Support NeoGAF

[Photon]

Hmm.. since this thread seems to have collective amnesia regarding previously posted help/strats, I am going to repost this collection of spoiler free advice including all the most annoying bosses.

http://tbtactics.blogspot.com/2010/03/want-to-be-good-at-ffxiii.html

Bookmarked. Thanks!

 

[The Elite]

Hmm.. since this thread seems to have collective amnesia regarding previously posted help/strats, I am going to repost this collection of spoiler free advice including all the most annoying bosses.

http://tbtactics.blogspot.com/2010/03/want-to-be-good-at-ffxiii.html

I'll try your strats. Was loving the game up until the Chapter 9 boss.

 

[Peff]

Provoke lasts for a while, as long as there's a warning before the enemy's name. Also, I don't think status effect stack. The AI just uses a lot because they tend to fail, so using them is a good way to ensure at least one will connect. Also keep in mind that if an AI Saboteur runs out of stats to inflict, they will stop acting completely.

 

[Rpgmonkey]

Just noticed that debuffs really are as overpowered as buffs in this game.

Deprotect+Bravery+Fang=50,000 damage without even being in Stagger. :lol

 

[Fantasy Final]

Is everyone really had trouble with the Chap. 9 boss? Beat it at my second attempts and even at the first one,

Spoiler

the death clock killed me, not the boss itself.

 

[RustyNails]

I just got to the chapter 5

Spoiler

lotus turtle boss. I cant stagger him because his effervescence lotus strike deals mega damage to both light and hope. His individual attacks are massive too.

My TP is totally drained. Any tips?

 

[I'm an expert]

Just noticed that debuffs really are as overpowered as buffs in this game.

Deprotect+Bravery+Fang=50,000 damage without even being in Stagger. :lol

They're not 'overpowered'. Pretty sure the game and battles are designed so that they should be used.. I know past FFs haven't been the best about debuffs but this one makes them and buffs relevant.

 

[popsicle_sundays]

Chapter 10:

Spoiler

fucking bahamut mother fucker, I always get his to a certain point doing just sentinel and medic / medic but he wiped me out 5 times in a row now at the very end

, this boss bullshit is getting annoying

 

[Fantasy Final]

I just got to the chapter 5

Spoiler

lotus turtle boss. I cant stagger him because his effervescence lotus strike deals mega damage to both light and hope. His individual attacks are massive too.

My TP is totally drained. Any tips?

Spoiler

Try SYN with Hope at the beginning of the fight. Protect/Shield might help you. This boss switch weakness too.

 

[DangerousDave]

The evidence is piling up. Snow = Squall.

A leader of a resistance group that wants to protect anyone and he only can make innocent people die because is ingenous enought to believe that a 5 people group can defeat a big army?

Obviously, Snow = Barret

 

[survivor]

I just got to the chapter 5

Spoiler

lotus turtle boss. I cant stagger him because his effervescence lotus strike deals mega damage to both light and hope. His individual attacks are massive too.

My TP is totally drained. Any tips?

Can't remember exactly what I did, but first thing I did was cast Libra. So now the Auto Battle will do its stuff. After that I tried Commando/Ravager and once I see he is about to attack switch to Ravager/Medic.

After healing my characters, I just switch back to Commando/Ravager again. Then when I see he is getting close to Stagger, I just switch to Ravager/Ravager and get him Staggered. Then I would try to keep him in the air for as long as I can. If I remember correctly, I had to stagger him twice. Battle took a long time to finish.

Generally, I found that the ATB cancel thing helped me a lot.

 

[Sydle]

I just got to the chapter 5

Spoiler

lotus turtle boss. I cant stagger him because his effervescence lotus strike deals mega damage to both light and hope. His individual attacks are massive too.

My TP is totally drained. Any tips?

Spoiler

Never able to stagger him, because his attacks were so powerful. It was just a long battle of paradigm shifts from ravagers to get support abilities on, medics to heal, and then shifting to attack mode. Repeat. It was a very boring battle.

 

[Rpgmonkey]

They're not 'overpowered'. Pretty sure the game and battles are designed so that they should be used.. I know past FFs haven't been the best about debuffs but this one makes them and buffs relevant.

I don't know...using them just makes everything in the game really easy to me. It's like being a tank with jets attached, after turning the other side into glass. :lol

Not using them makes most fights a little more balanced. Only a few fights so far feel "unfair" without them.

Nice that they're worthwhile either way, but the (de)buffs take things a bit too far to me. Oh well.

 

[DualShadow]

I just got to the chapter 5

Spoiler

lotus turtle boss. I cant stagger him because his effervescence lotus strike deals mega damage to both light and hope. His individual attacks are massive too.

My TP is totally drained. Any tips?

nvm wrong boss

 

[Papercuts]

I also hated the reliance on the party leader... and no swapping leaders mid-battle...

Yeah...it especially makes medics being able to revive feel pretty redundant when there is only one member of the team they can actually revive unless you make the medic a leader.

Is everyone really had trouble with the Chap. 9 boss? Beat it at my second attempts and even at the first one,

Spoiler

the death clock killed me, not the boss itself.

It was nearly impossible until I added Hope. Shell and Protect literally made all the difference, which is stupid.

Spoiler

I tried Lightning/Sazh/Vanille and focused on buffing, healing, and going into attack modes. There was nothing different when I did it with Lightning/Sazh/Hope, Hope just casted 2 spells on everyone and took over as medic and the boss suddenly was easy. For a combat system with so many layers, a boss like that makes it all feel pointless. I didn't even bother to try sentinel to soak up damage because he also can cast doom which is possibly the most obvious case of artificial difficulty I've ever seen.

 

[I'm an expert]

It was nearly impossible until I added Hope. Shell and Protect literally made all the difference, which is stupid.

I beat the game without ever using Hope..or defensive buffs actually..(never even used the smokes) so it's not impossible or stupid. Obviously different setups and gear/levels will make it so we all have different experiences, but there is no 'you must have this char to beat this battle' instance in the game. But buffs/debuffs help a lot, as we mentioned above. Use either or both!

 

[Jason's Ultimatum]

Might wanna replay the games again, Lighting VA is pretty much on-par with the Queen, only with actual scenes to flesh out the character.



:lol

Why are you laughing? You'll be shocked at how fleshed out they are in Mother 3. Not to mention how heartbreaking the character's plots are.

 

[Papercuts]

I beat the game without ever using Hope..or defensive buffs actually..(never even used the smokes) so it's not impossible or stupid. Obviously different setups and gear/levels will make it so we all have different experiences, but there is no 'you must have this char to beat this battle' instance in the game.

Not to that extreme, no, but my basic strategy was the exact same and it only worked when I swapped Hope in, which is what I meant was stupid. There was also some dumb AI moments like them all bunching up and dying from AoE magic attacks, which is completely luck based.

 

[RustyNails]

Thanks guys, I beat the

Spoiler

lotus turtle's ass to death Synergy and com/rav paradigms did the trick

Got a shitty battle rating though. Probably because I did paradigm shifts 50 times from healing to attacking to protecting

 

[I'm an expert]

Not to that extreme, no, but my basic strategy was the exact same and it only worked when I swapped Hope in, which is what I meant was stupid. There was also some dumb AI moments like them all bunching up and dying from AoE magic attacks, which is completely luck based.

This I agree with. If you set your main as an attacker and the other two hang back they will usually all get seperated until you change their classes and they get mixed up again. On some fights I could use this to my advantage by getting my main out of the way of certain attacks, but sometimes they all get clumped together or split up behind an enemy or lord knows whatever and there defintely is a feeling of helplessness there.

 

[Voyevoda007]

I'm in

Spoiler

chapter 11

and still don't have the

Spoiler

Gladius

.I think I sold it or something, would I be able to buy it back at some point. Anyways I hear it's the best weapon to upgrade for lighting.

 

[RustyNails]

Can we keep the spoilers in tags please? Jeeze. The top quote on this page is ridiculous.

 

[Nose Master]

I beat the game without ever using Hope..or defensive buffs actually..(never even used the smokes) so it's not impossible or stupid. Obviously different setups and gear/levels will make it so we all have different experiences, but there is no 'you must have this char to beat this battle' instance in the game. But buffs/debuffs help a lot, as we mentioned above. Use either or both!

It is kind of stupid, though. Fighting without protect/shell is just making it harder on yourself. It'd be one thing if debuffs actually stuck on bosses, but they barely ever do.

PS I'm pretty sure one of the shops has Gladius for sale fairly early on

 

[Zoe]

This I agree with. If you set your main as an attacker and the other two hang back they will usually all get seperated until you change their classes and they get mixed up again. On some fights I could use this to my advantage by getting my main out of the way of certain attacks, but sometimes they all get clumped together or split up behind an enemy or lord knows whatever and there defintely is a feeling of helplessness there.

That's why I liked having my main (Hope) as a spell-caster because he would back blasting away while the other two would charge in and fight.

 

[Yoshichan]

Good morning! Going to continue with the side quests now.

Love it <3

 

[dramatis]

I'm in

Spoiler

chapter 11

and still don't have the

Spoiler

Gladius

.I think I sold it or something, would I be able to buy it back at some point. Anyways I hear it's the best weapon to upgrade for lighting.

If you are using her for Commando. Bear in mind depending on what you want your characters' chief roles to be, the best weapon differs.

 

[dreamer3kx]

Good morning! Going to continue with the side quests now.

Love it <3

I didn't even know there were side quests, Im up to chap 8, nice!

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Well in Chapter 8, I decided to follow the strategy guides advice and do that farm for some Cp (that group of 5 zwerg metreodroids). After 30 minutes I got 10000 CP, however the rediculous crystarium requirements made that vanish in only a minute, lol.

 

[Zoe]

I didn't even know there were side quests, Im up to chap 8, nice!

Side quests == hunts

 

[The Elite]

Hmm.. since this thread seems to have collective amnesia regarding previously posted help/strats, I am going to repost this collection of spoiler free advice including all the most annoying bosses.

http://tbtactics.blogspot.com/2010/03/want-to-be-good-at-ffxiii.html

My name is DoctorWho and this is my favorite blog on the Internet.

Chapter 9 boss defeated!

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

I seriously dont understand the time limit on some of these monsters. 4 dog dudes equal 55 seconds or something, but 3 penguins equal 3 and a half minutes or something? I take them out at almost roughly the same time but i get 3 stars on the dogs. ARG.

Whats the best weapon for lightning as a rav? I find im alaways using her and hope to build up combos so i better focus on that than on her as a com.

 

[Jrmint]

You guys developing your main 3 characters with all 3 primary classes or focusing all points on maxing out 1 class?

 

[Zoe]

Ch 5:

Spoiler

They turned NORA into an acronym? Nice, I was dreading that they'd call them Tomcats or something

:lol

 

[Arzehn]

You guys developing your main 3 characters with all 3 primary classes or focusing all points on maxing out 1 class?

I tend to level the characters main 3 equally because you get more "bang for your buck" for example why get +20 strength for 10000 CP when in another tree +20 strength is 4000cp.

 

[Epix]

I'm having a tough time judging if I should be changing weapons or upgrading weapons. The way the upgrade system works it seems like I'll just end up upgrading the weapons I started with. Kind of a strange system. How are you guys using it?

 

[Dedication Through Light]

You guys developing your main 3 characters with all 3 primary classes or focusing all points on maxing out 1 class?

I was doing that, but then I decided to just focus on one class for each character, what I felt they were best at. When I have no where else to go I will develop the class that I use as their secondary class but mainly just for the skills if they are useful or not.

 

[ZeroRay]

Chapter 9 boss one shotted me. And I thought people were exaggerating his difficulty when I started the battle. :l

 

[DualShadow]

I was doing that, but then I decided to just focus on one class for each character, what I felt they were best at. When I have no where else to go I will develop the class that I use as their secondary class but mainly just for the skills if they are useful or not.

I've been trying to spread them about the different class's while still trying to focus on a main class, if that makes sense. For instance COM is highest for Light but the others still have points into them. I think it works out best for your stats per CP if u share into different classes.

 

[scotcheggz]

Is anyone else having problems sometimes with the way the AI positions itself? It's not so bad in little fights, but I just hit Chap 11 and some of these behemoths just aren't possible when the whole party stands side by side with the Sentinal. If the Sentinal can say infront and COM/RAV get behind the behemoth, no problem. Instead they all bundle up front and eat the big spinning wheel of doom.

I've been playing about 30 hours and I haven't figured anything that gets them out of the way, am I being stupid, or is there really nothing to be done except shake my head?

 

[Kyoufu]

So I just fully leveled the Omega Weapon to *. Now I have over 2k strength but I still don't hit much harder.......

SO MUCH GIL SPENT ON SO LITTLE

 

[Epcott]

Bah, I'm only on chapter 4, been side tracked. What chapter do you finally get to Pulse?

Also, I wish there were a way to do screen grabs of the PS3 version. I want to do a painting of Lake Bresha and I hate having to run back, load up a game and use that for reference everytime I work on it.

 

[cutebabyelephant]

Is anyone else having problems sometimes with the way the AI positions itself? It's not so bad in little fights, but I just hit Chap 11 and some of these behemoths just aren't possible when the whole party stands side by side with the Sentinal. If the Sentinal can say infront and COM/RAV get behind the behemoth, no problem. Instead they all bundle up front and eat the big spinning wheel of doom.

I've been playing about 30 hours and I haven't figured anything that gets them out of the way, am I being stupid, or is there really nothing to be done except shake my head?

When fighting behemoths you really don't want them to transform. You want to get them staggered before half health when they transform and then keep them from doing anything and kill them during the stagger.

Bah, I'm only on chapter 4, been side tracked. What chapter do you finally get to Pulse?

Also, I wish there were a way to do screen grabs of the PS3 version. I want to do a painting of Lake Bresha and I hate having to run back, load up a game and use that for reference everytime I work on it.

Spoiler

Chapter 11

 

[Fun Factor]

I'm having a tough time judging if I should be changing weapons or upgrading weapons. The way the upgrade system works it seems like I'll just end up upgrading the weapons I started with. Kind of a strange system. How are you guys using it?

Apparently there are only 7 weapons for each character throughout the game & the differences are mild between them.
Like getting a new weapon 20 hours in isn't better in every stat than your first weapon, just better in few ways.

 

[Castor Krieg]

Apparently there are only 7 weapons for each character throughout the game & the differences are mild between them.
Like getting a new weapon 20 hours in isn't better in every stat than your first weapon, just better in few ways.

Not better, but different. All depends on your playstyle.

 

[Yoshichan]

I finally decided my upcoming and ultimate gear with every character, let me know if anyone's got an opinion/change about it

Lightning - Gladius upgrade (723 STR 210 MAG) This one was tough since I usually do magic with Light too... but I need the STR.

Sazh - Deneb Duellers (608 STR 1125 MAG) All about the MAG.

Snow - Paladin (510 STR 510 MAG) Don't care about the stats. It gives the Guard System a huge boost and he's a tank.

Hope - Vidofnir (305 STR 713 MAG) Not the best magic but defense enhances

Vanille - Belladonna Wand (403 STR 807 MAG) This was a no doubter. It enhances the Saboteur-magic and that's all Vanille is awesome for.

Fang - Taming Pole (921 STR 921 MAG) Yes, I am aware that this weapon has "No Break" but I don't care about this since my Fang's only there for the damage. My RAVs are there for the breaking.

I've done my research, let's get this show on the road!

 

[scotcheggz]

When fighting behemoths you really don't want them to transform. You want to get them staggered before half health when they transform and then keep them from doing anything and kill them during the stagger.

Sure, I appreciate that, I was just using them as a (bad) example. Pretty much any fight that isn't a pushover this happens.

 

[Xevren]

You really want to go through the hassle of leveling up all 6 weapons? I'd really just recommend going with 3, at least for a little while so you don't go insane just gil farming.

 

[Yoshichan]

You really want to go through the hassle of leveling up all 6 weapons? I'd really just recommend going with 3, at least for a little while so you don't go insane just gil farming.

Hey if I could spend 600 hours (and 200 of those farming) on Demon's Souls, I think 200 (max) for this amazing game is nothing

Edit - besides, I always seem to change my characters depending on the mood. I love all the characters. This is a first in FF-games actually, since I've always had my "favorites" in previous FF (CLO/YUF/CID from VII), (TID/WAK/AUR from X), (VAN/ASH/BAS from XII) etc.

 

[Castor Krieg]

I finally decided my upcoming and ultimate gear with every character, let me know if anyone's got an opinion/change about it

Lightning - Gladius upgrade (723 STR 210 MAG) This one was tough since I usually do magic with Light too... but I need the STR.

Sazh - Deneb Duellers (608 STR 1125 MAG) All about the MAG.

Snow - Paladin (510 STR 510 MAG) Don't care about the stats. It gives the Guard System a huge boost and he's a tank.

Hope - Vidofnir (305 STR 713 MAG) Not the best magic but defense enhances

Vanille - Belladonna Wand (403 STR 807 MAG) This was a no doubter. It enhances the Saboteur-magic and that's all Vanille is awesome for.

Fang - Taming Pole (921 STR 921 MAG) Yes, I am aware that this weapon has "No Break" but I don't care about this since my Fang's only there for the damage. My RAVs are there for the breaking.

I've done my research, let's get this show on the road!

I'm running with Vanille/Hope/Fang. First two are the same as on your list, last one I will go with Calamity Blade, bonus to Saboteur. Always handy.

 

[Replicant]

I finally decided my upcoming and ultimate gear with every character, let me know if anyone's got an opinion/change about it

Lightning - Gladius upgrade (723 STR 210 MAG) This one was tough since I usually do magic with Light too... but I need the STR.

Sazh - Deneb Duellers (608 STR 1125 MAG) All about the MAG.

Snow - Paladin (510 STR 510 MAG) Don't care about the stats. It gives the Guard System a huge boost and he's a tank.

Hope - Vidofnir (305 STR 713 MAG) Not the best magic but defense enhances

Vanille - Belladonna Wand (403 STR 807 MAG) This was a no doubter. It enhances the Saboteur-magic and that's all Vanille is awesome for.

Fang - Taming Pole (921 STR 921 MAG) Yes, I am aware that this weapon has "No Break" but I don't care about this since my Fang's only there for the damage. My RAVs are there for the breaking.

I've done my research, let's get this show on the road!

Well, well, well, look at that. Thank you for those. I was wondering which weapon is the most effective for each character.