Part 3: Forbidden: Hitting
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF That option was there the whole time?
Marche is Ramza now.
And he's part of Clan Beoulve.
A fun fact: You can actually construct the world map! It doesn't change difficulty any but certain combinations of pieces get special items.
Sprohm is placed one panel away from Cyril.
Clan Beoulve, despite their prominence in the 50-years war, is a pretty crummy clan.
We've got
Ramza, a Human Soldier
Montblanc, a Moogle Black Mage
Zoik, a Human Soldier
Augusto, a Bangaa White Monk
Sabatini, a Nu Mou White Mage
and Cecile, a Viera Archer
Needless to say, these guys stink. In fact, Ramza and Montblanc are the only two members who will actually stay.
We can go to a bar to
The Green Beret is the only hat in the whole game that teaches an ability. I guess it's useful for the rare occasion a Sniper is bearing down on your ass.
First Aid isn't that bad of an ability. Sure, it heals for nearly nothing but it's free and heals most statuses.
I forget if Speed Break works wonders like it did in FFT.
Woah what the fuck they've already got these fuckers for sale?
I love Dagger, it's such a fun ability. Too bad Montblanc isn't going to be able to use it for a while.
I also buy some rapiers 'cause every Viera class except Sniper requires some Fencer or Elementalist Abilities.
Marche is a thief now so I can use this overpriced knife.
The rumors at the bar are completely pointless, most of the time. The unfair laws one complains about how random the laws are which is... entirely accurate. Clan Borzoi is engaged in some under-the-table deals with foreign powers. It'll take forever for the proper flags to be set so I can fight these foreign powers and I'll be 18 levels above them by that time.
The only mission available is a little... wimpy.
Generally, only story missions have the "no cancellations" clause. Naw, I guess I don't want to fight Evildeath. Let Clan Marble handle it.
That knife nearly cost me the whole game. I should be more careful!
If it has that sword icon, it's a fight. The mission could be about peaceful philosophical discussion but if that sword icon is there, some heads will roll.
3 goblins, a Red Cap, and a Sprite. I'm gonna knife each one of-
...
Let's take the long way to Giza and get the law to affect actions we don't have.
Notice how there is only one open panel? FFTA doesn't give many options with starting formations.
The sprite moves first because she's fast as hell.
Cecile threatens it with arrows, but she sucks so it's more a curiosity than a combat strategy.
Sabatini casts a completely pointless Cure on people who are not injured.
Still gets experience for it.
Zoik, your job is to lure goblins in with your face. So they can punch it, you see.
Ramza, use that knife of yours for something.
Augusto punches out the Sprite.
Damn.
Shit!
FUCK!
Sabatini proves more useful for killing than anyone else.
FUCKING HELL!
ARGHARGUGH
Finally, Cecile will kill this fucking Red Cap who has been dodging everything and
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUCK!
Sabatini makes up for everyone's mistakes.
Well that was a parade of fuck-ups.
For picking some herbs we get a mountain. Okay. Makes sense.
Dueling Sub is a dispatch mission. Someone travels to do something. Here, a guy is a coward so a Soldier will have to fight for him.
Zoik fits the bill.
Three days later Zoik returns to proclaim his victory in the gladiatorial pits. He brought a souvenir.
Units try to join after a mission is completed. Here, a Bangaa Warrior is rejected 'cause he sucks. Every rejected unit cries.
In Ivalice, babysitting is a dangerous job when the wildlife can cast Thundara.
A sprinkler? Fuck the kids, I want that fucking sprinkler!
Sabatini puts on his robe and Wizard Hat. We're fighting Bombs for this sprinkler!
Cecile is a Fencer but that's unimportant.
Four Bombs. A few of them know Flame Attack but that's very easy to manage.
is against the law. Instead, bards and musicians are to take up knightly vows.
Oh, that's right, Bombs are weak to water, not ice! My options for water damage are
Ninja's Water Veil
Elementalist's Sliprain
Illusionist's Deluge
Sage's Water
Bishop's Water
Any weapon skill with a water-elemental weapon (most of which are a Blue Mage's sabers)
I have none of these. Magic is still the most damaging thing I have, except for maybe Ramza knifing things.
Here's that Flame Attack. Those Bombs have it now, but by about level 10 every Bomb has it. They use it to heal each other sometimes.
Montblanc has a Black Mage's resistance so he's barely threatened by Flame Attack.
When the Bombs start falling, the mission eases up significantly.
I start getting fancy. The Fencer's Swarmstrike deals half damage but carries a chance to poison.
Augusto punches out the last bomb. The sprinkler is mine!
I take my sprinkler along. It powers up Ice and Water attacks, like the Blizzard spell.
This mission is pretty boring aside from all the fucking missing.
Montblanc masters Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard. He's put into Thief to get to Juggler.
I'd be foolish to take on any of these missions besides Thesis Hunt, the next story mission.
After a very roundabout trip to Lutia...
The law forbids the Fight command. The enemies will have to hurt me without basic attacks.
Maybe the thesis is about how to condense Mist into a high energy laser for-
Nope, they just want money.
The funny thing? None of these guys has an action ability that causes HP damage.
This guy, he can't do anything without breaking the law. He hides.
All the enemy has are abilities like this. Every character regenerates 5 MP a turn so even this is futile.
Sabatini and Montblanc use elemental magic while Cecile and Augusto use Swarmstrike and Whirlwind, respectively. Zoik and Ramza just sit still and look pretty.
It takes a while as that White Mage keeps using Cure, but when the enemy can't hurt you it's a matter of time.
The last remaining guy is poisoned.
And he falls to this malady.
As a reward for exploiting the law, Montblanc decides to engage in open warfare. This, of course, is something else I can exploit.
NEXT TIME:
Clan Beoulve loses about 5 consecutive battles in the Clan Wars for a reason.
GAME MECHANICS Vol. 3: Evasion
The basic formula for hit-rate is (100-evasion). Thieves have 65 base evasion so any attack from the front has only 35% accuracy. From the sides, evasion is halved and quartered if from the rear, rounding down in both cases. Some action abilities like the Fighter's Blitz or the Archer's Take Aim have increased hit-rate in exchange for lower damage. The support abilities Concentrate and Turbo MP increase accuracy. The Blind status not only reduces a character's accuracy by 50%, but it cuts their evasion a bit as well. Stopped, Sleeping, Petrified, and KOed characters cannot dodge.