FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS (PSP) FAQ & WALKTHROUGH
@@
,9@@@#@@s@@SA@; @@r i@ &@@: :@@@@@@@ .@ #@r #@;@@@@@@ r@ :@@SsM@@: 2@.
@@@ :@s@@ r@@ 2@ @@ ;@@ .@@@ A@ @@; i@@ ;@:@ @@ # @@. ,@2 @@ @@S @@
@@@ # @@ @@@ @ 2@@@ @@ @@& A;@@@ @@@ @ @@ i@@@ #@@ @@h@
@@@X@. @@ @@@@@ @@@@ @@ @@@M@ @@@@ @@@@@ @@ @@@@ @@@@ r@@
@@@A@: @@ @ @@@ .@ @@ @@ . @@@@@ @ @@; @ @@@ @@ @ @@. @@@@; @@
@@@ :. @@ @ @@ @@@@@@ @@ r@ @@H .#@@@@@ @ @@ @@ @@@@@@ G @@@ @@
@@@ @@ :@: @@ @: i@@ ,@@:@@ @@@ @9 .@@ ,@; @@ @@ @r r@@ A@ @@r ,@@
@@@ i@@SX@& 3H@S 9@@X2@@@@i @@@ X@3 i@@&X@H A @@2@5 X@@#@@#@@. G@@s
@@@ @@@ @@
@@i @@
M; @ T A C T I C S
T h e W a r o f t h e L i o n s
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% FINAL FANTASY TACTICS: THE WAR OF THE LIONS FAQ %
% Version 3.51 %
% by Fritz Fraundorf %
% qumarsh@gmail.com %
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
For best results, view this document using a fixed-width font (e.g. Courier).
Make sure that the window is at least 80 characters wide, so that the numbers
below all appear a single line:
12345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
If they appear on more than one line, you may need to make your window bigger.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
%%%%TABLE OF CONTENTS%%%%
To jump to any section of this FAQ, press Ctrl+F to Find and type in the code
(beginning with 00) next to the section title.
I. Revision History 00rev
II. Frequently Asked Questions 00faq
III. Basic Mechanics and Tactics 00basic
Important Statistics 00stats
KOed Characters & Crystals/Chests 00ko
Turn Order & Charging Abilities 00ct
More on Magicks 00magick
Using Items & Equipment 00using
Moving Around a Battlefield 00move
Undead Units 00undead
Recruiting & Using Chocobos and Monsters 00mon
Tricks Related to Specific Abilities or Items 00tricks
Miscellany & Easter Eggs 00misc
IV. Walkthrough and Battle Strategies - Main Quest 00walk0
Chapter I: The Meager 00walk1
Chapter II: The Manipulative & The Subservient 00walk2
Chapter III: The Valiant 00walk3
Chapter IV: In the Name of Love 00walk4
V. Walkthrough and Battle Strategies - Subquests 00sub
Agrias's Birthday 00agr
Gollund Colliery 00col
Recruiting Balthier 00balt
Nelveska Temple 00nel
Recruiting Cloud 00cloud
Disorder in the Order 00dis
Lionel's New Liege Lord 00lio
Midlight's Deep 00md
VI. Multiplayer Modes
Melee Mode - General Information 00melee0
Melee Mode - Treasures 00melee1
Rendezvous Mode - General Information 00ren0
Rendezvous Mode - Treasures and Ranking 00ren1
Rendezvous Mission Strategies 00ren2
VII. Jobs and Abilities
Job Requirements (Quick Reference) 00req
General Information about Jobs 00job0
Standard Jobs 00job1
Story Character Jobs 00job2
Job Statistics Comparison 00jobstat
Monster List 00job3
Enemy-Only Jobs 00job4
VIII. Ability Strategies
Ability Combos 00abil
Character Strategies 00char
Party Strategies 00par
IX. Statistics and Leveling
Bravery and Faith 00brave
Exp, JP, and Gil 00exp
Quickly Gaining Exp and JP 00quick
Automated Leveling 00auto
Level-Downs and Stat Grinding 00down
X. Equipment and Items 00equip
Weapons 00weap
Shields 00shield
Headgear 00head
Body Armor 00armor
Accessories 00acc
Items 00item
XI. Finding Items
Poached Items 00poach
Shop Chart 00shop
Rare Item Locations 00rare
Throws from Enemy Ninjas 00throw
Missable Items and Events 00miss
XII. Errands
General Information About Errands 00err0
Errand Types & Preferred Jobs 00err1
Errand List 00err2
XIII. Random Battles
Overworld Random Battles 00over
Midlight's Deep Random Battles 00mdrb
Special Random Battles 00special
XIV. Other Game Information
Zodiac Compatibility 00zodiac
Party & Boss Zodiac Signs 00boss
Status Changes (Quick Reference) 00status1
Status Changes (Detail) 00status2
Elemental Affinities 00elem
Weather Effects & Ivalician Calendar 00weather
Learning Magick from Being Hit 00hit
Arithmeticks Chart 00arith
Treasure Hunter & Traps 00treasure
XV. Miscellaneous Reference
Zodiac Stone Locations 00stones
FMV Movie List 00fmv
Did You Notice...? 00dyn
Generic Character Names 00generic
Final Fantasy Series References 00ffr
Character Birthdays & Ages 00bday
Game Credits 00gamecred
XVI. PSone -> PSP Changes
Game Changes 00psone
Name Conversion Chart 00names
XVII. Credits / Disclaimer 00cred
*******************************************************************************
I. REVISION HISTORY 00rev
*******************************************************************************
---Version 3.51 (8/11/08)---
- I've received several comments that all the information about recruiting
monsters was a little hard to find inside the monsters list. So, I've moved
this information up to a section in Basic Mechanics & Tactics. Hopefully,
this will make it a little easier to find!
- I also clarified in the mosnter section that the color of monster EGGS is
random and doesn't tell you anything about the kind of monster inside. It's
only the color of the monster itself that matters.
- I made a number of other changes to the Jobs section to fix up some parts that
may not have been totally clear:
> Updated the way job prerequisites are displayed in the charts. I know
this had caused some confusion in the past, especially for jobs that have
multiple prerequisities (e.g. Ninja requires Thief, Archer AND Geomancer).
Hopefully, this version is a little more clear ... but, always, the FAQ is
a work in progress, so let me know if I can improve it any further :).
Thanks to Jason Corbett for suggestions on how to improve this.
> Changed the Special Jobs section to Story Character Jobs to make it more
clear what this section contains.
> Clarified that stat growth is completely independent of the effects of
your *current* job, and that switching job doesn't cause you to lose
past stat growth.
> Clarified that unlocking jobs always depends on JOB levels, and that a
character's overall experience level is irrelevant.
- When you recruit a new party member, if you already have 99 copies of one of
their pieces of equipment, the new extra copy is automatically sold for gil.
I've made a quick note of this in the Exp, JP, & Gil section.
- Updated the FAQ on Poaching to also address the question of "Why can't I buy
anything at the Poachers' Den?" (i.e., because nothing has been poached yet,
or all the poached items were already bought)
- Moved the "Quick Unequip" section to the Equipment & Items section of Basic
Mechanics. (It used to be in Miscellany & Easter Eggs.)
---Version 3.50 (8/10/08)---
- Updated all the battle strategies with 2 new pieces of information:
> The dimensions (size) of the map
> A profile of what types of terrain are on the map, and what Geomancy
abilities they correspond to.
- Other battle strategy updates:
> Adding the victory/loss conditions and weather to Story Battle 24, which
I'd accidentally omitted previously.
> Reader OmegaWarrior points out that the all-Chemist Phoenix Down attack
strategy works great on the Yuguewood and Lake Poescas story battles,
which have nothing but undead opponents.
> On The Oubliette, noted that the very shallow water here doesn't affect
your movement in any way.
- A few other updates to the Moving Around a Battlefield section related to
terrain of various types. I've also made these changes at other relevant
places throughout the FAQ:
> Levitate allows characters to *stand* on lava (as does Lavawalking, of
course), whereas Float magicks and accessories only allow you to move
*over* lava to another tile.
> There's actually a fourth map with swampy tiles -- there are a few such
tiles in the moat at the Riovanes Castle Gate!
> At the Fort Besselat Sluice, water goes up to depth 4, which characters
cannot enter without Swim or an ability that lets them move on top of
water.
> Swim also keeps your characters from sinking so low in deep water, for
the purposes of calculating height. All water is treated as having only
Depth 1 when you're using Swim.
- Updated the Melee Mode section to note that the Delita-only Zeltennia Castle
Chapel Ruins map is also not selectable in this mode. I also corrected the
name of this map in the single-player walkthrough.
- Updated the Geomancer's job description:
> Adjusted the recommended Geomancy abilities to reflect which terrain
types are actually the most common.
> Added an additional paragraph pointing out that all the Geomancy attacks
do the same amount of damage -- the differences are only in their
elements, status condition inflicted, and associated terrain type.
- Added the names of the various terrain types to the translation changes
section.
- Renamed the "Quickly Raising Exp and JP" section to "Quickly Gaining Exp and
JP" to make it a little more clear what this section is about.
- Typo correction.
---Version 3.48 (7/17/08)---
- Updated the Rare Item Locations list to list the other locations you can find
Elixirs with Treasure Hunter outside of Midlight's Deep, and also integrated
these into the relevant battle strategies. Thanks to the Bradygames guide for
the location of these Elixirs. My directions to them are probably horrible,
but there's only so much you can do with text >_<
- Also expanded the Traps & Treasure Hunter section to include more information
about how generic Treasure Hunter items are allocated, and the maps that don't
have treasure tiles.
- Clarified some ambiguous references to the "shop" or the "store" by changing
them to mention the Outfitter (as opposed to a Poachers' Den).
- Although poaching removes enemies from the map, it does NOT count as a kill
for the purposes of unlocking Dark Knight. I've clarified this in the Dark
Knight job description and elsewhere throughout the FAQ.
- I added some text comparing the Fire/Blizzard/Thunder families of magick to
the Chapter I walkthrough and to the Black Mage's job description.
- Added another FF VI reference to the FF Series References list, as well as two
references to the original PSone translation.
(Older updates not listed.)
*******************************************************************************
II. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 00faq
*******************************************************************************
Q. Is Cloud still in this version of the game, like he was in the PSone
release?
A. Yes. In fact, you can actually recruit him earlier than you could before.
Q. How do I get Cloud to join my party? And where do I find his sword?
A. See the "Walkthrough - Subquests" section of the FAQ. You need to complete
the Gollund Colliery, Nelveska Temple, and Recruiting Cloud quests in
sequence.
Q. I didn't buy the flower when I had the chance. Can I still get Cloud?
A. Unfortunately, it seems that you have only one chance to buy the flower. If
you declined to buy it, you are not able to get Cloud, or complete the other
sidequests that depend on the flower. Sorry :(
Q. What's new in the PSP version of the game?
A. Check out the PSP Version Changes section - just hit Ctrl+F and type
in 00psone to jump to that section of the FAQ.
Q. How do I beat Wiegraf?
A. Equip the Auto-Potion ability on Ramza. Run from Wiegraf and keep using the
Tailwind ability to boost your speed. Repeat until you are getting seven or
eight turns in a row, then start using Focus to raise your attack power.
When you have high attack power, just attack and KO Wiegraf. Against
Belias, run up and attack him repeatedly. (If you don't have these
abilities, check out the Chapter III walkthrough for a slew of alternate
strategies.)
Q. I just started the game; how do I learn new abilities?
A. New abilities are "purchased" using JP, which you earn from any succesful
action in battle. You earn JP separately for each job, so earning JP as an
Archer only lets you buy Archer abilities. (Gaining JP also eventually
unlocks new jobs for you to use.) To buy abilities, on the map screen, open
the menu (with Triangle) and enter the Party Roster screen. Then point to a
character, press Triangle to open the menu, and choose Abilities. The in-
game tutorial, available from the title screen, can walk you through this
step-by-step. If you check out the "Exp, JP, and Gil" section of this FAQ,
you'll also find tips on maximizing your JP haul, though you don't *need*
them at the start of the game.
Q. Where is Midlight's Deep?
A. After you finish the battles at Mullonde Cathedral, go to the Port City of
Warjilis. You will see a scene at the bar, then the way to Midlight's Deep
will appear.
Q. How do I beat / find items in Midlight's Deep?
A. See the cleverly-titled Midlight's Deep section of the walkthrough ;) .
Just hit Ctrl+F and type in 00md to jump to that section of the FAQ.
Q. OK, I think I understand the idea of finding the items, but how do I rotate
the camera to get the correct perspective?
A. Use the analog stick (in the lower left of the PSP). Every time you tap it
left or right, the perspective changes.
Q. How do I use items like Potions or Phoenix Downs?
A. Items are used with the Items command, which belongs to the Chemist job, so
switch one of your characters to a Chemist -- or assign Items as a secondary
Action Ability.
To learn how to use each type of item, the character must also learn the
ability that goes along with it. For instance, to use Phoenix Downs, you
must first learn the Chemist's "Phoenix Down" ability. These abilities can
be bought on your status screen using JP (Job Points) earned by using the
Chemist job.
Q. How do I get the new equipment in the PSP version?
A. The Tynar Rouge is obtained from the Agrias's Birthday quest, and the Mirage
Vest and Ras Algethi come with Balthier. All the other new items can only
be obtained as prizes in one of the multiplayer modes. Some items can only
be found in Melee Mode and some only in Rendezvous Mode; see the respective
sections or the Rare Items List for a complete list.
Q. How do I get good items / more items in multiplayer?
A. You'll get better items the higher your character level and (in Rendezvous
Mode) the more difficult the mission you complete; most of the new items can
only be obtained at a pretty high level. Winning Melee Mode battles and
completing Rendezvous Mode missions with fewer characters deployed and more
enemies KOed increases the NUMBER of items you get, but doesn't change their
quality.
Q. Are there items or events in this game that I can permanently miss? What do
I need to do to see them?
A. I've put together a Missable Items and Events list -- just press Ctrl+F and
enter 00miss to jump to that section.
Q. How do I use the Samurai's ability Iaido?
A. First learn the ability you want to use. Then buy several of the
corresponding Samurai sword. During battle, you can use the ability if you
have the appropriate type of sword in your inventory (NOT equipped). Note
that this may break the sword, so I'd buy several copies.
Q. How do I learn Ultima?
A. Only Ramza and Luso can learn Ultima. Ramza or Luso must be in their base
job; then, if someone casts the spell on him, he will learn it. (As long as
just one of the two characters learns it, you can have him cast it on the
other to learn it later.) The best time to learn the spell is from the
assassins outside Limberry Castle in Chapter IV, but you can also have Luso
learn it on the Riovanes Castle Roof in Chapter III, from Ultima Demons in
other battles, or from another player in Rendezvous Mode. (The guest
character during the final battle can also learn Ultima if it's cast on her.)
Q. How do I get the lipstick accessory (Tynar Rouge)?
A. First, you need to keep Agrias, Alicia, Lavian, and Mustadio on your roster
until Chapter IV. Once Chapter IV begins, travel back and forth between
Gollund and Lesalia until the calendar says 1 Cancer. If you have at least
500,000 gil and are standing on a town (NOT a castle) when the calendar
turns 1 Cancer, you should get the scene where you acquire the Tynar Rouge
accessory.
Q. How can I revive a dead character?
A. If the character is simply KOed (lying down with a red counter over his/her
head), you can use a Phoenix Down, the White Mage's Raise/Arise spells, or
the Monk's Revive. Or, finish the battle before the counter expires and the
character will also be restored.
If the counter counts down past 0, the character will turn into a treasure
chest or crystal. Once this happens, the character is gone for good and
there is unfortunately NO way to revive him or her, ever. (You can recruit
replacement generic characters from the Warriors' Guild in any town; special
story characters are irreplaceable if killed.)
Q. Help! I beat the last boss and the game said it was saving afterwards, but
when I load up my last save, I'm just at the last boss fight again. Can I
go anywhere else?
A. Unfortunately, no :(. The game clear save is just to unlock some of the
multiplayer missions. If you want to continue roving the world map, you
need to keep a separate save from before you began the final sequence of
battles.
Q. How do I beat the Lionel Castle Gate?
A. There are two main methods: One is to give Ramza the Chakra ability and have
him use it every turn. The other is to use Teleport to warp outside the
gate. Either way, don't open the gate until the fight outside is finished.
To help beat the enemies outside the gate, equip Rubber Boots to block their
lightning-elemental weapons. For more tips, see the walkthrough for Chapter
II. Press Ctrl+F and type in 00walk2 to jump there.
Q. How do I learn Zodiark?
A. You can only learn Zodiark from Elidibus, the boss of Midlight's Deep, by
having him cast it on one of your Summoners. Equip the Mana Shield ability
to survive it. (You only have a random chance to learn the spell when
you're hit with it, so you might not learn it the first time you're hit with
it, but the odds are definitely in your favor!) If you don't get the spell
in Midlight's Deep, the only other place to find Elidibus is in the Brave
Story multiplayer mission.
Q. How do I recruit monsters?
A. Use the Orator's Entice or Tame abilities on the monsters. If you switch to
another non-Orator job, you'll need to also equip the Beast Tongue support
skill to use Entice on monsters. (For more information, see "Recruiting
Monsters" in the Monsters section.)
Q. How do I poach enemies? Why can't I buy anything in the Poachers' Den?
A. Equip the Thief ability Poach and kill a monster with a regular attack.
Then go to a Poachers' Den in a trade city and you can purchase what
you've poached. Note that Poachers' Dens are NOT available in all cities;
only Dorter, Warjilis, and Sal Ghidos have them, and they don't appear until
the start of Chapter III.
If you don't see anything for sale in the Poachers' Den, it's because you
haven't poached any monsters yet (or because you already bought up all the
items you poached). So get poaching!
Q. How do I get the Genji equipment? Can I steal it from the boss who has it?
A. Unfortunately, you can never steal from that boss in the PSP version, so he
gets to keep his Genji gear to himself. Alas! However, you CAN get the
Genji Armor and Masamune from the new "Lionel's New Liege Lord" subquest.
Press Ctrl+F and enter 00lio to jump to the guide for that quest.
Q. Aren't there some new jobs added to the PSP version that weren't in the
PSone version? How do I unlock them?
A. The PSP version of FF Tactics has two new jobs. To make a character into an
Onion Knight, simply get their Squire and Chemist jobs up to level 6. To
make a character into a Dark Knight, you first have the character Master
(learn all the abilities for) Knight and Black Mage, have Dragoon, Geomancer,
Samurai, and Ninja at level 8, AND kill 20 enemies (not just KO--they must
turn to chests or crystals; poaching does not count!). Yikes! :)
Q. How do I unlock the _______ job?
A. I've put together a Quick Reference chart with all the job requirements;
press Ctrl+F and enter 00req to get there.
Q. What are the new subquests in the PSP version? How do I access them?
A. There are three new subquests in Chapter IV, one revolving around Beowulf
and the others revolving around Agrias. Beowulf's subquest is available
after returning Reis to human form at Nelveska Temple and after completing
Mullonde Cathedral in the main storyline. (Press Ctrl+F and enter 00lio to
jump to the section with all the details on the Lionel's New Liege Lord
quest.)
Agrias has a couple of different subquests. First, if you still have Alicia
and Lavian, the Tynar Rouge event can be accessed on 1 Cancer. Second,
after Mullonde, travel to Zeltennia to open up another battle accessed via
the Tavern at Gariland. For details on these events, press Ctrl+F and
enter 00agr to jump to Agrias's Birthday or 00dis for Disorder in the
Order, respectively.
Q. How do I recruit Luso and Balthier?
A. Luso is recruited automatically in Chapter III; you can't miss him. You'll
encounter him in a story event midway through the chapter, as you head
through the Zeklaus Desert after revisiting Orbonne Monastery. You won't be
able to recruit him any earlier.
Balthier isn't available until you've completed the battle at the Free City
of Bervenia in Chapter IV. Any time after that, read the "Rash of Thefts"
rumor at the Gariland tavern, then go to the Dorter tavern and read the
"Call for Guards" rumor. Win the battle that ensues when you try to leave
town and Balthier joins.
Q. What do the Bravery and Faith statistics mean? Do I want high or low
Bravery and Faith?
A. A high Bravery is almost always good. It increases your chance of using
Reaction Abilities, and makes certain weapon types (fists, knight's swords,
and katanas) stronger. The only advantage of low Bravery is that helps you
find rare items with the Treasure Hunter ability, but you can just keep a
single low-Bravery character for that purpose.
Faith makes a character's magick more effective, but also makes enemy magick
more effective when used against that character. So, generally, you'll want
your magick users to have high Faith (to make their magick stronger) and
characters not using magick to have low Faith (to defend them from enemy
magick).
See the Bravery and Faith section for more specific details, as well as tips
on raising/lowering Bravery and Faith.
Q. What job should I use for the best HP? The best attack power?
A. I've added a Job Statistics Comparison chart to the FAQ to quickly compare
each job's stats. Ctrl+F and 00jobstat will get you there.
Q. Is there a way I can quickly gain levels?
A. Sure, see the Quickly Gaining Exp & JP (00quick) for strategies for this.
With the right magicks, it's even possible to make this process completely
automatic! But keep in mind you never *need* to do this to finish the game.
Usually, a change of strategy should be enough to get you past the next
battle and you don't need to spend time leveling if you don't want to.
Q. Why don't my Reaction Abilities always work?
A. For almost all Reaction Abilities, the chance of using the ability is equal
to your Bravery stat. Use Ramza's skills or an Orator to raise the
character's Bravery and your Reaction Abilities will activate more.
Q. How do I ride a Chocobo?
A. Move the character onto the same square as the Chocobo.
Q. What's the deal with Onion Knights? They seem horrible. Is there any way
to make them stronger?
A. Actually, yes. The Onion Knight's job level goes up as you master other
jobs, and if you can get the Onion Knight up to job level 8, they'll become
more powerful. Also, if you play the game's multiplayer modes, you can earn
some powerful "Onion" equipment that only Onion Knights can equip.
Q. What's the best team to use?
A. Well, you can win the game with all sorts of different combinations of
abilities and characters, so feel to experiment and find a team that suits
your play style :). If you're looking for a quick victory, Agrias,
Orlandeau, and Balthier (and Mustadio, before you get Balthier) are all very
powerful. Construct 8 is also quite good for simply playing through the
single-player game, though it ends up being less useful at higher levels.
For generic characters, the Dark Knight is the best overall physical fighter
and a Black Mage with Arithmeticks and all magicks learned is the best
overall mage. Before you unlock those jobs, I like Ninjas and Monks for
fighting and Chemists for healing. Monsters, in general, are not too useful.
For specific strategies for configuring individual characters, see the
Ability and Character Strategies section.
Q. Is there any kind of New Game+ mode, so that I can start from the beginning
but keep all my levels and items?
A. Unfortunately, no. FF Tactics dates back to a time before this feature
started becoming common in RPGs. Whenever you start a new game, you always
have to start from scratch.
Q. I got into a random battle and was facing a weird set of enemies. Is this
some special event? What's going on?
A. Each wilderness location has a "special" random battle that you can randomly
encounter at low odds in Chapter IV. These special battles pit you against
unusual enemy parties -- mostly collections of human enemies. You don't get
anything special for winning these battles and they have no relation to the
story, but they can be an interesting extra challenge! For a list of all
these special battles, see the Random Battles section.
Q. One of my characters is threatening to desert the team. What do I do?
A. This is happening because your character has either a very low Bravery or
a very high Faith. To keep the character from leaving your roster, make sure
the character's Bravery or Faith doesn't get any more extreme. To stop the
threats, use Orator skills to increase the character's Bravery or lower
his/her Faith. (Note that neither HIGH Bravery nor LOW Faith will ever cause
a character to desert.)
Q. Where do I get all the Zodiac Stones?
A. Look in the Zodiac Stones list near the end of the file. Be warned that
this list contains some spoilers.
Q. Why don't any of the characters have noses?
A. Your guess is as good as mine. Some genetic defect or something, I suppose.
*******************************************************************************
III. BASIC MECHANICS AND TACTICS 00basic
*******************************************************************************
Final Fantasy Tactics includes a pretty extensive in-game tutorial that explains
most of the basics of gameplay like fighting in battle, changing Jobs, equipping
items and abilities, and gaining levels.
You can access the tutorial from the title screen (just choose "Tutorial"), or
during the game by choosing "Tutorial" from the map screen menu.
To avoid wasting space in the FAQ, I'm not going to duplicate everything that's
already covered in the in-game tutorial. Instead, I'll use this section to
cover a few mechanics that the tutorial doesn't really mention, as well as a few
standard tactics for almost any battle!
%%%IMPORTANT STATISTICS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00stats
---EVASION RATES---
You've probably noticed that the status screen features *three* numbers for each
character's evade rate. The first number, C-Ev, comes from the character's
current class/job. The second number, S-Ev, comes from the character's shield.
The final number, A-Ev, comes from the character's accessory (i.e., cloaks).
You also have separate evade rates for evading physical attacks and evading
magick attacks.
For physical attacks, your evade rate depends on which direction the attack is
coming from. C-Ev is only effective against attacks from the FRONT. Shields
(S-Ev) are effective against attacks from the front and side, but NOT from the
back. A-Ev is effective against ALL attacks.
For magick attacks, S-Ev and A-Ev are effective against all attacks regardless
of direction. No job actually has a magick C-Ev greater than 0, so magick can
be evaded only with a shield or cloak.
You can plan your attacks with these evade rates in mind. If an enemy has a
shield, attack him or her from behind. (If an enemy doesn't have a shield,
attacking from the side or behind are equally effective.) If an enemy has a
high overall physical evade rate, use magick -- or guns, which ignore evade
rates completely. Equipping the Archer's Concentration ability will completely
prevent your physical attacks from being evaded. And, of course, positioning
your own characters so that their backs/sides can't be attacked helps you evade
enemy attacks.
Some status conditions affect evade rates. If you're Blind, the enemy's evade
rate is doubled versus your physical attacks. If you're Defending, YOUR evade
rate versus both physical and magickal attacks is doubled. Of course, since
these conditions only double an existing evade rate, they have NO effect on
attacks with a 100% hit rate. (So, attacking from behind is often still
effective even if you're Blind or the enemy is Defending!) Finally, while
you're charging up a magick spell or other ability, your evade rates versus both
physical and magickal attacks drop to ZERO!
The Shirahadori, First Strike, and Archer's Bane reaction abilities stop attacks
outright and are independent of evade rate.
---BRAVERY AND FAITH---
Bravery and Faith are two really important statistics that each character has.
They're so important, in fact, that I've created an entire section about them!
See "Bravery and Faith" under Statistics and Leveling for a full description
of how these statistics work.
In short, a high Bravery increases a chance of a character using his or her
Reaction Abilities and raises your attack power with certain kinds of weapons
(fists, knight's swords, and katanas). A high Bravery is almost always a good
thing to have! The only benefit to a low Bravery is that is improves your odds
of finding good items with the Treasure Hunter ability, but even the "good"
items are rarely worth picking up.
Faith affects a character's affinity for magick. Having a high Faith stat
makes your magicks more powerful, but it also makes enemy magicks more effective
against you. You'll want your magick-users to have high Faith (so their magick
is most effective), but you may want your other characters to have low Faith so
they are less susceptible to enemy magicks.
---ZODIAC SIGNS & COMPATIBILITY---
Each character has a fixed Zodiac sign. Each sign has "good" or "bad"
compatibility with certain other signs (in some cases, the compatibility depends
on the characters' genders). In short, having "good" compatibility with another
character increases the damage you do, the HP restored by healing abilities, and
the success rate of status magicks. Having "bad" compatibility does the
reverse.
Aside from the bosses, enemy Zodiac signs are generally random, so it's pretty
hard to plan your deployments around Zodiac signs. However, you can sometimes
exploit your Zodiac signs within a battle to squeeze out a little extra damage
against.
See the Zodiac Compatibility section under Other Game Information for a more
detailed treatment of Zodiac signs.
%%%KOED CHARACTERS & CRYSTALS/CHESTS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00ko
---KO COUNTDOWN, CRYSTALS, & CHESTS---
A character who's been KOed (lost all his or her HP) has a countdown over his
or her head. This countdown starts at 2 and then counts down to 1, 0, and
finally death.
When a character's KO countdown counts down to death, the character permanently
dies and turns into either a chest or a crystal that someone else can pick up.
> Chest: This contains an item -- either a consumable Item, or a piece of
equipment that the character was wearing. (Monsters will only yield
consumable Items, which makes these chests pretty poor.)
> Crystals: Picking up a crystal gives you a choice of EITHER fully restoring
your HP and MP, OR learning some of the dead character's abilities.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the cursor only points to one of the
abilities on the list. If you select Acquire Abilities, you will learn ALL
the abilities listed. This makes collecting crystals a great way to learn
abilities quickly! (Since monsters don't have any abilities you can learn,
crystals from monsters only allow you to restore HP/MP.)
A character who is currently KOed with a counter can be cured with many
different abilities (e.g. Phoenix Down, Raise, Revive, etc.) or by completing
the battle before the countdown expires.
However, there is NO way to bring back a character who has been turned into a
chest or crystal (aside from reloading from a previous save).
If you're trying to get a particular item equipped by an enemy, one way to
improve your odds of it dropping in a chest is to use the Knight's Arts of War
skills (or the Unyielding Blade skills used by some story characters) to break
the enemy's other equipment before you KO the enemy. Or, you can just use Thief
abilities to steal it, of course :).
---REVIVE THE LIVING---
Annoyed by long charge times for Raise spells? Well, who says you can't start
charging the spell before the target dies? If somebody's low on life and you
know they're going to die, start charging up Raise or (preferably) Arise.
And if they fail to die for Arise, kill them and the Arise will bring them
back to full health! (why waste the spell?)
---DISMISSAL VIA CRYSTAL---
If you have a character you're going to dismiss anyway, you can instead send
him or her into a battle, get him or her killed, and have one of your other
characters pick up the crystal. This will allow the other character to at
least learn some of the "dismissed" character's abilities, and you were going
to remove him/her from your roster anyway. (There's only a random chance of
getting a crystal, but you can keep trying this until you get a crystal.)
Of course, doing this will count as a Casualty on your Chronicle screen, so if
you want a spotless save file, you won't want to use this tactic.
%%%TURN ORDER & CHARGING ABILITIES%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00ct
---CT GAUGE & RAPID TURNS---
The CT gauge controls when each character gets a turn. When your CT gauge
fills, you get a turn. (Unlike many Final Fantasy games, there is no real-time
ATB element here. The CT gauge does not fill when you're looking at a menu.)
Your character's Speed determines how quickly the CT gauge fills; raising your
Speed will get you more turns!
Normally, you can both Move and Act during a turn. If you do both, your CT
gauge empties to 0. However, if you do only ONE and then select Wait, your CT
gauge only drops back to 20, and if you do neither (just Waiting out your
turn), the CT gauge drops back to 40. This means that you can get turns much
more quickly! So, you shouldn't have each character always Move AND Act if
they don't really need to do one or the other. Using Wait to get extra turns
like this is a CRUCIAL tactic on maps where you're outnumbered and need to get
as many turns as you can. Have your characters attack while remaining
stationary whenever possible.
(The Immobilize and Disable status conditions, which prevent you from Moving
or Acting, respectively, actually penalize your CT gauge as if you DID Move
or Act. Alas.)
The Haste status makes a character's CT gauge fill faster and the Quick magick
makes it fill to 100 instantly. On the other hand, the Slow status makes it
fill more slowly and the Stop status makes it fill not at all.
---PAUSE BATTLES---
If you push Triangle while the enemies are moving, the game will pause after
the current enemy stops moving. (When you press Triangle, you'll hear a chime
sound indicating the pause was activated.) Once paused, you can check out
everyone's status. When you're done, just click on any character and choose
Done to resume.
---TURN LIST---
The Turn List is a very helpful screen that displays which characters will be
getting their turns next, and when magicks currently charging will activate.
To look at the Turn List, press Triangle during battle to get out of the
current menu. (You can also do this using the Pause Battles command above.)
Then click on any blank tile and choose "Turn List."
You can also access the Turn List when selecting an ability. Simply press
the right arrow when you're on the list of ability. This will show you when
the selected ability when finish charging.
There are many reasons to check the Turn List. For example, you can make sure
a charged attack will activate before the enemy moves, you can get out of
the way before an enemy magick activates, you can focus your attacks to KO the
enemy who will move next, and you can make sure to pick up crystals before an
enemy will have a turn to collect them.
Note that the Turn List always assumes that characters will both Move and Act
on their turns. If they use Wait to keep some of their CT gauge filled, or if
Haste or Slow is cast on them, their position on the Turn List may of course
change.
---UNIT VS. PANEL TARGETING---
Most abilities that do not activate instantly give you a choice between Unit
and Panel targeting when you select a target.
> Unit targeting: The magick will target the unit you've selected, even if
he/she moves to another tile. Note that it does NOT matter if the unit is
no longer within the magick's original range.
> Panel targeting: The magick will target the tile on the map that you've
selected, even if the unit that's currently there moves out.
Use Unit targeting if you want to target a specific character -- say, to heal a
specific ally or attack a specific enemy. (This is probably what you'll use
most of the time.) Another nice thing about Unit targeting is that you can use
it to hit an enemy even if s/he tries to flee out of range. You can also
target an enemy with Unit targeting, then retreat from danger. The magick will
still hit its chosen target even though you're now well away from the enemies!
Use Panel targeting if you're more concerned with hitting a group of targets
than any specific individual. This way, even if one individual unit moves, you
can still cast the magick on all the other units. Another good time to use
Panel targeting is when you're aiming a magick at a particular "choke-point" on
the map (such as a bridge or hallway). Here, you're not trying to hit any
particular enemy so much as blasting whatever enemy approaches you.
The Archer's Aim attack, the Dragoon's Jump attack, and Cloud's Limit abilities
can ONLY use Panel targeting. If the enemy moves out of the way while these
attacks are charging, you're out of luck.
---BATTLE CLOCK & CHARGING ABILITIES---
Characters get to take a turn when their CT gauge fills up from 0 to 100. How
does the CT gauge fill? It's controlled by an invisible "battle clock" that
ticks forward between turns.
Between turns, the in-game clock "ticks" forward. During each "tick," all
characters' CT gauges increase by an amount equal to their Speed statistic.
If a character reaches 100 CT, he or she gets a turn. If no character gets a
turn, the clock ticks forward again and again until someone DOES get a turn.
If more than one character hits 100 CT on the same tick, all those characters
get to take a turn before the clock continues.
The clock calculations are done automatically, so you won't see any actual pause
between turns. It's just the mechanic that controls the order of turns.
Since the rate at which your CT gauge fills is based on your Speed, increasing
your Speed statistic fills your CT gauge more rapidly and allows you to get
more turns relative to the enemy!
Some abilities (magicks, mostly) must be "charged up." After being selected,
these abilities are delayed by a fixed number of clock ticks before they
activate. For example, when you choose to have a character cast Curaga, it
takes 7 clock ticks for Curaga to charge up, and then it activates. The number
of ticks varies by ability, with more powerful abilities requiring more ticks
to charge. Before you begin charging an ability, you can use the Turn List
(see above) to preview when it will activate. (In-game, the charge time for
abilities is displayed as a "speed" number; the number of required ticks is
equal to 100 divided by this number.)
Generally, the charge time of magicks is FIXED. Increasing a character's
personal Speed statistic has NO effect on the charge time of abilities. The
exception is the Dragoon's Jump ability -- this ability DOES charge faster if
you have a higher Speed. For all other abilities, Speed does not improve their
charge time, but you can reduce the charge time of magicks and Limit by
equipping the Time Mage's Swiftness ability. (Swiftness has no effect on Jump
or Aim).
The Haste status also has NO effect on the charge time of magicks or the charge
time of Jump. Similarly, Slow status does not impede charge time.
Since Speed goes up but the number of ticks required for delayed abilities
remains fixed, abilities that require charge time tend to get less useful as you
gain levels and increase Speed. You can get more "regular" (non-charge) turns
relative to the charge time of delayed abilities.
FF Tactics is completely turn-based. While you are looking at the menu and
thinking, the battle clock does NOT tick. (It is not an ATB system.) The
clock only ticks between turns.
---MORE ON CHARGING ABILITIES---
Once you've started charging an ability, you can continue moving around the
battlefield without losing your charge. You can even move out of the original
targeting range of the ability, or face a different direction from your target,
and it will still strike!
The exception is the Archer's Aim attacks: these attacks do not work if you move
away from your target, although you can still change the direction you're
facing.
While charging up an ability that takes a long time to charge, the character may
receive additional turns before the charging is complete. Again, you can use
these turns to move around the battlefield. However, do NOT take another action
or it will cancel the ability you were charging.
While charging an ability, you take more damage from physical attacks, and you
cannot evade any attacks. However, Reaction Abilities can still be used.
%%%MORE ON MAGICKS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00magick
---FRIENDLY (AND UNFRIENDLY) FIRE---
Most magicks affect not just the targeted character or tile, but also the
surrounding panels. (The radius of this effect varies from magick to magick.)
Geomancy, Iaido, and a number of sword techniques and monster abilities also
have this effect. This area effect can of course be used to hit multiple
enemies, but you can also exploit it in a number of other ways. If an enemy
is a little too far out of range to target directly with the magick, you may
still be able to target a somewhat closer tile and catch the enemy in the
wider effect radius. (This is a good tactic for hitting more distant enemies.)
The same is true for using White Magick or Time Magick to assist distant
allies.
Of course, you also need to watch out for a "friendly fire" effect when casting
magicks -- you don't want to hit your own characters in the effect radius! If
one of your allies is standing close to an enemy, you'll hurt him or her if you
target the enemy directly. So, one solution is to target a more remote panel
that will catch the enemy in the effect radius of your spell, but leave your
ally out of range. (Of course, this also works in reverse for when you want to
heal an ally, but not an enemy.) Just make sure the enemy won't be able to
move before the magick is cast.
Note that Summons and Iaido abilities ONLY target the "correct" units. They
won't hurt allies, or heal enemies.
---LAST-SECOND SILENCE CURE---
Silence status prevents you from casting magick or summons, but all that
matters is whether or not you're Silenced at the time the magick is actually
CAST, not when you start charging. It's possible to start charging magick while
you're Silenced and *then* have someone else remove the Silence effect, as long
as you do so before the magick finishes charging. This can come in handy if
your magick-user happens to get his/her turn before the character who can
remove Silence. It's also useful if you get Silenced while in the middle of
charging a magick -- if you quickly cure the Silence, you can still use your
magick.
You can also use the timing of Silence in dealing with enemy magicks. Casting
Silence on an enemy shortly before his or her magick activates will cancel
the spell.
Silence also prevents the use of Speechcraft, but since Speechcraft abilities
all activate instanteously, these timing effects don't come into play.
---RAINSTORMS, THUNDERSTORM, AND SNOWSTORMS---
During a heavy rain or thunderstorm, lightning-elemental attacks do 125% normal
damage, making them stronger, and fire-elemental attacks do 75% normal damage,
making them weaker. (During a storm, movement through swamp tiles is also
slowed.) These effects occur only during a thunderstorm (when the screen
occasionally flashes) or heavy rainstorm (when there is lots of rain on-screen),
and not during a light rain (when there is only a little rain).
During a snowstorm, ice-elemental attacks do 125% normal damage. A "snowstorm"
is when the snow is blowing from side-to-side on the screen; a light snow (when
the snow is moving only vertically) has no effect on ice damage. Snowstorms are
pretty rare: they only occur during a handful of optional single-player story
battles and in multiplayer. They never occur during random battles in single-
player.
Rainstorms and thunderstorms also multiply evade rates versus bows (and
crossbows). Night time battles have the same effect. And if it's both night
and storming, evade rates against bows increase even more!
Rainstorms and thunderstorms become more common during certain months. See the
Weather Effects & Ivalician Calendar section for more on weather effects.
%%%USING ITEMS & EQUIPMENT%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00using
---CONSUMABLE ITEMS---
Like most RPGs, Final Fantasy Tactics has consumable items (e.g. Potions,
Phoenix Down) that you can use to heal yourself. However, not all characters
can use items. Instead, using items is a special ability of the Chemist job.
To use items, you must either turn the character into a Chemist, or learn some
of the Chemist's abilities and then equip "Items" as your secondary Action
Ability.
Each type of item requires you to learn a corresponding Chemist ability before
it can be used. For instance, to use Hi-Potions, you must learn the "Hi-Potion"
ability.
A nice advantage of using Items is that, unlike White Magicks, they require no
charge time or MP. On the other hand, they can only heal one character at a
time.
Items normally have a range of 1, which means that you have to be standing in a
tile adjacent to the character you want to heal (or be using the item on
yourself). The Chemists's Throw Items ability extends this range to 4.
Chemists have this ability innately, but you'll have to learn and equip it if
you're using Items as another job. Items always have an infinite vertical
range, meaning it doesn't matter how big the height difference is between you
and the character you're trying to heal.
---EQUIPMENT---
Other gear like weapons, shields, headgear, armor, and accessories is equipped
on characters between battles. The type of equipment you can use depends on
your current job; you can also use abilities like "Equip Swords" to expand the
range of equipment you can use.
Different classes of weapons depend on different statistics in determing the
damage they do. For instance, swords just rely on the user's Physical Attack
stat, while Knives also take your Speed into account. A complete list of weapon
classes and the relevant stats can be found in the Weapons list.
As far as armor goes, shields are used to block attacks completely by raising
your evade rate. Headgear and armor both raise your HP; some types of armor
will raise your MP as well. Unlike in many games, armor in FF Tactics does not
reduce the damage you take; it just gives you more HP so you can stay alive
longer.
Accessories either raise your evade rate (cloaks) or provide stat boosts,
buffs, or immunity to status ailments or elements (other kinds of accessories).
With the Chemist's Reequip ability, you can change equipment DURING a battle,
but this is a pretty useless capability and not worth an ability slot.
---IAIDO COMMAND---
The Samurai's Iaido ability lets you use the hidden powers of katanas to cast
magick-like effects. To use these abilities, you must have at least 1 copy of
the corresponding katana in your inventory (NOT equipped). For example, to use
the Kiku-ichimonji ability, you must have a Kiku-ichimonji katana in your
inventory.
There is a chance that the corresponding katana will break whenever you use
Iaido.
---QUICK UNEQUIP---
When removing characters' equipment, if you select Remove and then tap left on
the D-pad, all of the character's item slots will be highlighted. You can then
equip all of the character's gear in a single click. This is handy when you're
stripping a character you won't be using for a while, or when you're
transferring one character's set of equipment to another equipment.
%%%MOVING AROUND A BATTLEFIELD%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00move
---MOVING THROUGH UNITS---
When moving, it's possible to move "through" friendly units but not enemy
units. Enemy units must be navigated AROUND rather than through. KOed allied
and KOed enemies follow the same rules as their conscious counterparts. (The
Teleport and Fly movement abilities *will* let you move through enemy units.)
---OVER MY DEAD BODY---
It's not possible to stand on the same tile as a KOed character. This means
you can actually use KOed bodies as a pretty good "shield" to guard your back,
which can come in handy in maps with a lot of enemies.
---MOVING & FIGHTING IN WATER---
For the most part, there aren't too many terrain effects in FF Tactics, unlike
some other strategy RPGs. The main type of special terrain is water, which
appears on a number of maps.
Water affects battle in several major ways.
DEEP WATER: If you're standing in water of depth 2, you cannot take action or
use Reaction Abilities. You can still evade attacks, though.
SHORTENED MOVEMENT: Second, water also shortens your movement range. Normally,
the number of tiles you can move is equal to your Move statistic. However, when
you move through tiles containing clear water (including Canal, River, Lake,
Ocean, and Waterfall tiles), you move at half the usual rate. In other words,
it requires two "points" of Move to move through a clear water tile.
Swamp, Poisonous Fen, and Marsh tiles do not normally slow your movement, except
during a rainstorm or thunderstorm. During a rainstorm, it requires 2 points of
Move to move through these tiles; during a thunderstorm, it requires THREE
points of Move. (A light rain has no effect on movement.) These swampy tiles
only appear on a handful of maps: The Siedge Weald, Tchigolith Fenlands,
Riovanes Castle Gate, and Dorvauldar Marsh.
BLOCKED TILES: Many monster types and some monster-like special story characters
are completely unable to enter water tiles, even as part of a longer move.
Also, water of depth 4 can never be entered by human OR by monsters, unless you
have some of the special abilities listed below. However, water this deep only
appears on a single map -- the Fort Besselat Sluice.
HEIGHT CHANGE: Standing in water reduces your character's vertical position on
the map. The depth of the water is subtracted from the tile's height to
determine your actual height. For example, if Ramza is on a Height 5 tile but
standing in Depth 2 water, he's considered to actually be at at a height of 3
Height mostly matters for and for casting magicks using the Arithmeticks
ability.
If you have the Swim movement ability, all water is treated as having only a
depth of 1, so you won't sink as low in Depth 2 water.
---WATER-RELATED MOVEMENT ABILITIES---
Several movement abilities can remove some of the penalties from moving in
water. Below is a table of these abilities and which penalties they remove.
Act in Move/act in
Movement in water of Swampy tiles Depth 4
ABILITY clear water Depth 2? during storms water?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No special ability Slowed No Slowed No
Ignore Weather Slowed No Normal No
[Mystic]
Ignore Terrain Normal No Slowed No
[Geomancer]
Waterbreathing Normal No Normal No
[monsters]
Swim [Samurai] Normal Yes* Normal Yes*
* Swim also keeps you from sinking so low in deep water. Essentially, it
makes all water treated as Depth 1 water.
Waterwalking [Ninja] Normal Yes Normal Yes
Float status (These three abilities let you move over the top
Levitate [Time Mage] of water, so it becomes like regular ground.)
---OTHER TERRAIN EFFECTS---
Aside from water, there a few other special terrain tiles:
> LAVA: Characters cannot normally walk across Lava tiles, but Float status
(including Levitate) and the Geomancer's Lavawalking movement ability will
allow you to do so. Levitate and Lavawalking will also allow you to STOP
atop lava tiles, whereas Float magick and accessories do not.
Lava tiles appear ONLY on the optional Mount Bervenia battlefield.
> DARKNESS: Empty pits or chasms are referred to as Darkness tiles in the
game. These show up on a few story maps and in the bonus dungeon. You can
only "walk" through these with Float status or Levitate, and you can never
stop over them.
> POISONOUS FENS: If you end your turn standing on a Poisonous Fen tile (found
only at Tchigolith Fenlands), the Poison status will be inflicted on you.
Float and Levitate will protect against this; Waterwalking, Swim, and Ignore
Terrain do not.
%%%UNDEAD UNITS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00undead
---CURING & DRAINING THE UNDEAD---
As per Final Fantasy standards, undead enemies take damage when hit with Cure
spells, and the Arise spell works like an instant KO attack! (Raise will also
do damage equal to 1/2 of the enemy's max HP -- thus KOing if it's at half HP
or below.) On the other hand, undead characters are also *immune* to attacks
that drain HP to the user, like the Blood Sword weapon or the Mystic's
Invigoration magick. These attacks backfire if used against an undead monster!
The undead character gains HP, and the attacker loses HP!
Undead characters include monsters from the Skeleton and Ghost families, as
well as human enemies in a few story battles, units who have had the Mystic
magick Corruption cast on them, and any ally equipped with the Cursed Ring.
Note that the Chakra ability actually restores HP to undead monsters and does
not damage them.
---STOP UNDEAD REVIVAL---
Normally, KOed units disappear and turn into a crystal or chest when their
countdown hits 0. Undead monsters or humans, however, may instead resurrect
themselves with full HP! Fortunately, there's two easy ways to stop this:
First, you can turn the undead unit to stone, so it's never actually KOed.
The Seal Evil ability used by Mustadio and Balthier works great for this.
Second, for undead monsters, you can Poach or Tame them. Poached monsters
disappear from the map completely (and hence can't resurrect), and Tamed
monsters will actually fight on your side!
%%%RECRUITING & USING CHOCOBOS AND MONSTERS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00mon
---ABOUT MONSTERS---
In addition to human characters, you can also recruit monsters (including
chocobos) to fight on your team. The major difference between monsters and
huamns is that monsters can't change jobs or use equipment. But, they do have
some specialized abilities that humans can't use. Many monsters also have
strengths or weaknesses vs. certain elements of magick.
This section covers general information about how to recruit monsters and use
them. A list of each specific monster and its abilities is in the Jobs section
of the FAQ (press Ctrl+F and 00job3 to jump there.)
---MONSTER TYPES---
Monsters are divided by Family and Rank. Each monster Family has three Ranks:
for instance, the chocobo family contains Chocobo (Rank I), Black Chocobo
(Rank II), and Red Chocobo (Rank III).
Within a Family, the monsters look the same but simply have different color
schemes. Each's monsters color scheme is listed in the table below. The color
scheme will help you quickly identify a monster. It can also be used to help
identify the monster inside an egg (see Monster Egg Preview below). The color
of an EGG is random and doesn't tell you anything about what kind of monster
inside the egg.
---RECRUITING & BREEDING MONSTERS---
Monsters can be recruited into your party in five ways:
1. Use the Orator's Entice skill to recruit an enemy monster onto your team.
After the battle, you'll be able to permanently sign the monster up for your
team. Note that in order to use Entice (or any other Speechcraft skill) on
monsters, you must have the Beast Tongue support ability (also from Orator).
Beast Tongue is an innate ability for Orators and doesn't need to be learned or
equipped as long as you're an Orator, but if you switch to another job, you'll
have to equip Beast Tongue to Entice monsters. Reis's Dragon's Charm ability
also has the same effect and does not require Beast Tongue, but only works on
the dragon and hydra families.
If your roster is already full when you recruit a new monster or other
character in battle (either with Entice or with Tame, below), you'll have the
chance to kick out an existing character in order to make room for the new ally.
2. With the Orator's Tame support ability equipped, attack a monster. If the
monster is in critical (low) HP after the attack, you can recruit the monster.
Reis's Dragonkin job has Tame as an innate ability.
3. Once you have recruited a monster onto your team, the monster will lay eggs
and produce other monsters in the same family. Eggs are laid and hatch as you
move around the world map. A monster has about a 2 in 15 chance of laying an
egg with each move you make -- or, on average, you get 1 egg every 7-8 days.
The Rank of the monster laying the egg determines which kind of Ranks you're
likely to find inside of the egg:
Egg laid by Produces... Rank I Rank II Rank III
----------------------------------------------------------------
Rank I 80% 20% 0%
Rank II 50% 25% 25%
Rank III 55% 35% 10%
Rank I monsters can never produce Rank III monsters directly. However, you
can use a Rank I monster to breed a Rank II monster, which can then go on to
produce a Rank III monster.
Note that Rank II monsters are actually MORE likely than Rank III monsters to
give birth to Rank III monsters. So, if you want to breed multiple copies of a
Rank III monster (e.g. for poaching), keep a Rank II monster on your squad.
A newborn monster is assigned the Zodiac sign of the month it was born.
Newborn monsters are randomly assigned the exact experience level of one other
member of your roster (monster OR human). For instance, if your entire roster
consisted of three characters at level 24, 63, and 99, then a newborn monster
would be either level 24, 63, or 99 -- but never any other number.
So, if you recruit a monster type you like but the monster is at a low
experience level, one strategy is to let it breed and you may get a higher-level
version of the same monster if you have other high-level characters on your
roster.
Eggs are never laid if your roster is already full. If you want your
monsters to breed but have a full team roster (24 characters), you'll need to
delete one or more existing characters.
4. A Chocobo will be automatically offered to the party after winning a Chapter
II story battle.
5. There are two locations where a friendly monster may join your party after
a random battle:
> Mandalia Plain (north entrance) - Chocobo
> Dorvauldar Marsh (west entrance) - Swine
Rarely at each of these locations, you may get into a random battle where the
respective monster fights as a Guest on your team. Complete the battle and
you'll be able to sign up the monster as a permanent party member. (Other Guest
monsters in random battles are not recruitable in this way.)
---RIDING CHOCOBOS---
It's actually not too useful, but you can ride Chocobos. Move a character onto
the same tile as a friendly chocobo (of any color). The character will mount
the chocobo and they'll move and act as a single unit. Basically, this allows
you to have a human character with the movement range of a Chocobo. All
Chocobos have a nice movement range (6), and Black Chocobos can fly ... but, in
most cases, it's probably not worth taking up a whole slot on your battle team
with a Chocobo.
Another (small) benefit of being on a Chocobo is that it prevents your whole
team from being KOed at once.
---STEPPING STONES---
You can use large monsters as stepping stones to reach high places. Other
characters can move onto the monster's head as if it were a normal panel,
and move from there to somewhere else. The monster will give you a boost of
3 height "units", allowing to reach panels 3 height units higher than you could
normally get to! You can't END your move on top of the monster, but you can use
it for a mid-move boost. You can do this even if the monster is an enemy that's
not on your team!
Monster types that can be used as stepping stones including malboros, behemoths,
dragons (including Holy Dragon Reis), hydras, and Automatons (i.e.,
Construct 8).
---MONSTER EGG PREVIEW---
Trying to breed a particular kind of monster? You can actually take a "sneak
peek" as to what an egg will hatch into. Open your party roster, position
the cursor over the egg in question, and move the cursor back and forth to
another party member to the left or right. When you move over the egg, the
future monster's portrait will display for a fraction of a second, and if you
can move back and forth quickly, you can get a decent glimpse of what the
monster is going to be. You can identify the monster family by its portrait,
and from the color scheme, you might even be able to tell which monster it is
within that family. (See the Monsters list for the color scheme of each
monster type.) If the monster in the egg is not what you want, you can go
ahead and dismiss the egg.
While the eggs themselves vary in color, the color of eggs is just random and
doesn't tell you anything about what kind of monster is inside.
%%%TRICKS RELATED TO SPECIFIC ABILITIES OR ITEMS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00tricks
---SHOOT ENEMIES NEXT TO YOU---
Normally, you can't shoot enemies close to you with a bow or gun, but all you
have to do is target a square in a straight line behind the enemy you want to
hit (there doesn't even have to be anybody in the square). You'll end up
hitting the enemy in front of you.
---CRITICAL HITS---
A few types of abilities can inflict "critical hits" when you attack with them.
A critical hit occurs completely at random and has a low chance of occuring.
When you DO land a critical hit, the damage from your attack is increased, and
the enemy you're striking may be knocked back. If this attack knocks an enemy
off a high ledge, they'll also take damage from the fall!
Attacks that can inflict critical hits are mostly regular physical attacks,
Monk abilities, and the sword techniques used by some of the special story
characters.
Since critical hits occur at such low odds, though, you don't really want to
depend on them.
---IMPROVE STEALING ODDS---
You can boost the success rate of the Thief's ability to Steal items in a number
of ways:
> Put the enemy to Sleep - using a Sleep Blade weapon, Mimic Darlavon
(Orator), Repose (Mystic), etc.
> Target the enemy from behind or to the side, so the steal will be harder to
evade.
> Putting Disable status on the enemy (e.g. with Arm Shot) will also prevent
the enemy from evading, although the steal may still fail.
> Equipping Concentration (Archer) as a support ability will prevent the enemy
from evading your steal attempts. This means your success rate at stealing
will be higher, but not 100%. If you're using Concentration, then there's no
need to try to steal from behind as the enemy can't evade anyway. Note,
thought, that if the enemy has a pretty low evade rate to start with,
equipping Concentration won't make much of a difference.
> Equipping Brawler (Monk) as a support ability raises your success rate when
Stealing -- whether you're barehanded or not!
> Increase your Speed statistic with equipment or abilities and/or switch your
stealing character to a job that has a high Speed rating, like Thief or
Ninja.
> Use Balthier's Plunder abilities, which have a somewhat higher success rate
than the regular Steal command.
> Turn the enemy into a Chicken by lowering their Bravery below 10 (e.g. with
the Mystic's Trepidation or Beowulf's Chicken magicks). A Chicken enemy will
run away from you and into the corner, though, and you'll have to chase after
it -- so this often isn't all that useful.
> Surround the character from whom you're trying to steal with both your main
thief and a Mime; the Mime will duplicate all of your Steal attempts
> And, of course, stealing using a character who has good Zodiac compatibility
with the target will improve your success, though you often don't have a lot
of options here...
It's helpful to use one or more of these tactics if you're interested in
stealing enemy gear, as the Steal command has a pretty low success rate
otherwise.
---AUTO-X-POTION---
The Auto-Potion reaction ability normally causes you to (sometimes) use a
Potion when attacked. However, if there aren't any Potions in your inventory,
you'll use a Hi-Potion instead, and if there aren't any Hi-Potions, you'll use
an X-Potion. Once you start getting Hi-Potions and X-Potions, then, it's
actually a great idea to throw out your weaker potions so Auto-Potion will
only use Hi-Potions or X-Potions -- you can heal yourself for a lot more HP
that way! (This trick is particularly important in the Wiegraf battle in
Chapter III.)
---DUAL WIELD (AND DOUBLEHAND) TRICKS---
The Ninja's Dual Wield support ability lets you equip two weapons at once.
This is a great ability with a number of applications. First, it can make your
regular attack up to twice as strong. You can also use it to equip weapons
with two different beneficial status effects (e.g. auto-Haste from an Excalibur
and auto-Regen from a Chaos Blade). Dual-Wielding a weapon that inflicts a
status ailment also gives you two chances to inflict that ailment! For magick-
users, Dual-Wielding rods or staves lets you equip two weapons to boost your
magick attack, although in most cases you're better off simply with Arcane
Strength.
If you're equipping a weapon that can drain enemy HP (i.e., the Blood Sword
or Orochi ninja blade), be sure to equip that in the top slot. Otherwise,
your first attack may KO the enemy and you won't get a chance to drain its
HP!
When pairing Dual Wield with abilities that depend on your weapon strength
(e.g. sword techniques like Holy Sword and Darkness), be sure to equip the
stronger weapon in the TOP slot. This is because only the FIRST weapon you're
holding determines the power of these abilities.
Note that this is true for sword techniques, even if the first weapon isn't a
sword! For example, you can equip a flail in the top slot and a sword in the
second, and your sword technique power will be determined by the flail power!
So, one trick is to equip a sword in your second slot (to activate the sword
technique command) and then a more powerful weapon in the top slot! In
practice, this trick isn't all *that* great because knight's swords are more
powerful than most other single-handed weapons. However, if you've switched to
another job and are using Equip Swords to enable your sword techniques, then
you're limited to "regular" swords, which are substantially weaker. In this
case, this trick can be quite useful as there may be a stronger weapon to equip
in the top slot!
Finally, Dual Wield paired with Arts of War gives you two chances to perform a
Rend attack.
The Samurai's Doublehand ability, which allows you to wield one weapon two-
handed to increase its attack power, is somewhat similar to Dual Wield. Both
sacrifice your shield slot for a potential doubling of your attack power. In
general, Dual Wield is the better ability. It allows you to perform the above
tricks, works with fist attacks (Doublehand does not), and also divides your
attack strength over two attacks, which means you can often land at least one
attack even if the enemy dodges or blocks the other. And there are many times
when one attack is enough to KO an enemy! (This is particularly useful against
enemies with Shirahadori, since they can only block the first of your two
attacks.)
Doublehand, however, is useful when you're equipped with a pole or polearm,
which can be used with Doublehand but not Dual Wield. It can also be good if
you only have 1 copy of your strongest weapon in a category and nothing good to
Dual Wield in the other hand.
---2ENEMIES1TURN.COM---
The Shoot Enemies Next To You trick above can be combined with Balthier's
Barrage ability to attack two or more different enemies in one turn. This only
works if Balthier has a weapon with a range of 2 or more, and if the enemies
are both in a line from Balthier (and within range of his weapon). Target the
enemy that's further back with Barrage. Balthier will use a series of four
attacks; of course, the initial strikes will actually hit the enemy closer to
Balthier. However, once that first enemy is KOed, Balthier will continue
attacking and hit his "original" target -- the enemy in back! This way, you
can divide your damage between two targets instead of wasting a lot of damage
finishing off an enemy that was already low on HP. This trick works with guns,
bows, polearms, and any other weapon with a range of 2 or more.
---ROD OF FAITH---
The Rod of Faith, found on the fourth floor (The Catacombs) of the Midlight's
Deep bonus dungeon, has an interesting effect. While equipped with the Rod,
a character has permanent Faith status, giving him or her 100 Faith. Of
course, this is good simply for making your own magick maximally powerful, but
it also allows you to make a more versatile character. Whenever the Rod is
removed, the character's Faith reverts back to its "normal" value. So, if you
want a flexible character who can also defend well against enemy magick, lower
his or her Faith very low (as close to 03 as you can). Without the Rod
equipped, the character is virtually invulnerable to enemy magick and makes a
good fighter. But *with* the Rod equipped, s/he is now a high-Faith magick
user! Using the Reequip ability, you could even make this change mid-battle,
although it costs you a turn.
Of course, this only works if you're planning on using a job that can equip
Rods. That includes Black Mages, Summoners, Mystics, but not White Mages, Time
Mages, or Arithmeticians. Fortunately, Black Mages and Summoners have the best
magick stats anyway.
The Rod of Faith can also be particularly useful for Marach. Normally, his
Nether Mantra abilities require LOW Faith while other magicks require HIGH
Faith, meaning he can't really effectively use both. However, the Faith effect
maximizes the damage from both regular magick and Nether Mantra, allowing him
to use both types of abilities effectively.
Since there's only one Rod of Faith available, though, you can only use this
tactic with a single character at a time.
---ALL 9 FEVER--
Once you max out at level 99 and 99 experience, you can easily cast healing or
defensive magicks to your whole party using Arithmeticks and Level Multiple of
3 or Exp Multiple of 3. (Of course, you might hit a few enemies too.)
%%%MISCELLANY & EASTER EGGS%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00misc
---REWATCH STORY SCENES---
Didn't catch what happened during a story scene? You can rewatch most of the
game's story scenes. On the world map, open the menu and choose Chronicle and
then Events. You'll see a list of the major story events that you've seen so
far. Choose a scene to read a text description of it, and press Triangle if
you want to rewatch the scene.
---SOUND TEST---
To access a "sound test" where you can listen to all the game's music, select
New Game on the title screen and then enter your name as PolkaPolka . You'll
immediately be brought to the sound test. Just reset the PSP or press the
Home key to quit the game when you're done.
*******************************************************************************
IV. WALKTHROUGH AND BATTLE STRATEGIES - MAIN QUEST 00walk0
*******************************************************************************
[ Note: If you preferred the format of the walkthrough in older versions of this
FAQ, where the walkthrough and battle strategies were separate, I've kept an
old version of the FAQ online at: ]
http://www.lakupo.com/qu/faqs/final_fantasy_tactics_psp_old.txt
You'll begin by entering the protagonist's name. Ramza is the default, so
that's what I'll be using throughout the guide.
Next up is your birthdate, which determines your Zodiac sign. A character's
Zodiac sign affects his/her compatibility with other units, which can make your
attacks and/or healing somewhat more or less effective.
In a regular game, it's not too important to give Ramza a particular Zodiac
sign, so you can enter your own birthday or whatever else you want if you'd
like. But, if you're feeling especially strategic, you may want to give him a
particular sign depending on your game plans:
> If you want to maximize the damage Ramza can do to enemy bosses,
Capricorn is probably your best bet; you'll get this sign if you enter a
birthdate between December 23rd and January 19th.
> If you plan to use Ramza as a support/healing character, Pisces will give
him good compatibility with a number of key allies. You'll get this sign
with a birthdate between February 19th and March 20th. (Virgo -- August
23rd to September 22nd -- will give him compatibility with quite a few
party members as well.)
> If you want as wide a range of Zodiac signs as possible, you could make
Ramza a Taurus, Virgo, or Sagittarius, as no other story characters have
these signs.
The game starts at Orbonne Monastery. A band of enemy knights shows up, and
you have to fight.
---Battle 0: Orbonne Monastery--------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Agrias [guest], Gaffgarion [guest], Ladd [guest],
Alicia [guest], Lavian [guest]
ENEMY FORCES: Fuchs [Chemist], Lezales [Knight], Diesch [Archer],
Wezlef [Archer], Biggs [Archer]
VICTORY CONDITION: KO all enemies
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Day, light rain (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
14 x 10 Grassland Tanglevine 50%
Wooden Floor Will-o'-the-Wisp 16%
Ocean Torrent 14%
Obstructed -- 9%
Flagstone Contortion 9%
Stone Outcropping Tremor 1%
--STRATEGY--
This battle is pretty much automatic, as everyone except Ramza is controlled by
the computer. Gaffgarion and Agrias will take care of most of the enemies
without any trouble. You can have Ramza attack the enemies with low HP to help
finish them off, and let Gaffgarion and Agrias save their attacks for the
stronger enemies. Even if Ramza just stands still, though, the other characters
should be able to finish off the enemies on their own, though, so it doesn't
matter too much what Ramza does.
It's possible that one or more of your weaker teammates--Alicia, Lavian, and
Ladd--will get KOed. Don't worry; none of them can die permanently in this
intro battle. It also doesn't matter if any of their items get broken, as those
will come back as well.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After Gaffgarion and Agrias finish wiping out the enemies, there will be some
story scenes, and Ramza will enter into an extended flashback.
%%%CHAPTER I: THE MEAGER%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%00walk1
All of Chapter I is a flashback to Ramza's days as a knight-in-training with
the Order of the Northern Sky a year prior. You (Ramza) and Delita will be at
the academy in Gariland, where you receive the assignment to defeat some thieves
entering the town. You are automatically joined by four other Squires and two
Chemists.
Before the first battle begins, you'll be given a chance to save. Save your
game so that you won't have to repeat the intro battle! After you save, you'll
deploy your characters for the battle.
If this is your first Final Fantasy Tactics experience, you might want to check
out the "Basic Mechanics and Tactics" section for some general gameplay
information. (Some of this information is also in the tutorial, but I've
included some additional material not covered there.) Press Ctrl+ F and enter
00basic to jump down there.
---Battle 1: Gariland----------------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x3, Squire (female) x1, Chemist (male) x1
ALLY: Ramza - lv 1 Squire - Bravery 70, Faith 70
Equipment : Broadsword, Leather Cap, Clothing, Battle Boots
Abilities : Mettle
GUEST: Delita [Sagittarius] - lv 1 Squire - Bravery 71, Faith 55
Equipment : Broadsword, Leather Cap, Clothing
Abilities : Mettle, other abilities random
VICTORY CONDITION: KO all enemies
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
15 x 10 Flagstone Contortion 28%
Canal Torrent 25%
Roof, Chimney Wind Blast 17%
Grassland Tanglevine 17%
Wooden Floor, Coffer Will-o'-the-Wisp 8%
Bridge Wind Slash 3%
Obstructed -- 1%
--STRATEGY--
The key in this battle is advance slowly and not to let your characters get
spread out. Stay on the left side, away from the bulk of the houses.
The enemy Chemist has the ability to heal the other enemies, which can be a
pain. If you have the chance to take him out, do so; otherwise, he'll heal the
enemy soldiers you've been attacking. Actually, you can stop him from doing
this even if you attack him just once. He'll use up his turn healing himself
instead of healing any of the other enemies.
Attack from the enemy from behind or from the side whenever possible, as you're
more likely to land a hit that way. In general, rear attacks are best as they
also cancel out enemy shields -- but at this point, no enemies have shields, so
side and rear attacks will be equally effective. At the end of each character's
turn, you choose which direction they facing. Make sure you end your turns
facing the enemies, which will make it harder for them to hit you from behind!
(When possible, you can even put your back to the side of a building to protect
it completely!)
Make good use of your Chemists for healing--you start out with 5 Potions and
you can use them to heal a character who gets injured. If you don't have
teammates who need healing, the Chemists can also attack. (Chemists have an
inherent Throw Items ability, so they don't have to be next to a character to
use an item on him/her. This is NOT true for other characters using the Item
ability.)
Don't worry about Delita. The Guest AI is pretty reckless and it's likely he'll
get himself KOed. But since he's a Guest character, he can't die permanently
and will be revived at the end of the battle.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 2000 gil, Mythril Knife, Phoenix Down, Potion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After you win the battle against the thieves, you will go to the map screen.
You can click on Gariland to visit its shops. The Tavern is used to hear
information about the game's story and world. Later on, you can also use it
to enter the multiplayer mode and to run Errands for extra JP and money. The
Outfitter is used to buy equipment and items. Finally, the Warriors' Guild
allows you to recruit new human characters to your roster.
You may want to stop at the Warriors' Guild recruit some new characters. In
particular, look for characters with reasonably high Bravery, especially if
your current characters don't have very good Bravery. Bravery affects the
your chance of using Reaction Abilities and the strength of some attacks --
higher is better, of course! (Although there are abilities to raise Bravery
later, you probably won't get them right away.) You may also want a character
or two with high Faith to turn into a magick-user. A second thing to look at
is the character's Zodiac sign. Taurus and Capricorn characters will be
particularly effective against the bosses in this chapter and the next, so
getting some of those signs on your roster will give you a bit of a leg up.
If you want to spend the time, you can mine the Guild until you get just the
character you want. If you don't like the character that appears; simply
select "Don't Hire." You won't be charged anything and you can select Male
Soldier or Female Soldier to roll another character. You can keep doing this
until you get some high Bravery characters ... but it's certainly not necessary
to spend the time here if you don't want to. Note that female recruits are 100
gil cheaper and probably more useful in the long run since some of the game's
most powerful items can only be used by female characters.
This is probably the only time in the game that you'll want to use the
Warriors' Guild. If you lose any of your main team members later in the game,
you're usually better off resetting. It's tough to replace high-level
characters who have already been built up with a lot of abilities!
Stop by the Outfitter in Gariland to buy some Potions. If one or both of your
Chemists has enough JP to learn the Phoenix Down ability, learn that ability and
then buy a few (1-2) Phoenix Downs at the store. Phoenix Downs are great to
have as they allow you to revive a KOed character. You'll also want to equip
one of your Chemists with the Mythril Knife that you picked up as a Battle
Trophy in the first battle; it's stronger than the Daggers they currently have.
Save the game by pressing Triangle and choosing Data, then head west to
Mandalia Plain. As soon as you try to leave the city, you'll have a flashback
(yes, a flashback within a flashback) to the death of Ramza's father Barbaneth.
After that sequence has ended, you'll be back in Gariland. Click on Mandalia
Plain once again and this time you'll actually get there.
---Battle 2: Mandalia Plain----------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Squire (male) x4, Thief (male) x1, Red Panther x1
GUEST: Argath [Virgo] - lv 2 Squire - Bravery 73, Faith 59
Equipment : Longsword, Leather Cap, Clothing, Battle Boots
Abilities : Fundaments, other abilities random
VICTORY CONDITION: KO all enemies
LOSS CONDITION: Top option - Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
Bottom option - Argath is KOed or Ramza dies
WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
13 x 12 Grassland Tanglevine 70%
Obstructed -- 17%
Stone Outcropping Tremor 13%
--STRATEGY--
At Mandalia Plain, you'll meet Argath, under attack by the Corpse Brigade. You
can choose whether or not to help him (bottom option) or just go after the
Corpse Brigade (top option).
> If you choose not to help Argath (top choice), your goal is just to defeat
all the enemies. It doesn't matter if Argath is KOed during the battle
or not. Choosing this option also adds 10 points to the Bravery score of
every character in your current squad, including Delita and Argath. 2
points of this change will remain even after the battle.
> Choosing to help Argath (bottom choice) adds an additional requirement to
the battle: you'll have to keep Argath from getting KOed during the battle.
This option has no effect on your team's Bravery.
Neither option has any real long-term effect on the storyline. (They only
change the dialogue in one other story scene.) So, the first option is clearly
the best as it makes the battle easier AND gives you a boost in Bravery.
If you DO choose the second option for whatever reason, you will need to protect
Argath from being KOed. In this case, you'll need to start moving a Chemist
towards Argath right away. Fortunately, Argath will probably flee away from the
enemies and into one corner. Heal him just to be on the safe side, and then
you're free to concentrate on the enemies.
Attack the enemies from above if you can, and guard your back with the rocks
scattered about the battlefield or with other ally units. Remember that if you
act without moving, or move without acting, your next turn will come sooner than
if you both act AND move. So if there's no real need for a character to move or
to take action, don't do it just for the heck of it. Your next turn will come
sooner if you don't.
You'll encounter your first monster here in the form of a Red Panther. It's
the toughest unit in the enemy forces, but it's not too bad. Be warned that,
like all monsters, it will counterattack you whenever you attack it. Don't
attack the Red Panther using a character who's low on HP, or the counterattack
is liable to KO you! (You CAN avoid the counterattack by using the Squire
ability Stone to attack from a distance, but this ability is really too weak to
be worth using.) The Red Panther can also poison you, which causes you to
lose a little HP after each turn you take. You can cure this with an Antidote
if you want, but it's probably not necessary--the poison wears off after a short
amount of time, anyway.
This may be your first chance to pick up crystals or chests. When the counter
over a KOed enemy unit goes down past 0, the unit vanishes and is replaced with
a crystal or treasure chest. Pick these up by moving onto the tile with the
crystal or chest.
> Picking up a chest will give you an item. These are typically items you
can buy at the Outfitter anyway and generally are not too important to
collect. But early on, chests can still be useful to grab as money is
tighter.
> Picking up a crystal will either heal the unit, or in some cases give you
the option of learning many of the defeated enemy's abilities. (Note that
although you point the cursor at an individual ability, you actually learn
ALL of the abilities offered, regardless of what you pick!) Crystals from
monsters will only ever give you the option to heal. When given the chance
to learn abilities, that's generally the best choice (unless you're in
desperate need of healing), as this permanently adds abilities to the
character! Crystals from humans are great to pick up as they can teach
you new abilities, so grab them when you see them. Monster crystals are
only necessary to pick up if you need healing. You may also want to grab
crystals just to to prevent the enemies from claiming them, as they can
heal themselves with crystals too!
If one of your OWN units gets KOed, you must act to revive the character before
the countdown runs down and the character is lost permanently. Right now,
you've got two ways to revive a character. If one of your Chemists learned the
Phoenix Down ability and you have Phoenix Downs in stock, you can use a
Phoenix Down to revive the character. Or, you can hurry and clear the battle
before the countdown runs out -- when you win a battle, any characters who have
been KOed but not completely erased will be brought back to life.
BATTLE TROPHIES: Potion x2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the fight concludes, Argath will join as a guest regardless of which
option you choose before the battle. Back on the map, go on up to Eagrose
Castle. You'll have a brief chat with Dycedarg, then Zalbaag will send you to
rendezvous with his spy at Dorter.
At this point, you might want to consider changing some of your characters to
new jobs. Chemists are really more useful than either White Mages or Black
Mages, so keep your Chemists as-is. But you might want to change some of your
Squires to Knights, since Knights have more HP and damage potential than
Squires. (I made Ramza into a Knight at this point.) Archers should also be
available at this time. They can be useful in the early game, but for the next
few battles you may want to focus on melee combat. At any rate, it may be a
good idea to keep at least one Squire, though. Why is that? As long as you
have at least one Squire active in battle, everyone will earn some JP towards
that job, and that will help you buy useful Squire abilities like Counter
Tackle, Move +1, and JP Boost. Move +1 and JP Boost are particulary useful.
JP Boost increases the amount of JP you earn, and will help you learn all the
other abilities faster. Learning this ability is a VERY good investment.
Before you leave Eagrose, stop by the Outfitter. There's new equipment for
sale here. Stock up on Potions, then arm your characters with the new gear.
Make sure all your Squires and Knights have Longswords, the best weapon
available to them right now. In particular, if you changed any of your
characters' jobs, be sure they have equipment that goes with the new jobs. You
can safely skip the Mythril Knife, though--it only increase a Chemist's attack
power by 1 point, and they don't do much fighting, anyway. The shop also sells
Battle Boots, which increase your movement range by 1 tile. As handy is this,
they're pricey, so you won't be able to afford them for your whole team.
Your next story destination is the Siedge Weald, to the east of Gariland. Head
down that direction.
Mandalia Plain is now a green dot on the map, which means there's a chance
you'll get into a random battle when crossing it. Random battles are similar to
story battles, but feature a random selection of monsters instead of humans.
(In Chapter I, you'll only fight monsters in random battles; in later chapters,
humans can sometimes show up.) Since Delita and Argath are Guest characters,
they will not participate in random battles, only story ones. In random
battles, you also have the choice of whether or not to deploy Ramza. (He's
REQUIRED for story battles.)
When you get to Gariland, you'll see a scene at the Tavern about the game's
multiplayer modes. Both of these modes are now unlocked, and you can play them
by visiting a Tavern in any town. Melee Mode is a "versus" mode that pits your
party against another player's. Rendezvous Mode is a co-op mode in which you
team up with another player to challenge various missions that will become
unlocked as you play through the game. Right now, there's only one mission
available, "Chocobo Defense." Both modes allow you to earn and keep JP and
items; when you get to a high enough experience level, you can even obtain
items that you can't get anywhere else. Another nice thing about these modes
is that you can't permanently lose any items or characters, so they're risk-
free. (Melee Mode does cost gil to play, though.) You can check them out now
if you want, although at this point, the Rendezvous Mode mission may still be
pretty challenging. Check out the Multiplayer Modes section below for more
information on the modes' rules and for strategies for the Rendezvous Mode
missions. (Note that both modes are playable only over a local, "ad hoc"
connection.)
If you don't have a chance to play the multiplayer modes, don't worry, you
definitely don't need to play multiplayer in order to complete the single-
player game.
The shop in Gariland sells different items than the one in Eagrose, so stop by
the Outfitter before you leave town. The Gariland shop offers Plumed Hats and
Leather Clothing, which are better armor for your Squires and Chemists. Pick
up these upgrades as well; you want to make sure your Chemists stay alive so
they can heal people! (Unlike in a lot of games, armor in FF Tactics doesn't
actually reduce the damage you take; it gives you more HP or MP. Still, it
helps you stay alive longer!)
Don't forget that you can change Delita's and Argath's equipment, too, despite
the fact that they're guest characters. You can (and should!) have them learn
new abilities, too!
By the way, it'll help you out in some of the future battles if you're able to
teach Argath a simple Black Magick spell. This is pretty tricky, though, since
he doesn't participate in any of the random battles and can only earn JP in the
story battles. So, the only way to do this is to have your Chemists take
enough actions during the story battles that Argath gains some JP in the
Chemist job and is able to unlock the Black Mage job. It's cool if you can do
this, but don't worry too much about it if you can't; it's not *necessary*.
Continue on to the Weald and you'll encounter a third story battle.
---Battle 3: The Siedge Weald--------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Goblin x2, Black Goblin x2, Bomb x2, Red Panther x1
VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, or recruit all enemies
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Day, light rain (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
12 x 11 Grassland Tanglevine 65%
Marsh Quicksand 21%
Bridge Wind Slash 5%
Soil Sinkhole 4%
Obstructed -- 4%
Stone Outcropping Tremor 1%
--STRATEGY--
This battle is nothing but monsters; watch out for their counterattacks! If
you do have some range attacks, those will keep you safe from the
counterattacks -- all monsters can only counterattack at a range of 1 panel.
But it doesn't really matter either way, since these monsters aren't too tough
for the most part anyway. Take out on the enemies on the higher ground first
before you start crossing the water. Otherwise, you'll expose yourself to
attack from above.
BATTLE TROPHIES: None
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You may want to gain some levels and abilities before proceeding on to Dorter.
You can do this by strolling back and forth across the Mandalia Plain or the
Siedge Weald until you get into a random battle. Beat up the monsters to earn
extra Exp and JP.
Make sure your Chemists have learned both Potion and Phoenix Down. You can skip
the abilities for all the items that cure individual status condition; most of
these conditions aren't that bad and when you get Remedies, those will cure
*any* negative status. Learning Move +1 for as many characters as possible is
also very helpful.
When you enter Dorter, there will be a cutscene, and then you'll be tossed into
a battle at the Dorter Slums.
---Battle 4: Dorter Slums------------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x1, Archer (male) x3, Black Mage (male) x 2
VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, or recruit all enemies
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
16 x 10 Roof Wind Blast 39%
Soil Sinkhole 36%
Ocean Torrent 11%
Grassland Tanglevine 9%
Coffer Will-o'-the-Wisp 3%
Flagstone Contortion 3%
--STRATEGY--
The enemy has Archers and Black Mages, who both have ranged attacks and can
hit you from a distance. This means that you'll need to be more aggressive; if
you hang back at a distance, the enemy can keep hitting you from afar!
Since you start on the street and the enemy has the high ground, Archers are
not particularly useful here; they won't have a clear shot with their bows.
On the other hand, Move +1 is a great ability to have as it helps you quickly
close the distance between you and the enemy's ranged attackers.
When one of your characters gets hit with a Black Magick spell, the characters
in adjacent tiles also take damage. There are two ways to avoid this. While
the spell is still charging, you can move the other characters out of the way,
or you can kill the Black Mage charging the spell and stop the attack entirely!
Since the spells do quite a bit of damage, it's great to take out the Black
Mages as soon as you have the chance. They don't have much HP so you can finish
them off easily. (Note that spells can also have a "friendly fire" effect -- if
another enemy is in range of the spell when it goes off, they get hurt too! You
can sometimes use this to your advantage by positioning targeted characters next
to enemy units.) To check when the spell is going to be fired, press the Circle
button when it's your turn, then use the Triangle button to bring up the menu
and choose Turn List.
If you have Black Mages of your own, you can also use these area damage effects
to extend the effective range of your magicks. If the range of your magick is
one tile too short to hit an enemy, you can target the tile directly in front
of the enemy and the magick will still hit the enemy thanks to the area effect.
This is a good tactic for hitting more distant enemies, like you see in this
battle. Just make sure the enemy won't be able to move out of the way before
the magick activates!
Two of the enemy Archers are on the tall building beside where you start. At
the beginning of the battle, Delita and Argath will begin climbing up the
building to attack them. Let Delita and Argath handle those two Archers, and
send at most one other character up the building. The rest of your team
should advance down the street. Take out the Black Mages first since they can
do so much damage.
It's likely that one or more of your characters will get KOed during the
battle. Remember that if the counter over their head goes below 0, you lose
the character permanently. To avoid this, when a character's counter gets low
(0 or 1), use a Phoenix Down on him or her. Even if another attack KOs the
character again right away, the counter will be reset and you've bought yourself
a few more turns to finish the battle.
This is a pretty tough battle. If you don't win at first, try again, or build
up your levels first.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 500 gil, Iron Sword, Hempen Robe, Ether
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upon your victory, you'll be able to visit the town. There's no new equipment
to buy, but stock up on items. You'll want at least 10 Potions and 4 Phoenix
Downs. Potions are cheap (50 gil each), so there's no reason not to carry
plenty. Also, winning the battle at the Slums will have netted you an Iron
Sword, which is a better weapon than anything you can find in stores. Equip it
one of your characters.
Again, you may want to build levels before proceeding to the next battle.
When you're ready, go on up to the Zeklaus Desert, where you'll have a battle
at the Sand Rat's Sietch.
---Battle 5: The Sand Rat's Sietch---------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES:
1st Squad - Ramza, Delita [guest], 1 other
2nd Squad - Argath [guest], 2 others
ENEMY FORCES: Knight (male) x 3, Archer (male) x1, Monk (male) x2
VICTORY CONDITION: KO, petrify, or recruit all enemies
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
11 x 10 Soil Sinkhole 38%
Grassland Tanglevine 26%
Flagstone, Stone Wall Contortion 26%
Obstructed -- 9%
Coffer Will-o'-the-Wisp 1%
--STRATEGY--
You'll deploy your characters in two squads for this battle. Be sure to deploy
somebody with the Items command (either a Chemist, or another character who's
learned the ability) in the second group.
There are two entrances to the fort. When the battle begins, send most of
your characters towards the entrance that's closer to Argath. This is where
the bulk of the fighting will take place. Argath will probably make a suicide
mission into the building, but keep healing him anyway. If you were able to
give him a Black Magick spell, he'll be very helpful. Don't crowd the doorway
or you'll get in trouble. Let the enemies come outside to you.
Meanwhile, Delita will head towards the other entrance. You might want to
send one other character with him. Hopefully, Delita's squad have the chance
to sneak up on the enemy Archer from the rear and take him out so he can't keep
shooting at the main squad.
Remember that if a character doesn't move on a particular turn, his or her next
turn will come quicker. If you don't need to move to land an attack, stay put
and you'll get more turns. This is especially helpful for your Chemist; by
having him/her remain stationary and throw items to the characters who need
healing, you'll get more turns and more chances to heal.
This is a difficult fight--the toughest in Chapter I--so it may take you a
couple tries.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 500 gil, Hi-Potion, Blind Knife
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After you win at the Sietch, you'll rescue the Marquis. You'll also pick up a
Blind Knife. It's not stronger than the other knives you already have, but it
does inflict Blind status on enemies (making their attacks easier for you to
dodge), so give it to a Chemist.
Zeklaus Desert now becomes another "wilderness" location where you can get into
random battles. The map you'll see in random battles at Zeklaus Desert is
actually completely different from the Sand Rat's Sietch map.
---Extra Battlefield: Zeklaus Desert--------------------------------------------
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
18 x 10 Sand Sandstorm 62%
Stone Outcropping Tremor 36%
Obstructed -- 2%
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to Eagrose Castle. You'll meet Duke Larg, and then Dycedarg will let
Ramza and friends in on the next mission against the Corpse Brigade. The
shops at all three towns will now be stocked with new items. At Eagrose, you
can buy Iron Swords for both your Squires and Knights, as well as
Escutcheons, Iron Helms, and Bronze Armor for any Knights you have. Gariland
has better light armor, used by jobs other than Knights. If you're using
mages, you can buy new rods and staves at Gariland and Dorter, as well as Hempen
Robes, which will raise their MP max. All towns also carry a new accessory: the
Shoulder Cape, which will boost both your physical and magick evade rates by a
little bit (10%). It's not really as useful as the Battle Boots, though.
But the most important new item isn't actually an equipment--it's the Hi-Potion,
which is now for sale under Items! Hi-Potions restore 70 HP instead of the 30
you get from a regular Potion. Since you should have a lot more than 30 HP by
now, you'll need the healing boost. You can't use Hi-Potions unless you've
learned the Chemist's Hi-Potion ability, so be sure to have your item-users
learn this ability.
Since there's a lot to buy, you might not be able to afford to buy all of the
new gear. Aside from restocking your item supply, the priorities are probably
the Iron Swords and Bronze Armor at Eagrose, and the Leather Plate at Gariland.
After you're done shopping, your new destination is the Brigands' Den, south of
the Mandalia Plain.
---Battle 6: Brigands' Den-----------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], Argath [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Milleuda, Thief (male) x2, White Mage (female) x2
BOSS: Milleuda [Virgo] - lv 7 Knight - Bravery 68, Faith 58
Equipment : Iron Shield, Bronze Shield, Iron Helm, Chainmail, Power Gauntlet
Abilities : Arts of War, random action ability, Parry, random Squire support
ability, Move +1
VICTORY CONDITION: KO Milleuda
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Day, rainstorm (evade rate vs. bows x 1.33,
fire dmg -25%, lightning dmg +25%)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
12 x 10 Wooden Floor Will-o'-the-Wisp 37%
Ocean Torrent 30%
Flagstone Contortion 21%
Grassland Tanglevine 12%
--STRATEGY--
You may want to deploy more male characters than female ones here since there's
a chance that one of the enemies can Charm a female character, making her
temporarily fight against you. But this is pretty unlikely, so don't go out of
your way to adjust your roster.
Also, if you happen to have any male Pisces characters, or Taurus and Capricorns
of either gender, deploying them here can be useful. Milleuda, the boss here,
is always a female Virgo, and the three Zodiac signs listed above will do extra
damage to her. (You can only prepare your Zodiac signs in this way when
fighting bosses; non-boss enemies have randomized Zodiac signs.) It's
definitely not essential to have them, but it'll help you out if you do.
I recommend standing up on the cliffs on the left side of the fort when
possible; you have a height advantage there. Since you should have Hi-Potions
now, use them for all your healing needs--the 30 HP from a regular Potion just
doesn't cut it now.
There are two White Mages here. Check their status; they may have Black
Magicks or Items as a secondary ability. A Black Magick-wielding mage is the
most dangerous, so if either or both have Black Magick, you'll generally want to
target them first. (You can use the same tricks you used in Dorter to avoid
their magick.) However, if an Item-using Mage comes out of the fort and starts
using Hi-Potions, you'll need to concentrate on KOing her instead to prevent her
from healing all the other enemies. If either mage starts casting Cure, note
that you can stop it more or less same way you can stop a Black Magick spell --
either take out the enemy they're trying to heal, or KO the Mage herself.
After you've taken out the White Mages, concentrate on Milleuda. Her attacks
are quite strong, If you have the Rend Weapon or Rend Armor abilities (both
from the Knight job), you may want to try them on her. Breaking her weapon
will greatly reduce her attack power, and breaking her armor will reduce her
HP total. If you already have a Thief, you could try stealing her equipment
too, as she's got a nice set of gear, but you'll be able to buy all her stuff
eventually.
The Thieves here may swipe some of your armor, or at least your headgear.
Although this might be annoying, it's not really too bad; you can just re-buy
the items after the battle. What's more deadly is the Steal Heart attack they
may use on your female characters, which will temporarily turn them to the enemy
side. That's why it can be advantageous to deploy more male characters here.
Milleuda is the game's first boss character. KOing a boss will end the battle
instantly, even if there are other enemies left standing. If you're in danger,
you can take her out quickly to end the fight. But if you've got Milleuda
cornered or otherwise have the upper hand, you may want to finish off the other
enemies for more Exp & JP, then let them die completely so they turn into a
chest or crystal.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 700 gil, Iron Sword, Bronze Shield
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Brigands' Den is easier than the Sand Rat's Sieve, so if you won there, you
should be able to attain victory here. Victory earns you a Bronze Shield, which
is a more effective shield than anything else you've got at this point. Don't
forget to equip it.
Following the battle, there will be a cutscene at Eagrose as the Corpse Brigade
strikes back.
Strip Argath of all his equipment, as he'll be leaving your party shortly. Go
back up to Eagrose. A series of scenes will follow in which Ramza and Delita
decide to rescue Tietra, and Argath leaves.
Return to Gariland. As you cross Mandalia Plain, an animated cutscene will
play.
At this point, you'll probably want to start changing jobs, if you haven't
already. If you can change any of your characters to Monks, do so; they're very
strong fighters. If any of your characters have enough JP to buy the Knight
abiity Equip Heavy Armor, a good strategy is to learn that ability and then
make the character into a Monk--the heavy armor will make up for the Monk's
otherwise poor HP count.
It would also help to have a Black Mage and Archer. But, you'll still want a
healer, so the best move is to change a Chemist to another job and then equip
Items as a secondary ability. Before switching out of the Chemist job, though,
you need to learn (and equip) the Throw Items ability. Without Throw Items,
your items will have a range of only 1 tile, and, as Sonic would say, that's NO
GOOD!
Also remember that a higher Faith makes your magick stronger, so when you're
deciding what character(s) to turn into a mage, it's advantageous to pick
someone with a high Faith.
If you change jobs, be sure to buy matching equipment for your new jobs. If
you've got an Archer, you'll need to decide whether to use a bowgun or a regular
bow. A bowgun only require one hand, allowing you to equip a shield. On the
other hand, bows deal more damage, have a longer range (which increases even
more when you have a height advantage), and fire in an "arc" pattern that often
allows you to shoot over obstacles in your way. Since Archers are usually in
the back line and don't get attacked too much, a shield isn't too important.
Regular bows are almost always the best choice.
For Black Mages, you can choose between the Flame, Ice, and Thunder Rods (sold
at Gariland and Dorter). These rods boost the damage dealt by your Fire-family,
Blizzard-family, and Thunder-family magicks, respectively. A good trick is to
buy a particular Rod and then learn some of the spells that go along with it
(e.g., buy the Ice Rod and then try to learn Blizzard and Blizzara). This will
increase the damage you can do with your magick. These rods also sometimes cast
Fire, Blizzard, or Thunder when executing a physical attack, if your Black Mage
happens to get caught in a melee.
As far as choosing between the Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder families of magick,
they all do the same amounts of raw damage under normal circumstances. They
differ only in their elemental affinities, which means they can do more or less
damage in certain cases:
> Fire magick does extra damage to a number of early-game monster types
(Skeletons and Ghosts), but it gets weaker during thunderstorms and doesn't
work against the Bomb family. (It also does more damage to enemies afflicted
with Oil status, but this status condition almost never happens.)
> Blizzard magick is good against many late-game monsters, but the only early-
game monster family weak to ice is Goblins, which are pretty easy anyway.
Blizzard magick gets stronger during a snowstorm, but these are very rare.
> Thunder magick gets stronger during a thunderstorm, and no monsters are
immune to it. But, only one monster family (Mindflayers) is weak to it.
Overall, Thunder is probably your best pick early on. Nothing is immune to it,
so you can use it against any enemy, and it gets stronger during thunderstorms,
which are pretty common during the rainy months. Fire is OK too, but Skeletons
and Ghosts are usually fairly easy to defeat anyway. Blizzard is less useful at
first because fewer monsters are weak to it, but you'll definitely want to learn
it later in the game since it's the best against late-game monsters like
Malboros, Hydras, and Red Dragons.
Aside from re-outfitting yourself after any job changes, you may want to hold
off on any equipment purchases. While you could now buy some of the equipment
upgrades you might not have been able to afford the Brigands' Den, there are
even better items coming after the next bettle. So, you're probably better off
saving your money for those.
Of course, if any of your equipment was stolen by the Thieves or broken by
Milleuda in the last battle, be sure to replace it. You'll also want a good
stock of Hi-Potions (12 or so) and Phoenix Down (6 should be sufficient).
After restocking your item supply, go north from Gariland to the Lenalian
Plateau for another battle against Milleuda.
---Battle 7: Lenalian Plateau--------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 4 others
ENEMY FORCES: Milleuda, Knight (female) x2, Black Mage (male) x2,
Time Mage (female) x1
BOSS: Milleuda [Virgo] - lv 8 Knight - Bravery 68, Faith 58
Equipment : Mythril Sword, Bronze Shield, Barbut, Chainmail, Shoulder Cape
Abilities : Arts of War, random action ability, Counter,
random Squire support ability, Jump +1
VICTORY CONDITION: KO Milleuda
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
11 x 11 Grassland Tanglevine 50%
Stone Outcropping Tremor 24%
Lake Torrent 21%
Soil Sinkhole 3%
Obstructed -- 1%
--STRATEGY--
Again, Taurus, Capricorn, and male Pisces characters will do extra damage
against Milleuda since she's a female Virgo.
Play the first few rounds defensively to prevent any early casualties, and use
the high ground to your advantage. Send one or two characters after the Black
Mages, and possibly the Time Mage as well. If you have an Archer, send
him/her up onto the tall ridge and shoot down on the enemies. Firing from a
high place increases the range of bows.
After knocking out the Black Mages, concentrate on Milleuda. This time, she
has the Counter ability, which means that whenever you hit her with a close-
range attack, she has a chance of striking back. So, be sure not to use any
close-range attacks against her unless your HP is high. A good strategy is to
attack her with long-distance attacks like bows and Black Magick, which won't
allow her to counterattack. As in the last battle, Milleuda might use her Rend
abilities to break your gear.
Again, as soon as Milleuda goes down, the battle ends, even if other enemies
are still standing.
BATTLE TROPHIES: 1000 gil, Silken Robe, Battle Boots
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After you win the battle at the Plateau, the shops will again update their
shelves with new equipment. As before, you'll find heavy armor and most
kinds of weapons in Eagrose, and lighter armor in Gariland and Dorter. Buy
what you can and replace any items that Milleuda may have broken.
If you're crossing the Lenalian Plateau after the initial battle, you may
sometimes encounter a Dragon monster in random battles (only when entering from
Dorter). If you already have an Orator on your team, you can use Entice or Tame
to recruit the Dragon onto your team. Although monsters aren't usually the most
useful units, this is a much stronger monster than you can usually find at this
point in the game. You can also breed it to get even stronger dragons (Blue
Dragons and Red Dragons).
At this point, you should be in great shape to win the Chocobo Defense mission
in Rendezvous Mode, so if you'd like to check that out, you can earn some extra
items and JP. Strategies for these missions are available in the Rendezvous
Mode section.
Otherwise, forge on from the Lenalian Plateau to Fovoham Windflats, where
you'll square off against Wiegraf and his Chocobo Boco (a reference to Final
Fantasy V).
---Battle 8: Windflat Mill-----------------------------------------------------
YOUR FORCES: Ramza, Delita [guest], 3 others
ENEMY FORCES: Wiegraf, Boco, Knight (female), Monk (female) x2
BOSS: Wiegraf [Virgo] - lv 9 White Knight - Bravery 71, Faith 64
Equipment : Mythril Sword, Round Shield, Barbut, Chainmail, Shoulder Cape
Abilities : Holy Sword, random action ability, Counter,
random Squire support ability, Jump +1
Immune : All negative status except Blind, Silence, Oil, Slow, Stop,
Immobilize, and Disable
ENEMY: Boco [Aries] - lv 7 Chocobo - Bravery 68, Faith 48
VICTORY CONDITION: Reduce Wiegraf to critical HP (< 20% of max HP)
LOSS CONDITION: Ramza dies or all allies are KOed/Stone
WEATHER: Clear day (no special effects)
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
10 x 8 Grassland Tanglevine 48%
Soil Sinkhole 21%
Obstructed -- 18%
Brick Wind Slash 5%
Roof Wind Blast 4%
Stone Outcropping Tremor 3%
Flagstone Contortion 3%
--STRATEGY--
Like his sister, Wiegraf is a Virgo. He's male, though, so this time Taurus,
Capricorn, and FEMALE Pisces characters are the ones to deploy (if you happen
to have them -- if not, don't sweat it).
Wiegraf is the only real threat here; most of his companions are pretty weak.
Start moving along the bottom of the cliff and quickly take out the Chocobo
(Boco) and the Monk. Wiegraf and the other enemies will soon move down to
fight you. Finish off any enemies that are low on HP, then go after Wiegraf.
Wiegraf uses a couple different special sword techniques that allow him to
attack from a distance and (unlike magick) don't require any charge time.
Most of the time, he'll use Northswain's Strike, which strikes a single
character (usually for about 35 HP or so). If your characters are close
together, he may also use Judgment Blade to attack a "plus-shaped" group of
tiles. These attacks are pretty strong, but Wiegraf doesn't have a great
defense. If you hit him with a few strong attacks (Mythril Swords, black
magick), he'll go down quickly. Just stay healed!
Because you're fighting in such close quarters, watch out for the "friendly
fire" effects of your own magicks! In general, if one of your allies is
standing right next to an enemy, a useful trick is to target the tile right
BEHIND the enemy to avoid hitting your ally when the magick goes off. For
instance, if your characters are positioned like below, target the space marked
with a *:
*EA (A = ally, E = enemy)
This way, you'll still hit the enemy, but the magick is positioned so as not to
harm your ally. But make sure that the magick will activate before the enemy
can move.
This battle isn't too difficult if you have good jobs. You need only Wiegraf's
HP to critical status to win. (If your last hit manages to KO him outright, the
outcome is the same.)
BATTLE TROPHIES: Hi-Potion
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like Zeklaus Desert, Fovoham Windflats now becomes an entirely different map if
you return to it for random battles.
---Extra Battlefield: Fovoham Windflats-----------------------------------------
MAP SIZE: TERRAIN TYPES GEOMANCY MAP AREA
14 x 9 Grassland Tanglevine 62%
Stone Outctropping Tremor 24%
Ocean Torrent 12%
Obstructed -- 2%
------