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

i believe Holy Sword uses the right sword for calculating damage. I'll try and remember to test it out.

I'll expand on this later in my LP, but Turnip's explanation is more or less correct.

EVERY class has a "multiplier" that affects a classes BASE HP, MP, PA, Ma, and Speed. For example, a Wizards speed multiplier is 100, which gives it an average speed (most classes have this). A Priest's speed multiplier is 110; for every 10 base speed they have, they'll get one more. Calculators speed multiplier is 50, so their speed is half that of a Wizard (and the reason they're so slow).

Multipliers DO NOT affect growth rate! They're pure quick and dirty modifiers.

EVERY class has a "growth rate" that very subtlety affects a classes >BASE< HP, MP, PA, Ma, and Speed. When a unit levels up, the class you're in adds a small number (we're talking a decimal for stuff like PA and MA) that slowly, with enough levels, will result in an increase. THIS is what people 'abuse.'

If you level in a class with a high PA growth rate, like Knight or Lancer, you'll end up with a large amount of strength. If you level DOWN as a Knight of Lancer, you'd of course lose all that gain.

But what if you leveled down in a class with a low PA growth rate?

Bards have the worst PA growth rate in the game. If you level down as one, the game keeps subtracting roughly the same amount of PA you would have otherwise gained as a Bard; thus, at the end you end up with a net GAIN in PA. You can then do this over and over until your PA is at a ridiculous level.

- Eddie

OHHHH. it all makes sense now.

High praise indeed!

This LP is pretty great so far, and encouraged me to start up a new game of Tactics, which I'm playing pretty differently than I usually do - I discovered the mighty power of Oracles, for starters, and figured out that Ninja + Martial Arts is even more of a "win" button than Cid. That shit is just ridiculous, especially when combined with the other Monk skills.

On the other hand, now I'm wondering how I ever managed to powerlevel Ramza into a calculator by the end of Chapter 2, which, believe it or not, used to be one of my main strategies for fighting Gafgarion.

In the spirit of the FF6 limits thread, I propose somebody play a game with only Ramza and a group of monsters as his posse. I'm not crazy enough to do it, but I bet somebody has.

Welcome back to Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics! Sorry about the delay between this and the last post; you know
what they say about saving often when working on a large text of work?

I mentioned last time that this is the point of the game where the gloves come off, and I meant it. I imagine that
many new players might have gone through the first three battles, perhaps fought a random battle or two on the
way here... and then got curb stomped.

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

Dorter Slums

(Scene: in a dingy corner of Dorter Trade City, a confront-
ation is underway between two men. One wears a scarf
and white cloak, with tidy blonde hair. The other does
not want to be having this discussion.)



(The fencer tries to walk away, but is stopped by the
other man.)



Knight: Where is Gustav? Where!?

(The Fencer backs into the shanty wall behind him.)



Knight: Speak!!

(The Knight grabs the Fencer by the scruff, and tosses
him into the mud. The Fencer crawls backwards pathet-
ically. It begins to lightly rain. The Knight draws his sword.)



Fencer: D....desert.....

(The Knight sheathes his weapon.)

Knight: I see... in "Rat Cellar"...

(Ramza and crew walk in from the north.)


Wait he said. Do I look like a waiter?

Knight: Damn, the Hokuten.

(The Knight exits left.)

Algus: Looks like our trip here was well worth it.



Delita: I saw him at the end of the Fifty Year War in
Igros...



Delita: Leader of a volunteer army, a corps of the Death
Knights.

Algus: What? .... You mean he's the....?

Delita: Yes... The leader of the Death Corps.

(Out of the shadowy corners of the slum, some men
appear, advancing on the Hadouken Knights with the
Fencer.)



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

This map is one of my favorites in the game, despite being brutally difficult compared to the preceding battles, for
several reasons:

1) The terrain puts you at a huge disadvantage. Archers in the Mandalia Plains and Sweegy Woods, if you've created
any, probably seem rather weak. Your first ranged weapon is a crossbow, a weapon that, combined with the relatively
flat terrain in the preceding maps, does nothing to make ranged weapons look good. Well, in this map you've got two
on top of large buildings, sniping you with incredible range.

2) If you don't carry at least one person who can revive the dead, you're likely going to have problems. Despite not
being a sexy job, having someone (preferably two!) around to toss a Phoenix Down (or three) around will not only
prevent you from rushing to finish the battle, it potentially will allow you to stick around and collect crystals. A unit
that you cannot revive puts you on a strict time limit to finish the battle! This is a good lesson to bring into every
battle; it's very rare that an enemy can revive another, so you can often win by simply outlasting the enemy, rather
than attempting to win quickly with big attacks.

3) As the first real fight with advanced classes (the Thief you fight in Mandalia Plains barely counts) it showcases the
raw power of the Wizard, and the merits of ranged units holding the high ground.



Ramza's turn rolls around, and as is most Time Mages' first turn routines, we take the opportunity to Haste some of our
units.



You know what? Something seems odd with these numbers...

Ramza (Faith: 70) has a 91% chance to hit himself. He has an 85% chance to successful cast Haste on Sullivan (Faith:
66), 100% chance to hit Jean Faith: 67) and a dicey 57% chance to buff Algus (Faith: 59).

It seems odd that with only slightly higher faith compared to Sullivan, Jean's chance to get buffed raises 15%! Likewise,
while Algus's faith is nothing to put on a resume, to drop 28% compared to Sullvian for seven less faith is a bit extreme!
There has to be something else other than "Faith" messing with our numbers. In case listing each units' astrological sign
in the image above wasn't enough of a hint, these character's birthdays are what's fussing with the values!

Zodiac Compatibility

NOTE: Before I get into this, I want to let all you would-be optimizers that understanding Zodiac Compatibility in FFT
is completely unnecessary in order to play the game. Knowing that it alters roughly half of all actions is enough; most
enemy zodiac signs are completely random when you start a battle, so for the majority (admittedly not all, but most) of
fights you face, it's going to be tedious to get the game to hand you enemies with the compatibility you desire. In
other words, DON'T OPTIMIZE FOR THIS UNLESS YOU'RE CRAZY (LIKE A FOX)!

At the start of the game, the player is given the choice to enter a birthday. Just like in real life, the day a character
was born determines their astrological sign. You've likely seen horoscopes in newspapers and (if supermarkets outside
Canada are anything like ours) next to the Archie comics when you're waiting in line to pay your groceries.

One thing Horoscopes do, aside from enthralling billions into believing that the position of stars and planets highly
influence the minutia of your life and personality, is reputedly determining your compatibility with other people. I'm no
expert in astrology (thanks Wikipedia for the save!), but here's the fluff:

Each astrological sign is associated with one of the classical elements: earth, fire, air, water. People who share the
same element likely share similar properties (such as intellect, creative energy, or imagination). Each sign also has one
of "Three Qualities" associated with it: Cardinal, Fixed, or Mutable. These are associated fairly heavily with personality.

The fluff translates into Final Fantasy Tactics from these aspects. characters that share the same element receive a
boost to the effects, while characters that share one of the Three Qualities will receive a penalty. The exception is
someone on the exact opposite end of the zodiac wheel and who is the opposite gender (there are no transgender
units in FFT technically, although there are two exceptions that sort of count). You could call this as "opposites
attract," except... I guess technically they should share some of your personality?

Look, I told you I wasn't an expert.

Now here's how to read it for those who only want to answer the burning question, "how does this affect my game?"
Take your sign, and then look at this terrible looking chart:

Zodiac compatibility modifies your Physical Attack (PA) or Magical Attack (MA) stat (depending on which stat an ability
uses) when you're dealing with other people.

• If you have good compatibility, your PA/MA is increased roughly by 25%.
• If you have bad compatibility, your PA/MA is decreased by roughly 25%.
• If you have best compatibility, your PA/MA is increased by roughly 50%.
• If you have worst compatibility, your PA/MA is decreased by roughly 50%.

Since Ramza is a Sagittarius, he likes Aries and Leos. Jean is a Leo, thus Ramza has a higher chance of hitting him.
Sullivan is a Taurus; his compatibility with Ramza is neutral. Algus meanwhile, is a Virgo, which like Pisces, Ramza
dislikes. If Ramza's MA was 8, he would cast spells on Aries and Leos as if it was actually 10, while Virgos and Pisces
would pretend his MA is 6.

And you thought it was just because Algus is a douche.



The Best/Worst compatibility is reserved for someone at the opposite end of the Zodiac Wheel, which for Ramza would
be a Gemini. When facing a male Gemini, Ramza is considered to have "worst compatibility." When facing a female
Gemini, Ramza is considered to have "best" compatibility. Looking back to the mechanics, a MA 8 Ramza would cast a
spell on a Male Gemini as if he had an MA of 4, while a female Gemini would react as if Ramza had a 12 MA.

Monsters are a special case, because despite clogging your roster with eggs, all monsters are considered genderless. In
this case, instead of being "Best" or "Worst," these monsters are simply considered "Bad" compatibility. It's interesting
to note however (spoiler that some boss monsters are considered "genderless", while others are considered "males."
Queklain is considered a male, while Velius is considered a monster.

It's technically possible to gain a small edge out of the game by aiming to defeat Virgos; there are more boss /
"assassination" type missions against Virgos than any other signs. In addition, there are two one-on-one boss fights
against Virgos. You could go one of two ways with it, either going for good compatibility (Taurus or Capricorn) or bad
(Gemini or Sagittarius). Keep in mind that compatibility works both ways! If you're dealing 25% more damage to an e
nemy, it is dealing 25% more damage to you!



The other way to attempt to 'abuse' compatibility is to only use units that share the same "element" (fire, air, water,
earth... see one of the tables above, since zodiac "elements" are not listed in the game). You'll always ensure good
compatibility amongst your own units that way! In my Ramza's case, that would mean recruiting only Leos and Aries
units, which would share good compatibility amongst themselves as well. A more extreme 'abuse' would be only recruit-
ing females that would give you a "best" compatibility. For a Sagittarius, that again be female Geminis.

You have no control over the birthdays of the special characters you get, but you can still match Ramza's birthday
up! Here is the list, without names, should you REALLY want to be crazy about optimizing, here are the signs of the
special characters you can recruit. spoilered of course (thanks to the Zodiac Compatibility Guide for birthdays):

Earth: Meliadoul (Capricorn)

Air: Mustadio (Libra), Malak (Gemini), Beowulf (Libra), Worker 8 (Gemini), Cloud (Aquarius).

Water: Agrias (Cancer), Rafa (Pisces), Orlandu (Scorpio), Reis (Pisces).[/LIST]
Pick Gemini for Ramza's birthday if you want the best compatibility with the majority of special units AND a unit that has
bad compatibility with Virgos.

There is slim pickings for signs that share good compatibility for Earth (for Virgo), but Taurus will at least avoid bad
compatibility with anyone else (Capricorn would conflict with Malak, Worker 8, and Orlandu).

Yes, there are no special characters whose Zodiac element is Fire! Well, that's not entirely true, but I don't think the
generics you can recruit at the start of chapter 2 count!

But honestly, if you're purpose is to gave fun with the game, give Ramza whatever birthday you want, and recruit the
people whose names/classes/whatever you enjoy!

Now that that's done, lets talk strategy:

Algus and Delita will make a bee-line for the Archer standing at the top of the tall building next to where you begin, and
by bee-line I mean "going to take 3 or 4 rounds to do much more than move." Meanwhile, this leaves Ramza and your
three lackeys to handle a 2nd Archer, a Knight, and two Wizards (one of the Archers is amusingly unarmed, but he too
tends to go after Algus/Delita which ties them up further. Still, his unarmed hits will be weak). You're stuck between a
rock and a hard place here; you have three choices:

1) Rush out and try and take the Wizards down quickly. You're likely to eat magic early this way, and you're likely to be
forced to bunch your units in a way where the mages will be able to nuke more than one at a time (the uneven terrain
helps crowd our units up), but two good hits are likely to take out either wizard.

2) Hold your units back a bit, so they can spread out and best prevent the mages from hitting more than one unit.
You'll likely take a lot of damage this way, but with enough healers (and barring some bad luck) you'll be able to control
the flow of battle better. Spells like Haste and Shell help tremendously here.

3) Climb up the building after Delita and Algus. It will stave off the damage for a bit, but you'll need to have characters
with a fairly good jump skill to climb the building quickly. Monks and Thieves (which are party has) will shine with this
tactic.



We're going to go with option 2 despite our above average jump values. Taking those Wizards out as early as you can
is the best way to ensure they don't tear you to shreds with their magic, but a little caution will allow us to control the
pace of the battle. I've got three units who can use Phoenix Downs, so as long as I'm careful, they're unlikely to be
able to kill my guys as fast as I can revive and heal them.

Before we get too far into the battle, let's talk about our next class: Archers!

Archers

I'd like to think that Archers are somewhat under appreciated in FFT. Their skill set, Charge, is fairly underwhelm-
ing. You'll see a lot of early enemy units using it, but you find out quickly that the abilities are only good in small
doses. In addition, Charge is very weak unless paired with a class that can deal ranged damage; like a caster, a
unit is more vulnerable while building force for their attacks, making it a poor choice for melee characters who are
usually going to be in range of a few enemy units.

The skill doesn't use "CT" (Charge Time), it uses "Clockticks." It might be confusing, but I'll try and explain it well.

Charge Time, Clockticks, and Speed

Clockticks are the measurement of time that occur, one at a time, when no unit is currently at 100 CT. Charge Time
is gained based on speed; someone who starts at 20 CT and has a speed of 5 requires 16 clockticks ((100 - 20)/5)
to get to 100 CT (and get their turn). If their speed was instead 6, they'd require 14 clockticks to hit 100 from
20 CT. Thus the effect of speed is very noticeable!

So let's take the Archer's Charge +4 skill: it requires 8 clockticks to cast. That means every unit (including the
Archer) must gain their speed x8 before the Charge +4 "goes off," meaning that if they've got 5 speed, they'll gain
40 CT, 6 speed will gain them 48 CT, etc. This can potentially be troublesome if enemy units go before you do!

Now, all 'Charge' abilities use "clockticks" to determine when they go off, just like spells. The big difference however, is
that Charge skills do not work with the Time Mage's "Short Charge," so keep that in mind.

To use an archer effectively, you best bet it to give it the Knight's "Battle Skill." The ability to break weapons and
lower attack power from a distance is very helpful. It's unfortunately the only skill set that pairs well with bows
(aside from a certain character's "Engineering" skill set...).



Archer Traits

Prerequisite: Lv. 2 Squire
Weapons: Bow, Crossbow, Shield
Helmet: Hat
Armor: Clothes

Move: 3
Jump: 3
Physical Evasion Rate: 10%

Abilities to get: Charge +1, Charge +2, Speed Save

Class Skill: Charge
Charge +1: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 4 clockticks, JP Cost: 100
("Charge" works a little differently than other skills. It modifies your PA or MA depending on your weapon.)

Charge +2: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 5 clockticks, JP Cost: 150
(If you used Charge +2 with a sword, you would swing as if your PA was two points higher.)

Charge +3: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 6 clockticks, JP Cost: 200
(The game doesn't list it, but you can find the "clockticks" time here or in the Battle Mechanics FAQ.)

Charge +4: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 8 clockticks, JP Cost: 250
(This "Clockticks" is when your attack would actually go off. If you or the unit moves before the "clockticks" finish, the
attack is ruined.)



Charge +5: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 10 clockticks, JP Cost: 300
(Neither raising your units speed or using the Time Mage ability "Short Charge" reduces this charge time, although a
high speed increases the chance you'll get a lucky difference in speed that would allow you to hit a target with a high
Charge attack.)

Charge +7: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 14 clockticks, JP Cost: 400
(But really, Charge suffers from three big drawbacks: it's not versatile, it's unwieldy and expensive!)

Charge +10: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 20 clockticks, JP Cost: 600
(If you want to use the higher "Charge" attacks, pair with a partner who has something like the Oracle's "Don't Move"
spell.)

Charge +20: Attack requires charging. The more you charge, the stronger attack power will be.
CT: 35 clockticks, JP Cost: 1000
(So only grab the first few, this is not a skill set that can be considered a "keeper.")



Reaction Abilities:
Speed Save: Raise Speed. Trigger: HP Damage. [Raises Speed by 1]
JP Cost: 800
(An excellent Reaction ability, Speed Save can raise a character's speed over the course of a battle to ridiculous heights.

Arrow Guard: Evade bow/crossbow attack. Trigger: Bow/crossbow attack.
JP Cost: 450
(Completely underwhelming.)

Support Abilities:
Equip Crossbow Equip crossbow regardless of job.
JP Cost: 350
(So few classes really benefit from a ranged weapon... so why give them one?)

Concentrate: Cannot evade your attacks. If enemy is in targeted panel, attack is sure to succeed.
JP Cost: 400
(This ability can be really good when trying to steal equipment from enemies with Accessories that boost evasion, or
attacking people who have a shield equipped. Note however, that this only removes the evasion of the unit you're
targeting; an attack that does not have a natural 100% chance of hitting can still "miss." Concentrate has no effect
on magic.)

Move Ability:
Jump +1: Increase jump elevation by 1.
JP Cost: 200
(An ability like Jump +1 is useful, but unless you're playing on maps that play with height, you're better off with Move
+1; it's always useful.)



I got a bit lucky on this map; Sissie (Monk) snags MVP for this one, even solely for using her high movement and
jump to reach and take out one of the enemy Wizards while he was charging his first spell, which likely saved us a
lot of grief. She ended up sacrificing herself in order to take out the second Wizard; While Monks have a lot of HP,
even they can only survive getting nuked and shot at for so long. What resulted was a comical attempt to revive
her. while Phoenix Downs are a quick and easy way of picking someone back up (and resetting their "death"
counter), a stiff breeze will knock them back down. It took about three attempts before I got enough ally turns to
both revive and give the poor Monk a potion.

Wizards like Sullivan are suboptimal on a map like this. The battle in Sweegy Woods shows how powerful magic
can be if you can catch enough units its area of effect. Enemy Archers and Wizards are rarely going to be standing
close enough for a Wizard to move in safely and nuke. Arrows out range you, and enemy units love shooting
arrows into your face while your unit is charging a spell (hence causing you to take extra damage).



Keeping Sissie standing allowed Ramza to collect a few abilities from a crystal. As the screenshot shows, the skills
that Ramza gained were not anything spectacular, but it's still essentially free JP. Algus ended up snagging the
other crystal that dropped, which was a bummer. Computer controlled units will usually always grab crystals that
are within their reach. It's especially important to keep units that can use MP away from them, because not only
will they refill their HP, they'll have a bar full of MP to use, a situation which is always undesirable.

Now, there are several other things you can do to make this battle easier on yourself. The easiest one is probably
to level your units at the Sweegy Woods or Mandalia Plains. I went into this battle with level 4 characters, and
that is probably the minimum level (barring abuse) that you can expect to win this battle without pulling your hair
out.

I'm going to try and keep within one level of the enemies; it makes the battles a lot more interesting! Speaking of
battles, this long delayed one is now over!

Next time on Let's Play Final Fantasy Tactics: Cornered like a Rat!

Bonus Gil: 2,200 gil
War Trophies: 500 gil, Iron Sword, Linen Robe

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

(Scene: Ramza, Algus, and Delita have brought the Fencer
into a building to interrogate him.)



Algus: Where is the Marquis? Where is he being held?
Tell us!!

(The Fencer remains silent.)

Algus: Your boss, Wiegraf was just here. Where did he
go!?

(The Fencer continues to hold his tongue.)



(Algus kicks the Fencer down, then grabs him by the hair.)



Algus: Damn. (He lets go of the captive Fencer and stands
up.) ... Listen carefully.



Algus: That's right, each of you're going straight to hell.
Being a thief sure pays, huh? But you're lucky. You tell us
where Wiegrad is going, and I'll let you live. OK?

Fencer: I don't know a damn thing.


SHOW YOUR MOVES!

Algus: Watch your language! Never talk to nobles like
that.



Fencer: ...Nobles never change. You think we aren't
human. We risk our lives in the War for this country.....



Fencer: ... Kidnapping the Marquis was not Mr.Wiegraf's
plan.

Algus: !?



Fencer: .......

Algus: Talk! If it wasn't you, then who else would do it?

Fencer: ....Gustav.

Algus: Gustav? Who the hell is he?



(The Fencer struggles to his feet.)

Fencer: No. We're fighting to beat you! We're proud that
we fight for equality... We're different from Gustav!

(Algus kicks the fencer to the ground again.)



Ramza: Enough, Algus!

Algus: So, where is this Gustav?

Fencer: .... ' Sand Rat Cellar'.

Algus: Sand ra-a-a-ts?



Delita: 'Sand Rats' only inhabit the Zeklaus Desert north
of Dorter.

Algus: !?

Ramza: Was there a village between Dorter and Zeklaus
Desert?

Delita: Not anymore. But there is a place where desert
people used to gather...

Ramza: ..... Gustav and the Marquis may be there.

Delita: Yes, probably.



Algus: !?



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

To be continued...

Wow the archer skill set is... not particularly diverse, is it?

One of the biggest functional changes in Tactics Advance is that Archers are not only better designed, they're spun off into three classes that are all great - Archers, Hunters, and Snipers.

Yeah, I'm used to FFTA's Archers, which are great in the early game for spreading around blind, immobilize, and disable, and can still be a useful secondary skill set later. I never realized their FFT origins were so humble.

I'm liking the LP though because I always have wanted to play the original FFT. If I ever get a PSP, War of the Lions will be one of my first purchases.

I'd like to say that Charge is a good "boost" ability when you have a gunslinger, who can snipe off an enemy's legs with Don't Move. Then he (or another unit) can prepare a Charge and keep the enemy immobilized before delivering a critical hit. But in the time a decent Charged attack goes off, you could have probably bum-rushed that same enemy and moved on to other things. Also, unlike spells, Charge requires you to remain in the target's range, making your unit a sitting duck all the same.

Their true secret origin was in Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, where They Were As Gods.

Charge is probably the worst skill set available to the player.

Archers are pretty worthless but there are a few maps where you can use Ignore Height and just perch somewhere and go to town on everyone.

The last time I played through I had a blast with Archers early on. I gave them Ignore Height or Teleport coupled with the Knights' equipment breaks. It was great to render enemies near useless then coerce them into joining me via a Mediator.

Oh, and Eddie, is it possible we will take some summer courses with Professor Daravon soon?

You know that would just be giving me an excuse to do even less copy editting than I normally do right?

- Eddie

After reading the great write up about magic last time, I went into this battle with my highest faith (a generic male) as a wizard and ramza having yell. I was confident that with my new understanding of magic, I could win...

I restarted this battle 3 times before I managed to win the fight without heavy losses.

This last post kinda boggled my mind some... I come to find out that archers are really not 1/2 as cool as their FFTA counterparts and that there's all this compatabilibuddy stuff. Its a lot to digest in one update. I may have to read that one more than once. I do have to say the explaination was very good and the charts and pictures were VERY helpful in understanding the zodiac system in this game.

Zodiac compatibility should be considered just 'one of those things' running in the background of the game. It's difficult to explain easily, and I think part of the problem is that I'm telling you 'how to use it' while at the same time telling you to ignore it.

So here's what you REALLY need to know about Zodiac Compatability:

There is simply too much going on to worry about it.

- Eddie

So wait, if I pick Virgo for my Zodiac with Ramza, it'll make my game harder?

If so, damn me for putting in my actual B-day for that then (Sept 22).

Bah, I always make Ramza a Capricorn and never look back. Funny, though, didn't know Mel was a Capricorn too --I always felt bad for her being rendered pointless by Cid, but she works very nicely as a Dark Knight.

I knew this would be rough.

If you are a Virgo, on the fights where you are fighting Virgos, you will have a neutral compatibility. You will neither deal nor receive extra damage.

Characters who have a "bad" or "worse" compatibility with Virgos will find greater success in "buffing up." They'll take less damage, and while they deal less back, they won't have the heal as much. The battle can drag out longer. Curing and stat boosts will be really helpful, since you can drag the fight out longer until you get a clear advantage.

Characters who have a "good" or "best" compatibility with Virgos will find greater success with going for the throat. You want to land the first attack, and hope you can stay ahead on damage. Speed is REALLY important here, as are spells like Protect.

There is no AWESOME advantage or disadvantage to being "good" or "bad" compatibility since it works both ways. It's simply a modifier to the fight. One area where it could make a difference is in raw power; if you're a higher level, you want "good" compatibility, if you're a lower level you'd prefer "bad."

And if you're neutral? Play it your way baby.

- Eddie

Oh, ok then.

Ahhhh!

I actually created a wheel (well, two circles of translucent paper) that I could spin to quickly check compatibility. You can always just use Select to find out your guy's compatibility too.

This LP is so full of delicious information.

Hell, I've played through this game more times than I can count and in my most recent play I still had to try Dorter three times before I got through without losing units. This here is what my second try looked like:

Note that those units with death timers aren't mine.

My first attempt spoiled because I forgot that one of my characters did not have the "Item" skillset equipped.

My second attempt was the one shown in the LP, which went off extremely well. I redid it a third time to test the "climb the building" strategy to see if it'd work too. It can work pretty well, since you delay the time until the Wizards start nuking you, and I pulled it off successfully, but it wasn't as interesting as fight #2 so...

- Eddie

I played this a bit last night, abusing the JP scroll glitch like mad to make it faster-paced. It was fun. I guess I didn't quite suck the game completely dry back when I was sinking ridiculous hours into it.

WHAT

My mind is blown!

Yeah, it's a pretty easy glitch and it accelerates things immensely. (When purchasing new abilities, in any menu that's long enough to scroll, select an ability, and with the "learn this? yes/no" dialog box up, hold the Square button and scroll the menu to some other ability that costs more. Your JP total for that job will usually go nuts at this point; leaving the menu and coming back will set it to 9999. This is particularly good for maxing out Lancer without earning a kajillion JP the hard way.)

Another way that I liked to play the game at an accelerated pace was with a gameshark code that simply stopped your JP from being reduced by purchasing abilities. That meant that the game still had a sense of development over time, which is important to maintaining interest in an RPG, but there was no grinding necessary.

Weather also affects elemental magics as well in terms of damage outputs, but the effect is percentage based rather than a strict numerical one (if I'm remembering right), and is so small that it's only really noticeable at the third and fourth tier elemental magics when even small percentages show up with mid-hundreds for damage ranges.

It goes something like this:

Rain/Storm: Fire down/Bolt up
Snow: Ice up/Bolt down (don't ask me why, but it does work like this)
Sunny/Cloudy: Neutral

You only get the bolt bonus and fire penalty during thunderstorms and heavy rain. Light rain is neutral. Chapter 1 has a LOT of thunderstorms, as do random battles in the winter months.

Same deal with snowstorms. The snow has to be very heavy (moving sideways, practically) to get the bonus. I don't think there is any penalty to bolt during snowstorms. You only see snow in a few plot battles anyway, but it's cool.

The above stuff is canceled by the caster having movement ability "Any Weather", which is just another reason to never bother with those esoteric skills.

You also get an evasion bonus against archery during heavy rain or thunderstorms, and at night (they stack.)

Storms also affect your movement through water.

Yeah, that was definitely me the first time I played this game. The second time I got to the level which introduced Mustadio before I hit a wall. Third time was definitely the charm though.

Great LP, Eddie. It's really making me want to bust out my PSP and copy of War of the Lions again. Then I remember that I've got games of SRW:AG and Dragon Quest V going on and that really wouldn't be a good idea. Though I do think that once I polish off SRW I might have to pick up FFTA2.