Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:46 am
Picked up FF12 Zodiac on Steam recently. Didn't like the orignal FF12first time I played but after playing Dragon Age 1 and 2 I got the feel for programming my party with if/then statements. I also objected to the term "license" for the skills and proficiencies, but looking back it was more objecting to the name.
For those who played the PS2 release but not this one, there are a few changes. Big one is that there's no longer a damage cap. I killed Famfrit in 3 hits because he wasn't immune to Oil and weak against fire, Ardor hit him for over 60k and Firaga hit him for somewhere north of 30k.
Another difference is that there are 12 license boards, each one represents both a sign of the zodiac and a job class. You're way more focused, but are often more poerful (for example, the original board had 10 magic and battle lores. Virgo/Monk has 16 battle lores, Capricorn/Black Mage has 16 magic lores. You get one choice when a new permanent party member joins and a second after you beat Belias. Licenses overlap, for best results pick two classes that are differently focused.
Another huge difference is that there are far fewer spells and technicks available for sale, you have to find them and usually they're acquired later than in the original version (All but the Cleanse spell are in 100% spawn chests, and all of them give you the spell/technick 100% of the time). Certain accessories and equipment are also scarce and/or unbuyable.
I had assumed that the minor differences between weapon attack speed and stats would not be a huge deal. I seem to be correct with one exception: I wish I hadn't made Basch a time battlemage. Turns out in late game having a time mage active is really fucking important and his mana is pretty terrible to be keeping haste, float, and reflect going at all times (including spot casts of slowga, disablega, etc) Other than that I don't think it matters that much.
Espers unlock extra abilities for certain jobs. There is no middle ground, they will either unlock useless abilities for classes or be so in demand that multiple people will want/need them (Uhlan and Monk will both want Chaos, Knights and Time Mages both want Hashmal to give two examples. Although in this case Knight/ Time Mage is actually a pretty decent combo)
For those of you that know the game, here's my party setup with some thoughts:
Vaan: Shikari/Foebreaker. He's quick, he hits things, and he knows all 4 break attacks (power, defense, magic, magic defense). Breaks are great in this version because they're stackable and unresistable (due to how the calculation goes each additional break reduces the stat less and less so more than 2-3 times usually isn't worthwhile but it's there). Problem? Boring and not very versatile. However if you want someone to inflict some breaks and hit for consistently high damage it's not too bad.
Panelo: Monk/Black Mage. 16 battle lores, 16 magic lores. Alternate between Cloud and Magus staff depending on what I need boosted. Can hit every element except earth and darkness (although Water is still not worth it in late game. Having holy is pretty awesome though) Tons of HP. Really happy with how that turned out.
Balthier: Machinist/ White Mage. Consistent (if somewhat low) damage through guns, three quickenings, healing and support magic. Keeps party in protectga, shellga, and bubble. Opal ring bypasses reflect in case I need it (those damn skeletons in Nabreus might not hit hard but damn do they wear you down). It throws me off that he shares a voice actor with Fenris from Dragon Age 2 (who I loved in battle but could not stand personally).
Fran: Archer/Red Battlemage. Goddess of flame and darkness with her burning bow and black robes (red mages the only class that gets the Dark trilogy and Ardor in this version. Burning bow boosts fire, black robes boosts darkness). Archer adds speed and item lores. Can even act as a healer in a pinch. Pheasant Netsuke plus three phoenix lores is arise without the mana cost or the casting time. Also icelandic rabbit girls in this game are intense and creepy, I can't put my finger on it but they all kind of unnerve me.
Basch: Uhlan/Time Battlemage. Went from being so shitty that I wish I hadn't picked either class in early game to being a staple in my party. Time magic is pretty damn good. Reflectga, Float, Hastega, all are pretty damn good. Wished I could have grabbed some extra status effect magic from Chaos but Panelo really wanted to be able to cast Holy.
Ashe: Knight/Bushi. You have two options, using katanas with 14 magic lores and 12 battle lores boosting your damage together, or the excalibur+white robes combo for serious holy damage. Plus the boosted magic from Bushi really helps when you unlock advanced white magic with espers. Not as good a healer as Balthier is but better than Fran; I've fought several regular bosses and marks with Ashe as main healer and it worked out.
Looking back, Vaan would have made the better knight/bushi, Basch should have been shikari/foebreaker, and Ashe the uhlan/time battlemage. If my OCD would have let me not use all 12 classes I probably would have gone shikari/bushi for black robes and yagyu darkblade (for the darkness counterpart to knight/bushi). Foebreaker is decent as it's tanky and uses strong weapons (people don't like axes and hammers because they're very swingy in damage but I personally do), but I'm not sure if it's needed, I've used breaks on maybe 1-2 bosses (note: will probably abuse the hell out of them on the super bosses, have not fought them yet. But research told me that it makes Yiazmat less retarded of a fight)
For those who played the PS2 release but not this one, there are a few changes. Big one is that there's no longer a damage cap. I killed Famfrit in 3 hits because he wasn't immune to Oil and weak against fire, Ardor hit him for over 60k and Firaga hit him for somewhere north of 30k.
Another difference is that there are 12 license boards, each one represents both a sign of the zodiac and a job class. You're way more focused, but are often more poerful (for example, the original board had 10 magic and battle lores. Virgo/Monk has 16 battle lores, Capricorn/Black Mage has 16 magic lores. You get one choice when a new permanent party member joins and a second after you beat Belias. Licenses overlap, for best results pick two classes that are differently focused.
Another huge difference is that there are far fewer spells and technicks available for sale, you have to find them and usually they're acquired later than in the original version (All but the Cleanse spell are in 100% spawn chests, and all of them give you the spell/technick 100% of the time). Certain accessories and equipment are also scarce and/or unbuyable.
I had assumed that the minor differences between weapon attack speed and stats would not be a huge deal. I seem to be correct with one exception: I wish I hadn't made Basch a time battlemage. Turns out in late game having a time mage active is really fucking important and his mana is pretty terrible to be keeping haste, float, and reflect going at all times (including spot casts of slowga, disablega, etc) Other than that I don't think it matters that much.
Espers unlock extra abilities for certain jobs. There is no middle ground, they will either unlock useless abilities for classes or be so in demand that multiple people will want/need them (Uhlan and Monk will both want Chaos, Knights and Time Mages both want Hashmal to give two examples. Although in this case Knight/ Time Mage is actually a pretty decent combo)
For those of you that know the game, here's my party setup with some thoughts:
Vaan: Shikari/Foebreaker. He's quick, he hits things, and he knows all 4 break attacks (power, defense, magic, magic defense). Breaks are great in this version because they're stackable and unresistable (due to how the calculation goes each additional break reduces the stat less and less so more than 2-3 times usually isn't worthwhile but it's there). Problem? Boring and not very versatile. However if you want someone to inflict some breaks and hit for consistently high damage it's not too bad.
Panelo: Monk/Black Mage. 16 battle lores, 16 magic lores. Alternate between Cloud and Magus staff depending on what I need boosted. Can hit every element except earth and darkness (although Water is still not worth it in late game. Having holy is pretty awesome though) Tons of HP. Really happy with how that turned out.
Balthier: Machinist/ White Mage. Consistent (if somewhat low) damage through guns, three quickenings, healing and support magic. Keeps party in protectga, shellga, and bubble. Opal ring bypasses reflect in case I need it (those damn skeletons in Nabreus might not hit hard but damn do they wear you down). It throws me off that he shares a voice actor with Fenris from Dragon Age 2 (who I loved in battle but could not stand personally).
Fran: Archer/Red Battlemage. Goddess of flame and darkness with her burning bow and black robes (red mages the only class that gets the Dark trilogy and Ardor in this version. Burning bow boosts fire, black robes boosts darkness). Archer adds speed and item lores. Can even act as a healer in a pinch. Pheasant Netsuke plus three phoenix lores is arise without the mana cost or the casting time. Also icelandic rabbit girls in this game are intense and creepy, I can't put my finger on it but they all kind of unnerve me.
Basch: Uhlan/Time Battlemage. Went from being so shitty that I wish I hadn't picked either class in early game to being a staple in my party. Time magic is pretty damn good. Reflectga, Float, Hastega, all are pretty damn good. Wished I could have grabbed some extra status effect magic from Chaos but Panelo really wanted to be able to cast Holy.
Ashe: Knight/Bushi. You have two options, using katanas with 14 magic lores and 12 battle lores boosting your damage together, or the excalibur+white robes combo for serious holy damage. Plus the boosted magic from Bushi really helps when you unlock advanced white magic with espers. Not as good a healer as Balthier is but better than Fran; I've fought several regular bosses and marks with Ashe as main healer and it worked out.
Looking back, Vaan would have made the better knight/bushi, Basch should have been shikari/foebreaker, and Ashe the uhlan/time battlemage. If my OCD would have let me not use all 12 classes I probably would have gone shikari/bushi for black robes and yagyu darkblade (for the darkness counterpart to knight/bushi). Foebreaker is decent as it's tanky and uses strong weapons (people don't like axes and hammers because they're very swingy in damage but I personally do), but I'm not sure if it's needed, I've used breaks on maybe 1-2 bosses (note: will probably abuse the hell out of them on the super bosses, have not fought them yet. But research told me that it makes Yiazmat less retarded of a fight)