More Final Fantasy

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Red Battlemages Part 10


The Red Battlemages dashed away from any "Cassies" they saw after learning the hard way that these Malboro type enemies had Diseased breath.  At Levels 48-49 the team took on Hydro the dragon.  Tourmaline Rings were the essential Accessory in this fight to block Sap from Bio and Bile.  Each smack with the Doom Mace knocked off 1800s-2000s HP.  Hydro replied with 400s Sonic Fangs, 890s Lunges, 700s-800s Darkras, and 820s Fireballs.  Its cheap trick was Curse to inflict Disease and Confuse.  On the 2nd attempt at the fight, Hydro didn't bother with Curse, so victory was possible with some revivals.  Vaan did not live to see the team's victory.



Ashe found a pair of Hermes Sandals near the beginning of Pharos and equipped them for Haste.  This didn't last long when the Red Battlemages fought Pandaemonium the tortoise.  When it cast Flash like a Pokemon, the party was Blinded and had to cure themselves with Eye Drops.  Afterwards they swapped to Argyle Armlets to nullify the HM move.  They also had to deal with Slow, probably from the 600s Power Spins.  Most Attacks cracked Pandaemonium's shell for 1200s-1400s, but there was a time in the middle of the fight where Pandaemonium was immune to all damage.



Slyt at Level 50 was yet another physical boss, though it gave an excuse for the Red Battlemages to cast 2200s power Firas to strike an elemental weakness.  Its Enrage bit the party for 600s. The initial wave of Attacks before the Fira Gambit activated clobbered Slyt for 1300s and up.


For the Second Ascent, the Altar of Knowledge was chosen again.  It has no drawbacks aside from disabling the minimap, so you always want to select it unless you're trying a "no magic" variant or something.  Monsters in the Second Ascent were nastier than in the First Ascent, especially the Bunes and Crusaders that attacked in swarms.  It was best to flee from them rather than fight, as the party died many times when attempting the latter.


One floor was appropriately called the "Station of Suffering".  Not sure if this is the one with invisible traps that repeatedly killed the party, but eventually I gave up and had Penelo equip the Bangle to get Libra status in order to see them.  FF12 has some good ideas and some strange bad ideas that even mediocre developers would have noticed and removed.


Fenrir dared the Level 51 Red Battlemages to accept a physical damage race.  Ashe's team hit for 1500s-2200s, while Fenrir Rammed a character for 1850s and shattered Ice Breaks for unknown damage.  The deadliest tactic Fenrir had was a simple melee combo.  Revivals were frequent in this battle, though that wasn't enough to prevent Ashe from staying dead at the end.  Rose Corsages were equipped to prevent Silence from Wail, though Fenrir's shrieking once caused Blind with a random chance. 


The next update should finish Pharos.



Level 51


Weapon:  Doom Mace
Off-hand:  Crystal Shield
Helm:  Celebrant's Miter
Armor:  Cleric's Robes
Accessory:  Rose Corsage

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Red Battlemages Part 11


Hashmal deserves its own post, but I'll throw that Esper battle in with the rest of the Third Ascent of Pharos.



The Red Battlemages found their final Arcane Magick spell Ardor on Floor 83.  Our heroes needed some diversity in their high-tier spells, and Dark element tended to be neutral damage at best for most of the game.  Ardor was Fire element, which made the characters wish the bosses weren't immune to Oil status.  Another bonus on Floor 83 was the White Robes for Penelo (53 Defense, 10 Magick Power, 4 Speed).


Ardor's first test was against the rare Tower enemy that sometimes spawned on Floor 88.  It performed well, with 4700-5000 damage while the opponent had Shell status.


Hashmal must have been designed to make Red Battlemages depressed.  It was immune to both Dark and Fire and inflicted Disease with its frequent melee attacks, as if they didn't hit hard enough already.  The party was beginning to envy Solo Machinist's HP licenses, Remedy Lores, high character level, and access to Espers.  Quakeja was a relief in comparison with its charge time and 820s damage.


Doom Maces whacked Hashmal for around 1500s-1600s per swing.  As the Earth Esper, Hashmal was weak to the low tier Aero spell, causing around 1700s-2000s damage.  More importantly, Aero gave the Red Battlemages the opportunity to scatter around the battlefield.  Positioning is less important in FF12 than in a true "Tactics RPG", but it has its situational uses.  


The problem was that Hashmal became stronger at critical HP, like many FF12 bosses.  The last 1/3 to 1/4 of its HP was the real challenge, not the majority of its health bar.  Hashmal started playing whack-a-mole with the characters whenever one was revived with a Phoenix Down.  There was no way the Red Battlemages would win at Level 51.


I had the idea of increasing the Clan Rank so the party could buy Bubble to increase their HP and prevent Disease.  But after the Red Battlemages slaughtered Rocktoise, Nidhogg, Croakadile, and Wyvern Lord with Ardor, I learned that the required Clan Rank was too high and abandoned that sidequest.  If the characters became overleveled from running around Ivalice anyway, what would be the point of Bubble?


Vaan took the Shemhazai Esper and bought Esuna from the Phon Coast shop, and everyone acquired the Souleater Technick.  There's no Dark Knight in FF12, so you have the odd situation of the Red Battlemage stealing its signature skill.  Souleater was never used, mostly because I forgot about it.    


Attempts vs. Hashmal at Level 55 and Level 57 were no more successful.  One new idea was to equip Vaan with the Sash (20 Speed, half Fire damage, Slow immunity), and to throw an Aeroga Mote at the boss near the end, but the team still failed.


The party returned to the Third Ascent of Pharos at Level 60 after endangering the species of Cerobi Steppe, Nabreus Deadlands, and the First Ascent of Pharos.  The Red Battlemages won after a tense battle, but Vaan didn't live to enjoy the victory pose screen.  Having 4068-4289 max HP was the trick.  Using the Green Magick Decoy spell on Vaan may have helped in the earlier stages of the fight.  Did you know Decoy can Miss?


Gabranth and Dr. Cid with Famfrit were wimps in comparison to Hashmal.  Gabranth thought he outsmarted the Red Battlemages by becoming immune to magic like Ardor halfway through the fight, but he didn't plan for Doom Maces! 


Dr. Cid realized the Doom Maces would maul him to death in seconds, so he summoned Famfrit halfway through the match.  The Red Battlemages exploited the removal of the 9999 damage cap from the PS2 version to blast the Water Esper for up to 15,000s per Ardor once a Dispel Mote removed its Shell.  Famfrit put up a decent fight with an 1100s power Aquaja and lesser Briny Cannonades, but it was no Hashmal.  Ardors weren't quite as effective against Dr. Cid, but were still sufficient to murder Balthier's father.


Famfrit opened the path to 2 Battle Lores on the Red Battlemage license board, and Ashe had the honor of taking them.  No new equipment in Balfonheim Port, so the only place left to go is the Bahamut airship for the final battles.


 

Level 60


Weapon:  Doom Mace
Off-hand:  Crystal Shield
Helm:  Celebrant's Miter
Armor:  Cleric's Robes
Accessory:  Sash OR Hermes Sandals OR Bangle

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Red Battlemages Victory


Gabranth's rematch on the Bahamut was another easy victory.  The party prepared with Protect before turning on the elevator, then pelted the boss with 6800s-7500s strength Ardors.  Renew effectively gave Gabranth a 2nd HP bar, and Innocence struck for 980s damage in a cutscene, but the party put the kibosh on the final Judge.


To conserve MP, the party bashed Vayne with 2000s-2300s Doom Mace Attacks.  Larsa offered to help with his own 400s-500s slashes.  Vayne Kicked characters for 860s, used a cutscene move for 730s, and shattered the screen with a 1530s Force of Will.


After Vayne's normal form was defeated, he bulked up into Vayne Novus and surrounded himself with flying Sephira swords.  Ardor burned the emperor of Archades for 3800s-5200s damage until he made himself immune to magic.  This forced the Red Battlemages to bludgeon him with 1000s-1100s Attacks.  Much of the battle was chaotic, so I didn't get all of the damage numbers for Vayne Novus's cutscene attacks.  He slammed the floor with Inviolable Will and inherited Limit Break from his FF7-8 ancestors.


Our heroes lost on the 1st attempt when Vayne Novus was at critical HP, though they barely survived the
2nd with the help of a Hastega Mote.


Vayne tried to defeat the Red Battlemages one last time as The Undying with 1000s power Piercing Thundagas, Piercing Firagas, Piercing Blizzagas, and 1100s Gigaflare Sword cutscenes.  But The Undying's true gimmick was to temporarily make himself invulnerable to magic damage, physical damage, or. . .everything.  A mix of 1800s Attacks and 8500s-8700s Ardors, with liberal use of Cura, won the game.


A party of pure Red Battlemages have an easy time for much of the game.  In most cases, they function more like durable melee fighters than a dedicated wizard class.  That's because Cura is good enough healing for the main game.  The Dark line of spells is unique to this class, but it suffers from being a mediocre element.  Undead enemies absorb Dark, and other enemies tend to be neutral to it.  Ardor is fun, but comes only in the Third Ascent of Pharos just before the end of the game, and it's useless on the 1st boss that comes after it's acquired.


Maces take advantage of Magick Power, but start to be overshadowed late in the story mode and become one of the weaker weapon classes.  Maces are far better than the slow, fixed damage Guns that Machinists have to work with, however.


One weakness of the Red Battlemage class is the lack of Remedy Lore licenses found in the Machinist license board.  Without those, they panic every time an enemy with Disease shows up to lower their max HP.  Disease is hard to cure without upgraded Remedies, since Serums are hard to find and Esuna can be acquired by only 1 character after clearing Giruvegan and Great Crystal.


Level 60 was about as low as I could go to beat the game with 3 Red Battlemages.  You don't understand how cruel Hashmal can be until you try some of these variants for yourself.  Think of Pharos as the final chapter, and Bahamut as a coda.  Don't really feel like doing the postgame with these characters.  It's too reliant on finding rare equipment for my taste.  And I should be getting a new game in the mail soon.


Which class might be next?  Probably a melee fighter like Uhlan, Shikari, or Monk.  Not Time Battlemage, because that's another Horology job.


EDIT:  Apparently the name "Uhlan" was used for the Spear class instead of "Dragoon" because FF12 has no Jump skill.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

This isn't the beginning of a new playthrough, but I've been thinking about which physical classes could work in a 3 person variant without Quickenings and summoned Espers or the absurd character levels seen in Solo Machinist.  One potential obstacle for these is Garuda at Raithwall's Tomb, who has Flying status in the code and is therefore immune to certain melee weapons. 


Shikari the Dagger class theoretically has an answer for Flying enemies in Telekinesis, but that Technick is found in Cerobi Steppe.  Foebreaker is probably out too, since its first Hand-Bomb seems to come later than Garuda. Knight and Bushi both use short range weapons. Uhlan and Monk are eligible because Spears and Poles reach them in the Zodiac Age version, and Archers could shoot down Flying opponents in the original.

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Black Mages Part 1
 

Black Mages are more specialized than Red Battlemages, as you’d expect.  In the early game, this does not work in their favor.  Black Mages are barred from learning the healing and stat modification spells of White Magick.  Instead of having Maces and Shields like their Red cousins, Black Mages are stuck with 2-handed Staff type weapons that grant a maximum of 8 Evade.  These wizards are supposed to make up for their flaws with spells that deal tens of thousands of damage, but we’ll see if the claims of GameFAQs users are correct. 
 

Red Battlemages and Black Mages have the same armor category, so there’s not much point in mentioning their clothing again.  Black Mages can equip some Heavy Armor by taking Esper licenses, but this seems to come only at the end of the game.

 
Our heroes’ quest began similarly to the Red Battlemages' version, except with inferior damage output.  It was depressing to cast Fire or Thunder, only to leave Dalmasca Estersand or Giza Plains enemies alive at critical HP.  Sometimes it was better to just hit them twice with an Oak Staff (15 Attack Power, 2 Magick Power).
 
 
Blind was found in a treasure chest in the Toam Hills screen of Giza Plains, but it has not been used as of this post.  Normal enemies in FF12 are easy enough to kill without ailments, and bosses tend to be immune or resistant to them.  Players of the original FF12 would often deal with this by equipping a certain accessory, then using a Remedy on the enemy to give them many status effects at once, but that equipment seems to be much harder to obtain in the Zodiac Age version.
 
The Imperial Swordsmen and the Flans boss fights in Garamsythe Waterway were formalities with Fire.  Random Ichthon enemies seemed to be the only early game enemy to have an elemental weakness, since Thunder dealt much more damage than usual.  Firemane wasn’t much tougher than everything else in Garamsythe Waterway, as each Thunder zapped it for 100s-140s.  Potions were still relevant for healing when everyone’s max HP was low at Levels 8-9.  Firemane did have an annoying habit of teleporting just as a barrage of Thunders filled the action bar.
 
Barheim Passage sold no new spells or weapons, only armor.  That doesn’t sound encouraging when the party has to confront Mimic Queen.


(One session later. . .)


The Battery Mimics in Barheim Passage weren't quite as vulnerable to Fire as to the Red Battlemages' Dark, but they were all charred in due time.  A treasure chest yielded a Cherry Staff (20 Attack Power, 3 Magick Power), which went to Fran.  Staff licenses are spread far apart on the Black Mage license board, so Fran had to go out of her way to be able to equip it.  Vaan and Balthier were concentrating on passive MP regeneration licenses.


My Black Mage squad resolved the Mimic Queen battle by going on a "suicide rush" with Fire.  None of her minions were targeted, only the boss.  The fight went fast enough that I didn't notice Fire's damage printout, but a cutscene Ground Shaker attack slammed the party for 80s. 


An "Unlucky Merchant" in Dalmasca Estersand's South Bank Village sold the Blizzara spell, the most expensive of the 3 primary elements with a base MP cost of 10.  Compare that to Fire, whose base MP cost is 6.  After trying out Blizzard for a bit, it was clear that Fire was the most efficient spell to use against enemies neutral to its elemental properties.


"Base MP cost" here refers to the amount of MP required to cast a spell without those Channeling licenses to reduce MP cost by 10%, or Accessories.


Bhujerba sold the next tier of Mystic Armor for the heroes, along with Cherry Staves for Vaan and Balthier.  A weak weapon like that sounds useless, but you'll have a different opinion once you cane the magic resistant Ba'Gamnan with them.  Ba'Gamnan the Bangaa and the other bandits in Lhusu Mines were a good opportunity to use the Aero Mote and Dark Mote reserves, since both hit targets within a radius.  Bwagi and 1 other bandit were Blinded with spells, but Ba'Gamnan was immune.  Water Spout from Ba'Gamnan was the danger here, since each splash subtracted around 170 HP.  A few Phoenix Downs and Potions were needed to survive this brawl.


Level 12-13


Weapon:  Cherry Staff
Off-hand:  Nothing
Helm:  Topkapi Hat
Armor:  Kilimweave Shirt
Accessory:  Bangle or Nothing


(Equipping a Bangle for Libra saves some trouble when learning elemental weaknesses.  Too bad the foes in Lhusu Mines were vulnerable to types like Earth, Light, and Water, which the Black Mages didn't have!  Even Angela from Trials of Mana at least has Earth spells like Diamond Shards. . .)

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Black Mages Part 2

Why don't you have an undo button, Realms Beyond?!  I typed part of this update, only for an accidental keyboard combination to delete it!  Smogon is a better word precessor than you.  


Two Judges and their anonymous soldiers on the Leviathan airship had the honor of "first blood" for this playthrough.  Fire fizzled out for only 80 damage at most, and the Black Mages didn't have Cure, Maces, or Shields for backup.  So I had to pull 1 item out of the party's bottomless inventory:  an Aeroga Mote.  This gust blew away the minions for 1300s-1400s damage, though Fire and Cherry Staff caning was required to finish off the Judges.


Tetran the Moogle sold Aqua and the next tier of Mystic Armor.  Ashe and Penelo replaced Vaan and Balthier during the escape sequence, and their first test was Judge Ghis and 3 Imperial Swordsmen.  They splashed Water damage onto the conscripts before flooding Ghis with 190s-210s spells.  It was easy when Hi Potions were used to heal.


When the Black Mages landed in the Dalmasca Westersand, they bought Aero, Wizard's Staves (26 Attack Power, 4 Magick Power), and new Mystic Armor after running around and killing monsters to get enough money for it all.  Mystic Armor is nice enough to increase max MP when equipped.


Most enemies in the Urutan-Yensa and Nam-Yensa Sandseas happened to be weak to Wind, which regularly generated quadruple digit Aero damage printouts.  Not only that, but Aero was the first multi-target offensive spell for Black Mages.  Although nominally a first-tier spell, Aero felt more like a -ra spell.  The difference was that drastic, and Black Mages played like the "blaster casters" they should have been.  All those passive MP restoration licenses like Warmage and Inquisitor made such tactics sustainable.  +270 and +150 HP licenses took Ashe over the 4 digit health mark, though other characters lagged in LP to buy those.


Sleep was available in a treasure chest in the 1st screen of Urutan-Yensa Sandsea, but it seemed pointless when Aero devastated all opponents.  Perhaps it might have a situational use later in the game. 


By the time the Black Mages confronted Garuda at the Raithwall's Tomb entrance, they were at Level 19-20.  Aero wind shear grounded the bird in seconds for about 780 per cast.  The nearby merchant sold Hi Potions, essential to a party with no natural recovery.  (The lack of Potion Lore licenses will be painful. . .)


Level 19-20


Weapon:  Wizard's Staff
Off-hand:  Nothing
Helm:  Lambent Hat
Armor:  Chanter's Djellaba
Accessory:  Bangle OR Nothing

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Black Mages Part 3


Demon Wall 1 in Raithwall's Tomb was an optional battle which the party foolhardily tried to fight.  A few Reflected Aeros reminded me why that was a bad idea.  The battle music after reloading a save file should have been the Benny Hill theme, since the Black Mages dashed to the door at 4X speed as Demon Wall advanced.


Demon Wall 2 was unavoidable, but fortunately weaker than the 1st and crumbled under 600s-800s Aero erosion.  Blindga was pointless when the Black Mages used no physical attacks, though a Telega sent Ashe to the X-Zone.


The Black Mages found Dispel in a treasure chest.  Those Red Battlemages must have had no sense of direction, since they could have used that spell!  Aero destroyed random enemies as efficiently as the Demon Wall, and the party had no trouble until reaching Belias at Level 21.  Aqua made one of its few appearances here, and dipped Belias in 980s-1100s sheepdip.  A Dispel Mote removed Greater Barrier's Shell + Protect later in the battle, and Hi Potions kept Ashe alive.  Even Firaja in a cutscene wasn't too dangerous.


Vossler + 3 Imperial Swordsmen at Level 21 required more tactical planning than several previous bosses.  The traitor didn't take kindly to being liquidated in the Stalinist sense when he was a Guest, so he started the battle with Reflect and reapplied it when the Black Mages tried a Dispel Mote.  For story reasons, Fran started the fight in Berserk mode and was impossible to control.  The 1st attempt ended in failure, as Realms Beyond readers have probably guessed.  The trick to winning was to use a Reflectga Mote and bounce Aeros off of the Black Mages.  Vossler seemed to take 680s-740s per spell, and he was soon eliminated.


Jahara the Garif village was another milestone for the Black Mages.  Besides the next tier of Mystic Armor, the merchant sold the Fira spell and the Flame Staff (34 Attack Power, 4 Magick Power).  Like many Japanese RPGs, FF12 is coy about some of its mechanics.  The game never tells you that equipping the Flame Staff raises Fire elemental damage considerably despite saying "Element:  None" on the equipment screen.  Fira now started roasting Ozmone Plain and Golmore Jungle enemies for up to 1800s damage instead of the 1000s range without the upgrade.  This is where Black Mages differentiate themselves from Red Battlemages.  Red Battlemages play more like melee fighters with auxiliary spells, while Black Mages increase the power of offensive spells at the expense of defensive licenses.


Tetran the Moogle from the Leviathan appeared again in Eruyt Village, this time selling Thundara and its corresponding Storm Staff (36 Attack Power, 4 Magick Power).  Our Black Mages will keep these for the rest of the game, just like Sullla and his FF5 Rods.  No temptation to "break rods" here when that ability doesn't exist.


I should have mentioned earlier that these single class party variants eschew the "reserve characters can enter combat after the main party dies" feature available to normal playthroughs.


Level 27


Weapon:  Flame Staff
Off-hand:  Nothing
Helm:  Mage's Hat
Armor:  Mage's Habit
Accessory:  Bangle OR Rose Corsage

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Black Mages Part 4


Henne Mines was another easy dungeon.  The only normal enemy encounter worth noting was the rain of Jellies which were vaporized with 4300s power Firas.  Frightening damage output for characters just below Level 30!  Misreading the enemy element table online made me cast Aero against Tiamat, only to realize the spell healed the boss instead of exploiting a critical weakness.      What made me want to berate the developers was the fact that Libra refused to tell me Tiamat's vulnerabilities, making it another case of "Japanese RPG hides information from the player even with a scanning ability active" syndrome.


Tiamat liked to use Reflect, the scourge of Black Mages.  The party had 1 Reflectga Mote remaining, which they used to bounce Firas off themselves for roughly 1000 damage each.  


Elder Wyrm and its ailment inducing Sporefall was the next boss fought at Level 29.  This plant dragon didn't have Reflect, so the party was free to burn it with 1580s Firas.  The Treants kept their distance for much of the fight and pounded on our heroes.  Two Remedies were used to cure the numerous infirmities caused by Sporefall, and Elder Wyrm refrained from using it again until just before the end when it didn't matter.


Paramina Rift was intended for Thundara because the local wolves were weak to it, but Fira with the Flame Staff killed everything anyway.  Mt. Bur-Omisace's merchants sold Blizzara and Glacial Staves (38 Attack Power, 5 Magick Power) to strengthen it.  Blizzara cooled down the Balloons in Stilshrine of Miriam that absorbed Fira.


Vinuskar the magnetic guardian was as easy as before at around Level 32.  A few 1900s-2100s Blizzara snowstorms was superior to a 400s Sword Dance that required a longer animation.  Now if it were the Pokemon "Swords Dance" that doubles physical attack power, the party would have been sunk.


Mateus the Ice Esper, Final Fantasy Tactics Totema, and evil Final Fantasy 2 emperor killed the Black Mages' momentum.  Whenever a Dispel Mote removed his Reflect, he would set it up again.  And the Black Mages were all out of Reflectga Motes to rebound spells.  Their only option was to whale on him with their Staff weapons for about 240s per blow.  On the best attempt at Levels 32-33, the Black Mages bludgeoned more than half of Mateus's HP, but Curaga from the Ice Azer elementals meant the party was doomed.  Starting the fight by Attacking the Ice Azers first had even worse results than ignoring them in favor of Mateus.


On around the 3rd try, I had the desperate idea of equipping Fran with the Amber Armlet to increase Unarmed damage.  Amber Armlet is functionally the same as the Monk's Brawler license that changes the Unarmed formula to scale up with level.  According to a Game Mechanics FAQ, this effectively means a multiplier changes from 11 to the mean of Level and Strength.  What this meant in practice was that Fran was flip Attacking Mateus for damage in the 110s at best.      Be sure to stick with Poles in your Monk only variants, kids!


There was only one solution:  level up to 40.  Nothing special happens then, just a round number that I picked.  The Black Mages could briefly survive on the first screen of Feywood, an area that's supposed to be explored near the end of the game.  Until Deadly Nightshades mauled them, of course.  Golmore Jungle and Paramina Rift served as the designated grinding spots.  Mosphoran Highwaste and other northern regions were inaccessible due to the Archades guards stationed at Nalbina Fortress.  It isn't an RPG without NPCs blocking access to areas, whether Earthbound or Pokemon. 


Final Fantasy 12's programmers decided to set the event flag for the Mt. Bur-Omisace shopkeeper to sell Bio between Vinuskar and Mateus for some reason.  It was nice to have a source of non-elemental damage, though its Sap side effect was minor when enemies collapsed within seconds anyway when splashed with sludge.  The Embroidered Tippet sped up the leveling, though not as much as the 4X turbo button.


Mateus surrendered to the Black Mages at Level 40.  It was one of the ugliest battles I've seen in a Final Fantasy game.  Fran, Ashe, and Penelo guzzled what must have been over 90 Hi Potions while whittling down Mateus's HP by 250s-300s per Attack.  One "test" before the victory against Mateus proved that enemies could Reflect Bio, unfortunately.  Mateus's Reflect disappeared for a tantalizing few rounds in the middle, just enough time for a few Bios to land.  I was so surprised that I failed to get the damage printout for that, since everything was running at 4X speed.


Merchants in Mt. Bur-Omisace sold more merchandise after Archadian soldiers sacked the region.  Go figure.  The Black Mages bought the next tier of Mystic Armor and restocked their Hi Potion supply.  Only 1 was needed for Judge Bergan and his 3 Judges at Level 40-41, indicating how much easier this battle was in comparison.  The message "Back Attack!" appeared on the screen as the party entered the Gran Kiltias's temple, and I have no idea why.  I don't remember seeing it at any other point in the game.  Each Fira that connected seared for 2400s-2900s.  Emphasis on "connected", because Bergan had enough Magick Evade to Block them on occasion.


Status of the "race" between Red Battlemage and Black Mage:  Black Mage is far behind.  Red Battlemage was at Level 40 when fighting Dr. Cid in Draklor Laboratory.  Draklor Laboratory is at the end of the sequence of Mosphoran Highwaste, Salikawood, Phon Coast, Tchita Uplands, and Sochen Cave Palace.  All of these are after Judge Bergan.  Will the Black Mages take the lead in Pharos when Hashmal stymies the Red Battlemages?
 

Level 40-41


Weapon:  Flame Staff
Off-hand:  Nothing
Helm:  Sorcerer's Hat
Armor:  Sorcerer's Habit
Accessory:  Bangle OR Nishijin Belt

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Black Mages Part 5


Mosphoran Highwaste was mostly generic badlands filled with generic enemies, though it was notable for selling Aeroga.  If my predictions are correct, this will give the Black Mages an advantage over the Red Battlemages when Hashmal in Pharos enters the Disease boxing ring.  


Salikawood had the optional King Bomb boss guarding the entrances to Nabreus Deadlands and Necrohol of Nabudis, so of course the Black Mages fought him as soon as possible at Level 41.  Aeroga air pressure dealt 1500s-1700s damage each, and took out his Bomb subjects.  Fran and Penelo ran out of MP near the end of the battle and clobbered King Bomb with 220s-240s Attacks.  They could have consumed Ethers, especially with Ether Lore licenses to boost the item's power, but victory was assured anyway.  Handkerchiefs cured Oil when it appeared.


Hi Potions were starting to lose their effectiveness by Phon Coast, though Fira still took out the enemies with ease.  The hunter's camp sold Firaga, Judicer's Staff (48 Attack Power, 7 Magick Power, Stop side effect with hit), and clothing in the Mystic Armor 7 category.  Although one of the "better" Staffs in the game, Judicer's Staff would only be used when forced to Attack in melee.  For 2 characters, as you'll see,


Testing Firaga on a Coeurl in Tchita Uplands printed out 7113 damage, and it wasn't even weak to Fire.  Firagas torched the enemies here, but I forgot the path to Sochen Cave Palace and so the Black Mages fought many more battles than necessary.  Feral Crocs had innate Reflect, making the Black Mages flee immediately if they saw one.


Sochen Cave Palace's joke bosses Mandragora Prince, Alraune King, Onion Queen, Pumpkin Star, and Topstalk were as vulnerable to Firaga as you'd expect plant enemies to be.  At Level 44, it only took about 1 or 2 hits per Rogue Tomato palette swap.  The bell tolling sound in the post-battle cutscene was appropriate.


Ahriman the ghost in Sochen Cave Palace wasn't much stronger.  Its most significant action was to inflict Doom on Penelo to kill her after the fight ended.  Firagas evaporated Ahriman's ectoplasm for 5700s-7000s per cast.


The imperial capital Archades sold Thundaga and the higher grade Mystic Armor 7 set.  One observation throughout this playthrough is that most enemies can be killed without thinking about elemental properties.  Balloons in Stilshrine of Miriam were the only enemies that absorbed Fire so far.  Thundara was never deployed in combat at all!


Round 1 with Dr. Cid in Draklor Laboratory was the next boss to frustrate the Black Mages.  His floating Rook robots set up Reflect, but I had a plan.  Ashe and Penelo pulled out their Judicer's Staves while Fran broke out a familiar weapon from Solo Machinist:  the Sword of Kings.  Staff is such an awful weapon category for melee that the worst 2-handed sword is superior with 53 Attack Power.  The party perished without killing a single Rook on the 1st try.


Take 2 tried to concentrate Firaga on Dr. Cid, but Reflect quickly ended that.  Take 3 was another Attack brawl with the Rooks that consumed the party's entire stock of Hi Potions.  Balthier's cutscene taunt confirmed that one of the Rooks died, but the party had no chance of victory after that. 


Take 4 involved casting Firaga on the Rooks before they could raise Reflect.  Ashe died in the process, but a Phoenix Down made for a Pick Me Up.  Once the Rooks were made into scrap metal, Firaga charred Dr. Cid for 3100s-3500s per cast.  A Dispel Mote removed Protect, Shell, Haste, and Regen from the enemy.  Dr. Cid's direct attacks, even his cutscene S-27 Tokamak, were minor annoyances at worst to be healed with Hi Potions.


Blizzaga had to wait until Balfonheim Port's magic shop.  Mystic Armor 8 was tempting at first, but it was more economical to purchase 58 X-Potions.  "Equipment turnover" is rapid in FF12, so it's often not worth the cost to buy new armor.  And sometimes weapons:  the Black Mages skipped the Golden Staff (38 Attack Power, 6 Magick Power) from the Mosphoran Highwaste shop.


Level 45


Weapon:  Flame Staff
Off-hand:  Nothing
Helm:  Gaia Hat
Armor:  Maduin Gear
Accessory:  Bangle OR Nishijin Belt

[Herman Gigglethorpe]

FF 12 Zodiac Age Black Mages Part 6


Firaga  + Flame Staff for once was not the solution to all the Black Mages' problems.  Blizzaga was the preferred option in Feywood to impale Cerberus enemies on frozen spikes.  Mirrorknight birdmen spawned with Reflect and were ubiquitous in the region, so the Black Mages often fled to the next screen.


Rafflesia presented a different problem to the party:  its arena quickly drained MP to 0.  But not instantly, giving the Black Mages a chance to freeze the flower with Blizzagas.  The first attempt didn't go well due to lack of preparation.  Rafflesia started with Shell, reducing Blizzagas to 2100s-2800s damage.  Two Shock Motes activated for 3500s-3900s.  Toxify inflicted Poison on everyone, which wasn't much of a problem.  Disablega ended any hopes of victory, however.  Disease decreased the party's max HP after each enemy attack late in the fight.  Attacks from the Sword of Kings and Judicer's Staves slapped the boss for 460s-530s.  It was impressive that the handicapped heroes reduced Rafflesia's HP by 2/3 given the circumstances.


Future attempts were not much more successful.  Rafflesia spawned with Reflect for some reason, though a Dispel Mote removed it along with any other positive effects.  Blizzagas struck for 3100s-3400s each.  Confuse and Disease still meant death for the team, even if Black Belt accessories blocked potential Disablegas.  Shock Mote blasted Rafflesia for what seemed to be 4700s in another failed battle.


It was time for the Black Mages to train again.  They survived surprisingly well in Nabreus Deadlands, and also fought in Cerobi Steppe for some variety.  Henne Mines Phase 2 connected to Feywood was meant to be a postgame area, as suggested by the Hasted Level 65 Abysteel bats that pummeled the party to death in the first room.


During this episode, the Black Mages purchased several passive licenses.  +390 HP broke the 3000 HP mark for all 3 characters, and 2 Swiftness squares increased action speed by 10% each.


Grinding to Level 50 paid off.  Rafflesia only came with Shell on the successful attempt, which was removed with a Dispel Mote as usual.  Didn't get the Blizzaga rush damage printouts, but Attacks ranged from 530s-600s.  A Shock Mote was saved until near the end of the battle.  Confuse, Blind, and Poison challenged the party, but at least they didn't have to deal with Disease.  Black Mages do NOT get Remedy Lore 3, but they do get the first 2 ranks to cure some other ailments.  Machinist may be a underwhelming class, but it does have the advantage of Remedy Lore 3 along with Shikari and Archer.


Rafflesia was such a stumbling block for these characters that the Black Mages will probably lose the race to the Red Battlemages.  Unless they can murder Hashmal efficiently.


Level 50


Weapon:  Judicer's Staff OR Sword of Kings
Off-hand:  Nothing
Helm:  Gaia Hat
Armor:  Maduin Gear
Accessory:  Black Belt