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Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age |OT| You Had One Job!
- Thread starter FlutterPuffs
- Start date
ST2K
Member
Coming up on the end of the game now. It'll be my first time finishing it, and I enjoyed it tremendously, but there's definitely some weirdness going on with the story. I don't think a lot of things were explained very well. Anything involving nethicite and the Mist gets very muddled for me. While the script styling being so literary is a very cool choice, interactions feel stilted and unnatural a lot. Additionally, I don't feel a sense of what really binds these characters together as a whole. Vaan and Penello feel completely superfluous to everything going on and I'm still not entirely sure about the nature of Fran and Balthier's relationship. Initially, I thought the ambiguity intentional, but now I'm not sure.
I get now why it was so divisive on release. It's very different and undeniably flawed in a lot of ways. But there's something compelling about it that carries you through and makes the ride enjoyable like very few other games can.
Glad I picked it up. Probably will end up being in the top 5 of my Final Fantasy rankings.
I get now why it was so divisive on release. It's very different and undeniably flawed in a lot of ways. But there's something compelling about it that carries you through and makes the ride enjoyable like very few other games can.
Now that I'm saying it, it reminds me a lot of FFXV...
Glad I picked it up. Probably will end up being in the top 5 of my Final Fantasy rankings.
Auto_aim1
MeisaMcCaffrey
Use Wither, Addle and Expose! All you have to do then is just reduce his HP.
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
So I restarted my 85h save today and began a completely new save.
Todays run: 24h
Group level ~70
@Archades
All hunts (so far, done)
God bless x6 Seitengrat and pure knowledge of the game. In one day, I've pretty much managed to be as effiecent as I was in my last run's 85h.
Started dozing of in Tchita Uplands so that's my call.
Todays run: 24h
Group level ~70
@Archades
All hunts (so far, done)
God bless x6 Seitengrat and pure knowledge of the game. In one day, I've pretty much managed to be as effiecent as I was in my last run's 85h.
Started dozing of in Tchita Uplands so that's my call.
into.it.over.it
Member
Just got to
and i'm having trouble using Gambits effectively. I've followed the guide from the first post and have gone for
Vaan - Shikari
Balthier - Machinist
Fran - Red Mage
Basch - Uhlan
Looking at all the available gambits to buy and I have no idea where to start. All I have at the moment is a set up where Vaan steals from enemies with 100% and a few attack/heal commands for simple battles. Are there good early game builds I can start aiming for on the License Board so I can using the gambits creatively?
Bhujerba
Vaan - Shikari
Balthier - Machinist
Fran - Red Mage
Basch - Uhlan
Looking at all the available gambits to buy and I have no idea where to start. All I have at the moment is a set up where Vaan steals from enemies with 100% and a few attack/heal commands for simple battles. Are there good early game builds I can start aiming for on the License Board so I can using the gambits creatively?
YankeeDonB
Member
I agree -- it reminds me in many ways of XIII and XV, where there were major issues w/ story pacing, but the moment to moment gameplay, and the build and interplay of systems stayed interesting. XII has the benefit of being a really great dungeon-crawler/explorer game, where XIII and XV fall flat on that front. I think that gives XII the edge, in that you feel like you're going on an epic journey due to gameplay pacing and exploration, even if the narrative pacing and character integration in that journey is poor.
I don't blame the translation though. It is indeed stilted at times (Shakespeare this is not -
- though I'll give them a pass just in that it must have been hard to squeeze flowery faux-Elizabethan translations into the space afforded by the original script and scene pacing), but it conveys what it needs to effectively. It's just parceled out in artlessly paced blobs that grow increasingly sparse and formulaic as the game progresses.
Vincent Grayson
Member
Early on, you mostly just want to add elemental weakness gambits on your casters, healing items for stuff you can't cure with magic on everyone, and the steal gambit of course.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Not uncommon for me, as some people here know ._. I had a 34h session the second day I played the game (on my last save).Wait ... you played 24 hrs straight ?
Wait ... you played 24 hrs straight ?
little did you know the 500 hours of DMC2 was one sitting
Irishonion
Member
Finally! Got a chance to actually play yesterday.
Man I forgot how detailed the cities were. Amazing.
Man I forgot how detailed the cities were. Amazing.
HerroRygar
Member
Be careful, people die doing that.
Short answer is whoever gets the best unlocks from it. It will vary depending on the job combinations you have; some will allow you to get things behind Esper locks without unlocking the Esper (e.g. one of the reasons Black Mage/Monk is popular is it allows you to get all 3 Swiftness licenses on Monk without Ultima).
If you want the best options in the abstract, I'd say:
Belias: Knight
Mateus: Knight
Adrammelech: Time Mage
Zalera: Shikari or Time Mage
Cuchulainn: Red Mage or Shikari
Exodus: Bushi or Machinist
Zeromus: Red Mage or Time Mage
Chaos: Monk
Shemhazai: Red Mage or Archer
Hashmal: Knight
Famfrit: Machinist
Ultima: Monk or Foebreaker
Zodiark: Bushi
Other considerations are spreading them out so everyone can summon, but that's probably less important.
It depends on combinations, it really does.
Example Monk/Black Mage combo does not need Ultima cause Black Mage gets the 50 Swiftness, which once activated on BM allows for the 80lp one to be activated on Monk without the need of Ultima.
Knight/Bushi - Knight gets all the heavy armors therefore Bushi does not need Zodiark.
It's one of those things where the player has to take a look for a minute themselves before activating the Esper to see what it unlocks and for who.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Yeah, seriously.I know I'm no one to tell you this but damn .. that's a dangerous habit.
Also .. how the f are you at lv 70 at just 24 hrs .. unless you're constantly in 4x turbo mode .. those six super-bows probably helped a ton.
And should I distribute among all party members? Are espers useful besides their unlocks?
This game can be complex
and I love that
It wouldn't be a bad idea to spread Espers around. They were buffed pretty substantially and can be controlled directly now. Summoning is a good option in a lot of situations all the way through the game.
SkylineRKR
Member
You can make them, which I recently did for my Dhanusha (I don't use Seitengrat). You'll need Mage Monographs and a few others as well prolly.
Get 2x Giant Serpentskin from Pythons in northeast Highwaste. Chain kill them.
3x Gemini gem, steal from those behemoth ish enemies in Ozmone plains.
2x Dorsal fin. Chain kill fishes in either Sochen cave or Nabreus (there is a loner one screen away from the teleport crystal), I just went for that one exclusively.
Sell at bazaar.
Demoskinos
Member
I've got a bunch of measures for Blathier unlocked on his board where do I go to actually find and buy them so I can use them?
No merchant I have seen sells them so far for reference I am currently at
No merchant I have seen sells them so far for reference I am currently at
Mt Bur-Omisace
So the White Robes increase Holy potency. The Staff of the Magi does as well. Do they stack on top of each other or do I just get the benefit from one piece of gear? My Penelo doesn't need the extra Magic from both, so if they don't stack I can just leave the Whale Whisker on her.
If I had to kill them one by one it would have drove me insane
I literally just did that place. Having a gambit to use Scathe with 2+ enemies is so good there. I keep my Black Mage hasted and on Faith and since they also know Holy they just wreck everything as it spawns, and the MP regain is insane so they can keep spamming it. When you fight the Forbiddens a but later it's even mire useful
If I had to kill them one by one it would have drove me insane
semiconscious
Member
after all this time: i still hate that damned trickster! ...
...
SkylineRKR
Member
Measures are worthless. I found the best one in Cerobi Steppe, but I stay away from that crap.
They don't stack.
Supermanisdead
Member
Is there any way to get more bubble belts?
ss_lemonade
Member
I'm one of the weird ones who read and voice out character dialogue while playing. I think it helps improve my english. It bothers me though how I can't seem to pronounce the word "nethicite". It just doesn't roll off the tongue well for me
Cool. I guess I can put a different weapon/armour on as I see fit then. Thanks!
Bought the OST Blu-ray and it's bringing back so many good memories. My copy arrives later today; can't wait to play this again!
Am I correct that the game has multiple languages on it and lets you select the one you want, as in FFXV? Or that it chooses based on your system language? EIther is fine with me, but I'm getting the Japanese version and absolutely want to play this game in English; its translation is perhaps the best ever done for any game, with the Tactics Ogre remake maybe being a close second. I was bowled over again and again by how beautiful the English was while still remaining true to the Japanese original. So much more flavor.
BTW, if anybody is interested, I preordered the Ultimania -- a fat monster of a guidebook; it must weigh a kilogram and a half -- but am now thinking I want to go in totally blind and just enjoy things. If anybody wants it, I will gladly sell it at exact cost plus exact shipping. Otherwise I'll eBay it.
Am I correct that the game has multiple languages on it and lets you select the one you want, as in FFXV? Or that it chooses based on your system language? EIther is fine with me, but I'm getting the Japanese version and absolutely want to play this game in English; its translation is perhaps the best ever done for any game, with the Tactics Ogre remake maybe being a close second. I was bowled over again and again by how beautiful the English was while still remaining true to the Japanese original. So much more flavor.
BTW, if anybody is interested, I preordered the Ultimania -- a fat monster of a guidebook; it must weigh a kilogram and a half -- but am now thinking I want to go in totally blind and just enjoy things. If anybody wants it, I will gladly sell it at exact cost plus exact shipping. Otherwise I'll eBay it.
Yoshichan, The Iron Ass
I'm in the same exact boat! It's wierd really, because I use quickenings like crazy.
Black Mage+Monk makes for a pretty self-sufficient character. Without Monk Penelo would have been kinda meh outside of black magic but now she can access a lot of the high level white magic too, and while she's far from the best melee fighter in my group, having poles make her capable enough.
Not sure how I feel about that. I liked the FFI or traditional MMO-inspired approach in the original International version, where you picked one job early on that gave a character somewhat rigid functionality, and you had to rely on other party members to make up for a job's shortcomings. The additional job makes it feel more like later job systems where individual characters can become much more flexible and self-sufficient over time as you start melding the bonuses and abilities of jobs together. Not that that isn't fun (FFV is my favorite FF and I've enjoyed playing pretty much every FF that has used a job system), but it feels a little divergent from (my perception of) the original intent.
Another interesting direction would have been making them separate jobs that you can swap between and can only have one license board active at a time, maybe with stuff like Quickenings and Accesory licenses being preserved across boards.
It uses your system language.
Not sure how I feel about that. I liked the FFI or traditional MMO-inspired approach in the original International version, where you picked one job early on that gave a character somewhat rigid functionality, and you had to rely on other party members to make up for a job's shortcomings. The additional job makes it feel more like later job systems where individual characters can become much more flexible and self-sufficient over time as you start melding the bonuses and abilities of jobs together. Not that that isn't fun (FFV is my favorite FF and I've enjoyed playing pretty much every FF that has used a job system), but it feels a little divergent from (my perception of) the original intent.
Another interesting direction would have been making them separate jobs that you can swap between and can only have one license board active at a time, maybe with stuff like Quickenings and Accesory licenses being preserved across boards.
It uses your system language.
toastyToast
Member
Zalera is kicking my ass. Does he ever stop chaining kill? There's no time for me to do anything. Doesn't help that he's immune to everything so a lot of my weapons don't work. I really don't want to have to walk back out of this God forsaken area.
Thanks for that; not as great as FFXV's multilingual bliss, but futzing with your system language is no big deal. I'll probably be wanting to play this game in two other languages after I play it in English.
And... wait, you can have two jobs now? :O
Corran Horn
May the Schwartz be with you
Confidence Man
Member
Something I'm still not clear on; if I have a weapon with an elemental association, does it do additional elemental damage with each attack or does it boost only a specific elemental attack like from magic, or does it do both?
KyanMehwulfe
Member
Yeah that's one thing I'm missing. I loved that in the OG but I just had trouble fitting it with my combos. I still got Holy Lance + White Robes instead, and the bonus is you can get Holy Lance pre-Giruvegan so can use it a fair bit early vs undead in the story. But yeah, was always one of my fave combos and if I ever make a new 'main' file it will probably because of that haha.
Vincent Alexander
Member
Story question! Big spoiler.
Did Vayne kill the emperor with the emperor's knowledge? Their previous conversation made it sound like they were in on something together. And the emperor asked Vayne if he would bloody his hands to keep "his" clean...his being Larsa, I would assume? Vayne replied that he might as well because his hands are already bloody. Then in the very next scene, where the emperor is dead, it ends with Vayne putting emperor's hands back in his lap and stating "House Solidor will live on" or something. So I assume they were in on this together to take control away from the senate...?
D
Deleted member 77995
Unconfirmed Member
Got my plat after about 60 hours total and no regrets. Granted most of that was spent at 2x and 4x.
Level 100 trial is easily one of the best fights of the series, even if you breeze through to level 99 you'll likely struggle for a while with 100. The first 15 seconds or so are extremely crucial to setting up the fight and anyone who has relied on sheer brute force to get through other tough fights is going to be in for a reality check. The four stat lowering techniks are a godsend for a lot of the end game stuff so don't pass up on foebreaker even if it looks boring for most of the game. I mentioned it earlier in this thread but will reiterate that in the interest of time and efficiency it's probably worth clearing some of the rare game with a guide available while going through the story due to some of the complicated requirements prompting them to spawn, some have good loot to steal/drop for the bazaar and one shotting the majority of them after you've cleared everything else isn't great fun. You don't need to get the bonus pages, killing a monster once is enough.
Cartographer might give people some trouble but you only have to step in every area and not actually fill out the map completely. Bahamut and great crystal don't count.
For the concurrence trophy I had to get dark hole twice for it to count, not sure what gives.
Here's to hoping for another Ivalice game. FFXII has so much potential and just barely misses true greatness in a few areas so I'd love to see another shot at it. Overall probably my favorite of the series and definitely near the top of the RPG genre for me.
Level 100 trial is easily one of the best fights of the series, even if you breeze through to level 99 you'll likely struggle for a while with 100. The first 15 seconds or so are extremely crucial to setting up the fight and anyone who has relied on sheer brute force to get through other tough fights is going to be in for a reality check. The four stat lowering techniks are a godsend for a lot of the end game stuff so don't pass up on foebreaker even if it looks boring for most of the game. I mentioned it earlier in this thread but will reiterate that in the interest of time and efficiency it's probably worth clearing some of the rare game with a guide available while going through the story due to some of the complicated requirements prompting them to spawn, some have good loot to steal/drop for the bazaar and one shotting the majority of them after you've cleared everything else isn't great fun. You don't need to get the bonus pages, killing a monster once is enough.
Cartographer might give people some trouble but you only have to step in every area and not actually fill out the map completely. Bahamut and great crystal don't count.
For the concurrence trophy I had to get dark hole twice for it to count, not sure what gives.
Here's to hoping for another Ivalice game. FFXII has so much potential and just barely misses true greatness in a few areas so I'd love to see another shot at it. Overall probably my favorite of the series and definitely near the top of the RPG genre for me.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I would say the intention is absolutely that
the Emperor knew what Vayne was hinting at. He condoned his own murder as a way to create a crisis situation that will wrestle power away from the council and put unquestionable control in the hands of House Solidor.
Vincent Alexander
Member
This is only my second playthrough, but that went right over my head when I played this when it first came out. This game is much better than I remembered.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I'm not sure that I caught it the first time either. I forgot it over the decade, if so.
So, I was just trying to steal a [it's a monster you hunt]
, but every time I've gone in to confront him, I've stolen some other, more common, item and been told that there were no more items.
What gives?
Also, current jobs and plans:
Vaan: Shikari + Red Battlemage
Penelo: Black Mage + Time Battlemage
Balthier: Uhlan + Bushi
Fran: Machinist + Breaker
Basch: Knight + Monk
Ashe: White Mage + Archer
Should I change anything? I'm rather attached to the idea of Vaan as Shikari + Red Mage, but I am up for suggestions on anything else.
Wyvern Wing from the Wyvern Lord
What gives?
Also, current jobs and plans:
Vaan: Shikari + Red Battlemage
Penelo: Black Mage + Time Battlemage
Balthier: Uhlan + Bushi
Fran: Machinist + Breaker
Basch: Knight + Monk
Ashe: White Mage + Archer
Should I change anything? I'm rather attached to the idea of Vaan as Shikari + Red Mage, but I am up for suggestions on anything else.
Monsters have multiple items you can potentially steal, some rarer than others. You can only steal from a monster one time. For the specific item/monster you mentioned, you have a 3% of getting it from a successful steal.