|||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| Final Fantasy Tactics Monster Guide ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| By: I.M. Weasel Copyright: 2006-2016 Version: 0.4 Systems: PlayStation 1 (PSX) Last Update: 8/4/2016 This guide is best viewed with a Word Wrap of 80 characters. |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| Table of Contents ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ** Whats new in this Version [I] Introduction [I.I] About this Guide [I.II] Conventions [I.III] '100% Completion' Factors [II] About Monsters [II.I] General Monster Notes [II.II] Training & Recruiting Monsters [II.III] Breeding [II.IV] Monster List [II.V] Poaching & Poach List [III] Human Characters [III.I] Jobs [III.II] Abilities [III.III] NPC's [IV] Walk-through [IV.I] Initial Character Setup [IV.II] Battle Walk-through [V] Side quests [V.I] Propositions [V.II] Extra Characters (Beowulf, Reis, Worker8,...) [V.III] Deep Dungeon [VI] Hunting Grounds [VII] Alternative & Monster Parties [VIII] Q & A [IX] Thanks [X] Updates [XI] Legal |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** **. - New in this Version ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| In the previous version of this guide, I focused on playing the game facilitating Ramza and a female Human character (Secondary) in all the strategies and setups. After mulling it over, it seemed like this was not a true 'Monster Party'; ergo, I have re-written the guide to solely use Ramza (as required by the story battles) and remove the Secondary and all mentions/usage of her. The older version is available upon special request only. Enjoy! |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** I. - Introduction ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| I.I - About this Guide ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| This guide details how to use monsters as your main ally in Final Fantasy Tactics. Also known as the 'Beastmaster' play style. I like monsters- they provide a more easy-going and less constructed play experience. Playing through this way might appeal to some fans that are looking for a new experience or challenge. In this guide, certain job combinations are used by the humans in your party. You can variate from these as long as they are performing the vital functions (curing, healing negative statii, buffing, and dealing damage); whats more important-and what I focus on-is how to use your monsters. Also, this guide describes how to obtain rare weapons and armor. Of course, only your human units can use the rare items, but they do help quite a bit. These parts are usually optional and denoted by the <=RARE=> tag. |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| I.II - Conventions ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| The guide assumes a basic knowledge of the games controls, and a decent familiarity with the game itself. \you should be familiar with basic movement, location knowledge, and window/menu usage before using this guide. This guide uses the wording from the original Final Fantasy Tactics on PlayStation. There are several misspellings, most notably 'Braclet' is supposed to be 'Breath' and 'Clam Spirit' - well you can guess what that is supposed to be. Directions are used in reference to maps and squad layouts: (top,left,right,down) or sometimes (north,west,south,east. These references are based on the original view orientation of the map. I use the main characters default name: 'Ramza', although you can name him whatever you like. Definitions: Species - Monsters are divided into species. There are around 12 total monster species(s). For instance, Chocobos and Dragons are two different species. Type - The type of monster from a certain species. Type 1 is the weakest/basic, Type 2 is the decent/middle, Type 3 is the strongest/top-tier monster of a species. For instance, the three types of Chocobos are 'Chocobo' (1), Black Chocobo (2), and Red Chocobo (3). PA - Physical attack MA - Magic Attack (also magic 'power') BR - Brave FA - Faith JP - Job Points AoE - Area of Effect range that will hit multiple targets R - Range NPCs - These are story characters who might become permanent allies. ( # v # ) - The Horizontal and vertical range of an ability, spell, or action. ( 2 v 0/1/2 ) - Two Horizontal, 0/1/2 Vertical - Sometimes refereed to as a '4 square' or 'plus-shaped'. This affects the user and the units directly next to it. |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| I.III - '100% Completion' Factors ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| * Job Propositions & Treasure Hunter/Explorer - The walk through does not cover doing jobs/propositions, but does contain an optional section on preparing your army to do them. The walk through doesn't hinder attempting this achievement. * 0 Casualties - Following the walk through doesn't require taking any casualties. * Rare Items - The walk through skips obtaining some Rare Items. To attain the left out ones, you'll have to deviate from the jobs prescribed; or take different approaches to some battles. * All Special Characters - In the walk through, you will dismiss un-needed characters. You can choose not to, but this will hinder Breeding. |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** II. - About Monsters ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| II.I - General Monster Notes ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| Here are some pros and cons of using monsters. Monsters can do many things, and are considered unisex. Pros: Don't need to manage Equipment/Items Don't need to manage Abilities Have innate abilities which would take a human several JP to get They are easier to replace in the event of a casualty Cons: Can't equip Weapons/Armor Can't obtain new abilities Lots of monsters lack AoE's Can't do propositions* Won't have additional dialogue during some story fights** *See above "100% Completion" **In some story battles, some Special Characters(if in your party) will have additional dialogue for the situation. Innate Abilities: All enemies' basic 'Attack' has an innate 'Knockback' effect. All enemies have 'Counter' as a Reaction Ability. Monsters are Immune to 'Blood Suck'. Monsters have no Side, Back or Magical Evade. Monsters do not need or use MP. Monsters are more susceptible to being affected by enfeebling actions - such as charm - because there is no gender equation taken into account when an enemy unit's using them against a monster target. This can also affect other types of actions used against them. Also be aware that most monsters are lacking support abilities and therefore are harder to level up. Using a monster party, you'll want to avoid having units fall behind a few levels from the main group, as it will take them a lot more time to catch up the groups median level. If they do fall behind, you can breed or re-acquire a similar unit to replace the low level monster. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Astrological Signs ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Signs are very important when playing a Beastmaster game. Monsters' small ability pool makes it more important that allied units be able to get and give the full support sign compatibility gives. The 'Item' ability is one of the few abilities that does not rely on astrological compatibility. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Casualties ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| If you want to avoid 'Casualties' (when a friendly unit turns into a crystal), be cautious when using any Undead (Ghosts, Ghouls) or Bomb monster units. Bombs best ability is to kill itself, while the Undead are very hard to keep alive and cannot be raised with a Phoenix Down. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Character Setup ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Using monsters and obtaining them usually requires the use of a units' support ability slot. Therefore when considering job combinations, remember that sometimes you won't be using a support ability that enhances the human characters setup. 'Monster Skill' although used normally, can be optional, which will open up many job setup options; it all depends on play style. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Monster Experience ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| For several reasons, its harder to level up monsters. An action performed at/towards a higher level unit always give more experience. The higher level the target, the more experience. There is also a +10 experience point bonus to any action that 'kills' an enemy/friendly unit. To give them an additional edge of experience, let them get in any kill-shots on enemies if possible. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Brave & Faith ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Brave increases basic monster attack damage, and their Counter reaction rate. Faith will make them more or less susceptible to magic. |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| II.II - Training and Recruiting Monsters ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| Train - [Mediator - Support - 450JP] Train is a support ability learned through Mediator that lets you invite monsters when you attack them under certain conditions. When Train is set, it activates when you do 2 things: 1) Attack a monster that has low hp, and goes into critical state as a result of you attack. 2) Attack a monster in a critical state, not killing it, but doing HP damage. Train works best on a unit with mid to low Attack power. When a unit using Train has high attack, it is hard to find the 'sweet spot' for doing enough damage but not too much. Setting a reaction ability such as Counter or 'Counter xxx' on a unit that is trying to use Train increases the likelihood of doing unnecessary damage to the target. Tip: Having a Chocobo(Yellow) around to heal the target monster can be very helpful when you're trying to find the 'sweet' damage spot. Train Notes: Attack and Charge - are considered physical attacks, and work with Train. Ability attacks - such as Punch Arts - do not work with Train. Train can and will activate on a unit that is charmed or under any other status effect (except: Blood Suck, Petrify, Zombie). It has no effect on human targets. Monsters can counter-attack even on a hit that 'Trains'. When a Ninja has Train set, either hit of the 'two-swords' attack can cause Train to activate. This is true even when the first hit Trains but the second hit kills. Invite - [Mediator - Main - 100JP] Invite % = MA + 20 Invite is the main ability of the Mediator job. You must be a mediator or have 'Talk Skill' + Monster Talk set to invite monsters. Invite is a ranged ability, and can be used on a monster at any given time, although its success rate is somewhat low. Invite success increases when the target is Charmed, or in critical condition. A pro to using 'Invite' over 'Train' is a units' ability to recruit human units as well as monsters. |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| II.III - Breeding ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| When a Monster is in your party, it might lay an egg which a new monster will hatch from. Although only one Monster is needed, it's still called 'Breeding'. When an egg is laid it takes several days passing on the world map for it to hatch. It is somewhat hard pinning down concrete evidence on breeding calculations, what I propose is based on hours of data collection. The time it takes to hatch an egg varies, and may be dependent on the monster species and type. Monsters eggs hatch between 2 & 4 days after being laid. The longer an egg takes to hatch, the higher tier of monster it might be. If you move more than 4 times on a map and an egg does not appear in the formation screen, enter a towns' bar or shop then exit to 'kick-start' breeding again. To safely breed, move between two non-hostile spots on the map. You'll want to remove older monster units once their level gap starts to widen. Replace old monsters with the newer hopefully higher level and higher types. Rinse and repeat. If you are breeding for a higher-tier monster type, I suggest getting rid of most the lower-type monsters of that species once you start to get more of a higher tier. In addition to all of this, monsters will sometimes enter a 'dead zone' where they will not lay any eggs to upwards of a month. I'm not sure what causes this or how to avoid it. Maybe its sign based, maybe it walking over the same area constantly...I only have guesses. Breeding 'Knowns': * It only takes one monster to lay an egg. * Monsters only produce eggs that contain their own Species. * A hatched monsters' level will be between the highest and lowest levels of your party. * If you do have guests in your party, there is something like a 1/10 chance they will be the guests level. * A hatched monsters level will have a higher chance of being a level closer to the top of the curve. * Type 2 & Type 3 monsters can lay eggs of all three Types. * A Type 1 monster can only lay eggs of Type 1 or Type 2. * Monsters can take several months to start laying eggs of better types, possibly a year-plus to go from Type 1 to Type 3. * Monsters signs' will be the sign the month they are 'born' in. * Egg Coloring is somewhat random, and not connected to the parents colors. * Monsters do not have to have fought in any battles to lay eggs. * Monsters are prone to lay an egg of its own 'type' (2/3 Chance). Seemingly, its a 1/4 chance is that it will lay an egg with a different type inside. * Scrolling VERY quickly over an egg will show the real monster inside. * The more monsters you have of a certain type, the more they will breed. * The monsters from eggs are set once they are laid, and cannot be changed. * Changing a monsters' name has no bearing on breeding. ** I cannot say 100%, but I’m quite certain monsters that have fought recently take some time to 'recharge' and will not lay eggs for a while after a fight. Unknown Breeding Factors: * If new monsters are more likely to breed. * If Brave or Faith of a parent has any effect on eggs. * If seasons make a difference in breeding. * If placing like units together on the status screen increases breeding likelihood. |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| II.IV - Monster List ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| All standard physical attacks can set off reaction abilities unless otherwise noted. RNG- Range of effect EFT- How many spaces the ability affects MOD- What stats modify the effect of the ability(PA,MA,BR,FA,Spd,Var-Varies) SPD- Speed of the monster. M - Median speed. One monster has the 'median' speed, the other types will either have more '+' or less '-' speed. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Ahriman ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 5, Jump 5 Innate: Fly, Can't Enter Water |Half:Wind|Weakness:Ice| Flotiball [C-EV:12% SPD:M] Ahriman [C-EV:13% SPD:M+1] Plague [C-EV:11% SPD:M+2] ______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ___________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Flo Ahr Pla | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Wing Attack | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Lk of Fright*| 1 | 3 | MS Yes --- | MA | Lower targets BR - 10 | | Lk of Devil* | 1 | 3 | --- Yes Yes | MA | Adds: Pet, Drk, Dmo, Dac | | Death Sent | 1 | 3 | --- MS Yes | MA | Adds: Death Sentence | | Circle | 1 | 4v1 | --- --- MS | MA | Lowers targets MA by 2 | |______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|___________________________| * Both of the "Look of" abilities need a direct line-of-sight to the target to have any effect. Ahriman in general are enfeeblers, although they not that good at it. They can fly like several enemies, but they have weak attack & defense. Ahriman species is similar - ability wise- to the squids. Although, they share the same problem as ghouls; if they get in too close, they can only take a few hits before they die. The problem with this species in general is they are based around enfeebling, but the best enfeeble - Look of Fright - gives random status effects and also has a strange line-of-sight mechanic. None of the Ahriman’s require Monster Skill to be effective. The best of the species is Ahrimans. Plagues have +1 speed, but Ahrimans have more usable abilities. Look of Fright's -10 brave can weaken enemy attacks and lower their Counter Reaction trigger percentage. Ahrimans also have 2 more evade than Plagues, which helps their survivability. Usually, when you enfeeble an enemy, you want to be able to choose the best effect for maximum effectiveness. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Behemoth ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 4, Jump 3 Innate: Can't enter Water Behemoth [C-EV:13% SPD:M] King Behemoth [C-EV:13% SPD:M] Dark Behemoth [C-EV:18% SPD:M+1] * All three behemoths abilities only differ from what their MS ability is * Hurricane, Ulmaguest & Gigaflare damage both enemy and allied units _________________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ _________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Bhm DkB KnB | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Stab Up^ | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Sudden Cry^ | 1 | 1v0 | Yes Yes Yes | PA | Phys. damage, Add: Dead | | Giga Flare | 5v0 | 4v3 | MS --- --- | MA | Holy Magical damage | | Hurricane | 5v2 | 4v3 | --- MS --- | MA | Wind Magical damage | | Ulmaguest | 5v1 | 4v3 | --- --- MS | HP | Dmg (Max HP - Current) | |_________________|_____|_____|_____________|______|_________________________| ^ - Can set off a defending units' reaction ability. Behemoths - like the Hydra class - aren't available until chapter 4. Having waited that long, you would think they would be a bit better. They have great offense, defense and HP, but I just can't get into using them. They have pretty low speed, and less move than Dragons. Their main strength is their monster skill abilities, but they can be awkward and ungainly to get into position to be effective. Because of their low Move stat, they are best - and amazing - in small, semi-flat battle maps. The best of the species would have to be Dark Behemoth, due to its staggering attacking strength; although regular Behemoths have a better monster skill ability. Gigaflares' lack of vertical range makes it easier to avoid hitting allied units. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Birds ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 6, Jump 6 Innate: Fly, Can't enter Water |Half:Wind|Weak:Earth| Juravis [C-EV:30% SPD:M] SteelHawk [C-EV:28% SPD:M+2] Cockatrice [C-EV:33% SPD:M+2] ______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ___________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Jur Ste Coc | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Scratch Up^ | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Beak^ | 1 | 1v0 | --- MS Yes | MA | Add: Petrify | | Shine Lover^ | 1 | 1v0 | --- Yes --- | SPD | Steals gil from target | | Feather Bomb | 1 | 3v1 | MS --- Yes | MA | Ranged physical damage | | Beaking^ | 1 | 1v1 | --- --- MS | MA | Target MA -2 | |______________|_____|_____|_____________|__________________________________| ^ - Can set off a defending units' reaction ability. Birds have decent speed and since they fly, a long range. Although their attack damage is high and their evade percentage even higher, their abilities make for a pretty 'meh' monster species. They are best in a 'second line attack' role; sitting behind the 'line' using ranged attacks until the opportunity comes to move in for the kill. Cocatoris are the best type to use, but you still may find yourself having to chase them down to cure and revive them. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Boars ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 3 Innate: Can't enter Water Uribo [C-EV:42% SPD:M] Porky [C-EV:36% SPD:M] Wildbow [C-EV:39% SPD:M] _________________ _____ _____ _____________ _______________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Urb Prk Wld | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Straight Dash | 1 | 1v0 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Pooh | 1 | 1v1 | --- Yes --- | MA | Add: Conf or Sleep | | Oink | 1 | 1v1 | MS --- --- | PA | Revive unit (70%) | | Nose Bracelet | 1 | 1v1 | --- MS Yes | MA | Adds: Charm | | Please Eat^ | 1 | 1v1 | --- --- MS | -- | Turn into crystal (L+1)| |_________________|_____|_____|_____________|_______________________________| ^ - This is not considered a casualty. With very small move/jump radii, and low attack, defense and HP, they exist solely to be poached. Uribos have 'Oink' that can revive allies, but it's very hard to use effectively. Train or Invite a Uribo as soon as you get a chance, and try to breed Porkys & Wildbows to poach. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Bombs ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3,Jump 3 Innate: Float, Can't enter Water |Weakness:Water|Absorb:Fire|Cancel:Earth|Half:Ice| Bomb [C-EV:10% SPD:M] Grenade [C-EV:11% SPD:M+1] Explosive [C-EV:12% SPD:M] _______________ _____ _____ _____________ _________________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Bmb Grn Xpl | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Bite | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Self Destruct | 3v3 | Aut | Yes Yes Yes | HP | KO-Self, Add: Oil* | | Small Bomb | 1 | 1v0 | MS Yes MS | ? | Physical dmg, Knockback | | Flame Attack | 1 | 3 | --- MS --- | MA | Ranged Fire magical dmg | | Spark | 3v1 | Aut | --- --- Yes | MA | AoE Fire dmg, hits all | |_______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|__________________________| *The status Oil is glitched and does not work. Bombs are OK as allies. They are slow, and have a very low jump stat, but they have innate Float and a decent move. They also have weak attack & defense. They are best in smaller, confined areas where their enemies cannot escape. Bombs only real use is as disposable troops. Send them in to take some damage, surrounded by enemies, then explode them. Combo with a Chemist/Throw Item ability & Phoenix Down and you can constantly revive and 'Explode' your ally. Due to Spark, Self Destruct hurting allies, and Small Bomb having horrible range, these monsters don't require Monster Skill to be Effective. The best monster in the species is a toss-up between the Grenade and Explosive. With a group of Explosives to constantly use Spark to heal each other and hurt the enemy, they can be a very strong ally. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Chocobos ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 6, Jump 5 Innate: Move in Water Chocobo [C-EV:15% SPD:M] Black Chocobo [C-EV:25% SPD:M-1] - Fly Red Chocobo [C-EV:10% SPD:M+1] - Ignore Height ______________ _____ _____ _____________ __________________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Cho Blk Red | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Choco Attack | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Choco Cure | 2v2 | Aut | Yes --- MS | MA | Restores HP | | Choco Ball | 1 | 4 | --- Yes --- | PA | Ranged physical damage | | Choco Esuna | 2v2 | Aut | MS Yes --- | MA | 'Esuna' dispel effect | | Choco Meteor | 1 | 5 | --- MS Yes | MA | Ranged phys dmg(100%acc) | |______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|___________________________| Chocobos in general are one of the best Species to have as allies. They have decent attack, defense, speed, move and jump. On top of that they have long- range abilities, curative abilities, and can move easily through water. (Which is an ability that a lot of species lack.) They will be a core part of any monster party; well-rounded and can put up a fight. Chocobos have a special trait: any human unit can 'ride' a Chocobo and thus gain that Chocobos move/jump characteristics while being able to act normally. Chocobos cannot be targeted while they are being ridden, and are thus are immune to any effects whatsoever. Chocobo - The regular Chocobo is the 'healer' of the Chocobo species, acting as a pseudo Priest. They have median attack and defense. A decent riding chocobo, they have median speed between Red & Black chocobos. Human units can ride in, dismount them, then the Chocobos can act as support. Keep them off the front lines. Black Chocobo - This Chocobo is only decent when compared to the other types in its species, but is one of the best as far as flying monsters go. It has strong PA (and thus strong attack), but very low HP and low speed. Black Chocobos are very vulnerable, and can only take - usually - three hits before they die. With its low speed, and the ability to fly, it could be considered as the best riding Chocobo. Red Chocobo - The Red Chocobo is one of the stars of the monster party. Decent PA, MA, HP, move radius and high speed make this a very strong ally. Its standard abilities are all long-range attacks, and using 'Monster Skill' gives it access to 'Choco Cure'. Although strong, its not a 'tank' and can't function for long on the front lines. Red Chocobos will be one of the first monsters you'll breed, and you'll take them all the way to the final battle. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Dragons ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 5, Jump 3 Innate: Can't move in Water, Can use as 'steps' Dragon [C-EV:5% SPD:M] BlueDragon [C-EV:9% SPD:M] - |Absorb:Ice|Weak:Fire| RedDragon [C-EV:8% SPD:M+1] - |Absorb:Fire|Weak:Ice| _________________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Drg BlD RdD | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Dash | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Ice Braclet | 1 | 2v2 | --- Yes --- | MA | Ice magical damage | | Tail Swing^ | 1 | 1v2 | MS --- --- | PA | Phys dmg (knockback) | | Thunder Braclet | 1 | 2v2 | --- MS Yes | MA | Lightning magical dmg | | Fire Braclet | 1 | 2v2 | --- --- MS | MA | Fire magical damage | |_________________|_____|_____|_____________|______|________________________| ^ - Can set off a defending units' reaction ability. Dragons are one of the best ally monsters. They have a huge move range but low jump range. They also have very high HP and high attack/defense. Red and Blue Dragons are great, Greens are only useful for breeding. As you progress through the game, breath attacks will be resisted a bit more but these same Breath attacks are great versus 'bosses'. You can also use Dragons as stepping stones. All in all Dragons don't really need to be supported by Monster Skill to be effective. Red Dragon has +1 speed over Blue Dragons but Blue Dragons have Ice breath, which many enemies are weak to. As a side note, 'Cancel Element' doesn't stop breath attacks. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Goblins ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 3 |Weakness:Ice| Goblin [C-EV:18% SPD:M] BlackGoblin [C-EV:19% SPD:M+1] Gobbledeguck [C-EV:19% SPD:M+2] ______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ___________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Gob Blk Gdg | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Tackle | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Eye Gouge^ | 1 | 1v2 | Yes --- Yes | MA | Adds: Darkness | | Turn Punch | 2v1 | Aut | --- Yes --- | PA | Physical damage | | Goblin Punch^| 1 | 1v1 | MS MS Yes | PA | More HP lost = more dmg | | Mutilate | 1 | 1v0 | --- --- MS | MA | Drain HP from target | |______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|___________________________| ^ - Can set off defending units reaction ability Goblins are the pretty much the lowest tier of monsters. Their move/jump is standard, but their speed is high. They are pretty weak offensively and defensively. On top of that, they have very low HP. As far as companions go, look somewhere else for many, many different reasons. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Ghoul ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 4, Jump 4 Innate: Undead, Teleport, Float, Can't enter Water |Absorb:Darkness|Weakness:Fire/Holy| Ghoul [C-EV:26% SPD:M] Gust [C-EV:27% SPD:M+1] Revnant [C-EV:28% SPD:M+2] - Move 5, Jump 4 _______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ __________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Gho Gst Rvn | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Throw Spirit | 1 | 3 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Ranged physical damage | | Sleep Touch^ | 1 | 1v2 | Yes --- --- | MA | Adds: Sleep | | Grease Touch^ | 1 | 1v2 | MS Yes --- | MA | Adds: Oil* | | Drain Touch^ | 1 | 1v2 | --- MS Yes | MA | Drain 1/3 of targets HP | | Zombie Touch^ | 1 | 1v2 | --- --- MS | MA | Adds: Zombie | |_______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|__________________________| * - Oil is glitched and does not work ^ - Can set off defending units reaction ability Ghouls are an interesting species. They do have an inherent ranged attack, and one or two negative status attack(s). Ghouls can come in and do damage on the back line, then move close to enemies to deliver their negative status attacks. Being undead does make them difficult to work with though. Due to their weak defense and low HP, if the ghoul is caught by enemy troops, its probably dead. Ghouls are also terrible against the Undead, and enemies that use ranged attacks. All-in-all Ghouls don't really need to be supported by Monster Skill. A weird glitch makes Ghoul type monsters able to ride Chocobos. On the down side though, they are near impossible to outside-heal. The best monster of the species is a tie between Ghouls and Revnants. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Hydra ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 4, Jump 4 Innate: Fly, Can't enter Water |Weakness: Ice, Wind| Hyudra [C-EV:0% SPD:M] Hydra [C-EV:0% SPD:M] Tiamat [C-EV:0% SPD:M+1] - Move 5, Jump 4 * The Hydra species are considered Dragons for some elements of game play. _________________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Hyu Hyd Tia | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Triple Attack | 1 | 1v1 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Phys dmg (in 3 dirs) | | Triple Flame | 2v0 | 4 | --- Yes Yes | MA | Fire dmg (3x randomly) | | Triple Braclet^ | 2v2 | 2v2 | MSO --- Yes | MA | Breath atk (in 3 dirs) | | Triple Thunder | 2v0 | 4 | --- MSO Yes | MA | Thndr atk (3x randomly)| | Dark Whisper | 2v0 | 4 | --- --- MSO | MA | Drk dmg (3x randomly) | | | | | | | Adds: Sleep, Dead | |_________________|_____|_____|_____________|______|________________________| ^ - Unlike other 'braclet' attacks, this will hit all units in the squares targeted. The ultimate monster. Monsters of the Hydra species have high HP, PA, MA, Speed and a decent movement range. Their 'Triple' abilities are similar to Rafa/Malaks, but have less vertical tolerance and no charge time making them easier to use effectively. Due to their stats, they don't require really healing or looking after. I can't really say that much about them; they just punish any enemy forces you happen to come in contact with. Tiamats are the best of the species ; with their Monster Skill ability Dark Whisper they just trounce enemy troops. As a side note, 'Cancel Element' doesn't stop breath attacks. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Minotaurs ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 3 Innate: Can't enter Water |Weakness:Water| Bull Demon [C-EV:11% SPD:M] Minitaurus [C-EV:15% SPD:M] Sacred [C-EV:12% SPD:M+1] _________________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | BlD Mnt Scr | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Shake Off | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Wave Around^ | 2v1 | Aut | --- Yes --- | PA | Physical dmg(100% acc) | | Mimic Titan | 3v1 | Aut | --- --- Yes | MA | Earth dmg(100% acc) | | Gather Power | 1 | Aut | MS --- Yes | -- | Increase PA +2 | | Blow Fire | 1 | 2v2 | --- MS MS | MA | Fire dmg(100% acc) | |_________________|_____|_____|_____________|_______________________________| ^ - Can set off a defending units' reaction ability. A decent front-line enemy with high attack and moderate defense. Although their move is decent, they can be easily outpaced by their prime targets - mages. I would recommend using the dragon species as your front-line monsters. The Sacred are great as allies, though they can be somewhat slow. Using their monster skill ability is hard due to their low speed. Sacred have VERY high attack power; Gather Power is a great wait-and-buff ability and Mimic Titan offers some AoE damage. A side note: Mimic Titan will damage allied units. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Morbols ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 3 Innate: Move on Water |Weakness:Ice| Morbol [C-EV:0% SPD:M] Ochu [C-EV:0% SPD:M] GreaterMorbol [C-EV:0% SPD:M-1] ________________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ _________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Mor Och GrM | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Tentacle | 1 | 1v1 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Goo^ | 1 | 1v0 | Yes MS --- | -- | Adds: Don't Move | | Lick | 1 | 1v0 | --- Yes --- | -- | Adds: Reflect | | Moldball Virus | 1 | 1v0 | --- --- MS | MA | Turn target into Morbol | | Bad Braclet | 3v0 | Aut | MS --- Yes | -- | Adds: Pet, Frog, Stop, | | | | | | | Sleep, Silence, Poison | | | | | | | 25% chance of each | |________________|_____|_____|_____________|______|_________________________| ^ - Can set off a defending units' reaction ability. Morbols are very disappointing. They have a very small move and jump, they're very slow, and all their abilities are only 0 vertical range. They do have high HP though. The best Morbol ability, Bad Braclet (Bad Breath) will also hit allies and thus makes it a crazy liability to use in battle. Skip over this class. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Panthers ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 4, Jump 4 Innate: Can't enter Water, Ignore Height |Weakness:Earth| Red Panther [C-EV:23% SPD:M] Cuar [C-EV:26% SPD:M+1] Vampire [C-EV:29% SPD:M+1] ______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ___________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Red Cua Vam | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Scratch | 1 | 1v3 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Poison Nail^ | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes --- | MA | Adds: Poison | | Cat Kick | 1 | 1v2 | MS Yes Yes | PA | Varying Phys dmg-knockback| | Blaster* | 1 | 3 | --- MS Yes | MA | Adds: Petrify/Stop | | Blood Suck^ | 1 | 1v0 | --- --- MS | HP | Drains %25 of HP | | | | | | | Adds: Blood Suck | |______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|___________________________| ^ - Can set off a defending units' reaction ability. * - Requires a direct line-of-sight to the target to have any effect. A mid range species in terms of power and usability. They have decent HP, move and jump stats. Red Panthers and Cuars do not have any good abilities. Vampires are one of the best enfeebling troops to have; Blaster has decent range and the status' it inflicts will always be helpful. With their large move stat and Ignore Height, they can easily engage the enemy on their terms. They aren't a top-tier monster, but they can be surprisingly versatile and useful. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Skeletons ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 4 Innate: Undead, Move in Water |Weakness:Fire/Holy|Absorb:Darkness| Skeleton [C-EV:11% SPD:M] Bone Snatch [C-EV:13% SPD:M-1] Living Bone [C-EV:13% SPD:M-2] _______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ __________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Ske Bon Liv | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Knife Hand | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Thunder Soul^ | 1 | 3 | Yes --- --- | MA | Lightning magical dmg | | Aqua Soul^ | 1 | 3 | MS Yes --- | MA | Water magical dmg | | Ice Soul^ | 1 | 3 | --- MS --- | MA | Ice magical dmg | | Wind Soul^ | 1 | 3 | --- --- MS | MA | Wind magical dmg | |_______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|__________________________| ^ - All 'Soul' Abilities are line-of-sight Skeletons are one the most standard enemies in the game. They each have their regular attack and one ranged elemental attack. They have a decent attack strength, defense and HP. They can also move freely in water. Saying that, they are kind of boring units, and their damage output isn't that high. Their 'Soul' Abilities can heal monsters of that same element, this also includes human units with wearing 'Absorb X Equipment'. They combo best with elemental monsters, such as Squids. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Squids ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 3 Innate: Move Under Water |Absorb:Water|Weakness:Lightning| Pisco Demon [C-EV:8% SPD:M] Squidlarkin [C-EV:9% SPD:M-1] Mindflare [C-EV:10% SPD:M] _______________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ __________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Pis Squ Mnd | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Tentacle | 1 | 1v2 | Yes Yes Yes | PA,BR| Physical damage | | Odd Soundwave | 3v1 | Aut | --- Yes --- | -- | 'Dispel' effect | | Black Ink | 1 | 2 | MS Yes --- | MA | Adds: Darkness | | Mind Blast | 2v1 | 3 | --- MS Yes | MA | Adds: Berserk or Conf | | Level Blast | 1 | 4 | --- --- MS | MA | Lower target's LV -1 | |_______________|_____|_____|_____________|______|__________________________| Another decent species that specializes in status ailments. They have medium move and jump stats and their ability to traverse through water is a bonus considering lots of maps have water features. Squids are not true 'tank' monsters and don't have good front line survivability. Their speed sucks too. I was wrong about the Mindflare - the best monster in the Species - it can be a good addition to a monster army. It's Mind Blast ability that adds Confusion and Berserk in a 4-square radius - at a distance of 3 - is a great ability. The key is using it effectively. It doesn’t work well against monsters, who just attack normally anyway, or against front-line human units (Knight, Lancer, Ninja, etc..). The real strength comes when you use it against mages, or jobs that have a special skill but are weak in overall combat ( Thief, Chemist, Mediator). It still works on units with strong attack, but mainly use it against the previously described units. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Trees ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Move 3, Jump 3 Innate: Can't enter Water |Absorb:Earth|Weakness:Fire| Woodman [C-EV:0% SPD:M] Trent [C-EV:0% SPD:M] Taiju [C-EV:0% SPD:M-1] _________________ _____ _____ _____________ ______ ________________________ | SKILL | EFT | RNG | Woo Tre Tai | MOD | FUNCTION | |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | Leaf Dance | 2v0 | Aut | Yes Yes Yes | MA | Physical damage | | Spirit of Life | 2v0 | Aut | --- Yes --- | MA | Restores HP to allies | | Protect Spirit | 2v0 | Aut | MS --- Yes | MA | Adds: Protect | | Clam Spirit | 2v0 | Aut | --- MS Yes | MA | Adds: Shell | | Magic Spirit | 2v0 | Aut | --- --- MS | MA | Restores MP to allies | |_________________|_____|_____|_____________|______|________________________| Trees are another interesting monster. They are a positive status/curative monster. They don't have good move or jump stats, or good speed. You play them like a walking tree; you move them slowly to a safe spot, then move units next to them waiting to be healed or cured. This works decently well because of their low speed. Their 'attack' Leaf Dance, hits every square around them (including allies); this, combined with their high HP protects them when cornered. A word of warning though; their abilities have 0 vertical range, so they need to be situated on flat land. Combos well with mages, or units that rely on ranged attacks. |||------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| II.V - Poaching & Poach List ||| |||------------------------------------------------------------------------||| Required: Secret Hunt - [Thief - Support - 200JP] Secret Hunt is an ability that will 'poach' monsters if a unit with it set deals the deathblow to a monster. After you poach a monster, go to the Fur Shop in some cities and only then will you see what item you poached from the monster. FUR SHOPS DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHAPTER 3. Monsters killed this way in your party are not considered casualties. The best poacher is a unit with Two Swords or a Ninja; Isolate both the poacher and the unit to be poached from the battle when trying to poach. Each monster has a 'common' poach and a 'rare' poach, the rare being the harder of the two items to get. Below is a list of poaches that produce rare/unique items. Note on Fur Shops: You need to have at least one character with Secret Hunt set as their support ability when entering a Fur Shop or they will tell you they are closed. Bird, Bomb, Goblin, Panther, Skeletons, Ghouls, Squids - nothing rare Plague - Zorlin Shape [25%] Greater Morbol - Madlemgen [25%] Boars - all poach-able items are rare (except 1). Hydra Species - all poach-able items are rare. King Behemoth - Cherche [25%] Dark Behemoth - Stone Gun [25%] Woodman - Healing Staff [25%] Taiju - Defender [25%] Red Chocobo - Barette [25%] Sacred - Ivory Spear (75%), Ivory Rod [25%] Red Dragons - Salty Rage (75%), Dragon Whisker [25%] |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** III. - Human Characters ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| III.I - Notable Jobs ||| |||-------------------------------------------------------------------------||| This section goes over the most important abilities (and jobs) that work with the monster play style. I won't go in-depth into each job and all of their abilities or spells. The best jobs for Ramza or any other humans in this play style are ones that can heal HP, deal decent damage, revive and cure other ailments. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Best Classes ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Squire (Ramza only) - Ramza's special Squire abilities and the wide range of equipment he can use set him apart from a regular Squire. Ramza has a good mix of healing, offensive, curing and utilities as this job. Although this is sometimes better as a sub-skill than a main job. Chemist - Weak overall stats, but they make up for it many other areas. Instant Potion(s), Remedy, and Phoenix Downs to cure or heal your team. Add in the ability to use Guns and this a great class in the Beastmaster play style. Give them a sub-skill of Break Skill while equipped with a gun and you have a powerhouse. Monk - Offensive abilities, curatives, status heals and even Revive make this a great job for a monster party. In my opinion, one of the best jobs to play as with this play style. The only issue is it's somewhat weak versus enemy Knights, which there are a lot of in story battles. Setting Basic Skill as your sub is great for Monk, using Accumulate in your downtime will boost almost all of your Punch Art skills, including Chakra. Priest - This job gives the monsters the support and AoE curative abilities so many of them are lacking. While using this job, you take yourself out of the offensive role and let the monsters do all the heavy lifting for you. Samurai - Another Job with damaging, curative and light enfeebling abilities. The AoE of Draw Out and the fact it will only effect the right type of units makes it another great job. The only drawback of Samurai is some of the highest tier Draw Outs require very rare Katanas that you have to spend a long time to get. Ninja - Not the most monster-focused job, but such a powerhouse that can't be overlooked. If your monsters can take care of themselves, you can be a beast as well by using this job. Time Mage - They can control the flow of game play, but can't really cure or remove status effects if things get tough. A big part of their game plan is to use 'Haste' which is a great aid to monsters. Given that their abilities require no 'charge' mechanic, they all can take full benefit of it. Great for this reason alone, but probably better set as sub-skill. Summoner - A slower class, but great AoE curative abilities and damage. Can support several different types of monster parties; but can be somewhat tricky when learning to use it effectively. Mediator - They have supportive abilities, but are more indirect support than direct. Additionally, their offensive enfeebles have a very short range. They can use Guns, which increases their effectiveness, but can't act as stand-alone support. One of the few jobs that can permanently buff up your monsters. Midway through Chapter 2, guns and MA + gear become available, then they become a lot more useful. A must-have job for 'Train' and their BR/FA changing abilities. Bard - I like Bard. The class has horrible stat growth, but is quite novel. The stat bonuses your songs can give (Speed, PA, MA) are hard to provide for monsters via other classes. Also, it is a nice lazy job where you can just sit back, Sing and let the other units do the work. It is good for a main class(except in really intense battles), but better as a sub-skill(Sing). Move +3 is great, but not a necessity. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Worst Classes ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Squire (Regular) - The regular squire has a few abilities that make it OK, but it's not enough for them to be referred to as a 'good' class. Read the ability break-down section to get the most out of this class. Wizard - Wizard fills a huge gap with monsters and their lack of AoE damage. This class has no support abilities, but Black Magic is a good sub-skill to use with a mage class. Geomancer - A decent class, with good stats and a great equipment selection. Like the rest of the jobs listed in this section, it lacks any supportive abilities and is only used for pure offense. Elemental can be effective as a sub-skill with the right setup. Lancer - Doesn't really offer anything to monsters, and doesn't fill the gaps where they are lacking. Also, while you are jumping you won't be around to give the Monster Skill bonuses or be of any help supporting them. Although it can be a good job when you set your sub-skill as Punch Art due to Lancers high PA. Archer - More of a utility class, and is out-shined midway through chapter 2 by other classes. Also does not offer any support or curing. Knight - Another utility class. Although strong offensively and defensively, they are lacking in supportive abilities. Break Skill is a better sub-skill with a gun-wielding unit or a Ninja. Oracle - I can't really describe it as a 'worst' class, but the type of enfeebling support it gives is more indirect support than direct support. It has high MA, which makes it a good job to use with the Draw-Out sub-skill. Thief - Good speed, but again, no supportive abilities. Mime - Works best if mimicking AoE abilities. Has innate Monster Skill support. Good with dragon breath, bad with chocobos. Untested with Hydras. Dancer - Not a very good class overall. Dance is better set as a sub-skill, although I'd rather use something more supportive. Calculator - Slowest class in the game. As such, doesn't really fit well with monsters. Their math skill ability is amazing, but its made to be a sub-skill. |||------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| III.II - Notable Abilities ||| |||------------------------------------------------------------------------||| Squire: Accumulate - Give to a character that mostly uses 'fighting' jobs, or any other character to level jobs quickly. Also good to use with Secret Hunt. Throw Stone - Cheap ability to gain Job Points. You'll be surprised with how many uses you can get form this ability. It can softly cure Confusion, Charm and Sleep, and also has knockback. Yell (Ramza Only) - Raises targets Speed by 1. Amazing ability. Cheer Up (Ramza Only) - A must have. One of the few abilities you can use to raise your monsters' Brave. Heal - Cures Poison, Darkness, and Silence, instantly and for no MP. Wish (Ramza Only) - Adds a nice curing ability to the 'Basic Skill' set, also can cure the undead. Gained JP Up - A must for leveling any human character. Monster Skill [Support] (1v3) Monster Skill is a support ability that lets a monster standing directly next to you use it's hidden (special) ability. The description is incorrect, it does not affect monsters 3 horizontal panels away, only one. Monster Skill also does not affect tiles that are diagonal from the user. When a monsters' special ability is available, it's listed in his stat window. Has no effect when the human unit is Jump-ing, Confused, Berserk or when they are dead. When setting up your units with monsters and Monster Skill, take into account the unit types. For example, a character that goes to the front lines won't be helping a monster who is more effective from the back line; Keep like units together. Example: A Knight w/ Monster Skill combos with a Dragon type. They both attack from the front lines. A Wizard w/ Monster Skill combos with a Black Chocobo. They both attack from the back lines. Knight: Weapon Guard - Weapon Guard uses the evasion of your weapon for all evasion purposes. Unlike other reaction abilities, does not need Brave to activate. Good for units that do not have a high brave. Monk: Chakra (based on PA) - Heals the HP of any monster, including the undead; also combos very well with Monster Skill. Your Chakra user should have a matching Sign to the monsters it's trying to heal. Stigma Magic - Helpful to get negative status effects off your monsters. Wave Fist/Earth Slash - Decent when you are a Monk, but kinda awful when used as a sub-skill without the proper equipment. Revive - Instant revive, although it can be inaccurate and therefore undependable. Hamedo - Does not work on standard Monster 'Attacks'. Time Mage: Haste - Since you're monsters don't have any charge timer abilities, it benefits all of their actions. Float - Cheap to learn and can enable monsters that can't enter water to easily traverse over it. Ninja: Abandon - Unlike most other reaction abilities it does not rely on Brave to activate. It's actually a passive trait that doubles all your evasion percentages. Gets better as your evasion percentages climb later in the game. Sunken State - Makes user transparent, and therefore ignored by enemies. Success of actions by a transparent user = 100%; physical evade = 100%, can still be hit by magical attacks / magic. Good with Battle Skill & Steal. Samurai: Murasame - Will hurt the undead, unlike Chakra. Heavens' Cloud - A mid-range damage Draw Out that can add slow. Kiyomori - Easy way to give your party Protect/Shell. Muramasa - A medium damage Draw Out that adds Confusion and/or Death Sentence. Kikuichimoji (8v3) - Damages all enemies in a straight line from the user. Blade Grasp - One of the best defensive Reaction abilities you can get. Blocks several different types of attacks "Brave %" of the time. Thief: Concentrate [Support] - Increases attacking accuracy, also increases success rate of Breaks, Throws, and Steals. Secret Hunt [Support] - Required to Poach monsters. Mediator: Invite - Use this ability to try to invite enemies (and monsters) to your army. Success rate of Invite is based off MA. It can work as a way to get items from an enemy character, by inviting them instead of trying to steal it from them. Praise - Good for raising a monsters' Brave, but worse than Cheer Up. Solution - Reduces a units Faith by 20(5 permanently). Using Solution on a unit with 20 faith or less will only be a permanent Faith decrease once per battle. Train [Support] - Required Skill. See the section on it. Monster Talk [Support] - Lets you use 'Talk Skill' on Monsters if you're not a Mediator. Not required, but it can come in handy. Mimic Daravon - Puts units to sleep. Can assist with Inviting, Stealing and many other actions. Move Abilities Move +2 [Thief] - The highest move skill a female human character can get; an important skill to have for many human characters. Ignore Height [Lancer] - Lets you jump up to any height. Better than Jump +2/3 but does not increase your horizontal jump like the real 'Jump' ability does. Teleport [Time Mage] - An amazing ability if used correctly. Learn your jobs' standard movement range if you're going to be using it. For each 1 square attempted outside a units regular movement range, there is an added %10~ish chance of failing the teleport. Those missed teleports can really start to eat turns if you don't know a characters' true move range. Move HP-Up/Move MP-Up [Monk, Oracle] - Recover HP or MP after each move action. Both good abilities; they work best when a character is constantly moving. |||------------------------------------------------------------------------||| ||| III.III - Special Characters (NPCs) ||| |||------------------------------------------------------------------------||| This section provides a quick rundown of the Special Characters (NPCs) that can join your party in the game; listed in chronological order. Boco - Wiegraf/Delitas Chocobo; not really a special NPC, just a Chocobo. I'm not sure if there is any extra dialogue or brave/faith/stat modifications when he's in a battle that includes Delita or Wiegraf. Mustadio - Mustadio can be your swiss army knife of game control. Using Battle Skill as your sub-skill or being a Chemist/Mediator with Snipe as a sub-skill is extremely effective. Snipe are best when paired with a gun; you can use them at great ranges, and are more reliable than spells. He must stay in your army if you plan to do the side quests in chapter 4. Agrias - Agrias has very low move & jump traits, which makes her hard to use when not based around ranged attacks. Using Holy Sword and/or making her a back line mage are the best options for her. Her ability to do AoE attacks does fill a gap lacking in a monster squad, but her innate handicap is hard to work around. I recommend removing her. Rafa - Her Truth ability is just plain awful. The only reason to keep her is Move-Find Item finding in the Deep Dungeon. That requires you to keep her leveled so she doesn't negatively affect breeding. Really though, her only advantage over using a recruited human character is that she gets to have A FEW lower faith points without leaving the army. I say dismiss her. Malak - Like Rafa, his Un-Truth ability is just awful. He has no use in a monster army, so remove him. Beowulf - Beowulf's skill set 'Holy Sword' is based around enfeebling skills, similar to an Oracle. He must be equipped with a sword or knight sword to use 'Holy Sword'. Beowulf can be useful secondary character, and can use Holy Sword as a sub-skill if he has Equip Sword. Reis - (Dragon Form) - Dragon Reis has no 'Monster Skill' Abilities, and does not have Counter. It does share the exact same stats with most dragons, except for having a lower evade percentage. Although she does have a regular 'attack' and all 3 elemental breaths. You can use 'her' as a dragon, and she's actually pretty good. The fact she is lacking any elemental weakness can be a big boon. You can keep her as she is, dismiss her, or finish the quest line to change her into her human form. Reis (Human Form) - Wow. Reis is just custom-made to be an NPC for your monster party. She has innate Monster Talk, Monster Skill, Train, and Two Swords. The Dragoner class gets a few abilities that work only with monsters but the class itself has a low move/jump radius. Reis human will not be the same level when she transforms from a Dragon. Dragoner also has a few quirks: you can't wear regular armor or weapons and she attacks with her fists but does a double- attack. She even retains her breath attacks from when she was a Dragon. The only negative is that you get her very, very late into the game. The Dragoner classes' abilities only work on Hydra species and Dragon species, but here's a small synopsis of what they do. Dragon Care - Reis loses X HP and target gets 2X HP. Heals all negative status except: Death Sentence, Zombie, Petrify. Dragon PowerUp - Gives target +2 SPD, +5 Brave, +2 PA/MA. Dragon LevelUp - Gives target Quick status Holy Braclet - The description sounds good, but its a really horrible ability. Orlandu - Holy Swordsman; can be devastating on the battle field and many consider him game-breaking. You can dismiss him, or you can keep him for insurance to level him up if things get too rough. I prefer the former. Worker 8 - A decent unit, but doesn't really fit in well with the whole Beastmaster theme. I suggest dismissing it. Cloud - Good abilities, but takes a long time to get and level up. Requires a special weapon. I don't include him in this play style. Byblos - An Apanda species creature, recruited after you beat the last level of Deep Dungeon. Considered a monster, but has no monster skill ability. A pretty neat monster and more effective than most regular monsters. |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** IV. - Walkthrough ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| IV.I - Initial Setup ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| For this guide the party setup ends up facilitating Ramza and 4 monsters. Depending on the setup you chose, Ramza will be a mix of support, damage dealing and healing. Ramza and your units will need esuna, remedy or Stigma Magic to counteract monsters inability to avoid status effects. There is also a section after the walk-through called "Alternative & Monster Parties", which has insights into using different types of monsters than used in the guide. I recommend checking it out before proceeding. As always, you'll want to keep your Human character(s) in the best gear. I won't mention when to pick up most gear, so assume to try to buy it whenever possible. Different Shops sell different types of gear. () - Optional Setup [A] Main Jobs: Squire, Monk, (Maybe: Ninja) Reaction Abilities: Counter Support Abilities: Attack UP, Martial Arts, Two Swords Move: Move HP-UP, Move +2, Jump +2 Pros: Both Offensive and Defensive, High Defense Cons: Revive not 100%, Healing lacking, No debuffs, boring This setup is pretty well rounded: good offensively and defensively. The main focus is on being a major part of the action and supporting your monsters from the front line. You must be mindful of your support role with this combination, considering the height/distance range of your healing abilities. In battles where that have big height differentials, this combo will be a bit lacking. Combos well with Chocobos, but can be used with many different monster parties. This setup is a little strange, so make sure to really understand how to use your monster species correctly and effectively. It' very important to match signs with your monsters with this setup. Setup [B] Main Jobs: Chemist, Knight, (Maybe: Ninja) Reaction Abilities: Speed Save Support Abilities: Concentrate, Two Swords Move: Move +2, Jump +2 Pros: Long range, great enfeebling, 100% cures/esuna/revive Cons: Chemist can be weak, no buffs, no AoE abilities Chemist offers all of the HP/status removal/Reviving you need to support your army. Knight offers a strong front-line unit while its 'Break' abilities are a great sub job for Chemist and Ninja. You can use a wide range of monsters with this combo, and the instant-speed of your abilities will be able to support them both offensively and defensively. The Achilles' heel of this setup is slow recovery time after being hit with AoE magic/abilities. In this setup, stack PA with a high-damage weapon for better success with Breaks, or stack MA to use the Magic Guns late in the game for more damage. Truly, having Break Skill as a sub to Chemist is only really effective after guns become available in chapter 2. When your main job is Knight with Item as your sub, you'll lose a lot of the combos effectiveness in exchange for Ramza's front-line fighting skill. Setup [C] Main Jobs: Priest, Time Mage, Samurai Reaction Abilities: Standard Support Abilities: Mag Atk UP, Short charge Move: Move MP UP, Teleport Pros: Zodiac Killer, AoE Buffs/Debuffs Cons: MP Reliant, Samurai only useful late in game. This combo is more of a back-line support for your monsters. Both Priest & Time Mage have a high MA stat and growth, so you can sub Draw Out for either effectively depending on the situation. This combo can be the most interesting, due to the possible gear and ability/spell combinations you can create for different battles and situations. If you choose Samurai as your main, you can dabble more in the front line but your magical power will be reduced. Your monsters will be doing the heavy lifting as far as damage goes, so employ more tank-like monsters in your squads. Sadly, as you progress into chapter 4, Time Mage & Priest will be less effective do to overall speed of battles. Samurais instant abilities will really start to shine while the mage jobs fall off. Abilities needed for all setups: Train, Monster Skill, Auto Potion, Gained JP Up Note: Thief(Steal) & Secret Hunt isn't really needed if you don't want rare items, and even then you only need 'Steal Weapon' for most of the rarities up until the fight at Limberry Castle in late chapter 4. 4 Humans - "The Others" Main Jobs - Squire, Knight, Chemist, Priest, Wizard Sign - Any Reaction Abilities - Any Support Abilities - Any When you begin the game, you'll be given an army of about 7 total characters. You can dismiss two instantly, as the max you can bring into any battle is 5 units. You'll be using these units until the beginning of chapter 2 when you start breeding monsters. I recommend giving them simple abilities, like Move +1, Jump +1 and Counter Tackle. Once you start using monsters, you should dismiss these units. Regarding Training Monsters: Aside from the fighting setup you use throughout the game, Ramza will have to acquire Mediator to get the abilities Train and/or Invite. You can do this normally by letting Ramza just get his own JP, or.. You could change all human units while in random battles to the job that’s needing JP to make this process a bit quicker. Ex: 5x Chemists, then 5x Priests, then 5x Oracles/Mediators... |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| IV.II - CHAPTER 1 ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Chapter Focus: Ramza: [All] - Gained JP UP, Train/Invite, Monster Skill [A] - Yell, Heal, Throw Stone, Chakra, Wave Fist, Accumulate [B] - Potion, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Down, Shield break, Speed break [C] - Cure, Protect, Shell, Haste, Don't Move, Slow Others: Chemist, Wizard, Priest Monsters: Attain Dragon & Chocobo * Progress through the story missions until you defeat Lenalia Plateau * Train/Invite a Dragon and a Chocobo * Finish off the rest of the story missions and move on to chapter 2. During the first chapter, I won't be battling with any monsters. By the time you're able to Train/Invite monsters, you're only a few battles away from the Chapters' end. Also, with the lowest tier monsters, they don't really have any abilities that stand out over Human characters. There are level recommendations for some of the harder story battles, the battles without level recommendations aren't as challenging. You should usually fight in -at least- two random battles after each story battle. Give all of the 'Others' characters the 'Potion' and 'Phoenix Down' Item abilities. Make sure each unit has 'Basic Skill' or 'Item' as their secondary job ability. The best skill for gaining JP is 'Throw Stone'. It's weak, ranged, and a cheap amount of JP. To grind JP, have all units throw stones at one unit, then have that unit heal their HP with a Potion. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #1 - Orbonne Monastery Enemies: 1x Knight, 1x Chemist, 3x Archer Recommended: N/A This is the first story battle, and it actually takes place in Chapter 2. It can't be lost and any experience or job points attained here won't transfer to the real games' beginning, which is the next battle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #2 - Gariland Magic City Enemies: 4x Squire, 1x Chemist A simple battle, keep your units close together and take out the enemy Chemist when the time is right. Try to focus several units on a single enemy unit to knock them out before the Chemist can heal them. After the battle: Teach Ramza Gained JP Up. Make sure you have two Chemists in your group (don't forget to learn Potion!). Dismiss two of your weaker units (you can only take 5 characters into battle anyway) and sell your Holy Water for extra gold. Stock up on Potions! (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #3 - Mandalia Plains Enemies: 1x Thief, 5x Squire Recommended: Ramza(Squire), Others(Squires & Chemists) When the battle begins select "We must destroy the Death Corps" for a bonus in Brave. Algus will survive the first few strikes, but get a Chemist near him to support him once they stop surrounding him. Have Ramza stay in the center of battle to support Algus and be in range to strike the enemy. After the battle: Teach your Chemists Phoenix Down; and check above for what Ramza needs to learn. Igros has a great new sword for Squires. Teach the Others any combination of Throw Stone, Counter Tackle, Move +1 & Potion, and set their skills appropriately. Gariland now sells Feather Hats and Leather Clothes, buy the hats as a first priority. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #4 - Sweegy Woods Enemies: 2x Bomb, 2x Goblin, 1x Black Goblin, 1x Red Panther Recommended: Ramza(A,B,C: Any), Others(1x Chemist, 1x Wizard, etc), Delita/Algus(Squire or Knight) This battle is pretty easy, except for Algus and Delita rushing right into the middle of the field. Additionally, the 'Bomb' type enemies might Self-Destruct when they are in a weakened state. To avoid this, have all units attack the Bombs in one turn, so they won't get a turn while weakened. After the Battle: The next battle is very hard. Spend some time moving between the areas and fighting random battles to gain some EXP & JP for your characters. Random Battles in Sweegy Woods will have Skeletons; Skeletons -and other Undead- take damage from Potions and Cures, and a single 'Phoenix Down' will kill them. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #5 - Dorter Slums [Dorter Trade City] Enemies: 1x Knight, 2x Wizard, 3x Archer Recommended: Level:5 - Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG~CHM, C:PRT), Others(2x Wizard, 1x Chemist~Archer), Delita/Algus(Squire, Knight) The first hard fight. Bring 2x Wizards with Bolt to be your main damage dealers. Give Delita and Algus Move +1, and make their Jobs Knights or Squires. Let the enemy do most of the advancing, and avoid grouping units to stay safe from the enemy Wizards. As the fight progresses, move to the second story of the house you start next to. Having a high movement range is a great help here. After the battle: Stock up on items and equipment in Dorter. If you do fight some random battles before the next story battle, keep two of 'The Others' Wizards. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #6 - Cellar of the Sand Mouse [Zeklaus Desert] Enemies: 1x Archer, 2x Monk, 3x Knights Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:KNG, C:TIM), Others(2x Wizard, 1x Priest), Delita/Algus(Squire or Knight) This is actually a very easy fight if you brought a Wizard or two. Have a strong unit block the two doors of the house with proper support. Then send the Wizard(s) in to the corner of the house, outside. You can cast spells on the group inside, hitting multiple units at once. The only danger to them is the Archer inside. After the battle: Start on the job path to Mediator for Train/Invite, no matter what setup you're using. Teach The Others any good skills within reach. Hi-Potions will start to be sold in shops around Ivalice. The shops in Dorter & Gariland now have a large selection of equipment for purchase as well. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #7 - Thieves Fort Enemies: 1x Miluda, 2x Thief, 2x Priest Objective: Defeat Miluda Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:KNG~CHM, C:PRT~TIM), Others(Knight, Chemist, 2x Wizard), Delita/Algus(Squire or Knight) This battle is about medium difficulty. Algus and Delita (as always) will rush out into the middle of battle, so have a Chemist or Priest ready to heal them for their foolishness. When/if you get the opportunity, rush Miluda and hit her with a few Bolts to end the battle quickly. The enemy Priests might have some Wizard spells, so use your strong units to take them out when you have a chance. Keep your female units away from the male Thieves, or they will be Charmed. After the battle: This is the first Milestone here, before you get access to Lenalia Plateau but after you go to Igros. By this time, you'll want the Invite/Train abilities to be able to recruit monsters. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #8 - Lenalia Plateau Enemies: 1x Miluda, 2x Wizard, 1x Time Mage, 2x Knight Objective: Defeat Miluda Recommended: Level:10 - Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:KNG~CHM, C:PRT~TIM), Others(Knight, Chemist, Priest, 1x Wizard), Delita(Squire or Knight) This battle is not very hard. Miluda hits hard and has the Counter ability set, so keep weak units away from her. The Time Mage can either be really annoying or ineffective, depending on their sign. Focus on Miluda & the Wizards, kill the Time Mage as a second priority. After the battle: Lenalia Plateau is now open, and you have a good equipment selection from the shops in the towns. This is where I start recruiting monsters. Frequent Lenalia Plateau to get a Chocobo and a Dragon (enter from south). Mandalia Plains also has a lot of Chocobos in random battles. You might need to do a bit of leveling before the next story battle. Although you should wait for the really in-depth monster breeding. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #9 - Windmill Shed [Fovoham Plains] Enemies: 1x Wiegraf, 2x Monk, 2x Knight, 1x Chocobo (Boco) Objective: Defeat Wiegraf Recommended: Level:10 - Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:KNG, C:TIM), Others(Knight, Chemist, Priest, 1x Wizard), Delita(Knight), Black/Red Chocobo, Any Dragon This can be a hard battle. Wiegraf uses Knight Sword abilities, Boco heals, and the other enemies act as offense. Keep weak units in the back, and avoid having units stand together for Stasis Sword. Wiegraf also has 'Hellcry Punch' which can be instant death. Sometimes a unit will be weak to it, and die every time they get targeted with it. You can rush in, or can take the slow way, constantly healing your units as you whittle the enemy down. I usually take the first approach; Wiegraf's allies are pretty weak even though they hit hard. After the battle: Return to the towns and to buy a few things, then level up and continue on. The next story battle is tough, so don't forget to keep your Potion/Hi-Potion count high! The random battles on this map offer Flotiballs, Pisco Demons(Squids) and Birds as new recruit-able monsters. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #10 - Fort Zeakden Enemies: 1x Algus, 2x Wizard, 3x Knight Objective: Defeat Algus Recommended: Level: 12 - Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG, C:PRT), Others(Knight, 1x Chemist-with Hi-Potion, Priest, 1x Wizard-with Fire), Delita(Knight), Black/Red Chocobo, Any Dragon This battle is a pain in the ass. Delita will rush in to kill Algus, and the Wizards and Knights will pile on the damage when they get a chance. On top of that, your second squad starts way back in the corner, and are barely able to help by the time things get chaotic. Make sure that the second squad units have high move ratings and also have good speed. A good tactic is to give a Wizard/Priest Spike Shoes and place him in the first squad. Have them climb the boxes on the first tower, then rain down the punishment (or healing) on any unit that approaches. You can do the same with a Chemist. Prioritize Algus and the enemy Wizards. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| IV.III - CHAPTER 2 ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Chapter Focus: Ramza: [All] - Auto-Potion [A] - Stigma Magic, Earth Slash, Counter, Cheer Up, Revive, Move +2 [B] - Remedy, Magic Break, Mind break, Concentrate, Move +2 [C] - Cure 2, Raise, Demi, Teleport, Esuna, SAM: Kotestsu/Bizen Boat Monsters: 2x Red Chocobo, 1x Red Dragon and/or 1x Blue Dragon. * Breed Blue/Red Dragons, breed 2 or 3 Red Chocobos * Breed other monsters as desired * Proceed through the story missions to Lionel Castle <=RARE=> Recruit a Uribo at the Zigolis Swamp story battle (Optional) * Finish the rest of the story missions and move on to chapter 3 This is when you can start breeding and really start playing with monsters! You'll want to start breeding now; focus on Chocobos and Dragons. I recommend 2 Red Chocobos, 1x Red & 1x Blue Dragon and maybe one enfeebler (Mindflare/Vampire/Plague) throughout chapters two through four. Although sometimes it would be nice to have 3 Red Chocobos. Ramza's Cheer Up skill is now available for Squire. After you breed some monsters you want as allies, start raising those monsters' Brave using Ramza's 'Cheer Up' and/or Mediators 'Praise'. NOTE: You may start lowering your monsters faith as well using the Mediator ability 'Solution'. If you lower faith, two things will happen: 1) Your monsters will take a lot less damage from magical attacks; 2) Your monsters will only get very small benefits from positive magic cast on them (Cure, etc..). Remember, if you're using setup [C] you will not want to lower Faith. Be careful if choosing to lower it, if you want to raise it back up in the future it is a time-consuming process. <=RARE=> There is only one rare weapon to steal near the end of this chapter, but it is during a very hard battle, and the weapon is easily attainable in chapter 3. This chapter begins after the first fight that took place in the story. You'll be asked if you want Rad, Lavian and Alicia to join your party. You won't need them so just reply 'Quit' to all three. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #11 - Dorter Trade City Enemies: 2x Thief, 2x Archer, 2x Wizard Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:KNG, C:PRT), Others: 2x Wizards, Red/Black Chocobos, Dragons Agrias & Gafgarion join you in this battle as guests, but be careful, this battle can get bad if you let the enemy Wizards take advantage of the layout. Make sure your healing units are ready, don't let the enemy Thieves Charm you, and pounce on undefended enemies when you get a chance. After the battle: Buy new equipment for Ramza. Whatever Monsters you want now, this is the best time to breed them/recruit them. Read the Breeding section of this guide to ensure the best results. Moving between Dorter and Orbonne Monastery to let the monsters lay eggs without running into battles. You can also do this between Igros Castle and Fort Zeakden. New monsters have appeared in some of the areas, so if you're looking for something special check the encounter section in this guides 'Hunting Grounds'. Dismiss "The Others" once you begin to breed the right team! (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #12 - Araguay Woods Enemies: 5x Goblin, 1x Black Goblin Objective: Defeat all enemies or Save Boco Recommended: Ramza/Guests (Any Jobs), Multiple Dragons A very easy battle. Decide to save the Chocobo ("Is he strong in a fight?") for a permanent boost in Brave for all attending units. The terrain is flat with no water, so any monsters are effective here. Dragons are highly recommended. After the battle: Take Boco with you or leave him behind - it makes no difference to the story. If you never recruited any Chocobos, this one you get for free! Move on to the next story battle or go off leveling/breeding. Woodmen and Treants can appear on this map in random battles and this is the first place to recruit them. If you're using Setup [B], Taijus have a great Knight sword you can poach from them. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #13 - Zirekile Falls Enemies: 5x Knight, Gafgarion Objective: Save Princess Ovelia Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM), 2/3 Red Chocobos, flying monsters This place is heaven for Chocobos, preferably Black or Red. Land-based monsters and those with "Can't enter water" are not effective here. The princess is a little tough, but not enough to withstand being cornered. Delita will run off to the other side so that means it's up to your team to be her main savior. Kill Gafgarion first, as he will cause the most trouble in this battle. Then turn your attention towards the lingering Knights. After the battle: Prepare for the next story battle. It is a city battle, so afterward you'll be able to do some shopping there. If you enter here from the south and encounter a random battle, you might be in for a hard fight against 3-4 Mindflares! (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #14 - Zaland Fort City Enemies: 2x Knight, 2x Wizard, 2x Archer Objective: Save Mustadio or Defeat all Enemies Recommended: Lvl 15. Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT), Agrias(Holy Knight), 3x Black/Red Chocobo Give Agrias Spike Shoes before the battle so she can actually participate. When prompted, choose "We have to help him!" to get a boost in brave. Due to the battles layout, any monsters without Fly, Teleport or Ignore Height will have a tougher time reaching the enemies. Black Chocobos have low HP and might quickly become a target for the Archers and Wizards. Kill the Wizards 1st with Choco Meteor and the battle becomes cake afterward. Mustadio usually keeps himself out of trouble, but have support ready just in case. After the battle: Gear up and grab some supplies from Zaland, and move to the next battle. If you decide to do some leveling, take note that random battles started by entering Zirekile Falls from the south can have some tough enemies. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #15 - Bariaus Hill Enemies: 2x Knight, 2x Archer, 2x Summoner Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM/PRT), Agrias(Holy Knight), Mustadio(Engineer), 2x Red Chocobo, 1x Blue Dragon This can be a very difficult battle. Equip Agrias with Battle Boots, Mustadio with a Power Wrist and give Ramza Monster Skill. Place your units in the back row in a '+' shape. If you're using setup [C] wait out the first turn cast Shell on everyone. Let the enemies come to you and strike out at the Summoners with caution when you have a chance; they are the first priority in this battle. Bariaus Hill is a large area, and has high cliffs. There isn't any water, but slow and monsters with low Move stats might get left behind easily. After the battle: Proceed to Lionel Castle, watch the Cut-scenes before suiting up with some new equipment. Several new Accessories have become available for sale. Save before the next battle. <=RARE=> Zigolis Swamp is the next story battle. Its the first place you can find a rare monster (a Uribo) but its also the first place where breeding concerns really start to come into play. Firstly, if you're going to get a Uribo, you have to devote 3-5 slots in your army to breeding Wildbows and Porkys. Thus, not having space to breed other monsters. Also, the only reason you want the Boar species is to poach them for items for your humans, which you'll barely be using. In the battle after Zigolis Swamp, Mustadio joins your party as a level 12 Engineer. Keeping Mustadio will let you recruit Reis, Beowulf and Cloud in Chapter 4. Keep in mind though, you aren't REQUIRED to keep Mustadio. <=RARE=> Pre-battle: Remove Mustadios' gun, remove any counter-abilities he has learned, and take off any equipment that directly gives him stat bonuses (except HP/MP). This will prevent him from meddling in your Uribo Acquisition. Make sure that Ramza has Train/Invite. Again, remove any offensive Reaction abilities and make your sub-skill Item. If you're using Train, use a weak weapon (or none at all) - this will prevent you from doing too much damage. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #16 - Zigolis Swamp Enemies: 2x Ghoul, 2x Skeleton, Morbol or Flotiball, Uribo(Rare) Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT), 3x Yellow/Black/Red Chocobo This is a swamp, so again, Chocobos will be your main weapon here. Because of the amount of 'water', monsters like Dragons and Minotaurs will have a problem moving about. If any monster can't move in water, make sure they have a long-range attack to make up for it. The enemies are mostly Undead, and therefore weak to regular curative abilities and the element of Fire. <=RARE=> **Acquiring a Uribo** Reset if you're not seeing a Uribo. Put all the other enemies in Critical status so they don't bother you. Corner the Uribo and just keep trying until you get him on your team. Keep Mustadio away from the Uribo and if you're using Train, don't be afraid to give the Uribo a Potion if you do too much damage. After the battle: Before you move on to Goug, be aware that you won't be able to go back the way you came. You have some very, very hard fights ahead of you and only a single area to level at. You will not be able to access the rest of the World Map again until Chapter 3! So spend some time leveling up to about level 18 before going to Goug. Remedy is now available from the shop, so when you get the time, teach that item skill to Ramza if using setup [B]. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #17 - Goug Machine City Slums Enemies: 2x Summoner, 2x Thief, 2x Archer Recommended: Ramza (A:MNK, B:KNG, C:PRT), 2x Red Chocobo, 1x Blue/Red Dragon This battle can be annoying. Check the compatibility between your monsters and the Thieves before moving your troops in to avoid being Charmed. Place your Dragons/ground monsters at each end of the squad layout. Mustadio will be on a suicide mission and is near impossible to save. This terrain accommodates most monster species, except for those that rely on '0' vertical abilities. Although I would focus on using those that have Ignore Height/Fly. Focus your Red Chocobos on the Summoners to wipe them out quickly, and try to avoid being Charmed by the Thieves. Take out the Archers as a last priority. After the battle: Just head to Warjilis, and watch a cut-scene or two. At the shop in Warjilis a ton of new items will be in stock. Samurai swords, Harps, and Dictionaries are now for sale. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #18 - Bariaus Valley Enemies: 2x Knight, 2x Wizard, 2x Archer Objective: Save Agrias Recommended: Ramza (A:MNK, B:CHM, C:Any), 2/3x Red Chocobo, 1x Red/Blue Dragon Battle over the river to save Agrias. Put your Dragons/ground monster in the first squad, with Ramza. Chocobos and fliers in the second squad. Not a hard battle; prioritize the enemy Wizards and watch out for the Archers with Lightning Bows. Remember to get into a position to heal Agrias, if they kill her, it's game over. The valley has a huge river running through the middle, and a large, tall island in the middle of it. Monsters with Can't Enter Water will have a problem fully traversing the terrain. After the battle: Recruit Agrias if you want. The next battle is one of the hardest in the game, and you only have one store to shop at and one area to fight random battles in. Make sure to go back to Warjilis to get everything ready, they start selling Diamond Bracelets, Wizard Staves, and Brigadines; you'll need all the help you can get for the next battle. Make sure you have attained Auto-Potion, and sell all of your regular Potions. Buy a Defense Ring. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #19 - Golgorand Execution Site Enemies: Gafgarion, 3x Knight, 2x Archer, 2x Time Mage Recommended: Lvl 19+, Ramza (A:SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM), 2x Red Chocobo, 2x Red/Blue Dragon Your squad will be split into teams. Position Ramza on the right side of the squad (top part of screen) along with 2x Dragons/Tank monsters. In your second squad place two Red Chocobos on the left side (right of the screen); You can bring any monsters to this battle, but you must adjust your strategy to suit them. Dragons can be lacking here depending on the equipment the Knights are wearing :(. This battle is HARD. Gafgarion will blast you frequently with his Dark Sword techniques, and the Knights and Archers will pile on the damage to your units. The Time Mages aren't that bad offensively, but when they start Haste-ing the enemies, look out. Using setup[B], hit Gafgarion with a Choco Meteor from both of your Red Chocobos, then give him a shot from Ramza's gun. Take the 2 unit squad under the arch and get them to the bottom-right asap. Move most of your team onto the walkway the main squad starts next to. This will keep the other 2 Knights and Archer on the left side a long time to get to you. Kill off the Time Mage in the bottom-right walkway quickly, and then go after the rest. Using setup [A], stay on the ground, kill Gafgarion first, then the Knights and Archers to the left. Keep Ramza on the flat surfaces so Chakra, Stigma, and Revive can be used. Staying away from the arched walkway helps to control the battle flow. <=RARE=> Gafgarion has a rare Blood Sword equipped in this battle, but it is quite hard to steal it. This sword is also easily available from poaching (in chapter 4). After the battle: The next two battles must be done in a sequence, so there is no time to go back to town and re-equip. BUY A DEFENSE RING. Save in a separate slot before you go to Lionel Castle, you will be able to save and go to the Formation screen between battles but if you aren't strong enough to win the second battle you're in trouble. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #20 - At the Gate of Lionel Castle Enemies: Gafgarion, 3x Knight, Summoner, 2x Archer Recommended: Ramza (A:SQ, B:KNG, C:SAM~PRT), Monsters: See below For Ramza High Speed and Move are important in this battle. Make sure to set MONSTER SKILL for this battle. In squad two, units placed in the back row will actually appear closest to the enemy. Squad two starts on the upper right side of layout screen. Ramza will be stuck on the inside of the gate with Gafgarion, with the rest of your team outside the gates. This will be a hard battle for your squad. You can try to duke it out as it stands, but the best strategy for any setup is to open the gate ASAP to support each other. Gafgarion will usually only focus on attacking Ramza. Give Ramza Auto-Potion and Move+2 or Teleport to be able to open the gates within two turns or less. 'Tough' monsters that have high HP, defense, and attack are the best here; Dragons are great in the battle, as are Red Chocobos. The enemies here are all a threat: the Summoner will use summons targeting your weaknesses, the Archers might have elemental bows, and the Knights are strong and may have Elemental as a secondary. Target the enemy Summoner first and watch your positioning so the enemy knights can't take advantage of you. Setup[A]: As long as you have Move +2 set, Germinas Boots won't be necessary. Open the gate and Chakra your monsters immediately, they'll need it! If your monsters have lowered Faith, it will help here quite a bit. Setup[B]: give Ramza Move +2 and Germinas Shoes to get him to the gate opening as quick as possible. DO NOT move next to Gafgarion, as he may attack you with his sword and give you Don't Move status! With setup [A] or [B], use Choco Meteor on the Summoner, and protect your Chocobos from the Knights with strategic Dragon placement. It's usually best to bring your team inside the gate to kill Gafgarion after the gate opens, but circumstances may dictate otherwise. Go with the flow of the battle as it happens. Setup[C]: If you have Teleport set, this battle is cake. From where Ramza begins, teleport directly to the gate lever (at this distance you have about a 10-20% chance of failing). After opening the gate, bring your monsters in and take out Gafgarion easily. Then let the others scuttle in and smash them. Gafgarion might use the Dark Sword ability that drains ALL your MP. If that happens, you'll have to tread carefully and rely on Choco Cure for healing. After the battle: Review your team in the Formation screen. Equip Ramza with a Defense Ring. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #21 - Inside Lionel Castle Enemies: Queklain (Zodiac Monster) Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:KNG~CHM, C:TIM), Red Chocobo(s), Blue Dragon(s) For this battle any monster that has low speed and a low move will be ineffective. With Dragons, a Red has more speed, but a Blue will deal more damage. Keep units away from each other as much as possible. Queklain will focus on inflicted Sleep & Death Sentence on your monsters so let him do that while you pound him into submission. Just focus on killing Queklain, and don't worry about curing the negative statii. If you're using setup [C], a Time Mages' Demi spell will do good damage here. Not a hard battle over all, but it can be irritating. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| IV.IV - CHAPTER 3 ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Chapter Focus: Ramza: [All] - None [A] - Martial Arts, Attack Up, Move HP Up, Jump +2/Ignore Height [B] - X-Potion, 3x breaks, Jump +2, Two Swords, Secret Hunt, Solution [C] - Cure 3, Mag Atk Up, Short Charge, Demi 2, Move MP-Up, Raise 2, SAM:Murasame, Heaven's Cloud, Kiyomori Monsters: No new monsters. <=RARE=> Poach monsters as needed * Recruit or breed a third Red Chocobo (anytime before Riovanes Castle) * Proceed through the story missions until Yuguo Woods. * Prepare for and win the hard fight at Riovanes Castle, move through to chapter 4 Chapter 3 is actually a pretty boring time for the monster party. There is only one new monster species available - the Tree or 'Woodman' - , but I don't use them in this guide due to their limited range(s). Work through the battles and keep up with the recommended abilities for the setup you're using. If you are using 2x Red Chocobos and 2 Dragons, I recommend dropping one of the Dragons and going with 3x Red Chocobos. There is many battles in chapter 3 with huge height differentials, and you'll also need it for the last battle of the chapter. <=RARE=> Fur Shops open in Chapter 3, which gives you opportunity to start Poaching some of your own monsters or some from the field. The walk-through mentions the use of some items obtained through poaching. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #22 - Goland Coal City Enemies: 1x Mediator, 3x Thief, 2x Chemist Objective: Save Olan Recommended: Level:21+, Ramza(A:MNK~SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM/PRT), 3x Red Chocobos, 1x Red/Blue Dragon Olan will just stomp all over the enemy units, which makes this a very easy battle. Position your Dragons/ground monsters of each side of the squad for maximum effect. Watch the enemy Thieves and 'Steal Heart' - keep your distance if possible. Monsters with a high Jump stat/Ignore Height/Fly are the best here. Any monster without a Jump of three will have a hard time navigating the terrain. After the battle: X-Potions become available after this, so if you're using setup[B], now is the time to start learning that skill. Otherwise, just head to Lesalia. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #23 - Back gate of Lesalia Castle Enemies: Zalmo, 3x Knight, 2x Monk Objective: Defeat Zalmo Guests: Alma Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:KNG, C:PRT), 2x Red Chocobo, 2x Blue/Red Dragon Try to stay on the landing; if you get into the field you might get surrounded. Make sure to put a few strong units on the left railing, to prevent the enemy Knights from flanking you. This map is very flat, so you can bring any type of monsters here. Ranged attacks are great here since you can just sit on the railing and pick off the enemies. Since Zalmo is a Priest, this battle can drag on. After the battle: Orbonne Monastery is the next battle, and it is another multi-tier battle. A lot of new equipment has become available in the shops, so make sure to check it out. Take some time to level up; level 25 would be good level to shoot for. Make an additional save just to play it safe. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #24 - Underground Book Storage Second Floor [Orbonne Monastery] Enemies: 3x Lancer, 1x Chemist, 2x Time Mage Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:KNG, C:TIM), 2/3x Red Chocobo, 1x Blue/Red Dragon The Lancers are your biggest problem here. The Time Mages can be an issue, but you've got bigger fish to fry. Stand back and let the Lancers come to you, hitting them with Choco Meteor and attacking when they get close. When you've taken out 2, start moving forward down the stairs to destroy the other units. Any monster units can be effective here. If the Lancers have Charm or Item as a sub skill, this battle can be downright annoying. Set Ramzas' support ability to Monster Skill for some extra healing from your Red Chocobos. After the battle: Make sure Ramza has a Jump stat of at least 3. Check your formation and continue onward. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #25 - Underground Book Storage Third Floor [Orbonne Monastery] Enemies: Izlude, 2x Knight, 1x Summoner, 2x Archer Objective: Defeat Izlude Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:Any), 3/4x Red Chocobo The layout of this battle can cause issues for a lot of monsters. If you're using setup [A] or [B], equip Germinas Boots on Ramza. I recommend bringing 3/4 Red Chocobos to end this battle quickly. If you're using Dragons /Ground monsters position them in the back of the squad behind Ramza. Haul straight towards Izlude (keeping to the left side) and hit him with as many Choco Meteors as possible before the rest of the enemy army can get involved. If you're using setup [C], cast Haste on your Red Chocobos for a huge edge. An easy fight if you get it over quickly. After the battle: Make sure Ramza has strong defensive gear against both Physical and Magic damage for the next battle. Equip him with a Jade Armlet. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #26 - Underground Book Storage First Floor [Orbonne Monastery] Enemies: Wiegraf, 2x Knight, Wizard, 2x Archer Objective: Defeat Wiegraf Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG, C:TIM), 2x Red Chocobo, 2x Red/Blue Dragon Try to defeat Wiegraf quickly; if you let this battle go on too long, you will be in deep, deep trouble. If you're using setup [B], set Ramzas' support ability to Concentrate. You can bring any monsters to this battle; place the front-line monsters in the front, Red Choco's/Ranged monsters in the back. After the battle: Watch the interesting cut-scene, then buy some new equipment at the shops. The next battle seems easy from the enemy units involved, but it is a HUGE hassle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #27 - Grog Hill Enemies: 2x Squire, 1x Archer, 1x Thief, 2x Chemist Recommended: Level: 27. Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM~PRT), 2x Red Chocobo, 2x Red Dragon This battle seems easy from the outset, but is a lot harder than it looks. The enemy Chemists will heal other units, or shoot fast and hard with their guns. On top of that, the enemy Thief will pose a problem with Steal Heart. All species of monsters can be used here with the flat, sloping terrain. Position Dragons/Tank monsters on the top of the squad screen. Advance as needed and try not to get a single unit too far ahead so they don't get surrounded. You'll probably get a few of your units KO'd in this battle on the way to winning. After the battle: The next battle is another rough one. Check the two closest cities for new equipment, and also stop by Dorter Trade City's shop if you have the time. Level up a level or two to prepare for the next battle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #28 - Yardow Fort City Enemies: Malak, 3x Ninja, 2x Summoner Objective: Save Rafa Guests: Rafa Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:TIM~PRT), 3x Red Chocobo, 1x Red Dragon Use a Red Dragon or another strong monster to block the gate into the courtyard. Pound the enemy units with Choco meteors, use Samurai or Monk to heal, or Priest to keep haste and shell on the right people. This battle has a choke point at the huge gate, so monsters that can fly or have ranged attack are your best bet. All-in-all a very hard battle. After the battle: Lots of new equipment is available at Yardow, including Sprint Shoes. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #29 - Yuguo Woods Enemies: 1x Ghoul, 1x Gust, 1x Revnant, 1x Time Mage, 2x Wizard Guests: Rafa Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:PRT), 1x Red Chocobo, 3x Red Dragon All the units here are Undead, so curing will hurt them and raising will kill them. This battle is not very hard, but the Wizards do know some level 3 spells and could hit your units for a ton of damage. This is another flat map, so any species of monsters can be effective here. Milestone - Yuguo Woods - The next fight has one of the hardest battles in the game. You'll need to have a third Red Chocobo, so recruit or breed one that fits your teams' signs. If you're using setup [B] (or maybe setup [A]), learn Solution for Mediator and start lowering your monsters faith to 20 or below (if you didn't already do that). Make a second save before entering Riovanes Castle. Here's a small list of the things you'll need for the next few battles: * 3x Red Chocobos * All units level 35 or greater * 20 X-Potions Here's what Ramza will need/look-like for battle #31: Setup[A] Squire/Monk Platina Sword Guts Platina Sword Punch Skill Green Beret Auto-Potion Platina Armor Two-Swords Bracer Move + 2 Setup[B] Knight/Chemist Platina Sword* Battle Skill Platina Sword* Item Circlet Auto-Potion Platina Armor Two-Swords Germinas Bts. Move + 2 * - Substitute a Defender sword if available Setup[C] Priest/Time Mage Wizard Staff White Magic --- Time Magic G. Hairpin Auto-Potion White Robe Short Charge Sprint Shoes Move-Mp Up (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #30 - At the Gate of Riovanes Castle Enemies: Malak, 3x Knight, 3x Archer Guests: Rafa Recommended: Lvl. 35+. Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT), 3x Red Chocobo This battle is neither very easy nor very hard. If the Archers gang up on a single character, it could spell big trouble. This battle has a huge body of water in the middle of it, which will hinder monsters that can't traverse it. Focus on moving most of your units close to the bridge. If using setup [C], have Ramza use Protect on the gang. Don't advance too quickly and use your chocobos to weaken the enemy Archers while the rest of your squad moves in. Malak has very low HP, and will be easy to remove from battle. After the battle: Drop all Potions/Hi-Potion(s) from your inventory. Don't save over a previous save because you might be stuck if you can't win the next battle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #31 - Inside Riovanes Castle Enemies: Wiegraf/Velius, 3x Ultima Demon Recommended: Level: 34. Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG, C:PRT), 3x Red Chocobos, 1x Red Dragon Recommended Layout: Ramza & Red Dragon in two front squares of squad 1, three Chocobos in the front line in 2nd squad. R = Ramza D = Red Dragon C = Red Chocobo 1st Squad ** RD 2nd Squad *C** *CC* Part 1: In this first section, it is just Ramza vs. Wiegraf. Setup[A]: Keep using Yell on yourself to raise Ramzas speed to 11 or 12. If Auto-Potion doesn't go off, use Chakra to gain back some HP. When you have enough speed, Use regular attacks to bring down Wiegraf. Setup[B]: Keep advancing on Wiegraf and attack him from the back or sides. If your HP dips, use an X-Potion. Setup[C]: Wiegraf will get to act first, then either cast Haste on yourself or step forward and cast Demi/Demi2 on him. Auto-Potion should activate after each of his attacks. If it doesn't Cure yourself to fill the gap in your HP. Make sure to have Haste up when you defeat him. Keep using Demi on him until he gives up. If you get silenced with Lightning Strike, you might as well start over. Keep moving to regain MP. Wiegraf only needs to lose 2/3 HP before he will retreat. WATCH HIS HP, AND MAKE SURE TO BE AT FULL HP WHEN HE DIES. Now its time for part 2. Part 2: Velius. This is the hardest story battle in the game. I hope you're ready! I recommend three Red Chocobos for this battle. You need their high-damage ranged attack, and the fact they can move in water can be helpful. Blue dragons are too slow for this battle; A Red Dragon is good, but it needs to start in front of the first squad to get to Velius before he kills it. If you're using setup[C] Velius can be inhibited by Slow or Silence. When Velius is out of range from hitting a human with a summon, he'll turn to petrifying your monster units. Of course, he might attempt this on Ramza as well. Consider it only a matter of time until you start losing your monster units to Petrify. (Especially with a Gemini-based astrological party setup!) But we aren't going to let that happen. Depending on your units overall strength, we might not even let Velius use one his summons. Ramza will always go first here. With setup[A] or [B], move him all the way up the steps, right to Velius' side. Use a simple 'two-swords' attack. With Setup [C], move towards Velius and cast Demi 2 (at level 35, this should have a 47% chance of landing). Next up, your three Red Chocobos will get their turns. Move each of them to their own step, and have each one throw a Choco Meteor at Velius. When the Red Dragon is up, move him in front of Velius and use Lightning Braclet or Dash. Try to avoid putting 2 allied units on the same step or the Ultima Demons' magic attack will tear them up. Here is a small representation below. ASCII Drawing of placement for the units after their first turns U = Ultima Demon V = Velius R = Ramza D = Red Dragon C = Red Chocobo ---------------- U U U __RV__ |_D| |C_| |_C| |_C| |__| / \ ---------------- After this first round, you should have done about 600+ damage to Velius. At this point him and the Ultima Demons will get their turns. There is a high likelihood that Ramza and maybe some Chocobos will get another turn now, especially if you are Hasted. With setup [A] or [B], use a standard attack again; if you're using Setup [C] cast Demi or Holy on Velius. For some reason if you don't get this second turn in, you only need 2 of 5 units to survive the onslaught and deal 250 more damage to him to win. At level 38 I was able to win this battle without taking a single hit. If you're still having trouble with this fight, see the 'Q & A' section at the end of this guide. After the battle: You shouldn't need to change any gear or abilities for the next battle; just save and be on your way. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #32 - Roof of Riovanes Castle Enemies: Elmdor, Celia, Lede Objective: Save Rafa Guests: Rafa Recommended: Ramza(same as last battle), 3x Red Chocobo Your objective is to put any one of the three enemies into critical status. Bring 3x Red Chocobos and your Red Dragon. Monsters need high-damage ranged attacks to make a difference here, and Chocobos fit the bill perfectly. In the squad placement screen, position your Dragons/ground monsters in either the front or the back of the line. Pick one of the three targets and focus all of your attacks on that unit. If you wait more than two turns, they will surely kill Rafa. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| IV.V - CHAPTER 4 ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Chapter Focus: Ramza: [All] - None [A] - Ninja Abilities, Abandon, Secret Hunt, Ultima [B] - Speed Save, Final Breaks, Elixir [C] - Stop/Slow 2, Holy, Meteor, SAM: Muramasa, Kikuichimoji, Masamune, Chirjiraden Monsters: 2x Tiamat, Behemoths (maybe) * (Optional) Recruit a Behemoth (Bariaus Valley and other locations) * Recruit a Tiamat from Bariaus Valleys' Rare Battle * Breed both Behemoth & Hydra species (Poach if desired) * (Optional) Start the side quest to get Reis * Progress with the story battles * (Optional) Continue the side quest to get Reis changed. * (Optional) Go into the Deep Dungeon and get Byblos * Complete the game Welcome to Chapter 4! This is the last chapter of the game and the most interesting one for any monster party. Finally, two new, very strong monsters become available. By this time you might have gotten sick of Chocobos and Dragons. You don't have to get rid of them, but when we get the new monsters they might have a very hard time finding a spot in your party ;) . Also, each map that has random battles now has a special rare battle available that is only accessible by entering from a certain direction**. **For a full list of these Rare Battles, please see the FFT-Battle Compendium by Goryus on gamefaqs. Firstly, some new equipment is available from shops around Ivalice. Check the Castles, regular towns, and Trade Cities (Dorter, Warjilis) and do a bit of shopping. Ramzas' special Guts skill has a new ability: Scream. Its raises Speed, Brave, PA & MA for just Ramza, and is like several of his previous abilities rolled up into one. We are going to acquire a monster of the Hydra Species (and a monster from the Behemoth Species). We can find both of these in Bariaus Valley. Tiamats are a must; Behemoths are a good tank/front line monster and are a good replacement for dragons. Behemoths appear from the west entrance (Lionel Castle) and Tiamats appear in a rare battle from the south entrance (Golgorand Execution Site). Head to Lionel Castle and save your game there. The strategy for the recruitment / Valley fight is below. (Optional) At any time you can start the side-quest to get Reis, Beowulf and Worker 8. Although you can't fully complete it until after battle 39. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #X - Bariaus Valley Rare Battle Enemies: Tiamat(s), Chocobos, Morbols, Birds Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM), 3x Red Chocobo, 1x Red Dragon If the rare battle doesn't occur at first, keep trying until it does. You might have to do a 'soft reset' many times to get the rare battle, or you can just keep fighting whatever battles you get into. If the battle starts and it's 2 Tiamats and multiple Chocobos, you're pretty much sunk. Check the previous notes on Bariaus Valley for which monsters are best for the terrain. Bring Red Chocobos or ranged attack monsters to be able to damage the Tiamat quickly, putting it into critical status. It will fly away and you can deal with the rest of the enemies while Ramza corners the Tiamat. Give Ramza a White Robe to half any damage the Tiamat(s) do. After the battle: Between Goland Coal City & Lesalia is the place to breed. From there you can also make a short trip to Dorter Trade City when/after poaching. At this point, you may want to dismiss one or two of your Chocobos, and a Dragon or two. In your army I recommend mainly using these units: 2 Tiamats, 1/2 Red Chocobo, 1 Red/Blue Dragon, and/or 1 Behemoth. When you're ready, head to Doguola Pass. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #33 - Doguola Pass Enemies: 1x Knight, 2x Lancer, 2x Wizard, 1x Archer Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ~MNK, B:CHM, C:PRT), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat With your new Tiamats, and your trusty Red Chocobo this fight is a breeze. Although it will be quick, the enemies can deal a large amount of damage. The battle here is very close quarters and it is easy to use the Tiamats 'Triple' abilities to their full advantage. This terrain is only restrictive to monsters that have a very low jump stat. After the battle: The next fight contains an enemy who can easily break any equipment. So, either: don't equip any rare gear or set Maintenance as your humans' support ability. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #34 - Bervenia Free City Enemies: Meliadoul, 2x Summoner, 3x Archer, 1x Ninja (all female) Objective: Defeat Meliadoul Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG~CHM, C:PRT), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo Your units/monsters will need a high jump stat or an ability like Fly, Ignore Height or Teleport to be able to participate. Long range attackers like Red Chocobos and Tiamats will be the heroes of the day. You can take out Meliadoul quickly, or finish off her cronies and steal her rare gear: a Defender and a Chantage. You can get both of these by poaching, so its up to you. After the battle: No new equipment is available at Bervenia, and there isn't much to do here. Move on to the next story battle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #35 - Finath River Enemies: Mix of random Chocobos (5x) and 1x Uribo [rare] Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:PRT), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat Prioritize any enemy Red Chocobos and defeat them first. Protect works well against their attacks. The Draw out Kiyomori is also great here. This map is pretty water-logged, being a river. Monsters that have low move and Can't Enter Water are not recommended here. After the battle: No new gear has been released in any of the cities, so just move ahead to the next story mission. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #36 - Zeltennia Castle (Church Outside of Town) Enemies: Zalmo, 2x Oracle, 3x Knight Objective: Defeat Zalmo Recommended: Ramza(Any), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat Zalmo is at the top of the bell tower. With your flying Tiamats and Red Chocobo, you can end this battle in about two turns. It doesn't really matter what job Ramza is. Other monsters will need Fly, Ignore Height or Teleport to be effective here. After the battle: No new gear is really available. In the next battles you will be up against several Knights, so either set Maintenance or don't bring any rare goodies. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #37 - Bed Desert Enemies: Balk, 2x Archer, 2x Knight, 1x Wizard Objective: Defeat Balk Recommended: Level: 35+. Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG~CHM, C:TIM), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat Balk has a very rare Blaze Gun equipped and, he is an engineer like Mustadio so he can cause lots of trouble. On top of that, he starts off by poisoning your party. The poison will wear off in about 4 turns, so keep your monsters HP up. Keep curing HP every turn and have your units focus on Balk, damaging him until he dies. The other enemies are an afterthought. This battle takes place on weird terrain, so monsters with a low Jump/Move stat won't be effective here. <=RARE=> If you want to steal Balks gun, sub Steal skill while you disable the other enemies. After the battle: Bethla Garrison is another multi-tiered battle. As always, make a separate/secondary save before you enter. When you enter Bethla Garrison, you'll be given a choice to take the North or South Wall. There isn't much difference between the two fights. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #38a - Bethla Garrison: South Wall Enemies: 2x Archer, 3x Knight, 1x Ninja, 1x Thief Recommended: Ramza(Any), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat, 1x Behemoth/Sacred/etc You don't need Tiamats here, but they are pretty kick-ass in any battle. This terrain is easily traversed by any species. Take out the Thief and the Ninja on each side of the wall, then focus on the rest. The Knights are usually wielding Ice Brands, which can do huge damage to monsters weak to Ice. After the battle: The next battle isn't that hard, so just check on your army and move forward. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #38b - Bethla Garrison: North Wall Enemies: 1x Summoner, 1x Monk, 2x Lancer, 2x Archer Recommended: Ramza(Any), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat You can fight through the bottom level with melee monsters, or you can use your regular crews ranged attacks to devastate again. Any monsters with Fly, Ignore Height or Teleport are your best choices here. As always, be careful of the enemy summoner. After the battle: The next battle isn't that hard, so just check on your army and move forward. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #39 - At Bethla Garrison's Sluice Enemies: 4x Knight, 2x Wizard, 2x Archer Objective: Open the Water Gate at Bethla Garrison Recommended: Ramza(Any), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat, Mindflares You must move Ramza over both of the switch squares to open the sluice. Equip him with a Vanish Mantle (or make him transparent) and give him Ignore Height. If you have any Mindflares in your party, use Mind Blast on the Knights on the switches to get them to move. Using any knockback ability like 'Throw Stone' to get them off the switches is another option. After the battle: Four new areas will open up. A ton of new equipment is available now, so spend some time shopping! If you're doing the Beowulf/Reis/Worker8/Cloud side quest, check the notes in that section to see what to do concerning Zarghidas Trade City. Note that in *MOST OF* the remaining battles, I'll make recommendations for Ramza and Reis along with what monsters to bring. In many of these battles, you can bring Reis too, but this is supposed to be a monster party. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #40 - Germinas Peak Enemies: 1x Ninja, 2x Thief, 3x Archer Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT), Reis(Dragoner), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat Easy battle for your army. With the height variations, your Tiamats and Red Chocobo will shine here. Dragons/Behemoths and other land-based monsters aren't very good for this map. Prioritize the Ninja and the Thieves, then move on to the Archers. After the battle: Not much to do, so move on to Poeskas Lake. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #41 - Poeskas Lake Enemies: 1x Summoner, 2x Archer, 2x Revnant, 1x Oracle Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM C:PRT), Reis(Dragoner), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo, Dragons/Behemoths All of the enemies here are considered Undead. As usual, attack the Summoner as soon as possible to prevent them from casting summons. This battle isn't very hard, so your team should have no trouble with it. In most of the battles here, any monster species is suitable. If you brought Tiamats, their Triple Flame will eradicate the enemies. After the battle: There is a lot of stuff going on in the next three-tiered battle. Ramza can learn Ultima, There is a full set of rare gear to steal, and you go up against another Zodiac Monster. Make sure to have a '108 Gems' accessory for all your human units. If you want Ultima or a rare equipment set, read about the battles first so you know what to bring. As always, you may want to make a separate save before this battle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #42 - At the gate of Limberry Castle Enemies: Celia, Lede, 5x Apanda Objective: Kill either Celia or Lede Recommended: Level: 42 - Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG, C:PRT), Reis(Any), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo The Apandas are considered 'Demons' and are therefore UN-recruitable. Ramza can learn 'Ultima' here if he is a Squire, and if it gets cast on him and he survives. If you'd like to learn Ultima, equip Ramza with a Black Costume and an N-Kai Armlet, with these two items equipped you're sure to have Ultima cast on you. Focus your attacks on Lede - I recommend to take her down quickly. In this battle, I would only recommend Tiamats and Red Chocobos. After the battle: The next fight is somewhat easy or quite difficult depending on your aim. Equip all human characters with the 108 Gems accessory. Read ahead to know what the options are. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #43 - Inside of Limberry Castle Enemies: Celia, Lede, Marquis Elmdor Objective: Defeat Elmdor Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:KNG, C:Any), Reis(Any), Red/Blue Dragons, Tiamats, Red Chocobo Not a hard battle if you are just going after the objective - killing Elmdor. Normal attacks don't really work well here. Breath attacks (Tiamat/Dragons) and Choco Meteor will have %100 chance of hitting Elmdor, and will do tons of damage. Try to strike fast and hard before you lose tactical advantage. Even if your monsters have low faith, they will still take high damage from Elmdor's Draw Out attacks. If you want all of the Marquis' rare equipment, look in the FAQ section of the guide and follow the strategy outlined there. After the battle: Check your inventory and your army, to make sure you got everything you wanted and came out in one piece. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #44 - Underground Cemetery of Limberry Castle Enemies: Zalera (Zodiac Monster), 2x Knight, 1x Skeleton, 1x Bone Snatch, 1x Living Bone Objective: Defeat Zalera Guests: Meliadoul Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG, C:PRT), Reis(Any), 2/3x Tiamat, Dragons Equip Ramza with a Defense Ring, and place your units far apart in the squad selection screen. The two Knights here are considered Undead, have no armor and only have the ability Swordskill. Your two Tiamats will put an end to this battle very quickly. Triple Braclet did around 555 damage to Zalera, and then Triple Flame hit for around 444 damage each time...so, that is more than enough damage. You can bring whatever monsters you want here, although the Tiamats are all you need. After the battle: Meliadoul will join you, which doesn't really matter because you have a ton of unoccupied slots. Shops will start to sell Thief Hats, one of the best hats in the game. When you're ready, proceed to Igros Castle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #45 - Igros Castle Enemies: Dycedarg, 5x Knight, Adramelk Objective: Defeat Dycedarg and Adramelk Guests: Zalbag Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK~SQ, B:KNG~CHM, C:PRT~SAM), Reis(DRG), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo The best monsters for this battle are ones with Ignore Height, Teleport or Fly. Land based monsters will take awhile to get into the fight. Go with Tiamats and Red Chocobos to deal out insane damage to Dycedarg and end his miserable life. Dycedarg is not particularly strong, but Zalbag will go down quickly when the Knights get to him. When Adramelk appears, give him a taste of your Breath, Triple Flame and Choco Meteor. Triple Breath will do an astounding amount of damage. After the battle: Murond Holy Place will open up as the next battle spot. It is another three-tiered battle so make sure you make a separate save in case you get stuck on one of the battles and can't win. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #46 - St. Murond Temple Enemies: 1x Priest, 1x Summoner, 2x Geomancer, 2x Mediator Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:TIM), Reis(Any), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo, Dragon/Behemoth In the first squad place both Tiamats, and in the second squad a flier and a ground-based monster on the far left side of the screen. A standard battle - your Tiamats are able to destroy the enemy quickly. Most of your monsters will require Fly or Ignore Height to get to the enemy here. Although there is a small exception to the second squad.. considering how closely they start to the enemy units. <=RARE=> The Summoner might have a Dragon Rod equipped. After the battle: Review your army, and get ready for round # 2. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #47 - St. Murond Temple Hall Enemies: Vormav, Rofel, Kletian Objective: Defeat Vormav (or anyone else) Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:KNG, C:TIM), Reis(Any), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red/Blue Dragon, 1x Behemoth (any type) A very small, flat battleground, suitable for all monster types. Only one of the three enemies must be defeated to win the battle. Again, Tiamats can finish the round quickly. <=RARE=> Kletian has a Dragon Rod equipped. After the battle: Review your army, and get ready for round # 3. Don't take this next battle lightly. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #48 - St. Murond Temple Chapel Enemies: Zalbag, Ultima Demon, 2x Archaic Demon Objective: Defeat Zalbag Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT), Reis(DRG), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo, 1x Red/Blue Dragon, 1x Behemoth (any type) Another very small, flat battleground, suitable for all monster types. You are versus Zalbag and 3 demons, attack Zalbag immediately. The Demons do more damage than Zalbag, but he is a weaker target. Dragons and other heavy-hitting monster species such as Sacreds and Behemoths can be good here. After the battle: Murond is done with, and now the last battle of the map has opened up - Orbonne Monastery. In addition, the Deep Dungeon is now available - check the side quest section for info - if you want to take it on. The next battle sequence is the final battle of the game, so make sure you are all ready to go before stepping into it. That means no building up JP for new abilities, and no more breeding or outside leveling. As usual, you may want to make a separate save before entering. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #49 - Underground Book Storage 4th Floor [Orbonne Monastery] Enemies: 3x Knight, 2x Archer, 1x Monk Recommended: Level: 52. Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:TIM), Reis(Any), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo A pretty easy battle in an oddly shaped area. All species of monsters will be effective here. The Knights are somewhat hindered by the terrain so even enfeebling monsters can get a few good whacks at them. As always Tiamats will dominate, and Behemoth/Minotaur/Dragon types might be slowed down by the weird terrain. After the battle: Not much to do except prepare for the next battle. Bring good front line monsters like Sacreds, Behemoths or Dragons. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #50 - Underground Book Storage 5th Floor [Orbonne Monastery] Enemies: Rofel, 2x Summoner, 2x Wizard, 1x Time Mage Objective: Defeat Rofel Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG~CHM, C:SAM), Reis(DRG), 2x Red/Blue Dragon, 1x Red Chocobo, 1x Behemoth (any type), Tiamats This is a somewhat hard battle versus Rofel and five mages. Because of the terrain, I highly recommend Dragons or Chocobos, and Tiamats. Although with Tiamats, their Triple Flame/Thunder seem to miss a lot more here than in other battles. If you bring any rare gear with you, give Ramza Maintenance to prevent it from being broken by Rofel. <=RARE=> Rofel carries a 'Save the Queen' Knight Sword. After the battle: Whooohooo! That was just the first one, lets see what's up next. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #51 - Murond Death City Enemies: Kletian, 2x Samurai, 2x Ninja, 2x Time Mage Objective: Defeat Kletian Recommended: Level: 54. Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM~KNG~NIN C:SAM), Reis(DRG,CHM), Mix of Red/Blue Dragons, Red Chocobo, Tiamat Another very flat battleground. Several monsters can be effective here: Tiamats Triple Braclet can dispose of the tight-knit groups, Dragons can move in easily and deal high damage, and Red Chocobos have a 100% accurate ranged attack. Put land-based monsters in the first squad. Kletian will favor Holy, so prepare accordingly. This battle will get messy with the type of units Kletian is surrounded with. Kill him asap! <=RARE=> Kletian has a very rare staff that is the only one available in the game. The Samurai's also carry Kikuichimojis. Good luck stealing with the enemies you're facing! After the battle: Survive that? Good! Let's move on. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #52 - Lost Sacred Precincts Enemies: Balk, 1x Chemist, 1x Hyudra, 1x Hydra, 1x Tiamat, 1x Dark Behemoth Objective: Defeat Balk Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:SAM), Reis(Chemist/Dragoner), 1x Red Chocobo, 2x Tiamat Equip Ramza and any human units with a Defense Armlet. A very strange battle layout, and a hard battle. This is mainly a map for Flying/Ignore Height monsters, but you can add a ground unit to the second squad if you wish. Put two Tiamats in the first squad and blitz Balk before taking too much damage from the other enemies. If you have Samurai, use Kiyomori on the Tiamats before they head in for the kill. Reis is invaluable here due to her Dragon-esque abilities including Dragon Tame. <=RARE=> Both Balk and the Chemist have rare spell guns. After the battle: You're almost at the end, you have to keep going now. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #53 - Graveyard of Airships Enemies: Hashmalum (Zodiac Monster) Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG, C:PRT/SAM), Reis(Chemist/Dragoner), 3x Tiamat, Sacred This is pretty much it. Like the other Zodiac monsters, Tiamats Triple Braclet will do between 500-700 damage per hit. In the unit placement screen group your two (or three) Tiamats apart so they don't get instantly hit with Stop status. When the battle starts, if you're using setup [C], use the Kiyomori Draw Out to give everyone Protect and Shell. After the battle: You are going into the final battle. Double-check your equipment and abilities for Ramza (and maybe) Reis then proceed. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #54 - Graveyard of Airships Part 2 Enemies(Part 1): Altima (Holy Angel), 4x Ultima Demon Enemies(Part 2): Altima (Arch Angel) Guests: Alma Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT/SAM), 3x Tiamat Altima (Holy Angel) will go after Alma right off the bat, so revive her when you get the chance. Her MBarrier spell is amazing and will be a huge help in this battle. Not only that, but when fighting the Arch Angel it will spend lots of her time trying to remove positive status effects from your units instead of doing damage. St. Ajora is considered a Zodiac monster so Triple Braclet is going to deal anywhere from 700 to 999 damage to her per use. If you can't get close enough, Triple Flame/Thunder will do between 210-350 per hit depending on your Tiamats level. Try to keep up with Altima teleporting around the room, and end her before she ends you! There you go, that takes you to the ending. There's a final cut-scene at the end of the credits so don't forget to watch that too! ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND ---ENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDENDEND |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** V. - Side Quests ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| V.I - Propositions ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Propositions become available in Chapter 2. You may not use monsters or special characters to go on propositions. They reward Gil, Job Points and sometimes Unexplored Land or Treasure. I suggest you save propositions till the end of Chapter 4 (ones that become available stay available). If not you'll have to keep a 'sub team' you only use for propositions, and keep them leveled. At the near end of Chapter 4, use 'Invite' to recruit some advanced-Job enemies, then use them as your proposition team. Since you won't be doing much breeding at this point the game, it'll be a perfect time for it. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| V.II - Extra Characters ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Beowulf, Reis, Worker 8, and Cloud Side quest This side quest unlocks Beowulf, Reis, Worker 8, Cloud, and also gives access to some invaluable weapons. This requires you to have Mustadio in your party until chapter 4. Keep in mind though, it's truly a side quest and you don't need to complete it to beat the game. The whole thing is five optional battles to undertake. Do not - while going through this quest - dismiss any of these units (Mustadio, Beowulf, Reis, Worker 8) or you will have 'broken' the quest and be unable to complete it. To obtain Reis, Beowulf, Worker 8 (Any time in Chapter 4) : * Go to Goug Machine city. * Go to Goland Coal City, at the Bar, read about the "Ghost of the Colliery" Rumor. * Go to Lesalia Imperial Castle, when Beowulf asks to join you, choose "Lets go together". * Goland City is now a battle area, and it is a four-tiered battle. * Go to and win all the battles (battles are described below). * Add Beowulf and Reis to your party. * Go to Goug Machine City and add Worker 8 to your party. Midway through Chapter 4 (after Germinas Peak) * When you enter Zarghidas Trade City, buy a flower from the flower girl. * Go to Goug and watch the cut-scene. * Go to Zeltennia Castle, go into the Bar, and read the "Cursed Island, Nelveska" rumor * Go to Nelveska Temple, and win the battle. (battle is described below) * Add human Reis to your party. To obtain Cloud (Requires all previous steps): * Go to Goug Machine City. * Go to Zarghidas Trade City. (No NPCs required for this step) (|====||=========================================>>> Battle - Colliery Underground Third Floor Enemies: 5x Chemist Recommended: Level: 44 - Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:TIM), 2x Tiamat, 1x Red Chocobo This battle is harder than it appears. The Chemists can focus on one character and KO them, or help each other out with X-Potions and Phoenix Downs. In the next few battles, you’ll want to bring fast-moving hard-hitting monsters to win. Use Tiamats' Triple Flame and the Red Chocobos Choco Meteor to take them down quickly. Speed will win the day here. Since it's snowing in the next three fights, fire elemental damage will deal massive damage to the enemy. <=Rare=> One of the Chemists might have a spell gun. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle - Colliery Underground Second Floor Enemies: 2x Thief, 1x Behemoth, 1x King Behemoth, 1x Chemist[Blaze Gun] Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:PRT), Tiamats/Red Chocobos The Chemist in the middle has a Blaze Gun, and that is hell on your monsters. If you have it available, try to get Shell on your party asap. First, focus on the Thief and King Behemoth that you start off close to. Then take out the Chemist and the Behemoth in the middle and finally the Thief at the very top. <=RARE=> If you want to get the Blaze Gun, get up there and harass the Chemist until he gives it up, taking out any other threats while focusing on him. Keep Beowulf away from him by blocking him or just knocking him out. Try to keep your monsters under the eaves of houses or in doorways to put them out of range of the Chemist. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle - Colliery Underground Second Floor Enemies: 2x Chemist, 2x Blue Dragon, 1x Uribo[maybe] Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:CHM, C:PRT), 1x Tiamat, Behemoths, 2x Red Chocobos Two Blue Dragons await you here, which means one thing: a lot of Ice damage! A single Ice Braclet can kill Tiamats or Red Dragons in one hit. Let the Dragons advance and then turn the tables on them with the Tiamats Triple Flame. The Chemists have X-Potion at their disposal; so when you strike, strike hard! After the Dragons, focus on the Chemists, but have a unit or two ready for Dragon clean up if the Chemists decide to revive them. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle - Underground Passage in Goland Enemies: 3x Plague, 2x Ochu, 1x Archaic Demon Objective: Save Reis! Guests: Reis Recommended: Ramza(A:MNK, B:KNG, C:Any), 2x Tiamats, 2x Red Chocobos Give Beowulf Germinas Boots before the battle and make sure any attending unit has a Jump stat greater than 3. Start any monsters that don't have Fly or Ignore Height in the back of the squad. There is a choke point in the middle of the field, so rely on ranged damage and healing. Reis can kick butt, but if you're don't put pressure on the enemies and heal it, it will die by the end of turn two. Be careful of getting your units too grouped together or the Archaic Demon will punish them hard. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle - Nelveska Temple Enemies: Worker 7, 2x Cocatoris, 2x Hyudra Objective: Defeat Worker 7 Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:KNG~CHM, C:PRT/SAM), 2x Tiamats/Behemoths/Dragons, 1x Red Chocobo The main objective here is to kill Worker 7. He has many of the same skills as Worker 8, and they act the same way. This battle is nothing big - watch out for Petrify from the Cocatoris - but there are some super-rare items here. <=RARE=> To attain these items, you'll need a few things first: a unit with low brave, the Move-Find movement ability and a Jump of at least 4. If you need a Move/Find unit, Invite a enemy from a random battle and use the Mediator skill Threaten to lower their Brave to an acceptable level. Also a stepping-stone type unit such as a Behemoth, Hydra or Dragon. Set Ramza, or better yet a Tiamat/Behemoth/Dragon in the middle, and both 'step' monsters - a Tiamat/Behemoth/Dragon on the front line on each end. <=RARE=>When you start the battle, take a very strong unit and walk right up to Worker 8. That unit might take a hit or two but then (hopefully) be Petrified by the Cocatorises; that's good - it will keep Worker 8 trapped in the temple entrance and he won't be able to move and deal more damage to your units. Move the two stepping- stone units to the base of each of the pillars, there is a high likelihood that they will be petrified where they stand. That is OK too, because they can still act as stepping-stones. Now you just have to get out of the rest of battle alive. Good luck! (|====||=========================================>>> Battle - Warjilis Trade City Enemies: 2x Thief, 1x Monk, 2x Squire Objective: Save Cloud! Recommended: Ramza (Any job), other units(Any) This is a very easy battle. The enemies don't even go after Cloud. The steps going up the middle of the city make it easy for any monster to get fightin'. After you win the battle, you can recruit Cloud. Congratulations! |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| V.III - Deep Dungeon ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Requirements: * Complete the battle at Murond Holy Place * Go to Warjilis Trade City and watch the cut-scene The deep dungeon is a series of battles that has some of the best items in the game. You can also obtain a special summon in the end battle, along with a special 'Apanda' type monster called Byblos. There are 9 levels total, each one has a specific 'exit' tile that must be stepped on to open access to the next battle. A lot of other guides go into this at length, so I won't. I don't lay out exact recommendations for each battle; more so just general types of classes/monsters that will work in each level. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #1 - Nogias Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:CHM, C:Any), Red Chocobo, Tiamat A large path that winds down a steep hill. Bring monsters that have Ignore Height, Fly, Teleport or a large move radius. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #2 - Terminate Recommended: Any monster types Relatively flat terrain accommodating to all monster types. Tiamats do good damage here due to the awkwardness of the terrain in general. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #3 - Delta Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:CHM, C:Any), Chocobos, Tiamats, Mages, Ninja A big pit with a few paths that connect. Monsters with high Jump, Teleport, or Fly will work best here. Avoid bringing Dragons, Minotaurs, Behemoths and other monsters with bad jump stats. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #4 - Valkyries Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:CHM, C:Any), Red/Black Chocobo, Tiamat This level is a downward sloping 'S' with huge pits in-between. Only bring flying/teleport monsters here and monsters with a jump 4 or greater. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #4 - Mlapan Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:Any), Red/Black Chocobo, Tiamat This map starts your team on a huge cliff, with the enemy 14h below. Take monsters with Ignore Height, Teleport or Fly. You can walk down the side path to the enemies, but that will take longer. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #5 - Tiger Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:KNG, C:Any), Red/Blue Dragon, Red Chocobo, Sacred, Tiamat This map twists and turns down a steep path. For a change of pace, monsters with a high move are the best here. Teleport/Fly/Ignore Height are all fine monsters to use, but this map also lets the 'ground-lings' get their time in the sun. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #6 - Bridge Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:CHM, C:WHM), Reis(Dragoner) Red/Blue Dragon, Red Chocobo, Sacred, Tiamat This map is mostly flat with a few jutting hills. Your main force can be ground-based, but you will be fighting against some members of Hydra family, so having a Flier/Teleporter/Ignore Height monster will definitely help. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #7 - Voyage Recommended: Ramza(A:SQ, B:CHM, C:TIM), Red/Black Chocobo, Tiamat This map is just one hill with one valley path below it. As usual the monsters with better movement capabilities are best to use here. Normal walking monsters will eventually get to the enemy, but it can take extra long in this battle. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #8 - Horror Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:CHM, C:TIM), Red/Black Chocobo, Tiamat This battle is not very easy for your side. You start very close to the enemy and if they are Wizards or Summoners you are in trouble. Actually, one of the biggest problems here are Black Chocobos, which can deal unreal damage to your units. This map is better for Flying or Teleporting monsters, or those with a high Jump/Move stat. (|====||=========================================>>> Battle #9 - End Enemies: Elidibs, 6-7x Apanda Recommended: Ramza(A:Any, B:CHM, C:PRT), Reis(Dragoner), 3x Tiamat Guests: Byblos This battle is a large, inclining circular path, suitable for any species of monster. You are pitted against Elidibs - a Zodiac Monster - and his Apanda gang. The Apandas don't really pose much of a threat, but Elidibs has some nasty negative-status inducing spells up his sleeve. Keep a Priest (with Short Charge) or Chemist close to support the team. <=Rare=> A Summoner can learn the Zodiac summon here by having Elidibs cast it on that unit and survive the damage. As with every other Zodiac monster fight, Tiamats are going to deal huge damage to Elidibs. |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** VI. - Hunting Grounds ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| Here is a small breakdown of what monsters you'll encounter in each of the random battle maps. Human enemy units are not included in this list. Maps in early chapters will only produce certain monsters, but as the chapters go on stronger monsters will appear in those maps. Each of these maps also has a rare battle that can be accessed by entering from a specific direction. Rare battles can't happen until chapter four. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Chapter 1 and onward ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Mandalia Plains - 1st Chapter: Chocobo, Goblin, Red Panther, Cuar 2nd Chapter: Same 3rd Chapter: Steel Hawk 4th Chapter: Explosion Sweegy Woods - 1st Chapter: Bomb, Skeleton, Goblin, Black Goblin, Chocobo, Bull Demon 2nd Chapter: Same 3rd Chapter: Same 4th Chapter: Same Zeklaus Desert - 1st Chapter: Bomb & Grenade, Skeleton, Bone Snatch, Bull Demon, Juravis 2nd Chapter: Steel Hawk, Minitaurus 3rd Chapter: Same 4th Chapter: Cocatoris, Explosive, Red Dragon Lenalia Plateau - 1st Chapter: Chocobo, Goblin, Red Panther, Cuar, Green Dragon, Pisco Demon 2nd Chapter: Black Goblin 3rd Chapter: Same 4th Chapter: Vampire, Geomancer, Ochu, Black Chocobo, Cocatoris, Steel Hawk Fovoham Plains - 1st Chapter: Goblin, Pisco Demon, Squidlarkin, Juravis, Bull Demon, Flotiball 2nd Chapter: Red Panther 3rd Chapter: Same 4th Chapter: Mindflare, Morbol |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Chapter 2 and onward ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Araguay Woods - 2nd Chapter: Skeleton, Bone Snatch, Ghoul, Gust, Red Panther, Cuar, Juravis, Morbol, Goblin, Black Goblin, Trent 3rd Chapter: Red Panther 4th Chapter: Gobbledeguck Zirekile Falls - 2nd Chapter: All Squids, All Chocobos, Bomb, Grenade, Bone Snatch, Skeleton, Cuar, Red Chocobo 3rd Chapter: Same 4th Chapter: Same Bariaus Hill - 2nd Chapter: Black Chocobo, Chocobo, Bull Demon, Minitaurus, Red Panther, Juravis, Steel Hawk, Bomb, Grenade 3rd Chapter: Red Chocobo 4th Chapter: Explosion, Sacred, All Hydras, All Behemoths, All Dragons Zigolis Swamp - 2nd Chapter: Skeleton & Bone Snatch, 3rd Chapter: Ghoul, Bomb, Morbol 4th Chapter: Cuar, Ahriman, Cockatrice Bariaus Valley - 2nd Chapter: Black Goblin, Gobbledeguck, Red Panther, Cuar, Vampire, Pisco Demon & Squidlarkin, Mindflare 3rd Chapter: Same 4th Chapter: Tiamat, Ochu, Morbol, Behemoth, Plague, Red Chocobo |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Chapter 3 and onward ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Grog Hill - 3rd Chapter: Chocobo, Black Chocobo, Red Panther & Cuar, Grenade, Flotiball & Ahriman, Woodman, Blue Dragon 4th Chapter : Trent, Revnant, Gust Yuguo Woods - 3rd Chapter: Ghoul, Gust, Skeleton & Bone Snatch, Woodman & Trent, Cuar, Black Goblin, Gobbledeguck, Bomb 4th Chapter: Chocobo, Taiju, Vampire |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Chapter 4 ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Bervenia Volcano - 4th Chapter: Behemoth, All Chocobos, All Bombs, All Ahrimans, All Skeletons, Gust, Revnant, Goblin, Black Goblin, Juravis, Cocatoris Doguola Pass - 4th Chapter: All Chocobos, All Bombs, Juravis, Steel Hawk, Red Panther, Cuar, Bull Demon, Woodman, Behemoth Finath River - 4th Chapter: All Chocobos, All Squids, All Dragons, All Trees, Behemoth, Goblin, Ochu, Morbol, Red Panther, Cuar Bed Desert - 4th Chapter: All Bombs, All Skeletons, All Panthers, All Ahrimans, Behemoth, King Behemoth, Steel Hawk Germinas Peak - 4th Chapter: All Panthers, All Dragons, All Chocobos, Behemoth, Bull Demon, Minitaurus, Steel Hawk, Juravis Poeskas Lake - 4th Chapter: All Behemoths, All Skeletons, All Bombs, Ghoul, Revnant, Steel Hawk, Cocatoris, Bull Demon, Minitaurus Doldobar Swamp - 4th Chapter: All Chocobos, All Squids, All Goblins, Morbol, Bull Demon, Minitaurus, Bomb, Uribo, Blue Dragon |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** VII. - Alternative & Monster Parties ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| The Bomb Party ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Setup: Chemist and 3-4 Explosions, Red Dragon The Bomb Party works thus: The Chemist stays back and lets the Explosions move in as a loose group. They use Spark to heal each other while damaging ALL the enemies in range. When they Self-Destruct the Chemist brings them back with Phoenix Downs to self-destruct all over again and deal massive damage. Note: Explosions are somewhat slow, and not effective at traversing terrains like Zirekile Falls. Variations: Substitute one/two Explosion with a Red Dragon, they absorb Fire too. Ramza as a Wizard and Fire Black Magic or a Ninja with Fire Ball works incredibly well too. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| The Summoners and the Trees ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Setup: 2-3 Summoners (with Monster Skill), 1-2 Taijus The Summoners and the Trees works thus: The Taiju finds a nice flat piece of land to setup, all the summoners gather around and stand next to the Taiju. As the Summoners sit and cast at any thing that comes their way, the Taiju acts as a free source of MP with its Magic Spirit ability. This party is somewhat dependent on the perfect terrain, but can be devastating when their turn sequence gets in sync. |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| Easy Riders ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| Setup: Any 2 human jobs, and 2 types of Chocobos With 'Easy Riders' the idea is that two humans mount Chocobos at the beginning of each battle and ride them for most of the battle. With the three Chocobo types and all the different possible jobs, you can make this fun little party while still being more than a match for any story battle enemies. Knights especially come to mind: they have low move & jump, but can wear a ton of great equipment. If you want to have your Chocobos be more than just mounts, you can spend time leveling them once in awhile, let them breed higher level types of themselves, or just invite new ones when the old ones get too weak. There are lots of options with this combination! |||---------------------------------------------||| ||| All Monster Parties ||| |||---------------------------------------------||| All monster parties are only possible in Random Battles, and not in story battles. Keep in mind that any Monster Skill-given abilities will not be available for use. Usual setup is 1/2 healers, 1 negative status remover, and the rest damage dealers /enfeeblers. Necessary roles to fill: HP Healer, Status Effect remover, Damage dealer, Enfeebler(optional) Healers: Chocobo, Trent Negative Statii removers: Black Chocobo Enfeeblers: Squidlarkin, Mindflare, Ahriman, Plague, Vampire Damage Dealers: Pretty much any monster(s) Sample Party #1 1x Trent, 2x Black Chocobo, 2x Red Chocobo Sample Party #2 1x Chocobo, 1x Black Chocobo, 2x Red/Blue Dragon, 1x Vampire |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** VIII. - Q & A ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| Q) Can I take an all-monster party or leave Ramza behind for story battles? A: No you cannot. Q) I noticed something/I have some advice about a part in the game for you, what should I do? A: Contact me at the included email address. Q) I'm having trouble winning the Velius battle inside Riovanes Castle, what else can I do? A: You have a few different options. Increase Ramzas Brave to make Auto-Potion go off more consistently. Use the 'Solution' Talk Skill to lower a monsters faith, making them a little stronger against the enemies magic attacks. Level up a bit ;) . Use a Mediator and/or Thief to get equipment that can't be bought yet off humans in random battles around Ivalice. Q) What's a good strategy for stealing all of the rare equipment from Elmdor? A: Here is a setup and strategy below that includes another Reis(human form). You might need to include another female human to fill in all the needed roles. Needed Abilities * Punch Arts - Instant Revive & Heal * Steal - Stealing all Elmdors' equipment * Talk Skill - Lower Elmdors' Brave * Break Skill - Lower Elmdors' Speed * Move HP-Up, Auto-Potion * 108 Gems - Avoiding Blood Suck * Best available equipment (Rubber Costume) * Samurai - AoE Cure, AoE Protect * Yell - Increase your speed Ramza PRT/MED Wizard Staff White Magic --- Talk Skill Thief Hat Auto-Potion Black Costume Magic DefUp / Short Charge 108 Gems Move + 2 Ramza KNG/MED Excalibur Battle Skill Escutcheon(2) Talk Skill Crystal Helm Auto-Potion / Weapon Guard Reflect Mail Concentrate 108 Gems Move HP-Up Reis MNK/THF --- Punch Arts --- Steal Ribbon Auto-Potion Rubber Costume Concentrate Setismon* Move + 2 *Can be swapped for the Chantage if available. Reis will make the best barehanded thief, since she has innate Martial Arts. Or without her, use a different female to get the gender boost for stealing. First off, its best to disable the assassins (using your monsters), rather than to trying to kill them. If you can put them into weakened status, they will run to the back of the room; your party and the Marquis in the front will be out of their range. In the beginning of the battle, if Elmdor uses Murasames Draw Out and gives any team member Confusion it can be very hard to recover. It might be best to let the monsters die initially, then revive them when things slow down a bit. The Marquis' reaction ability 'Blade Grasp' is based on Brave, so start by lowering his brave as much as possible. Also, lower his speed while raising yours to get the most out of your turns. Steal his accessory or shield first. Stealing his shield makes other stealing easier; stealing his accessory reduces his 'Draw Out' damage. Take note, he can still use Draw Out without a weapon. Squad Layout: E - Reis M - Monster R - Ramza TOP OF THE SCREEN E---M ----- MR--M General fight flow: Have Ramza and monsters start in the back, to avoid the assassins. Ramza goes first, Protect + Shell or Yell himself or Reis. Let the assassins come to you. Reis heals the party and/or shoots assassins as needed. Tiamats deal critical damage or kill assassins. After the Assassins, focus on Elmdor and Threaten Elmdor until he has 0 brave. Keep Tiamats HP high and separated so Elmdor doesn't attack them. Ramza Protect + Shell/Cure, or Yell Reis. Reis Cures/Revives allies and/or Speed/Magic Break Elmdor. Keep the stealing up, repeat the previous steps and don't move the Tiamats. Good Luck! Q) Have you noticed any glitches/oddities in the game? A: Yes, I have! Thanks for asking; here is a very short list. They might just be the emulator or they might be present in the original, I haven't had time to test. * In the final battle, being hit by MBarrier or Despair 2 (don't know which) caused a Tiamat to change color. * In the Deep Dungeon level Tiger, a charmed Tiamats 'Triple Thunder' kept redirecting every strike to the bottom-right corner of the screen, and didn't even damage a unit when one was in that square. |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** IX. - Thanks ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| Shotgunnova - I am using your ASCII box design for monster stats. The box design is genius. Aerostar - Your FFT battle mechanics guide is invaluable. Thank you. This is where I pulled all the data from for the stat modifiers on each monster ability. Squaresoft - for making the game. |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** X. - Updates ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| 1/5/15 - Content update 1/15/15 - Content update 2/7/15 - Added monster ability mods, fixed box size for monster ability, spell-check,toc 2/17/15 - Chocobo section fixed, samurai abilities fixed 2/18/15 - Added missing first battle, and info regarding the battles in chapter 2,battle numbering, fixed battle indenting 2/26/15 - Added tiny blurb for mnk,lnc,ora on subs 3/20/15 - Small formatting issues and missing info 5/5/15 - Legal & Update sections added 6/14/15 - Proofreading, content cleanup for clarity 4/5/16 - Spell Check, Box formatting |||*************************************************************************||| |||************** XI. - Legal ***************||| |||*************************************************************************||| All rights reserved I.M. Weasel Copyright 2006-2016 This document is provided as-is, and makes no guarantees to the content. I have no affiliation with either Squaresoft/Enix, PlayStation/Sony or other producers of this game. This document may not be hosted or made available on any website or other forums without my express written consent. Third-Parties may post links to the document, but not re-host the document itself. This is a whole work and may not be copied or split apart in any fashion or form without the express written consent of me, the author. If you have questions or comments, or would like to host the document elsewhere, please contact me at tofuheavyindustries at protonmail .com This document may only be hosted on these sites: (List current as of 08/04/2016) gbadcdev.dcemulation.org (05/04/2015) gamefaqs.com (04/19/2016) ------------------------------------------------------EOF