Final Fantasy XII

[Yojimbo]

I beat it as well 3 days ago. My three mains were all level 45 and I think my time was somewhere around 49 hours maybe... I'll be honest I blazed through it on purpose. I used a strategy guide and a gambit guide and that pretty much worked because I maybe had...2 or 3 game overs including the final boss. I didn't really feel like trudging through it the hard way.

Overall though I'm feeling pretty nonchalant about the whole game. It was a pretty forgetful experience to be honest. It didn't hit me and stick with me like...every other Final Fantasy game has. I kept wondering when we would get some character development. With the exception of Balthier I don't any character really got the treatment they deserved. I enjoyed the gameplay though overall. The license board was alright but made characters a little generic. The lack of random battles and the freedom to move around was another plus. The gambit system was fun too lol there were some boss fights where I purposely put down the controller and let my characters duke it since my gambits were perfect.

[everdred12a]

I'll agree that most of the characters lacked any real character development, save for Balthier (who was probably my favorite character anyway). The game itself was good as a whole, the story and all. Though, a majority of the character endings I found to be lacking. Vaan and Penelo's post-storyline ending is supposed to be cut short for the sequel to FFXII, Revenant Wings, although I thought Basch's ending was rather neat.

I'd say that the biggest reason you found the game forgetful was because you blazed through it with a strategy guide. You didn't actually take the time to [i]play[i/] the game.

[uc pseudonym]

This thread has really grown. So many posts... this will likely be a long one.

First off, I was wrong. I could beat the game, and I did so. Though I didn't have enough time to do more than 16 hunts and I couldn't explore all the side areas, I enjoyed the playthrough overall. Also, I felt this was a solid ending. Anyone up for some discussion of plot or characters?*

*Though some has appeared as I typed this.

Also, in regards to the comment about it taking forever to gain LP...the Golden Amulet is the most useful accessory in the game, in my opinion.

That's interesting. As I've said before, I had more LP than I knew what to do with.

Oh, I recommend either Golden Amulets (for all 6 party members) or Embroidered Tippets (only for the active party). Golden Amulets double the LP intake a character gets, and Embroidered Tippets double the exp they get. Other good Accessories are the Bubble Belt and the Genji Gauntlets. I will admit, though, that I don't have much experience with other accessories.

Had I gotten more Embroidered Tippets earlier, I would have equipped them. However, the Bubble Belts worked very well for me (and it's nice not to have to recast it under situations where Gambits won't do it for you). With 7000+ HP the final set of bosses only killed one of my characters a few times.

And what's up with the whole "dividing exp between the characters thing"? It's like being forcibly equipped with an expierience share in Pokemon. Why can't all the characters recieve the full number of points from every monster? The only reason I can see a developer putting a system like this in is just to stretch out the time it takes to level even further.

As has been said, pretty much all the games have done this. I did wish, however, that characters not in your party recieved the usual 50% experience. Not that I needed them, but still.

For some reason after I got the Gambit system, my party leader stopped automatically attacking. I have to open the menu EVERY time I want to attack, which is frustrating...

That's interesting... I had the opposite situation. In the beginning I found constantly retargeting annoying. Once the Gambit system happened I had the main character target the nearest enemy and I never had to change it. Now I just move him toward whatever character I want to kill and he'll attack as soon as he can.

It's still pointless. If you going to be able to move wherever you want during a battle, then logically you should be able to dodge around enemy attacks and stuff. If all the attacks are just going to home in on you anyway, then you might as well just stand in one place, like in all the previous Final Fantasys.

I'd still say the same thing as last time - the movement does matter. It is simply that most enemies can hit you pretty easily.

The Junction system used to confuse me, but once I understood it, I wanted every game to use that system. XD It's really efficient once you learn it well.

I find this intriguing, because the Junction system is the only mechanic I ever despised enough that I stopped playing the game. It isn't so much how it worked, but the character development system. As near as I can tell, the most effective way to make your characters stronger is to drain 100 of every new spell you run across and then run away (though you do want to level up your summons). That isn't fun to me.

Plus, I dislike any system where your characters are punished for leveling up. Because the enemies level up with you, your gains are smaller than theirs, and most of your power is derived from Junctioning, it seems beneficial to try to remain low level for the entire game.

So uh, I just beat the game... got fed up with the treasure boxes in the Henne mines (stupid things wouldn't spawn), and I just figured, 'Eh, whatever.' I'm not sure if I'll start a new game or finish this one, though.

You hadn't done that part yet? If you just did it today that'd be somewhat amusing, because it would mean I actually finished it before you.

So did you utterly crush the final boss? I know I found him pretty easy, and I wasn't really leveling my characters.

The gambit system was fun too lol there were some boss fights where I purposely put down the controller and let my characters duke it since my gambits were perfect.

Several people have said this... myself, I never stayed still during fights. Most bosses do area-affect attacks that you actually can dodge. That and I would keep circling around the larger bosses so they would waste time being distracted.

I'll agree that most of the characters lacked any real character development, save for Balthier (who was probably my favorite character anyway). The game itself was good as a whole, the story and all. Though, a majority of the character endings I found to be lacking. Vaan and Penelo's post-storyline ending is supposed to be cut short for the sequel to FFXII, Revenant Wings, although I thought Basch's ending was rather neat.

What I disliked most was how superfluous Vaan was to the plot. The others were all fairly involved, but he has a minimal background connection (Reks) and what is common to just about everyone in Dalmasca. He just... didn't matter much, and he wasn't involved enough in the plot. Penelo is worse, but she appears less.

And the ending part with Basch was indeed good... I always thought that was the coolest-looking Judge Magister outfit.

[everdred12a]

You hadn't done that part yet? If you just did it today that'd be somewhat amusing, because it would mean I actually finished it before you.

Different treasure boxes. The treasure boxes in THIS part of the mines contain the Brave Suit (ultimate light armor), the Zodiac Spear, the Ensanguined Shield, The Fomauhalt (ultimate gun), and a Ribbon... probably even more stuff, too. The problem is, the highest appearance rate for the chests was 25%. Especially the Zodiac Spear treasure chest... the chest is only there 10% of the time, and even THEN you only have a 10% chance of getting it... otherwise you get a Knot of Rust XD

So did you utterly crush the final boss? I know I found him pretty easy, and I wasn't really leveling my characters.

More or less. I did have one complication because I wanted to be cool and kill him with Ultima's concurrance ability (which only triggers if both the summoner AND the esper are both less than 30% max HP)... and um... it almost worked... I had Balthier Graviga both himself and Ultima, but then Balthier got hit with a Piercing Holy and died =P
EDIT: Forgot to mention, the party was level 84.

And the ending part with Basch was indeed good... I always thought that was the coolest-looking Judge Magister outfit.

Yes, I know.
[SPOILER]I did wish that Gabranth had lived though... I guess it's just a trend in fantasy for the ones who just realize their wrongdoings to die though...[/SPOILER]

[Radical Dreamer]

I find this intriguing, because the Junction system is the only mechanic I ever despised enough that I stopped playing the game. It isn't so much how it worked, but the character development system. As near as I can tell, the most effective way to make your characters stronger is to drain 100 of every new spell you run across and then run away (though you do want to level up your summons). That isn't fun to me.

Yeah, the whole thing with drawing 100 of each magic was the one real downfall, as it made battles against really easy creatures last for a really long time. XD A few tweaks to the system would have been nice, but the overall operation of the system worked pretty well, I thought. Of course, once you get to a point in the game where you have a good collection of strong magic, it's really very rewarding, as you can end up with something like 100 Ultima Junctioned to your HP. XD I always liked that factor, and I also liked the Status Junctions, where you could Junction, say, 100 Fires to your Status Attack Junctions and become immune to fire attacks (or poison, or sleep, whatever it may be). I think there were a few areas where they could have improved it, but overall, I thought it was an efficient system.

[everdred12a]

Yeah, the whole thing with drawing 100 of each magic was the one real downfall, as it made battles against really easy creatures last for a really long time. XD A few tweaks to the system would have been nice, but the overall operation of the system worked pretty well, I thought. Of course, once you get to a point in the game where you have a good collection of strong magic, it's really very rewarding, as you can end up with something like 100 Ultima Junctioned to your HP. XD I always liked that factor, and I also liked the Status Junctions, where you could Junction, say, 100 Fires to your Status Attack Junctions and become immune to fire attacks (or poison, or sleep, whatever it may be). I think there were a few areas where they could have improved it, but overall, I thought it was an efficient system.

I think that the best way to fix the system would have been to expand the refining abilities. You know, F-Mag-RF and whatnot. They should have made M-Stone Pieces, M-stones, and Wizard Stones more abundant. I think that would pretty much clear up the issues with Drawing and Stocking. Although, I don't believe the Draw ability should be kicked. It's always fun to Draw-cast magic an enemy has and use it to your advantage XD

[MasterDias]

So I'll know how far I am, will someone tell me what the halfway point in the game is? I'm at Jahara.

Also, what kind of armor did you guys find works the best? I have Vaan on light armor. Basch is on heavy armor. I had Ashe on heavy armor, but switched to light recently when I decided her HP was low. Haven't really bothered that much with mystic armor...although maybe I should, as Ashe tends to run out of MP fairly easily.

You should sell the Loot enemies drop, if you aren't already. The only items under the Loot category I *DON'T* suggest selling are Teleport Stones and Gysahl Greens. Everything else, just get rid of it XD

That's what I do.
It just seems that you hardly ever find anything really valuable out of chests, especially the ones in the field. Although, I guess I can always use extra Potions...

As for Final Fantasy VIII's junction/draw system, I didn't mind it particularly. What I really found annoying was that most of the summons were easily missable if you don't remember to draw from all the bosses. After I missed Siren, I just looked at a walkthrough for the locations of all the rest.

[everdred12a]

So I'll know how far I am, will someone tell me what the halfway point in the game is? I'm at Jahara.

I would say the halfway point is the Stillshrine of Miriam. You're almost there.

Also, what kind of armor did you guys find works the best? I have Vaan on light armor. Basch is on heavy armor. I had Ashe on heavy armor, but switched to light recently when I decided her HP was low. Haven't really bothered that much with mystic armor...although maybe I should, as Ashe tends to run out of MP fairly easily.

Light armor is *my* personal favorite. Not quite as much defense as the heavy armor, but light armor tends to have lots of cool special effects on them (the Dueling Mask sticks out in my mind. It adds 800 HP). Mystic armor IS good, in my opinion, though. My Ashe is my combat person, and she uses mystic armor. It's sort of a suicide strategy, but she has the best katana available (since Ashe has one of the highest magic attack scores) and the best mystic armor available, so she does a lot of damage (about 4500 per attack) and tends to combo alot.

That's what I do.
It just seems that you hardly ever find anything really valuable out of chests, especially the ones in the field. Although, I guess I can always use extra Potions...

Dont' feel bad. Most of the chests just have potions in them. It's not until later in the game when you get better stuff from chests, since all the good chests are in secret portions of areas you've already been to.

[uc pseudonym]

I would say the halfway point is the Stillshrine of Miriam. You're almost there.

That's with some sidequesting, possibly. I actually got to the Stillshrine of Miriam at about 3/5 of the total hours I spent on it. If you've just gotten to Jahara you'll be going to the Stillshrine before too long.

Also, what kind of armor did you guys find works the best?

I generally used whatever was convenient at the moment (which is easy because many of the Licenses are so close together that you don't really have to specialize). Generally speaking, whenever there was new equipment I would buy Light Armor unless the Heavy Armor available at the time had much higher defense or some other piece of equipment had a good effect. You'll probably want to get into Mystic Armor for some of the better helms, or at least that was my experience. But overall Light works pretty well, as the HP bonus is somewhat attractive especially when doubled.

It just seems that you hardly ever find anything really valuable out of chests, especially the ones in the field. Although, I guess I can always use extra Potions...

Yeah, that's simply the way the game is. After a while I just didn't bother to go after treasure chests unless they came across my path or I had evidence they would be good (like if they're in a secret or high-level area).

[Rocketshipper]

I just got finished going through the lhusu mines...for the second time -_-. I got through once and then ended up resetting before I saved. Anyway, I did the Nidhogg hunt and had a REALLY difficult time with it. It was kicking my butt and I was barely doing enough damage to it. I finally killed it by doing a quickening combo and then using an ether to restore one character's MP so I could do a second quickening. I hope this isn;t a sign that I'm under leveled

[uc pseudonym]

If you're doing any of the hunts, I doubt you're underleveled. To be honest, I never really leveled up in this game. All I did was explore each area thoroughly and kill everything I came across, and in addition to some sidequests that was enough to be a comfortable level the entire game.

[Radical Dreamer]

And so, I've run into a wall. Literally. XD

I'm trying to fight the Demon Wall (the second room, rather than the first one, where you have the option to run) in Raithwall's tomb, and it's just not going well for me. Am I missing something, or am I just underleveled? My current party is Balthier (Javelin), Fran (Killer Bow), Ashe (Killer Bow), and Vossler (guest). Each character deals over 100 in damage, and I spent plenty of time fighting the Urutan-Yensa while I went back and forth over the Westersand numerous times. I haven't done many hunts at all (I have yet to go back to Rabanastre though, after the events in Buhjerba), but I have been leveling up quite a bit. Still, each time I fight that Demon Wall (three times, as of last night), I always die, even when I do use the torches on the sides of the bridge to halt its movement. What am I doing wrong? XD

[Eaglestrike]

Buy the Immune:Blind accessory from the vendor just outside and get the license to use them. If you're leveled up like you said you should do just fine with them equipped.

[Radical Dreamer]

Ah, that would help so much! XD Should've thought of that myself...thanks a lot for the help!

[uc pseudonym]

Equipment that makes you immune to blind does help, of course. Oddly, I didn't have any trouble with that boss, so I don't have much in the way of advice. All I did was make sure my physical attackers weren't blind (actually, I used Eye Drops because I was feeling too unmotivated to License/equip) and hit the torches periodically. With bosses like that, I'd mostly focus on doing a lot of damage before it can do much to you (so make sure your Gambits are set up to attack a lot).

To open up a new subject, I have a question about the overall storyline. This is fairly plot-sensitive, so don't read it unless you've beaten the game.
[spoiler=the end of FFXII]Did anyone else feel as though the game should have been more epic? I liked how it had heavy politics and the characters remained focused on the big issues, but I didn't expect the plot development with the Undying. Once it happened, I wasn't sure where the game was moving, because neither they nor Venat seem to be in the right. And yet these were barely touched upon again in the storyline.

Sure, it's great that war has been averted and Dalmasca has retained its independence. But isn't anyone else concerned about the god-like beings that seem to have little regard for human life? After I reflected on the storyline, I really felt as though this plot element was brought up unnecessarily. Anyone else agree or feel differently?[/spoiler]

[Eaglestrike]

Equipment that makes you immune to blind does help, of course. Oddly, I didn't have any trouble with that boss, so I don't have much in the way of advice. All I did was make sure my physical attackers weren't blind (actually, I used Eye Drops because I was feeling too unmotivated to License/equip) and hit the torches periodically. With bosses like that, I'd mostly focus on doing a lot of damage before it can do much to you (so make sure your Gambits are set up to attack a lot).

To open up a new subject, I have a question about the overall storyline. This is fairly plot-sensitive, so don't read it unless you've beaten the game.
[spoiler=the end of FFXII]Did anyone else feel as though the game should have been more epic? I liked how it had heavy politics and the characters remained focused on the big issues, but I didn't expect the plot development with the Undying. Once it happened, I wasn't sure where the game was moving, because neither they nor Venat seem to be in the right. And yet these were barely touched upon again in the storyline.

Sure, it's great that war has been averted and Dalmasca has retained its independence. But isn't anyone else concerned about the god-like beings that seem to have little regard for human life? After I reflected on the storyline, I really felt as though this plot element was brought up unnecessarily. Anyone else agree or feel differently?[/spoiler]

I'll make my attempt at spoiler tag usage:

[spoiler]In FF12 they attempted to tell the story a bit differently, I'd say most games go for a bit of a fairy tale ending and such, this game tried to make it more realistic, and it was also supposed to be from the memoirs of a politician.

But I do agree the game could've had a more epic feel, though that's not how SE wanted to tell it, it seems (and I like that). However, it also sounds like they're ready for a prequel/sequel (and not just Revenent Wings) to give you more insight on that part of Ivalice. We'll see, though.[/spoiler]

[Yojimbo]

The easiest way to beat him is to do a huge chain of quickenings and you'll get him down to a manageable level to where you can just finish him off. Worked for me anyway and it was pretty painless.

[Rocketshipper]

I just got to Archedes from that dungeon area with the waterfall. I really think that the journey to Archades was kind of poorly paced. I mean, having 5 rather large exploration areas all strung in a row with only one really signifigant story sequence seemed a little much. I'm ready to return to the storyline now please ^^.

I'm surprised at how much stronger most of the mark monsters are compared to the normal bosses. That annoying Ring Wrym took me like 30 minutes to kill just because of it's sky high HP, and the Gil Snapper took a while too.

Anyone have a suggestion of when a good time would be to go after the optional Espers? I think there are three at the moment that I could challenge at any time, but I'm not sure if I'm strong enough yet, my guide recommends having some spells that I havn't aquired yet.

Anyone want to share their favorite boss fights? So far I'd have to say that my fave was Tiamat. He looked really impressive and was pretty fun to fight. The Earth Tyrant was also very impressive looking. So far I've really liked boss fights and marks, even when they are hard fighting them is way more fun than just running around killing regular enemies.

[Eaglestrike]

I haven't done anything but the weakest yet, mainly because I've been hunting for items, but the "weakest" Esper is a flying mob that has an endless number of mobs spawn while you fight it. I wouldn't try it for a while, most likely until you're almost done the game.

[Azier the Swordsman]

The first time I played it, I killed the Demon Wall by casting Oil on it and burning it with fire. Does work rather well.

[Rocketshipper]

I really hope the plot and good pacing kick back in soon. I was really enjoying the story and the way everything was unfolding through the first half of the game, but after I got the Sword of Kings it seemed like the storyline presentation went downhill. I spend like 2 and 1/2 days to get through the 5 map areas leading up to Archades, and then Archades itself and the Draklor labs only took like an hour and a half. The Draklor labs were waaaaaaay too short, and now that I'm finished with them it's time for more side-quests and exploration areas before the plot can continue.

[uc pseudonym]

[spoiler=the end of FFXII]

In FF12 they attempted to tell the story a bit differently, I'd say most games go for a bit of a fairy tale ending and such, this game tried to make it more realistic, and it was also supposed to be from the memoirs of a politician.

I liked that aspect as well, but that was part of what made the Undying bit irk me. They moved away from their premise by introducing such powerful creatures and I think doing that type of thing should only be attempted if they are going to be dealt with significantly.
[/spoiler]

I really think that the journey to Archades was kind of poorly paced. I mean, having 5 rather large exploration areas all strung in a row with only one really signifigant story sequence seemed a little much. I'm ready to return to the storyline now please ^^.

I felt somewhat the same way, though all that running around killing things made my party's levels jump a significant amount. Unfortunately, I didn't stock up that much before going and very nearly ran out of Remedies near the end, which would have been mildly obnoxious.

I really hope the plot and good pacing kick back in soon.

Not sure how you'll feel about the next part, but I think the last part of the game has pretty strong presentation.

[Azier the Swordsman]

I think the plot just ended up being to short and they made the exploration longer to compensate rather than just write extra stuff randomly. Personally, I felt the same during my first playthrough, but I don't mind so much now that I am on my second.

I do believe though, when all is said and done, this is my second favorite game in the series so far.

[Rocketshipper]

I'm kind of annoyed with there being so many side-quests in this game. Some of them are fun and satisfying, but some are annoying and everytime I stop and go do side-quests it takes me out of the story and the expierience. It seems as if there are enough side quests that it could take you almost as long to complete them all as it would to complete the entire main storyline. Personally I'd rather they had made the story longer (perhaps given more character develpment to everyone, especially Vaan and Penelo?) rather than making half the game optional stuff, makes it feel padded ^^. I might end up skipping a lot of these quests on another playthrough, right now I'm doing as many as I can just because I'd like to say I tried at least once.

Also I have a very bad feeling that I may not be able to aquire the optional espers . I tried fighting the big fat one and the flying one and both of them kicked my butt in about ten seconds. The main problem is that the boss and all their minions gang up on my characters, if it was just my team vs one monster I probably wouldn't have as much of a problem. But anyway, unless my team gets signifiganty more powerful by the time I reach the final part of the game, I probably won't be able to defeat any of them. I'd like to avoid having to spend a million hours leveling, if that's what it takes then I'll probably just forget about them, though I REALLY want to get them so I can see all their cool special atacks.

[Azier the Swordsman]

I never bothered with the optional espers. But based on what I read in my strategy guide, they are definately not intended for you to get them easily.

[Rocketshipper]

Suscess! I just caught that flying one from the cave area, the one who's name started with A. It was a tough fight (I actually beat him twice, but the first time I was killed afterwards by the regular enemies while running to a save point) but I used a very interesting stratigy ^^. I buffed my main team with bubble, shell, and reflect, changed my healing gambits to items, and then kept bouncing blizzaga off my party and onto the boss. I read that reflecting spells causes them to increase their damage, and while I'm not sure if it's true (I'd have to cast it on him regularly and see how much damage it did that way) it certainly worked well. I took down half his HP in only a few minutes, and the only stuff that could really hurt me were the Esper's attacks, since the minions kept casting group seplls that just bounced off. I was also only using one caster too ^^, now that I think about it, I should have had Ashe unlock the blizzaga space on her board so that she could attack too. Unfortunetly, the stupid boss used two annoying skills that made him immune to all damage for a while, and I still had to finish him off with a quickening chain.

[uc pseudonym]

I'm kind of annoyed with there being so many side-quests in this game.

The saving point here for me is that they're entirely optional. You don't need to do them to beat the game or get anything all that important. People who really enjoy the system have a lot more content they can explore. I probably would have done many of these if not for the fact that it was a rental.

Unfortunetly, the stupid boss used two annoying skills that made him immune to all damage for a while,

I think having Perfect Defense in the game was a big design flaw. As far as I can tell there is absolutely nothing you can do about this, which leaves you to do nothing but try to avoid damage and heal. Sure, you can buff the party, but the spell lasts so long that you still spend a lot of time sitting around.

[Eaglestrike]

The best Great Katana, which is very very nice, is from a Hunt. Which is also the best fight in the game, especially for those who have played FFV. As well you get like half the materials needed for the best weapon in the game, the tournesol, from completing every Hunt.

A perfect defense means you need to work on your defense, don't see it as a huge design flaw. FFXII was built similar to an MMO, but for single player, and it was very good. The biggest flaws people find in the game are: 1) Too short and 2) Too easy. I agree with both, I just wish we could have been in more than like...4 chapters of some politicians memoirs. Which is probably why we don't get a lot of backround story, it makes sense, but I'd rather there be some sidequest for more of a backround story. Here's to hoping Revenent Wings has some of this stuff.

[uc pseudonym]

A perfect defense means you need to work on your defense, don't see it as a huge design flaw.

Even so, I will stick to my position. In the time the spell lasts I could cast every buffing spell in the game several times. I have no problem with things that make you use alternate strategies (such as being immune to one type of damage) but when there is a technique that forces you to do nothing but wait that is more irritating than anything else.

[Eaglestrike]

Even so, I will stick to my position. In the time the spell lasts I could cast every buffing spell in the game several times. I have no problem with things that make you use alternate strategies (such as being immune to one type of damage) but when there is a technique that forces you to do nothing but wait that is more irritating than anything else.

Never play an MMO lol It wasn't long at all, and even on that mob there were adds to kill. Not a big deal.