How grindy is this game?

[Clown Fiesta]

Saw a review saying this game is extremely grindy, just want to know if i will get bored with all the grind or if the side quests are actually interesting so you aren't grind just to hit a level cap in order to progress the main quest. thanks

[Serafie1999AD]

You don't really need to grind much for levels, considering the game can be beat in a mode where every character is locked at level 1. Most grinding you'll have to do is farming License Points to unlock new abilities, and money (mostly obtained as sellable loot from the enemies) for buying equipment. Even there, the game lets you use 2x and 4x fast-forward modes for much faster grinding, and the Gambit system lets you automate trivial tasks during those battles. Note: this only applies to International Zodiac Job System (Japanese re-release for PS2) and The Zodiac Age (i.e. this remaster for Steam). The original PS2 game was much more tedious due to different mechanics and no speed-up modes.

[Bed]

That review sucks balls. Grindy? that review wouldn't know what a grind is even if it hit it. The game is amazing. Plain as that.

[Hinnyuu]

This is actually one of the least grindy FF games, because you don't ever need to grind for XP (levels are the weakest part of character progression), and LP never diminish (so most people will effectively max their LP well before the end of the game).

Two of the superweapons are a little grindy, but then again they're superweapons - that's how it works. And they're by no means REQUIRED to beat the game or the superbosses, not even close.

[Melodia]

As long as you fight stuff as you go and make sure to keep your equips upgraded, you should be perfectly fine for the story.
The side stuff could easily give you trouble at its ffirst unlock, but then again it's SUPPOSED to be harder than the main game. You will never miss out on any side stuff though, so you can always come back later.

[Justuค็็็็็็็s[FIN]]

You can speed up the game. Grinding will become breeze.

[Toki]

Yeah, there's like a button to make the game go at x2 or x4 speed.
And you can kinda just walk through areas with your party auto-murdering stuff.
I doubt the game's very grindy at all.

The reviewer might have managed their money improperly and just bought useless stuff nonstop and been like. "Ugh, I have to go get more money, this sucks."?

[Casurin]

If you want to do everything without a guide it can easily take > 200 hours with speedup, but that is do all the hunts (monsters you need to search for) and super-bosses on your own without knowing how to get the good equip.

but just for finishing the game? No grind.
doing most of the extra-stuff? very little that needs farming.
The real grindparts are things like the strongest weapons - one can be made with a few hours farming tops, some other are basically overpowered joke-weapons - just go enter an area and have like a 1 in 100 000 chance to get it..... there are a few of those and they can be gotten very early while being so bonkers strong that they are far stronger than any other weapons. But again - basically joke weapons.

[la_nague]

you dont have to grind and if you do want to grind, the game has 4x speed PLUS customizable party AI, so you basically just have to steer your party in the general direction of the enemies at 4x speed... if you have a good setup for the area.

[burningmime]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

This is actually one of the least grindy FF games

Now let's not exaggerate here.

[Hinnyuu]

Originally posted by burningmime:

Now let's not exaggerate here.

Which ones are less grindy, out of the mainline games? (obviously FFXIV wouldn't count)

Not many.

The very fact that XP is basically irrelevant is already a huge factor.

[it's a gabe]

To be fair, yes and no.

Yes, there is some grinding. As mentioned, there's the question of LP, which will make it possible for the characters to equip weapons and gear on top of using skills (not to mention other bonuses such as additional gambit slots, enhanced item effects, so on and so forth). However, you don't have to go out of your way to get the LP you need. And even if you want to unlock all licenses without farming, there's an option in the settings which awards you as much LP as possible.

But also, you're somewhat expected to fight most things that you come across. Not just for experience and LP, but drops and even the bestiary if you're a completionist. The bestiary in particular can be grindy if you wanna fill all the entries.

Endgame can also be grindy, as mentioned, but we have the luxury of adjusted drop rates through mods. If you don't wanna farm for money, just use the option that gives you as much gil as possible (also available from the settings menu).

What the person who claimed the game is grindy might've referred to is the fact that FFXII has a laser focus on combat. Some quests won't require you to fight anything per se, but there's an emphasis on combat when you're exploring a bunch of areas. However, you *don't have to* fight everything that moves.

So yes, the game is grindy in a sense, but not quite how that person implied. For starters, there are no level gates. If you come across a hunt, for example, that turns out to be too tough, just go back after you've progressed a little in the story. And if you wanna breeze through everything, just get the "boosters" from the settings menu and you'll never have to worry about grinding unless you want bazaar items that require specific drops.

[Hinnyuu]

It also depends on how you define "grindy". If you approach it from a completionist perspective, meaning you want absolutely everything there ever could be gotten ever, it's a slog - but so is every other FF game, pretty much.

Tasks like completing the Bestiary (which IS supremely grindy) don't actually give you anything, though. They're just achievements, with no tangible reward. You gain 0 rewards in the game for doing it.

So I suppose if you're talking about getting absolutely everything, maybe even without any outside informaiton... Then ok, this is a grindy game.

But if all you care about is getting through the story or even just finishing all the superbosses, it's really not very grindy at all. You never need to stop and grind for either LP or XP, most weapons are drops or chests, and even the grindy superweapons don't take all that long.

[burningmime]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Originally posted by burningmime:

Now let's not exaggerate here.

Which ones are less grindy, out of the mainline games? (obviously FFXIV wouldn't count)

Not many.

The very fact that XP is basically irrelevant is already a huge factor.

Of the ones I've played, , 7, 8, 9, and 10 require zero grinding at all to get through (in fact, they're much more fun if you try to go through them with low levels because the combat is so easy otherwise). I honestly forget 13.

[Hinnyuu]

Originally posted by burningmime:

Of the ones I've played, , 7, 8, 9, and 10 require zero grinding at all to get through (in fact, they're much more fun if you try to go through them with low levels because the combat is so easy otherwise). I honestly forget 13.

Neither does this game.

8 is really the only contender for even less grinding because of the scaling enemy levels.

7, 9, and 10 need vastly more work for the top-tier weapons. 10 also needs a lot of work to unlock all superbosses, probably the most work out of all those. 12 barely needs any, as the bosses basically just unlock in succession as you do them.

[it's a gabe]

Originally posted by burningmime:

I honestly forget 13.

13 doesn't require any grinding at all for its story. The post-game is full-on grind, though.