Questions Regarding Buffs/Debuffs

[GlaceonChireiden]

I'm at the Giant Of Babil, I made it to the save point where the boss rush is. As soon as the fight starts, I make sure to buff everyone with protect/shell, but after they die and they vanish it seems like the difference of damage is minuscule.

Am I applying it wrong? I've been applying the buffs to everyone all at once, would that matter? Should I be doing it individually for each person?

I am around level 45, so I may be underleveled but I'm not sure. I've never played FF4 before this so I don't know what level I would/should normally be at by this point. Also could be an equipment issue, but as far as I know I can't leave the dungeon so I'm stuck with what I have. I know it's not the expensive crystal gear from the last town. I thought I'd have time to do some hard grinding after Fusoya joined, but when I left the moon it immediately threw me to the Giant of Babil.

[Black Mage Luis]

Your level is fine. Being level 40+ in the Giant of Babil is very high. That place is beatable in the 30s. I don't bother with protect and shell in the 2D versions of FF4. It isn't really that helpful and the game is easy enough to beat without those spells. Protect and shell can be stacked but there's no fight that really requires it. The only thing that is worth using on bosses is slow. Then just kill them.

[GlaceonChireiden]

Originally posted by Black Mage Luis:

Your level is fine. Being level 40+ in the Giant of Babil is very high. That place is beatable in the 30s. I don't bother with protect and shell in the 2D versions of FF4. It isn't really that helpful and the game is easy enough to beat without those spells. Protect and shell can be stacked but there's no fight that really requires it. The only thing that is worth using on bosses is slow. Then just kill them.

So I should just forget about casting protect/shell and focus on pure DPS? Does haste make any difference either?
I assume slow works on bosses, but every time I try it ends up missing (granted, I only give it one shot because I don't want to waste 5 turns trying to apply something that possibly isn't even meant to land)

Also a question for slow, if I use it on the elemental lords does it remain when they swap out? It looks like they're treated as one enemy/boss but has the movesets/weaknesses of several at once, so I'm not sure if I should recast it every time they swap.

[Black Mage Luis]

The Pixel Remaster is the only version where slow can miss. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use it. It works on every boss and enemy. Haste is good. You can use it to speed up Fusoya. Protect and shell don't bother using those.

According to this video the player used slow on Cagnazzo and the effect was still there, when the boss switch to Barbariccia. It's at 5:00. I know it's the PSP but it's one of the few versions of FF4 where you can see slow on the enemy. They flash white when they have slow on them. It's hard to tell if it still works like in the Pixel Remaster.
https://youtu.be/Kge7zmjlGMk?t=300

[GlaceonChireiden]

Originally posted by Black Mage Luis:

The Pixel Remaster is the only version where slow can miss. That doesn't mean you shouldn't use it. It works on every boss and enemy. Haste is good. You can use it to speed up Fusoya. Protect and shell don't bother using those.

According to this video the player used slow on Cagnazzo and the effect was still there, when the boss switch to Barbariccia. It's at 5:00. I know it's the PSP but it's one of the few versions of FF4 where you can see slow on the enemy. They flash white when they have slow on them. It's hard to tell if it still works like in the Pixel Remaster.
https://youtu.be/Kge7zmjlGMk?t=300

I managed to beat the Giant, and cleaned out the side quests for the summons I needed. Slow did work a few times on the bosses, but they didn't flash white when it was active (or if they did, I didn't notice it). Haste seemed useful too.

Is protect/shell better in FF5/6, or is it not worth bothering with in those games either? Is this just a trait that carries over every PR game?
Thanks for all the help!

[Cernel Joson]

Is protect/shell better in FF5/6, or is it not worth bothering with in those games either? Is this just a trait that carries over every PR game

In FF4 protect and shell do not work like the later titles. Each one adds +3 to your defense or magic defense that lasts the remainder of the battle. Repeated castings stack. I think the max is 255.

The only classic FF I've found where Protect and Shell are worth casting is FF8 and maybe FF Tactics.

[Black Mage Luis]

The visual effect of slow on the enemy is only in the DS and PSP version of FF4. You won't see it in the SNES, GBA, PS1 and Pixel Remaster. Shell is only useful in the DS version. I never played FF5 and 6 so I don't know how good those spells are in those games. I do have FF6 because it came with the SNES Mini. I just haven't touched the game yet. I only played FF3, 4, 7, 9 and The After Years.