Final Fantasy XII
Weapons Analysis
Version 1.30
Last updated July 25, 2007
Written by Arthellinus, with contributions from maltzsan
Copyright (c) Arthellinus (arthellinus@yahoo.com) 2007, all rights reserved.
===============================================================================
Legal Stuff
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or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission from the
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===============================================================================
Version History
===============================================================================
All names taken from Final Fantasy XII listed in this document are copyrighted
by Square-Enix.
Any direct reproduction of information provided by the Final Fantasy XII *Game
Mechanics FAQ by maltzsan* on GameFAQs is copyrighted by its author and is
included here solely for convenient reference.
Future
- What's left to do? Who knows.
07/25/07
Version 1.30
- Fixed some erroneous DMG values in the Yiazmat tables.
- Finalized DPS terminology, redid DPS values for Tables 9-12 to account for
more accurate CS-MOD values and more realistic settings (e.g. all Swiftness
licenses accounted for), fixed other errors in DPS calculations.
- Some very minor additions to the Section 4b commentary.
- Added some fun info on Max DMG/HIT.
06/27/07
Version 1.15
- Various minor updates.
06/26/07
Version 1.10
- Expanded the weapon usefulness section.
06/25/07
Version 1.00
- First version. Copied over stuff from Power Walkthrough 1.2 and started from
there.
===============================================================================
Contents
===============================================================================
-- By Section --
1. Introduction ........................................................ [010]
2. Weapons Explained ................................................... [020]
2a. Weapon Damage ................................................... [02a]
2b. Weapon Speed .................................................... [02b]
2c. Combos and Critical Hits ........................................ [02c]
2d. Recap / Finalized Variables ..................................... [02d]
2e. Weapon Power Ratings ............................................ [02e]
2f. Case Studies .................................................... [02f]
3. Character-Weapon Proficiencies ...................................... [030]
3a. Overview ........................................................ [03a]
3b. Physical Damage Stat Modifiers .................................. [03b]
3c. Proficiency Rankings ............................................ [03c]
3d. Discussion ...................................................... [03d]
4. Miscellaneous ....................................................... [040]
4a. Armor Modifiers ................................................. [04a]
4b. Weapon Usefulness ............................................... [04b]
4c. Other ........................................................... [04c]
5. Credits ............................................................. [050]
_______________________________________________________________________________
-- By Table --
1. Base Weapon Damage Parameter Derivations ...................... [Table 01.]
2. Base Weapon Damage Status Effect Modifiers
2a. Statuses Affecting Attacker ............................... [Table 02a]
2b. Statuses Affecting Target ................................. [Table 02b]
3. Base Weapon Speed Parameters
3a. General Formula ........................................... [Table 03a]
3b. CS-MOD Values ............................................. [Table 03b]
3c. Status Effect Modifiers ................................... [Table 03c]
3d. Action Time ............................................... [Table 03d]
4. Base Weapon Speed Calculations ................................ [Table 04.]
5. Weapon Combo and Critical Rates
5a. Combo Rates ............................................... [Table 05a]
5b. Critical Rates ............................................ [Table 05b]
5c. Average Hits Per Combo .................................... [Table 05c]
6. Average Number of Hits by Weapon, HP/Max HP > 25% ............. [Table 06.]
7. Base Weapon Damage Critical Modifier .......................... [Table 07.]
8. Expected Weapon Speed Calculations, HP/Max HP > 25% ........... [Table 08.]
9. Case Study 1 Weapon Damage and Power Ratings: LLC
a. Without Genji Gloves ....................................... [Table 09a]
b. With Genji Gloves .......................................... [Table 09b]
10. Case Study 2 Weapon Damage and Power Ratings: Endgame
a. Without Genji Gloves ....................................... [Table 10a]
b. With Genji Gloves .......................................... [Table 10b]
11. Case Study 3 Weapon Damage and Power Ratings: Postgame
a. Without Genji Gloves ....................................... [Table 11a]
b. With Genji Gloves .......................................... [Table 11b]
12. Case Study 4 Weapon Damage and Power Ratings: Yiazmat
a. Without 9999 Damage Cap .................................... [Table 12a]
b. With 9999 Damage Cap ....................................... [Table 12b]
13. Character Stats
a. Vaan ....................................................... [Table 13a]
b. Balthier ................................................... [Table 13b]
c. Fran ....................................................... [Table 13c]
d. Basch ...................................................... [Table 13d]
e. Ashe ....................................................... [Table 13e]
f. Penelo ..................................................... [Table 13f]
14. Base Weapon Damage / Character Stat Modifier Derivations ...... [Table 14.]
15. Base Weapon Damage / Character Stat Modifers
a. For LLC .................................................... [Table 15a]
b. At Level 10 ................................................ [Table 15b]
c. At Level 20 ................................................ [Table 15c]
d. At Level 30 ................................................ [Table 15d]
e. At Level 40 ................................................ [Table 15e]
f. At Level 50 ................................................ [Table 15f]
g. At Level 60 ................................................ [Table 15g]
h. At Level 70 ................................................ [Table 15h]
i. At Level 80 ................................................ [Table 15i]
j. At Level 90 ................................................ [Table 15j]
k. At Level 99 ................................................ [Table 15k]
16. Character Weapon Proficiency Rankings
a. For LLC .................................................... [Table 16a]
b. At Level 10 ................................................ [Table 16b]
c. At Level 20 ................................................ [Table 16c]
d. At Level 30 ................................................ [Table 16d]
e. At Level 40 ................................................ [Table 16e]
f. At Level 50 ................................................ [Table 16f]
g. At Level 60 ................................................ [Table 16g]
h. At Level 70 ................................................ [Table 16h]
i. At Level 80 ................................................ [Table 16i]
j. At Level 90 ................................................ [Table 16j]
k. At Level 99 ................................................ [Table 16k]
_______________________________________________________________________________
Use Ctrl+F plus the Section Code (the [####] tag) to skip to a section quickly.
This works for the various tables I have included throughout the sections as
well (use [Table ###]).
===============================================================================
1. Introduction [010]
===============================================================================
Q: What is the purpose of this guide?
A: The purpose of this guide is to utilize Final Fantasy XII game mechanics
information in order to provide a clear and (hopefully) concise, but
thorough analysis of weapons. This includes how effective weapons are
compared to each other as well as how effective they are when equipped by
one character compared to the others.
There is quite a bit of math here. I think the explanations I have provided
should be clear enough for those of you who have an interest in this stuff.
DO NOT write me to ask me to explain anything if you don't understand it
UNLESS I have VERY OBVIOUSLY neglected to spell something out.
Q: Why does a lot of the content (tables, etc.) look familiar?
A: Because I had a large portion of an older version (pre-2.0) of my other
FFXII FAQ on gamefaqs.com, the Power Walkthrough, devoted to it. A lot of
the things that I have there have been retained for this document. Also, I
make a number of direct references to maltzsan's Game Mechanics FAQ, also
available on GameFAQs.
Q: Should I just skip around to whatever section I want?
A: I recommend reading this guide from beginning to end, since I start with
a foundation and slowly build upon it. Later on, I make repeated references
to concepts and parameters that I have defined myself throughout the course
of this document. Section 2d sums up 2a-2c pretty well, though, and if you
don't care how I got the numbers and just want to see them, you can peruse
the tables at your leisure.
Q: How much difference does all of this actually make?
A: Short answer? Not ALL that much. It's mostly just info for number-crunchers
who enjoy this kind of stuff. Long answer? Read the guide and find out ...
===============================================================================
2. Weapons Explained [020]
===============================================================================
_______________________________________________________________________________
2a. Weapon Damage [02a]
Let us first consider weapons on their own in relation to each other, without
any regard for character proficiencies.
Before we get into any numbers, let's lay out the basics as they are provided
by official documentation. Each weapon type depends on certain factors in
determing how much damage is done when it is used. I would like to credit Aeana
from GAF for originally posting these formulae from the FFXII Battle Ultimania,
as well as maltzsan for his outstanding Game Mechanics FAQ, which already goes
over much of this, albeit presented differently.
We start with the general and slowly venture into the more specific.
Damage formulae for all weapons hold a general form:
BDMG = AD x SMOD x XMOD
where
BDMG = base damage done in one (1) hit
AD = attack/defense differential
SMOD = net modifier from attacker's statistics
XMOD = net modifier from attacker's and defender's current status effects
Let's ignore XMOD for now and concentrate on the first two terms (AD and SMOD)
and how they are derived for each weapon.
For raw damage calculations, there are eight different classes of weapons. As
we will see later, this number fluctuates when we are dealing with weapon
speed or combo rates, but for now, we have eight. Technically, there are seven,
since "Unarmed" wouldn't actually be a weapon class, but whatever.
The following table details the derivation of AD and SMOD values for each
weapon class. Abbreviations I will use are:
ATK = the attacker's Attack
DEF = the target's Defense
MDEF = the target's Magick Defense
RAND1 = randomness factor with a MINIMUM value of 1 and a MAXIMUM value of
1.125
RAND2 = randomness factor with a MINIMUM value of 0 and a MAXIMUM value of
1.111
STR = the attacker's Strength
MAG = the attacker's Magick Power
VIT = the attacker's Vitality
SPD = the attacker's Speed
LV = the attacker's Level
--------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 01.] |
===================== ==================================
| Damage Class | Parameter Derivations |
===================== ==================================
| 1. Unarmed | AD1a* = 11 x RAND1 - DEF |
| | AD1b* = (LV+STR)/2 x RAND1 - DEF |
| | SMOD1 = STR x (LV+STR)/256 |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 2. Swords (1H) | AD2 = ATK x RAND1 - DEF |
| Greatswords (2H) | SMOD2 = 1 + STR x (LV+STR)/256 |
| Spears | |
| Crossbows | |
| Rods** | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 3. Poles | AD3 = ATK x RAND1 - MDEF |
| | SMOD3 = 1 + STR x (LV+STR)/256 |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 4. Maces | AD4 = ATK x RAND1 - DEF |
| | SMOD4 = 1 + MAG x (LV+MAG)/256 |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 5. Katanas | AD5 = ATK x RAND1 - DEF |
| Staves | SMOD5 = 1 + STR x (LV+MAG)/256 |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 6. Daggers | AD6 = ATK x RAND1 - DEF |
| Ninja Swords | SMOD6 = 1 + STR x (LV+SPD)/218 |
| Bows | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 7. Axes | AD7 = ATK x RAND2 - DEF |
| Hammers | SMOD7 = 1 + STR x (LV+VIT)/128 |
| Hand-bombs | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 8. Guns | AD8 = (ATK x RAND1)^2 |
| Measures | SMOD8 = 1 |
| Healing Rod | |
| Rod of Faith | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
* AD1a applies without the license Brawler learned, with ATK = 11. AD1b
applies with the license Brawler learned, with ATK = (LV+STR)/2.
** Except for Healing Rod and Rod of Faith.
+ Notice that these terms are a little different from how they appear in
the Game Mechanics FAQ. I have not changed the equation at all; I have
merely chosen to redistribute a 1 between the two terms. My reason for
doing so will become clear later.
You can check out the RAND values for yourself by doing a test run and
averaging out the damage done by a string of hits using one weapon type. You
will see that the value of RAND1 will average out to about 1.0625, or exactly
halfway between the minimum and maximum values.
Thus, from now on, for the purposes of making future calculations simpler, I
will assume:
RAND1 = 1.0625
RAND2 = 0.5555
Now let's turn to XMOD. XMOD values can stack, which means that if two or
more of the statuses in the following chart are in effect, the net value of
XMOD is the product of the individual XMOD values of all of the effects.
------------------------------------------------
| [Table 02a] |
======================= ========================
| Status in Effect | Value of XMOD |
| (Attacker) | |
======================= ========================
| Bravery | 1.3 |
| Berserk | 1.5 |
| Focus* | 1.2 |
| Adrenaline** | 2.0 |
| Petrify | 0.1 x (time remaining) |
| Elemental Enhancement | 1.5 |
----------------------- ------------------------
* License granting bonus damage at HP Max status.
** License granting bonus damage at HP Critical status.
------------------------------------------------
| [Table 02b] |
======================= ========================
| Status in Effect | Value of XMOD |
| (Target) | |
======================= ========================
| Protect* | 0.75 |
| Last Stand** | 0.5 |
| Sleep | 1.5 |
| Oil | 3.0 (Fire) |
| Petrify | 0.1 x (time remaining) |
| Elemental Weakness | 2.0 |
| Elemental Resistance | 0.5 |
| Elemental Immunity | 0.0 |
| Elemental Absorption | -1.0 (sometimes -2.0) |
----------------------- ------------------------
* This is Shell if the attacker is using a Damage Class 3 weapon.
** License granting bonus damage reduction during HP Critical status.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2b. Weapon Speed [02b]
Now we have to factor in weapon speed. Here is where things get a bit murky,
because the differences here are in the range of tenths of seconds, especially
when we consider any evaluation done during the faster game speeds. On top of
everything, there are some rather ugly formulae and trendlines when it comes
to speed mechanics, so we have to get a little dirtier here.
Be aware that I will make repeated references to maltzsan's Game Mechanics FAQ
on GameFAQs, which I will refer to from now on as the GMFAQ, so I give him
full credit for all of the starting information that I provide. I am merely
taking his data a step further with extrapolations with the intention of
producing some realistic numbers that we can use later on.
First, there are, effectively, two separate times that we need to consider
for weapon speed. As mentioned in the GMFAQ, they are Charge Time and Action
Time.
The GMFAQ gives us this equation for Charge Time of an action:
---------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 03a] (reproduced from GMFAQ) |
---------------------------------------------------------------
| Charge Time = [CT x CS-MOD + RAN0.5] x L-MOD x B-MOD x ST-MOD |
| |
| where CT = Charge Time Factor (CT) |
| CS-MOD = Character's Speed Modifier |
| RAN0.5 = Random number between 0 and 0.5 (seconds) |
| L-MOD = License "Swiftness" Modifier |
| B-MOD = Battle Speed Modifier |
| ST-MOD = Stats Modifier |
---------------------------------------------------------------
Let's ignore L-MOD, B-MOD, and ST-MOD for the moment. Now, if we skip ahead
in the GMFAQ to the section detailing CS-MOD, we find that its definition is
a bit nebulous and entirely dependent on a character's SPD. I have calculated
all possible CS-MOD values by extrapolation from the chart in the GMFAQ
(which lists all possible CT x CS-MOD values for CT = 35):
----------------
| [Table 03b] |
------- --------
| SPD | CS-MOD |
------- --------
| 23 | 0.136 |
| 24-25 | 0.133 |
| 26-28 | 0.130 |
| 29-31 | 0.127 |
| 32-35 | 0.124 |
| 37-40 | 0.121 |
| 41-46 | 0.119 |
| 47-56 | 0.116 |
| 57-72 | 0.113 |
| 73-93 | 0.110 |
| 94-99 | 0.107 |
------- --------
Since we don't want to deal with character stats as a variable right now,
I will, for the moment, fix CS-MOD at 1.2 seconds. This seems like a reasonable
choice (it gives us SPD ~40) and gives us a nice number to work with. I will
also assume the "RAN0.5" term to be a nice, even 0.
Now let's go back and consider the other factors. The GMFAQ says L-MOD is
dependent on the number of Swiftness licenses learned. The starting value of
L-MOD is 1. For every Swiftness license acquired, L-MOD decreases by 0.12.
Since the mostly likely in-game scenario is that you'll have all of the
Swiftness licenses learned, let's go ahead and assume that. Therefore, L-MOD
is equal to 0.64.
B-MOD is the battle speed modifier. Let's change things up a bit here. I know
that most people will probably be playing on Fastest, but in order to accent
the differences between weapons as much as possible, let's put the game on
Slowest. According to the GMFAQ, B-MOD = 1 when this is the case.
ST-MOD is another modifier based on status effects, just like EMOD was for
damage. Its default value is 1, but it can take on other values depending on
what sort of statuses are in effect. I will simply reproduce the chart in the
GMFAQ here.
---------------------------------------
| [Table 03c] (reproduced from GMFAQ) |
=======================================
| Status | ST-MOD |
|------------------------|--------------|
| Berserk | 1/2.0 (50%) |
| Haste | 1/1.5 (67%) |
| Slow | 1/0.5 (200%) |
|------------------------|--------------|
| Berserk + Haste | 1/3.0 (33%) |
| Berserk + Haste + Slow | 1/2.0 (50%) |
| Berserk + Slow | 1/1.0 (100%) |
| Haste + Slow* | 1/1.0 (100%) |
|------------------------|--------------|
| Sleep | Paused |
| Stop | Paused |
=======================================
We won't use any of these values now, leaving ST-MOD at 1, but we'll come back
to this later when we're putting everything together.
Anyway, let's recap what we have so far for our Charge Time formula:
CT = variable
CS-MOD = depends on character's SPD, but 0.12 in our calculations
RAND0.5 = 0
L-MOD = 0.64
B-MOD = 1
ST-MOD = 1
Using the table of CT values corresponding to specific weapons from the GMFAQ,
we can now derive reference values for Charge Time for every weapon in the
game.
But wait. We still have to deal with Action Time, which combines both the time
it takes for the attack animation to occur and the subsequent stun time after
the attack hits (and the damage pops up). A second attack may not begin until
the stun time has fully passed.
So, here is the relevant information from the Action Time chart in the GMFAQ:
----------------------------------------
| [Table 03d] (reproduced from GMFAQ) |
========================================
| Action Type | Action Time (seconds) |
|----------------|-----------------------|
| Melee Attacks | 1.2 |
| if Combo | +0.5 each |
| | or +0.9 each | <- Rare
|----------------|-----------------------|
| Ranged Attacks | 1.4 |
| *exceptions | 1.6 |
========================================
* The exceptions are:
- Balthier with a bow, crossbow, or gun equipped
- Fran with a bow equipped
- Penelo with a crossbow or gun equipped
For now, we will only deal with the first row of values for each of the action
types, which are 1.2 and 1.4 seconds respectively. We'll worry about combos
later.
Finally, we can now come up with a chart for relative Base Weapon Speed (BWS)
in seconds, adding together Charge Time and Action Time, using the CT values
provided by the GMFAQ. Weapons are generally listed in order from fastest to
slowest, with melee weapons separated from ranged weapons. Remember, we are
still assuming CS-MOD = 0.12 here.
--------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 04.] |
================ ==== ============= ============= ======
| Weapon Type | CT | Charge Time | Action Time | BWS |
================ ==== ============= ============= ======
| EXAMPLE | 35 | 2.88 | 1.20 | 4.08 |
---------------- ---- ------------- ------------- ------
| Daggers 1* | 21 | 1.73 | 1.20 | 2.93 |
| Daggers 2* | 22 | 1.81 | 1.20 | 3.01 |
| Daggers 3* | 23 | 1.89 | 1.20 | 3.09 |
| Daggers 4* | 24 | 1.97 | 1.20 | 3.17 |
| Ninja Swords | 24 | 1.97 | 1.20 | 3.17 |
| Daggers 5* | 25 | 2.06 | 1.20 | 3.26 |
| Spears | 26 | 2.14 | 1.20 | 3.34 |
| Unarmed** | 26 | 2.14 | 1.20 | 3.34 |
| Axes | 29 | 2.39 | 1.20 | 3.59 |
| Katanas | 29 | 2.39 | 1.20 | 3.59 |
| Greatswords*** | 30 | 2.47 | 1.20 | 3.67 |
| Poles | 30 | 2.47 | 1.20 | 3.67 |
| Crossbows | 28 | 2.30 | 1.40 | 3.70 |
| Hammers | 32 | 2.63 | 1.20 | 3.83 |
| Maces | 32 | 2.63 | 1.20 | 3.83 |
| Measures | 32 | 2.63 | 1.20 | 3.83 |
| Rods | 33 | 2.72 | 1.20 | 3.92 |
| Staves | 34 | 2.80 | 1.20 | 4.00 |
| Swords | 35 | 2.88 | 1.20 | 4.08 |
| Hand-bombs | 34 | 2.80 | 1.40 | 4.20 |
| Bows | 36 | 2.96 | 1.40 | 4.36 |
| Guns | 51 | 4.20 | 1.40 | 5.60 |
| Wyrmhero Blade | 99 | 8.15 | 1.20 | 9.35 |
---------------- ---- ------------- ------------- ------
* Daggers 1: Danjuro
Daggers 2: Zwill Crossblade
Daggers 3: Platinum Dagger, Orichalcum Dirk, Avenger
Daggers 4: Gladius, Main Gauche, Chopper
Daggers 5: Assassin's Dagger, Mage Masher, Dagger
** CT for Unarmed is unconfirmed
*** Except for Wyrmhero Blade
By the way, if you check out Section 1c in the GMFAQ, you will see that the
in-game timings provided by TimeMage fit pretty well, so he deserves kudos.
The fact that the values I have provided here are a little faster is due to
the CS-MOD value that I chose, which would correspond to a SPD stat of
around 40, while TimeMage's tests were done at SPD 31.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2c. Combos and Critical Hits [02c]
We're on our way to coming up with some definitive weapons analysis tables. The
last step is to account for combos and critical hits.
First, let's again turn to the GMFAQ. It tells us that each weapon has an
innate percent chance to combo or critical. However, if the weapon is one that
can combo, that same percent chance tells us nothing abou the number of hits
that will occur. That is an independent distribution based on how much HP the
character currently has as a percentage of his or her max HP. As HP/Max HP
decreases, the likelihood of scoring more hits increases.
The GMFAQ provides us with a neat chart with combo/critical percent chances.
It also says that the stated values are multiplied by 1.8 with the Genji
Gloves equipped and by 0.7 without, so I have done the calculations and
provided a chart here to reflect those values (it is a modified version of
the chart in the GMFAQ) in general order from most combo-friendly to least:
-------------------------------------------------
| [Table 05a] |
======================= ============= ===========
| Combo-type Weapon | Rate (no GG)| Rate (GG) |
======================= ============= ===========
| Ninja Swords | | |
| - Yagyu Darkblade | 15.4% | 39.6% |
| - Orochi | 14.0% | 36.0% |
| - Iga Blade | 13.3% | 34.2% |
| - Koga Blade | 12.6% | 32.4% |
| - Kagenui | 11.9% | 30.6% |
| - Sakura-saezuri | 11.2% | 28.8% |
| - Ashura | 10.5% | 27.0% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Katanas | | |
| - Masamune | 28.0% | 72.0% |
| - All others | 9.1% | 23.4% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Poles | 8.4% | 21.6% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Greatswords | | |
| - Wyrmhero Blade* | 56.0% | 100.0% |
| - Sword of Kings | 17.5% | 45.0% |
| - Treaty-Blade | 17.5% | 45.0% |
| - Tournesol | 8.4% | 21.6% |
| - Defender | 3.5% | 9.0% |
| - All others | 4.9% | 12.6% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Daggers | | |
| - Danjuro | 7.0% | 18.0% |
| - All others | 4.9% | 12.6% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Hammers | 4.9% | 12.6% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Unarmed | 3.5% | 9.0% |
| Swords | | |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Maces | 2.8% | 7.2% |
| Spears | | |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Axes | 2.1% | 5.4% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Rods | | |
| Staves | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Hand-bombs | | |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
* The Wyrmhero Blade is at 80% before the 0.7-or-1.8 multiplier. It would
have a 144% chance to combo with the Genji Gloves, which makes no sense.
Either the real value w/ GG is 100% or maybe the Genji Gloves have no
effect at all. For the sake of argument, I will assume the former. In the
end, it doesn't matter much anyway since the Wyrmhero Blade has zero
practical use.
-------------------------------------------------
| [Table 05b] |
======================= ============= ===========
| Critical-type Weapon | Rate (no GG)| Rate (GG) |
======================= ============= ===========
| Crossbows | 4.9% | 12.6% |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
| Measures | | |
| Bows | 3.5% | 9.0% |
| Guns | | |
----------------------- ------------- -----------
Just as a reminder, I give you the following ratio:
Rate (GG)/Rate (no GG) = 18/7
-> except when both rates are at 0, of course
Now we turn to the number of hits you can get for weapons that combo. I have
already explained how this is determined. Here again is the chart that is
provided in the GMFAQ, and it will be the last that I will quote directly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 05c] (reproduced from GMFAQ) |
========================================================================
| Number of Hits | HP | HP | HP | HP |
| When Combo Occurs | > 25% | 12.5-25% | 6.25-12.5% | < 6.25% |
|--------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
| 2 | 40.0% | 14.7% | 1.4% | 0% |
| 3 | 38.2% | 30.8% | 7.5% | 0% |
| 4 | 16.6% | 29.3% | 17.5% | 0.2% |
| 5 | 4.3% | 16.7% | 24.7% | 1.2% |
|--------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
| 6 | 0.8% | 6.4% | 23.3% | 4.3% |
| 7 | 0% | 1.7% | 15.3% | 10.8% |
| 8 | 0% | 0.3% | 7.2% | 19.2% |
| 9 | 0% | 0% | 2.4% | 24.4% |
|--------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------|
| 10 | 0% | 0% | 0.6% | 21.7% |
| 11 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 12.8% |
| 12 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5.3% |
| Average Hits | 2.873 | 3.752 | 5.509 | 9.028 |
========================================================================
But wait a minute. The "Average Hits" values are conditional; they only apply
IF THE COMBO ACTUALLY OCCURS, which is, of course, not all of the time. We
need to perform some additional calculations. So these numbers actually
represent Average Hits Per Combo as a function of current HP/Max HP
percentage [AHPC(HP%)].
Let's assume that HP > 25%, which is indeed what your HP will be most of the
time. This means that you average 2.873 hits when you combo with a weapon that
can combo. We'll use the Masamune, the weapon with the highest combo rate, for
this example, and without the Genji Gloves equipped. We still have to account
for the average number of hits when you DON'T combo. That, of course, is 1.
So the Masamune, sans Genji Gloves, combos 28% of the time, which means that
it does not combo 72% of the time. The REAL average number of hits we can
expect from one attack with the Masamune is (1 x 0.72) + (2.873 x 0.28) =
1.524 hits.
In general, the formula becomes:
HITS = (1 x NCB%) + [AHPC(HP%) x CB%]
where
HITS = average number of hits per attack
NCB% = percent chance that no combo is performed
AHPC(HP%) = average hits per combo as a function of current HP/Max HP
CB% = percent chance that combo is performed
If we then come up with a new chart to derive the average number of hits for
all weapons that combo for a particular HP/Max HP value, we get this:
---------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 06.] |
======================= ================= ===============
| Combo-type Weapon | HITS (no GG) | HITS (GG) |
======================= ================= ===============
| Ninja Swords | | |
| - Yagyu Darkblade | 1.288 | 1.742 |
| - Orochi | 1.262 | 1.674 |
| - Iga Blade | 1.249 | 1.641 |
| - Koga Blade | 1.236 | 1.607 |
| - Kagenui | 1.223 | 1.573 |
| - Sakura-saezuri | 1.210 | 1.539 |
| - Ashura | 1.197 | 1.506 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Katanas | | |
| - Masamune | 1.524 | 2.349 |
| - All others | 1.170 | 1.438 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Poles | 1.157 | 1.405 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Greatswords | | |
| - Wyrmhero Blade | 2.049 | 2.873 |
| - Sword of Kings | 1.328 | 1.843 |
| - Treaty-Blade | 1.328 | 1.843 |
| - Tournesol | 1.157 | 1.405 |
| - Defender | 1.066 | 1.169 |
| - All others | 1.092 | 1.236 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Daggers | | |
| - Danjuro | 1.131 | 1.337 |
| - All others | 1.092 | 1.236 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Hammers | 1.092 | 1.236 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Unarmed | 1.066 | 1.169 |
| Swords | | |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Maces | 1.052 | 1.135 |
| Spears | | |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Axes | 1.039 | 1.101 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Rods | | |
| Staves | 1.000 | 1.000 |
| Hand-bombs | | |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
But remember, this is only when HP > 25% of Max HP.
What about critical-type weapons? They don't get any extra hits. The number of
average hits for them is 1. Duh. They always only hit once. Instead, they have
access to critical hits. When a critical hit occurs, the net calculated damage
is simply doubled. That's it. Criticals almost act like status effect modifiers
(XMOD values, for those of you who've been keeping up with the jargon in this
document). It's time to define a new modifier, CMOD, which stands for (guess
what) Critical Modifier. Its value is 1 for any weapon that cannot strike for
critical hits (i.e. combo-type weapons). What is its value for weapons that
can? Refer back to the Critical Rate chart. We can do the same sort of
extrapolation that we've already done for combo-type weapons.
Let's take a crossbow as an example, without the Genji Gloves equipped. Its
critical rate is 4.9%. This means that 4.9% of the time, CMOD = 2. The rest
of the time (95.1%), CMOD = 1. So it's average CMOD value is (1 x 0.951) +
(2 x 0.049) = 1.049. Again, we can construct a new chart. It's much simpler
this time around. The general formula is:
CMOD = (1 x NCR%) + (2 x CR%)
where
CMOD = net critical hit modifier
NCR% = percent chance that no critical hit is performed
CR% = percent chance that a critical hit is performed
In fact, the numbers just happen to work out such that the average CMOD value
is simply 1 + CR%.
---------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 07.] |
======================= ================= ===============
| Critical-type Weapon | CMOD (no GG) | CMOD (GG) |
======================= ================= ===============
| Crossbows | 1.049 | 1.126 |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
| Measures | | |
| Bows | 1.035 | 1.090 |
| Guns | | |
----------------------- ----------------- ---------------
But I'll keep the general formula around because it's always good to have one.
We are just about ready to rumble. There is one more thing that we need to
address, and this goes back to combo-type weapons again. Recall the Action
Time chart from the GMFAQ. It states that when combo attacks, each additional
hit adds 0.5 seconds to Action Time, and sometimes adds 0.9 seconds instead,
although this is rare. Thus, we will neglect the 0.9 seconds factor in our
studies, but the additional 0.5 seconds per hit should be accounted for in our
Weapon Speed (WS) calculations, for the sake of being as accurate as possible.
To do this, we merely add on an extra term: Expected Combo Action Time, or
ECAT, which is determined by:
ECAT = (HITS - 1) x 0.5
for each weapon, where HITS is equal to the average number of hits that we
just calculated not long ago. We use (HITS - 1) because the first hit is
already accounted for by our original Charge Time + Action Time. With all of
this in hand, we combine our combo rate table with our WS table by factoring
in ECAT values. This allows us to obtain final Expected Weapon Speed (EWS)
values for all weapons by simply adding together BWS and ECAT:
EWS = BWS + ECAT
I added one more decimal place to EWS values (as opposed to BWS values) to
highlight the differences. The final results are as follows (remember, CS-MOD
is still 0.12):
------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 08.] |
======================== ==== ============= ==========
| Weapon Type | CT | EWS (no GG) | EWS (GG) |
======================== ==== ============= ==========
| Daggers 1* | 21 | 2.994 | 3.097 |
| Daggers 2* | 22 | 3.056 | 3.128 |
| Daggers 3* | 23 | 3.138 | 3.211 |
| Daggers 4* | 24 | 3.221 | 3.293 |
| Daggers 5* | 25 | 3.303 | 3.375 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Ninja Swords | 24 | | |
| - Ashura | | 3.273 | 3.428 |
| - Sakura-saezuri | | 3.280 | 3.445 |
| - Kagenui | | 3.286 | 3.461 |
| - Koga Blade | | 3.293 | 3.478 |
| - Iga Blade | | 3.299 | 3.495 |
| - Orochi | | 3.306 | 3.512 |
| - Yagyu Darkblade | | 3.319 | 3.546 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Spears | 26 | 3.366 | 3.407 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Unarmed** | 26 | 3.372 | 3.424 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Crossbows | 28 | 3.704 | 3.704 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Axes | 29 | 3.606 | 3.637 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Katanas | 29 | | |
| - Masamune | | 3.849 | 4.261 |
| - All others | | 3.672 | 3.805 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Poles | 30 | 3.747 | 3.871 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Greatswords | 30 | | |
| - Defender | | 3.701 | 3.753 |
| - Tournesol | | 3.747 | 3.871 |
| - Sword of Kings | | 3.832 | 4.090 |
| - Treaty-Blade | | 3.832 | 4.090 |
| - All others*** | | 3.714 | 3.787 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Measures | 32 | 3.833 | 3.833 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Maces | 32 | 3.859 | 3.901 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Hammers | 32 | 3.879 | 3.951 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Rods | 33 | 3.915 | 3.915 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Staves | 34 | 3.998 | 3.998 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Hand-bombs | 34 | 4.198 | 4.198 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Swords | 35 | 4.113 | 4.164 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Bows | 36 | 4.362 | 4.362 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Guns | 51 | 5.597 | 5.597 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
| Wyrmhero Blade | 99 | 9.871 | 10.283 |
------------------------ ---- ------------- ----------
* Daggers 1: Danjuro
Daggers 2: Zwill Crossblade
Daggers 3: Platinum Dagger, Orichalcum Dirk, Avenger
Daggers 4: Gladius, Main Gauche, Chopper
Daggers 5: Assassin's Dagger, Mage Masher, Dagger
** CT for Unarmed is unconfirmed
*** Except for Wyrmhero Blade
Again, this is conditional based on current HP%, since ECAT depends on HITS,
which depends on AHPC, which is a function of current HP%.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2d. Recap / Finalized Variables [02d]
I know that's a lot to take in, so let's go over everything we've formulated,
step by step.
Section 2a Recap
----------------
Let's start with the amount of damage that we can expect from a single hit by
any weapon, known as Base Damage or BDMG.
BDMG = AD x SMOD x XMOD
where
BDMG = base damage done per hit in an attack
AD = attack/defense differential (see [Table 01.])
SMOD = net modifier from attacker's stats (see [Table 01.])
XMOD = net modifier from attacker's and target's current status effects
(see [Table 02.])
and AD and SMOD differ from weapon to weapon.
Section 2b Recap
----------------
Parallel to this, we can determine the speed of the first hit of a particular
weapon by doing the following:
Charge Time = [CT x CS-MOD + RAN0.5] x L-MOD x B-MOD x ST-MOD
Action Time = (select a value from [Table 03c])
BWS = Charge Time + Action Time
where
CT = Charge Time factor (CT)
CS-MOD = character's SPD modifier, for which we'll use 0.12 here
(see Game Mechanics FAQ for full CT x CS-MOD chart)
RAN0.5 = random number between 0 and 0.5 in seconds
L-MOD = Swiftness license modifier
B-MOD = battle speed modifier
ST-MOD = net status effects modifier (see [Table 03b])
BWS = base weapon speed
Section 2c Recap
----------------
Now we have to factor in combos and critical hits.
To account for combos, we do the following:
HITS = (1 x NCB%) + [AHPC(HP%) x CB%]
where
HITS = average number of hits per attack
NCB% = percent chance that no combo is performed (see [Table 05a])
AHPC(HP%) = average hits per combo as a function of current HP/Max HP
(see [Table 05c])
CB% = percent chance that combo is performed (see [Table 05a])
Combos also modify our weapon speed, since it takes an additional 0.5 seconds
worth of Action Time per hit after the first one. So, our final expected
weapon speed is:
EWS = BWS + ECAT
where
ECAT = (HITS - 1) x 0.5
ECAT = expected combo action time
Now, to account for critical hits, we do the following:
CMOD = (1 x NCR%) + (2 x CR%)
where
CMOD = net critical hit modifier (see [Table 07.])
NCR% = percent chance that no critical hit is performed
CR% = percent chance that a critical hit is performed
The good thing about CMOD is that it is unconditional (aside from whether or
not the Genji Gloves are equipped), as opposed to HITS and EWS, the other two
variables that carry over from this section.
Finalized Variables
-------------------
In the end, only two variables matter in our weapon ratings:
1. DMG
2. EWS
EWS has already been defined, while DMG is the average expected damage per
ATTACK (not hit) with the equipped weapon. As you might expect, DMG takes
into account both combos and critical hits. Its formula looks like this:
DMG = BDMG x CMOD x HITS
So, hopefully now we're all on the same page and we can move on.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2e. Weapon Power Ratings [02e]
After such an arduous setup, we are finally ready to get to the fun parts.
They are what I call Final Fantasy XII's weapon power ratings (DPS).
DPS stands for Damage Per Second (DPS) and is a genre staple as far as
terminology goes, but DPS values are not absolute in FFXII the way its system
is set up. In the end, the numbers that you will see in the following tables
are still strictly conditional because I have had to set a fair number of
conditions on how I arrived at them, but as far as being a RELATIVE comparison
of weapons to each other, they should suffice.
Remember, we are still dealing with weapons only, so we want as little to do
with character differences as possible and compare the weapons to themselves,
all other things being equal.
The formula is simple:
DPS = DMG/EWS
You can calculate this for any weapon, equipped on any character at any level
with any set of stats and add on as many status effects as you want.
Obviously, I'm not going to tabulate all possible DPS values because it would
take me an unreasonable amount of time and space to do so. I have given you
the hard-to-obtain numbers; you can plug in the rest and figure things out for
yourself.
_______________________________________________________________________________
2f. Case Studies [02f]
Of course, I wouldn't go through all this trouble if I didn't give you SOME
tables. Everyone likes comparisons among the strongest weapons, so let's do
those. The weapons in question are:
- Zodiac Spear (+150)
- Tournesol (+140)
- Scorpion Tail (+119)
- Whale Whisker (+108)
- Durandal (+99)
- Sagittarius (+93) with Assassin's Arrows (+3)
- Masamune (+93)
- Volcano (+85) with Castellanos (+6)
- Yagyu Darkblade (+80)
- Danjuro (+80)
- Gastrophetes (+76) with Grand Bolts (+4)
- Grand Mace (+72)
- Fomalhaut (+50) with Stone Shot (+3)
- Unarmed with Brawler license [+(LV+STR)/2]
The following will not be considered: Rods, Staves, Measures, or the Wyrmhero
Blade. The first three weapon types are clearly not made for attacking, while
the Wyrmhero Blade has no practical use. As for my selection of ammunition, I
equipped the strongest non-elemental ammo available to keep things as
streamlined as possible.
For the character stats that we need, let's use Vaan for now. He's the best
all-around character in the game, so why not.
With this in mind, there are the following variables to consider, at least
for the first three case studies:
- Vaan's LV and accompanying stats with Battle Lore or Magick Lore licenses
- Vaan's stat modifiers from equipment
- Whether or not Vaan has Genji Gloves (GG) equipped
- Vaan's current HP/HP Max percentage (affects HITS)
- Target's DEF (or MDEF) at either 0 or 30
- Status effects (XMOD)
That's still a lot of variables to handle, and I won't tackle all of them at
once. The examples that I will provide are the most applicable ones that I can
think of.
NOTE: I will assume all realistic conditions. That means that all Swiftness
licenses are learned, battle speed is at fastest, and weapon speeds are
properly calculated (meaning appropriate values for CT and CS-MOD are chosen).
Case 1: LLC
-----------
Vaan
LV 1 Armor: Golden Skullcap, Maximillian
STR 37 B.Lores/M.Lores: 5/5
MAG 35 HP/HP Max: 26-99%
VIT 24 Status: None
SPD 33
-------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 09a] |
================= ================== ==================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 0 | Target DEF = 30 |
| (without GG) | DMG | DPS | DMG | DPS |
================= ======== ========= ======== =========
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 118.1 | 62.83 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Volcano | 415.9 | 180.72 | 169.1 | 73.47 |
| Grand Mace | 476.8 | 225.75 | 289.8 | 137.22 |
| Scorpion Tail | 593.7 | 278.53 | 324.3 | 152.12 |
| Gastrophetes | 578.9 | 280.59 | 374.6 | 181.56 |
| Sagittarius | 714.8 | 300.27 | 504.5 | 211.95 |
| Durandal | 727.7 | 325.20 | 520.1 | 232.45 |
| Danjuro | 651.0 | 379.60 | 421.2 | 245.63 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 741.5 | 387.71 | 479.8 | 250.87 |
| Masamune | 934.4 | 419.21 | 650.7 | 291.94 |
| Whale Whisker | 862.2 | 413.51 | 636.8 | 305.40 |
| Tournesol | 1117.7 | 535.55 | 892.2 | 427.92 |
| Zodiac Spear | 1089.0 | 581.12 | 884.0 | 471.73 |
| Fomalhaut | 3282.1 | 1102.97 | 3282.1 | 1102.97 |
----------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------
-------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 09b] |
================= ================== ==================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 0 | Target DEF = 30 |
| (with GG) | DMG | DPS | DMG | DPS |
================= ======== ========= ======== =========
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 129.6 | 67.06 | 0.0 | 0.00 |
| Volcano | 415.9 | 180.72 | 169.1 | 73.47 |
| Grand Mace | 514.1 | 238.77 | 312.5 | 145.13 |
| Scorpion Tail | 672.2 | 305.00 | 367.1 | 166.58 |
| Gastrophetes | 621.4 | 301.19 | 402.1 | 194.89 |
| Sagittarius | 752.8 | 316.22 | 531.4 | 223.22 |
| Durandal | 798.0 | 348.62 | 570.4 | 249.19 |
| Danjuro | 769.5 | 423.32 | 497.9 | 273.91 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 1002.4 | 468.57 | 648.6 | 303.19 |
| Whale Whisker | 1046.4 | 473.75 | 772.8 | 349.90 |
| Masamune | 1439.5 | 545.07 | 1002.5 | 379.59 |
| Tournesol | 1356.4 | 614.13 | 1082.8 | 490.27 |
| Zodiac Spear | 1174.2 | 613.14 | 953.2 | 497.72 |
| Fomalhaut | 3456.5 | 1161.58 | 3456.5 | 1161.58 |
----------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------
Relevance: Here you can clearly see the superiority of the Fomalhaut at
lower levels. It is well-documented that Fomalhauts are the key
to success in LLC (Low Level Challenge) ventures. Golden Skullcap
and Maximillian were chosen for their relatively even spread of
stat bonuses.
Case 2: Endgame
---------------
Vaan
LV 60 Equipment: Golden Skullcap, Maximillian
STR 72 B.Lores/M.Lores: 5/5
MAG 61 HP/HP Max: 26-99%
VIT 46 Status: None
SPD 41
-------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 10a] |
================= ================== ==================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 0 | Target DEF = 30 |
| (without GG) | DMG | DPS | DMG | DPS |
================= ======== ========= ======== =========
| Volcano | 3064.6 | 1366.89 | 1245.9 | 555.69 |
| Grand Mace | 2401.8 | 1167.99 | 1459.9 | 709.96 |
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 2774.1 | 1511.52 | 1587.3 | 864.88 |
| Fomalhaut | 3282.1 | 1136.83 | 3282.1 | 1136.83 |
| Gastrophetes | 3399.4 | 1687.57 | 2199.6 | 1091.96 |
| Sagittarius | 3627.2 | 1564.83 | 2560.3 | 1104.58 |
| Danjuro | 3303.3 | 1968.19 | 2137.4 | 1273.54 |
| Scorpion Tail | 4375.4 | 2107.56 | 2389.7 | 1151.09 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 3762.8 | 2011.28 | 2434.7 | 1301.42 |
| Durandal | 4273.2 | 1963.08 | 3054.4 | 1403.20 |
| Masamune | 5276.9 | 2422.20 | 3674.8 | 1686.81 |
| Whale Whisker | 5063.1 | 2490.56 | 3739.4 | 1839.43 |
| Tournesol | 6563.3 | 3228.01 | 5239.6 | 2577.37 |
| Zodiac Spear | 6394.8 | 3496.88 | 5191.1 | 2838.64 |
----------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------
-------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 10b] |
================= ================== ==================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 0 | Target DEF = 30 |
| (with GG) | DMG | DPS | DMG | DPS |
================= ======== ========= ======== =========
| Volcano | 3064.6 | 1366.89 | 1245.9 | 555.69 |
| Grand Mace | 2589.9 | 1234.71 | 1574.3 | 750.51 |
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 3042.2 | 1612.39 | 1740.7 | 922.60 |
| Fomalhaut | 3456.5 | 1197.24 | 3456.5 | 1197.24 |
| Sagittarius | 3819.9 | 1647.98 | 2696.4 | 1163.28 |
| Gastrophetes | 3648.9 | 1811.44 | 2361.1 | 1172.11 |
| Danjuro | 3905.0 | 2192.15 | 2526.8 | 1418.45 |
| Scorpion Tail | 4953.4 | 2305.87 | 2705.4 | 1259.40 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 5086.5 | 2425.07 | 3291.3 | 1569.16 |
| Durandal | 4686.3 | 2103.11 | 3349.7 | 1503.29 |
| Whale Whisker | 6144.8 | 2849.34 | 4538.3 | 2104.42 |
| Masamune | 8129.6 | 3138.10 | 5661.4 | 2185.36 |
| Tournesol | 7965.4 | 3693.59 | 6359.0 | 2948.67 |
| Zodiac Spear | 6895.6 | 3687.61 | 5597.6 | 2993.47 |
----------------- -------- --------- -------- ---------
Relevance: Normal playthrough, towards end of the game story-wise, without
or just before any serious power-leveling, maybe when you're just
starting out on those high-rank hunts.
Case 3: Postgame
----------------
Vaan
LV 99 Equipment: Golden Skullcap, Maximillian
STR 94 B.Lores/M.Lores: 5/5
MAG 79 HP/HP Max: 100%
VIT 61 Status: Focus
SPD 46
---------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 11a] |
================= =================== ===================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 0 | Target DEF = 30 |
| (without GG) | DMG | DPS | DMG | DPS |
================= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Volcano | 7188.3 | 3206.13 | 2922.3 | 1303.40 |
| Fomalhaut | 3938.5 | 1364.19 | 3938.5 | 1364.19 |
| Grand Mace | 5403.6 | 1597.25 | 3284.5 | 1597.25 |
| Sagittarius | 8047.3 | 2450.67 | 5680.5 | 2450.67 |
| Gastrophetes | 7689.6 | 2470.06 | 4975.7 | 2470.06 |
| Danjuro | 7328.8 | 4366.71 | 4742.2 | 2825.52 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 8348.3 | 4462.31 | 5401.8 | 2887.37 |
| Scorpion Tail | 10262.8 | 4943.42 | 5605.2 | 2699.96 |
| Durandal | 9666.1 | 4440.59 | 6909.3 | 3174.11 |
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 9290.9 | 5062.40 | 6572.5 | 3581.17 |
| Masamune | 11995.2 | 5506.03 | 8353.5 | 3834.37 |
| Whale Whisker | 11453.1 | 5633.76 | 8458.8 | 4160.88 |
| Tournesol | 12371.0 | 6085.26 | 11852.3 | 5830.14 |
| Zodiac Spear | 14465.4 | 7910.12 | 11742.5 | 6421.15 |
----------------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
---------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 11b] |
================= =================== ===================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 0 | Target DEF = 30 |
| (with GG) | DMG | DPS | DMG | DPS |
================= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Volcano | 7188.3 | 3206.13 | 2922.3 | 1303.40 |
| Fomalhaut | 4147.8 | 1436.68 | 4147.8 | 1436.68 |
| Grand Mace | 5826.7 | 2777.83 | 3541.7 | 1688.49 |
| Sagittarius | 8475.0 | 3656.27 | 5982.3 | 2580.90 |
| Gastrophetes | 8254.1 | 4097.57 | 5340.9 | 2651.37 |
| Scorpion Tail | 11618.5 | 5408.57 | 6345.7 | 2954.02 |
| Danjuro | 8663.8 | 4863.58 | 5606.0 | 3147.02 |
| Durandal | 10600.6 | 4757.33 | 7577.3 | 3400.51 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 11285.1 | 5380.34 | 7302.1 | 3481.40 |
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 10189.1 | 5400.26 | 7207.9 | 3820.18 |
| Whale Whisker | 13899.8 | 6445.35 | 10265.8 | 4760.29 |
| Masamune | 18479.8 | 7133.38 | 12869.2 | 4967.65 |
| Tournesol | 18018.2 | 8355.09 | 14384.3 | 6670.03 |
| Zodiac Spear | 15598.1 | 8341.56 | 12662.0 | 6771.39 |
----------------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Relevance: Normal playthough, after you've fully leveled, but without any
special conditions except for Focus (DMG x 1.2).
Now, some general comments before I go on.
- I know damage is capped at 9999 per hit. DMG does not represent the
average damage done per hit. It represents the average damage done per
ATTACK, which may consist of more than one hit. Nevertheless, there is
plenty of overflow in Tables 11a-b, but I kept all values uncapped to
highlight the differences.
- AD values (in the BDMG formula) become more and more important as the
target's DEF increases.
- In general, the Tournesol and Zodiac Spear are pretty much neck-and-neck
in their fight for the title of best weapon (highest DPS). The Tournesol
combos more often, but the Zodiac Spear is faster. It's ultimately a
matter of preference, and I certainly prefer the Tournesol, because combos
look cool, and the Zodiac Spear's design is pretty boring. The spear is,
however, far easier to obtain.
- The Masamune is unimpressive without the Genji Gloves (though I'm sure
everyone knew that already), about as good as the Whale Whisker with all
other things being the same. Even with the Genji Gloves, the Masamune's
combos actually slow it down to the point where it has a lower DPS than the
WW, even though with the damage cap, it doesn't matter that much. On that
note, the Whale Whisker is pretty underrated, although there is no reason
to use it over, say, even an Ultima Blade, which you can get much more
easily.
- Check out unarmed combat during the postgame. Not too shabby, huh? Pretty
much as good as a Durandal, even better than one if you max out STR.
- Breakers (axes/hammers/hand-bombs) really lose their effectiveness as you
progress through the game. The inconsistency in DMG values hurts. In
fact, hand-bombs are completely useless and deserve Mr. Yuck stickers all
around.
I have given you tables detailing DPS under several fairly common conditions
throughout the course of the game. What about the good stuff? What about
special conditions? I want to see some MAX damage potential numbers, you say.
Well, yes, let's get to that now.
Case 4: Yiazmat
---------------
Appendix B of GMFAQ details a method for defeating Yiazmat in under an hour,
obtained from Ultimania. It involves two damage-dealers equipped with
Masamunes, both with Berserk, Bravery, Haste, and Adrenaline activated, while
the other four characters act as leaders/decoys/buffers. maltzsan admits
that he is surprised that the Masamune is used and not Yagyu Darkblade, since
Yiazmat is weak against Dark (giving Yagyu Darkblade an automatic DMG x 2
bonus).
This method works, people. Go look for some videos if you don't believe me.
Watch and be in awe of the Masamune's power.
But let's dig into this setup some more. We'll switch from Vaan to Basch now,
since Basch is the best character suited for damage-dealing duty in the
Yiazmat fight. We'll outfit him as the Ultimania method dictates.
Basch
LV 99 Equipment: Celebrant's Miter, Brave Suit, Genji Gloves
STR 78 B.Lores/M.Lores: 5/5
MAG 69 HP/HP Max: Below 6.25% (for max HITS)
VIT 45 Status: Berserk, Bravery, Haste, Adrenaline
SPD 40
As for his weapon, we'll do a comparison across the board like before, just
to really hammer the message home. I will also do two separate entries for
the Yagyu Darkblade, both with and without the DMG x 2 Dark bonus.
Since Basch is below 6.25% of his max HP, our AHPC (average hits per combo)
value surges to a whopping 9.028.
Berserk, Bravery, and Adrenaline stack for an XMOD value of 1.3 x 1.5 x 2.0,
which ends up being 3.9.
Remember, Berserk and Haste also factor into calculating EWS. Remember way
back when we were discussing Charge Time? A combined Berserk and Haste effect
cuts this to one-third of its original value. At this point, I won't detail
how I factor that into calculations. You can just trust me on this one that I
did it correctly. We're still at the fastest battle speed, with all Quickness
licenses acquired.
Finally, the Ultimania method requires the party leader to use the Expose
technick five times on Yiazmat successfully, cuttings its DEF by about half.
Its starting DEF is 36, so with the five Exposes in place, it becomes ~18.
This is the DEF value we will use.
-----------------------------------------
| [Table 12a] |
=================== =====================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 18 |
| (with GG) | DMG | DPS |
=================== ========== ==========
| Volcano | 11266.5 | 6682.94 |
| Fomalhaut | 13480.3 | 7081.99 |
| Grand Mace | 16662.4 | 9410.54 |
| Gastrophetes | 16161.6 | 10044.10 |
| Sagittarius | 18116.3 | 10585.24 |
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 27545.4 | 15597.09 |
| Danjuro | 32413.4 | 15709.32 |
| Scorpion Tail | 33492.3 | 16852.62 |
| Durandal | 32172.9 | 17101.78 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 55401.2 | 18661.51 |
| (no Dark bonus) | | |
| Whale Whisker* | 55495.4 | 24393.56 |
| Masamune | 111519.2 | 25735.51 |
| Zodiac Spear | 47792.1 | 28215.75 |
| Tournesol | 76580.7 | 32965.97 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 110802.5 | 37323.02 |
| (Dark bonus) | | |
------------------- ---------- ----------
* Yiazmat's starting MDEF is 40. You'd use Shear instead of Expose to bring
it down to 20, not 18. This is reflected in our calculations.
Whoa, whoa, hold the phone. Not only is the Yagyu Darkblade better than the
Masamune, but the Tournesol AND Zodiac Spear have better DPS values as well?
And those numbers can't possibly be right. They're too big.
Of course, I've been ignoring the 9999 damage cap per hit all this time. It's
time to finally put it to use. To do this, we need to recalculate our DMG
values. Let's go back to the formulae:
DMG = BDMG x CMOD x HITS
DPS = DMG/EWS
Basically, if "BDMG x CMOD" (the net average damage per hit) turns out to be
greater than 9999, we have to cap it and bring it back down to 9999. Guess what
happens when you do that? EVERY single weapon on our list gets capped to 9999
per hit. Every single one. That's not that big of a surprise, though, given the
ridiculous modifiers we have active. So basically, the only values that matter
anymore are HITS and EWS. Since the Masamune handily beats every other weapon
when it comes to HITS, are we smelling a victory for the Masamune now?
Here is the revised chart:
----------------------------------------
| [Table 12b] |
=================== ====================
| Weapon | Target DEF = 18 |
| (with GG) | DMG | DPS |
=================== ========== ==========
| Volcano* | 9999.0 | 5842.36 |
| Scorpion Tail* | 20113.3 | 10120.58 |
------------------- --------- ----------
| Fomalhaut | 9999.0 | 5253.05 |
| Sagittarius | 9999.0 | 5842.36 |
| Gastrophetes | 9999.0 | 6214.16 |
| Grand Mace | 15778.6 | 8911.39 |
| Durandal | 17223.5 | 9155.29 |
| Zodiac Spear | 15778.6 | 9315.45 |
| Unarmed (w/Br.) | 17223.5 | 9752.49 |
| Whale Whisker** | 27337.7 | 11768.17 |
| Tournesol | 27337.7 | 11768.17 |
| Danjuro | 24448.0 | 11848.84 |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 41786.7 | 14075.55 |
| (no Dark bonus) | | |
| Yagyu Darkblade | 41786.7 | 14075.55 |
| (Dark bonus) | | |
| Masamune | 67794.8 | 15645.15 |
------------------- --------- ----------
* Because of the sucky RAND2 value for these weapons (go all the way back to
[Table 01.] if you've forgotten), the values listed here tend to be grossly
overestimated, as you'll likely do far less than 9999 per hit most of the
time.
** Yiazmat's starting MDEF is 40. You'd use Shear instead of Expose to bring
it down to 20. This time, however, it doesn't affect our calculations.
Look at that. The order is all messed up! It's better to fight Yiazmat unarmed
with this setup than with the Zodiac Spear! What a riot. But we can also see
now that the Masamune does hold a distinct advantage over every other weapon,
even the Yagyu Darkblade. Why is that? The DMG x 2 bonus granted by the Yagyu
Darkblade's Dark element has absolutely no effect. Zilch. The calculated
damage per hit already far exceeds 9999 before the bonus even takes effect.
It's just a waste.
By the way, because of this, we don't have to bother taking into effect the
Fomalhaut with Dark Shot equipped, either. That bonus ends up being wasted as
well in this case. However, this wouldn't be in an LLC game.
So, at last, we have come to the end. What have we learned from this? If you
stack on enough modifiers and if your level and stats are high enough, weapon
effectiveness changes dramatically thanks to the damage cap, and raw DMG and
DPS values become useless. Too bad; if the damage cap were not in place, it
would've been fun to exploit some of this stuff against any number of Yiazmats
the game might've thrown at us.
You can essentially use the Yiazmat table as a reference for max damage
potential.
===============================================================================
3. Character-Weapon Proficiencies [030]
===============================================================================
_______________________________________________________________________________
3a. Overview [03a]
Now that you know more than you could ever want to know about how much damage
physical attacks do, you might be wondering who is best at what weapon. Well,
wonder no more, because we'll get into that as well. Thankfully, this is a
much simpler analysis.
Let's revisit our character stat tables. HP and MP are not considered because
they are irrelevant. I won't factor in the Battle Lore and and Magick Lore
licenses.
------------------------
| Vaan [Table 13a] |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| LV | St | Ma | Vi | Sp |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| 1 | 23 | 20 | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | 28 | 24 | 27 | 25 |
| 20 | 33 | 28 | 31 | 26 |
| 30 | 39 | 33 | 35 | 28 |
| 40 | 44 | 37 | 39 | 29 |
| 50 | 50 | 42 | 42 | 31 |
| 60 | 55 | 46 | 46 | 32 |
| 70 | 61 | 51 | 50 | 33 |
| 80 | 66 | 55 | 54 | 35 |
| 90 | 72 | 60 | 57 | 36 |
| 99 | 77 | 64 | 61 | 37 |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
------------------------
| Balthier [Table 13b] |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| LV | St | Ma | Vi | Sp |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| 2 | 25 | 17 | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | 29 | 20 | 27 | 25 |
| 20 | 34 | 24 | 31 | 26 |
| 30 | 39 | 28 | 34 | 28 |
| 40 | 44 | 32 | 38 | 29 |
| 50 | 50 | 36 | 41 | 31 |
| 60 | 55 | 40 | 45 | 32 |
| 70 | 60 | 44 | 48 | 34 |
| 80 | 65 | 48 | 52 | 35 |
| 90 | 71 | 52 | 55 | 37 |
| 99 | 75 | 56 | 58 | 38 |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
------------------------
| Fran [Table 13c] |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| LV | St | Ma | Vi | Sp |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| 2 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 23 |
| 10 | 27 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 20 | 32 | 26 | 26 | 25 |
| 30 | 37 | 30 | 30 | 27 |
| 40 | 42 | 34 | 33 | 28 |
| 50 | 47 | 39 | 36 | 30 |
| 60 | 52 | 43 | 40 | 31 |
| 70 | 57 | 47 | 43 | 32 |
| 80 | 62 | 51 | 46 | 34 |
| 90 | 67 | 55 | 50 | 35 |
| 99 | 71 | 59 | 53 | 36 |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
------------------------
| Basch [Table 13d] |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| LV | St | Ma | Vi | Sp |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| 3 | 26 | 21 | 20 | 23 |
| 10 | 30 | 23 | 22 | 24 |
| 20 | 35 | 27 | 25 | 25 |
| 30 | 40 | 31 | 28 | 26 |
| 40 | 46 | 35 | 31 | 28 |
| 50 | 51 | 39 | 34 | 29 |
| 60 | 56 | 43 | 36 | 30 |
| 70 | 62 | 47 | 39 | 31 |
| 80 | 67 | 51 | 42 | 33 |
| 90 | 72 | 55 | 45 | 34 |
| 99 | 77 | 58 | 47 | 35 |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
------------------------
| Ashe [Table 13e] |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| LV | St | Ma | Vi | Sp |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| 3 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 23 |
| 10 | 26 | 25 | 26 | 24 |
| 20 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 25 |
| 30 | 36 | 35 | 33 | 26 |
| 40 | 42 | 40 | 36 | 28 |
| 50 | 47 | 45 | 40 | 29 |
| 60 | 52 | 50 | 43 | 30 |
| 70 | 58 | 55 | 47 | 32 |
| 80 | 63 | 60 | 50 | 33 |
| 90 | 68 | 65 | 53 | 34 |
| 99 | 73 | 69 | 57 | 36 |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
------------------------
| Penelo [Table 13f] |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| LV | St | Ma | Vi | Sp |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
| 3 | 21 | 19 | 24 | 24 |
| 10 | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 |
| 20 | 30 | 28 | 30 | 26 |
| 30 | 35 | 33 | 34 | 27 |
| 40 | 40 | 38 | 38 | 29 |
| 50 | 45 | 43 | 41 | 30 |
| 60 | 50 | 48 | 45 | 31 |
| 70 | 55 | 54 | 49 | 32 |
| 80 | 60 | 59 | 53 | 34 |
| 90 | 65 | 64 | 56 | 35 |
| 99 | 70 | 69 | 60 | 36 |
---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Now, let's go all the way back to Section 2 and check out our first few tables
again. The variable we're worrying about now is SMOD. Now that we have
character stats to compare, we can derive SMOD values for any weapon of any
damage class at ten-level intervals. I will reproduce the damage class chart
here, except that I will only list the SMOD formulae, since they are all we
care about.
--------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 14.] |
===================== ==================================
| Damage Class | SMOD Derivations |
===================== ==================================
| 2. Swords (1H) | |
| Greatswords (2H) | |
| Spears | SMOD2 = 1 + STR x (LV+STR)/256 |
| Crossbows | |
| Rods* | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 3. Poles | SMOD3 = 1 + STR x (LV+STR)/256 |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 4. Maces | SMOD4 = 1 + MAG x (LV+MAG)/256 |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 5. Katanas | SMOD5 = 1 + STR x (LV+MAG)/256 |
| Staves | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 6. Daggers | |
| Ninja Swords | SMOD6 = 1 + STR x (LV+SPD)/218 |
| Bows | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
| 7. Axes | |
| Hammers | SMOD7 = 1 + STR x (LV+VIT)/128 |
| Hand-bombs | |
--------------------- ----------------------------------
* Except for Healing Rod and Rod of Faith
Note that SMOD2 and SMOD3 are identical. Exactly the same.
You will notice that I have omitted Classes 1 and 8. While SMOD1 is simply
equal to SMOD2 or SMOD3 minus 1, unarmed attacks with the Brawler license
(the only ones that are worth any damage) use LV and STR to determine AD as
well. For simplicity's sake, I won't bother with that and instead ask you
to accept that characters with better STR fare better with unarmed attacks.
As for SMOD8, it's always equal to 1, which means that character stats don't
matter at all. So you'd think that all characters are just as good with Class
8 weapons, but this isn't true. When discussing Action Time, I mentioned that
the following characters take 0.2 additional seconds to attack with ranged
weapons:
- Balthier with a bow, crossbow, or gun equipped
- Fran with a bow equipped
- Penelo with a crossbow or gun equipped
So as you can see, Balthier and Penelo are actually a little bit less
proficient with guns than the other characters are at all levels.
As for bows and crossbows, the 0.2 additional seconds are insignificant
compared to the effects of SMOD values, so we will forget about trying to gimp
Balthier, Fran, and Penelo any further.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3b. Physical Damage Stat Modifiers [03b]
In the following tables, I provide thorough SMOD calculations and
distinguish the tables by level so you can compare the characters to each
other at ten-level intervals.
Again, I have omitted Classes 1 and 8 from these charts. No need for them. The
first table, LLC, compares stats at the lowest possible levels corresponding
to a low-level challenge (1/2/2/3/3/3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15a] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| LLC | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 23 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 3.16 | 3.16 | 2.64 | 2.89 | 3.64 | 2.75 |
| Balth | 25 | 17 | 24 | 24 | 3.64 | 3.64 | 2.26 | 2.86 | 3.98 | 3.04 |
| Fran | 23 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 3.25 | 3.25 | 2.41 | 2.80 | 3.64 | 2.48 |
| Basch | 26 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 3.95 | 3.95 | 2.97 | 3.44 | 4.10 | 2.84 |
| Ashe | 22 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.62 | 2.82 |
| Pen | 21 | 19 | 24 | 24 | 2.97 | 2.97 | 2.63 | 2.80 | 3.60 | 2.71 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15b] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 10 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 28 | 24 | 27 | 25 | 5.16 | 5.16 | 4.19 | 4.72 | 5.50 | 4.55 |
| Balth | 29 | 20 | 27 | 25 | 5.42 | 5.42 | 3.34 | 4.40 | 5.66 | 4.69 |
| Fran | 27 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 4.90 | 4.90 | 3.75 | 4.38 | 5.21 | 3.98 |
| Basch | 30 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 5.69 | 5.69 | 3.96 | 4.87 | 5.68 | 4.25 |
| Ashe | 26 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 4.66 | 4.66 | 4.42 | 4.55 | 5.06 | 4.16 |
| Pen | 25 | 23 | 26 | 25 | 4.42 | 4.42 | 3.96 | 4.22 | 5.01 | 4.02 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15c] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 20 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 33 | 28 | 31 | 26 | 7.83 | 7.83 | 6.25 | 7.19 | 7.96 | 7.07 |
| Balth | 34 | 24 | 31 | 26 | 8.17 | 8.17 | 5.13 | 6.84 | 8.17 | 7.27 |
| Fran | 32 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 7.50 | 7.50 | 5.67 | 6.75 | 7.61 | 6.25 |
| Basch | 35 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 8.52 | 8.52 | 5.96 | 7.43 | 8.22 | 6.65 |
| Ashe | 31 | 30 | 29 | 25 | 7.18 | 7.18 | 6.86 | 7.05 | 7.40 | 6.43 |
| Pen | 30 | 28 | 30 | 26 | 6.86 | 6.86 | 6.25 | 6.63 | 7.33 | 6.36 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15d] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 30 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 39 | 33 | 35 | 28 | 11.51 | 11.51 | 9.12 | 10.60 | 11.38 | 10.40 |
| Balth | 39 | 28 | 34 | 28 | 11.51 | 11.51 | 7.34 | 9.84 | 11.38 | 10.25 |
| Fran | 37 | 30 | 30 | 27 | 10.68 | 10.68 | 8.03 | 9.67 | 10.67 | 9.17 |
| Basch | 40 | 31 | 28 | 26 | 11.94 | 11.94 | 8.39 | 10.53 | 11.28 | 9.56 |
| Ashe | 36 | 35 | 33 | 26 | 10.28 | 10.28 | 9.89 | 10.14 | 10.25 | 9.36 |
| Pen | 35 | 33 | 34 | 27 | 9.89 | 9.89 | 9.12 | 9.61 | 10.15 | 9.25 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15e] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 40 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 44 | 37 | 39 | 29 | 15.44 | 15.44 | 12.13 | 14.23 | 14.93 | 14.08 |
| Balth | 44 | 32 | 38 | 29 | 15.44 | 15.44 | 10.00 | 13.38 | 14.93 | 13.91 |
| Fran | 42 | 34 | 33 | 28 | 14.45 | 14.45 | 10.83 | 13.14 | 14.10 | 12.48 |
| Basch | 46 | 35 | 31 | 28 | 16.45 | 16.45 | 11.25 | 14.48 | 15.35 | 13.26 |
| Ashe | 42 | 40 | 36 | 28 | 14.45 | 14.45 | 13.50 | 14.13 | 14.10 | 12.97 |
| Pen | 40 | 38 | 38 | 29 | 13.50 | 13.50 | 12.58 | 13.19 | 13.66 | 12.69 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15f] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 50 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 50 | 42 | 42 | 31 | 20.53 | 20.53 | 16.09 | 18.97 | 19.58 | 18.47 |
| Balth | 50 | 36 | 41 | 31 | 20.53 | 20.53 | 13.09 | 17.80 | 19.58 | 18.27 |
| Fran | 47 | 39 | 36 | 30 | 18.81 | 18.81 | 14.56 | 17.34 | 18.25 | 16.29 |
| Basch | 51 | 39 | 34 | 29 | 21.12 | 21.12 | 14.56 | 18.73 | 19.48 | 17.23 |
| Ashe | 47 | 45 | 40 | 29 | 18.81 | 18.81 | 17.70 | 18.44 | 18.03 | 17.02 |
| Pen | 45 | 43 | 41 | 30 | 17.70 | 17.70 | 16.62 | 17.35 | 17.51 | 16.50 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15g] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 60 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 55 | 46 | 46 | 32 | 25.71 | 25.71 | 20.05 | 23.77 | 24.21 | 23.27 |
| Balth | 55 | 40 | 45 | 32 | 25.71 | 25.71 | 16.63 | 22.48 | 24.21 | 23.06 |
| Fran | 52 | 43 | 40 | 31 | 23.75 | 23.75 | 18.30 | 21.92 | 22.71 | 20.81 |
| Basch | 56 | 43 | 36 | 30 | 26.38 | 26.38 | 18.30 | 23.53 | 24.12 | 21.50 |
| Ashe | 52 | 50 | 43 | 30 | 23.75 | 23.75 | 22.48 | 23.34 | 22.47 | 21.42 |
| Pen | 50 | 48 | 45 | 31 | 22.48 | 22.48 | 21.25 | 22.09 | 21.87 | 21.01 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15h] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 70 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 61 | 51 | 50 | 33 | 32.21 | 32.21 | 25.11 | 29.83 | 29.82 | 29.09 |
| Balth | 60 | 44 | 48 | 34 | 31.47 | 31.47 | 20.59 | 27.72 | 29.62 | 28.16 |
| Fran | 57 | 47 | 43 | 32 | 29.28 | 29.28 | 22.48 | 27.05 | 27.67 | 25.66 |
| Basch | 62 | 47 | 39 | 31 | 32.97 | 32.97 | 22.48 | 29.34 | 29.72 | 26.90 |
| Ashe | 58 | 55 | 47 | 32 | 30.00 | 30.00 | 27.86 | 29.32 | 28.14 | 27.01 |
| Pen | 55 | 54 | 49 | 32 | 27.86 | 27.86 | 27.16 | 27.64 | 26.73 | 26.07 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15i] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 80 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 66 | 55 | 54 | 35 | 38.64 | 38.64 | 30.00 | 35.80 | 35.82 | 35.05 |
| Balth | 65 | 48 | 52 | 35 | 37.82 | 37.82 | 25.00 | 33.50 | 35.29 | 34.02 |
| Fran | 62 | 51 | 46 | 34 | 35.39 | 35.39 | 27.10 | 32.73 | 33.42 | 31.02 |
| Basch | 67 | 51 | 42 | 33 | 39.47 | 39.47 | 27.10 | 35.29 | 35.73 | 32.43 |
| Ashe | 63 | 60 | 50 | 33 | 36.19 | 36.19 | 33.81 | 35.45 | 33.66 | 32.49 |
| Pen | 60 | 59 | 53 | 34 | 33.81 | 33.81 | 33.04 | 33.58 | 32.38 | 31.67 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15j] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 90 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 72 | 60 | 57 | 36 | 46.56 | 46.56 | 36.16 | 43.19 | 42.61 | 41.84 |
| Balth | 71 | 52 | 55 | 37 | 45.65 | 45.65 | 29.84 | 40.38 | 42.36 | 40.71 |
| Fran | 67 | 55 | 50 | 35 | 42.09 | 42.09 | 32.15 | 38.95 | 39.42 | 37.14 |
| Basch | 72 | 55 | 45 | 34 | 46.56 | 46.56 | 32.15 | 41.78 | 41.95 | 38.47 |
| Ashe | 68 | 65 | 53 | 34 | 42.97 | 42.97 | 40.36 | 42.17 | 39.68 | 38.48 |
| Pen | 65 | 64 | 56 | 35 | 40.36 | 40.36 | 39.50 | 40.10 | 38.27 | 37.57 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 15k] |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Lv 99 | St | Ma | Vi | Sp | SMOD2 | SMOD3 | SMOD4 | SMOD5 | SMOD6 | SMOD7 |
======= ==== ==== ==== ==== ======= ======= ======= ======= ======= =======
| Vaan | 77 | 64 | 61 | 37 | 53.94 | 53.94 | 41.75 | 50.03 | 49.04 | 48.63 |
| Balth | 75 | 56 | 58 | 38 | 51.98 | 51.98 | 34.91 | 46.41 | 48.13 | 46.50 |
| Fran | 71 | 59 | 53 | 36 | 48.15 | 48.15 | 37.41 | 44.82 | 44.97 | 42.66 |
| Basch | 77 | 58 | 47 | 35 | 53.94 | 53.94 | 36.57 | 48.22 | 48.33 | 44.41 |
| Ashe | 73 | 69 | 57 | 36 | 50.05 | 50.05 | 46.28 | 48.91 | 46.21 | 44.98 |
| Pen | 70 | 69 | 60 | 36 | 47.21 | 47.21 | 46.28 | 46.94 | 44.35 | 43.98 |
------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
Note: All SMOD7 values are half of their actual values. This is because
Class 7 weapons have the potential to deal essentially 200% base
damage, due to the 1/128 factor. Thus, comparative SMOD7 values are
one-half of actual SMOD7 values.
It is interesting to see that at low levels and with equivalent ATK scores,
Class 6 weapons are actually the most effective (highest SMOD values). This is
due to the fact that the weight factor is 1/218 and not 1/256. Therefore, Class
6 weapons are better than they initially seem. Nevertheless, their SMOD values
drop off as SPD growth slows to a crawl.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3c. Proficiency Rankings [03c]
So now if we rank the characters by their SMOD values:
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16a] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| LLC| 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 2-Basch | 2-Ashe | 2-Balth | 2-Basch |
| | 3-Fran | 3-Fran | 3-Vaan | 3-Vaan | 3-Vaan | 3-Ashe |
| | 4-Vaan | 4-Vaan | 3-Pen | 4-Pen | 3-Fran | 4-Vaan |
| | 5-Ashe | 5-Ashe | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 5-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Balth | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16b] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 10 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Balth | 2-Vaan |
| | 3-Vaan | 3-Vaan | 3-Basch | 3-Ashe | 3-Vaan | 3-Basch |
| | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 3-Pen | 4-Balth | 4-Fran | 4-Ashe |
| | 5-Ashe | 5-Ashe | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 5-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16c] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 20 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Balth | 2-Vaan |
| | 3-Vaan | 3-Vaan | 3-Pen | 3-Ashe | 3-Vaan | 3-Basch |
| | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Basch | 4-Balth | 4-Fran | 4-Ashe |
| | 5-Ashe | 5-Ashe | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 5-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16d] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 30 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Basch | 1-Balth | 2-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 2-Pen | 3-Ashe | 3-Basch | 3-Basch |
| | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Basch | 4-Balth | 4-Fran | 4-Ashe |
| | 5-Ashe | 5-Ashe | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 5-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16e] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 40 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Vaan |
| | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Pen | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Ashe | 2-Balth | 3-Basch |
| | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Basch | 4-Balth | 4-Fran | 4-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 5-Fran | 5-Pen | 4-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16f] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 50 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Pen | 2-Basch | 1-Balth | 2-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Ashe | 3-Basch | 3-Basch |
| | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Balth | 4-Fran | 4-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 4-Basch | 5-Pen | 5-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16g] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 60 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Pen | 2-Basch | 1-Balth | 2-Balth |
| | 2-Balth | 2-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Ashe | 3-Basch | 3-Basch |
| | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Fran | 4-Balth | 4-Fran | 4-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 4-Basch | 5-Pen | 5-Ashe | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16h] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 70 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Pen | 2-Basch | 2-Basch | 2-Balth |
| | 3-Balth | 2-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Ashe | 3-Balth | 3-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 4-Fran | 4-Balth | 4-Ashe | 4-Basch |
| | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 4-Basch | 5-Pen | 5-Fran | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16i] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 80 | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 2-Vaan | 2-Vaan | 2-Pen | 2-Ashe | 2-Basch | 2-Balth |
| | 3-Balth | 2-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Basch | 3-Balth | 3-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 4-Fran | 4-Pen | 4-Ashe | 4-Basch |
| | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 4-Basch | 5-Balth | 5-Fran | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16j] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 90 | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 2-Pen | 2-Ashe | 2-Balth | 2-Balth |
| | 3-Balth | 3-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Basch | 3-Basch | 3-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 4-Fran | 4-Balth | 4-Ashe | 4-Basch |
| | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 4-Basch | 5-Pen | 5-Fran | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
----------------------------------------------------------------
| [Table 16k] |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| Lv | Class 2 | Class 3 | Class 4 | Class 5 | Class 6 | Class 7 |
==== ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
| 99 | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Ashe | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan | 1-Vaan |
| | 1-Basch | 1-Basch | 1-Pen | 2-Ashe | 2-Basch | 2-Balth |
| | 3-Balth | 3-Balth | 3-Vaan | 3-Basch | 3-Balth | 3-Ashe |
| | 4-Ashe | 4-Ashe | 4-Fran | 4-Pen | 4-Ashe | 4-Basch |
| | 5-Fran | 5-Fran | 5-Basch | 5-Balth | 5-Fran | 5-Pen |
| | 6-Pen | 6-Pen | 6-Balth | 6-Fran | 6-Pen | 6-Fran |
---- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Since Class 4 weapons depend only on Magick Power, you can also use the Class
4 listings to determine how good of a mage a particular character would be at
the corresponding level.
In terms of chart movers, it seems like Basch does very well at low levels
before eventually being overtaken by others in half of the weapon categories.
The other four characters hold pretty steadily throughout. If you need cold,
hard proof of Vaan having the best overall stats in the game, look no further.
Poor Fran. She has the unenviable distinction of being the only character not
to be in the top 3 in ANY of those charts. On the other hand, Vaan is NEVER
in the bottom 3 in any of those charts. The exception in both cases is the LLC
chart, but that's not really relevant, since you're mostly going to be using
guns in LLC games anyway.
_______________________________________________________________________________
3d. Discussion [03d]
But ultimately, how much difference does this really make?
Well, if you read the Yiazmat section, you know that with enough levels and
status effects, it makes practically no difference. But what about when you're
not being capped all the time?
Consider a fight between a Lv 99 character wielding the Zodiac Spear (ATK
+150 Class 2 weapon) and Omega Mk. XII (DEF +38). We want to compare base
damage values for Basch and Penelo. Let's turn to our trusty formula again:
BDMG = AD x SMOD x XMOD
AD is equal to 121.4. Let's assume no status effects in play, so XMOD = 1. We
can use the SMOD values we've calculated.
BDMG (Basch) = 121.4 x 53.94 = 6548.32
BDMG (Penelo) = 121.4 x 47.21 = 5731.29
Difference = 817.03
Average = 6139.81
Not the best test for significance, I know, but I think most would agree that
it DOES show a fair amount of significance. Just to make sure that this isn't
a fluke, let's do another contextually appropriate example. Let us now use as
the test weapon a Demonsbane (ATK +59) against Mateus (DEF +21) at Lv 30. Our
weapon is still classified as Class 2. Our new AD value is 41.69. Let's again
take the difference between the largest and smallest BM values, which are
again Basch's and Penelo's.
BDMG (Basch) = 41.69 x 11.94 = 497.78
BDMG (Penelo) = 41.69 x 9.89 = 412.31
Difference = 85.47
Average = 455.05
I think one more test should be good. Let's go back to Lv 99 and equip our
good friend, Mr. Masamune (ATK +93, Class 5) against the Hell Wyrm (DEF 32).
We'll compare the best katana user at Lv 99 to the worst. Vaan and Fran,
that means you.
Assume the following for both characters:
All Battle Lore augment licenses learned ....... +5 Str
All Magick Lore augment licenses learned ....... +5 Mag
Magepower Shishak equipped ..................... +11 Str +5 Mag
Lordly Robes equipped .......................... +5 Str +15 Mag
Total .......................................... +21 Str +25 Mag
This improves our base statistics to:
Vaan: STR 98, MAG 89
Fran: STR 92, MAG 84
Let's add in both a Bravery and Berserk effect for fun, so now we have an
XMOD term of 1.3 x 1.5 = 1.95. Our new AD is 66.81.
BDMG (Vaan) = 66.81 x 72.97 x 1.95 = 9506.50
BDMG (Fran) = 66.81 x 66.77 x 1.95 = 8698.76
Difference = 807.74
Average = 9102.63
You get the picture. At this point, I will leave the reader to make whatever
further extrapolations he or she wants with Genji Gloves or Adrenaline or
whatever else. The bottom line? I do think there's significance, but not
enough to force you to confine any one character to any specific weapon class.
The game's not hard enough nor particular enough for it to affect the
experience. Just do whatever you want.
===============================================================================
4. Miscellaneous [040]
===============================================================================
_______________________________________________________________________________
4a. Armor Modifiers [04a]
As sort of an addendum, I will now consider the effects of armor. By the
postgame, the amount of damage you're doing won't change very much with
different armor setups if you're trying to max it out (see the previous
section). On the other hand, if you're doing an LLC game, you'll be more
worried about tacking on as much HP as you can, so it's a no-brainer that you
will be using light armor almost exclusively. The only worthwhile study occurs
somewhere in between.
Let's go back to Case Study 2: the endgame, when you're not THAT high up in
levels and you don't have to worry about a STR cap for the moment (yes, STR is
capped at 99, in addition to MAG/VIT/SPD, so if your armor bonuses put you over
99, they're wasted). We'll look at Vaan's stats without any equipment or
Battle/Magick Lores, so I can just port over his SMOD values for different
weapon damage classes.
Vaan
LV 60 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
STR 55 | SM1 | SM2 | SM3 | SM4 | SM5 | SM6 | SM7 |
MAG 46 | 24.71 | 25.71 | 25.71 | 20.05 | 23.77 | 24.21 | 23.27 |
VIT 46 ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- -------
SPD 32
Now let's consider how different armor setups change things. For Classes 1-4,
this is a no-brainer: heavy armor all the way for 1-3 to max STR, and mystic
armor all the way for 4 to max MAG (mace + shield + mystic armor is a fairly
good setup for a mage character). The issue lies with the last three classes,
where we have to factor in MAG, SPD, and VIT for 5, 6, and 7, respectively.
Let's just use Class 5 as an example. If we want to maximize damage, we would
equip the Magepower Shishak and Lordly Robes, which gives us +16 STR and +20
MAG (for net values of 71 and 66, respectively). Our new SM5 value would be
35.95, which is a huge jump from our starting point. But this armor setup
gives us terrible DEF and MDEF. What if we tried to maximize our defensive
stats instead and flip the armor types? Let's try a Circlet and Grand Armor.
This gives us a huge boost to DEF/MDEF, but only raises STR/MAG by 14/10 (to
69/56). Our new SM5 value now is 32.27. That's a difference of 3.68.
Consider a Class 5 weapon. Let's use (what else) the Masamune. If the target
DEF is ~20, our AD value is around 80. Multiply that by the difference in SMOD
(3.68) and you get 290, which would be the difference in BDMG without any
additional statuses. Add on Bravery, Berserk, and Adrenaline, which gives us
XMOD = 3.9, and now you're at 1131.
Okay, now we can't help ourselves and it's a slippery slope from here. If
you're below 6.25% max HP, AND you have the Genji Gloves, you average 6.78
hits per attack, so your total potential damage differential is 7668.18 per
attack. So yes, the differences do stack up.
But come on, that's not realistic. If you take the lower SM5 value we
calculated (32.27) and calculate BDMG x XMOD, we're already doing over 9900
per hit. 9918.79, to be exact. And we're only at STR 69! So the real
difference in damage is only (9999 - 9918.79) x 6.78 = 543.83.
See how much the damage cap hurts us? The difference in stats provided by
different armor setups are only significant to a certain degree. Once the
damage cap takes over, a lot of potential damage gets tossed out the window.
So the difference in damage potential widens for a little bit, then closes up
again.
Conclusion? It's probably more practical to equip heavy armor anyway (at least
for the body, for the DEF), since STR will always be the primary factor in
determining SMOD values and, as we've seen, it doesn't make all that much
difference in the end.
Taking this a little further, it probably isn't an overly fruitful exercise to
calculate the difference between, say, Zodiac Spear + Grand Helm + Grand Armor
versus Masamune + Magepower Shishak + Lordly Robes + Genji Gloves. You may or
may not get significant differences from the values you see in [Table 10a] or
[Table 10b]; I won't bother doing the calculations myself. But once you start
down the path of trying to maximize the damage potential of everything, the
9999 cap will be there to stop you from making anything significant of it. So
in practice, it just doesn't matter that much.
_______________________________________________________________________________
4b. Weapon Usefulness [04b]
Of course, when it comes to how useful weapons actually are, most of the
"ultimate" weapons aren't even under consideration (more reason as to why the
stuff discussed in Section 4a just isn't overly useful). Things like
availability and other properties come into play here. What are my thoughts on
the issue? I thought you'd never ask. Here they come: assorted weapon
evaluations, first the good, then the okay, then the bad, with star ratings.
Zodiac Spear (*****)
If you get this early, it's cheap, cheap, cheap. It makes the game even
easier than it is because you get it about 30 hours before you're supposed
to. Actually, the completely arbitrary requirements for getting it (you
know, the whole not opening chests thing) make it seem like you're not
really supposed to get it at all. The Zodiac Spear does seem like a fairly
special case in this regard. Anyway, it comes up a bit short in the postgame
due to its bad combo rate, but before you get there, it doesn't really have
any serious competition.
Main Gauche (*****)
Another cheap weapon. I wonder if the programmers made a typo, because it
provides a ludicrous evasion rate. It's easily the best defensive weapon
in the game, and once you get it, a Thief/Mage build becomes one of your
best options. Just equip Main Gauche, your best shield, and mystic armor,
and you have a natural party leader, pilfering and casting away.
Masamune and Tournesol (*****)
We don't really have to go into why these weapons rock. Pretty obvious by now.
Greatswords (*****)
Greatswords are (or should be) everyone's favorite weapon type. Even the Sword
of Kings is actually a decent weapon when you first get it, due to its
comparable attack score, a very nice combo rate, and sizeable evasion bonus.
There are also ways to get Defender, Save the Queen, and Ultima Blade fairly
early on in the game (though ingredient-farming takes a while).
Poles (****)
Poles are very underrated. Think of them as greatswords before you actually
have access to greatswords. They also have much better evasion (+25) than
most of them. Heck, all poles have better evasion than most SHIELDS. You can
think of poles as weaker versions of the Tournesol. The evasion bonus and
combo rates are the same. The only wild card is the uses-target-MDEF-instead-
of-DEF factor. The truth is that on average, enemies tend to have a few more
MDEF points than they do DEF points, with some exceptions (flans are THE
major exception to this), so in reality, you should subtract about 3-5 points
from a pole's attack score to get a "better" comparative value against other
weapons. Not a big deal, though.
Crossbows (****)
Another underrated weapon type! Well, I think so. The distinct advantage in
speed is what attracts me to crossbows. They are, by a significant margin,
the fastest ranged weapons in the game. Furthermore, the status effects
inflicted by various bolts (Slow, Disable, Immobilize, Blind, or Sap) can
prove to be very useful. Finally, they tend to critical a bit more than guns
or bows, which is often overlooked. Later on, crossbows can't match the raw
power of regular bows, but you can offset this somewhat with buffs and
equipment, especially since crossbows are STR-dependent only. If you're
running postgame errands, the Gastrophetes becomes a fairly good choice for
one-shotting or two-shotting enemies, and you can get as many of them as you
want. The time you save from a) the speed of the weapon itself, and b) not
having to run up to the enemy to whack it, adds up when you're sinking a few
hours into completing those blasted bestiary entries. Crossbows are my ranged
weapons of choice during the postgame.
Guns (****)
Guns are rather nice. They're very reliable, except against flans and certain
other enemies, and they give your weakest characters, who may be lagging
behind in levels, a big boost in damage output. Also, it's very easy to farm
Fomalhauts. Alas, guns lose their effectiveness in the postgame, but before
then, they do the job nicely. Plus, they're GUNS. Come on! Also, as I've said
before, guns are THE key to getting through LLC games.
Axes and Hammers (*** 1/2)
Axes and hammers are pretty good early on, especially since you can equip a
shield, light helmet, and heavy armor, making for a very good tank. They
are less useful later on, though, since the damage inconsistencies become a
burden. So basically, good early and not so good later on. You can get the
best hammer (Scorpion Tail) as early as your first visit to the Henne Mines,
though, if you want to take the time to farm some ingredients.
Bows (***)
Bows are kind of boring. If you play through the game normally, they're
slightly stronger and significantly faster than guns, although not as
accurate. Shrug.
Katanas (except Masamune) (***)
Yeah, I don't know about katanas. They certainly have the cool factor going
for them, but if they're not named Masamune, they don't hold a particularly
huge advantage over any other weapon type, Genji Gloves or not (and of course,
once you get the Genji Gloves, there's no reason to use any other katana). It
is ultimately better to stick to STR-based weapons in this case.
Spears (except Zodiac Spear) (***)
There isn't much to say about spears. They're fast and they hit hard. They're
your prototypical two-handed weapons for most of the game. Of course, all of
this becomes entirely irrelevant if you get the Zodiac Spear early on. If you
don't, I prefer poles until you gain access to greatswords.
Swords (***)
I don't really like swords. They're pretty slow. I prefer axes or hammers
early and greatswords later on, when offensive characters shouldn't bother
with shields. However, if you're trying to power through the game,
Demonsbanes and Deathbringers are great tools for doing so, and they're
swords, so ...
Rods, Staves, and Maces (***)
I'm pretty indifferent when it comes to mage-type weapons because I never use
them, but if you really want to play sorcerer (or sorceress) and go around
with one of these on, they do have their uses. Here's my recommendation. Give
rods to Balthier and Basch, staves to Vaan and Fran, and maces (or anything,
really) to Ashe and Penelo. Balthier and Basch have really poor MP totals and
need the boost, and you can get in a good whack with rods occasionally
(better for them since they have decent STR). Vaan and Fran have good MP
totals, so they can use staves to buff up their Magick Power and stack on any
elemental bonuses you want. Ashe and Penelo are, by far, the best mages in
the game and you can really do whatever you want with them. They get the most
mileage out of maces.
Daggers (except Main Gauche and Danjuro) (**)
Daggers aren't really that good in this game. They're fast, sure, but one-
handed weapons are strongest in the early going, and there's no real reason
to use a dagger over an axe/hammer or a sword. Later on, one-handed weapons
become obsolete altogether.
Ninja swords (**)
Pretty useless, I think. The combo rates and speed values are very nice, but
most late-game enemies laugh off Dark-elemental damage, and against the one
major enemy that doesn't (Yiazmat), ninja swords aren't even the best.
Caveat: The Orochi is a good investment against Yiazmat in terms of expected
returns compared to the time required to get it, since both the 50-minute
strategy and farming for Yagyu Darkblade can get awfully tedious). Ninja
swords also seem like they were supposed to come in pairs. Dual-wielding
would've probably given them a major boost in the coolness department, but
nope.
Measures (*)
Useless. Measures are supposed to fill two purposes. The first is as buffing
tools; with their low attack power, you can hit your own guys in order to
give them buffs without using MP. This is far more trouble than it's worth
for those of you who enjoy saving time and not having to bother with any
useless micromanagement, since MP isn't much of an issue once you start
filling out those MQ licenses and MP-recharging augments. The other supposed
benefit of measures is the +25 evasion bonus for a one-handed weapon. Thanks
to the Main Gauche, this can be laughed off.
Danjuro (0)
Utterly fails because of what you have to do in order to get one. Total waste
of time. Don't bother unless you're a completionist.
Hand-bombs (0)
I said Mr. Yuck stickers! Why anyone would ever use these is beyond me. I was
told that the default weapon for one ASHELIA BLARGIN DALMASCA in Revenant
Wings is one of these suckers. WTF?
And that's it. Voila.
_______________________________________________________________________________
4c. Other [04c]
Unsorted randomness goes here.
Max DMG/HIT
-----------
This is, as of this version, the maximum amount of theoretical damage you can
inflict via a regular attack in FFXII if the damage cap were not in place.
There's no practical use for this, it's just fun to know. Maybe. This write-up
is not attributed to me; rather, it is courtesy of Jedisensei and Deedlit00. I
just replaced some of the variable names with my own to make things consistent
with this guide.
Lv 99 VAAN vs. GIZA RABBIT (Weak vs. Fire, DEF 4)
- Vaan with all Battle Lores learned
- Vaan equipped with Burning Bow, Fiery Arrows, Winged Helm, Maximillian,
Cat-ear Hood
BDMG = [ATK * RAND1 - DEF] * [1 + STR * (LV + SPD)/218]
HITS = 1
ATK = 64 (63+1)
RND = 1.125
DEF = 4
STR = 98 (77 base + 5 from Battle Lores + 7 from Winged Helm + 9 from
Maximillian)
SPD = 97 (37 base + 4 from Winged Helm + 6 from Maximillian + 50 from Cat-ear
Hood)
BDMG = [64 * 1.125 - 4] * [1 + 98 * (99 + 97)/218]
BDMG = 6059
We assume a critical hit, so CMOD = 2. Now we tack on almost every positive
XMOD value possible:
Berserk 1.5
Bravery 1.3
Adrenaline 2.0
Fire enhancement
(from Burning Bow) 1.5
Sleep 1.5
Oil 3.0
Fire-weak 2.0
Net XMOD 52.65 (!)
So now we have:
DMG = BDMG x CMOD x HITS x XMOD
= 6059 x 2.0 x 1 x 52.65
= 638013
Isn't the damage cap a wonderful thing?
===============================================================================
5. Credits [050]
===============================================================================
Here are all the people that made any sort of contribution to the crafting of
this guide at any point in its conception.
Author
- Arthellinus
Special Thanks
- maltzsan, to whose Game Mechanics FAQ this guide owes a LOT
- TimeMage
- Aeana
- rmdsc, EiEi, thrakkemarn, and everyone else from the "Damage from non-STR
based weapons" thread on GameFAQs (a relic of the past)
- Jedisensei and Deedlit00 for the Max DMG/HIT contributions
- CJayC
