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FFV has a pretty great opening. Dragons, pirates, and a huge goddamn meteorite within maybe 15 minutes. By the time you realize you've been just pressing attack all the time, you get jobs.
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Aug 29, 2012 20:54
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FF9 is cool but not exciting gameplay- or story-wise until after Dali, I think. And I always dread Gizamaluke's Grotto. It still has really neat setpieces up to that point, but the plot doesn't keep up with it to match.
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Aug 29, 2012 20:55
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zenintrude posted:
7 had a good opening as did 8, you fight dinosaurs and mechanized spider machines.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:01
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A lot of people kind of brought up the way FF13 did an in media res thing, but that's really common for FF compared to other JRPGs. Almost every game in the series starts with some kind of immediate action: the unwinnable battle in 2, the cave in 3, the Red Wings raid in 4, etc. Sometimes they're shorter than others and sometimes they're unplayable (like Squall and Seifer's duel in 8), but it seems like part of the series design philosophy at this point. 6 and 7 have extremely memorable opening sequences.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:02
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I think they bring it up, because it superficially resembles VII's opening. Begins in medias res, fighting involving a train, a black party member, fighting against something that resembles the robo-scorpion thing from VII, a small rag-tag team of people fighting against a more powerful and corrupt body (NORA vs Psi-Com/Sanctum, AVALANCE vs Shin-ra/SOLDIER), etc.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:17
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Francois Kofko posted:FF9 is cool but not exciting gameplay- or story-wise until after Dali, I think. And I always dread Gizamaluke's Grotto. It still has really neat setpieces up to that point, but the plot doesn't keep up with it to match. IX's introduction is still my favorite of any Final Fantasy. It has all the things I look forward to in a fantasy story intro: 1. Set up main characters. Check. 2. Show the antagonist and make him/her do something that makes them look like the antagonist. Check. 3. Show the main setting and theme of the game. Check 4. Have a series of interesting events that ends the introduction. Check. 5. Make the player interested in the next event(Evil Forest). Check. Although, gameplay wise, I think all Final Fantasy games are slow when it comes to combat. Maybe because the internal combat mechanics are boring and in need of a massive amount of extra mechanics that present themselves at a later time to make them interesting.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:20
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zenintrude posted:Your definition of bad opening is the lack of a full compliment of battle functions? When it comes to replaying the game? Yes. The lack of even basic battle functions makes it a serious grind once you're familiar with the events, especially in older games which lacked cutscene skip. If you want to get to the point where you're doing anything besides attacking or watching basic character setup it takes a long while most of the time. FFVII's opening is probably the second best because you start getting materia quickly and it has lots of mini-events and such. It's fast-paced enough (for a PSX RPG) not to get bogged down. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 21:27
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ImpAtom posted:When it comes to replaying the game? Yes. The lack of even basic battle functions makes it a serious grind once you're familiar with the events, especially in older games which lacked cutscene skip. I believe they released a patch for that... 
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Aug 29, 2012 21:31
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Pablo Gigante posted:It is. I've restarted it more than a few times and quit after getting bored. I think my attention span is a hell of a lot shorter than it used to be when I was a teenager. However I managed to get past it when I started a new playthrough a couple months ago and it gets so much better There's a lot of RPGs that I love but find un-replayable for this reason. Okami and most of the newer Zeldas in particular.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:46
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Cardboard Fox posted:IX's introduction is still my favorite of any Final Fantasy. It has all the things I look forward to in a fantasy story intro: Sorry, I misspoke: I think the opening is absolutely awesome (I spend so much time in that sword fight, oh my god), but after you get to the evil forest it slows down substantially, only picking up pace again after Dali. Dali, I think, even though there's the huge plot revelation, is still the absolute slowest and most boring area in the game.
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Aug 29, 2012 21:50
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Argh, finally died at L65 of the dungeon. loving enemy cast Meteo twice in a row. How the hell was I supposed to survive that? Anyway, I ended up with Ninja Bartz with RapidFire, dealing eight blows with the Assassin/Thief's Knives, Mime Lenna with White/Summon/Lancer, Krile still a Knight w/Counter (though I was planning to switch her to Magic Sword because why not) and Faris as a Black Mage w/ Time Magic (because Bartz made a better Ninja than her). The last few floors were a pain because most of the enemies were undead, and the ones that weren't don't have much MP, so I couldn't abuse Lancer/Osmose as much as I wanted. It seemed L65 was where my luck would change, and it sure did.  That said, it's definitely a fun hack to play around with, and maybe I'll try again once I get a bit more time. I'd love to be able to beat that thing, but hey, getting to L65 of the thing on my first try ain't that bad either, I figure.
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Aug 29, 2012 22:05
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zenintrude posted:I believe they released a patch for that... I can't think of much a gameshark would do to help. It isn't like those parts are hard so cheating wouldn't make them go by any faster and the text speed codes only help a little. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 22:26
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Francois Kofko posted:Sorry, I misspoke: I think the opening is absolutely awesome (I spend so much time in that sword fight, oh my god), but after you get to the evil forest it slows down substantially, only picking up pace again after Dali. Dali, I think, even though there's the huge plot revelation, is still the absolute slowest and most boring area in the game. Yea, they could have done a bit better on Dali. I get what they were going for though: a slow build up to a big revelation. Kind of wonder how that could have been done better.
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Aug 29, 2012 22:27
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Mega64 posted:That said, it's definitely a fun hack to play around with, and maybe I'll try again once I get a bit more time. I'd love to be able to beat that thing, but hey, getting to L65 of the thing on my first try ain't that bad either, I figure. That's 20 or 25 levels above when most people beat the normal game, what's the endgame on the hack anyway? Is there a bottom floor, and what's on it? EDIT: Waaaait, you meant "of the dungeon", didn't you? I guess my question still stands Baku fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Aug 29, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 22:31
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I don't know, I didn't mind Dali. It's been a bit since I played it, but it didn't seem to take that long (maybe 15-20 minutes?) and it's immediately followed by the two Black Waltz scenes, which, even though they're just dialogue and a couple of boss fights, at least manage to seem exciting.
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Aug 29, 2012 22:32
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Add me to the list of posters now hooked on Ancient Cave. Had a really solid first run until a L5 Death wiped the whole party, second time through I got terrible chests and ran out of healing pretty quick. Onto the third! Also is there any way to name the rest of your party or am I always going to be stuck with a bunch of junk text?
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Aug 29, 2012 22:42
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J. Alfred Prufrock posted:Add me to the list of posters now hooked on Ancient Cave. Had a really solid first run until a L5 Death wiped the whole party, second time through I got terrible chests and ran out of healing pretty quick. Onto the third! The rename jar renames the top party member, so just swap them around to rename. The hack is a lot of fun, though the runs take a lot of time for something that tends to end so suddenly. My first run ended by using !Gaia on a group of Fork Tower mobs and they all countered with Meteor. I guess they expect you to memorize the list of Fork Tower enemies, because there was no other indication that I couldn't use physicals. (Edited addition: this is almost certainly what happened to Mega64 above as well) The second ended when I ran into a group of 3 Desert Chimera recolors which first oneshot my character who had !Flee, then spammed Aqua Rake until I died. I don't even know if !Flee would have worked, but I don't think I could've killed them either. Modoh fucked around with this message at 01:23 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 29, 2012 23:50
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I recently scanned a 'making of' ff7 article for the retro games thread and thought i'd share it here too http://www.wurwaldesign.com/retro%20gamer%20-%20making%20of%20ffvii.pdf (hosting mine)
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Aug 30, 2012 00:17
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So the FF Dimensions site updated with a bit more info about the game. http://www.square-enix.co.jp/smart/ffdl/en/ Three things I note from it. Maybe it's just me, but it looks a lot better when the screen size the smaller iphone size. It's definately FFV's job system with more stuff. Getting more ability slots as you level up sounds fun. The jobs look nice.Red Mage has picked up Celes' Runic blade it seems.
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Aug 30, 2012 01:18
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That job system info makes me a lot more interested in it. It's not coming to Android, is it.  Edit: vvv Well hot drat! Kyrosiris fucked around with this message at 05:35 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 02:06
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It was announced to come out on both iOS and Android.
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Aug 30, 2012 02:08
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Do they even still make gamesharks?
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Aug 30, 2012 02:55
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Himuro posted:Do they even still make gamesharks? Naw, they were bought by Mad Catz (who in the past few years has transistioned to not being awful) and it looks like it's a label for peripherals now.
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Aug 30, 2012 03:21
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Zombies' Downfall posted:Man, forget FF, Kingdom Hearts is the thing that baffles me. The Giant Bomb Quicklook for KH3D sort of summed up my feelings on it: they're literally just selling those games to Kingdom Hearts Fans at this point and not trying to grasp new markets or draw in people who love Final Fantasy or Disney like they used to. Dragon Quest 1-3 and 4-6 are trilogies.  Dr Pepper posted:So the FF Dimensions site updated with a bit more info about the game. Well the prologue's free so that'll be nice to check out the mechanics (hopefully) but there's no way it;s going to be worth paying $30 for on a mobile platform. It looks like a $10-15 XBL/PSN game like Castlevania:HD was.
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Aug 30, 2012 04:35
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Evil Fluffy posted:Dragon Quest 1-3 and 4-6 are trilogies. 1-3 are, sure. But 4-6 kind of are only in that they all take place in the same world. You could say you get a lot more out of playing 1-3 since they add elements to a longer story but I always thought 4-6 are kind of self-contained.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:11
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Nathander posted:1-3 are, sure. But 4-6 kind of are only in that they all take place in the same world. You could say you get a lot more out of playing 1-3 since they add elements to a longer story but I always thought 4-6 are kind of self-contained. 4-6 are a "loose" trilogy in that the stories don't really interact. The director even said it wasn't supposed to be a trilogy, which is an odd contradiction since the games themselves point out they're on the same world, albeit centuries apart. I've always wondered if the director was mistranslated or something.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:15
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What's the trick for power leveling or whatever in FF2? I'm playing the DoS version, if it matters. Is it just hitting yourself a bunch, or is it more complicated than that?
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Aug 30, 2012 05:21
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Mister Roboto posted:4-6 are a "loose" trilogy in that the stories don't really interact. The director even said it wasn't supposed to be a trilogy, which is an odd contradiction since the games themselves point out they're on the same world, albeit centuries apart. I've always wondered if the director was mistranslated or something.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:29
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Pollyanna posted:What's the trick for power leveling or whatever in FF2? I'm playing the DoS version, if it matters. Is it just hitting yourself a bunch, or is it more complicated than that? You don't need to abuse the system for the DoS version because it's not a complete piece of poo poo mess. Just have fun with it.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:31
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Endorph posted:Well, it fits? The stories aren't really interwoven, they just take place in the same setting. For a nerdy example, the first three Star Wars movies are obviously a trilogy, but you couldn't grab three stories from the extended canon and say they were a trilogy just because they take place in the same setting. They'd barely have anything to do with each other. I suppose that could be what he meant.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:32
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Pollyanna posted:What's the trick for power leveling or whatever in FF2? I'm playing the DoS version, if it matters. Is it just hitting yourself a bunch, or is it more complicated than that? DoS is the easiest version to grind because you don't have to shitbeat yourself in order to gain HP; you get automatic HP gains every so many battles (16? 32?). This version also removes the awful stat decreases, so you could grind someone into a supersoldier if you really wanted (hint, you don't). There are FAQs out there that describe how to level in sperglord levels of detail, but for a rough guide: Put everyone in the front row! Hiding characters in the back nerfs their Agility and HP as they miss chances to dodge or get hit. Strength - Attack monsters Agility - Dodge hits Vitality - Don't dodge hits Intelligence - Use Black Magic Spirit - Use White Magic HP - Take lots of damage and don't heal it during the fight MP - Use lots of MP and don't recover it during the fight Weapon Skills - Each enemy has a Rank; the higher the Rank, the faster you boost the percentage toward the next skill level. The higher your skill level, the more you need to do per fight to increase the percentage for the next skill level. Keep lovely weapons around at high levels so you can Attack multiple times in one fight to get better skill level gains. Dual wield to boost levels fast. Magic Skills - Also relies on Rank. Spells without direct effects (e.g. Aura, Protect, etc.) have wonky mechanics, like gaining new effects or more accuracy as you raise skill levels. Honestly, having a couple of good weapon levels, decent Cure magic, and a few good damage spells is more than enough to finish the main game. Want to get awesome fast? Put everyone in the front row and give them all a pair of Shields. Fight some weak monsters. Have your party attempt to Attack with the Shields. You'll dodge a lot, you'll never score a hit, but your Shield levels will skyrocket and your chance of getting Agility after every fight will be high. When you've had enough, end the fight by switching in a weapon or casting a spell. Once your Agility is high, just fight with whatever you like and you'll get good enough as time goes on.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:38
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The chest opening sounds in II sound like someone getting punched in a very sci-fi manner.
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Aug 30, 2012 05:40
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A question for the thread: I unabashedly love the older final fantasies, and unfortunately have only finished VI. V and IV are somewhere on the halfway-finished mark for me, and I kinda liked IX. I enjoyed the demo I played of XII. I loving hated XIII to the point I threw popcorn at the screen in disgust during the first cutscene, got through the first fight, and then ragequit the game. Should I give XIII-2 a chance or will I hate it? It looks kinda cool...  E: I guess I don't mind melodromatic bullshit stories too much since I enjoy the Tales series and stuff. OWLS! fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 05:43
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OWLS! posted:A question for the thread: I unabashedly love the older final fantasies, and unfortunately have only finished VI. V and IV are somewhere on the halfway-finished mark for me, and I kinda liked IX. I enjoyed the demo I played of XII. I loving hated XIII to the point I threw popcorn at the screen in disgust during the first cutscene, got through the first fight, and then ragequit the game. Well, there's a demo for 13-2 also. The battle system is very close to 13's, and the story is supposedly even stupider, but I guess there's more stuff to do and explore. Guess it depends on why you hated 13. Also, why not finish up/play the older games you're pretty sure you like, rather than buying/playing one you might hate?
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Aug 30, 2012 05:51
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Honestly? Because a friend of mine gave me his PS3, which I kind of feel obligated to use for something. But you're right I'll probably power through the older games first. Thanks for the tip that there's a demo, I'll go check it out as well.
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Aug 30, 2012 06:02
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OWLS! posted:A question for the thread: I unabashedly love the older final fantasies, and unfortunately have only finished VI. V and IV are somewhere on the halfway-finished mark for me, and I kinda liked IX. I enjoyed the demo I played of XII. I loving hated XIII to the point I threw popcorn at the screen in disgust during the first cutscene, got through the first fight, and then ragequit the game. Why would you play FFXIII-2 if you literally couldn't play 5 minutes of FFXIII? I mean, that's irrational hatred to a ridiculous degree. I can't even imagine why you would ragequit the game after the opening cutscene, nothing happens in it.  You're going to hate FFXIII-2 if that's the case.
ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 06:20
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Pablo Gigante posted:It is. I've restarted it more than a few times and quit after getting bored. I think my attention span is a hell of a lot shorter than it used to be when I was a teenager. However I managed to get past it when I started a new playthrough a couple months ago and it gets so much better Right now I'm being fueled by nostalgia after hearing that world map music. I actually like the fact that abilities come from items - when you get to a town with an equipment shop you actually have a reason to buy everything in there instead of going straight for the best stuff. Is there a really in-depth guide like Caves of Narshe has for FF5? That guide tells you stuff like "Make sure to keep stealing from these guys until you get a rare bow" and gives you boss fight strategies for multiple job setups. Actually I have the old FF9 walthrough lying around somewhere but I bet it's useless with all the PLAYONLINE~ stuff
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Aug 30, 2012 06:54
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It was incredibly useless without going to its Playonline page, now it's probably wasted paper. With pretty pictures!
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Aug 30, 2012 06:56
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Captain Vittles posted:Want to get awesome fast? Put everyone in the front row and give them all a pair of Shields. Fight some weak monsters. Have your party attempt to Attack with the Shields. You'll dodge a lot, you'll never score a hit, but your Shield levels will skyrocket and your chance of getting Agility after every fight will be high. When you've had enough, end the fight by switching in a weapon or casting a spell. The only problem is if you want to master Toad there for the Genji Equipment matching puzzle. Said Mantis enemies are vulnerable to it and the Gel/Pudding mobs don't have a high enough CR to take you to 16 with that. THE AWESOME GHOST posted:Is there a really in-depth guide like Caves of Narshe has for FF5? That guide tells you stuff like "Make sure to keep stealing from these guys until you get a rare bow" and gives you boss fight strategies for multiple job setups.  " what they don't tell you is that those towns are hours off.Without going too much into detail about individual items: On discs 1 and 2, at least make an attempt to steal every boss's full set, but if you get fed up, you can stop. My rule is that I go "easy" on a boss--don't just balls-deep gently caress 'em up--but still damage it every round while dedicating Zidane to Steal duty. If I get everything, great! If not, I don't sweat it. In the meantime, try your best to save/grind up 60,000+ gil. Once you get to disc 3, go to the Treno Auction as soon as you can and buy the Thief Gloves, which teach Master Thief and make your steal odds soooooo much more bearable. After that, absolutely steal everything from every boss because not only is it all great but starting on disc 3, it's also often unique stuff you can't get anywhere else. Always have Bandit (it gives Steal a 100% accuracy even if you fail to steal anything; if the enemy has a higher level than you do, you have a chance that it'll outright miss) and Master Thief equipped if at all possible. Otherwise, just pretty much never attack with Zidane, and only have him steal, even from regular monsters. It's the only way you'll bearably get Thievery to do max damage. I am absolutely loathe to toot my own horn but you can trust me with FF9 poo poo, I did the spergin' ultracompletionist LP of it  Oh, and Synthesis stuff, if you can afford it, it's not a bad idea to buy a surplus of 2 more of every weapon and armor beyond what you can equip, sometimes it's just really hard to judge what you'll need without reading really confusing guides... and believe you me, the extant guides on Synthesis are formatted so poorly that you can barely even read them, let alone make a shopping list of what you need to make every useful Synth item in the game. Fur20 fucked around with this message at 07:25 on Aug 30, 2012 |
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Aug 30, 2012 07:04
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The White Dragon posted:Stealing from bosses is important for equipment, but normal enemies only have common items. If you get frustrated trying to get them to give up their rare items, by all means, frick'um and just finish 'em off, but while some guides will tell you "well you can just buy this stuff at the next town, or the town after next Bosses have multiple items?! poo poo. I've been stealing some good stuff early on to get abilities ahead of time but I didn't know I was supposed to keep stealing after it succeeds. Yeah I remember your earlier posts in the thread, I'm pretty sure you know more about FF than a walkthrough would. Didn't know you did an LP, I'll check it out.
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Aug 30, 2012 07:30
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