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[Mephala]

I'm about to enter the hanging gardens, but I'm weary about doing so. I feel I'm under leveled. My highest now is 18, and I've been seeing people say they're well into their 20s at the endgame. I tried to do one of the side quests and just got wasted by dragons, so now I suppose I'll upgrade my dragoons.

Just keep a seperate save file outside, it should be fine and realistically weaker characters might have an easier time in one part of the final fight. If all else fails you can always buy orbs from auctioning off dragons. Use them in combat against the final boss.

 

[PuppetMaster]

Just bought this game today. Was only $20 on PSN today.
I love FFT, so I expect I will like it.

 

[demosthenes]

Just bought this game today. Was only $20 on PSN today.
I love FFT, so I expect I will like it.

Did the same!

 

[Murkas]

I've bought this game since EU release but just started playing it.

Why the fuck did noone tell me this is practically a sequel to FFT, my all time favourite FF/one of my most favourite games?!

All those months wasted that I could have spent on this game

 

[show me your skeleton]

can anyone explain to me why when i finish a battle, for example, i see 'exp total: 913/6'. why does the 913 change to a 6 and back, what does that mean?

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I've bought this game since EU release but just started playing it.

Why the fuck did noone tell me this is practically a sequel to FFT, my all time favourite FF/one of my most favourite games?!

All those months wasted that I could have spent on this game

You got it mixed up, FFT is practically a sequel to Tactics Ogre.

 

[gate777]

can anyone explain to me why when i finish a battle, for example, i see 'exp total: 913/6'. why does the 913 change to a 6 and back, what does that mean?

That means by how many players it was divided by that participated in battle.

913/6 = 152.17 per character

 

[cackhyena]

Man, I wish this game was on iOS.

 

[dmshaposv]

Man, I wish this game was on iOS.

I would pay $20 for that. My PSP is busted and I really wanted to play this.

 

[Murkas]

Liking this game so far, really reminds me of FFT. Some questions:

Is there no try it on/preview item option when your in the shop? I couldn't find the option if there was one

Is the Nybeth fight supposed to make me rage so much? Kept respawning enemies and running away. I was really having difficulty because I chose exotic classes like beserkers and lancers who did very little damage, after switching back to wizards and archers, it made it a lot better.

Without spoilers, will my final team end up looking like your average final team from FFT? i.e. a group of overpowered story characters and than room for one custom soldier?

Random encounter rate seems really low, I wanted to fight before Nybeth and it took like 30 days before I got into a fight.

Any other beginner tips I should look out for? Don't want to end up in a situation like I did when I fought Velius in FFT for the very first time

Great game!

 

[Mephala]

Liking this game so far, really reminds me of FFT. Some questions:

Is there no try it on/preview item option when your in the shop? I couldn't find the option if there was one

Is the Nybeth fight supposed to make me rage so much? Kept respawning enemies and running away. I was really having difficulty because I chose exotic classes like beserkers and lancers who did very little damage, after switching back to wizards and archers, it made it a lot better.

Without spoilers, will my final team end up looking like your average final team from FFT? i.e. a group of overpowered story characters and than room for one custom soldier?

Random encounter rate seems really low, I wanted to fight before Nybeth and it took like 30 days before I got into a fight.

Any other beginner tips I should look out for? Don't want to end up in a situation like I did when I fought Velius in FFT for the very first time

Great game!

Unfortunately there is no try on/preview feature. You can check level requirements and use that as a sort of indication.

The Nybeth fight is quite difficult, especially if you chose to go and do it straight away. You might consider holding back and doing this later (is available until you reach Balmamusa) so you're slightly higher leveled.

The final team can very much consist of over powered story characters. However, as with FFT, the right setup of generic units will also allow you to breeze through the game any way. If you recruit all unique characters you should have a few slots left for some generic units or monsters. Your full roster cannot fit all unique characters plus one of each monster.

I don't want to say too much for battle mechanics tips because experimenting is half the fun for me. But some things were kind of obscure and I didn't find out until much later.
Some beginner tips:

• Leveling - When a class levels up, the characters using the class for that battle get a slight increase in stats (based on the class). Not really noticeable until you start class hopping and bring the same character into different classes then raising them about 20 levels. Not entirely important, but if you find a newly recruited unique character from chapter4 to be lagging behind a generic you've kept and used regularly from chapter1 this could be the reason why.
• Familiarise yourself with the Warren Report. From chapter 2 onwards it will drop a lot of hints as to how to recruit certain characters.
• Tarot cards, when picked up on the battle field give you permanent stat increases (or decreases). Tarots can also be used as items during the battle, each card offers different effects.
• You buy scrolls of magic then use them to learn the magic. You can use the scroll during battle for a free cast of the spell.
• Everyone can use the scrolls, even if they already know the spell and even if they cannot cast the magic in their current class. This means, if you're carrying around 2 Heal scrolls, any unit can use it during emergencies. Likewise, some recommend exorcism scrolls for Nybeth.
• Magic units should try to specialise in a single element. This will allow them to build their augment element skill better and thus deal better damage.
• Pressing Select in the menu will offer tooltips on many things. Some things to note would be that this is great for finding out what certain status effects are doing by viewing them from the affected unit's condition page. The tooltip when selecting your unit's name gives you an indication of their loyalty.
• During the earlier stages of the game, status effect magics are very effective. Especially against monsters who have high defense.
• If in doubt of what rout you are on, check Denam's alignment.
• Do not worry about missables too much. You unlock a feature at the end that is similar to a New Game+.
• Ravness is awesome.

 

[-Pyromaniac-]

Without spoilers, will my final team end up looking like your average final team from FFT? i.e. a group of overpowered story characters and than room for one custom soldier?

you know you didn't have to use the story characters in FFT right

It's the same deal here. It CAN be that, but it doesn't have to be. Do whatever you please.

 

[GhostWriter24]

Is it possible to have an all-archers lineup?

 

[Kaper]

Is it possible to have an all-archers lineup?

It's very overpowered.

 

[Mephala]

It's very overpowered.

For the most part. Though some battles that have you fighting from the bottom up will still be annoying, unless of course they were all winged... Then again, I'd probably find a mix of vartans and archers to be scarier.

 

[Augemitbutter]

Man, I wish this game was on iOS.

buy a PSP. this game is worth it.

 

[RDreamer]

Why do my dragoons, with draconology and everything equipped still do 1 damage to dragons? The only way they do any damage to anything is after using the dragonslayer ability. What the hell's going on? I mean they're a bit low on skill compared to some other characters I have, but they shouldn't be doing just 1 damage should they?

Edit: Ah, I guess they weren't on the latest spear. Still, 1 is kind of crazy low for having a specific skill like that and being specialized to kill dragons..

 

[Nert]

I've put dozens of hours into this game over the past week and a half. In particular, I've had a great time going through battles while also listening to podcasts. WTF with Marc Maron goes really well with grinding, apparently.

I'm slightly disappointed with aspects of the game's balance (Archers seem much more useful than almost anything else), but I'm already on my second playthrough and looking forward to checking check out more of the sidequests. Easily one of my favorite games of the year, and probably my favorite PSP game overall after Lumines.

 

[Splash Wave]

^Regarding balance, I'm also finding Wizards to be pretty useless outside of certain situations.

 

[Jigsaw]

^Regarding balance, I'm also finding Wizards to be pretty useless outside of certain situations.

my wicce deneb does more damage than my archers,with low level spells

 

[Basileus777]

Wizards and offensive spellcasters are underwhelming until late game and become very powerful in the postgame with spellcraft IV, high rank meditate, and high damage AOE spells.

But yeah, class balance isn't great in this game. Archers and Ninjas are especially game breaking. If you want a challenge or a reason to use different classes, you have to play with house rules.

 

[RDreamer]

Charm is insanely powerful if you use it correctly, especially if you're in a tough dragon fight or something. Just charm them right when they have enough TP for a special move and watch 'em go to town on their own teammates. I started using charm way too late. It's saved my ass so much now.

 

[John Harker]

Is there a time limit on Diego? I tried him right away, but twice he was killed in the fights, so figured I'd do a couple story fights to level up and come back. Now, the port has a flag on it and the battle doesn't initiate Is he gone for good? It's only really one story section later

Makes me wonder who else I might have missed now.
I did the zombie fight in Balmamusa, but didn't get anyone from it, and the woman said the zombies were marching... and I never heard from them again. Awk-ward.

 

[Soulhouf]

My archer Arycelle wasn't very effective (much less than Lord Denam, Ranger Vyce, Rogue Sistina, Shaman Sherri, Wicce Deneb...) despite i maxed out her archery skill. But since I completed the Ji'ygla's set she kicks ass doing 400-600 damage but before she couldn't crack 200-250 damage per hit.

 

[Mephala]

My archer Arycelle wasn't very effective (much less than Lord Denam, Ranger Vyce, Rogue Sistina, Shaman Sherri, Wicce Deneb...) despite i maxed out her archery skill. But since I completed the Ji'ygla's set she kicks ass doing 400-600 damage but before she couldn't crack 200-250 damage per hit.

The Ji'ygla's Set is arguably the best set in the game. I gave it to Vyce as a Ranger. Better movement for even more pwnage. There are a lot of over powering setups in the game really. My Sherri can Earthquake II groups for 200-600 each. I've given her the skill which allows her to do extra damage with elemental spells but never even get a chance to use it. >_>

Is there a time limit on Diego? I tried him right away, but twice he was killed in the fights, so figured I'd do a couple story fights to level up and come back. Now, the port has a flag on it and the battle doesn't initiate Is he gone for good? It's only really one story section later

Makes me wonder who else I might have missed now.
I did the zombie fight in Balmamusa, but didn't get anyone from it, and the woman said the zombies were marching... and I never heard from them again. Awk-ward.

Diego's quest is tricky in timing. I suggest you use a guide as it involves a number of quests and they can be missed as you progress in the story. I also had difficulty with some of the fights (keeping him alive more than dealing with the enemy).

A very rough guide to Diego

1. Before Mt. Hedon - Read "Port Omish ..." from Warren Report. Go to Port Omish.
2. After saving
   Spoiler

   Archiereus Mreuva
   at Hagia, before Barnicia Castle. Read "The Pirate's Graveyard".
3. Enter Pirate's Graveyard, then retreat. This unlocks a new Warren Report topic "The Dread Pirate".
4. Go to Port Omish for a scene. Go to Qadriga Fortress for another.
5. After Barnicia Castle, before Heim Castle - Visit Port Omish.
6. Fight your way down into the depths of the Pirates Graveyard.

As for the zombies at Balmamusa, the possibilities depend on your current route. If you are on Chaos route head over to Golyat. There is a chaos frame requirement for the character here so unless you made certain story choices it is unlikely you will recruit the person even if you save them, which is a slightly rage inducing task in itself if you're not prepared.

 

[Murkas]

snip

Thanks, that really helped <3

you know you didn't have to use the story characters in FFT right

It's the same deal here. It CAN be that, but it doesn't have to be. Do whatever you please.

Yea I know, I just liked using the story characters, I'll try and steer clear of them in this game in favour of soldiers!

 

[Soulhouf]

The Ji'ygla's Set is arguably the best set in the game. I gave it to Vyce as a Ranger. Better movement for even more pwnage. There are a lot of over powering setups in the game really.

I didn't think to use a ranger as an archer. But I prefer to stick with my 2 swords wielding Vyce.

My Sherri can Earthquake II groups for 200-600 each. I've given her the skill which allows her to do extra damage with elemental spells but never even get a chance to use it. >_>

Are you talking about the augment earth skill?
Mine is level 8 and Sherri does something like 500-850 damage with Earthquake 2.
I'm preparing a cursed book for her to max her stats and do even more insane damage.

 

[Splash Wave]

I apologize if this has already been explained, but I'm still puzzled by the Augment Element skills. Should I care about this if I have no plans for post-game? None of my weapons are elemental, and I'm close-ish to the end of the game.

edit: and which class is recommended for

Spoiler

Catiua?

 

[kyubajin]

I apologize if this has already been explained, but I'm still puzzled by the Augment Element skills. Should I care about this if I have no plans for post-game? None of my weapons are elemental, and I'm close-ish to the end of the game.

edit: and which class is recommended for

Spoiler

Catiua?

I've only put some 60+ hours into the game (lost my 1st save due to firmware update...) and I'm on late chapter III. All I can say is the Augment Element skills are the only way to rank up your magic with your casters, that's why you should focus on one element alone and rank it up for insane damage later on.

 

[Mephala]

I didn't think to use a ranger as an archer. But I prefer to stick with my 2 swords wielding Vyce.

Are you talking about the augment earth skill?

There is always Azelstan as ranger if you wanted. The skill I was referring to was is Nature's Touch. My augment earth is currently at 6 without items. I've lost interest in further powering her since she is kind of crazy already.

I apologize if this has already been explained, but I'm still puzzled by the Augment Element skills. Should I care about this if I have no plans for post-game? None of my weapons are elemental, and I'm close-ish to the end of the game.

edit: and which class is recommended for

Spoiler

Catiua?

Augment isn't necessary. At higher levels when you have access to some of the better spells and equipment augment skills allow you to produce a lot higher damage. This isn't technically needed, though they tend to make fights a bit quicker (area of effect high damage, often ignores elevation and has decent range).

Spoiler

Catiua

's three unique classes are all quite good though I think the

Spoiler

priest

is least useful.

Spoiler

Princess

is a bit like a Rune Fencer, though she has access to more light spells including Heavenly Judge which is excellent for maps with undead as it exorcises as well as causes damage, the exorcism also occurs on kill. I think the only person who has a larger list of divine magic available is Denam's unique class. From my (somewhat limited) experience, the

Spoiler

Dark Priest

can hit a little harder but I much prefer having the range of light spells such as Boon and Heal available.

 

[Decado]

Just bought this game today. Was only $20 on PSN today.
I love FFT, so I expect I will like it.

Does the PSN version work as well as the UMD? Do you still get the instruction manual (somehow...)?

Thinking of buying a refurbished PSP 3000 at the last minute before leaving on vaction (long plain and train rides).

 

[Dead Prince]

Does the PSN version work as well as the UMD? Do you still get the instruction manual (somehow...)?

Thinking of buying a refurbished PSP 3000 at the last minute before leaving on vaction (long plain and train rides).

yeah but you can't view it unless you're out of the game. lol. (hit triangle to on the game file itself to pull up the manual)

 

[Decado]

Wizards and offensive spellcasters are underwhelming until late game and become very powerful in the postgame with spellcraft IV, high rank meditate, and high damage AOE spells.

But yeah, class balance isn't great in this game. Archers and Ninjas are especially game breaking. If you want a challenge or a reason to use different classes, you have to play with house rules.

Disappointing to hear. Magic was one of the best things about Final Fantasy Tactics. What are "house rules"?

 

[ChanHuk]

I forgot I have this game for PSX. I think I'll boot it up soon. I just remember all you had to do was equip everyone with a bow and you were unstoppable.

 

[show me your skeleton]

Disappointing to hear. Magic was one of the best things about Final Fantasy Tactics. What are "house rules"?

anything you make up yourself, in this case, banning ninjas/archers.

 

[Decado]

anything you make up yourself, in this case, banning ninjas/archers.

you can do this in the campaign?

 

[Nert]

you can do this in the campaign?

You can't prevent Archers or Ninjas from appearing in enemy armies, if that's what you're asking. It's more of a self-imposed limitation to not use them yourself, similar to choosing to play through a stealth game without killing anyone.

I'm almost done with my second playthrough now, and I have to say that I really appreciate how different the Law and Chaos paths are. I suppose that I'm disappointed that chapter 4

Spoiler

ends up being more or less the same

regardless of the route chosen, but it was still fun picking up characters that I wasn't able to get the first time around.

 

[Curufinwe]

I'm in Chapter 4 and just

Spoiler

found out about the sword from Warren.

But now I don't know here I'm supposed to go. Every location on the map has a blue flag.

 

[Basileus777]

I'm in Chapter 4 and just

Spoiler

found out about the sword from Warren.

But now I don't know here I'm supposed to go. Every location on the map has a blue flag.

Go to

Spoiler

Phidoch Castle

to trigger an event.

 

[Curufinwe]

Thanks!

 

[Finguo]

Hi guys! I will have this game in the mail tomorrow, got it for cheap. But this is my first ever SRPG, so I have literally no idea what I'm really up for . Just bought it because I wanted to try something new on my PSP and this game got much praise around here.
So anyway, can anyone point me to a good guide for newbies or something like that? Since I have no idea if the manual will help me or if there is a tutorial it'd be great to have something that I can print out (if only in excerpts) to take with me. I've already read the OP but I got the impression the information there is rather suited towards fans of the series/genre.
Any suggestions?

 

[show me your skeleton]

Hi guys! I will have this game in the mail tomorrow, got it for cheap. But this is my first ever SRPG, so I have literally no idea what I'm really up for . Just bought it because I wanted to try something new on my PSP and this game got much praise around here.
So anyway, can anyone point me to a good guide for newbies or something like that? Since I have no idea if the manual will help me or if there is a tutorial it'd be great to have something that I can print out (if only in excerpts) to take with me. I've already read the OP but I got the impression the information there is rather suited towards fans of the series/genre.
Any suggestions?

basically make lots of archers. then add ninjas when you can. 'grind' for a few extra levels every so often and you'll walk through most of the game.

 

[Finguo]

ninjas? nice! thanks for the tips, I'll keep that in mind.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

gamefaqs.com

 

[Mephala]

Hi guys! I will have this game in the mail tomorrow, got it for cheap. But this is my first ever SRPG, so I have literally no idea what I'm really up for . Just bought it because I wanted to try something new on my PSP and this game got much praise around here.
So anyway, can anyone point me to a good guide for newbies or something like that? Since I have no idea if the manual will help me or if there is a tutorial it'd be great to have something that I can print out (if only in excerpts) to take with me. I've already read the OP but I got the impression the information there is rather suited towards fans of the series/genre.
Any suggestions?

This game utilizes a feature called Chariot Tarot, it basically lets you reverse your selected move. Eg. If you moved a unit to a position, attacked and in the next enemy turn, your unit gets slain, you can reverse the moves (up to 50 turns IIRC). Massing archers and ninjas will certainly get you through the game, but it isn't very fun. Try different classes and use what you like, you can changed classes pretty easily. Status magic mages are very nice early on, especially for creatures which your archers and ninjas are not going to do well against at the beginning.

 

[Murkas]

Man, crafting takes the piss...

Stupid pot cutscene.

 

[Grinchy]

Anyone know why this game crashes my PSP whenever I try to play it from my Go cradle? If I play on my TV, using a dualshock, it turns itself off every time. It happened on the first battle, and now it's happening on the 2nd battle. Is this a known issue? I have stock firmware, up to date, ect.

 

[xenoflux2113]

Anyone know why this game crashes my PSP whenever I try to play it from my Go cradle? If I play on my TV, using a dualshock, it turns itself off every time. It happened on the first battle, and now it's happening on the 2nd battle. Is this a known issue? I have stock firmware, up to date, ect.

Oh I hope its not a known issue with the game. I will have to test this on my go tonight or tomorrow. I'll let you know if I get the same thing on mine.

 

[Grinchy]

Oh I hope its not a known issue with the game. I will have to test this on my go tonight or tomorrow. I'll let you know if I get the same thing on mine.

Thanks man! I just don't get it. Playing from my Go cradle with video out causes it to crash in battle. Taking it out of the cradle lets it play fine. I've never had this issue before with any game. When I searched around, I only saw people mentioning crashes from playing regularly with custom firmware.

 

[Electivirus]

Man, I've been going on a big recruiting spree lately. Recruited 4 enemies in one battle. O_O

Swordmaster, Terror Knight, Enchantress, and a Knight. So good. Shame I missed my chance at a Ninja a few battles back.

Right at the beginning of Chapter 3 of the Law Route.

Spoiler

Who didn't see Leonar's betrayal coming?