More Final Fantasy

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 4


Vaan found Golmore Jungle to be a good leveling location, so long as he stayed away from Hellhounds.  In Eruyt Village, he bought a Red Cap and Brigandine to serve as the next Light Armor set.  Not that it did him much good, considering his blood Hi Potion percentage by the end of the session.  Jellies in Henne Mines loved to Slap and Poison him to death after backing him into the corner, at least until Vaan realized it was an optional battle and could run to the next screen.


Punching Tiamat was a bad idea due to its frequent physical attacks.  The lack of a Black Belt license was another factor in Vaan's failure.  At least he managed to last until the "critical HP" phase, when Tiamat's power increased drastically.  Black Belt prevented Tiamat from inflicting Disablega on Take 2, so Vaan could attack and use Hi Potions freely.  Iron Pole was the weapon of choice, which blocked some melee attacks but couldn't stop Sap's HP drain.  He still managed to win at Level 44.


Level 44 was nowhere near sufficient to take on Elder Wyrm in Golmore Jungle.  Even Level 60 wasn't enough.  Elder Wyrm cast any status ailment short of Doom:  Confuse, Oil, Poison, Sap, Blind, etc.  Some were individual spells, while others came through a Grand Cross style move called Sporefall.  The best Level 60 Vaan could do with his basic Monk abilities was to reduce Elder Wyrm's HP by about a quarter.


To prevent having to level to 99 for a midgame boss, Vaan resorted to the dark arts of Lucavi summoning.  Belias charred Elder Wyrm with its Painflare for up to 1990s, while Vaan supplemented the damage with occasional punching for about the same amount of damage.  Espers are designed for solo playthroughs:  they scale with the summoner, and dismiss all other party members when they enter the battlefield.  I was hoping I could avoid having to do this, but Monk has nothing to deal with multiple status ailments at this point, not even Remedy licenses.  Ribbons exist in FF12, but are functionally a postgame accessory.


(Seeing a Level 99 Monk punch himself to death with Confuse status would be funny.)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 5


Vaan charged through Paramina Rift with little trouble and shopped in the Mt. Bur-Omisace camp.  Six-fluted Pole had 59 Attack Power, and the Light Armor set of Headband and Jujitsu Gi raised Vaan's Strength to 75 at Level 61. 


Garuda-Egi monsters in Paramina Rift were Flying types that were immune to fists.  Similar monsters would be found in areas like Phon Coast. 


Most monsters in Stilshrine of Miriam were easy to punch out, and it was funny to see stone heads and statues several times Vaan's height fall before him.  However, Grounded Avises could kill Vaan if they attacked as a group.  Darkmares were also troublesome with their Poison and powerful melee attacks.  Level 61 was not enough to make every fight trivial.  


Vinuskar the first "boss" fell in exactly 8 punches.  It had just enough time to show off its Sword Dance animation before the final blow.  Mateus is annoying for magical jobs because of his Reflect, but the Ice Esper was simple for an overleveled solo Monk to kill.  Ice Azer minions were punched out, and Vaan equipped a Pole for the Evade whenever he needed to drink Hi Potions.  Like Vinuskar before him, Mateus had just enough time to cast his special animation Blizzaja before Vaan's 2153 damage punch scored the KO.  Vaan was afraid of Sap draining his HP before he could return to a save point, but he had enough Hi Potions to make it there.


(Be sure to pick up the Bubble Mote and Elixir in Mateus's boss room!  Not that anyone else on this forum plays FF12 challenges. . .)


Mt. Bur-Omisace sold new armor for Vaan after the Archadians attacked, such as a Pirate Hat.  Viking Coat was more important since it promised Water immunity.  This helped somewhat when leveling in Stilshrine of Miriam, since Judge Bergan was too much for the solo Monk at Level 62.  Bergan was like an upgraded Vossler who attacked furiously while at low HP.  At Level 64, Vaan barely held on with 440 HP as he jabbed twice for 672 and 698.  Don't know if the Amber Armlet stacked with Brawler, or whether they were redundant together.


Mosphoran Highwaste sold a Gokuu Pole with 72 Attack Power, and Vaan found Gillie Boots that would make him immune to Oil if he wore them.  By Salikawood, Vaan's Level of 65 was no longer an advantage.  Even joke enemies like Pumpkin Heads were pounding on him, though part of that was due to Vaan hitting himself while Confused.  He earned the Sash as thanks for sending the Moogles back to work, which reduced Fire damage, increased Speed, and granted Slow immunity if equipped.


Phon Coast sold Adamant Hats and Adamant Vests for Fire resistance, though the tradeoff was an Ice weakness.  I thought these might be enough to kill King Bomb when combined with Gillie Boots, but the optional boss had far too much HP when taking Renew healing into account.  I tried a gimmick tactic involving Bacchus Wine to inflict Berserk on Vaan, but it had the odd side effect of sometimes making Vaan stand in place instead of charging at the foe.  A similar incident in Phon Coast made Vaan stand still for a while when an enemy made him Berserk.  It's weird when your character is LESS aggressive while Berserk than with normal auto-attack Gambits!


Tchita Uplands had random enemies that forced Vaan to chug Hi Potions after almost every fight.  He decided to go back to Phon Coast where it was a little safer and grew to Level 70 there.  Even Level 70 was too weak for King Bomb.  But maybe it's enough to get to Archades.  Right?   

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 6


Sochen Cave Palace's first boss is always funny when playing at 4X Speed.  Mandragora Prince, Alraune King, Onion Queen, Pumpkin Star, and Topstalk dashed around the wide arena with Haste active as Vaan pursued and punched them.  As each one was killed, Vaan would have to equip a Gokuu Pole to block attacks and run while drinking Hi Potions.  These plants specialized in ailment attacks, particularly Slow, Poison, and Sleep.  The Poison + Sleep combo rendered Vaan helpless for a few seconds as he took ticks of 418 damage. . .until one of the bosses was stupid enough to hit him and wake him up.  A 2323 power punch felled Mandragora Prince and the battle was over.


Vaan then had to beat up the next save crystal until it became a real save point.  But nothing could prepare him for Ahriman.  It Divided to create clones, Immobilized and Confused Vaan, and cast mid tier elemental spells.  All these Vaan could have dealt with if only he had leveled more.  Doom was the unfair part.  Solo Monk Vaan had no way of acquiring a Ribbon, and he could never learn Remedy Lore 3 like an Archer, Shikari, or Machinist.  And the nearest save point to cure Doom was several rooms away.


My readers will probably forgive me for summoning Belias when growing to Level 76 wasn't enough.  And even then the Doom countdown was at 1 by the time he rushed to the save point.  Monk in FF12 is unworthy of the job title compared to the FF1 and FF5 versions.  Vaan's high HP is no substitute for decent defenses or adequate armor, and damage output is low compared to the Machinist's Horology.  The best you can say for Solo Monk compared to Solo Machinist is that you don't have to spend half the playthrough in the pause menu.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 7


Archades sold a Wind element Zephyr Pole with 77 Attack Power, but the consumable item shop had something much more valuable for a Monk:  X Potions!  Vaan bought 99 of them and set out for Draklor Laboratory.  I hadn't noticed that Balthier's real name was Ffamran until I paid more attention to Jules's dialogue.  Then again, this is the same world that names its kids "Dycedarg".  A squad of about 4 Archadian troops, including at least 2 Imperial Hoplites, slaughtered Vaan despite his high level.


Cid himself was easy to defeat.  Vaan sometimes had to run to the entrance to quaff X-Potions when a Rook was low on health and started shooting rapid fire lasers.  But Cid might as well have had a BB gun, since he was shooting Vaan for 421 at best.  His special move S-27 Tokamak singed Vaan with sunlight for 726.  Still, each X-Potion restored 2250 HP, and Vaan only had to punch Cid down to about 25% HP with up to 3100 per punch.  Vaan equipped the Sash for higher Speed.


Balfonheim Port rendered X-Potions obsolete with its Curaja spell, which healed Vaan for 4163 HP per cast.  Is Solo Monk finally becoming a viable class instead of just a weak melee job?  His performance against King Bomb at Level 77 was a good case for optimism.  It took a while to kill at 4X speed due to constant enemy Renew healing.  Vaan had a Chain of 43 kills for the Bomb minions just before King Bomb turned into a cartoon bomb and exploded.  The "use Curaja below 50% HP" Gambit made it into an autopilot fight.  His punches had a damage range of about 3166-3408.


The Final Fantasy victory music is rare in FF12 because battles are fought on the maps themselves rather than a separate screen, but Vaan earned it after slaying King Bomb.  Now he could go to Necrohol of Nabudis and Nabreus Deadlands if he wished.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 8


Mirrorknights in Feywood were no problem for Vaan the Monk, since he was no Black Mage.  When he ignored the Malboros and exclusively punched Rafflesia, however, he died to a combination of Confuse and Sap.  The arena quickly drained his MP so Curaja was no use.  On Take 2, Vaan equipped the Tourmaline Ring to block Sap and Poison, and changed his Curaja Gambit to use X-Potions.  Vaan punched out each Malboro as it appeared, though he ended up KOing himself in the end in Confusion.  Our hero was lucky enough to win on Take 3 at Level 78 with a 2969 punch.


One thing that annoys me about RPGs is the luck factor.  Dead Cells is a much more difficult game than FF12, but it never cheats the player.  FF12 does on occasion.  This is an arbitrary solo challenge, of course, but the complaint applies to the genre as a whole.


Vaan entered Daedalus's arena in Giruvegan at Level 79 with a Sash equipped for the Speed bonus.  Daedalus was similar to Vossler or Judge Bergan in that the true threat came at critical HP with rapid melee attacks.  4 hit enemy combos were common late in the fight.  An attempt with the Zephyr Pole's 30 Evade was no more successful.


Vaan warped to Balfonheim Port and started training in Cerobi Steppe.  This location is irritating because the Zodiac Age developers put many of the best weapons here, and gave them a low chance to appear in treasure chests.  But Vaan was here to gain levels, and the enemies yielded decent experience.  Then Vaan died to an unseen 9185 damage trap, and summoned Mateus to start a new Ice Age upon reloading an autosave.


(Traps in later FF12 areas, especially optional ones, are cruel.  Summoned Espers allow you to see them, and I think the Libra skill does as well.  Still, traps are a horrible mechanic and one of FF12's greatest flaws.)


Even with Mateus's help, Vaan once fell to a Bellwyvern's Sonic Fangs when he had over 7100 HP remaining.  After Vaan had gained a couple of levels, he entered Nabreus Deadlands seeking greater rewards.  He was at least tough enough to fend off a small squad of Baknamys without any summons.  Immediately upon entering Necrohol of Nabudis, Vaan hit a 4959 damage fusillade trap.  No, I didn't walk onto it.  That literally happened as soon as the area loaded.


The rest of Necrohol of Nabudis was as cruel as its first act of hospitality.  Vaan croaked many times due to traps, Doom, and Death.  Without Zodiac Age's autosave between screens feature, I never would have attempted to find the Bravery spell.  It was worth it for the 30% physical attack power boost.  Getting out of Necrohol of Nabudis was much more difficult than going to the Bravery room, even though it shouldn't have been.


Vaan failed to kill Daedalus at Level 84, and had several failed attempts at Level 86.  A combination of Bravery, a Dispel Mote to remove enemy Haste, and a Hastega Mote were needed to win.  Vaan's punches were hitting for around 4500s before Daedalus was at critical HP, and 1400s afterwards.  Low health bosses play like a completely different fight, and I have to emphasize this for anyone not familiar with FF12.


In the next part, Vaan will punch his way through Giruvegan and Great Crystal.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 9


When enemies in Giruvegan played fair, like Behemoths, Vaan could usually outlast them with Curaja.  But they did not often play fair.  Vaan quickly learned to equip the Power Armlet after Gargoyle Barons tried to Stop him.  Nothing could save him from Vivians, whose Putrid Breath could inflict Sleep, Poison, Disease, Petrify and more in one move.  Vaan was grateful for autosave in this dungeon!


Tyrant was one of the worst bosses for Solo Machinist because it made Technicks like Horology impossible.  Solo Monk hated Tyrant for a different reason:  a Sonic Fangs instant kill just after Curaja healed him.  Just for that, Mateus the Totema was summoned on the 3rd try.  (Both FF Tactics Lucavi and Tactics Advance Totema are represented.  FF12 is Mewt's favorite game in the "real world" in Tactics Advance.)  On Take 2, Vaan fell to the usual "melee combo at critical enemy HP" woes.


Mateus did not survive the Tyrant battle, though he was a good distraction and allowed Vaan to finish off the dragon a few seconds later with a 4896 Bravery power punch.


Great Crystal was somehow worse than Giruvegan.  Blaster from Ose enemies inflicted multiple ailments similarly to Malboro breath.  To survive them, Vaan had to summon Mateus and then stand back as the Esper took hits.  It was a relief to see Mythril Golems who relied on -ara spells in some rooms!  The Thief's Cap and Ninja Gear were relevant to Vaan since they were a Light Armor set with a Speed boost. 


Shemhazai the final boss of Giruvegan was an anticlimax.  She was designed to confound mages with elemental absorption, but this was irrelevant for a Level 87 Monk.  Bravery punches broke her bones for 8186 if Vaan got a good damage roll.  Slow spells like Flare were healed away with Curaja, and a 1296 punch got Vaan his next Esper.  Shemhazai's license unlocked the path to Potion Lore 3.  THAT would have been useful before Balfonheim Port!  


Only the Pharos and final battles remain.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

Final Fantasy 12 Zodiac Age Solo Monk Part 10


According to the FF12 guide on Jegged, I'd missed the Bubble Belt in Feywood, so I picked it up.  Bubble Belt doubled Vaan's HP and more importantly granted immunity to the max HP reducing ailment Disease.  Vaan's health was officially 9999 in the interface, but it obviously went to (2 X 8297) since the health bar graphic was not full at "merely" 9999.


"Cassie" in the Ridorana Cataract was not a girl I knew in school, but instead a Malboro type enemy that inflicted the same ailments as Vivian in Giruvegan.  Had to reset when that occurred.  Vaan's punches were strong enough to kill Reddas the Guest character in one hit.  A treasure chest just before the next boss fight had a Sweep with 88 Attack Power.


Hydro the dragon liked to cast Curse to inflict Poison and Confuse, causing Vaan to punch himself for 4119.  He also spent much of the fight with his HP leaking from Sap.  If Vaan got a high roll on his punches, Hydro took up to 5369 damage.  Fortunately Coundown missed or it would have inflicted Doom.  When Hydro was at critical HP, its basic attack could strike for 1472, or Vaan would get lucky and take a 908 power Darkra.  The final blow was a 4872 punch.


On the 1st floor of the 1st Pharos ascent, Vaan had to switch from the Bubble Belt to the Power Armlet to stop the Mistmares from Stopping him.  A sample punch against Pandaemonium the tortoise boss struck for 5423.  Flatten stomped Vaan for 1141 and Power Spin thrashed him for 806.  Vaan sometimes had to use a Gold Needle to cure Petrify.  The gimmick that prevented Pandaemonium from being a generic physical boss was Perfect Defense, which made it immune to all damage for a time.  Pandaemonium sped up at low HP like almost every other boss, and smacked Vaan with a 1419 Power Spin.  Couldn't see the final blow due to the camera angle, but Vaan took 1279 damage from an attack as it was happening.


Vaan switched to the Hermes Sandals after he found them to gain auto-Haste, but they didn't prevent Slow like its superior FF5 version.  The section where Vaan had to punch out Brainpans to create bridges seemed easy, until they started using Countdown and forced me to reload an autosave.  Even summoning Shemhazai didn't kill them in time on one attempt, so I gave up on the Esper and made Vaan try again and again with punches until I got lucky enough to reach the next room.


Slyt the fish boss took up to 6925 damage from Vaan's kickboxing, but retaliated in turn with its combos at critical HP.  Vaan equipped the Sweep for the 30 Evade before Take 2, and this tactic was successful.  He ran around the arena to buy time while healing with Curaja, but he won with a 1358 bludgeon from his Pole.  The developers were "kind" enough to throw an Undin Entite with Aquaga before the teleporter to the 2nd ascent, so Vaan waited for the prompt allowed him to go up.


On the 2nd ascent, Vaan sacrificed his minimap at the Altar of Knowledge, because why would you pick any other option when you're already playing a stupid self-imposed variant?  A few Bunes once killed Vaan by ganging up on him and pounding him with melee attacks, but future attempts fared better.  Vaan wielded the Sweep against Fenrir the next boss and whacked it for up to 6349.  The usual "attack for a bit, then run away to cast Curaja" tactic worked, and Fenrir fell to a 5853 auto-attack.  Another Undin Entite near the next teleporter put Vaan to Sleep and drowned him with a 1907 Aquaga.  Good thing it autosaved after leaving Fenrir's room!


The 3rd ascent didn't have an auspicious beginning:  a Cataract Aevis instantly killed Vaan with Crushing Fangs.  Hashmal, the most dreaded boss in my FF12 variants, was conquered on the 1st try.  With Monk HP, the Bubble Belt, and a Hastega Mote, Vaan punched out the Earth Esper with a 5068 jab.  Hashmal's melee hit for up to 1564, and Quakeja shook Vaan for 2119.  Vaan lifted his Sweep onto his scrawny shoulders with pride in his victory dance.  Hashmal's license opened the path to. . .Cura and Raise.  Why does Monk get Curaja BEFORE Cura?  Probably to make the Virgo shaped license board look better.


Gabranth's first battle was too easy to be worth mentioning.  Cid shot at Vaan until reaching an HP threshold and summoning Famfrit.  Since Famfrit was the Water Esper, Vaan finally had a use for Light Armor:  equipping Viking Coat to laugh at Aquaja!  Vaan still had to contend with Cid's frequent S-85 Cyclotrone animations that dealt 935 damage, as well as standard 640s shots and Famfrit's 1695 melee.  Famfrit had high HP and Protect, which didn't disappear permanently even with a Dispel Mote.  Once Famfrit was down, Vaan equipped his Ninja Gear again to concentrate on Cid.  Couldn't see the final blow, unfortunately, but the Sweep once hit Cid for 1630 near the end.


Famfrit's license opened the way to Dispelga and Arise, but Vaan didn't need either of them to beat the game.  Gabranth Round 2 on the Bahamut was funny to me when he addressed solo Vaan as "Basch".  One of Vaan's infamous lines in Bhujerba is "I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of DalMASca!"  I like to think that Vaan isn't lying to get attention from the guards-he really thinks he is Basch.  Even Gabranth, Basch's brother, is fooled.  Gabranth healed himself with Renew after that speech.


Most of the fight was normal until Gabranth was at critical HP, when he destroyed Vaan with a melee combo and his Innocence cutscene move.  A second attempt also failed.  Vaan finally won when he tried punching with a Hastega Mote instead of wielding Sweep.  Vaan and Gabranth hit each other for 1219 and 1167 respectively as the fight ended.


Vaan and Vayne were both boxers, so they remained close to each other for the 1st phase of the final battle.  Vaan jabbed for 5618 on a good roll with Bravery, while Vayne hit for 810.  Vayne's flashy special moves like Mach Wave and Force of Will slapped Vaan for 1020 and 1921 respectively.  Otherwise the fight was unremarkable.


Vayne Novus's temporary magic immunity was irrelevant to Vaan's 2745 damage martial arts.  Blizzaga chilled Vaan for 1161, and Tree of Sephira slammed the ground for 2818.  Vaan was Immobilized for part of the fight, but Vayne Novus stayed in melee range so it didn't matter.  Vayne Novus became much tougher at low HP like every other FF12 boss, and the first attempt fell to a thousand flying sword cuts at Level 89.  Vaan had to summon Shemhazai to win on Take 2.


Zodiac Age autosaved between Vayne Novus and The Undying, but didn't dispel Shemhazai.  The Undying attempted to outlast Vaan and his Esper with a Paling to block physical damage, but Shemhazai penetrated the Paling with 3461 damage Devour Souls.  Besides his cutscene moves, The Undying sometimes cast Piercing Firaga for 1246.  Shemhazai retreated from the battlefield with a Soul Purge.  Vaan probably could have beaten The Undying without the Esper, since Vayne Novus was much more difficult.  The final move of the game was a 3524 auto-attack just before The Undying tried Piercing Dispelga.


At the end of the game, Solo Monk is superior to Solo Machinist due to having much higher HP and a Curaja spell.  But getting that far is a pain.  Monk doesn't have a strong multi-target move like Machinist's 9 minute Horology.  Monk will guzzle ineffectual Hi Potions out of combat until reaching Archades, when X-Potions become available.  Monk has no way to deal with status ailments from enemies like Elder Wyrm since the class lacks Remedy Lore. 


To me, FF12 variants are more interesting when they involve a single class party of 3.  That way, you can win at a lower level, and won't have to summon Espers like many solos would.  If you must try an FF12 solo that I haven't played, consider Archer for its Remedy Lore licenses, Gil Toss starting at Draklor Laboratory, and the ability to cast Cura without needing to fight an Esper first.  Archer has few Battle Lore licenses, so it's probably one of the weaker physical jobs in terms of damage, and for most of the game you're stuck with Light Armor.  


Hopefully you've enjoyed reading this silly playthrough.


EDIT:  Bubble Belt was used from Gabranth through The Undying.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF12 Solo Monk BONUS:  Trial Mode


Vaan "Rrrrrratsbane" began Trial Mode appropriately enough with rats in the Garamsythe Waterway that did no damage to him.  Stages 2-4 were uneventful as well, with Cactites, Icthons, Cockatrices, and a Werewolf all falling to punches.  Stage 6 had a Cluckatrice from a Hunt quest and its chicks, but they were as ineffectual as the previous monsters.  Imperial Swordsmen in the Leviathan served as Stage 7 opponents, and dealt 5388 damage to Vaan with some special move which was probably Tri-Attack.


Stage 8 had 0 melee damage Bagoly owl-people.  Stage 9 featured some kind of ghost enemy in what looked like Raithwall's Tomb.  Vaan knocked out Belias in Stage 10 with exactly 4 regular attacks.  A Croakadile in Stage 10 and the Lhusu Mines Jellies in Stage 11 tickled Vaan with their 0 damage melee.  Remember that Jellies overwhelmed the Solo Monk when he actually encountered them in the story!


It took 5 punches to slay Tiamat in Stage 13.  Panthers in Stage 14's Golmore Jungle were easily dispatched, though Elder Wyrm in Stage 15 still gave Vaan trouble even with Curaja and Bubble Belt HP.  He managed to cure Slow and Poison before Mateus approached him in Stage 16, though he was stuck with Sap for the rest of Trial Mode.


Mateus cut Vaan for about 83 per melee hit, but the Ice Azers were useless.  About 8 punches killed that Esper, but Stage 17 was fatal.  The Mindflayers must have been imported from Baldur's Gate 2.  They cast Invert to reverse Vaan's current HP and MP, and killed him almost immediately with a 287 damage lightning move.  You can see why Trial Mode isn't designed for solo characters, but maybe you can laugh at Vaan's misfortune.

[T-hawk]

Hey, apparently there's a FF 5 remaster just released on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/11738...FANTASY_V/

The reviews there are reporting some weird bugs, though we know to question the reliability of the opinions of any random Steam user.

I don't know if I have anything I want to do with the game worth picking this up, but posting a pointer in case someone here does.

[yuris125]

They're doing pixel remakes for all the early FFs (1-6, 6 is yet to release). They seem to be faithful recreations of the originals with some QoL improvements (e.g. autosave, in-game maps for dungeons, autocombat for trivial fights)

I've been on a Final Fantasy binge lately, hours spent in FF14 made me want to go and explore the early games, see how the franchise developed and get the references they included in 14 (only played 7 and 12 before). Been streaming this journey as well (https://www.twitch.tv/yuris_firebringer), although it's probably not very interesting for FF veterans, as I've been primarily interested in learning the story and understanding the mechanics and game design choices they made - it's not about optimising combat or doing variant things with the party