Tips for Players New to Final Fantasy

[bufossil]

FF12 is the first FF game I have played. This post has tips and explanations I wish I would have had as a beginner.

TEAM COMPOSITION

I started a team and got them to level 12, and realized I had made several serious mistakes. So, I stopped and started a new team. Now that the new team is level 12, I realize that I started this team incorrectly as well. This is what you need to know.

By the time you reach level 10 you will have six people on your team, that will likely run around as two trios. You will fight bosses that do incredible damage, so you need someone with huge amounts of HP and good armor for each trio.

You will also fight flying bosses, prior to when your team is level 15. Even though melee toons can hit bats and other trash mobs out of the air, they cannot even hit a flying boss. (Later on in the game some melee classes get "hand bombs," and three classes will get "Telekinesis," which provide ways for melee classes to fight flying bosses. But you will not have either one of these for your first flying boss.) Therefore, you must cannot build a team without at least a couple of ranging toons.

Up through level 12 (can't comment after that yet), the gun shooting class is worthless. After trying the other classes, it appears to me that guns do the least damage of all ranging classes. If you are going to have ranging classes, use crossbows, bows, or mages, not guns.

Up through level 12, I have found the game to be anti-mage. Mages run out of MP quickly, and the potion that refills it (Ether or Hi-Ether) are fairly rare drops in the game. Open a browser and search for "FF12 ether" and you will see lots of people asking where to get ether. For a point of comparison, up through level 12 I have probably found 100 health potions and 20 high health potions. I have found less than 10 ethers, and zero hi ethers. The game equips mages to do melee damage, so be prepared for your mage to do a lot of that. (You can set up a couple of gambits [see below] to replenish MP, but they do not provide enough MP for a mage to do nothing but deal magic damage--at least early on in the game.)

BOTTOM LINE FOR TEAM

If you are going to keep your six party members equal in level, it would be helpful to have two heavily armed melee fighters, two ranging fighters (bow, crossbow, mage), and two healers.

GENERAL TIPS

As far as I can tell, there is no PDF file of the original little user manual that you can download. However, someone turns pages through the manual in a video on YouTube.

There are three ways to be healed from damage: [1] potions, [2] healing mage, [3] touching a save point crystal. You never heal over time, and you do not heal when you level up. You can drink a potion any time using the battle menu (the left button your press with your right-hand thumb).

You go long periods of time without ever seeing a save point. The game also automatically saves the game when you go into a new zone, but the game overwrites that same save file every time you go into a new zone. (You cannot pick from several automatic save files to load a new game.)

You go a long time in a new game with three characters: Vaan, Balthier, and Fran. If you want a healer early on, one of these toons needs to be a white or red mage (both of which can heal).

There is no quest log in the game. You get hints about the main quest line by looking at the text at the bottom of the world map, and you have a log for hunting monsters that you acquire from a bulletin board. However, there is nothing in the game that tracks side quests.

The game uses a "gambit" system, which is a way for players to automate battle behavior. Every toon in your party must have these rules set up. Each toon has two gambit slots at the beginning, and you purchases licenses for more. Gambits are set up via the Party menu (the top yellow button pressed by the right-hand thumb).

Do not hesitate to change gambits or disable them for boss battles.

Before you can use a skill or spell in battle, you must do two things: [1] purchase a license for it using "license points" [LP] that accumulate during battles, and then [2] purchase the skill or spell at a vendor/merchant. You spend the license points you accumulate via the Party menu.

You cannot equip gear when you select Inventory from the Party menu. You must select Equip from the Party menu. (This confused me at first, because I was used to RPGs where you equip gear from the inventory view. My eyes skipped right over the word "Equip.")

First aid only works when a player is critically low on HP. It can save your life in a pinch, but the next hit will likely kill you anyway. You can use it, but "cure" is better early on.

If someone in your party dies, there are three ways to resuscitate them: [1] use a Phoenix Down, [2] have a mage use "raise," or [3] touch a save point.

You do not assign any points when you level up. Leveling up raises stats in a minor way, and it is all automatic. Licenses for gear and skills are most important, followed by equipping the gear and skills the licenses made available.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If all else fails, post your questions on this forum. I have found the players here to be kind and helpful. About half of what I learned in this post came from very patient members of this forum. Thank you to all who answered my questions.

(Any errors in my post are entirely my fault, however.)

[Shan]

I was reading some of the points you listed in the op, and they were wrong on many counts as others have pointed out already.

However, there's one other point that *hasn't* been adressed. You don't need a White Mage at the start of the game, because all female characters start off with White Magick 1 unlocked regardless of job choice so they always have access to Cure and Blindna (Fran also starts with Black Magick 1 regardless of job, and thus has access to Fire, making the Flan boss slightly easier).

Also, there *is* a save crystal right before the Mimic Queen.

[Monterossa]

It's the T word for most video game community. Don't say it.

[Evilsod]

Indeed, I didn't get a White Mage till Ashe joined. Potion Lore 3 goes a long way.

I totally forgot how utterly worthless First Aid was though. You're better off just removing that gambit totally and continueing to attack than using that crap.

Having 2 'trios' is totally wrong too. You can play it that way if you want, or you can have 3 main characters and ignore the other 3 totally, or you can mix and match. I've been playing through with Vaan as leader almost always with the other 2 rotating to keep them levelled. Multiple characters have access to healing magick, even if they are relatively weak compared to my WM/BM but you can switch in at a moments notice if things start to go badly.

One of the most important things to mention, especially early on, is that the only restriction on swapping a player in is whether they are the current target of an action. You can bring a White Mage in on the fly if your support healer can't handle it. Or you can swap out your White Mage to bring in some more firepower if things are going smoothly. Or you can swap in some ranged characters if the area has a lot of Flying type enemies.

[DigginTiger]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Originally posted by bufossil:

Up through level 12 (can't comment after that yet), the gun shooting class is worthless. After trying the other classes, it appears to me that guns do the least damage of all ranging classes. If you are going to have ranging classes, use crossbows, bows, or mages, not guns.

Guns are by far the most powerful weapons at low levels, because their damage is completely independent from your stats (or enemy stats). If you get a good gun early you will do magnitudes more damage than any of your other characters. Guns are at the center of most low-level challenges, and are the best-performing weapons for a very long part of the game.

Originally posted by bufossil:

You go long periods of time without ever seeing a save point. The game also automatically saves the game when you go into a new zone, but the game overwrites that same save file every time you go into a new zone. (You cannot pick from several automatic save files to load a new game.)

Save points are in fact quite abundant, because the zone layouts are structured in ways that put the nearest save point only a few screens away. If you want to heal up with a save crystal, it's almost always just around the corner. Part of that has to do with the fast-travel points being save crystals as well, so they are naturally dispersed generously throughout the world, including inside some dungeons. Also, there is practically always a save crystal right before a boss fight.

+ guns never miss their targets which can come very handy....
Only drawbacks of guns:
1.Very very slow
2.Quite a large amount of ennemies are very resistant to this kind of weapon and take almost no damage
3 The higher level the user of guns will be (as well as buffs provided by gears), the less beneficial it will be compared to other wepons , which are all attribute related.
This is really noticeable in late game.

[Hinnyuu]

Originally posted by roro4066:

2.Quite a large amount of ennemies are very resistant to this kind of weapon and take almost no damage

It's not quite a large amount, it's a minority. Only flans, ghosts, elementals, and bombs are resistant to gun damage. Out of the bosses (that aren't those species listed) only Zodiark is resistant. Literally everything else in the game takes full damage. And that includes enemy with very high defensive stats, which affect all other weapons but guns (and measures).

Originally posted by roro4066:

3 The higher level the user of guns will be (as well as buffs provided by gears), the less beneficial it will be compared to other wepons , which are all attribute related.
This is really noticeable in late game.

While that's not wrong, guns remain extremely viable if you're just comparing per-hit damage. Even with the best gear, the great advantage of melee weapons isn't that they hit super hard - it's that they combo into multiple hits (which guns can't). In fact, due to the fact that guns can critically hit and select from a wide range of elements, they remain largely superior in strict per-hit damage even at endgame. The only weapon to rival them, really, is Excalibur - and that only because of White Robes and the fact that everything and their mother is weak to holy in the endgame dungeons.
It's mostly the fact that the superbosses are all about chaining combo attacks that guns fall out of favor (charge time is a minor factor as well in sustained damage fights). Outside of that, you oneshot basically every trash mob even in areas like Henne Mines or Pharos Subterra.

[DigginTiger]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Originally posted by roro4066:

2.Quite a large amount of ennemies are very resistant to this kind of weapon and take almost no damage

It's not quite a large amount, it's a minority. Only flans, ghosts, elementals, and bombs are resistant to gun damage. Out of the bosses (that aren't those species listed) only Zodiark is resistant. Literally everything else in the game takes full damage. And that includes enemy with very high defensive stats, which affect all other weapons but guns (and measures).

Originally posted by roro4066:

3 The higher level the user of guns will be (as well as buffs provided by gears), the less beneficial it will be compared to other wepons , which are all attribute related.
This is really noticeable in late game.

While that's not wrong, guns remain extremely viable if you're just comparing per-hit damage. Even with the best gear, the great advantage of melee weapons isn't that they hit super hard - it's that they combo into multiple hits (which guns can't). In fact, due to the fact that guns can critically hit and select from a wide range of elements, they remain largely superior in strict per-hit damage even at endgame. The only weapon to rival them, really, is Excalibur - and that only because of White Robes and the fact that everything and their mother is weak to holy in the endgame dungeons.
It's mostly the fact that the superbosses are all about chaining combo attacks that guns fall out of favor (charge time is a minor factor as well in sustained damage fights). Outside of that, you oneshot basically every trash mob even in areas like Henne Mines or Pharos Subterra.

This is indeed a pretty large amount for me, especially with ghosts who can be found in almost all late game areas (pharos/great crystal/henne mines and even a few in zertina caverns).
And no, even with the best gun in the game you don't one shot basically everything in pharos subterra, maybe in berserker state and even then i'm not sure, but i can always check.

You say guns remain superior in strict per hit damage...i would say yes because of the criticals shot and the fact thy never miss but when i look at the DPS of my uhlan or my bushi, i say god ! guns are definitly not the best option for DPS oriented characters (at least in late game and on this version of the game), unless the ennemy the're targetting is vulnerable to specific shots like dark/earth or wind shots.
In my opinion guns in lategame are very usfull for situational ennemies.
That said, sure all depends on your playstyle and i like chaining entites, you see...

[Hinnyuu]

Originally posted by roro4066:

This is indeed a pretty large amount for me, especially with ghosts who can be found in almost all late game areas (pharos/great crystal/henne mines and even a few in zertina caverns).

If you consider it a large amount, that's up to you. In terms of numbers, it's a minority. That's not debatable, you can literally just count it.

Originally posted by roro4066:

And no, even with the best gun in the game you don't one shot basically everything in pharos subterra, maybe in berserker state and even then i'm not sure, but i can always check.

Please do. And berserk should be a given, as any physical damage dealer is only really viable with berserk (and Focus/Adrenaline).

Originally posted by roro4066:

You say guns remain superior in strict per hit damage...i would say yes because of the criticals shot and the fact thy never miss but when i look at the DPS of my uhlan or my bushi, i say god ! guns are definitly not the best option for DPS oriented characters (at least in late game and on this version of the game), unless the ennemy the're targetting is vulnerable to specific shots like dark/earth or wind shots.
In my opinion guns in lategame are very usfull for situational ennemies.
That said, sure all depends on your playstyle and i like chaining entites, you see...

"DPS" is a tricky term because it all depends on the situation. Do guns hold up against Yiazmat? Not in any way, shape or form. But no weapons can compete there outside of Yagyu, Kumbha, and perhaps Kanya/Zodiac Spear with Genji Gloves. However, keep in mind that the million-HP boss fights are a tiny, tiny portion of the game. If you measure your entire performance based on 5 fights, fine. Don't use guns. For the remaining 99.99% of the game, though, guns will almost always deal more damage.
For that reason, "DPS" is not the most convenient metric, because in Oneshot Land factors like charge time become fairly moot; just as combo rate becomes secondary to critical hits. In multi-target scenarios, any weapon, melee or ranged, loses to magic. Though guns have the secondary advantage of not needing to run around, and of being out of range of many annoying effects, making it much easier to maintain them in Adrenaline, for example.

But you're right - personal playstyle trumps all. If you play in ways that diminish the advantages of guns, use something else. That doesn't mean the advantage isn't there, though. You just choose to play in ways that don't make use of it. Which is 100% legitimate. This is a single-player game, nobody else but you matters, really, and nothing you do has an impact on anyone else but yourself. Play to YOUR enjoyment. However, in the spirit of an "info for new players" thread, people should be presented with all the options - and then choose what they like best, for their own personal reasons.

[DigginTiger]

Originally posted by Hinnyuu:

Originally posted by roro4066:

This is indeed a pretty large amount for me, especially with ghosts who can be found in almost all late game areas (pharos/great crystal/henne mines and even a few in zertina caverns).

If you consider it a large amount, that's up to you. In terms of numbers, it's a minority. That's not debatable, you can literally just count it.

Originally posted by roro4066:

And no, even with the best gun in the game you don't one shot basically everything in pharos subterra, maybe in berserker state and even then i'm not sure, but i can always check.

Please do. And berserk should be a given, as any physical damage dealer is only really viable with berserk (and Focus/Adrenaline).

Originally posted by roro4066:

You say guns remain superior in strict per hit damage...i would say yes because of the criticals shot and the fact thy never miss but when i look at the DPS of my uhlan or my bushi, i say god ! guns are definitly not the best option for DPS oriented characters (at least in late game and on this version of the game), unless the ennemy the're targetting is vulnerable to specific shots like dark/earth or wind shots.
In my opinion guns in lategame are very usfull for situational ennemies.
That said, sure all depends on your playstyle and i like chaining entites, you see...

"DPS" is a tricky term because it all depends on the situation. Do guns hold up against Yiazmat? Not in any way, shape or form. But no weapons can compete there outside of Yagyu, Kumbha, and perhaps Kanya/Zodiac Spear with Genji Gloves. However, keep in mind that the million-HP boss fights are a tiny, tiny portion of the game. If you measure your entire performance based on 5 fights, fine. Don't use guns. For the remaining 99.99% of the game, though, guns will almost always deal more damage.
For that reason, "DPS" is not the most convenient metric, because in Oneshot Land factors like charge time become fairly moot; just as combo rate becomes secondary to critical hits. In multi-target scenarios, any weapon, melee or ranged, loses to magic. Though guns have the secondary advantage of not needing to run around, and of being out of range of many annoying effects, making it much easier to maintain them in Adrenaline, for example.

But you're right - personal playstyle trumps all. If you play in ways that diminish the advantages of guns, use something else. That doesn't mean the advantage isn't there, though. You just choose to play in ways that don't make use of it. Which is 100% legitimate. This is a single-player game, nobody else but you matters, really, and nothing you do has an impact on anyone else but yourself. Play to YOUR enjoyment. However, in the spirit of an "info for new players" thread, people should be presented with all the options - and then choose what they like best, for their own personal reasons.

i agree

[DigginTiger]

Ok, so i've just come back from the pharos subterra after a few minutes of testing and here are the results (take note that toads an horses were already enough to get meaningfull results, so i didn't even bother getiing any deeper in the dugeon to check the other mobs of the area like apandas bunes...):

so when not berserk, fran brings both of these ennemies at mid-life and sometimes they have even more health left than the half.

In bererker state, she takes down about 3/4 and sometimes a good 2/3 of these ennemies healthbars.

She is using the best guns in the game (mithuna is the english name i think and aldebaran is the french one + the petrify shots for best average damage)

But, it's true that when she lands a crit she can one shot these guys.

i checked about her having the special license of bonus physical damage when at full health, and it appears she does not possess this license, so...
Since i know that this license can make a quite large damage difference,with this license unlocked i would say she may be able to one shot them, but only if she is berserked which is annoying if she has a supporting role like white mage for ex, but which can be handy if she is used as DPS oriented char (keep in mind that in those areas your chracters will be most likely never be at full health, unless you like having gambits like (ally any: curaja or whatever) which is not my case...again we all play differently!

if i remember well, aside from these 2 ennemies there are skelttons/zombies who can definitely be one shooted i think and then ghosts/apandas/zombie dragons and bunes who won't be one shooted anyway if i'm not mistaken)

So take it as it is worth for you but this are the results.

Oh and yes sorry OP if we are "overwhelming" your thread with this discussion, it is definitely not our intention.

[bufossil]

You guys are amazing, and well beyond my level of understanding. I have never played an RPG where I had to figure stuff out like you guys have. I started playing this game because one website said this was a good starter FF game, although after I started I found another website that said it is the most complicated of the series. I am wondering if I am in over my head.

At the present time I am doing what I do regularly: reading more web pages trying to figure stuff out.

[Hinnyuu]

More information is always better. And it's not uncommon for games like this to have hidden workings and mechanics not obvious at first glance.

However, it's by no means REQUIRED to know all these things. The game isn't all THAT complicated or difficult when you get right down to it. Even a naive player making all sorts of suboptimal decisions will still be able to finish the game if they try hard enough. That's not to say that knowing details doesn't make it easier, of course.

[DigginTiger]

Originally posted by bufossil:

You guys are amazing, and well beyond my level of understanding. I have never played an RPG where I had to figure stuff out like you guys have. I started playing this game because one website said this was a good starter FF game, although after I started I found another website that said it is the most complicated of the series. I am wondering if I am in over my head.

At the present time I am doing what I do regularly: reading more web pages trying to figure stuff out.

i think this FF is not the easiest in terms of mechanics and gameplay. Sure, once you have figured it out it becomes easy , but before that point there could be too many things to handle and to consider for a "first FF run"
Personnally i found that FF10 was really easier to understand and i'm glad i started to play the FF serie with it.
Hope you will enjoy FF12 as much as i did and as much as i am now with this new version.
Cheers.

[bufossil]

I appreciate the kind words and wishes. I am going to give it a good try, because I like what I see so far (level 17). I will keep reading websites to learn what would appear to be simple to most readers on this forum, but new to me. It seems worth it.