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Bartz Klauser FAQ

by InfinitySlayer

==============================================================================

Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Bartz Klauser guide
Written and copyrighted by: InfinitySlayer

Version 0.8



To easily find particular section of the guide, just type in or copy-and-paste
the section codes below, along with their brackets.

==============================================================================
Table of Contents                                                        [TOC]
==============================================================================

1.  Introduction .................................. [INTRO]
2.  Who is Bartz? ................................. [WHO]
3.  Why Use Him? .................................. [WHY]
4.  Basic Information ............................. [BINFO]
      4-1.  Stats ................................. [STATS]
      4-2.  Equipment ............................. [EQUIP]
      4.3.  EX Mode Abilities ..................... [EXMODE]
5.  Arsenal of the Mime ........................... [ATKS]
      5-1.  Bravery attacks ....................... [BRVATK]
      5-2.  HP Attacks ............................ [HPATK]
6.  How to Fight as Bartz ......................... [HOW2]
      6-2.  Basic Tips and Hints .................. [BSTH]
      6-3.  Combos ................................ [COMBO]
      6-4.  Character Builds ...................... [CHARBUILD]
7.  Bartz Versus Other Characters ................. [BARTZVS] 
      7-1.  Warrior of Light ...................... [VSWOL]
      7-2.  Garland ............................... [VSGAR]
      7-3.  Firion ................................ [VSFIR]
      7-4.  The Emperor (Mateus) .................. [VSEMP]
      7-5.  Onion Knight .......................... [VSOK]
      7-6.  Cloud of Darkness ..................... [VSCOD]
      7-7.  Cecil Harvey .......................... [VSCECL]
      7-8.  Golbez ................................ [VSGOL]
      7-9.  Bartz Klauser ......................... [VSBUTZ]
     7-10.  Exdeath ............................... [VSED]
     7-11.  Terra Branford ........................ [VSTERA]
     7-12.  Kefka Palazzo ......................... [VSKFKA]
     7-13.  Cloud Strife .......................... [VSCLOUD]
     7-14.  Sephiroth ............................. [VSSEPH]
     7-15.  Squall Leonhart ....................... [VSSQUAL]
     7-16.  Ultimecia ............................. [VSULTI]
     7-17.  Zidane Tribal ......................... [VSZIDN]
     7-18.  Kuja .................................. [VSKUJA]
     7-19.  Tidus ................................. [VSTIDUS]
     7-20.  Jecht ................................. [VSJECHT]
     7-21.  Shantotto ............................. [VSSHAN]
     7-22.  Gabranth .............................. [VSGAB]
     7-23.  Chaos ................................. [VSCHAOS]
8.   Battle Quotes ................................ [QUOTE]
      8-1.  Beginning-of-battle Quotes ............ [BTLQUTE]
      8-2.  In-battle quotes ...................... [IBLQUTE]
      8-3.  Victory and Loss Quotes ............... [VCLQUTE]
9.  Frequently Asked Questions .................... [FAQS]
10. Contact Information ........................... [CNTNFO]
11. Version History ............................... [VHST]
12. Credits ....................................... [CRDLNFO]
13. Legal Information ............................. [LGLINFO]


==============================================================================
Introduction                                                           [INTRO]
==============================================================================

Finally, let's get started with this. I don't have much to say about myself,
besides the fact that this is my second guide here at GameFAQs. I've been 
playing Dissidia ever since it was first released in English. That means I 
have no idea what the JP version is like, lol. I do some battles with a few
of my friends who also own this game, although I wouldn't exactly call 
myself a pro. I don't suck badly, but I'm not that bad at it either.

I decided to write this due to the fact that Bartz is one of my mains in the
game, and also because of the great injustice of a lack of a Bartz guide. I'm
fairly confident in my ability of playing as Bartz, so I'm pretty sure I know
quite a bit to make this guide. 

Without any further adieu, let's go on to the actual portion of the guide.


==============================================================================
Who is Bartz?                                                            [WHO]
==============================================================================

"The world stretches before you, full of possibilities."
     ~ inscribed on Splendor of the Wind, Bartz's accessory to get his level
       100 exclusive weapon, Dorgann's Blade.


     ---BEWARE OF FFV and DISSIDIA SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION---

(article taken from Wikipedia, lol)

Bartz Klauser is the protagonist of Square-Enix's Final Fantasy V. He is a 
twenty-year-old wanderer with a fear of heights, and becomes entangled in the
quest to protect the Crystals when he helps Princess Lenna and Galuf escape a
goblin-filled area on their way to the Wind Shrine. Bartz is connected to the 
element of Wind.

Bartz was born in the small town of Lix to Dorgann Klauser, one of the 
Warriors of Dawn from the second world, and a local woman named Stella (her 
maiden name is unknown). Stella died of an unknown illness when Bartz was 
three (she said that she had been suffering from spasms, and collapsed after 
walking offscreen), leaving him to be raised by his father. Dorgann died when 
Bartz was seventeen, and it is implied from his dying wish to be buried in the
village that he died outside of the village. His parting advice to his son was
to wander the world. 

Three years later, Bartz is traveling in the Tycoon area when he rescues a 
young woman being attacked by goblins. She thanks him and tells him that she 
is looking for her father at the Wind Shrine. Not long afterwards, a meteor 
crashes and an amnesiatic old man emerges. He and Lenna decide to travel to 
the Wind Shrine together, but Bartz decides to continue his wanderings. His
chocobo stops him, however, and he goes back to help the pair fight off 
goblins again. It is at that point that Bartz decides that his father would
have wanted him to find out what was happening to the Crystals, and joins 
Lenna and Galuf. 

From there, Bartz travels with the party, which is later augmented by the 
pirate Faris. It seems unclear as to why he is the apparent leader (or at 
least the character present on the world map) of the group until he beats 
Kelger's Lupine Attack, something that his father, Dorgann, had taught him. It 
is revealed to him then that his father was one of the Warriors of Dawn, 
though he had never told his son (however, a young Bartz overheard his parents
talking, with his father asking Stella to promise not to tell Bartz about what
he did to protect the Crystals). Bartz's direct descendant became one of the 
new Warriors of Dawn 200 years later.


(taken from Final Fantasy Wikia's article)

In Dissidia, Bartz serves a different role. He searches for the Crystals along
with Zidane, and needs to defeat his enemy Exdeath before the world is 
engulfed by the Void Exdeath desires.

After Squall saves Bartz and Zidane  from the Manikins he is asked to come 
along to look for the Crystals together. But Squall states that he is more 
comfortable by himself and the three agree to split up while continuing to 
search for their Crystals. Just a moment after Bartz runs off with Zidane, he
comes back and gives Squall a chocobo feather as a good luck charm, promising
that Squall would give it back when they meet again later. 

Wishing to transform this crisis into a bit of fun, Bartz and Zidane propose 
to have a contest to see who will obtain a Crystal first. However, their 
competition was cut short as Kefka captures Bartz and fights Zidane. After 
Bartz regains consciousness, he finds himself in the hands of the Warriors of
Chaos. Overhearing a conversation between Kefka and Kuja  that Bartz's capture
was a mistake and that the trap was meant for Zidane, Bartz makes his escape. 
Later on, Bartz overhears a discussion between the Emperor, Ultimecia, and 
Sephiroth  concerning the fellow villains that fight only for destruction. At
first Bartz thinks the Emperor and Sephiroth are fighting over Ultimecia; he 
is then spotted and makes his escape, and the Emperor and Ultimecia hope that
pursuing Bartz would lead them to Exdeath, who was holding a Crystal that 
Bartz snatches away without a second thought. Bartz then runs into Golbez and
fights him before continuing to look for Zidane. 

Bartz eventually finds Zidane and is surprised to see that Squall is with him.
But when Bartz shows him the Crystal he has caught, they find out that it was 
no more than a trap that teleports Zidane to the mercy of Kuja. Bartz laments 
that all of this was his fault and Squall gives him back the chocobo feather 
before running into Exdeath. Bartz, tired of running, decides to fight and 
defeat him. After this, his chocobo feather turns into his Crystal. 

Bartz, Squall, and Zidane reunite with the other Warriors of Light and approach
Cosmos who Chaos disintegrates. Realizing that Cosmos sacrificed her life and 
that the final hope of the world is in their hands, the Warriors battle their 
respective enemies one more time before eventually defeating Chaos himself. 
After finding themselves near Castle Cornelia in the reformed world of the 
original Final Fantasy  in the game's ending, Bartz returns to his world, as 
he throws a stick and fades into a forest. As he leaves, he tells his friends
that when one is having the most fun, that is when time just flies on. 


==============================================================================
Why Use Him?                                                             [WHY]
==============================================================================

Because he copies people, as well as having a badass pet chocobo. Seriously
though, it's probably because he's one of the most fun characters to play as
Imo. He takes attacks from all characters on Cosmos' side and mixes them up to
make his own, as well as adding a few extra touches to them. 

Gameplay wise, he gets the ability to "stack moves together", meaning if you 
equip multiple moves with a bonus effect, the effects will stack. For example,
equipping multiple Wind Shear attacks (which increases your running speed by a
small amount), the tiny boost suddenly becomes a lot more noticable. He also
has quite a bit of BRV-eating comboes that can deal high amounts of damage, 
especially with critical hits in them. He has both long range and close range
options, making him an extremely versatile character in battle. His EX mode 
gives him one heck of an HP attack in the form of Goblin Punch, which I will
elaborate on later on. All in all:

PROS
+ Versatile character
+ Has quite a bit of fast attacks
+ High damage output in comboes
+ Has some makeshift BRV->HP links, which is detailed in the [COMBO] section
+ Has both long-range and close-combat options for attacking
+ Stacking abilities increase the bonuses, and can save CP
+ EX mode grants him one of the fastest attacks in the game

CONS
- Some of his attacks can be easily blocked
- Holy-spamming may annoy opponents (not sure if it's a good or bad thing =P)
- Hard to play as; not "newb friendly"
- Some attacks are hard to land, or just being plain useless


==============================================================================
Basic Information                                                      [BINFO]
==============================================================================

Bartz Klauser
[Mimic] 
      Mimics the attacks of his companions, adding his own special touches.

Character Files Description:
      A cheerful man with a strong sense of justice and the inability to 
      ignore those in trouble.
      In the original game, at his father's dying wish, he traveled the world 
      along with his chocobo, Boko.
      Free-spirited and spunky, one would never know that a childhood trauma
      left him with a paralyzing fear of high places.
      For good or ill, this too is part of his innocent, youthful personality.

==================================================
Stats                                      [STATS]
==================================================

The following tables are taken from Absolute Steve's walkthrough. Credit for 
this goes to him.

                   Stat Growth:                                               
.------.-----.----.--------.-------.--------.-----.
|Level:| HP: | CP:|Bravery:|Attack:|Defense:|Luck:|
|======|=====|====|========|=======|========|=====|
|   1  | 1000| 330|    95  |   11  |    13  |  10 | 
|   5  | 1242| 335|   118  |   15  |    17  |  12 |            
|  10  | 1545| 341|   147  |   20  |    22  |  15 |   
|  20  | 2151| 353|   205  |   30  |    32  |  20 |  
|  30  | 2757| 365|   263  |   40  |    42  |  25 |   
|  40  | 3363| 377|   320  |   50  |    52  |  30 |   
|  50  | 3969| 389|   378  |   60  |    62  |  35 |   
|  60  | 4575| 401|   436  |   70  |    72  |  40 |  
|  70  | 5181| 413|   493  |   80  |    82  |  45 |   
|  80  | 5787| 425|   551  |   90  |    92  |  50 | 
|  90  | 6393| 437|   609  |  100  |   102  |  55 |                           
| 100  | 6999| 450|   667  |  110  |   112  |  60 |                           
'------'-----'----'--------'-------'--------'-----'                           

                Movement Stats:     
            .-----------------.----. 
            |Speed (ground)   |100%| 
            |Air Dash Speed   |100%| 
            |Quickmove Speed  |100%| 
            |Jump Amount      |  1 | 
            |Jump Height      | 75%| 
            |Jump Rising Speed|100%| 
            '-----------------'----' 


==================================================
Equipment                                  [EQUIP]
==================================================

The below table is also taken from Absolute Steve's walkthrough. Credit goes
to him, once again.
                    
.-------.-------------------------.             
|Type:  |Can Equip:               |   
|=======|=========================|               
|Weapons|All Weapons              |                                          
|Head   |All Headwear             |  
|Hands  |All Handwear             |    
|Armor  |All Armor                |     
'-------'-------------------------'    


Bartz's exclusive weapons:

O-----------------O--------------O---------O----------------------------O
| Name:           | Equip Level: | Stats   | Additional abilities       |
O-----------------O--------------O---------O----------------------------O
| Chocoblade      | 50           | ATK +36 | Regen +30%                 |
| Dayspring       | 92           | ATK +63 | Regen +40%                 |
| Dorgann's Blade | 100          | ATK +68 | Regen +50%, Cat Nip effect |
O-----------------O--------------O---------O----------------------------O


==================================================
EX Mode Abilities                         [EXMODE]
==================================================

"The wind is with me!"
     ~ Bartz, upon entering EX mode.

When he goes into EX mode, his costume changes in the way that his cape gets
a bit longer, as well as turning to the color red. He also gets 3 stars 
floating above his head, which is obviously a reference to the 3 stars a 
character gets in FFV when they master a job (the Mime, in this case). The 
following abilities are obtained when Bartz is in EX mode:

--------------------

- Regen: (Always active in EX mode)
     Vigor and stamina recover little by little, restoring HP.
        Notes: Nothing much to say here. It's available for all characters in
               EX mode.
--------------------

- Goblin Punch: (Activate with R+[]) 
     Attack bravery, then preform an HP attack. If you are the same level as 
     the foe, your power massively increases.
        Notes: This is pretty much Bartz's ace move. It's fast, it's deadly,
               powerful, AND can be combo'd from a plethora of attacks. I
               could go on about how powerful this attack is, but that's what
               the attack section is for. =P
	               

--------------------

- Spellblade Dual-Wield Rapid-Fire (EX burst): 
     Adds the strength of his allies to his own job abilities for a series of
     masterful blows. ^ v < > --each directional button corrseponds to 1 hit.
        Notes: This is Bartz's EX burst, in case you didn't read the thing in
               parenthesis. It gets its name from the three skills in FFV,
               which are in its name. During the burst, you must input the
               two buttons shown in each group. There are a total of four 
               groups you must successfully input if you want to get perfect
               on it. Keep in mind that if you mess up and input a single one
               in the group, but the second one incorrectly, the burst will 
               end and consequently, you'll do less damage.


--------------------

FUN FACT: Bartz cannot have all of his Dissidia abilities in FFV at the same 
time. He would need to have the Knight's "Equip Swords" ability, the Magic 
Knight's "Spellblade" ability, the Ranger's "Rapid Fire" ability, and the Blue
Mage's blue magic. That totals 4 abilities. The Mime class allows only up to 3 
non-passive abilities to be equipped on a character at any given time (which 
is the highest number of ability slots in FFV). Credit goes to Reimu_H of 
GameFAQs for pointing this little tidbit out.


==============================================================================
Arsenal of the Mime                                                     [ATKS]
==============================================================================

This is the fun part of the guide, if I do say so myself. Anyways... I'll 
list all his BRV and HP moves here, and rate them out of 5. I'll be using the
below formatting for reviewing.

--------------------
Name of the move
--------------------
|How to get|: How the attack is obtained is written here.
|CP Cost|: Unmastered cost is listed first, mastered cost is listed second.
|AP to master|: The AP that is needed to fully-master the ability.
|Description|: Self-explanatory.
|Additional effects|: Any other effects the attack has, such as wall rush/chase.

|Overview|: What I think of the move, as well as other things I might 
            have to say about it. I will also describe what the move looks
            like and does as the game's descriptions are sometimes lacking.

|Rating|: My final overall rating for the attack, as well as a tl;dr version of 
my opinion for all you lazy people out there.


==================================================
Bravery Attacks                           [BRVATK]
==================================================

-[GROUND BRV ATTACKS]-

--------------------
Ascendant Lance
--------------------

|How to get|: Available from the start.
|CP cost|: 35 / 15 
|AP to master|: 120
|Description|: [Close] Throw shield forward. Minor Phyiscal Shield effect.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: Bartz throws a shield forward (mimicking WoL's Ascension), hits
the enemy with a lance (the 2nd part of Firion's Reel Axe), then hits them 
away with the lances. The distance he hits them is pretty far, which gets rid
of "some risk" of a counter-attack from the opponent.

This move, along with Solid Ascension, will be one of your most overused
moves when you're fighting on the ground. The attack comes out at a fairly
decent speed, as well as having quite a bit of range for an attack of its  
speed. This attack WILL take a big chunk out of your opponent's BRV when 
combined with critical hits, and it generates a decent amount of EX force,
which will help you get into EX mode for Goblin Punch faster.

|Rating|: 4/5; Fast speed and great damage, but it's quite easy to block on 
reflex. The move should nearly always be equipped. It's that good.

--------------------
Solid Ascension
--------------------
     
|How to get|: Learned at level 10.
|CP cost|: 35 / 20 
|AP to master|: 120
|Description|: [Close] Repeated slashes. Minor Counterattack effect.
|Additional effects|: Chase, wall rush.

|Overview|: Bartz slices the enemy with Squall's Revolver (copying the first
few hits of his Solid Barrel), then pokes the enemy upwards with WoL's sword,
which comes from the last hit of his Ascension. Hits the enemy far up and can
lead into a chase.

Quite possibly Bartz's best BRV attack. It does more damage than Ascendant
Lance, comes out faster, gives a small Counterattack effect that will stack, 
AND leads to a chase. This move is the best punisher for attacks that your 
opponent has whiffed. Combine this with your near-guaranteed Counterattack
criticals, and you'll be seeing "BREAK!" a lot on your opponent's side. The
short range this attack has shouldn't be that much of a problem, unlike what 
most people think.

|Rating|: 5/5; Insanely fast, deals incredible damage, hard to block. The move
also hits the opponent pretty far away from you if you choose not to enter 
chase, so you won't have to worry about them countering. The attack is pretty
much a staple, and should always be equipped.

--------------------
Climbarrel
--------------------
|How to get|: Learned at level 3.
|CP cost|: 35 / 20 
|AP to master|: 120
|Description|: [Mid] Slashing charge. Chase bravery damage +10%. 
|Additional effects|: Chase.

|Overview|: Charges forward with the Buster Sword (first part of Climhazzard),
then shoots the enemy a few times with the Squall's Revolver (last part of 
Solid Barrel). It can lead to a chase after the last hit.

This move is pretty much Cloud's Climhazzard, except this  does a lot less 
damage as well as having less powerful comboing potential. This move is not
worth the CP and attack slot to equip, especially when Ascendant Lance and
Solid Ascension does the job a lot better. AVOID IT!

|Rating|: 2.5/5; Damage is low, it has a slow startup as well as being easy to
block. The only "good" thing this move has is its ability to combo with Reel
Impulse, but that isn't exactly a good move either. :\

--------------------
Reel Impulse
--------------------
|How to get|: Available from the start.
|CP cost|: 35 / 15 
|AP to master|: 120
|Description|: [Long] Throw axe forward. EX intake range +1m.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: Throws an axe forward (copying Firion's first part of Reel Axe),
then jumps up a bit and slashes them with Zidane's mage mashers (2nd part of
Storm Impulse).

The range of this attack is incredible. That might sound good, but it isn't.
It's drawback is that the startup and lag is HUGE. The move is highly 
punishable, as well as being very easy to dodge. However, it does have a 
fairly good amount of dodge cancel combos that can be preformed with it and
can defense crush. I still don't think it's worth the CP and risk.

|Rating|: 2/5; Very slow attack and highly punishable. Not worth the space or 
CP.


-[AIR BRV ATTACKS]-

--------------------
Storm Shot
--------------------
|How to get|: Available from start.
|CP cost|: 35 / 15 
|AP to master|: 180
|Description|: [Mid] Spinning approach. Jump Times Boost effect.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: Spins and slashes with Zidane's mage mashers (1st part of Storm
Impulse), then hits them away with the Brotherhood (last part of Tidus' Full
Slide). It will cause wall rush most of the time, as well as hitting them very
far away. 

At most, this move is decent. The wall rush effect is pretty useful and it 
lets you start up a lot of combos. It's speed and start up ain't that bad 
either, but the damage isn't as high. Whether or not to use this is up to you.
Personally, I have it equipped for Goblin Punch comboes with wall rush. Just 
be careful when using this; if you whiff, you could get punished for it.

|Rating|: 3.5/5; Good for starting some combos, but the damage output is low 
without them and the speed is a bit lacking. However, the Jump Times Boost 
effect is quite useful.

--------------------
Slidehazzard
--------------------
|How to get|: Learned at level 28.
|CP cost|: 35 / 15 
|AP to master|: 180
|Description|: [Mid] Repeated charges. Wall rush bravery damage +10%.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: Bartz slides in the air with the Brotherhood (first part of Tidus'
Full Slide), then slashes upwards and stabs them downwards with the Buster 
Sword (last part of Climhazzard). Causes wall rush most of the time as the 
downwards stab pokes them a far distance down.

lol, this move is awesome. Along with Holy, this move will be your most 
efficient attack in the air. The damage is great, and the final hit will
nearly-always wall rush the opponent. It can also lead to some combos, 
especially if you use it near the ground. The additional wall rush BRV 
damage boost is useful too. 

|Rating|: 4/5; The damage output is high, it can and is used in many of Bartz's 
key combos, and the BRV wall rush effect is useful. However, the attack can
easily be blocked if you spam it too often, and you will be punished for it.

--------------------
Holy
--------------------
|How to get|: Available from start.
|CP cost|: 25 / 10 
|AP to master|: 120 
|Description|: [Long] Emit light projectiles. Minor Jump Boost effect.
|Additional effects|: Chase.

|Overview|: Bartz floats in the air and shoots out five bolts of light, which 
will home in on the opponent. If the bolts connect quick enough, it can lead 
to a chase OR it can chain into Flare. However, if the bolts linger around too
much and take too long to connect, it will just hit the opponent without 
giving you an oppurtunity to chase or use Flare.

Another great attack, but this one is spammable. Upon mastering the attack, 
you'll get the Flare HP link to this attack, making it even better. The range
and homing ability of this attack is incredible, and the damage isn't that bad
either. There's even a glitch with this attack, which I will get into later on. 

|Rating|: 5/5; Simply amazing. Travels a great distance, chains into an HP 
attack, AND has powerful homing. The only "bad" thing is that you can get
punished for it if you use it close to your opponent, but then again, who does 
that? >_>


==================================================
HP Attacks                                 [HPATK]
==================================================

-(GROUND HP ATTACKS)-

--------------------
Soul Eater
--------------------
|How to get|: Available from start.
|CP cost|: 45 / 25 
|AP to master|: 180
|Description|: [Close] Stab foe, devour soul. Wall rush HP damage +10%.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: Identical to Cecil's Soul Eater, but this one has the additional
wall rush +% effect. Bartz stabs the opponent with Cecil's Dark Knight spear
(I think), then generates a dark orb of energy and throws it at the opponent.
It will launch the enemy very far away.

The best of Bartz's "regular" HP attacks. It has HUGE knockback, making wall
rushing a lot easier. It does a lot of BRV damage before the HP hit too, and 
the start-up is quick. The Wall rush HP increase makes it all the better. Just
take note of the enemy's height when you use it, if they're too high up, the 
the attack will strike nothing and miss.

|Rating|: 4/5; Fast and powerful, and it'll wall rush most of the time. However,
it's vertical range is terrible, meaning is can miss even if the opponent is a
bit off the ground.

--------------------
Flood
--------------------
|How to get: Learned at level 19.
|CP cost: 45 / 25 
|AP to master: 180
|Description|: [Long] Generate water pillar at opponent's position. Minor Magic
Shield effect.
|Additional effects|: N/A.

|Overview|: Unlike Soul Eater, this move sucks. It's very slow, and has
a lot of lag after. You could easily get punished for using this, and hell, 
many characters can just WALK away from it. :\

|Rating|: 1/5; It's slow and laggy, and the additional effect is bad. I don't 
see why you would ever use this attack. As I've said before, the attack is 
VERY easy to avoid, and many characters can just walk away from it.


-(AIR HP ATTACKS)-

--------------------
Flare
--------------------
|How to get|: Master the BRV attack, Holy.
|CP cost|: 45 / 25 
|AP to master|: 300
|Description|: (Branching from Holy) [Combo] Create huge explosions. Minor Back 
to the Wall effect. (Yes, I copied it from OK's because Bartz's Flare doesn't
have one. lol) 
|Additional effects|: N/A

|Overview|: It's identical to Onion Knight's Flare. After Holy connects, it 
will shoot out beams of fire at the opponent, then end it in a fiery 
explosion. If the target does escape part of the Flare somehow, the beams of
fire will chase the opponent wherever they go, mostly fast enough to catch 
them for the explosion at the end.

Along with its incredible range and homing, this is what  makes Holy awesome.
The BRV damage it does isn't too low either, and the range makes this an 
incredibly safe attack. There's also a glitch involving this and Holy.

Basically after firing your first volley of Holy, you immediately fire a 
second group. If the first Holy hits the opponent, the second group will also
hit, allowing you to chain into Flare even though it took too long for the
first batch to hit. Essentially, you have used Flare without hitting with Holy
at first.

|Rating|: 5/5; Your most commonly-used HP attack, along with Goblin Punch. It'll
be one of your most efficient killing moves due to its range, homing, and the 
ability to spam it. Abuse it.

--------------------
Wind Shear
--------------------
|How to get|: Available from start.
|CP Cost|: 45 / 25 
|AP to master|: 300
|Description|: High-speed spin. Minor Speed Boost effect. 
|Effects|: [Close] Wall rush, absorb.

|Overview|: It's the same as OK's Wind Shear. After yelling "Here we go!",
Bartz will spin over and over again, slashing anything that gets caught in it
repeatedly. It deflects weak magic projectiles such as Terra's Holy, as well 
as having a small suction effect. 

This attack is pretty bad. It's start up is slow, and the lag afterwards is 
big. Using it is just asking your opponent to hit you with the likes of Ultima
(Kuja), Havoc Wing, and Rough Divide. However, there is one thing this move 
has that makes it shine, and that thing is its Speed Boost effect. Stack them
up, along with the Speed Boost++ skill, and you'll almost be running as fast as
Onion Knight. This will incrase your ground running speed by a lot, which will
also allow you to run away from most attacks to take advantage of the 
Counterattack effects Solid Ascension has to offer.

|Rating|: 4.5/5; The only reason it got so high was because of the Speed Boost 
effect, which can potentially help you save CP from the regular Speed Boost
skills. The fact it can reflect some magical projectiles, like Holy and 
Snatch Shots, is another cool thing about it.

--------------------
Paladin Force
--------------------
|How to get|: Learned at level 42.
|CP cost|: 45 / 25 
|AP to master: 180
|Description|: [Close] Holy sword magic. Minor Midair Evasion Boost.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: The same as Cecil's Paladin Force. Bartz will generate a ball of
light, which he throws at the opponent. If the ball connects, he will rush up 
and slash the enemy in a cross-shaped fashion, then slamming the enemy down-
wards for wall rush damage. If the ball of light misses, the attack will not
continue on.

A great attack for punishing the opponent's bad dodges. The damage is great,
and the light projectile he throws cannot be blocked. It will also deal wall 
rush damage most of the time, just like Soul Eater. You can also combo this 
with Goblin Punch if you are in EX mode too.

|Rating|: 4/5; Wall rushes most of the time, catches the opponent's bad dodges,
and has very little lag. The range is a bit lacking though.

--------------------
Goblin Punch (ground and midair)
--------------------
|How to get|: Available as long as the user is in EX mode.
|CP cost|: None.
|AP to master|: None.
|Description|: (Activate with R+[]) Attack bravery, then perform an HP attack. 
If you are the same level as the foe, your power massively increases.
|Additional effects|: Wall rush.

|Overview|: Bartz's best HP attack, and quite possibly the best in the 
entire game. It's near-instant and does craploads of damage. It also has the
epic ability to "chain" from many of his attacks, such as Slidehazzard and 
Soul Eater. If I'm correct, you don't stagger from this if your opponent EX
guards it, and I believe Exdeath cannot Omni Block this too. However, I am
unsure and need someone to clarify this for me. 

|Rating|: 5/5; If I could give this a higher rating, I would. It's so powerful, 
and it's so ****ing fast as well. It's probably the fastest HP attack in the
game if you don't count the glitch with Hell's Gate.


==============================================================================
How to Fight as Bartz                                                   [HOW2]
==============================================================================

Freelancer Bartz with all jobs mastered, and equipped with Dual-Wield and 
Rapid Fire obviously. The heading title states it now. I'll list and explain 
many of the concepts and things you should keep your head up for  in battle.
Once you learn the basics, play around some more and you'll get the hang of 
it.


==================================================
Basic Tips and Hints                        [BSTH]
==================================================

Main points you should remember in battle are the following.

- Learn your character's basic comboes. They will help you rack up large 
  amounts of BRV, as well as being able to kill your opponent easier in some
  cases.

- Related to the above, you gotta learn how to dodge cancel (DC). In a small
  and similar way to L-canceling in SSBM, dodge canceling is basically dodging
  after you perform an attack in order to remove some of the ending lag. Also,
  you can DC out of "phases" of attacks. For example with Bartz, performing a 
  dodge after 2 hits of Slidehazzard will cancel the attack, effectively 
  letting you use another attack after it to combo, like Goblin Punch. DC'ing
  is the foundation for comboes, so it's best to learn how ASAP.  

- Play your main often, and pay attention to the attacks (BRV and HP) all the 
  other characters use. That way, you'll know exactly how and when to block 
  and dodge whatever BRV and HP attacks they throw at you. Doing damage is one
  thing, but avoiding it is another. Play it safe. Using your main often will
  let you get playing skill. There's no easier way to learn about using a 
  character other than with first-hand experience.

- Never enter EX mode for no reason. No, entering it because it's shiny and 
  looks cool is not a good reason. Keep your EX gauge so you can escape from
  your opponent's HP attacks by entering EX mode (known as "EX guarding"). If 
  your opponent is going to launch a killing-HP move, you can initiate EX mode
  in order to gain invincibility frames and hopefully escape the attack.

- Similar to the above point, do not immediately use your EX burst after 
  landing your first HP attack in EX mode. You can do a lot more damage in EX
  mode rather than with the burst, thanks to the extra critical boost as well 
  as Golbin Punch. Only use the EX Burst if you know you're going to kill the
  opponent for sure, or if you gauge is almost empty.

- Be careful of the distance between you and your opponent. If you're too 
  close to each other, you could eat your own Holy bolts when your opponent
  dashes through or blocks them. That's not to mention that Holy will barely
  hit in close range anyways.

- Choose your equipped abilities carefully. Seriously, picking your abilities
  is important so that you don't waste CP on something you'll rarely use. For
  example, if you can't block well, you obviously don't equip Riposte. Don't
  equip attacks that you'll never use either. Another example is to not be so
  "redundant" when using skills. That means you shouldn't use both Omni Air
  Dash AND Multi Air Slide at the same time, as they both essentially have the
  same effect.


==================================================
Comboes                                    [COMBO]
==================================================

The possible comboes will be listed here. Keep in mind most of them require 
you to DC (dodge cancel, if you haven't read the above section), so be sure you
get the hang of that first.

Also, some main abbreviations you should get down before reading on:

- DC: Dodge cancel. See the above section for section for details.
- RDC: Return dodge cancel. Similar to a regular DC, but instead you flip the
  analog stick/control pad down, then quickly back up. This will shorten the 
  length of your DC, allowing you to initiate another attack with more time.
- FDC: Forward dodge cancel. The act of DC'ing towards your opponent. In 
  nearly all cases, it's R+X+^.
- TC: Time cancel. Waiting for a period of time without continuing an attack,
  effectively stopping it.


1.  [Reel Impulse -> FDC -> Slidehazzard -> TC -> Soul Eater] Your main BRV-
    stealing combo. It can be started with Reel Impulse (DC'ing, then into 
    Slidehazzard. It also ends in Soul Eater too, so that's another bonus. You 
    can do this combo without the Reel Impulse at the beginning too if you're 
    like me and choose not to equip it.
   
2.  [Reel Impulse -> DC -> Climbarrel] Another one of your ground comboes. I 
    don't know why you would want to do this one instead of the above one 
    unless you want to go into chase.

3.  [Slidehazzard -> TC -> Goblin Punch] A pretty good combo similar to #1, 
    but it requires you to be in EX mode for it. Nothing much to say here. You
    can also start this with Reel Impulse -> FDC if you have it equipped.

4.  [Solid Ascension -> opponent hits ceiling -> Holy -> Flare] Only works on 
    stages such as Kefka's Tower and maybe Pandemonium. Eats a lot of BRV AND 
    ends in an HP attack. Awesome.

5.  [Slidehazzard -> TC -> jump -> Slidehazzard] One of Bartz's infinite, but 
    the timing is incredibly strict for this. If you aren't feeling ballsy, 
    you can just do a few Slidehazzards and end it in Soul Eater/Goblin Punch.

6.  [Paladin Force -> TC -> Goblin Punch] Yes, an HP -> HP combo. Obviously
    only works in EX mode, but it's a great way to deal damage, especially 
    when both of the attacks can wall rush.

7.  [Reel Impulse -> DC -> Reel Impulse] Bartz's ground infinite for those of 
    you who decide to use Reel Impulse. It's the same as Firion's. The timing 
    isn't as strict as Slidehazzard's infinite, so it's a lot more easier to 
    pull off. As usual, if you don't think you can pull it off, just stop it
    after a few hits and go into Slidehazzard -> Soul Eater/Goblin Punch.

8.  [Reel Impulse -> TC -> Solid Ascension] Another combo for all you Reel 
    Impulse lovers out there. This one takes a good amount of BRV, but I still
    wouldn't use it due to the fact that it only does A BIT more damage than a
    regular Solid.

9.  [Reel Impulse -> DC -> Soul Eater] Pointless unless you don't have 
    Slidehazzard equipped for some reason. The first combo pretty much does 
    the same thing, except with more damage.

10. [Reel Impulse -> FDC -> Slidehazzard -> DC - Wind Shear] A decent combo if
    you like using Wind Shear. This one can be started without Reel Impulse, 
    but in that case you need to make sure you aren't too high in the air when
    using Slidehazzard.

11. [Reel Impulse -> FDC -> Slidehazzard -> RDC -> Paladin Force] Works on the
    AI only. As long as you're quick with your fingers you can perform an RDC 
    immediately after the downward poke of Slide, then quickly use Paladin 
    Force.

12. [Reel Impulse -> FDC -> Goblin Punch] Another useless combo Imo. You could
    just go into Slidehazzard -> TC -> Goblin instead for more damage.

13. [Reel Impulse -> TC -> Ascendant Lance] Similar to combo #8, but you have
    less oppurtunities to mess up due to the range Ascendant has. 

14. [Reel Impulse -> FDC -> Slidehazzard -> TC -> Ascendant Lance] A good BRV
    killer if you use Reel Impulse.

15. [Slidehazzard -> TC -> Solid Ascension] A GREAT way to take loads of BRV
    as well as leading to a chase. The best part is that this doesn't start
    with Reel Impulse lol.

There are a lot more which I'll list soon, hopefully.


I'll link you to some videos I've found from people performing some of the 
above comboes. None of these videos are mine, and credit goes to the original
owners of them. The first video is the JP version of the game, BUT all of the
comboes will work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGMBdshu6NU 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOd9CXGFmG4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGuh8KziA-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV1KWg3NGVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvlo7waT4LI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtWyFOpC10Q


==================================================
Character Builds                       [CHARBUILD]
==================================================

For those of you who do not know, a "build" is a specific group of equipment,
items, stats, or similar in order to achieve a goal for a character. In DFF, 
it's composed of equipped abilities, equipment, and accessories. I'll list 
some basic builds that I use, as well as any others that I find. Feel free to 
adjust them with whatever you feel like. The equipment is also assuming you 
have to no way of getting Artifacts, and you have all Equip x skills.

~~~~~

Grounded EX Mode build; to abuse Goblin Punch and Wind Shear's speed boost.

-(BRV ATTACKS)-
 O  Solid Ascension
^O  Solid Ascension
vO  Ascendant Lance

 O  Slidehazzard
^O  Storm Shot
vO  Holy > Flare

-(HP ATTACKS)-
 [] Soul Eater
^[] N/A
v[] N/A

 [] Paladin Force / Wind Shear
^[] Wind Shear
v[] Wind Shear

-(ACTIONS)-
Ground Evasion
Midair Evasion
Ground Block
Midair Block
Aerial Recovery
Air Dash
Omni Air Dash
Speed Boost ++

-(SUPPORT)-
EX Core Lock On

-(EXTRA)-
Precision Jump
Snooze and Lose
Counterattack
disable Sneak Attack / Counterattack
EXP to Bravery
Katana Adept
Shield Adept
Heavy Armor Adept

-(EQUIPMENT)-
Heaven's Cloud
Lufenian Shield
Lufenian Helm
Lufenian Armor

-(ACCESSORIES)-
Pearl Necklace
Sniper Soul
Despair Shock
HP = 100% 
Summoned Unused 
Level = Multiple of 5 
After Summons (opponent)
Pre-HP Damage (opponent)
Red Gem
Close to You

-(SUMMONS)-
1. Omega
2. Magic Pot
3. Odin
4. Alexander


Yes, I know it's not the best of builds, but it's been doing pretty well for 
me. The whole point of this is to abuse the speed of Bartz when he's on the 
ground, effectively granting running speed fast enough to let you run away 
from most attacks. This is where Solid Ascension and Counterattack comes in.
You run away from attacks and hit the opponents with a crapload amount of
criticals. Pearl Necklace and Heaven's Cloud lets you reach EX mode a lot
faster to abuse Goblin Punch, while constantly harassing your opponent with
wall rush boosts and EX Gauge Depletion.

~~~~~

Goblin Punch + EXP -> BRV; credits to Baron_Von_Stone and his guide.

-(BRV ATTACKS)-
 O  Reel Impulse
^O  Reel Impulse
vO  Reel Impulse

 O  Slidehazzard
^O  N/A
vO  Holy > Flare

-(HP ATTACKS)-
 [] Soul Eaer
^[] Soul Eater
v[] Flood

 [] Paladin Force 
^[] 
v[] Wind Shear

-(NOTABLE ABILITIES)-
Free Air Dash
EX Critical Boost
disable Anti-EX
EXP to Bravery

-(EQUIPMENT)-
Excalibur II
Borghertz's Hands
Super Ribbon
Maximiliian  *do NOT equip Heavy Armor Adept*

-(ACCESSORIES)-
Pearl Necklace
Gold Hourglass
HP = 100%
Pre-HP Damage (opponent)
HP is a Multiple of 5 
After Summons (user)
Close to You
First to Victory
Cyan Gem
Chocobo Feather

-(SUMMONS)-
1. Carbuncle (Auto)
2. Omega
3. Ifrit
4. Odin
5. Iron Giant


Your basic EXP -> BRV build, taken from Baron_Von_Stone's character build FAQ.
It takes advantage of Goblin Punch (again) to decimate the Blackjack course. 
You will be gaining a lot of EXP from hitting the opponents there, and all of
that will be converted to BRV, letting you fire off heavy assaults of Goblin
Punch repeatedly. EX Critical Boost insures you'll have a 100% critical rate 
in EX mode (assuming it's not disabled), while Excalibur II and Chocobo 
Feather will increase the EXP gain even more. The triple Reel Impulse is to 
take advantage of the EX intake range +m effect.

~~~~~

Back to the Wall build; to insure your Holy and other attacks do craploads of
damage + criticals.

-(BRV ATTACKS)-
 O  Solid Ascension
^O  Solid Ascension
vO  Ascendant Lance

 O  Slidehazzard
^O  Storm Shot
vO  Holy > Flare

-(HP ATTACKS)-
 [] Soul Eater
^[] N/A
v[] N/A

 [] Wind Shear
^[] Wind Shear
v[] Wind Shear

-(ACTIONS)-
Ground Evasion
Midair Evasion
Ground Block
Midair Block
Aerial Recovery
Omni Air Dash
Speed Boost ++
Jump Times Boost ++

-(SUPPORT)-
EX Core Lock On

-(EXTRA)-
Precision Jump
Bravery Regen
Snooze and Lose
Cat Nip
Back to the Wall
EXP to Bravery
Axe Adept

-(EQUIPMENT)-
Lufenian Axe
Ensanguined Shield
Lufenian Helm
Lufenian Armor

-(ACCESSORIES)-
Red Drop
Red Drop
Red Gem
Back to the Wall
Rebellious Soul
Miracle Shoes
Strength Powder
Strength Powder
Strength Powder
Strength Powder

-(SUMMONS)-
1. Omega
2. Odin
3. Behemoth

Yes, a Back to the Wall build. For those of you who don't know, these take 
advantage of the Back to the Wall accessory and Ensanguined Shield equip to 
start the battle with 1 HP. This allows you to acivate many effects, such as
critical boosters like Back to the Wall and Catnip.

Nearly all your attacks are going to be criticals if you decide to use this 
build. That's where the ATK+ accessories come in. In case you didn't know, 
damage +5 accessories (Champion Belt, for example) do NOT boost critical hits
as much as ATK+ accessories do. With the accessories and Axe Adept, you will
get a total of +11 (correct me if I'm wrong) ATK. This insures that your Holy
bolts do craploads of damage, while the Flare BRV hits do around 34 per 
critical.

~~~~~

I'll put up more whenver I can think of or find other ones. If you have one 
that you would want me to put here, just send it to me along with any other
comments you may have. Look in the [CNTNFO] section for more details.


==============================================================================
Bartz Versus Other Characters                                        [BARTZVS]
==============================================================================

I'll put some basic info about fighting the rest of the Dissidia cast here. 
Some of the things I will be putting up here are things such as HP and BRV 
attacks you should be careful of, any comboes that they can do, and other 
information that I feel is relevant. I've played most of the characters in
this game (characters such as Emperor and Ultimecia I rarely use) so I'm 
pretty sure I know the basics of fighting them.

Keep in mind these are strategies and such are things I believe. If you think
there are better ways of fighting them, go right ahead and use them. These are
just basic pointers anyways.

SMALL NOTICE: This section isn't exactly what I like to call "completed". I 
still have many things to add on. Expect updates in the near future.


==================================================
Warrior of Light                           [VSWOL]
==================================================

     ~ "You must learn that courage is not recklessness."

Meet the most generic character in the entire game. He's got a sword, shield,
and can use magic. lolgeneric indeed. His EX mode grants him an extra DEF 
boost (I don't know what the amount is), the ability to reflect weak magic 
projectiles when he's running (just like Tidus'), and some of his attacks 
generate swords of light that do additional BRV damage. The Fangs do not get
this.

Anyways, WoL lacks good long-range HP attacks. His only two choices are 
Shining Wave (ground) and Radiant Sword (aerial). Shining Wave has long reach
but it has a long start-up and lag after it. The homing isn't that great 
either, especially if you're far away. Radiant Sword starts up faster and 
homes in a lot better, but it's easy to avoid by OAD'ing away. The swords he
generates when using them are piss-easy to dodge if he's close to you though.
Keep in mind if WoL has the EX Gauge Depletion skill, your gauge will drop 
with each sword that hits you so be careful. The swords's tracking is very
good so it's best to pay attention. 

Shield of Light is a just like Exdeath's Delta Attack, although the shield
part covers a smaller area. The shield part functions like a regular block
though. If you attack it with a physical attack (such as Slidehazzard), you
will stagger and get hit by the burst of light that comes out of it after. 
SoL's blocking duration is long enough to block and deflect all five Holy 
bolts at once too, but does not cover his back. That means Holy *can* still
hit him as long as they connect from the back. Just a small note; WoL has both
ground and air versions of this attack.

His BRV attacks are pretty good. Most WoL players will have Ascension, Blue or
White Fang, and Dayflash equipped. The Fangs are his main combo starters; Blue
causes four (I think) pieces of ice to slowly fall on you while White creates 
a thunderbolt that will slowly home in towards you. If you get hit by these, 
the WoL player will most likely hit you with Ascension > Rune Saber. In case
you don't know, Ascension is the attack where he throws his shield in front of
him and hits you upward. It chains into the HP attack Rune Saber, which can 
wall rush if the person heing hit is high enough. However, Rune Saber is
avoidable. If you get hit to the ceiling after the final poke of Ascension,
you should have enough time to get out of there before WoL initiates Rune 
Saber. Dayflash is his fastest attack; he slashes his sword in front of him 
then hits the opponent away. It can link to an Ascension if it wall rushes, 
and will be WoL's main attack to get rid of Snooze and Lose. 

His aerial BRV attacks can be trouble if you don't know what you're doing. 
Crossover (the air version of Ascension) is the attack where he tosses his
shield and spins it around him. Like Ascension, it chains into Rune Saber. His
other two attacks are Shield Strike and Rising Buckler, which are essentially
the same. Rising Buckler is the one where he throws his shield upwards and 
somehow hits the opponent multiple times while Shield Strike is the same, 
except he throws it downwards. Both those attacks chain into the HP attack
Bitter End. Those two attacks can also "button-lock" the opponent. When a WoL
player uses either of those shield attacks, after the first part if the WoL 
doesn't do anything, the opponent will just sit there as well. The victim of 
the shield attacks cannot do anything and any buttons inputted at the time 
will have no effect and will just fall to the ground. Another note about WoL's
shield attacks: they can combo into each other. After he does those multiple 
hits the shield, he can DC out of it and then hit you with the other shield 
attack and then Bitter End (example: Shield Strike -> Rising Buckler > Bitter
End). It's going to hurt you a lot if Sneak Attack activates.	


==================================================
Garland                                    [VSGAR]
==================================================

     ~ "Can you withstand my attacks?"

The master of knocking down things, Garland follows the cliche "strong but 
slow hitter". Like, seriously, he's very slow. Some of his attacks come out
pretty fast though, and I'll tell you what attacks those are.

Two of his attacks are interesting in the way that they essentially have 
different "versions" of the attack. These two attacks are Round Edge and 
Highbringer. Round Edge is the attack where he swings around twice with his
sword and then slams it down. If it connects, he can follow-up with either 
more slashes or hammer you away. Blocking this attack during its second swing
or after will cause you to stagger, triggering the opponent's Riposte if they
have it equipped. The damage done is pretty high as well. Highbringer has two
"variations". In the first one, he swings his sword upwards then part of it 
extends and launches you into the air. The second one is a bit different; he
jumps upwards and swings his sword in an arc-shape and then slashes you a few
times with his Twin Swords. His air BRV attacks are pretty damaging too. 
Bardiche ("I'LL CRUSH YOU!") is the epitome of knocking you down and causes
wall rush BRV damage nearly all the time. Twist Drill (the one where his 
weapon turns into a giant drill and he charges upwards) is fast and leads to a
chase. His Chain Cast ("TAKE THAT!") has incredible range, however its damage
is low. It can lead to a chase though.

His HP attacks aren't too impressive. On the ground, he has Tsunami and 
Earthquake. In Tsunami, Garland will jump up into the air and throw his weapon
down. The weapon will track you and if it hits, it'll burst in water. This 
attack might look intimidating at first, but keep in mind Garland is prone to
attacks when he's in the air. Earthquake comes out a bit faster, but the range
on that is terrible. He'll swing his weapon (which becomes a hammer) overheard
and then swing it back down. If you want to EX guard this, don't do it too 
soon; he doesn't stagger if you EX guard the tiny rocks that fly up. In the 
air, he has Cyclone and Blaze. In Cyclone, after a brief moment, he'll swing 
his weapons and generate two tornadoes that slowly home in towards you. These
tornados reflect some magic such as your Holy and has an absorbtion effect. He
also has a ground version of Blaze, but hardly anyone uses that. Anyways, he
spins his weapon around and shoots out four fireballs that will home in at 
different angles. This attack can be very annoying if spammed repeatedly, but
otherwise it's not much to worry about.

Will work on his EX mode in a later version. Check back next time. >_>


==================================================
Firion                                     [VSFIR]
==================================================

     ~ "Alright, time to play hard!" 

You have to be careful when fighting Firion. If you play recklessly, his Shield
Bash attack will destroy you. In case you don't know what it is, Firion will 
form a blue shiend in front of him. If any attack hits the shield, it wil be
blocked and Firion will counter-attack with knives (if the blocked attack is
close) or magic (if the blocked attack is far). What's worse is that if you 
stagger when he blocks you with it, his counter-attack will activate Riposte
and make you QQ more. If you reflect his Fire magic back at him, he can Shield
Bash it and still counter-attack you. That means you should NOT block the Fire
that he'll constantly cast at you.

Shield Bash will also effectively shut down your attempts at Holy-spamming. 
Shield Bash's blocking duration is long enough to block all five bolts that
are at him, which means you won't be doing damage with it. If for whatever
reason you Holy him and then he Shield Bashes, you *can* avoid the counter-
attack completely, but it is very difficult to do so, especially if you are 
not very far away. The fire and ice portions of the counter-attack do BRV 
damamge while the final gigantic lightning bolt will do the HP damage. Don't
spam Slidehazzard either. Repeatedly using it will make it very predictable,
easily allowing Firion to Shield Bash it, stagger you, and hurt you with the
counter-attack (with Riposte if he has it equipped). 

His other two HP attacks shouldn't be much of a problem. Weaponmaster does a
good amount of BRV damage before it's HP hit and can wall rush often, but its
start-up is VERY long as well as its lag after. Straightarrow can harass you 
if you're not careful and can be pretty annoying if he spams it repeatedly 
along with multiple Fire spells out. It's very easy to dodge if you see it 
coming, and you can block this too (but you will stagger).

His BRV attacks aren't that big of a threat either. Reel Axe (essentially the
same as your Reel Impulse) is very slow and can guard crush. If you somehow 
get hit by this, you can expect the Firion to DC out of the first few hits and
then use Rope Knife > Double Trouble. Rope Knife's tracking is fast, but its 
vertical range is almost non-exsistant. Lance Combo's range is bad, but it has
a slight absorbing effect and has some vertical range. Like Rope Knife and 
Reel Axe, it can chain into Double Trouble. His Thunder spell (air BRV) can be
bothersome too if he does it in the middle of one of your attacks and 
interrupts it, but its damage is low. Some Firion players might use Swordslash
as a BRV attack in the air for canceling your SnL (Snooze and Lose). It leads 
to a chase, but it is very weak. It's fast though, so keep that in mind.

Oh, and by the way, I should mention his EX mode ability; Blood Weapon. It's a
real f***er. If you don't know what it does, here's the gist of it: everytime
Firion lands an HP attack, he will recover HP equal to the damage he's dealt 
to you (including wall rush damage, if I'm not mistaken). That means getting 
hit by a Rope Knife or Lance Combo and then Double Trouble will probably heal
an average of around 1500 HP. That's assuming the average BRV he starts out 
with is around 1000, and wall rush damage included. Also, his EX burst DOES
count as an HP attack, so if he breaks you in an EX burst, you're going to be
QQing throughtout the entire battle.

The trick to fighting Firion is to play it smart. As I've mentioned countless
times before, don't repeatedly spam Holy and Slidehazzard. Spamming it will 
just cause Firion to turtle with Shield Bash and retaliate with it. If for
whatever reason the Firion uses Reel Axe, you can easily take advantage of the
LONG lag by running away from it and up to him and hit him with Solid 
Ascension, which will also get Counterattack criticals. As long as you don't 
do stupid stuff like spamming attacks mindlessly, the battle shouldn't be too
hard. Assuming you use the Lufenian gear, he shouldn't be entering EX mode as
easily (or staying in it, for the matter). If you use an EX build with 
Lufenian, you can easily win the fight with Goblin Punch spam constantly 
draining his gauge while at the same time, bypassing Shield Bash.


==================================================
The Emperor (Mateus)                       [VSEMP]
==================================================

     ~ "What an insolent little brat."



==================================================
Onion Knight                                [VSOK]
==================================================

     ~ "Do you ever look before you leap?"

OK's attacks are fast and can all link into another BRV portion or end in an 
HP attack. He's also one of the faster characters in the game. His attacks are
pretty hard to block on reflex as well.

Multi-Hit is his ground BRV attack where he steps forward and brandishes his 
sword in front of him. If it connects, he can either link into another BRV
portino that includes more slashes, or end it in the HP attack Swordshower.
This attack starts-up fast, making it hard to dodge. However, like nearly all
of OK's attacks, there is quite a bit of lag after. He has a Blizzard attack 
as well, where he spins his sword and shoots out ice. The range on this is 
decent and it links into either another BRV attack where he drops larger ice
chunks at you (hardly anyone uses this one though) or the HP attack Quake. In
the air, he has Turbo Hit and Thunder. Turbo Hit is basically an aerial Multi-
Hit, except the BRV link on this one can lead to a chase. Like Turbo-Hit, this
one can link into an HP attack as well; Guiding Swipe. Thunder has a bit more
range than Blizzard. He launches three orbs which fly into you. If they 
connect, it can either link into its BRV portion and start a chase, or link 
into Flare. Be careful not to dodge too early when using Thunder though, the
other orbs might hit you if you dodge the first.

His standalone HP attacks aren't that awesome tbh. On the ground, he has Blade
Torrent and Firaga. Blade Torrent is the attack where he jumps forward at the 
foe. If it connects, OK will slash them many times, doing some BRV damage 
before the final HP hit. If it misses, OK suffers a lot of lag and can be 
punished for it. In Firaga, OK will charge up a fireball from his sword and 
then hurl it. This attack has pretty long range and the explosion from the 
fireball can still detonate if you get hit by it in midair. OK has two 
standalone HP attacks in the air too: Comet and Wind Shear. His Wind Shear is
the same as yours, but without the Speed Boost effect. Comet is the attack 
where he opens up some sort of rift thing and fires tiny meteors at you and
then throw a larger meteor which will cause the HP damage. OK moves in your
direction while using this move. The range this attack has is pretty good as
well.

His EX mode is pretty good for him. Similar to Cecil, he can now change jobs
to either a Ninja or Sage depending on what attacks he use. If he uses his 
spells, he turns into a Sage and he turns into a Ninja when using physical
attacks. As a Ninja, his BRV attacks do a lot more damage and double the hits.
That makes OK's attacks deadly if the OK user adds multiple ATK+ accessories.
The BRV portions of Guiding Swipe and Swordshower are affected as well. You'll
be QQing a lot when the OK gets a crapload of criticals from his attacks, 
especially when combined with EX Critical Boost. His Sage form is different. 
His spells basically gets more powerful in the sense that he "casts multiples"
of the same spell. Thunder will now launch five orbs instead of three, Firaga
throws out three fireballs instead of a single one, and the tiny rocks in 
Comet become larger and fire out faster. I don't know what the effect it has 
on Blizzard is.


==================================================
Cloud of Darkness                           [VSCOD]
==================================================

     ~ "Unreachable freedom is no better than a cage."




==================================================
Cecil Harvey                              [VSCECL]
==================================================

     ~ "I hope you will not hold back."

I find Cecil easy to fight. His Dark Knight form hits harder, but is a lot 
slower and its air game is crap. His Paladin form does a bit less damage, but
he's faster and has decent aerial attacks. That doesn't make him any more 
better though.

Dark Knight form has only two BRV attacks you should "worry" about. Valiant 
Blow (the one where he steps forward and hits you with his spear) comes out
pretty fast, BUT it has a lot of lag if he misses it. Dark Cannon will block
weak magic projectiles like Holy and drag you towards him. That gives him the
oppurtunity to hit you with any of his other attacks like Shadow Lance and 
Soul Eater. However, its startup is VERY slow and it's very easy to avoid. The
lag it has after is huge too. His Paladin form's attacks are better, but they
aren't that powerful tbh. Searchlight, like Dark Cannon, can link to nearly 
all his other attacks. Like Dark Cannon, it's very easy to avoid too. His 
Radiant Wings (the attack where he slashes at you at a cross-shaped fashion)
does a good amount of damage but there's a lot lf lag if he misses with it.
Sacred Cross is fast and can catch you by surprise and lead to a chase, but 
the damage is low. 

His HP attacks aren't too impressive either. His Soul Eater and Paladin Force
are identical to yours, but his Paladin Force can be chained from his Search-
light to get a lot more range (which is one of the reasons you should avoid it
all the time). Dark Flame can be annoying if he spams it repeatedly as its 
homing is strong (it can go backwards wtf), but it has a long start-up as well
as a lot of lag after. Despite its awesome homing, it doesn't travel very far
and travels slwoly. Saint's Fall is a joke; extremely easy to avoid, it has a
very long start-up, and the lag is huge (starting to see a pattern here 
right?). 

His EX mode is decent and alright. He gets the ability to instantly change 
jobs without using his other attacks, but I don't see any decent use for it. 
He also gets a 50% boost in damage for ALL his attacks, which can be 
troublesome for you if he gets criticals and/or uses weapon Adepts and ATK+
accessories. Try not to get hit by his stronger attacks, like Shadow Lance and
Radiant Wings when he's in EX mode. You'll be losing a lot of BRV if you do.

Counterattack is a wonderful skill to have to take advantage of the long lag 
Cecil has after his attacks (such as Dark Flame and Valiant Blow). Be careful
that nearly all of his attacks, in both Paladin and Dark Knight form, can wall
rush you. Holy-spamming can work as well since he lacks good long-range 
options other than Searchlight and Dark Flame. 


==================================================
Golbez                                     [VSGOL]
==================================================

     ~ "Your carefree ways end here."

Golbez is deadly. His ground BRV attacks will constantly pressure you and stop
you from turtling. His combos can also do high amounts of BRV damage as well 
as ending in an HP attack. He can also link all his BRV (except Attack System
and Gravity Force) into the HP attack Cosmic Ray.

Glare Hand is a very fast attack. The magic portion of the attack (the stream
of clear-ish energy wave) will pull you towards him. Along with Attack System,
it will be his main pressuring tool on the ground. Be forwarned that Attack 
System's lasers will stun you long enough for Golbez to use Glare Hand after,
beginning the long stream of combos he can do. Rising Wave isn't as fast as 
Glare Hand, but the damage is a lot higher and it has very high priority. 
It's also another one of his combo-starters, and it will take a lot of BRV 
from you if he gets a Riposte. If I'm not mistaken, he can hit you with the 
dark pillar of Rising Wave infinitely if you're against the ceiling in stages
like Pandemonium and Kefka's Tower. 

His aerial BRV game is bad though. All of them can be easily punished and are
laggy. His Float/Gravity System are both variations of the same attack. Float
System fires the laser downwards while Gravity System fires it upwards. Both 
of them will always activate Sneak Attack and will be the attack that ends 
most of his combos. His other BRV attack in the air is Gravity Force. He 
charges up a black ball of energy, releases it, then will either slap you into
it or launch a smaller energy ball that will pull you into the larger one. 
Gravity Force is VERY laggy and has a long start-up time. If you spot your
opponent using this, take advantage of your speed and run away from the orbs, 
then attack to make the most out of your Counterattack criticals.

Not including Cosmic Ray, he only has two HP attacks (although they're both
pretty good); Nightglow on the ground and Genesis Rock in the air. In 
Nightglow, he will raise his hands and a dark aura of energy will appear
around him. Then a blast of energy will form in your direction. If you get hit
by the aura, you will take some BRV damage before taking the blast at the end.
Nightglow WILL wall rush in nearly every stage as you'll be launched very high
up. If you attack him while he's using this attack, you will stagger as part 
of it has properties similar to a block. He will also deflect any weak magic
projectiles (such as your Holy) when he's using this. In Genesis Rock, he 
pulls out four rocks from underneath him, spins them around himself (causing
BRV damage) then throws the rocks in four different direcions, which will
cause HP damage. You *can* get hit by the final part where he throws his rocks
as the range is very high. When Golbez pulls out the rocks from the ground, 
for some odd reason, you can also get pulled up along them if you're below
him. That means even if Golbez is very high above you and he starts Genesis
Rock, you will be pulled in with the rocks which will cause you to take BRV
damage and then the final HP hit.

Golbez gets the Black Fang ability in EX mode. After a looong time of charging
the attack, you will instantly be broken. Fortunately for you, Golbez doesn't 
gain the BRV you had; he only gains the stage BRV in the middle. Golbez is able
to cancel the charge any time he wants without suffering any lag. If he gets 
hit while charging, it will be canceled and he will have to charge it all over 
again. It will be another one of his pressuring tools, as no one in their 
right minds want to lose all their BRV at once and give Golbez free stage BRV.
If he begins charging it, rush near him and use Holy. That should stop and 
scare the player a bit. Don't be stupid and Dash into him though, because he
might block.


==================================================
Bartz Klauser                             [VSBUTZ]
==================================================

     ~ "Hey, I am looking good!"




==================================================
Exdeath                                     [VSED]
==================================================

     ~ "You will come and join me."





==================================================
Terra Branford                            [VSTERA]
==================================================

     ~ "Can't we just have fun?"

Terra can be a hard person to fight. She has exactly the right tools to slowly
hurt the opponent while at the same time, avoid getting punished. Most of her 
BRV attacks have very little lag and the damage is pretty good. 

Her Holy Combo is similar to yours, except her Flare is a BRV attack and her's
will ends in Ultima. That pretty much means her Holy will do a lot more damage
than yours. She can also use Holy after her Meteor, which will cause more hurt
and make you cry. Her Blizzard Combo (the attack where she spins a block of 
ice around her) is very fast and has very little lag. It's hard blocking it 
and can punish your bad dodges. Blizzara ("GET AWAY!") travels pretty fast and
can catch you by surprise if you're close to her. The damage is average, but 
it knocks you quite far away. Graviga and Fire are both easy to avoid. Fire 
can be JUMPED over (it is small however, meaning you might not see it 'till it
hits you) while Graviga can be OAD'd/MAS'd away.

Her standalone HP attacks are alright. Tornado hurts after a block and can 
wall rush, but it's easy to dodge away if she uses it normally. There's a lot
of lag after it too, so take advantage of that to hit her with Paladin Force
and such. Flood is identical to yours. It's very easy to avoid, so no trouble
here. Meltdown actually has three different "stages", depending on how much it
is charged. The first stage is a smaller fireball that she fires immediately.
It's fast and the knockback is high. The second stage is a slightly-larger 
ball. Once she fires it, it will stay in place for a while then it will slowly
home in towards you at an increasing speed. If you dodge too early, the ball
will hit you so be careful. The third stage obviously has the biggest fireball
but also the longest charge time. However, the ball travels pretty fast AND 
will ricochet off walls. This can be bothersome in stages like Pandemonium and
Kefka's Tower where the ball can hit you by surprise from behind.

I should mention her EX mode, which is a real pain in the ass for anyone that
is fighting her. She gets the ability to glide, what that's not the real 
problem. It's Dualcast. As its name implies, she can cast her spells twice in
a row. That means she can fire two groups of Holy bolts (which travel faster),
hit you with six Flares (again, faster traveling), and end it in two Ultima
explosions. She can also rain twice the amount of Meteor. Her Flood becomes a
bit harder to avoid as they come out faster and more geisers fly up. Tornado
will hurt you bad if she pulls it off after a block along with Riposte + Dual-
cast. I'm not quite sure on this, but I believe her second Meltdown will 
always be or the third stage, regardless of whatever her first Meltdown was.

It should be pretty obvious by now that you shouldn't let her get into EX 
mode. EX Gauge Depletion will help a lot. Goblin Punch along with that will
pretty much kill any chance she has of getting into it. Take full advantage of
her Tornado's lag by using things like Paladin Force or Slidehazzard. In 
Slidehazzard's case, be careful of the timing it hits Terra. If it hits too 
soon, you will stagger as Tornado will still be in effect.


==================================================
Kefka Palazzo                             [VSKFKA]
==================================================

     ~ "Let me take that load of your shoulders."

It's everyone's favorite insane madman. I really don't get why so many people
say this guy sucks tbh. Imo, he has exactly the right attacks to constantly
harass his enemies and put pressure on them. Oh well.

Waggle-Wobbly Firaga is his main BRV-killer. It's the fireball he throws out
that will change its size, from small to large. You can dash through or block
the ball when its small. Blocking it when it's larger will cause you to 
stagger though. It homes in slowly and "randomly" too. The worse part is that
you will he "held in" a bit when you get hit by the fireball as it does
multiplie hits. This allows Kefka to easily connect an HP attack when you're
being hit by this attack's stun. With criticals, this attack practically eats
BRV. Extra-Crispy Firaga is the one where he shoots out three fireballs that
lead to a chase. The damage is high as well. Scatter-Spray Blizzaga is the
attack where he shoots out a large ice block, which will then split into many
smaller bits and hit you. Like his other attacks, this one does quite a bit of
damage as well (seeing a pattern here?). A small note but if you block or dash
through the larger ice block, the small bits will launch at him instead. His
version of Ultima is a lot different from Terra's; he'll throw a small blue 
orb at you, which will then erupt into a large explosion after. The knockback
from this attack is high, as well as the damage. 

Like most of his BRV attacks, the majority of his HP attacks have a long 
start-up too (althought most of them can be connected from WWF). Trine is the
attack where he causes three triangles to appear around you. The triangles
slowly come in towards your direction, but due to the long start-up it can be
easily avoided by dodging upwards. Keep in mind Kefka can use this after WWF 
hits to score a hit on your HP. Havon Wing is one of his faster attacks; he 
flips upsidedown ("Don't mess with me!") and then smacks you with his wings.
It can catch you off-guard if you aren't paying attention. Forsaken Null is 
the one where he creates some sort of sigil in the air which will drop energy
orbs down at you, which can be held as long as the Kefka user is holding the 
[] button. It's a real pain in the ass if he holds it when you're stuck near
a wall, BUT this attack has an incredibly long start-up and lag. Hyperdrive is
sort of like CoD's [Long Range] Particle Beam, except it has a longer start-up
and lag.

Ugh, now for his EX mode, which is godly (c wut i did thar lololol). Like 
Terra, he gets the ability to Glide. Similar to Terra's Dualcast ability is
his Exhilirating Magic effect, which causes his spells to become "more 
chaotic and unpredictable". Is short, it means his attacks become a lot more
powerful. WWF now fires two fireballs at the same time, allowing for a 
maximum of four fireballs constantly chasing you down around the area. This
makes the move extremely deadly and will constantly build up pressure on you, 
especially with the EX mode criticals and in some cases, EX Critical Boost.
Scatter-Spray Blizzaga's smaller ice bits will now home in and hit you a 
second time after its initial bursting. Extra-Crispy Firaga's three fireballs
will diverge into three smaller fireballs after time. Ultima's explosions are
a lot bigger and faster. His HP attacks are also affected. Trine releases 
another set of three triangles after the first set, which makes it harder to
dodge. The fall of Forsaken Null's energy balls now tilt towards you, giving 
it slight homing capabilities.


==================================================
Cloud Strife                             [VSCLOUD]
==================================================

     ~ "Don't rush me. I'm getting ready."

Easy. Most of his attacks are slow, meaning they're easy to block or dodge. 
He also lacks some good long-range options. However if his attacks connect, 
they WILL hurt.

Double Cut is his fastest attack. It's a pretty simple move where he slashes
you twice. It's kind of like Tidus' Hop Step, except the damage is a bit 
higher. Climhazzard is like your Climbarrel, except it does a lot more damage
and he can DC out of it and go into Slashing Blow > Omnislash v.5. His Fire
spells do weak damage and are pretty much his only long-range BRV options. 
Fire lasts and homes in a long time (like Firion's), Fira is a faster Fire but
doesn't last as Fire. Firaga is the one where he shoots out three fireballs, 
but the range is short and they explode quickly. The damage is obviously 
higher than the other two though. Slashing Blow is the attack you have to 
"worry" about. The damage is high and it links into Omnislash v.5, which will
wall rush nearly all the time. Like most of his attacks, it has short range 
and predictable. Rising Fang is the attack where he charges upwards. If it 
connects, he'll spin around you and slash you. The damage it does practically
eats BRV especially with criticals, but unless you're near the ceiling of the
stage, it won't be hitting you much. Aerial Fang is pathetic; it's a single 
slash that sends you flying into chase.

His HP attacks aren't that awesome either. On the ground, he has Cross Slash,
Meteorain, and Finishing Touch. Cross Slash is very powerful and sends you 
flying back a lot more than Cecil's Soul Eater. However, it is extremely easy
to dodge. The range is nothing impressive either. Meteorain is his long-ranged
HP attack. It can be a hassle to dodge, especially if you are not used to it.
If you fight Cloud enough and get used to when the meteors will fall, it's 
easy to avoid. Finishing Touch is one of his HP links linked from Sonic Break.
It does quite a bit of damage before dealing the final HP hit (which will most
likely wall rush), but Sonic Break is very easy to dodge as it comes out 
slowly. Aside from Omnislash v.5, Cloud only has a single HP attack in the air
and that is Braver. It's very slow, but you can get hit by it if you dodge too
early. Like the rest of his attacks, it will send you flying very far. The lag
he has after it is huge too, so take advantage of that.

Cloud becomes a bit tricker to deal with in EX mode. When he's in that state,
his attacks will do more damage the more HP he has (Ultima Weapon effect), but
the worse part is that his BRV attacks get an increase in priority, 
essentially causing guard crush on block. This means you can no longer block
Cloud's BRV attacks, meaning that dodging them or "running away" from them are
your only options. His Double Cut becomes pretty beastly too thanks to his
Ultima Weapon effect. In most cases (with Cloud's HP being high), it can do 
MORE than 800+ BRV damage. That's pretty scary considering the speed it has.


==================================================
Sephiroth                                 [VSSEPH]
==================================================

     ~ "Can you mimic my strength?"





==================================================
Squall Leonhart                          [VSSQUAL]
==================================================

     ~ "What keeps you so optimistic?"

If you ever needed a good challenge, Squall's one of them. He has just the 
right tools to constantly hurt your BRV badly. He also gets the ability to 
easily reflect your Holy with some of his attacks.

Beat Fang is pretty much his best attack. It's the air BRV attack where he
slashes you a few times, slams you downwards, and then shoots you with his
Revolver. This attack will ALWAYS trigger Sneak Attack a Squall player has it
equipped, which is almost every time. The part where he shoots you at the end
launches you very far down as well, doing wall rush BRV damage. Even without
criticals from Sneak Attack, this attack will still do high amounts of damage.
It also comes out extremely fast and it hardly has any lag at the end. Similar
to Beat Fang is Solid Barrel. Like Beat Fang, it does high amounts of damage 
and is very fast. Unlike Beat Fang, the range isn't as high and Solid Barrel
leads to a chase. Thunder Barret (his thunder spell, obv) can drag you towards
him, allowing him to immediately use a Solid Barrel on you and lay down the 
hurt. With criticals (Sneak Attack, Riposte etc.), this combo will do high 
amounts of BRV damage to you so don't get yourself blocked. Heel Crush (the 
one where he says "This is it") is one of his attacks that can deflect your
Holy. He can also dodge cancel out of it for mindgames. Blocking it will cause
you to stagger, so don't do it!

Other BRV attacks that the Squall might be packing are Upper Blues, Blizzard
Barret, and Mystic Flurry. Upper Blues is nothing much to worry about. Its 
damage is pretty good and the range is nice too. It can also do wall rush BRV
damage, but that's about it. Blizzard Barret travels very far and will be his
poking tool. The lag on it is pretty much non-exsistant. If you get it by hit,
expect an HP attack from him as the stun you get from it is enough for Squall
to land one. Mystic Flurry is his other attack to help him land an HP attack.
If you get hit by the "electricity", you will fall to the ground and be unable
to recover for a short period of time. There will almost always be enough time
for Squall to land on a ground and hit you with a Blasting Zone or Revolver 
Drive.

He'll kill your BRV real quick, but his HP attacks are not that good along. 
Nearly all of them possess the same traits; long start-up, the ability to 
block magic, and pretty huge lag. Blasting Zone ("How do you like this?") has
pretty high veritcal range as well as decent horizontal range. Revolver Drive
has a LONG start-up, but the damage is very high. Fated and Aerial Circle are
essentially the same, except it's just that one is in the air while the other 
is on the ground. Squall will surround himself with energy which will reflect
magic. Rough Divide has extremely high priority and range, but the ending lag
and start-up is huge as well. Most of these HP attacks can be used after you 
get hit by Blizzard Barret or Mystic Flurry, so try to avoid those as best as
you can.

I should also mention his EX mode, which is pretty broke. In his EX mode, his
physical attacks (Solid Barrel, Beat Fang etc.) get a slight increase in their
attack range. That is not the real troubel though. The thing that makes his EX
mode a pain in the ass is the fact that he does double the hits with his 
Revolver. That's right, DOUBLE. A single Beat Fang will do more than 1000 BRV
damage to you, and that's not factoring Sneak Attack and EX mode criticals. 
With criticals, you're bound to lose around 2000 BRV from a single Beat Fang,
which also gets increased range thanks to his other EX mode effect. >_> Solid
Barrel will also do insane amounts of damage especially with criticals or a 
Thunder Barret before it. Upper Blues will also do high amounts of damage, as 
well as easily letting Squall setup for a Mystic Flurry or Heel Crush.


==================================================
Ultimecia                                 [VSULTI]
==================================================

     ~ "Is his head empty?"




==================================================
Zidane Tribal                             [VSZIDN]
==================================================

     ~ "Hey Bartz, let's have some fun!"

Many people say Zidane is similar to OK, and that's true. However, unlike OK,
Zidane has many different attacks that can help him adapt to different 
situations. He also has one of the fastest BRV AND HP attacks in the game. 
He has a wide variety of combos he can do as well, nearly all of them ending
in an HP attack like Golbez's.

Swift Attack is the real trouble here. It's a VERY fast BRV attack that ends 
in the HP attack Meo Twister. Due to its speed and the fact that it barely has
any lag, this will be the Zidane's main tool for killing you. Sure, SA is very
weak, but that shouldn't matter at all since it ends in an HP attack. SA will
slowly chip away your HP (probably around 1000 per hit) and can trigger Sneak
Attack most of the time. I should also mention he has both ground and aerial
versions of this attack. 

His other BRV attacks aren't as awesome, thankfully. Most Zidane players also
use Rumble Rush on the ground, which also links into Meo Twister although most
players don't equip that to save CP. The damage is higher than Swift Attack's,
BUT it starts up slower and Zidane can easily be punished if it misses. Some
players opt to use Soultion 9, which is the long-range BRV attack where he 
rapidly fires out orange projectiles. They have a pretty long range, fire out
at a fast rate, and do decent damage. They can be dashed through, however.
Tempest is the attack where he throws his knives down at you. It can also be
linked into Meo Twister and can be DC'd to form an infinite combo if for some
reason you allow it. Similar to that is Vortex, except Vortex does wall rush
BRV damage and does not link to any HP attacks. It also goes upward as opposed
to downward like Tempest. It has more lag too. Finally, he has Storm Impulse. 
It's pretty much like your Storm Shot except the animation is a bit different.
It does not link to any HP attack either.

Some of his HP attacks are pretty impressive too. Shift Break is his long-
range HP attack where he zaps electricity around you and forms a water 
pillar. The range on this pretty long and can catch you off guard if you're
not paying attention. It also has a slight absorbing effect. Grand Lethal is
the attack where he spins and charges at you. It can be used in some DC combos
and can cause wall rush damage. Free Energy is the second fastest HP attack in
the game (fastest being Goblin Punch obviously :P). Zidane will let out a 
burst of blue energy and cause HP damage. Along with SA > Meo Twister, Free
Energy will be his most-used tool to slowly wither down your HP. Playing all
defensively and trying to block early to stop Zidane's flurry of Swift Attacks
will usually result in you getting hit by this too, so be on the lookout. His
ground HP attacks aren't as good though. Tidal Flame is just god damned s****y
and can easily be dodged. Hell, you can JUMP from it and even block it (but
you will stagger). Stellar Circle 5 is a bit better but it still isn't that 
good. He'll make a whirlwind of energy that surrounds him and blocks weak 
magic projectiles. It has an absorb effect as well, but it's area-of-effect is
low.

His EX mode gives him more jumps, as well as invincibility frames when he 
jumps. If I'm not mistaken, his jumps also act like dodges. He can get a total
of 13 jumps in EX mode (3 regular jumps with an addtional 10, assuming no Jump
Times Boosts are equipped). That allows Zidane to easily gain vertical height
even with Omni Air Dash equipped. 


==================================================
Kuja                                      [VSKUJA]
==================================================

     ~ "I envy your lightheartedness."




==================================================
Tidus                                    [VSTIDUS]
==================================================

     ~ "It's great to have momentum!"

Tidus is apparently supposed to be the "master of dodging" here as some of his
attacks have built-in dodges, but those attacks kinda suck. Anyways... that's
beside the point here. His dodge & counter attacks are the ones that dodge on
the attack's start-up, and I will go over them later.

The BRV attack you should watch out for the most is Hop Step, which is his 
fastest attack. It's a simple slash and charge that can lead to a chase. Due 
to the incredible speed of this move, he will repeatedly annoy the crap out of
you by poking you with it and taking a small amount of your BRV every time. He
has both air and ground version of this move, which are both essentially the
same. Keep in mind blocking this move is hard as it comes out extremely fast.
His blitzball BRV attacks are so f***ing terrible I won't even bother going 
over them. He has Sonic Buster on the ground, which is the attack where he
kneels down for a moment and charges forward. It's one of his more-damaging
moves, except the start-up is a bit long and it's easily punishable if he 
whiffs. Similar to that is his air BRV attack Full Slide, which looks a bit
like your Slidehazzard. He literally slides in the air a few times before 
kicking you away. It does more damage the closer you are to him when he uses 
it and can be combo'd with Hop Step.

Now, onto his dodge & counter moves. He has three of them in total, with two 
of them having both ground and aerial versions. All of them can link into the
HP attack Quick Hit or lead to a chase. They are all extremely easy to block 
too if the player is bad and uses them out in the open. Cut & Run is the one 
on the ground where he dodges/leaps backwards and then charges forward with 
his sword. Dart & Weave is the one where he dodges upwards and then charges
down while spinning. The most commonly used one is Stick & Move, where he is
able to dodge horizontally in any direction and then throws his sword. Both of
the above two attacks can be used both on the ground and in the air.

His standalone HP attacks aren't too impressive since he lacks decent vertical
options. On the ground, he has Spiral Cut and Energy Rain. Spiral Cut is the 
one where he does multiple somersaults before slamming his sword down. It can
be a bit hard to avoid if he suddenly uses it when you're close up but if you
can avoid it (which isn't hard in most cases), you'll have the perfect 
oppurtunity to punish him. He has ground and air versions of Energy Rain; both
are essentially identical. Tidus will gather energy, "stomp" them, jump high 
in the air and release some particles from his sword which do HP damage. The
attack does pretty good damage, but has pretty big lag (about the same lag as
Squall's Blasting Zone) if he misses. He also has Slice & Dice (Charge & 
Assault) in the air. After floating in the air, he will charge forward towards
you. If it connects, he will slash you in different directions. This attack 
has a very long start-up, but it has pretty high horizontal range. The 
vertical range is nearly non-exsistant though. Jecht Shot is his "long range"
HP attack that actually has some vertical range. After pulling his leg back
for a while, he will kick a blitzball forward. This attack has very high 
knockback and can wall rush most of the time. The range on this is a bit 
lacking for a long-range attack, but if you dodge too early you could get hit.

Tidus' EX mode is kind of like a cross between WoL's and Cloud's. Like WoL's,
he will deflect weak magic projectiles while running and like Cloud, his 
attacks will do more damage the more HP he has (now referred to as the 
"Ultima Weapon" effect) . Another effect his EX mode has is increase running 
speed, and by "increased", I mean the "wtf how the hell does he run so fast?"
kind of speed. The Ultima Weapon-esque effect is the one that makes his EX 
mode amazing. With criticals, his Hop Step becomes an amazing BRV-eater, 
being able to take a lot more BRV than it's supposed to especially of a move
with its speed. His other attacks do insane damage as well with criticals. 
Moves such as Full Slide and Stick & Move will drain your BRV incredibly fast
if they get criticals and connect.


==================================================
Jecht                                    [VSJECHT]
==================================================

     ~ "Look who's on his first adventure!"

Here he is, the manliest character in all of Dissidia. His BRV attacks can all
"chain" into HP attacks provided that the Jecht player knows the timing on 
when to press the buttons. He can also charge up his attacks to give it higher
priority (guard crush) and to increase the critical rates (I think). 

He's unique in the sense that he gets only two "legal" BRV attacks (not 
including Jacht Block); Jecht Rush and Jecht Stream. Both attacks have 
multiple phases they can go into depending on when the player presses the O
button and/or analog stick. I don't really know how to explain it better than
this, but if you got a better explanation for this, I'm all ears.

Jecht Block will be his main "attack" most of the time. It does exactly what 
its name implies: blocking. It also counts as an attack, so Jecht can use it 
to cancel out your Snooze and Lose. Jecht Block also has crazy high priority.
It can block many HP attacks, such as Soul Eater and Wind Shear. However, both
Jecht and you will stagger in that case. He can't Jecht Block Paladin Force 
and Goblin Punch though, so that's good for you. Jecht Block's duration is the
same as a normal block's (I believe) and is very fast. 

Jecht has four HP attacks; two each on the ground and air. Ultimate Jecht Shot
is the one where he picks up a giant meteor from no-where, lifts it up, and 
throws it. It does quite a bit of BRV damage before the actual meteor-throw,
especially when they get a critical from Riposte or the like. Keep in mind if
you somehow run into it when he picks up the meteor or when he's lifting it,
you'll get hit. If you attack him during that time, you will stagger. His 
other HP attack on the ground is Jecht Blade, although he also has an aerial
version as well. Both variants can be charged for more criticals. Jecht will
swing his sword and then knocks them far away. In a way, it's similar to 
Sephiroth's Octoslash, but the range is much less. It *can* be chained from 
both Jecht Rush and Stream if inputted correctly. The knockback is high, so
that means you can expect it to wall rush a lot. The air version is 
essentially the same, except it's in the air. >_> His other HP attack in the 
air is Triumphant Grasp. Like Jecht Blade, this can be charged for more damage
and criticals. Jecht will charge down, grab you, and then throw (?) you away.
It can also be chained from Jecht Stream if inputted correctly as well. The
knockback from this move isn't as high as Jecht Blade's, but it's still high
enough to cause wall rush most of the time.

Although Jecht's melee game can be frightening, he has one MAJOR flaw: the 
lack of ranged attacks. He has no range attacks in his aresenal whatsoever 
(unless you count UJS, but the range on that isn't exactly what I'd call 
"large"). Both Jecht Rush and Stream's uncharged ranges are pathetic too. Both
those attacks also have quite a bit of lag after them if they miss, although 
the Jecht player can remedy this by DC'ing. He also can't continue his attack
"phases" if the first phase misses. However, his EX mode grants him the
ability to continue his phases/combos even though they miss or if you escape
from it somehow. His attacks (uncharged) are very easy to block as well, so 
take advantage of that.


==================================================
Shantotto                                 [VSSHAN]
==================================================

     ~ "I don't have time for frolicking."




==================================================
Gabranth                                   [VSGAB]
==================================================

     ~ "Stay my blade, if you can!"

Gabranth is hard. Nearly all the time, the Gabranth will OAD away from you and
begin EX Charging. If you get close to him, he'll just stop the EX Charge, OAD
away, and repeat the process until his gauge is full. His Sentence (sword 
slashes, outside of EX mode) will be one of the attacks he'll be using to keep
you away. It also generates a lot of EX force, but the damage is low. Keep in
mind Gabranth has BOTH ground and air versions of EX Charge. When he does 
reach EX mode (which is bound to happen some time), he gets a new set of 
attacks as well as faster running speed and better jumping strength. 

You're in for a beating once he gets into EX mode. He gets Dual Rend, which is
basically a super-buffed-up Sentence. It does very high damage, comes out
extremely fast, and has good range. Similiar to that is Enrage, his main 
ground BRV move. It's another buffed Sentence, except he does slashes eight 
times at you. The range of this move is good and the damage is very high. Both
of these moves also generate a lot of EX force, so be careful. His Vortex of
Judgment will deflect your Holy bolts and can be hard to dodge if you're too
close to him. Rupture is like a mini Dual Rend, except he can charge either
upwards or downwards. The damage and speed isn't as high though. Relentless
Lunge does high damage and leads to a chase however, it is VERY easy to block.
Aero is the tornado-like attack. It homes in and travels slowly, but the 
damage is incredibly high. Like Relentless Lunge, this is easy to avoid as
well. 

He also gets four new HP attacks in EX mode. Innocence is the attack where he
launches four shockwaves from his sword. The shockwaves fly slowly in your
direction and have very long range. The aerial version has the shockwaves 
flying downwards with slight homing, kinda like how water flows out of a cup
if you tip it over a bit. I should also mention that Gabranth automatically
blocks all weak magic projectiles (like your Holy) when using both Innocence.
Guilt is the the ground HP attackwhere he charges forward and erupts the air 
ahead of him on fire. If I'm correct, the fire can hit you twice. The initial
sword charge can do around 1000 BRV damage, so be careful. His final HP attack
in Hatred. He gathers a sphere of energy around him, then releases it. It has 
a slight absorb effect and comes out at a pretty fast speed. It can catch you
by surprise if you're not attentive, and it can wall rush.

The thing about fighting Gabranth is that you shouldn't waste time when he's
not in EX mode. Every second counts. Rush up to him and use as much attacks as
you can. Hitting him with things like Flare will harm him assuming you have EX
Gauge Depletion on. If he does get into EX mode, you can be an ass and run 
away until it runs out. Hitting him with Goblin Punch over and over again, 
along with EX Gauge Depletion (Lufeninan or Despair Shock helps) works very
well too.


==================================================
Chaos                                    [VSCHAOS]
==================================================

     ~ "The mortal desire for power knows no limits."




==============================================================================
Battle Quotes                                                          [QUOTE]
==============================================================================

A list of all quotes Bartz has in battle is compiled here, in case you didn't
see some of them already in the other sections of the guide.


==================================================
Beginning-of-battle Quotes               [BTLQUTE]
==================================================

Regular quotes: 
     - "It's a new adventure!"
     - "The wind is calling me."
     - "Don't follow a path, make your own."
     - "Never lose your sense of adventure!"
     - "Ugh... I'm still in!" (low HP)
     - "When the going gets tough..." (low HP)
     - "A worthy opponent!" (opponent is stronger)
     - "This is exciting!" (opponent is stronger)
     - "You can run if you want." (opponent is weaker)
     - "Come on, show me what you've got!" (opponent is weaker)

Encounter Quotes (Bartz to opponent):
     - "'Light, give me strength!'... or whatever." (vs. Warrior of Light)
     - "Mimicing you is no easy task!" (vs. Firion)
     - "Guess I was once that small too." (vs. Onion Knight)
     - "You are who you are. believe in yourself!" (vs. Cecil)
     - "Hey, I am looking good!" (vs. Bartz)
     - "You've got to have the courage to act." (vs. Terra)
     - "Just act before you have the time to worry!" (vs. Cloud)
     - "Would it kill you to smile sometimes?" (vs. Squall)
     - "This match is mine!" (vs. Zidane)
     - "Hey, teach me some new moves!" (vs. Tidus)
     - "Don't you like anything other than fighting?" (vs. Garland)
     - "Wanting to rule everything is just being greedy." (vs. The Emperor)
     - "Oooh, the clouds are getting dark!" (vs. Cloud of Darkness)
     - "You should take a trip and forget your troubles." (vs. Golbez)
     - "The world will always be reborn!" (vs. Exdeath)
     - "Looks like you're having fun." (vs. Kefka)
     - "That is one long sword." (vs. Sephiroth)
     - "Must be nifty to be able to stop time." (vs. Ultimecia)
     - "You sure like floating around." (vs. Kuja)
     - "Let's fight like men!" (vs. Jecht)
     - "Sorry if I make you trip." (vs. Shantotto)
     - "How about we end the suffering?" (vs. Gabranth)
     - "Let's finish this, one on one!" (vs. Chaos)

Encounter Quotes (Opponent to Bartz):
     - "You must learn that courage is not recklessness." (Warrior of Light)
     - "Alright, time to play hard!" (Firion)
     - "Do you ever look before you before you leap?" (Onion Knight)
     - "I hope you will not hold back." (Cecil)
     - "Hey! I am looking good!" (Bartz)
     - "Can't we just have fun?" (Terra)
     - "Don't rush me, I'm getting ready." (Cloud)
     - "What keeps you so optimistic?" (Squall)
     - "Hey Bartz, let's have some fun!" (Zidane)
     - "It's great to have momentum!" (Tidus)
     - "Can you withstand my attacks?" (Garland)
     - "Unreachable freedom is no better than a cage." (Cloud of Darkness)
     - "Your carefree ways end here." (Golbez)
     - "You shall come and join me!" (Exdeath)
     - "Let me take that load off your shoulders." (Kefka)
     - "Can you mimic my strength?" (Sephiroth)
     - "Is his head empty?" (Ultimecia)
     - "I envy your lightheartedness." (Kuja)
     - "Look who's on his first adventure!" (Jecht)
     - "I don't have time for frolicking." (Shantotto)
     - "Stay my blade, if you can!" (Gabranth)
     - "The mortal desire for power knows no limits." (Chaos)


==================================================
In-battle Quotes                         [IBLQUTE]
==================================================

     - "Here we go!" (using Wind Shear, or starting EX burst)
     - "Darkness... drink of anguish!" (using Soul Eater)
     - "Cleansing light!" (using Paladin Force)
     - "Please." (using Flood)
     - "Let's go!" (using Ascendant Lance)
     - "Got it! That should do it!" (using Climbarrel)
     - "Haah, another one! Come on! (using Slidehazzard)
     - "Get back here. That's a wrap!" (using Reel Impulse)
     - "Goal!!" (using Storm Shot)
     - "Here..." (using Holy)
     - "The wind is with me!" (entering EX mode)
     - "The four essences!" (during the first part of his EX burst)
     - "For a shining world!" (last hit of EX burst; after getting perfect)


===================================================
Victory and Loss Quotes                   [VCLQUTE]
===================================================

Victory Quotes:
     - "Whoa, what a rush!"
     - "The winds of victory are blowing my way!"
     - "There's no end to an adventure."
     - "I'll protect everyone."
     - "The wind's still blowing..." (winning at low HP)
     - "All's well that ends well!" (winning at low HP)
     - "Hey, I'm not so bad!" (beating a strong opponent)
     - "This is what I call an adventure!" (beating a strong opponent)
     - "Don't feel bad, there's always next time!" (beating a weak opponent)
     - "We'll run into each other against some day." (beating a weak opponent)

Loss Quotes:
     - "Aw man, I just can't win." 
     - "Giving up is the biggest threat to an adventure."
     - "Ugh... I'm finished."
     - "One more try..."
     - "I'll wait for the next wind to blow."
     - "Needed a quick break." 
     - "I was so close." (losing to strong opponent)
     - "Back to square one." (losing to strong opponent)
     - "This time didn't count, right?" (losing to weaker opponent)
     - "Guess I gotta suck it up..." (losing to weaker opponent)


==============================================================================
Frequently Asked Questions                                              [FAQS]
==============================================================================

Will add questions here once I get them. Yup. If you got them, look for my 
e-mail under the contact info section and ask there.


==============================================================================
Contact Information                                                   [CNTNFO]
==============================================================================

This is my second guide here at GameFAQs, so I know I might not have done a 
very good job at it. If you have anything you would like to point out, such as
major errors, typoes, or anything that's confusing you, do tell. I'll be more
than happy to fix it. I'm only human, so I'm bound to make mistakes somewhere.

If you have something you would like to contribute, such as additional info,
character builds, or any other tips, feel free to send them to me. I'll be 
sure to give any credits, of course. I will try to respond or give feedback
ASAP. 

Contact me at: [email protected]

Remember to add something into the subject line so I will know you are talking
about this guide. Otherwise, I might not respond to the mail as I do not like
spam. :\


==============================================================================
Version History                                                         [VHST]
==============================================================================

Current version: v 0.8.

[Oct. 2, 2010]: Guide submitted to GameFAQs for the first time.


Also since I have no idea where to put a list of things I need to work on,
I guess I'll put them here:

- Complete Bartz vs. others section.
- Add more builds.
- Add stage strategies, if possible.
- Add things to the FAQs section once I get them.


==============================================================================
Credits                                                              [CRDINFO]
==============================================================================

Credits and special thanks (in no particular order, mind you) go to...

- Absolute Steve: For his awesome Dissidia walkthrough, which helped me find
  stats and available equipment for Bartz, and the level he learns his attacks
  at.

- Super Slash and his quote FAQ: For a place where I could easily find any of
  Bartz's missing quotes.

- Reimu_H: For pointing out how Bartz's EX mode isn't "canon" when compared to
  FFV. Fun little piece of trivia there. lol

- Final Fantasy Wikia: A place where I could easily find out about Bartz's
  background information in Final Fantasy V, as well as helping me confirm the
  CP costs for his attacks.

- GameFAQs: Obv for providing a place where I can host this FAQ, as well as
  being a very useful and fun site overall. The Dissidia board also had some
  good topics about strategies and comboes with Bartz.

- YouTube, and all the people whose videos I used: A great place for me to 
  look for some comboes that I might have been missing, as well as videos on 
  how they are performed/worked.

- You, the reader: Because without you, the guide would be pointless as there
  would be no one reading it. =P

- Me, and the trusty software known as Notepad: For writing this entire guide.

- Square Enix: For making such a good game. I had my doubts at first, but now 
  they're all gone. lol