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

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

(Scene: in the dungeon of Riovanes, Alma sits. She has let
her brother down, having not only being caught, but losing
both the stones that Ramza had given to her for
safekeeping. Her fate in the hands of the Temple Knights
was briefly altered following Izlude's capture, but what
force can stop the power of the Holy Stones?)

(Terror 2)

(Outside her cell, Alma hears the sound of steel clashing,
flesh rending, and the screams of the dying.)



(Footsteps and more commotion cause Alma to stand up
and move slowly towards the terror that lies outside her
jail cell. A Knight stumbles into her cell...)






















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

To be continued...

oh man. taking on weigraf as a bard? that's gotta be the most foolhardy thing i've ever heard.

i did it as a double fisting monk, and i ruined graf's face. but you sir, you have balls.

Would the ???? spell be Ultima?

I think it's zodiac off the top of my head....

Shouldn't be too hard, really. I mean, it could be easier, but I wouldn't call it foolhardy.

Unless he doesn't bother to set secondary, reaction, and support skills... but even that probably wouldn't be the worst thing ever done here.

Yeah, that's it. Ramza's Ultima is much, much weaker, with a constant of 23.

While the 'challenge' as stated didn't imply any restrictions other than Ramza being a Bard, typical 'single class' challenges state that you can only use skills that that class can learn. I don't have MA Save (the only Bard Reaction skill worth using) and Bard' don't have any Support skills so...

And has been brought up (briefly) before, if you think ANYTHING could be bad fighting Wiegraf, just think about trying to do this fight using only Calculator skills. Before you say "But Calculators are awesome!" remember that if you're only using THEIR skills, you don't even have access to Fire let alone Holy, and there's that huge speed penalty the class is saddled with...

- Eddie

Eddie, you have consistently impressed me with this thread. Can't wait to see how the next battle(s) turn out!

I don't think I've ever beaten Wiegraf without using Accumulate/Yell about ten times each. Of course, that makes things easier later on.

I remember being very impressed by that Riovanes Knight's portrait -- it's a relatively small difference, but it really helps to convey what's going on in the castle.

Eddie, your presentation of the cinematics is sublime. You hit all the key points and make it easy to fill in the rest of the action. Keep up the great work!

Eep.

Well, once you can double-turn him you are safe.

But, eep.

This next fight is going to be amazing. But possibly not as amazing as the one after, which I think is the hardest fight in the whole game simply because of how the battlefield is laid out vs. your objective. Hope all your characters are super fast and/or have speed save!

The main issue with that fight is that your guest has a random AI selected, and if you have low speed you very well may loose before taking a turn, based on that selection.

Back when I first played through FFT I didn't really grock speed, so I was forced to reload over and over there.

The other fun part of this gauntlet is that I didn't know what I was getting myself into and only had a save before the 1st battle in the castle, rather than the world map. When I found out how screwed I was in this next battle re-playing that one was my only source of grinding XP/JP. Thank god for auto-potion and the ability to throw away normal potions.

I haven't played it yet, but I think I'll be okay speed wise. I've got two Ninjas (Tabitha and Sissie) plus a load of characters who have access to the Ninja class, and Green Berets for all. I'm thinking of keeping Ramza a Bard for that fight for Cheer Song, but I don't know.

I'd like to play with it and see if I can steal some of the equipment on the map, for giggles. But well, you know how that could turn out against that power trio...

... I wonder if I have anyone who knows Reraise...

- Eddie

Man I forgot how bloody difficult my computer is with recording video. Maybe I can borrow my roommates laptop...

On better news I think I've got beating Wiegraf with the power of song down to a science. I know I was pushing out these updates with a little more frequency lately, but this one might take some time. Sorry guys!

- Eddie

Just finished reading through this thread over the course of the last two days. I wanted to chime in and say that I've really enjoyed it. You've translated Tactics' dense story quite well with the screenshots, and I absolutely love the class mechanics discussion. As someone who owns both the original PS game as well as the PSP remake, yet has never been able to really stick with them to the point of getting anywhere, it's nice to finally get a chance to really see what it's all about.

So, thanks and keep up the good work!

Eddie, this thread is awesome. You, sir, do good work!

This thread is indeed awesome, FFT has become a historically notable game despite its goofy translation and to see it being given a non-broken (full Calc, TG Cid, all that sort of thing) LP full of fun information is most thrilling.

Oh, and part of why I just had to register is to tell you, Eddie, that the Palmer Election HQ was one of the first websites my young and new to the wonders of this 'internet thing' self had bookmarked. I read that in the thread and absolutely could not believe you were part of that, thank you for in part showing me the power of the internet at a young age.

I never know whether to be proud of embarrassed whenever I think about Palmer HQ. It was from so long ago; there were some good memories (nothing of course topping putting Palmer over both Cloud AND Sephiroth on T.Nakao's poll), there were some bad (I think I remember leaving around the time I had a bad split with some of the guys who now run Andore Jr., but my memory is foggy. I harbour no ill will to them now), but it taught me something really important:

Obesity is no laughing matter.

I'm still having no luck recording my Bard fights vs. Wiegraf; I think if I can't get it done by next Tuesday I'm going to just keep a save and get it recorded when I can; I hate holding up the LP because of technical issues when I'm sure most of you would be fine with me simply describing the fight via screenshots.

We'll see!

- Eddie

So I started reading this on friday and it had me get back into my current game again (you can walk past Lionel Castle Gates? Thank you!) I'm playing on PSP and I guess the many of the classes require additional levels to unlock? That's been annoying. Otherwise I finally feel like I understand the guts of the game, and for that I am forever greatful.

Welcome Back!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coinspinner Make Ramza a Bard. For Riovanes.

Dated: June 4th, 2009. Sorry to keep you waiting Coinspinner!

Doing is as a Bard, with only Bard Skills

While a Bard is hardly the ideal class for Ramza to be in for this fight, it offers all the tools necessary for beating this
fight. Granted, there is still a lot of luck required, particularly at the beginning. The following skills and equipment are
pretty much required:

- Cheer Song: Ramza needs to gain a speed advantage over Wiegraf, enough so that he can reliably run away from
him. Cheer Song offers +1 Speed every 8 clockticks, which gives Ramza his (only) chance of winning this fight, a
ssuming he can string enough of them together early.

- Life Song: It is sometimes inevitable that Ramza will be hit by Wiegraf, so a way to heal himself is required. This song
won't always save Ramza, given that it is likely only restoring 18-20 HP every six clockticks, so you don't want to use it
unless it's absolutely required or you get some breathing room between yourself and Wiegraf.

- Move +3: This is the only way you're going to out-run Wiegraf's Lightning Stab. It's a fantastic ability anyway, so
grab it.

- Green Beret and Sprint Shoes: You need to act first, which requires a Speed of 9. These two items are therefore your
best bet at getting the go ahead "run away" from Wiegraf. Consider that eating a Lightning Stab on turn 1, with a
Bard's low HP, is going to greatly decrease your chances of winning. If your Ramza is over-leveled (relative to Wiegraf's
level of around 30) then you might be able to get away with only using one of these.

(Screenshot note: We're bringing Junk along with Monster Talk. I'm not 100% sure that Monster Talk is necessary, but
better safe than sorry when dealing with the 'monster' that is Wiegraf. It's an experiment!)



The following can make the battle a little easier/faster:

- Battle Song/Magic Song: either one will increase Ramza's damage while using an Instrument, and Magic Song will also
help Ramza heal a bit more with his Cheer Song. Ultimately however, you'll only be able to use these skills when you're
already winning!

- MA Save: This can actually be really helpful for boosting the healing done by Cheer Song slightly, but it's not
necessary.

The fact that my Ramza has 'bad' compatibility with Wiegraf can be helpful if I get REALLY unlucky with my Cheer Song
usage. His Lightning Stabs hit my Ramza for about 112 damage! Again, that's with bad (-25% damage) compatibility!

The tactics are therefore as follows:

1) Hope to get lucky with Cheer Song. We need to try and minimize the incoming damage Ramza takes from either
Lightning Stab OR Earth Slash until he can gain a relative Speed advantage. Wiegraf's Move of 3 plus effective range of
4 with Lightning Stab means that it can be difficult to avoid him forever; expect to eat several Earth Slashes and at
least one Lightning Stab when learning the fight.
2) Use Life Song to try and keep Ramza above 40 HP, filling his HP up when we get enough of a breathing room, so
we can take a second Lightning Stab if Wiegraf manages to corner us.
3) Use Battle Song to raise Ramza's PA when we're at a comfortable HP level and don't require any more Speed.

Ramza can be put anywhere (his position is fixed like most fights), so you can throw someone like Junk up front.
Positioning isn't that important, but unit selection can be. Low Faith units are your best asset here, as you're pretty
much going to be nailed to the floor with magic damage. We're bringing Sissie along to see if we can get close enough
to punch Weigraf's clock twice, Jean because Jump skill is awesome in this fight, and Sullivan for a big nuke.

Let's go!

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

Inside of Riovanes Castle

(Scene: Ramza enters a hall filled with the bodies of
Riovanes Knights. The Holy Stones have let loose their
fury... and they plan for Ramza to be their next victim.)

(Remnants)

(Wiegraf steps forward.)









Ramza: Giving your spirit to Lucavi just to avenge yourself.
If Miluda knew about this, she'd be very disappointed.



Wiegraf: I want far more than that. I don't give a damn
about Miluda's murder. I want to bring 'chaos' into the
world... to hear the screams of humans...

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

This is a two-part fight. The first is a one-on-one battle between Wiegraf and Ramza. Part two is against a Zodiac boss
and several minions. Countless are the stories of this fight breaking people. The difficulty often lies in the first part of
the fight: a properly built Ramza is very unlikely to be able to win it! Even after besting Wiegraf, another monster
awaits...

The italicized text you see below the screenshots is step by step advice to beating Wiegraf as a Bard. Some strategy
more applicable to all classes will be talked about as well.

As long as you have 9 Speed (obtainable with a Green Beret and Sprint Shoes) you'll go first. Move to THIS square.
Wiegraf will move to an area that he can't hit you from. The square ahead of it will put you in range of Wiegraf's
Lightning Stab, while the square behind it will be high enough for him to hit you with Earth Slash. Start using Cheer
Song; you'll need to get a hit on the very first try. Your odds are 50% on the nose, if you miss this one you're going
to get hit by Lightning Stab, which is bad news. You have a lot more leniancy with following Cheer Song attempts, so
just reset if you miss on the first one.



You want to move to this square next. Wiegraf will move directly south towards you. This will still keep you safe from
both Earth Slash and Lightning Stab, but if you didn't get that speed boost Wiegraf will get a turn again before you
can, and will nail you with his Holy Sword skill. Getting hit by Lightning Stab isn't the end of the world, but you pretty
much need to insure you have enough HP to survive another one in case the worst happens and Wiegraf manages to
corner you. The AI will generally try and move down the middle of the map, so there is a great possibility of this
happening if you're not careful.

Let's take a look at what you're fighting:

Wiegraf

• High hit points and PA due to class and equipped items. His shield gives him pretty good evasion as well!
• Main skill "Holy Sword" allows Wiegraf to use Lightning Stab, which can easily reduce Ramza's HP by half or more!
• Secondary skill "Punch Art" gives Wiegraf a long-range attack in Earth Slash, and a minor ranged attack with
  Wave Fist (he'll prefer to use Lightning Stab however).
• Immune to: Dead, Undead, Petrify, Invite, Confusion, Blood Suck, Reraise, Transparent, Berserk, Chicken, Frog,
  Poison, Stop, Charm, Sleep, Don't Move, Don't Act, and Death Sentence (Slow works as always).
• Maintanence prevents breaking OR stealing Wiegraf's weapon!
• Fast! Wiegraf has a base speed of 8! The game awards ties in speed to go to the enemy, so the chances are he'll
  whip you with Lightning Storm before you act unless your Speed is 9 or higher!
• Wiegraf is a Virgo, so Capricorn and Taurus units are going to be taking 25% extra damage, so be careful.
  Sagittarius (like our Ramza) and Geminis' will take 25% less, while Pisces probably have the easiest time, since
  they take 50% less damage.
• You've just likely saved your game right before this fight. This means (unless you have multiple saves) you're
  stuck with whatever JP/Equipment you had entering this fight!

I'm not going to lie to you: this can be an absolutely brutal fight. There are three common paths people often take to
victory:

1) Deal a LOT of damage to Wiegraf quickly (Ninja + Martial Arts is common).
2) Use Speed boosting skills to make Ramza much faster than Wiegraf
3) Use skills that can help Ramza survive until he can deal enough damage to kill him.



Move here next. Wiegraf will move to the marked square, and pass the turn. Why doesn't he Earth Slash? I have no
idea!

Dealing with Wiegraf the Proper Way

Most classes offer Ramza SOMETHING that can make this battle winnable. The problem most people run into is they get
so tunnel-visioned with Ramza that they forget to make him versatile. Damage is great, but it means squat if you can't
handle Wiegraf Lightning Stabbing you twice. Here's some key skills, any of which can make this fight a lot easier:

Squire: Yell
This is one of the more common solutions people find. Yell has a 100% success rate, so given time and some form of
healing you're guaranteed to win. You can follow the strategy I'm outlining in italics here to pretty much ensure a
victory; all you need is Yell and 9 Speed!

Chemist: X-Potion, Auto Potion
Lightning Stab will deal ~150 damage to Ramza, which is about what X-Potion heals conveniently enough. If you
empty/sell all your Potions/Hi-Potions, you can effectively negate any of Wiegraf's chances of hurting you, as long as
Ramza has a high enough Brave (or is lucky).

Archer: Speed Save
Combine with Item (X-Potion) or a similar healing ability. Yell is more efficient however...



You will be able to move up to the corner with your next two moves. Wiegraf will move up the middle.

Priest/Samurai: Protect/Kiyomori
Protect reduces the damage you take by 1/3rd, which will help. Requires some other form of healing however. Kiyomoris
are available for purchase immediately after the Yuguo Woods fight.

Monk: HP Restore
Depending on the amount of damage coming in, you might be able to 'trick' Wiegraf into bringing you to critical HP,
allowing a full health boost.

Ninja/Samurai: Two Swords/Two Hands
If you can't take the damage, then look into dishing it out! A high movement skill is desirable so you can get behind
Wiegraf, preventing him from blocking any attacks with his shield. Two Swords + Martial Arts is a classic way to beat
him down quickly. Remember you need to deal about 300 HP!

Oracle: MP Switch
Outside Auto-Potion, this plus Move-MP Up gives you a very reliable way to prevent him from taking you out.

Be very wary of using any abilities that require charging. Wiegraf already deals enough damage; giving him a 50%
damage bonus can really sink your chances!



Wait in this corner until Wiegraf moves close enough that he can reach you with Lightning Stab on his next move. With
any luck, you'll have built up enough speed to simply waltz by him by hugging the wall. Move to the square in the
second screenshot. If everything has gone well, you'll get an extra turn!

Cheesing Wiegraf

Okay, you've entered the battle with none of the aforementioned skills, you're underleveled and no matter what you
try, Wiegraf just seems unbeatable. Well, there are actually a few items you can purchase that make this fight pretty
trivial!

Well, as long as you have them.

I mentioned this the last time we fought Wiegraf, but the AI apparently thinks that all Holy Sword techniques have the
Holy element property. This is not true! All Holy Sword skills are elemental neutral, except when used through a weapon
with an elemental property. The help text for skills like Lightning Stab declare that they're Lightning Elemental, but this
is untrue, except when channeled through a Coral Sword.

Well, regardless we can exploit this.



Move to the corner. Wiegraf should move to the top here, with you well out of range of any of his attacks.

The Chameleon Robe can be purchased well before this fight. While equipped, the unit will absorb any Holy attacks sent
their way. Most players will cheese this with a Calculator and the Priest's Holy skill, but equipping this against Wiegraf
will prevent him from willinging attacking you with ANY of his Holy Sword skills. Again, I'm not enough of a code monkey
to tell you why the AI does this, but you can feel safe knowing that you're safe from his most dangerous blows this
way.

Note: Bards cannot equip the Chameleon Robe so this wouldn't have been an option for me anyway.



Move to this square (in the left screenshot). Wiegraf should move four squares left, still well out of range. When he
does that, move to the square in the right screenshot. Wiegraf will move right four squares. Congrats! You can simply
move left and right, waiting on the square until the AI moves Wiegraf four left and then four right over and over again
in a futile attempt to ever get close to you.

Of course, Wiegraf will still use his Monk Skills on you, those being Earth Slash and Wave Punch. Feather Boots will
prevent him from using Earth Slash on you (since it can't hit you) leaving on his normal attacks and Wave Fist left.
Surely that's enough to take care of him?

Failing that, one tactic you can do to avoid Lightning Stab is to move back and forth so you're not in range of Stab,
but close enough that Wiegraf can move and hit you with Earth Slash. You'll still be taking damage, but Earth Slash hits
much softer than Lightning Stab does; doing this requires moving back and forth between two squares in the south,
while Wiegraf Earth Slashes from the water.



You can keep this up until you get to at least 20 speed. I recommend going a bit higher, to 25 speed. Keep in mind that
you need this much because even with twice his Speed (Wiegraf's is 8, so twice would be 16 Speed) he's going to
often be keeping 20 of it since he won't be using any command, while you will be spending 20 everytime keeping your
singing up.

From here, you can either Battle or Magic Song yourself up, so your Ramia Harp hits harder, but it's not necessary. It
will make the next part slightly easier (and easier is good for the next part). I'm trying to keep Ramza's experience as
low as I can, so we'll only be Battle Songing while we're waiting for Wiegraf to get close enough.

From here we've got enough Speed that we should be able to use hit and run tactics. Let Wiegraf move as close as he
can to you before you're in danger of him being close enough to use Lightning Stab, then move close enough to make
an attack with your musical instrument. Wiegraf has a high evasion due to his shield, so you'll probably miss fairly often;
there's not much you can do about that without getting enough Speed to reliable move behind him before attacking.
For our purposes we'll just be stubborn and keep dealing with his shield evasion.

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



Ramza: The legends we believed in were all lies!



Wiegraf: Governments falsify history only so it favors
them. But you can't blame them. Because people always
hope for a 'miracle'. Endlessly complaining, lazy,
nuisances... that's what the masses really are.

Governments give the people what they want... and history
repeats itself. Governments might well have taken advan-
tage of their insecurity..... But then again, people are
satisfied being used... 'God' is nothing but an image created
out of their insecurity.



Ramza: And what about you?











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

Beating Wiegraf down to zero is unnecessary; getting him to critical status is enough. Are you guys ready for the real
fight?

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

(The Pervert)

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

I think most people who take Wiegraf out with liberal use of Yell and Accumulate (or use Ninjas with Two Swords) can't
really appreciate how difficult this fight is under normal circumstances.

Velius, perhaps better translated as Belias (as it was in War of the Lions) was apparently a demon in the Bible. His
name can mean "Father of Lies." Like Queklain before him, he would later appear as a "Summon" of sorts in Final
Fantasy XII.

He definitely has one of the cooler designs in the game, and is certainly the most memorable Zodiac Demon you'll face.
The most comparable fight in the game to this one is the 'solo' fight with Gafgarion way back in Chapter 2, and let's be
honest: Gafgarion is no Wiegraf. I'm not about to give Wiegy some sort of "best villain ever" status (hardly) but the
game promises a memorable fight with him, and it delivers.

If nothing, Wiegraf/Velius is the source of a lot of frustration to newer players, and in a weird way I respect that
(despite it kind of being a terrible design choice).



Velius is extremely powerful, with innate Short Charge to power out his Titan and Cyclops summons. The former hits like
a truck; the latter will obliterate units. Backing him up are a trio of Archaic Demons, who themselves can cast some
fast and powerful magic at the party.

If you've used a lot of stat boosting effects to beat Wiegraf, congrats! They'll carry over. Otherwise, let's see what
you can expect from this fight...

Velius is immune to the following status effects: Dead, Undead, Petrify, Invite, Confusion, Oil, Float, Reraise, Berserk,
Chicken, Frog, Poison, Regen, Stop, Faith, Innocent, Charm, Sleep, Don't Act, and Death Sentence. He's still a Virgo, so
your Ramza's compatibility will continue to matter.

Slow works as usual, and Silence does too! Of course, whether you want to actually Silence Velius is a question you'll
have to decide yourself. We'll go into his abilities soon!



Why is Velius a Virgo anyway? That's not the Virgo stone at all! That's the Aries one! Well, perhaps the best explan-
ation is that the stone itself isn't evil, it's the demon living inside of it. Of course, one of the stranger aspects of the
stones is that unlike Count Draclau/Queklain before him, Velius is gender neutral, and thus can't have best/worst
compatibility with any unit (Queklain correctly had male compatability with other units). This is true for the majority
of Zodiac Demons in this game, the exceptions apparently being those users whose sign match the stones they
possess. I don't know if that's true, but it's interesting!

The demons meanwhile are just, uh, demons. But examining them reveals that they're ancient, and probably born
around the same time as someone like Velius (albeit probably less powerful). They get random names that I believe are
chosen from the list of Monster Names, so sometimes you can get one with a cute name (I didn't).



Velius has three "Fear" abilities and three Summon abilities. The Summons you will recognize as Titan, Lich, and
Cyclops. Due to Velius's innate Short Charge, these all come out extremely fast! Velius will often use Titan and Cyclops;
Lich is used very rarely given that most times, Cyclops will outright kill your units anyway.

Of the Fear abilities, the one that Velius will use (especially if you Silence him) is Seal, with is 100% petrification. You
can use Jade Armlets to prevent this, but it's really a lot less dangerous than his powerful summons, since Petrification
is easier to cure than death is. His other two abilities, Lose Voice (100% Silence) and Loss (100% Confusion) will pretty
much only be used if he's silenced and you're immune to petrification.



The Archiac Demons meanwhile have three abilities themselves, along with Short Charge (although it only effects one
of their skills).

Lifebreak is one of those skills that deals damage equal to the HP the unit has lost. The demons don't tend to have
much HP, and their other two abilities tend to hit about as hard (and at a distance), so they'll usually only use this if
you've charmed one of their buddies (it'll break Charm and Confusion, even if it deals 0 damage).

Dark Holy works pretty much exactly like the Priest's Holy does, except it's (thankfully) a lot less powerful. Giga Flare is
their last move, and it's powerful instant cast, and ignores Faith values. Worse of all, it takes up a giant area of space,
but is crippled with height restrictions (it's effectively a "3 wide 0 height, or 3,0" spell). Still, with three Demons to cast
them, they can take down most units pretty quickly.

Velius has about 950 HP, and at the rate he'll burn through your guys you have to deal a lot of damage quickly to
survive. Effects like Demi, Drain Life, and Lich (which remove a % of HP) are powerful here, given Velius's massive HP.
Jump is particularly great if you can get Velius to target a summon on that unit; as long as the unit gets to move
before the summon finishes casting, the unit can Jump on Velius, dealing damage and avoiding the Summon entirely.

I tried to get cute with using Solution on Velius, and while it reduces the damage from his summons significantly, this
fight is really a damage race.

Speaking of races, if you've buffed Ramza's Speed up (either by Yell or Cheer Song), make sure you don't let Ramza get
killed! Units with high speed crystallize quicker than units with a slow speed. If Ramza is killed either by Velius or (likely)
the Archaic Demons when he has over 20 Speed, you'll have at best two turns to kill Velius or revive Ramza! This can
(and has) led to a few game overs, I'm ashamed to admit.




Like Brickroad, when I cut it, I cut it close. Make no mistake, if this attack by Ramza didn't kill Velius, I would have lost.

Well there you have it, one of the hardest battles in the game, done with a Bard. Note that doing it solo would simply
involve more 'stat grinding' on Wiegraf; grab 50 Speed and as much PA you can stand to get, and go to town.

Finally, apologies for not getting a video of this. I'm keeping a save so I can try and record it in the future if I can tho!

Next time: another hard battle! And it involves protecting Rafa. Great

See you next update!

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

(Ramza hears a female scream.)

Bonus Money: 14,400 Gil

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

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

(Scene: Vormav and the Zodiac Demon have laid waste to
Riovanes defenders. As Alma wades through the bloodbath,
she comes across Izlude, who has not been spared from
his father's wrath.)

(Cardinal's Anger)

(Alma glances around at the carnage Vormov has wrought,
her hands trying to cover her desire to scream.)



(Alma rushes down to help Izlude.)







Izlude: Tell your brother... the stone... has 'evil power'...
He's not... my father... the power made him... Lucavi...
...hack...cough...

(Izlude coughs up blood.)

Alma: Please don't try to talk...

Izlude: What Ramza said was true... The world will end... if
we don't kill him... Tell everyone... not time to fight... must
cooperate...



Alma: My brother killed him. So you don't need to fight.

Izlude: Really? That's a relief... The stone is... in my
jacket. Give it.... to your brother...

(Alma roots in Izlude's robe, and pulls out one of the Holy
Stones.)



(Alma tucks it under her own clothes.)

Alma: I'll be sure to do that.







(Vormav enters the room. He's completely uninjured.)



(Alma backs up, as Vormav approaches.)

Vormav: Don't fear. You won't suffer....

(As Velius approaches Alma, he stops suddenly, as he
hears the death screams of Velius.)





Vormav: Now, come here.....

(Vormav looks at Alma.)

Vormav: You... can't be...



Vormav: I thought it would take 100 years to find you!
I never dreamed you were the one!



Vormav: No need to fear. I won't kill you. Now come here!

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

To be continued...

So guess who's birthday's comming up next week? Guess who gave Ramza his own birthday the first time he played? And guess who Wiegraf has good compatibility with? Go ahead, just guess. Hint: it begins with a D.

I have no clue how I finished this one with just auto-potion up my sleeve the first time.

Fantastic as always, Eddie.

Ah Weigraf. I can still remember the first time I beat him, and the group I used. I felt like a champ. I had auto-potion, but otherwise there was no cheesery going on.

The upcoming battle is one of my favorites, largely because it was one of the first that really made me realize that there was far more going on behind the scenes in the game's plot than I was aware of. Also, the song "Requiem" is excellent.

I, too, used my own birthday for Ramza's Zodiac sign the first time around, and ended up fighting Wiegraf and Velius as a Capricorn. I believe that may have led to the first time I ever used GameFAQS.

Wiegraf vs. Bard. Holy crap, you did it. That was amazing, and not because you succeeded, but because you took the time to analyze the duel to such minute degree. Incredible!