Die Squirrel Die
Member
Espers quickly become redundant. By the time you get another one, you'll probably be passed the point of using them
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The Official Final Fantasy 12 (NA) Thread
- Thread starter Red Scarlet
- Start date
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
75-78 hours in. How far away from the end am I?
brandonh83
Banned
PantherLotus said:
Well, that's plenty of enough time to reach the end of the game.
Splash Wave
Member
Alright GAF, I'm conflicted.
I got the sudden urge to start playing this game again, but it has been months since I've played it last. Loading up my save file I find myself on 26 hours in, on the Giza Plains, and Jahara is question marked.
Should I start over, or continue from here? I think if I started playing again the story would come back to me, but I haven't given Ashe any points of specialization because I could never decide what kind of character to make her.
Any advice?
I got the sudden urge to start playing this game again, but it has been months since I've played it last. Loading up my save file I find myself on 26 hours in, on the Giza Plains, and Jahara is question marked.
Should I start over, or continue from here? I think if I started playing again the story would come back to me, but I haven't given Ashe any points of specialization because I could never decide what kind of character to make her.
Any advice?
Red Scarlet
Member
Story-wise, you are less than halfway through the game (about 35-40%) and you just got Ashe and finished a big story point, beginning a new one. I'd keep going, as the stuff that happens next will maybe remind you of what happened before, but you might not be able to remember some things. It probably won't take as long to get there if you do start over, though.
Chiggs
Gold Member
I'm about 35 hours in and I'm not even at Archades yet. Am I about halfway through?
I wouldn't start over. Just go read a summary of the story or something. And as far as character specialization goes, all of my characters are pretty much the same thing: overpowering battlemages.
Jimmy Stav said:
I wouldn't start over. Just go read a summary of the story or something. And as far as character specialization goes, all of my characters are pretty much the same thing: overpowering battlemages.
Red Scarlet
Member
Chiggs said:
Storywise, Archades is about 70%-75% through the game.
Chiggs said:
What's crappy about it? Always seemed to work very well in the fight above. What other fights did you find easier to just go after the boss? I can think of at least one or two where it is better to try to ignore the lesser enemies, but that's because they are infinite? respawning regular monsters.
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
Red Scarlet said:
The tomato club
Note:
I'm pretty close to the end, but stopped right at 82 hours around the time of my last post in this thread.
Red Scarlet
Member
One way you can kind of choose which one to kill first (I think I'd go after the Mandragora Prince, or whatever the purple one was) would be to put it on wait then do a mist combo on it as soon as you enter. I know I did that to get through when I tried to play through semi-quickly.
Hours isn't a great measurement. The game can take anywhere from 5 and a half to infinite hours. Where are you in the game and what side stuff are you doing?
Hours isn't a great measurement. The game can take anywhere from 5 and a half to infinite hours. Where are you in the game and what side stuff are you doing?
PantherLotus
Professional Schmuck
Just past Giruvegan but not yet to Tyrant, I think.
Chiggs
Gold Member
Red Scarlet said:
One fight that really sticks out in particular is Mateus. Why even bother wasting your time with the stupid elemental things? Another would be the Elder Wyrm. His tree minions aren't even worth paying attention to unless you're low level. I would even throw out the Bomb King, though leaving his guys around might be somewhat hazardous if you can't kill him fast enough.
If you keep yourself somewhat ahead of the curve, wasting your time on spawns seems pointless, especially on bosses that heal themselves.
Oh, and could someone please tell me what bubble does and why I would want it?
Deadly Monk
Banned
Kyoufu said:
I use Bubble for every battle. You need it for the last hunts.
fatty
Member
I beat it. I finally beat it.
Final save point has me at around 72 hours. (throw in another hour if you count the last battles)
Main three characters' levels ranged from 46 - 48
Back-up characters at levels 40 - 42
Great game. I can remember about 40 hours in, I was a bit burnt out on it, and I recalled other people commenting that they only enjoyed the beginning of the game. But I stuck with it, and found myself really loving it. This is the only Final Fantasy (and I've previously beaten I, IV,VI - X) where I've gone right back to playing after I beat it, because of the hunts. I didn't care for the hunts so much at first, but they've kind of grown on me (though the ones I'm currently on I'm way too overleveled).
Difficulty on this game was just about perfect. I admit to using a guide, as being age 30 I don't have the patience for exploring and redoing levels because of a surprise death, but even still I was happy with the challenge. My statement on the previous page at the beginning of the game thinking that the "Espers = Win Button" couldn't be further from the truth. :lol :lol It got to the point where I didn't even use them...at all. But the way the defense and attack power spiked on the game's bosses in their last 20% of health had me requiring a Quickening to finish them off. If I didn't use one, the combos they would start pulling off were relentless. Looking back I would have liked the Espers integrated into the game more but maybe with a shortened cinematic because as with the Quickenings, the displays could last a bit too long.
I would have also liked to see the large variety of spells/technicks used more, I don't think I ever tried things like Vanish, Horology and many more. This is partly my fault, but when you had a system that worked it was hard to work these new offbeat spells into your Gambits. And while I'm on the Gambit system, way too many options that were useless while not giving you a chance to be more specific with other ones. For example, the mirror mail (with reflect status) was worthless to me as all of my other healing spell gambits had no effect on the character equiped with the armor. To specify that the character only used healing items while the others got the OK to use spells seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
But these are just minor things. I can't say how much I appreciate the battle system. I know some don't care for it because it might over simplify or be too hands-off but the challenge in the game made up for it. Having a properly set up Gambit system later in the game against enemies such as Vivian (the Marlboro that throws every status effect in the book at you) makes things so much easier and satisfying. And the ability to pick and choose your battles instead of having to enter into a random battle only to run in place until you can finally get away saves soooo much time.
Again, great game. I know I'm so late to the party and that nobody will probably read this (especially with all of the other Final Fantasy threads lately) but I just wanted to get my thoughts off my chest. I'm very content to wait for FFXIII, it took me long enough to get around to playing FFXII. Now I guess it is time to give FFX-2 a try...
Final save point has me at around 72 hours. (throw in another hour if you count the last battles)
Main three characters' levels ranged from 46 - 48
Back-up characters at levels 40 - 42
Great game. I can remember about 40 hours in, I was a bit burnt out on it, and I recalled other people commenting that they only enjoyed the beginning of the game. But I stuck with it, and found myself really loving it. This is the only Final Fantasy (and I've previously beaten I, IV,VI - X) where I've gone right back to playing after I beat it, because of the hunts. I didn't care for the hunts so much at first, but they've kind of grown on me (though the ones I'm currently on I'm way too overleveled).
Difficulty on this game was just about perfect. I admit to using a guide, as being age 30 I don't have the patience for exploring and redoing levels because of a surprise death, but even still I was happy with the challenge. My statement on the previous page at the beginning of the game thinking that the "Espers = Win Button" couldn't be further from the truth. :lol :lol It got to the point where I didn't even use them...at all. But the way the defense and attack power spiked on the game's bosses in their last 20% of health had me requiring a Quickening to finish them off. If I didn't use one, the combos they would start pulling off were relentless. Looking back I would have liked the Espers integrated into the game more but maybe with a shortened cinematic because as with the Quickenings, the displays could last a bit too long.
I would have also liked to see the large variety of spells/technicks used more, I don't think I ever tried things like Vanish, Horology and many more. This is partly my fault, but when you had a system that worked it was hard to work these new offbeat spells into your Gambits. And while I'm on the Gambit system, way too many options that were useless while not giving you a chance to be more specific with other ones. For example, the mirror mail (with reflect status) was worthless to me as all of my other healing spell gambits had no effect on the character equiped with the armor. To specify that the character only used healing items while the others got the OK to use spells seemed like more trouble than it was worth.
But these are just minor things. I can't say how much I appreciate the battle system. I know some don't care for it because it might over simplify or be too hands-off but the challenge in the game made up for it. Having a properly set up Gambit system later in the game against enemies such as Vivian (the Marlboro that throws every status effect in the book at you) makes things so much easier and satisfying. And the ability to pick and choose your battles instead of having to enter into a random battle only to run in place until you can finally get away saves soooo much time.
Again, great game. I know I'm so late to the party and that nobody will probably read this (especially with all of the other Final Fantasy threads lately) but I just wanted to get my thoughts off my chest. I'm very content to wait for FFXIII, it took me long enough to get around to playing FFXII. Now I guess it is time to give FFX-2 a try...
I'm playing this game, right now I'm right after the boss fight inside Raithwall Tomb. I'm having fun (SHOCKING yes, I know) but I feel like I'm pretty bad at this game.
is kicking my ass, so I have no choice but to grind till I learn a couple of quickenings with each character. I didn't know they doubled and tripled the base MP and I really some more MP, because I run out of it too fast.
Vossler
Red Scarlet
Member
Chiggs said:
You can wipe out the little ice things with I think a couple of Thundara spells or just do a 3-hit Mist combo and finish them off (damaging Mateus too), very swift! You can skip the Elder Wyrm completely, too. You can kill the little Bombs with a Warp Mote or whatever too. The only spawns listed above that can 'regenerate' are the Bombs, and I think you can stop that by silencing the Bomb King. Usually it is helpful in the long run to kill the little guys in boss battles, from my experiences.
Yeah, try to get 2 mist squares unlocked for people by the point you're at, Error. Helps a lot; once I saw the MP multiplier I got them for everyone ASAP and it made things a lot easier MP-wise. Did you get any of those Demonsbane swords?
fatty
Member
Seiken said:
Nah, I thought about it but there are enough Final Fantasy threads without me starting another one. Add to that it would probably wind up with those dissing the games vs. those defending it. I figured the ones who are still interested in the game would see it and if they don't, it's not a big deal.
But after finishing such a long game, it was nice to say a few things about it. Beating a 73hr+ game gives you a little feeling of satisfaction.
Error said:
How did you distribute your license points? If you got trouble I'd recommend putting as much as possible in augments that are suitable for the character. Just get the mages the basic spells they need as first and tons of magic augments and give the melees attack augments. This seems to work the best for me.
nelsonroyale
Member
cpro said:
yeah, some of the art design is stellar...vossler and judges look especially cool
Aeana gave me a couple of advices regarding augments, which I intend to follow. Martyr and two others, which names escape me now, are good for a magic based character; so I'm gonna buy those licenses.Antagon said:
I haven't done any hunts since the last rank 1 hunt, I wonder if I should do more. The rewards weren't that exciting.
Error said:Aeana gave me a couple of advices regarding augments, which I intend to follow. Martyr and two others, which names escape me now, are good for a magic based character; so I'm gonna buy those licenses.
I haven't done any hunts since the last rank 1 hunt, I wonder if I should do more. The rewards weren't that exciting.
If you do the hunts at the hunter's camp you can get some of the best equipment in the game.
brandonh83
Banned
Okay.
Summer break is here for me, meaning I'm continuing my mammoth FF12 file.
Playtime: 194 hrs.
My current levels:
Vaan: 99
Balthier: 82
Fran: 89
Basch: 89
Ashe: 99
Penelo: 98
A few hours ago I finally nabbed the Excalibur sword from the
and it was a
because it is without question one of the most confusing places ever put into a videogame. But I got it, got out (which might've actually taken longer), and have moved onto my next goal:
Tournesol. Jesus Christ I looked at what you have to do, and my brain assploded. Anyone have any tips for getting the Scarletite?
Summer break is here for me, meaning I'm continuing my mammoth FF12 file.
Playtime: 194 hrs.
My current levels:
Vaan: 99
Balthier: 82
Fran: 89
Basch: 89
Ashe: 99
Penelo: 98
A few hours ago I finally nabbed the Excalibur sword from the
Great Crystal
Great Pain in the Ass
Tournesol. Jesus Christ I looked at what you have to do, and my brain assploded. Anyone have any tips for getting the Scarletite?
Red Scarlet
Member
Scarletite is really easy to get. Just warp to the Nabreus Deadlands and set an attack gambit to only attack things weak against wind. Here's a picture of the path I take to kill 2 turtles and respawn them.
Go south from the save crystal and you'll bump into the big turtle guy that can drop it (at the orange mark in the picture). Go southwest to the path south to the other orange marker which has another turtle (this is where I got a Scarletite dropped making the picture), then follow the red line until you get to the screen where the first turtle was, then go back to the first orange marker and repeat the line, since the two turtles should return. With the 'attack->weak to wind' gambit, those turtles that should be respawning when you go that path should be all you kill, and you'll get Scarletite pretty fast and easily.
Are you making Gemsteel? I got Damascus Steel a really annoying way the first time, then a much better way on the second, but it may only work on the International version. I think it works on the original too, but am not 100% sure.
Go south from the save crystal and you'll bump into the big turtle guy that can drop it (at the orange mark in the picture). Go southwest to the path south to the other orange marker which has another turtle (this is where I got a Scarletite dropped making the picture), then follow the red line until you get to the screen where the first turtle was, then go back to the first orange marker and repeat the line, since the two turtles should return. With the 'attack->weak to wind' gambit, those turtles that should be respawning when you go that path should be all you kill, and you'll get Scarletite pretty fast and easily.
Are you making Gemsteel? I got Damascus Steel a really annoying way the first time, then a much better way on the second, but it may only work on the International version. I think it works on the original too, but am not 100% sure.
brandonh83
Banned
Yeah, making Gemsteel in order to get the Tournesol. Thanks for the help, it's awesome.
Red Scarlet
Member
Did you already get Damascus Steel? I tried via a monster in the Pharos and it took a really long time, then I tried a rare monster at the ice area and it was really easy, like the turtles were. Did you get the Scarletite already?
brandonh83
Banned
Not yet, no, Scarletite is the first item I'm going after.
Red Scarlet
Member
Okay, if you need to pick up some Gemsteel, I can show you what I did in the International one, which may work in yours too.
brandonh83
Banned
Well I'm about to go to bed but if you want to go ahead and post it, go for it, as for when I wake up I'll be playing again.
Red Scarlet
Member
Ok, here's what I do.
Warp to Bur Omisace, then go south to Paramina Rift, then go 1 screen south, then 1 screen southeast. On that screen, kill every badguy in the area, then you will see some headless guy rare monster. I think the only thing you can steal from the guy is Damascus Steel. Steal them, then go back up a screen from the right side, then to the next screen to the left, then return and kill the badguys again for the monster to appear again to steal another Damascus Steel and repeat for more.
I had Thief's Cuffs equipped, so as you can see from the first encounter, you can steal the item pretty easily, and from the second encounter, you can see it may take a bunch of tries.
Sorry about there being no sound, I'm not sure why that is and this is the first time I've recorded anything on my new computer. Here's the video showing the method, hope it works!
http://redscarlet.paragonsigma.com/brandonhsteel.avi
Oh, there is sound, it's just super low volume and way slow for some reason. :lol
You said you needed 3 Gemsteel. My book makes it look like the 'ingredients' are the same, so for 1 Gemsteel you need 1 Scarletite + 2 Damascus Steel + 2 Hell's Gate Flames or something like that. You get one Gemsteel when you find 8 summons, so if you already got that one, you'd need 3 Scarletite + 6 Damascus Steel + 6 Hell's Gate Flames in total.
Do you know where to get the Hell's Gate Flames? They're easy to get considering what monster drops them, but it usually takes me awhile to get them to actually drop. You almost have the Scarletite, and 6 Damascus Steel from that badguy in Paramina Rift shouldn't take too long. Then there's the other ingredients for the Tournesol aside from the Gemsteel.
Warp to Bur Omisace, then go south to Paramina Rift, then go 1 screen south, then 1 screen southeast. On that screen, kill every badguy in the area, then you will see some headless guy rare monster. I think the only thing you can steal from the guy is Damascus Steel. Steal them, then go back up a screen from the right side, then to the next screen to the left, then return and kill the badguys again for the monster to appear again to steal another Damascus Steel and repeat for more.
I had Thief's Cuffs equipped, so as you can see from the first encounter, you can steal the item pretty easily, and from the second encounter, you can see it may take a bunch of tries.
Sorry about there being no sound, I'm not sure why that is and this is the first time I've recorded anything on my new computer. Here's the video showing the method, hope it works!
http://redscarlet.paragonsigma.com/brandonhsteel.avi
Oh, there is sound, it's just super low volume and way slow for some reason. :lol
You said you needed 3 Gemsteel. My book makes it look like the 'ingredients' are the same, so for 1 Gemsteel you need 1 Scarletite + 2 Damascus Steel + 2 Hell's Gate Flames or something like that. You get one Gemsteel when you find 8 summons, so if you already got that one, you'd need 3 Scarletite + 6 Damascus Steel + 6 Hell's Gate Flames in total.
Do you know where to get the Hell's Gate Flames? They're easy to get considering what monster drops them, but it usually takes me awhile to get them to actually drop. You almost have the Scarletite, and 6 Damascus Steel from that badguy in Paramina Rift shouldn't take too long. Then there's the other ingredients for the Tournesol aside from the Gemsteel.
brandonh83
Banned
Yeah, can't wait to actually start looking for the Damascus Steel, if only to change locations :lol
Red Scarlet said:
I'm finally finishing my game (I stopped when you're in the desert for the first time and am now trying to decide if I should stay and finish the last two hunts before heading off to the final scenes). I'm enjoying the hunts, which are essentially excuses for great non-story related boss battles, but I'm trying to avoid getting sucked into item farming, which is hard because I have "completionist" tendencies. I really hope they get rid of item farming in FF13 and replace it with quest challenges to get ultimate weapons, similar to what they did in FF10. Chocobo racing/dodging lightning/butterfly chasing is honestly more fun for me than scanning my inventory list and consulting a FAQ to see what creature I have to kill or steal from next to make a item that I can then use to make another item (of which I need three) to make an ultimate weapon that doesn't change my character's appearance all that much. The
fishing mini-game
I do wish I could force myself to make the Tournesol though - that's an awesome looking weapon.
*hopes that FF13 feels less like an MMO*
brandonh83
Banned
I have completionist tendencies as well, which is why my game clock is about to hit 200 hours. :lol
edit: YAY got my third piece of Scarletite... time to get out of this hellhole and into another more snowy hellhole.
edit: YAY got my third piece of Scarletite... time to get out of this hellhole and into another more snowy hellhole.
brandonh83 said:
Heh, I just hit 201 hours and change, which is by far the longest I've spent on any FF ever. And I haven't even focused on creating ultimate weapons in the Bazaar - I could probably go another 50 just collecting items for those weapons. (Still haven't gotten the damn Level-99 Chocobo to appear, rawr. I've zoned out of that area 12 times already. I wish the odds for his appearance were a bit better. ;_
I'm fighting Yiazmat now, which I think was a mistake as I feel grossly underleveled (I'm in the mid-70s) and the only ultimate weapon I have is the Masamune. Still need to finish this fight and Omega and about 40 of the rare game hunts. I'm probably going to go and finish the game and then reset to my saved game to finish up Yiazmat, Omega and the rare game hunts.Again, I thank my lucky stars that I've never tried FFXI or WoW. Games like this are not good for me. I only indulge in the major Final Fantasy games because they come out so rarely. Ongoing MMO + me is just a recipe for disaster.
Red Scarlet
Member
I never got the Tournesol or the Wyrmhero Blade or whatever. The added weapons in International seemed to be just as good (or at least epecially due to getting them earlier) as those others. So when you get either it'd be cool to see what you think of them.
Red Scarlet
Member
Amirox loves this game. I don't really like it. I just know crap about it from when I played through the international version and did fake 'speed runs' of the game.
When I made the thread, it was among my most disliked games ever, and I made it to show Amirox that I could make an OP that was neither favorable nor OMGTHISGAMESUX. :lol
When I made the thread, it was among my most disliked games ever, and I made it to show Amirox that I could make an OP that was neither favorable nor OMGTHISGAMESUX. :lol