Complete guide with pictures and videos at:
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/psp/dissidia-final-fantasy/gabranth-faq/tACMW4t
7ftQ_/
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|| Gabranth FAQ ||
|| Dissidia: Final Fantasy ||
|| -------------- ||
|| Vamper62 ||
|| Version 1.2g ||
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Written by: Vamper62 (http://www.playhaven.com/profile/Vamper62/)
Last updated: 2010-01-26
===============================================================================
Table of Contents
===============================================================================
- Intro
- I. Unlocking Gabranth
- II. General Statistics and Leveling Charts
- III. Bravery Attacks
- --- Normal Ground
- --- Normal Aerial
- --- EX Mode Ground
- --- EX Mode Aerial
- IV. HP Attacks
- --- Normal Ground
- --- Normal Aerial
- --- EX Mode Ground
- --- EX Mode Aerial
- V. Action Abilities
- VI. Support Abilities
- VII. Extra Abilities
- VIII. EX Mode
- IX. Equipment
- --- Weapons
- --- Gloves
- --- Headgear
- --- Armor
- X. Accessories
- XI. Summons
- XII. Character Setups
- --- Setup A (EX-Build)
- --- Setup B (Anti-EX Build)
- --- Setup C (Anti-EX Defense Build)
- XIII. Basic Techniques
- XIV. Advanced Techniques
- XV. How to Play Gabranth Efficiently
- XVI. Fields of Battle
- --- Old Chaos Shrine
- --- Pandemonium
- --- World of Darkness
- --- Lunar Subterrane
- --- The Rift
- --- Kefka's Tower
- --- Planet's Core
- --- Ultimecia's Castle
- --- Crystal World
- --- Dream's End
- --- Order's Sanctuary
- --- Edge of Madness
- XVII. Character Matchups
- --- Warrior of Light
- --- Garland
- --- Firion
- --- The Emperor
- --- Onion Knight
- --- Cloud of Darkness
- --- Cecil
- --- Golbez
- --- Bartz
- --- Exdeath
- --- Terra
- --- Kefka
- --- Cloud
- --- Sephiroth
- --- Squall
- --- Ultimecia
- --- Zidane
- --- Kuja
- --- Tidus
- --- Jecht
- --- Shantotto
- --- Gabranth
- XVIII. Final Words
- XIX. Common Q&A
- XX. Version History
- XXI. Special Thanks
- XXII. Copyright
===============================================================================
>>>Note: Skipping to a section or subsection quickly
===============================================================================
To skip to a certain section (I recommend you read the whole guide though)
press Ctrl + F to pull up the search tab. Enter the section number (ex. XIV)
and enter. If you want to visit a subsection such as Kefka character matchups,
enter the name of the subsection and press enter. If the first result doesn't
reach it, press it again once or twice, you should get to it in no time.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: This is Version 1.0g : Gamefaqs.com ASCII version
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
===============================================================================
Intro
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/2_0/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judgemaster Gabranth fon Rosenburg
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello. I am Vamper62 and this is my 67th guide on Playhaven.com and my 2nd on
Gamefaqs.com. As I can only guess you are reading this guide to learn the ins
and outs of Gabranth in Dissidia Final Fantasy, I'm not going to waste anytime
getting straight to what you are clearly reading this for. Of course, it is
always nice to know who Gabranth is in the Final Fantasy world, so I'm going to
start there...
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS for Final Fantasy XII below!!!
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
Judgemaster Gabranth, or Noah fon Rosenburg (birth name) is an Ivalice Judge
from Final Fantasy XII. He is Basch's brother and a traitor to the Dalmascan
empire. He killed the Dalmascan king, Raminas disguised as his brother as part
of an Arcadian conspiracy to take over Dalmasca. Doing so, he had abandoned his
homeland and joined the Arcadian Military as a Judge. After Vayne kills his
father to gain power, Judge Drace accuses Vayne of the terrible act. In
response, Vayne appoints Gabranth as her Executioner. As part of Drace's dying
wish, he takes her responsibilities as Larsa Solidor's bodyguard. As the Vaynes
corruption continues and he witnesses his brothers ability to retain his honor
and pride even after the Dalmascan crisis, Gabranth begins questioning his
honor and dignity as well. He begins understanding he is just a dog to the
empire.
At the end of the game, Gabranth takes his duty as Larsa Solidor's guard
seriously when Vayne asks him to protect Larsa during the final fight in the
game. Gabranth takes Vaynes word and points his sword at him and stabs him in
the chest; protecting Larsa from Vaynes corruption. Vayne, infused with large
quantities of Magicite, retaliates and lays a fatal wound to Gabranth. Gabranth
is later sent to the airship Strahl where he dies. As part of his final wishes,
he asks his brother, Basch, to take his place as Larsa's protector. Basch
accepts his brothers dying wish and takes Gabranth's place as the Judge
Magister.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> WARNING: End of Spoilers
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
In Dissidia: Final Fantasy, Gabranth appears as an unlockable character
representing Final Fantasy XII. Gabranth is a very special unit in that his
abilities drastically change when he goes into EX mode. Outside of EX mode,
Gabranth has no HP attacks other than EX Charge and is relatively weak in every
aspect. However, once he enter EX mode, his attacks become MUCH STRONGER, so
much so that it makes every other character's EX mode pathetic in comparison.
His attacks become stronger, faster, and more effective. His stats also go up
to wazoo and becomes practically a god of war. During EX mode, you gain access
to some of the most powerful attacks in the entire game including Dual Rend and
Innocence (midair).
Playing Gabranth well requires plenty of strategy. His Accessories, Summons,
Weapons, and Abilities can drastically improve his ability to reach EX mode and
scathe the battlefield. This guide is here to teach you the art of Gabranth and
how to play him properly. Not only that, but I will show you some builds to
make Anti-EX builds safer to play against.
I hope you find this guide useful and entertaining. I know this guide may look
extremely long in length and it may be better to read the whole thing in
multiple sittings rather than one. But if anything, I do hope you do read the
whole thing because all the stuff in this guide put together should not only
improve your skills with Gabranth but your skills as a player overall. Now,
read on! There is much to cover and not much time... or a lot of time... or a
moderate amount of time to finish it... Anyways...
Key:
> * (O) = Circle Button
> * ([]) = Square Button
> * (/\) = Triangle Button
> * (X) = Cross Button
> * (R\ = Right Trigger
> * /L) = Left Trigger
===============================================================================
I. Unlocking Gabranth
===============================================================================
To unlock Gabranth, you must first complete Shade Impulse 4 to unlock the
Distant Glorys chapters. From here, you must beat Distant Glory: Redemption of
the Warrior. Upon completing this story, you will unlock Gabranth to show up in
the PP Catalog. He costs 1,000 PP to unlock and an additional 300 PP for his
alternate look (which makes his armor extremely black yo!).
===============================================================================
II. General Statistics and Leveling Charts
===============================================================================
This section will cover the basic stats of Gabranth as he levels as well as
when he learns his abilities, whether they are Action, HP Attacks, Extras, etc.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> Chart: Gabranth's Stats Lv1-100
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+===========+
| Level | HP | CP | BRV | ATK | DEF | LUK |
+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+===========+
| 1 | 1000 | 350 | 95 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 5 | 1242 | 354 | 118 | 13 | 14 | 12 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 10 | 1545 | 359 | 147 | 18 | 19 | 15 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 20 | 2151 | 369 | 205 | 28 | 29 | 20 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 30 | 2757 | 379 | 263 | 38 | 39 | 25 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 40 | 3363 | 389 | 320 | 48 | 49 | 30 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 50 | 3969 | 399 | 378 | 58 | 59 | 35 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 60 | 4575 | 409 | 436 | 68 | 69 | 40 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 70 | 5181 | 419 | 493 | 78 | 79 | 45 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 80 | 5787 | 429 | 551 | 88 | 89 | 50 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 90 | 6393 | 439 | 609 | 98 | 99 | 55 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| 100 | 6999 | 450 | 667 | 108 | 109 | 60 |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
Gabranth has pretty average stats all around. Although considering all
characters have the same stats by level 100, excluding ATK and DEF, there
really isn't much to compare.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: Abilities Learned by Level
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
{{{ Bravery and HP Attacks }}}
+-------+--------------------+--------------------------+
| Level | Ability | Ability Type |
+-------+--------------------+--------------------------+
| 1 | Aero (ground) | Bravery Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 1 | Aero (midair) | Bravery Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 1 | Circle of Judgment | Bravery Attack |
| 1 | Enrage | Bravery Attack |
| 1 | EX Charge (ground) | HP Attack |
| 1 | EX Charge (midair) | HP Attack |
| 1 | Hatred | HP Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 1 | Innocence (ground) | HP Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 1 | Sentence (ground) | Bravery Attack |
| 1 | Vortex of Judgment | Bravery Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 3 | Lunge | Bravery Attack |
| 6 | Sentence (midair) | Bravery Attack |
| 10 | Rapture | Bravery Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 16 | Relentless Lunge | Bravery Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 23 | Innocence (midair) | HP Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 30 | Dual Rend | Bravery Attack (EX-Mode) |
| 38 | Guilt | HP Attack (EX-Mode) |
+-------+--------------------+--------------------------+
{{{ Action, Support, and Extra Abilities }}}
+-------+------------------------+--------+
| Level | Ability | Type |
+-------+------------------------+--------+
| 1 | Ground Evasion | Action |
| 1 | Midair Evasion | Action |
| 1 | Ground Block | Action |
| 1 | Midair Block | Action |
| 1 | Aerial Recovery | Action |
| 1 | Free Air Dash | Action |
| 1 | Always Target Indicator| Support|
| 1 | EX Core Lock On | Support|
| 4 | Air Dash | Action |
| 7 | Speed Boost | Action |
|mastery| Speed Boost + | Action |
|mastery| Speed Boost ++ | Action |
| 11 | Auto Recovery | Support|
| 11 | Auto Chase | Support|
| 15 | Auto EX Burst | Support|
| 15 | Auto EX Command | Support|
| 18 | Reverse Air Dash | Action |
| 21 | Jump Boost | Action |
|mastery| Jump Boost + | Action |
|mastery| Jump Boost ++ | Action |
| 25 | EX Critical Boost | Extra |
|mastery| Disable EX Crit. Boost | Extra |
| 26 | Auto EX Defense | Support|
| 29 | Reverse Free Air Dash | Action |
| 32 | Recovery Attack | Action |
| 32 | Controlled Recovery | Action |
| 35 | Riposte | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Riposte | Extra |
| 39 | Jump Times Boost | Action |
|mastery| Jump Times Boost + | Action |
|mastery| Jump Times Boost ++ | Action |
| 40 | Omni Air Dash | Action |
| 43 | Sneak Attack | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Sneak Attack | Extra |
| 47 | Physical Shield | Extra |
| 50 | Magic Shield | Extra |
| 53 | Multi-Air Slide | Action |
|mastery| Multi-Air Slide + | Action |
| 57 | Midair Evasion Boost | Action |
| 60 | Bravery Regen | Extra |
| 64 | Evasion Time Boost | Support|
| 67 | First Strike | Extra |
|mastery| Disable First Strike | Extra |
| 71 | Concentration | Extra |
|mastery| Concentration+ | Extra |
|mastery| Concentration++ | Extra |
| 74 | Cat Nip | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Cat Nip | Extra |
| 78 | Anti-EX | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Anti-EX | Extra |
| 81 | Achy | Extra |
|mastery| Achy+ | Extra |
| 85 | Counterattack | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Counterattack | Extra |
| 88 | Gambler's Spirit | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Gambler's Sp. | Extra |
| 92 | Back to the Wall | Extra |
|mastery| Disable Back to the W. | Extra |
| 95 | Precision Jump | Extra |
| 98 | Snooze and Lose | Extra |
| 100 | EXP to HP | Extra |
| 100 | EXP to Bravery | Extra |
| 100 | EXP to EX Force | Extra |
+-------+------------------------+--------+
===============================================================================
III. Bravery Attacks
===============================================================================
Gabranth has a nice selection of Brave Attacks for both midair and ground
combat. However, in EX Mode, his options become even more expansive. Some of
his EX Brave attacks can wreak havoc on the battle field like Enrage, Rapture,
and Duel Rend, causing the foe not only a lot of hurt, but an inescapable doom.
Here is how each ability will be explained:
B----------------H
| Name of Attack |
V----------------P
CP(N): Amount of CP without mastery.
CP(M): Amount of CP with mastery.
AP(M): Amount of AP to master it.
Effect: What it does.
Attack Properties: Things such as Wall Rush, Guard, and Pull-in
Combo: The buttons pressed to do the combos involved.
Notes: About the abilities overall usefulness.
Rating: Rating of usefulness out of 10.
===============================================================================
<<Normal Ground>>
===============================================================================
A nice thing about almost all of Gabranth's attacks is they have a very fast
lunge at the start making just about every attack a Mid range attack. This
allows for more distanced attacks, even for the most basic of moves. Since this
section talks about Gabranth's normal attacks which are comparably weak to
almost every attack in the game, I will be rating them under the terms of their
category.
B-------B
| Lunge |
V-------V
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 120
Effect: [Mid] Charging attack. Slow launch, approaches foe.
Attack Properties: Map Break
Combo: (O)
Notes: This a highly predictable move imo. Being so, it is very easy to block.
However, it does work as a counterattack nonetheless. For 10 CP, you may want
to tack this on just for more attack options, but overall, it is only a sub par
move at best. In terms of ground attacks outside of EX Mode, Sentence is a much
better option in about every way possible. Lunge is cool and all but just not
very effective and not always worth the CP. If it does land, it does do good
damage though.
Rating: 6.0/10
B-------------------B
| Sentence (ground) |
V-------------------V
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 120
Effect: [Mid] Swift slicing with linked weapons. Can close in on foe.
Attack Properties: Map Break
Combo: (O) + (O)
Notes: This is a good move for Gabranth outside of EX Mode. It is a great
counterattack when followed after a successful block and can knock the foe back
a fairly good distance clearing some space for you to EX Charge. It does good
damage, has a fast approach, and is an overall solid move. It is a little
predictable at times so I don't recommend just going out and attacking outside
of EX Mode. I find it safer to rely on blocks followed by counterattacks with
this move.
Rating: 8.5/10
===============================================================================
<<Normal Aerial>>
===============================================================================
These are Gabranth's aerial attacks outside of EX Mode. Being so, I will be
ranking them based on their overall usefulness in those circumstances.
B--------------------B
| Circle of Judgment |
V--------------------V
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 180
Effect: [Mid] Spin; create vacuum wave. Can aim with the analog stick.
Attack Properties: Move OK, Pull-in, Map Break
Combo: (O)
Notes: This is an okay move, but it is really easy to block. Being a move that
sucks foes in, it is better used from above when you think the opponent is
going to rush up towards you with a jump, dodge, or air dash. It does decent
damage but it just isn't all that amazing in action. I still recommend having
this for more attack options outside of EX Mode, just be really careful when
using it. Practice with it and see where it is most effective for you. That is
my best advice.
Rating: 6.5/10
B-------------------B
| Sentence (midair) |
V-------------------V
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 180
Effect: [Mid] Swift slicing with linked weapons. Can close in on foe.
Attack Properties: Map Break
Combo: (O) + (O)
Notes: Just about at useful as it's grounded version. Again, same strategy
applies here. Guard then counterattack is most effective way to use this move.
It does have some good knock back (no wall rush though), so use that to your
advantage to gain some space to EX Charge for a second or two before the
opponent recovers. Decent damage and fairly fast approach. Remember, it has mid
range distance so it covers a fair amount of distance in the initial attack.
Rating: 8.5/10
===============================================================================
<<EX Mode Ground>>
===============================================================================
In EX Mode, Gabranth gains a much larger pool of attacks to choose from.
Additionally, they are very very fast and powerful moves with amazing range and
insane approach speed.
B---------------B
| Aero (ground) |
V---------------V
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Long] Generate tornado. Slow speed, long duration.
Attack Properties: Pull-in, Map Break, Chase
Combo: (O)
Notes: This is Gabranth's only long range bravery attack, and being so, it is
only decent at best. It has a very long start up time, but if you can get it to
connect with the opponent, it's going to deal some pretty massive damage. It
has some good Vertical range, but not too much. Overall, this move isn't
something you need to have in your arsenal. Sure it is powerful, but is just
too slow and hard to hit with. If you do know a way to make this a bit more
useful, I would like to know... Besides all the flaws, it is a sub par move
overall, just not a very reliable one.
Rating: 5.5/10
B--------B
| Enrage |
V--------V
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Mid] Quick slash w/shortsword. Slash with each button press.
Attack Properties: Map Break, Wall Rush on last attack
Combo: (O) + (O) + (O) + (O) + (O) <-- Wall Rush
Notes: This is Sentence on steroids. This move not only has an insane start up
speed but amazing range. The start of the attack lunges towards the opponent
with pretty incredible speed. Sure you can block the attack, but it requires
some pretty good intuition and skill. Once you get a hit in the attack the
combo will keep going and going and going and going and then BAMM!!! Wall Rush.
This attack is a great counterattack on the ground as well as your basic
aggressive attack. Amazing damage, great speed, fast approach, and incredible
mid range distance. A very good Bravery attack. It also is a good starter for a
Dual Rend Wall of Pain.
Rating: 9.5/10
B------------------B
| Relentless Lunge |
V------------------V
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Mid] Charge up to 3 times by pressing button.
Attack Properties: Map Break, Chase on third hit.
Combo: (O) + (O) + (O) <--Chase
Notes: Again, like Lunge on steroids. This is a very very powerful attack in
terms of damage. It does have a slower start up time, but if you can compensate
for it and land one of the three hits, it is well worth it. When you feel you
can catch the opponent off guard with this attack, do it. If it connects, they
are in for a world of hurt. The biggest downside to this move is that it is
fairly easy to block if you see it coming. Because of this, it isn't a move
that should be spammed or used too close to the foe. Also, don't feel obligated
to use all three charges. If you think you have no chance of landing a hit
after the first charge, don't continue, you're just wasting time. Overall, high
reward attack with flaws that may make it an easy move to block and land a
counterattack with. Also know this move can be Dodge Canceled, so use it when
the time is right. Be careful with this one and don't rely on it as your main
ground attack.
Rating: 7.5/10
===============================================================================
<<EX Mode Aerial>>
===============================================================================
B---------------B
| Aero (midair) |
V---------------V
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Long] Generate tornado. Slow speed, long duration.
Attack: Properties: Pull-in, Map Break, Chase
Combo: (O)
Notes: Basically the exact same thing as Aero (ground). Either way, the move is
strong and long range but it is also really slow, easy to avoid, and overall
just an okay move. There is nothing special about this move. This is made any
better by the fact that Gabranth's other Aerial moves are insanely good. With
Dual Rend and Rapture, Aero just doesn't compare. I honestly don't recommend
wasting the CP for this move...
Rating: 5.5/10
B-----------B
| Dual Rend |
V-----------V
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Mid] Quick slash w/shortsword. Cut long distance in one bound.
Attack Properties: Map Break, Wall Rush
Combo: (O)
Notes: This move is more than good, it is broken! Dual Rend not only is a very
very very fast attack but it has the ability to bypass someone who dodges too
early. Since the attack does a quick one two then a extended three, it has the
ability to punish foes who both dodged the wrong way and a little too early.
Basically if you dodge, you will be able to avoid the first attacks but you may
fall victim to the last hit which also makes a fairly small lunge forward and
ends with a Wall Rush. Also, if the opponent doesn't have Midair Evasion Boost
or Evasion Time Boost, the attack is still more than likely to hit despite the
dodge. Because of this, Dual Rend is also an amazing Wall of Pain move. Dual
Rend is very hard to predict thus hard to block and avoid. It has an amazing
initial lunge and incredible damage. What really makes this move so good is
the fact it is so easy to punish opponents who make a wrong move with it. With
the Wall Rush in the mix, this move is likely Gabranth's best move. If you
don't use this move, you are missing out. Dual Rend also RAPES CPUS LIKE NO
TOMORROW! CPUs have a lot of trouble with this move and can quickly fall into
it's deathly Wall of Pain if they don't make a right move. Sure, it is possible
to block and avoid this move, but it takes quite bit of practice and skill.
Dual Rend is also a great move to short hop with, further increasing it's
deadliness. If you don't know what or how to Wall of Pain or Short Hop, head to
the Advanced Techniques section (XIV). This is an amazing move, but don't
overuse it, as foes will catch on quickly. Just make sure to use it when the
timing is right and the foe is in the perfect position for utter pain! This
move is a signature Gabranth move that is too good not to use.
Rating: 10/10
B---------B
| Rapture |
V---------V
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Rise][Dive] Pierce opponent. Direction depends on position.
Attack Properties: Map Break, Wall Rush
Combo: (O)
Notes: Another amazing move like Dual Rend... Well, maybe a little less
dangerous. Rapture does absolutely wonderful amount of damage. The attack
begins with a lunge w/ attack slanting either up or down depending on the foes
position and then at the end of the first lunge make a final lunge with a swing
that does Wall Rush. It is possible to do a Wall of Pain with this move, but
you have to get the foe in a real corner. The damage done if this hits is
substantial. This move is a little easier to block and dodge than Dual Rend,
but this move is a much more dangerous and unpredictable when short hopped.
Remember that since this is a dive/rise move, it makes for good interceptions
from above and under the opponent. Use this to your advantage and have fun with
Rapture. Either way, this move is a very very good attack and should be used
for sure on any and every Gabranth.
Rating: 9.5/10
B--------------------B
| Vortex of Judgment |
V--------------------V
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 140
Effect: [Mid] Create 3 Vacuum waves. Can aim with the analog stick.
Attack Properties: Pull-in, Magic Block, Map Break, Chase on third hit
Combo: (O) + (O) + (O) <-- Chase
Notes: Yes, this move does deflect magic projectiles (but not things like
Emperors Flare...) making it a great pseudo-magic block attack. Again, like
Circle of Judgment, Vortex of Judgment can be blocked if not used very well. So
it makes best use on approaching foes from above or beneath, not as a standard
"I'm going to air dash to you and attack" move. The third attack does more
damage than the first two and can allow you to lead a chase (if you like chase
that is). This move is faster than Circle of Judgment, making it a bit easier
and more reliable than before. Therefore, this attack does deserve some use and
is by no means a bad move. It just takes correct timing, good intuition, and
most of all, practice. Awesome aerial move for Gabranth, just a more defensive
attack than moves like Dual Rend and Rapture.
Rating: 8.5/10
===============================================================================
IV. HP Attacks
===============================================================================
Gabranth cannot use EX Attacks outside of EX Mode. However, he can use moves
like EX Charge to fill his gauge faster. When in EX Mode, his HP attacks are
quite devistating and have a possibility if used right to hit more than once in
a single attack (which helps recover Bravery faster). Moves like Innocence and
and Guilt are not only powerful, but some of the best HP moves in the entire
game!
===============================================================================
<<Normal Ground>>
===============================================================================
H--------------------H
| EX Charge (ground) |
P--------------------P
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Effect: Charge EX Gauge by holding button.
Attack Properties: Fills EX Gauge
Combo: ([])
Notes: Okay, so this move isn't an attack. As you probably know by now, outside
of EX Mode, Gabranth has no real way to deal HP damage other than from Chases.
Instead, we have EX Charge. This allows you to fill up your EX Gauge faster so
you can enter EX Mode. This move does have a small amount of downtime as soon
as you stop holding ([]). This means you have to know when to stop charging
as an opponent starts to get close or is planning an attack, otherwise your in
for some hurt. The trick to EX Charging is keeping a distance and charging
whenever you can even if it is for a split second. It takes practice to use EX
Charge in intense fights but as soon as you reach EX Mode, everything should be
fine. If you encounter a fight where you just can't get in a charge, use blocks
and counterattacks to gather EX force instead.
Rating: 10/10
===============================================================================
<<Normal Aerial>>
===============================================================================
H--------------------H
| EX Charge (midair) |
P--------------------P
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Effect: Charge EX Gauge by holding button. Canceled when you touch the ground.
Attack Properties: Fills EX Gauge
Combo: ([])
Notes: Again, the same thing as above. The only thing you need to look out for
in this version is how far you are to the ground and/or if there is a trap
bellow (like the stuff that makes you transport to the stage with decrease
Bravery if you don't escape fast enough). Because it is canceled when you reach
the ground, it is usually a good idea to keep your downward falling speed to as
minimal as possible, so stop every so often to reset the speed. If you do fall
into a vortex trap, you can either continue to charge and see if you can fill
that EX Guage while losing Bravery (sometimes a good choice) or to get out.
Other than that, everything from before applies here.
Rating: 10/10
===============================================================================
<<EX Mode Ground>>
===============================================================================
Once in EX Mode, Gabranth gains access to his EX HP Moves. Many of these
attacks have blocking properties to keep incoming foes at bay if they wait to
long to intercept the attack.
H-------H
| Guilt |
P-------P
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 300
Effect: [Mid] Thrust sword; set off large explosion at sword tip.
Attack Properties: Pull-in, Magic Block, Map Break
Combo: ([])
Notes: This is basically Lunge that cannot be blocked (because of guard crush)
and if it hits the opponent will take massive damage then will get caught in a
huge explosion causing HP damage. This move is pretty good overall, but can be
predictable as well. If you are super close to the foe, they likely won't have
time to escape the attack, but if you try to hit them from it's max range
(which is pretty far really, your likely to miss). If it hits however, it is
going to be one hell of an attack as the initial lunge does ridiculous amounts
of damage. It also has the magic block property, so if an opponent tries to
attack with magic while you are lunging, its going to be blocked (I also think
it can block some magic HP Attacks as well) and maybe turn into a counter. The
game doesn't say it but it can also block many physical attacks as well, but
not all of them and not very well usually. I recommend this attack for the
ground more than Innocence (ground) as Innocence (ground) is really easy to
dodge if your distanced enough. The true power of this move, however is it is
a Guard killer. By this I mean that it absolutely rapes players who are in
a guard. Watch for opponents when they guard on the ground, and if they do, use
this move and watch them esplode. Overall, a solid HP attack, but if the
initial lunge misses, its is rare for the opponent to get caught in the ending
explosion, but then again I've seen it happen more than once so don't second
guess yourself just yet.
Rating: 8.5/10
H--------------------H
| Innocence (ground) |
P--------------------P
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 180
Effect: [Long] 4 sword shockwaves fly toward foe at high speed.
Attack Properties: Magic Block, Wall Rush, Map Break
Combo: ([])
Notes: Innocence (ground) is a good move, especially when used fairly close to
the opponent. However, the further away the foe is, the easier it is to dodge.
Because of this, Innocence (ground) is a generally easy move to avoid on the
ground. But this doesn't mean the move isn't good. It is great move to use when
an opponent is firing magic projectiles because it blocks them from hitting you
and it may in fact hit the opponent if they had just finished using the attack.
It has the ability to stop SOME magic HP attacks, but not all. The attack has a
fairly average start up time, so it isn't the fastest HP attack. Beyond all
it's flaws, it has many pros as well. Other than the magic block, Gabranth
follows the enemy as the attack goes on so each shockwave will shoot in the
direction he or she is at that exact moment (kind of like a tracking system).
The shockwaves also travel fairly fast and will definitely make the foe
distance themselves from you. Lastly, it does wall rush when it hits so expect
about x1.5 the usual HP damage when hitting with this. Overall, another solid
HP attack. In general, this attack is actually fairly good compared to other
characters attacks and isn't a move to ignore either.
Rating: 8.0/10
===============================================================================
<<EX Mode Aerial>>
===============================================================================
H--------H
| Hatred |
P--------P
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 180
Effect: [Mid] Emit shockwave. Can aim with the analog stick.
Attack Properties: Move OK, Pull-in, Wall Rush, Map Break
Combo: ([]) (can hold)
Notes: Hatred is hard move to use well. First off, it's range is, imo, less
than mid-range, so it is best used fairly close to the opponent. It is hard to
connect with as well imo. However, beyond that, this attack is super fast and
can be held to gravitationally pull the opponent towards you and release to
attack. Either way, this is Gabranth's fasted HP attack. Being so, it is the
best close range aerial HP attack. It takes some practice to get used to it,
but it can be pretty effective once you've gotten the hang of it. It also does
Wall Rush, which is nice, and you can move around while holding down ([]) (but
not like air dash fast or anything). Overall, yet another solid HP attack that
works best in close range.
Rating: 8.0/10
H--------------------H
| Innocence (midair) |
P--------------------P
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 180
Effect: [Long] 4 sword shockwaves fly at foe in high-speed arc.
Attack Properties: Move OK, Magic Block, Wall Rush, Map Break
Combo: ([])
Notes: Innocence (midair) is a very good move. When your high in the air while
opponent is under you, this move can be highly effective. The waves that
Gabranth creates not only arc downward but have better tracking than the ground
version of Innocence and they are amazingly harder to avoid. If you are in a
reachable range of this attack, you will be hit. To avoid this attack you
either have to be horizontal far off, behind the point where Gabranth throws
the shockwaves from below or extreamly close and dodging to the far right or
left. This attack is also fairly effective close range when there is little
space to move. One thing you need to watch out for is being to close to the
ceiling of the stage. If you are, the initial arc of the waves will hit the
roof and go no further. This move also has great magic blocking abilities and
pretty much shields you from any close range attacks as the swings of
Gabranth's sword also can deal HP damage not just the waves. Overall, much
better than it's ground cousin and one of the best HP attacks in the game imo.
It does take some practice to understand how the attack works and get the hang
of its awkward attack pattern. However, once you get it down, you'll use this
move all the time. Enjoy!
Rating: 9.5/10
===============================================================================
V. Action Abilities
===============================================================================
This section will go through each Action Ability and provide advice as to which
ones are hot and which ones are not. Here is how the layout will work...
A------------------------A
| Name of Action Ability |
C------------------------C
CP(N): Amount of CP without mastery. Every slash refers to the next ability on
the title.
CP(M): Amount of CP with mastery. (read above for slash reference)
AP(M): Amount of AP to master it.
Mastery Bonus: What abilities stem from it being mastered.
Effect: What it does.
Notes: About the abilities overall usefulness.
Rating: Rating of usefulness out of 10.
A---------------------------A
| Ground and Midair Evasion |
C---------------------------C
CP(N): 10/10
CP(M): 5/5
AP(M): 60/60
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Allows the character to dodge using (R\ + (X) + direction.
Notes: This is a must have ability. If you don't have this equipped you are
truly not very good at this game. Dodging is much more reliable than blocks
and actually can defend you from an HP attack. Of course, good timing and
practice are crucial for this ability. Every character should use these. One
thing to note is that you can jump over a person by dodging towards them when
on the ground which leaves them both open for both a Sneak Attack and
a Counterattack.
Rating: 10/10
A-------------------------A
| Ground and Midair Block |
C-------------------------C
CP(N): 10/10
CP(M): 5/5
AP(M): 40/40
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Allows the character to block using (R\.
Notes: Another must have ability. Blocking is not an easy skill to master, but
once you do, it makes huge difference in your performance. Blocking is
especially crucial for Gabranth when he is outside EX-Mode as his attacks are
fairly slow and low priority. Because of this, it is good to be able to block
attacks and counterattack back. Not only does blocking protect you from many
attacks, it also gives EX Force on a successful guard, which is more than
enough of a reason for Gabranth to use it.
Rating: 10/10
A-------------------------------------A
| Aerial Recovery and Recovery Attack |
C-------------------------------------C
CP(N): 10/20
CP(M): 5/10
AP(M): 80/120
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect (Aerial Recovery): While tumbling through air, break fall with (X)
Effect (Recovery Attack): While tumbling through air, break fall and attack
with ([]) or (O)
Notes: Some people enable Aerial Recovery so they can use Recovery Attack and
Controlled Recovery (discussed later). If you plan to use any one of those
abilities, you must enable this. Personally, I don't understand Recovery
Attack. If you are flying away from the opponent, how is a brave or HP attack
going to hit unless it was ranged or something? Gabranth has no use out of
Recovery Attack, but if you want to use Controlled Recovery, Aerial Recovery is
a must have. Otherwise ignore it and use Auto Recovery. It costs 5 CP when
mastered.
Rating: AR 10/10 | RA 3.0/10
A-------------------------------A
| Air Dash and Reverse Air Dash |
C-------------------------------C
CP(N): 10/10
CP(M): 5/5
AP(M): 100/100
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: While quickmoving press (/\) to dash towards or away from the target.
Holding the button extends the range.
Notes: First off, you can only have one of these equipped at once. Second of
all, Free Air Dash is a million times better than this. Overall, I never find
it all that useful. However, if you use Free Air Dash, you may consider Reverse
Air Dash make more options available if you can't use Omni Air Dash (which most
people can't anyways). Overall, not must have but still useful in its own
right. Just it becomes pointless if you do a Free Air Dash with an Air Dash in
the same direction. Always pair opposites... Unless you don't want to.
Rating: 6.0/10
A-----------------------------------------A
| Free Air Dash and Reverse Free Air Dash |
C-----------------------------------------C
CP(N): 30/30
CP(M): 15/15
AP(M): 200/200
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Press (R\ + (/\) to dash towards or away from the opponent. Hold to
extend range.
Notes: Free Air Dash is just plain awesome for aggressive characters and
Reverse Free Air Dash for passive characters. Since most good Gabranth builds
enter EX Mode fairly quickly, we dont really need Reverse Free Air Dash. Free
Air Dash however is important for some of Gabranth's Duel Rend and Vortex of
Judgement combos as well as getting you to EX Cores. Because you cant speed
towards EX Cores without some sort of Free Air Dash or Multi-Air Slide ability,
it is a must have. Just one thing to remember is not to dash too long into a
foe or he or she may block and make a counterattack. Practice controlling Free
Air Dashes cancels using dodges, attacks, and blocks. One major bonus to Free
Air Dashing is that most magics deflect off the character as he moves. However,
there are obviously many other magics that just cant be deflected period like
The Emperor's Flare and Terra's Thundara. Overall, fairly useful and a must
have for most aggressive players (Free Air Dash that is). Reverse Free Air Dash
does still let you dash towards EX Core btw, if you decide to use it (although
I'm not sure why you would).
Rating: FAD 9.5/10 | RFAD 5.5/10
A---------------A
| Omni Air Dash |
C---------------C
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Press (R\ + (/\) to dash in any direction. Hold to extend range.
Notes: Omni Air Dash is like Free Air Dash, Reverse Free Air Dash, and Multi
Air Slide put into one. It is very very very very hard to master imo, and most
players may find it too much of a hassle to use. However, mastering it can make
any character much more versatile. It can even be used as a pseudo-dodge of
sorts with longer start up and higher escape range. This is a very hard ability
to rate as it really depends on how well you can use it. Also, it is good to
note that Omni Air Dash cannot move vertically (unless you block, which makes
you face an angle toward the opponent and quickly Omni Air Dash). Because of
this, it makes flying towards foes a bit harder. Omni Air Dash is also faster
than Free Air Dash, making it more suited for EX Core grabbing.
Rating: 1-10/10 <-- Depending on how masterful you are with it
A---------------------A
| Multi-Air Slide (+) |
C---------------------C
CP(N): 10/30
CP(M): 5/15
AP(M): 250/300
Mastery Bonus: Multi-Air Slide +
Effect: Press (X) to dash in any direction after using all jumps. Hold to
extend range.
Effect (+): Can use Multi-Air Slide twice in succession.
Notes: Multi-Air Slide is often an alternate Omni-Air Dash with better control.
There are people who even say Multi-Air Dash is faster than the Free Air Dashes
and Omni Air Dash. For fast activation make sure to not have Jump Times Boosts
also equipped as it only works once you use all jumps and having to jump two to
four times to activate it is a lot of wasted time. Personally, I use this in
combination with Free Air Dash to add more versatility to my movement options.
It is relatively cheap to equip (well, the basic version is). It isn't
necessary a must have but it can be useful, so the score below will reflect
that. Also note that only one of the Multi-Air Slides can be equipped at once
(kind of a no brainer). If you have an extra 5 CP, go ahead and tack this on.
It may come in handy. Of course, practice using it if you want to use it a lot.
It takes some getting used to, but can be super effective once you get it down.
I recommend trying this move out a bit to see if you like it first. I
personally love this ability as a substitute to Omni Air Dash.
Rating: 8.5/10
A--------------------A
| Speed Boost (+/++) |
C--------------------C
CP(N): 20/40/70
CP(M): 10/20/35
AP(M): 150/150/150
Mastery Bonus: Speed Boost + | Speed Boost ++
Effect: Minor/Moderate/Major movement speed increase.
Notes: This is good to have on any character if you have the CP to spare. For
one thing, outside of EX Mode, Gabranth is one of the slowest characters, so a
Speed Boost will not only make him better at running away to EX Charge, but
make him faster at Air Dashing and Quickmoves (by a minor amount but still
helpful) so he can reach EX Cores if you need to resort to it. In EX Mode,
Gabranth with these is a total speed demon. Maybe not as much as Tidus in EX or
Zidane, but right up there. It will also make his ability to stalk opponents
easier. There is no escaping Gabranth now! I recommend at least the Speed Boost
+ for movement speed increases when Gabranth is outside EX Mode so he can
better escape danger and start charging.
Rating: 8.5/10
A-------------------A
| Jump Boost (+/++) |
C-------------------C
CP(N): 10/20/40
CP(M): 5/10/20
AP(M): 150/150/150
Mastery Bonus: Jump Boost + | Jump Boost ++
Effect: Minor/Moderate/Major jump height increase.
Notes: Jump Times Boost is better in my opinion, but if you like jumping really
high in one stride, this is the better option. This move is only good, however,
for those who use Omni Air Dash. Due to Omni Air Dashes inability to dash
vertically, an increase to your jump height can make it easier to reach the
desired altitude. However, if your not using Omni Air Dash, this move is a pile
of trash and should be ignored.
Rating: 4.0/10 | For those who use Omni Air Dash --> 7.5/10
A-------------------------A
| Jump Times Boost (+/++) |
C-------------------------C
CP(N): 20/40/70
CP(M): 10/20/35
AP(M): 150/150/150
Mastery Bonus: Jump Times Boost + | Jump Times Boost ++
Effect: Increases max number of jumps by 1/2/3.
Notes: This is way better than Jump Boost, but still doesn't serve much of a
purpose as pseudo-jumping with Free Air Dashes works just as well if not
better. If you prefer jumping however, this is the better of the two options.
I use Jump Times Boost on my Gabranth only because one jump alone sucks balls
(especially outside EX-Mode)... Anyways, it is all up to preference imo. It
either is good for you or not. This makes it hard to rate. If you use Multi-Air
Slide, be sure not to use the + and ++ versions though.
Rating: 6.0/10
A---------------------A
| Controlled Recovery |
C---------------------C
CP(N): 10
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 120
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Can move while breaking fall. Aerial Recovery must be enabled.
Notes: This doesn't work with Auto Recovery, which is sad... Anyways
controlling a fall is always nice in a fighting game such as this. If you like
the ability to control your recoveries, this is a must have. Otherwise, it is
completely unnecessary. If you use Aerial Recovery, use this as well. If you
use Auto Recovery, forget it. Again, this is another ability I can't really
rate because it really depends on what the player likes better.
Rating: 1-7.5/10
A----------------------A
| Midair Evasion Boost |
C----------------------C
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 150
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Increases movement distance for midair evasion.
Notes: This is one of the most useful abilities out there. Some HP attacks are
hard to evade because basic evasion doesn't provide enough escape distance
(such as Ultima, Flood, and moves that track the player). This is the solution.
Especially for Gabranth, this ability works well to keep him better protected
in and out of EX-Mode. If you like dodging, this is perfect for you. If you
don't... Well, you suck and need to reconsider your skills as a Dissidia
player. For Gabranth, this is an amazing ability. If you don't use this move,
you're going to have some trouble dodging some of the harder attacks in the
game.
Rating: 10/10
===============================================================================
VI. Support Abilities
===============================================================================
This section covers all the Support abilities and whether or not they are
practical for Gabranth or just a plain waste of CP. In general, Support
abilities aren't needed as their only purpose is to do certain commands
automatically such as breaking falls, entering EX Mode, EX Bursts, and chase.
However, sometimes, having Auto abilities can prove useful for a player who
doesn't wish to enter these commands under the short time given to them (chase
especially...). This is how each ability will be covered...
S-------------------------S
| Name of Support Ability |
P-------------------------P
CP(N): Amount of CP without mastery.
CP(M): Amount of CP with mastery.
AP(M): Amount of AP to master it.
Mastry Bonus: what you get for mastering the ability.
Effect: What it does.
Notes: About the abilities overall usefulness.
Rating: Rating of usefulness out of 10.
S-------------------------S
| Always Target Indicator |
P-------------------------P
CP(N): 10
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 30
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Target indicator will show opponents position.
Notes: This puts a blue arrow indicating where your opponent is when you
aren't locked on or cannot see them. Can be useful, but also can be useless.
Up to preference on this one, but it is mostly a waste of 5 CP.
Rating: 5.0/10
S-----------------S
| EX Core Lock On |
P-----------------P
CP(N): 10
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 50
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: When EX Core is present, push /L) while locked on to lock onto the EX
Core.
Notes: I don't even need to explain why this is important. If you want to get
to the EX Core first, you will need this ability if you are far away.
Rating: 10/10
S------------S
| Auto Chase |
P------------P
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 250
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Automatically chase foes.
Notes: The game honestly doesn't give you much time to enter chase. If you like
Chase a lot and are good at it, go ahead and master this ability. However, if
you don't care for chase that much or are fine in entering the command itself.
This isn't worth the CP.
Rating: 7.0/10
S---------------S
| Auto Recovery |
P---------------P
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 250
Effect: Automatically break fall.
Notes: If you aren't planning to use Recovery Attack or Controlled Recovery,
use this instead of Aerial Recovery. Mastered, it cost the same amount of CP,
so go ahead an tack it on. Breaking falls is important anyways.
Rating: 10/10
S---------------S
| Auto EX Burst |
P---------------P
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 150
Effect: Automatically use EX Burst.
Notes: Horrendous ability that actually makes Gabranth much worse if activated.
There are going to be hundreds of times where making an EX Burst is an
extreamly bad idea. Having it automatically enter EX Burst for you is not
giving you an option. Besides, hitting ([]) to do an EX Burst really isn't that
hard and they give you plenty of time.
Rating: 0.5/10 <-- Yes it's that bad
S-----------------S
| Auto EX Command |
P-----------------P
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Auto EX Command Omega
Effect: Automatically input EX Burst commands.
Notes: Terrible ability. If you can't do the commands for the EX Burst, you
suck. Besides, the AI does make mistakes sometimes too, so it's more reliable
to do it yourself.
Rating: 1.0/10
S-----------------------S
| Auto EX Command Omega |
P-----------------------P
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 600
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Automatically inputs EX Burst commands with 100% success rate.
Notes: Basically the same as above but this version doesn't make mistakes.
Honestly, you don't need this ability...
Rating: 2.0/10
S-----------------S
| Auto EX Defense |
P-----------------P
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Auto EX Defense Omega
Effect: Automatically defend against EX Bursts.
Notes: Even worse than Auto EX Command. The AI almost never gets a constant +10
Defense modifier. You might have to mash buttons to get it but it is well worth
it.
Rating: 1.0/10
S-----------------------S
| Auto EX Defense Omega |
P-----------------------P
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 600
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Automatically defend against EX Bursts with perfection.
Notes: This is much better than the normal version as it always gives you a
+10 modifier. However, despite this, it still is a waste of CP...
Rating: 3.0/10
S--------------------S
| Evasion Time Boost |
P--------------------P
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 220
Effect: Increase duration of invincibility after evasion.
Notes: A must have ability. Increased period of invincibility after an evasion
is something you can't pass up. Once you get it, equip it immediately.
Rating: 10/10
===============================================================================
VII. Extra Abilities
===============================================================================
Extra Abilities provide bonuses to characters once they fullful certain
requirements. Most provide critical boosts and many others punish and reward
players for inactivity. Others make abilities easier to activate and some are
to cancel opponents bonuses. Extra abilities tend to cost plenty of CP and when
mastered typically only get a reduced CP cost of around 5. However, Extra
Abilities are also some of the most powerful ones in the entire game. Always
save plenty of CP for these wonderful abilities as they may come in handy. Here
is how each ability will be covered:
E-----------------E
| Name of Ability |
X-----------------X
CP(N): Amount of CP without mastery.
CP(M): Amount of CP with mastery.
AP(M): Amount of AP to master it.
Mastery Bonus: What abilities stem from it being mastered.
Effect: What it does.
Notes: About the abilities overall usefulness.
Rating: Rating of usefulness out of 10.
E----------------E
| Precision Jump |
X----------------X
CP(N): 10
CP(M): 5
AP(M): 180
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: Press (X) at high point of jump to jump higher than usual.
Notes: Pointless ability really. Its just as bad as Jump Boost. There should be
little to no reason to add this to your character at all. All it is is a waste
of valuable CP even if it is only 5 when mastered.
Rating: 3.0/10
E----------------------E
| Concentration (+/++) |
X----------------------X
CP(N): 30/60/100
CP(M): 15/30/50
AP(M): 250/250/250
Mastery Bonus: Concentration+ | Concentration++
Effect: Bravery increases after not attacking for a length of time.
Note: On paper, this ability actually sounds pretty good. But in action, it
just isn't all that great. Not only does it cost a lot of CP, but the amount of
time you need to be inactive is a little long. Remember, to use this, you
cannot use EX Charge as it counts as an "attack." So honestly, it may be a cool
ability in theory, it just doesn't work for Gabranth in any way whatsoever.
Rating: 2.5/10
E----------E
| Achy (+) |
X----------X
CP(N): 30/60
CP(M): 15/30
AP(M): 250/250
Mastery Bonus: Achy+
Effect: Gain "near death" status with ((+) even) more HP.
Notes: This works well if you have accessories that give boosters for "near
death" status, Physical Shield, Magic Shield, or the Back to the Wall
abilities. These boosts can increase the effectiveness of Gabranth
significantly actually, so this ability has its uses if your one to take quite
a bit of damage.
Rating: 6.5/10
E----------------------------------E
| Physical Shield and Magic Shield |
X----------------------------------X
CP(N): 20/20
CP(M): 10/10
AP(M): 280/280
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: When near death. Physical/Magic damage is cut by 20%.
Notes: While I really like the idea of these abilities, they just don't
perform. Overall, you just don't see much defense increase out of plain 20%,
especially if your about to die. It is also a little too situational, and with
Regen and EXP to HP abilities, this just isn't going to see much use unless you
use Achy+ (which is a decent ability in itself if used right). Overall, just
okay, but too situational. If you do decide to use one or the other, make sure
to match it with the opponent you are facing. If it's Golbez, well, I'm sorry
but there isn't much you can do about that.
Rating: 4.5/10
E---------------E
| Bravery Regen |
X---------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 280
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: In EX Mode, gain bravery instead of regenerating HP.
Notes: Okay let me just say one thing first. Some people like recovery HP,
others like Brave boosts. If you prefer the later, this is the ability for
you. It's like an Auto Bahamut summon all the time! Well in EX Mode that is. It
is a great ability for those who would prefer the Brave boost over the HP
recovery. Personally, I like HP recovery, but again it's all about preference
so this rating will reflect that. I've used this ability before, and it really
is effective so don't make my opinion about HP vs. BRV your deciding factor.
This is an Action RPG for gods sake, it's about customization for YOU.
Rating 1/10 if you like HP recovery | 10/10 if you like Bravery boosts
E-----------------E
| Snooze and Lose |
X-----------------X
CP(N): 100
CP(M): 50
AP(N): 250
Mastery Bonus: N/A
Effect: When foe doesn't attack for a certain length of time, their bravery
begins to fall.
Notes: This ability is good for one thing. Against players who try to stall
out your EX Mode. At the cost of 50-100 CP however, it isn't always worth it.
One reason is that many characters have long range attacks they can use while
avoiding Gabranth, canceling this ability. Another is that the attack doesn't
even need to hit to stop this from activating. Overall, highly limited in use,
easy to counter, expensive to equip, and not really worth the CP.
Rating: 3.5/10
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> NOTE: The next group of abilities increase Critical Hit rates. I HIGHLY
RECOMMEND READING THE CRITICAL HIT SUBSECTION OF THE ADVANCED TECHNIQUES BEFORE
READING AHEAD!
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
E---------------E
| Counterattack |
X---------------X
CP(N): 50
CP(M): 45
AP(M): 360
Mastery Bonus: Disable Counterattack
Effect: Increases critical hit rate when opponent is attacking.
Notes: This is one of the best Extra abilities in my honest opinion. For one,
Gabranth's attacks have extreme priority in EX Mode, so getting this critical
hit bonus will be highly common. Extremely useful, if you want to ensure 100%
criticals, this plus EX Critical Boost are going to be your best friends as
well as Riposte. Please also note, however, that Gabranth's Exclusive weapon,
Chaos Blade, provides the "minor Counterattack" ability. With that, you might
not need this that much, but if you want even higher critical hit rates, keep
this on. Any time an opponent attacks and is too far away to hit, you can abuse
this ability. This is a boon for those who love abusing others mistakes.
Awesome ability.
Rating: 9.5/10
E--------------E
| Sneak Attack |
X--------------X
CP(N): 50
CP(M): 45
AP(M): 360
Mastery Bonus: Disable Sneak Attack
Effect: Increases critical hit rate when attacking from behind.
Note: The game isn't very picky about what is classified as "behind" the
opponent so this move is actually very good. It may not be a sure fire
critical, but you will see that it can definitely improve criticals. It is one
of the better Extra abilities in my option along with Riposte and
Counterattack. Well, maybe not as good as those two, but you get the idea.
Again, you will be surprised how many times this actually activates. Impressive
ability worth consideration if you have the CP to spare.
Rating: 9.0/10
E--------------E
| First Strike |
X--------------X
CP(N): 40
CP(M): 35
AP(M): 360
Mastery Bonus: Disable First Strike
Effect: When landing the first BRV attack, critical hit rate of the first combo
rises.
Notes: This move is extremely useful in Story mode for collecting DP... But in
actually gameplay, not that great. Let me just lay it out for you. This is a
one time activation... Thats it, so its not going to sway the game in your
favor whatsoever. Ignore this ability... Well at least outside Story mode.
Rating: 4.0/10
E-------------------E
| EX Critical Boost |
X-------------------X
CP(N): 45
CP(M): 40
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Disable EX Critical Boost
Effect: Further boosts critical hit rate during EX Mode.
Notes: This is one of Gabranth's most important skills by a long shot (but be
careful of players who use Disable EX Critical Boost). Basically Gabranth is in
EX Mode most if not all of the battle, so this critical boost is basically a
constant modifier. In EX Mode critical rates are already fairly high. With
this, it is basically 85% of all hits are criticals (and if used with some
other critical boosters its just plain insane!). This is a must master move as
soon as you get it. While it may not be good on other characters in Dissidia,
it is highly important for Gabranth.
Rating: 10/10
E---------E
| Cat Nip |
X---------X
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 25
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Disable Cat Nip
Effect: Boosts critical hit rate when opponent has chance for one-hit victory.
Notes: I'm not going to outright say this ability sucks, because I know for a
fact it doesn't. Would I use it though? Probably not. For most characters, this
may be blessing when in danger of losing a match, but for Gabranth, it isn't
all that useful with other abilities such as EX Critical Boost, Counterattack,
and Riposte likely in use already. Because it isn't a horrible ability, I'm not
going to put a low rating for it, however I do not recommend using this on
Gabranth.
Rating: 7.5/10
E---------E
| Riposte |
X---------X
CP(N): 45
CP(M): 40
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Disable Riposte
Effect: Boosts critical hit rate when attacking staggering opponent.
Notes: This is a very good move. However, you do need to know how to block for
it to be useful. Outside of EX Mode, this ability will help dish a bit of
damage when blocking strikes and absorb some EX Force with it. In EX Mode, it
is still good as blocking is still a critical technique despite Gabranth's
massive speed and attack increases. I recommend this ability on just about
every character in the game. It really is a nice booster.
Rating: 9.5/10
E------------------E
| Back to the Wall |
X------------------X
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 25
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Disable Back to the Wall
Effect: Boosts critical hit rate when near death.
Notes: Good to use with Achy+ for sure. But even with it, it isnt that great.
It is about as good as Cat Nip if not quite as good at saving you. But if you
tend to be in critical health levels a lot, you might like this ability. Other
than that, it is only decent and is only really useful when using Achy+ which
when you activate both this and that, cost quite a bit of CP that could be used
elsewhere.
Rating: 6.5/10
E------------------E
| Gambler's Spirit |
X------------------X
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 25
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Disable Gambler's Spirit
Effect: Boosts critical hit rate after being afflicted by Break.
Notes: Personally, I don't find this all that useful. Sure, it helps you
recover from Brave Break easier, but there are plenty of better ways to do
that. Besides, with all the other boosts you could have over this, Gambler's
Spirit just pales in comparison.
Rating: 5.5/10
E---------E
| Anti-EX |
X---------X
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 20
AP(M): 300
Mastery Bonus: Disable Anti-EX
Effect: Boosts critical hit rate when opponent is in EX Mode.
Notes: A staple for Anti-EX builds, it is a good idea to at least master this
for two reasons. One is so you have a good ability for your Anti-EX build if
you plan to have one and the other is so you can get the all important Disable
Anti-EX ability for Anti-EX Defense builds. For your typical fight, this isn't
likely going to be needed, but for those troubling opponents who love to use EX
as well, this is a good ability to have. This rating will reflect its
usefulness overall for every purpose beyond using it in regular matches.
Rating: 9.0/10
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> NOTE: The next group of Extra Abilities mainly disable critical boosts from
abilities mentioned above. All of these abilities are gained from mastering the
ability it disables.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> WARNING: You can only have one disable ability on at one time. Pick wisely.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
E-----------------------E
| Disable Counterattack |
X-----------------------X
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 360
Learned from mastering "Counterattack"
Effect: Disables opponents "Counterattack" ability effect.
Notes: Many players use Counterattack, so having this may come in handy in many
online matches as well as against CPUs. One thing to keep in mind when outside
of EX Mode is that EX Charge counts as an attack, so if an opponent uses an
attack while you are charging and they have Counterattack, they will get the
critical hit rate increase. Better safe than sorry as Gabranth outside of EX
Mode has a hard time recovering Bravery without any damage dealing HP Attacks.
So mastering this is good idea even if you don't use it all the time.
Rating: 9.5/10
E----------------------E
| Disable Sneak Attack |
X----------------------X
CP(N): 30
CP(M): 15
AP(M): 360
Learned from mastering "Sneak Attack"
Effect: Disables opponents "Sneak Attack" ability effect.
Notes: A good number of players use this ability, so mastering the disable is a
good idea for a safeguard. If there is one thing that frustrates players the
most is when someone gains a Sneak Attack critical. It's just plain unfair most
of the time and can just ruin you unexpectedly.
Rating: 9.0/10
E----------------------E
| Disable First Strike |
X----------------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 360
Learned from mastering "First Strike"
Effect: Disables opponents "First Strike" ability effect.
Notes: I can't tell you how much of a waste of CP this ability is. It only
protects you from an ability that only activates once... Worthless piece of
crap, don't even consider using this.
Rating: 0.5/10
E---------------------------E
| Disable EX Critical Boost |
X---------------------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Learned from mastering "EX Critical Boost"
Effect: Disables opponents "EX Critical Boost" ability effect.
Notes: I recommend mastering this for Anti-EX builds for sure. A great counter
that may even be used on you sometimes! While not always needed in most
matches, it is good for facing other Gabranths, Bartz Goblin Punch Builds, and
Terra EX Dualcast Builds.
Rating: 9.5/10 <-- In terms of usefulness when it is usable
E-----------------E
| Disable Cat Nip |
X-----------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Learned from mastering "Cat Nip"
Effect: Disables opponents "Cat Nip" ability effect.
Notes: Since you can only have one Disable ability at any time activated, this
one is just not worth it compared to Anti-EX, Counterattack, and Riposte
Disablers.
Rating: 2.0/10
E-----------------E
| Disable Riposte |
X-----------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Learned from mastering "Riposte"
Effect: Disables opponents "Riposte" ability effect.
Notes: Very very good ability. Most expert players use Riposte (because it is
really good), so being able to disable it is sure to make them a little
annoyed. Also, mastered it only costs 10 CP, which in my opinion is broken for
what this defends against. Awesome ability and a must master for online play.
Rating: 10/10
E--------------------------E
| Disable Back to the Wall |
X--------------------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Learned from mastering "Back to the Wall"
Effect: Disables opponents "Back to the Wall" ability effect.
Notes: Again, since you can only have one disable, putting this one on is not
the best move.
Rating: 1.0/10
E--------------------------E
| Disable Gambler's Spirit |
X--------------------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Learned from mastering "Gambler's Spirit"
Effect: Disables opponents "Gambler's Spirit" ability effect.
Notes: Another not comparable disable ability. Just ignore it as you can only
have one disable activated at one time.
Rating: 1.0/10
E-----------------E
| Disable Anti-EX |
X-----------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 10
AP(M): 300
Learned from mastering "Anti-EX"
Effect: Disables opponents "Anti-EX" ability effect.
Notes: MUST HAVE ABILITY NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK. Any player who knows you
play Gabranth WILL use Anti-EX. So this ability is a nice safety belt for those
games. you would be surprised how much this ability makes a difference in a
match against a strong opponent who uses Anti-EX.
Rating: 11/10 <-- Because it is crucial to have for Anti-EX Defense builds and
most builds for that matter.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> NOTE: The next three abilities only become available once you are Lv100. I
would also recommend reading the Advanced Techniques section before looking at
these next few abilities.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
E-----------E
| EXP to HP |
X-----------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 0
AP(M): 500
Only one EXP to ___ can be equipped at once
Effect: Instead of gaining EXP, you recover an equivalent amount of HP.
Notes: If you like being able to recover from a brutal HP attack, this is an
amazing move. It basically gives Gabranth a Pseudo-Blood Weapon ability. If you
don't know how EXP is gained, please refer to the Advanced Techniques section
for an in depth explanation to these abilities. Once mastered it costs 0 CP, so
mastering one of these three abilities is basically a no brainer.
Rating: 10/10
E----------------E
| EXP to Bravery |
X----------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 0
AP(M): 500
Only one EXP to ___ can be equipped at once
Effect: Instead of gaining EXP, you gain an equivalent amount of Bravery.
Notes: Talk about recovering from using an HP attack. This ability basically
makes Brave Recovery immediate. Wonderful ability for those who love HP attack
spamming and high initial Bravery scores! If you don't know how EXP is gained,
please refer to the Advanced Techniques section for an in depth explanation to
these moves. Since it costs 0 CP to equip once mastered, I think it goes
without saying that mastering one of these three abilities is a VERY GOOD IDEA.
Rating: 10/10
E-----------------E
| EXP to EX Force |
X-----------------X
CP(N): 20
CP(M): 0
AP(M): 500
Only one EXP to ___ can be equipped at once
Effect: Instead of gaining EXP, the EX Gauge rises by an equivalent amount.
Notes: This ability is an amazing Anti-EX Defense option. Why? If you are low
on EX, hit with an HP attack and gain some EX Force immediately... Just don't
do an EX Burst. If you do you WILL NOT have any EX once you revert to normal
Gabranth. Because the EX is applied sometime at the end of the EX Burst, the EX
will rise then the game clear the whole gauge like normal. If you don't use EX
Bursts though, this ability is going to keep you in EX Mode a looooooong time.
If you don't know how EXP is gained, please refer to the Advanced Techniques
section for an in depth explanation as to how it works. Each of these three
abilities cost 0 CP once mastered, so pick your favorite and grind AP for a
quite awesome free ability of your choice!
Rating: 10/10
===============================================================================
VIII. EX Mode
===============================================================================
As you probobly have learned by this point, Gabranth is a character who focuses
only on EX-Mode and abusing the hell out of it. So what happens when Gabranth
enters EX-Mode? Here is a nice list of added abilities and changes to
Gabranth's stats!
> * EX-Burst: Quickening - If you've played FFXII, you know how this works.
Hit R to shuffle the options until an ability that has the (X) command next to
it shows up. Press (X) once you see it to move on. The next round is shorter
and has the same process. Dont hit R to fast as the (X) register is a little
delayed like it was in FFXII. Once you master it, it is really easy to do 100%
of the time.
> * EX-Mode Moveset - Gabranth's normal attack moveset switches to his
EX-Mode Moveset, which has attacks that have more damage, faster attack speeds,
more hits, higher combo rates, more added effects, and so on.
> * Regen - Gabranth will continually regain HP points. If you have Regen +x%
bonuses, you will receive more HP each time.
> * Stray's Tenacity - This increases Gabranth's ATK and DEF by 5 or so
points as I've heard. His attacks also get an increase in damage output.
> * Ground Movement Speed Bonus - Increases by x3 (before adding Speed Boost
(+/++) abilities bonus)
> * Jump Height Bonus - Increases by x2.5 (before adding Jump Boost (+/++)
abilities bonus)
> * Air Dash Speed Bonus - Increases by x2.5 (before adding Speed Boost
(+/++) abilities bonus (which is minor))
> * Quickmove Speed Bonus - Increases by x2.5 (before adding Speed Boost
(+/++) abilities bonus (which is minor))
===============================================================================
IX. Equipment
===============================================================================
Equipment is an important factor to any characters overall performance. Having
the best equipment can even make the difference between winning and losing a
difficult fight. This section will go over each type of equipment (Weapons,
Gloves, Headgear, and Armor) in depth and give an overall analysis for the best
equipment options for Gabranth.
Gabranth can initially use the following types of equipment:
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Weapon | Daggers | Greatswords | Swords |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Hands | Gauntlets | Shields | - |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Head | Helms | - | - |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Body | Heavy Armor | Light Armor | - |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
Now, Gabranth has access to some of the best equipment types; Helms, Heavy
Armor, and Shields. These equipment types provide the highest base BRV,
Defense, and HP stats as well as having a fair share of Lv99+ Equipment.
As for his weapon options, he has a solid arsenal for EX-Builds. Daggers
provide Initial EX-Force +x% bonuses, something that may be useful for early
Gabranth builds. Swords provide Initial Bravery +x% abilities, which might
interest some players more than the initial EX ability... Greatswords give
Physical Damage +x% bonuses, but for Lv100 builds, that ability is completely
useless. Why? If Gabranth deals criticals almost every attack with
Counterattack, Riposte, and EX Critical Boost, what is the point of having a
higher base damage when you are already dealing quite some massive damage
already? Also, base attack increases tend to provide more damage improvement
than the Physical Damage +x% ability anyways.
Some other weapon types you might want to consider mastering if you prefer EX
Intake +xm, EX Mode Duration +x%, EX Force Absorption +x%, or EX Core
Absorption +x% abilities are Katanas (Intake Range), Staves (EX Mode Duration),
Thrown (EX Force Absorption), and Instruments (EX Core Absorption). While
accessories tend to cover some of the later abilities for us, some players may
find them more useful for their purposes. Personally, I would only consider
Katanas and Thrown weapons out of these since they don't suffer a generally
low ATK bonus like Staves and Instruments do.
As for other types of equipment, Ribbons and Hairpins provide higher BRV
bonuses in exchange for HP if you fancy higher initial BRV scores. Helms,
however, have plenty of great bonus abilities such as Adamant Chains and Soul
of Yamato.
Gabranth comes with some great Exclusive weapons and even an exclusive Lv100
glove; Highway Star! Now that all the equipment types have been covered, let me
list out some notable equipments that might work well in any of your Gabranth
builds as well as some advice and general notes about them.
===============================================================================
<<Weapons>>
===============================================================================
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: This includes weapons that are viable to buy "Equip _____" abilities
for.
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: All weapons below are Equip Lv99-100
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+===========+
| Weapon | Type | Requirem | BRV | ATK | DEF | Abilities |
| | | ent? | | | | |
+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+===========+
| Adamant | Dagger | No | - | 66 | - | Initial |
| Knife | | | | | | EX Force |
| | | | | | | +30% / |
| | | | | | | Adamant |
| | | | | | | Chains |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Chaos | Exclusive| No | - | 68 | - | EX Mode |
| Blade | | | | | | Duration |
| | | | | | | +40% / |
| | | | | | | Minor |
| | | | | | | Counter- |
| | | | | | | -attack |
| | | | | | | Effect |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Cleaver | Thrown | Equip | -40 | 68 | - | EX Force |
| | | Thrown | | | | Absorption|
| | | Weapons | | | | +30% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Excalibur| Sword | No | - | 67 | - | Initial |
| | | | | | | Bravery |
| | | | | | | +50% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Genji | Katana | Equip | - | 68 | - | Soul of |
| Blade | | Katanas | | | | Yamato |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Heaven's | Katana | Equip | - | 68 | - | EX Intake |
| Cloud | | Katanas | | | | Range +6m |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Loki's | Instument| Equip | - | 65 | 2 | EX Core |
| Lute | | Instru- | | | | Absorption|
| | | -ments | | | | +30% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Lufenian | Dagger | No | - | 66 | - | Wisdom of |
| Dagger | | | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Lufenian | Sword | No | - | 67 | - | Wisdom of |
| Saber | | | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Lufenia's| Great- | No | - | 68 | - | Wisdom of |
| Edge | -sword | | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Nirvana | Staff | Equip | 40 | 66 | - | EX Mode |
| | | Staves | | | | Duration |
| | | | | | | +40% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Ragnarok | Great- | No | - | 68 | - | Physical |
| | -sword | | | | | Damage |
| | | | | | | +25% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Ultima | Special | No | - | 68 | - | More |
| Weapon | | | | | | powerful |
| | | | | | | when HP |
| | | | | | | is full |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Zwill | Dagger | No | - | 66 | - | Initial |
| Cross- | | | | | | EX Force |
| -blade | | | | | | +30% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
As you can see, there are some options that just plain outclass others. For
instance, Chaos Blade is a million times better than Nirvana as it is much
stronger and has minor Counterattack which is a very useful ability. Next,
Adamant Knife is basically Zwill Crossblade with Adamant Chains (1/3), which
either is going to be useful if you equip other Adamant equips or completely
useless. Either way, they are pretty much the same thing. Of the Lufenia
Weapons, Lufenia's Edge is just plain better in every way to its sword and
dagger equivalents.
Now for weapons that generally dont fit a natural EX build for Gabranth but are
powerful nonetheless. Excalibur with its +50% initial bravery is definitely
powerful exspecially when paired with First to Victory (accessory) which gives
a +25% boost to initial bravery AND EX Force, giving a grand total of +75%
initial bravery! That is crazy high. Naturally, Gabranth may want to choose a
high initial bravery not for offensive purposes, but for defense. With a higher
initial bravery, a non-EX Gabranth can sustain a few more hits if you aren't
too good at blocking and dodging. Genji Blade is here because when paired with
other Genji Equipment, which for Gabranth are found in almost all his best
armor equips, give a nice +3 LUK, Regen +20%, HP to BRV, and EX Core Appearance
Boost. Ragnarok is a weapon for newbs really, as +25% Physical Damage increase
really isn't all that important compared to many of the other abilities...
Ultima Weapon is for players who can hold full HP throughout the match.
Otherwise, it's not all that great of a choice... Well its not really that
great in the first place... For Gabranth that is.
Now on to EX equips. Adamant Knife and Zwill Crossblade give a +30% initial EX
Force, which when paired with a Cyan Gem and First to Victory accessories gives
a grand total of +75% initial bravery! This makes them totally viable weapons,
but remember that the effect is only good for the start of the match and not
any time after. Cleaver is a great weapon as it can easily keep Gabranth full
of EX if used with Gold Hourglass (+20% EX Mode Duration accessory), but its
draw back is it costs 20 CP to equip and 10 CP if you master Equip Thrown
Weapons. Heaven's Cloud is by far one of the best weapons in the entire game!
+6m EX Intake Range is completely unheard of!!! Basically with this equipped,
all EX will go to you, not the opponent, a good Anti-EX Defense option! Loki's
Lute plain sucks in ATK, so it is almost out of the question unless you
absolutely love EX Cores enough to spend 10-20 CP to equip it.
Nirvana, again is outclassed by Chaos Blade. Personally, Chaos Blade is the
best option for Gabranth with Heaven's Cloud in a close second. +40 EX Mode
Duration is very useful and Heaven's Cloud has a massive EX Intake Range of
+6m!!!
With all of this, here are the weapons I most recommend and the ingredients
and/or ways to obtain them. If you need further information regarding equipment
and ingredients, refer to my Equipment FAQ on Playhaven.com or another guide on
Gamefaq.com.
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Name | Option 1 | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 | Ingredient 3 |
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Chaos Blade | Shop: w/ | x1 | x5 Gates of | x5 Time Orb |
| | Ingredient | Deathbringer | Judgement | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Heaven's | Shop: w/ | x1 Kazekiri | x5 Behemoth | - |
| Cloud | Ingredient | | Horn | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Adamant | Shop: w/ | x1 | x1 | - |
| Knife | Ingredient | Orichalcum | Adamantite | |
| | | Dirk | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Cleaver | Shop: w/ | x1 Fuma | x5 Beastlord | - |
| | Ingredient | Shuriken | Fang | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenia's | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Edge | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Genji Blade | Shop: Buy | x1 Heike's | x5 Behemoth | x5 Titan |
| | "Genji | Blade | Horn | Crystal |
| | Series" in | | | |
| | PP Catelog | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
I think the most important note for these weapons is that obtaining them is not
easy or quick. You must set aside quite a bit of time and have some great
patience to obtain them. Lufenian equipment can take FOREVER to obtain as not
you cant face the same opponent in the Duel Colosseum over and over again to
farm for them. You just have to be plain old lucky to get the drop... As for
the Chaos Blade, you will have to face Lv100+ Gabranth's using EX Bursts to
battlegen the Time Orbs. It would be very wise to have accessories and equips
to rise Battlegen rates, including the bonuses in the PP Catalog. Also, Bonus
Days further increase battlegen, so make sure to make the rate as high as
possible. It might not appear that hard, but obtaining five Time Orbs literally
takes forever... Patience is key. If you don't have it, dont bother trying to
obtain it.
===============================================================================
--- Gloves
===============================================================================
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: All Gloves below are Equip Lv99-100
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
+============+============+============+============+============+============+
| Name | Type | BRV | ATK | DEF | Abilities |
+============+============+============+============+============+============+
| Adamant | Shield | - | - | 73 | Adamant |
| Shield | | | | | Chains |
| | | | | | (1/3) |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| Borghertz's| Gauntlet | 40 | - | 72 | (none) |
| Hands | | | | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| Genji | Shield | - | - | 73 | Soul of |
| Shield | | | | | Yamato |
| | | | | | (1/3) |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| Highway | Exclusive | - | 1 | 72 | EX Force |
| Star | | | | | Absorption |
| | | | | | +10% |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| Lufenian | Gauntlet | 40 | - | 72 | Wisdom of |
| Gauntlets | | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | (1/3) |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| Lufenian | Shield | - | - | 73 | Wisdom of |
| Shield | | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | (1/3) |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
Luckily, all of these gloves are very good so none of them need to get shot
down... Well, Borghertz's Hands is not as good as Lufenian Gauntlets because it
has no ability but if you don't have two other Lufenian equips whats the
problem huh? Besides, its so much easier to obtain... Adamant Shield, when
paired with other adamant equips gives BRV Boost on Dodge +30% and Midair
Evasion Boost (which also saves you some CP if you equip it!) which is a nice
touch. Genji Shield is good because many of Gabranth's best equips include
Genji Equips, so if you want Soul of Yamato (+3 LUK, Regen +20%, HP to BRV, and
EX Core Appearance Boost) go right ahead and use it. Highway Star is the only
Lv99-100 exclusive that is not a weapon, so naturally it is good right? Yes
sir. Yes it is! +10% EX Force Abosorption may not be much, but it is still
great for Gabranth's purposes! A must have! Lufenian Gear is good for Anti-EX
builds and both options are about as good as the other so its all up to
preference really.
Here are the options for obtaining these Gloves. All the ones listed above will
be listed below as I recommend using any one of these equips! If you need
futher information regarding equipment and ingredients, refer to my Equipment
FAQ on Playhaven.com or another guide on Gamefaq.com.
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Name | Option 1 | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 | Ingredient 3 |
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Adamant | Shop: w/ | x1 Crystal | x1 | - |
| Shield | Ingredient | Shield | Adamantite | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Borghertz's | Shop: w/ | x1 Giant's | x5 Ancient | - |
| Hands | Ingredient | Gloves | Turtle Shell | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Ganji Shield | Shop: Buy | x1 Heike's | x5 Eden's | x5 Time |
| | "Genji | Shield | Scales | Crystal |
| | Series" in | | | |
| | PP Catelog | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Highway Star | Shop: w/ | x1 | x5 Gates of | x5 Time Orb |
| | Ingredient | Deathbringer | Judgement | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenian | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Gauntlets | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenian | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Shield | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
I think the most important note for these gloves is that obtaining them is not
easy or quick. You must set aside quite a bit of time and have some great
patience to obtain them. Lufenian equipment can take FOREVER to obtain as not
you cant face the same opponent in the Duel Colosseum over and over again to
farm for them. You just have to be plain old lucky to get the drop... As for
the Highway Star, you will have to face Lv100+ Gabranth's using EX Bursts to
battlegen the Time Orbs. It would be very wise to have accessories and equips
to rise Battlegen rates, including the bonuses in the PP Catalog. Also, Bonus
Days further increase battlegen, so make sure to make the rate as high as
possible to shorten the amount of time you spend farming. It might not appear
that hard, but obtaining five Time Orbs literally takes forever (ten for both
Chaos Blade and Highway Star)... Patience is key. If you don't have it, don't
bother trying to obtain it.
===============================================================================
<<Headgear>>
===============================================================================
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: All Headgear below are Equip Lv99-100
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+===========+
| Name | Type | Requirem | HP | BRV | DEF | Abilities |
| | | ent? | | | | |
+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+==========+===========+
| Adamant | Helm | No | - | 249 | 1 | Adamant |
| Helm | | | | | | Chains |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Drill | Machine | Equip | -307 | 411 | - | Accesory |
| | | Machines | | | | Break-abil|
| | | | | | | -ability |
| | | | | | | +5% /Chase|
| | | | | | | BRV Damage|
| | | | | | | +30% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Genji | Helm | No | - | 249 | 1 | Soul of |
| Helm | | | | | | Yamato |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Grand | Helm | No | - | 249 | 1 | (none) |
| Helm | | | | | | |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Lufenian | Hairpin | Equip | -307 | 370 | - | Wisdom of |
| Hairpin | | Hairpins | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Lufenian | Helm | No | - | 249 | 1 | Wisdom of |
| Helm | | | | | | Lufenia |
| | | | | | | (1/3) |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Royal | Hairpin | Equip | -307 | 370 | - | (none) |
| Crown | | Hairpins | | | | |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
| Supper | Ribbon | Equip | -307 | 370 | - | Accessory |
| Ribbon | | Ribbons | | | | Break- |
| | | | | | | -ability |
| | | | | | | -30% |
+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+-----------+
Now, as mentioned before, Adamant and Genji equips both provide very nice
abilities if worn in pairs and the helm versions (plus Lufenian Helm)
technically outclass Grand Helm. For those who prefer high initial bravery,
Hairpins and Ribbons provide quite a large bonus to it as you can see, but at
the cost of quite a bit of HP. Personally, I recommend using Helms over
Hairpins as the extra BRV really isn't that important IMO (and it takes an
additional 10-20 CP to equip them). For each BRV you get you lose about three
times as much HP! In my opinion, it doesn't quite level out enough to be
effective, but other players may highly disagree with me, so it is truly up to
preference. Supper Ribbon is good for players who use breakable accessories as
it slows its deterioration a lot and sometimes even completely!
For those who have plenty of resources to throw out, you might want to consider
a Drill. It is like a super hairpin and is a little more worth the HP decrease
(but watch out for the +5% Accessory Breakability!) The thing most special
about the Drill is that it gives the largest BRV bonus in the entire game, so
imo, its not worth not mentioning.
Here are the options for obtaining the headgear listed above. Any one of these
are viable options for Gabranth builds. If you need futher information
regarding equipment and ingredients, refer to my Equipment FAQ on Playhaven.com
or another guide on Gamefaq.com.
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Name | Option 1 | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 | Ingredient 3 |
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Adamant Helm | Shop: w/ | x1 Crystal | x1 | - |
| | Ingredient | Helm | Adamantite | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Genji Helm | Shop: Buy | x1 Heike's | x5 Supreme | x2 Chaos |
| | "Genji | Helm | Gem | Crystal |
| | Series" in | | | |
| | PP Catelog | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Grand Helm | Shop: w/ | x1 Giant's | x5 Supreme | - |
| | Ingredient | Helm | Gem | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenian | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Helm | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenian | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Hairpin | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Royal Crown | Shop: w/ | x1 Circlet | x5 Sky Jewel | - |
| | Ingredient | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Supper | Shop: w/ | x1 Ribbon | x5 Bahamut's | x99 |
| Ribbon | Ingredient | | Wing | Transmogridust|
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Drill | Shop: Aquire | x1 Mallet | x5 Behemoth | - |
| | Mallet as a | | Horn | |
| | DP Prize in | | | |
| | Inward Chaos | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
I think the most important note for these headgear is that obtaining them is
not easy or quick. You must set aside quite a bit of time and have some great
patience to obtain them. Lufenian equipment can take FOREVER to obtain as not
you cant face the same opponent in the Duel Colosseum over and over again to
farm for them. You just have to be plain old lucky to get the drop... Supper
Ribbons require x99 Transmogridust. Luckily, each only costs x3 medals in the
Duel Colosseum, so you could just farm for them in the Airship Course (and
maybe for Wind, Water, and Lifestones as well for Rosetta Stones).
===============================================================================
<<Armor>>
===============================================================================
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
>> INFO: All Armors below are Equip Lv99-100
o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~o
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Name | Type | HP | Abilities |
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Adamant Vest | Light Armor | 2717 | Adamant Chains |
| | | | (1/3) |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Brigandine | Light Armor | 2717 | Wall Rush BRV |
| | | | Defense +40% |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Genji Armor | Heavy Armor | 2973 | Soul of Yamato |
| | | | (1/3) |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Lufenian Armor | Heavy Armor | 2973 | Wisdom of Lufenia |
| | | | (1/3) |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Lufenian Vest | Light Armor | 2717 | Wisdom of Lufenia |
| | | | (1/3) |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Maximilian | Heavy Armor | 2973 | Physical Defense |
| | | | +20% |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
All of these options are very good depending on what you have equipped so far.
If you have gone with the Adamant trend, Adamant Vest may be a great option.
Same for Genji Armor and the Lufenian Armor. Lufenian Vest is just not as good
as Lufenian Armor, but since they are so rare, if you get either one, you
should be plenty happy. Now some of you may think I'm going to batter
Maximilian for its +20% Physical Defense ability... Well actually quite the
opposite. In fact, I recommend Maximilian the most of all these armors. Why?
Because for all those noobs who do use +x% Physical Damage equips, this is
going to basically make it a total waste of time for them. Besides, a Defense
boost on Gabranth is much more important than an attack boost as there isn't
much else that is going to increase it like criticals do for attacks. Also,
Maximilian is a very easy Armor to obtain in comparison to basically every
other Lv99-100 equip so far. If fact, it doesn't even require any Megalixers at
all!!! Super major bonus! All it's ingredients are quite simply, not hard to
get whatsoever so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Maximilian on your Gabranth
before any of the other higher level equips listed here. Enough about the
Maximilian... Brigandine is for people who face players who love Wall Rushes
(like Cloud...)... And that is about it for the Armors (and equipment for that
matter) for Gabranth.
All of these are good equips so I'm going to list how to obtain them.
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Name | Option 1 | Ingredient 1 | Ingredient 2 | Ingredient 3 |
+==============+==============+==============+==============+===============+
| Adamant Vest | Shop: w/ | x1 Crystal | x1 | - |
| | Ingredient | Armor | Adamantite | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Brigandine | Shop: w/ | x1 Vishnu | x5 Lone | - |
| | Ingredient | Vest | Heart | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Genji Armor | Shop: Buy | x1 Heike's | x5 Hero's | x5 Oath |
| | "Genji | Armor | Bone | Crystal |
| | Series" in | | | |
| | PP Catelog | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenian | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Armor | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Lufenian | Drop: Lunar | - | - | - |
| Vest | Whale Course | | | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
| Maximilian | Shop: w/ | x1 Dragon | x5 | - |
| | Ingredient | Mail | Blood-Darken-| |
| | | | -ed Bone | |
+--------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+---------------+
I would like to note that Lufenian equipment can take FOREVER to obtain as not
you cant face the same opponent in the Duel Colosseum over and over again to
farm for them. You just have to be plain old lucky to get the drop... Most of
the other equips on this list are a little easier to obtain than most Lv99-100
equips (especially Maximilian).
===============================================================================
X. Accessories
===============================================================================
Accessories are an important factor to a characters ability to win just like
equipment. While not as crucial for most characters, Gabranth benefits
incredibly from effective Accessories that increase EX Intake Ranges, EX Force
and Core Absorption, Alternate EX Gathering Methods, Initial EX Force, and EX
Mode Duration.
Of course this guide is assuming you have access to seven Rosetta Stones so you
can max out Gabranth's accessory capacity. If not, go and get some. Many are DP
Rewards and one time treasures in story mode. If you need even more, farm for
Lifestones, Water Stones, and Wind Stones in the Duel Colosseum (best and
easiest course to obtain them is Airship Course), or beat Time Attack in Arcade
Mode under record times!
Remember these basics for ranked accessories:
S = Can have a max of 1 on
A = Can have a max of 2 on
B = Can have a max of 3 on
C = Can have a max of 4 on
D = There is no maximum
///===================\\\
||| Basic Accessories |||
\\\===================///
Basic Accessories are generally modifiable booster items. What this means is
there base value is multiplied by your boost modifier made from booster
accessories equipped. Usually we put accessories with abilities that can gain a
major benefit from boosters on to make the battle sway in our favor or
playstyle. In this case, it will be mostly EX Building/Maintaining Accessories.
Lets start off listing some of the best Basic Accessories available to Gabranth
that I personally feel are worth either using or noting for specific
purposes...
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Name | Rank | Ability | Best way to |
| | | | Obtain |
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Champion Belt | S | Physical Damage | Auron or Wakka |
| | | +25% | Friend Card |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Despair Shock | S | EX Gauge | Shop: w/ |
| | | Depletion +8% | Ingredient |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Dragonfly Orb | S | EX Core | Fusoya Friend |
| | | Absorption +30% | Card |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Gold Hourglass | S | EX Mode Duration | Fusoya Friend |
| | | +20% | Card |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Gravitorb | S | EX Intake Range | Fusoya Friend |
| | | +3m | Card |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Moonrise | S | Battlegen Rate | Shop: w/ |
| | | x1.5 | Ingredient |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Pearl Necklace | S | EX Force | Fusoya Friend |
| | | Absorption +30% | Card |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Sunrise | A | Battlegen Rate | Shop: w/ |
| | | x1.2 | Ingredient |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Victory Pendant | S | Big EX Core | Fusoya Friend |
| | | Appearance Boost | Card |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
As you can see, a lot of these items can be obtained from the Fusoya Friend
Card, which is a SSS Rank Lv100 Golbez. With two Sunrise equipped and one
Moonrise, you can literally get most of these accessories in one or more
battles easily using the higher Battlegen modifiers (on a Bonus Day and with
the Battlegen Boosts from the PP catalog). Another Friend card that offers the
same accessories but a slightly lower rate is the Gilgamesh Friend Card which
is a S Rank Lv100 Bartz and there is also the Minwu friend card which is a SSS
Rank Lv100 Firion. Please refer to Gamefaq.com for the Dissidia codes for these
Friend cards. Trust me, using these will save you many many many hours of
gameplay.
I think the most notable of these accessories are the Gravitorb and the Pearl
Necklace, which are in my opinion, some of the best EX Gauge fillers in the
entire game if used with good Boost Accessories. If you like EX Cores, Victory
Pendant and Dragonfly Orb are a good choice. And if you decided not to use
Chaos Blade for a weapon, Gold Hourglass is a must have.
Despair Shock is on this list because I use it in my Anti-EX Builds later, so
if you want to build one, you should have one of these. The Moonrise and
Sunrise are just listed because they are good tools to shorten the amount of
time needed to Battlegen many of these accessories and Time Orbs to build
Highway Star and Chaos Blade (as well as many other items as well).
Stat boosting Accessories are overused and really dont need to be used all that
much. If you do, however find yourself facing an opponent who uses a lot of
Defense +x% accessories, maybe wearing a Champion Belt will even the damage
reduction a bit. It doesn't matter if you can deal more damage than normal, but
it does matter if you can deal good damage to your foe if he has massive
defense. This champion belt can be easily won from the Auron and Wakka Friend
cards.
///=====================\\\
||| Booster Accessories |||
\\\=====================///
Booster Accessories change your Boost modifier whenever their requirements are
met. These modifiers ONLY apply to basic accessories, so Special Accessories
have static scores.
Here is a list of what I would term reasonably easy to maintain and good
overall Boosters as well as some that find use because of their circumstances
they boost for...
+============+============+============+============+============+============+
| Type | Name | Rank | Effect | Modifier | Best Way |
| | | | | | to Obtain |
+============+============+============+============+============+============+
| [Bravery] | Near Break | S | When you | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | | | are in | | ment #009 |
| | | | danger of | | |
| | | | Break | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [EX] | EX Mode | A | When you | x1.3 | Accomplish |
| | | | are in EX | | ment #039 |
| | | | Mode | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [HP] | HP = 100% | S | When you | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | | | HP is at | | ment #002 |
| | | | its max | | |
| | | | value | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [HP] | Near Death | S | When you | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | | | are in the | | ment #003 |
| | | | near death | | |
| | | | state | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [HP] | Large Gap | S | When HP | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | in HP | | gap | | ment #044 |
| | | | between | | |
| | | | you and | | |
| | | | the foe is | | |
| | | | more than | | |
| | | | 2,000 | | |
| | | | points | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Level] | Level 100 | S | When your | x1.2 | Accomplish |
| | | | level is | | ment #066 |
| | | | 100 | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Level] | Level = | S | When your | x1.2 | Accomplish |
| | Multiple | | level is a | | ment #062 |
| | of 4 | | multiple | | |
| | | | of 4 | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Level] | Level = | S | When your | x1.2 | Accomplish |
| | Multiple | | level is a | | ment #063 |
| | of 5 | | multiple | | |
| | | | of 5 | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Opponent] | After | S | Once your | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | Summon | | opponent | | ment #100 |
| | | | has used a | | |
| | | | summon | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Opponent] | Summon | S | When your | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | Unused | | opponent | | ment #102 |
| | | | hasn't | | |
| | | | used a | | |
| | | | summon | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Opponent] | EX Mode | A | When your | x1.3 | Accomplish |
| | | | opponent | | ment #040 |
| | | | is in EX | | |
| | | | Mode | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Summon] | After | S | Once you | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | Summon | | have used | | ment #020 |
| | | | a Summon | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Summon] | Summon | S | When you | x1.5 | Accomplish |
| | Unused | | have not | | ment #021 |
| | | | used a | | |
| | | | Summon | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
| [Time] | After 30 | S | 30 Seconds | x1.2 | Accomplish |
| | Seconds | | after | | ment #030 |
| | | | battles | | |
| | | | start | | |
+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+------------+
Near Break is a good accessory as what the game classified near break is pretty
much anything below its base value, which in the beginning of the match may
happen to go under. It is more useful at the beginning of the match before
reaching EX. EX Mode is for boosting the accessories to help sustain its
duration and it is fairly constant as a modifier for Gabranth. The HP ones all
are not the most effective ones, but if you are a player who finds himself or
herself in these circumstances often or like the safty belt of near death,
these are a good option. The [Hp] HP=100% accessory is very good if you have
EXP to HP. It is also easier to maintain because Gabranth is in EX Mode most
of the time, meaning Regen is active to refill his HP. Tack an Archangel's
Bell if you want to maximize the Regen rate and the consistancy of the booster.
The Level ones work for Lv100 characters and are constant no matter what, so
you can count on them every time to work. The After and Unused Summons are
really really good. If you tend to use Auto summons, use the Summon Unused, and
if you use non-auto summons use After Summon. Same logic for your opponent, but
more often or not, CPUs tend to use their Summons fairly early in the match so
After Summon is ideal for those matches. Opponent EX Mode is for Anti-EX
builds. After 30 Seconds is another fairly reliable modifier of x1.2. I
recommend it for most unused booster accessory slots. I generally use about 4-5
Boosters on Gabranth, so try to mix and match to fit your play style. There are
plenty other options, but these ones listed here are what I find most reliable
and useful.
///=====================\\\
||| Special Accessories |||
\\\=====================///
These accessories have static effects which means they cannot be effected by
Booster Accessories. However, they generally have VERY powerful effects to make
up for it.
Here is a list of the Special Accessories that I feel are best suited for
Gabranth Builds.
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Name | Rank | Effects | Best Way to |
| | | | Obtain |
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Arcane Resin | S | Initial EX Force | Shop: w/ |
| | | +100% / | Ingredient |
| | | Accessory | |
| | | Breakability: | |
| | | 100% | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Center of the | S | EX Intake Range | Shop: w/ |
| World | | +2m / EX Force | Ingredient |
| | | Absorption +15% | |
| | | / EX Core | |
| | | Absorption +15% | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Close to You | S | Absorb EX Force | Shop: w/ |
| | | during attacks / | Ingredient |
| | | Absorb EX Force | |
| | | when damaged / | |
| | | Absorb EX Force | |
| | | after summoning | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Cyan Drop | B | Initial EX Force | Any Friend Card |
| | | +10% | with a Cyan Orb |
| | | | on it |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Cyan Gem | S | Initial EX Force | Any Friend Card |
| | | +20% | with a Cyan Orb |
| | | | on it |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Fake Mustache | S | LUK +10 / EX | Shop: w/ |
| | | Core Appearance | Ingredient |
| | | Boost | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| First to Victory | S | Initial EX Force | Shop: w/ |
| | | +25% / Initial | Ingredient |
| | | Bravery +25% | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Hero's Seal | S | Initial Bravery | Shop: w/ |
| | | +50% | Ingredient |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
Arcane Resin is for players who have no life and or way to much free time to
gather materials for a stock for every match. Center of the World is for those
who are going to use it in exchange for Gravitorb and plan to use Heaven's
Cloud as a weapon (+6m Intake Range). Close to You is just perfect for Gabranth
as long as he is in the middle of the action (plenty more EX Force draw
options). Cyan Drop and Gem are just good to use but if you can get a First to
Victory, replace Cyan Drop for it. Fake Mustache is for players who want to
hunt EX Cores and Hero's Seal is there because it may interest those who love
abusing HP attacks and want high initial bravery. Whew! Those are the special
accessories I most recommend for Gabranth builds.
===============================================================================
XI. Summons
===============================================================================
Summons can create powerful effects able to sway the tides of battle in yours
or your opponent's favor. Some Summons I would definitely call cheap and unfair
(I'm talking about you Odin with the 50% chance of Break...), however most
summons provide benefits that can be dealt with more suitably or have higher
requirements. I will be listing some of the best Summons and what they do...
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Summon | [Auto] or | Effect | Activation |
| | [Manual] | | |
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Carbuncle | [Auto] | Opponent's | When your bravery |
| | | bravery becomes | = 0 |
| | | equal to your | |
| | | bravery | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Magic Pot | [Auto] | Your bravery | When opponent's |
| | | becomes equal to | bravery = 3x base |
| | | your opponents | bravery |
| | | bravery | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Demon Wall | [Auto] | Your bravery is | When your bravery |
| | | temporarily | = 50% of base |
| | | shielded | bravery |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Alexander | [Auto] | Your bravery is | When you gain |
| | | temporarily | stage bravery |
| | | frozen | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Magic Pot | [Manual] | Your bravery | (R\ + (O) |
| | | becomes equal to | |
| | | your opponents | |
| | | bravery | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Demon Wall | [Manual] | Your bravery is | (R\ + (O) |
| | | temporarily | |
| | | shielded | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Odin | [Manual] | 50% chance of | (R\ + (O) |
| | | inflcting | |
| | | Bravery Break on | |
| | | opponent | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Alexander | [Manual] | Your bravery is | (R\ + (O) |
| | | temporarily | |
| | | frozen | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Leviathan | [Manual] | Opponent's | (R\ + (O) |
| | | bravery | |
| | | temporarily | |
| | | falls by 40 | |
| | | point per second | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Bahamut | [Manual] | Your bravery | (R\ + (O) |
| | | temporarily | |
| | | rises by 40 | |
| | | points per | |
| | | second | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Titan | [Manual] | For a period of | (R\ + (O) |
| | | time, your | |
| | | bravery triples | |
| | | whenever you | |
| | | take HP damage | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Iron Giant | [Manual] | For a period of | (R\ + (O) |
| | | time, your | |
| | | opponent's | |
| | | bravery is | |
| | | halved whenever | |
| | | you deal HP | |
| | | damage | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Deathgaze | [Manual] | If opponent's | (R\ + (O) |
| | | bravery total is | |
| | | a multiple of 5, | |
| | | inflicts Bravery | |
| | | Break | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Scarmiglione | [Manual] | Opponent's | When opponent |
| | | bravery falls to | uses a Summon |
| | | 0 | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Rubicante | [Manual] | Your bravery is | When opponent |
| | | tripled | uses a Summon |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Omega | [Manual] | For a short | (R\ + (O) |
| | | period of time, | |
| | | opponent's | |
| | | bravery is cut | |
| | | in half every | |
| | | second | |
+------------------+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
My personal favorites include Magic Pot, Bahamut, Deathgaze, Scarmiglione, and
Rubicante. What summon you choose to use in reserves is all up to you though.
Summons are more about what the player prefers, not based on what the players
character specializes in.
===============================================================================
XII. Character Setups
===============================================================================
With all of this analysis for Gabranth in Abilities, Equipment, Accessories,
and Summons, now would be a good time to discuss what to use for each of
Gabranth's three setups. Naturally, there should be one full out EX Build, one
Anti-EX build, and one Anti-EX Defense build.
===============================================================================
[[[ Setup A (EX-Build) ]]]
===============================================================================
For our purposes, the first build will focus on Gabranth's largest strength,
his EX-Mode. To do this, we are going to need plenty of equips and accessories
to...
1. Extend his EX-Mode Duration
2. To quicken his ability to enter EX-Mode
3. To make use of abilities that can help make his EX-Build as effective as
possible
Here is a good example of such a build...
Equipment:
> * Chaos Blade
> * Highway Star
> * Genji Helm / Adamant Helm
> * Maximilian
Accessories:
> * Gravitorb
> * Pearl Necklace
> * [Summon] Summon Unused
> * [Level] Level 100
> * [Level] Level = Multiple of 4
> * [HP] HP = 100%
> * [Opponent] After Summon
> * Center of the World
> * Close to You
> * First to Victory
For the Boosters, we have a static x1.4 from the level boosts so that is our
minimum boost. If our summon isn't used and theirs is as well as having 100%
HP, the total becomes x4.8.
Boosters = x1.4-4.8
Now, lets put all these EX important effects into math terms (I know it looks
boring but listen up).
> * Initial EX Force = First to Victory = 25 = 25%
> * EX Mode Duration Boost = Chaos Blade = 40%
> * EX Force Absorption = Highway Star + Center of the World +
(Pearl Necklace * Booster) = 10 + 15 + 42-144 = 67-169%
> * Intake Range = (Gravitorb * Booster) + Center of the World =
(3 * 1.4-4.8) + 2 = 6-16m
> * EX Core Absorption = Center of the World = 15 = 15%
So we have:
-Initial EX Force: 25%
-Initial Bravery: 25%
-EX Mode Duration Boost: 40%
-EX Force Absorption: 67% to 169%
-EX Core Absorption: 15%
-EX Intake Range: 6m to 16m
-Absorb EX while Attacking, taking Damage, and Summon
-Defense: +20%
Now those are solid numbers! Of course, you can do it your own way as well. For
instance, if you were to Replace Chaos Blade with Heaven's Cloud (+6m), we
could also trade Gravitorb for Gold Hourglass to even out the EX Duration score.
It would have overall fairly even stats as well. Another way is to trade Chaos
Blade for Adamant Knife, Maximilian for Adamant Vest, and Cyan Gem for Gold
Hourglass. Each alteration has different stats but similar overall EX
effectiveness.
Here is another good example using some of the stuff mentioned above:
Equipment:
> * Heaven's Cloud
> * Genji Gloves
> * Genji Helm
> * Genji Armor
Accessories:
> * Pearl Necklace
> * Gold Hourglass
> * [Summon] Summon Unused
> * [EX] EX Mode
> * [EX] EX Mode
> * [HP] HP = 100%
> * Center of the World
> * Close to You
> * First to Victory
> * Red Gem (+2 ATK)
This gives us:
-Initial Bravery: 25%
-Initial EX Force: 25%
-EX Mode Duration Boost: 20% to 76%
-EX Force Absorption: 45% to 129%
-EX Intake Range: 8m
-EX Core Absorption: 15%
-EX Core Appearance Boost
-Absorb EX while Attacking, taking Damage, and Summon
-HP to BRV
-Regen: 20%
-ATK: +2
-LUK: +3
A little more risky than the first because of the boosters, but overall, should
make for an awesome EX Absorbing machine when working. At worst, in EX Mode the
Booster modifier will be x1.7. This build is bit riskier in the start of the
match. Red Gem is here only to increase damage, but you could replace it with
just about anything. Also know that with Genji Equips, your HP will not
recover itself in EX Mode from Regen, but increase your BRV instead.
Another example build is this using Adamant equips:
Equipment:
> * Adamant Knife
> * Highway Star
> * Adamant Helm
> * Adamant Vest
Accessories:
> * Gravitorb
> * Pearl Necklace
> * Gold Hourglass
> * Archangel's Bell (Regen +20%)
> * [Summon] Summon Unused
> * [EX] EX Mode
> * [EX] EX Mode
> * [HP] HP = 100%
> * Close to You
> * First to Victory
This will give us:
-Initial Bravery: 25%
-Initial EX Force: 55%
-EX Mode Duration Boost: 20% to 70%
-EX Force Absorption: 40% to 124%
-EX Intake Range: 3m to 11m
-Absorb EX while Attacking, taking Damage, and Summon
-BRV Boost on Dodge: 30%
-Regen: +20% to +76%
-Midair Evasion Boost
This build is a good balance between the first two examples. With Archangel's
Bell, we gain a Regen increase that will make is much easier to keep our HP
at 100%, and even more so if you add the EXP to HP ability. I think you may
be getting the idea now as to what to do in making a build. Mix and match
using the stuff from above and you should come out with a good EX build.
Here is a pool of abilities which should be considered the most for all these
builds.
> * Enrage
> * Dual Rend
> * Rapture
> * Vortex of Judgment
> * Guilt
> * Innocence (ground)
> * Innocence (midair)
> * Sentence (ground)
> * Sentence (midair)
> * EX Charge (ground)
> * EX Charge (midair)
> * Ground Evasion
> * Midair Evasion
> * Ground Block
> * Midair Block
> * Free Air Dash / Omni Air Dash
> * Aerial Recovery / Auto Recovery
> * Speed Boost (+/++)
> * EX Core Lock On
> * Evasion Time Boost
> * EXP to HP, Bravery, or EX Force
> * Ripsote
> * EX Critical Boost
> * Counterattack?
> * Disable Anti-EX
===============================================================================
[[[ Setup B (Anti-EX Build) ]]]
===============================================================================
The second build is to beat down opponents who tend to abuse EX like we do with
Gabranth. This build will focus on...
1. Depleting an opponents EX-Gauge
2. Using abilities that make fighting EX-Mode characters safer
3. Maintaining dominance over the EX Force and EX Cores on the field
The most crucial factor to a powerful Anti-EX build is having Lufenian
equipment. These rare equips (when worn in a full set of 3) give a character
"Wisdom of Lufenia," an ability that provides EX Gauge Depletion +15%. This
will cause the opponent to lose EX when hit for HP damage, something that will
become a saint when fighting EX-Builds.
One of the most important abilities for an Anti-EX build include the ability
Anti-EX itself, which improves Gabranth's Critical hit rate while an oppenent
is in EX-Mode. While this build focuses on keeping the foe from ever reaching a
full EX-Gauge, there will be times when your opponent will reach it anyways
despite your efforts. With the addition to the Lufenian gear, we can also
increase the amount of EX-Depletion made from attacks by further increasing our
critical rate with Anti-EX (especially if you end up out of EX-Mode and need to
go on the defense).
Everything from Setup A can be the same as it was but we should switch out a
few things...
+=========================+=========================+=========================+
| Old | for | New |
+=========================+=========================+=========================+
| Highway Star | --> | Lufenian Shield |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Genji/Adamant Helm | --> | Lufenian Helm |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Maximilian | --> | Lufenian Armor |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| Center of the World | --> | Despair Shock |
+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
Not only is this build set to have high EX Force itself, it also tries to drain
the opponents with a nice high EX Gauge Depletion. Remember, you can switch
weapons and accessories like in Setup A to fit your style and transfer them to
your Setup B.
===============================================================================
[[[ Setup C (Anti-EX Defense Build) ]]]
===============================================================================
This build is meant to fight against Anti-EX builds. Some important changes we
need to make from Setup A to Setup C is to add Disable Anti-EX ability, and
possibly add Glutton (which wasn't mentioned before in the accessories section.
Basically it makes you gain EX when you take damage, a good way to counteract
EX Depletion ability). With this added next to Close to You, you basically
gain EX for taking damage, which can even out some of the EX loss you may
encounter.
Likely, they will also have Disable EX Critical Boost, so maybe it would be a
good idea to trade EX Critical Boost for another critical hit ability like
Sneak Attack, Riposte, or Counterattack.
Another thing important to Anti-EX builds is to include accessories that
increase the base duration of EX-Mode as you may encounter players who use the
run away game to stall you out of EX-Mode. By adding Gold Hourglass in place of
another accessory, and adding the EXP to EX Force ability, you can further
extend the duartion of EX Mode when playing a fleeing foe. EXP to EX Force
is a nice addition as it allows you to replenish EX Force from HP attacks,
and moves like Innocence (ground and midair) have long range, making further
away targets a little bit easier.
===============================================================================
XIII. Basic Techniques
===============================================================================
To play any character well, it is a good idea to make sure you understand the
basics of Dissidia. Knowing the ins and outs of each action can not only
improve understanding but drastically improve overall performance. There are
some things the little manual you got with the game don't cover well or enough
for the player to fully grasp it. Somethings are not even mentioned in the
manual. This section is an overview of these basic techniques and just about
all there is to know about them.
///=============\\\
||| Air Dashing |||
\\\=============///
Air Dashing is the process of flying towards, away, or in a Omnidash direction
of a selected target. Air Dashing is a crucial skill to master for Short
Hopping, Free Air Dash Canceling, and the occasional Wall of Pain. All three of
these techniques will be covered in the Advanced techniques section.
To Air Dash, you need to have either Air Dash, Free Air Dash, Reverse Air Dash,
Reverse Free Air Dash, or Omnidash equipped on your character. The standard Air
Dash and Reverse Air Dash can only be activated while Quickmoving (read further
down if you don't know what it is) with (/\). Depending on which move you
chose you will either fly towards an opponent or away and the longer you hold
(/\) the further you go. It doesn't last forever however (rhyming going on
here...).
Free Air Dash, Reverse Free Air Dash, and Omnidash are versions of Air Dash
that can be activated anytime any where as long as you hold (R\ and press
(/\). The three Free Air Dashing abilities is almost always used over standard
Air Dashes as they provide more versatility and freedom to the player. Not only
that, but all Air Dashes are crucial if you want to reach far off characters
quickly or a targeted EX Core. When Air Dashing, most magic projectiles will
bounce off you (not reflect) and be nulled. So if an opponent thinks he or she
has you by throwing a Holy straight at you while your still in Air Dash, they
aren't going to be all that happy to know it's not going to do anything unless
it hits you the moment you stop. Practice Air Dashing as it is a crucial skill
to have.
///==========\\\
||| Blocking |||
\\\==========///
Blocking is a crucial skill for any player to master. The earlier you start
using it, the better. To block, you must press (R\, after doing so you have
about 1 second of guard and 0.5 or so seconds of downtime if nothing was
blocked. If you successfully block, you will take no damage and the opponent
will stagger for about a second or so. Another thing about blocking is it can
also block many brave magic projectiles. Another bonus to doing this is the
attack deflects off and can possibly fly toward the opponent. If it is a move
like Holy, it will even track the opponent! Most magics can be blocked but
moves like Thundara and Graviga from Terra just can't be blocked so you must
instead resort to a dodge.
Most HP attacks cannot be blocked as many of them have an ability called
Defense Crush, which breaks the guard and deals full damage. There are, however
a few HP attacks that only have Defense Crush on the final hit if it does some
brave damage combos first. However, since it is generally rare to be able to
block HP attacks and when you do, you're likely to still take the hit from the
continuing combo. When it comes to Bravery chained into HP combos it almost
always can be blocked such as some of the ones Cloud chains into (one popular
example is Omnislash Version 5).
///=======\\\
||| Chase |||
\\\=======///
Chase is a common feature you will encounter as you play Dissidia. When you see
the (X) symbol go up on the screen that means you have the chance to start a
chase. I personally think chase is not worth it (except when you are out of EX
Mode and Gabranth needs a way to deal HP damage). In chase you either start
as the attacker or the defender. If you are the attacker, you can either do an
HP attack or a Bravery attack. You can also change where you want to send the
foe by using either the analog stick or the d-pad (depending on which one you
selected to use). After a sucessful hit, you can then hit (X) again to continue
the chase. If you missed, then the opponent becomes the attacker and you the
dodger.
Defense on chase attacks is all about timing. Hit (X) immediatly to dodge a
Bravery attack, or if you think it is going to be an HP attack (most enemies
mutter some words and hunch down when they are about to use an HP attack) wait
about a second then press (X). If you successfully dodged the attack you go
back on the offense. This goes back and forth three times before the chase is
canceled altogether. You can also end a chase while on the offensive by simply
doing nothing.
///==================\\\
||| Counterattacking |||
\\\==================///
Counterattacking is done in two ways. The first is when you block an opponents
attack and follow with a bravery or HP attack while they are staggering. The
second way is the process of attacking an opponent while they are attacking as
well (but you are the one who hits). It is important to use counterattacks when
the opportunity arises. Sometimes a good defense is a good offense. By blocking
an opponents attack and following back with an attack of your own, you get the
chance to automatically land your own attack without the worry of it being
dodged or blocked itself. As an added bonus, counterattacks have a generally
higher critical hit ratio than standard hits, so the punishment for being
blocked is not taken lightly. The first attack in a counterattack combo is
always a critical hit and with the added effect of Riposte or Counterattack
Extra abilities, your critical hit ratio will reach scores nearing 100%.
///=========\\\
||| Dodging |||
\\\=========///
Dodging is even more crucial than blocking, and effective evasion technique can
not only make you harder to hit, but also provide you a better chance to land a
hit on the attacker. To dodge, simply hold (R\ and hit (X) either neutral or in
a direction. On the ground a neutral dodge is a small step back. If you press
forward when you dodge, you will jump over the opponent, making him or her open
to a sneak attack and counterattack. However, jumping over the foe is
dangerous when attacks have an upward arc or high vertical range. Use it
whenever you think it can best be used.
In the air, a neutral dodge is a small sidestep of sorts. There is much more
versatility in the air for dodging than the ground and once you equip the
Midair Evasion Boost, the distance you go in a dodge increases by an awesome
amount that saves you from more difficult attacks from the foe. In midair, you
have all three dimensions to dodge away towards. With good practice, dodging
can be an extremely effective tool for every match. Dodges are most commonly
used as a way to avoid HP attacks as most cannot be blocked.
///==========\\\
||| EX Cores |||
\\\==========///
EX Cores appear randomly throughout the battle. These little bells (sometimes
with one or two wings) when grabbed can either fill a little bit of your EX
Guage or a lot of it. The number of wings and how fiercely it is glowing
indicated how much EX it has in it. When EX Core comes into play, the screen
will flash a bit and all EX on the battlefield will fly towards it (its got
infinite EX Intake Range) and absorbs them. There are generally a few areas
where EX Cores appear on every battlefield and how close they appear to you
depends on your LUK stat. If you have a really high LUK stat compared to your
opponent, it will likely spawn right near you and visa versa.
EX Cores are not always important for players who want to gather EX. Sometimes
EX Cores pose a threat to them as the other player may use the EX Force gained
against them. So when in EX Mode, players generally focus on gathering EX Cores
not so they can replenish their EX (while that is still a very good reason to
grab it) but to keep it away from the foe. EX Cores can sway the battle in
another players favor if it helps them reach EX Mode. For Gabranth, you will
want to control the EX Cores for yourself but not rely on them completely for
EX force as it is a very inefficient and dangerous way to do so.
///==============\\\
||| EX Gathering |||
\\\==============///
EX can be gathered in many ways. One is from EX Force, another EX Cores, and
the last is using Gabranth's EX Charge HP attack when outside of EX Mode.
EX Force is the little shiny blue glowey things that float in the air when you
fight. You can initially absorb them from 1m away, which is really small, and
they help increase the EX Gauge. So how do these little glowey things come to
appear?
> * Successful Brave Attacks
> * Successful Blocks
> * Taking Brave Damage
> * Successful Midair Dodges
If you use accessories to increase the intake range and EX Force Absorption,
you basically become a magnet to these little EX glowey thingies and stay in EX
Mode a very long time... Well, as long as you keep making more EX Force. Using
good accessories and equips, pure EX Force is often a better way to reach EX
Mode than using EX Cores.
You can also gain EX from EX Cores as well. EX Core make all the EX Force on
the map move straight to it, so basically it gets more full the more EX it
attracts.
///=================\\\
||| Multi-Air Slide |||
\\\=================///
After expending your jumps, if you have Multi-Air Slide equipped, you can
basically Air Dash in the direction you want by pressing (X). Multi-Air Slide
is a faster way of travel than even Free Air Dashes. And with Multi-Air Slide+
you can perform two in succession. Basically, Multi-Air slide is an easier Omni
Air Dash (well kinda). It takes a lot of practice to get the hang of it, but it
can also improve gameplay for some players. Multi-Air Slide is a great way to
reach EX Cores first and even avoid attacks.
///===========\\\
||| Quickmove |||
\\\===========///
You can quickmove anytime you see a little yellow arrow show up on your screen.
Press and hold (/\) to Quickmove. There are a couple of different quickmoves.
One being the ability to run up vertical walls. Another instance of Quickmove
is to slide on rails such as those in Order's Sanctuary and Ultimecia's Castle.
Being able to quickmove is nice in certain maps when you either need to scale a
vertical wall fast or quickly move from one part of the stage to the other.
Almost every stage has an area in which you can quickmove, so remember your
options.
///===========\\\
||| Wall Rush |||
\\\===========///
Some attacks cause characters to fly into walls and take additional damage.
When you wall rush, you typically either do 1/2 the damage of the last hit in a
brave combo or 1/2 the amount of damage done with the HP attack. Using wall
rushes can not only rack up some serious damage but cause opponents to be
immobile for a moment allowing you to set up another attack and maybe a Wall of
Pain (mentioned later). When you wall rush someone for HP damage, the
additional damage will never kill the opponent. It will instead leave him or
her with 1 HP remaining. Use Wall Rushes to your advantage and avoid falling
into one yourself.
===============================================================================
XIV. Advanced Techniques
===============================================================================
Beyond basics such as dodging and wall rushes, there are special techniques you
can use to make any situation recoverable. You don't need special accessories
or abilities to do most of these, just plain old good timing and patience. You
will likely find at least one thing in this section you did not know before.
Enjoy these Advanced Techniques as they can be very useful.
///=======================\\\
||| Air Dash Interception |||
\\\=======================///
Blocking doesn't just stagger attacking opponents, it can stagger people who
wall rush into it as well. Because some players have a lack of control in their
Air Dashing (why Air Dash Cancels are nice) be prepared to block an incoming
opponent for two reasons. One is that they may just bump into you and stagger
and two they may be coming in for an Air Dash Canceled Attack (mentioned
later). Either way, you can intercept an Air Dash by blocking, leaving the foe
open to a counterattack.
///======================\\\
||| Brave Break Stalking |||
\\\======================///
Whenever you deal HP damage to an opponent, you're bravery will drop down to
zero. The more damage dealt, the longer it will take for that players bravery
to recover to its initial value. While the value is recovering, the opponent is
also incredibly vulnerable to brave break. Take advantage of the very low
brave scores and stalk the player for an easy brave break, it just may change
the entire motion of the battle in your favor. The closer to the foe the better
and the more damage they have to recover from dealing the better chance you
have. Waste no opportunity and keep up the pressure as soon as you're hit by
an HP attack.
///================\\\
||| Brave Recovery |||
\\\================///
Because Brave Stalking is a dangerous thing to encounter after a good HP
attack, it is good to know fast ways to recover brave faster so you don't have
to worry about it. One thing you can do is land a second HP attack for very
very minimal damage like 0 or 54. Dealing HP damage this low has a short
recovery timer and you should literally have max initial brave in about a
second or two after the hit. Another way is to have the EXP to Bravery ability.
When you deal HP damage, you gain EXP as well. With this, the base of your
bravery wont start at 0 after the attack like normal but something like 500-700
which will soon reset back to full initial bravery. EXP to Bravery is like the
ultimate brave recovery move of the game so use it if you like to hit with HP
attack after HP attack to chip away at the opponent.
When you do fall into a break, don't fret, there are ways to reset it. One is
to land an HP attack like mentioned before. It wont deal any damage but it will
free you from break so you can attack again. Another way is to attack the
opponent with Bravery Attacks. By doing this, you will help the speed of the
break recovery. The more Brave damage the better.
///====================\\\
||| Critical Hit Rates |||
\\\====================///
Here are things that naturally improve Critical Hit Rates:
> * EX Mode gives a 50% Critical Hit rate bonus
> * Auto critical using an attack after blocking a foe (counterattack).
> * Auto Critical as soon as you drop to 0 BRV and begin refilling after an
HP attack
> * Through Extra abilities
That's all there is to know about critical hit rates really.
///==============\\\
||| Dodge Cancel |||
\\\==============///
Some moves can canceled mid attack with a simple dodge. To perform, you must
while in a moment of stalling in any one of Gabranth's attacks (when he isn't
exactly attacking), press (R\ + (X) to dodge out of it. However, this is a
fairly selective skill in that most attacks are super hard to dodge cancel out
of. Enrage is one example of an attack that can be dodge canceled and Sentence
is another prime example. Examples of moves that don't work are EX Charge,
Innocence, and Aero. Dodge cancels are often used to enter a new attack mid
attack such as Enrage to Relentless Lunge. Not necessarily used often on
Gabranth, but be aware you may face opponents who do this such as those using
Sephiroth.
///============\\\
||| EX Release |||
\\\============///
EX Release is the ultimate interception move in the entire game and it has no
peer. Before you decide to hit (R\ + ([]) after filling your EX Gauge to enter
EX Mode, consider the fact that if you do this during the middle of an
opponents combo or right when your getting hit by an HP attack you can cause
the attack to stop and the opponent to stagger giving you a free opportunity to
attack if you are close enough. EX Release is an important skill to master and
timing is everything. This trick will not only save you but protect you from
anything at any time in any situation whether already staggering or on the
ground after a wall rush. Nothing can stop this from activating. The video at
the end of this section has an amazing example of this so I would watch it.
///==================================\\\
||| EXP to HP, BRV, and EX Abilities |||
\\\==================================///
These abilities have different purposes than they initially may entail.
Remember, HP attacks give EXP whenever they hit. Therefor EXP to Bravery is
used to speed up BRV Recovery after an HP attack by substantial amounts rather
than make your brave higher. EXP to EX Force is used to make an HP attack into
a EX Gauge filler rather than a Post EX Burst Recovery (it doesn't work). EXP
to HP makes your HP attacks into a Pseudo-Blood Weapon (HP gained with damage)
which does heal less than what is dealt. Pick one of these bonuses not because
of their name but for what they can do in reality.
///======================\\\
||| Free Air Dash Cancel |||
\\\======================///
Free Air Dashes can be stopped immediately and without falling so much as an
inch by performing one of these actions during the Air Dash:
> * Jumping
> * Blocking
> * Attacking
> * Dodging
Free Air Dash Cancels allow for better control and more aggressive fighting.
Because Air Dash Interception isn't something you want to fall for, the ability
to stop without any further movement is critical. Free Air Dash Cancels may be
something you already do but didn't know about, but one thing is for sure. A
rocketing Gabranth able to pull out Dual Rend immediately is a possible death
sentence for the opponent (especially if it is a CPU) if they aren't ready.
Also mix it around and do a jump or dodge to confuse them and counterattack.
Keep that finger on the (R\ trigger. It leaves you many options.
///======================\\\
||| Last Chance Override |||
\\\======================///
This is very simple. When an opponent has Last Stand, be ready to save an EX
Burst for when he or she has just taken mass damage and is at 1 HP with the
large ([]) icon in front (EX Burst Indicator) of you from using the HP attack
in EX Mode. This allows you to make a second attack for free. Pretty simple and
effective way to override the annoying Last Chance ability.
///===========\\\
||| Short Hop |||
\\\===========///
Surprisingly a short hop in this game is not done by jumping. Oh no. It takes a
Free Air Dash cancel right after leaving the ground (well it doesn't even look
like you leave the ground when you do it). This allows for more attack options
on the ground as you can quickly Air Dash Cancel into an aerial attack and
follow up with a ground attack without waiting to long to be grounded again.
This trick will fool unsuspecting players as who would think that an aerial
attack will come when you are basically grounded? Not likely. You can also
transition into a Midair Dodge from a short hop which is more effective when
equipped with Midair Evasion Boost. If you watch the video later in this
section, you can see examples of how scary a Short Hop Dual Rend and Short Hop
Rapture can be! They are extremely powerful surprise attacks.
///==============\\\
||| Wall of Pain |||
\\\==============///
Wall of Pain is a term used to define the process of hitting an opponent into a
wall and again and again and again without the opponent being able to escape.
Gabranth can do a wall of pain with his Dual Rend and Enrage attacks. All it
takes is to hit them into the wall with Dual Rend or Enrage, Dodge backwards
and attack again as soon as you can. Some opponents may get caught in a corner
with nowhere to escape, so use this to your advantage to deal some inescapable
hurt... Well most players can escape after three hits or so. It takes practice
and a good example of this is found in my video later in the section. Remember,
attack into wall, immediately dodge back, attack, dodge back, attack, etc.
Because these attacks have an amazingly fast lunge at their start they cover
the distance it takes to back away. If you don't go back you can either fall to
the ground if your in the air, hit while they cant take damage after the
attack, or just plain miss. You're likely to miss at some point as the wall of
pain cant go forever, but it does work multiple times usually. Sometimes you
may need to Free Air Dash Cancel attack for it to reach (for when you are just
a little to far back)
///================\\\
||| Examples Video |||
\\\================///
This video I made is to show off some of the more hard to explain concepts, or
ones I feel you may appreciate a clip of. This is a full battle versus a
Maximum difficulty Lv100 Aggressive Warrior of Light. This video also provides
examples of how Gabranth can can appear in battle using many of the tips
provided above. Excuse me if I made a few mistakes, I was trying to do certain
moves to show off, so I wasn't playing a good fight really. If you want me to
put a video out when I play serious, I'd be glad to do so. For the record, I
used the in game record match for the video if your wondering.
The following Video provides examples of the following Advanced techniques:
EX Release
Free Air Dash Cancel
Short Hop
Wall of Pain
And the following Basic Techniques:
Air Dashing
Blocking
Counterattacking
Dodging
Wall Rush
- VIDEO: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/videos/192/
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This video is Copyright Vamper62 2009-2010
===============================================================================
XV. How to Play Gabranth Efficiently
===============================================================================
By now, I assume you have been reading the guide word by word. If you skipped
any sections, you may want to consider going back and taking a look at them as
this section will take everything we have learned about Gabranth and put it
into full action. One you are ready, read on my friend... or student... or...
whatever...
The hardest part about playing any character is playing them efficiently. When
you fight a battle in Dissidia, you need to watch many things at once in order
to be on top of every situation. This list includes:
> * Your HP
> * Opponents HP
> * Your Bravery
> * Opponents Bravery
> * Your EX Gauge
> * Opponents EX Gauge
> * Being on top to reach EX Cores
> * Field Hazards
> * Opponents attack patterns
> * EX Force scattered across the map
While playing Gabranth, the most important thing to do at the matches start is
to get into EX Mode as soon as possible. To do this, you need to play more
passively and focus on blocks, counterattacks, and building distance between
you and your opponent. Every opportunity you get should be spent using EX
Charge, but if you see the opponent coming towards you, be prepared to block
and counterattack. Attacks make EX Force appear, so the more action taking
place, the more EX there is to gather.
The key to fighting outside of EX Mode is not to play evasive but to be
defensive. Most guides out there will tell you that Gabranth is a pushover
outside of EX Mode and is super easy to kill. This may be partially true
because his attacks deal relatively little damage compared to other characters
but overall, his lack of strength doesn't make him any less threatening. I
cannot stress enough how crucial it is to use blocks with Gabranth. Practice
blocking all kinds of attacks outside of EX Mode. Once you get it down, (and I
know that it is one of the hardest skills to master and use instinctively, so
if you start using blocks like you use dodges, it should become more of a
reflexive reaction) you will be nothing short of a threat outside EX Mode. If
you aren't using blocks, your going to lose against tough opponents. In
general, players may not fully grasp the fact blocks are just as effective on
any one character as it is on the others. Because you aren't likely to play
aggressive, your opponents won't be the one counterattacking after blocks. It
will be you, and I bet anything that you'll find blocks outside of EX Mode your
biggest tool for attacking than anything else. Using blocks as a primary way of
damaging opponents (and gaining mass EX force faster than with those stupid EX
Cores) will make unwary opponents suffer unbeatable counterattacks. With mid
range attacks, counterattacks are made even better and they do provide good
push back, allowing time to either get a few seconds of EX Charge or gather any
remaining EX Force from the brawl.
Most human players assume Gabranth relies on those EX Cores. False, don't rely
on them whatsoever, but try to use them to your advantage. The best way to gain
EX Force without having to out dash the opponent to a silly little EX Core, is
to gain EX Force from attacks and blocks. All those accessories and equips we
talked about are there to increase your ability to gain EX naturally rather
than through EX Charge and EX Cores alone. You don't want to base your game on
a silly little bell, and suprise the opponent with your more reliable, more
effective, and more beneficial ways of gaining EX Force. If your opponent
relies on EX Force as well, be the first to gather it (unless your fighting
Kuja because Glide is the best move for getting EX Force scattered around the
field), but don't get distracted and let your guard down. All these thing
opponents would expect are nothing compared to the options you can actually
make with Gabranth. Gabranth is not an enemy to take lightly and make them
remember that (unless it's a CPU Gabranth. They suck at using him).
Once you are in EX Mode, it is time to play aggressively. One main thing you
need to watch for is attack patterns of your opponent. If you notice a trend in
your opponents actions, take action to counter them and gain the upper hand.
The opponent will most likely do the same with you, so don't just spam the same
move over and over again. If they start blocking and counterattacking you a
lot, they have figured you out. This is when you change the battle a bit by
playing in ways you normally wouldn't. For instance, you could play defensively
all of a sudden or use moves that you haven't been using. Whatever you do, make
it so the opponent cant read you. This is called mind games and is one of the
most important factors in facing human opponents.
Whenever you build enough bravery to deal about 2/3 of the opponents HP in
damage, now is the time to use moves like Innocence and Hatred. Not only will
you knock a huge chunk of HP off the opponent's HP, but you will also deal 1/2
the damage already dealt in Wall Rush damage (assuming they have no wall rush
defense abilities on). This should leave them at 1 HP. Now is the time to
string out some mayhem and knock the final point away and end with an EX Burst
for a flashy finish. If they are using Last Chance, the EX Burst will override
it and all will be good!
In EX Mode, it is important to keep up the pressure and stay active at all
times. The more you block and attack, the more EX Force you will make and
replenish. Using the setups I have made, you should find yourself almost always
on top of EX force and have a equalized amount of EX gained for EX lost,
keeping you in EX Mode as long as the match is. However, not everything is
perfect, so if you see your EX is about to die out, quickly pull out the HP
attacks and try and give an EX Burst at the last moment to end it without
wasting any time in EX Mode.
If you find yourself always behind in Bravery when fighting your opponent,
using HP attacks can be a good idea. Not only do you hit off a small chunk of
HP on the foe, but your Bravery will reset and be good as new. If you actually
fall into brave break, use either an HP attack to reset the bravery immediately
or a slew of Bravery attacks to hasten the process of brave break recovery.
If you are low on HP, about to die, and have the EXP to HP ability, it might be
a good idea to focus on HP attacks to replenish health. You don't want to lose.
If the opponents bravery is high enough for a one hit kill, focus on brave
attacks to dwindle it down at much as you can. Be cautious however as the
opponent is likely to focus on HP attacks at this stage. Time your dodges and
don't leave yourself open. If you can hold him or her off enough to lower their
bravery to safe amounts, you can relax.
Use summons wisely and be careful when opponents use theirs. Any summon can
change the match dramatically and make the apparent loser into the now top dog.
If you have summons to lower and hurt opponents bravery, it would be a good
idea to use them when the opponent uses one to increase their brave. Manual
Summons provide more freedom than Auto summons, but auto summons have a
tendency to activate a very good times and allow you one less thing to think
about.
If the battle becomes intense, it is best to keep your cool and know that win
or lose, you will gain something out of that match whether it be "what not to
do" or "what worked well and should try again to see if it will work again."
Don't get frustrated and throw the PSP as the wall. You would be wasting a
perfectly good and expensive handheld console. Throw it into a pile of pillows
or something soft to keep it from any harm. If your frustration comes to worse,
I recommend turning off the PSP and taking a break to cool down. If you don't
you may be putting the PSP, game, environment, house, yourself, and even others
at risk... Take a nap, listen to music, or go out and exercise to relieve
yourself of stress. When you feel 100%, give it a go again and see if your game
improves. Don't give up and don't make something as silly as a game ruin your
day or others... Its not real life you know.
Thats about it about playing Gabranth. The next couple of sections will teach
you the wayarounds of the many fields of battle and characters found in the
world of Oder and Discord. It is not about learning to beat a certain
character, it is about knowing what they can do and being aware of what you may
encounter. There is no actual surefire or promising way to beat any character,
just things you need to pay attention for. Now without further babbling, let's
move on to the final chapters of my Gabranth guide... Hopefully, you haven't
fallen asleep on your keyboard, drooling all over it and can continue, but if
you have... well... good night... or morning... or... you get the idea...
===============================================================================
XVI. Fields of Battle
===============================================================================
A good player knows his fields of battle well and what each stage provides you.
Some have plenty of vertical height, some with many walls. Others have
dangerous landscapes and some are fulled with breakable elements. This section
will give you tips and wayarounds for each battle field, both regular and omega
versions. I'll even point out the spawning points for EX Cores!
===============================================================================
[I] Old Chaos Shrine [I]
===============================================================================
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Chaos Shrine
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old Chaos Shrine is basically two floors with many destructible pillars all
across the map. There are many EX Core spawn points, about 18 to be exact! As
with most map, try to keep distance and EX Charge every moment you can and take
advantage of the very uneven flooring to hamper the opponent in terms of
attacks that are grounded with lunges. If you want to reach the upper floor,
use quickmoves on the walls in the directions the giant red carpet points. The
upper floor is more flat but also has plenty of holes to fall down to the
bottom floor. Know also that certain spots of the upper floor flooring is
destructible if it takes enough damage.
EX Cores appear in many spots across the map, so lets start with the first
floor. The first two spot include the throne and the backing of the Red Carpet
(opposite the throne). If you notice the portraits in the NW, SW, SE, and NE
corners, you should notice they include each of four elemental fiends; Lich,
Kraken, Marilith, and Tiamat. Also note that EX Cores spawn right next to these
portraits. EX Cores sometimes appear else where but it is very rare on this
floor.
On the upper floor, the center four short pillars (arranged in a square shape)
contain four spawning points for EX Cores. The outer areas of the up floor also
contain many spawning points. In in the N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, and NW areas.
Overall, this map is one of the more wall filled ones, so Wall Rushes shouldn't
be hard to accomplish on this stage (a bit harder on the upper floor however).
Since the layout is less than flat on the bottom floor, expect to use many
quickmoves to scale very short walls or a couple of jumps. The upper floor is
better for most combat in general as it is more open, but for moves that do
well in Wall of Pain, the bottom floor has many great spots to perform them at.
The Omega version of this stage is a pain in the ass. The stage constantly
drains your Bravery and your opponents and adds it to the stage bravery.
Because of this, brave breaks are more important than ever and lallygagging
around with attacking isn't such a good idea. Keep up the pressure and you
should either be able to regain some bravery and own the opponent or fall
victim to an easy brave break and be owned yourself. In my opinion, this is one
of the harder Omega stages out there and is personally one of my least favorite
stages.
===============================================================================
[II] Pandemonium [II]
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/202_0/
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Pandemonium
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pandemonium is an absolutely horrid map! If any map can be defined by too many
walls, this is it. Literally, your going to need the target indicator for this
map because otherwise you can't see whats going when the opponent is behind a
wall. There are a couple main spots where EX Cores appear. However, one thing
this stage does well for Gabranth is providing plenty of areas to hide and EX
Charge and deal some Wall of Pains.
The main areas where EX Cores appear are the two square windows on both sides
of map, the two main character spawn locations (one is raised above the floor,
another has four crystal like pillars), on the small islands above the vortex
traps and behind the wall that goes behind the stage in the central area (where
the vortex traps are).
This map has no destructible elements that I know of and its main obstacles are
the vortex traps in the central area.
Since the map is walls, walls, and more walls, wall rush attacks work more than
well, they work incredibly. One thing you need to watch out for is if you are
too high up near the ceiling when using Innocence (midair), shockwaves will fly
into the roof and never arc down. And because there are so many walls, long
distance Innocence attacks are not very effective. It is best to stay pretty
close to your opponent when heading for an HP attack.
The Omega version of this map is hell imo... The floors will often turn a black
with red outlining, which means there may be a spike about to come out of the
floor and hit you. Each time a player is hit by a spike, it adds to the stage
bravery (kind of bad way to gain stage bravery really). Overall, this map is
filled with walls, annoying traps, and little space to move about.
===============================================================================
[III] World of Darkness [III]
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/205_0/
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World of Darkness
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World of Darkness is a strange stage in that it has three forms; Normal, Near
Darkness, and Far Darkness. It also has fairly random EX Core spawning points
so its really hard to pinpoint their exact locations.
The stage is pretty basic in its normal form, so try to keep a distance in the
beginning of the fight to EX Charge and lay waste once in EX Mode. The map has
many useful quickmove rails (colored pink) that can increase the speed of
travel across the map. In Near Darkness, the map becomes filled with awkward
walls and little space (which makes Wall Rushes much easier to achieve) while
in Far Darkness, the map becomes all crystalistic (is that even a word?) and
shiny with little to no regular floors, just many many islands in which you can
stand on.
EX Cores honestly randomly pop up all over the Normal map, while in Near
Darkness they tend to spawn near the maps corners. In far darkness, it is also
quite random and pops up on many different islands.
The normal map has many destructible pillars pretty much in every direction. In
the Far Darkness, the floor is filled with vortex traps which drain Bravery and
teleport you to random spots on the map (usually to the closest island).
The Omega version of this map works in a kind of weird way. The stage bravery
doesn't change while the stage is in normal phase. But when in Near Darkness,
the closer you are to the opponent the faster the Stage bravery begins to
increase. Inversely in Far Darkness, the further away you are from your
opponent the faster it increases. The stage is pretty balanced but I personally
think Near Darkness and Far Darkness are a little hard to fight on because of
their awkward layout.
===============================================================================
[IV] Lunar Subterrane [IV]
===============================================================================
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http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/208_0/
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Lunar Subterrane
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lunar Subterrane is hardly subterrane. It should be called Lunar Surface...
Anyways, this stage is filled with many pillars and rails that skid from on
spot to the next. Lunar Subterrane is a good map for Gabranth in that the many
pillars provide many physical obstacles for opponents to be able to reach you.
As the tall circular pillars can only be broken by ramming a foe into them, the
provide great cover for using EX Charge. The EX Cores on the map generally
spawn in on of five areas so I'll talk about those points instead of them all,
as they are generally pretty close to each other anyways.
EX Cores typically spawn either between two pillar like rocks atop one of the
light brown rocky formations, around the area where the moon crater spots are
(the small drop down points on the map, atop the furthest circular pillar,
along the crystal skid rail (for quickmove) traveling in between two formations
and a top the other rocky formation in the opposite corner to the first one
mentioned.
The fastest way over the obstacles in your way is to scale them with quickmoves
to run up the vertical inclines. Depending on how much of the pillars get
destroyed throughout the battle from character impacts, you will either spend
most of the time on the bottommost ground are atop the many large destructible
pillars. I recommend getting used to navigating around this map so that it
doesn't make you confused when facing tougher opponents later. In general, this
is one of my favorite maps because of the unique terrain and layout.
The Omega version is interesting in that the stage bravery rises the more you
destroy pillars by ramming players into them. The more destruction, the more
stage bravery to be gained with a brave break. Overall, it may sound hard
because the pillars can ONLY be destroyed from wall rushed characters smashing
into them, but it is a hell of a lot easier than it sounds. You would be
surprised how much wall rushes you and your opponent can make in one match
(without actually hitting a wall but a destructible stage element).
===============================================================================
[V] The Rift [V]
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/211_0/
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The Rift
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another one of my favorite maps! The Rift is map full of wall scaling action!
In all seriousness it is completely true. Since it is pretty much castle, you
can expect the climb to the top to be pretty long. So prepare your (/\) button
for plenty of quickmoving to climb some walls. There are some pretty easy to
point out EX Core spawning locations and plenty of room for Gabranth to deal
some hurt. This stage is also one of the largest stages in the game if not the
largest (does it compare to Crystal World?)
The EX Cores generally spawn on one of the far off square islands in the
distance, atop one of the spires on the castle, on the brick near the bottom of
the castle, on the small grassy platforms sticking out near the bottom of the
stage or on top of the castle.
For Gabranth, the main structure of the map provides many areas to run of to EX
Charge, so this map shouldn't make getting into EX Mode very hard.
There are vortex traps at the bottom of the stage if go down too far, so watch
out for those.
The Omega Version of this stage is in my opinion, the biggest change of all the
Omega maps. Instead of the single form of the stage you see in the picture
above, there are two other forms in which it will transform into. One of these
is more flat center area with the spires now dis-attached and flipped upside
down and another is one which sort of has a maze type of look to it. Whenever
the stage changes the stage bravery increases, so be prepared for anything.
Generally, the EX Cores will spawn in similar locations as the main form so it
wont be too disorienting.
Once you get the hang of the map it is really fun to play on imo and in my
opinion is one of the better maps available, especially in the omega version
===============================================================================
[VI] Kefka's Tower [VI]
===============================================================================
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http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/214_0/
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Kefka's Tower
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Another map filled with walls, Kefka's Tower is a great stage to Wall Rush on.
For Gabranth, this map is one of the better maps to EX Charge on as there are
so many walls and places to run to. Once in EX Mode, this map is really to Wall
of Pain with. There are easy to point out EX Core spawning locations and the
railings of the stage can be slid upon to move around corners faster.
Overall, there isn't much to point out about this map other than the stasis
chambers are easy to break, even with an air dash and the piping all around the
mid section of the map is easily breakable as well. There aren't many hazards
and overall the map is pretty solid. The top floor is usually where the battle
takes place as it is easier to maneuver around and has better places to attack
from. One thing you need to watch out for when using Innocence (midair) is the
roof and the lips all over the map. If the shockwave hits anything like this it
will not arc down but stop immediately, leaving you open for a physical aerial
attack.
The EX Cores almost always spawn behind or next to a Stasis Tank, so they are
pretty easy to find. On the bottom floor, they tend to spawn in one of the
corners and I don't recall ever seeing them spawn elsewhere.
The Omega version of this map is based on how much Magitek steam blows. You can
increase it's production by destroying elements around the map (especially the
pipes). Most often than not, the stage bravery tends to just increase over
time. If you hit someone into a magitek steam burst, you will deal additional
damage as well, but the same goes for you so don't go off thinking your
invulnerable to it. Overall, this stage isn't very intimidating and is one of
the better stages in terms of design.
===============================================================================
[VII] Planet's Core [VII]
===============================================================================
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http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/217_0/
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Planet's Core
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Planet's Core is pretty much an aerial stage by all definitions. The EX Cores
are predictable in terms of spawn locations and the field is filled with
glowing cyan slide rails (supposed to represent the lifestream). This stage is
a little hard to EX Charge on at first, so try to make the distance between you
and the opponent manageable at the start of the match and EX Charge whenever
you get the chance. Be cautious, however, of diving attacks, as this stage is
mostly vertical in terms of size and it's really hard to see opponents who are
above you (and how close they are to you).
Moves like Rapture and Innocence (midair) work very very well on this map as
you can guess. If you are high enough in the air, you can pretty much act as
God and bring down your wrath with Innocence (midair) to any foes unlucky to be
in your range below you. Wall Rushes are fairly easy to achieve as the
horizontal size of this map isn't really big, so anything that can put a good
slam in the chest should work well, like Rapture and Dual Rend.
The EX Cores pretty much always spawn on the large central isle at the bottom
of the stage and may sometimes spawn on one of the various floating rock
formations higher up. The more control you have of the center of the field, the
better of a chance you have of scoring an EX Core.
The Omega version of this map can be fairly hectic as the formations shift all
the time. When ever the map starts to change from its basic formation, the
stage bravery will increase continuously. Also note that there will be times
when EX Cores will appear on pillars and as soon as you get near them they will
move to another pillar and another and another until it finally decides to let
you have it. Don't let the rapid changes of the map disorient you. Once you get
used to the map, it isn't so bad, but overall, it is a fairly difficult map to
figure out to its full extent.
===============================================================================
[VIII] Ultimecia's Castle [VIII]
===============================================================================
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Ultimecia's Castle
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ultimecia's Castle is another vertically large map, but unlike the Planet's
Core, this map has more places to stand, providing better ground combat in
addition to midair combat. The EX Core spawning points are easy to remember and
the map overall has many feature in it to make it more dynamic than other
stages. It has breakable elements, vortex brave traps, gears that move, a
ceiling vortex trap, and plenty of places to either run up walls or slide in a
way that in real life would give you motion sickness (well I hope it's only in
real life).
This map is fairly easy in terms of making a distance between you and the
opponent, allowing for faster EX Charging in the start of the match. Things you
need to watch out for is the spiral staircase which has boards that easily
break and vortex brave traps not only on the bottom of the stage but on its
ceiling as well (and it is really annoying!). There are plenty of ledges to
stand on and these are usually where the battle takes place. Generally, air
combat is more limited because of all the ledges, corners, pillars, and vortex
traps, but don't exclude it from your battle strategy. Moves like Innocence
(midair) and Rapture work very well here. Rapture can make use of the vortex
traps on the roof and the bottom floor because it can do both rise and drop
attacks, making it a great ability to push people into vortex traps to reduce
extra bravery from them.
The main areas where EX Cores appear are on the top floor in the corner of the
L-shape ledge, on top of the gears that stick out in the center of some of the
platforms, atop the large pillars on the stage and right smack dab on the
structure on the bottom of the stage.
The Omega version of this stage is like a drug trip... The stage will sometimes
go through a period called "time compression" where the stage gets all sparkly,
glowey, and crazy in terms of color. All the destroyed objects will also
reappear and the gear will spin super crazy fast. DON'T TOUCH THE GEARS, as
they can deal some fairly high amounts of damage. The gears also make it hard
to Wall Rush an opponent if they it them, but then again, they take extra
damage from it anyways. The thing that makes this stage terrible is the random
stage bravery you gain from Brave Break. It can range anywhere from 1 to 9999
bravery, so in my opinion, its all just total luck. Personally, I hate this
stage in Omega the most of any other stage because of the craziness that is
"time compression." It is really dizzying and hectic; two things that don't go
well together.
===============================================================================
[IX] Crystal World [IX]
===============================================================================
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Crystal World
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crystal World probably one of the biggest stages if not the biggest (the Rift
is pretty big...). It is also quite possibly the most physically destroyable of
all the stages. For Gabranth, it is large enough to where EX Charging in the
beginning of the match shouldn't be too hard. It also provides plenty of space
to launch attacks whether they be grounded or in the air. The only major
downside to this map is that since it is so big, it can be hard to get a bunch
of wall rushes on it and perform a Wall of Pain.
The stage contains many large crystal formations which can be destroyed by most
attacks and air dashes. The giant silver ones I believe only break when someone
is wall rushed into them, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyways, the field also has a
Vortex brave trap flooring, so if you get stuck in it quickly get out with (X).
Hexagonal platforms will randomly appear across the bottom of the stage which
you can use to stand on. However, do know that they shift over time so they
aren't permanent platforms. Pretty much everything in this stage is fragile
except the central body mass, the other islands surrounding it (that are
colored a sort of orangish brown), and the the hexagonal platforms.
The EX Cores typically spawn on any one of these non destructible island, the
small elevated pillar like rock formations, and the large central platform.
They don't typically spawn anywhere else.
The Omega version is not much different from the basic stage. The only major
difference is the stage bravery is based on how many crystal pillars appear. Do
know that the more that you destroy, the more that will appear as well.
Basically, this stage isn't too complex like some of the other omegas where the
stages changed form or had dangerous new hazards. Overall, this stage is pretty
balanced and I find it to be one of the more enjoyable stages to play.
===============================================================================
[X] Dream's End [X]
===============================================================================
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Dream's End
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To be honest, this is by far my favorite stage. Dream's End is a huge stage and
there are plenty of different EX Core spawning points. As with most stages,
make use of the environment to protect yourself as you charge your EX gauge and
use the outer rails to reach areas of the stage faster if you must. This map
provides an environment good for both midair and ground combat.
Their are a total of about six EX Core spawn points. One is right behind the
giant sword, two are on the small islands that connect in the middle of both
rails. Another is in the steps area in the center aisle, atop one of the small
mounts. Two others are on the small islands near the steps.
The main hazard of this field is the vortex traps on the stages bottom that
sucks brave and can teleport you to random spots on the stage if you don't
escape. There are no destructible elements on this map and is mostly an aerial
battlefield.
The Omega version makes the stage bravery rise with each successful attack from
both you and your opponent. Because of this, the stage bravery gained from a
successful brave break can be fairly high. Be careful with this feature as well
and use it to your advantage.
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[Cosmos] Order's Sanctuary [Cosmos]
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Order's Sanctuary
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Order's Sanctuary is what I would call the most balanced map in the entire
game. It has very few object to block your path, a large map to move around,
and plenty of fair quickmove slides.
For Gabranth, this about as simple as it gets so there isn't much to say in
terms of what to do on this stage. Start by giving yourself some space to EX
Charage and wreck havoc when you enter EX Mode. Use the glowing green slides to
travel across the map to not only get away from the foe but to reach EX Cores
faster.
EX Cores generally appear either in the center throne or around the outer
corners of the map. Because of this, you have a better chance of reaching EX
cores faster by staying in the mid section of the map so any location can be
generally close. But don't make EX Cores your only though, use the outer walls
to land Wall Rushes and use the high vertical area to rain Innocence (midair)
when you are ready for an HP attack.
In the Omega Version of Order's Sanctuary, the stage bravery is always 0.
However, when you do brave break, you gain bravery equal to your current brave,
so in better words, your Bravery will double. Because of this format, it is
hard to gain a lot of Bravery early in the match, so just keep it up and the
increases will get better.
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[Chaos] Edge of Madness [Chaos]
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Edge of Madness
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Edge of Madness is either a complete hell of a stage for Gabranth or a total
blessing. The reason it can be a hard stage for Gabranth is that it is really
small, not giving much room for Gabranth to use EX-Charge in the beginning. Be
prepared to stay on the defensive and gather EX Force from Attacks, Blocks, and
Counterattacks. If you have the right accessories, this will be much easier to
gather as well. When the chance arrives, try to use EX-Charge when you can, but
don't stay in it too long, be ready to make a block or dodge when the enemy
starts attacking or is getting close.
Once in EX-Mode, this stage can make Gabranth a very scary character to face.
There is nowhere for anyone to hide and Wall Rushes are going to make damage
output even higher for Gabranth. If you can get into EX-Mode, this stage will
make winning easier with its tight layout and little to nowhere for the
opponent to get away.
I would also like to note that EX Cores will ALWAYS appear right in front of
Chaos's Throne. No if and or Bartz about it... (bad pun)
In the Omega version, this stage gets really hard as the Stage Bravery
fluctuates quite often from really high Stage Bravery to pathetically low. Time
your BRV Breaks so you can get the most from the stage and avoid breaking when
its low, or else your going to need to dish out quite a bit to get a moderate
amount of Bravery to use in an HP Attack such as Innocence (aerial).
Once you are in EX-Mode, the foe is going to have a hard time getting you out.
In such a tight stage, EX Force is literally going to next to you at all times
so unless your opponent gets the hit first or has a higher Intake Range, your
not going out of EX any time soon.
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XVII. Character Matchups
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This section will go over how to fight each and every character in the game.
Each character has two sections. One is how to fight CPU players while another
is for how to fight human players (I bet most guides don't do that often!). In
general, human player use better attacks against you but are not as good at
blocking attacks. Because the game can read your button inputs, CPUs have an
unnatural ability to block and dodge unlike humans. However, a human player is
also likely to be fairly good at blocks and dodges as well (if they are any
good).
I would also like to note that some sections may be quite a bit larger than the
others. The reason is that for the longer character sections, I have either
much more experience using them as well as Gabranth so I know what moves are
good and which are weak (or maybe they just don't have a large slew of attacks
to talk about). It may also be because I often play players using these
characters. Some characters I don't know all the names of their moves for nor
what exactly they do, so their sections will be more brief in terms of
describing what general attack patterns they have, what they lack in, and what
things to look out for when facing them. I would love to improve these shorter
sections, so if you know a lot about a character I don't please notify me under
the comments section of the Playhaven.com version or email me. If your
character tips are good, your description will be posted under the character
you contributed for. Yes, that means every word you say will be written out
with your name on top! If you have spelling errors or terrible grammar, I will
do the best I can to make edits when needed so the guide will continue to look
as professional as possible. Please contribute if you have the time.
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[I] Warrior of Light [I]
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Warrior of Light
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Warrior of Light is a fairly balanced character in that he has many options for
bravery attacks and a diverse assortment of HP attacks as well. While he does
focus primarily on physical attacks at close to mid range, he does have a few
magic attacks called Red Fang, Blue Fang, and White Fang which have more range
than his standard attacks. Both Human and CPU players will use similar attacks
overall, but Human players tend to be better aggressively. Knowing this, also
know some people will use certain moves more often than others, so watching the
players attack patterns is the best thing you can do in this match up.
To start off, let me just say Warrior of Light does have a few brave to HP
attack chains. One is created from a Rising Buckler called Bitter End. This HP
combo is actually VERY EASY TO ESCAPE FROM. By that, I mean that even if he is
beginning to use Bitter End, you can still escape before the HP damage comes.
Just air dodge to the left or right. You may need to rapidly press (X) while
holding (R\ to escape on time during the attack, but you will avoid it and be
able to return with a nice solid attack such as Rapture or Dual Rend. His other
bravery to HP chain is from Ascension which is a three strike attack on the
ground that can chain to Rune Saber. This cannot as easily be avoided as Bitter
End, but its worth a try. Most of his attacks are close range and can push you
into a Chase in many different directions. So be aware of his lack in mid to
long range attacks and block when needed. Look out for Shield of Light (an HP
attack), as if you attack towards his forward facing side during the attack, it
will be blocked. It has a fairly short range however and is best dodged going
to the left or right rather than back. On the ground, Warrior of Light has a
very powerful HP attack that both has limited tracking and long range
horizontally and mid to long range vertically called Shinning Wave. Knowing
this, If you are on the ground, the moment it gets close to your position,
dodge left or right. If you dodge back you will be hit no matter what so be
careful. This attack does have a fairly decent vertical range as well in terms
of the height of the light spires created, so unless you are very high up, you
may still be hit by the attack. Warrior of Light has a few magic attacks but
they are all pretty easy to avoid. Red Fang is a fire based attack that is easy
to block if it comes in your direction. Blue Fang is a hell of a hard attack to
connect if the player is moving, so when you see some ice shards closing on
your head, you can either run or dodge out of their path. Blue Fang sucks, so
don't expect to see human players using it all that often. White Fang is
probably the best of the three Fangs. It is a lightning attack that has great
range. If it hits, it does some good bravery damage so be careful. Since it
travels in a straight line, dodging to the left or right is your best option.
In EX Mode, Warrior of Light gains some damage and physical defense boosts. He
also is able to block very minor magic attacks using a light magic barrier
created when he takes an action, but being Gabranth, you don't need to worry
about that all to much. Overall, in EX he is just harder to damage and more
dangerous when you make a mistake. That would be about it.
Overall, a pretty simple character, but don't let this deceive you. Warrior of
Light is a very good character in my opinion and isn't one to take lightly.
With good practice in dodges and blocks, Warrior of Light shouldn't give you
too much trouble however.
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[I] Garland [I]
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Garland
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Garland is a beast in terms of damage output. He has the highest base ATK in
the entire game and his equipment options are also top tier. What he does lack,
however, is speed, but he makes up for it with his diverse physical attacks
that often have close to mid range with Wall Rush attached. He does have a few
magic attacks however, but they are mostly HP attacks. Moving on...
Garland has plenty of attacks with great reach and damage. If you get hit by
them, you will take a significant amount of damage. Because most of his attacks
Wall Rush, he is able to deal even more damage if you arent positioned
carefully. In Midair, he has an attack that has mid to long range reach at a
downward angle which comes in the appearance of a Lance being thrown with a
chain attached. This is a dangerous attack, so being above Garland is your best
bet. In terms of HP attacks, he has one called Blaze that shoots off a bunch of
fire projectiles before the HP damage comes. These fireballs have limited
tracking and can be blocked. However, I don't recommend doing this unless you
are sure you can pull off a counterattack the second you deflect them. He also
has a Ground HP attack called Earthquake, which is a pretty easy attack to
avoid as its range is quite limited. Cyclone is a mid range aerial HP attack
that has a fairly long start up time. However, this doesn't make it easy to
intercept. It does have some suck to it so being close when he uses this isn't
the best thing. If you know he is going to use it, attack him with a quick
brave attack before it gets too far into the attack. The last HP attack is
called Tsunami which is a ground attack. Just keep your eyes open for this
attack and be ready to dodge is all I can really say. Since Garland is mostly a
close range attacker, you may just have to out play him with Gabranth. In EX
Mode, Grabranth should have the upper hand with his faster attacks. I would
also like to note that Garlands attacks sometimes are better to evade than
block depending on their range. If it is a mid range attack, I recommend
dodging unless you are a pro at blocks.
In EX Mode, Garland becomes a tank. He gains the ability to not flinch while
taking damage making him able to attack while taking hits. I cannot stress
enough how dangerous this makes him. Because of this, it is best to use attacks
like Rapture and Dual Rand as they have Wall Rush and are quick to execute and
finish. Moves that are generally longer to use because of combos are not the
best options such as Vortex of Judgment and Enrage.
Overall, Garland is a physical powerhouse with plenty of powerful attacks at
his disposal. Humans and CPUs play fairly similar because he only has so many
attacks. Just know human players are more often than not to play a little more
tactically than CPUs. CPUs basically perform more mechanically so they aren't
as likely to change strategies throughout the match like a human mind would.
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[II] Firion [II]
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Firion
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Firion is beast on the ground and fairly week in terms of midair abilities. He
has many attacks that reel you in close such as Reel Axe and Rope Knife, and
end with a possible chained HP attack called Double Trouble. He has some good
distanced attacks as well as his magics but when it comes to taking someone on
sky high, he has little do except cast easily avoided magic attacks.
A human Firion will likely know that a grounded Firion is a happy Firion and
use attacks such as Reel Axe (Firion throws a spinning axe that returns to him
after reaching full distance) to pull you in for some good damage. Overall,
Reel Axe is fairly easy to dodge and can be blocked if you time it right. Reel
Axe is his only really effective long distance brave attack. Because of this,
moves such as Innocence (midair are especially effective against Firion). On
the ground, he is likely going to try and get in a Lance Combo or a Rope Knife
(which reels you in as well). Both these attacks are really powerful and should
be blocked the moment you see them coming. If he does decide to go airborne, he
is more likely to use Blizzard (ice projectiles that ricochets off objects) or
Thunder (bolts that try to hit you square on). It is better to dodge Thunder
and Block Blizzard. If you successfully block Blizzard, it may fly back and hit
Firion. If for some reason, the player uses Fire, be prepared to block it. Fire
is slow moving and has homing abilities. Consequently, if you block it, it will
fly and home in on Firion. When close to Firion midair, he will likely use
Swordslash which is most effectively blocked and counterattacked. When Firion
decides to use some HP attacks, he more often than not will try to chain one of
his ground brave attacks into Double Trouble (HP attack chain). Weaponmaster is
an aerial HP attack that has fairly long range and should be avoided by dodging
to the left or right rather than back as it may still hit you. You will know he
is doing it because he will make a sort of growling "gyuuraaah!!!" sound. He
may also try and use Straightarrow, which is a very long range HP attack that
is super easy to avoid from afar. On the Ground, he may use Shield Bash, which
is basically a guard that if it works will go into an HP attack (it is an HP
attack actually). Overall, Firion is more dangerous on the ground than he is in
the air, but he will do whatever he can to draw you to the ground for some
massive combos.
In EX Mode, Firion gains Blood Weapon which makes all HP attacks heal an equal
amount of his HP based on the amount of damage given out. If he makes a massive
hit on you, he could likely change the tides of the battle using this ability.
Other than that, he is pretty much the same as normal.
CPUs play Firion fairly well and tend to use moves that a human player would.
They don't have human intuition so mind games don't work on them. If you stay
in the air too long, they will chase after you. Basically do everything you
read above will apply here, but also know that CPUs have an unnatural ability
to know what attack your going to use and block it followed by a counterattack
and some massive damage. Practice is the best way to improve your game against
him more than anything.
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[II] The Emperor [II]
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The Emperor
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The Emperor is the king if traps. Almost all his attacks involve either
stationary objects that explode with contact such as Landmine (orange balls),
Mine (blue floating balls), and Flare (ground; Colored orange moves for a
second then stops). Other attacks, such as Dynamite, can suck foes towards them
and cause the foe to take some massive damage while being unable to escape for
a few seconds. The bluish circle attack that causes you to become immobile and
shock you for a few seconds is called Thunder Crest and can not only stop you,
but set you up for a perfect HP attack or massive Bravery attack point blank.
A fight against a human playing Emperor will usually involve him or her setting
plenty of mines, landmines, a thunder crest, Flare (ground), and Flare
(midair). Flare (midair) is an HP attack that shoots a large blue fireball that
tracks and follows you slowly. The trick with the Emperor is to get you to hit
a trap such a landmine or get sucked into a Thunder Crest or Dynamite and
quickly be followed by a powerful HP attack. When playing a human Emperor, be
careful where you move, step, fly, and the such as there are plenty of traps
that not only deal damage, but deal massive damage. Be careful to watch the
Emperors position and look out for Flare (ground) and Flare (midair). One thing
you can do as Gabranth to clear some of the mines, landmines, and Flares is to
hit them with either version of Innocence. This makes it so you don't need to
contact the dangerous explosives to destroy them. Most of the stationary traps
only last for so long before they automatically explode, so its good to know
that not all of them are permanent. Look out for Light Crest, which creates a
circle in the air that shoots three magic projectiles if you get to close. This
is usually the only attack the Emperor can use to actually attack directly.
There isn't much to worry about when facing the Emperor once you get close and
start battering him. Its being sure not to fall for his tricks that can be your
downfall. Avoid Thunder Crest and Dynamite (which is either ball that pulls you
in then explodes) to avoid easy HP attacks from the Emperor. Keep an eye out
for blue Flare as it tracks you and when you get closer to the Emperor and
regular orange Flare when Air Dashing towards him.
When the Emperor gets into EX Mode, his HP attacks now have Blood Magic
properties which heals him equal the amount of HP damage he deals. Dangerous,
and can make the battle that much longer if he is successful in healing a bit
of damage using it.
When facing a CPU, the Emperor doesn't waste his time laying traps all over the
place like a good player would. He instead tends to use Light Crest all the
time to deal damage, leave a few mines here and there, and throw a Flare once
and a while. It is a million times easier to face a CPU Emperor than a human,
so everything you learned above should also apply below. It's just the CPU
won't be so scheming as a human player would be. Typically, if you get to close
to the Emperor, he will throw either a Flare or a Thunder Crest (which can only
be cast and hit on the ground and on grounded targets). If he hits you with
Thunder Crest, you WILL be hit by flare or some mines soon after.
In general, a CPU playing the Emperor is a piece of pie compared to a good
human player. To really play the Emperor, you need that human logic and
thinking that a computer just cannot do. That's about it for the Emperor.
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[III] Onion Knight [III]
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Onion Knight
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Onion Knight is a character with fast execution attacks and countless Bravery
to Brave or HP chains available. However, despite his ability to hit quick and
chain unpredictably, he has attacks that are easy to punish if he isn't
sucessful in hitting you. He can also play as either a Physical or Magic based
character so their are many different builds for this specific character.
Basically, just know that the best way to face Onion Knight is to either dodge
or block his attacks. If he fails in hitting with just about any of his
attacks, he is the easiest character in the game to punish for such a mistake.
I would like to note that every single one of Onion Knight's bravery attacks
has a chain to an HP and/or brave attack, making a successful hit from hit
impossible to break out of no matter what. Knowing this, it is simple knowledge
to just block or avoid any bravery attack he pulls out, as he has a tendency to
have a lot of cool down time after a failed hit. The same applies to his HP
attacks. He does have very few HP attacks other than chains, but overall, these
are not hard to avoid. Comet is a terrible attack and is super easy to avoid.
Do know, however, if you do get hit, you aren't likely going to be able to get
out of it. Firaga is a lobbed ball of fire that has a specific attack distance,
so if he is using it, dodge to the left or right then go in for a strike. After
the attack he falls back from recoil making him vulnerable to attacks. The last
HP attack is Wind Shear. Whatever you do, don't attack while he is using it. If
you do, you will either be sucked into the attack or be an easy target for a
counter. It does have some suck to it, so don't stay to close when he uses it.
The moment he stops the attack, go in for a hit or else he will just dodge out
of the way.
In EX Mode, he has two different variations based on what attacks he uses. If
he uses Physical attacks, he will change to a Ninja which has increased attack
speeds and much more damage output. If he uses Magic, he will turn into a Sage
which makes his magic attacks stronger. Overall, Ninja is more dangerous than
Sage imo.
Overall, Onion Knight is a pretty weak character. Because he has easy to punish
attacks, he is terrible when he cannot connect with an attack. Because of this,
playing against Onion Knight without focusing on evasion rather than attacking
will make his a very very dangerous foe. His attacks have amazing chains and
can rack up damage on successful hits. He can chain into any type of attack he
wants as well. Basically, Onion Knight has nothing unless he can connect with
an attack. Be defensive and evasive. Don't try to duke it out, let him attack
first and come in for the counterattacks. Onion Knight just can't deal with
them. If he is able to get in for one attack, it is very likely you will fall
into a Wall of Pain of sorts. He can easily create massive attack combos that
not only are hard to escape but ensure an HP attack on you whenever he is
ready. I terms of humans vs CPU players, CPUs are more likely to make mistakes
than humans... But an inexperienced human Onion Knight player is also likely to
do the same.
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[III] Cloud of Darkness [III]
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Cloud of Darkness
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Cloud of Darkness is... Interesting. She has very few Bravery Attacks and a
massive pool of HP attacks. To make things even more interesting, all her HP
attacks have very similar names, making it hard to remember which is which. It
should also be noted she has some of the best ranged HP attacks in the game and
can hit you when you would least expect even if you are 100 miles away from
her.
Cloud of Darkness is the most aggressive character in the game imo. She has
attacks that make you always standing on the tips of your feet... Or the tips
of your thumbs... I mean, your thumbs in relation to the PSP... Standing on
your thumbs is not recommended mind you... Enough with the lame jokes, Cloud of
Darkness has basically one bravery attack that can chain into many different
combos depending on when the opponent presses (O). Also know she has a pretty
annoying range and unpredictable attack. She stalls a bit at the start of it,
but you aren't likely to notice the slight frame change when you face her for
the first time. It is something you should be always aware of. Also know that
her HP attacks tend to be long range and not much else. For an aggressive
character, Cloud of Darkness isn't about getting in close. When she is close,
she has very few options, one being her bravery attack which after a while will
become very predictable. Because of her distanced aggression, the beginning of
the match will likely be the hardest part. Don't let her massive array of HP
attacks obliterate you while you are busy EX Charging from a distance. Be ready
to dodge at any moment. Most of her HP attacks are fairly self explanatory in
terms of dodges, so I don't really feel I need to go into much depth about
them. However, she does have one attack that needs mentioning no matter what.
That would be her [Wrath] Particle Beam. This attack is a guard HP move meaning
it works similar to basic guards but ensure a successful HP attack on it's
block. This makes it very dangerous. While this move doesn't replace her basic
guard, this move is more or less stronger than a basic counterattack move but
has a significantly shorter guard time. That makes it a split second guard
rather than a sustained guard like you basic block. When facing Cloud of
Darkness, keep up the pressure at close range. Such distances make her vast
assortment of HP attacks mostly useless... Except for when she is in EX Mode...
When in EX Mode, Cloud of Darkness gains an ability called [Null] Particle
Beam. This makes it so any recovery time after an attack can be canceled with
an HP attack which can make a simple brave attack at close range turn into a
barrage of HP dwindling horror worthy of being called a "Blood Fest". She is
basically able to move into HP attack to HP attack without so much as any
downtime! This makes close range a bit more dangerous and long range even
scarier.
Overall, don't let her long range HP attacks keep you from reaching EX Mode in
the start of the match. Use attacks and blocks close range to obtain EX Force
more safely or be ready to enter a dodge when using EX Charge. Stay close and
know she has only one bravery attack (but it is basically many attacks with the
multiple chains it has). Cloud of Darkness is up there as one of the more
difficult opponents imo. A good human player won't let the aggro fever stop, so
stay on the evasive yet close range aggressive side. CPUs tend to play Cloud of
Darkness pretty well as well, but as with all characters, a good human player
is no comparison.
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[IV] Cecil [IV]
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Cecil
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Cecil is basically two characters in one. He can change from Dark Knight to
Paladin by using HP attacks (into Dark Knight when on ground / into Paladin
when in air). Because of this, Cecil has a very large pool of attacks and
battle styles. In general, Dark Knight Cecil excels in ground combat while
Paladin Cecil excels in the air.
In terms of bravery attacks, Cecil has a nice selection. First, I'll go over
the Dark Knight attacks. His grounded close range attack "Valiant Blow" and is
fairly quick in activation. Since it has a general attack pattern, it is fairly
easy to block. It has no twists or weird angles, just a solid attack. Next we
have has mid range ground bravery attack called Shadow Lance. This attack is
very fast and has more range than you might initially expect. Therefore, the
moment you see the dark lance flying towards you, either dodge to the left or
right or block. If it does hit, however, it does some pretty serious damage, so
keep that in mind as well. For long range, Dark Knight Cecil has the bravery
attack (ground) Dark Cannon. This attack is fairly easy to block and it looks
like a bunch of dark orbs closing in on a single position. Not much to worry
about here. For aerials, Dark Knight Cecil has a scary combo using Gravity Orb
and Nightfall. Gravity Orb is an attack that shoots a dark ball that homes in
on you. If it hits, it will send you crashing to the ground. I recommend the
standard block as it isn't super fast, but if it hits, you are likely going to
be hit by Nightfall next. Nightfall is a diving attack with serious damage
output. If you actually get hit by Gravity Orb, it's almost a surefire
Nightfall combo in the making and it's not going to make your life easy. As a
standard attack it is still something to worry about, so be sure to not stay
below Cecil when he is a Dark Knight. Last, we have Paladin Arts, which is
basically a Gravity Orb that sends you up instead of down and switches Cecil to
a Paladin. This attack is a common switch gateway and sets Cecil up for an easy
rising Paladin attack which he has plenty of. Cecil's basic ground bravery
attack (Slash) is completely outclassed by a move called Dark Step. It is your
standard sword slash but it also can be used to change Cecil quickly into a
Dark Knight. As with most bravery attacks, it is pretty straightforward and can
be simply blocked or dodged. Next is Lightning Rise. Overall, not to
threatening for us because we aren't magic casters and it has a fairly large
start up and end lag. But still know he can leap up and strike from the ground
with this. Again, not hard to avoid unless you've been blocked. For Aerials,
Paladin Cecil has Ray Wings as his basic aerial and it is your standard attack
except it makes you drop to the ground... Overall, not to useful for Cecil
unless he is in EX Mode and can switch to Nightfall immediately. The only other
notable attack is Searchlight which basically sends a white ball out to shoot
holy beams at you. Basic dodges and blocks should do. Sacred Cross is the other
Aerial, but it has low range to be all that threatening. But do know it is
Paladin Cecil's rise and fall attack making it a good move for close by enemies
from above or below. In terms of HP attacks, this is what we have... On the
ground Soul Eater is his basic HP attack. It has some good range for being
close range (double range) and does some notable bravery damage as well in its
combo. Dark Flame is the other ground HP attack and shoots a dark ball with
homing to hit you. Slow to start and is mostly dangerous if you are Free Air
Dashing Towards them. It is a slow moving magic orb though, so it isn't all to
hard to avoid overall. In the Air, Saint's Fall (a mid range HP attack) is a
must avoid. It has some awkward travel making it hard to really know if it's
going to hit you. If you are below Cecil, you should be pretty safe but if you
are an inch above or in front of him, this attack is going to hurt. It is,
however, easy to predict, the moment you hear "beneath the light..." get out of
the way. He is using Saint's Fall. Of course if you are hearing "... comes
judgment" either Cecil has missed or has landed a perfect HP attack on you. Of
course, if you see it coming, dodge to the left or right, not back, forward,
up, or down. Trust me, those directions don't work... The other HP aerial is
Paladin Force. When you see Paladin Cecil throw a light spark at a downward
angle, he is using this attack. Overall, very very easy to avoid. If the light
doesn't hit you, the attack will go no further btw, so it's a hit or miss
attack.
In EX Mode, Cecil can freely change between Dark Knight and Paladin, making his
open to many combos, especially those including Nightfall. Also know that in EX
Mode, Cecil's attacks become 1.5x more powerful.
Overall, Cecil is pretty versatile in both air and ground combat. I personally
think Dark Knight Cecil is a lot more dangerous, but Paladin Cecil has it's own
scary points as well. In general, be careful by using well placed blocks and
timed evasion tactics, but still keep up the pressure. In EX Mode, Gabranth
should outclass Cecil in pretty much everything (well in terms of attack
speed...). CPUs tend to have similar attack patterns to human players, but
human players have more tactical thinking.
===============================================================================
[IV] Golbez [IV]
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Golbez
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Golbez is a real pain in the ass no matter which character you master. He is a
highly diverse, difficult to dodge and block, magic and physical mastermind and
practically decides where you are in terms of his position. All of his attacks
are BOTH physical and magical. Technically however, the damage type is
fluctuating from each damage point he deals. Golbez also has attacks that have
multiple ranges making it possible for a close range attack to also be a long
range attack. It's not like casting a spell close to an opponent however, and
it can only be explained when actually seeing it.
Golbez is what I would call the hardest character in the entire game period to
block. It is very very very hard to perfect blocks on his fast multi-damage
type attacks. But this isn't to say blocking is useless. If you give it enough
practice, blocking his attacks are more possible than you think. One major
key to blocking Golbez's attacks is to do it during the physical attack portion
of it. If you block that, he cannot continue with the attack. More often than
not, his non-physical portion of the attack is unblockable. One other thing to
be sure to look out for though is that he is a great counterattacker. He has
attacks that activate fast and control where you will fly. His bravery attacks
are all fairly similar. One he shoots two dark magic spheres in an attempt to
trap you within the attack. You shouldn't bother blocking this, just try as
hard as you can to dodge out of the way. Another attack sends a CPU (which was
a boss in FFIV) towards your general direction and shoot scattered red laser
beams. This attack is best to block if you can time it right and is easy to
dodge if you time it right. The last two brave attacks I mostly worry about are
the ones where he smacks you then sends a CPU to shoot a laser beam from above
or below. This attack is very hard to predict and block, while entirely
possible and recommended to do so. The main reason this attacks is scary is it
can either send you straight up or crashing down. The attacks look for the most
part exactly the same so for general purposes, act as if it both attacks were
the same. I would also like to note these bravery attacks can all (except the
red laser beam one) chain into an HP attack called Cosmic Ray, further
increasing their deadliness. These types of brave attacks can basically decide
which direction you will fly, making Golbez better fit to prepare another
attack based on the direction. In terms of HP attacks, there are only a few but
they all are exceedingly dangerous. Genesis Rock is his only midair HP attack
beyond the chained attacks. This attack is dangerous both close range and long
range. The start of the attack is the more dangerous part however in that it
creates a bunch of large boulders to spin around Golbez. At the end of the
attack the boulders fly in multiple directions. If you are distanced from him,
be ready to dodge to the left or right if a bolder decides to fly in your
general direction. The next attack is called Nightglow and is a very very very
very scary attack on the ground. It tracks your position and a dark burst of
energy comes out of the ground. Be ready to dodge at the very last second and
know that it has some decent vertical range as well. All these attacks put
together make Golbez one of the most diverse and threatening characters around.
When outside of EX Mode, you need to be careful at all times. Be ready for
dodges and blocks and be sure to EX Charge any moment you can, but look out for
Nightglow as that HP attack will counter it better than most attacks in the
game. Once in EX Mode, stay on the cautious but aggressive side of things
meaning that be ready to block and dodge a lot but still keep up the physical
pressure.
When in EX Mode, Golbez basically has only one improvement other than Regen.
This is a move called Black Fang. It isn't hard to counter but if you see
Golbez charging it, attack him as soon as possible. If he gets it fully
charged, it will automatically break your bravery no matter how much brave you
had (even if it was 9999). Since the game puts an HP move notice on the top of
the screen however, you will know when he starts charging Black Fang.
Overall, Golbez is one of the deadliest characters out there. He is highly
diverse and difficult to counterattack. My advise again is to keep up
aggressive physical pressure with attacks like Rapture, Enrage, and Dual Rend
but still be on the defensive side being ready to dodge whatever he throws at
you. CPUs play Golbez pretty well imo. So pretty much every thing I talked
about above can apply to both human and CPU fights.
===============================================================================
[V] Bartz [V]
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Bartz
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Bartz can do just about anything... Really I'm not kidding one bit. He can
equip any weapon, armor, helm, and glove he wants! He also excels in close
range, mid range, long range, magic based, and physical based combat. His
attacks all derive from the other Cosmos characters in the game, but they also
have their own added perks as well (and free action and extra abilities as
well!). Not only that, but his versions of other characters attacks totally
outclass them in one way or another (except for his HP attacks). This makes
Bartz a fairly powerful character imo. He also has the fastest HP attack in the
game... In fact it is the fasted attack in the entire game! Of course it can
only be used in EX Mode... Figured it out yet? It's called Goblin Punch and it
makes Bartz a prime candidate for EX builds due to it's broken speed (instant
activation, no initial or after down time, just pure hit and use).
Human player play Bartz a million times better than CPUs, but CPUs do alright
in their own way as well. In general, it is very common to find Bartz players
tacking on EX boosting accessories. This makes EX Force collection ever more
important in this fight. Bartz will also make it hard for you to EX Charge due
to his ranged attacks and unique attack options. In general, use the fields
physical walls to create barrier between you and Bartz in the start of the
match so he wont just sling out some annoying ranged attacks that are hard to
deal with when EX Charging due to their unique properties. Moving on, he has
some very good bravery attacks. On the ground look out for Climbarrel (derived
from Clouds). It is a sliding rush attack with mid range distance. It is slow
to start up quick in action. It does massive damage as well. Next is Reel
Impulse (derived from Firion). This attack is long range and does considerable
damage so when you see it coming, either block it with good timing, or dodge to
the left or right. His other ground attacks are pretty basic and don't need
much explaining so I will skip Ascendant Lance (derived from Warrior of Light)
and Solid Ascension (derived from Squall). In midair, Storm Shot is a nice
quick mid range move (derived from Zidane) that also wall rushes. It is fairly
predictable and can be blocked fairly simply. Next is Slidehazzard (derived
from Tidus) which is a dipping attack that is very hard to avoid and insanely
powerful. If it hits, it will enter a combo and end with a Wall Rush straight
to the ground. Best blocked or evaded by going to the left or right. Last, is
Bartz best long range attack, Holy (derived from Terra) w/ chain to Flare
(derived from Onion Knight). This version of Holy is a million times better
than Terra in that if it hits, it can then immediately enter the HP chain
attack Flare. Holy shoots around five Light balls with strong homing towards
you. If you see it, dodge, or if you are confident and sure of yourself, block
it and watch it home back to Bartz. It is possible it may interrupt Flare if
one hits Bartz on its way back (a bonus for a good mistake...). Batrz also has
a good selection of very powerful HP attacks. On the ground he can use Flood
(from Terra) which is a 1.....2..3 attack, meaning the first water spire is
followed by two more spires in faster succession. This attack is extremely
dangerous and completely spamable for human players to abuse. If you see the
spire about to erupt, dodge once then be ready to dodge the second two which
rarely separate too far apart from each other. The other ground based HP attack
Bartz has is Soul Eater (from Dark Knight Cecil). This attack is fairly quick
and does some good bravery damage as well as hitting for HP damage (w/ wall
rush included mind you). It is close range, making it a good option for Bartz
when fighting on the ground with an aggressive up in your face character like
Gabranth. In the air, Bartz main HP attack is Wind Shear (from Onion Knight)
and should be avoided like the plague. You know he is doing it when he begins
spinning around crazy fast. It has some suck to it and is also able to be
navigated slowly. Never ever attack while he is doing this as he will likely go
straight into Slidebarrel for bravery damage after the two swords clash. To
counter this try to land a Dual Rend as it is fairly fast as well. Wind Shear
is a also a great Air Dash counterattack, so be sure to use those air dash
cancels a lot when facing Bartz because he has plenty of moves such as this,
Slidebarrel, and Storm Shot to counter them if you aren't controlling it's
stopping position well. Finally, we have Paladin Force (from Paladin Cecil)
which is fairly easy to avoid. Bartz will throw a spark of light down at an
angle. If it hits, he goes into a combo HP attack that ends with a Wall Rush
(although every single one of Bartz HP attacks wall rush anyways sooooo...).
Once you see him about to throw the spark, simply dodge in any reasonable
direction. It is fairly hard to connect with but also know it is a great
counterattack as well.
In EX Mode, Bartz is almost as dangerous as Gabranth. All he gains is Regen and
Goblin Punch. Well Goblin Punch is more than enough of a reason to be scared of
his EX Mode despite him not gaining any real improved properties or effects.
Goblin Punch is the fastest HP attack (and attack in general) in the entire
game. It has zero start up and minimal end downtime, making it immediate in
activation. It is close range however, making its hit area fairly small. But it
is pretty much impossible to perfectly predict and outspeed. When Bartz is in
EX Mode, a human player is more likely than not to abuse the hell out of Goblin
Punches speed to rack up HP damage. It is also comment to find Bartz builds
that give him high initial bravery and EX Mode boosters to make each Goblin
Punch deal as much HP damage as possible each time it hits (and keep him in EX
Mode longer than normal). I recommend not getting to close and using HP attacks
like Innocence (midair and ground) or Guilt. I do not, however, recommend using
bravery attacks as most are just too close in range to work as Goblin Punch is
basically a block, bravery attack, and HP attack in one without any downtime
period.
Overall, Bartz is a pretty powerful character with many diverse attacks (all of
which are pretty damn good and better than the attacks they derive from) and
unlimited equipment options. Bartz is about as customizable as it gets and he
is one hell of a challenge for Gabrath when using an EX Build as well to abuse
Goblin Punch's broken speed. CPUs won't play as tactically as human players,
but CPUs also are not bad at Bartz one bit either. Be careful and know his
attacks come packed with extra abilities such as counterattack and midair
evasion boost as well as his own spins on some already great attacks, making
him more diverse in every area than initially thought. He is truly a jack of
all trades and a master of all arts in one. Beware!
===============================================================================
[V] Exdeath [V]
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Exdeath
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Exdeath is all about blocks and counterattacks. He has horrid speed, slow to
start attacks, and terrible jumps. However, his unmatched blocks and counters
make him one of the most dangerous characters to face.
You can bet just about anything that players are going to stick to the standard
blocking attacks; High Block (red block that can be held down for longer
duration), Mid Block (Blue pentagon shield that blocks bravery attacks), Low
Block (green shield that reflects magic attacks), and Omni Block (yellow burst
block that can guard against any attack). Whenever Exdeath makes a successful
block with any of these moves, he gains the ability to activate any Brave or HP
attack he wants and its start up time will be reduced to practically zero. That
means if you are in close when it happens, you will be hit hard with a brave
attack or an HP attack.
<<< DLYantra says >>>
"While he does have a large number of attacks from which to
choose, he is limited. BRV: Close: Hurricane: Tornado looking attack with
knockback and minor suction, which can be used twice in EX Mode Close-Mid:
Sword Dance: Melee attack that can be used twice (four times in EX Mode). The
first hit cannot be EX Guarded, so be careful. Long: Vacuum Wave: Balls of
electricity can be fired twice (four times in EX Mode). These ones will stagger
a normal block; so if you try to block the first, the follow-ups can get you.
HP: Close-Mid: Almagest: Big black ball (be careful, this has a deceptively
long range in general) Mid-Long: Grand Cross: Swirling silver balls."
Be sure to keep Exdeath on his toes, make him use guard moves when you aren't
going to hit him and punish him whenever he fails or is just plain open.
<<< DLYantra says >>>
"Be careful of RP canceling. If Exdeath uses Reverse Polarity
(RP), he can cancel it into a High Block. This High Block itself can be
canceled into a second High Block or Omni Block without any lag. So, the first
High Block may be a bait to get you to think his back is open."
In terms of what block he will use and when, it can vary highly. Do look out
for an Exdeath charging a Omni Block as it can be held down as long as the
player wishes and activates immediately after letting go. You will know because
he will glow yellow a bit and his sword will twirl in front of him. Omni Block
can activate super fast and guard against most attacks. If a human player is
doing this wait and counter strategy, just go for some HP attacks as those are
much harder to block and are less likely to be countered, especially Innocence.
The other sustained block is High Block, but that one is more or less a block
against attacks like Innocence (ground). When he has the red circle out, try to
jump behind him as he isn't protected there. When using High Block, his
direction doesn't change for the duration of the move.
<<< DLYantra says >>>
"Regarding High/Omni Block and Gabranth�s HP attacks:
Innocence: Due to the multi-hit nature and arching trajectory, Omni-Block is
very difficult for Exdeath to pull off. One option for Exdeath though is to
dodge and use Grand Cross, but the timing has to be just right. Hatred: Due to
Gabranth�s ability to control release, and Omni Block�s ephemeral nature, it
can be difficult to Omni. Guilt: The melee attack portion of this attack can be
blocked with High Block, however, the explosion is unblockable."
The last block you need to worry about is Mid block which is fairly fast and
counters bravery attacks. Again, hitting him on his downtime after a failed
block atempt is the way to go. In terms of HP attacks, the only one that is
remotely usable is Delta Attack. Delta Attack has fairly long range and can
block attacks as it's being used (well those that hit the shield created). To
avoid this attack dodge to the left or right rather than back or forward.
<<< DLYantra says >>>
"Regarding Exdeaths HP attacks: Delta Attack has the same
priority as High Block. The equippable version of Almagest and Grand Cross are
useful as punishers. Black Hole (behaves a lot like the Emperor�s Thunder
Crest) can actually be used as a combo starter for all three HP attacks due to
the suction and long duration. While Gabranth doesn�t really have any HP
attacks that are punishable by Almagest, Grand Cross can punish a missed
Innocence. One thing that may help Gabranth out in this situation is that
Grand Cross lacks vertical range; so make sure you have some good vertical
clearance above Exdeath for Innocence. Additionally, RP and Black Hole are
fairly decent offensive BRV options for Exdeath, as both are somewhat
relatively safe, and make decent combo starters� in a sense."
Overall, for humans, playing mind games to make the player make false
predictions for blocks is the best way to go.
In EX Mode, the time to activate blocking attacks such as the ones mentioned
above decreases, making his guards that much more effective. His EX Burst is
also fairly strong (and super cool looking) when done perfectly. Overall, it
just makes him better at what his already good at.
For CPUs, well... Exdeath CPUs are fairly dumb and aren't typically difficult
to face. They do tend to use moves like Reverse Polarity, which warps him to
different locations. Humans may also use this move time to time to make up for
his lack of movement speed (he's a walking tree). If the warp circle lands on
your position, you will take damage. If you make a quick dodge or block, you
can easily punish Exdeath with a Dual Rend or Rapture. The downtime after the
attack is pretty good. Other attacks have slow start up time but long distance
and big damage (Vacuum Wave; giant burst of light. Easy to block though if you
practice enough). Other than that, CPUs tend to use block attacks rarely, and
most of the time, at the wrong times, therefore are easier to punnish than a
well practiced Exdeath player.
<<< DLYantra says >>>
"RP is also a very valuable mindgame tool for Exdeath. Also,
note that Exdeath can DC out of RP right when he appears. While Vacuum Wave
can be blocked, be careful, because, if the blocked projectile makes its way
back to Exdeath, he can Block and Counter it. Also, on big arenas, Exdeath may
try to stall out Gabranth�s EX-Mode completely by using RP to create vast
amounts of space between him and Gabranth. Additionally, out of EX-Mode, he may
try to play more offensive than he is accustomed to in order to stop Gabranth�s
EX-Charging. You may be able to use that to your advantage to get a BRV
punisher in on him."
I recommend Multi-Air Slide and Omni Air Dash especially for when a human
Exdeath player uses Reverse Polarity as a way to stall Gabranth out of EX Mode.
Because the dashes are faster and you can angle their movement to the direction
Exdeath is headed, you may be able to keep him from avoiding your EX Mode.
===============================================================================
[VI] Terra [VI]
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Terra
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Terra is all about magic. She has many spells that are both strong and fast and
when she reaches EX Mode, she becomes twice as scary and twice as dangerous.
A typical Terra Player is likely to start the game spamming Meteor on the
ground. These random falling rocks are almost impossible to block and hard to
avoid. Stay out of the strike zone for best protection. Meteor is likely her
best move as it can easily combo with any of her other attacks if it hits.
Moving on... She may use an attack Holy (five light balls fly towards you and
have a lot of homing power) which is dangerous if any one of the balls hits. If
it does, she can then chain into flare and then Ultima (HP attack). This attack
is best blocked, as a successful block of this attack will make if fly back and
home on her, dealing increased damage. Otherwise, just dodge it and get in
close. At close range, Terra has very few options. One is her Brave attack
Blizzard Combo, which is actually a very fast and powerful move. Another is
Tornado. If you see her beginning this move, dodge back many times to avoid
being sucked in and taking some brave damage followed by HP damage. Another HP
attack to look out for is Meltdown, which has three versions based on how long
it is charged. The short charge is a fast mid range burst of flame. The second
occurs the moment she says "with this power" and is much much larger, slow to
move at first then accelerates and has homing. Dodge it the moment it nears on
you! The Third Version is super large and super fast but has no homing but
rather bounces off walls and such. Most likely, you will see the second version
the most so be careful. On the ground, Terra has an HP attack called Flood
which also tracks you and is easily avoided by dodging quick twice as it
creates a 1...2.3. bursts of water spikes. It is best to actually see it than
it is to explain. The last moves that you may see are Thundara, which is easy
to dodge out of (and you'll know when she uses it). The other is Blizzara,
which is a large super fast ice projectile. If you Air Dash into it, it should
bounce of however, and if not, blocking it or dodging left or right should do
as it has a straight path.
In EX Mode, Terra gains the ability to cast spells twice in a row, making moves
like Flood, Meltdown, Holy, and Blizzara much more dangerous and hard to avoid
or block. Be super careful and be ready for a second attack chained into the
first.
CPUs play Terra fairly well and will use all sorts of attacks and moves. They
are less likely to spam attacks however, which is nice, and should overall be
pretty similar to human players. The best strategy when facing Terra is to stay
close and apply pressure in EX Mode. If you are mid to long range away, her
attacks are a bit harder to deal with. CPUs may use attacks like Fire which is
a ground move with homing, and Graviga, which is easy to avoid. As soon as the
dark ball begins to fall over your head dodge in any direction. Overall, just
keep up pressure close range and be ready to dodge and block a lot as her
attacks are all very dangerous. Keep an ear open for her voice as you can
predict her moves based on what she says. "Get away" is Blizzara, "sorrowful
waters" is Flood, and there are many more. Over time, you should be able to
recognize what she is doing just off what she says. That's it for Terra.
===============================================================================
[VI] Kefka [VI]
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Kefka
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Kefka is all about confusing magic attacks. They all have awkward trajectories
and chaotic movements and many have homing (actually most do!). In general
however, Kefka's attacks can be super easy to avoid once you know how they work
and when not to dodge or block. They sometimes have delays midway through the
attack or do things that are not typical for your basic magic projectiles which
is why he can be difficult for new players. But then again, a human player with
plenty of experience can still fool an expert Dissidia player (actually any pro
Kefka player is seriously scary to face), so don't take Kefka lightly despite
CPUs being pretty terrible with him. A human player will also know very well
Kefka rocks at combos.
In general, you will never, an I mean never find a true Kefka player using Free
Air Dash. They always use Reverse Free Air Dash. Why? Because pretty much all
of Kefka's attacks are long range. So staying close up with him will be like
having a game of cat and mouse, the way he likes it... Perfect for us Gabranth
players (see my sarcasim...). Kefka has moves that are so easy to spam it's not
even funny (well... Kefka would think it was outrageously hysterical). He also
has quite likely one of the largest bravery attack pools in the game (well if
you count each ground and midair version). He has two Firaga attacks, two
Blizzaga attacks, two Thundaga attacks, Meteor, and Ultima, and each of these
attacks has a ground and midair version... So the total is 16 bravery
attacks... Holy shit!!! Generally, the ground and midair versions of each
attack are practically the same, so I will only need to explain eight bravery
attacks (which is still a lot). Let's start with the Firaga attacks. There is
Extra-Crispy Firaga and Waggle-Wobbly Firaga. Extra-Crispy Firaga isn't as
scary as the other verison, but it is still pretty good. Kefka will shoot three
fireballs out and then they will all close in for one hit. It often misses, but
when it hits, it hits pretty good. Overall, just dodge back as they start to
close in to avoid it or simply block it and watch them fly back at Kefka (who's
laughing now bitch!). Waggle-Wobble Firaga is very annoying as it has tracking,
fairly quick movement, and most of all can be spammed so there are a possible
three at once. It is very slow to start but once it's out, you need to keep
away from it. If it hits, you will be trapped, setting you up for a Ultima to
Lickety-Split Thundaga combo, which will put a huge dent in your bravery. Now
for the Blizzagas. Waggle-Wobbly Blizzaga is another homing move, but it can
only hit you if your on the ground (or near where it drops if done in midair).
It is very very fast, but it is also easy to avoid with a simple one-two jump.
Scatter-Spray Blizzaga is best used closer to opponent, so when you see that
giant icicle shoot from Kefka, dodge to the left or right or block it. The big
icicle can trap you and let all the tiny random shooting ice balls at the end
make an auto hit, so be careful. This move is one of his most dangerous attacks
in that it can go in just about any direction and hit you. If your right above
the icicle, your likely doomed for super massive brave damage. In terms of
Thundaga spells, Lickety-Split Thundaga is the only one that I would coin
dangerous. As you can guess from its, it is pretty fast. Kefka will shoot a
line of increasingly taller lightning bolts toward you in a straight line, the
damage and trajectory of your fall depends on the bolt that hits you size. The
bigger, the more you fly up. The other, Zap-Trap Thundaga is really slow to
start and hart to hit with but can go on for about as long as you don't hit
Kefka. If you see random bolts everywhere, fly to Kefka and knock him silly
(well he is already silly... Actually he is diabolically insane!). Meteor is
similar to Terra's in that rocks fall, but Kefka's is actually more guided in
that four large balls fall in a square and then home in on you for massive
damage. This attack is fairly good but it can be avoided by simply dodging out
of the square of the attack (it does center on you btw). Last, but not least,
Ultima is one of his best attacks. You know he is using it when you hear "be
careful." A tiny little wisp of a spell will go towards you for a short bit.
Looks harmless right? Wrong! In moments the wisp turns into about three large
Ultima burst attacks. This attack is a wonderful move for hitting grounded foes
as the blast radius is pretty large. If you see Ultima coming, just run away.
It does massive damage. Ultima, however, is also a fairly close range move, so
you need not worry from afar (but you need to worry about many other attacks
from afar). Kefka has a slew of HP attacks that are all quite annoying. One is
Havoc Wing, which is a super fast attack and a superb Free Air Dash
counterattack move. When flying toward Kefka, always remember the Free Air Dash
cancels I talked about earlier in the guide. If you see him back flip, he is
going to use this move, so if your close dodge to the left or right, not back.
Hyperdrive is a ground attack that is slow to start, can be charged, and fast
in approach. It does go in a straight line so if you see him using it, dodge to
the left or right. Trine is another annoying HP attack. This attack looks like
a bunch of triangles circling on you. Jump, dodge, or air dash out of the
triangle circle to avoid the attack. Personally, this attack is really
annoying. Now comes the worst for last... Well, if Kefka is distanced from you,
your in big trouble with this one. It is called Forsaken and is a slow to start
infinite attacking HP attack. Basically, it charges then Kefka releases a UFO
type of object that drops exploding balls down at you. It will continue to
follow you and drop bombs as long as Kefka holds down ([]), so it is possible
for him to gain a nice chain of HP attacks one after another. The best way to
stop this attack is to simply Air Dash towards Kefka and hit him with a quick
Rapture or Dual Rend. Since the downtime for getting out of Forsaken is long,
you are more than likely not to have trouble hitting him. The trouble is making
it to him. More often than not, Kefka players will use Forsaken to make EX
Charging in the matches start just about impossible. So be careful and try to
stay as close to Kefka as humanly possible.
In EX Mode, all his attacks become more chaotic meaning more awkward movements,
more projectiles, more magic rebounds, etc. He also gains the ability to Glide,
which make it easier for him to gather EX Force and move around the stage. When
Kefka is in EX Mode, the battle does become more hectic than before.
In general, Kefka is a long range master with attacks that pretty much want to
hit you no matter what. I find human Kefka's exceedingly dangerous while CPU
Kefka's a complete joke. Stay close to Kefka, don't let him gain the distance,
and keep him from getting into combos with Waggle-Wobbly Firaga. Kekekekeke...
===============================================================================
[VII] Cloud [VII]
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Cloud
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Cloud is pretty much all about hard hitting, wall rushing, high risk high
reward attacks. He is the second most aggressive character in my opinion next
to Cloud of Darkness. His attacks are generally pretty slow, but a good Cloud
player is going to make that lag seem like it isn't even there. His attacks
deal super massive damage and can instantly turn the tides of the match
quickly, especially in EX Mode where all his attacks can guard break!!!
Cloud has a few notable attacks that need explaining the most. Anything not
mentioned is either super close range and easy to block or has no amazing
proporties. The two most dangerous attacks are Slashing Blow w/ chain into
Omnislash Version 5 and Sonic Break w/ chain into Finishing Touch. Omnislash
Version 5 is arguably one of the best combo attacks in the entire game and one
of the best HP attacks in the game as well. Finishing Touch is also pretty good
but harder to connect. These attacks are actually fairly quick and can be
turned into an HP attack as you can see. For most attacks cloud has, blocking
is the best way to destroy him. If you can block the attacks, and it should be
somewhat simpler than other characters because they have some initial lag,
Cloud isn't going to get anywhere. However, also know a good Cloud player
thinks the same way, as blocking is a surefire way to enter a counterattack
that will likely crush the opponent into space dust... The other special
attacks Cloud has are the magic attacks, Fire, Fira, and Firaga. Overall, these
attacks are not the best, but they allow for Cloud to have some long range
options. Most notably, Firaga shoots three large balls of fire in different
directions. The best way to approach any one of these attacks is to simply
block it and see if it will come back and hit Cloud. One last long range attack
is Blade Beam, and like his other attacks is best to just block or dodge out of
the way. Other than these attacks, his other bravery attacks are pretty simple
and recommended to be defended against by blocks. His HP attacks are very
limited, but his combo HP attacks generally make up for it. Braver is a aerial
attack that shoots Cloud toward the opponent. If is fairly easy to predict but
can still be hard to evade if you don't time yourself right. Braver is also a
superb guard break attack, so when guarding, look out. Next we have Cross
Slash, a ground based HP attack. This attack is very very slow, but super
powerful. If you see it coming, get out of the way, wait for Cloud to finish
his attack and come in during his downtime. It consists of three large swings
of his Buster Sword, and is fairly easy to recognize. The last HP attack is
Meteorian, and this one is hard to avoid imo. Meteors will fall at an angle in
your direction and the move has generally good range. If you see it coming, get
out of the way as soon as possible by dodging to the left or right. In general,
a good Cloud player focuses on blocks and counterattacks as they provide easy
and massive attacks without the risks of being blocked themselves. So be wary
when fighting Humans and be sure to not be the one one on the offense but the
one on the tanking defense (blocking and making use of downtime). Also I would
like to mention Clouds attacks usually Wall Rush, so be careful.
In EX Mode, Cloud is unstoppable and makes blocking pointless. He gains the
ability to guard crush with any attack meaning bravery attacks. This makes
Slashing Blow with chain to Omnislash Version 5 impossible to stop. He also
gains an damage increase the more HP he has, so his hits will become even
harder. My general rule of thumb is to either avoid Cloud like the plague until
he gets out of EX Mode or go aggressive like never before. Likely, because
guard crush negates the worries of failed attacks, Cloud is going to go all out
and use blocks much less making and make an aggressive fight on your part a
little safer... But it can also backfire to the point where he is doing all the
hurt instead... So be careful as to how you approach him during this phase. Use
fast attacks like Enrage and Dual Rend to out speed Clouds feeble attempts to
kill you with a single attack.
Overall, Cloud is a character all about hard hits. Be defensive and try not to
be the one being counterattacked as Cloud makes more use of them than you can.
Generally CPUs don't have the same mindsets so they will focus less on defense
making them easier to face... But also know it takes a lot of skill to really
master Cloud being that he is slow and powerful. However a lot of players enjoy
using him because of his aggressive gameplay and powerful finishes, making him
a good choice for beginners but not for the long run as they soon realize he is
easy to block and slow. Only if the player begins to grasp using blocks and
counterattacks themselves as well as Clouds weaknesses and strengths can he or
she truthfully be called a "Cloud main."
===============================================================================
[VII] Sephiroth [VII]
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Sephiroth
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Sephiroth is the king of mid range attacks. With his incredibly long Katana,
Masamune, there isn't a such thing as close range attacking for Sephiroth.
Because of this, Gabranth has a little competition in terms of mid range
attacking. Gabranth has a nice selection of mid range attacks, but compared to
Sephiroth, it is laughable. Sephiroth has generally powerful attacks that not
only provide him many directions to hit his opponent, but allow him to enter
cruel combos on successful hits.
In general, Sephiroth has a strong bravery game but an incredibly weak HP game.
The reason is that almost every single one of his HP attacks are incredibly
predictable, thus easy to avoid and hard for him to connect. In general, if one
bravery attack hits, he can often enter another attack by dodge canceling and
immediatly using a new attack. Because of this, always be ready to dodge even
while taking damage to avoid annoying and possibly endless combos that can rack
up bravery to 9999 very quickly. Sephiroth also has a good number of attacks
that end with either Chase or Wall Rush, so know that his assaults aren't often
over once the attack is done. To start, most of Sephiroth's basic bravery
attacks, such as Reaper (ground attack), Oblivion (aerial attack), and Sudden
Cruelty (aerial attack) are mid range, so always know that it doesn't take much
distance for Sephiroth to attack. Be ready to block or enter your own midrange
attack to cancel the strikes and gain the upper hand. Fervent Blow and Godspeed
are both very similar attacks in that he swipes his sword to try and connect
with you. If he does, he enters a longer combo ending in a Wall Rush. Because
Sephiroth has many mid range moves that are quick and give Wall Rush, he can
create a Wall of Pain fairly easily, so be careful. Better yet, give him a Wall
of Pain yourself if you can. Sephiroth has a long range bravery attack called
Shadow Flare. This attack has four dark spheres collide into your position.
Overall, it can be blocked pretty easy or avoided, but also know that this
attack makes combos for just about any other move very easy for Sephiroth if it
hits. For HP attacks, Sephiroth has a good number of attacks. However, I find
these moves super easy to avoid overall unless he just landed a perfect block
one of your attacks. For example, Sephiroth's trademark move Octaslash is a
slow attack to start that does great bravery damage and ends with a wall rush.
This attack is an amazing counterattack (meaning he blocked your attack and
strikes back while your staggering). It has mid range reach and can more often
than not be avoided by a simple dodge to the left or right. This move comes in
both ground and aerial versions as well. One other attack that is a great
counterattack move for Sephiroth is Scintilla, which is a guard HP attack. That
means this move blocks your attack and comes back with an unavoidable
counterattack if it works. Overall, just be wary that he has this move and try
not to use predictable moves such as Relentless Lunge or Vortex of Judgment.
This attack also has ground and midair versions. Hell's Gate is an easy aerial
HP attack to predict and escape from... But if it hits, you're pretty much
screwed (unless their is a vortex trap below you... It will save you and you'll
know why in a minute). This attack is slow to start and has Sephiroth fall
right on top of you trying to pierce you and send you crashing to the ground
with him. If you see the indicator at the top of the screen that he is using
this, simply get out of the way through dodges or Omni Air Dash if you have it.
Inversely, Heaven's Light is an aerial HP attack that rises instead of falling
like Hell's Gate. In my opinion, it generally is pretty easy to avoid. Again,
just dodge once you see the indicator at the top of the screen for it... Or use
Omni Air Dash if you have it. Last, but not least, Sephiroth has Black Materia,
which is a charging ground HP attack. Depending on how long Sephiroth charges
the attack, he can either have a small area attack, moderately fast mid area
attack, or a super fast larger area attack. Either way, it is best just to get
out of the way the moment you see it. It has some pull in force to it, so it is
a good idea not to be too close to Sephiroth while he is charging it or you'll
take some easy HP damage. Overall, however, it is a very hard attack to connect
so it isn't necessarily a move you need to fear all that much.
In EX Mode, Sephiroth gains the ability to Glide (making him better at moving
around the stage and collecting EX Force floating around) and the attack
Heartless Angel. This attack must be held for a pretty long time for it to
actually take effect however. If it works, your bravery will drop to 1
immediately. Overall however, it is super easy to counter and has a lot of
trouble really doing much of anything. Overall, Sephiroth's EX Mode isn't all
that dangerous (except for the critical boost every character gets from it).
Overall, Sephiroth is pretty manageable. He has a slew of mid range bravery
attacks that make for incredible combos (and even more so for human players
using dodge cancels). Overall, once you reach EX Mode, you should out speed
just about all of his attacks with your own mid range attacks such as Rapture,
Enrage, and Dual Rend.
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[VIII] Squall [VIII]
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Squall
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King of combos and Wall of Pain, Squall is a fairly common opponent to find
among human players. Because of his simple yet effective playstyle, he attracts
beginner and expert players alike to his roster of fancy attacks and annoyingly
hard to escape combos. If there is one attack (or two) in the game that has a
Wall of Pain like any other, it is Upper Blues and Beat Fang, attacks that
takes a whole new meaning to "piledriver." Squall is one of those character
whom anyone can play effectively, so be careful when facing him.
Let me just get this out straight right away so I don't have to blab on all
that long. All of Squalls Magic attacks (Tunder Barret, Blizzard Barret, Mystic
Flurry, and Fusillade) are either super easy to dodge or block or are just not
seen too often among good human players. That leaves us with a smaller pool of
bravery attacks to cover. First off, lets talk about Upper Blues (ground
attack) and Beat Fang (midair attack). These two attacks are very similar (Beat
Fang is faster), it has Squall swing his Gunblade hitting you up, then he hits
you with a flurry of downward strikes before finally sending you crashing to
the ground for Wall Rush damage. These two moves can Wall of Pain like no
other. After finishing the attack, there is only a split second where you can
either dodge or block to avoid a second strike from either attack again. This
process can repeat until either you get out of it, or Squall goes in for a
finish. Be careful at close range with Squall, and try to use attacks that a
fast when facing him like Dual Rend, Enrage, and Rapture. If you know he is
going to do it, block block block block block!!! If you do, you can try and
start your own Wall of Pain with Dual Rend (lol Squall got WoPed!!!). His other
ground bravery attack is Solid Barrel. While this attack isn't as good as Upper
Blues, it is still very fast. It is close range, keep that in mind as well. To
avoid it, just block like normal or dodge. You should just try and block any
bravery attack Squall tries to give. The other aerial attack that is pretty
good is Heel Crush. This move is slow to start but fast in action and is a
diving attack that tries to crash you into the ground. This move can set up a
Wall of Pain with Beat Rush or Upper Blues as well. Simply, if your below him
and in mid range of Squall's position, just get out of the way or be ready to
block. Now on to the HP attacks. First, lets talk about the ground move Fated
Circle and the aerial move Aerial Circle (which are basically the same but
Fated is horizontal and Aerial is vertical). This attack has a short lunge at
the start (well at least Aerial Circle does), and has a spinning move that
makes a red circle. This attack is pretty easy to dodge, just don't dodge into
Squall. Next is Rough Divide. This attack has a ground and aerial version, but
they are basically the same (but I think most agree the aerial version is many
times better). This attack is super long distance, so never assume Squall can't
hit you from afar. This attack is slow to start and fast in action but still
fairly easy to dodge (a bit harder in the air for some reason). Just don't
dodge back from his flying direction. Next is Blasting Zone (a ground move).
This move is one of his better HP attacks. Squall slashes his sword down and a
tall stream of red light comes rushing towards you. If you see him using this,
be ready to dodge to the left or right as soon as the red burst comes out and
nears you. If your in a corner, Squall may be able to Wall of Pain with this
move, which isn't nice... Be careful. Lastly, we have Revolver Drive. This
attack isn't hard to avoid and is basically a slow rushing attack. Just dodge
and you'll be fine.
In EX Mode, Squalls attacks gain more range and more force. By force I mean
that some of his bravery attacks may now be able to guard break! In EX Mode,
Squall can be pretty tough to face and his attacks are even better at creating
Wall of Pains from a longer distance. Just be careful and be aware that blocks
might not always work now and that his attacks have additional range.
Overall, Squall just loves to hit you to the ground. With Beat Fang, Heel
Crush, and Upper Blues, Squall has a good arsenal of attacks that can create
Wall of Pains. Have your finger on the (R\ trigger and be ready to block
anything. Don't let Squall overwhelm you, stay calm, and dish out some pain
with your own speedy attack in EX Mode such as Enrage and Dual Rend.
===============================================================================
[VIII] Ultimecia [VIII]
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Ultimecia
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Ultimecia is a mage based character with extremely non standard magicks. She
doesn't cast Flare, Holy, Fire, Blizzard, or Thunder like most mages, but her
own very strange projectiles. She excels at long range attacking but she also
has her fair share of mid range attacks as well. To be honest, she is the least
predictable character in the game right along with Cloud of Darkness in terms
of attacks. Maybe it is because I don't like playing her one bit, but who
knows...
I don't see too many Ultimecia human players out there for some reason (maybe
they just don't like her playstyle like me). She has three bravery attacks and
three HP attacks, each having a ground and aerial variant (except the HP move
Great Attractor). Her first bravery attack is called Knight's Sword. This
attack allows her to attack up to 12 times by throwing small daggers in your
direction (they have mid range however). This attack is really hard to block
and predict, so I recommend sticking to dodges on this one. Next we have
Knight's Arrow. This attack can be done in two ways. One comes in the form of
up to 24 flying arrows heading in your direction (easy to avoid overall, just
dodge or block them), or if held down, creates two pairs of six arrows that
stall in the air for about six second, then come speeding toward you. The
second version deals less damage but is much harder to avoid. This is likely
her best bravery attack. The last bravery attack is Knight's Axe. This has a
bunch of projectiles that fly toward you and if they hit initiate a chase
sequence. Dodge with good timing and you should be fine. If the opponent
decides to hold down the (O) button, a large axe will come flying toward you
that will ricochet off the walls up to three times. This attack is easy to
block and more often than not, hits Ultimecia back in the face. For HP attacks,
Ultimicia has more aerial options than ground. First we have Shockwave Pulsar,
which is like a grenade. It can be charged, but is faster when not. If you see
this attack coming, just get out of the way. There isn't much else to say about
it. The next one is Great Attractor, which is basically a stupidly slow attack
that requires a bit of charging. If she is charging some floating orbs, go in
and hit her with a Dual Rend or something. That should shut her up. Last, she
has Apocalypse. This move creates a runic circle in the air that, if held, will
try to track you and explode. Of let go early, it will explode when it was
left. This attack has a lot of horizontal and vetical range, making it her best
HP attack. Be careful of this attack as it is fairly difficult to dodge when
your close to her. More often than not, if you keep up close physical pressure,
this move wont see the light of day. If you do see it, either Omni Air Dash (if
you have it) out of the way, or dodge like you have never dodged before.
In EX Mode, Ultimecia gains the attack Time Crush. If you see the indicator for
this, go in and hit her with something fast. It must be held down for quite a
period of time however, but if it works, your movements will stop for a period
of time, giving Ultimecia the time to have her way with you however she wants.
Overall, not a dangerous attack unless your stupid slow.
Ultimecia has a lot of attack that more often than not, are better to dodge
than block. She has a bit of down time after her attacks, so make use of that.
Again, just be careful and be ready to dodge at any moment, her bravery attacks
are hard to predict and she can be a pain in the ass sometimes. CPUs and Humans
probably play them fairly similarly. There isn't all that many attacks for her
to choose from.
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[IX] Zidane [IX]
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Zidane
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Zidane is the king of aerial combat. He is also the quickest (best runner and
jumper) in the game as well as having the second fastest HP attack in the
entire game (only bested by Bartz "Goblin Punch"), "Free Energy". Zidane is a
prime choice for many human players because he has a wide variety of bravery,
HP, and chained bravery to HP attacks. His attacks are also incredibly fast,
making his aggression levels one of the highest in the game (below Cloud of
Darkness and Cloud). While he may be the king of aerial combat, he isn't to bad
on the ground either. However, his attacks do not generally deal massive damage
like many of the other characters, making his attacks not as threatening as
others.
Zidane has a large pool of attacks that can chain into the HP attack Meo
Twister; Swift Attack (ground and midair), Rumble Rush, and Tempest. Meo
Twister is usually the way Zidane is going to get HP damage. But he does have
some other HP attacks that are quite powerful and hard to avoid. For the most
part, all of his bravery attacks (excluding Solution 9 and Scoop Art) are
similar in approach and strategy. Swift Attack (both ground and midair) are
close range and fast. If you see him about to take a swipe at you from close
distance, this what he's using. Rumble Rush is a rushing mid range ground
bravery attack. If Zidane is on the ground and rushing towards you, block and
counterattack this move to avoid any chains to Meo Twister and the such. Storm
Impulse is a mid range aerial attack that has a quick dash forward with a
spinning approach. Two other bravery attacks that Zidane has are Tempest and
Vortex. Tempest is an attack where Zidane throws a knife at a downward angle to
hit you (and can chain to Meo Twister). Vortex is pretty much the inverse in
that it is an upward angle spinning approach attack. Both attacks should be
dealt with either dodges or blocks. Zidane does have some long range attacks,
but they aren't all that good. Scoop Art is easy to avoid and block while
Solution 9 is just inaccurate. For HP attacks Zidane has a good selection.
Tidal Flame is a ground HP attack that has homing. It isn't all that good
however as you can easily dodge it by simply jumping. The other ground HP
attack is Stellar Circle 5. This move has really tiny range horizontally and
decent range vertically. However, overall it just isn't all that good. The only
thing it does good is having an attack to counter uncontrolled Free Air Dashes,
but Free Energy is much better. Speaking of Free Energy, this aerial HP attack
is the second fastest HP attack in the game next to Bartz EX Mode Goblin Punch.
Free Energy looks like a rune in front of Zidane shooting a quick spark
forward. It has short range overall and is best avoided by dodge back, left, or
right. Another aerial HP attack Zidane has is Grand Lethal. It has some good
range and makes Zidane glow pink before launching toward you. To avoid it, just
dodge to the left or right as soon as he starts to near you during the attack.
It does have some minor tracking and can be difficult to avoid at times.
Lastly, Shift Break is Zidane's long range midair HP attack. This one is easy
to avoid if your not staggering. It is a combination of lightning strikes and
water spires erupting in your general area. To avoid, free air dash out of it
if you can or dodge out of the attack area. You should be able to figure out
its area by its appearance.
In EX Mode, Zidane basically gains ridiculous numbers of jumps. Not all that
useful really. The only thing you really need to look out for when Zidane is in
EX Mode is his increased critical hit rate and his EX Burst (which is commonly
used after a Free Energy).
Overall, Zidane truely shines in midair combat. His ground attacks are highly
limited and not all that amazing (especially his HP ground attacks). He excels
in high speed strikes, so having your finger on the (R\ trigger at all times
should make you better prepared to dodge and block attacks. If you find him to
be too quick to block, use dodges instead. Just know you can't get Riposte and
other benefits without blocking. I don't recommend slower attacks like
Relentless Lunge or Vortex of Judgment as Zidane is just too fast and may
likely out speed your attacks (unless he tries attacking you from the front
while using Relentless Lunge). At matches start, you may need to stay on a
higher defense to gather EX Force from blocks and bravery attacks. Just don't
let him get all over you because he is pretty damn fast.
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[IX] Kuja [IX]
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Kuja
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Kuja is one hell of a magic caster. He has many powerful hard hitting attacks
with many variations based on his distance from you. He has the ability to
Glide, making him great at gathering EX Force and traveling across the field.
In my opinion, Kuja is the best magic based character in the entire game, but
I'm sure others would argue against me. He is unique as a magic based character
in that he performs equally as effective at close range as he does mid to long
range (if not better!!!). Because of this, he is better equipped to fight from
any distance rather than just close or long range, making him a field
controlling opponent who has no problems switching from close quarters to
distanced fighting. He is, however, fairly weak in terms of damage, but his
wide arrangements of attack combos, quick moves, and easily transitioned
attacks make up for it most of the time.
I would first like to note that Kuja can move while performing most of his
bravery attacks due to his floatiness. So know he is always moving and not
stationary unless he is using an HP attack. Kuja has a great selection of
bravery attacks that are all fairly amazing (except Ring Holy, which is just
plain slow, easy to block, and basically a waste of a move for Kuja. We will
also skip this move because it sucks so much. If you can't defend against it,
you probably need to rethink your Dissidia skills...). All of attacks contain
Holy or Flare based magicks and can be used either midair or on the ground. He
also has one Holy and one Flare based close range, mid range, and long range
bravery attacks. His close range attacks are Strike Energy and Burst Energy.
Strike Energy should be considered a close to mid range attack and comes in the
appearance of Kuja towing forward and back balls of Holy which try to get you
closer. On successful hits, he can perform different attacks based on his
distance from you. This attack is very fast and can be hard to block at first,
but once you get it down, it shouldn't be as dangerous. Burst Energy is a Flare
based attack that has Kuja create a force of flare in front of him. It is
closer range than Strike Energy but equally as fast. If is a little harder to
predict which makes up for it's loss in attack range. For mid range, we have
Snatch Blow and Snatch Shot. Snatch Blow is similar to Strike Energy (thrown
Holy balls) but is slower to start and has better range. Same strategy applies
for this attack and Strike Energy. Snatch Shot is a Flare based attack. When
Kuja uses it, he throws a couple of flare shots with an arcing motion. This
attack is not recommended to be blocked over dodging due to its quick
succession in attacks (buy you can make one flare bounce back to Kuja). If you
are above or below Kuja, you are better able to avoid this attack. Since Ring
Holy is terrible, the only REAL long range bravery attack Kuja has is Remote
Flare. This move is incredible at countering stationary targets. This makes it
easy for him to hit foes from long distance who are going through an attack
downtime. However, other than that, it is hard to connect. Just dodge the
attack, there is no reason to block it. For HP attacks, Kuja's close range move
is Flare Star. This move is a wonderful Free Air Dash counter move, so be sure
to use your Free Air Dash cancels when fighting Kuja to not fall for this
attack. This attack has a bunch of flare strike fall down in front of Kuja,
then fly up and down with a large explosion. If you get trapped by the initial
strike, you cannot escape. If you see this attack, dodge back to avoid it. His
mid range attack is Seraphic Star. This attack has minor tracking and shoots a
blue orb out a mid range distance from Kuja towards your direction (or
position). It has large sucking properties and explodes after a few seconds. To
avoid this one, just dodge out of the way and don't head in the direction of
the large blue orb of death. This move is better in midair, so be more wary
when in aerial combat. Last, we have Ultima. This attack is very hard to avoid
in that if dodged too early or too late, your screwed. This attack has a large
ball come above your head and then drops many tiny balls that then explode into
an ultimate Ultima lightshow. The moment you see it above you, dodge out of the
way as soon as possible. This attack is Kuja's favorite HP attack in that is
counters any attack with long down time, so be careful when using attacks like
Relentless Lunge or Vortex of Judgment. Kuja is also able to freely move around
while using this attack, so his ability to avoid harm while using it is pretty
good. If you have Multi-Air Slide, I recommend using it to escape this attack.
Be careful with this one.
In EX Mode, Kuja gains a boost to his Glide and gains the ability to create
minor Flares and Holys when he jumps. Overall, this isn't all that dangerous,
and Kuja's EX Mode really doesn't provide much real benefits beyond the
critical hit increase.
Kuja is one hell of a field magician. He has attacks that cover all ranges
making him a tough opponent for just about any character. CPUs play Kuja pretty
well, but tend to use Ring Holy too much (which is terrible). For the most
part, Kuja can be tricky at the start of the match because he has so many range
options against Gabranth, so try to EX Charge every moment you get and be ready
to dodge or block when you think he is about to attack. That is about it for
Kuja.
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[X] Tidus [X]
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Tidus
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Tidus is all about quick movements and evasion. Many of his attacks come
installed with an evasion start up, making his dodge options a little more open
than just moving. However his evasive attacks don't always make aggressive
fighting all too easy for Tidus to perform as his attacks have long buildups
until they actually take physical action.
Tidus has a massive and I mean "massive" pool of bravery attacks to choose
from. Not only that, but many of his bravery attacks also can be chained into
an HP attack called Quick Hit. There are five moves that Tidus has that can
chain into Quick Hit; Stick & Move (ground), Stick & Move (midair), Dart &
Weave (ground), Dart & Weave (midair), and Cut & Run. These attacks all have an
initial dodge included in their attacks as well, making them predictable when
used aggressively, but powerful counterattacks built in when used in the right
situations. Lets start with the two versions of Stick & Move. This attack
begins with a dodge back and ends with Tidus throwing a spinning sword forward
and back. Super easy to block if you see it coming, and it also is fairly hard
to connect with. However, if you are right in front of him attacking while he
uses this attack, he is going to get a nice hit on you. If you see him dodging
back in a different way than a normal dodge, he is going to use this move so
either press (R\ to block it or dodge to the left, right, or further back. Its
range is limited because Tidus steps back using it so dodge back is safe
usually. Next we have Dart & Weave, which begins with a dodge up and a spinning
aerial interception attack. This move is significantly harder to block than the
previous move but is still possible. If you notice Tidus jumping up, he may be
using this move so dodge quickly from where he will fall, then prepare a quick
attack like Enrage or Dual Rend. Finally, we have Cut & Run, a move that is
ground based and can cover a fairly significant distance. Again, it is similar
to Stick & Move in that he jumps back first as an initial dodge, but in this
attack, he ends with a very long rush forward at high speed then throwing his
sword up (usually to increase damage on a successful hit). This attack is best
blocked as if is fairly predictable, but if you feel uncomfortable doing that,
just dodge to the left or right as soon as he starts rushing at high speed
towards you. All these attacks make for easy HP attacks if they connect, so be
on the look out for them. There is another bravery attack that has no chain but
is super hard to dodge called Full Slide. This move is incredibly dangerous.
Tidus will launch in a dipping action attack and on a successful hit will
continue to hit you many times and ending with a possible chase. This attack is
very fast and really hard to dodge. If does have some lag at the beginning but
in general, if find it better to just dodge away. Another bravery attack you
will encounter is called Hop Step, and it is about as general as Tidus attacks
gets so not much to talk about. Generally, it is rare to find human players
using attacks such as Wither Shot and Sphere Shot, both long range moves, which
are fairly terrible as they are super easy to dodge and block. But you may find
CPUs using them... Overall, don't worry about any Blitzball attacks other than
the HP attack, Jecht Shot. These bravery attacks are just horrid in both damage
output and accuracy. Now for HP moves, Tidus has some interesting moves, but
all of which are very slow to start. The first is Energy Rain (both ground and
Aerial). Tidus will try to hop on your head and if he hits will hit you with
some... well... energy rain! This attack is easy to avoid and if he misses,
lags a bit making him a sitting duck for about a second (he will say "whoa whoa
whoa" btw on a miss). The next HP attack is a ground move called Spiral Cut.
This attack is scary but slow to start. The attack has Tidus somersault forward
hitting with a sword a couple times and ending with a slam. This attack is
almost always used during a standard dash as if hides the initial lag. The
moment you see him start to somersault, dodge out of the way immediately and
keep away from the rest of his attack. If it hits, if will deal some good
bravery damage and HP damage. The next HP attack is Charge & Assault. This move
is an aerial move that has a long start up time but makes Tidus launch himself
forward fairly far in many forms of dips and minor arcs. This move is easy to
predict but a dangerous counterattack. Overall, just dodge out of the way if
you see it coming. The last attack is called Jecht Shot. This is Tidus's long
range HP attack. It has some long start up time but a quick shot in the end
similar to standard Meltdown on Terra but a lot larger in size and distance. If
it hits, he will bombard you with more blitzballs and end with a final powerful
hit. This attack is like many of his other HP attacks easy to predict but a
scary counterattack. Be sure to dodge as soon as he kicks the ball.
In EX Mode Tidus gains a super massive speed increase making him the fastest
character in the entire game. He also gains a damage increase the higher his HP
total, so look out if he is full of health. He also gains added invincibility
time for his dodge attacks (not lengthened dodges but more protection time
during them) similar to Evasion Time Boost. One last thing that has no effect
for Gabranth is he is able to reflect weak projectiles and magics while he is
running (and he covers ground faster than you can say "oh my god he's
coming!!!"). Again, nothing to worry about for this bonus, but the others can
significantly improve his damage input and evasive-counterattackiness (not a
word... I made it up).
Overall, there is a lot to cover for Tidus as you can see, but as long as you
can predict his attacks, you will have no trouble. Just be sure to not fall for
his dodge attacks as they can put a huge dent on your bravery and HP (because
of Quick Hit).
===============================================================================
[X] Jecht [X]
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/294_0/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jecht
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jecht is completely devoted to charging, lengthy comboes, and high reward
attacks for hard input commands. I would personally like to say, I can't play
Jecht very well at all. Any human player who can remember all the timings
and/or inputs for his attacks has spent a good deal of time. CPUs play Jecht
way too well because they always perform perfect inputs for these rough
attacks. So overall, just be aware that Jecht isn't an easy character to get
down, play against, or fully figure out. Jecht does have a small selection of
moves however, making him pretty predictable after facing him a bunch of times.
Human Jecht players either can play Jecht terribly or @#$%ing amazing... If
it's the latter, well good luck (well luck is a bad term... More like hope you
don't lose or get owned). Jecht pretty much relies on blocks to get in attacks,
similar to Cloud. However, Jecht gets a special bravery attack that basically
make his standard block obsolete. This is Jecht Block. This move can actually
block most physical HP attacks and a few magic HP attacks as well!!! It has a
longer delay if it doesn't block though but the reward and speed of it makes up
for it. Basically, assume every human player is going to replace their basic
block with this attack so be careful as if makes it possible for him to enter
extremely long, high damage, high critical rate, wall rushing, super manly
attacks! He has very few bravery attacks but they have many variations based on
how long the opponent hold the (O) button. For his first attack, Jecht Rush, a
ground bravery attack, at 0.3 seconds, he gains many combo options, and past
0.8 seconds, he can guard break! Either way, your in for some hurt if he is
close enough to hit you and an almost guaranteed massive loss in your total
bravery. Generally, Jecht will use this attack after a Jecht Block, so be
careful. If he plans to use the attack without Jecht Block, he is more likely
to use the guard break version. Overall, just keep a mid range distance and be
ready to block or dodge if you see it coming. The other Bravery attack Jecht
has is Jecht Stream. This move is very similar to his Jecht Rush, so I don't
think there is much else to say. Alright, now on to Jecht's HP attacks. First
we have Ultimate Jecht Shoot. This HP attack has some guard properties and is
easy to recognize. Jecht will Pull out a huge meteor, jump, and throw it to the
ground. If it hits, it does some pretty significant bravery damage as well as
Wall Rush HP damage. Overall, fairly easy to avoid, but if your above him when
he uses this... well... Lets say your not going to have a good day... Next is
Jecht Blade. It can either be used in the air or on the ground but it always
makes Jecht enter the air, so it is basically an aerial attack. This attack
requires a charge but once it starts, the opponent can enter a long chain of
commands to deal additional bravery damage then a final wall rushing HP attack.
It is fairly recognizable in that Jecht will say "C’mon C’mon C’mon, one
more!!” It has long distance reach when fully executed but requires a close
to mid range hit to really work. If your close, simply dodge to the left or
right if you see this coming. Last but not least, Jecht's final HP attack is
the aerial move Triumphant Grasp. This move is a charging move like Jecht
Blade. This move makes Jecht spike down in a fireball like charge at a downward
angle. If it hits, your going to be in big trouble as it can enter input combos
during the attack before the final strike. If you see him about to use this
move, get out of the way.
In EX Mode, Jecht gains the ability to enter combo commands without having to
hit with his attacks. Overall, not that dangerous, but his critical hit rate
will increase which is a million times scarier than him being able to activate
combos without even connecting the attacks.
Jecht is a hard character to master for human players. He tends to rely on
close range to mid range combat, and Gabranth's EX Mode attacks are many times
faster than his. Innocence (midair) is a great move to use against Jecht as I'm
pretty sure he can't Jecht Block it and it is pretty easy to land on him.
Rapture also works pretty well to counter some of his charging attacks.
Overall, CPUs play Jecht pretty damn well, so don't take them lightly as they
enter perfect combo inputs all the time. Human players can either be a joke or
one @#$% of an opponent. Be careful and beware his guard breaking attacks. It
is generally better to stick with dodges when facing him, keep that in mind. It
might make your battles a bit easier and less frustrating.
===============================================================================
[XI] Shantotto [XI]
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/297_0/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shantotto
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shantotto is a chainspeller. She has very very few damage dealing bravery
attacks... However, she makes up for it with her chainable HP magic attacks;
Air, Ice, Fire, Water, Earth, and Thunder (the six standard Final Fantasy
elements). By landing one of these elemental attacks she can forgo HP damage
and continue casting up to two more spells (the last dealing HP damage) for
maximum bravery and HP damage. Shantotto is famous for her bravery builds in
which the only thing that truly matters to her is high initial bravery and the
ability to gain bravery by easier means. This includes abilities such as EXP to
Bravery and Bravery Regen, accessories such as Force Begets the Courage (EX
Core & EX Force to BRV), First to Victory (initial EX Force and Bravery +25%),
and Hero's Seal (Initial Bravery +50%), as well as her own special character
exclusive weapon, Claustrum (Initial Bravery +40%). Of course, such builds are
not common for CPUs to use making human Shantotto players a million times more
dangerous.
Shantotto has a small list of bravery attacks, about half of which don't
actually do damage. The two that don't deal damage are called Bind and Stun
(both have aerial and ground variations). Stun is a fast attack that tries to
stun you for a second or two. This allows her to either give an easy Bio
bravery attack or a surefire HP chainspell barrage. Overall, not too dangerous
as it is easy to dodge. The other, Bind is slower to start, but has better
range. If it hits, you will be stuck (but you can dodge in place, making
Evasion Time Boost a good abillity to have on during this attack). Again, not
hard to dodge, but if hits, your a better target for HP barrages from
Shantotto. Bio is an attack that has tracking speed similar to Emperors Flare.
If it hits, it will cause to to gradually lose bravery while Shantotto gains
it. Again, not hard to avoid, but annoying if it hits. Don't block, dodge btw.
Lastly, she has two physical attacks that are super easy to block. The aerial
one, Retribution, has her throw her staff forward and back. Easy to predict,
easy to block, easy to counter. Not dangerous period. The other, A Couple of
Attacks, is her ground attack that is basically a one, two, three punch if the
player desires. Another easy to predict and block move. Overall, human
Shantotto players will likely refrain from using too many bravery attacks if
they have a focused Bravery build (and they are super scary), but if they want
to land a hit, they will always block an attack, use Bind, then use some
annoying magic HP chains. You're screwed if they work btw. For HP attacks, She
has three ground and three aerials; Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Lightning, and
Ice. If the player has less than 3000 BRV, it will be the weaker version, less
than 6000, the midpower version, anything above will be the full powered
version. Each has their own chains, so I think it would be best just to list
them out so you'll be more prepared to avoid them.
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
|##################| First in Chain | Second in Chain | Third in Chain |
+==================+==================+==================+===================+
| Fire | Fire/Firaga/ | Water/Waterga/ | Thunder/Thundaga/ |
| | Flare | Flood | Burst |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Earth | Stone/Stonega/ | Aero/Aeroga/ | Blizzard/Blizzaga |
| | Quake | Tornado | /Freeze |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Thunder | Thunder/Thundaga | Stone/Stonega/ | Aero/Aeroga/ |
| | /Burst | Quake | Tornado |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Ice | Blizzard/Blizzaga| Fire/Firaga/ | Water/Waterga/ |
| | /Freeze | Flare | Flood |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Air | Aero/Aeroga/ | Blizzard/Blizzaga| Fire/Firaga/Flare |
| | Tornado | /Freeze | |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
| Water | Water/Waterga/ | Thunder/Thundaga | Stone/Stonega/ |
| | Flood | /Burst | Quake |
+==================+------------------+------------------+-------------------+
Fire is a ground move that is mid to long range. As it levels up, the attacks
get bigger, stronger, and more accurate. Just dodge to the left or right if you
see it coming. Stone is another ground move that is static in cast. This means
it doesn't travel but spawns at a single point with no further movement (where
you are, obviously). This one is a little harder to predict and is longest in
range of all her ground HP attacks. It has some vertical reach so be careful.
If you see her using it, either dodge to the left or right, or Air Dash Towards
her if you have time. As it levels up, it gets a little bigger and more
powerful. Thunder is the last ground move, and it travels in a straight line.
It is fairly fast and if it hits, sends you into the air dealing some good
Bravery damage before the final HP damage. Again, dodge to the left or right to
avoid the bolt. Blizzard is her first aerial HP attack and shoots out a ice
projectile that can bounce off walls. It is very easy to avoid in my opinion,
so just dodge to the left or right. However, as it levels up, it gets bigger
and harder to avoid (keep this in mind). Next we have Aero, which is probably
her best aerial HP attack. It has a static positioning similar to Stone (it
being midair gives it more space to use however), but also has sucking
properties for those unlucky to be near it. It can also reflect magic attacks,
but that is no worry for us. If you see the indicator at the top of the screen,
please get out of the way as fast as you can. As it levels, it gets a little
bigger and stronger. Last, we have Water, her final aerial HP attack. This
attack has the longest range of her aerial HP attacks but is also her weakest
in my opinion. It is easy to predict and avoid. It has static positioning, so
either dodge or Air Dash towards Shantotto if you have the time.
One common build for human Shantotto players is a EXP --> Bravery build. In
this build, the opponent uses accessories that increase the EXP gained in a
match as well as Shantotto's initial bravery. If she is able to land an HP
attack on you, her bravery will skyrocket. This build is most notable in it's
ability to defeat opponents with two or three HP attacks. Be super careful when
facing this setup.
In EX Mode, her bravery doesn't decrease after a successful HP attack, which is
scary... Well, most humans focus on Bravery builds so this ability isn't that
important (or EX Mode for that matter), but for CPUs it can really change the
flow of battle. Just be careful of her HP attacks when she is in EX Mode. That
is all...
Overall, Shantotto is a character who makes great use of initial bravery as she
has highly chainable HP attacks with varying power and size based on how much
bravery she has when using them. Human players are much more dangerous to face
because of bravery builds, but CPUs play her fairly decently. Overall, a
dangerous character if she has the proper equipment, accessories, and
abilities. She is, however, fairly easy to predict and her attacks tend to be
simple to avoid.
===============================================================================
[XII] Gabranth [XII]
===============================================================================
- IMAGE: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/tACMW4t7ftQ_/images/302_0/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gabranth
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Playing another Gabranth huh? The best strategy is to get into EX Mode first
obviously. You know your attacks and should easily be able to dodge them as
well. Don't let your guard down and make use of blocks and counterattacks both
in the beginning of the match and after reaching EX Mode.
Humans tend to focus on getting into EX Mode asap as you probably know. If you
see him charging, either charge at the same time or bring some pressure and
attack him or her. If you can prevent him from getting EX Force by attacking
outside of EX Mode in the beginning, then do it. Also, be aware that most of
Gabranth's attacks do have a lunge in the beginning so be ready to block him
mid range followed by a counterattack.
CPUs are terrible Gabranth players and will waste their time a lot fighting
outside of EX Mode. If you have been following this guide, besting a CPU
Gabranth should be easy using the tips provided. You should be familiar with
your own attacks and know how they work and when they don't, so CPUs shouldn't
give you much trouble. Having a good setup and attack plan always beats the CPU
Gabranth. Their builds typically don't work as well as ours and many times
don't even include EX building items. If your playing the Story mode, this may
differ however. To sum it up, using the knowledge you know about your own
character, CPU Gabranth should a be a breeze. However, it is a true showdown to
see who has the better skills when you play a human Gabranth. Good luck.
===============================================================================
XVIII. Final Words
===============================================================================
Well, I hope you enjoyed this guide and found it helpful. Gabranth is a
character not like any other because of his EX stressful gameplay, so I hope
all this little tidbits on Equipment, Accessories, and Abilities helped. I
tried to make sure everything that could possibly be covered was (except maybe
Chaos, but that should be in one of my future edits). I added human and CPU
character strategies and Battle stages analysis to all better improve your game
overall, not just as a Gabranth player. But words alone won't make you better.
I've said it many times now but practice, practice, practice. The more you do
the better you get (hopefully). Some skills you won't get in your first try and
some techniques might not make its way into your normal gameplay right off the
bat. Just know the best practice comes from using these skills in a real match
and learning what you may have done wrong if it didn't work or what you did
that made it a successful implementation.
Good luck and have fun. If you're not having fun... Well... I don't know how to
help you with that. Thanks for reading my guide and don't forget to recommend
it if you found it useful and/or entertaining. This is Vamper62 and have a nice
day!
===============================================================================
XIX. Common Q&A
===============================================================================
Q: How good are you at Gabranth?
A: Well I have a SSS ranked Gabranth which I have beaten Inward Chaos with and
have an incredible win to lose ratio, which is extremely impressive imo. But
truly, it doesn't matter what the game says, only by playing me can anyone be
the judge of how good I am versus real players; I'm not a cocky jerk who thinks
he is the best player in the world. I'm sure there are people out there who are
clearly better than me, but at least I am the expert who wrote the guide. I
honestly don't write guides unless I truly know what I'm talking about.
Otherwise I'm just some loser who tries to come off better than he really is...
Overall, I can't really rank myself. When it comes to killing CPU's though,
well, lets just say I'm an expert at that end and there's plenty of evidence to
prove it.
Q: Who are your three "mains"? Why?
A: Gabranth, The Emperor, and Bartz. I love the Emperors playstyle a lot and
Bartz is just plain awesome. No if, and, or Bartz about it! I mostly like
Bartz because he has a fun attack selecion and a very open playstyle. But of
course, Gabranth is my favorite character above anything else. I love his
playstyle, his attacks, and how different of a character he is. Plus, he is
from Final Fantasy XII, one of my favorite games of all time.
Q: Can I play you Online?
A: Well, since I received these emails constantly for my Toon Link guide (for
Super Smash Bros. Brawl) on Gamefaq.com, I really got tierd of them and
responding the same answer. I will have to decline, sorry. I honestly don't
have the time to play everyone who emails me asking this. You would be
surprised how many people actually do email asking this question. I have a life
outside of this game you know, and I'm sorry you won't be able to play me. Play
some other people (preferably that you know), I think that is the best route.
Q: Your guide sucks balls man.
A: Well that's not very nice and if you hate it so much then tell me whats
wrong with it. My goal here is to make guides that everyone can use easily and
enjoy while not sacrificing content, quality, or visual appeal. I really do
enjoy receiving comments as to how to make it better. Please comment on the
bottom of the Playhaven.com version of this guide or email me if you must (I'd
rather not do it by email).
Q: I have a better character strategy than you! Yours is BS!!!
A: You know, if you know a better way, then either post on the Playhaven
comments section of my guide or email me (please don't if you can) and I'll
check it out. If you are right, you will get your name (or username) under a
special thanks section and I will add your strategy to the guide! Sounds like a
good deal to me!
Q: Gabranth sucks!
A: You suck!
Q: Dude, ____ Builds are so cheap! How can you make a guide telling people to
make them!
A: You know, because everyone can do anything the other player does, it is not
cheap in any way. All builds are fair no matter what people say. If you can use
the same abilities, equipment, and/or accessories as the other player it isn't
cheap. Hell, make an Anti-EX build or an EX Build yourself! It's not cheap, its
fair. If it's because certain equips take too long, well, there are ways to get
them faster. The only equips that truely take forever to get are Lunarian. All
others, even exclusives don't take too long. Sure you may spend like 10+ hours
getting them, but it all comes as part of practice as well. If you actually
can aquire such equips you have some skills in this game. Don't get angry at
people who have high level equips. And don't think people have no lives. People
sometimes do gather these equips over months of playing, you don't necessarily
have to gather them in one sitting...
Q: I have some more questions regarding Gabranth? Can you help me?
A: I'd love to. Post your question on the comments section of this guide at
Playhaven.com or try emailing me. I'd much rather prefer to get asked at
Playhaven however, I check my guides once a day for new comments. Thats how
dedicated I am!
Q: Why haven't you responded to my comment?
A: Either I'm not able to be on my computer at the moment or it is around a
year and half since my last update. I don't play the same game forever you
know... If you see inactivity on my part, it's likely that all my updates are
final and you should be able to find the information either in my guide or else
where. Just don't spam mail me or I'll hunt you down and... Well maybe not
that, but I'll block your emails and mark them as deleted mail automatically.
Also, my email has a filter, so if you use words like "deal" "insurance"
"sale" or anything else that is common in spam emails, I wont get it. Tough
luck man.
Q: Why isn't Vaan in this game?
A: Why IS Shantotto in this game? Really, I would like to know! I honestly
don't think FFXI counts as a legit mainstream Final Fantasy! It's freaking
online! And I agree Square? Why isn't either Vaan or Balthier in this game!
(Penelo in the help menu even thinks so!!!)
Q: How long did it take you to write this guide? I want to write my own guide
but don't know what it takes and requires for it to pass quality checks and
standards.
A: Much longer than you think it took to make. Making a well structured guide
as well as checking to see if everything is as helpful as utterly possible is a
time consuming job. If you would like some advice as to writing guides
yourself, I would love to help you. Helping guide writers become more
structured and graspable is my main goal as a guide writer; "To improve the
quality and standards for guide writing on gaming sites." That is why I started
doing this and why I continue to do it as well.
Q: Thanks for the guide! It really is awesome!
A: Not really a question but your welcome! It's what I do!
Q: This guide is longer than the full walkthroughs!!! Do you have no life!
A: Actually, I do and this project should be proof of it not against it. If I
actually got the nerve to get up and write this for the public, do you think
that is not living? I enjoy writing and it doesn't take anything away from my
life. I hang out with friends, go out of the house, and do work. This is sort
of a project for me to do in my past time. If this is "having no life" than
life is overated...
===============================================================================
XX. Version History
===============================================================================
Version 1.0x - January 4, 2010 - Everything has been completed for the
playhaven version. All sections complete and guide looks good. I may be making
some edits here and there in the next couple days, but mostly spell checks and
making sure it reads well and makes sense.
Version 1.0g - January 5, 2010 - Finished the ACSII format version of this
guide for Gamefaqs.com. A few minor touch ups were made to fit the format.
Version 1.1x - January 23, 2010 - Playhaven.com version edits made.
Improvements to sections, sentence fixes, and added new Exdeath matchup
information thanks to DLYantra.
Version 1.1g - January 23, 2010 - Made first round of revisions. Fixed some
bad sentences and made additional changes to explanations. Exdeath matchup
gained some edits thanks to DLYantra.
Version 1.2x - January 26, 2010 - Made some more edits. Added more Setup
information, updated some sections, and improved a few sections.
Version 1.2g - January 26, 2010 - Same as Playhaven edit. More character setup
information (huge upgrade), updates and improvements across the guide. ACSII
formatted.
===============================================================================
XXI. Special Thanks
===============================================================================
- I would first like to thank Square Enix for this wonderful game. Keep up the
good work!
- Secondly, I would like to thank Sony for the awesome PSP. It truly is a
beautiful looking system.
- I would also like to thank the Playhaven.com team for designing the guide
editor that made the guide so much easier, prettier, and more fun to write.
Also, the convert to text function really helped with the creation of the
Gamefaq.com version (except altering the tables a bit to fit whole words, but
that's okay. Not too much of a issue). You guys rock!!!
- I would like to thank Joe Epstein and Casey Loe for their helpful charts. The
equipment, leveling, and accessories tables would have taken much longer with
out them.
-I would like to thank DLYantra from Gamefaq.com for all the Exdeath
information. His input greatly widened my knowledge of Exdeath gameplay and
tricks.
- I would also like to thank the Gamefaqs.com forums for their... Interesting
posts on various topics over the months since Dissidia's release. You never
know what you may find...
- Finally, I would like to thank the Dissidia wikia for the pictures used in
this guide and Youtube.com for hosting my Gabranth: Basic and Advanced
Techniques video. Both made the Playhaven.com version of the guide that much
more awesome looking.
===============================================================================
XXII. Copyright
===============================================================================
Dissidia: Final Fantasy, characters, and logos are all official trademarks of
Square Enix (C).
This Guide is Copyright 2010 Vamper62 and may be not be reproduced under any
circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web
site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use
of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is
strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.
This guide is restricted to the following sites:
-----------------
| Playhaven.com |
| Gamefaqs.com |
| Supercheats.com|
-----------------
Copyright 2010 Vamper62
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
This guide was created at http://www.playhaven.com/.
To see the full Playhaven version with pictures and videos, visit:
http://www.playhaven.com/guides/psp/dissidia-final-fantasy/gabranth-faq/tACMW4t
7ftQ_/
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