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

Mimes aren't fun without a whole party to interact with. They're awesome with samurai, though.

It has by far the best weapon description I've seen in any game.

Of even less note, one of the Archers in the all-Archer battle should have a Yoichi Bow, so you can theoretically get 99 of them.

Wait...


Monsters (all of them) seriously needed magical evasion. And better reaction skills. Maybe some auto- or initial-status effects.

Instant ranged 999 damage < ?

Elidibs uses Midgar Swarm if he runs out of MP or if you reduce his Faith (the first two damage-reducing techniques I tried). Not sure if I've seen Snake Carrier.

You can keep Byblos safe by getting him Stoned Petrified. As a bonus, he won't interfere with the battle (by, say, killing Elidibs before you learn Zodiac).

Protection from Darkness is fairly worthless, and while protection from Sleep is okay, it's not a particularly common (or dangerous) element to get hit by as it's pretty easy to "cure".

Meanwhile it's +150 HP is good, but not leagues better than the purchasable Crystal Helm (+120 HP). Meanwhile, the Maximillian offer +200 HP over the Crystal Mail's +110 HP or Reflect Mail's +130 HP.

But perhaps this is a better exercise: Pretend you have to choose between the Grand Helmet and the Maximillian. Which would you take?

I don't remember Byblos doing obscene damage to Zodiac Bosses (only "really good" damage) but I'll check it out.

- Eddie

It's still more interesting than "oh, more HP" by itself, even if the HP boost isn't as large. I don't get much use out of Maximilian, anyway, because my Armor-class units usually wear robes for their magical secondary skill. I seriously consider Armor the least-interesting, least-useful equipment type in the game, even behind Katanas.

As I recall, the few you can use Difference on (including Elidibs) have at least 999 max MP. If you wait a while or use Magic Break to reduce their current MP, Difference will make less of a...n impact. Which is why you start with Difference and follow up with Climhazzard.

Okay then:

This.

If that's the case, who would people like to see as the mime?

Tabatha?
Sissie?
Jessica?
Someone new?

- Eddie

Junk.

Yup.

Tabatha

I've been using this let's play as a reference for my own play through, and it has helped me understand what makes the game tick in a format that is much easier to read than a wall of text I'd get from gamefaqs. It's a really good lp, I look forward to seeing it finish.

BTW, as for your final party stuff;

Ramza- Guts/Calculator/Auto-Potion/Two Swords/Teleport

Junk- Mime (that's...all a Mime can have equipped, right?)

Jean- Increase his faith a little, but whatever you've got looks good enough for me

Sullivan- Black Magic/Yin Yang Magic/Blade Grasp/Magic Attack Up/Move +3

Sissie- Monk/Chemist/Abandon/Two Swords/Teleport

Tabatha (equip with a lot of speed increasing items)- Ninja/Dancer/Adrenaline/Martial Arts/Teleport

Jessica- Whatever you've got already

Technically, Serpentarius isn't a zodiac sign but it is one of thirteen constellations that cross the ecliptic.

I have a theory that Serpentarius is TG Cid's actual zodiac sign and that's what makes him so powerful.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentarius
FF wiki - Serpentarius

I think Ophiuchus sounds really dumb so I don't use it.

Yeah, I got the game a couple months ago and the LP has been invaluable. I rage quit the game a few times before noticing the LP but once I did everything made sense. So glad you're doing this!

I figured a little compromise was in order...



Gender re-assignment complete! Get your weapons ready!

- EddieBlast

So... you got rid of Junk's Junk? *badum-tsh*

My, it's been a while! LP recap: I'm playing final Fantasy Tactics! I remember very little.



Thanks to the magic of a Gameshark (or at least, a program emulating a Gameshark) Junk is now officially a female.
Why? Because of a joke that happened ages ago. Much like the gender confused Time Mage from Deep Dungeon, Junk
will keep her male sprite, but for all intensive purposes the game now treats her as... a her.

It was funnier in August, I assure you! Please ignore the fact that it is on the same page as this post.

Now, I know that my LP does some very scary stuff from time to time. I know some of my choices have upset you.

This time, I felt it warrented to sit you down gently before I do something I cannot take back.

Viewer descretion is advised.



It's better this way guys. Or at least more dramatic.



Since we're now flying solo (sort of) There is little reason not to kit Ramza to the gills with our best equipment. The
Chaos Blade is of course, the strongest weapon in the game, whereas the Excalibur is strong, but more importantly
Auto-Hastes Ramza. The Thief Hat (+2 Speed) and Bracer (+3 PA) make us move quicker and hit harder. The Maximillian
is purely for HP; Not much is going to survive one hit of the Chaos Blade (It will deal ~500 damage per swing) and
anything that does survive needs to survive Excalibur (~260). I'm using Throw because Ramza can't really use much
else better; at this point outright killing people is more worthwhile than spending time using White or Yin-Yang Magic.

Of course, the biggest strike is that Junk is terrible at magic! With his Faith score of 3, nothing Ramza casts will be
mimed with any success. Throw at least allows a ranged attack that Junk can potentially copy for a useful effect.

Junk is of course going Au-naturael, as Mimes are wont to do.







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(Scene: Ramza and Junk descend into the basement or Orbonne Monastery. It was
difficult letting all his friends go, but Ramza had the feeling this wasn't something
everyone would be returning from. No, this was his sister, his responsibility. But he
needed someone to help Alma should the worst befall him.

Junk was his most trusted companion, someone who at the academy who had been
ridiculed for his weak spirit and magical ability had transformed himself into a
completely different person. Ramza's silent companion was the one he decided he
would entrust Alma to if needed.

As the last steps approached, the barked order from Rofel could be heard...)

(Rofel exits down the stairs towards the next basement floor.)

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There's not much to say; even being one of the last levels there are no surprises here. Your enemies are mix of Knights,
Monks, and Archers. The Knights are the biggest threat here as they'll now be sporting some shield technology that will
make them somewhat difficult to hit. As you may remember, attacking them from behind is the best solution, although
the wildly uneven terrain can make that difficult.

In case you were wondering (or I forgot to mention it) Mime's won't copy "Two Swords", but they will copy the weapon
in the main hand (the top slot). In this case, whenever Ramza swings, Junk will swing with a copied "Chaos Blade" for a
respectable average damage of ~465.

Of course, one of the big weaknesses of Mimes are that they are hard to "use". Most enemies are loathe to move in
front of a character (they prefer to attack from the side or behind to increase their chance to hit) so in this battle Junk
spends most of his copyability swingin' at air. Mime's can of course punch for a respectable amount of damage, but not
respectable enough to punch an enemy to death. By this point of the game, you should really be able to one shot
units, usually via Two Swords or powerful magic like Flare. And of course, Mimes have next to zero defense, only having
a paltry 5% dodge bonus. As strong as Mimes are PA wise, they best shine sticking next to a caster throw big spells
out.

A group of Knights of course also means that your equipment is at risk. The Maximilian that Ramza is wearing is
irreplaceable, but I've got like, 20 Thief Hats just lying around in my goodie bag. This is regrettable, but easily remedied
after the battle.



As Ramza can usually take one enemy on his turn, Junk falling prone is no cause to panic. It was bound to happen with
so many heavy hitters taking swings at him. We end up getting positioned such that the Monk nails him and Junk with a
Spin Punch. Hah! I hate that move. With him down, there is no opportunity to grab treasure and crystals, but that isn't
really a big concern. There isn't anything that Ramza could conceivably learn from these goons that would be worth
getting at this point, and we've got better gear than they do.



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A small change in strategy! This fight isn't very difficult with five people, but with two you've got to play this carefully.
Spoilers: our opponent is Rofel, who you may remember has a small line of equipment destroying abilities that work with
100% accuracy.

Risking the Chaos Blade is necessary if we're going to take him down in quick fashion, and he will prefer to destroy
armour first, which isn't a problem as long as the battle doesn't draw out. Losing a Power Sleeve ain't no thang, and
there certainly is no shame in wearing one, it IS one of the best armours in the game.




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(Scene: The final basement floor of Orbonne is in tatters; whatever has been going own
here has literally torn the place the pieces. A faint outline of some sort of magical ritual
has been burned into whatever floor remains. Below, Rofel waits with a cadre of mages.)

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If you plan on using physical attacks, Rofel presents a very tough nut to crack. Crystal Shield aside (40% physical
evade), the combination of Defense UP and the innate "Protect" ability of the Save the Queen means that any attack
that uses the PA stat will be effectively be reduced by 1/3rd, then reduced by 1/3rd yet again. In addition, Rofel uses
Weapon Guard, which adds roughly yet another 30% miss chance thanks to his Save the Queen being decent for that
skill too.

Magic is more or less your best bet for beating Rofel, particularly Summon Magic and Holy, as both will ignore his shield
too. This makes this fight pretty easy with a full roster.

To achieve a happy medium (and not tear my hair out), I threw Concentrate on Ramza to effectively ignore his high
evasion. Getting behind Rofel is tricky due to the terrain creating a lot of spaces that are completely inaccessible.
Ramza unfortunately can't do anything about the massive "PA" reduction. Junk suffers a similar problem, although luckily
Concentration is an innate ability for her.




The goal here is simple: take Rofel out. Keeping him alive will only let him break more of your equipment. The plan is to
hit Rofel twice with our Chaos Blade, which should bring him to critical status. As long as none of the enemy mages
generate with a powerful healing ability, this should allow Ramza to safely pick him off with a Thrown weapon, which
also gets the benefit of the Concentration ability.

As mentioned, this terrain is completely unfavorable for melee units. The distances "between" units are often hard to
judge, as needing to jump over or move around gaps is joined with sprites that can make it hard to tell what you can or
cannot stand on (particularly if using Teleport). Staying back will bring Rofel too you, but additionally you can get the
high ground, as limitedly useful as that is against a room full of mages.

Rofel will usually "break" out his Mighty Swords skills (ha ha ha) but he is equipped with a few Oracle abilities (Silence
Song, Confusion Song, and Petrify) but none of those are of serious concern. Junk is practically immune to them due to
his near lack of Faith. Ramza is much more susceptible, but the AI for Rofel will nearly always favor his Mighty Sword
abilities if given the option. Of course, Rofel uses Yin-Yang Magic on Junk because our loveable Mime is nude!




Ouch. This is why I didn't wear something nicer.

Junk, meanwhile, will distract the enemy mages, who as mentioned will be able to do very little to him. They will
actually do more (and prefer to use) physical attacks instead on him. This is of little consequence, as hopefully this will
be enough of a distraction to hit Rofel twice and retreat. He's strong enough that he can punch most of these mages
to death, although bad zodiac compatibility can sometimes force a second swing. The Summoners, as always, are the
most threatening here. Ramza's shield (the Escutcheon II) will bat any Black Magic away, and is under no threat of
being broken as the Mighty Sword people haven't figured out how to target those particular pieces of equipment..

I get lucky here, and Vormav decides to take a swing at me, despite having less than a 25% chance of succeeding. AI!


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Losing the Power Sleeve dropped our damage by about 60, but this swing will still be enough to bring Rofel to critical.
Instead of sticking nearby, we get Ramza to retreat so Rofel can't get off a final Mighty Sword skill before we can finish
him with whatever junk is lying around in our inventory. Spoiler: I used an Ice Brand. In retrospect I should have seen if
I had a dictionary lying around so I could throw the book at him.

We've got a few Ice Brands lying around collecting dust, and it is strong enough to drop Rofel to negative living, so it
becomes our weapon of choice to end this fight!

Sorry for the giant upate delay everyone! I won't patronize you and tell you that I will pump this sucker out in a timely
fashion, but I'm going to give it an honest try. At least this way, I've now beaten Brickroad at something.

We've got only a handful of fights left. Happy New Years guys!

See you next time!


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Some guy just trapped you in hell?

Rofl.

Ba-dum-tsh.

Come on Sissie, stop begging like that. It's embarrassing for both of us.

Junk: What's in this underground library?
Ramza: I just said that.
Junk: I just said that.
Ramza: Stop doing that.
Junk: Stop doing that.

...I.can't recover from the shock of those units being kicked.

FFT is back? I... I'm so happy!

It's like Christmas in January!

The text in the big magic circle was actually deciphered. It's the names of the Zodiac beasts, including those that don't actually appear in the game, years before FFXII. And Leviathan for some reason. Of course they went and changed them for FFXII, but it's still cool as hell.

BERIAS, DUMA, ZALHERA, ZEBBEB, HASHMURIM, ULTIMA, SEL, COCHLAIN, ROPHOCHELE, ADRAMELECH, CHERAUB, LEVIATHAN

Also FAIRY, GNOMES, SARAMANDER and UNDIMES; and in tiny letters too small to clearly make out are probably actual zodiac signs and north and south stars, all full of misspellings.

In Ivalice even the Sorcerers need spell-check, hur hur.