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[Oneironaut]

This end-game grinding is crazy. I don't feel like playing anything else at the moment, so I'm still at it, but I don't know if stick with it long enough to actually have a chance at some of the harder bosses.

 

[Unai]

This end-game grinding is crazy. I don't feel like playing anything else at the moment, so I'm still at it, but I don't know if stick with it long enough to actually have a chance at some of the harder bosses.

I think I will cheat engine the shit out of the ending game.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

This end-game grinding is crazy. I don't feel like playing anything else at the moment, so I'm still at it, but I don't know if stick with it long enough to actually have a chance at some of the harder bosses.

It really is. That's one of the reasons I think that when the games "opens up" is not really when the game starts, like some people say, is when the grind starts, which is not FUN at all.

I mean, yeah, what you had 20 hours before, was linear and locked you up on a limited version of the battle system. But what the game gives you is just the same shit (and by shit, I mean the same turtle battle) over and over for 20 hours, it which at one point you say:"Fuck this, I'd just rather finish the game that keep going with this".

 

[kick51]

I think I will cheat engine the shit out of the ending game.

what would even be the point of that, considering there's nothing else after the grind.

It really is. That's one of the reasons I think that when the games "opens up" is not really when the game starts, like some people say, is when the grind starts, which is not FUN at all.

I mean, yeah, what you had 20 hours before, was linear and locked you up on a limited version of the battle system. But what the game gives you is just the same shit (and by shit, I mean the same turtle battle) over and over for 20 hours, it which at one point you say:"Fuck this, I'd just rather finish the game that keep going with this".

I think most people are referring to the missions and running around gran pulse doing them. It still doesn't really "open up," but it's not hallways.

 

[Ganon Dragmire]

Beautiful, badass, and screwed up. So great. haha

 

[EatinOlives]

How the hell does staggering work? I'm on Chapter 4 and the stupid Pulsework Soldiers are incredibly strong unless you stagger them, but their meter plummets insanely fast sometimes and others the meter is slow to decrease, seemingly at random. Stacking attacks from other party members doesn't seem to work (since, again, meter plummets too fast for me or the party members to begin attacking again), different Paradigms don't work, and magic/physical attacks don't seem to make a difference.

So...what's the deal? I'm missing something vital but the game doesn't make it clear. It's kinda weird since they really beat you over the head with nearly everything else, mechanics and story wise.

 

[Redhood]

How the hell does staggering work? I'm on Chapter 4 and the stupid Pulsework Soldiers are incredibly strong unless you stagger them, but their meter plummets insanely fast sometimes and others the meter is slow to decrease, seemingly at random. Stacking attacks from other party members doesn't seem to work (since, again, meter plummets too fast for me or the party members to begin attacking again), different Paradigms don't work, and magic/physical attacks don't seem to make a difference.

So...what's the deal? I'm missing something vital but the game doesn't make it clear. It's kinda weird since they really beat you over the head with nearly everything else, mechanics and story wise.

COM attacks fill the meter very little but they decrease slow. RAV attacks fill fast decrease faster. Have 1 member as com and one as RAV to balance them out.

 

[Wilsongt]

How the hell does staggering work? I'm on Chapter 4 and the stupid Pulsework Soldiers are incredibly strong unless you stagger them, but their meter plummets insanely fast sometimes and others the meter is slow to decrease, seemingly at random. Stacking attacks from other party members doesn't seem to work (since, again, meter plummets too fast for me or the party members to begin attacking again), different Paradigms don't work, and magic/physical attacks don't seem to make a difference.

So...what's the deal? I'm missing something vital but the game doesn't make it clear. It's kinda weird since they really beat you over the head with nearly everything else, mechanics and story wise.

Ravs drive it up. Coms keep it stabilized. If you're not using a Com then it's going to fall quickly.

 

[LuuKyK]

How the hell does staggering work? I'm on Chapter 4 and the stupid Pulsework Soldiers are incredibly strong unless you stagger them, but their meter plummets insanely fast sometimes and others the meter is slow to decrease, seemingly at random. Stacking attacks from other party members doesn't seem to work (since, again, meter plummets too fast for me or the party members to begin attacking again), different Paradigms don't work, and magic/physical attacks don't seem to make a difference.

So...what's the deal? I'm missing something vital but the game doesn't make it clear. It's kinda weird since they really beat you over the head with nearly everything else, mechanics and story wise.

Some monsters are harder to stagger. It depends really. Press C (I think) and check whats its vulnerable to. Use the SAB role to bring down his magic defense and put up a 3 RAV party mixed with some COM now and then to stabilize the stagger bar. Once its staggered its gone in seconds and its useless because it cant even attack you in that state.

 

[threelights]

Is it more effective to have a COM and a RAV attacking at the same time or if I do RAV>Paradigm Shift>COM>Attack (or vice-versa) also works?

 

[Wilsongt]

Is it more effective to have a COM and a RAV attacking at the same time or if I do RAV>Paradigm Shift>COM>Attack (or vice-versa) also works?

Better for Rav and Com unless it's 3 Ravs to drive the stagger gauge up quickly. By the time the shift occurs with all ravs to coms, you might lose the bar.

Edit: However, as long as a Com is able to get an entire ATB bar off, it should slow the bar down long enough to switch to Rav/Rav to stagger.

 

[CertifiedFP]

Just curious, even though I played this on PS3 before - What's with the way how even if I am minutes ahead of Par Time for a battle, I still get 4 and 3 star ratings?

 

[MrChowderClams]

Is it more effective to have a COM and a RAV attacking at the same time or if I do RAV>Paradigm Shift>COM>Attack (or vice-versa) also works?

Depends. For filling the stagger gauge you'll generally want two RAVs and one COM (you'll probabt lose the chain during the paradigm shift tbh) For pure DPS having more COMs will increase damage output. It's also worth noting that SABs will have the same effect on the enemy's stagger gauge as COMs do (stabilizes the drop when chaining), so if you want to cast debuffs while increasing stagger, SAB RAV RAV can be a decent tactic as well.

 

[Tizoc]

How the hell does staggering work? I'm on Chapter 4 and the stupid Pulsework Soldiers are incredibly strong unless you stagger them, but their meter plummets insanely fast sometimes and others the meter is slow to decrease, seemingly at random. Stacking attacks from other party members doesn't seem to work (since, again, meter plummets too fast for me or the party members to begin attacking again), different Paradigms don't work, and magic/physical attacks don't seem to make a difference.

So...what's the deal? I'm missing something vital but the game doesn't make it clear. It's kinda weird since they really beat you over the head with nearly everything else, mechanics and story wise.

Ravagers fill up the Stagger gauge fast, but to prevent it from decreasing fast you will need a COM to attack the target. Usually 2 COM+1 RAV or 2 RAV+1 COM is the primary/ideal team to go with most of the time.

 

[threelights]

Better for Rav and Com unless it's 3 Ravs to drive the stagger gauge up quickly. By the time the shift occurs with all ravs to coms, you might lose the bar.

Edit: However, as long as a Com is able to get an entire ATB bar off, it should slow the bar down long enough to switch to Rav/Rav to stagger.

Yeah, I thought so, not even the ATB Refresh goes fast enough to save it.

I suppose I'll leave a COM in most paradigms though (maybe one for 3 RAVs).

Depends. For filling the stagger gauge you'll generally want two RAVs and one COM (you'll probabt lose the chain during the paradigm shift tbh) For pure DPS having more COMs will increase damage output. It's also worth noting that SABs will have the same effect on the enemy's stagger gauge as COMs do (stabilizes the drop when chaining), so if you want to cast debuffs while increasing stagger, SAB RAV RAV can be a decent tactic as well.

Debuffs increase stagger? Didn't know about that one, will definitely try it out, thanks (and yes, I was referring to stagger, not raw DPS, but good to know that COM is better at that).

 

[Tizoc]

Debuffs increase stagger? Didn't know about that one, will definitely try it out, thanks (and yes, I was referring to stagger, not raw DPS, but good to know that COM is better at that).

Yup, unlike past FFs, debuffs also INFLICT damage, although it is a VERY small amount.
Non the less they keep that stagger gauge going decently, and debuffs are gonna be really useful in future fights.

 

[threelights]

Yup, unlike past FFs, debuffs also INFLICT damage, although it is a VERY small amount.
Non the less they keep that stagger gauge going decently, and debuffs are gonna be really useful in future fights.

Cool, I'm using them more than most JRPGs to be honest. Also, about buffs, stuff like Firestrike is treated as physical or magical? Should I use Bravery of Faith to increase the damage?
And that one that makes it harder for enemies to cancel my actions (forgot the name =P), should I even use it that much?

When I played as Sazh I found buffs/debuffs to be pretty necessary.

 

[Tizoc]

Cool, I'm using them more than most JRPGs to be honest. Also, about buffs, stuff like Firestrike is treated as physical or magical?

Good question, I think its both? Element-strike abilities slow the reduction of the stagger gauge IIRC.

Should I use Bravery of Faith to increase the damage?
And that one that makes it harder for enemies to cancel my actions (forgot the name =P), should I even use it that much?

Bravery and Faith are really good buffs as they increase your damage. The one that reduces the chances of your attacks getting interrupted should be cast last

When I played as Sazh I found buffs/debuffs to be pretty necessary.

Yeah Sazh is a really good SYN and learns Haste real early, Haste makes battles end faster.

 

[threelights]

Good question, I think its both? Element-strike abilities slow the reduction of the stagger gauge IIRC.

Bravery and Faith are really good buffs as they increase your damage. The one that reduces the chances of your attacks getting interrupted should be cast last

Yeah Sazh is a really good SYN and learns Haste real early, Haste makes battles end faster.

I see, using Auto-support as SYN is the worst decision then, it always cast the interrupt one first. Lightning and Vanille are the only ones so far where I can deal decent damage without buffs, so I suppose I'll start doing buffs as soon as the battle starts from now on.

I haven't gotten Haste yet, but those battles will get pretty intense if it makes the ATB go faster =P

 

[cafemomo]

I think I will cheat engine the shit out of the ending game.

Is someone making a program akin to black chocobo or a hyne for FFXIII?

or are you peeps just using some hex editor

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

It really is. That's one of the reasons I think that when the games "opens up" is not really when the game starts, like some people say, is when the grind starts, which is not FUN at all.

I mean, yeah, what you had 20 hours before, was linear and locked you up on a limited version of the battle system. But what the game gives you is just the same shit (and by shit, I mean the same turtle battle) over and over for 20 hours, it which at one point you say:"Fuck this, I'd just rather finish the game that keep going with this".

I literally don't understand your complaint here. There's no need to grind whatsoever until after you beat the game.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

I literally don't understand your complaint here. There's no need to grind whatsoever until after you beat the game.

I mean, once you reach

Spoiler

grand pulse

and start the first sidequests the grind starts or you find a wall quite soon.You have that whole new area to "explore" but after a while you want to get the fuck out of there, because is even more boring than the rest of the game.

Yeah, you can finish the game first, but after that it makes even less sense to go back to the grind...at least for me.

 

[Mohasus]

I literally don't understand your complaint here. There's no need to grind whatsoever until after you beat the game.

You need to grind during chapter 11. I tried to go directly to the objective and the summon there just destroyed me.

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

I mean, once you reach

Spoiler

grand pulse

and start the first sidequests the grind starts or you find a wall quite soon.You have that whole new area to "explore" but after a while you want to get the fuck out of there, because is even more boring than the rest of the game.

Yeah, you can finish the game first, but after that it makes even less sense to go back to the grind...at least for me.

You need to grind during chapter 11. I tried to go directly to the objective and the summon there just destroyed me.

Maybe I have a different definition of grinding? Doing all the missions in sequence, and killing monsters along the way, provides you with all the XP you need for Chapter 11. That's not grinding, that's playing the game. Killing the same enemies over and over again is grinding.

 

[BlazeBreak]

Has Square ever even acknowledged IX's existence since release?

It's gotten its PSN release, etc. It's just that anything else would require actual effort.

As Grief was getting into, VII and VIII have old PC ports that their new releases were based entirely on. III, IV, and V are based on mobile ports. XIII is based off the 360 version, which has a pretty readily PC-based architecture.

Nothing has involved a fully from-the-ground-up effort. XIII, as bare bones as it is, likely represents their biggest effort thus far because they had to port it from console, and at least went and added a dual-language option.

Which brings us to IX's problem. It didn't get a PC port or any other form of release that would make a PC release simple. A PC release would probably have to be built from the ground up. Squeenix likely isn't going to do that (nor do they probably even have all the wonderful high-res assets anymore).

There are plenty of staffers who love FFIX - though many of the most outspoken ones aren't with Squeenix anymore (or are kept in some dark corner like Hiroyuki Ito ;_; ). Corporate Squeenix, granted, indeed doesn't pay as much mind to it - they typically tend to hold up VII, VIII, and X the most. Simply by virtue that they're the series' best-selling titles (I believe XIII is actually the fourth-best selling game in the franchise, followed by XII and IX).

 

[cafemomo]

they typically tend to hold up VII, VIII, and X the most. Simply by virtue that they're the series' best-selling titles (I believe XIII is actually the fourth-best selling game in the franchise, followed by XII and IX).

plus the fact that VII & X is also more "loved" in the eyes of the public (and to an extent VIII, but VII & X is more talked about)

As for sales, dunno about worldwide LTD but as it stands in Japan sales for modern FF are

FFVII - 4.000.000
FFVIII - 3.640.000
FFX - 2.325.000
FFXII - 2.323.000
FFXIII - 1.906.000 - (PS3, dunno about 360 sales)

Can't find anything on IX

for the other notable titles
X-2, III (DS), & XIII-2 is at 1,961K, 1000K & 881K respectively
LR last time I checked was around in the 550K range last time I checked

 

[leng jai]

OT but is there any way to stop the DS4 from flashing when used in wired mode?

 

[Nethaniah]

*snip*

Thanks for the explanation, i never got very far into IX back when it got released but i remember it having heart.

I personally wasn't a fan of the futuristic stuff in FF so the games before that never clicked with me and i would love to replay IX on pc even if it was as barebones as VII/VIII, though ofcourse i would hope they do more with it.

 

[Holykael1]

In relation to the Grand Pulse "grinding" debacle, once the missions start being too hard you should play the game until the final dungeon where portals to grand pulse will open, that's when you are supposed to explore it completely and it's optional areas, once you reach Grand Pulse for the very first time, you can do a couple of sidequests and that's it because you still don't have nearly enough "power".

 

[Falk]

e: wrong thread

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

In relation to the Grand Pulse "grinding" debacle, once the missions start being too hard you should play the game until the final dungeon where portals to grand pulse will open, that's when you are supposed to explore it completely and it's optional areas, once you reach Grand Pulse for the very first time, you can do a couple of sidequests and that's it because you still don't have nearly enough "power".

You can do a whole lot of the missions without grinding. It's always seemed to me that the game was deliberately designed for it, actually. There are a couple little story moments mixed in there, and after a certain point the mission progression takes you on the exact same path as the story does.

 

[Falk]

Which brings us to IX's problem. It didn't get a PC port or any other form of release that would make a PC release simple. A PC release would probably have to be built from the ground up. Squeenix likely isn't going to do that (nor do they probably even have all the wonderful high-res assets anymore).

Honestly speaking, considering many PSOne classics off PSN run off a form of emulation, I don't know why the big companies don't do something like that for their PSX-era catalog for PC.

I mean that's pretty much SEGA's Genesis collection does, and that makes at -least- some money for minimal effort.

edit: The obvious answer being SEGA emulating a SEGA console on PC is a little more legal than X company emulating a Sony console on PC. Derp, Falk, just derp.

 

[Holykael1]

You can do a whole lot of the missions without grinding. It's always seemed to me that the game was deliberately designed for it, actually. There are a couple little story moments mixed in there, and after a certain point the mission progression takes you on the exact same path as the story does.

You can probably do about 10-15 missions before it starts being too hard I think.

 

[Marceles]

The covers I made turned out pretty good I think

That's pretty awesome, I wish I can see how the sword fully looks on the back of the cover but the pose and her cape floating is perfect

 

[Grief.exe]

I'm just sprinting through chapter 6 and 7 as fast as I can to get to the mythical chapter 8.

I'm at the end of 6 right now, so I should be on 8 tonight as I have some time to play.

 

[Xyber]

For anyone who does not want to grind, you can always get a trainer and give yourself unlimited crystarium points.

It certainly isn't the "correct" way to play, but if you hate grind or perhaps have played the game before and just want to level up quick it is an option.

 

[Braag]

I Esc raged at Raines.

 

[pleunv]

They sure did make ragequitting extremely easy, have to give them that.

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

You can probably do about 10-15 missions before it starts being too hard I think.

*shrug*

I guess "too hard" is subjective. I've beaten this game at least four times, and every single time I've done every mission up to the required ones in the tower. It's really the best way to play the game, IMO.

 

[threelights]

That Odin probably gave me my fastest Game Over screen yet (That's Dark Souls level of difficulty >.>)

Loved that battle. But why does the game expect me to last like, 25mins fighting Odin? Can the battle even last that long (wouldn't doom end it faster)?

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

That Odin probably gave me my fastest Game Over screen yet (That's Dark Souls level of difficulty >.>)

Loved that battle. But why does the game expect me to last like, 25mins fighting Odin? Can the battle even last that long (wouldn't doom end it faster)?

It's meant to end fairly quickly, if you're doing it right. Eidolon battles are all about building chains, not doing damage. Buff up with Hope, then go RAV/RAV as much as possible, and RAV/MED to heal. Use MED/MED to heal more quickly, if needed. Shouldn't take too long with that strategy.

 

[thunder_snail]

I Esc raged at Raines.

You really need Fang for that battle for her sentinel role and her slow. Towards the end, try and keep Fang in SEN as much as possible. Also have Vanille and make sure she has dispel in her SAB role.

 

[Xanathus]

Just beat 2nd

Spoiler

Barthandelus

, now the real game begins. Does anyone know if that CP grinding exploit with the Ochu that was only in the JP version of the game works here?

 

[threelights]

It's meant to end fairly quickly, if you're doing it right. Eidolon battles are all about building chains, not doing damage. Buff up with Hope, then go RAV/RAV as much as possible, and RAV/MED to heal. Use MED/MED to heal more quickly, if needed. Shouldn't take too long with that strategy.

Oh no, I beat him. But the result screen after has Target Time for like, 25 mins. Is that even possible? Why is the number so big?

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

Oh no, I beat him. But the result screen after has Target Time for like, 25 mins. Is that even possible? Why is the number so big?

Oh, alright. Yeah, all the Eidolons have long target times like that. It doesn't really matter, since they don't drop any random loot.

 

[threelights]

Oh, alright. Yeah, all the Eidolons have long target times like that. It doesn't really matter, since they don't drop any random loot.

Weird =P

Anyway, I'm loving the Eidolon battles, that's one of the best ways I've seen to force the player to use every mechanic.

 

[Rats Off To Ya]

Weird =P

Anyway, I'm loving the Eidolon battles, that's one of the best ways I've seen to force the player to use every mechanic.

All the bosses are like that, to some extent. Because the game so rigidly controls how your characters progress, every boss in the first half of the game is finely and specifically tuned to test your mastery of the abilities available to you.

 

[CentroXer]

wow

 

[leazo]

I Esc raged at Raines.

Can definitely understand that, although still fun getting something slightly challenging at that point.

 

[threelights]

Ohhh nooooo

I was messing around with the controller and I ended up deleting my save file.

Oh noooo X_X, my other save is like, Snow in Chapter 1 D=

Anyone has a save file from right after Odin? =P (Start of chapter 4)

I can't believe what I just did.