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[Nohar]

Just got to Phon Coast. Ahhh the feels

Best track of the game.

I really shouldn't have read that topic: I have no choice but to forgo my initial choices and just pick the best job combinations (mainly because I discovered that Uhlan/White Mage is stuck at 2x Swiftness, and my min-maxing brain just can't accept that).

So, yeah, back to the complacent gaming syndrome:

• Vaan: Red Battlemage / Archer
• Penelo: Black mage / Monk (and Ultima needed for Swiftness x3 it seems)
• Fran: Foebreaker / Shikari
• Balthier: White mage / Machinist
• Ashe: Knight / Time Battlemage
• Basch: Bushi / Uhlan

 

[MugiwaraCole]

Wait, Quickenings lock your board? Huh???

 

[Nohar]

Wait, Quickenings lock your board? Huh???

You have 4 possible Quickening licenses. You can only unlock 3 of those. And, yes, some licenses paths can only be reached by picking the correct Quickenings.

No, the game doesn't tell you any of this.

Yes, this is kinda bad game-design.

 

[LegendofLex]

You have 4 possible quickening license. You can only select 3. And, yes, some licenses paths can only be reached by picking the correct Quickenings.

No, the game doesn't tell you any of this.

Yes, this is kinda bad game-design.

It's "the quickening space you don't pick creates a path to nearby licenses," right? Or is it the opposite, where you have to pick the quickening space to create the bridge?

 

[MugiwaraCole]

You have 4 possible Quickening licenses. You can only unlock 3 of those. And, yes, some licenses paths can only be reached by picking the correct Quickenings.

No, the game doesn't tell you any of this.

Yes, this is kinda bad game-design.

Holy shit. Glad I read this before getting to that point.

So 4 possible per character, can only use 3. Is there a guide or something that lets you know which 3 you should get for each character depending on the jobs you've assigned them?

 

[aravuus]

You have 4 possible Quickening licenses. You can only unlock 3 of those. And, yes, some licenses paths can only be reached by picking the correct Quickenings.

No, the game doesn't tell you any of this.

Yes, this is kinda bad game-design.

I don't think it's bad design at all, it's just one more choice you're gonna have to make. They could've explained it better in the initial tutorial though, I'll give you that, but I do have the feeling that they said you can only get three of them at some point.

 

[MugiwaraCole]

I don't think it's bad design at all, it's just one more choice you're gonna have to make. They could've explained it better in the initial tutorial though, I'll give you that.

Think he means them not really explaining it is the bad part. I'd agree.

 

[Spukc]

hmmm gambits how to have em equipped any tips ?
i can have 4 in total atm

 

[aravuus]

Holy shit. Glad I read this before getting to that point.

So 4 possible per character, can only use 3. Is there a guide or something that lets you know which 3 you should get for each character depending on the jobs you've assigned them?

At the risk of sounding condescending, just look at the choices you have before picking any of them and choose yourself. They're pretty straightforward in the end. If it's a "dead end", don't activate that. If it works as a bridge to other useful licenses, like HP+ or ATK+, activate it. If it works as a bridge to technicks or something like that, activate it only if you feel like you're going to use those technicks or if the rest of the Quickening licenses are dead ends.

The only one I had to think about for a bit was Shikari, in which case I would 100% recommend activating the Quickenings that lead to Ninja Swords 1 and Yagyu darkblade.

e: and what Nohar said below. If one 100LP Quickening works as a bridge to more licenses on both boards, it's definitely worth activating.

 

[Nohar]

Apparently, you have to take into account the fact that Quickening slots are shared between Job boards. If you unlock one Quickening on one board, it will also automatically unlock the same Quickening on the other board, so be sure to check which Quickenings you unlock on both boards and what lies beyond them before making your choice.

Example: You have 4 Quickenings licenses. They each cost 50, 75, 100 and 125 job points respectively. Unlocking the 50 one on the Red Battlemage board (which allows you to pick White Magic 2) will unlock the same slot whose cost is 50 on the White Mage board (with a +150 HP license hidden behind it).

 

[Arrogant Bastard]

Can someone who is knowledgable on this explain the real differences between:

Knight/Bushi and Uhlan/Time Mage

or

Uhlan/Bushi and Knight/Time Mage

especially with DPS and abilities/esper allotments into play?

Several of us will appreciate this!

2nd, I'm not there yet as I just started but it is still the only 'problem' that I'm having.

 

[WarAdept]

Going uber god mode. The problem is who is assigned to what. Help?


Samurai/Knight - Vaan is the best choice here, given his stats
Hunter/Breaker - Low magic class that demands high STR and SPD means Balthier
White Mage/Machinist
Black Mage/Monk
Black Mage/Red Mage
Uhlan/Time Mage

And that's all I have assigned for sure. I was thinking Ashe and Penelo as either god tier Black Mage combos, since they make the best mages. Unless someone can state a case for Fran/Basch.

Speaking of, I have no idea where to put the aformentioned two. Fran seems eligible for White Mage/Machinist since she has the highest VIT.

No idea how Basch would perform as Uhlal/Time Mage. Maybe he would be better as Hunter/Breaker and assign Balthier somewhere else.

 

[brian!]

real quick, are there any major difference between this game and the ps2 intl zodiac version? not talking extra modes or graphics, just the base game and the changes made via ps2 zodiac

 

[thedan001]

No idea how Basch would perform as Uhlal/Time Mage. Maybe he would be better as Hunter/Breaker and assign Balthier somewhere else.

Basch is the fastest with spears so Uhlan on him is a good choice.

EDIT: Basch and Balthier have very fast animations for ninja sword and katanas, so it'll work

(I had to double check)

Reference

 

[Shifty1897]

Not loving my Vann Foebreaker right now. Just realized that axe damage output is randomized as 1-100% of it's total power, meaning sometimes he hits for 250 damage, and other times he hits for... 8.

 

[Nohar]

real quick, are there any major difference between this game and the ps2 intl zodiac version? not talking extra modes or graphics, just the base game and the changes made via ps2 zodiac

Gameplay-wise, the only difference is you can choose two jobs per character.
Also, they removed monster illustrations in the Bestiary, the Sky Pirate's Den, and you have the choice between the original music and the re-orchestrated soundtrack.

 

[brian!]

alright thanks appreciate it

 

[aravuus]

Yeah boy, Protectga and Bravery GET! Vaan just got considerably deadlier

Not loving my Vann Foebreaker right now. Just realized that axe damage output is randomized as 1-100% of it's total power, meaning sometimes he hits for 250 damage, and other times he hits for... 8.

Make him Shikari/Foebreaker and he'll be breaking foes alright. My Vaan is destroying boys right now with daggers, and I haven't even gotten to the Ninja Swords.

 

[Zoe]

I'm sure it's been linked, but there's a spreadsheet out there that lets you change up job combinations and see all of the licenses you'll get for each.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...vC5yipu9Yfh0IZ6YE-mh_e59g/edit#gid=1059552339

You'll have to copy it to your own Google Drive to start editing.

Is there a different link? That only gives the HTML version, and I'm not seeing any way to copy it to a drive or download it as a spreadsheet.

 

[froliq]

Is there a different link? That only gives the HTML version, and I'm not seeing any way to copy it to a drive or download it as a spreadsheet.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rBpOmegCizn3KOPwrKvC5yipu9Yfh0IZ6YE-mh_e59g/edit#gid=0

This should work.

 

[JJShadow]

After reading the last pages, could anyone explain to me what the Quickenings are and why choosing one or another is so important? (I'm still pretty early in the game)

 

[ladyluthien]

Finally received my copy from FedEx. Just waiting on the guide, which hopefully should arrive next week. I have never played XII, so I am excited to jump in. It'll be nice to take a break from Crash!

 

[Nohar]

Not loving my Vann Foebreaker right now. Just realized that axe damage output is randomized as 1-100% of it's total power, meaning sometimes he hits for 250 damage, and other times he hits for... 8.

It is a noticeable issue at the beginning. However, the damage output seems to become way better once you unlock better weapons. I no longer see my Foebreaker Fran dealing single digit damage, and she out-damage everyone pretty easily now (she can still deal rather low damage, but overall I think that the average DPS stays quite high). The job seems quite dependent on a good weapon and stats to work, and early in the game you simply don't have that.

 

[Moonchild]

.

 

[Zoe]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rBpOmegCizn3KOPwrKvC5yipu9Yfh0IZ6YE-mh_e59g/edit#gid=0

This should work.

That was the same thing. Got it on my phone, but it took a few tries with this message:

 

[Megalosaro]

What is "Swiftness"

 

[Nohar]

Are you meant to level your party evenly or go with a main three-person team for most of the game? Because then I'm not sure which jobs I should focus on for my main team.

Whichever choice you prefer. You can swap characters whenever you want, so you can level them up evenly, or just focus on a team of 3 and forget about the others. That goes without saying, but you will want a good healer in any case, so a White Mage is mandatory if you want Curaga/ja (and you want it for the end-game, believe me).

 

[aravuus]

What is "Swiftness"

Cuts the waiting time between choosing an action and executing that action by 10%. So 3 of them makes you about a third faster, definitely something you should try to get when thinking about job combinations.

 

[Nohar]

What is "Swiftness"

A board license which reduces the casting time for any action by 10%. You can have up to 3 Swiftness, for a maximum of -30% action time (which is quite substantial). Some jobs, such as Red Battlemage and Knight, only have one Swiftness board license, hence why it is interesting/crucial (depending on who you ask) to pick a second job which can allow you to reach the -30% threshold (some jobs have all 3 Swiftness board licenses natively, such as Machinist, Archer, Shikari and Time Battlemage).

 

[Zakkath]

What is "Swiftness"

Your speed.

 

[Kensuke]

I believe it's 12% actually, even better.

 

[Nohar]

I need to have someone check something for me: in this gamefaq thread, someone implies that only the first Swiftness license is shared between all boards. Therefore, it would mean that the second and third ones aren't shared, which would indicate that two jobs with 2 Swiftness licenses each can reach the 3 Swiftness cap. Can anyone confirm/infirm this? (seems a little too good to be true, and I am wondering if I have comprehension issues).

 

[SkylineRKR]

I think my Ashe has 2x swiftness on Black Mage board and 1x on her Knight which makes 3. So thats one combination for max speed.

 

[ClearMetal]

Job allocation continues to haunt me...

Decided to start over (wasn't that far in anyway) and go with the following:

Penelo: Shikari/Breaker
Fran: Monk/Black Mage
Ashe: Bushi/Time Mage

Vaan: Archer/Red Mage
Balthier: Machinist/White Mage
Basch: Knight/Uhlan

My goal was to create a main party consisting of Penelo, Fran and Ashe and have the guys as support, yet without potentially hamstringing them through bad combinations. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

[Nista]

Since people seem to be more interested in endlessly asking for feedback on their virtually identical job configurations I will try to answer you in that I ran into this same issue last night after having gotten the armlet from the first trial. Best as I can tell, there are some chests where wearing it will give you a rare opportunity to snag a limited item from it, but if you're wearing it and you open a normal chest, you'll basically get the rust knot every time. Since there are some chests that are meant to give you actual decent items that you won't get if you're wearing the armlet, it kinda seems like the best way to utilize it would be the same way as you needed to in vanilla--only on certain chests for certain items, and in that instance necessarily only if you're playing with a guide. Since I'm not using one and it sounds like most of the missable chest item shenanigans have been removed, I decided to just not use the armlet.

Yeah, that basically confirms what I decided. Maybe towards the end once there's percentage rare chest farming or something I'll use it, but right now running around and pulling useful gear out of Barheim and Zertinan seems like a better choice.

Though I did luck out and get Deathbringer stolen off of Ithuno first try. Now just gotta get some more LP for Basch so he can even use the thing.

 

[OrionX]

But like... why would they make a huge desert region and fill it with all these pathetic wannabe cactuars instead of the real thing? #unforgivable

 

[kromeo]

But like... why would they make a huge desert region and fill it with all these pathetic wannabe cactuars instead of the real thing? #unforgivable

Matsuno likes fake summons as well

 

[gattsu]

A board license which reduces the casting time for any action by 10%. You can have up to 3 Swiftness, for a maximum of -30% action time (which is quite substantial). Some jobs, such as Red Battlemage and Knight, only have one Swiftness board license, hence why it is interesting/crucial (depending on who you ask) to pick a second job which can allow you to reach the -30% threshold (some jobs have all 3 Swiftness board licenses natively, such as Machinist, Archer, Shikari and Time Battlemage).

Thanks for the concise explanation!

This game has its hooks in me. I've bounced off FF 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10 all after a few hours. Already addicted to this one and I can't exactly place why. It just feels different and better in all the right ways.

 

[froliq]

After reading the last pages, could anyone explain to me what the Quickenings are and why choosing one or another is so important? (I'm still pretty early in the game)

Each job board has 4 quickening licenses at 50, 75, 100 and 125LP. When you unlock a quickening on one job, it also unlocks on the other job. So when you get the 50LP quickening on one job, it will also unlock the 50LP quickening on the other job.

Every character is restricted to learning 3 quickening licenses. Quickenings are a square on the job board like any other license and they may be a required unlock depending on the shape of the job board to access the skills/squares/licenses behind them. When you learn 3 quickenings, the 4th becomes locked which can possibly lock you out from some skills/squares/licenses.

 

[Netto-kun]

Is there anywhere I can still buy the Steelbook?

Game says they still have new copies of the Steelbook in stock and they ship international (but email and ask them just in case). They shipped mine on Tuesday so I'll probably have it next week.

 

[SkylineRKR]

Well, I'm past the snow area and Gladius is still the boss. Just don't forget to take it off when fighting Tiamat, lol. I only realized it after minutes of hacking away.

 

[Kensuke]

I think my Ashe has 2x swiftness on Black Mage board and 1x on her Knight which makes 3. So thats one combination for max speed.

They don't combine. When you activate one on one board it activates on the other. You need to mix jobs with native 3 swiftness with jobs that don't have 3.

 

[aravuus]

Well, I'm past the snow area and Gladius is still the boss. Just don't forget to take it off when fighting Tiamat, lol. I only realized it after minutes of hacking away.

I still prefer Main Gauche to Gladius. The crazy 50 evasion MG gives is too good to give up for a measly +10 to attack.

Found an Orichalcum Dirk in the Necrohol just now though and I had to finally retire the trusty Main Gauche

 

[Billy_Pilgrim]

Played it last night and tonight. I did play about 12 hours of the original release when it came out but I cannot remember much about it at all, I bounced off it fairly quickly. The fast forward does massively improve the game, to the point at which you can actually digest the story more easily because it isn't bookending overly long areas full of trash mobs. I think it brings out the best of the gambit system too, makes automating everything and tinkering worthwhile because it's easier to clear an area fast.

Also years ago I wasn't that keen on Ivalice after FFTA. I don't know if it's because of the garbage stories and universes since then but it's actually a breath of fresh air.

Kind of sad in a way that we didn't get this sort of refinement of the steps forward of FF12 from other RPGs following, if it turns out that the game was just too slow to be fun to begin with, that is.

 

[OrionX]

Matsuno likes fake summons as well

lol, X was my first so I was used to simpler stuff like Shiva and Ifrit. Then I went back and played a lot of the older ones so I thought I knew my summons. Then I picked up XII and was like wtf are these names?! XD

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Are there any "you done fucked up" class combos, or is creativity / going with the characters you like best okay for a first playthrough?

 

[Yabberwocky]

Oh, god, I hadn't considered picking the best placed Quickenings on the LB - thanks for the heads up, GAF!

I'm loving the remaster so far, my only disappointment is the misaligned cutscenes, as a few people have mentioned earlier in the thread. It just looks bizarre, I'm really astonished by the decision. I ended up putting the subtitles on for something to go in the blank space. If I remember correctly, there was black bars at the top and bottom of the cutscenes of the original, the bottom black bar was maybe a little bigger than the top? I am an idiot, though, I surely must have seen the cutscenes in preview footage, but I guess I thought they were temporary. I think I also must have assumed the cutscenes were going to be like FFX HD.

The one good part of it is that for those who need/prefer subtitles, they can at least be read cleanly from quite a distance back. I think the same font size could have been kept, however, had the subtitles not be spaced like this:

hi i'm a subtitle
and you're reading me

hi i'm a subtitle and you're reading me usually works fine.

The cutscenes look gorgeous, though. Sakimoto's soundtrack is breathtaking, the reorchestrated music is gorgeous. I grinned like crazy when I arrived at the Dalmasca Estersand, and the music began to play. Vaan and I hung with our T-Rex buddy for awhile, taking screenshot selfies.

Sorry for reposting two questions from earlier in the thread, I do keep scratching my head on two points - bolding so it's a bit easier to read -

1. Would the RBM/ARC combo (along with the Fire Bow) be better for Vaan or Penelo? I guess I'm not sure what is ultimately more important for RBM/ARC: Vaan's higher strength (78) or average magic (632) or Penelo's low strength (70) but higher magic (714). I guess there is also the question of who is better at BM/MNK and what's more important, a stronger BM/MNK or RMB/ARC.

(I know FFXII isn't hard enough for this to really matter, but I guess I was curious as to how combo-ing the classes work, along with the Fire Bow itself.)

2. Belias gives Libra to Bushi (Balthier) and Potion Lore to the the Knight (Ashe) - who needs Belias more? Archer (Penelo/Vaan), Shikari (Basch), Machinist (Fran), Monk (Penelo/Vaan) would also have Libra, it's just a shame that Basch innately has Libra, and would also pick it up again with Shikari. I'm guessing giving Potion Lore to Knight/Ashe would be more important?

 

[kromeo]

Within about half an hour Vaan goes from attacking Basche in his cage to saying my brother was right to trust you, and not for any particular reason... always thought that was stupid

 

[Riposte]

Are there any "you done fucked up" class combos, or is creativity / going with the character's you like best okay for a first playthrough?

You can make highly inefficient combos like White Mage/Black Mage or just wasteful ones with too much license overlap, but it's hardly a big deal. Your only real concern is overall party composition (e.g., no healers), but this is a complete non-issue if you use all or most of the jobs.

 

[SkylineRKR]

The originals didn't even have 2 jobs per char and the difficulty isn't altered with this change so I doubt you can really fuck up. I just used them all, and my combinations aren't top tier (though Machinist + White Mage seems to be a popular recommendation).

Within about half an hour Vaan goes from attacking Basche in his cage to saying my brother was right to trust you, and not for any particular reason... always thought that was stupid

He does talk with Basch and he acknowledges his usefulness in battle as well. I also think the party did see Gabranth looking exactly like him?