More Final Fantasy

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Let's Play With FFTA:  Fin

After leveling to about 47, I stood a chance against the last boss.  Stocking up on X Potions and Lohengrin swords helped too.  Why Lohengrins?  You'll see.

The Llednar phase of the boss gauntlet was the most difficult.  Several times, I died before I even got a turn.  Yes, even at level 47 with Ninja and Hunter Speed growth, some level 29 enemies outsped me.  A few examples (including some before the grinding):

-Petrified by the Assassin with a 50% chance
-Slowed by the Ninja's Earth Veil, then being finished off by Llednar's melee
-Death spell by the Alchemist after being Earth Veiled

One Mateus summon at level 47 killed everyone in one hit.  The Ninja's Magic Pow growth came in handy!

I couldn't blind Remedi in Round 2, so I just healed with X Potions and countered.

A lucky Metal Veil in Round 3 blinded the Li Grim, making almost all her attacks miss.  This was essential because her Alpha spell could deal well over 200 damage.     It took a few more rounds to blind the Mateuses.  After that was a lot of scary 5-17% chances of taking major damage from Alphas and Mateus Thundagas.  Star Cross was as weak as before.  I also had to pay attention to the Li Grim's Lawshift, and the new laws happened to ban "Katanas" and "Skills".  Using one of my antilaw cards got rid of the "Katana" ban, and so I used Fight a couple of times.  Late in the fight, getting into melee range was impractical, so I used my last Almighty antilaw card and threw a Lohengrin.  This finished her off, and I finally beat the game solo!    


(Still no dual wielding, by the way.  That katana never appeared, and the stores have a terrible weapon selection.)   

The ending played, and it seemed the writers all hated each other and tried to sabotage each others' stories.  Ivalice is an unhealthy illusion.  But if the fantasy characters wish with all their power, Ivalice will become a separate world from St. Ivalice.  (So they're real people after all?)  Even though at the beginning, you can see humans turning into the fantasy races, indicating that Ivalice overwrote St. Ivalice instead of creating a new world. 

But then the fantasy characters fade from existence!  (Did they not wish hard enough?)  You know your ending is bad when you can't tell whether your protagonist murdered 90% of the cast.  Doned is back in a wheelchair, so Marche's promises about being able to walk in the "real world" were false.  They say FF5 has a bad story, but FFTA makes it look brilliant in comparison.



Stats and Equipment

Level 47 Ninja

HP:  338
MP:  128

Move:  4
Jump:  3
Evade:  67

Weapon Atk:  490
Weapon Def:  470
Magic Pow:  403
Magic Def:  478
Speed:  178

Weapon:  Petalchaser
Armor:  Judo Uniform
Hat:  Thief Hat
Accessory1:  Feather Boots
Accessory2:  Scarab

EDIT:  What do I think of this game?  FFTA gets 3 stars.  The gameplay is enjoyable if slow, but the law and random mission loot system gets in the way.  Having race-restricted classes is another downgrade from the original FFT.  The interface is improved, however, and you don't have to spin the camera around like in the PSX game.  If you can get it cheap, FFTA might be worth playing, but most people should stick with the original FFT.

[JTWilson]

Looks like I didn't miss anything, then..I can kind of see what they were trying to do with the plot/gameplay  but they couldn't execute them properly and the result is a story that ultimately goes nowhere paired with creativity-constraining game mechanics.

Though speaking of FF5, something I've been pondering is just how much it would change the balance of the game if the Berserker wasn't always berserk and had !Fight, !Berserk and !Item as their options.  I think it wouldn't be all that overpowered as it would be set up so that the class doesn't get the massive attack power boost unless they go berserk..then, they'd be fairly similar to the Knight class in that it would be good at doing physical damage with heavy armor/shields..but that's about all it can do, with an option to do more damage with a tradeoff.  Still, just being able to control the character would make the solo run possible while also being able to use !Berserk to facilitate grinding.  I'd do it myself if I knew enough about ROM hacking (and had the time )..I'd think the auto-berserk bit would have to be flipped and the !Berserk command would have to be hacked in..I've also heard of a glitch with the Chicken Knife on the SFC version that softlocks the game due to the inability to run away, so that'd have to be fixed as well.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

After the Tactics Advance annoyance, I've decided to play a much better Final Fantasy game.  With a variant of course.  What kind of Herman Gigglethorpe post on Realms Beyond would it be without self-imposed restrictions?


Final Fantasy 6 (mostly) solo Edgar


Why Edgar?  He’s available for most of the game, and one of the few required characters in the World of Ruin.  Edgar’s Tools commands are unique to Final Fantasy 6, and offer immediate power.  Perhaps most relevant to the challenge is the fact that he can’t learn spells through leveling.  Espers encourage the player to teach their characters high level magic and then beat the game easily.  I don’t want to do that.  The only spell solo Edgar will learn is X-Zone for a certain World of Ruin boss.  I’m playing the “Final Fantasy 3” version of this game on the Super Nintendo Classic.  (i.e. the glitchy one)


 
These posts will only cover the parts of the game where Edgar can participate.  Sections like Terra in the Magitek armor in Narshe or Locke sneaking through South Figaro won’t be included because they’re no different from a normal playthrough.  Yes, I did Suplex the Phantom Train with Sabin before using a Fenix Down on it!  


 
Figaro Castle


Edgar started with the Auto Crossbow, a powerful Tool that hit all enemies on the field.  I also bought the Bio Blaster and the Noise Blaster, but those were underwhelming.  Poison seems to be weak in Final Fantasy 6, and the Bio Blaster seems to scale with Magic Power.  If bosses can be confused, I might try the Noise Blaster on them.

 
South Figaro


Edgar bought new equipment such as the Regal Cutlass and the Heavy Shield.  There were several worthwhile relics too such as the Jeweled Ring that granted Blind and Petrify immunity.  The Running Shoes were mandatory so Edgar could walk faster than a Phantasy Star 3 character.  (Never play Phantasy Star 3 unless you're a masochist.)
 

Mt. Kolts


Edgar’s first dungeon gave him some difficulty.  The only readily available healing items were Tonics that restored 50 HP, which was pathetic even at this point.  So I only healed outside of battle in most cases, and spent some time grinding for money to buy enough Tonics to last me through Mt. Kolts.  Edgar almost died after being poisoned by Triliums, and the poison animation outside of combat looked like a scene from Battling Seizure Robots. 


Poison can’t kill you outside of combat in FF6, so Edgar could limp toward Vargas.  Unfortunately, his Gale Cuts were too much for Edgar to handle.  (There was something else I could have done in retrospect, but I’ll mention that later.) 
 
Edgar Death Count:  1
 

Grinding a few more levels increased my HP and Auto Crossbow damage.  I’m not sure how the attack formulas work for Tools, but I definitely noticed them getting stronger.  A couple of extra levels made Edgar healthy enough to survive Vargas’s martial arts and activate Sabin’s Pummel cutscene.
 


Lete River



Banon the Returner leader was required for this rafting adventure, and if he died, the game was over.  Good thing he had a “Health” command to restore everyone’s HP for free!  Ultros was the toughest encounter yet.  His Tentacle could do major damage to Edgar and Banon, and could kill Banon outright from full health if it focused on a single target.  Banon died 3 times to this thanks to his low HP and bad unchangeable equipment.
 

Edgar Death Count Featuring Banon:  4
 

Ultros’s melee attack and Ink didn’t do much, especially since Blind is glitched in the Super Nintendo version and doesn’t affect accuracy at all.  Looking up the boss on GameFAQs made me realize I had missed an obvious solution.  The RPGs I’ve played recently, such as Earthbound and Super Mario RPG, don’t have a distinction between the front row and back row.  Edgar had Auto Crossbow anyway, so he didn’t need to be in melee range.  Banon survived when he stayed in the back, and Ultros became an Auto Crossbow pincushion. 
 

After that, the party split into 3 groups.  I’ll only discuss the Narshe section here because it involves Edgar.  Locke and Sabin’s scenarios will be played normally without the solo rule. 
 


Narshe

 
Before getting back to Narshe, I tried killing Banon to find out if it was still a Game Over after the Lete River sequence was done.  It was.  I may have added to the Death Count, but I did it FOR SCIENCE!
 

Edgar Death Count Featuring Banon:  5
 

Fighting Kefka at level 18 was Edgar’s most difficult battle so far.  I prepared by equipping the White Cape for the extra MBlock%.  This only blocked Kefka’s weak melee during the fight.  I probably should have used something other than Sprint Shoes for the second Relic slot, particularly the Star Pendant.  When have I ever played optimally in an RPG playthrough? 
 

Kefka often cast spells like Bolt and Ice that ignored Edgar’s position in the back row.  To drag out the battle further, he healed himself for about 250 HP with Drain.  Kefka could also poison Edgar with. . .Poison, and make him spin around and hit himself with Muddle.  Auto Crossbow could slowly puncture Kefka, dealing about 350 damage per attack. 


Towards the end of the fight, Kefka started casting Ice 2, and there was no way Edgar could survive that with his limited supply of Elixirs.  (Always check clocks in FF6!).  The solution was a Thunder Rod I had in my inventory.  Every FF5 fanatic is groaning at me right now for doing this!  Edgar can’t equip rods, but that doesn’t prevent him from breaking them for four-digit damage.  This immediately made Kefka flee.  I’ll try not to use rods more than necessary, but this was a tough point of no return situation.
 

Narshe’s treasure room opened up after the Kefka fight, and among other things I found a Wall Ring.  THAT would have been useful a few minutes earlier!  Chances are Edgar will wear it for most of the game because he can’t heal himself with magic anyway.
 


Stats and Equipment

Level 18


HP:  628
Vigor:  39
Speed:  28
Stamina:  34
Mag. Pwr:  29
Bat. Pwr:  90
Defense:  131
Mag. Def:  76
MBlock%:  1   
   
 
Weapon:  Mithril Pike
Shield:  Heavy Shield
Head:  Green Beret
Body:  Iron Armor
Relic 1:  Wall Ring
Relic 2:  Sprint Shoes


One thing I appreciate about the Super Nintendo Classic is the lack of those awful loading times from the Anthology port on the PS1.  It makes me appreciate the game much more.  Sabin's Blitz commands seem to be harder to use on the Super Nintendo controller than the Playstation controller for some reason.  I can't stand Street Fighter controls!  That's one reason I never played many fighting games other than Super Smash Bros.

Updates may be sporadic for a while.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Figaro Castle and Kohlingen


Edgar bought two new Tools here.  Drill ignores Defense and doesn’t have a back row penalty, so expect me to use this for most of the game.  I bought Flash mostly for completion’s sake, but I don’t think it’ll be very useful because Blind is useless in the Super Nintendo version.   Flash deals damage unlike Noise Blaster, however.
 
An encounter with a Fossil Dragon in the local desert was an unpleasant surprise.  Edgar was Drilling it, and then out of nowhere the enemy used Bone and instantly defeated him!  Edgar’s going to have a phobia of deserts from here on out!
 
Edgar Death Count (No Banon to Blame):  6
 

The Vultures were no joke either.  Their Shimsham could reduce Edgar’s HP by half if he didn’t kill them quickly enough.  Fortunately, Auto Crossbow and Drill were enough to take him to Jidoor.  Most of Kohlingen’s equipment was meant for Shadow anyway. 
 
 
Zozo


This barely qualified as a “town”, and was much closer to a dungeon.  How Jidoor survived without its lower economic classes to provide labor, I have no clue.  Zozo had random encounters, and not just in the Earthbound sense where an occasional hippie might jump you on the street. 
 



Edgar’s Wall Ring bounced Ice 2 and Bolt 2 back at the Slam Dancers, though their Daze Dances could put him to sleep to mildly annoy him.  Harvesters were much more dangerous.  They could throw Mithril Knives at Edgar and inflict over 300 points of damage!  I made sure to Drill them first whenever they were on the field.  Gabbldegaks were easily taken out with Auto Crossbow, unless they used Vanish.  What’s a purely physical character to do?  Use Bio Blaster, of course!  Sometimes the lesser Tools have their uses.   
 


Dadaluma was almost a joke boss with solo Edgar.  Each Drill could deal over 900 damage, and his minion reinforcements could be taken out with one Auto Crossbow.  He tried to heal himself with two Potions and a Tonic, but more Drilling undid that. 

 
After finding Terra again, I went to the “Inn” and got the Chainsaw from the hidden room.  Chainsaw is similar to the Drill, except it has a 25% chance of instantly killing an enemy.  I wonder if some of the bosses can be taken out this way like in FF5.

 
The Dreaded Opera Sequence


I was worried about running out of time to get to Ultros, but the Sprint Shoes and Running Shoes combined gave me some time to spare.  Unlike the Sprint Shoes, Running Shoes grant Haste status, and you get them much earlier than the FF5 equivalent.  (I forget exactly where, but it’s soon after the party reunites in Narshe.)  2 Auto Crossbows were needed for each group of rats on the rafters.  Ultros was so weak he lost to three Drill attacks.  Even Dadaluma was tougher than that!  Now it was time for Edgar to Chainsaw and Drill his way through the Empire.
 
Stats and Equipment


HP:  1090
Vigor:  39
Speed:  28
Stamina:  34
Mag. Pwr:  29
Bat. Pwr:  90
Defense:  141
Mag. Def:  83
MBlock%:  1
 
Weapon:  Mithril Pike (Can’t kill your other characters with Tools!)
Shield:  Mithril Shield
Head:  Green Beret
Body:  Mythril Vest
Relic 1:  Running Shoes
Relic2:  Wall Ring

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 6 Solo Edgar:  Friday the 13th

Imperial Continent
 


Edgar explored the southern continent and fought many random battles along the way.  The Ralph dogs could be taken out with the Drill, while the groups of Jokers and Weed Feeders could be wiped out with the Auto Crossbow.  The Jokers could use Acid Rain, which caused a status ailment similar to HP Leak from FF5.  (I think it’s officially called “Sap” here.)  While fighting the Weed Feeders, I noticed that if I used Auto Crossbow right before they used Flap and caused Berserk, Edgar would fire his arrows with the attack boost and take them out in one hit instead of two.  The Wyverns were perhaps the most dangerous enemies because they had a small chance of using Cyclonic to put Edgar in critical health.  (Some FF5 monsters have a similar ability.)
 


Vector and Magitek Research Facility


This seemed like a point of no return, so I made sure to save in a different slot.  Some time ago, I realized that if a dead character had the Sprint Shoes equipped, Edgar could still run through towns and dungeons.  So I put the Sprint Shoes on Locke and killed him off as usual.  Sprint Shoes are needed to make the walking speed tolerable, so be sure to use this trick in your own solo runs if you want to avoid wasting a Relic slot!  One problem I have with FF6 is that it isn’t always clear where you can move because of objects blocking the foreground or other graphical issues.  I was lost in the Magitek Research Facility for a while, and Edgar gained a few levels because of it.  For a while, I thought Edgar was going to run out of Potions even though I brought about 60 to start with.   
 


For most of the dungeon, Edgar equipped the Running Shoes for Haste and the White Cape to prevent the Pipsqueaks from turning him into an imp.  (I learned this the hard way when I had to use a Remedy in an early encounter.)  Almost all the enemies used physical attacks, so Edgar didn’t need the Wall Ring anyway.  The Proto Armors were the most dangerous enemy because they had an attack that could put Edgar in critical HP. 


When they couldn’t use their status ailment, Pipsqueaks could be taken out with two Auto Crossbows.  However, Auto Crossbow was starting to lose its value.  It dealt less than 200 damage to the Commandos.  I doubt Edgar’s starting Tool will be viable by the end of the game, but it was invaluable for much of the World of Balance.  The Chainsaw dealt more damage than the Drill, but its Jason Voorhees instant death attack sometimes failed even on random enemies.  After a while I used the Drill for its reliability.
 


The Trappers were the scariest enemies of all because they had Level 5 Death and Level 4 Flare.  Good thing I was at level 29!  After I saw those moves, I ran from every random encounter to avoid gaining any experience.  Edgar switched from the White Cape to the Wall Ring to prepare for the bosses.  Number 024 was surprisingly easy after such an annoying dungeon.  His gimmick was to change his elemental weakness with Wall Change, but that was irrelevant when Edgar could just Drill for non-elemental damage. 
 


Mode 7 Mine Carts
 
Wow, the graphics look dated!  Mario RPG did this kind of thing much better.  I guess Square learned a few programming tricks by 1996.  Edgar could take out each Mag Roader with one Drill.

 
Number 128 was more of a threat, especially when the Left Blade part could use Shimsham to make Edgar lose half his health.  (Always watch out for fixed-damage attacks when you’re playing solo!)  Drilling both parts made Number 128 Haste itself and regenerate both parts, so I made sure to leave the Right Blade alive from then on out.  The Cranes couldn’t do anything to me with their Fire and Bolt spells when Edgar had a Wall Ring equipped. 

Edgar got his airship shortly afterwards and stocked up on Potions and Sleeping Bags to prepare.  Sleeping Bags heal one character to max HP and MP, so they’re much more useful in a solo run than Tents.  I ought to find elemental shields to take advantage of the elemental swords I found in Vector.  Supposedly you don't get those until the World of Ruin, though.  (Don't worry.  If they teach spells, Edgar won't cast them.  Tools are better for him anyway!)
 

Stats and Equipment
 
Level 30

HP:  1500
Vigor:  39
Speed:  30
Stamina:  34
Mag. Pwr:  31
Bat. Pwr:  128
Defense:  157
Mag. Def:  94
MBlock%:  1
 

Weapon:  Thunder Blade
Shield:  Gold Shield
Head:  Gold Helmet
Body:  Mithril Mail

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Cave to the Sealed Gate


Edgar had some trouble with this dungeon.  I ran from all the Zombones in case they had Bone.  I had no idea whether or not they could use it, but I didn’t want to risk instant death from a palette swap of an enemy that killed me near Kohlingen.  Ings could be taken out with 2 Auto Crossbows under most circumstances, and Edgar used regular attacks in case one barely survived due to a bad damage roll. 


An unlucky “pincer attack” led to an Ing casting Lifeshaver, which could hit for over half of Edgar’s HP.  Auto Crossbow only hits one “side” of the screen during a pincer attack too.  As far as I can tell, only Esper summons can hit the whole screen in that scenario.  The RNG had it in for Edgar in this case.
 

Edgar Death Count:  7
 

There were some treasures in the Cave to the Sealed Gate, including the Atma Weapon sword and the Genji Glove Relic.  FF6 fans praise the Genji Glove and Offering combo because it gives melee characters extra attacks.  I probably won’t be doing that in this playthrough.  Edgar needs those Relic slots for status immunities, reflecting magic, or perhaps some other utility I haven’t thought of yet.  He’d benefit more from a shield than dual wielding swords. 
 



Atma Weapon has weird mechanics that aren’t explained in the game.  It has (Current Level/64) in the damage formula, so you have to be at level 64 or above to avoid an attack penalty.  Chances are I’ll never need to grind that much, even for a solo character.  FF6 is easier than FF5, after all!  Atma Weapon also uses (Max HP/Current HP), so that’s yet another potential damage penalty. 


Weapons don’t affect Tool damage, so chances are Atma Weapon won’t see much use apart from killing off party members.  Come to think of it, a swing from the Thunder Blade against an Ing dealt about the same damage as Auto Crossbow.  Who needs swords when you can hang out in the back row and Drill everything to death?
 

I talked to enough soldiers in Vector to convince Gestahl to withdraw troops from South Figaro and Doma, and to grant me access to the treasures in the base near the Cave to the Sealed Gate. 


After that was a long sequence in Thamasa where I was forced to play with Locke, Terra, and Strago instead.  To get through the burning house and the mountain with Ultros, I had to resort to breaking rods and summoning Ramuh and Shiva.  Since Edgar couldn't come, I didn't care what I did with my other characters. 

The only place left to go in the World of Balance was the Floating Continent, but first I had to stock up on supplies.  Especially Sleeping Bags and Potions.  Some of the items in the Imperial Base were Relics that I already had, but others were useful consumables like an Elixir and an X-Potion.  (Those can't be bought in the World of Balance.)


 
One thing I’ve noticed was that Weed Eaters died in one Auto Crossbow shot when they previously needed two hits.  Edgar’s Tools definitely scale with level.
 
Stats and Equipment
 
Level 34  (Experience must be divided among surviving characters.)

HP:  1905
Vigor:  39
Speed:  30
Stamina:  34
Mag. Pwr:  29
Bat. Pwr:  255 (Don’t be fooled!  Blame Atma Weapon's programming.)
Defense:  157
Mag. Def:  94
MBlock%:  1   
 
Weapon:  Atma Weapon (soon to be unequipped)
Shield:  Gold Shield
Head:  Gold Helmet
Body:  Mithril Mail
Relic 1:  Wall Ring
Relic 2:  Running Shoes

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 6 Solo Edgar:  Return of the Death Count

To ascend to the Floating Continent, Edgar had to fight the Imperial air force.  The Sky Armors and Spitfires could be taken out with one Drill each, though he had to watch out for their Absolute 0 ice attack that dealt over 500 damage to him.  Ultros barely did anything in his boss fight after being Drilled about 3 times, though Chupon’s Fire Ball required me to use an X Potion. 


Chupon Snorted Edgar into a battle with Air Force.  It had two other attacking parts called Laser Gun and Missile Bay.  Missile caused Edgar to gradually lose about 32 HP per “tick” and dealt a few hundred damage.  Air Force could launch a “Speck” that absorbed magic, but of course that was irrelevant in a solo Edgar playthrough.  I wasn’t used to the boss’s patterns at first, so all the attacks overwhelmed Edgar and forced me to repeat the airship gauntlet again.

 
Edgar Death Count:  8
 

The way to win was to use X Potions when necessary, then Drill the two side parts first.  After that, Air Force charged up Wave Cannon after a countdown and fired.  Edgar survived with about 25 HP and won after a few more rounds of Drilling!
 
The Floating Continent is hard with a party, and it was worse with a solo character who couldn’t cast Cure.  The Brainpans often came in threes and Stopped him with Smirk.  A Dragon once hit me with over 5000 damage with Revenge after toying with me for a few rounds. 
 
Edgar Death Count:  9


 
As you might have guessed, I got through by running away like Bartz trying to power up his Chicken Knife.  I only stopped to fight enemies I was sure I could beat, like Behemoths or Ninjas.  Behemoths used Take Down when they died, but that was only a moderate physical attack at this point.  Ninjas used their elemental scrolls for major damage, but died to one Drill each.  Edgar equipped a Gale Hairpin Relic to try to increase his chances of a pre-emptive escape.

 
Atma Weapon killed Edgar more than Banon’s fragility ever could.  Sure, the Wall Ring reflected its Flares, Bios, and Fire 2s, but it was useless against Quake and Meteo.  Spells weren’t the main problem Edgar had with it.  Imagine if Square decided to give a mid-game boss Grand Cross, and that’s what Mind Blast was like.  It zombified Edgar twice, killing him instantly.
 

Death Count:  11
 

The Amulet could block Zombie, but not Stop.  There’s no World of Balance Relic or armor that can deal with Stop.  All the good equipment is in the World of Ruin!  Once, I tried using Running Shoes to try to rush Atma Weapon with Drill, but that left me open to status ailments.  If Edgar survived the flashy Mind Blast, he had no chance against Flare Star.  Flare Star’s damage formula multiplies a random target’s level by 80, then divides it by the number of targets.  This move was designed by a programmer who had a grudge against solo runs.  Edgar was incinerated by Flare Star twice.
 
Death Count:  13



 
Flare Star has a Fire element, but why would Square be generous enough to give me a Fire immunity or absorption in the World of Balance?  The only option may be to grind until Drill or Chainsaw becomes powerful enough to take Atma Weapon out before it can use Mind Blast.  Bio Blaster wouldn’t work because Atma Weapon absorbs poison.  Noise Blaster’s confusion is useless too.  No elemental weaknesses to take advantage of rod breaking either.
 
A Jump tactic involving the Dragoon Boots failed when Edgar landed just in time for a Mind Blast to petrify him.  Then there was the attempt where Edgar defended and used healing items while Atma Weapon hit himself with Flares.  The idea was to make the boss run out of MP, but the plan was ruined when Atma Weapon inflicted Stop.  The last thing Edgar saw was another Flare Star.  Time to grind!
 
Death Count:  15

 
Stats and Equipment
 
Level 37

HP:  2218
Vigor:  39
Speed:  30
Stamina:  34
Mag. Pwr:  29
Bat. Pwr:  255
Defense:  161
Mag. Def:  97
MBlock%:  1
 
Weapon:  Atma Weapon
Shield:  Gold Shield
Head:  Gold Helmet
Body:  Mithril Mail
Relic1:  Wall Ring
Relic2:  Running Shoes

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Mini-Update:  No-Esper Edgar vs. Atma Weapon


After grinding for a while in the cave west of Thamasa, Edgar returned to the Floating Continent and had a rematch with Atma Weapon at level 44.  The plan was to rush the boss with the Hyper Wrist (Vigor accessory) and the Running Shoes before it could use Mind Blast or Flare Star.  What happened instead was Edgar being whittled down by Flare, Blaze, and melee attacks before being finished off by a Fire 2.
 
Edgar Death Count:  16
 
My next attempt replaced the Running Shoes with the Wall Ring, but this was unintentional.  I forgot to switch out some equipment from my last save!  For reasons I’m still not sure about, after a Chainsaw and a few Drills, Atma Weapon used an entirely different AI routine and abstained from using Mind Blast!  It was hitting Edgar with Quarter (lose 3/4 of max HP) and W Wind (reduce all characters to critical HP) instead, which I never saw in any of the previous battle.  Is the boss AI algorithm based on HP percentage or something?  It took several X Potions and Elixirs to do it, but Edgar survived.  I immediately rushed back to the airship to avoid dying to an unlucky random encounter.
 
I bought a few elemental rods in case Celes needed them before finding Edgar again, and then went back to the Floating Continent and started the cutscene with Gestahl and Kefka.  I hope you won’t mind me making a Super Nintendo Classic save state after that part to avoid having to sit through the dialogue again.  It turned out to be unnecessary.  There was a close call with a Naughty that froze Edgar for a while, but he Drilled his way through the encounters with over a minute to spare.  Yes, I waited for Shadow.  I may not be using him, but FF6 has good enough characterization that you want to save even non-essential party members.  Celes woke up from her coma on Cid’s island, and so the World of Ruin arc began.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 6 Solo Edgar:  Figaro Rises Again


Celes began on a small island in the southwest of the World of Ruin at level 19.  The citizens of Albrook told her about how things had changed in the previous year, including the flying boss Doom Gaze.  I made sure to ignore Tzen as Celes marched north, because that would have activated a time-sensitive sidequest to recruit Sabin.  Although he’s one of the first party members you can find in the World of Ruin, Sabin’s not a mandatory character, and you can ignore him with solo Celes if you want to go through the collapsing house with another character.
 


I ran from every encounter until I got to Nikeah and heard rumors about a “Gerad” who led a band of escaped thieves.  They were planning to loot Figaro Castle while it was stuck underground near the local cave.  That turned out to be an early dungeon from the World of Balance, complete with empty treasure chests.  What was previously a recovery pond was now a path to Figaro Castle, and “Gerad” and company hopped across with a turtle’s help.  Celes ran into a pincer attack in the Figaro Castle basement, and not even rod breaking could save her.  No, I’m not adding it to the Death Count because that’s only for Edgar. 

 
At the end of that dungeon, “Gerad” unscrambled his anagram name and revealed himself as Edgar.  Celes was smart enough to have figured it out earlier because of his mannerisms, such as calling women “my lady”.  Insert your own fedora joke here.  The boss fight here was 4 Tentacles that could Slow party members and “Seize” them for several turns to drain their HP.  This was really annoying for a solo character, especially when he automatically had his Running Shoes accessory unequipped!  A slow process of Drilling each Tentacle took them all down, though I had to use about 2 Elixirs to be safe.
 


Edgar proved he was still as powerful as in the World of Balance.  Many random enemies in dungeons and the overworld could still be taken out in one shot with Auto Crossbow, and Drill hit other enemies for over 3000 damage.  The logical first stop was Daryl’s Tomb to acquire the second airship.

 
Setzer rejoined at Kohlingen at a higher level than I last saw him.  That makes me curious about how experience points are distributed.  Edgar made sure to equip the Amulet due to all the Exorays that would otherwise have zombified him with Doom Pollen.  He found some valuable items in that dungeon, including the Genji Helm and the Man Eater dagger.  Edgar doesn’t need weapons to increase his damage, but he appreciates a 10% MBlock boost!  All evasion in the Super Nintendo version is based on MBlock thanks to a glitch.
 

Presenter in the treasure chest near the save point was a Whelk palette swap, though it was much more dangerous.  Early in the fight it petrified Edgar with one of its attacks.  It was time to equip the Jewel Ring.
 
Death Count:  17
 
Presenter was easy to deal with once the threat of status ailments was gone, and Edgar simply Drilled it to death.  He occasionally used a Potion whenever it cast Magnitude 8.
 
Dullahan was the final obstacle between Edgar and his new airship, and it was surprisingly tough at level 45.  Evidently, Lv. ? Pearl is based on a multiple of the last digit of your money.  Such obscure mechanics should be reserved for Final Fantasy Tactics Calculator spells instead of the main series.  Edgar Drilled as usual.  Then he was hit by Reflect???, which Slowed him because he wore a Wall Ring.  Edgar then could not keep up with Dullahan’s other abilities and gradually froze because of Absolute 0 temperatures.
 
Death Count:  18
 
Edgar equipped the Running Shoes to avoid Reflect???’s Slow effect, and then he became a victim of N. Cross, a Stop skill under a different name. 
 
Death Count:  19
 
N.  Cross almost killed Edgar a second time, but he barely survived and drank an Elixir to continue the fight.  He then Drilled until he won.  Setzer talked about his relationship with Daryl, and then Edgar could explore the World of Ruin as he pleased.  I’m considering getting the Moogle Charm and then leaving Mog dead to avoid overleveling, but then it sounds a bit silly to dodge all the random encounters in a solo challenge that isn't for Bravely Default or Bravely Second.  I’ll think about it for now.     
 
 
Stats and Equipment

Level 45

HP:  3114
Vigor:  39
Speed:  30
Stamina:  34
Bat. Pwr:  166
Defense:  198
Mag. Def:  146
MBlock%:  11
 
Weapon:  Man Eater
Shield:  Diamond Shield
Head:  Genji Helmet
Body:  Crystal Mail
Relic1:  Wall Ring
Relic2:  Amulet

[JTWilson]

 

 
Setzer rejoined at Kohlingen at a higher level than I last saw him.  That makes me curious about how experience points are distributed.  

I don't remember exactly how it works off the top of my head but there is a definite trick to how EXP/levels are distributed amongst the characters throughout the game..anyone playing a low level game has to know the logic inside and out (stuff like leaping Gau off on the Veldt at various points so that his level doesn't get involved in the calculations, etc.)   In this case, it's likely that Setzer's level went up as Edgar's relatively high level for that point in the game increased the overall average..or something like that.  

This is great material for the no-magic run I'm planning, which is likely going to involve a lot of Super Figaro Bros. though if solo Edgar can do it, a full party shouldn't have too much trouble so I'd probably have to ban any grinding to keep it challenging.  Atma Weapon won't be nearly as bad as there would be more characters to soak Flare Star, Celes can runic away a good portion of his spells, Mog can dance, Shadow can throw, etc..and yes, there are different phases for this boss depending on how much HP he has left.  Hmm, full party healing...hope Mog rolls a lot of Sun Baths.

Good luck with the rest of the run!