Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age

[Flintlock]

Pinewood:

A simple, carved tablet inlaid with silver. It is a mark of status held by ardents in the Imperial City of Archades.

Sandalwood:

An elegantly carved tablet inlaid with gold. It is a mark of status held by gentry in the Imperial City of Archades.

 

[Fangu]

hahahahaha

Thanks

 

[JechtShotMK9]

Ok, so I'm catching up on some of my hunts, and I decide to do the Marilith one since I'm in the Zertinan Caverns and all that. I remember there's something specific about getting this mark to appear, but I don't remember what. I check my strategy guide. Nothing.

I check my OLD strategy guide instead.

...Tells me to shut off all gambits and stay in the room for 5 minutes to get it to appear. Why is it that an old BradyGames guide helps me better than this new Prima piece of shite?

For Marilith, you just have to go down to the part with the flora and lights coming in, and stand there for a bit. No need to turn gambits off or anything; you just need to stand in the right area.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Ok, so I'm catching up on some of my hunts, and I decide to do the Marilith one since I'm in the Zertinan Caverns and all that. I remember there's something specific about getting this mark to appear, but I don't remember what. I check my strategy guide. Nothing.

I check my OLD strategy guide instead.

...Tells me to shut off all gambits and stay in the room for 5 minutes to get it to appear. Why is it that an old BradyGames guide helps me better than this new Prima piece of shite?

For Marilith, you just have to go down to the part with the flora and lights coming in, and stand there for a bit. No need to turn gambits off or anything; you just need to stand in the right area.

Well, I turned my gambits off anyway because I didn't feel like wasting time. As soon as I did the damn thing showed up and I turned it into lumps of chunky salsa.

 

[Fangu]

I remember Marilith showing up almost right away in TZA, I didn't even have to wait that long for it. I remember standing still for ages in the original. Then again, I did spend some time on that map grinding other things.

In other news, I got the Technick trophy, that was partly annoying. Zodiark killed me because I was out of non-elemental motes and Phoenix Downs I also walked in on him because I didn't bother checking the map, that didn't help either. But now I have 25 Shock Motes, 99 Phoenix Downs and I'm going to figure out who I'll give Ultima to, so. ZODIARK WATCH OUT.

Also, not using Bubble is going much better than I thought. I don't have the healing power to regain all that HP anyway - Curaga and X-pots is working out well enough. Also, damage control.

 

[Fangu]

So I finally cleared Stage 100 of the Trials. WHAT A SHIT FIGHT. They just decided to erase your chance of using every single known tactic in the game. It's not just a hard fight, it's a ridiculously hard fight. I don't even know how people bothered with this shit on IZJS o_O

Anyway Trials wasn't too hard - my main party is on average level 88ish, my equipment is shit and they were still only on Foebreaker/ Red Mage/ Shikari. My main problem was that by Yiazmat I had ran out of PD's. So I had to make Fran a Monk and Basch + reverse party White Mages just to be able to use Raise/ Arise. Speaking of Yiazmat, he's a pure pushover in the Trials version so I would advice anyone looking for the PSN trophy to defeat him in Trials, as you need the Stage 100 one for Plat anyway.

Speaking of Level 100... I ended up cheating. Or, well, for 3 of the judges anyway. I used the Zeromus Big Bang Bubble Mote Niho Elixir strat, which did 240k damage per judge, MOHAHA. I didn't repeat it for Bergan and Gab, I killed them regularly, but by the end I was so bored I was considering finishing Gab the same way.

I'm gonna make a New Game- save but dunno if I'll be playing it yet. I should have a save on Trials 90, going to load that up in regular mode and keep playing on this save instead. I still have to defeat Hell Wyrm regularly (for the Cartographer), plus there's the Bestiary. I defeated Larva Eater and Level 99 Chocobo in Trials though, do I don't have to spawn those <3

Still 999,999 things to do

 

[ForceStealer]

Okay, so I'm getting relatively near the end. I just got Reddas and about to head to the Pharos. Obviously way way farther than I've ever gotten. So, I'm not a completionist and don't really feel the need to do everything, but there are things I might be interested in. One thing I know that I absolutely want to do is the Gilgamesh hunt. And I feel like i should such things while I have Reddas with me. But by the same token, I'm feeling the pull to finally finish the game that has eluded me for so long. So I could just try and run and beat it and then do other stuff.

I dunno, I guess my question is is there anything optional that I absolutely should do before going to the endgame? Everyone in the party is currently between levels 40 and 45 (Reddas of course coming in at 45). I know there are technically a million optional things to do, but that biggies are the hunts and the Espers.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

Okay, so I'm getting relatively near the end. I just got Reddas and about to head to the Pharos. Obviously way way farther than I've ever gotten. So, I'm not a completionist and don't really feel the need to do everything, but there are things I might be interested in. One thing I know that I absolutely want to do is the Gilgamesh hunt. And I feel like i should such things while I have Reddas with me. But by the same token, I'm feeling the pull to finally finish the game that has eluded me for so long. So I could just try and run and beat it and then do other stuff.

I dunno, I guess my question is is there anything optional that I absolutely should do before going to the endgame? Everyone in the party is currently between levels 40 and 45 (Reddas of course coming in at 45). I know there are technically a million optional things to do, but that biggies are the hunts and the Espers.

I'd say explore some of the optional areas, like the Nabreus Deadlands and the Necrohol of Nabudis. They're absolutely beautiful and chilling.

Keep in mind for the Gilgamesh hunt, you actually have to do quite a bit of hunts to get to that one. I don't know how many you've done. The fight is also in 3 phases, and I believe he goes up quite a few levels between the first and second.

 

[Joker]

Plus, Genji gear!

Definitely do Gilgamesh, and I'd say grab the other Espers.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

I'd say grab the other Espers.

Especially Ultima. She's fucking awesome.

 

[ForceStealer]

Gilgamesh is already available

I have been in the Nabreus Deadlands, I did a bit of grinding at Overlooking Eternity before heading to Giruvegan. I also entered the Necrohol once but didn't explore, after Basch said to turn back and things looked high level for me.

The Espers I'm of course drawn to for the Tactics Lucavi connection. But I also haven't used one since the Ring Warm hunt, haha. Not sure I have the levels for the likes of Ultima, but I guess exploring the other areas would help

 

[Joker]

Tbh from what I've seen, level is less relevant than gear and licenses.

Also Ultima is my favorite summon from any FF game. Just sayin'.

 

[ForceStealer]

So, in contrast to my first post on the topic, over this week I've obtained Adrammelech, Cuchulainn, Zalera, Exodus, and Zeromus Also did hunts that were on my way to all those places and completed some sidequests (which, why are the quests so damn esoteric in this game? They're all so "you should get the guide for this~~~").

They mostly went fine, Exodus did give me my first game over (his paling finally dropped when I was down to a 1/4-health Vaan desperately trying to leave the area, quite pathetic, haha), thank goodness for auto-save. And Zeromus was a big pain, but did not wipe me out, just used half of my big pile of phoenix down.
I did explore Necrohol which was cool. Now to finish the Medallion quest for Chaos I'll go to Overlooking eternity and hopefully have an easier time with the undead now, and take out the hunt at the top. After Chaos, I'm going to try at least the first Gilgamesh fight, and then move on with the game. I'm very likely not strong enough for Gilgy 2, Ultima, or Zodiark now, I'll get them later.

 

[Fangu]

^ Zuper content you're doing this. Plus, at least, the fact it seems you're enjoying it. <3

 

[Lulcielid]

I did explore Necrohol which was cool. Now to finish the Medallion quest for Chaos I'll go to Overlooking eternity and hopefully have an easier time with the undead now, and take out the hunt at the top. After Chaos, I'm going to try at least the first Gilgamesh fight, and then move on with the game. I'm very likely not strong enough for Gilgy 2, Ultima, or Zodiark now, I'll get them later.

Not sure if they changed it in the IZJS, just a warning, in each fight with Gilgamesh (there are 3) make sure to steal from him before finishing the fight, cause he's only one from where you can get the 4 Genji special gears.

 

[Fangu]

It's not 3 it's 2, actually. There are specific phases for the 1st (which is much easier) and for the 2nd. There are a lot of guides on it on the Interwabz. (Genji Glove, which is the most important one, is the 2nd steal in the 1st fight. The steals haven't changed from vanilla to IZJS/TZA.)

 

[Fangu]

PSN Platinum Trophy in 3, 2, ...

I only have one trophy left, the Canopic Jar ("Morbid Urn") and then the trophy is MINE.

I'm really excited I managed to get the Concurrences trophy. Yesterday I finished all the Rare Game, Omega Mark XII and Yiazmat, so Scrivener popped. Then I realised I didn't have just the Urn left, but Concurrences too. And I'm like... hell if I'm ever getting this trophy. I CAN NOT do Quickeings for the life of me. But then I decided I'd start with the easier ones and see where I'd get. Lo and behold an hour after whining about it on Discord, Black Hole pops. I know I was lucky, I'd have to rely on luck at some points, but it was part skill too - learning to look for the Mist Charges, getting better on R2'ing, etc. The whole thing was really joyous and I wish it was the last trophy I did, but, oh well. Now I get to watch it pop with my boyfriend

This means I (almost) completed the Plat with the 'Six Job Siesta' challenge, meaning I picked just 1 job per character, and I picked them by random. My main party was Foebreaker/ Red Mage/ Shikari (Fran/ Basch/ Ashe) which worked out really well. I'd never ever nurture a Foebreaker in a self-picked job run, but the Foebreaker is a great class and I'd use it again. Red Mage of course is OP, and the damage Ashe was doing against Yiazmat while in crit, equipped with Berserker Bracers and the Yagyu Darkblade... 30k per hit. The fact that Foebreaker has Expose was a great combo too, plus Bash doing Decoy/ Reverse on Foebreaker. Yiazmat was ridiculously easy compared to vanilla. Not only does the fight take shorter time because of 4x, and I guess my hours of XII nerding helps a lot too, but the damage cap... the damage cap. A cap of 6999 for half of Yiazmat is what wears you out. In IZJS/ TZA the stamina challenge isn't there anymore. Omega Mark XII was pretty easy too. All I needed to do was make sure Basch (RM) kept recasting Lure before it ran out, and if Basch happened to be in the middle of Curaga on himself, Fran (Foebr) (or Ashe) would throw a Reverse Mote on Fran, since time is precious.

I have to admit I have spammed the ATB reset trick for a few fights

I didn't have the best equipment. Fran and Ashe had the best armour you can buy, but not the best armour in the game. Basch had some Mystic Armour I picked up in Subterra? was it? so his was a bit better. Ashe had the Yaguy for Yiazmat, but for the most part she was equipped with the Platinum Dagger, which isn't great at all. Fran had Scorpion Tail so she probably had the best weapon of them all. Basch had the Chaos Mace, which in TZA is only 6th best. (I was lucky enough to get the Zeus Mace but as its Dark elemental the use was limited.) I was about level 90 for Omega and Yiazmat, which is the highest level I've ever been for this game. (Thank you 4x!) The higher levels do really help, tbh. I finished about 75-80 hours. (I was 75 at the time I started Concurrences, iirc.)

Anyway, the most annoying thing about this Plat is Rare Game, definitely. Some of them are just stupid to spawn and it was getting tiring. Hot tip: Don't do them all at once

Anyway... I feel kind of empty now. What do I do next? Rabanastre cockatrice? Fishing minigame? Tournesol? ......Danjuro?! I did consider starting my New Game- save, as 122333 is a challenge I've never done before.

Yeah I just might do that.

.................................................

 

[Joe]

Install FFXIV and level a character so you can join us in the Ivalice raids?

 

[ForceStealer]

Final Fantasy Tactics?

 

[Mayo Master]

Finally managed to Platinum it
These trials were a bit of a pain in the butt though. Not sure I'd have found the strategy to kick all these judges on my own, since I had never used the nihopalaoa otherwise.
My biggest gripe is why, after they decided to remove the idiotic "don't touch that chest" quest for the Zodiac Spear, they made the last series of spells and Technicks only available in chests with 10% spawning rate, which is just as dumb. Oh well.

Still, overall it was a great remastered version - the job on the texturing and the re-orchestration was phenomenal.

 

[Lex]

I plan to plat eventually, I stopped at cid dungeon thingy because I accidentally went in there and you can't leave. I wanted to go to the terrace after getting all the chops but I went the wrong way

This was like a month ago.

 

[lithiumkatana17]

I need to hop back on TZA as well. Never finished it. Work started putting me on the schedule more, and I just haven't mustered the fortitude to finish it. Blegh.

 

[ForceStealer]

I finished it two weeks ago. No plans to get the platinum, but probably get the last two Espers, though. And it's nice to have finally knocked it off the list.

Spoiler

I enjoyed it, the improvements of the IZJS cannot be overstated, it's what the game should have been all along, as far as I'm concerned. Although the game is also in desperate need of a quest log, haha. They're just so esoteric, even when I happen upon what I think is a quest and manage to actually remember talking to someone else about something related, but it was never that simple. (Like the guy in the Westersand complaining that he didn't have a fishing rod, I remembered talking to a fishing enthusiast in Balfonheim, go talk to him...nothing. I look it up and it's crazy complicated. So much of this game screams "You need the guide for this," which I don't love.)
I do still wish the cast were more endearing. It actually starts to be RIGHT at the end of the game, and I enjoyed it, but wondered where the hell it's been the whole time. They're suddenly talking like friends and supporting each other, but they barely spoke amongst themselves over the journey. Another occasion that the game seemed to call my attention to this fact is in Giruvegan and Basch says to Vaan, "You're becoming more the sky pirate every day." ...How? What makes you say that? I don't think they shared a word between them after clearing up the stuff about Reks way back in the Barheim passage. Don't just vaguely imply to me that everyone has this burgeoning friendship, give me some dialogue scenes more often than once every dozen hours.

I'm still a little foggy on Venat's goals, but the other elements of the story were definitely enjoyable to get into, and as I voraciously hunt for any connections to Tactics, it was fun to suss out and surmise some (with regards to the Occuria, the Espers/Lucavi and the story their Bestiary entries tell, and the Zodiac Stones/Auracite/Nethicite). And it's interesting that by far the most overt connection shows up at the very end in Balthier's note about heading to Bervenia to find the Cache of Glabados. Bervenia being a city/region in Tactics, the Church of Glabados in Tactics, and the Cache (which he apparently finds, and it transports him to Ramza's time).

In short, it didn't drastically change my opinion of the game, but overall I do have a greater appreciation for the game than I did before. My gameplay gripes were mostly ameliorated by the new version, but my other complaints (weak cast interaction, needlessly obtuse quests with no way to track them, could use more bones to connect to Tactics) are still there. The variety of areas are truly excellent, I adore the bestiary, the world-building is impressive, and Balthier is still awesome

I think I'm simply not very good at hte combat system. I mean I was powerful enough that it wasn't a huge issue (though the final boss was pretty tough), and it is satisfying when a set of gambits works as intended,
but I never seem to have enough of them. And if I play again I'd like to try a true mage character, but I have no idea how those gambits would work.
So there's "If weak to x element" which you could do for all the elements,
but then what do you do for enemies that aren't weak to anything you can do? Just pick a spell? And how do you keep up your MP? Or do you just attack with your staff or whatever until something is weak to something?

 

[Fangu]

Re: the magick thing - there are Gambits specifically for that. The "weak" gambits specifically target enemies that are weak to an element. The "vulnerable" gambits will use any magick the enemy doesn't absorb.
Fire is usually a good choice (especially paired with Flame staves), blizzard a second, so if you set up two vulnerable gambits with those two you're pretty covered.
And re: gambits - just make sure you have the augments that lets you regain MP for all sorts of stuff. And skip all protective magick and haste and crap, they're not really worth it. Syphon your Attacker if you run out.
Not sure if that's what you were asking, but, it's late.

 

[JechtShotMK9]

A "Scathe the Fuck out of Everything" gambit works pretty well too

Except for stupid birds with Auto-Reflect