______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== G A M E M E C H A N I C S F A Q Final Fantasy XII by Maltzsan (dcl.maltz@gmail.com) ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== Last updated: January 30, 2007 (Version 2.20) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Change Log] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ver. 2.00: Rearrangement everywhere! Major expansion: Section 1, 6 and 8. Happy New Year! Ver. 2.01: [New] 7b, 2d, 2e, 10f; [Expanded] 5a, 8b. Ver. 2.02: [New] 2f, 6d; [Expanded] 8b. Fixed lots of typos. Ver. 2.10: [New & Rearranged] Section 9 & 10; [Expanded] 3b, Section 4. [Updated] Appendix A. Fixed more typos! Ver. 2.11: Fixed a few mistakes and some typos. Ver. 2.12: [New & Rearranged] 8b, 8c; [Expanded] 5a. [Updated] 6a. Ver. 2.13: [Updated] 4d, 8c. Fixed a few mistakes and typos. Ver. 2.14: [New] 10g, 10h. [Expanded] 3b, 4c, 8b, 8c. [Corrected] 5a. Ver. 2.15: [New] Appendix B. Fixed a few mistakes. Ver. 2.16: [New] 8d. [Expanded] 8b, 8c. Ver. 2.17: [New] 10j, 10k, Appendix C. [Expanded] 8c. Fixed a few mistakes. Ver. 2.18: Fixed several mistakes and typos. Ver. 2.19: [New] 10l. [Expanded] 8a. Fixed a mistake. Ver. 2.20: [Updated & Expanded] 5b, 10k, Appendix A & B. Fixed some mistakes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Introduction] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Welcome to the Game Mechanics FAQ of Final Fantasy XII(12). In this FAQ you will find many game mechanisms that are not mentioned by the game itself, or the Official (Brady) Strategy Guide of FF12. Hopefully, this FAQ will help you formulate more efficient strategies throughout the game, and make your FF12 experience more insightful and interesting. Most of the information below is based on the Official (Square-Enix) Japanese guide: Battle Ultimania (one of the Ultimania guides). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimania A huge thank for the authors of Battle Ultimania. If you would like to share information, I will be glad to include your contribution in this guide, while giving you full credits as well. I wish to give special thanks to FFSKY (http://ff12.ffsky.cn) for translating the Ultimania guide, and providing such helpful information available online. Also, a huge thank goes to Clamchen for making the Ultimania guide available for myself and many others. If you are a FAQ writer, please feel free to use information supplied in this FAQ to benefit your readers. If you find any error in this guide, please feel free to email me. Maltz dcl.maltz@gmail.com ===================================================================== | Table of Contents | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 0. Important Notes | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1. Action Time | | 1a. Charge Stage | | 1b. Action Stage | | 1c. Users' Data | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2. Weapons | | 2a. Damage Formula | | 2b. Combos & Critical Hit | | 2c. Blocking and Parry | | 2d. Counter | | 2e. Knock Back | | 2f. Added Effect | | 2g. Recommendations | | 2h. Best Weapon Comparison | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3. Magics & Items | | 3a. Hurt & Heal Magics | | 3b. Status Effect Magics | | 3c. Motes | | 3d. Fangs | | 3e. Knot of Rust & Dark Matter | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4. Techniques | | 4a. Daily Techs | | 4b. Recovery Techs | | 4c. Damaging Techs | | 4d. Status Techs | | 4e. Stats Techs | | 4f. Magical Techs | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5. Loots & Treasures | | 5a. Drops, Battle Chain & Related | | 5b. Chests & Diamond Armlet | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6. Stats & Abilities | | 6a. Stat Growth Formula | | 6b. Stat Growth & Experience Chart | | 6c. License Augments | | 6d. Ability from Accessories | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7. Mist Quickening | | 7a. Time Left | | 7b. Mist Charge | | 7c. Damage: Regular Hit | | 7d. Damage: Finishing Blow | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8. Monsters | | 8a. Passive Abilities | | 8b. Spawning | | 8c. Bestiary FAQs | | 8d. Detection | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9. Espers | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10. Miscellaneous FAQs | | 10a. Giza Plain Rain & Dry | | 10b. Clan shop goods | | 10c. Caution: Repeatable Bazaar Items | | 10d. Sandstorm after Tyrant | | 10e. ing Minigame | | 10f. Distance | | 10g. Guests & New Party Members | | 10h. Breaking Damage Limit | | 10i. Sky Pirate's Den | | 10j. Hunt Club Rewards | | 10k. Brady Guide Corrections | | 10l. End Game Spells | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | Appendix A: Controller Issue | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | Appendix B: 50 Minute Yiazmat | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | Appendix C: The Making of Game Mechanics FAQ | ===================================================================== ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 0. Important Notes ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 1: The game rounds down all decimals at the end of all calculations. For example, 99.99 = 99, not 100. 2: This game contains a lot of mechanics that are extremely repetitive, tedious and mind-degenerative in nature. 3: Don't forget to use Ctrl + F to search for your keywords. 4: Here is a list of abbreviated terms that I will use throughout the FAQ. ============================= | ATK | Attack (of a weapon) | |------|----------------------| | DEF | Defense | | MDEF | Magical Defense | | EVA | Evasion | |------|----------------------| | STR | Strength | | MAG | Magic Power | | VIT | Vitality | | SPD | Speed | | Lv | Level | |------|----------------------| | DMG | Damage | |------|----------------------| | CT | Charge Time Factor | |------|----------------------| | acc. | Accessory | | lic. | License | ============================= 5. We finally received some breakthrough information in the controller issue. See Appendix A for details. 6. If there is a conflict between this guide and another guide, it is likely that Ultimania is more accurate, unless I made a mistake in translation. 7. Thank you for reading! ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 1. Action Time ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== Let's start with the fundamental knowledge of battles - how each action takes place. All actions in FF12 go through the following two stages: "Charge", and "Action". The "Charge Stage" involves the filling of the charge bar. The "Action Stage" refers to the actual action, which can be roughly broken down into the "Animation" and "Stun" periods. 1.Charge 2a.Animation 2b.Stun Next Charge... |---------------->|--------------|---------|------------------> The total time required for any action is the simple sum of the three. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | "Total" Action Time = Charge Time + Action Time | | = Charge Time + Animation Time + Stun Time | ----------------------------------------------------------------- In the following sections I will introduce them one by one. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [ 1a. Charge Stage ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Charging is not a new concept in FFs. What's new this time is that different actions require various length of Charge Time. There are quite a few factors involved in the calculation of Charge Time: --------------------------------------------------------------- | Charge Time = [CT x CS-MOD + RAN0.5] x L-MOD x B-MOD x ST-MOD | --------------------------------------------------------------- where CT = Charge Time Factor (CT) CS-MOD = Character's Speed Modifier RAN0.5 = Random number between 0 and 0.5 (seconds) L-MOD = License "Swiftness" Modifier B-MOD = Battle Speed Modifier ST-MOD = Stats Modifier o Charge Time Factor (CT) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All actions in FF12 come with its own Charge Time Factor(CT). Each type of weapon comes with a standard CT, while some particular weapons have their own unique CT. For example, the Wyrmhero blade comes with a very long CT of 99. CT is almost directly proportional to the time required for the Charge Stage. When all other parameters being equal (including the random number between 0 and 0.5 seconds), a weapon with 3 times more CT will require 3 times longer to charge. CT = 0 means the action requires no charge at all. Here come all CTs in the game: =========================================================================== | Category | Name | CT | Category | Name | CT | |=============|==============|========|============|================|=======| | 1-Handed | Dagger | 21-25* | Techniques | Libra | 10 | | Weapons | Axe | 29 | Daily | Steal | 30 | | | Hammer | 32 | | Poach | 50 | | | Mace | 32 |------------|----------------|-------| | | Measure | 32 | Techniques | First Aid | 15 | | | 1-Hand Sword | 35 | Recovery | Revive | 25 | |-------------|-----------------------| | Charge | 40 | | 2-Handed | Ninja Sword | 24 | | Infuse | 40 | | Weapons | Spear | 26 |------------|----------------|-------| | | Unarmed | ~26? | Techniques | Numerology | 25 | | | Katana | 29 | Damaging | Sight Unseeing | 25 | | | 2-Hand Sword | 30 | | 1000 Needles | 30 | | | Wyrmhero B. | 99 | | Souleater | 35 | | | Pole | 30 | | Horology | 40 | | | Rod | 33 | | Traveler | 40 | | | Staff | 34 | | Bone Crusher | 45 | |-------------|--------------|--------| | Gil Toss | 45 | | Ranged | Crossbow | 28 | | Telekinesis | 50 | | 2-Handed | Hand-Bomb | 34 |------------|----------------|-------| | Weapons | Bow | 36 | Techniques | Charm | 35 | | | Gun | 51 | Status | Stamp | 55 | |-------------|--------------|--------|------------|----------------|-------| | Magics | All | 30 | Techniques | Expose | 45 | |-------------|--------------|--------| Stats | Share | 45 | | Items | All | 0 | | Wither | 45 | |-------------|--------------|--------| | Addle | 45 | | Quickenings | All | 0 | | Achilles | 55 | |-------------|--------------|--------|------------|----------------|-------| | Summoning | All Espers | 0 | Techniques | Shades of | 45 | | | | | Magical | Black | | =========================================================================== * Better Daggers have shorter CT: Danjuro (21) Zwill Crossblade (22) Platinum Dagger, Orichalcum Dirk, Avenger (23) Gladius, Main Gauche, Chopper (24) Assassin's Dagger, Mage Masher, Dagger (25) ? So far, there has been no mentioning of CT for Unarmed. Based on the experimental data collected by Arthellinus (as in Power Walkthrough) and TimeMage (see 1c), the CT for Unarmed should be close to, or slightly lower than the CT of Spears, 26. o Character's Speed Modifier (CS-MOD) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Character's Speed Modifier is solely influenced by, guess what, a character's SPD stat. However, the relationship between the two is not very intuitive, and quite surprising. The Ultimania guide only supplied a graph of how a character's SPD relates to the "basic time", which is defined as "CT x CS-MOD" in the context of this FAQ. I have converted the graph to actual numbers below. The weapon used in this graph is a CT=35 weapon. ================================ | SPD | CT x CS-MOD (seconds) | |-------|------------------------| | 23 | ~4.75 | | 24-25 | ~4.65 | | 26-28 | ~4.55 | | 29-31 | ~4.45 | | 32-35 | ~4.35 | | 36-40 | ~4.25 | | 41-46 | ~4.15 | | 47-56 | ~4.05 | | 57-72 | ~3.95 | | 73-93 | ~3.85 | | 94-99 | ~3.75 | ================================ As you can see, the reduction of CT x CS-MOD is only obvious when SPD is relatively low (below 46). The bonus becomes smaller and smaller as speed increases. Even for the extremes, the highest-possible SPD (99) only makes charging 21% faster compared to the lowest-possible SPD (23) (relative CS-MOD = 0.79). Contrary to public belief, SPD matters not very much in charge. o License "Swiftness" Modifier (L-MOD) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Each "Swiftness" License purchased results in a 12% reduction in the Swiftness Modifier (L-MOD), up to a total of 3 licenses = 36% reduction in L-MOD. So why is this different from the in-game description of "10%" reduction? It is likely that the in-game description refers to the "Total Action Time", which is the sum of "Charge Stage Time" and "Action Stage Time". Since the Action Stage Time is not reduced by the Swiftness license, the "Total Action Time" reduction is likely to be less than 12%. 10% is probably a good estimation for the general public to comprehend. o Battle Speed Modifier (B-MOD) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are 6 battle speeds one can choose from. ============================= | Battle Speed | B-MOD | |--------------|--------------| | 1 (Slowest) | 1/1.0 (100%) | | 2 | 1/1.2 (83%) | | 3 | 1/1.4 (71%) | | 4 | 1/1.6 (63%) | | 5 | 1/1.8 (56%) | | 6 (Fastest) | 1/2.0 (50%) | ============================= A fast Battle Speed (low B-MOD) reduces the Charge Stage Time, while keeping the Action Stage Time the same. This means that by setting the battle speed fast, you reduce the relative disadvantage of actions with long CTs (such as guns), as the action stage length stays the same (see Section 1b). On the other hand, when all you need to do is fleeing, setting the battle speed to minimum prevents more enemies from finishing their charges and attacking your happy-feet (fleeing) character. o Status Modifier (ST-MOD) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are various statuses that make a character charge faster, slower, or not charge at all. These statuses can stack upon each other by multiplication, except in the case of Slow + Haste. ======================================= | Status | ST-MOD | |------------------------|--------------| | Berserk | 1/2.0 (50%) | | Haste | 1/1.5 (67%) | | Slow | 1/0.5 (200%) | |------------------------|--------------| | Berserk + Haste | 1/3.0 (33%) | | Berserk + Haste + Slow | 1/2.0 (50%) | | Berserk + Slow | 1/1.0 (100%) | | Haste + Slow* | 1/1.0 (100%) | |------------------------|--------------| | Sleep | Paused | | Stop | Paused | ======================================= * In normal circumstances, Slow and Haste would "replace" each other, but when you get Slowed while equipping with the Hermes Sandals accessory, the two effects cancel each other. It is obvious that status (berserk and haste) has far more influence on the character's charge time than the character's SPD has. Therefore, it is very beneficial to keep key damage dealer buffed at least with Berserk. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1b. Action Stage] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Charge Stage is followed by the Action Stage, where a command is finally executed. As mentioned earlier, this stage can be roughly broken down into the "Animation" period and the "Stun" period. Each action has its own animation with a fixed length. After the animation, sometimes you would notice that the character does nothing for a few seconds, and this is the stun period. In some actions (such as using an item), the animation is very short, but the stun is relatively long. In some other cases (such as regular attacks) the stun almost does not exist compared to its lengthy charge. The Ultimania guide does not differentiate between animation and stun, and simply combines them into the "Action Time". ======================================== | Action Type | Action Time (seconds) | |----------------|-----------------------| | Melee Attacks | 1.2 | | if Blocked | +0.2 | | if Combo | +0.5 each | | | or +0.9 each | <- Rare |----------------|-----------------------| | Ranged Attacks | 1.4 | | *exceptions | 1.6 | |----------------|-----------------------| | Magics & | 3 ~ 5 | | Techniques | | ======================================== There are a few exceptions where ranged attacks will take longer (1.6s) to execute than normal range attacks (1.4s). These exceptions are: 1. Balthier with Bow, Crossbow, Gun 2. Fran with Bow 3. Penelo with Crossbow, Gun Surprisingly, it takes Balthier and Fran "longer" to use their favorite weapons! By the way, if the game config is set on "Wait", then only ONE action can be executed at any time. If the game config is set on "Active", then multiple actions can be executed at the same time. This explains why some magics with long animation will put the other actions on hold to a noticeable level. Note: While a long magic animation is being played, it seems that no other magic can be casted before the long animation is over, even under the ACTIVE mode. However, regular attacks / combos can be executed during a magic animation. The very long Action Time of magics and techniques make them less desirable in fast-paced, especially active-time combats. Generally speaking, while having all magics and weapons available to choose from, regular melee attacks are more effective exactly because of this -- regular attacks get much shorter Action Times. o Delaying Monster's Action with Long Animation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If a monster's deadly move requires a certain animation (even a cutscene), you can initiate some long-animation actions to put it on hold, while your melee actors hack away freely during the long animation. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [1c. Users' Data] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now the mechanics are given to you, but it is still hard to grasp how they actually convert to real time. Fortunately, two very professional in-game swinging and timing experiments have been conducted, by Arthellinus and TimeMage. Arthellinus' (A) Data (source: Power Walkthrough): Character: SPD = 35, 3 Swiftness Licenses Battle Speed: Slowest Timer Starts at: Charging Timer Stops at: Damage Pops TimeMage's (T) Data: Character: Vaan Lv = 53, SPD = 31, 3 Swiftness Licenses Battle Speed: Slowest Timer Starts at: Charging Timer Stops at: next Charging Each test is averaged in 3 sets of 10 swings. Basically, Arthellinus' data contains Charge and Animation,, while TimeMage's Data contains additional Stun, a.k.a. the "Total Action". Damage Pops ^ | |-------------------------|--------------------|--------------| Charge Animation Stun <--------------- Arthellinus ----------------> <----------------------- TimeMage --------------------------> ================================== | Weapon Name | CT | A(s) | T(s) | |---------------|----|------|------| | Dagger - Z.C. | 22 | 2.17 | | | Dagger - M.G. | 24 | | 3.30 | | Ninja Sword | 24 | 2.21 | 3.30 | | Spear | 26 | 2.43 | 3.44 | | Unarmed | 26?| 2.47 | 3.64 | |---------------|----|------|------| | Crossbow | 28 | 2.76 | 3.80 | | Katana | 29 | 2.61 | 3.69 | | Axe | 29 | 2.62 | 3.70 | | Pole | 30 | 2.61 | 3.76 | | 2-H Sword | 30 | 2.64 | 3.77 | |---------------|----|------|------| | Measure | 32 | 2.87 | 3.94 | | Mace | 32 | 2.88 | 3.95 | | Hammer | 32 | 2.91 | 3.96 | | Rod | 33 | 2.87 | 4.03 | | Handbomb | 34 | 3.49 | 4.25 | |---------------|----|------|------| | Staff | 34 | 2.89 | 4.08 | | 1-H Sword | 35 | 3.26 | 4.20 | | Bow | 36 | 3.28 | 4.44 | | Gun | 51 | 4.43 | 5.65 | ================================== Some of the toughest bosses in the game actually have 0 CT for their attacks, so their Action Time is the only restriction on their attack speed. To make these fights a little easier for us, we can adjust the battle speed to the fastest. This way, our characters also execute their actions with short Charge Stages. Putting the game on Active will make the boss attack non-stop, but our characters can also act without having to wait boss's attack is over. This may also be beneficial, if you have a good set of Gambits. ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 2. Weapons ______________________________________________________________________________ FF12: The Attack, Attack, and Attack of the Character Clones (Frioniel2006) == In this section, I will cover the general mechanics of weapons, such as their damage formula and combo / critical hit rate. Based on these data I will make some recommendations at the end. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2a. Damage Formula] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All weapons, except guns, deal damage depending on the character's stats. Some weapons depend on strength (STR) only, while some depend on strength and a secondary stat, such as magic power (MAG), vitality (VIT), or speed (SPD). In terms of damage calculation formula, there are 8 categories of weapons in FF12. = A1: Unarmed ============================================================== | | | DMG = [11 x RANDOM(1~1.125) - DEF] x STR x (Lv+STR)/256 | | | ============================================================================ After learning the license "Brawler", or equipping the accessory "Amber Armlet" (enhanced unarmed damage), the formula becomes: = A2: Unarmed (with Brawler License) ======================================= | | | DMG = [(Lv+STR)/2 x RANDOM(1~1.125) - DEF] x STR x (Lv+STR)/256 | | | ============================================================================ Essentially, the ATK modifier changes from 11 to the average of Lv and STR with the Brawler license. Generally speaking, if you can find a weapon that has an ATK higher than your STR and Lv average, then better use the weapon. = B: Swords (1H & 2H), Spears, Crossbows, Rods ============================= | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125) - DEF] x [1 + STR x (Lv+STR)/256] | | | ============================================================================ Different from unarmed, all actual weapons have a basic damage of "1" in front of the STR and Lv modifiers, which gives you a good bonus during low levels. 1-H swords, 2-H swords, spears, crossbows and rods are all strength-dependent weapons. There are two rods that do not apply to this formula: the Rod of Faith and the Healing Rod (see H. Guns). = C: Poles ================================================================= | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125) - MDEF] x [1 + STR x (Lv+STR)/256] | | | ============================================================================ The only difference between poles and other strength-based weapons is that poles check against magical defense, instead of physical defense. = D: Maces ================================================================= | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125) - DEF] x [1 + MAG x (Lv+MAG)/256] | | | ============================================================================ Maces are the only completely MAG-dependent weapons. = E: Katanas, Staves ======================================================= | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125) - DEF] x [1 + STR x (Lv+MAG)/256] | | | ============================================================================ Katanas and Staves depend on both STR and MAG. The higher the character level, the more weight is put on STR, and less on MAG, though. = F: Axes, Hammers, Handbombs ============================================== | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(0~1.111) - DEF] x [1 + STR x (Lv+VIT)/128] | | | ============================================================================ Axes, hammers and handbombs offer very unstable damages. This is because that the random number modifier of ATK starts from 0, not 1. However, the bonus modifier is divided by 128, not 256. So these unstable weapon's average damage output is still on-par with the other weapons. Note that both STR and VIT are checked while using these weapons. = G: Daggers, Ninja Swords, Bows =========================================== | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125)]- DEF] x [1 + STR x (Lv+SPD)/218] | | | ============================================================================ Daggers, ninja swords and bows depend on both STR and SPD. Probably since SPD is usually significantly lower than other three stats later in the game, the bonus modifier is divided by 218, instead of 256. Since SPD grows slowly, during low levels this category offers quite a distinctive edge in DMG. = H: Guns, Measures ======================================================== | | | DMG = [ATK x RANDOM(1~1.125)]^2 * | | | ============================================================================ Guns and measures are unique weapons that deal damage solely based on its ATK rating, regardless of character's power and the target's physical or magical defense. Based on some sources, the random numbers applied for guns and measures is 0~1.125, not 1~1.125. However, from my experiences guns never deal very little damage (except against the monsters with gun / measure resistance, see section 8a), so I am inclined to think this is a typo and it should be 1~1.125. There are certain modifiers that are added on top of the base damage, wherever applicable: ============================================================ | Modifier | Damage Dealt | Damage Received | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Critical Hit | x 2 | | | Berserk | x 1.5 | | | Bravery | x 1.3 | | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Petrify | 0.1 x Time Left | 0.1 x Time Left | | Oil | | x 3 (Fire) | | Sleep | | x 1.5 | | Protect | | x 0.75 | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | HP Full ATK Up license | x 1.2 | | | HP Crit. ATK Up lic. | x 2 | | | HP Crit. DEF Up lic. | | x 0.5* | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Weapon's Element Bonus | x 1.5 | |** | Elemental Weak | | x 2 | | Elemental 1/2 | | x 0.5 | | Elemental Null | | x 0 | | Elemental Absorb | | Heals, x 1 or 2 | ============================================================ Note: The above modifiers are accumulative, and stack up by multiplication. * If the monster has this ability, their received damage is reduced to 1/3, not 1/2. ** Weapon's Element Bonus is quite a special concept in FF12. Basically, when a character equips a weapon that has a element "bonus", all damages associated with this particular element is boosted by 50%, both physical and magical. Note that this Bonus is independent of the weapon's own Element. The bonus can usually exist on its own, and a weapon with an element usually does not have a elemental bonus. For example, all of the staves that have the BONUS does NOT have an element on themselves. The dagger Gladius has an element of Wind, but it does not have an elemental "bonus" on its wind element, so the additional 50% DMG does not apply. Unfortunately, the game's short description on weapons completely omits this element bonus information, so you won't see it until you actually own this weapon. There are a lot of weapons that have an element, but only 11 weapons and 2 armors that come with an elemental "bonus". Here is a complete list of them: ===================================================== | Weapon Type | Name | "Bonus" | Element | |--------------|-----------------|----------|---------| | Pole | Six-fluted Pole | Water | | |--------------|-----------------|----------|---------| | Rod | Holy Rod | Holy | Holy | |--------------|-----------------|----------|---------| | Bow | Burning Bow | Fire | | |--------------|-----------------|----------|---------| | Mace | Zeus Mace | Dark | | |--------------|-----------------|----------|---------| | Staff | Cherry Staff | Wind | | | | Flame Staff | Fire | | | | Storm Staff | Thunder | | | | Glacial Staff | Ice | | | | Cloud Staff | Water | | | | Staff of Magi | Holy | | |--------------|-----------------|----------|---------| | Handbomb | Fumarole | Water | | |==============|=================|==========|=========| | Armor | White Robe | Holy | | | | Black Robe | Dark | | ===================================================== When you use the above weapons to do physical attack, the weapon's own element will be checked. For example, when you use a Six-fluted Pole to do physical attack, there won't be a 50% DMG bonus because the weapon actually has no element. You will get the bonus when you actually do a water- related attack, such as casting the Water spell. However, if you swing a holy rod, its holy element will be strengthened by its own holy Bonus, so all of your attacks (holy element) will be 50% more powerful automatically. Nice, right? Too bad this weapon has a low ATK (53). Interestingly, two armors also supply an element bonus that's pretty obvious given their names. For example, if your Yagyu Darkblade (Dark element) user wears the Black Robe (Bonus on Dark), you will get an additional 50% DMG bonus against Yiazmat (weakness to Dark), dealing 300% DMG! By the way, the same Elemental Bonus does not stack, according to Master ZED, who tested Zeu's Mace + Black Robe. Thanks to Eric Yuen, who performed some test with the Burning Bow and Fiery Arrow, we now have some live example of how things actually work. Location 1: Estersand, nothing is weak to fire: ======================================================================= | Arrow | Fiery Arrow (ATK 1) | Onion Arrow (ATK 1) | | Bow | Element Fire | Element None | |---------------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | Burning Bow (ATK 63) | ~ 2200 DMG | ~ 1300 DMG | | Bonus Fire, Element None | (50% Bonus) | | |---------------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | Yoichi Bow (ATK 75) | ~ 1800 DMG | ~ 1800 DMG | | Bonus None, Element None | | | ======================================================================= Location 2: Lushu Mine, lv 40 Headless (weak to wind): ======================================================================= | Arrow | Fiery Arrow (ATK 1) | Onion Arrow (ATK 1) | | Bow | Element Fire | Element None | |---------------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | Burning Bow (ATK 63) | ~ 1400 DMG | ~ 800 DMG | | Bonus Fire, Element None | (50% Bonus) | | |---------------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | Yoichi Bow (ATK 75) | ~ 1100 DMG | ~ 1100 DMG | | Bonus None, Element None | | | ======================================================================= Location 3: Lushu Mine, Headless that absorbs fire: ======================================================================= | Arrow | Fiery Arrow (ATK 1) | Onion Arrow (ATK 1) | | Bow | Element Fire | Element None | |---------------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | Burning Bow (ATK 63) | ~ 1500 Heal | ~ 500 DMG | | Bonus Fire, Element None | (-300% Bonus) | | |---------------------------|---------------------|---------------------| | Yoichi Bow (ATK 75) | ~ 1300 Heal | ~ 700 DMG | | Bonus None, Element None | (-200% Bonus) | | ======================================================================= In the last case, Burning Bow gives the monster an extra 50% of the healing amount (200% x 1.5 = 300%). It is unexpected that the monster actually gets 200% of heal from the fiery arrow alone (with Yoichi Bow). However, it seems that when our own characters are healed by absorbing a particular spell element, we are only healed for 100% of the damage. Therefore, we know that some monsters happen to have the same weakness and absorb element (such as the Headless in the above case), doubling its healing amount. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2b. Hit Combo and Critical Hit] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Each type of weapon comes with a "Hit Combo / Critical Hit" rate, and a few weapons have their own unique hit combo / critical hit rate. Hit combos and critical hit cannot co-exist on the same weapon. Note: When the accessory "Genji Gloves" is equipped as accessory, the values below are multiplied by 1.8. Without Genji Gloves, the values are multiplied by 0.7. ============================================================ | Weapon Type | Hit Combo Rate | Critical Hit Rate | |------------------------------------------------------------| | Axes | 3% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Maces | 4% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Unarmed | 5% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | 1-H Swords | 5% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Hammers | 7% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Daggers | 7%, except the following: | | Danjuro | 10% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Spears | 4% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | 2-H Swords | 7%, except the following: | | Dynast-King's Blade | 25% | | | Treaty Blade | 25% | | | Defender | 5% | | | Tournesol | 12% | | | Wyrmhero Blade | 80% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Poles | 12% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Katanas | 13%, except the following: | | Masamune | 40% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Ninja Swords | | | | Ashura | 15% | | | Sakura-saezuri | 16% | | | Kagenui | 17% | | | Koga Blade | 18% | | | Iga Blade | 19% | | | Orochi | 20% | | | Yagyu Darkblade | 22% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Rods | 0% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Staves | 0% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Handbomb | 0% | | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Measures | | 5% | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Bows | | 5% | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Guns | | 5% | |----------------------|-----------------|-------------------| | Crossbows | | 7% | ============================================================ The above numbers are only about hit combos, so they have nothing to do with the actual "number" of hits. When character's HP gets low, the chance of combo stays the same, but the number of combo increases. Thanks to Red Star, who provided these data from Ultimania: ======================================================================== | Number of Hits | HP | HP | HP | HP | | When Combo Occurs | > 25% | 12.5-25% | 6.25-12.5% | < 6.25% | |--------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------| | 2 | 40.0% | 14.7% | 1.4% | 0% | | 3 | 38.2% | 30.8% | 7.5% | 0% | | 4 | 16.6% | 29.3% | 17.5% | 0.2% | | 5 | 4.3% | 16.7% | 24.7% | 1.2% | |--------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------| | 6 | 0.8% | 6.4% | 23.3% | 4.3% | | 7 | 0% | 1.7% | 15.3% | 10.8% | | 8 | 0% | 0.3% | 7.2% | 19.2% | | 9 | 0% | 0% | 2.4% | 24.4% | |--------------------|------------|------------|------------|------------| | 10 | 0% | 0% | 0.6% | 21.7% | | 11 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 12.8% | | 12 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5.3% | | Average Hits | 2.873 | 3.752 | 5.509 | 9.028 | ======================================================================== As you can see, the number of hits rises drastically when the character's HP falls from low to... very low. It is possible to purposely lower a character's HP to < 6.25% before hand, along with a high-combo weapon (such as Masamune) and Genji Gloves, to open a battle with a long chain of combos to finish the enemy right there! Of course, the combo stops when the enemy is dead. By the way, Esper's regular attack never combos / critical hits. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2c. Blocking and Parry] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is quite a lot of confusion on the evasion issue. First, please understand that evasion (blocking & parry) has NOTHING to do with stats. They are all about your equipments and monsters' abilities. In FF12, each attack goes through the following checks: 1------------------------------------------- if evaded | Shield Evasion Chance / Attack Hit Chance | -----------> Block ------------------------------------------- | if not evaded 2------------------------------------------- if evaded | Weapon Evasion Chance / Attack Hit Chance | -----------> Block ------------------------------------------- | if not evaded 3------------------------------------------- if evaded | Parry Chance / Attack Hit Chance | -----------> Parry ------------------------------------------- | if not evaded 4------------------------------------------- if evaded | Other Conditions | ------------> Miss ------------------------------------------- | if not evaded ------------------------------------------- | H I T !! | ------------------------------------------- If the shield block fails, then the system checks for the weapon block. If that still fails, the system then check for parry, and so on. o Shield Evasion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All shields come with their physical and magical evasion rate, This evasion rate is the percentage of time that this shield can block off a physical or magical attack. On the license board, each Shield Block = 5% bonus on the shield evasion. The accessory Gauntlets provides an additional 10% bonus. If a shield offers both physical and magical evasion, then the same bonus is also applied to both physical and magical evasion. o Weapon Evasion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ All weapons come with their unique evasion rate. For example, Main Gauche offers the best 1-H weapon evasion of 34%. It functions exactly like the shield evasion, while blocking away only physical attacks. In the game's stat page, weapon's EVA is added to the shield EVA, while in reality they happen only after the shield evasion fails. Therefore, even if you equip Main Gauche (+34), with the best shield (+50), gauntlets (+10) and all three shield block license (+15), you do not get 109% (34+50+10+15) of the blocking rate, but instead you only get: (50+10+15)% + [100-(50+10+15)]% x 34% = 83.5% of blocks. In other words, the only way to achieve 100% blocking is through the +90 shield, but you probably won't like its negative effects. Also, quite a few late bosses have an ability to ignore blocking and parry completely, so you don't even have to bother carrying a shield. o Parry ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Our characters do not parry by default. It only happens when the accessory "Jade Collar" is equipped. Jade Collar provides 30% parry. If you miss a certain enemy frequently from parry, this enemy probably has a special ability that is roughly equivalent to the effect of the "Jade Collar" acc., except in the monster's case the bonus is 25% to evasion. You can counter this annoying ability by equipping the accessory "Cameo Belt", which completely ignores the effect of Block and Parry. Actually, tough bosses also have this inborn ability to ignore your Block and Parry as well, like wearing a Cameo Belt on themselves. (They also wear a lot of rings and wristlets, see section 8a for more.) o Other Conditions (Thanks to Red Star) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - When the character is blind, all accuracy is halved (x0.5). - Weather affects the accuracy of Bows and Crossbows. When the weather is Windy (Sunny/Cloudy/Rain, does not matter), Heavy Rain, (Heavy) Snow and Sandstorm, accuracy modifier for bows is x0.8 and for crossbows is x0.5. Now you know why your bow works poorly during the Giza Plain rain. By the way, - Crossbows cannot be parried. - Guns, Measures, Healing Rod and Rod of Faith cannot be blocked or parried, but they can still miss (shooter is blinded, for example). - No evasion takes place when you are fleeing (R2). ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2d. Counter] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Counter occurs ONLY when the accessory Battle Harness is equipped. It triggers with the following chance: ------------------------------ | Counter Chance (%) = SPD / 2 | ------------------------------ However, when you equip the acc. Battle Harness PLUS the Armor "Genji Armor", the counter chance becomes: ------------------------------ | Counter Chance (%) = SPD x 2 | ------------------------------ Equipping the Genji Armor without the Battle Harness acc. will not give any counter chance. Thanks to Sheperds, who did some extensive studies on the Counter mechanics, we have a lot more detailed information to supply here: - Counter only triggers when the character: (1) is in the Charge Stage (2) is NOT running or walking (by pressing the L-stick on the controller) (3) is NOT being knocked back (4) receives a "regular melee" attack (NOT ranged, tech or spells). - Counter is 1-hit only. It does not combo. - Any weapon can be used to counter. - Counter may happen each time while being hit. A hit combo may be countered multiple times. - Counter may happen even if the attack missed / is evaded. - Counter acts like regular melee attacks. Added effect on the weapon may trigger. In Sheperds' conclusion, Counter is not as good as it seems to be, as it also delays your charging action. Therefore, you only save a little Charge Time, while sacrificing a valuable Accessory and Armor slot. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2e. Knock Back] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From time to time you see a monster, or your own characters, getting knocked back by an attack. The chance for knock back is: -------------------------------------------------------------------- | Knock Back Chance (%) = | | Weapon's Knock Back (KB) + RANDOM(0 ~ A's Lv) - RANDOM(0 ~ D's Lv) | -------------------------------------------------------------------- where A = Attacker D = Defender Here is a table for all the Knock Back ratings for different types of weapons: ======================================================= | Name | KB | Name | KB | Name | KB | |--------------|----|-------------|----|-----------|----| | Dagger | 0 | Ninja Sword | 0 | Crossbow | 0 | | Mace | 0 | Katana | 0 | Handbomb | 0 | | Measure | 0 | Spear | 10 | Bow | 0 | | 1-Hand Sword | 10 | 2-H Sword | 10*| Gun | 10 | | Axe | 10 | Pole | 10 | | | | Hammer | 10 | Rod | 10 | | | | | | Staff | 10 | | | ======================================================= * Exception: Sword of the Kings, Treaty Blade (KB = 0) When you happen to kill an enemy during a knock back, the target is knocked extra far away with a special animation (such as spinning in the air). You can see section 8a for a list of creature types that are immune to knock back. Generally speaking, knock back only occurs to weak enemies and yourself, and is therefore a completely worthless factor while choosing your weapon. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2f. Added Effect] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Other than elements (which are obvious), certain weapons offer an added effect that is usually equivalent to a status spell, such as "K.O." in Deathbringer. The added spell triggers at a specific rate, and once it triggers, the target either gets it, or is immune from it. Therefore, these weapon spells work differently from regular status magics, the success rate of which depends on caster's MAG and target's VIT (see section 3b). Here is a list of all weapons that come with an added effect: ========================================================= | Category | Weapon Name | Added Effect | Rate | |===========|===================|==================|======| | Measure | Gilt Measure | Protect | 50% | | | Arc Scale | Shell | 50% | | | Multiscale | Bravery | 50% | | | Cross Scale | Vanish | 50% | | | Caliper | Haste | 50% | | | Euclid's Sextant | Bubble | 50% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Rod | Healing Rod | Regen | 100% | | | Rod of Faith | Faith | 60% | |===========|===================|==================|======| | Dagger | Mage Masher | Silence | 15% | | | Assassin's Dagger | Instant K.O. | 5% | | | Chopper | Sap | 10% | | | Avenger | Berserk | 10% | | | Orichalcum Dirk | Slow | 10% | | | Platinum Dagger | Immobilize | 10% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | 1-H Sword | Ancient Sword | Petrify | 15% | | | Blood Sword | Sap | 100% | | | Deathbringer | Instant K.O. | 10% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Hammer | Sledgehammer | Disable | 20% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Mace | Thorned Mace | Poison | 15% | | | Chaos Mace | Confuse | 15% | | | Doom Mace | Doom | 15% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | 2-H Sword | Ragnarok | Immobilize | 25% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Katana | Yakei | Poison | 10% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Ninja | Kagenui | Slow | 10% | | Sword | Orochi | Disable | 10% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Spear | Heavy Lance | Slow | 10% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Pole | Iron Pole | Slow | 10% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Staff | Judicer's Staff | Stop | 15% | |===========|===================|==================|======| | Arrow | Bamboo Arrows | Poison | 25% | | | Assassin's Arrows | Instant K.O. | 25% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Bolt | Long Bolts | Slow | 25% | | | Stone Bolts | Disable | 25% | | | Lead Bolts | Immobilize | 25% | | | Black Bolts | Blind | 25% | | | Time Bolts | Doom | 25% | | | Sapping Bolts | Sap | 25% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Shot | Silence Shot | Silence | 25% | | | Mud Shot | Blind | 25% | | | Stone Shot | Petrify | 25% | |-----------|-------------------|------------------|------| | Bomb | Poison Bombs | Poison | 25% | | | Stun Bombs | Stop | 25% | | | Stink Bombs | Sap | 25% | | | Oil Bombs | Oil | 25% | | | Chaos Bombs | Confuse | 25% | ========================================================= ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2g. Recommendations] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Certainly, a few weapons are better than the others. The consensus of the most useful weapons are: 1. Main Gauche (dagger, best defensive weapon, Weapon Blocking +34) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Surprise! The most used weapon in FF12 (at least in my game) is "Main Gauche". I use it more often than any other weapon until almost the very end. Having the highest evasion rating among all 1-H weapons, Main Gauche blocks away 1/3 of the physical attacks that penetrates our shield evasion, making it the best weapon for the Leader / Tank / Thief in my usual party. This character is usually busy stealing, so attack power never matters. If you ever get a Main Gauche from a chest, keep it in your inventory. Note: The Brady guide is not (entirely) correct about getting this dagger in a chest as early as the Western Waterway. See section 5b. 2. Zodiac Spear (best spear, ATK +150, Combo 4%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are plenty of guides discussing how to get Zodiac spear early (as soon as you obtain the first Esper). If you do get it early, this spear will be soooo powerful that it actually makes 50% of the game boring. Personally I think this game is not engaging enough anyways, so it is probably not a good idea to make it even less interesting. Zodiac Spear has the highest ATK value among all weapons. It has a lower combo rate, but spears are about 10% faster than 2-H swords (see section 1a) in terms of CT. STR is the primary and secondary stat for spears. Therefore, Basch and Vaan are the best spear users. 3. Fomalhaut (best gun, ATK +50, bullets extra) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Although its power output is not very high after you advance in levels, the best gun Fomalhaut can be obtained rather early (the Antlion Hunt). Since gun damage is independent of characters' stats and target's defense, this gun could be more effective than any other great weapon in certain situations. Plus, it is THE solution for flying monsters for a long while. The silent bullet and a few other elemental bullets are very useful throughout the game, too. You can simply throw this gun to your weakest attacker, since its damage remains the same. The only alternative long-ranged weapon that you might consider getting is the Sagittarius bow (best bow). Its damage will eventually surpass Fomalhaut when your character reaches high levels, but the ingredients involve a little farming. Do a keyword search in section 8c for details. 4. Masamune (best Katana, ATK +93, Combo 40%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suffering from a mediocre ATK rating, Masamune has the highest combo rate among all "useful" weapons. (The Wyrmhero Blade is not useful, because you only get it after you defeat the toughest bosses.) However, Masamune becomes a progressively more powerful weapon for high levels, since you will usually waste the extra attack power from high-ATK weapons on the damage cap 9999. The primary and secondary stats for Katana are STR and MAG. Therefore, the best wielder of this weapon is Vaan and Ashe. 5. Tournesol (1st/2nd best 2-H Sword, ATK +140, Combo 12%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Although its ATK rating is slightly lower than Zodiac Spear, this 2-H sword makes it up with a 12% Combo Rate (still low compared to Katana and Ninja Swords, though). At higher levels, both Zodiac Spear and Tournesol give you 9999 damage each hit, so having a higher Combo Rate makes it a better weapon. However, you can't get this sword very early, and you have to farm a lot of rare items in order to buy this sword from Bazaar. Some people claim that they spent more than 10 hours just to get this single weapon, but it is not much better than alternatives. Do a keyword search in section 8c for details. STR is the primary and secondary stat for 2-H swords, so Basch and Vaan are the best users of them. 6. Excalibur (3rd best 2-H Sword, ATK + 128, Holy Element) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The holy element that comes with Excalibur makes it very useful in many tough end-game optional dungeons, where most enemies are weak against Holy element. 7. Yagyu Darkblade (best Ninja Sword, ATK +80, Dark Element) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sword is totally useless except against one tough SOB (who is weak against Dark) -- and it will probably save you more time in the end, if you are willing to invest about 30 minutes (or if unlucky, 2 hours) to get it dropped from Bombshell. STR and SPD are the primary and secondary stat for ninja swords. Since characters have more or less the same SPD, you can just look at STR while deciding who to use this weapon. [Additional tips] 1) Give your main fighter Berserk + Haste + Bravery (set Gambits to save your time.) Their effects stack by multiplication, so you are looking at 195% damage, and 300% charge speed! 2) Genji Gloves (to be stolen from the last stage of your first Gilgamesh encounter) makes combo much easier. It boosts the combo chance by 257%! ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [2h. Best Weapon Comparison] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Naturally, you would wonder which weapon is really "the best out of the best". Well, the official answer is simple: it depends! For monsters with high defense, you should always aim for high-ATK weapons such as the Zodiac Spear and the Tournesol. Otherwise, the high-combo Masamune is probably better. Genji Gloves help a lot for high-combo weapons, as they boost the combo rate proportional to its original value. So the more combo a weapon does, the more bonus it receives from this accessory. However, the Bubble Belt is probably the better accessory than Genji Gloves for the toughest fights of the game, or else your characters probably won't even get a chance to attack. Anyways, let us pull out the calculator and let the numbers decide which is the best weapon out of the best. First, we wish to simplify the settings a bit. Let's take a Lv 99 Vaan (STR 77, MAG 64, VIT 61, SPD 37) for an example, since Vaan is the best overall character in stat. (I know it doesn't make any sense for a nobody kid to be this good, oh well.) Let's also give him the best equipment customized for each weapon. Now, let's define damage output as this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Damage Output = | | Total Expected Damage per attack / each unit of CT required | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please see section 1a for weapon's CT (charge time factor). CT is probably not the best indicator of a weapon's true speed (as we are ignoring the Action Time completely), though. The Total Expected Damage is defined as: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Total Expected Damage = | | Expected DMG x (1 + Combo Rate x Ave. Number of Combo Hits) | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This way, we take into account the combos on top of the first hit. Note that each combo hit takes about 0.5 seconds to execute (Section 1b) and the time is not paused during a combo. By ignoring this we are overestimating the higher-combo weapon's damage output, and the omission becomes more serious in a faster battle speed setting. Now, since the average number of combo hits also varies according to the characters' HP, we will assume the average combo hit is 2.873. This is the average number of combo hits when a character's HP is > 25%, which happens most of the time. Let's forget about weapon evasion for now, as the toughest bosses have an inborn ability to always hit our Lv 99 Vaan. I will also ignore the licenses of HP full / critical Attack Up to simplify things. While choosing equipment I will ignore the SPD consideration (which is not significant), and just going for the MAX STR or whatever stat that matters. However, to be fair on weapons' specialties, we must take into account enemy's defense (DEF), so the final result will be a table of numbers, instead of just one number. Let's have an example here: Weapon: Zodiac Spear ATK: 150 Combo Rate: 4% x 0.7 / 1.8 (without and with Genji Gloves, I'll do both.) CT: 26 Equipment (STR optimized): +24 STR (Grand Helm + Grand Armor) With 5 Battle Lore Licenses: +5 STR Final STR for Lv 99 Vaan: 77 + 24 + 5 = 106 (Oh Oh!) It is now confirmed that the game caps stats at 99, so the extra strength would be wasted. Expected DMG = [(150x(1+1.125)/2-DEF] x [1+99x(99+99)/256] Then, considering the damage cap, for all damages > 9999, we have to crop it at 9999. Note that some bosses reduce damage when their HP gets low (DMG x 1/3), so sometimes >>9999 damage will be reduced below the 9999 cap, which is not wasted! However, for the sake of simplicity, let's just say they all cap at 9999 and discard the overflow. Finally, let's factor in the combo rate, with Genji gloves and without. The total expected DMG = Expected DMG x (1 + 0.04x0.7x2.873) Lastly, we divide this number by its CT (26) to get the Damage Output. The final result looks like this (GG = Genji Gloves): ================================================ | Enemy's DEF | Output(no GG) | Output(with GG) | |-------------|---------------|-----------------| | 0 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 5 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 10 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 15 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 20 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 25 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 30 | 415.51 | 464.13 | | 32 | 410.59 | 458.63 | Hell Wyrm | 34 | 404.14 | 451.43 | Zodiark | 36 | 397.70 | 444.23 | Yiazmat | 38 | 391.25 | 437.03 | Omega MKXII | 48 | 359.01 | 401.02 | Entites =============================================== Let's now do the same calculation for all candidates, with and without Genji Gloves. (1) Zodiac Spear (2) Masamune (3) Tournesol (4) Yagyu Darkblade (Yiazmat only) Note: For Masamune and Yagyu Darkblade, I optimized the equipment so the damage is maximized (Magepower Shishak + Lordly Robe, Grand Helm + Maximilian, respectively). Also, since Yiazmat (DEF = 36) is weak against Dark element, Yagyu Darkblade's power is magnified to 200% in this particular case. (The Darkblade does NOT have a Dark Element "Bonus", so the damage is only boost to 200%. However, if you wear the Black Robe then it is 300%!) Now let's take a look at the final results! Without Genji Gloves, Outputs: =========================================================== | Enemy's DEF | Zodiac S.| Masamune | Tournesol | Yagyu DB. | |-------------|----------|----------|-----------|-----------| | 0 | 415.51 | 500.40 | 413.74 | | | 5 | 415.51 | 475.08 | 413.74 | | | 10 | 415.51 | 449.76 | 413.74 | | | 15 | 415.51 | 424.44 | 413.74 | | | 20 | 415.51 | 399.12 | 413.25 | | | 25 | 415.51 | 373.80 | 397.20 | | | 30 | 415.51 | 348.48 | 381.15 | | | 32 | 410.59 | 338.25 | 374.73 | | Hell Wyrm | 34 | 404.14 | 328.22 | 368.31 | | Zodiark | 36 | 397.70 | 318.09 | 361.89 | 527.40 | Yiazmat | 38 | 391.25 | 307.96 | 355.47 | | Omega MKXII | 48 | 359.01 | 257.32 | 323.38 | | Entites =========================================================== Starting at DEF 20, Masamune loses its lead because of its low ATK. If you have to use a bubble belt (as in the toughest boss fights, you probably cannot survive long without it), then Zodiac spear and Tournesol is definitely better. Yagyu Darkblade is very powerful against Yiazmat, the infamous 50,000,000 HP Mark No. 45. Therefore, while fighting bosses where you may not be able to afford Genji Gloves, you can pretty much forget about Masamune as well. Now let's look at these weapons with Genji Gloves: =========================================================== | Enemy's DEF | Zodiac S.| Masamune | Tournesol | Yagyu DB. | |-------------|----------|----------|-----------|-----------| | 0 | 464.13 | 850.96 | 540.14 | | | 5 | 464.13 | 807.90 | 540.14 | | | 10 | 464.13 | 764.84 | 540.14 | | | 15 | 464.13 | 721.78 | 540.14 | | | 20 | 464.13 | 678.72 | 539.50 | | | 25 | 464.13 | 635.66 | 518.55 | | | 30 | 464.13 | 592.61 | 497.59 | | | 32 | 458.63 | 575.38 | 489.21 | | Hell Wyrm | 34 | 451.43 | 558.16 | 480.83 | | Zodiark | 36 | 444.23 | 540.93 | 472.45 | 781.61 | Yiazmat | 38 | 437.03 | 523.71 | 464.07 | | Omega MKXII | 48 | 401.02 | 437.59 | 422.17 | | Entites =========================================================== With Genji Gloves, the damage output is much better for Masamune, as it benefits the most from Genji Gloves. Tournesol also gets significantly better than the Zodiac Spear, but still falls behind Masamune. In reality, since your main damage dealer is likely to be berserk or wearing the bravery suit, it is even better to use the Masamune as it usually cannot reach the damage cap compared to the other heavy hitters. The other awesome weapon that I didn't mention here is Excalibur (2-H Sword, ATK +128). Since it has a Holy element, naturally it is THE weapon to fight enemies weak against Holy, where its damage DOUBLES -- end of consideration. While the time is not too tough, you can probably put the Genji Gloves on your Masamune / Yagyu DB. user, and put the belt on the other two characters, and try not to let the enemy to kill your Masamune wielder. Along with Berserk, Bravery and Haste, you can really push the Katana's damage towards the 9999 cap, and therefore get the best out of your high combos. ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 3. Magics & Items ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== In this section I will cover the mechanics behind magics and items. White and Black magics are like weapons, in a sense, that they come with a certain power value that is applied similarly to the ATK values in weapons. We will start with them. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3a. Hurt & Heal Magics] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is a summary of all Hurt (usually black magics) and Heal (the cure series white magics) power of the magics. ================================================== | Name | POW | Name | POW | Name | POW | |--------------------------------------------------| | Fire | 25 | Fira | 70 | Firaga | 124 | | Blizzard | 25 | Blizzara | 70 | Blizzaga | 124 | | Thunder | 25 | Thundara | 70 | Thundaga | 124 | | Water | 37 | | | | | | Dark | 46 | Darkra | 91 | Darkga | 130 | | Aero | 52 | Aeroga | 103 | | | | Drain | 62 | Syphon | 8 | | | | Bio | 88 | | | | | | Shock | 133 | | | | | | Scourage | 142 | | | | | | Holy | 157 | | | | | | Flare | 163 | | | | | | Ardor | 175 | | | | | | Scathe | 190 | | | | | |----------|-----|----------|-----|----------|-----| | Cure | 20 | Cura | 45 | | | | Curaga | 85 | Curaja | 145 | | | ================================================== The formula for damage is: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | DMG = [POW x RANDOM(1~1.125) - MDEF] x [2 + MAG x (Lv+MAG)/256)] | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The formula for healing is: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | HEAL = POW x RANDOM(1~1.125) x [2 + MAG x (Lv+MAG)/256)] | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note that healing does not consider the magic defense of the target. The same formula also applies when cure magics is targeted to enemy creatures (turns into large damage against undead, nice!). The Syphon magic (MP absorb) also applies the second (heal) formula. Similar to the weapon case, a couple of status conditions affect the final damage of magics. In addition, there are weather and terrain effects to elemental damaging spells. Thanks to Red Star for providing the details below: ============================================================ | Status | Damage Dealt | Damage Received | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Faith | x 1.3* | | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Oil | | x 3 (Fire) | | Sleep | | x 1.5 | | Shell | | x 0.75 | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | HP Full MAG Up | x 1.2 | | | HP Crit. MAG Up | x 2 | | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Weapon's Element Bonus | x 1.5 | | | Elemental Weak | | x 2 | | Elemental 1/2 | | x 0.5 | | Elemental Null | | x 0 | | Elemental Absorb | | Heals x 1 (?) | ============================================================ * The bonus of Faith becomes 1.5 when casting healing spells (Cure, Cura, Curaga, Curaja, Raise, Arise). ===================================================================== | Weather / Terrain | Fire | Ice | Thunder | Water | Wind | Earth | |----------------------|------|------|---------|-------|------|-------| | Sunny | | | | | | | | Cloudy | | | | | | | | Sunny/Cloudy + Windy | x1.2 | | | x0.5 | x1.2 | | | Rain | x0.5 | | x1.2 | | | | | (Heavy) Rain + Windy | x0.6 | | x1.2 | x0.5 | x1.2 | | | (Heavy) Fog | | | | x1.2 | | | | (Heavy) Snow | x1.2 | x1.2 | | x0.5 | x1.2 | | | Sandstorm | x1.2 | | | x0.5 | x1.2 | x1.2 | |----------------------|------|------|---------|-------|------|-------| | Sand | | | | | | x1.2 | | Water | | | x1.2 | x1.2 | | x0.5 | | Snow | | x1.2 | | | | | ===================================================================== Note: The above modifiers are accumulative, and stack up by multiplication. Here come the effects of other Hurt and Heal magics that does not depend on a POW rating. ================================================== | Name | Effect | |----------|---------------------------------------| | Balance | DMG = self MAX HP - self Current HP | |----------|---------------------------------------| | Gravity | DMG = target MAX HP / 4 | | Graviga | DMG = target MAX HP / 2 | |----------|---------------------------------------| | Renew | Heal = target MAX HP - 1 | |----------|---------------------------------------| | Raise | Heal = 0.4 X target MAX HP | | Arise | Heal = target MAX HP | ================================================== Note: The cure series magics harm undead, while the raise series magics instantly kill them. Although it sounds good, the success chance is not 100%, but: Raise (70%), Arise (35%), Renew (0%). Surprisingly, the more powerful the raise magic, the less likely it kills the undead. By the way, the magical evasion of a shield may block a damaging spell, but does not block a status attack spell (see section 3b). ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3b. Status Effect Magics] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks to Red Star for providing lots of information of this section. First up, certain status effects cannot co-exist. Petrify - Doom Disease - Bubble Confuse - Berserk For example, a berserk character cannot be confused. In addition, you also cannot use Decoy (Lure status) on a character who is inflicted by Stop, and being hit by Stop will remove Lure status. There are a few exceptions of the above rule. For example, the Befuddlement Trap inflicts both Confusion and Berserk, while a reversed Remedy (by Nihopalona) causes both Petrify and Doom. (Thanks to Andrew Preston, who informed me of the Remedy effect.) Here comes the list of status effect duration. (s = seconds) ===================================== | Name | Effect Duration | |-------------|-----------------------| | X-Zone | Permanent | (remove by change zone) | K.O. | Permanent | | Petrify | Permanent | | Doom | Permanent | | Disease | Permanent | | Silence | Permanent | | Blind | Permanent | | Oil | Permanent | | Sap | Permanent | | HP Critical | Permanent | |-------------|-----------------------| | Stop | 60 - (VIT x 0.3) s | | Confuse | 80 - (VIT x 0.4) s | | Sleep | 50 - (VIT x 0.25)s | | Reverse | 14 - (VIT x 0.07)s | | Slow | 120 - (VIT x 0.6) s | | Disable | 40 - (VIT x 0.2) s | | Immobilized | 100 - (VIT x 0.5) s | | Poison | 100 - (VIT x 0.5) s | |-------------|-----------------------| | Libra | 240 + (VIT x 2.4) s | | Float | 60 + (VIT x 0.6) s | | Berserk | 45 + (VIT x 0.45)s | | Haste | 40 + (VIT x 0.4) s | | Bravery | 40 + (VIT x 0.4) s | | Faith | 50 + (VIT x 0.5) s | | Lure | 20 + (VIT x 0.2) s | | Reflect | 60 + (VIT x 0.6) s | | Protect | 60 + (VIT x 0.6) s | | Shell | 60 + (VIT x 0.6) s | | Bubble | 60 + (VIT x 0.6) s | | Regen | 90 + (VIT x 0.9) s | | Invisible | 90 + (VIT x 0.9) s | ===================================== Alternatively, they can be described by their own "Base Duration" (Thanks to Terence): --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Beneficial status duration = Base Duration + (Base Duration * VIT / 100) | |---------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Harmful status duration = Base Duration - (Base Duration * VIT / 200) | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Essentially, VIT makes beneficial statuses last longer (up to 99% extra), and harmful statuses last shorter (up to 49.5% reduction). Now thanks to Master ZED, now we have more knowledge on Reverse. Reverse affects | Reverse does NOT affect --------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- = Regular attacks | | = All damaging / healing spells | Except: | - Drain & Leech | - Syphon | - Poison | - Sap | - Regen | = All damaging / healing items | Except: | - Phoenix Down | - Knot of Rust | - Dark Matter | = All Esper moves | Except: | - Zalera (Kill) | - Shemhazai | - Exodus | - Zodiark (Final Eclipse) | | = All Quickenings | | = All recovery / damaging Techs And similarly we have a list of statuses that Esuna cannot cure: - X-Zone - Oil - K.O. - Disease (Thanks to edgexreaper) - HP Critical - Slow - Doom - Stop - "Petrified" (Esuna cures "Petrifying") o Success Rate ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The success rate of negative status spells are independent of the magical evasion of the target (which only blocks away a damaging spell). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Success Rate = Base Rate + (MAG of user - VIT of target) % | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many magics have 100% basic hit chance, and many don't. Here comes a list of magics that have less than 100% basic hit chance. ================================================================= | Time Magics | Rate | Green Magics | Rate | Arcane Magics | Rate | |-------------|------|--------------|------|---------------|------| | Bleed | 80% | Oil | 80% | Gravity | 70% | | Balance | 70% | Sleep | 65% | Graviga | 40% | | Slow | 60% | Sleepga | 55% | Reverse | 70% | | Slowga | 55% | Silence | 60% | Syphon | 60% | | Warp | 55% | Silencega | 55% | Berserk | 60% | | Doom | 55% | Poison | 60% | Decoy | 60% | | Immobilize | 50% | Toxify | 55% | Confuse | 50% | | Break | 50% | Blind | 60% | Death | 35%*| | Disable | 45% | Blindga | 55% | | | | Stop | 40% | | | | | ================================================================= Note: Some monster's special move has a certain chance to induce instant K.O. The K.O. chance is fixed and does not apply the formula here - more like an added effect of a weapon. For example, Zodiark's special spell comes with 50% Instant K.O.. As usual, there are modifiers that further complicate the success rates. ========================================= | Status | Success Rate Modifier | |-----------------|-----------------------| | Shell | x 0.5 | | Faith (on user) | x 1.5 | | HP Crit. MAG Up | x 2.0 | | Full HP MAG Up | x 2.0 | ========================================= Note: When equipping the Indigo Pendant, the above calculation result "Base Rate + (MAG of user - VIT of target)" is directly set to 100%. See section 8a for more. Therefore, "Faith" and the "Serenity" license on the caster would really help. o Beserk & Decoy chances ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Althouth Berserk and Decoy are considered positive status, their success rate is calculated as a negative status. Success Rate = Base Rate + (MAG of user - VIT of target) And this success rate is further modified by Shell (x0.5), Faith (x1.5), Serenity (x2 if HP full), and Spellbreaker (x2 if HP critical). Now thanks to trowabartan, we have some nice in-game testing data: Spell: Berserk, Base Rate = 60% ------------------------------------------------------------------- Run 1 Caster MAG 62 (Serenity) 100% success (118% predicted) Target VIT 63 with Shell, starts to miss Run 2 Caster MAG 29 (No Serenity) ~1/6 success (26% predicted) Target VIT 63 with Indigo Pendent, 100% Run 3 Caster MAG 41 (Serenity) ~2/3 success (58% predicted) Target VIT 72 with Indigo Pendent, 100% You can see that when the caster's and target's levels are about the same, Serenity (success rate x2 when HP full) is sufficient to guarantee success (~120%). Even if the caster has a much lower MAG, serenity also helps to boost the rate, but no longer guarantees success. If your Berserk, Decoy and Reverse miss a lot on your own party member, you can raise your caster's MAG, and not to raise your target's VIT. You can also purchase the Serenity lic. and keep your caster's HP full. If you want to make sure 100% success, equip the Indigo Pendant on your caster. Yet in any case, don't Shell on your target. By the way, the item "Bacchu's Wine" gives Berserk status 50% of the time. Here are some of the extra info. on status. I will repeat the Berserk, Haste and Bravery buffs as they are very frequently used: =============================================================== | Status | What happens | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | Berserk | Charge bar speed x2, Regular attack damage x1.5 | nice! | Haste | Charge bar speed x1.5 | | Bravery | Regular attack damage x1.3 | | Slow | Charge bar speed x0.5 | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | Regen | Gain HP by "RANDOM (1~Lv)" per 1.5 seconds | * Reverse | Sap | Lose 1 HP per 0.1 second | * has no | Poison | Lose around "MAX HP / 16" per 12 seconds | * effect |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | Invisible | Not be detected by enemies relying on "vision" | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | Petrify | Count down from 10, numbers go down per ~4.5 sec | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | Doom | Count down from 10, numbers go down per ~10 sec | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------| | Blind | Regular attack accuracy reduced by 50% | =============================================================== It seems that battle speed does NOT affect the duration of status. Therefore, the fastest battle speed will make the best use of the positive status affects except Regen. o Stop Trick ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is common sense that the status STOP stops everything. If you combine Stop and Reverse, though, you have a damage-absorbing tank that never expires. o Reflect Trick ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now this is an old trick that has worked in all FFs. Put Reflect on all your party members, and cast magics on yourself to reflect it to the enemy. You get one reflection from each party member, which means multiple damages. You can also bypass enemy's Reflect status this way. o Shell for the win? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Many bosses have the ability to ignore VIT, meaning their status attack will always hit if you are not immune. However, if these statuses work like magics, you can use the Shell status to avoid them 50% of the time. Now try that on Zodiark, Yiazmat, Behemoth King or whatever that gives out instant K.O. effect, and see if it makes a difference! (Honestly I don't know!) ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3c. Motes] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Motes are items which contain magical powers that are usually identical to their spell counterparts. For example, a Hastega Mote is like a Hastega spell (Haste all). The only difference is that all Motes ignores the Reflect effect, which makes them very useful when you cannot cast Dispel. Certain Motes offers elemental damage, which is calculated by: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | DMG = [POW x RANDOM(1~1.125) - MDEF] x [2 + MAG x (Lv+MAG)/256)] | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the exact same formula of the magical damage, except that the POW here is replaced by specific "Mote Power" that are listed below: ========================================== | Name | POW | Element | Range | |--------------|-------|---------|---------| | Dark Mote | 28 | Dark | 6 | |--------------|-------|---------|---------| | Water Mote | 42 | Water | Single | |--------------|-------|---------|---------| | Aero Mote | 66 | Wind | 6 | |--------------|-------|---------|---------| | Holy Mote | 96 | Holy | Single | |--------------|-------|---------|---------| | Scathe Mote | 138 | None | 6 | ========================================== Note: Eksir Berries (event item): POW = 30, Element = Dark. These damages are also subject to additional modifications. ============================================================ | Status | Damage Dealt | Damage Received | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Faith | x 1.3 | | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Oil | | x 3 (Fire) | | Sleep | | x 1.5 | | Shell | | x 0.75 | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | HP Full MAG Up | x 1.2 | | | HP Crit. MAG Up | x 2 | | |------------------------|-----------------|-----------------| | Weapon's Element Bonus | x 1.5 | | | Elemental Weak | | x 2 | | Elemental 1/2 | | x 0.5 | | Elemental Null | | x 0 | | Elemental Absorb | | Heals x 1 (?) | ============================================================ ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3d. Fangs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fangs are elemental items that deals damage 25% of enemy's MAX HP, with a success chance of 50%. =========================================== | Name | Chance | Element | Range | |--------------|--------|---------|---------| | Red Fang | 50% | Fire | 6 | |--------------|--------|---------|---------| | Blue Fang | 50% | Ice | 6 | |--------------|--------|---------|---------| | White Fang | 50% | Thunder | 6 | =========================================== Now since Fangs are elemental in nature, they are also further modified by: ====================================================== | Status | Damage Dealt | Damage Received | |------------------------------------------------------| | Fang's Element | x 1.5 | | | Elemental Weak | | x 2 | | Elemental 1/2 | | x 0.5 | | Elemental Null | | x 0 | | Elemental Absorb | | Heals x 1 (?) | ====================================================== The damage is further increased by 50% while wearing the accessory "Pheasant Netsuke". It is then possible to instant kill an enemy by a correct Fang that targets its weakness, plus this accessory. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [3e. Knot of Rust & Dark Matter] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Knot of Rusts and Dark Matters are a special category of non-elemental, damage-dealing items. Although Knot of Rust itself is not very effective, each time you use them, the damage of Dark Matter increases. The damage of Knot of Rust is: --------------------------------- | DMG = Current HP / Random(1~10) | (CAP = 9999) --------------------------------- Note that some sources use MAX HP, instead of Current HP. From various in-game testing I am now certain it is the current HP that counts. For example, when a character has the Bubble status, the KoR damage will increase, although the character's "base" MAX HP remains the same. (Thanks to Corvoid who confirmed this.) While getting hurt, the damage of KoR also reduces accordingly. The damage of Dark Matter is the sum of ALL Knot of Rusts you have used previously, divided by 3. -------------------------------------------------------------- | DMG = SUM (Knot of Rust DMG) / 3 + SUM (Devour Soul DMG) / 3 | (CAP = 60000) -------------------------------------------------------------- The counter of Dark Matter resets to 0 after each use. As you can see, this is a potentially very damaging attack, useful for dealing the final blow of a tough enemy. Note: Devour Soul is NOT Souleater (although they literally mean the same). Devour Soul is a quite-regular attack of the Esper Shemhazai, with the same effect as Knot of Rust. This Esper uses a special attack, Soul Purge, which has the same effect as Dark Matter, and it resets the counter to 0 as well. Shemhazai uses Soul Purge when (1) Summon Time Remains < 10 seconds (2) HP < 30%. (Thanks to Red Star) ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 4. Techniques ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== In this section I will cover the mechanics of the most useful / inquired techniques. While some techs always hit, most techs come with a base chance. If not otherwise mentioned, the success chance for techs is calculated as: -------------------------------------------------------------- | Success Chance = Base Chance + (User's Lv - Target's Lv) (%) | -------------------------------------------------------------- However, if User's Lv is greater than Target's Lv, the chance becomes: -------------------------------------------------------------- | Success Chance = 3 x (User's Lv - Target's Lv) (%) | -------------------------------------------------------------- Also, it is important to know that ALL techs are physical in nature, except Shades of Black (magical). This means that damage-dealing techs will fail when the target has physical damage immunity. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4a. Daily Techs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Daily techs are what you don't leave home without. But to be honest, Poach is useless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Steal (CT = 30) (Special thanks: EOH @ www.gamer.com.tw) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stealing is NOT affected by battle chains! The only way to improve your chance to steal better items is to equip the Thief's Cuff accessory. All steal-able items are divided into 3 categories: o High chance: 55% o Mid chance: 10% o Low chance: 3% With the Thief's Cuff accessory, the chances are increased to: o High chance: 80% o Mid chance: 30% o Low chance: 6% Rare monsters only carry 1 item, and it usually belongs to the "Low" chance category (3/6%). The actual stealing happens in this manner: ------------------------- Yes ( 3/ 6%) | Steal Low chance Item? | -------------> Finish ------------------------- | No (97/94%) ------------------------- Yes (10/30%) | Steal Mid chance Item? | -------------> Finish ------------------------- | No (90/70%) ------------------------- Yes (55/80%) | Steal High chance Item? | -------------> Finish ------------------------- | No (45/20%) ------------------------- | Stealing fails !! | ------------------------- There is only one item to be stolen. Whenever you steal one item, the target contains no more. However, the thief's cuff also enables you to steal multiple items. ------------------------- Yes ( 3/ 6%) | Steal Low chance Item? | -------------> Go on to Mid chance Item ------------------------- | No (97/94%) ------------------------- Yes (10/30%) | Steal Mid chance Item? | -------------> Go on to High chance Item ------------------------- | No (90/70%) ------------------------- Yes (55/80%) | Steal High chance Item? | -------------> Finish ------------------------- | No (45/20%) ------------------------- | Stealing fails !! | ------------------------- In general, stealing is "one shot only" unless you fail. As soon as you steal anything, the monster contains no more items. You will have to respawn the monster (see Section 8b) in order to steal the item(s) again. There are a few exceptions, such as Gilgamesh (5 stages, 5 items to steal). o Trick: Stealing safely ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thanks to X3mgame who provided this valuable trick. You can steal safely from powerful monsters, especially the inactive (green bar) ones like Entites. (1) Move your party leader forward until the target's HP bar shows. (2) Send your party members to steal manually, but not the party leader. (3) Get it or not, quickly go to the menu (triangle), and put the thieves back to reserve before they get targeted. Slowly move your party leader away from the angry target. (4a) If you steal an item, then take your party leader and zone out. For inactive monsters you only need to get to the neighbor zone, to refresh the items to be stolen again. (4b) If the steal fails, you can bring the two thieves back and steal again. As long as your party leader is out of range of the target, the thieves can keep stealing safely as the target is trying to chase down and target the far-away leader. You can't move the thieves back to reserve anymore, but you can always zone out with the party leader. You can use this stealing method on almost any enemy to safely steal and quickly zone away. Since you will never get hit using his method, you can do it for low level challenge, too! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Poach (CT = 50, Base Chance = 80%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Poach only works when the target monster is in critical HP status. There are 3 categories of poach rates: o Always: 100% o High: 95% o Low: 5% When a monster is poached, it drops the poach item, but does not leave EXP, LP, Clan point, Gil and Drop items. Chain level has NOTHING to do with Poach rate. In many cases, the poach-able low chance items are identical to the monograph drop items (I will explain what monograph drop is in section 5a). Therefore, it is usually not necessary to poach the enemy to obtain your desired item. See section 8c for more monster details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Libra (CT = 10) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Displays regular monsters' Lv, HP and weakness, and reveals traps (but not what type of trap). ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4b. Recovery Techs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Recovery techs are inferior alternatives to Magical and Item recovery, if you happen to be prevented from using them. Infuse can be used in recovery, but the real beauty of it is to harm yourself just enough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Charge (CT = 40) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Charge is a useful technique to recover a small amount of MP when your MP runs out. If you fail, though, your MP directly drops to 0. Better use it when you have nothing to lose. Late in the game, you will run into annoying enemies who deplete all your MPs in one shot, so this technique becomes quite useful. The success rate of Charge is: -------------------------------- | 1 - (Current MP/MP MAX + 0.01) | -------------------------------- So you can always succeed if you have less than 1% of MP left. The amount of Mp recovery is based on: ------------------------------------ | MP recovery = Random (Lv ~ 1.33Lv) | ------------------------------------ So the higher your character's level, the more MP you can recover. If you want to fill up MP more, use the magic "Syphon". The Brady guide gives a lot of praise to Charge, but personally I found it less effective than Syphon when I am not in a hurry, and less efficient than a High Ether when I am in a hurry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o First Aid (CT = 15) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First Aid will only work when the target is in HP critical condition (< 20% MAX HP). The recovery amount is: --------------------------------------------- | HP recovery = 0.2 x MAX HP x Random (0 ~ 1) | --------------------------------------------- So you would expect anywhere from 0 to 20% of MAX HP recovery. This is really pathetic as any Hi- / X-potion can do better than that, and items have 0 CT! This tech is really bad, and I only list it here to show you how bad it is. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Revive (CT = 25) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sacrifice all of user's HP (K.O.) to completely restore a K.O. ally's HP. If used on an "alive" target, the user still gets K.O. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Infuse (CT = 40) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Convert all MP to HP by (10 x MP left). The original HP is replaced by the new value. Now thanks to Cryconius, who provides great insights into this tech: "... the main use for Infuse is to set your characters (and espers) at low HP to take advantage of things such as: Higher Combos, 2x damage dealing, greater damage from Balance and Zeromus' attacks, and (last but not least) triggering Espers' final attacks. As an example, I used Infuse as my main strategy for at least the first half of Yiazmat. While one of my characters was tanking with Decoy and Reverse, another of my characters played "daredevil," using Infuse to get rid of MP, getting a little MP by attacking once, then Infusing again to set at <6.25% HP. Then he just went crazy attacking Yiazmat, doing 8-12 hit combos for 9999 damage per hit with Yagyu Darkblade." ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4c. Damaging Techs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Damaging techs are nice alternatives to... deal damages, as they penetrate Reflect and Reverse, plus they ignore target's DEF and EVA! Some of these damaging techs have an area effect, and their radius is always "6". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Horology (CT = 40, Base chance = 70%, Area = 6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The power of Horology solely depends on the second "MINUTE" digit on your game clock. For example, when you game clock is 12(hr):34(min):56(sec), the "4" is used. --------------------------------------------- | Horology DMG = [1/2 x (Minute Digit^2)] | (Thanks to Terence) --------------------------------------------- ==================== | Digit | Damage | |-------|------------| | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 0.5 x Lv | | 2 | 2 x Lv | | 3 | 4.5 x Lv | | 4 | 8 x Lv | | 5 | 12.5 x Lv | | 6 | 18 x Lv | | 7 | 24.5 x Lv | | 8 | 32 x Lv | | 9 | 40.5 x Lv | ==================== Therefore, the higher your level is, the more damage Horology can bring to you. If you run out of effective ways to bring down an enemy, you can probably check the in game clock. If it rests at 8 or 9, Horology might be the last kick you need. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Traveler (CT = 10, Base Chance = 100%, Area = 6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Its power solely depends on the number of steps you have taken, since the last time you use Traveler (or if this is your first time, since the beginning of the game). ======================== | Steps | Damage | |-----------|------------| | 0 - 99 | Step x 1 | | 100 - 499 | Step x 2 | | 500 - 989 | Step x 3 | | 990 - 999 | Step x 10 | ======================== Whenever the step count goes over 1000, it resets to 0. Basically, the game only looks at the final 3 digits of the steps relative to the last reset. Traveler is a potentially devastating attack early game. If you keep a close track of your steps, you can get a 9900 - 9990 damage attack! (But you will have to walk another 990 steps for the next one.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Numerology (CT = 25, Area = 6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Numerology deals damage in an "exponential" way. Every time you use it, the damage DOUBLES for the next time, to a maximum of 2^17 = 131,072 ! Even better, it is has an effective radius, so you can hit more than one enemies with it - and the splash damage is twice as much as the original damage! Numerology is potentially the most damaging single attack you can get, but to achieve 131,072 damage you have to be really lucky. Also, whenever you misses, the counter resets to 0 and you have to start from "2^0", an exciting 1 damage again. Here is how Numerology goes. "Splash" means the damage on surrounding mobs of the target: ========================================================= | No. times used | Hit | Target | Splash | Splash | | since reset | Chance | DMG | Chance | DMG | |----------------|--------|----------|--------|-----------| | 0 | 85% | 1 | 85% | 2 | | 1 | 85% | 2 | 84% | 4 | | 2 | 84% | 4 | 83% | 8 | | 3 | 83% | 8 | 81% | 16 | | 4 | 81% | 16 | 79% | 32 | | 5 | 79% | 32 | 76% | 64 | | 6 | 76% | 64 | 73% | 128 | | 7 | 73% | 128 | 69% | 256 | | 8 | 69% | 256 | 65% | 512 | | 9 | 65% | 512 | 60% | 1,204 | | 10 | 60% | 1,024 | 55% | 2,048 | | 11 | 55% | 2,048 | 49% | 4,096 | | 12 | 49% | 4,096 | 43% | 8,192 | | 13 | 43% | 8,192 | 36% | 16,384 | | 14 | 36% | 16,384 | 29% | 32,768 | | 15 | 29% | 32,768 | 21% | 65,536 | | 16 | 21% | 65,536 | 13% | 131,072 | ========================================================= You can also describe the Hit chance of Numerology with a simple equation (thanks to Terence): --------------------------------------------------------------- | Hit Chance for Nth time = Hit Chance for (N-1)th time - (N/2) | --------------------------------------------------------------- There are a few important things to note: 1. The tech. always misses on the 17th time. 2. There is a single counter for the entire party. 3. Loading a save does not reset the counter (good news). 4. If you miss the target, then there won't be any splash damage. 5. Certain enemies are immune to Numerology even if you don't miss, but the splash damage still works on its neighbors, if they are not immune to this tech as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Gil Toss (CT = 45, Base Chance = 100%, Area = 6) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Gil Toss offers very stable and spectacular damage output, only if you can afford it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- | DMG = Gil Spent | | = Sum of current party members' HP / # of enemies in range | ---------------------------------------------------------------- Note1: The damage (and Gil spent) is capped at 9999 each toss. Note2: Nothing is immune to Gil Toss! (unless they are immune to physical DMG) You will probably end up with a lot of unspent Gils at the end (in my first playthrough I left with 2M rotting in the bank), so why not throw away some of them now? It is also an extremely powerful technique, considering how much damage you can inflict in total. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Telekinesis (CT = 50, Base Chance = 75%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This technique enables a character to hurt flying / far away monsters, while holding a short-range weapon. If the character is equipped with a long-ranged weapon, then this tech always misses. The formula for Telekinesis damage is: ---------------------------------- | DMG = 0 ~ (ATK x Target's Lv) -1 | ---------------------------------- Therefore, for the best result, equip your highest-ATK weapon to perform Telekinesis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Souleater (CT = 35, Base Chance = 100%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Souleater is equivalent to the "Dark" attack in FFIV, where you deal more damage by hurting yourself. -------------------------------------------------------------- | DMG = 1.4 x ATK x Random(1~1.125) x (1 + STR x (Lv+STR)/256) | -------------------------------------------------------------- The amount of HP you lose is 20% of MAX HP. Essentially, souleater is 1.4 times more powerful than a regular physical attack, and it ignores the target's DEF. It is a nice technique to use when the "Attack" command is sealed off. Equip your highest-ATK weapons for the best result. Note: Souleater damage actually heals undead, so be careful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Sight Unseeing (CT = 25, Base Chance = 10%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This tech functions only when the user is inflicted with the Blind status. If connected, it reduces the target's HP to a number between 0 and 8. The range of Sight Unseeing is the same as user's weapon. Monster's special ability "Safety" (see Section 8a) nullifies sight unseeing. Note that as long as your level is higher than the target's level, the low base chance is longer applied. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Bone Crusher (CT = 45, Base Chance = 45%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Use user's own HP to kill one target. The damage sustained by the user is: ---------------------------------- | Self DMG = 0 ~ (User's Own HP-1) | ---------------------------------- However, if the tech misses, the user is directly gets K.O. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o 1000 Needles (CT = 30, Base Chance = 70%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Deals constant 1000 damage, which cannot be reduced by the target's damage reducing ability. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4d. Status Techs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There has been a smart "Stamp Trick" circulating around. Basically, you put all positive status on a certain party member before hand, and stamp them all at once on another member to save time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Charm (CT = 35, Base Chance = 50%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Puts the "Confuse" status on one target. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Stamp (CT = 55, Base Chance = 60%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copy and Paste all of the user's own status to a target, except HP critical. Much thanks to Frioniel2006, who performed some solid experiments, we now have detailed mechanics for Stamp: - Character: Penelo Lv 56 (VIT 44, Spellbound Augment) Balthier Lv 54 (VIT 50, Spellbound Augment) - Penelo is the stamper, and Blathier is the receiver. - The timer starts when the original spell is cast on Penelo (t=0) - The stamp time (T-stamp) is taken when Stamp completes. - The end time (T-end) is taken when status disappears. T-end(P) for Penelo, T-end(B) for Balthier. - "*": Status comes from equipment - All are units in seconds. ============================================================ | Run | Status | T-stamp | T-end(P) | T-end (B) | Comment | |-----|----------|---------|-----------|-----------|---------| | 1 | Haste | none | 85.0 | none | Control | | 2 | Haste | none | none | 90.5 | Control | |-----|----------|---------|-----------|-----------|---------| | 3 | Haste | 5.2 | 85.2 | 85.2 | | | 4 | Haste | 56.3 | 85.1 | 85.1 | | |-----|----------|---------|-----------|-----------|---------| | 5 | Protect | none | 129.3 | none | Control | | 6 | Protect | none | none | 135.4 | Control | |-----|----------|---------|-----------|-----------|---------| | 7 | Protect | 13.0 | 129.0 | 129.0 | | | 8 | Protect | 103.3 | 103.3 | 103.3 | | |-----|----------|---------|-----------|-----------|---------| | 9 | Protect* | | Permenant | 135.2 | | ============================================================ It is clear that: (1) The duration of Stamped status is identical to the left-over duration of the status on the stamper. The later you stamp, the shorter the "copy & paste" status will last. This is most evident when you stamp a count-down type status (Petrify & Doom). (2) While stamping an equipment status, the duration is the same as casting a fresh buff on the target. Also, duration of an existing status will be overridden by the last stamp (with the exception of auto-statuses). By the way, statuses gained after the Stamp action starts charging will not be stamped, so it is impossible to stamp action-pausing statuses like Confuse, Stop, etc. (Thanks to master ZED) ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4e. Stats Techs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stats techs alter the target's stats. Expose is particularly useful against a few ultra-high-HP bosses in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Wither / Addle / Expose / Shear (CT = 45 for all) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These techniques reduce the enemy's STR, MAG, DEF and MDEF, respectively. Let's summarize them in one table. The last column describes whether there is a monster's special ability (many do) that gives immunity to this tech. =============================================================== | Name | Lowers | To | base chance | Immune | |---------|---------|--------------------|-------------|--------| | Wither | STR | Current STR x 0.5 | 66% | Yes | |---------|---------|--------------------|-------------|--------| | Addle | MAG | Current MAG x 0.5 | 66% | Yes | |---------|---------|--------------------|-------------|--------| | Expose | DEF | Current DEF x 0.9 | 33% | No | |---------|---------|--------------------|-------------|--------| | Shear | MDEF | Current MDEF x 0.9 | 33% | NO | =============================================================== The minimal value for these stats is 0. Note there is a diminishing return on each subsequent reduction. The effects of them are said to be permanent and cannot be removed. Nice! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Achilles (CT = 55, Base Chance = 40%) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Randomly creates one "weakness" to one target. A lot of monsters are immune to it, though. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [4f. Magical Techs] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There is only one magical tech. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Shades of Black (CT = 45) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Randomly casts one of the following black magics, without consuming MP. Does not require corresponding licenses. =============================================== | Chance | Choose one magic from | |--------|--------------------------------------| | 88% | Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Water, Aero | | | Fira, Thundara, Blizzaga, Bio | |--------|--------------------------------------| | 12% | Aeroga, Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, | | | Shock, Scourge, Flare, Ardor, Scathe | =============================================== ______________________________________________________________________________ ============================================================================== 5. Loots & Treasures ______________________________________________________________________________ Final Fantasy XII: Chances Over-reloaded ===================================== In this section I will explain how battle chain works on drop rates, and list the chances for the best chests in the game. ______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [5a. Drops, Battle Chain & Related] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ When you kill the same family (type) of enemies in a row, you accumulate chains numbers. Chain numbers ultimately give you advanced "level" of chains. There are four chain levels (Lv0-Lv3), which influences the loot you obtained when the enemy is defeated (i.e. drops). All drops fall into one of the five categories: "Always", "High" (chance), "Mid", "Low", and "Super Low". "Always" drops are very rare, and I will mention the most important of them in section 8c. Here is how chain level affects the drop chances of items: =========================================== | Name | Lv0 | Lv1 | Lv2 | Lv3 | |-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Icon | bag | blue | gold | HUGE | | | | coin | coin | coin | |-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | High | 40% | 45% | 50% | 55% | |-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Mid | 25% | 30% | 35% | 40% | |-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Low | 3% | 6% | 8% | 12% | |-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------| | Super Low | 1% | 2% | 3% | 5% | =========================================== So here comes an important point -- no matter how high your chain number is, if you chain level is low, your chances to get rare drops are still low. A lot of the good drops fall into the "Super Low" category, so it would really help to chain monsters to lv3, which boosts the drop chance by a whooping 500%, to... 5%. Each drop is independent of each other. You can get all kinds of drops in one bag. o Break a Battle Chain ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There are three ways to break your battle chain: (1) Kill a different type of monster, obviously (2) Enter a town (where only Vaan is walking. Yeah I know, why not Fran?) (3) Touch a save crystal. (If you just pass by it, you are fine.) Besides regular drops, there are two additional categories of drops that are only available under certain conditions. The drop chance for these additional drops are NOT affected by chain levels. o Monograph Drop ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Th