Part 47: Grid Talk 2 - Chapters 3-5

Grid Talk 2

Stat-Raising Grids






Continuing the trend, the third- and fourth-tier attack- and defense-stat grids are great go-to options for any occasion, while the single-stat grids are more situational. Agility isn't as practically useful as it should be, and any speed benefit you might gain from Howling Wind will most likely not recoup the time spent switching jobs. The Luck grid, though, might be useful if you can't win Lady Luck.

Status Effect Grids



Placement is everything. Having all the status effects on one grid isn't useful if you don't start near enough to the one you need. The tight clustering on these, though, mean you're never more than two hops from what you want.

Elemental Grids



Don't fall into the trap of thinking that Tetra Master automatically grants Tetra Eater. I made that mistake once. And only once.

Healing and Buffing Grids



You get these a little late, considering how many grids and accessories simply give you access to all of White Magic.

Job Grids





The multiclassing grids, along with Samurai's Honor from the previous Grid Talk, are great for mixing and matching the best aspects of various jobs. You'll most often use them to give Break abilities to a faster job, give Black Magic to a White Mage, give White Magic to anybody with a decent MP pool, give Samurai's abilities to a less fragile class, and never ever give Instinct or Arcana to anybody ever. The stat boosts are a nice bonus for going around the horn as well.



The worst thing about FFX's random battles was having to go into the menu after every single one and put the three characters with the highest Agility (or the one with First Strike) in front, and if you try to use these grids your first time through, you'll run into the same problem. Turbo abilities aren't nearly as useful if you're not in the job that uses them once you activate it.

Spell Grids




It's always frustrated me that the strongest spells of the classic magic schools can never be permanently learned in this game, and the unlocks are so time-consuming. You're more likely to use these than your Special Dresspheres in the final chapter, though.



You can win a Zero MP accessory before you get access to this. What's the point?

Grinding Grids




These are meant to be used in random battles, and so activating their gates will quickly become tedious, but the Mug and Nab abilities are pretty sweet.

Endgame Grids




I don't think I've ever needed to break any limits, but the Double HP effect is nice for less durable jobs. Finale, though, warrants special discussion. This game's version of the Brave Blade, Finale deals five nines of physical damage to any target only if the user has never run from battle in the current cycle. It's obviously meant to be used on second- or third-cycle playthroughs, where you could conceivably have access to accessories and skills that would eliminate that need (Charm Bangle to avoid fights, or super-items to win them all) but by then there's little you actually need it for.