I haven't been able to play XII for a few days and have yet to unlock Espers or whatever they're called...
But I seem to remember something about SE improving their effectiveness in this version? Did I just dream that up or are they now a bit more viable than in vanilla?
Like guest characters, you can now directly command them and change their gambits and such.
This includes being able to command hrm to use their ultimate attack at will. A far cry from the ludicrous conditions some of them had in the vanilla game (one of them required the Summoner to be petrified, among other stuff)
Guns can't miss, either, and ignore stats in general. They march to their own beat.
I think that Belias doesn't have anything to offer so that you can just foist him off on Asche without any qualms.
Zeromus at least used to be kind of broken if the summoner had Infuse or Bubble, or both.
I haven't been able to play XII for a few days and have yet to unlock Espers or whatever they're called...
But I seem to remember something about SE improving their effectiveness in this version? Did I just dream that up or are they now a bit more viable than in vanilla?
In this version espers can be directly controlled, they stay out in the field longer after being summoned, summoning is easier I guess since the mist-gauge is no longer tied to MP, and I believe it's easier to trigger their Limit Breaks now.
Guns have the downside of just being shit sometimes though. Some enemies just barely take any damage from them for whatever reason. That and guns are the slowest weapon in the game, and don't benefit from the user's stats in any meaningful way. Late game there's no real way to do good damage with a gun because of the lack of stat interaction.
So what is Infuse actually good for, aside from an emergency Lay on Hands-style heal or a quick way to get someone to HP Critical for combo/passive license bonuses?
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
So what is Infuse actually good for, aside from an emergency Lay on Hands-style heal or a quick way to get someone to HP Critical for combo/passive license bonuses?
If you've got one person with unshakeable aggro, and are confident the person doing the infusing won't be taking damage for a bit
I haven't been able to play XII for a few days and have yet to unlock Espers or whatever they're called...
But I seem to remember something about SE improving their effectiveness in this version? Did I just dream that up or are they now a bit more viable than in vanilla?
In this version espers can be directly controlled, they stay out in the field longer after being summoned, summoning is easier I guess since the mist-gauge is no longer tied to MP, and I believe it's easier to trigger their Limit Breaks now.
Yeah, their "limit break" is literally just an ability you use from their menu (under technick, IIRC).
So what is Infuse actually good for, aside from an emergency Lay on Hands-style heal or a quick way to get someone to HP Critical for combo/passive license bonuses?
That's pretty much literally the things it's good for?
It's not a bad heal for characters who don't have any useful spells to cast with that MP, especially in the early game. Late-game it's just for going to Critical if you want to.
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Trial Mode sure is an easy way to break the game. You can get so many license points from it by just doing even the first dozen stages. My boards are almost maxed out aside from accessories and a few pieces of equipment and I didn't even go into Trial Mode with the intention of doing that.
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
So I just got Penelo in my party and she's getting stomped right into the dirt. She's basically inhaling all my potions. Any advice?
Also, I tried out Trial Mode a bit, must be too early though because I couldn't get past the 3rd challenge. Is there a way to keep the items you pick up and use them in the main game?
Still in fairly early stages of the game (replaying stuff I played in the original PS2 version a few years back) and liking it a lot -- the new job/license system is a vast, vast improvement over the original, I think. And it looks really good, even if (as in FFXHD) all of the characters have a certain ... plasticine quality to their skin. One think I kind of wish, even though I know this would've pushed it outside the bounds of an HD rerelease -- I wish that they would've merged some of the areas together so that you could, e.g., explore the Garamsythe Waterway without getting constant load screens as you transition between segments.
Can you give me a quick outline on that strategy you wrote earlier about waiting to assign jobs until a later point in the game? Does this happen relatively quickly, or is it 5+ hours in? Also, I think I'm going to copy your planned character/job pairings. Did you find any show-stoppers on that list?
So I just got Penelo in my party and she's getting stomped right into the dirt. She's basically inhaling all my potions. Any advice?
Also, I tried out Trial Mode a bit, must be too early though because I couldn't get past the 3rd challenge. Is there a way to keep the items you pick up and use them in the main game?
Penelo has cure, use that instead of potions
Trial mode - you keep any items you get on a stage that you complete. When you fail out/quit, use the main menu load option to load the autosave from the Trial. You'll be back in the main game with your stuff from the Trial. Now save over your normal save, quit to main menu, start a trial with that save, repeat.
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AbsoluteZeroThe new film by Quentin KoopantinoRegistered Userregular
So I just got Penelo in my party and she's getting stomped right into the dirt. She's basically inhaling all my potions. Any advice?
Also, I tried out Trial Mode a bit, must be too early though because I couldn't get past the 3rd challenge. Is there a way to keep the items you pick up and use them in the main game?
Penelo has cure, use that instead of potions
Trial mode - you keep any items you get on a stage that you complete. When you fail out/quit, use the main menu load option to load the autosave from the Trial. You'll be back in the main game with your stuff from the Trial. Now save over your normal save, quit to main menu, start a trial with that save, repeat.
I like how the ability example they mention in the description of the Foebreaker class is one that has a 10% chance of spawning in a chest on the last level of an optional dungeon that doesn't even become available until the games final dungeon is.
Wait no, I don't like that, because the way FF12 handles abilities is stupid.
Can you give me a quick outline on that strategy you wrote earlier about waiting to assign jobs until a later point in the game? Does this happen relatively quickly, or is it 5+ hours in? Also, I think I'm going to copy your planned character/job pairings. Did you find any show-stoppers on that list?
It's probably 5-10 hours in, but still below level 20. You can get by with the 3 starting Cure spells alright. You'll have to leave some of the optional hunts until after, run away from Ba-Gammon, and probably power level on the bridge in the mines a bit.
My pairings are working really well so far. Fran lacks mystic armor, which kind of sucks. Uhlan / Time Battlemage isn't super impressive either since they double up on heavy armor, and spears can already hit flying foes (rendering Time's crossbows rather useless). And Penelo can only hit flying foes with Shades of Black, which took a bit to unlock.
But the Swiftness pairings are working out, Fran is a perfectly serviceable backup healer, and Vaan could certainly be doing worse than Hasting everyone and then smacking the crap out of things. Ashe is such an instrument of destruction that I feel bad for the other characters having to miss out. Basch is boring but very effective.
Still pretty early. Just cleared Henne, about to finish the jungle.
Triptycho: A card-and-dice tabletop indie RPG currently in development and playtesting
Balthier as a Machinist/Uhlan hits hard. I was worried about that pairing because I kept hearing he's terrible at his canon weapon, but he's become one of my strongest characters. Focus and Adrenaline from the Uhlan board, berserk status (via an accessory currently), and elemental ammo have turned him into an absolute monster.
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
When people say he's the worst gun user, it's because his animation takes very slightly longer so he ends up getting like one less shot every twenty shots or something compared to other characters.
Yeah for the emphasis the game has on 'jobs', there are hardly any actual abilities in the game, outside of magic
Yeah I was really disappointed in this. I was hoping there would be new abilities for each job when the only real difference between the jobs is simply what weapons they're able to use.
Animation-times only make a worthwhile difference in certain cases. Generally, high combo-rates which bypass charge-times, and in theory short charge-times, but eh. In practice, Poles, Ninja Swords, Masamune I, and maybe Daggers or Scorpion Tail F.
Technically, I guess Wyrmhero Blade with Genji Gloves is where fast animations really shine. But it kind of only gets a chance to attack if it's the only damage-dealer you're using.
In the case of guns, with long charge-times, completely trading combos for critical hits, when most enemies tend to die in the first volley of attacks from a full party, an animation-difference of a fraction of a second will result in like a handful of completed attacks fewer over the course of a hundred hours.
Especially if you ever want that character to interrupt normal attacking to do anything other than normal attacks.
Other than that, I'd just hope for the animations that look the least terrible. I think Ashe had an animation with some twohanded weapon that looks incorrectly looped, or something.
Some victory-poses are fun, though. Balthier with onehanded sword can polish his shoe. You might be able to check that out with a Mythril Sword. He should be able to equip that one, no matter what.
When you buy abilities on the License Board you should just learn them instead of the opportunity to buy/find them. You can still hide really powerful stuff on the board by locking sections of it away behind side quests or hidden key items.
Gear can be on there in that you can eventually unlock the ability for a black Mage to use great swords or what have you, but it should be one block that unlocks the weapon category not individual weapons.
When you buy abilities on the License Board you should just learn them instead of the opportunity to buy/find them. You can still hide really powerful stuff on the board by locking sections of it away behind side quests or hidden key items.
Gear can be on there in that you can eventually unlock the ability for a black Mage to use great swords or what have you, but it should be one block that unlocks the weapon category not individual weapons.
Yes! I had forgotten about that bit -- I was still early enough in the game that I hadn't run across it -- but that was one of the things that put me off of FFXII when I tried to play the PS2 version a few years back: The way that everything had to be unlocked twice, once on the license board and once by finding a merchant who sold whatever you'd just unlocked.
Ugh, I forgot how much a chore Archades and Draklor was if you want to get all the Pinewood Chops and all the items in Draklor. It doesn't help the music on loop in Draklor is like 10 seconds long.
I'm just finishing up a straight week of 12+ hour shifts at work, while leaving my party auto-grinding in Henne Mines while I work/sleep. By the time I get home in the morning, I should have 4 level 99 and 2 level 97 characters... just in time to hit Archades and Draklor.
Do guest characters still use items from their own infinite inventory?
No, it's yours now. You'll want to turn most of those gambits down or off entirely.
Damn, I have fond memories of carting Vossler and Larsa around to all kinds of hunts that I wasn't really supposed to be doing yet and abusing their infinite item reserves.
I'm finding the Job system pretty peculiar. There doesn't seem to be much difference between classes and actual abilities are rare. At level 15 I haven't unlocked any abilities for Balthier or Vaan other than First Aid. Fran (my 3rd) has a lot of spells but never casts any of them due to needing to cast Heal pretty much constantly. The Shikari board in particular is a puzzler as there are a bunch of MP on-hit regen skills, but as far as I can tell he doesn't have any abilities that use MP?
So I'm mainly left with using manual control for Steal (which is how I'm initiating fights at the moment as Gambit's don't seem to be able to handle "stop stealing once you've stolen something") and Potions.
i think the license/gambit system is one that i'd like to see again with some tweaking. as many have said the boards themselves are all fairly "samey" in that i'm going to grind everything so it doesn't matter if gambits are all in the upper left or spread out on the right, almost all the "abilities" are the same. There is a lot of room to add things more distinctive between the classes. dual wield, dragoon jump, etc. could be added. I think a permanent 4th party member also would have been really nice to get to see more variety. I've purposely slowed down to try and keep all the members about the same level but i'm realizing this is probably a waste of time.
I'm just finishing up a straight week of 12+ hour shifts at work, while leaving my party auto-grinding in Henne Mines while I work/sleep. By the time I get home in the morning, I should have 4 level 99 and 2 level 97 characters... just in time to hit Archades and Draklor.
You're going to be disappointed, stuff stops spawning after about 50 kills and you have to move two rooms away to reset it.
So I'm mainly left with using manual control for Steal (which is how I'm initiating fights at the moment as Gambit's don't seem to be able to handle "stop stealing once you've stolen something") and Potions.
I've tweaked my steal gambit and paired it with 'Foe: HP<90% - ATTACK', which addresses that problem and prevents the thief from running around like a doofus when combating mobs. I only go manual if the first attempt isn't successful.
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But I seem to remember something about SE improving their effectiveness in this version? Did I just dream that up or are they now a bit more viable than in vanilla?
This includes being able to command hrm to use their ultimate attack at will. A far cry from the ludicrous conditions some of them had in the vanilla game (one of them required the Summoner to be petrified, among other stuff)
Lore-wise, I like to give Belias to Balthier because, well, he was promised the treasure of Raithwall's Tomb.
I think that Belias doesn't have anything to offer so that you can just foist him off on Asche without any qualms.
Zeromus at least used to be kind of broken if the summoner had Infuse or Bubble, or both.
In this version espers can be directly controlled, they stay out in the field longer after being summoned, summoning is easier I guess since the mist-gauge is no longer tied to MP, and I believe it's easier to trigger their Limit Breaks now.
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (2017, colorized)
If you've got one person with unshakeable aggro, and are confident the person doing the infusing won't be taking damage for a bit
Yeah, their "limit break" is literally just an ability you use from their menu (under technick, IIRC).
It's not a bad heal for characters who don't have any useful spells to cast with that MP, especially in the early game. Late-game it's just for going to Critical if you want to.
Also, I tried out Trial Mode a bit, must be too early though because I couldn't get past the 3rd challenge. Is there a way to keep the items you pick up and use them in the main game?
Can you give me a quick outline on that strategy you wrote earlier about waiting to assign jobs until a later point in the game? Does this happen relatively quickly, or is it 5+ hours in? Also, I think I'm going to copy your planned character/job pairings. Did you find any show-stoppers on that list?
Penelo has cure, use that instead of potions
Trial mode - you keep any items you get on a stage that you complete. When you fail out/quit, use the main menu load option to load the autosave from the Trial. You'll be back in the main game with your stuff from the Trial. Now save over your normal save, quit to main menu, start a trial with that save, repeat.
Does she? I didn't see it in the magic menu. Hmm.
Wait no, I don't like that, because the way FF12 handles abilities is stupid.
Yeah, but Shades of Black is cool enough that I forgive them.
My pairings are working really well so far. Fran lacks mystic armor, which kind of sucks. Uhlan / Time Battlemage isn't super impressive either since they double up on heavy armor, and spears can already hit flying foes (rendering Time's crossbows rather useless). And Penelo can only hit flying foes with Shades of Black, which took a bit to unlock.
But the Swiftness pairings are working out, Fran is a perfectly serviceable backup healer, and Vaan could certainly be doing worse than Hasting everyone and then smacking the crap out of things. Ashe is such an instrument of destruction that I feel bad for the other characters having to miss out. Basch is boring but very effective.
Still pretty early. Just cleared Henne, about to finish the jungle.
Yeah I was really disappointed in this. I was hoping there would be new abilities for each job when the only real difference between the jobs is simply what weapons they're able to use.
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The other useful ones are largely just Steal, Shades of Black, and Achilles
Technically, I guess Wyrmhero Blade with Genji Gloves is where fast animations really shine. But it kind of only gets a chance to attack if it's the only damage-dealer you're using.
In the case of guns, with long charge-times, completely trading combos for critical hits, when most enemies tend to die in the first volley of attacks from a full party, an animation-difference of a fraction of a second will result in like a handful of completed attacks fewer over the course of a hundred hours.
Especially if you ever want that character to interrupt normal attacking to do anything other than normal attacks.
Other than that, I'd just hope for the animations that look the least terrible. I think Ashe had an animation with some twohanded weapon that looks incorrectly looped, or something.
Some victory-poses are fun, though. Balthier with onehanded sword can polish his shoe. You might be able to check that out with a Mythril Sword. He should be able to equip that one, no matter what.
Gear can be on there in that you can eventually unlock the ability for a black Mage to use great swords or what have you, but it should be one block that unlocks the weapon category not individual weapons.
Yes! I had forgotten about that bit -- I was still early enough in the game that I hadn't run across it -- but that was one of the things that put me off of FFXII when I tried to play the PS2 version a few years back: The way that everything had to be unlocked twice, once on the license board and once by finding a merchant who sold whatever you'd just unlocked.
Damn, I have fond memories of carting Vossler and Larsa around to all kinds of hunts that I wasn't really supposed to be doing yet and abusing their infinite item reserves.
So I'm mainly left with using manual control for Steal (which is how I'm initiating fights at the moment as Gambit's don't seem to be able to handle "stop stealing once you've stolen something") and Potions.
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You're going to be disappointed, stuff stops spawning after about 50 kills and you have to move two rooms away to reset it.
I've tweaked my steal gambit and paired it with 'Foe: HP<90% - ATTACK', which addresses that problem and prevents the thief from running around like a doofus when combating mobs. I only go manual if the first attempt isn't successful.