FFRKV: Now We Post Like Men! And Ladies! And Ladies Who Dress Like Men!

[danzibr]

On the topic of surprisingly competent characters, I've gotta second Zidane. Machinist shells + draw fire also let him back row tank with a heavy weapon, if you're into that.

Shadow, though, goes from a boring character without much to say for him to carnage incarnate with his SSB. Dropping 120K damage in about 4 seconds is tons of fun, and in dungeons where you've got lots of mooks to charge SB gauges on? Oh, the destruction. What I'm saying is that if Ichigeki shows up on one of the next fest banners, it's worth a pull just for it.

Ooooooh that's great to hear. I love Shadow but currently don't see myself using him.

EDIT: His SSB relic did appear in Japan's next Orfest, banner 1. Mmmmm......

EDIT EDIT: And also in their double BSB fest. Mmmmmmmm............

EDIT^3: I've been looking at upcoming RM. Got some good ones.
Next event: Palom's chance for double exp.
Event after: Nothing jumps out at me.
Event after: Zidane gets chance to double cast Thief abilities. Double Thief's Revenge? And Kuja gets moderate increase to Darkness abilities.
Event after: Yuffie gets Lightning's attack-has-no-charge RM.
Event after: Sazh gets Double Hit.
Event after: Gau gets Haste + Atk increase.
Event after: Rikku gets +damage for Thief abilities. Again, Thief's Revenge?
Event after: Yda gets attack hits all enemies (same as, what, Bard's?).
Event after: Nothing jumps out at me (Barret gets increase to gunarm damage, lulz).
Event after: Yang also gets attack-hits-all-enemies RM. And Edward gets +Def and Res but start with Sap.
Event after: Seifer also gets moderate increase to Darkness abilities.
Event after: Exdeath gets chance to doublecast Darkness.
Event after: Nothing jumps out at me.
Event after: More + Darkness.
Event after: More + Darkness (seriously). But... the past two said increase in potency. Is there a difference?
Event after: Delita gets +Atk -Def, and begin with Magic Lure (2 different ones).

Then after this, there are either no new RM, or they're not interesting.

EDIT^4: This guy's amazing.

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[Greg_S]

Made it through the +-+++ battles with an FF8 misfit team. Squall was at lv 72, everyone else 50-55. No unique SBs, no synergy gear outside of a 4+ Ten-gallon hat, a 4++ Mesmerize Blade, and a 2++ Galbadian Bracer. Various tips:

+: Stick Confuse Shell on Irvine or Laguna, and confuse one of the Archaeosaurs T-Rexaurs. I think that disables its counterattack, so you can blast it down with Blizzaga, while Blizzara striking the other one. At 55K HP each, it's not too hard to chew through, and shout as RW is quite useful. For the Iguions, having even R1 Saint Cross is great, as it should hit for 9999x2. Focus all your fire on one of them. They don't get their nasty attacks unlocked until a few rounds in, so you've got a breather. I didn't bring Shellga or a support for this, choosing to go full-offense instead.

++: If you beat the Iguions, this isn't tough. Firaja should hit for 9999 easily, as will boosted holy attacks from Seifer. Hit him with power breakdown, give Squall Fira strike, and you should cut him down without a lot of problems. I think Tauntaliate works, if you need it.

+++: This one's tricky. Elnoyle's got 1388 RES and zero weaknesses that a BLM can exploit. So physical is your best option here. His defense is pretty beefy too, so go nuts with that wind weakness.
Squall or another spellblade should have Aerora Strike. Both Zell and Laguna can use the 2* Celerity Wind Slash, and if you buff with shout, you should get 5000-6000 damage per hit with it. For comparison's sake, Zell was hitting for about 6000 with wind slash, and 4500 with dismissal. Wind Slash is only 2*, so it's really easy to create and hone 2 of them up to R3 or so. Beyond that, a source of regen will help mitigate the AoEs you face.

[Infernally Clay]

Took on Elnoyle and got mastery. Couldn't beat it without Planet Protector, though. My best advice is to simply stack up on as much raw attack as you can. Agrias was able to do 9999 damage with Aerora Strike after the Planet Protector buff and Zack, Gordon and Sephiroth just kept spamming as much damage as they could.

Still can't craft any 5* abilities though. D':

[Jurai]

Correct, and her MAG is higher than her MND. I wouldn't complain about either a bump WHM 5 or a buff to her MND, since I'm using her as a White Mage right now.

[danzibr]

+++: This one's tricky. Elnoyle's got 1388 RES and zero weaknesses that a BLM can exploit. So physical is your best option here. His defense is pretty beefy too, so go nuts with that wind weakness.
Squall or another spellblade should have Aerora Strike. Both Zell and Laguna can use the 2* Celerity Wind Slash, and if you buff with shout, you should get 5000-6000 damage per hit with it. For comparison's sake, Zell was hitting for about 6000 with wind slash, and 4500 with dismissal. Wind Slash is only 2*, so it's really easy to create and hone 2 of them up to R3 or so. Beyond that, a source of regen will help mitigate the AoEs you face.

Took on Elnoyle and got mastery. Couldn't beat it without Planet Protector, though. My best advice is to simply stack up on as much raw attack as you can. Agrias was able to do 9999 damage with Aerora Strike after the Planet Protector buff and Zack, Gordon and Sephiroth just kept spamming as much damage as they could.

Still can't craft any 5* abilities though. D':

When I beat him, I brought an 80 Rinoa, 80 Garnet, 80 Tyro, 80 Squall, 80 Gilgamesh. Rinoa had Firaja and Meteor, Garnet had Curaja and Shellga, Tyro had Full Break and Armor Breakdown, Squall had Aerora Strike and Magic Break, Gilgamesh had Saint Cross and Mental Break. Rinoa was hitting for maybe 7k-8k, and after shout my beaters were hitting for cap or near cap (even Tyro was pulling respectable numbers). Went down real quick with that setup.

EDIT: @Jurai: Yup, she's my primary WM too.

[Hunter Noventa]

Quit holding out and make - jas, then.

I'd never be able to hone them to a useful level. And yeah, jerk just had insane RES as people have pointed out.

[Jurai]

When I beat him, I brought an 80 Rinoa, 80 Garnet, 80 Tyro, 80 Squall, 80 Gilgamesh. Rinoa had Firaja and Meteor, Garnet had Curaja and Shellga, Tyro had Full Break and Armor Breakdown, Squall had Aerora Strike and Magic Break, Gilgamesh had Saint Cross and Mental Break. Rinoa was hitting for maybe 7k-8k, and after shout my beaters were hitting for cap or near cap (even Tyro was pulling respectable numbers). Went down real quick with that setup.

EDIT: @Jurai: Yup, she's my primary WM too.

It's annoying, too. Lenna could possibly crack 5K on heals with Wizard Rod and Summoner's Prayer.

[danzibr]

It's annoying, too. Lenna could possibly crack 5K on heals with Wizard Rod and Summoner's Prayer.

Yup yup. I was planning my next Nightmare team when I was looking at people with WM 5 and was like... damn.

In other news, today I was pretty lucky. Got Vincent's then Vanille's RM back to back. Also got a MLO and MWO. Down to needing 10 or so.

[tyckspoon]

I'd never be able to hone them to a useful level. And yeah, jerk just had insane RES as people have pointed out.

I used to think that. Now I have R3/4 on all the standard element -jas. It wasn't that hard between farming Orbrushes and Daily +/++ difficulties arriving. Sure, you probably won't have them honed where you would want them *now*, but you'll be wanting them nonetheless. May as well commit to it.

[Slayn82]

And Dr. Cid is down as of right now. Got only expert because Ramza and Basch got themselves killed in the end.

If I had a R3 Saint Cross, it would have been an easy mastery. Instead, I had to craft a second Banishing Strike to R3, meaning that at least Rooks spend most turns buffing Cid.

Went with Heroic Harmony for RW. Too bad leaving those MPOs and MBOs for Mastery behind, but I doubt I can improve my strategy enough for it until tomorrow.

[Forbiddenwar]

I was looking at the next nightmare battle and it might not be that bad. Looks like the gimmick is you should only use cure and holy spells anyway. But I might have misunderstood it.

[Friv]

The completionist in me says yes.

You win this round.

But you know who didn't win this round? The Sandworm (although it did take two tries, due to a mistimed button press). Stop really helps that fight.

Also not winning: Ultimate Weapon, Sin, and Evrai.

What I'm saying is, I'm now finished the Core dungeons and all of them have been mastered. I feel so... complete.

[SuperPanda]

Been working through the Elites over here. Pulsework Knight's are down and the assault on the fifth Ark continues.

Steiner finally dropped his Knight's Charge RM when the IX team took down Soul Cage elite. Vanille and Hope have yet to honor the XIII team with their drops.

I need to do another count on my remaining Elites but I think its around 40 left. I know we're getting a new DU soon, though its the one after I'm most excited for. I want to hear some of that XI music again. Speaking of which, even though we're getting Shantoto I'm not seeing any XI events in the future. I was hoping for Prishe (monk with high Mnd and White Mage) and some of the NPCs from the various nations. I never got too far in the story of XI when I played long ago but some of the fights could be pretty neat in FFRK. A XI event based around the early story "Rise of the Shadowlord" could be neat with 3 starting city NPCs + Shantoto.

[T.G. Oskar]

Event after: Yang also gets attack-hits-all-enemies RM Kick.

Fix'd. Yang gets the chance to use Kick. Yda, most likely so.

EDIT^4: This guy's amazing.

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Spoiler

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You found Smooth McGroove now?

Anyways - after a delay caused by running a d20 Modern game, I have another gift for you guys - the Support comparison! While it's pretty obvious who's the best Supporter (*coughcoughRamzahackwheeze* Damn hay fever...), you might want to figure who might be the second best Supporter around, and maybe how things could change in the future. And also, who needs help the most.

Spoiler: Spoilered for length

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As before, I devised an analysis, based on various points: stats, equipment selection (not relics; equipment selection only), ability access and Soul Breaks (default and exclusives). The end result shouldn't surprise everyone - that said, as with the WHM and BLM analysis, I did put some weight on odd choices, which may end up "coloring" the analysis, but as I present my methodology, it shouldn't be difficult to cut on the bias and go for objectivity.

I disqualified some people with Support 4 because they fit other things better - mostly, this means Terra (she's a Black Mage, natch), Vincent (ditto), Balthier (Machinist, yo!), Ingus (Knight), Rosa and Y'shtola (White Mages), Vaan (Thief) and Tyro (he's everything, of course). Edward is an exception, as being the sole true Bard aside from...the Bard, he gets free reign. Same for the Bard.

First of the analysis points: stats. I split that in three - Attack (Breakdowns benefit from it, and so do status attacks/busters), Mind (status duration, and supposedly break duration as well) and Top Others (that means the top character in the remaining abilities). For that, I used the PDF compilation at level 65 - being Ramza, Red XIII, Fran and Wakka the ONLY characters at level 80 that have Support 5 so far, that automatically marks them as superior, but since not everybody has access to the Memory Crystal II, such levels are still relevant. However, for purposes of completion, ATK and MND stats at level 80 are placed to determine which of them are the best at those levels.

Attack-wise, the winner is way beyond obviously clear - whoever did not saw Ramza (148 ATK; 168 ATK at level 80) as the winner should have its mind checked. He far exceeds the second-ranked in terms of Attack, which is actually Red XIII with 126 ATK (149 at level 80). The next two are closer to Red XIII in that regard: Faris with 125 ATK and Quina with 122 ATK. To note - pretty much all focused Supporters' Attack bonus range between 118 and 125, with Ramza being the top outlier and both Edward and the Bard being the bottom outliers. Mind-wise, however, things switch: Gordon has a respectable 121 Mind, with a smaller but still significant gulf between him and the next ones (Setzer, Quina and Sazh with 105 Mind). Curiously, neither Setzer nor Quina cast White Magic spells, making that amount of Mind pretty pointless. Just so you know - the average WHM Mind is around 140 - 145, meaning Gordon and Sazh have a really weak Mind in comparison. Regarding other stats: Red XIII inches over Ramza in terms of HP by ONE POINT, so both are considered in the long run; Gordon beats everyone else in terms of Magic and Resistance (he ties with Quina, though), Red XIII also edges out in Defense, and Faris has Thief-level Speed, which is superb.

We follow second with abilities. In that regard, I analyzed the weight of abilities with useful skills: Support is already a very useful supplementary skill, so this involves a skill set that further improves the character. To Supporters' fortunes, many of their supplementary skills are pretty good. Ramza, having such a high Attack, can take advantage of Combat 4* (which means Lifesiphon, which means MOAR SHOUT), and to the damage skills of Knight (specifically Saint Cross, but you get more benefit out of ; Fran and Faris have respectable ATK and SPD, making their access to Celerity a nice edge; Machinist further pads out the skill sets of Barret, Setzer and Sazh (when you need status effects, that is); Edward is a Bard, and that kind of Support is formidable (which is why he gets an extra + over Ramza and the Bard; Faris' Dancer skills means she can choose between single-target debuff and multi-target debuff (and her Thief skills means she has access to the steal-tastic Thief's Revenge, which with her Speed means she can use quite reliably), and Ninja 4 for Ramza with a respectable (though not incredible) Magic stat also favors him. This means Ramza also beats just about everyone in terms of skill selection (barring Faris). To note - Red XIII's access to Black Magic doesn't really help him a lot, as Reno and Vincent just surpassed his casting skills.

Then, we move towards equipment sets. For that, the character must have access to something other than Daggers, Hats and Light Armor, which is basic Support equipment. Again - Supporters have a pretty wide variety of equipment, with Bows (Faris, Fran, Gordon and Wakka), Swords (Faris, Gordon, Setzer and Ramza) and Spears (Fran, Gordon and Quina) being the most impressive in terms of weapon selection. Faris has access to two really good ones plus a bunch of...quirky ones (instruments, whips), making her the queen of weapons. Also, most Support users have access to exclusive weapons: Barret uses gunarms, Setzer uses gambling gear (mostly dice, darts and cards, which count as ranged weapons), Wakka uses blitzballs, and Red XIII uses hairpins. These are extremely useful to the character, if you have them, so it ends up granting them half a point each. Armor-wise, Faris once again is the queen, able to equip just about every kind of armor; guys like Sazh, Gordon and Wakka also have access to good equipment (heavy armor and shields, mostly), while Edward actually gets a point reduction because it can only equip Robes (I mean, the Bard can equip light armor). Here, Ramza is pretty ahead, but Faris just overwhelms him in equipment selection.

Then, a hit or miss: Default SBs. Support users have some nice ones - Edward's Balm is a decent single-target Cure effect, Faris and Wakka get decent elemental attacks (Faris gets a better one as she has an AoE), and both are Water element which tend to be rare (grumble grumble Spherimorph...); Setzer's Dice have a slight chance of dealing pathetic damage (1!!!), or respectable damage (6666) that ignores Defense, so it's a potentially solid choice; Sazh gets Bravery which boosts an ally's Attack (of course, actual SBs grant something higher, but when you lack any of those...), and Ramza gets a likewise high self-Boost. Gordon gets the same SB as Warrior of Light, boosting all stats, which is pretty cool when necessary. Surprisingly, much like with White Magic, the Bard gets a pretty useful default SB, Valor Minuet, which boosts everyone's Attack, though its bonus is no different from Rallying Etude.

However, those aren't the only SBs, and thus, Unique SBs also have to be analyzed. Most Supporters happen to have one kind of super-Break skill (effect similar to a Breakdown but with even higher damage), with Fran's unique SBs ALL having a Breakdown effect (and her SSB, Mist Overdrive, being a multi-hit Full Break!), or a buff (Red XIII has two [Lunatic High and Stardust Ray], Sazh has Boon, Edward has the very nice Fabled Song, Quina has Mighty Guard, and even the Bard has a boosted Valor Minuet, except it takes 2 gauges and is hopelessly outclassed by many others).

Thus, by putting points on everything worthwhile, how does it fare? To understand the table, I started with a rating of B for anyone with Black Magic 5*, and C for anyone with Black Magic 4*; Rinoa and Terra have A rating because they have their second MC. Then, I add one "+" for what I consider good, with additional + for what I consider exceptional; there may be a "-" if I consider that a failure. Nothing means nothing, of course. Then, after tallying up all the "+" (with one "-" removing one "+", I throw up a grade; the highest has an S grade, and the rest has grades based on the number of "+" they have. Distinctive ones include Red XIIIs Howling Moon (recover 1 ability use, which can be impressive with 5* skills), Ramza's Hail of Stones (6 hits + good chance of Interrupt) and Wakka's Auroch's Reels (AoE multihit + Blind and Poison!). Then there's Ramza's SHOUT! +50% Attack and Hastega is literally a game-changer, so it gets three points just for being awesome. BTW, did I mention Ramza also has a Medica? Ramza just has the best set of Soul Breaks, period.

Thus, by putting points on everything worthwhile, how does it fare? To understand the table, I started with a rating of B for anyone with Support 5*, and C for anyone with Support 4* (aka, the Bard); Ramza, Fran, Red XIII and Wakka have A rating because they have their second MC. Then, I add one "+" for what I consider good, with additional + for what I consider exceptional; there may be a "-" if I consider that a failure. Nothing means nothing, of course. Then, after tallying up all the "+" (with one "-" removing one "+", I throw up a grade; the highest has an S grade, and the rest has grades based on the number of "+" they have.

Name	Base Grade	Attack	Mind	Other Stats	Equip	Ability	Default SB	Unique	Total
Bard	C					+	+	.5+	2.5
Barret	B					++		++	4
Edward	B				-	++	+	++	4
Faris	B			+	4+	5+		1.5+	11.5
Fran	A				++	+		.5+	3.5
Gordon	B		++	++	5+		+		10
Irvine	B							+	1
Quina	B		+	+	++			+	5
Ramza	A	++(+)			3+	4+	+	5+	16!
Red XIII	A	+		+++	.5+			2.5+	7
Sazh	B		+		+	++	+	+	6
Setzer	B		+		3.5+	++	.5+		7
Wakka	A				3.5+		.5+	++	6

It's pretty much a given - Ramza, with a whopping 16 marks, just towers over the competition, bar none. He could have 1 mark removed because it's expected to have a high Attack at level 80, and he would still crush over the competition. He's THAT good. I mean - even without his SBs or Shout, and without that extra point, he gets 10 marks of his own, same as Gordon - which lacks his second Memory Crystal, which Ramza has. He's incredibly flexible. On the other hand, for first runner-up in terms of best Supporter, we have...Gordon, which has a decent flexibility as White Mage, enough to make him a good healer. Faris with her Dances, Red XIII with his...well, SBs and
Setzer out of sheer dumb luck (as fiting a Gambler) make up the rest. This may seem unfair to Sazh, which has proven to have a good set-up, and his skill with Machinist just adds up to it, but he needs a much more profound boost - maybe to Mind, to further aid his Machinist and White Magic to make him a more decent caster option, but I still recommend him. Irvine, though, needs help the most - just about everything of him is mostly atrocious (his skill set up is atrocious as his magic skill is virtually non-existent, his ability spread doesn't help him, and he can't equip anything else but Daggers and Guns, and his SBs simply seal the deal). He's a non-deal. I mean, even Kimahri has some stuff over him, mostly Dragoon being much better now and wielding Spears means he's rarely out of weapons, but they suffer quite similarly.

So, adjusting for the marks? Ramza has S rating because he's the best (of those with second Memory Crystals) and has a mark tally of 16, whereas Irvine (yes, Irvine) has only ONE mark, so to raise a third of a full grade, you'd need about 5 marks.

In summary, the best Cheerleaders Supporters would be:
1st - Ramza - S grade
2nd - Tie: Red XIII and Wakka - A grade
3rd - Fran - A- grade
4th - Faris - B+ grade
5th - Gordon - B+ grade
6th - Setzer - B grade
7th - Sazh - B grade
8th - Quina - B grade
9th - Tie: Barret & Edward - B- grade
10th - Irvine - B- grade
11th - Bard - C- grade

[Hunter Noventa]

I used to think that. Now I have R3/4 on all the standard element -jas. It wasn't that hard between farming Orbrushes and Daily +/++ difficulties arriving. Sure, you probably won't have them honed where you would want them *now*, but you'll be wanting them nonetheless. May as well commit to it.

Ah, but when you also want to hone things like Saint Cross or Thief's Revenge or Break Fever, there's a choice to be made.

[Starwulf]

I really, really hate to be "That guy" but could those of you posting huge pictures or videos please put them in spoilers please?

Ah, but when you also want to hone things like Saint Cross or Thief's Revenge or Break Fever, there's a choice to be made.

Not really, 4*'s should always be created and honed before 5*'s. 5* abilities are luxuries at this point, even Full break isn't a necessity(though it is by far the closest). You'll win more battles with honed 4*'s then 1 or 2 5* abilities not honed at all.

[danzibr]

I feel so... complete.

Grats!

Fix'd. Yang gets the chance to use Kick. Yda, most likely so.

[...]

In summary, the best Cheerleaders Supporters would be:
1st - Ramza - S grade
2nd - Tie: Red XIII and Wakka - A grade
3rd - Fran - A- grade
4th - Gordon - B+ grade
5th - Faris - B+ grade
6th - Setzer - B grade
7th - Sazh - B grade
8th - Quina - B grade
9th - Tie: Barret & Edward - B- grade
10th - Irvine - B- grade
11th - Bard - C- grade

Ahh, I didn't read it carefully enough. Thanks!

It says it in your big spoiler, but Red without his unique SSB is really quite stinky.

I really, really hate to be "That guy" but could those of you posting huge pictures or videos please put them in spoilers please?

Yeah, my bad. It looks not big at all on my screen, didn't think of it.

Oh, and is anyone picking up any of the 5* limited orbs? I have enough greens for 1, maybe 2, but I don't really need any of them. Kind of regret getting all 3 last time.

[Hunter Noventa]

I really, really hate to be "That guy" but could those of you posting huge pictures or videos please put them in spoilers please?



Not really, 4*'s should always be created and honed before 5*'s. 5* abilities are luxuries at this point, even Full break isn't a necessity(though it is by far the closest). You'll win more battles with honed 4*'s then 1 or 2 5* abilities not honed at all.

Yeah for some reason I thought that -aja spells took 5* orbs. I might have to actually look into it now.

[danzibr]

Yeah for some reason I thought that -aja spells took 5* orbs. I might have to actually look into it now.

I reckon you can get them quite high. Crafting and getting to r2, or even r3, isn't that costly.

Oh, and do Waterja first. The orb cost is split between fire and ice, and few enemies are resistant/immune to it.

I really need to hone up some 5*'s. The *only* 5*'s I have past r1 are Full Break, Meteor, and Thief's Revenge, all r2. I have the orbs, just can't decide.

EDIT: Actually, I think I'm going to save my 5*'s for Chain Starter (needs Power, White, Wind), Full Charge (needs Power, Earth, Wind), and Dark Zone (needs Black, Non, Dark). So... Fire, Ice, Summon, Lightning, and Holy are open, whereas Power and Wind are doubled.

[Jurai]

Yeah for some reason I thought that -aja spells took 5* orbs. I might have to actually look into it now.

The only -ja that I have below R5 is Blizzaja, due to lack of Greater Ice and Black Orbs.

[danzibr]

The only -ja that I have below R5 is Blizzaja, due to lack of Greater Ice and Black Orbs.

Hmm. I actually have all of them at r4. I have the orbs, but I've never run out of uses.

[Antonok]

Confession: I only have an R3 Waterja... My mage gear is absolutely horrendous so I never went above the ga spells

[Jurai]

Hmm. I actually have all of them at r4. I have the orbs, but I've never run out of uses.

I'm a firm believer in having lots of ammunition for a few weapons than lots weapons with little ammunition.

Says the guy with, at R5, THREE Double Cuts, Haste, Firaja, Thundaja, Waterja, Retaliate, Draw Fire, Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Waterga, Biora, Bioga, Curaga, Curaja, Diara, Diaga, Dispel, Shiva, Ramuh, Ifrit, Kirin, Aerora Strike, Venom Buster, Wind Slash, Tempo Flurry, Lifesiphon, Wind Jump, Ice Jump, Lightning Jump, Leeching Leap, Banishing Strike, and Flame Blossom; R4 Blizzaja, Stop, Quake, Maduin, Watera Strike, Biora Strike, Bladeblitz, two Lifesiphons, Piercing Strike, and Lullaby; R3 Protectga, Shellga, Carbuncle, Alexander, Ultros, Firaga Strike, Blizzaga Strike, Thundaga Strike, Bio Strike, Magic Breakdown, Power Breakdown, Darkmoon, Swift Bolt, Exhausting Polka, Confuse Shell, Drainga, Silencega; R2 Arise, Pound, Dark Buster, Dismissal, Sky Grinder, Yukikaze, Enveloping Etude, and Blind Shell; and R1 Break, Meteor, Blindga, Mental Breakdown, Armor Breakdown, Full Break, Steal Power, Thief's Revenge, Saint Cross, Water Veil, Shadowsteel, Fire Veil, Phantasm, Box Step Sarabande, Stumble Step, Halting Rumba, Heathen Frolic Sarabande, Multi Break, Silence Shell, and Poison Shell.

[Chen]

I reckon you can get them quite high. Crafting and getting to r2, or even r3, isn't that costly.

Oh, and do Waterja first. The orb cost is split between fire and ice, and few enemies are resistant/immune to it.

I really need to hone up some 5*'s. The *only* 5*'s I have past r1 are Full Break, Meteor, and Thief's Revenge, all r2. I have the orbs, just can't decide.

EDIT: Actually, I think I'm going to save my 5*'s for Chain Starter (needs Power, White, Wind), Full Charge (needs Power, Earth, Wind), and Dark Zone (needs Black, Non, Dark). So... Fire, Ice, Summon, Lightning, and Holy are open, whereas Power and Wind are doubled.

Hone when you find you need something. I have Full Break, Meteor, Saint's Cross and Thief's Revenge at R2 and I rarely run out of uses. Full break is alternated with a breakdown usually so that's 8 rounds of actions not including SB usage, so that's generally sufficient for almost all fights. Saint's Cross is paired with Lifesiphon on Agrias for me so even if I do run out I have lifesiphon and SBs to finish out the fight with. Yuffie generally runs Thief's revenge and I do find I can run out there since her other ability is either utility or dismissal. Also her SB heal doesn't come up that often so thats more actual ability uses I need. Generally I just make her trigger my RWs and then maybe I need to use one or maybe 2 non-thief's revenge abilities to end out of the fight (or start the fight if there's a burst phase at the end).

Overall more than R2 is not really needed, especially if you're running an A team through things. R3 for most other things is more than sufficient. The only things I really use higher than R3 consistently are 2 R4 Lifesiphons (can use a lifesiphon on every trash wave of most dungeons that way and then just SB + other ability the bosses in dungeons), 1 R4 Curaja (it's what the white mage spams every round they're not buffing) and R4 Tempo flurry and some R4 ninja scrolls (these all cast faster so you use up more of them). I do have R5 retaliate and Double-cuts but honestly those are way overkill for the most part since I don't think I've ever run out of them. They're just cheap to hone so it didn't matter.

Now clearly if you're using non-leveled chars with poorer gear you'll need more hones. And perhaps with the upcoming Cid missions that require specific teams for specific tasks you may need higher hones if you're lacking SB relics for those people.

[Slayn82]

Nice Support review T.G. Oskar. I feel your overall ratings represent well the game meta now.

Ramza is a great package, and pretty much a Munchkin character, having so much utility, and also making me think about the standards if my Team and the strength of using any other Support, any other Knight, Tidus and Joseph (who have decent SBs), and if I someday get his armor, even the White Mage.

Who can stand to him? Individually few, but team compositions is what actually matters.

His most important and defining tool is Shout. But it pidgeon holes your team in Physical Meta. Not a bad place to be right now, because bosses are beginning to rise their RES to the stratosphere.

But on mixed parties, because sometimes your team strengths go in another direction, other Supporters fare better: Wall Breaker SBs do pretty well - Faris, Fran, Irvine and Wakka have them, and it isn't very behind the damage increase from the Shout.

Also Bosses are beginning to have Dispels and Defense ignoring Attacks, making a Wall somewhat less effective, so those who have Atk/Mag debuff are getting pretty good too - Faris, Fran and Gordon.

My point is that Faris and Fran get a little better in the immediate future than people are giving Credit. Faris specially could very well be the Ramza of mixed/mage teams, if you have her WallBreaker, and Kefka or Edea's Hastega Relics, or possibly Garnet/Quistis SSBs. Because she brings good equipment selection, and also Dancer, specially the AOE RES Breakdown for increased damage.

Irvine doesn't have anything good outside support. But that's has been acceptable with his Ulysses, because Breakdowns are useful and do reasonable damage, and his Canister Shot increases damage pretty well for a good amount of time. If I had his first SB, I wouldn't have much to say in Irvine's favor. Even Wakka Status Reels is good, despite being only 10 seconds.

That leaves Fran being a much better Irvine.

[danzibr]

I'm a firm believer in having lots of ammunition for a few weapons than lots weapons with little ammunition.

Says the guy with, at R5, THREE Double Cuts, Haste, Firaja, Thundaja, Waterja, Retaliate, Draw Fire, Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Waterga, Biora, Bioga, Curaga, Curaja, Diara, Diaga, Dispel, Shiva, Ramuh, Ifrit, Kirin, Aerora Strike, Venom Buster, Wind Slash, Tempo Flurry, Lifesiphon, Wind Jump, Ice Jump, Lightning Jump, Leeching Leap, Banishing Strike, and Flame Blossom; R4 Blizzaja, Stop, Quake, Maduin, Watera Strike, Biora Strike, Bladeblitz, two Lifesiphons, Piercing Strike, and Lullaby; R3 Protectga, Shellga, Carbuncle, Alexander, Ultros, Firaga Strike, Blizzaga Strike, Thundaga Strike, Bio Strike, Magic Breakdown, Power Breakdown, Darkmoon, Swift Bolt, Exhausting Polka, Confuse Shell, Drainga, Silencega; R2 Arise, Pound, Dark Buster, Dismissal, Sky Grinder, Yukikaze, Enveloping Etude, and Blind Shell; and R1 Break, Meteor, Blindga, Mental Breakdown, Armor Breakdown, Full Break, Steal Power, Thief's Revenge, Saint Cross, Water Veil, Shadowsteel, Fire Veil, Phantasm, Box Step Sarabande, Stumble Step, Halting Rumba, Heathen Frolic Sarabande, Multi Break, Silence Shell, and Poison Shell.

dakka dakka dakka dakka dakka

Holy smokes, I'm pre-loving Memento Mori + Dark Zone. The -ja's are x9, Memento Mori is x8 plus self-buff, and Dark Zone is a whopping x13.5/2. Darkness though, might come across some immune peeps. Hopefully I'll have Edea to 80 by the time that event rolls around. Edea with r3 Memento Mori, r2 Dark Zone. Should last long enough to blast most bosses into oblivion.

EDIT: I see U and U+ drop tonight, with a dungeon update this Saturday. Nice, nice. Currently sitting at 161 0/5.

[Red Fel]

Yeah, I spent last night and this morning clearing out more elites I'd forgotten that I'd forgotten. I have only two Vs left, and two IVs. And with a DU coming out soon, that's probably going to have to wait.

Speaking of coming soon, Ultimates drop tonight! Here's your synopsis.

Ultimate: The Seifer Trio. Medals for exploiting Seifer's weakness to Ice, Fuujin's weakness to Lightning, and Raijin's weakness to Wind. Got that? Good, because Fuujin also absorbs Wind and Raijin absorbs Lightning, so don't mix them up. All three are also weak to Poison (the damage, not the status), so that's an option too. In terms of debuffs, Seifer isn't susceptible to anything; Fuujin and Raijin can both be Blinded, to marvelous effect. Raijin can be Silenced, but that doesn't help.

All three deal physical damage, so Blind is really helpful; Seifer and Fuujin also have sources of magical damage. Raijin doesn't do magic, but he does throw out heals and Esunas when weak. Fortunately, if you focus fire, that's not an issue. Your priority list should probably be Fuujin, then Raijin, then Seifer. Fuujin first, because she has an attack (Sai) that deals proportionate damage; Raijin next, because of the heals/Esunas. Lastly Seifer; keep in mind that when he gets weak, his attacks get vicious, so you really want to save him for when you have no distractions. Victory gets you orbs, a crystal, and the 5-star Squall's Necklace accessory.

U+: Ultima Weapon. Medals for reducing his Mag, reducing his Def, and killing him before he uses Light Pillar. He uses Light Pillar after 25 turns, for the record, so consider that your time limit. He starts with mostly physical attacks, then slowly accumulates magic attacks, so you'll want both forms of mitigation ready. At about 75%, he uses Gravija, so brace yourself for that. He has no exploitable weaknesses, so really this is just a straight-up soak-and-croak. Keep in mind that when his health is very low, he uses Regen, which ticks for 9999, so you'll probably want a way to dispel that. Victory gets you orbs and a crystal.

Keep in mind also that the XII event ends tonight, which means it's your last chance to take care of those Ultimates. So consider doing that first, if you haven't yet.

Looking forward, we expect that DU I mentioned, possibly this weekend. We also expect the IV event on Monday, so that should be fun.

Happy hunting.

[Hunter Noventa]

Went ahead and created/honed Firaja and Blizzaja to R3, then i ran out of black orbs. Put together my FF4 party for the next event, and went to do some elites with them.

I got to the Dwarven Castle Elite and actually had trouble with the mastery (hit Golbez while weak to Fire/Lightning/Ice) because I was doing TOO MUCH damage. What a place to be in.

[Red Fel]

I got to the Dwarven Castle Elite and actually had trouble with the mastery (hit Golbez while weak to Fire/Lightning/Ice) because I was doing TOO MUCH damage. What a place to be in.

Fortunately, we don't seem to run into many bosses like that anymore. Or, at least, the difficulty is high enough that they can withstand more than two hits. Used to be I'd keep multiple 2-star BLM abilities around expressly for that purpose. I remember there were a few events where you had to hit one of the early bosses - like, first or second stage, non-elite - with multiple weaknesses. (I think it was Ifrit, and we had to use Ice and Water?) I basically had to bring a non-primary BLM (like a Spellblade with BLM 2) and equip them with 2-star spells just to get the damage to work without instantly winning.

I am so glad I don't have to do that anymore.

[danzibr]

Seriously considering honing Multi Break for the U. Man, 3 bosses...

Also, looking ahead, Neo Bahamut packs some serious punch. I mean the ability, not the boss (though I'm sure the boss does, too).

EDIT: Oh wait. I don't need to level my Edea to 80 for Darkness stuff. My Vincent is already in the 70's. Yesssss.