I forgot how garbage some of the storyline parties are.

[Axel Arden]

Right now I'm saddled with Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, and Eiko. Two white mages, a black mage, and Zidane. The white mages have limited offense - summons are impractical outside boss fights due to MP cost, so they aren't useful. And while Vivi can be powerful, Black Magic MP cost is too high in this game to be used in every fight so - once again - he's only useful in boss fights, and runs out of MP in just a few battles.

So basically Zidane is carrying everyone right now, and it's boring. With the right killer ability, he does more damage than any of the other three can, without using a single MP. If I equip MP Attack, he does more damage than Vivi or Dagger can, even if they're nailing a weakness. I love this game, but they really didn't think things through with who they force you to carry around during most of the story segments.

[lee.Vilenski]

This the end of disk 2? With the Lifa Tree? Think about why you might have 2 white mages in this part of the story...

A lot of the enemies in this area are undead

On another note, the idea you don't have a normal party in some parts of the story I enjoy! It gives you more varience in the game before you have all 8 characters and can chose not much later. Also, you end up getting pretty much unlimited MP after this point, so there is no need to keep hold of ethers.

[Daddy Fuzzbottom]

Yeah the tree is setup for white mages, you should be fine.

Just learned too that if you use a soft on a Stroper it insta-kills it.

I think the Myconid's are the only thing you have to actually attack.

[Altair]

This is what makes FF9 special compared to 7 and 8. With forced party members with unique abilities, you'll need to adapt your strategies accordingly. Though, the worst storyline party for me was during Gizamaluke's Groto to Cleyra where we had to rely heavily on items.....

[Axel Arden]

Yeah I remember all the undead enemies and that's fine. I think I just needed a break. I'm also okay with predetermined parties. I appreciate using all the characters and their unique roles, after the interchangable characters in 7 and 8. I just prefer to have a couple physical attackers to lean back on - they tend to be a little more reliable, especially with the "killer" abilities. I guess this setup doesn't play to my preferences, even if it's not an objectively bad party.

[Scarlet Crusade]

Originally posted by Xalvin:

This is what makes FF9 special compared to 7 and 8. With forced party members with unique abilities, you'll need to adapt your strategies accordingly. Though, the worst storyline party for me was during Gizamaluke's Groto to Cleyra where we had to rely heavily on items.....

Nah, with that part, you have access to Quina who has access to Limit Glove. ;)

[Lich]

1. Grind by spamming summons and spells.
2. Go back to Eiko's house.
3. Talk to the moogle there and agree to sleep.
4. ???
5. Profit.

if anything, the game offers a lot of healing spots and inns. Even the inns only cost like 100 gil per use which is nothing compare to the amount you get per battle. If you are not grinding, the limited MP pool of the party is enough to let you advance the story by going directly to the next boss/dungeon, this is the only time where you have to manage your MP usage more wisely. Even then you have ethers/elixirs/tents to use and I usually end up not using them due to being too conservative and stingy with items.

[Zunnoab #931]

My nephew literally had to chain-reload and spam phoenix downs until Zidane arrived to help Steiner and Quina in a late game battle. He almost never used the two characters so they would die in one hit and could do basically nothing... so he had to luck out and live long enough for Zidane to show up. Without phoenix downs... that battle could be game ending I bet. It's in the "you are not alone" segment.

Originally posted by Xalvin:

This is what makes FF9 special compared to 7 and 8. With forced party members with unique abilities, you'll need to adapt your strategies accordingly. Though, the worst storyline party for me was during Gizamaluke's Groto to Cleyra where we had to rely heavily on items.....

Funny enough, FFXIII does this well in my opinion too. It's not perfect but it's one of the things it does right in my opinion.

[Aquaflute]

Since you often can steal tents from enemies and rarely run out of them mp is almost never an issue past the first disc. Personally I don't use Zidane much for attack even in this part of the game because he needs to build up for Thievery.

[Scarlet Crusade]

Originally posted by Zunnoab #931:

Originally posted by Xalvin:

This is what makes FF9 special compared to 7 and 8. With forced party members with unique abilities, you'll need to adapt your strategies accordingly. Though, the worst storyline party for me was during Gizamaluke's Groto to Cleyra where we had to rely heavily on items.....

Funny enough, FFXIII does this well in my opinion too. It's not perfect but it's one of the things it does right in my opinion.

Or just use Lightning, Vanille, and Fang. They've got it all pretty much covered.

[slmorton]

Yeah, you have to carry the mages early on in the game (except for Quina, whose melee damage is actually pretty decent, albeit random). That situation changes later in the game, however. Once Osmose is unlocked, MP is no longer an issue for Vivi and he changes from a decent offensive support character into a god. The other spellcasters get a boost once Amarant is in the picture (Chakra, baby!). Freya's White Draw ability can help too, but it's pricey and unreliable.

[lee.Vilenski]

Originally posted by Zunnoab #931:

My nephew literally had to chain-reload and spam phoenix downs until Zidane arrived to help Steiner and Quina in a late game battle. He almost never used the two characters so they would die in one hit and could do basically nothing... so he had to luck out and live long enough for Zidane to show up. Without phoenix downs... that battle could be game ending I bet. It's in the "you are not alone" segment.

Zidane always shows up at this point, even if you lose this battle.

[Auris]

i've never had problems with combat in ff9. honestly it's just so damn easy balancing doesn't even matter.

[Marble]

If you're at the Iifa Tree, everything there dies instantly with Life spell or Phoenix Down (with one exception that dies instantly when you use Soft on it).

Having two White Mages in an area where the majority of enemies (including the boss) are "Undead" is a blessing.

[Zunnoab #931]

Originally posted by Scarlet Crusade:

Originally posted by Zunnoab #931:

Funny enough, FFXIII does this well in my opinion too. It's not perfect but it's one of the things it does right in my opinion.

Or just use Lightning, Vanille, and Fang. They've got it all pretty much covered.

You can't do that in all places. In particular there's a sequence with Hope and someone else that people complained about for them giving you bad characters but the party works very well if used correctly.

Originally posted by lee.Vilenski:

Zidane always shows up at this point, even if you lose this battle.

My nephew's many game overs say "nope." He was playing the actual disc in my PS3, too.