Conflict NZ said:
Thanks for the advice, gave it a try but still have the same problem. I set up the paradigms exactly as you said, beefed up Hope with some HP accessories getting him up to ~2000hp. Upgraded the main parties weapons and set off. First enemy I ran into were those small wolf things, they killed hope before I had a chance to cast any buffs, the rest of the party went down shortly after. Was I supposed to do a tonne of grinding before I came to pulse? I think I'm done with this game, any game this frustrating can't be worth finishing.
What are your equipped accessories, out of curiosity? Use Belts (Black Belts, General Belts) to increase defense on your weakest member (ie: Hope). HP+ accessories and Belts will be okay until you beef him up a bit so he can take on a Magic+ accessory. Give Fang Atk+ accessories.
The wolf things are weak vs Blizzard. Take advantage of that and take them down one at a time at this point by using Rav/Sen/Rav with Light/Fang/Hope, then Com/Sen/Rav when you Stagger them. Be sure to include a medic in your party (in the form of Hope), and don't be afraid to switch to Med/Med/Sen when Hope is low on HP/if he goes down. When you're in trouble, do not hesitate to use Potions. If you are having issues with Hope, use Vanille instead. She has higher HP (and could use the HP+ accessories too).
If you are still having issues, you may try a Light/Fang/Sazh or Snow party. It also gets the job done, but Lightning will have to serve as your Medic. Sazh has an advantage here because he can cast Haste, which is a skill Hope does not have yet. Haste, you will come to realize, will be one of the most essential skills you can ever have in Final Fantasy XIII).
Light/Fang/Sazh:
Com/Sen/Rav *default
Med/Sen/Syn *alternate default for buffing; make Sazh cast haste on the leader or healer at the very least; but Sazh can cast offensive buffs. Hope can cast defensive buffs at this point, but he does learn offensive buffs throughout Chapter 11, with the exception of Haste.
Rav/Com/Rav
Rav/Sen/Rav
Med/Sen/Rav or Med/Sen/Com (in case you need an emergency heal)
Med/Com/Rav
Extra:
Rav/Com/Rav (when you get used to fighting here)
Rav/Sab/Rav (debuff)
Rav/Sab/Syn (debuff, buff, and helps increase stagger meter)
Rav/Com/Syn (buff while trying to stagger)
Med/Com/Rav (healing)
Med/Sab/Rav (debuff, heal, and stagger)
Med/Com/Com (when taking enemies out after stagger, but you need to heal)
If you choose Snow (and this time, you can use Fang to melee), Light will have to be the medic again.
Light/Fang/Snow
Rav/Com/Sen
Rav/Sab/Sen
Com/Sab/Sen
Med/Sab/Sen
Med/Com/Sen
Med/Com/Rav
Extra:
Rav/Com/Rav
Med/Sab/Rav
Com/Sab/Rav
Rav/Sab/Rav
Med/Com/Com
I'm sure you've already realized that Lightning's Medic skills aren't as good as Vanille's or Hope's, so I never found these parties to be completely ideal. But if you're having issues with staying alive in Pulse, I would highly recommend these parties. Note that you may finish battles more slowly. Both Sazh and Snow have slower animation speeds. Fang's casting animation speed (at least the initial one) is quite slow as well. Hope is the best caster because his first cast is pretty quick, and he's powerful. The unfortunate thing is that Hope's (and Vanille's) standing up animation (from getting hit and thrown on the ground) is much slower than everyone else's so you will have to deal with that when you put either member in your party (and putting a caster will become essential during late game and post game).
Another alternative (which I do not enjoy as much since Fang is the hardest hitter and I dislike having her out of the party):
Light/Vanille/Snow
Com/Rav/Sen
Rav/Rav/Sen
Rav/Sab/Sen
Com/Sab/Sen
Com/Med/Sen
Med/Med/Sen
Extra:
Com/Rav/Com
Com/Rav/Rav
Rav/Med/Com
Com/Med/Rav
Com/Sab/Rav
Com/Sab/Com
Rav/Sab/Rav
Med/Sab/Rav
Med/Sab/Com
As you can see, this alternative above is not one I prefer due to the fact that is not as flexible. You're assigning the same Optima/jobs to different people. The Optima set I describe below is even more flexible.
Light/Vanille/Fang
Com/Rav/Sen
Rav/Rav/Sen
Rav/Med/Sen (if you are using -strike attacks, since they don't seem to be as bad at depleting the Stagger gauge as just striking enemies with spells)
Com/Med/Sen
Med/Med/Sen
Rav/Sab/Sen
Extra:
Com/Rav/Com
Rav/Rav/Com
Rav/Sab/Com
Com/Sab/Sab
Com/Rav/Sab
Rav/Rav/Sab
Rav/Med/Com
Rav/Med/Sab
Med/Med/Com
^This Optima set is pretty close to the Light/Fang/Hope Optima set, but the only thing here is that you do not get buffs. Careful with this one if you're facing strong enemies.
Make sure to start off training in Vallis Media (the area you come out from when you first venture out on Gran Pulse; the path that you move down to find Hope when the chapter opens). It is where your ship landed. Just turn around and go right back in. The monsters here are easier.
Here's a video of the area. If you do not feel prepared for the Steppe, the monsters in Vallis Media are perfect, and they can be taken down quite quickly. You can also go right through Vallis Media to Yaschas Massif and the enemies there aren't awful either. They are easier to get PE strikes on as well. Fight the Flans and leafy enemies by using fire on them. Yaschas Massif is a good battleground. Just avoid the enemies you don't want to fight. The Rafflesia and Flans should be easy enough (they are weak to fire).
Another group of enemies that I found easier are these enemies on the far southwest side of Pulse. They dance in a little circle (they're called Adroa (never use magic on these; swordplay + debuffing is your friend here) or Rangdas (wk vs water and ice)? I dunno, Palette Swaps). The only thing is that they summon other creatures, but you can usually take them out before they do that.
Try using Fang or Light as your party leader if you are uncomfortable with how low Hope's HP is. I generally like using Hope as a party leader because I like having control over buffs, but a lot of people don't seem to like doing that at all. Fang or Light are your best bets here. Light moreso if you plan to include a Sentinel in your party. She's faster than the others regardless. I'm not used to making strategies that include Lightning, however, as I barely used her when I was given freedom. But if you want an easier time, include her.
I hope that helps. The important thing is to try your hand at the enemies in Vallis Media (and maybe Yaschas Massif) first and boost your Crystarium. Just enter/exit the area, or run through the area repeatedly. Monotonous? Yes. Will it get you prepared for what is to come? Absolutely. Part of the challenge of Gran Pulse's difficulty spike is finding out which party consistently works for you.