Blame yourself or God! Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics!

Sadly, I committed an LP sin and went ahead and did that battle already, then accidentally saved over the save that I had right before the fight. It's for the best anyway, since getting more dancers and bards would have been too time consuming, and would have inflated my average level too much.

On the bright side, you guys might have an update in the next 24 hours.

- Eddie

I know what the best thing about Cloud is! It's the crossover fanfic I wrote in middle school.

Thanks a lot TK Flash. I try and tell people not to spoil my LP and you go and do it anyway,

I'm not even going to GET Cloud anymore. What do you think about that huh wiseguy?

- Eddie

p.s. do you still have that fanfic around?

I don't, but I assure you it was a great fanfic, because it's the only one I've ever written. I'm sure the AOL RPG message boards still cherish it to this day.

I remember only one scene, where Tifa defeats a group of large men by feinting escape and then turning around and punching.

Welcome back! Time to get rid of some junk! I mean, other than our Geomancer/Mediator Junk.



There's been zero interest for keeping these bozos around, so pink slips for them!



Also, while I remember it, Zodiac stones, once collected, can be found inside the "Brave Story" menu with your Bar
Proposition treasures. You can see our new stone, "Taurus" here along with our other treasures (which sadly number
only two thus far). This stone will be added to it's own unique page in the upcoming days waiting for other shiny rocks
to join it.

Let's see what opposition awaits us in Warjilis!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Warjilis Trade City

(Scene: Ramza and crew have just docked in Warjilis,
trying to sneak around the back of Lionel Castle in an
attempt to rescue Princess Ovelia from the corrupt Count
Draclau. Ramza isn't off the boat long when an old friend
appears with some advice...)





(Ramza exits the boat. The lady with the Chocobo exits
north. Ramza stops just after he gets off...)









Delita: It's healthier to keep your nose out of certain
things. Like Princesses and stones.



Delita: But I can save her from all of them.



Delita: You can't save her no matter what. Remember
that.





Delita: Haven't noticed they're all swept up in the same
flow. I'm just going against it. That's all......





(Delita exits.)

Ramza: Delita...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Warjilis Trade City, being a trade city, sells Harps. There are only two in the game that you can get from shops, and
they're not particularly great weapons (their range is very finicky) but I figured Ramza might as well get one. You know,
so he can at least look the part. These were purchasable before our trip to Goug, but I didn't want to go all the way to
Dorter to get one for Ramza, especially since it doesn't help the Sing ability any.

I also take the time to stock up on five of every item that cures status effects. This isn't that important but I never
want to find myself in a situation with Tabatha (our Chemist) being unable to cure something becuase I've been
negligent.

You can get in some last minute Bar Propositions at Goug and Warjilis if you want to. The trip between the two cities is
kind of long, but at least you can't get into any random battles going that route.

Trying to leave the city gives us another cut scene!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lionel Castle

Gafgarion: That's not something a holyman would do.

Rudvich: Bastard!


They turned me into a skill-less Oracle you know.

Draclau: Enough, Rudvich.



Draclau: Don't don't you need to get rid of those who
know about the kidnapping? The thief who stole the stone
is with them.



Gafgarion: But what if...?



Gafgarion: You've got to be careful to survive on a
battlefield.

Draclau: All right. I'll make sure you're protected.



Gafgarion: I'll get rid of them. I'm more reliable than him!

Rudvich: How dare you!







(Gafgarion exits.)



(Draclau gets out of his seat.)







* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Cheerful!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Barius Valley

(Scene: a thunderstorm accompanies Agrias's flight
from Lionel Castle. She has learned of Draclau's plans to
use Princess Ovelia, but Draclau's men are not far
behind...)



Lionel Knight: So here you are...





Knight: Give yourself up!

(Ramza and the Hadouken Knights enter from the south.)

Knight: What!?







Ramza: But, why are you here?

Agrias: The Cardinal secretly plotted with Larg from the
start! We tried to escape but only the Princess got
caught!!



Ramza: First, we have to rid of them somehow...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

True story: waaaaay back when I was still in high-school, I was talking about this game during one of the weekly
Dungeons and Dragons games I used to play in (2e bitches!) and our DM, Shane, mentioned that he got to a battle
that he couldn't beat. I extracted all the information I could get out of him, and apparently... it was this one.

I didn't believe it, because this battle is pretty easy. The battle is essentially six on six (you get to bring five in, +
Agrias as a guest), so you're not outnumbered or anything. The Wizards are males and the Archers female, so that's
hardly optimal either... But my buddy couldn't beat this map.

Your mission is to protect Agrias from falling, which is pretty easy. For one, she's back to being a Holy Knight, and is
equipped to the gills with heavy armour and a nice shield, giving her high HP and good evasion. You'll have plenty of
time to toss off a Cure spell if she needs it (and she might not). If you're like Shane, and can't beat this map, all you
need is one guy or girl that can heal some HP in the first group (the one that Ramza starts in).



While not nearing magical levels of ridiculous damage, 162 points is certainly respectable, and certainly enough to kill
this mage. Jean hasn't gotten any Vertical JumpX skills yet, so we simply find a tile that shares a height with the
Wizard (although even by default Jean can be within 1 square difference, hence why so many squares are lit up) and
double check the enemy CT count to see if our DRAGOON will land before the enemy gets a move. As the Wizard's CT is
a measly 2/100, Jean will land in plenty of time. A CT of 50 or greater would generally be a cause for concern, if you
didn't remember my DRAGOON write up in an earlier update.

Of course, Jessica gets greedy.



Summoners man, hell.

While Jessica's MA is pretty awesome for this point in the game, special props have to be given to the weather for
cooperating this time. Unlike last battle, it actually IS thundering and lightning'ing out, so Thunder spells (both friend
and foe) get a 25% damage boost. This stacks with Strengthened magic from an item (Like a Thunder Rod) but Jessica
is still using an Ice Rod, so the damage is only really impressive and killed three guys yeah.

So we've basically won the fight with Jessica's first action. Yeah. Summoners.

While Jessica celebrates her triple kill, poor Jean lands on the corpse of the Wizard. The Wizard who would have taken
162 damage from Jean, but instead took 169 damage (and killed two others) from Jessica. This is actually a recurring
pattern for these two; I used these guys in a random battle afterwords, and the same thing happened.

Well, not the same thing. Jessica killed four units with one summon in that one.

I was going to have Ramza sing away this battle, but sometimes, you need to put down what you're doing and be a
friend. While we ponder this touching moment, lets talk about our next class: the Dancer!

Dancer

As mentioned in the Bard write up, Dancers are sort of the mirror opposite. It's a female only job that's unlocked by
spending some heavy time in the physical-type classes, and instead of buffing your party the Dancer's skill is in
debuffing the enemy.

Like the Bard, the Dancer's moves will randomly affect all the enemies on the battlefield, at regular intervals. The effect
is not that pronounced, but the enemy can only go so long under a Slow Dance before the speed advantage enjoyed
by your units simply becomes too much.

I tend to like Dancers more than Bards for two reasons. For one, the enemy is a lot more likely to be spread out on a
map than your party is (ignore this battle's example please). Thus, Dance doesn't have any competition from a spell like
Haste. Secondly, Dancers can use "Cloth" as weapons. This itself isn't that great, but Cloth weapons (the few of them
in the game) all boast a 50% evasion rate when used with the Knight's Weapon Guard. Third: the "Dance" skill names
are way better. The Dancer's biggest weakness is that they get Jump +3 instead of Move +3, which is a very lackluster
skill compared to Teleport or Ignore Height. Also, a Dancer's utility decreases as more enemies are KO'd. Of course, if
enemies are dropping, you're probably winning.

Ultimately, neither class is spectacular, but rumour has it that four dancers + a Mimic is fun times.



Prerequisites: Female units only, Lv. 4 Geomancer, Lv. 4 Lancer
Weapon: Knife, Cloth
Helmet: Hat
Armor: Clothes

Move: 3
Jump: 4
Physical Evasion Rate: 5%

Skills to get: Wiznaibus, Slow Dance, Nameless Dance

Class Skill: Dance
Witch Hunt: Dance causes MP damage with a mysterious costume.
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 6. JP Cost: 100
(This and Wiznaibus are affected by the Dancer's Brave, the higher the better. Of course, higher doesn't translate into
'useful.' Skip this.)

Wiznaibus: Dance causes HP damage with powerful dance steps.
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 6. JP Cost: 100
(Wiznaibus is a kind of interesting skill. Over time, it's going to kill the enemy, but the damage it deals is extremely
low, being roughly PA * 2. Probably not worth it, but if nothing, it's reliable and can get you some JP once you have a
battle in hand.)

Slow Dance: Dance lowers enemies' Speed level by confusing them with slow dance movements (Speed -1).
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 8. JP Cost: 100
(Like the Bard's Cheer Song, Slow Dance is the best dance you can preform. Also like the bard, it has a 50% chance of
effecting an enemy.)

Polka Polka: Dance with vivacious moves. Lowers physical attack power (PA -1).
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 8. JP Cost: 100
(Best for random battles since nearly every monster uses PA, whereas only ~half the generic classes use PA. Slightly
better than Disillusion since it preforms faster.)

Disillusion: Dance lowers enemies' magic attack power by distracting them with a mysterious costume (MA -1).
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 10. JP Cost: 100
(I can't really recommend using this dance. Slow Dance and Nameless Dance are both better in general against
casters.)



Nameless Dance: Dance with unexplainable moves. Causes various abnormal status (Add: Darkness, Confusion, Silence,
Frog, Poison, Slow, Stop, Sleep).
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 10. JP Cost: 100
(Only causes ONE of the above ailments. Silence and Poison are kind of bad, but the others are worthwhile. Fun fact:
if you put an enemy to sleep with dance, they'll be unaffected by the rest of your dances until they wake up!)

Last Dance: Ultimate dance. Turns enemies' CT count to 0.
Range: Auto. Effect: All Enemies. CTR: 20. JP Cost: 100
(Unlike other dances, this only has a 34% chance of working on an enemy. Coupled with the huge CTR, go with Slow
Dance instead.)

Reaction Abilities:
A Save: Raise physical attack power (PA +1, Trigger: HP Damage).
JP Cost: 550
(Can turn a unit into a physical monster, but the Archer's Speed Save is a better skill. Even still, most units will be
better off with a more defensive skill.)

Brave Up: Raise Brave (Brave +3, Trigger: Physical Attack).
JP Cost: 500
(Use a Mediator or Ramza instead.)

Move Abilities:
Jump +3: Increase jump elevation by 3.
JP Cost: 1000
(Ugh. So inferior to the Bard's unique Move +3 skill. You can do a lot more with 1000 JP in a different class.)

Fly: Leap over enemies and obstacles.
JP Cost: 1200
(Wasn't good as a Bard, still isn't good as a Dancer, albeit at least you can make a "she's dancing on air" joke I
suppose.)



You might laugh about the Frog plinking Tabitha for 3 points of damage in the screenshots above, but since she has
Auto Potion that was costing me 50 gil each time! Also amusing: keeping Agrias locked down with Jessica's Don't Move
(a skill she grabbed from a crystal several battles ago) so our Holy Knight Friend doesn't end the battle prematurely.

That's quite the hall from a crystal, but remember that aside from Fire 2 and Bolt 2, those skills are dirt cheap. Still,
that's 750 JP worth of skills that Tabitha won't need to spend her time getting.

The Lightning Bow makes the Archer who used to wield it one of the more dangerous units on the map (after the
Wizards) because it has a 1/4 chance to hit you with a weather strengthened Bolt spell. Of course, it was four on one
so she didn't really get a chance to threaten me with it.



It's tough being a frog man.

With Agrias saved, our attention is almost ready to return to the whole princess problem. The next update is going to
be a big one (I've got ~250 screen shots of it already), as it's one of the best fights in the game as far as I'm
concerned.

Disappointed by today's battle? Well don't worry! Jessica won't be in the next one.

Maybe.

(Probably.)

See you here next update!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



Agrias: Yes, I'm alright, but we must hurry!



Ramza: Yes, let's go!

Bonus Money: 8,700 gil
War Trophies: Echo Grass

Agrias

Agrias is a great character, and one that you've probably looked forward to using since she was a guest way back at
the start of the game. When she rejoins you, she's lost any 'guest' training you might have done with her, but she still
has Stasis Sword, and with your help, a number of other useful skills that make her a force on the battlefield.

Unlike Mustadio, Agrias's skills are expensive, so without grinding it'll be a while before her more versatile skills (Lightning
Stab and Holy Explosion) are gained. Holy Sword, like the unique sword skills that will eventually follow it, all require
Agrais to be using a sword or knight sword to use (there's a difference!). Agrais wants PA for her skills to be good, so
once you've learned her Holy Sword skills stick her in Knight or another high PA class with Equip Sword.

Note: all Holy Sword skills use the element (if any) of the Sword Agrais is using.

Weapons: Sword, Knight Sword, Shield
Helmet: Armored Helmet
Armor: Armor, Robe

Move: 3
Jump: 3
Physical Evasion Rate: 25%

Skills to get: Crush Punch, Lightning Stab, Holy Explosion

Unique Skill: Holy Sword
Stasis Sword: Damages with holy sword spirit (Add: Stop).
Range: 2. Effect: 2,0. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 100.
(Agrias starts with this. Short range, but a 25% chance to Stop an enemy is potentially devastating to an enemy.)

Split Punch: Damages with holy sword spirit (Add: Death Sentence).
Range: 3,2. Effect: 1. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 400.
(Agrias's worst move, Death Sentence is kind of a meager status ailment to inflict, and for 100 more JP you can get a
skill that outright kills enemies.)

Crush Punch: Damages with holy sword spirit (Add: Dead).
Range: 3,1. Effect: 1. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 500.
(I've said it before, Agrias's bread and butter. When there's only one target, there's only one skill you want to be
using.)

Lightning Stab: Damages with holy sword spirit (Add: Silence).
Range: 3. Effect: 2,1. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 700.
(Agrias's best multi-target attack. The silence effect is underwhelming, but the skill itself is powerful.)

Holy Explosion: Damages with holy sword spirit (Add: Confusion).
Range: Straight line from user. Effect: 5,2. CTR: Now. JP Cost: 800.
(Shades of the Monk's Earth Slash skill. For when you can't quite get close enough for Crush Punch. Get Crush Punch
and Lightning Stab before this one tho.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To be continued...

Your posts keep getting better, I'm always totally stoked to read the next one.

The next battle is also one of my very favorites in this game, and is probably a top favorite out of all RPG battles I've ever experienced. The first time I tried to play this game I think it's where I got stuck, and to this day the battle still will occasionally wipe the floor with me. I'm really looking forward to the insight of a master on this particular fight (and a few coming up after that); things are really starting to heat up in this let's play!

This cracks me up every time.

Bard Ramza and four dancers was a fun challenge. Yeah, a lot boils down to slow dancing followed by dainty battle-song-fueled fists of hate, but sometimes just surviving long enough to do that was a puzzle.

man, crush punch? real men use lightning stab.

Why are they called punches anyway?

Against multiple targets, sure. But against single targets, Crush Punch is way better than Lightning Stab.

Crush Punch: [PA * (Weapon Power + 2); 25% chance of Add: Dead]
Lightning Stab: [PA * (Weapon Power + 4); 25% chance of Add: Silence].

But that might not convince you. Here are the spell quotes:

"The doom of a planet...Crush Punch!"
"Absorb power in the sky and strike! Lightning Stab!"

Not even comparable! Match point for CRUSH PUNCH.

- Eddie

I always remembered Agrias fondly as being the first kill-everything tank character you have access to. But when the remake came along, I had to avoid killing enemies so she could have a turn once in a while. When her turn did come up, she could barely move anywhere and once she did, she only did average damage. Was she nerfed or was I Doing it Wrong?

(Which, incidentally, is not even close to my personal experience. The odds are so much lower unless the unit using it is an enemy.) If the enemy doesn't have an extraordinary amount of HP (Hydras and the like, mainly), I'll take the extra damage over a high-risk, moderate reward scenario like Crush Punch. Stabbing the enemy with lightning is cooler anyway.

Probably a combination of tricks of memory and being better this time around. Agrias has great skills, but her PA's not very good. That's one of the two reasons T.G. Cid is better.

On the other hand, I think they fixed the elemental bug in her skills, so maybe that's it.

Jump + 3 is pretty hilarious considering you should have enough JP to pick up Ignore Height as a Lancer while you're trying to unlock the Dancer class.

Maybe some confusion about translating "ken(?)" which can either be translated as a blade or fist in English. Same thing with "Geronimo!" up there, as it probably started life as banzai in Japanese which would be better translated to "Charge!" instead. WotL translates them as "Strikes" which is a pretty decent middle ground.

i like the name 'crush punch'. it just fits.

There's actually no "ken" involved. The original attack was 北斗骨砕打, which would be ほくとこっさいだ (Hokuto Kossaida). Which means something like "Bone Shattering Strike of the North Star," as far as I can tell. So Crush Punch doesn't really seem too terribly far off the mark, as far as FFT translation things go.

And yes, the first two kanji are for "Hokuto." Apparently Holy Knights are students of Hokuto Shinken on their days off! Who knew!

Crush Punch just got a whole lot more awesome.

Well, the Hokuten Knights couldn't possibly have anything to do with that, right?

It probably isn't because of that, actually. I don't think Agrias was ever actually in the Hokuten. And at this point, Ramza's group has completely broken off from them, right? Plus, Orlandu has the same attack, and he's the leader of the enemy of the Hokuten knights.

It's the only one of their attacks that has the word in it, too.

I...I was being snarky?

You act like that's going to stop me from researching Final Fantasy Tactics trivia way too much when I should have been asleep several hours ago.

More damage only helps if it lets you kill in fewer turns, so I end up using Crush Punch or Stasis Sword more often than Lighting Stab. With Agrias anyway.

I was just going to come in here and ask you to make someone a Dancer so I could finally see one and their awesome(?) WIZNAIBUS skill.

(Aside: Man, I love the art for these character classes from FFT. I was hoping the Dancer had a more interesting costume though because I was thinking of secretly sewing one for my wife to use in her belly dance troupe. Unfortunately, it really doesn't look all that practical with that long skirt.)

Nameless Dance is where it's at. Hitting all enemies with status effects for free is more useful than hitting all of them for piddling HP damage.

Sub in harem pants.

Yeah, but Nameless Dance doesn't have a completely adorable name.

Oh, Wiznaibus. Nobody even tried to figure out what your katakana meant.

Crush Punch is just a higher form of Love Tap.

To be fair, Wizard Knives (or Wizknives) sounds really dumb too.

I named a WoW rogue "Wiznaibus"

Didn't ever really play the character, but it did make me laugh any time I saw the name.