragon, for
example, who is actually a long fight so if you can pull this off, it
might help.
-Despite how they ignore defense (...and random variance), breaking
Rods to cast spells does not ignore Trance. Terra breaking an
elemental rod when Tranced, and hitting a weakness can yield some
rather drastic results.
-Trance + Quick = Infinite Loop! Well, until you run out of Trance.
Basically, what you do is cast Quick. Your first action use normally,
then Trance. Terra will automatically get a free turn thanks to
Trance, yet the game still reads that as a Quick turn, so you can
recast Quick. Cast Quick again (You might have to swap characters,
mind; this is most notable with Terra alone), do the same thing, only
this time using Revert. Keep this up, and Terra can keep cheesing the
enemy out! Note that a similar thing can be pulled off with Dualcast
from a Soul of Thamasa, but that's a bit of a bug you might want to
avoid abusing (and Soul of Thamasas aren't easy to come by either...)
Note that due to the nature of ATB system, this infinite loop isn't
perfect, but it still can be fun to play with.
-As a fun random fact, Terra is one of the few PCs who at level 99,
will naturally have 999 MP (actually her theoretical value is in the 4
digits, but there's that 999 cap), meaning if you're into getting that
value for level 99 purposes, you never need to give her an MP boosting
Esper.
Skill set:
While Terra lacks a unique skill set with actual...umm...skills, she
does get magic naturally, so I suppose its only fair I tell you what
spells she learns naturally and when here.
Lv 1: Cure
Lv 3: Fire
Lv 6: Poisona
Lv 12: Drain
Lv 18: Raise
Lv 22: Fira
Lv 26: Teleport
Lv 33: Cura
Lv 37: Dispel
Lv 43: Firaga
Lv 49: Arise
Lv 57: Holy
Lv 68: Break
Lv 75: Graviga
Lv 86: Meltdown
Lv 99: Ultima
Ending thought:
Its easy to see that Terra has many options by the end of the game.
Terra generally starts off slow, picks up somewhat later, and as the
game goes on, she gets better and better. This, combined with no real
flaws beyond being somewhat lackluster early game make her an
outstanding character, one defiantly worthy of being Top Tier, if not
the games best character. Once you start having full range of choices
in your team (in Terra's case, this would be at the Floating Continent,
seeing as she's forced into your team for the Sealed Cave. Imperial
Banquet fails to count for anything <_<), she's always a prime option
to consider.
And yes, that was just C+Ped from my other FAQ, since I don't really
have much else to add.
=======
| LOCKE |
=======
Stats:
Extra HP: 48
Extra MP: 7
Strength: 37
Speed: 40
Stamina: 31
Magic Power: 28
Battle Power: 14
Defense: 46
Evasion: 15%
Magic Defense: 23
Magic Evasion: 2%
Level Readjustment: +2
Desperation: Mirage Dive
Special Ability: Steal/Mug
Effects: Steals an item from the opponent. Chance of success is based
on Locke's current level compared to the level of the monster he's
stealing from. Chance of success is doubled with Thief's Bracer on.
With Brigand's Glove on, Steal becomes Mug, which works exactly like
the "Fight" command as if it had an "Add: Steal" attribute to it. Note
that Mug does not allow for replacement effects to occur (like Wing
Edge's "X-death" ability), but addition affects (like Lightbringer's
random Holy spells) will still work. Enemies can have up to two
potential items to steal; a common steal which occurs 7/8 times, and a
rare steal at 1/8. You can only steal once per enemy. If the enemy
has only one kind of steal, and the success is made against the empty
slot, the game treats it as a failure (so if you go for #128's
Kazekiri, and Locke made a successful steal against his common slot
which is empty, the game will just give a normal failure message.) If
there is nothing to steal (be it cause the enemy genuinely has nothing,
or they were already stolen from), the game will make note of this as
well.
Character Analysis:
If there is anyone who can be considered a strict fighter with no
strings attached in FF6, that would probably be Locke. With a great
weapon selection, low magic stats, and moderate physical stats, as well
as lack of a noteworthy special ability (at least as far as damage
goes), Locke relies on his physical game to hurt things. Due to how
FF6 works with physical damage though, this means he is rather lagging
in the early parts of the game, and its only later on that he starts
becoming something worth noting.
Locke big thing comes from the Valiant Knife. This weapon ignores
defense, meaning its much stronger than the lowish battle power would
imply, and in addition, gets linearly stronger as Locke loses HP. This
makes him an ideal candidate for the Master's Scroll, regardless of
levels, especially since the Valiant Knife's HP Bonus ignores the
Master's Scroll's Damage/2 per hit penalty (though do note that its
base damage does not.) Outside of that, Locke has some other
noteworthy, main one being one of the four natural Lightbringer users.
Unfortunately though, unlike characters like Terra or Celes, Locke's
poor magic stat with very little to boost it with means he's hard
pressed to work with any weapon for pure defensive reasons, at least in
a way that'd make him stand out. This is especially bad since the only
weapon that boosts his Magic Power significantly is, in fact, the
Lightbringer.
One thing Locke does like in FF6a is how Evasion now does something.
Due to this, a few of his weapons get better, most notably would be the
Main Gauche early in the game, with its evasion bonus, and his base 15%
Evasion, makes him a bit more durable than he originally was. While
these boosts are minor, they still are ones, and make him a little
better. As a fun side note, the Valiant Knife also gives an evasion
boost itself, so that only got even better.
If you can't tell by the base stats, and wouldn't blame you since he's
only the second character posted, Locke has the highest natural speed
of any character in the game, and plenty of speed boosting equipment to
go along with it. This is a neat quirk, though unfortunately doesn't
save him as much as you'd like, as a fast character with not much to do
isn't particularly useful.
What do I mean? Well, early in the game, Locke has absolutely nothing
going for him. No, I'm serious; he gets nothing but a physical for
damage, and basic physicals in FF6 with no real special feature on them
(defense ignoring, automatic criticals, what have you) are the worst
way to do damage. While Locke does get some decent weapons early, they
aren't anywhere near enough to keep up with Blitz, Bushido or Tools.
In fact, if Locke wants to actually pull his weight, he practically
MUST use that Genji Glove you get from Banon (you did remember to deny
Banon so you didn't get the Gauntlet, right?), and possibly that Gigas
Glove from Mt. Koltz or Hyper Wrist from the Phantom Train or South
Figaro to actually be of any use. Not good really, though at least he
can take solace in that early game shields suck ass, so losing them for
more offense isn't such a bad thing. Locke's speed does not make up
for this, nor does Steal, which in the end you'll find just saves
and/or makes you money. Locke does get a break in that he gets some
Row Ignoring weapons after the Narshe Battle Sequence, so at least he
can stay in the back row for some extra defense, but the damage is not
something he can remedy. This is especially noteworthy in the Magitek
Factory, where unless he learned Thunder from Ramuh, he will be
practically a deadweight due to all that high defense. The first
actual noteworthy weapon Locke gets would be the Hawk Eye. Long Range
like his boomerangesque weapons earlier, the Hawk Eye also has an added
feature of being randomly thrown for extra damage, and if that enemy is
flying the damage boost is even greater. This weapon allows Locke to
pull his weight, if nothing else, though its not going to be a total
saving grace like some people make it out to be.
So what of Locke in the WoR? Well, WoR Locke has the Valiant Knife
from the get go, so right there that's a boost. Further more, with
relics like the Master's Scroll coming up, Locke suddenly got a decent
amount of damage and has some twink potential worth noting that lets
him become a competent character, much more than his first half of the
game self. Its a pity Locke is practically a pure fighter though; his
new weapon from Dragon's Den, the Zwill Crossblade, is pretty darn nice
on paper, however, Locke will most likely be used for his physical
damage and Zwill Crossblade doesn't really allow that much for that
(its not BAD, but lacking any noteworthy special abilities makes the
damage not enough.) Pity really, as its the kind of weapon someone
like Cyan or Sabin would kill for, yet it was given to a character who
really doesn't have much use for it. Doesn't help the weapon is still
completely inferior to Lightbringer...though then again, what isn't?
One advantage Locke has to his name is usability. In the WoB, you're
forced to use him a lot, and he's available at all points when you have
Espers, so you can teach him a fair amount of spells for a head start,
at least. If his magic stat wasn't bottom tier, this would almost
allow him to work as a mage, but alas, that's not the case. At least
it lets him focus on Strength Boosting a lot, to offset the time he
doesn't get in the WoR, due to being one of the harder characters to
get back.
Ok, so I've talked about his weapon options and usability throughout
different points, but never once mentioned his armor, did I? If I did,
I have a bad memory, or was too lazy to read over my own FAQ, but
that's not the point. Locke's armor selection isn't too shabby, though
its definitely not anything all that special either. He gets some
noteworthy armors in Force Armor for example, but misses out on the big
ones like Minerva Bustier and Snow Scarf. Basically, his armor is very
much not noteworthy, be it good or bad, since while he does get a few
important things mid game like Gaia Gear and Power Sash, he still
misses out on some of the really good stuff like I said before, so in
the end, I suppose you could call his armor draw average.
So what of Steal then? There's sadly not all that much special that
can be stolen. Its good for making money without gaining EXP (steal
something, run from fight), which is most noteworthy in an LLG when you
don't have access to the Veldt (or similarly, when Veldt enemies start
becoming too strong to deal with) in the first half of the game (Second
half has the Desert of Maranda for easy Gil from Cactuars.) It can
also get you some neat stuff early, like a Debilitator from one of the
cranes for example, as well as is the only means of getting multiple
copies of some items (or just getting items without much pain, such
like Celestriads without having to hunt the rare and potentially
dangerous Brachiosaurs), such like a second Kazekiri by stealing from
Number 128 (even if technically this is the first.) The best use for
steal though, if you ask me, would be stealing from the 3rd Tier of the
final battle, to horde Ragnaroks (which thus can be turned into sexy
Lightbringers) and Ultima Weapons, which is funny cause that use to be
an utterly pointless, pure trophy use of Steal, but clear game (and
Dragon's Den/Soul Shrine for that matter) give that an actual
application. If you're curious as to what you can steal, I recommend
using the FF6a Bestiary, as it lists exactly what you can steal once
you beat the enemy. If you're worried about missing enemies (or the
thing is a boss), there are FAQs that actually have the bestiary
listed; this isn't a Steal FAQ after all, I am not going into depth
about one skill and ALL its useful applications (if I did, well, this
FAQ would be too damn big thanks to Gau alone <_<)
All in all, Locke is a character you use for his weapon selection, and
maybe if you want some quick cash without EXP, when you don't have
access to the Veldt or Desert of Maranda, to avoid over leveling. He
tends to get some really big fans for one reason or another, and some
will even try to go as far as saying he's the best character, but in
reality, he's fairly average by the end, with a pretty bad start.
Strategies for Locke throughout the game:
-When Edgar first joins, give his Mythril Blade to Locke. Edgar won't
really be using his weapons ever at this point (Autocrossbow is flat
out better), and Locke has nothing but his physical, hence its the best
use of it. Plus it saves money.
-Giving Locke one of the Gigas Glove or Hyper Wrist is another way to
improve his worth; do note that Edgar might want one of these as well,
so its a tough call as to whether you should give Locke them or not.
-When you first get it, give Locke the Genji Glove. Its really the
only way he's going to do any sort of damage throughout the next few
sections of the game. If you got the Gauntlet instead, use that
anyway, even if its clearly worse than Genji Glove, its better than
nothing. A Gigas Glove or Hyper Wrist would be advisable too, given you
start having enough of those to go around.
-Try to steal the 2nd Air Knife from Tunnel Armor. The extra damage
should help some with the Genji Glove, after all. If you were unlucky
and got a Bio Blaster instead, though, don't bother resetting; using
the Main Gauche works well enough (especially since now the evade does
something.)
-In the Magitek Factory, it might be wise to give Locke Ramuh; he
doesn't have any way of hurting enemies otherwise due to their high
defense, Genji Glove be damned, so Locke would like at least something,
and Thunder, let alone the Ramuh summon, give him at least something
approaching damage there. It doesn't hurt to give Locke Ramuh right
from the start, actually, to give him a head start in learning spells,
hopefully learning Thundara somewhere in the factory. Equipping Locke
temporarily with elemental weapons like the Icebrand doesn't hurt
either.
-When they're available, give Locke Hawk Eyes, and never remove them
throughout the rest of the World of Balance. They are by far his best
weapon, and the only thing that makes him nigh-competent in that
section of the game (especially since there's a variety of floating
enemies.) Only time you should swap them off is if you are using
Locke's magic, in which case, for those turns, swap him to the
Assassin's Dagger instead.
-Speaking of Assassin's Dagger, while the instant death sounds nice,
its probably not worth it, especially in the Sealed Cave, where nearly
everything is undead. Its better given to Shadow who is less reliant
on his physical, so benefits from all the boosts better. If you, for
whatever odd reason, are raising Locke as a mage, granted, it might
serve some use, but raising Locke as a mage is somewhat random...
-When Locke rejoins in the second half of the game, he should be given
the Valiant Knife and really, think of it as stapled onto him. Its his
big unique thing, and what makes him good, best make use of it. I can
see taking it off if you wanted to give him Lightbringer, which
naturally is never a bad idea (unless you're still using Master's
Scroll, but I'll get into why that's a bad idea later on in section 9.)
In fairness, weapons like the Sniper or Wing Edge have some situational
use that you may be able to take advantage of, but for the most part,
Valiant Knife is his weapon. This extends even into Dragon's Den,
where, despite the Zwill Crossblade, Valiant Knife remains Locke's best
weapon.
-If you're using Locke for that matter, Master's Scroll would be a very
wise thing to give Locke, if his weapon is Valiant Knife (and most
likely it is.) This is the thing that turns Locke from "bottom tier" to
"competent character" really. There's even some unique and cute ways
to enhance the effects of Master's Scroll using the Red Cap and such.
Do note that, unless you completed the Soul Shrine and grabbed a second
one from a Glutturn, its best to keep Locke and Setzer in different
teams, since they both want the Master's Scroll, unless you plan on
using Locke with Lightbringer of course.
Locke's Ultimate and other Noteworthy equipment
Weapons (listed in no particular order):
Lightbringer
Ultima Weapon
Wing Edge
Zwill Crossblade
Ragnarok
Sniper
Excalibur
Valiant Knife
Impartisan
Helmets:
Circlet
Red Cap
Genji Helm
Green Beret
Priest's Miter
Saucer
Armors:
Genji Armor
Force Armor
Mirage Vest
Reed Cloak
End Game Locke Set Ups:
Canon Cannon:
Valiant Knife
Aegis Shield/Genji Shield/Thunder Shield
Red Cap
Genji Armor
Master's Scroll
Locke's best overall damage set up. I know you're thinking "What about
Genji Glove" and I'll get to the weaknesses of that later. Valiant
Knife + Master's Scroll is always a good set up, especially when the HP
loss damage bonus increases 4 fold, since that ignores the Master's
Scroll damage penalty. Genji Armor was chosen over Force Armor since
it boosts Strength, and considering Locke's probably going to want
Front Row, he's going to need that extra defense. For shield, though,
defense differences are a bit less, so it depends what you're aiming
at. If Magic Defenses go with Aegis Shield, if physical, go for Genji
Shield, and if you want elemental resistance (this set up is completely
lacking in any), Thunder Shield works. Also note the Red Cap strategy
explained in miscellaneous info works rather well with this set up.
While not strictly needed, I'd highly recommend a Hero's Ring or Gigas
Glove in this set up for the second relic, as it optimizes on Locke's
damage, but any Filler Relic should work.
The Legendary Seesaw Combo:
Valiant Knife
Ultima Weapon
Genji Helm
Genji Armor
Master's Scroll
Genji Glove
Why did I name it the way I did? Because this set up has been hyped
from long before the game got hacked like crazy, hence the legendary
part, and Seesaw refers to how the weapons work. Valiant Knife gets
stronger as your HP goes down, and Ultima Weapon gets stronger as HP
goes up. The issue is, granted, that Ultima Weapon doesn't REALLY get
stronger at higher HP; more along the lines that its damage decreases
as you lose HP, since it alters damage literally based on your Current
HP relative to your Max HP, not like Valiant Knife which just shoves
the HP Loss into damage. Any who, Genji Armor used cause its best
defense and he needs the defenses in this set up, and it boosts
Strength to boot. Genji Helm is the defense reasons again, though I
suppose Red Cap might work as a substitute. The Set Up has decent
damage, I guess, and was the original 9999x8 (couldn't get 2 Ultima
Weapons (aka Atma Weapon) easily in the original FF6), but considering
all the downsides, is it worth it? I, alongside many others,
personally don't think so, as the set up listed above isn't that far
off offensively, much better defensively, and isn't as reliant on
relics (notice how the set up before this only requires one Relic,
while this one requires two?), but hey, you might disagree. This is
another case of me listing it mostly to avoid someone shouting my ass
off for forgetting this set up.
Set Up of Evil:
Lightbringer
Paladin's Shield
Green Beret
Force Armor
White Cape
Prayer Beads
This set up is exactly like Terra's version, except I through on the
White Cape instead of the Zephyr Cloak, since Locke already 128%
Evasion, figured he'd like immunity the minor defense boosts White Cape
gives, since it too covers the Magic Evasion. More or less the same
applications as what Terra has, for the whole nigh invincibility thing.
Conversely, you can give Locke that Zephyr Cloak back and replace his
helmet with something else like a Red Cap or whatever, if you want to
increase his offense, or a Genji Helm if you are afraid of back attacks
or unevadable magic.
Set Up of Evil Mark 2:
Lightbringer
Lightbringer
Green Beret
Force Armor
Genji Glove
Prayer Beads
Also should look familiar, since Terra had this same set up as well.
If you can get your hands on a second Lightbringer, this is probably
the better set up of the two 128% ones, especially for a fighter like
Locke. Main reason of course is that, while losing elemental
resistance which matters for moves like Meltdown, there are unlimited
Lightbringers and only one Paladin's Shield.
Head Towards the Light:
Lightbringer
Aegis Shield/Genji Shield/Thunder Shield
Red Cap/Genji Helmet
Force Armor/Genji Armor
Ok, you're looking at this set up and probably thinking "What's with
all the alternatives?" Well, basically, the concept behind this is
that its Locke using Lightbringer in a manner that doesn't require two
nor does it require that sole Paladin's Shield. For what to
use...well, Genji Helmet should be used if you're using Genji Armor,
due to the concept of augmenting returns, meanwhile, Red Cap should be
used with Force Armor, unless you want as much damage as possible, in
which case, go with Genji Armor + Red Cap for most strength. The usual
shield thing kicks in here, though worth noting that with Force Armor,
elemental resistance won't be as big a deal, so Aegis Shield and Genji
Shield are probably better if you choose that. Overall, though, this
set up shows that Lightbringer can always be put to good use, even if
you aren't abusing the hell out of it, and its a nice set up for Locke
if someone like Setzer's currently occupying that Master's Scroll.
More Viable though still risky High Damage Set Up:
Valiant Knife
Lightbringer
Red Cap
Genji Armor/Force Armor
Master's Scroll
Genji Glove
Similar to that set up with Terra where she uses Lightbringer and
Ultima Weapon together, except Locke's using Valiant Knife instead
cause, well, its just a better weapon. More viable than the Ultima
Weapon set up mostly cause Lightbringer's damage doesn't get hurt as
Valiant Knife's raises, and its at least makes up for the lack of a
shield to some extent, not to mention the +7 Vigor boosts the full
damage set up. Not a set up I recommend, just throwing it out there
for another option though. Force Armor vs. Genji Armor comes down to
the usual Magic Evasion and Elemental Resistance (especially since you
lack a shield here) against Stat Boosts and higher defenses.
Unorthodox use of Equipment:
Lightbringer
Tortoise Shield
Saucer
Reed Cloak
Prayer Beads
Prayer Beads/Zephyr Cloak
Same thing as Terra's, only Locke's version has actually maxed evasion,
so it might be a bit more viable on him, as well as Zephyr Cloak being
a potentially better equip since it grants extra Magic Evasion for the
sake of losing 3% effective evasion (remember, only values below 128%
matter.) Granted, unlike Terra, Locke's magic power leaves a bit more
to be desired, so this might end up worse overall, and his magic
defense is significantly worse (this matters when your magic defense is
that high, due to the concept of augmenting returns.) In Locke's
case though, he might be a bit more flexible than Terra due to the
higher base evasion, as he can drop that Relic Slot and have 115%
Evasion (instead of 105%), which might be high enough all things
considered. Regardless, still a neat set up, something worth looking
into.
Miscellaneous stuff regarding Locke:
-Master's Scroll + Brigand's Glove…the never ending myth. Sadly, while
this combo seems excellent on paper for multi-stealing purposes…but its
not as good as it seems. IIRC, there is a bug where once you steal,
the game will claim you steal that same object several times in a row,
regardless of target, even though you only steal it once. Also, I seem
to recall that the game doesn't make the check to steal 4x…its actually
only once, and the game just reiterates the steal message multiple
times. Not certain on this, but basically, this combo isn't worth it
at all. Better off just sticking to Thief's Bracers for raising steal
odds.
-The never ending dungeon of doom! Well, ok, not really, but Locke is
quite possibly the hardest and most annoying character to get in the
WoR. He has easily the longest dungeon of any character (Phoenix
Cave), and said dungeon has annoying enemies too, and requires two
parties (though, one party, to be fair, could just be Mog solo w/ a
Moogle Charm). Granted…
-Locke is needed to get Ultima and/or Lightbringer (at least, prior to
the final battle, where Gogo and Shadow can be used as substitutes),
unless you like wasting time getting Terra to level 99 (at which point,
its useless.) Both Ragnarok AND the Paladin's Shield require Locke to
obtain. This is probably the best reason to get him, as they are nasty
objects you'll want, regardless.
-Thief's Bracers DO NOT STACK. Well, ok, the speed boosts do, but not
the Steal aspect. Thought I should throw this out, as its an often
enough asked question. So don't bother equipping a 2nd Thief's Bracer
unless you like another +5 to speed or something.
-Abusing the Red Cap properly! What do I mean? Well, a neat way to
inflate Locke's damage with the Valiant Knife, especially with the
Master's Scroll equipped, is to actually take off that Red Cap. This
will lower his HP back to his normal maximum HP, assuming it was a
value above that. Then re-equip the Red Cap, and DO NOT heal him.
This will suddenly add 25% of Locke's HP BEFORE the Red Cap was
equipped into his damage, which is especially nice with the Master's
Scroll due to how that ignores the damage penalty per hit. Confused?
Maybe numbers will explain better. Suppose Locke had 1000 HP normally,
so with Red Cap, that would become 1250 (1000*1.25.) Now, Red Cap only
increases the MAX HP, not the Current HP, so while Locke's max HP will
be increased to 1250, his Current HP will still be 1000, so that's 250
difference between current HP and Max HP, and that HP Loss gets added
to Valiant Knife's damage. Mind, Locke's HP will likely be higher than
that, just used 1000 cause its a simple and easy value to work with.
Regardless, its a way to use Valiant Knife's HP Loss -> Damage
conversion without Locke actually having to receive damage. Note that
this strategy can work with the Green Beret too, only to a lesser
extent since the HP Boost there is smaller (12.5% instead of 25%), as
well as the Muscle Belt relic, which has even higher HP Boost than the
Red Cap, but that takes up a whole extra relic slot and might not be
worth it (do remember though that HP Boosters do NOT stack, and simply
the one with the highest boost will play a role, IOWs, if Muscle Belt
and Red Cap are both equipped, Muscle Belt's HP Boost will be factored
in only, not Red Cap's.)
-Mug cancels out replacement effects, as some people call them.
Basically, while random spell casting (such as Ice Brand's Blizzard)
still works, because those bytes are differently, and thus are Addition
Effects (damage dealt first, THEN the special effect kicks in), True
Special Effects (often called Replacement Effects) are ignored. Ultima
Weapon now acts like a normal 255 Power Sword, for example, same with
Valiant Knife acting like a normal 160 Battle Power weapon (or whatever
Locke's Battle Power with that weapon is.) Weapons like Wing Edge or
the Assassin's Knife won't ever have their instant death, Blood Sword
won't drain HP and do normal damage regardless of the user or enemies
HP, weapons like Lightbringer won't have 100% Critical Hit rate anymore
(likewise, it won't use up MP either), what have you. If there is
anything odd about a weapon that isn't stat related or a random spell
casting, Mug removes it.
-Related to the above, however, for an interesting use of Mug, equip
that and the Ultima Weapon together. Suddenly, Ultima Weapon is now a
normal weapon with 255 Battle Power. Sure, sounds meh, but then
consider you can do this somewhere halfway through the World of
Balance. This is a good thing since it means Ultima Weapon's HP
downside gets cancelled out, as well as the unique algorithms which
only hurt it at lower levels. Worth it compared to Hawk Eyes? Probably
not, but still know that its there.
-9999x8 = Best Damage potential in this game! Basically, any set up
with Ultima Weapon (or two of them), Valiant Knife, Genji Glove and
Master's Scroll lets you do this (...which is all of two set ups)
though it requires incredibly silly levels to pull this off, levels at
the point where there's no real challenge left in the game anyway
(Kaiser Dragon and Omega Weapon be damned.) Its mostly a novelty
thing, and not much else.
-If Locke is in your team when you do Gau's Father sequence alongside
Edgar, you'll get an extra bit of dialogue (and extra bit of Gau
makeover) in that sequence for added humor.
-Common knowledge, but thought I'd toss it out anyway. If you bring
Locke to Rachel's House and the Old Man's Basement in WoB Kohlingen,
you can get some extra scenes regarding Locke and Rachel's back story.
Again, no real use to this in the long run, but still neat to see.
Skill set:
Locke doesn't really have a skill set. He has Steal, and with a
specific equip, that becomes Mug. There isn't much to say beyond this.
I guess I can tell you the Steal Algorithms, at least briefly, which
are essentially...
(Locke's Level + 50 - Target's Level)% = Steal Rate
If Thief's Bracer is equipped, than Steal Rate is doubled.
There is a 87.5% chance of stealing from the Common Steal slot, and
12.5% chance of stealing from the Rare Steal slot
If Locke tries to steal from an empty slot, but the enemy has a steal
in the other slot (like Number 128 has a Rare Steal being Kazekiri, but
no Common Steal), then the game treats it like a normal failure.
NOTE: If someone else is using steal (like Gogo), then use that
character's level, naturally. Mug works the same way, but with damage.
Ending Thought:
Locke has one of the worst, if not the worst, starts in the game, and
stays considerably below average for the entire first half of the game,
but picks up a bit and becomes decent enough in the second half of the
game. He's not exactly the most valuable of character, he's not the
worst either (though he might feel like it often in the early parts of
the game.) Not really worth the hype he sometimes get for the Master's
Scroll + Genji Glove set up or whatever, but that doesn't mean he's
strictly bad too. Use him if you want, basically.
======
| CYAN |
======
Stats:
Extra HP: 53
Extra MP: 5
Strength: 40
Speed: 28
Stamina: 33
Magic Power: 25
Battle Power: 25
Defense: 48
Evasion: 6%
Magic Defense: 20
Magic Evasion: 1%
Level Readjustment: +2
Desperation: Tsubame Gaeshi
Special ability: Bushido
Effects: When selected, a bar will gradually raise, below a set of
numbers. Pressing A again signifies you are ready to act. What move
is used is determined by the highest highlighted number, each having
predetermined moves (so if 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all highlighted,
whatever move is assigned to 5 will be used. In this case, it'd be
Dragon.) There are up to 8 Levels of Bushidos. Note that in order to
use a Bushido, the weapon being used must be compatible with Bushido
(can be checked on the weapon's stat screen), though its worth noting
that all of Cyan's weapons he can use normally are compatible anyway,
so this only matters if Cyan is unequipped (only negligence or
challenges should provoke this) or using the Merit Award for something
he can't normally use that isn't compatible (like Magus Rod, as a
random example.) Also note that none of Cyan's Bushidos are
targetable, and that unlike other nonFight/Jump commands, time still
moves during this, so "Wait" does not help this cause. Lastly, while
Cyan is charging his Bushido, no other commands can be given to any
other character without interrupting (thus resetting) the charge time.
Do note that moves that were commanded to be used before Cyan started
charging, as well as actions that are activated naturally like counter
attacks from Black Belt or Gau's Rages.
Character Analysis:
There's not much good to say about Cyan, sadly. A lot of people will
love him for the "able to break the damage limit (9999) without a relic
slot!" aspect, without yielding to the fact that it only becomes
significant at levels too high to largely care. Nevertheless, if the
stats didn't give it away, Cyan doesn't make a very good mage at all.
Decent physical stats, but game worst Magic Power and lacking in the
department to boost those stats (Genji Armor and Circlet are his only
options) make for a pretty sad mage. As a fighter, Cyan is lacking in
any real noteworthy weapons, though he gets a quirky one here and
there. For what its worth, he's also the second slowest character in
the game, only out-snailed by Strago.
Cyan's major flaw, without a doubt, comes from his charge times, and
how in general the moves he gets from them not really being worth them
while also lacking anything to make up for that. There are ways to
make the charge times easier to work with through manipulating your
turns, but that still wastes time for the rest of the team, so even
though it feels like your saving time on Cyan, its still harming the
overall team output. The fact that his Bushidos can't be targeted
doesn't help, especially in the cases of Flurry and Tempest, where he
can end up spreading his 4 hits among multiple enemies, yielding a weak
Multitarget move, instead of a strong Single Target move. Now, I'll be
honest; I've experimented with Bushidos in hacking and found that if
some of the moves were improved, they would be worth the charge time
(like if Tempest was equivalent to Chain Saw on each hit, for example),
but in the end, he often comes out being Sabin who gains charge times
for the sake of doing a bit more damage, which is harder to boost too
(in general, magic damage boosts faster than physical damage due to how
algorithms work on both, and Earrings x2 > Gigas Glove + Hyper Wrist
for a boost), so that damage edge isn't much. In fairness, his armor
selection isn't TOO bad, getting most of the same things Locke gets,
though misses out on some useful things (Kenpo Gi, Ninja Gear and Gaia
Gear to name a few.)
To his credit, Quick can be used to offset the charge times, and give
him unlimited time to charge. This sounds great, right? I mean, what's
better than giving Cyan unlimited time to charge his moves, even if it
costs 99 MP (if you have Quick, you've reached a point where MP does
not matter <.<)? The fact is, lots of things; Bushidos you'll find
aren't quite as strong as you'd like them to be, and you might as well
stick with Magic, Dragoon Set Ups, Blitzes, etc. for similar damage
that does NOT require Quick to be used. In actuality, Quick is often
used as an argument for saving Cyan's worth, and while its true it
makes Bushidos a lot more valuable...its not really making Cyan uber,
more just having the largest noticeable effect on him. What do I mean?
I mean Quick makes ANYONE in FF6 brutal; its a nasty evil spell to
begin with. Cyan's improvement from the spell is high mostly relative
to himself without it; the fact that he NEEDS the spell for usability
says something (...ok, that's harsh; Cyan isn't unusable, but he's not
exactly good either.)
So what of his lower end moves, the ones that need less charging?
Well, Sky gets random hype for its excellent early game damage, which I
admit is high, though its very situational. Its worthless on randoms
since Fang, which I'll get to in a bit, one hit kills randoms in the
early parts and doesn't require Cyan to be hit with an attack, so
really the move is just useful on bosses, and if you get lucky (though,
its nice when it kicks in, I'll grant that.) Tiger really just lacks
any useful applications, since early FF6 is lacking in Large, High HP
Randoms that can be hit with Instant Death, and when they start
appearing, you already have REAL Instant Death for an even better
effect. When you start hitting moves like Flurry, the charge times
become apparent, so refer to the above. Fang, now, that's decent for
the early parts of the game. Like Blitz, it succeeds at killing most
of what it hits, so this makes Cyan not that much worse than Sabin, and
can pull his weight during the Narshe Battle Sequence. Its not long
after that, though, that Cyan's worth starts dropping gradually,
especially in the Magitek Factory where enemies make a mockery of
Flurry (high defense and it doesn't ignore it), and his damage with
Fang is clearly worse than Sabin's Aura Cannon and Edgar's Drill, let
alone those two have multi-target options in Rising Phoenix and Flash
respectively.
So what about his equipment options? Well, as I said before, they're
not much different than Locke's, though missing out on a few decent
early game options. Power Sash is decent I suppose, as is the Twist
Headband, but neither are something to write home about. As far as his
weapons go...Cyan kind of got the short end of the stick, at least
until Dragon's Den. Any weapon he gets that doesn't boost stats or
have some sort of special effect is pretty much meaningless; Fang does
more than a physical and ignores row to boot. As such, right there
that makes Kotetsu, Kiku-Ichimonji, Masamune and Murakumo kind of
pointless. Asura would be there too, except that's his starting
weapon, so you might as well stick with that, plus its free. Kazekiri
has a unique effect in being the only weapon that randomly casts a MT
spell, AND said effect is even compatible with the Master's Scroll.
Downside? Master's Scroll lowers the damage of physical Bushidos (so
this means Fang, Tempest and Flurry), so Cyan pretty much becomes a one
trick pony and pure Random Encounter slayer, and not a particularly
good one late. Its a decent weapon early, I suppose. Murasame is the
best weapon he'll have for Bushido purposes until Dragon's Den or the
final battle, since its the only thing he can use with a passive bonus
(10% Evasion, to be exact); Mutsunokami is essentially just an upgrade
of that (20% Evasion and higher Battle Power though the latter is
meaningless for Bushidos), but its gotten from Fiend of the Warring
Triad, which so late that you'll find yourself using Murasame for the
most part. The other option is his Dragon's Den equip, Zanmato; this
is his best weapon for Bushidos barring none, sporting not only 30%
Evasion but +7 Vigor as well. He can also use Zantetsuken, which with
its random Slicing aspect, gives it a use over Fang, if a minor one.
As you can see, Cyan's weapons aren't exactly all that special; they're
definitely better than what they use to be (see those evade boosts?
They did nothing the original version!), but still hardly good.
All in all, Cyan is a character that wasn't thought out well. Low
Magic score with little boosts forces him into being a fighter, which
he isn't good at either, and his lack of really special equips barring
maybe the Kazekiri, which runs off his game worst Magic Stat anyway,
rounds out to be a rather low end character. Some people try to support
him coming with a lot of quirk ways, but these set ups tend to benefit
Cyan and only Cyan, while hurting the other three members of the party,
so its actually hurtful more than helpful in the grand scheme of
things. Oh, and do not fall for "Genji Glove + Master's Scroll on Cyan
= Win!" Outside of maybe Kazekiri, Cyan is one of the WORST characters
to do that combo with.
Strategies for Cyan throughout the game:
-When you get to South Figaro, be sure to buy one extra Heavy Shield
for your team (you should only need 3, granted. Celes gets one in the
dungeon she rejoins in, and Locke will probably sacrifice his for a
Genji Glove); Cyan will want to make use of that after all.
-Don't ever bother buying a weapon for Cyan. All his noteworthy
weapons are found in chests or stolen. Its a waste of money since Fang
will always out damage his physical; only point to his physical is
targetable damage, which isn't enough to offset the damage difference.
-If you can pull it off, try to steal that Kazekiri from Number 128 on
the mine cart ride; if you miss it, you'll be left with only one
Kazekiri from the Sealed Cave until the Soul shrine, which kind of
hurts his use (he'd like to Genji Glove Kazekiris for, say, IAF
Sequence.)
-When Cyan gets Murasame on the Floating Continent, keep that equipped
at all times until you get the Mutsunokami or Zanmato, at least if you
plan on using Bushidos. Anytime you want to use his physical, opt for
Zantetsuken or Kazekiri, since those at least allow him something
special to occur.
-Keep Cyan in back row until you get Kazekiri for that matter; Kazekiri
gives Cyan a reason to use his physical, any other weapon outside of
Zantetsuken does not.
-Even though those Masamunes and Murakumos look nice, they're better
spent at the coliseum for more Holy Lances for Edgar or Mog to make use
of (or as throwing ammunition for Shadow.) Again, they lack any real
useful application over Murasame for Bushidos, and are flat out worse
than Zantetsuken in everyway (weaker and no special effects.)
-For Cyan's WoB armor, give him the Power Sash. Minor loss of defenses
from Golden Armor is worth the boost to Vigor and Speed you get from
it. Twist Headband couldn't hurt either, though I'd suggest he stays
with Green Beret for the defensive edges that gives being more
significant than Twist Headband's offenses.
Cyan's Ultimate and Noteworthy Equips:
Weapons:
Kazekiri
Murasame
Zantetsuken
Mutsunokami
Zanmato
Impartisan
Helmets:
Priest's Miter
Circlet
Red Cap
Genji Helm
Green Beret
Saucer
Armor:
Genji Armor
Force Armor
Mirage Vest
Reed Cloak
End Game Cyan Set Ups:
Undefined Generic Set Up:
Zanmato
Aegis Shield/Thunder Shield/Genji Shield
Red Cap/Genji Helm
Genji Armor/Force Armor
Remember what I said about Locke's Lightbringer without perfect evasion
set up? Well, same logic applies here. Cyan lacks any real specific
set ups, and not that M. Block doesn't work, its harder to make a call
between Force Armor and Genji Armor, or the shields. Basically, it
depends what you want. Aegis Shield for Magic Defenses, Genji Shield
for physical, Thunder Shield for elemental, Red Cap vs. Genji Shield
comes down to the other equips (again, higher defense, more noticeable
the defense boost will be, odd as that sounds; hence concept of
augmenting returns.) Force Armor vs. Genji Armor is Elemental resists
and Magic Evade vs. Stat boosts and higher defenses. Relatively tough
call, so I'll let you decide what you want.
He's still no Wind God though:
Kazekiri
Kazekiri
Genji Helm/Circlet
Genji Armor
Master's Scroll
Genji Glove
While I personally don't like this set up (mostly cause it gives up
your only Master's Scroll before Soul shrine), this is Cyan's best set
up for beating random encounters probably. Genji Helm vs. Circlet is
there for if you want more defenses or if you want more damage (Cyan
would really like that +4 Magic Power.) Anyway, this set up means
you'll get 4 Wind Slashes on average; that's effectively a 192 spell
power attack being tossed each turn, though it is unreliable and
totally screwed by Wind Immunity and absorption. This set up also has
a flaw of needing front row (the Wind Slashes DO get halved in back
row), and it kills the use of Bushidos since Master's Scroll halves
their damage, sadly.
If you don't understand the name, its a reference to an old set up
involving Gau with a Merit Award (That sadly doesn't work in this
version) <_<
He's no Wind God mark II:
Kazekiri
Genji Shield/Aegis Shield
Genji Helm/Circlet
Genji Armor
Master's Scroll
Similar to the above, except in this set up, Cyan's trading damage for
the ability to take a damned hit. This set up probably works nicely
with a Black Belt, mind, but wasn't sure if that was worth calling
default, as you may prefer a different filler relic.
Miscellaneous Info on Cyan:
-Psycho Cyan Glitch! Basically, this makes Cyan attack an unlimited
amount of times due to some combination of glitches; before you say
anything, people tend to throw this out for Cyan's worth cause its no
better than abusing that old Vanish/Doom glitch. In any event, the way
it works is you kill Cyan, revive him, have him cast Sky, then Imp him.
He'll counter any physical, be it yours or the enemies, by attacking a
limitless amount of times.
-Not many people realize this, but Cyan gets a weapon at the end of the
"Cyan's Soul" sequence. That weapon is the "Masamune." Should be good,
having to go through an entire sequence to get it, and that the game
makes it look great and such, right? Especially since its the Masamune
in an FF game? Actually, the weapon is below the Murakumo in power
(yes, that weapon you get simply by beating Red Dragon), and thus
inferior in everyway (in fact, betting Masamune at Coliseum gives you a
Murakumo.)
-I know I've said it a few times before, but I need to emphasize this
fact; DO NOT GIVE CYAN THE MASTER'S SCROLL IF YOU PLAN ON USING
BUSHIDOS. At least, the physical ones. Master's Scroll halves ALL
physical damage a character has, including stuff it doesn't effect
directly. So this counts for attacks like Fang and Flurry, which is
not something you want to take advantage of.
-You're probably wondering how Valor would make Cyan a stronger
character, since tripling Tempest's Damage would make breaking 9999
matter, right? Not quite. Valor only effects the next physical HIT, as
in, only the first hit of multi-hit attacks gets tripled. So if Cyan
was doing 8000 damage total with Tempest, meaning 2000 a hit, only the
first hit would be boosted to 6000, and the other 3 would do 2000,
meaning you do 12000 total, instead of the expected 24000.
-Do NOT attempt the famous Dragoon Combo with Cyan using Kazekiri. It
sounds nice and a decent alternative to Master's Scroll for Wind
Slashes, however, there is a bug associated with it. If Cyan uses Wind
Slash on anything but his LAST hit of jump, it'll be used on the rest
of the actions (due to a different bug that WOULD be beneficial),
however Cyan won't come down, and become "Invisible" thus he can't be
seen or manually targeted. However, you can't perform actions with him
either, so really, you just kind of lost a character permanently.
Avoid if possible.
Skill set:
Cyan's skill set is learned through levels. HOWEVER, after you beat
Cyan's Soul, Cyan learns ALL Bushidos at once, regardless of level.
Sword tech's listed in order of level. So first one is level 1, 2nd is
level 2, all the way to level 8.
Fang:
Obtained at Level 1
Effects: Physical damage to one foe
Comments: Probably most useful Bushido in general, only cause it's to
go. Beats his fight command for raw damage pretty much always, unless
Genji Glove and/or Offering is involved, late game.
Sky:
Obtained at level 6
Effects: Puts Cyan into a counter mode, of sorts. When hit with a
physical attack, he counters with a non-elemental magic attack
Comments: Great damage early on, but a bit hard to trigger being a
counter only. Later in the game, though, Fang out damages it (you
heard me), and given its not exactly an insured trigger, its not a
particularly good move.
Tiger:
Obtained at level 12
Effects: Deals damage equal to 50% of enemies HP, adds Seizure Status
Comments: Not particularly useful. Bosses tend to be immune to it, and
Dispatch tends to kill enemies anyway. Late in the game, when doing
half damage is more than Dispatch, these enemies like to be immune to
it as well.
Flurry:
Obtained at level 15
Effects: Attacks random enemies with 4 separate attacks.
Comments: Not bad on damage, though, this is the first move where the
charge times start actually becoming apparent. Also note that unlike
Fang, this does not ignore defense, so it's worthless on a high defense
enemy (like those in the Magitek Factory) Probably the last Bushido
that's actually worth the wait, all things considered.
Dragon:
Obtained at level 24
Effects: Magic damage and MP damage to one foe, heals Cyan for an
amount equal to the damage done, both HP and MP wise, restricted by
Cyan's Max Hp and MP.
Comments: Not particularly useful, really. Drain and Osmose more or
less do the same thing, this move just puts them into one attack, and
adds an annoying charge time on, and you can't aim it. For the most
part, its easier to use one of those two moves, as rarely you need to
heal BOTH HP and MP. One advantage it has, I suppose, is it ignores
defense, so against the rare enemy it might be better.
Eclipse:
Obtained at level 34
Effects: Non-elemental magic damage to all enemies, randomly inflicts
Stop
Comments: Alright, this is where the Charge times start outweighing the
use. Eclipse is effectively an improved Razor Gale on paper, but the
charge times really kill its use (as does Cyan's base magic score) Not
particularly useful, though, if you can get the time up without killing
all enemies and not harming your own team, then by all means, use it.
Tempest:
Obtained at level 44
Effects: Attacks random enemies with 4 separate attacks. Difference
between this and Quadra Slam is that this Ignores Defense
Comments: The move that Cyan gets a lot of hype over. However, the
charge times really limit the use of this otherwise fine move. Its
about as strong as Phantom Rush, and due to how algorithms work, Hyper
Wrist actually raises its damage decently. Besides that? It's damage
is generally matched with a magic spell hitting a weakness, or Sabin's
Phantom Rush, or Shadow's Throw, or whatever. It's damage, relatively
speaking, is just too low to consider useful, and it loses use on
multiple foes since its likely to spread hits out, let alone has the
chance of hitting the wrong foe several times in a row. Note that if
you have Quick, this should be the move Cyan is using, as its his
strongest move by far.
Oblivion:
Obtained at level 70
Effects: Instant Death to all enemies, dicing style (ala Odin, for
example)
Comments: WAAAAY too long a charge time to consider this useful. With
things like Banish, and Odin/Raiden around, you're better off just
using those, and enemies will die, for MP cost instead of an annoying
Charge time. Likely the most useless Bushido, as unlike Tiger, it
takes a while to build up, and unlike the others, there are very easy
ways to mimic this through Magic.
Ending Thought:
For all of Cyan's hype for the whole "Breaks 9999 damage without Relics
or Quick" aspect, in reality, he's not that great. He doesn't
typically break that damage until much later than the hype would have
you believe, and realistically, you're getting more damage from other
characters, and they tend to have other things going for them. A
mediocre equipment selection, bad stats, and an iffy at best skill set
make for a not very good character. Cyan fans may think I'm being
harsh, but once you face reality and realize that in order to make Cyan
useful, you have to actually hinder your entire team, it becomes clear
he's not a very strong character.
========
| SHADOW |
========
Stats:
Extra HP: 51
Extra MP: 6
Vigor: 39
Speed: 38
Stamina: 30
Magic Power: 33
Battle Power: 23
Defense: 47
Evasion: 28%
Magic Defense: 25
Magic Evasion: 9%
Level Readjustment: +0
Desperation: Shadow Fang
Special ability: Throw
Effects: Shadow chooses from a list of "Throw able" weapons. Throwing
one weapon causes permanent loss of the item. When a weapon is used in
this manner, its damage is doubled, and it ignores defense, evade, all
other factors but elemental affinities are ignored. When throwing
scrolls, the affect is based on the scroll itself, and it ignores
normal Throw aspects.
Miscellaneous extra for Shadow:
Interceptor (aka Dog Block): Anytime a "basic physical" is used on
Shadow, blockable or not, there is a 50% chance Shadow will dodge it,
via Interceptor. The block can trigger any evade animation, however,
so this might be credited to the shield or weapon, despite Interceptor
being the reason. When the Dog Block animation occurs, there's a 50%
chance of him countering with Wild Fang or Take Down (equal chance of
both), both attacks being magical and unable to hit flying enemies.
Status is active on Shadow the entire game unless its on the Floating
Continent, or he is hit with Rippler.
Character Analysis:
Every Final Fantasy game has their Ninja, and...ok, fine, NOT every
Final Fantasy game has their ninja, as I'm aware about half the series
is lacking in that department, but that's got nothing to do with this!
Stop nitpicking ;_;. Anyway, Shadow is indeed the ninja of FF6,
sporting the usual good physical stats, high speed, and high evade.
What he has that most Ninjas don't though is a competent magic score,
in that its average instead of lower end. This makes Shadow a well
rounded character.
Shadow's main thing he has going for him is Throw. Its got damage
similar to Blitz, and can be targeted like Tools. This is to say, its
pretty damn sweet, since it has no real downsides while stays good
throughout the entire game. It also adds in two Physical Immunity
options with Shadow Scroll and Invisibility Scroll, cause apparently
28% Base Evasion, evade boosting equipment and Interceptor weren't
enough. Well, Throw has a downside in that you lose whatever you hit
the enemy with, but you could always not throw the rare stuff.
Shurikens, and later on Fuma Shurikens, are dirt cheap and can be
bought in a bulk of 99 right when they're first available. Shadow can
also use this to hit every elemental weakness in the game so his boss
damage can jump quite a bit, though elemental weapons (since they're
actual weapons and not just Throw ammunition) cost a bundle.
Basically, Shadow is a character who almost never has a reason to use
his physical, so he can work with a pure defensive weapon if he wants.
So what of Shadow's equipment? His Armor options are a bit lagging,
sadly. His armor is effectively Locke without a few options, most
notably being the lack of Force Armor. To his credit, he still gets
some key ones like Power Sash and Gaia Gear in the WoB, and Genji Armor
in the WoR, so he's not TOO badly off, but he could definitely use some
improvement here. His weapons, now, aren't half bad. Unlike Sabin and
Cyan, two characters who often never use their physical, Shadow can
actually take advantage of his "useless Fight" command, in that he can
focus on weapons that are purely passive on stat boosts. For example,
early on he gets the Thief Knife which is 10% to both evasion stats and
+3 to Speed; this is better than anything the two I mentioned above get
until they get their ultimate weapons. He also gets a few other nice
options along the way like Swordbreaker or the Assassin's Dagger. This
keeps him as a nice evasive tank to physicals, without hindering his
offenses at all.
So what's Shadow's flaw then? For starters, his utter lack
of...well...existence in the WoB. Sure, he's useful when you first get
him, but then he leaves at the Barren Falls, at the latest (possibly
earlier if the game doesn't like you.) The next time he's available you
have to pay him for his services, a four digit price too when that's
still kind of pricey, and he can leave whenever he wants after battle.
Third time he's barely with you, so its really not until the Floating
Continent (and thus, the World of Ruin) that Shadow can be made full
use of. Sure, he's nice on the Phantom Train, but that dungeon is
fairly weak in general, and he doesn't really stand out compared to
Sabin and Cyan anyway (they all kill things in one hit, Shadow just has
better speed and targeting.) Also, this has the side effect of him not
knowing any magic on the FC (Well, you can give him some earlier, but
that requires going out of your way), which hurts his use some, though
you can teach it to him pretty quickly there at least.
It should be clear that Shadow likes the evade bug being fixed, given
the 28% Base Evasion and how all those evasion boosting equips (most
notably Swordbreaker) suddenly have a purpose. Furthermore, proof he
likes this version of the game is his Dragon's Den weapon, the
Oborozuki, is actually pretty good. Raising all the important stats he
wants, and then giving a slight Magic Evasion bonus, its definitely one
of the best of the new weapons in the game.
All things considered, Shadow is a well rounded character. He's
certainly not top tier, but considering his damage always solid, he's
got decent stats and weapons, passable (though unremarkable) armor
options, and he can even target his damage to boot, which is something
most damage specials cannot. He's got his flaws, but for the most
part, he covers his bases enough, its only a pity you couldn't use him
more in the first half of the game. His magic isn't as bad as you'd
expect too, though don't expect to see me hyping it as special either.
Strategies for Shadow throughout the game:
-This might sound odd, but when Shadow first joins, take off his armor,
and give it to Sabin, and vice versa. I know Kenpo Gi < Ninja Gear,
but the fact is that Shadow is a temporary character, and Sabin is not;
Shadow can do just fine with a weaker armor anyway thanks to
Interceptor and his evade covering most physicals.
-From the traveling merchant, buy 99 Shurikens right off the bat.
Shurikens are cheap, and its worth it to insure Shadow always has good
ammo. You can continually restock on the Phantom Train from merchant
ghosts, mind, should you run out (...and you shouldn't...) It couldn't
hurt to buy some scrolls as well, and if you want, use an Invisibility
Scroll and watch as Shadow single handedly takes down the entire
Imperial Camp with the exception of the Satellite from the Monster in
the Box (which Shadow Scroll SHOULD cover for the most part as well.)
-Do NOT buy Shadow when you get the chance in Kohlingen. Zozo is not a
place to take lightly, and you don't want to suddenly have Shadow leave
you there midway. If its after Zozo? Well, Shadow will only leave in
the middle of the Opera Sequence (BEFORE you fight Ultros in fact),
leaving you with 3 characters for the rest of the Magitek Facility,
which means you only have 2 for the Mine Cart Ride for that matter.
Not a situation you want to be in.
-Giving Shadow Seraphim is probably the first thing he should bother
with. He doesn't need any offensive magic early in the game, since
Throw is sufficient on offense (especially when you factor Scrolls are
flat out better than Ara spells ANYWAY), so you might as well stick
with getting him some healing magic.
-Speaking of Scrolls, if you can afford some, get some scrolls for
Shadow before starting the Floating Continent; they are pretty powerful
for the time, and worth spending some money on, especially if you're
into Veldt Grinding for the purpose of getting Gau some rages, in which
case, you'll have plenty of cash to spend on Throwing Ammunition.
Also, around this time, stocking up on Sakuras, since this is the only
part of the game those are available, and they're the best weapon
Shadow can use for Wind Elemental Ammunition by far (and wind is a
rarish element to boot). Also, if you want Locke's best Throw damage,
Darts would be that weapon, though it is kind of pricey, and probably
better to just stick with Shurikens as those would last you. Or you
could use those Sakuras I told you to buy if you want, as they're
slightly weaker, but MUCH cheaper than Darts.
-Shadow should always be using weapons that boost stats. In the WoB,
these would be Thief's Knife (+10% to both evades, +3 Speed, added
bonus of random Stealing, if you're into that), and Assassin's Dagger
(same thing, stealing replaced with Instant death, Magic Evasion
replaced with +2 Magic Power.) WoR, its probably best to keep Shadow
with a Swordbreaker for the most part, as the evasion that gives is
more useful than what most other weapons yield.
-In the WoR, Shadow can get a plethora of nice elemental weapons to
throw at enemies, and abuse just about any weakness in the game
(besides Wind, which I said earlier, requires Sakuras.) Getting a
decent stock of these never hurts. Similarly, this would be the time
Shurikens start falling behind sadly, however, at the same time, Fuma
Shurikens are store-bought, and are relatively cheap, so stocking up
on 99 of those should be a priority if you're using Shadow. Falchions
are another good thing to stock up on; they're considerably stronger
than Fuma Shurikens, but much more expensive, so keep on eye on your
Gil (unlike the original version, you actually have a reason to horde
Gil which I'll get into later on.)
-If you don't mind taking the time, stealing Impartisans from Greater
Mantis' is the best way to use Throw. See, Throw ignores special
aspects of weapons, this includes the whole "Need to be an Imp to use
this battle power!" aspect Impartisans have, so when thrown, they
actually use their listed Battle Power of 253! This is MUCH stronger
than anything else Shadow can throw, with the exception of the
Lightbringer and Ragnarok, neither of which I think you want to throw.
Its time consuming, but if you can snag a bunch of these, it'll be
worth it.
-If Falchions are too expensive, and Impartisans are too annoying to
get, you could always try to stock up on Pinwheels at the Coliseum.
Betting a Fuma Shuriken yields a Pinwheel, for beating up a fairly easy
enemy in Chaos Dragon. This is still kind of time consuming, but its
much cheaper (expenses wise) than Falchions (and stronger to boot), and
somewhat faster than hording Impartisans, call it the balance of the
two.
Shadow's Ultimate and Noteworthy Equips:
Weapons:
Thief's Knife
Assassin's Dagger
Kagenui
Ichigeki
Oborozuki
Swordbreaker
Impartisan
Helmets:
Red Cap
Priest's Miter
Circlet
Genji Helm
Green Beret
Saucer
Armor:
Genji Armor
Mirage Vest
Reed Cloak
Standard Generic Shadow Set Up without a Witty Name:
Oborozuki
Aegis Shield/Thunder Shield
Green Beret
Genji Armor
This set up gives Shadow 108% Evasion (out of 128%, remember) before
any Relics, which is to say, he's pretty much set on the physical side.
Magic...Green Beret was tossed on cause it gives him that slight HP
boost while still supporting the evasion. I chose not to include Genji
Shield here because Shadow does not need anymore physical defense,
hence he'd rather focus on his magic durability, or elemental
resistance. I'd have put Force Shield on but that lacks the evade so
might not be a good idea. Nice strong set up that doesn't require any
relics, granted it does require Dragon's Den, though Swordbreaker makes
a decent substitute before then.
Just Like a Final Fantasy Ninja:
Oborozuki
Oborozuki
Red Cap/Priest's Miter
Genji Armor
Genji Glove
Gives Shadow 128% Evasion and keeps a relic slot open. Pretty nifty,
though getting two Oborozuki's isn't the easiest of things (requires
giving up a Zwill Crossblade at the coliseum though that's probably not
that big a deal.) This set up has some flaws in that Shadow is
practically defenseless on the magic defense end, outside of the 20%
Magic Evasion his weapons combined give him, hence why he'll need to
rely on Red Cap's HP boost or Priest's Miter's Magic Evasion as well.
I'm personally more a fan of giving him a shield, sacrificing that bit
of evade, and letting a combination of high Evasion and Interceptor
cover most hits, but if you like the Genji Glove, this would be the set
up Shadow would use with it.
And now to mimic Blade Grasp:
Oborozuki
Tortoise Shield
Red Cap
Genji Armor
Prayer Beads
The defense is no worse than the above set up, however, the magic
defense and Magic Evasion is MUCH higher, as well as canceling Water as
a bonus. You lose out on 7 Speed and Strength though. This might be
more practical due to the overall better defenses on the magic end
(when you have 128% Evasion, you don't care about defense much,
especially when Interceptor can cover your backside in Surrounded
attacks), so feel free to opt for this set up instead.
Umm...That Aint Right:
Lightbringer
Paladin's Shield
Green Beret
Force Armor
Merit Award
Normally, I am not a fan of Merit Award set ups, however, in this case,
I'm willing to make an exception. The reason is that, for once, Shadow
actually has unique use of one in a manner no one else does. Shadow is
the *ONLY* character in the game who can get perfect Evasion and Magic
Evasion and still have a relic slot open. Why does this work? First
off, he breaks a Magic Evasion benchmark (every x8% = One Benchmark, so
8%, 18%, etc.), AND he breaks *3* Evasion benchmarks. This means he
doesn't need either the Prayer Beads OR the Zephyr's Cloak. As such,
Shadow can use that last relic slot for whatever he wants, without
sacrificing anything defensively. Flaw of this set up? It uses that
lone Paladin's Shield, so it could hurt the overall set up of your team
in specific circumstances.
Unorthodox use of Equipment…Ninja Style:
Oborozuki
Tortoise Shield
Saucer
Reed Cloak
Prayer Beads
Most effective version of this set up yet, due to the weapon of choice
not being Lightbringer (yes, I'm aware that weapon is infinitely
better) and how Shadow doesn't use his Fight command or rely on major
offensive stats. Shadow caps his evasion, and doesn't even require
Lightbringer to pull this off. Ok, there's less Magic Evasion, but
still, you get the point by now. Perfect evasion with a bunch of high
magic defense stuff yields a nice tank. Again, something unintuitive,
but should prove effective.
Miscellaneous Info about Shadow:
-Most people know this, but anyway, I'll say it still. Sleep at an inn
with Shadow in your team, and there's a chance you might see a scene.
This scene is Shadow's dream, and a part of Shadow's past. There are
four dreams seen this way (NOT 7) Should you lose count, the last
Dream Shadow has is one where he's in Thamasa.
-Also common knowledge, but should be pointed out. On the floating
Continent, do NOT leave without waiting for Shadow. If you leave,
something will happen and he'll be gone for good. Instead, get there,
choose "Wait", and when the clock hits "0:05", Shadow will come, and
all is well :)
-If you are wondering, you can get a 5th Dream by just getting Shadow
in the WoR. This dream, unlike the others, always happens in the same
place (right after you beat King Behemoth), and it doesn't matter WHICH
dreams you've seen or not, they'll always appear.
-Shadow does not have interceptor on the FC. Shame too…
-NEVER let Shadow get hit with Rippler. Or if he is, hope Strago/Gogo
is in your team and let them Rippler the enemy. Shadow getting
Ripplered loses Interceptor PERMANATLY. Having another ally rippler
interceptor will get him back, maybe not on the right character, but
hey, he's back! To give him back to Shadow, just have Shadow in a team
with a Rippler user, and have him confuse them just before they use
Rippler (IE have Shadow cast Confuse, before Shadow casts Confuse, tell
them to cast Rippler, but make sure Shadow's spell comes off first, and
only AFTER the Command to use Rippler was issued)
-Shadow has a unique Relic (well, shares it with one person; that
person should be obvious because they come EQUIPPED with it) in the
Memento Ring, which is functionally identical to the Safety Bit. This
is handy as Safety Bits aren't the easiest things to come across, so an
advantage to using Shadow is sort of like adding an extra Safety Bit to
your options, which is never a bad thing.
-Shadow will never use Throw in the Coliseum. This can be a good
thing, since it means if you were careful about what magic you taught
him, he can win fights without you worrying about stupid actions. Its
also good because he won't, say, throw that nice Lightbringer you got
out of idiotic AI either.
Skill set:
Shadow's Throw skill set can throw many weapons. Its hard to evaluate
them, though, I'll mention the "Throw Only" abilities, those being the
Shurikens and the Scrolls.
Shuriken:
Bought at various shops
Effect: Physical damage to one foe.
Comments: Cheap, efficient, and easy to find. The damage is too good
for just 30 GP, and it has no flaws. Stock up on lots of these early
game.
Fuma Shuriken:
Bought at various shops
Effect: Physical damage to one foe.
Comments: The WoR's answer to the Shuriken, more or less. This is
better in everyway, just a more expensive, but still easy to horde lots
of given later in the game, you have more money. Shadow's main source
of damage, kind of, in the WoR.
Pinwheel:
Gotten in a few chests around the WoR, and through betting a Fuma
Shuriken at the Coliseum
Effects: Physical damage to one foe
Comments: The "Ultimate" Star weapon. This would be good…if they
weren't a bit of a pain to get lots of. Yes, its easy enough, but
probably not worth your time, better to just buy some Falchions, or nab
some Impartisans, and use those instead. Granted, this would be the
middle ground of those two, being stronger than Falchions (if barely),
but easier to get lots of than Impartisans.
Shadow Scroll:
Bought at various shops
Effects: Adds Image status to the user
Comments: Nifty little trick. More fun than useful, likely, but it can
still serve some use. Granted, not as useful as it use to be, since
Shadow has lots of evade (something evade bug took away), and
Interceptor (always had this, granted), so he's hard enough to hit with
physicals anyway.
Invisibility Scroll:
Bought at various shops
Effects: Adds Clear status to the user
Comments: Early on, it's decent. Later, though, you get the Vanish
Spell, which basically makes this ability kind of worthless, and a
waste of money.
Fire Scroll:
Bought at various shops
Effects: Fire Elemental Magic damage to all enemies
Comments: A bit pricey when you first can get these, but for good
reason. This thing kicks ass. Its your best magic damage in the WoB
as far as consistent attacks go, and does massive damage when hitting
weakness. Think of this as a Level 2.5 for damage (Better than an Ara
spell, but worse than an Aga) If you can afford these, stock up on
lots of these early, they are quite nice.
Water Scroll:
Bought at various shops
Effects: Water Elemental Magic damage to all enemies
Comments: Water version of the Fire Scroll. Do note that the new Flood
spell taught by the new esper Leviathan is identical to this in
everyway, for how the spells work anyway, so not as useful as it use to
be.
Lightning Scroll:
Bought at various shops
Effects: Lighting elemental Magic Damage to all.
Comments: Lightning version of the above two. Probably best Lightning
damage you'll get until Thundaga, at least for groups.
Final Thoughts: Shadow is a fine well-balanced character. Throw gives
him good damage the entire game, and he can serve as a passable back up
mage should the time be needed (though there are probably better
options for this one). Some interesting equipment options in weapons
give him some variety, as well as being able to hit every elemental
weakness in the game fairly easily. I hate to say this, but the more I
think about it, the more Shadow just strikes me as an improved Sabin,
even his damage is a little worse, the ability to target it (and
probably better against bosses due to the elemental thing) gives him
the edge.
=======
| Edgar |
=======
Stats:
Extra HP: 49
Extra MP: 6
Strength: 39
Speed: 30
Stamina: 34
Magic Power: 29
Battle Power: 20
Defense: 50
Evasion: 4%
Magic Defense: 22
Magic Evasion: 1%
Level Readjustment: +2
Desperation: Royal Shock
Special ability: Tools
Effects: Selects a Tool from a list of ones that are in your current
Inventory. Only one Tool of that type is needed to use the attack.
Tools can be used indefinitely, with absolutely no penalties or
restrictions.
Character Analysis:
As one of the most respected characters throughout the entire game,
you'd expect Edgar to be good, right? RIGHT? YOU EXPECT HIM TO BE GOOD
AND YOU KNOW IT! ...ok, I apologize for that outburst. Anyway,
thankfully, Edgar does not disappoint. While its true he gets a bit
more love than he deserves, especially for Tools in later parts of the
game, he's by no means a bad character. Edgar probably falls into this
really odd class of characters who are about as good as they are hyped,
but for reasons completely different to their hype. What do I mean?
Well, as I said only a few sentences ago, people tend to see Edgar and
often immediately think "Tools = Awesome = Edgar R0><0RZ!" or something
(mind the L337 speak >_>;) While this logic works fine for the first
half of the game, Edgar's Tools just kind of stop improving after the
Chain Saw, which is gotten in Zozo; sure, there are Air Anchor and
Debilitator, but they're not something you use for damage. That alone
should indicate that Tools are going to go on a decline, and really
they do. Thankfully, though, Edgar has other uses besides Tools!
However, back to the issue of Tools, the good thing about them is that
they do, in fact, dominate the early parts of the game, and remain
solid throughout the rest of the World of Balance. Make no mistake;
Auto Crossbow and Bioblaster are your best forms of damage when you
first get them, both Single Target and Multitarget, with the exception
of Terra nailing a weakness, until Sabin arrives. Even after Sabin
arrives, Edgar's still your best form of MT damage until Gau arrives,
and DESPITE then still, Edgar's got the edge of reliability that Gau
never has. To add to that, Noiseblaster just kind of dominates random
encounters, being Multitarget Confusion that cannot fail. Its pretty
clear who the dominant force is through the early game. These first
three tools are all Edgar gets through the Narshe Battle Sequence, but
frankly, they are all he needs for the most part. However, after
Narshe Battle Sequence, some new abilities and equipment start
appearing, like Sabin getting Rising Phoenix making him much better on
MT Damage, or Celes getting the White Dress for a magic boost, what
have you. This doesn't bode well for Edgar...except that he too gets
some new tools! Flash works for Edgar to keep his Multitarget damage
up, even if not the same relative dominance of the Auto Crossbow, its
serviceable enough, and being magical, gets you through the Magitek
Factory at very least. Drill, and the soon to come Chain Saw, make
Edgar have good consistent Single Target damage as well, which unlike
Aura Cannon and Fang, can even be targeted! Useful against, multipart
bosses like the Cranes. The fact that they ignore defense makes them
even more useful too, since you are about to go into a high defense
area.
Tools start having a noticeable decline around the time Terra rejoins.
This isn't strictly cause its Terra, mind (though her existing doesn't
help <_<), but because of what's available around that time, which she
also just happens to take advantage of. Ara class spells and Bio are
now much easier to get (instead of relying on Thundarax2 from Ramuh,
you can get Biox8 from Catoblepas, or Blizzara/Firax5 from
Shiva/Ifrit), Hawk Eyes now exist, so Locke isn't quite as bad as he
use to be (though, still not as good as Edgar), and you get Mog soon
who just rips apart stuff with Dances this early, to give you a few
ideas. Granted, Edgar still remains a solid enough character, he's
just making a sort of noticeable decline at this point. It doesn't
help that he can't use the Gaia Gear, though he makes up for this some
by being able to use the Golden Shield, when most other characters are
stuck with Mythril Shield.
Then comes the World of Ruin. Its about now that Tools stop being
dominant. They'll last Edgar a while, but there's definitely a point
where they just stop being adequate enough. For example, Drill is
Edgar's best consistent damage (Chain Saw can randomly use an Instant
Death version), and that is completely outclassed by Shadow's
Shurikens, which actually matter now that Shadow is a normal character
and not an unstable Temp. Doesn't help that Shadow has an upgrade in
Fuma Shurikens, AND how Scrolls out damage Flash. What does Edgar get
in terms of Tools? The relatively pointless Debilitator, and the even
less useful Air Anchor. OUCH! Looks like Edgar's big skill set that
lasted him the entire first half of the game just got beaten with a
massive nerf stick. Is there any hope for Edgar in the second half of
the game?
As a matter of fact, there is! Edgar is one of the only characters in
the game who can use Spears (excluding the Impartisan), which means he
makes a fine Dragoon Character. Dragoon set up wasn't really worth
much early in the game, since Drill > Jump, and Dragon Horn didn't
exist, not to mention Spears weren't that good. However, Edgar can now
use stronger weapons (Holy Lance comes to mind, which can be gotten
fairly early to boot), and the Dragon Horn suddenly makes those
relatively useless Dragoon Boots something not to be ignored. This
combo keeps Edgar at very least an above average character in the WoR.
So what of his Non-spear Equipment? Edgar happens to be one of the
four natural Lightbringer users! That alone is worth mentioning. He's
got most of the same stuff Locke gets on armor, though misses out on
Gaia Gear and Power Sash early game, but gains the better store-bought
shields in Golden Shield, Diamond Shield and Crystal Shield, and gets a
few other equips in the Royal Crown and Red Jacket (neither of which
are that useful, but they're there.) He can also use the Enhancer, so
this salvages his lowish magic stat some, making him a potential
secondary mage if you need him for that. I'll be honest though;
Edgar's use mainly comes from the Dragoon Set Up, as without that, he
ends up being an inferior clone of Terra and Celes, who can use all the
same noteworthy equips he gets otherwise, except they get female
specifics like Minerva Bustier instead of Red Jacket and Royal Crown
(we call this a WINNING TRADE), MUCH better Dragon's Den weapons, and
have higher Magic Stats which matters a lot more than Tools does later
on. Basically, Dragoon Set Up is what keeps Edgar at least unique
compared to those two, though in an area like Dragon's Den or Kefka's
Tower, you can't use both in every team, it might not hurt to use Edgar
in the same vain as those two if you need to shift around roles or
something.
Edgar, like most Force Armor users, isn't a fan of some of the changes
in FF6a. Enhancer went from "fairly godly store-bought weapon" to just
merely solid, and Force Armor got considerably worse, due to Magic
Evasion no longer being the awesome stat it use to be (still has uses,
obviously.) Furthermore, his new weapon in Longinus is in running for
the worst of all the new equips. I know you're thinking "A new spear
for Edgar, better stats than anything else