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Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age |OT| You Had One Job!

Is there any reason for me not to unlock Quickenings? Learning the first one makes the game warn be about 3 Quickenings per character per board.

Some Quickenings on some boards lead to other licenses. So if there are 4 Quickenings on the board, the 4th one you leave behind might block something else off.

I think the only job that has licenses behind all four Quickenings is Shikari, so you have to make a decision there. Otherwise it's just down to seeing if unlocking them on one board locks you out of anything on the second.

Edit: Beaten like crazy
 

MilkBeard

Member
Decided to make Vaan a Shikari because it felt...in character? Seems fitting.

Game is pretty pleasant so far. Music is also quite good, and I think their remasters actually sound nice. Some of it is giving me Vivaldi vibes with the violins.
 
So is there a consensus on which Ninja Blade license to skip? I'm thinking the first one since I stole an early Gladius and will probably be set for a while, but otherwise it would have to be the Iga or Koga.
Well, probably Koga I guess. Koga and Iga have the same ATK, both are chests in the deeper part of Lhusu, but Iga is also a rare drop in Zertinan from a ghost.

Iga is water element so I guess it probably has a few decent monsters you can use it against? ...I don't remember elements very well. But Koga is earth element... I mean, most of the earth-weak enemies are flyers... it's a ninja sword... I'm not sure the point lol. I think there's a pole with earth too but generally I think of earth I think of Mud Shot or Artemis Arrows, or Hashmal's Roxxor lol.

I'm still going with Iga and Koga but mostly for symbolic reasons I guess. My Shikari Foebreaker is sort of like a FFT Ninja: Germinas Boots, Iga Blade, Koga Blade, Yagyu Darkblade, and Scorpion Tail hhhh.
 

Meowster

Member
Just rescued Ashe and made her a Knight. I think she is going to be my main alongside a team of Vaan, my Monk, and Fran, my Bushi. My backup team is very close in levels though. I'd like to keep both available just in case of any emergencies.
 

Rad-

Member
Is it really that important to plan out your party classes in this game? Like can your choices make or break the game? Or can I just go with whatever and be able to enjoy and complete the game without any real issue?

Choose whatever you feel like. However I suggest picking at least one non-Esper Cura job as a first job for one of the characters. These jobs are White Mage, Red Mage and Archer. Otherwise you are going to have a much harder time for a certain period of time. The jump from Cure to Cura is pretty huge in this game.

I'd also make sure to have at least one Curaja job. These jobs are White Mage and Monk. But this can be a second job as you get Curaja way later in the game. Knight can also get it but gets it later than WM or Monk. And again, you can finish the game without it but it makes everything much easier. For healing and against undead.
 

Kensuke

Member
Shikari/Red Mage starting to really pay off in the midgame. Main gauche + shield is giving me 65 on evade. Foe: 3+ foes present --> Dark is also doing some amazing work.
 

Jennipeg

Member
Just rescued Ashe and made her a Knight. I think she is going to be my main alongside a team of Vaan, my Monk, and Fran, my Bushi. My backup team is very close in levels though. I'd like to keep both available just in case of any emergencies.

I found it difficult to make her anything but a knight, considering the way she is introduced. I'm having so much fun replaying this, the dialogue and VA is sooo good. Balthier is one of my favourite FF characters for sure. Anyone who complains of soiled cuffs and requires a change of wardrobe is pretty great in my book.
 

Syntsui

Member
It really sucks we can't ''Self being hit -> Decoy on ally''. It also REALLY sucks the fact that stealing 100% HP foe doesn't stop after the item has been stolen.
 

Lukemon

Member
My main team looks like this:

Vaan - Monk/Bushi
Fran - Red Mage/Black Mage
Balthier - White Mage/Machinist

Second Team:

Basch - Breaker/Shikari
Penelo - Uhlan/Time Mage
Ashe - Knight/Archer

Mine's exactly the same, only with Archer and Black Mage swapped. Seems to be going pretty well so far!
 
I've always found the map really confusing. I think it might be an orientation thing, like I will look at the map and have to scour it for where I am, and then try and work out which direction I'm looking at, and then how that translates to the map etc. Is the map awkward or am I just terrible at reading it?!
 

valkyre

Member
Another game with pathetic PS4 Pro support...

I seriously dont get why Sony is not pushing devs more regarding this. It feels like Sony doesnt give a shit about Pro...
 

Rad-

Member
Man I have finished this game so many times but I still find new stuff about it. Just fresh off after Raithwall I go to explore Mosphoran Highwaste (enemies are 10 levels above mine) and 10 minutes there and I find a 71 attack power katana in a chest. Twice as good as what I had. Feels good man.

It also REALLY sucks the fact that stealing 100% HP foe doesn't stop after the item has been stolen.

Use something like this:

Foe: HP < 90% -> Attack
Foe: HP = 100% -> Steal
Foe: Lowest HP -> Attack

With this my thief never steals more than once.
 

MrDaravon

Member
My copy is coming tomorrow so I spent like 90 minutes theorycrafting my team, how does this look?

Vaan - Shikari / Foebreaker (Zalera)
Balthier - Machinist / Uhlan (Famfrit, Adrammelech)
Basch - Bushi / Knight (Mateus, Hashmal, Exodus, Ultima)
Ashe - White Mage / Time Mage (Belias, Zeromus)
Fran - Archer / Red Battlemage (Shemhazai, Cuchulainn, Zodiark)
Penelo - Black Mage / Monk (Chaos)

Went for a combination of lore + good stuff. I agonized for a while about going Machinist/White Mage & Uhlan/Time Mage instead of what I went with above. The whole Machinist/WM versus WM/TM is QUITE the debate online it seems lol. Wound up going Machinist/Uhlan on Balthier because I want him to use guns for lore reason but I'm just not hot on him being a WM. Also read that at endgame having a WM/TM support a Shikari/Foebreaker and Bushi/Knight party is pretty good.

Fully aware that the job choices aren't anything to agonize over, and I'll doublecheck but I'm pretty sure I can get Swiftness 3 with these choices, but I'm not 100% sure on my Esper choices. I looked at the same spreadsheet everyone is probably looking at for that but I don't have a lot of context for a lot of the choices, so went with a combination of what I was seeing other people do plus what I could decipher.

Any glaring holes or anything I should reconsider?

Before I head off to work today posting again. I feel pretty good about my job choices but I'm mostly kinda mindfucked by Esper choices.

I am so goddamn excited to play this tonight, I'm off the next 5 days which I originally took off to watch Evo but fuck that now.

Edit: Also I see your PS2 Steelbooks (which I also have) and raise you the FF12 PS2 memory card which I snagged at the JP launch and have never seen anywhere else ever (sorry for the terrible picture). Comes with a case that holds the memory card stickers and two memory cards, it's super slick and was the only PS2 memory card I kept (and it holds the single PS1 memory card I kept as well).

3eKRgT4.jpg
 
Man I have finished this game so many times but I still find new stuff about it. Just fresh off after Raithwall I go to explore Mosphoran Highwaste (enemies are 10 levels above mine) and 10 minutes there and I find a 71 attack power katana in a chest. Twice as good as what I had. Feels good man.



Use something like this:

Foe: HP < 90% -> Attack
Foe: HP = 100% -> Steal
Foe: Lowest HP -> Attack

With this my thief never steals more than once.

I like to have my leader (Vaan) use the HP = 100% steal, then I just put everyone else on "attack party leader's target", so it basically guarantees one steal followed by the target taking damage and dropping below 100%.
 

Ydelnae

Member
10 hours in, I'm liking the game a lot more than X, V and probably VIII/IV (which I personally consider to be the medium-tier mainline entries). I don't know if I would have liked it this much if it wasn't from the improvements of the job system and TZA fixes.

I don't know why but playing XII makes me want to start XIV again and stick to it.
 

BeeDog

Member
I don't know if I've hit a bug, but how do you open the first gate in Lhusu Mines? There seems to be a switch next to the gate (and next to the explosion trap) that I should be able to interact with, but nothing can be done...

EDIT: nevermind, I'm stupid.
 

Rad-

Member
I don't know if I've hit a bug, but how do you open the first gate in Lhusu Mines? There seems to be a switch next to the gate (and next to the explosion trap) that I should be able to interact with, but nothing can be done...

Are you talking about the one very near the entrance? You can go around it from another hallway.

If you are talking about the next ones, you get access to them later in the game.
 

Slaythe

Member
Just to make sure, if you don't get ninja sword 1 license you can still get ninja sword 3 and use those later ?

Same question for all stuff like this. Or do you need 1 2 and 3 ?
 
So many things in this game I'd forgotten about but completely love. For example, I will never not giggle at the term "The Moogling." Other things I forgot about that I don't love quite so much, such as the infinitely gigantic zones west of the Westersands. My god. Endless. At least it's easy to pick up the 50-chain trophy! I managed 162 before someone wandered off and killed one of the red plants. Anger! It sounds repetitive, but you actually run across that many mobs clearing each area, plus you get a ton of loot, medicines, gil and ongoing cures from the enhanced drops on the higher chains. Oh, and be sure to steal!
Use something like this:

Foe: HP < 90% -> Attack
Foe: HP = 100% -> Steal
Foe: Lowest HP -> Attack

With this my thief never steals more than once.
This is sound advice. If you're attacking a group of foes I suggest turning the top line off so your thief will hop from target to target after the party leader hits the first mob.
 

SUPGUYZ

Banned
Decided to make Vaan a Shikari because it felt...in character? Seems fitting.

Game is pretty pleasant so far. Music is also quite good, and I think their remasters actually sound nice. Some of it is giving me Vivaldi vibes with the violins.

Same here! Especially because you start with a dagger
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Thoughts so far, just got past the Bhejurba segment and got my full party:

-Story is much better than I remember, maybe because I've matured since high school or had my expectations changed since modern FFs lowered the bar.

-New job system/license boards are so much more organized. Still haven't gotten much out of any jobs other than new weapons and some stat boosts, but the potential is there for an engaging mid/endgame, especially once the second jobs become available.

-Love the desert setting. I used to be disappointed we only saw a tiny segment of such a huge world, but really, Dalmasca and its surrounding territories are already as big as some other Final Fantasy games, and bigger than, say, Spira. So what if we don't see Rozarria? The game is plenty big enough. I think by presenting it as a slice of the world it gives the false impression of being smaller than it is, something I didn't necessarily fully realize back in 2006.

-Game is gorgeous, especially people's hair. So, typical Final Fantasy I suppose.

-Dungeons and battles are... about the same as before, unique but not very fun. I was never a fan of the gambit system before, and I feel the same about it now. Back in the day I was impressed by having no battle transitions, having total control of movement in a Final Fantasy game, and seeing the influence from FFXI transfer over to a single player game, but all of that novelty is gone now. I don't dislike it, but I don't necessarily like it either. Subject to change once the license boards start filling out.
 

Rad-

Member
This is sound advice. If you're attacking a group of foes I suggest turning the top line off so your thief will hop from target to target after the party leader hits the first mob.

That's exactly what I don't want. The top line is the most important imo. That way your steal cycle goes like this:

steal from first enemy
everyone attacks first enemy
first enemy dead
steal from second enemy
everyone attacks second enemy
second enemy dead
steal from third enemy
etc.
 

Lukemon

Member
I'm about 16 hours into the game and it works perfectly so far.
But my second team is already far behind in levels.
Is there a good spot to easy power level them closer to my main team?

Depending on what level they are compared to your first party, you can probably get away with swapping one (or maybe even two, if you're feeling brave or can buff them) into your main party so long as they're well geared. I've found this setup to be really good for switching between characters and party compositions – I've just been constantly mixing it up. So long as I have a Steal lead and someone on heals, I've been fine and now, everyone's within one level of each other.
 

mieumieu

Member
I am about 30 hours in and the dungeon design nightmares come up time and time again. Those are some real sadistic dungeons there.
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
Best lore-friendly suggestion for Ashe if I've given Knight to Basch?
IMO Knight is the only thing that fits her, but I ran into the same problem, because it fits Basch slightly more. I made her a Monk and she looks pretty badass swinging a bo staff around, and it seems like a more natural fit for her than any other non-Knight jobs. Besides maybe Bushi, but I've also reserved that for Basch... oh well.

I guess Bushi if you're not planning on giving that to anyone else, then Monk, in that order. As for secondary jobs, I dunno.
 

SkylineRKR

Member
I'm in Henne mines and have no Breaker skills yet. Shops don't sell them for now. Did I miss any?

EDITl Well, I got Horology and Traveler it seems.
 

MikeBison

Member
Anecdotally this seems to be selling well. Hope this gives them the incentive to port over FF13. Trilogy even, but I'd be happy with just the first.

Wouldn't need as much love as it already looks and sounds fantastic.

Does have a lot of good going it for it, despite general consensus. I think it might have a similar turn around in opinion over time.
 

Tiamant

Member
Anecdotally this seems to be selling well. Hope this gives them the incentive to port over FF13. Trilogy even, but I'd be happy with just the first.

Wouldn't need as much love as it already looks and sounds fantastic.

Does have a lot of good going it for it, despite general consensus. I think it might have a similar turn around in opinion over time.

We are trying to bring back the good old FF charm here. Let's not ruin the good vibes bringing back the entry that soured the fanbase for an entire generation, shall we?
 

MikeBison

Member
We are trying to bring back the good old FF charm here. Let's not ruin the good vibes bringing back the entry that soured the fanbase for an entire generation, shall we?

Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.
 
IMO Knight is the only thing that fits her, but I ran into the same problem, because it fits Basch slightly more. I made her a Monk and she looks pretty badass swinging a bo staff around, and it seems like a more natural fit for her than any other non-Knight jobs. Besides maybe Bushi, but I've also reserved that for Basch... oh well.

I guess Bushi if you're not planning on giving that to anyone else, then Monk, in that order. As for secondary jobs, I dunno.

lol i've reserved bushi for basch too

monk could work i guess
 

AndersK

Member
We are trying to bring back the good old FF charm here. Let's not ruin the good vibes bringing back the entry that soured the fanbase for an entire generation, shall we?

Yeah, if only because 8 or 9 would be cool to see before 13.

Still in love with the progression so far. Im only at Barheim, with Shikari - Machinist - Archer - Guest. Just got a new dagger, Mage Masher. Only 4 atk more, but it feels like much more. Since i have fuck all for white magic (except cure/blindna on Fran) i'm actually using techs regulary, and potions plus potion lore. I could've so easily been coerced into giving everybody white and green magic in the vanilla game, but i cant here. And that is awesome!
 

Riposte

Member
Best lore-friendly suggestion for Ashe if I've given Knight to Basch?

Time Battlemage, which is even more lore-friendly than Knight. They can also use swords, more so with some espers. (If shield matters, then pick a second job with shield access.)

If you want to get pretty nuts, you can do Time Battlemage/White Mage and use an esper to access something like Save the Queen greatsword (though Chaos is much better on Monk unless it's Monk/White Mage).
 
Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.
Haha.

That wouldn't happen, unless they somehow edited the game to allow the lategame open area to be open early on
 

Riposte

Member
Haha.

That wouldn't happen, unless they somehow edited the game to allow the lategame open area to be open early on

I would be satisfied if they just added challenging optional monsters/hunt quests to earlier areas. Don't even care if they are missable. And give FFXIII-2 a hard mode. That ship has sailed though and the game already has a "remaster" in the form of the steam version.
 

aravuus

Member
Looks like the Feywood's mini-map interference doesn't extend to the overlay map
http://i.imgur.com/rfuOwde.png

Weird thing to overlook. Not that I'm complaining.

Is this tested? If so how does the game decide which paths to open up on the second board and which one to lock out?

LP cost. 50 LP Quickening license on board 1 activates the 50 LP Quickening license on the other board too.

Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Lol nah. Some posters have been very clear about either hating it then and loving it now or hating it then and still hating it now. This is such a random asspull.
 

MilkBeard

Member
Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.

Personally, I enjoyed XII when it came out, although it wasn't one of my favorite Final Fantasy titles. I never beat it, so now, upon return, I am noticing how well the game has held up since. It feels refreshing in a way.

As for X, I didn't like it back then, and I still think it is a disappointing entry today. I've given it many tries and my opinion on the game hasn't changed.

I never had a hate boner for XIII, although I do recognize some of its failings, but it is a solid game as far as games go.

What I'm saying is, it's not as simple as you are saying, although XIII is in a uniquely weird position, and I think they should wait at least 5 more years before a remaster, and then the opinion will actually be quite fresh upon its rerelease. For example, we are facing a lot of open world fatigue, which will seem to only continue to increase, and in that time, perhaps people will be clamoring for a strictly linear experience, which could change perception on the game.
 

Tiamant

Member
Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.

I doubt anyone will miss having locked your main party until the endgame, locked progression in each area, a game that effectively plays itself, nonsense story that needs backlog reading to be understood and a pacing that makes XV look like a goddamn masterpiece.

The only thing that game had going was the superb OST and the graphics when it came out. I'm pretty sure this game won't be missed a fraction of what XII or X were by the fanbase.
 

aravuus

Member
Goddamn it, forgot that the best parts of the Feywood were also story-locked lol. At least I got a second Embroidered Tippet now.
 
Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.

I remember people finding some enjoyment out of the PS1 and PS2 era (VII and X in particular). XIII is the one I saw more "avoid", "I sold it" than those before it. Personally, there was nothing there for me to want to replay it again, remastered or not. XIII-2, though, now that was good.
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.
Probably true haha. I bet a lot of nostalgic 20-somethings are going to talk about loving this as a kid very soon.

TBH I'll be there day one for the XIII trilogy remaster. :p
 

kromeo

Member
Let's be real, a huge percentage of people in this thread either skipped by or straight up hated FF12 back then, but now we're talking about it being a misunderstood gem etc etc.

Same will happen with 13. The latest or near latest FF always gets shat on. I remember people loving 7 but hating 8, then loving 8 but hating 9. So on and so forth.

I remember people thinking X was too big of a departure with voice acting etc.

Like I said in my first post, 13 has a LOT of good going for it. Some bad, but so does every FF.

They'll make a 13 remaster and this OT for that game will be FULL of people talking about how much they appreciate it and are enjoying it, i guarantee. You could probably trace their post history to the original release and talking about how it's the worst thing ever.

The problem with XIII is it barely even feels like an rpg. Hugely streamlined stats and progression systems, no towns, no npcs, no world building, no downtime between areas filled with enemies. Everything that made X a great FF while still being linear was stripped out

There are things to like about the game but I can't honestly see many haters rediscovering it




XV has made me appreciate it slightly more though, at least it had good music and a couple of decent characters
 
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