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[Conor_Fool]

So I searched for a while and couldn't find a single thread about this, but I seem to remember reading a while back in the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 OT that some starting choices are far superior than others (Add/Drop Shield, Sword, Staff)

I just started a playthrough of Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and I really want to make the best possible decision. Is the choice merely personal preference/style of gaming or are some choices in fact much better than others?

 

[jlchoi]

I remember in the original, keep sword; discard shield made the game a little harder (probably from lower defense/hp in the beginning).

I think keep sword; discard staff made the game a little easier overall.

 

[PRjumpman124]

Is this your first playthrough? Final Mix difficulty works just fine as a starting point. Also, take the sword and drop the staff... and pick dawn. All set!

 

[Dereck]

Every choice is the best starting choice.

 

[traveler]

Speed run? Speed run! Choose sword, sac shield.

Spoiler

Choose rod if you want to go OCD with perfect stats since you can get perfect stats via strength ups and defense ups for the other two options.

 

[Seda]

c/p'ed from OT

Intro Sequence Choice Quick-Guide
--

Which weapon do I pick up?

Staff: Better magic strength; +2 MP by endgame
Sword: Better physical strength; +1 Item slot
Shield: Better defense; +2 Item slots

Note: The extra MP and item slots are the most significant changes because they cannot be gained by any other substitute method (i.e. stat-up items).

Order of skills learned by level up depending on the weapon you pick up (via FSLink)

Level  Sword            | Staff            | Shield
6:     Slide Dash       | Stun Impact      | Slapshot
9:     Scan             | Treasure Magnet  | Berserk
12:    Slapshot         | Ripple Drive     | Tech Plus
15:    Counterattack    | Scan             | Guard
18:    Tech Plus        | Hurricane Blast  | Stun Impact
21:    Combo Plus       | MP Haste         | Scan
24:    Guard            | Air Combo Plus   | Lucky Strike
27:    Hurricane Blast  | Tech Plus        | Leaf Bracer
30:    -                | -                | Treasure Magnet
33:    Blitz            | Guard            | -
36:    Treasure Magnet  | Aerial Sweep     | Second Chance
39:    Ripple Drive     | Leaf Bracer      | Slide Dash
42:    -                | MP Rage          | Jackpot
45:    MP Haste         | Air Combo Plus   | Counterattack
48:    Second Chance    | Lucky Strike     | Critical Plus
51:    Stun Impact      | Slide Dash       | Hurricane Blast
57:    Vortex           | Counterattack    | Treasure Magnet
60:    Aerial Sweep     | Berserk          | Blitz
63:    MP Rage          | Jackpot          | Combo Plus
66:    Combo Plus       | -                | -
69:    Leaf Bracer      | Slapshot         | Ripple Drive
72:    Air Combo Plus   | Treasure Magnet  | MP Haste
75:    Treasure Magnet  | MP Rage          | Critical Plus
78:    Berserk          | Blitz            | Vortex
81:    Tech Plus        | Tech Plus        | Tech Plus
84:    Critical Plus    | Vortex           | Aerial Sweep
87:    MP Rage          | Combo Plus       | Combo Plus
90:    Lucky Strike     | Second Chance    | MP Rage
93:    Combo Plus       | Combo Plus       | Air Combo Plus
96:    Air Combo Plus   | Critical Plus    | Combo Plus
99:    Critical Plus    | Combo Plus       | Air Combo Plus
100:   Jackpot          | Critical Plus    | MP Rage

Which weapon do I give up?

Giving up the Sword lowers your Strength
Giving up the Shield lowers your Defense
Giving up the Staff lowers your Ability Points

Note: You can obtain stat up items for each of these.

---

What's this about different level up rates?

As for the experience gain questions, there are 3 options:

• Dawn: Quick level ups for early levels, slow level ups at later levels
  
• Day: Normal level ups throughout
  
• Dusk: Slow level ups for early levels, quick level ups at later levels

Note: Dusk option actually requires the least amount of total exp to get to max level.

This choice is made by your answers to Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus's questions on Destiny Islands.

First answer: points toward Dawn
Middle answer: points toward Day
Third answer: points toward Dusk

Note: You see what you are getting after answering the questions and it gives you the option to reconsider.

I like Proud Mode, pick up Staff, drop Shield Sword, 'Dusk' leveling option.

 

[Beth Cyra]

Keeping Wand gives you the best results end game. Def Up and Str Up can replace the sword and shield, but ther is no replacing that extra MP.

 

[Lunzio]

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 OT had a huge discussion about this.

Best mix is to choose the staff and drop the sword.

 

[Kuro]

Never pick sword. Always go either Shield/drop wand or Wand/drop sword. Definitely go with the first one if you're playing on Proud. Wand lets gets you extra MP at the end and Shield gets you extra item slots and some really useful abilities early on. Sword only if you want to hack and slash on an easy difficulty.

 

[ggnoobIGN]

Keep staff and Shield. Drop sword from what I remember

 

[Conor_Fool]

So many conflicting answers! Haha

This isn't my first playthrough, but I am planning on making this my first time actually completing the game. From what you all have said, I think the most fun/efficient playthrough will be Staff/Drop Sword

Thanks everyone!

 

[BrokenIcarus]

Whatever you do do not drop shield! I was stupid enough to do that and got 1-hitted so many times during my playthrough on expert. I'd drop magic if I were you

 

[Ultratech]

I like Proud Mode, pick up Staff, drop Shield, 'Dusk' leveling option.

Yup, this is pretty good.

The extra item slots are nice, but +2MP is pretty damn good at the end.

Something to keep in mind in that MP = Relative Magic Power.
Meaning the more MP you have, the more powerful your Spells will be.

Dropping Sword is probably more viable, since the lowered defense early on can be a real killer.

 

[Crimsonlink]

smh at all those Staff people.

Enjoy the pain of not having enemies die due to the good spells coming in late into the game. Also Bosses will take a long time to die. Enjoy fightin Trickmaster with MP when you have crappy spells. ;b

#TeamSword is the best and dropping either shield or staff is fine.

MP has been nerfed in Final Mix anyways with MP Rage not giving back as much MP as it did in the vanilla version.

 

[Conor_Fool]

smh at all those Staff people.

Enjoy the pain of not having enemies die due to the good spells coming in late into the game. Also Bosses will take a long time to die. Enjoy fightin Trickmaster with MP when you have crappy spells. ;b

#TeamSword is the best and dropping either shield or staff is fine.

MP has been nerfed in Final Mix anyways with MP Rage not giving back as much MP as it did in the vanilla version.

Well shit... now I want to start over

Nevermind... I'm up for the challenge Not even playing on Proud

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Keeping staff is best. Thundaga destroys all the tournaments.

 

[Soriku]

I like Proud Mode, pick up Staff, drop Shield, 'Dusk' leveling option.

This is the best choice. Edit: Wait I think it's drop sword.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Pick Staff, Drop Sword.

 

[Crimsonlink]

Well shit... now I want to start over

Nevermind... I'm up for the challenge Not even playing on Proud

Its alright if its not Proud. But if you plan on doing a Proud run I highly suggest you avoid Staff unless you grind like crazy on the first few worlds. AKA Level 20 by the time you reach the next world lol.

 

[sn00zer]

Wow did not know second chance took so long with staff.....WHY?!...is that different than OG KH? Kinda impossible to beat Sephiroth without it

 

[Seda]

This is the best choice. Edit: Wait I think it's drop sword.

Woops, that's what I meant, actually.

 

[Haeralis The BRave]

Staff gives you the best end game stats in the long term, but its simply not worth the terrible movelist it gives you.

Shield is the best. Awesome defense, very valuable on Proud, and a very useful skillset.

Note: This is from a person who imported KH1FM and KH2FM many years ago and has been playing it on Proud Mode / Critical Mode for years now. I also got KH1.5 day one and got the Plat, so that might give me some sort of experience as far as this goes haha

 

[Sinfamy]

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish, speed run vs lvl 100.

 

[Caronte]

Magic is pretty much useless so I would drop the staff and pick the shield.

 

[Step]

It is up to your play style really, as a rush player the lack of sword as main was horrible, you'll miss a lot of ways to get close fast or tech your enemies way easier.

I think shield has the best character/skills progression overall.

 

[BassForever]

Magic is pretty much useless

Says people who nevet use magic in either KH game. Once you learn the joy of gravity in KH1 and reflect in KH2 you'll wonder why you ever neglected them.

 

[badcrumble]

smh at all those Staff people.

Enjoy the pain of not having enemies die due to the good spells coming in late into the game. Also Bosses will take a long time to die. Enjoy fightin Trickmaster with MP when you have crappy spells. ;b

#TeamSword is the best and dropping either shield or staff is fine.

MP has been nerfed in Final Mix anyways with MP Rage not giving back as much MP as it did in the vanilla version.

Actually, Staff gets the best finisher in the game early, and that finisher is based on your MP stat, so it's even the strongest at melee combat.

 

[Nachos]

So many conflicting answers! Haha

This isn't my first playthrough, but I am planning on making this my first time actually completing the game. From what you all have said, I think the most fun/efficient playthrough will be Staff/Drop Sword

Thanks everyone!

Basically, if this isn't your first playthrough, then you should have an idea what skills you like best. Personally I prefer +staff/-sword, because even though it probably has some weird growing pains, magic should not be underestimated in this game. Fire magic will be useful from the get-go, a pretty strong magic dealer throughout the game, and since magic strength is based on max MP, it'll only get stronger and more reliable. On top of that, you'll have more magic to do summons (which I ignored when I first played the game, but found really useful when I actually tried them), and more magic to cast gravity, which is secretly the best spell in the game. It already does insane amounts of damage in proportion to the more HP an enemy has, but more MP will deal even more damage on top of that. Even when an event in the game boosts all enemies' resistances to gravity/stop near the end of the game, it never stops being useful. It's always satisfying to bring a bulky enemy to zero HP in no time flat.

Oh, and even when you run out of MP, ripple drive is a great physical attack based on max MP that will attack all enemies around you, helping you overcome the fact that most of your physical attacks will be weaker, since strength doesn't even factor into its power. Plus, it's an area of effect attack that will push away any enemies getting too close across the other side of the room and will activate 100% at the end of each ground combo, assuming you didn't equip any finishers that have a percentage of activating instead.

 

[Nephitamine]

Pick staff, drop shield. Full offense all the way. Ripple Drive (I think it was called this, the mp-based finisher) will give you good damage with your regular combos and Fire is a decent damaging spell early game. Once you are able to stack some mp mid-game, you pretty much become a god. Clearing entire rooms of enemies with thundara/thundaga right as they spawn. It will literally trivialize almost every single encounter.

Magic is pretty much useless so I would drop the staff and pick the shield.

Uh, magic is useless? Thundaga can wipe an entire room of enemies before you can swing your keyblade twice.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Pick up staff. Nothing else matters.