Duodecim Revisited

I've decided to start a fresh game and take things slow.

I've been working on my party (read: the entire roster) for some time, enough that I bought every character their Item Slots (a ton of Rosetta stones).

I made it as far as Scenario 000, but I could use some advice for the dungeons with multiple floors.

What are some good Chain skills/Abilities to purchase and use on each floor? And what equipment layout is ideal for dealing with these characters:

Gabranth (with his EX Mode layout)
Vaan (another EX layout, usually in the Omega Bahamut stage)
Crystal Golbez (who loves countering my EVERY move!)
Crystal Garland (Level 130 I think)
Mirage Tower Mirror Targets
Level 100 "Assist" characters (these guys get in the way too much!)

I'm also thinking about making a bunch of rules specifically for dealing with these enemies/areas.

Also wondering if you have to beat Desperado Chaos's "shade" before unlocking Gilgamesh/Prishe Battlegen.

Also a faster way to get Mog's Amulet besides the moogle letters would be nice.

Ideally I just want a good way to farm items/AP/Gil. EXP and PP aren't an issue.

I've thought about going back to this game since I never finished it. Wanna really play the shit out of it like I did with Dissidia (240 hours and counting!).



yes i know warrior of light is my fav charcter and he features prominently in it i am lazy okay lol

Whenever I had trouble on somebody, I just used the Iai strike Yuna I had in my party.

So I beat Feral Chaos (Manikin) "by the skin of my teeth" (as Lighting says).

He tore through my Sephiroth, Warrior of Light, Cloud, and then when I got to Lightning...

Spammed Thundaga + Razor Gale

Feral Chaos dodges "towards the Thundaga" (gets hit) bounces into the homing Razor Gale HP attack...plus it hits for Wall damage.

Despite that, I barely survived off 1 HP. Spamming is an art form, despite people hating it.

Now I just have to work on refining more/better equipment.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not any good at the Dissidia games. I completed the original by the skin of my teeth and while I enjoyed it, I just found some matches too frustrating.

I recently bought Duodecin on the Vita. It's far superior to the original IMO, I really like the extra touches (world map.esqueness etc) but I found myself struggling again and gave up. I can only lose a battle around 5-7 times before I get too frustrated to continue, and when I tried to level up in Arcade mode I kept dying against opponents on my own level.

I need to go back to it though.

I just realized I never really beat Dissidia. I think the hardest part was just getting the appropriate level 100 equipment, or any equipment. I know you could game the system and get the accessories you needed but for some reason I never even bothered.

That and... I'm not terribly good at Dissidia, I couldn't block worth crap, but they were great games I could just pick up and play. I wish my PSP didn't break :/ I'd like to beat the final form of Chaos.

I never beat it because it got too grindy for me at the end after you beat Chaos. But I think I'm okay at it and enjoy them, especially with duodecim's improvements

Protips from me (though I'd hardly call myself a seasoned vet):

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Accessories are better than any weapon you get initially
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Especially if you plan on Grinding. You get the same amount of EXP regardless of what level you're fixed at (even in Fixed Level Gateways in order to get KP bonuses, reducing your level doesn't give you more EXP it just increases the difficulty and gives you more KP). Reducing your level limits what kind of equips you can use anyway, so there's no point in focusing on that until you can make some items with special effects built into them.

The main focus of grinding is to grab Bonus EXP battles and maximize their grind potential.

I always stick with Hardcore/Fat Chocobo/Blue Chocobo course Play Plans. Fat Chocobo keeps giving you Chocobo Wings, these are useful later on in Scenario 000 (Gateway of Fallen Snow) where you can use them an unlimited amount of times without worrying about the item breaking, so long as you chain-battle on the "Accessories Protected" panel. Once you get "Diamond Ring/Stud/etc and Dazzling Diamond/Beckoning Cat" Accessories, you can further grind your party and get 56+ AP in a single fight or more depending on your setup, without worrying about breakage. Having Hero Essences/Hero CP+ items also speeds up the process too.

Then you can equip stuff like Arcane Resin/Brave Resin and go nuts while grinding AP/EXP/Gil all day in that Gate. Besides the fact your party members can get 11+ levels a pop for tough enemies on good bonus battles, you get a ton of AP/PP/Gil/KP besides if you do it right.

And once you start rolling in KP you can start making the items you REALLY want...that includes ultimates.
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Learn the Item refinement process
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This should be obvious, but if there's an item you haven't made that's not in your inventory, chances are you should buy/make it. It unlocks more items in the shop.

Any items you come across that you don't typically get sometimes unlock items you can buy/create too.

Having a surplus of items is also a good way to boost your Gil gain on Bonus Day, which can be manipulated by the calendar.
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Evade is better than Jump
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When fighting enemies, enhance your Evade abilities as best you can, evade distance and evade frames help you dodge stuff like Sephiroth's Hell's Gate that normally wouldn't be easy to dodge.

Heck, I equip "Have not yet Jumped" as a Booster Accessory since I rely on Air Dash/Free Air Dash more.
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Coward enemies are stupid enemies
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Most enemies that try to dodge everything can't dodge more than ONE thing at a time, so throwing 2 HP attacks at them in a corner at the same time will usually clobber them.

Use Assist HP attacks, use multiple projectiles, trap bait, whatever it takes.

Taking advantage of Chaos Judgement is also good too, since Chaos will get angry and FREEZE them for running away.
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KP Switch + Multichain + KP Gambler
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No seriously, this combination will net you any amount of KP you desire, and all you have to do is WIN.
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READ BATTLE TIPS
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Selphie's advice is solid advice, I kid you not. Manikins that love to block and counter your attacks can easily get thrown off if you take just a MOMENT to pause before attacking.

Throwing a "relatively safe" HP attack at someone to corner them is also a good idea.

Precision Blocking pwns a lot of things that normally would hit (like Zidane's Grand Lethal)...you should try it.

Many HP attacks cut through "projectiles" if you time it right. Cloud's Braver can cut through Garland's Tornadoes easily.
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Make your own rules
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I'm not kidding, this is key for setting up certain conditions. Stuff like extended EX Mode or Assist boosting will make your life that much easier in some fights.

Maximizing Warp Trap Damage also helps too. Sure, it hurts, but you're smart enough not to get knocked in, right?

Also, any summon/item you find can be BANNED. Keep this in mind. It works on enemies a lot.

Bravery Bonus can be reversed to give characters with Lower Levels 9999 Brave, but this only works in Quick Battles.
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Gabranth is your friend
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So long as you use him for grinding, the most he can do is break you. Even at Level 100.

If you play your rules right, you can set up quick grinds and speed up the process.

Gabranth is your friend
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So long as you use him for grinding, the most he can do is break you. Even at Level 100.

If you play your rules right, you can set up quick grinds and speed up the process.

Click to expand...

Hahaha, this is what I did. I set my rules no the smallest EXP time, set stage bravery to 9999 then disabled all summons except Carbuncle. HP attack him > Carbuncle sets his HP to 0 > Break him with one attack >9999 Bravery> HP attack > Victory in seconds.

The only genuine problem is after awhile your level outstretches your AP, but I had my own AP grinding rules. Which went something like Bonus Day > 9999 Bravery > level 1 stupid AI > break without getting hit > 9999 Bravery > Win the + AP.

It's boring grinding but oh well.

Precision Blocking pwns a lot of things that normally would hit (like Zidane's Grand Lethal)...you should try it.

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I'm so terrible at blocking, I heard this was a deal breaker for a lot of higher fights but I'd never be able to get through it.

KP Switch + Multichain + KP Gambler
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No seriously, this combination will net you any amount of KP you desire, and all you have to do is WIN.

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There are certain caves that are guaranteed to give you 50+ KP with just multichain or such. I can't recall what they were for the life of me though. The multi leveled dungeons in Dreams of the Creator are pretty fantastic for getting KP.

There's also a cave you can farm for level 100 luferian equipment, so far it's the only equipment I've been able to get at level 100. I forget which Dreams of the Creator cave it is, but you can enter it, beat a relatively low level manikin (like maybe 80), get the equipment (it's random everytime), leave the cave without defeating it, and redo everything- you'll lose any KP but since it's on the first level it won't matter, and you keep the equipment. Rinse and repeat.

If you're having trouble, I'd consider switching to RPG mode. Its simpler controls can make the game easier. You'll probably want to make an Iai strike build when you get to 000 though, as a lot of the enemies in that mode are extremely hard without one, and Feral Chaos is nigh-impossible without one.I went with RPG mode when I played it and I never went back. Action mode's controls were way too complicated for me.

The problem I had with rpg mode is not being able to run away or jump. I just felt like I had less control.

I tried it but rpg is so boring.

If you're having trouble, I'd consider switching to RPG mode. Its simpler controls can make the game easier. You'll probably want to make an Iai strike build when you get to 000 though, as a lot of the enemies in that mode are extremely hard without one, and Feral Chaos is nigh-impossible without one.I went with RPG mode when I played it and I never went back. Action mode's controls were way too complicated for me.

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Isn't that the one with the one hit break accessory? That accessory is ridiculous to get when I glanced at it. But all the faqs I read said it was necessary. Maybe one day when I get a new PSP

The downside to Iai Strike/Assist Strike/EX Strike is that you get 0 Defense as compensation. And if you're not good at blocking/avoiding hits...ouch.

That's why Bravery Regen/Extra HP to BRV/Zalera Summon are critical for that build.

Personally I like Soul of Yamato (Genji) + Angel's Bell (Regen Boost) builds more. You get more HP and any extra goes to your Brave automatically. Add on Brave+EXP and you'll have a long fight on your hands.

I find Sniper-Eye and Booster to be far more damage-dealing than anything you yourself could do on average, and more reliable besides. Though enemies do sometimes have Wall Defense items, they're usually not that big a deal in that regard.

Wisper of the Wyrm (Dragon Armor) is also a good one for Defense (plus Master Defender).

I've seen hacked Sniper-Eye builds where you could do 9999+9998 Wall damage (meaning no matter how high their HP is, they'll end up with 1 HP left). Cloud and Kain are especially built for that.