I played at the Demo a few months ago, and i didn't like it I really really like the FFs but this one i don't know, i think it's not like the others. Too much futurist and i don't like the battle system. Too far from the others, FF for me its the old age. The latest FFs was a little futurist but not like this one :P I know i must be the only one who hate FFXII but i had to say it ^^ I will buy it, but only when it'll become in Greatest It :P

Its like Baldurs Gate in how you have AI but in FFXII its called "Gambits" to make it sound innovative. Too bad its not. Auto attack like Baldurs Gate and KotoR. You can queue up attacks, spells, items or you have the AI do it full time in order of preference just like in Baldurs Gate and KotoR. The difference between this and KotoR and Baldurs gate is the AI can be applicable to the main character. You can actually not really play the game other than running around which is to get back MP. It has alot of cutscenes and they are not all spoken. Good graphics but the movement on the lips of the characters in the CG cutscenes is subpar compared to Advent Children.

You can setup the Gambit/AI system so you initiate the battles yourself and you can micromanage if you want and use wait mode and not use AI. Pretty much play the game how you want just like Baldurs Gate lol. This is different for a SE game and it is more Bioware style in that way. Also the enemies are out and in the field of battle like BG and KotoR and its not random battle like old FF games. You can't queue up attacks in FFXI and it doesn't have AI which is are things in BG and KotoR. Same with the running around for MP. You don't do that in FFXI lol. This game just has similar mob types and character types to a FF game. So far it is great. I can't wait til I get all the Espers. I don't like how the spell casting animation is just like the ninjitsu animation from FFXI, kinda cheesy.

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Eternus Ifrit Server Atariii LS member
75 BRD with a bunch of subjobs

First thought: WHEEE

Second thought: Gambits make the game a little less fun, because there's not much in the battle system....

I like doing stuff in battles and what not, I don't want the damn characters acting on their own. >_<

Third thought: After everything they did to pimp this game out, there's still no auto run. That would be awesome, cause I like eating and drinking and flipping pages while playing, but I see no real need to stop to do those things. :p

I dunno, I am immensely enjoying this game. Last FF game I played (aside from XI) was IX... I skipped X because by time I picked it up, I was into XI.

It's... a GREAT feeling to sit down and play a console game after pretty much just sticking to MMO's for so long.

Lol Yea I was looking for a auto-run function when I running around looking for the mark. >.>;

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Remey: 75 lolTHF|COR|DNC

I keep hitting the auto-run button that worked for FFXI on the PS2 controller. I agree, they should have added that!

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I always hit L1 expecting to autorun too.

As for the gambits I usually take manual control of the other characters when there's something I want them to do besides a curing/attacking setup, and I change the gambits on the fly for big fights or fights where a monster has a certain weakness, and I control the main character fully.

and yeah Kluya you can't actually set gambits up til you meet Balthier and Fran, I was confused as hell running around with Penelo and thinking the gambit menu glitched away lol. When you meet them there aren't many gambit target options but you can find some in chests and buy the rest at gambit shops for cheap (50-100gil each).

I'm still completely overwhelmed by the intro video to the title screen.

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

Damnit I wanna be farther in the game and play with that stuff! Work ftl.

I too am in love with the intro video. That music and animation gives me goosebumps every time so far.

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Update: I like Gambits now. >.>

Battles are fast so having basic gambis such as Auto-Attack and cure if hp low are nice... Yea, trying to do all that in the ifrst boss in the sewer (won't say more than that) just basically got my ass handed to me.

Gambits are good! >.> But, yea, I like only having the basics that I feel I need and try to control them through other actions like Bath's Steal, and I manually use Fran's magick.

Ok I do dislike the "magick" thing lol. Why the "k" at the end? Why!?

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Same thing with technicks
I hate it, it's weird. lol If I remember early previews correctly it said the Quickening attacks were called knacks then. So I suppose they had some crazy knick knack motif going.

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

"I'm playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure instead :P"

http://www.sanriotown.com/onlinegame/index.php?s=world

omfg there's a provoke spell

Decoy cost 10 mp makes one member of the pt the sole target of enemy aggression.

If you wanna build toward it it's exact spot on the grid is 4up and 4left from steal, same slot gets the spell drain. This is arcana magic.

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

Omg that is awesome! So you really can have a tank

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i get the game on sunday from my brother. anyway i read that the strength of provoke depends on the magical ability of the caster, so it is best to either use a mage to cast it on your tank, or have your tank with high magical ability.

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RIP Shiloh - I'll never forget ya

Where I'm at now the best gear for tanking also has magic+. Ashe is my tank and her vit is the same as magic power, and both are higher than her strength. lol

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

i got chain 80 today in the sandsea, drops rock when you get to chain 40+

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tobad this game isnt online >.> or even a multiplayer option woulda been cool.

After finally playing this I wonder why there was so much comparison to FFXI throughout its development. The only similarities are auto-attack and free-roaming monster battles, which as mentioned earlier exist in other games like Baldur's gate, summoner, etc which also have partner ai systems.

Don't sully the glory of FFXII with comparisons to ff11 <.<

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

So, I'm thinking to myself, and I finally have all 6 characters equipable and what not, but...

I don't know where I want to take them... It sucks. lol.

I was thinking: Penelo's gonna be muh blm~
I'll have Fran on curing (even though I love her RA, she has second most MP, even over Ashe who is a lvl above her)
Ashe'll be muh buffer...
Van'll be my thf and Greeny
Basch will be my tank...
And Balthy is my loldrg ( I have him geared towards poles and spears atm cause I think Gun DMG sucks...)

How's that sound? How's Ashe working as a tank for you Dead? Now that you mention it, I can have her act more like a PLD with Decoy so Basch can focus on Attacking...

I dunno, it's so different to me. :p

Also, I'm SO freakin ticked you gotta find and buy the Gambits... omg, there's so much I want to be able to do. Also, I wish I could customize a bit different and even more selective... Or something.

I finally got the collectors edition today. I'm looking forward to enjoying the game.

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Job 10: 20
The mikey's have a plan. Djay isn't all powerful.

Ashe is a monster. I have her Vit and magic power pumped up, both stats beat the other pt members so she takes less damage and her cures are really strong. She also has the highest mp in the party. I gave her all 3 shield augments I found on the board, and equipped her with gauntlets for extra shielding. All 3 characters have decoy so if when she casts it on herself it misses, the others can spam it on her. Decoy square also has drain and with her high magic power she's draining 600-800 hp from boss mobs, and still dealing decent damage with her sword. She has licenses for mage armor 1-5 and 7, light armor 1-6, and heavy armor 1-4. Mainly uses sword but has some bow levels for flying mobs. I'd level hammer/axe for her but I like to have her dealing consistent damage while basch uses his hammer.

Basch is my bruiser, I gave him a hammer and full str+ gear along with solid defense and the same shield Ashe wears. His magic is weaker but he can still do well and if Ashe ever dies I switch pt lead to Basch and have him tank while I have Fran get the fight back in order. Basch has many sword licenses, some hammer/axe, and 1 bow license strictly for flying monsters. His armor licenses are heavy focused.

Fran is my "other" I have her equipped for Str+ and Magic+ and weilding a samurai katana, she also has good defense and vitality but she's solely for dd and magic since a defender role is pointless without a shield (imo lol). Her magic power is just 3 behind Ashe's. She seems to score more combos than the others even though they all have similar speed stat. She has licenses for many bows and spears.

All 3 of them have maxed combat lore, magic lore, and swiftness. Fran has all Phoenix lore. Basch and Ashe have maxed shield lore and the licenses for Adrenaline and Last Stand. All 3 have maxed channeling. All 3 have white magic licenses 1-5, black magic 1-3, a mix of green 1-4, time magic 1-5, and enough arcane magic to cast Decoy. All 3 have the HP+ licenses. I have very few techniks. Basically I only use libra, steal, and charge.

I gave everyone a spear license just because the animations for spear are cool. >.>


Don't skip the intro to the title screen, it's friggin brilliant.

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

Lplau has already played the JP version of the game and beaten it (so some terms are also JP), here are some of his tips quoted verbatim:

He says:

"

hehe theres plent of hunts, about 40 hunts i think available in the game.

Most of the mob hunts are gathered from the mob hunt boards found in many of the bars in cities, but there are also "special" mob hunts, which are a bit more difficult then your normal ones that can be found by talking to montblanc in the building in the north section of Rabanstre. when you look at the map, i think the icon for the building is yellow diamond shaped.

Many of the mobs that you hunt also turn SSJ-psycho form when you get them into low life, like some mobs will double in LVL, some will hundred fists you, and some will increase their defencse so you can only do about 25-50% of your normal damage on it. I reckon SE got this idea from FF11. lol


oh and a tip: make sure to have atleast 1 member in your main party that can do some form of range attack. Some flying mobs will be a bitch to kill if you don't have one.
If not, you can also learn Telekenesis if you have alot of LP's to burn by making your way down to the south eastern corner of the skills board. (if you have learnt the skill "Steal", then telekensis should be the block that is on the corner south east of where "Steal" is.
I'm not sure where do you buy the technic for telekenesis though, i think its from one of the npc's that you can access later on in the game, so don't bother wasting your LP's trying to learn it until later on in the game.

- hehe finished the game already and clocked in at 70+ hrs, with 3x lvl 73 characters.

I've saved my game just before the final fight though so i can go back and finish up the Mob hunts. hehe, I've done all mob hunts except King Behemoth (fucking tough btw), and this other mob that i can't seem to remember his name.
What i love about mob hunts is that SE has tried to incorporate different pop conditions into the game (eg. weather conditions, and etc), which makes it a bit more interesting (and sometimes frustrating) when you are trying to get a mob to pop for the hunts.

Tip for everyone, make sure to buy the 2X exp accessory early on and equip it to make LVLing much faster. I think if you try to skip all the mob hunts and extra side quests, you can probably finish the game in about 40-45 hrs, but i'd highly recommend doing the side quests.

If anyone is stuck at any place, a good site I've found is: http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/ps2/game/459841.html

This site has walkthroughs for the JP version of the game, but apart from some differently spelt names, i think people can still use it.

As for the summons, i can honestly say that i have never used one for an actual fight before, as they are practically useless except for the special effects eye candy. What i do recommend is for people to get mistmacks (sp?) because for every mistmack you assign to each character, it adds heaps of MP.
eg. if you character has 1 mist mack and has 170 MP, assign another mistmack to that same character and the MP will double to 340MP, and if you assign 3, it will increase to 510MP.
Just make sure to evenly distribute the mistmacks JP (quickenings) between your characters, or to characters that use alot of spells.


- whatever loot you get from mobs, you can simply sell it all to NPC's for gil. Selling the loot that you get will also open up new "bazzar" items that the NPC's will sell you.

- There's 4 treasure chests throughout different parts of the game that you cannot open in order to get the Zodiac Spear later in the game.

"

have fun fellas

This pisses me off immensely but it makes for some epic fights. lol

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die

I was wondering why it was such a fucking BITCH to beat the Leviathan in the Mines.

I mean, seriously, my characters were all 12-13 and the book says he's 10...

Took me like 4 tries, with pimped gear on everyone but Penelo, and I STILL had 4 deaths and barely won with Basch and Balthier.

Bah! F that guy. >_< Was fun, though, but I was mad so many peoples died, ethers used and potions torn through. :p

EDIT: I used no quickenings either, because I wanted to beat him without them. Still haven't used a quickening...

If you mean Nidhogg, then yeah he kicked the shit out of me too.

There's a boss fight later on the Imperial Warship Shiva. Motherfucker goes APESHIT when his hp is low, still the craziest fight I've seen so far, though there is this forest dragon later that is a wrecking machine too.

I like to go to zones I shouldn't be in and fight monsters high level above me. Most of the fights you get into wandering around in this game don't properly prep you for bosses/hunts. lol

and yeah I've only used a quickening once and I had no clue what was going on

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Some stories can't be told with words, some legends are meant to die