Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Mission Guide version 2 Last updated 3-31-06 by R2 ========================================================================== ========================================================================== While journeying through Ivalice, your clan grows in power and renown. But wouldn't it be nice to hasten that a bit? Is it possible to keep track of the missions available and what to do next? And what about those monsters that vanish halfway through the game? Wouldn't it suck to miss out on the Blue Magic and Capture chances? This guide compiles a boat-load of miscellaneous information either taken from other FAQs or self-researched. ========================================================================== ========================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1: Mission Tree Part 2: Thievery, Blue Magic, and Other Chicanery Part 3: The Cinquedea Trick Part 4: Mission Items 4b: Important Optional Items Part 5: Laws Part 5a: Forbidden! Damage to Animals Part 6: Race and Job Breakdown 6a: Humans 6b: Bangaa 6c: Nu Mou 6d: Viera 6e: Moogles 6f: Special Characters ========================================================================== ========================================================================== PART 1 - MISSION TREE There are 24 Story missions, not counting "Snowball Fight" and "Lizard Men?!" in the introduction sequence. These advance the plotline of the story and are the highest-priority missions in the game-- as soon as you finish one, the next is available until you're done with it, too. All of these are battle-type Missions. Missions marked with an asterisk (*) aren't selected from the pub. Just enter the area where the mission takes place and the engagement (or a cutscene leading to the engagement) will trigger automatically. Herb Picking (Giza Plains) Thesis Hunt (Lutia Pass) The Cheetahs (Nubswood) Desert Peril (Eluut) Twisted Flow (Ulei River) Antilaws* (Cadoan) Diamond Rain (Aisenfield) Hot Awakening (Roda Volcano) Magic Wood (Koringwood) Emerald Keep (Salikawood) Pale Company (Nargai Cave) Jagd Hunt* (Jagd Dorsa) Enter Baguba Port and meet Nono to trigger the placement of Jagd Dorsa. The Bounty This Mission is a battle with Clan Ox, who appear from Kudik Peaks and wander around the map. They can be engaged anywhere they happen to go. Golden Clock (Jeraw Sands) Scouring Time* (Muscadet) The Big Find (Uladon Bog) Desert Patrol (Gotor Sands) Quiet Sands (Delia Dunes) Materite Now! (Materiwood) Present Day* (Bervenia Palace) Hidden Vein (Tubola Cave) To Ambervale* (Deti Plains) Over the Hill* (Siena Gorge) Royal Valley* (Ambervale) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART 1b: OPTIONAL MISSION TREE What follows is the original purpose for this guide: A list of optional missions in the order they're unlocked. The majority of missions become available simply after completing a given story Mission, so that's how they're sorted. For instance, after completing the Mission "Herb Picking," the optional Missions "Wanted!", "Dueling Sub", "Fire! Fire!", and "Snow in Lutia" become available. Those four Missions are therefore listed under Herb Picking in the list below. Completing "Snow In Lutia", in turn, unlocks the Missions "Frosty Mage" and "Prof In Trouble", so those two are in a separate list below "Snow In Lutia." But wait, there's more! After most Missions, you'll get a Mission Item -- everything from metal ore to magic crystals to ruined weapons to single servings of ice cream. Other missions will require these items before you can take them. For instance, completing the Mission "Metal Hunt" gives you a chunk of Adamantite. That Adamantite, in turn, is required for the Mission "Adaman Alloy", which rewards you with, yes, Adaman Alloy. That Adaman Alloy can be taken on the mission "Blade & Turtle", where your reward is an equippable sword. Pertinent information is included after each mission, as follows: - Missions are preceded by their Mission number. If a Mission is unnumbered but falls into this list anyway, it's preceded by three hyphens instead. - If a Mission listed has the same name as another Mission (the "Wanted!" series or the "Foreign Fiend" series), the opponent for that Mission is listed in square brackets to differentiate between them. - Some Missions have special requirements before they will appear at the pub. These notes are listed in parentheses after the Mission name. Usually the requirement is simply the completion of a different Mission: After you finish "Antilaws", "The Nubswood" opens up, but only if you've already completed "Raven's Oath". - If a Mission gives you an important item, it's listed after the name of the Mission in angle brackets with a plus sign in front of it. The Mission "Earthy Colors" gives you the Mission Item "Ancient Text", so it's listed as "Earthy Colors <+Ancient Text>". - If the Mission requires an important item, you will usually lose that item upon completion of the Mission. In this case, the item is listed in angle brackets with a minus sign. For instance, the Mission "Food for Truth" requires Choco Gratin. It's listed as "Food for Truth <-Choco Gratin>" - If a Mission requires you have a specific item, but does not consume the item upon completion of the mission, the item is marked in angle brackets with a tilde (~). For instance, you have to have the Ahriman Eye before you can accept the Mission "Staring Eyes", but you don't lose the Eye when the Mission is completed, so it's listed as "Staring Eyes <~Ahriman Eye> 001. Herb Picking 027. Wanted! [Godeye] 115. Dueling Sub 038. Fire! Fire! <+Sprinkler> 044. Snow in Lutia 045. Frosty Mage 046. Prof in Trouble <+Gedegg Soup> ---. Human Wanted! (fewer than 5 clanners in Clan) ---. Bangaa Wanted! (fewer than 5 clanners in Clan) ---. Nu Mou Wanted! (fewer than 5 clanners in Clan) ---. Viera Wanted! (fewer than 5 clanners in Clan) ---. Moogle Wanted! (fewer than 5 clanners in Clan) 002. Thesis Hunt 025. Wanted! [Dolce] <+Flower Vase> 068. Fowl Thief 069. Free Sprohm! 070. Raven's Oath 143. The Last Day <-Ancient Medal, +Homework> 194. Free Cyril! 199. Girl In Love <-White Thread, +Magic Medal> 200. Chocobo Help! <+Chocobo Egg> 201. The Skypole <+Ancient Medal> 240. Giza Plains 264. Swords in Cyril 003. The Cheetahs 037. Village Hunt 055. White Flowers <+White Flowers> 113. Watching You <+Ahriman Eye> 050. Staring Eyes <~Ahriman Eye> 210. Life or Death <-Homework, +Black Thread> 139. Earthy Colors <+Ancient Text> 265. Newbie Hall 167. Mad Alchemist <+Mythril Pick> 004. Desert Peril 049. A Lost Ring 101. Clan Roundup 112. A Challenge 145. Goblin Town <-Mythril Pick, +Monster Guide> 152. Down to Earth <+Crystal> 213. Oh Milese <+White Thread> 289. Refurbishing <-Broken Sword> 241. Lutia Pass 005. Twisted Flow 036. Twin Swords (Village Hunt) 062. Oasis Frogs <+The Hero Gaol> 148. You, Immortal <-Tonberry Lamp, +Stradivari> 164. Diary Dilemma <+Loaded Dice> 172. Frozen Spring <+Dragon Bone> 205. Materite <+Materite> 266. Voodoo Doll 006. Antilaws 071. Nubswood Base 072. Lutia Mop-Up 073. Borzoi Falling 074. Cadoan Watch 075. Free Cadoan! 106. Resistance (Gossip at Ezel's shop) 123. Hungry Ghost <-Dragon Bone, +Elda's Cup> 207. Metal Hunt <+Adamantite> 150. An Education <+Fountain Pen> 299. Fashion World <-Chocobo Skin, -Magic Cotton> 175. Spirited Boy <-Dictionary, +Clock Gear> 195. Ship Needed 242. The Nubswood (Raven's Oath) 267. Come On Out <-Jerky> 007. Diamond Rain 047. Hot Recipe <+Gedegg Soup> 076. Fire Sigil <+Fire Sigil> 122. Run for Fun <+Sport Trophy> 286. Valuable Fake <-Bent Sword, -Rainbowite> 155. Honor Lost <-Bomb Shell, +Rusty Sword> 168. Caravan Guard <-Elda's Cup, +Caravan Musk> 208. Math Is Hard <+Black Thread> 209. The Witness <+Black Thread> 268. Food For Truth <-Choco Gratin> 243. Eluut Sands 008. Hot Awakening 032. Tower Ruins <~examine "The Hero Gaol" item in Clan Menu> 033. Battle in Aisen 048. S.O.S. <+Topaz Armring> 151. Morning Woes <+Earplugs> 125. Castle Sit-In <+Guard Medal> 170. Cheap Laughs <-Bomb Shell, +Tonberry Lamp> 216. Magic Cloth <-Magic Cotton, +Magic Cloth> 244. Ulei River 269. Alba Cave <-Jerky> 009. Magic Wood 100. Fiend Run (capture 5 monsters and visit Monster Bank) 140. Lost Heirloom <-Neighbor Pin, +Justice Badge> 162. Darn Kids <-Dame's Blush, -Ally Finder, +Ally Finder2> 166. Runaway Boy <-Black Thread, +Stasis Rope> 173. No Scents <-Caravan Musk, +Animal Bone> 211. Karlos's Day <+White Thread> 270. The Performer <-Rabbit Tail> 212. To Father <+White Thread> 300. Fashion Hoopla <-Chocobo Skin, -Magic Cotton> 245. Aisenfield 010. Emerald Keep 114. Golden Gil <+Ancient Coins> 058. Royal Ruins 124. Pirates Ahoy! <+Coast Medal> 092. Cursed Bride 154. Neighbor! <+Neighbor Pin> 169. Lifework <+Love Potion> 176. Powder Worries (Lost Heirloom) <+Gun Gear> 206. The Wormhole (You, Immortal) <+Leestone> 219. Rubber or Real <-Monster Guide, +Bomb Shell> 246. Roda Volcano 011. Pale Company 287. Weaver's War <-Crusite Alloy, -Blood Apple> 110. Revenge 111. Retrieve Mail! 133. Crusite Alloy <-Zodiac Ore, -Zodiac Ore, +Crusite Alloy> 160. A Worthy Eye <-Feather Badge, -Delta Fang, +Insignia> 214. Skinning Time <+Chocobo Skin> 215. Wild River <+Magic Cloth> 247. Travel Aid 271. One More Time 012. Jagd Hunt 026. Wanted! [Gabbana] 052. Friend Trouble 108. Poachers <+Tiger Hide> 132. Mysidia Alloy <-Adamantite, -Silvril, +Mysidia Alloy> 077. Free Baguba! <+Delta Fang> 078. Water Sigil <+Water Sigil> 079. Wind Sigil <+Wind Sigil> 080. Earth Sigil <+Earth Sigil> 081. The Redwings <+Reaper Cloak> 196. Mind Ceffyl <-Fire Sigil, -Wind Sigil, +Mind Ceffyl> 197. Body Ceffyl <-Earth Sigil, -Water Sigil, +Body Ceffyl> 198. The Spiritstone <-Mind Ceffyl, -Body Ceffyl, +Spiritstone> 156. Inspiration <-Runba's Tale, +Broken Sword> 204. Seeking Silver <+Silvril> 222. New Fields <+Gyshal Greens> 248. The Salikawood 272. Spring Tree 013. The Bounty 030. Wanted! [Lodion] (Wanted! [Dolce], Exploration) 061. Hit Again 109. Snow Fairy 131. Adaman Alloy <-Adamantite, -Adamantite, +Adaman Alloy> 273. Who Am I? <-Magic Medal, -Magic Medal> 157. Coo's Break <-Runba's Tale, +Bent Sword> 178. Sweet Talk <+Moon Bloom> 217. Cotton Guard <+Magic Cotton> 218. Help Dad 225. Malboro Hunt <-Chocobo Egg, +Cyril Ice> 249. Nargai Cave 014. Golden Clock Completing Golden Clock does not unlock any Missions. 015. Scouring Time 028. Wanted! [Kanan] 039. The Wanderer 082. Free Muscadet! 093. Flan Breakout 083. Foreign Fiend [Queen Lilith] 084. Foreign Fiend [Adamantoise] 085. Foreign Fiend [Ochu and Neochu] 086. Last Stand 121. Sprohm Meet <+Fight Trophy> 126. Wine Delivery <+Rainbowite> 165. Hundred-Eye <+Snake Shield> 129. Danger Pass <+Thunderstone> 153. To Meden <-Animal Bone, +Old Statue> 158. The Match <+Rusty Spear> 179. Scarface <+Blood Apple> 220. Into the Wood <+Panther Hide> 221. Jerky Days <+Jerky> 228. Mama's Taste <-Chocobo Egg, -Gyshal Greens, +Choco Gratin> 297. Armor & Turtle <-Adaman Alloy, -Rat Tail> 250. Kudik Peaks 251. Jeraw Sands 252. Uladon Bog 274. Reaper Rumors 016. The Big Find 051. Desert Rose <-Flower Vase, +Blue Rose> 105. Smuggle Bust (Poachers) <+Chocobo Skin> 053. Flesh & Bones <+Tiger Hide> 065. Exploration 104. Stolen Scoop 130. Mist Stars <+Stormstone> 149. Clocktower <-Cat's Tears, +Clock Post> 181. Soldier's Wish <-Clock Gear, -Clock Post, +Power Fruit> 223. Strange Fires <+Magic Medal> 224. Better Living <+Chocobo Egg> 253. Gotor Sands 275. Dog Days 298. Dark Armor <-Materia, -Materia, +Dark Armor> 017. Desert Patrol 102. Wyrms Awaken 031. Ruby Red <+Wyrmstone> 066. A Dragon's Aid <~Wyrmstone> 034. Magewyrm (Battle in Aisen) 035. Salika Keep 144. The Bell Tolls <+Dictionary> 091. Challengers? (Down to Earth) 276. Good Bread <-Grownup Bread, -Kiddy Bread> 127. Broken Tunes <+Cat's Tears> 161. Lost in Mist <+Ally Finder> 171. T.L.C. <+Stilpool Scroll> 231. Magic Vellum <-Magic Cotton, +Magic Vellum> 254. Delia Dunes 018. Quiet Sands 054. For A Song <+Trichord> 060. Showdown! (A Dragon's Aid) 107. Old Friends (S.O.S.) 120. Cadoan Meet <+Magic Trophy> 277. Sword Needed 128. Falcon Flown <-Skull, +Dame's Blush> 134. Faceless Dolls <+Blood Shawl> 147. Words of Love <+Rat Tail> 163. Stage Fright <-Old Statue, +Tranquil Box> 177. The Blue Bolt <+Silk Bloom> 180. Mirage Town <-Goldcap, +Magic Fruit> 182. Dry Spell <+Stolen Gil> 226. Chocobo Work <+Choco Bread> 227. Party Night <+Choco Gratin> 234. Bread Woes <-Choco Bread, +Kiddy Bread> 255. Bugbusters 278. El Ritmo <-Moonwood, -Danbukwood> 295. Black Hat <-Black Thread, -Magic Cloth> 019. Materite Now! 057. Prison Break <+Helje Key> 135. Faithful Fairy <-Fairy Wing, +Ahriman Wing> 136. For The Lady <-Stolen Gil, +Fairy Wing> 159. The Deep Sea <+Feather Badge> 202. Ruins Survey <+Ancient Medal> 229. The Well Maze <-Choco Bread, +Grownup Bread> 230. She's Gone (Bread Woes) <+Malboro Wine> 285. Blade & Turtle <-Adaman Alloy, -Broken Sword> 279. Her Big Move <-Malboro Wine> 280. Don't Look! 293. Minstrel Song <-Stradivari, -Black Thread> 020. Present Day 040. Battle Tourney 041. Mage Tourney 042. Swimming Meet 064. Den of Evil <~Helje Key> 029. Wanted! [Rayne] 094. Sorry, Friend 291. Sword Stuff <-Silk Bloom, -Moon Bloom> 294. Gun Crazy <-Crusite Alloy, -Gun Gear> 116. Gulug Ghost <+Fire Sigil> 118. Mirage Tower <+Wind Sigil> 117. Water City <+Water Sigil> 119. A Barren Land <+Earth Sigil> 137. Seven Nights <-Ancient Bills, +Goldcap> 063. Missing Prof (Prof in Trouble) 103. Mythril Rush <+Silvril> 281. Janitor Duty 138. Shady Deals <-Secret Books, +Life Water> 183. Swap Meet <-Ancient Medal, +Ancient Bills> 203. Dig Dig Dig <+Zodiac Ore> 232. Novel Ascent <-Stasis Rope, +Runba's Tale> 288. Fabled Sword <-Thunderstone, -Stormstone> 233. Shiver <+Runba's Tale> 235. Book Mess <+Encyclopedia> 236. One More Tail <+Rabbit Tail> 256. Tubola Cave 282. Unlucky Star <-Blood Shawl> 296. Hat For A Girl <-White Thread, -Magic Cloth> 021. Hidden Vein Completing Hidden Vein does not unlock any Missions. 022. To Ambervale ---. Reconciliation (Gossip at Ezel's shop) ---. Bored! (dismiss Ezel from Clan) ---. Yellow Powerz ---. Blue Geniuses ---. Brown Rabbits ---. White Kupos 043. Clan League 056. New Antilaw <+Amber> 059. Sketchy Thief <+Sketchbook> 141. Young Love <-Ahriman Wing, +Friend Badge> 142. Ghosts of War <-Tranquil Box, +Edaroya Tome> 292. A Stormy Night <-Rusty Spear, -Mysidia Alloy> 146. Secret Books <-Stilpool Scroll, +Secret Books> 174. On the Waves <-Life Water, +Skull> 237. Relax Time <+Danbukwood> 238. Foma Jungle <+Moonwood> 239. For A Flower <+Telaq Flower> 257. Deti Plains 258. Siena Gorge 283. Corral Care <-Choco Gratin> 290. Stone Secret <-Rusty Sword, -Leestone> 023. Over The Hill Completing Over The Hill does not unlock any Missions. 024. Royal Valley (i.e. complete the game and reload your save data) 087. Free Bervenia! 184. Adaman Order <-Adamantite, -Adamantite, +Adaman Alloy> 185. Magic Mysidia <-Adamantite, -Silvril, +Mysidia Alloy> 088. The Worldwyrm <+Ogma's Seal> 089. Moogle Bride <+Esteroth> 090. Clan Law <+Master Brave> 284. Beastly Gun <-Insignia, -Ally Finder2> 097. The Dark Blade <-Spritstone, -Bent Sword> 186. Conundrum <-Zodiac Ore, -Zodiac Ore, +Crusite Alloy> 187. Lucky Night <+Rat Tail> 188. Tutor Search <+Rusty Sword> 189. Why Am I Wet? <+Broken Sword> 191. Lucky Charm <-Rat Tail, +Rusty Sword> 192. Alchemist Boy <+Insignia> 099. The Fey Blade <-Zodiac Ore, -Blood Apple> 067. Missing Meow <-Rabbit Tail, +Ally Finder2> 096. Shadow Clan (Exploration) 190. Run With Us <+Bent Sword> 193. Thorny Dreams <+Blood Apple> 095. Carrot! (Den of Evil) <-Rusty Spear> 098. The Hero Blade <-Rusty Sword, -Mysidia Alloy> 259. Jagd Ahli (Exploration) 261. Jagd Dorsa 260. Jagd Helje (Den of Evil) 263. Ozmonfield (A Dragon's Aid) 262. Ambervale ---. Left Behind ---. With Babus ---. Memories (do not have Babus, Ritz, Shara, or Cid in Clan) ---. Doned Here! (dismiss Babus from Clan) ---. Mortal Snow (Old Friends) ---. Ritz's Offer (dismiss Ritz from Clan) ---. A Maiden's Cry ---. A Maiden's Cry (dismiss Shara from Clan) ---. Cleanup Time: (Complete all 300 numbered Missions) ---. Cid's Mission (Dismiss Cid from Clan) ---. No Arms Rule ---. Kissing Rule ---. Immunity Pass ---. No Full HP ---. No Literacy ---. Favoritism ---. No Answers ---. No Jumping ---. Decision Time ========================================================================== ========================================================================== PART 2: THIEVERY, BLUE MAGIC, AND OTHER CHICANERY Mission Notes: Generally, this is a list of rare items or abilities that can be stolen in the earliest missions, or the presence of a Goblin or Thundrake, or any other miscellaneous notes I find important. This is not a complete list of Missions; if a given Mission doesn't have any notes, I've left it off the list. If an enemy has a particularly rare or useful item or ability to steal, you can Flee the battle, wait for the Mission to reappear at the pub, and steal another copy of that item or ability. This is most useful in "Wanted: Godeye" and "Lutia Mop-Up", which give you Steal:Weapon and an Angel Ring, respectively. Steal Weapon is something you won't get again until very late in the game, and you can never have too many Angel Rings. Fleeing isn't necessary for weapons that are reequipped; the enemy has an infinite stock of those to steal. And speaking of that: Enemies that are equipped with "Item" as a Secondary Ability might reequip different weapons if they are disarmed (Steal Weapon or Aim:Weapon work just fine). The Soldier ability "Sensor" and the Mog Knight ability "Mog Peek" will tell you what hidden items any given enemy might reequip. When disarmed, the enemy might equip another copy of the same weapon he had -- if this happens, just get rid of that one, too, and eventually he'll whip out the one you want. In one playthrough, I had to swipe over 20 Sleet Rods from the Nu Mou in "Frosty Mage" before he equipped the Chill Rod I wanted. Keep trying! Remember, Alchemists get the Item ability for free, even if they have another Secondary Ability set. Any Alchemist has the potential to reequip himself when disarmed. Goblins and Thundrakes are unavailable at the end of the game, so if you want to learn the Blue Magics "Goblin Punch" and "Dragon Force" or capture either of those monsters for your Monster Bank, do it as early as possible. Thundrakes marked with an asterisk (*) may not be captured, but you can learn Dragon Force from them with the appropriate means of coercion. If I note that a given instance is the "only chance" to steal a given item, it's often available through other means, such as careful placement of landmarks on the map or trading with another player. I'm pointing out the last chance to STEAL the item, not to get it at all -- but Stealing is probably the easiest way to get the item in question. This list is in the same order as the lists above. Herb Picking: Goblin present. Wanted! [Godeye]: Steal "Steal Weapon" from the Thief. Steal the Alchemist's Energy Mace and he will reequip a Morning Star. Nu Mou get a lot of mileage out of the Support Ability "Magic Power+", so it's nice to pick it up early in the game. Snow in Lutia: Goblin present. Frosty Mage: Steal the Black Mage's Sleet Rod and he will equip a Chill Rod. Yes, you can get Blizzaga this early! Raven's Oath: Steal "Saint Cross" and "Holy Blade" from Raven. Not that they're super-useful abilities this early in the game, but you won't get the weapons to learn them manually until much later. Village Hunt: Goblin present. White Flowers: Goblin present. A Lost Ring: Goblin present. A Challenge: Steal Thief Armlets. Twin Swords: For Moogles with Steal:Ability, this is a great place to learn -- a veritable all-you-can-eat buffet! Lini, if you have him by now, can pick up most of the Mog Knight abilities here. Antilaws: Steal Wygar. Steal Aim:Vitals and Sonic Boom. Steal Tempest, Freezeblink, and Prominence. Nubswood Base: Steal a Madu. Steal a White Robe. Steal a Minerva Plate. Steal a Magic Ring. Enemies here have Cura, Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara. Lutia Mop-Up: Steal Angel Ring Steal Hades Bow Steal Magic Ring Fire Sigil: This is probably your first chance to learn the Blue Magic "Night". Tower Ruins: Goblin present-- probably the last one in the game. Magic Wood: Steal the Thief's Zorlin Shape and he will equip a Cinquedea. Steal Gaia Gear. Steal Minerva Plate. Emerald Keep: Steal Babus' Mirage Vest. Steal Babus' Lotus Mace. Steal Babus' Aegis Shield. Steal the Alchemist's Mandragora and he will reequip a Cactus Stick. Pale Company: Thundrake present Retrieve Mail: Steal Frogsong. Jagd Hunt: Steal the Blue Mage's Harpe and he will reequip Tulwar. This is your only chance to steal a Tulwar, so don't miss it. Steal a Petalchaser or two. Steal a Fey Bow. Steal Wygar. Steal a Mirage Vest. Steal a Dark Gear. Steal Genji Gauntlets. Wanted! [Gabbana]: Steal a Sword Breaker. (This is another fine place to steal a bunch of Moogle abilities for Montblanc and Lini.) Wind Sigil: Thundrake* present. The Bounty: Steal a bounty of nifty abilities, including Quicken, Stop, Reflect, Saint Cross, Life, and Blizzaga. Steal a Rubber Suit. Steal the Red Mage's Djinn Flyssa and she will reequip a Gupti Aga. Wanted! [Lodion]: Steal a Thor Rod. Hit Again: Steal a Longbarrel. Steal a Chill Rod. Golden Clock: Steal a Thor Rod. Steal the Alchemist's Mandragora and he will reequip a Zeus Mace. The only other chance to steal a Zeus Mace is very late in the game, so don't let Ritz and Shara ruin this chance to get it! Knock 'em out and claim your prize. Scouring Time: Equip Marche with the Steal ability set before battle. Steal Genji Armor in the first battle. Steal Carabini Mail in the first battle. In the second battle vs. Exodus, when you control only Marche, steal a Lotus Mace and a Lordly Robe. Free Muscadet!: Steal a Genji Shield. Steal a Cachusha. Steal a Master Bow. Steal Thief Armlets. The Big Find: Steal the Fighter's Ogun Blade and he will reequip Adaman Blade. Stolen Scoop: Steal White Fangs. Steal a Cachusha. Smuggle Bust: Steal an Aona Flute. Flesh & Bones: Steal the Gunner's Outsider and he will reequip Calling Gun. Desert Patrol: Steal the Bishop's Spring Staff and he will reequip Cheer Staff. Wyrms Awaken: Thundrake present. Ruby Red: Thundrake present. A Dragon's Aid: Thundrake present. Steal Genji Armor. Steal Genji Shield. Magewyrm: Thundrake* present. Salika Keep: Steal Quicken. Challengers?: Steal a Bone Plate. Quiet Sands: Steal a Bangaa Helm in the first battle. Steal the ability "Star Cross" in the second battle. Showdown!: Steal a Genji Shield. Steal a Carabini Mail. Materite Now!: Steal Full-Life. Steal Curaga. Steal a Joyeuse. Steal a Madu. Steal a Rubber Suit. Steal a Bone Plate. Steal a Brint Set. Steal a Mirage Vest. Steal a Ribbon. Present Day: Equip Marche with the Steal ability set before battle. In the first battle, steal the Alchemist's Life Crosier and he will reequip a Scorpion Tail. In the first battle, steal the Mog Knight's Pearl Blade and he will reequip a Materia Blade. This is your only chance to steal a Materia Blade, so don't miss it. In the second battle, when you control only Marche, try to swipe Llednar's Bangaa Helm and Maximillian. You only have a few turns to do it, and Llednar can't be harmed in any way, so it's tough. Battle Tourney: Completing this repeatable mission will increase the Attack Power of the Knightsword "Sequence". Mage Tourney: Completing this repeatable mission will increase the Magic Power of the Rod "Sapere Aude". Swimming Meet: Completing this repeatable mission will increase the Weapon Defense of the headgear "Acacia Hat". Den of Evil: Steal a Snake Staff. Steal a Silver Rapier. Steal a Stardust Rod. Steal a Black Robe. Steal a Black Hat. Wanted! [Rayne]: Steal the Gunner's Peacemaker and he will reequip a Bindsnipe. Missing Prof: There is a small chance of the Sage Quin joining your Clan after you complete this mission. Hidden Vein: Steal a Scorpion Tail. Steal the Animist's Black Quena and he will reequip a Heal Chime. Steal a Bone Plate. To Ambervale: Thundrake present, probably the last one in the game. Clan League: Completing this repeatable Mission will increase the Weapon Defense of the armor "Peytral". There is a small chance of the Sniper LittleVili joining your Clan after you complete this Mission. Sketchy Thief: Steal "Steal Weapon". Over The Hill: Almost every opponent has something good to steal. A list: Two Madu, Nirvana Staff, Max's Oathbow, Seventh Heaven, Femme Fatale, Galmia Set, Brint Set, Silver Coat, two Ribbons. Royal Valley: This is a three-part battle. Completing it rolls the endgame sequence and adds a "Game Complete" flag to your save data. None of the other outcomes of this battle are saved-- really irritating, since Llednar is equipped with a stealable Peytral. The Hero Blade: Steal a Genji Helm. Reconciliation: Steal Auto-Life. Steal a Light Robe. Steal a Star Armlet. Ezel will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. With Babus: Babus will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. Mortal Snow: Ritz will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. A Maiden's Cry [1]: Shara will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. Bored!: Ezel will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. A Maiden's Cry [2]: Shara will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. Ritz's Offer: Ritz will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. Cid's Mission: Cid will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. Memories: This mission duplicates "Royal Valley" exactly. It rolls the credits and nothing else. The "Corrupt Judge" Missions are full of rare stuff to steal. Check each enemy's status at the beginning of each battle to round out your own collection of items. Cleanup Time: Steal the Sage's Life Crosier and he will reequip a Zeus Mace. Cid will offer to join your Clan after completing this Mission. No Arms Rule: Steal the Illusionist's Thor Rod and he will reequip Princess Rod. Immunity Pass: Steal an Angel Ring. Steal an Excalibur. No Literacy: Steal a Mindu Gem. Favoritism: Steal a Beastsword. Steal a Genji Helm, Shield, and Armor. Steal Fire Mitts. Steal a White Hat. No Answers: Steal a Judge Coat. Steal Onlyone. No Jumping: Steal a Heretic Rod. Steal a Lordly Robe. Decision Time: Steal Excalibur. ========================================================================== ========================================================================== PART 3 - THE CINQUEDEA TRICK Aside from each of your character's combat skills, your clan as a whole has eight statistics viewable on your Clan Status window: "Combat", symbolized by a sword; "Smithing", symbolized by a sledgehammer; "Appraise", the magnifying glass; "Negotiation", the handshake; "Magic", the lightning bolt; "Craft", the pliers; "Collection", the bug-catching net; and "Track", the footprint. You get some bonus items as these skills increase, including some good stuff. The big thing you should be interested in right at the beginning is the Negotiate skill. When Negotiate hits level 30, you get the Cinquedea knife. This handy dagger teachines Thieves "Steal:Ability". Conveniently, there are easily-repeatable missions right at the beginning of the game that give you experience in Negotiation. Your Clan at the start of the game is Marche, Montblanc, another Human, a Nu Mou, a Bangaa, and a Viera. Dismiss one of the characters (probably the Bangaa), and you'll start getting "[Race] Wanted!" Missions at the pub. Aside from the obvious Clan-joining benefits, these Missions give you experience in Negotiate. They only appears when there are fewer than six members in your Clan, so keep turning down the offers to join until you've pumped up your Negotiate to at least level 30. If you come across the Mission "Chocobo Help", that'll also give your Negotiate skill some experience. Take "Giza Plains" or "Lutia Pass" if they appear and those, too, will boost your Negotiate. Once you secure those areas, they will inevitably be threatened by another clan wishing to take them from your demense. Let them. That's right, leave your turf to be taken. That way you can reclaim it through the Mission at the pub and get even more experience in Negotiate. After you get your free dagger, you can restore your ranks (for a little while -- a new Bangaa will help until you can recruit Eldena and Lini). You can also reclaim and defend your clan turf from further attack from here on out. On the whole, it'll probably take you three to six hours, depending on how much time is taken with random engagements. Of course, having Steal:Ability early on gives your Humans and Moogles a huge edge over the other races in skill development. And, of course, you'll want to nick "Steal:Weapon" from the Thief in first "Wanted!" Mission, giving you even more skill-aquisition power early on. It's a long time before you get a Sword Breaker to learn "Steal:Weapon" the hard way... For the record, the best prizes for raising clan stats: At Smithing level 10, you get a Petalchaser (Last Breath). At Smithing level 20, you get a Nosada (Double Sword). At Smithing level 50, you get a Zanmato (Ultima Masher). At Appraise level 12, you get a set of Thief Armlets (better Steal). At Appraise level 25, you get a Longbarrel (Concentrate). At Negotiation level 30, you get a Cinquedea (Steal:Ability). At Negotiation level 40, you get a Madu (Doublecast). At Magic level 5, you get a White Robe (Turbo MP). At Magic level 15, you get a Black Robe (Return Magic). At Magic level 45, you get a Sage Robe (Geomancy). At Craft level 20, you get an Angel Ring (Auto-Raise, status protection). At Craft level 30, you get a Cachusha (status protection). At Craft level 35, you get a Barette (status protection). At Craft level 50, you get a Ribbon (total status protection). Combat and Magic both at 20 nets you Excalibur (Holy Sword). ========================================================================== ========================================================================== PART 4: MISSION ITEMS Disposable Mission Items: These items are needed for some Missions in the game, so they're not useless, but they are replaceable. You're only allowed to carry 64 Mission Items, so if you're forced to chuck one to make room, drop one of these. You can repeat a mission to get another item exactly like it later. Adamantite, Badge, Body Ceffyl, Chocobo Egg, Choco Bread, Chocobo Skin, Cyril Ice, Danbukwood, Earth Sigil, Encyclopedia, Fight Trophy, Fire Sigil, Gysahl Greens, Helje Key, Jerky, Leestone, Magic Cloth, Magic Cotton, Magic Trophy, Magic Vellum, Materite, Mind Ceffyl, Moonwood, Panther Hide, Rabbit Tail, Silvril, Spiritstone, Telaq Flower, Water Sigil, Wind Sigil, Zodiac Ore -------------------------------------------------------------------------- PART 4b: IMPORTANT OPTIONAL ITEMS While most Mission Items are important simply because they allow you to take other Missions, some of them have a purpose if they're taken along on Missions where they're not required. You can take two items along on any Mission you complete; choose which ones you take at the pub. For the most part, Mission Items that are required for a Mission are gone once the Mission is completed, but any additional Items you choose to bring along are kept. For instance: The Mission "Metal Hunt" requires no items. You can take two optional items along. The Mission "The Performer" requires one item, so you can take along one other. The Mission "Body Ceffyl" requires two items, so you can't bring along any of your own. There are several special effects listed below, but sometimes you just want a little extra punch in the next fight. If you're going on a Battle Mission, some items will boost the power of your physical attacks, your magic, or certain elemental attacks. The most powerful of these are the Spiritstone and Ogma's Seal, both raising Weapon Attack, Weapon Defense, Magic Power, and Magic Defense by 12%; the Master Brave, raising the two physical stats by 15% and the magical stats by 12%; and the Esteroth, raising the physical stats by 12% and the magical stats by 15%. Research seems to indicate that the bonuses stack -- if you take both Ogma's Seal and the Spiritstone, your Weapon Attack, Weapon Defense, Magic Power, and Magic Resistance all get a boost of 24%. Not bad! For the record, when examining a Mission Item with the select button, when the game tells you which stats it boosts, a triangle indicates a low boost, a circle indicates a better boost, and two cocentric circles indicate the best available. The effects of any "recruitment" item are cumulative. For instance, if you want a Fighter, take the Esteroth (likely to get a Human) and the Fight Trophy (likely to get a melee job). If you're having trouble recruiting Cheney, a Human Hunter, take the Snake Shield and the Secret Books, Sport Trophy, or Ogma's Seal. Each of those items makes it more likely to recruit a Hunter, so your chances of getting that special Hunter are increased. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Race Recruitment: Taking along any of these items makes it likely for a member of a given race with a random job to join your clan. Encyclopedia: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a Nu Mou is more likely to offer to join your clan. Esteroth: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a Human is more likely to offer to join your clan. Guard Medal: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a Bangaa is more likely to offer to join your clan. Love Potion: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a Viera is more likely to offer to join your clan. Sketch Book: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a Moogle is more likely to offer to join your clan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Job Recruitment: Taking along any of these items make it likely for members of specific jobs to join your clan. If the job is available to more than one race (White Mage, Black Mage, Thief, Archer, etc.), the race is generated randomly. Ally Finder When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with a Basic job will offer to join your clan. The jobs in question are Soldier, Thief, Archer, White Mage, Black Mage, Warrior, White Monk, Fencer, Beastmaster, and Animist. Ally Finder2: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with an Expert job will offer to join your clan. The jobs in question are Assassin, Illusionist, Sage, Paladin, Alchemist, Summoner, Defender, Fighter, Dragoon, Gadgeteer, Elementalist, Time Mage, Ninja, Gladiator, Hunter, Juggler, Bishop, Templar, Sniper, Mog Knight, Blue Mage, Morpher, Red Mage, or Gunner. Fight Trophy: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with a job based on physical attacks will offer to join your clan. The jobs in question are Fighter, Gladiator, Dragoon, Mog Knight, Paladin, Defender, Red Mage, Elementalist, Gunner, Animist, Fencer, Warrior, or Soldier. Red Mage and Elementalist are odd additions to the list in my opinion, but there you have it. Magic Trophy: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with a job based on magic will offer to join your clan. The jobs in question are Bishop, Summoner, Alchemist, Illusionist, Time Mage, Templar, Blue Mage, White Mage, or Black Mage. Ogma's Seal: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with an Expert job will offer to join your clan. The jobs in question are Assassin, Illusionist, Sage, Paladin, Alchemist, Summoner, Defender, Fighter, Dragoon, Gadgeteer, Elementalist, Time Mage, Ninja, Gladiator, Hunter, Juggler, Bishop, Templar, Sniper, Mog Knight, Blue Mage, Morpher, Red Mage, or Gunner. Secret Books: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with a job based on status attacks will offer to join your clan. The jobs in question are Assassin, Sage, Ninja, Morpher, Juggler, Hunter, Sniper, Gadgeteer, Thief, Beastmaster, or Archer. Sport Trophy: When the Mission you take this on is complete, a clanner with a job based on status attacks will offer to join your clan. The jobs are taken from the same list as Secret Books, above. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Character Recruitment: Elda's Cup: Take Elda's Cup as an optional Mission Item and there will be a 20% chance of the Red Mage Eldena joining your Clan after you complete the Mission. Note that this Item is required for and consumed by the Mission "Caravan Guard", so if you complete that Mission without recruiting Eldena, you missed your chance forever. Snake Shield: There is a 20% chance of the Hunter Cheney joining your Clan after you complete the Mission you take this item on. The Hero Gaol: This biographical story can be examined in the Mission Items menu of your Clan Status screen to unlock the Missions "Tower Ruins", "Battle in Aisen", and "Twin Swords". There is a 20% chance of the Mog Knight Lini joining your Clan after you complete the Mission you take this Item on. Wyrmstone: There is a 20% chance of the Gladiator Pallanza joining your Clan after you complete the Mission you take this Item on. This item is required but not consumed by the Mission "A Dragon's Aid", so you can recruit Pallanza anytime. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extra Rewards: Blue Rose: If you have this before you take on the mission "Old Friends", give it to Ritz before the Mission starts and she'll give you an AllMighty Antilaw Card as a reward. Cyril Ice: Agree to give this away in the Mission "Snow Fairy" to complete the Mission without engaging and get the exceptionally-rare Greatsword "Iceprism". Feather Badge: Increases the amount of AP you get upon completion of the Mission by 50%, rounded down to the nearest multiple of 10. Does not stack with Insignia. Insignia: Doubles the amount of AP you get upon completion of the Mission. Does not stack with the Feather Badge. ========================================================================== ========================================================================== Part 5: LAWS Laws were probably intended to keep players on their toes and make them adapt strategies around forbidden skills. But some of the laws are just too overreaching -- Color Magic and Damage to Animals come to mind, for instance. This section is a list of laws and what they forbid. If a character breaks a law, he or she gets a yellow card. If a character breaks a law with a move that KOs another unit, he or she gets a red card instead. If a character recieves two yellow cards, they will also recieve a red card. Any character who gets a red card is immediately removed from the battle and taken to the prison in Sprohm. If Marche ever gets a red card, you get a Game Over. Tough luck! Some enemies have special flags that prevent them from being arrested. The game calls them "ribbons", not to be confused with the Ribbon piece of headgear for Viera, which does something else. You can see a ribbon below a character's HP and MP when you move the cursor to them on the battlefield. If a character can't be arrested, you can expect him to break the law as often as it suits him and accrue a dozen or so yellow cards that mean absolutely nothing. In any battle where one of your clanners is issued a yellow or red card, you're issued a penalty at the end of the battle. This can be anything from the forfeiture of any Gil or AP reward for the battle, to a confiscation of Antilaw Cards or monsters from the Monster Bank, to the judge taking away one of the clanner's equipped items or permanently reducing one of that clanner's stats. The severity of the punishment depends on that clanner's criminal record. If a clanner (other than Marche) is arrested, his or her prison sentence is for as long as it takes to complete a particular number of battles, after which he or she may be picked up in the Sprohm Prison. They keep their record of the total number of yellow and red cards issued to them, however: to purge this, you must send them to prison voluntarily for a "Pardon", which functions just like a normal prison sentence otherwise. You can pay bail for a Clanner to release them from Prison before their sentence is up -- usually in the tens of thousands of gil. You may then, if you like, put them back in Prison for a pardon. It's expensive, but cleaning off their criminal record will prevent you from ever seeing the harshest penalties. You cannot bail out a clanner who is in prison for a pardon. Clanners will never break the law by using a Reaction ability. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Status Laws: When these laws are in effect, clanners are forbidden from causing certain status ailments. Direct spells or abilities like Poison or Sleep count, but so do damage+status abilities like Ninja Skill or Spirit Magic. Blue Magic Acid is risky to use in these situations, and Blue Magic Bad Breath will almost certainly get you cited. The Laws are: Addle Berserk Bind (which includes Disable and Immobilize) Charm Confuse Frog Haste Petrify Poison Protect Shell Silence Slow Stop And finally "Status": you're penalized for causing any status ailments: including Addle, Berserk, Charm, Confuse, Disable, Frog, Immobilize, Petrify, Poison, Silence, Sleep, Slow, or Stop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Weapon Laws: If you strike a character with one of the named weapons, you get cited for breaking the law. Note that many A-Abilities include weapon strikes (Fighter Tech and Hunt come immediately to mind) so be very careful or rely entirely on magic spells. For instance, the only Fighter Techs left when Blades are forbidden are Air Render and Far Fist. The only Hunt skill left is Advice! Keep in mind that each law only forbids one specific class of items. The law forbidding Blades, for instance, only bars use of the weapons equipped by Fighters, Gladiators, and Mog Knights. Other edged weapons are fine. For instance, the common definition of "sword" includes everything from rapiers to katanas to two-handed greatswords. As far as the game is concerned, though? Swords, Rapiers, Katanas, and Greatswords are completely different things. Swords are used by Soldiers and Warriors, Rapiers only by Fencers and Red Mages, Katanas only by Ninjas and Assassins, and so on. If you're not sure what a given weapon is, move the pointer to it in the Equip or Item menu and press select. You'll get a short description of the weapon and the game will tell you, unambiguously, what category it belongs to (right before its designation as a one- or two-handed weapon). The Laws are: Blades Broadswords Greatswords Instruments Katanas Knives Knightswords Knuckles Maces Missile (including Bows, Greatbows, and Guns) Rapiers Rods Sabers Soul Spears Staves (it's a plural of "staff".) Swords And finally, the "Fight" command itself might be outlawed. This will allow you to use any A-Abilities that aren't forbidden by other laws, but just waltzing up to your foe and whacking him with whatever you've got equipped is disallowed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ability Laws: These laws forbid the use of specific A-Abilities or a whole class of similar A-Abilities. These often require a clanner to sit a battle out, or for you to carefully select Secondary abilities for each clanner before the battle gets underway. If you use the ability "Doublecast" with another type of magic, anything cast through it becomes Red Magic. For instance, if Summon Magic is outlawed, you can Doublecast Shiva/Ifrit and the judge won't care. But if Color Magic is outlawed, Doublecast will get you cited no matter what you cast with it, including Spirit Magic or Summon Magic. The Laws are: Aim (Archer's A-Ability) Call (Animist's A-Ability) Charge (Mog Knight's A-Ability) Chivalry (Paladin's A-Ability) Color Magic (including Black, White, Red, and Blue Magic) Control (Beastmaster's A-Ability) Corner (Assassin's A-Ability) Defend (Defender's A-Ability) Elementals (Elementalist's A-Ability "Spirit Magic", not necessarily attacks with elemental properties like Firaga or Water Veil.) Gunmanship (Gunner's A-Ability) Hunt (Hunter's A-Ability) Morph (Morpher's A-Ability) Prayer (Bishop's A-Ability) Sharpshoot (Sniper's A-Ability) Steal (Thief's A-Ability) Summon (Summoner's A-Ability) Time Magic (Time Mage's A-Ability) That's not all! There is Item, the command that belongs to no job and every job. If you've got this equipped as a Secondary ability (or have an Alchemist in the party), be very careful about Potions, Ethers, and Phoenix Downs. If Items are outlawed, no enemy will reequip himself, which might interfere with the acquisition of rare items. Late in the game, you'll find laws that forbid all Techniques. That includes Battle Tech, Fighter Tech, Dragon Tech, Spellblade Tech, Monk Tech, Sacred Tech, and Lunge Tech. Similarly, the law forbidding Skills includes Ninja Skill, Phantasm Skill, Alchemy Skill, and Sagacity Skill. And last but not least, the "Ganging Up" law forbids use of any Combos. The whole team can join in, but the unit that initiated the Combo will be cited for the crime. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elemental Laws: These laws forbid attacks of a certain elemental property. Weapons with elemental properties don't count. For instance, if the Fire element is outlawed, then you can't use Firaga, Fire Veil, Prominence, White Flame, Ifrit, Fire Breath, or any other ability that fits the theme. You could, however, hit an opponent with the Firebrand sword: as an elemental weapon, it's not covered by this law. The laws are: Dark (including most Corner abilities) Fire Holy (including most White Magic abilities) Ice Lightning Wind -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Miscellaneous Laws: These don't really fit into any other categories. Copycat: The game tracks what each character on the battlefield does on his, her, or its turn. If the next character uses the same A-Ability (or the Fight command), that character is cited. Waiting is not penalized. Damage to Animals: The law so annoying, it gets its own section. See below. Healing: Abilities that restore HP are penalized. Abilities that do HP damage but also restore HP, such as the Sagacity Skill "Drain" and the Blue Magic "Drain Touch", do not trigger this law. Most White Magic is forbidden, but elemental absorption from Black Magic, the the Spirit Magics White Flame and Earth Heal, a number of Items, and the Call ability Cuisine can get you cited, too. Target All: Abilities that target all allies, target all enemies, or target absolutely everyone on the battlefield count. Blue Magic Night, Hermetic ability Azoth, and all Pandora and Phantasm Skill abilities trigger the law. If the ability targets an area that happens to include all allies or enemies, the law is not triggered (for instance, if all of your enemies are in a group and you cast Fira on them). Target Area: Argh! Any ability that targets more than one panel, but not Target All abilities as above, get a citation. Abilities that target only one character are fine. For instance, Haste will not get you cited -- it only targets one character. Slow, however, will get a card, because it affects a five-panel spread. Black Magic is out of the question. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 5a: Forbidden! Damage to Animals The law that forbids Damage To Animals late in the game is, in my opinion, one of the most frustrating laws in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Any effect that reduces HP or causes bad status is forbidden-- even abilities like Steal:Gil or Aim:Wallet that do no HP damage! How can you win a battle with monsters in it if you get sent to jail for hurting them? Well, you can just nullify the law with the appropriate antilaw cards. That's the most effective way to get around the rule, but if you're out of the right cards, you'll need other options. Parley, Oust, and Wyrmtamer won't trigger the law, but have extremely low hit rates. Parley only works on Humans, Viera, Bangaa, Nu Mou, and Moogles. Oust only works on monsters. Wyrmtamer only works on Firedrakes, Icedrakes, and Thundrakes. Not exactly a reliable way to clean off the battlefield. A better option is to carefully select your Reaction-type abilities before you enter the battle. All Laws are unaffected by Reaction abilities. You can use Counter, Strikeback, Bonecrusher, and Return Magic as applicable to destroy monsters without any fear of retribution. The best way I've found to work around the law is to take along a Beastmaster or two, and have your Beastmaster control monsters to make them attack each other! Control abilities don't trigger the Damage to Animal law. When controlling a monster and commanding it to attack another, the beast under your control will get a Yellow Card for breaking the law. After the second offense, the controlled monster will get a Red Card and be swept off the battlefield to prison, never to be seen again. If there's only one monster left, combine this strategy with the one above, forcing a monster to Fight one of your own characters equipped with Counter, Strikeback, or Bonecrusher. ========================================================================== ========================================================================== PART 6: RACE AND JOB BREAKDOWN There's a lot to consider when choosing or changing a Clanner's job. First, you only get fifty levels of advancement in the game. Characters gain HP, MP, Weapon Attack, Weapon Defense, Magic Power, Magic Resistance, and Speed at level up depending on the job they're in when they gain the level. You don't want to waste levels on jobs with crappy stat growth, do you? Second, there are the Action, Reaction, and Support abilities of each job. Many jobs have great Action abilities but no Reaction and lousy Support abilities. Some have one killer Support ability, but the Action abilities just don't measure up to other options available to the race. Finally, each job has its own Combo ability for letting the whole crew get in one massive-damage shot against a foe. Combos start with a normal attack by the clanner who initiated the move. Every other clanner within range has a chance of increasing that damage by a certain percentage. Therefore, Combos have three variables: the range at which they can be used, the reliability of adding damage, and the damage added. Some are certainly better than others! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Part 6a: Human Jobs Humans are well-rounded -- if you train one to be a fighter, he'll be a fine fighter. If you train one to be a wizard, he'll make a fine spellcaster. Between Steal:Ability and Double Sword, Humans are by far the quickest learners in the game -- which is good, because there are more Human jobs and abilities than in any other race. Protagonist Marche and special character Cheney are Human. Cid is technically a human, but doesn't progress the same way. Cyril is the human hometown, offering discounts on Swords, Blades, Sabers, Knightswords, Greatswords, Knives, Katanas, Staves, Rods, Bows, and Greatbows. Talk about one-stop shopping! Late in the game, the Cyril shop will stock Restorer swords, Temple Cloth armor, and Elixirs. Base Human jobs are Soldier, Thief, Archer, Black Mage, and White Mage. Advanced Human jobs are Fighter, Paladin, Ninja, Hunter, Blue Mage, and Illusionist. Best Growth Worst Growth HP Soldier Illusionist MP Illusionist Soldier/Fighter/Thief/Archer Weapon Attack Fighter Illusionist Weapon Defense Paladin Illusionist Magic Power Illusionist Fighter Magic Resistance Black Mage Thief Speed Ninja Paladin -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soldiers have the best HP growth of any Human job. Their Weapon Attack and Weapon Defense aren't bad. Their MP and Speed growth is poor. Battle Tech abilities aren't bad, they're just unremarkable. The "break" abilities don't really do enough to severely change the outcome of a battle, Provoke and Mug are nothing to write home about, and there are better Support Abilities than Monkey Grip. Combat Combo will increase the base damage of a combo by 10% if the character equipped with it is adjacent to the target. It's a good choice. Thieves have good Speed growth, with other areas being only fair. Their Magic Resistance is the worst among all Human jobs. Steal abilities take things from opponents -- enough said. Enemy fighters will have a hard time doing damage once you've nicked their weapons, and there are some items that are far easier to obtain through thievery than other means. Steal:Ability is king, allowing you to learn abilities instantly instead of slogging through battle after battle scrounging AP. Thief Combo will increase the damage of a combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 2 panels of the target. Archers have good, but not great, growth in all areas. Their Magic Resistance and Speed stats are their weakest areas -- although their Speed is still slightly better than about half of the other Human jobs available. Aim abilities aren't bad -- you just have better options out there. Being able to strike from long range is always helpful, and Archers make it possible to soften up your enemies by causing nasty status ailments like Charm or Disable from across the battlefield. But when it comes to dealing damage and wiping foes out, Archers suffer from the lack of heavy-hitting power. But every human should have training as an Archer to learn Concentrate, period. Bow Combo has a 40% chance of increasing the base damage of a Combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 6 panels of the target. Range is its only strength -- if you can get closer than 6 panels to your target, choose another Combo ability. Black Mages have the best Magic Resistance growth of any Human job. Otherwise, their growth is pretty poor, only slightly doing better than White Mages in Magic Power and Weapon Attack growth -- but not much. Black Mages have simple, damage-dealing magic spells of the Fire, Ice, and Lightning elements. Return Magic is a good (if specialized) Reaction ability, and Geomancy serves to make elemental magic even better. Black Magic makes an excellent Secondary ability. Black Combo has a 60% chance of increasing the base damage of a Combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. Low accuracy and damage... pass this one up. White Mages have fair growth in most areas, with a bias towards Magic Power and Magic Resistance. Their Speed, HP, and MP growth edge out Black Mages, but only slightly. While White Mages have generally poor statistic growth, their abilities are quite important to your clan's livelihood. Turbo MP is a good Support ability for any spellcasting job, granting additional punch to spells while taking its toll on MP. Their only weaknesses are laws that forbid Healing or the use of Holy magic, which make them effectively helpless. White Combo has a 60% chance of increasing the base damage of a Combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. Low accuracy and damage... pass this one up too. Fighters fight. They're good at it. Their HP growth is good, and their Weapon Attack growth is unmatched. They suffer horribly in the realm of magic, though, with Magic Power and Magic Resistance growth nigh stagnant. Fighter Tech makes an excellent secondary ability. Blitz is useful for finishing off weak foes, and Beatdown is great for foes that are asleep, stopped, or otherwise helpless. Air Render and Far Fist give the somewhat-slow Fighter a chance to deal damage without being face-to-face with his target, and Bonecrusher and Strikeback are both excellent Reaction abilities. Fight Combo has a 70% chance of increasing the base damage of a Combo by a whopping 15% if the character equipped with it is adjacent to the target. A nice choice for pure damage-dealing, although it's not as reliable as Combat or Knight Combo. Paladins are a defensive job, allowing you to protect and restore your other characters. As such, they have great HP, Weapon Defense, and Magic Resistance growth. The downside is their absolutely abysmal Speed growth -- Paladins only occasionally get a bonus to Speed at level up. Chivalry are good "Poor Man's White Mage" abilities. Nurse is okay if you can't get an Esuna off, and Cover is okay if another of your clanners is in trouble. Paladins exemplify what I've dubbed "Paladin Syndrome", though: they have poor Speed, low Move, and no long-range abilities. By the time they reach an enemy, your other clanners have already stolen all of its gear, put it to sleep, slaughtered it, and moved on. Knight Combo will increase the base damage of a combo by 10% if the character equipped with it is adjacent to the target. As good a choice as Combat Combo, really. Ninjas have good growth in every area, especially Speed -- they're the fastest Human job around. Their HP suffers a little for a melee job, but their Weapon Attack and Defense and MP growth are all quite sufficient. Ninja abilities do little damage and only occasionally inflict the status ailments they advertise, but have good range and are fine for closing the distance on foes. Double Sword is the best Ninja ability, not only granting additional attack power in combat, but allowing the character to learn two A-abilities from his weapons at a time. Ninja Combo will increase the damage of a combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 2 panels of the target. Hunters have bizarre statistic growth, excelling in Weapon Attack and Magic Resistance, and slowing somewhat in Weapon Defense and Magic Power. Their HP, MP, and Speed growth are all good -- with Speed growth only a smidge slower than a Thief's. Hunt is an excellent secondary ability, but only if you're facing monsters. It's greatly diminished in utility when fighting the other five races. But when fighting creatures, Sidewinder is a quick double-damage shot, and Aim:Vitals can be helpful if you're lucky. Hunters are the job that allows Humans to learn their Ultima ability, Ultima Shot. Weapon Attack+ makes for a pretty good Support ability, and you could do worse than Auto-Regen for a Reaction ability. Having no luck using Capture? Here are the rules: - Hunting is inaccurate. Your chance of success is based on the target monster's current HP and nothing else. You get a 1% chance of success for every 4% of HP the monster has lost -- you'll never have more than a 24% chance to catch a given monster. - You cannot Capture the last enemy on the battlefield. - You cannot capture Toughskins, Blade Biters, Tonberries, Masterberries, Zombies, Vampires, Sprites, or Titanias. Hunt Combo has a 50% chance to increase the damage of a combo by 8% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. Too little damage, not enough accuracy... eh. You could do better. Blue Mages are a tricky job. They have good-but-not-exceptional growth in all areas except perhaps HP. They grow slightly slower than a White Mage in Magic Power and Magic Resistance, while outclassing all other spellcasting jobs in HP, Weapon Attack, and Weapon Defense. Their MP growth is better than melee jobs, but not as good as other mage jobs. Blue Magic will give you back what you put into it. It's tough to learn, but if you take some time and make good friends with your Nu Mou Beastmaster, you'll find one of the best skillsets available to Humans. Matra Magic is great against Fighters, Warriors, and other low-MP jobs. Magic Hammer is equally great against spellcasters (and if followed up by Matra Magic...). Bad Breath, Acid, Stare and Night provide status effects, while Twister and Drain Touch knock off HP. Angel Whisper, White Wind, and Dragon Force provide healing and support to your allies -- all in all, there's nothing Blue Magic can't do. It doesn't even rely on Magic Power much, making it an excellent Secondary ability to give a melee job. Blue Combo has a 40% chance to increase the damage of a combo by 10% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. Illusionists are super-mages. All of their physical stats are exceptionally poor, with the worst HP, Weapon Attack, and Weapon Defense growth hands down, but they boast the best MP and Magic Power growth by far. Unfortunately, only the Paladin rivals the Illusionist in poor Speed growth. Phantasm Skills are the most effective when the battle has just started and there are lots of enemies. It also offers slightly more elemental flexibility than Black Magic, as Illusionists have water, wind, earth, and Holy damage available. While not accurate against individual foes, Phantasm Skills can mop the battlefield clean over the course of several turns. Half MP is a good Support Skill for spellcasters, allowing them to cast more spells before running dry. Spell Combo has a 40% chance to increase the damage of a combo by 10% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. ========================================================================== Part 6b: Bangaa Jobs I'll be honest here: I don't like Bangaa. It's not that they're bad -- they're super-strong, so they can do massive amounts of damage with a physical hit -- but they're so darn SLOW! Very few classes have good Move scores or good ranged attacks, so the enemy often stays just outside of their combat grasp. Late in the game, Laws that forbid Techniques leave the Bangaa in a tight spot, only able to use Defend and Prayer abilities. The secret character Pallanza is a Bangaa. Sprohm is the Bangaa hometown, offering discounts on Swords, Blades, Knightswords, Greatswords, Staves, Spears, and Knuckles. Late in the game, the Sprohm shop offers Bracers for sale. Base Bangaa jobs are Warrior and White Monk. Advanced Bangaa jobs are Dragoon, Defender, Gladiator, Bishop, and Templar. Best Growth Worst Growth HP Warrior Bishop MP Bishop Defender/White Monk Weapon Attack Dragoon Bishop Weapon Defense Defender Bishop Magic Power Bishop Dragoon Magic Resistance Bishop Gladiator/Dragoon Speed White Monk Templar -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warriors are basically the same as Human Soldiers. They excel at HP, Weapon Attack, and Weapon Defense growth while suffering in Magic Power and Magic Resistance growth. For some reason, they have decent MP growth. Their Speed growth is poor. As with Soldiers, above, Warrior's Battle Tech is a collection of pretty crummy abilities. The only ones to worry about are Greased Bolt (useful for hitting enemies with Reflex or Strikeback) and perhaps Downsize. But all in all, Warriors are a big yawn. Warriors use the same Combat Combo as Soldiers: perfect accuracy, 10% damage increase, and a range of one panel. It's as solid a choice for Bangaa as it is for Humans. White Monks are the speediest of Bangaa. Sometimes they level up and get two points of Speed at once! Wow! As the bridge to the "magic" path of Bangaa jobs, they have good Magic stat growth. Their HP growth is poor for a Bangaa, though. Monk Tech make fine secondary abilities. Air Render and Earth Render give Bangaa the ability to hit foes some distance away, a feature that's hard to come across in the Bangaa job set. Chakra and Revive allow some restorative power, while Counter and Reflex make excellent Reaction abilites. Monk Combo has a 90% chance of adding 12% damage to a Combo, with a range of 2 panels. Probably the best choice you've got, if you're willing to exchange a slight miss chance for more damage -- and besides, not every clanner can be adjacent to the target for a full-team Combo. If the miss chance bothers you, go with Dragon, or Sacred Combo. Dragoons are Bangaa Fighters. The best Weapon Attack available to Bangaa, and good HP and Weapon Defense, too. They have the worst Magic Power growth, however. Dragon Tech has Jump, which more or less allows the character to attack anything in a four-panel radius. Not bad, but the rest of Dragon Tech targets that weird T-shaped breath weapon attack range or is only useful against dragons. Dragonheart makes for a nifty Reaction ability, but overall: ho hum. Dragon Combo is even better than Combat Combo: it adds 10% damage and also works every time, but it works from two panels away. It's this or Sacred Combo, folks. Defenders are Bangaa Paladins, and are about as useful. The margin of difference between Defender and Paladin speed growth is negligible, and Defenders are plagued by Paladin Syndrome. Good Weapon Defense and HP growth can only do so much. Defend abilities are lackluster, with many doing damage or causing some status ailment to the Defender performing them! Aura gives some nice status effects but can only target the Bangaa using it, and Perfect Guard sounds good until you realize it leaves the Bangaa as, at best, a decoy. Defend Combo rips straight off of Fight Combo: 15% damage, 70% accuracy, gotta stand next to the poor sap you're hitting. Gladiators are Bangaa Fighters. "But wait!" you say, "Aren't Dragoons the Bangaa Fighters?" Well, yes. Nobody said the Bangaa were flexible. Compared to the Dragoon, Gladiators get slightly better MP and Magic Power growth to fuel their Spellblade Techs, while losing a tiny shred of Weapon Attack. Spellblade Tech isn't bad, with several Fighter techs making an appearance, but the elemental sword abilities are based on Magic Power, often leaving the magically-arid Bangaa lacking. Gladiators learn the Bangaa Ultima ability, Ultima Sword. Sword Combo: 10% damage, always hits, adjacent range. Just like Combat Combo! Bishop is the only true spellcaster job available to Bangaa, and it's... medium powerful. It's all stereotypical mage stuff here: the best MP, Magic Power, and Magic Resistance available to Bangaa, with the worst HP, Weapon Attack, and Weapon Defense. If you want a good Bangaa Bishop, recruit him as one and keep him like that forever. It's the only way his stats will be competitive with magicians of other races. So, for such a specialized job path, are Prayer abilities any good? Um... well, Aero and Water allow for some magic damage early on, while Barrier and Cura (only Cura!) support your party. Break provides the closest a Bangaa will ever get to an instant-death move. Bishops can also learn Holy, which doesn't seem as great here as it was in other Final Fantasy games. So they're pretty okay, I guess. Bangaa should stick with what they do best: hitting things with very, very big swords. Pray Combo is easily the poorest choice for Bangaa: it only adds 8% damage, and only works 60% of the time. Yes, it works from 4 panels away, but that's assuming it works at all -- and if it does, whether you notice any difference anyhow. Templars are kind of odd. Their MP growth is okay (since some of their abilities cost MP), and they have the best Weapon Defense of any Bangaa job. But their speed is abysmal, and that's a killer for me. Which is a shame, since Sacred Techs are kind of neat. Templars learn Haste early on, while Rasp and Soul Sphere devastate enemy spellcasters. They learn Bonecrusher, too, and that's always nice. A good skillset hampered by the crappy job it's stuck with. While Dragon Combo takes Combat Combo and increases the range, a Templar's Sacred Combo improves the damage. 12% damage, to be precise, will be added to the combo assuming the character thus equipped is standing next to the target. ========================================================================== Part 6c: Nu Mou Jobs Nu Mou are magicians through and through. The Beastmaster and Morpher are as close as they get to a melee-based job, and even those are tricky and use plenty of magic and special techniques. The observant will notice that Nu Mou jobs and Bangaa jobs suffer equally from a lack of Speed growth, but Nu Mou jobs have better reach (like, say, the Illusionist). The most powerful Nu Mou jobs -- Sage, Alchemist, and Illusionist -- all teach Skills, so Nu Mou are at something of a disadvantage if the current Laws prohibit the use of Skills. Special character Quin is Nu Mou. Technically Babus and Ezel are also Nu Mou, but they don't progress like others do. Cadoan is the Nu Mou settlement, offering discounts on Staves, Rods, Maces, and Musical Instruments. Late in the game, Cadoan offers Star Armlet accessories and Tiptaptwo daggers. Base Nu Mou jobs are Beastmaster, Black Mage, and White Mage. Advanced Nu Mou jobs are Morpher, Sage, Illusionist, Time Mage, and Alchemist. Best Growth Worst Growth HP Sage Illusionist MP Sage Beastmaster Weapon Attack Beastmaster Time Mage Weapon Defense Beastmaster Illusionist Magic Power Time Mage Beastmaster Magic Resistance Black Mage Sage Speed Morpher Illusionist/Sage -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beastmasters, with their high Weapon Attack and Weapon Defense growth and good HP, are the closest thing the Nu Mou have to a fighter class. MP and Magic Power growth are the Beastmaster's weak spot, but those are still better than half the Bangaa and Human classes. Control abilities have a very narrow use: monsters and only monsters. First the Beastmaster must learn the ability to control a particular kind of beast, then use that ability on the monster to take control of it for one turn. Useless against nonmonsters and generally outclassed by other abilities available, it does have some specialized uses -- like learning Blue Magic or getting enemy monsters arrested for breaking the law. Beast Combo is one of the best choices available to your Nu Mou: it always adds 12% damage to the combo, if your clanner is next to the target. Good for any race, but fantastic compared to the other crappy Nu Mou combo abilities. Nu Mou Black Mages won't surprise you: good Magic Power and excellent Magic Resistance growth, but not so great with HP, Weapon Attack, Weapon Defense, or Speed. Everything that could be said about Black Magic in the Human section applies to Nu Mou as well -- a good, direct-damage Secondary ability. Black Combo has a 60% chance of increasing the base damage of a Combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. Just like a Human's! And just like a Human's Black Combo, pass this one up. Nu Mou White Mages are like Human White Mages, with better physical stat growth than Nu Mou Black Mages, but at the expense of a few points off of their magical stats. White Mages have better Speed development, too. White Magic is White Magic, regardless of who casts it. With the Nu Mou's focus on magic, Turbo MP gets more mileage. White Combo has a 60% chance of increasing the base damage of a Combo by 5% if the character equipped with it is within 4 panels of the target. Keep on moving, people, nothing to see here. Talk about a bizarre class! Morphers change themselves into monsters, an elegant solution to the first Final Fantasy Tactics and its nigh-useless monster recruits. Morphers have good growth in all areas, with a slight bias towards the physical side of the spectrum. They're the Speediest Nu Mou around, too. Morphers learn their A-Abilities from Souls, which are never for sale in shops. The Souls available for completing missions don't teach any abilities. What gives?! Here's the deal: when a Morpher morphs, it turns into the monsters you've got in the Monster Bank in Cyril. In order to put a Monster in the Bank, you've got to have a Human successfully use the Hunt ability "Capture" on it. Successfully Capturing a monster will give you the Soul for that class of monster: Goblin, Bug, Malboro, Lamia, whatever. The Soul will, in turn, teach the Morpher how to turn into that monster type and use the abilities of the monsters of that type you've caught. For instance. The Lamia class of monsters has two creatures in it: Lamias and Liliths. If you capture a Lamia, you gain access to the Lamia Morph, making the Lamia's Poison Fang abilities available (Twister, Poison Frog, and Kiss). If you capture a Lilith, you gain access to the Lamia Morph if you didn't already have it, and the Lilith's Song abilities (Night, Hand Slap, and Poison Frog again). If you have captured both a Lamia and a Lilith, the Lamia Morph will allow you to use both Poison Fang and Song abilities. Morph Combo always adds 10% damage to a combo, and works from two panels away from the victim. This or Beast Combo are the best you'll get out of Nu Mou, and what else are you going to do with a Mythril Soul? Sages are a great class, with superb growth in all areas... EXCEPT SPEED. Boo! Hiss! Even despite the Sage's poor Speed growth and sluggish-for-a-Nu-Mou Magic Resistance, Sagacity Skill is great. Blind and Bio keep enemies suffering, Drain and Giga Flare provide HP damage, and Reflex and Weapon Def+ keep your Sage alive and kicking. He can even Raise fallen friends! And to top it all off, Sages get the Nu Mou Ultima ability, Ultima Blow. Wise Combo: like Morph Combo, only it doesn't work almost half the time. More like Wise Guy Combo, if you ask me. Illusionists are just like they were in the Human realms: poor physical growth in all areas, but good magic growth. But since nearly all Nu Mou jobs have good magic growth, the Illusionist doesn't hold the same supreme position over Nu Mou stat growth like it does for a Human. Phantasm Skill is the same whether Humans or Nu Mou use it -- although a Nu Mou may have spent more time in other spellcasting classes beforehand, and may have more oomph behind his spells from his better Magic Power. Spell Combo: like Phantasm Skill itself, it's quite inaccurate, hitting only 40% of the time. So it must add a lot of damage, right? Nope. Only a 10% damage bonus. You can use it from four panels away, but who would want to? For a race of magicians, Time Mages offer the best Magic Power growth. Just think about that for a minute. They also offer good-for-a-Nu-Mou Speed growth. Think about that too. Then start collecting Black Magic abilities to turn your fuzzy contemplative spellcaster into a Time Mage ASAP. You won't regret it. Time Magic makes an excellent support ability. Haste and Quicken will allow your Thieves another chance to nick excellent gear or your fighters another shot at downing a foe. Slow and Stop will keep dangerous foes at bay. Silence shuts down enemy spellcasters. Quarter and Demi will carefully shave HP off of your enemy bit by bit -- great for setting up a monster to be Captured by a Hunter. While it doesn't have the killer potential of some other ability sets, Time Magic won't do you wrong. Time Combo is exactly like Black Combo or White Combo. And just like Black and White Combos, you should use something else. Alchemists have great MP, Magic Power, and Magic Resistance growth, at the expense of physical stats, HP, and Speed. Where have we heard that before? Alchemy Skill is one of the best available to Nu Mou. Once you get the proper maces to learn them, there's Death and Meteor and Frog and Flare and Magic Power+. What's not to like? Gold Combo is exactly like Wise Combo. My disdain for Gold Combo is just like my disdain for Wise Combo. Pass it up. ========================================================================== Part 6d: Viera Jobs Viera are totally awesome. While they often lack physical brawn, they're great at causing status ailments and make super-powerful magicians. Viera are often the speediest characters in your clan, it takes a dedicated Ninja to overcome the Speed bonuses available to nearly every Viera job. Special characters Eldena, LittleVili, Ritz, and Shara are all Viera, so there's no reason not to have a whole party of Doublecasting Assassins. Muscadet is the Viera town, offering discounts on Rapiers, Katanas, Staves, Bows, and Greatbows. Late in the game, the shop at Muscadet begins offering Hunt Bows and Masamune katanas. Base Viera jobs are Fencer, White Mage, and Archer. Advanced Viera jobs are Red Mage, Elementalist, Sniper, Summoner, and Assassin. Best Growth Worst Growth HP Fencer Summoner MP Summoner Fencer Weapon Attack Sniper White Mage Weapon Defense Fencer Summoner Magic Power Summoner Archer Magic Resistance Summoner Fencer/Assassin Speed Assassin Summoner -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fencers, like Soldiers and Warriors, are the go-to job for HP bonuses. They're also the best at Weapon Defense, too, although their magical growth is somewhat impaired. Lunge Techs aren't bad -- Poison attacks, Doom attacks, accurate attacks, and so on -- but they just aren't as good as other Viera ability sets out there. Nighthawk, the only long-range ability, comes in rather later than other classes get Air Render, making things difficult for Viera melee fighters. Every Viera should learn Reflex, though. Just as Fencer is the Viera's answer to Soldiers and Warriors, so is Lunge Combo the Viera's answer to Combat Combo. Always adds 10% damage if you're in the next panel over from your target. Like usual. White Mages are the base spellcasting class for Viera, and as such, they have generally balanced growth. Their Weapon Attack progression is lackluster, though, being the worst of any Viera job. HP, MP, and Magic Power growth is steady. White Magic is White Magic, no matter who casts it: Human, Nu Mou, or Viera. You'll want to train them no matter what your clan makeup. White Combo doesn't change depending on race, either. But unlike White Magic, White Combo sucks whoever uses it. Archers are more or less like Fencers when it comes to statistic growth. Archers get a little less Weapon Defense than Fencers, but all other statistics are generally the same with only minor chances for variation. Like Lunge Tech, the Viera's take on the Aim skillset isn't bad, it's just outclassed by the other abilities available to the race. Not a bad secondary ability while your Sniper studies, but Aim won't get much use in late game... at least until every Viera takes a turn learning Concentrate. Bow Combo sucks as much as when Humans use it. So don't. Red Mages, like Blue Mages, can do a little bit of everything. Their physical stats grow better than other spellcasting classes, but don't quite match the physical brawn of Fencers and Snipers. Their magical progression is better than physical classes without quite meeting the par set by Elementalists and Summoners. Red Mage is a steady but not exceptional way to raise a clanner. Red Magic lacks power -- only the lowest-level Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, and Cure spells are available. But Red Mages get the one ability that every Viera magician truly needs: Doublecast. Doublecast works with any "Magic" skill, be it Red, White, Spirit, or Summon. Therefore, while Red Magic makes an excellent secondary ability for any class (Doublecast Sleep/Sleep makes Red Magic useful in and of itself), it makes Viera magicians truly terrifying. Finally, a unique combo! Red Combo deals 10% damage from two panels away 70% of the time. Hey, I said it was unique, not that it was exceptional. Elementalists shed some of the physical growth granted to White Mages, while still being better than Summoners in that respect. On the other hand, they have better magical progression than White or Red mages. Not a bad choice, considering Elementalist abilities are required to get both of the highest-tier Viera jobs. Spirit Magic is the Viera equivalent of Ninja Skill. Each spell does a little bit of elemental damage and has a chance to cause a status ailment. Spirit Magic has healing abilities that Ninja Skill doesn't, though, making it somewhat more flexible. In the end, though, it's just another good-but-can't-quite-compete Viera ability set. Spirit Combo: take Red Combo. Add another panel of range. Drop accuracy down to a crummy 60%. Learn it for completeness' sake if you must, but I can't recommend equipping it. Snipers are physical fighters, through and through. Weapon Attack growth doesn't get any better for Viera, and their HP and Speed growth is good. Their defensive stats are somewhat poor, without scraping the bottom of the barrel. Sharpshoot abilities are pretty good, but are often outclassed by other races and jobs. There's no reason to break an enemy's weapons and armor when a Thief can steal it, for instance, and concentrated effort can usually kill a foe before Death Sickle takes its fatal toll. Snipers will often fall back on Beso Toxico, Doubleshot, and Auto-Regen -- which are nice, but not great. Ironically, Sniper Combo is the least accurate Viera combo out there, activating only 50% of the time to do 8% damage. It works from four panels away, assuming it works at all. Summoners are the Viera specialist magicians. And that means everything you've come to expect -- exceptionally bad growth in HP, Weapon Defense, and Speed, with exceptional growth in MP, Magic Power and Resistance. Summon Magic is like a wide-area combination of Black and White magic. There's an elemental attack for Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Holy; as well as ways to heal HP and cause beneficial status effects like Regen, Reflect, and Raise. With the abilities learned from White and Red Magic, MP Turbo and Doublecast will leave your Summoner hurting for ethers and your enemies just plain hurting. Summon Combo. A respectable-but-not-great 10% damage bonus. A nice 4-panel range. A terrible, terrible 40% rate of actually hitting the target. Pass. Assassins don't just have great Speed growth -- they have the best Speed growth in the entire game! An Assassin will always get two points of Speed at level up, and will get an additional point about a third of the time. Throw in great progression in Weapon Attack and Weapon Defense, and the lack of HP and Magic Defense growth won't seem so bad. Want an enemy dead? Stop Breath. Immune to KO? Rockseal. Immune to KO and Petrify? Shadowbind them and pummel them senseless. Immune to KO, Petrify, and Stop? Shear them to pieces with Ultima Masher. Assassins don't have much flexibility or range, but can end battles in a snap. Equip the Archer Support ability Concentrate for a truly killer clanner. Assassins even get an appropriately reliable Combo: Killer Combo always adds 10% damage and works from two panels away. Come on, what else are you going to equip, Bow? Summon? Please. ========================================================================== Part 6e: Moogles Moogles are kind of odd. Most of their classes are status-based, rather than raw physical might or magical power. Since status attacks are pass-or-fail and don't depend on Weapon Attack or Magic Power, most Moogle jobs grow the defensive stats best. Special characters Montblanc and Lini are Moogles. Baguba Port is the Moogle hometown, offering discounts on Knives, Blades, Rods, Musical Instruments, Guns, and Knuckles. Late in the game, the shop at Baguba offers Curealls, Princess Rods, and Seventh Heaven bows. Base Moogle jobs are Animist, Thief, and Black Mage. Advanced Moogle jobs are Gunner, Mog Knight, Juggler, Gadgeteer, and Time Mage. Best Growth Worst Growth HP Animist/Gadgeteer Time Mage MP Black Mage Gunner Weapon Attack Mog Knight Time Mage Weapon Defense Juggler Black Mage/Time Mage Magic Power Time Mage Gunner Magic Resistance Gadgeteer Juggler Speed Thief Gadgeteer Animist is the basic-of-all-basic job for Moogles. And that means the same thing it did for Soldiers, Warriors, Beastmasters, and Fencers: good growth in HP and physical stats, with slower but not unimpressive growth in magical stats. For being one of the first jobs available to you, Animists rock. Sheep Count is probably the first ability your little furry dude will learn, and Sleep status is nothing to sneeze at. Chocobo Rush is helpful for closing the distance to a foe, while Cuisine and 100% Wool will keep your Moogle safe and healthy. You won't get the Aona Flute that teaches Frogsong until pretty late in the game, but anything that turns foes into toads is nice. Call makes a great secondary ability to any class. Animal Combo only works from one panel away, but it'll add 12% damage to your combo every time. Nice! Thieves have fewer HP, Magic Power, and Magic Resistance boosts than Animists, but are otherwise similar. Not surprisingly, their Speed is better than any other Moogle class. And with that darn useful Steal:Ability, every Moogle you recruit oughta be a Thief for at least a little while. Thieves are thieves, no matter what the race. Steal great items and all your enemy's A-Abilities for your own clan's use. Can't beat that. Thief Combo is, once again, an assured 5% damage from two panels away. Not that great, but every playthrough I always end up with more Mythril Daggers than anything else, so this'll tide you over until you can find a Mythril Bell for Animal Combo. Black Mages: Poor HP, Weapon Attack, Weapon Defense. Good Magic Power. Best MP and Magic Resistance progression for Moogles. Fair Speed growth. Ho-hum. There's nothing to say about Black Magic that hasn't been said before. Since Moogles don't have a lot of spellcasting classes, though, the path to wizardry might leave your Moogle a bit wanting. And hey, there's nothing to say about Black Combo that hasn't been said before, either. Gunner offers some of the worst statistic progression available to Moogles. MP and Magic Power growth are as bad as they come, while HP and Weapon Attack are simply lackluster. Defensive stats are their specialty, but they don't exactly shine there, either. Gunmanship's strength is in its range. It's also the way Moogles learn Concentrate, which is extremely helpful for gunnery as well. A Charmshot from across the battlefield will have your enemies dealing with each other without your own clan ever moving! Unfortunately, range is also Gunmanship's greatest weakness -- if you use Gunmanship as a secondary ability, it will be limited to a the range of whatever weapon the Moogle is equipped with. So... Knife, Blade, Rod, Instrument... every Moogle weapon other than guns has a range of one panel. Gunmanship is for Gunners and Gunners alone, and with their poor statistic growth, you won't want to keep a Moogle in that job for long. Gun Combo works from 5 panels away, when it works. Which it only does 40% of the time. For a 5% damage increase. Give it a miss, folks. Mog Knights are the quintessential Moogle melee class, and as such, they have great Weapon Attack and HP growth. Their MP growth isn't bad, either, even though they only get one ability that costs MP. Speed growth is steady: Mog Knights get one point of Speed at level up, always and forever. Charge abilities somewhat mimic a Fighter's ability set. Mog Rush and Mog Attack are just like Beatdown and Rush, while Mog Lance mimics Air Render. The downside is that Moogles don't get a whole lot of Weapon Attack growth in their careers, so they might not have the muscle available to make direct-damage attacks worthwhile. Mog Knights also suffer from The Paladin Problem: they have only one long-range ability and very poor Move. They do get the Moogle's Ultima ability, though: Ultima Charge. All in all, Lini will probably be the most effective Mog Knight, since he has a career in it. Others are probably better off in a status-based job. Charge Combo adds 15% damage 70% of the time from one panel away. Have you heard that one before, by chance? Juggler stat growth is kind of crummy. Their HP growth isn't terrible and their Speed is second only to Thieves, but their Weapon Attack is lackluster and their magical stats are abysmal. For all the poor stat growth Jugglers get, Stunt abilities are great. Ring and Smile are the king of them all, duplicating expensive Time Magic effects (Stop and Quick) for no MP cost whatsoever. Two Jugglers tossing Smiles at one another can go anywhere on the battlefield they like in an infinite turn loop! Gil Toss isn't great, but is okay for certain situations like finishing off Flans or removing Charm from a buddy without doing too much damage. Juggle Combo works from three panels away to add 5% damage 70% of the time. Not as good as the Thief Combo you'll learn from the same weapon. Gadgeteers have great HP growth, good Weapon Defense and Magic Resistance, and fair Weapon Attack and Magic Attack. Like Illusionists, Speed is not a priority because their abilities cover the whole battlefield. The exact opposite of Jugglers, Gadgeteers have good stat growth and completely crappy abilities. Their Pandora abilities give a good or bad status to either one entire party or the other -- either you or the enemy. The problem is, you never know which! You could end up poisoning everyone on your side, or Hasting all of the enemy, and that just doesn't fly. Some folks swear by combining Fortune Rings and Chroma Gem, a strategy that works better with the Blue Magic spell "Night" -- while keeping the flexibility and power of other Blue Magic. In all the many times I've played through Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, I have never trained a Gadgeteer for more than a few battles before switching to a more focused job or character. I've tried to like them, I really have. I just don't. Gadget Combo works from 6 panels away. Let's just leave it at that, shall we? No? You really want to know the rest? Well, okay. 5% damage, and... shall I go on? Well, you asked for it. 30% accuracy. Yeah, thirty. See, weren't you better off not knowing? If you want a good Moogle magician, turn him into a Time Mage and leave him that way. Time Mage offers unrivaled Magic Power progression, and Magic Resistance and MP growth are both great. HP and Weapon Attack will suffer, but why would a spellcaster need those anyway? Moogle Time Mages have some competition for jobs from Jugglers, whose abilities have many of the same effects but no MP cost. However, just as with Nu Mou, Moogle Time Mages won't do you wrong. Time Combo is exactly the same as it was for Nu Mou. Which was exactly like Black or White Combo. Which aren't all that good. ========================================================================== Part 6f: Special Characters Special characters fall into two categories: unique identities and starting clanners. The unique identities are Marche, Montblanc, Eldena, Lini, Cheney, Pallanza, Quin, Ritz, Shara, Littlevili, Ezel, Babus, and Cid. The starting clanners are named randomly and issued to you at the beginning of the game. Regardless of where they come from or how you recruit them, all of the "secret characters" give you a little extra something when they join. Most simply come to your clan with expensive and rare techniques already mastered. Some even bring their own rare gear with them. Some allow you access to abilities unavailable to other clanners. If you dismiss any of these characters except Quin, you can recruit them again: for Eldena, Lini, Cheney, or Pallanza, simply take the requisite item with you on a Mission (unless you've completed the Mission Caravan Guard, meaning Elda's Cup is gone and you won't be able to get Eldena again). For Littlevili, simply complete "Clan League" again. For Ritz, Shara, Babus, Ezel, or Cid, a new Mission will appear in the pub that will prompt that character to rejoin your clan. Note that dismissing a character will cause that character to forget any abilities they learned while they adventured with you. However, they come with a new stock of pre-equipped items if they had any to begin with. For example, you can recruit Shara, snatch the Ribbon off her head, send her packing, and let her back into the Clan once she's found another one (only to take that Ribbon and send her away...). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marche Marche is the central protagonist of the game. Make sure he's strong and well-developed, because he's required to be in all of the important storyline battles and has to toe the line in one-on-one matches against powerful characters like Babus and Llednar. Marche starts as a Soldier, which puts him off down the path of the warrior. Marche makes an excellent Fighter and consummate Ninja, and is usually around to pick up any Blue Magic monsters send your way. Marche cannot be dispatched to any Missions, and if he requests a Pardon in the Prison in Sprohm, all clan activity stops for a month or two until he's released. If any territory is in danger when that happens, you'll probably lose it, so take care getting rid of Marche's criminal record. Montblanc Montblanc is, ostensibly, one of the game's least popular characters. He starts out as a Black Mage, but Moogles aren't really suited to the job. Learn some Black Magic and swap him to Time Mage to take advantage of his good Magic Power, but then what? Moogles are best off as Animists, Thieves, or Jugglers, and all of those jobs ignore Montblanc's best stats. Montblanc cannot be dispatched to any Missions. Starting Clanner: Human With a name chosen at random, you're issued a Human Soldier at the beginning of the game. As a Soldier, he's set to make a career out of the Warrior path, like Marche. And the random Bangaa, because they're not good for much else. Talk about redundancy! You're better off dismissing him from the clan after you pick up the Cinquedea and recruiting someone who's trained as a White Mage, Black Mage, Blue Mage, or Illusionist instead -- that way, you have Marche to take your melee Human jobs and a randomly-named Human to take your magical Human jobs, giving you a specialist in each area. Starting Clanner: Viera With a name chosen at random, you're issued a Viera Archer at the beginning of the game. Like the Human before her, she starts with a few levels in a job that doesn't offer great starting stats. If you can recruit another Viera who started her career as a Red Mage, Elementalist, Summoner, Assassin, or Fencer, you might be more pleased with the way she grows into a powerful fighter or spellcaster. And if you can't, well, there's always Eldena. And Ritz. And Shara. And Littlevili... Starting Clanner: Bangaa With a name chosen at random, you're issued a Bangaa Warrior at the beginning of the game. To his credit, you can switch him over to White Monk and teach him the powerful Air Render move quite early in the game, but a Bangaa is a Bangaa and this one in particular started in a lousy job. After completing the Mission "Thesis Hunt", this guy's the first to get dismissed from the Clan to get those "[Race] Wanted!" Missions to show up at the pub. If it weren't for some Missions requiring Bangaa jobs to complete, I personally would probably never recruit another Bangaa to replace the one dismissed. But you need a Defender to complete "The Witness", and a Gladiator to complete "Blade & Turtle". Neither of those offer awesome items or are required to unlock other Missions, so you'll probably do okay just waiting for Pallanza to show up. Starting Clanner: Nu Mou Finally, a clanner who starts in a job they're suited for! Your random Nu Mou starts as a White Mage, providing much-needed healing support in the first few Missions. He's fine to switch back and forth between White and Black Mage to power up the most important stats to a Nu Mou, but eventually you'll want to turn him into a Beastmaster to help your Blue-Mages-In-Training. But since good maces to train Sages and Alchemists don't come into play for a while, and most early monsters don't have any Blue Magic to give, Color Magic will be this guy's specialty for a while. Starting Clanner: Moogle You don't get one. Montblanc can't go on Missions, so you'll have to find someone else to do your dispatch work. Gadgeteers and Gunners seem like they're required left and right, so get Lini as soon as you can! Eldena Eldena joins as a Red Mage, with all the statistic development that implies: good stats in all areas, with better magical stats than physical stats. Eldena starts with Doublecast and Barrier, and can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Lini Lini joins as a Mog Knight, with all the statistic development that implies: excellent HP and Weapon Attack and Defense, with little Speed or magical growth. Lini starts with Mog Guard and Ultima Charge, and can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Cheney Cheney joins as a Hunter, with all the statistic development that implies: good Weapon Attack and Speed, without as much focus on magic. Cheney starts with Capture and Ultima Shot, and can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Pallanza Pallanza joins as a Gladiator, with all the statistic development that implies: mostly, a terrifyingly high Weapon Attack. Pallanza starts with Blitz and Ultima Sword, and can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Quin Quin joins as a Sage, with all the statistic development that implies: great stats in all areas, except he's slow as molasses in January. Quin joins with Giga Flare and Ultima Blow, which coupled with his high Weapon Attack and Magic Power makes him a total stud in the damage department, and can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Ritz Ritz joins as a Fencer, with all the statistic development that implies: probably the highest HP you'll see out of your Viera clanners, with good HP and Weapon Attack to boot. Ritz starts with Swarmstrike, Shadowstick, Featherblow, Manastrike, Piercethrough, and Block Arrows. She can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Shara Shara joins as a Sniper, with all the statistic development that implies: crazy Weapon Attack and plenty of Speed. Shara starts with Death Sickle, Doom Archer, Aim: Armor, and Aim: Weapon, and can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Littlevili Littlevili also joins as a Sniper, with similar stats to Shara. She joins the clan with Doubleshot and Doom Archer. What, all these Viera secret characters, and nobody joins with Ultima Masher? Littlevili can switch jobs or go on Dispatch Missions anytime. Ezel Ezel is a Hermetic. It's an ultra-magician class available only to him, with the best Magic Power growth available to any character IN THE GAME. Unfortunately, it's all a waste. Ezel has his own skill set, Hermetics, consisting of four abilities: Azoth: Casts Sleep on all enemies. Astra: Protects an ally from the next status attack. Block Arrows: Arrow attacks can't hit Ezel. Weapon Attack+: Increases weapon power. So with all that Magic Power, all Ezel gets is a couple of status-based, pass-or-fail, it-doesn't-matter-what-your-Magic-Power-is abilities. LAME! Throw in that his Speed stat is absolutely terrible and that he can't change jobs to anything else, and you've got a character doomed to sit on the sidelines from here to eternity. If you insist on bringing Ezel along, take a Time Mage or Juggler with him so he can get a move in before the battle's over. Otherwise, he might very well not. Ezel can go on Dispatch Missions, but why waste the AP gained from a mission on someone who can never, ever learn any new abilities? Since he doesn't get one for free and can't change jobs, Ezel never learns a Combo. If that's important to you. Babus Babus is all about attacking. His HP, MP, Weapon Attack, and Magic Power all grow at steady if not exceptional rates. His Speed and defensive stats are a bit lacking, however. His biggest weakness is that he can't change jobs away from his native Runeseeker, leaving him drastically underpowered compared to your other Nu Mou Alchemists, Sages, and Morphers. Babus has his own skill set, Rune, consisting of the following: Explode: Fire spell, more powerful than Firaga. Stillness: Casts Stop on enemies. Quarter: Deals 1/4 enemy's HP in damage. Demi: Deals 1/2 enemy's HP in damage. Counter: Counterattacks when hit. Babus can go on Dispatch Missions, but can't learn any new abilities, and therefore the AP from completing the mission would be wasted. Since he doesn't get one for free and can't change jobs, Babus never learns a Combo. In case you care. Cid Cid is entirely defense-based -- his HP, Weapon Defense, and Magic Resistance are his greatest assets, and of the three not-able-to- change-jobs secret characters, his Speed is the best (why, sometimes he gets two points of Speed a level! Almost half the time, even!). Unfortunately, Cid is still a slowpoke, and his Move score is terrible, giving him a bad case of Paladin Syndrome. Cid has his own skill set, Advanced Law, consisting of the following: Abate: Cid loses his next turn, but the next time one of your clanners breaks a law, the judge ignores it. Judge Sword: Removes JP from foes. Bind: Causes Disable and Immobilize. JP Gift: Cid gives his own JP to another clanner. Yellow Clip: After one of your clanners has been issued a Yellow Card, use Yellow Clip to remove it and the subsequent penalties. Only works in the same battle the Yellow Card was issued. Yes, the endgame Laws can be crippling, and Cid works best if you plan to break a few of those Laws to win a battle. But really, if you're going to simply destroy your enemy as quickly as possible, Cid doesn't match up. Cid can go on Dispatch Missions, but by the time you've recruited him, you've completed all of them already. And even if there's a repeatable one you need to complete, the AP from the Mission would be wasted on a character who can't learn any new abilities. Since he doesn't get one for free and can't change jobs, Cid never learns a Combo. If you were wondering. ========================================================================== ========================================================================== This guide is copyright 2005 Richard Rouse. It may not be duplicated or sold for profit without permission. But really, who would want to copy a half-completed guide for a game that's already several years old? Seems pretty silly to me. It's posted on my personal website at http://www.intentionallyblank.net and nowhere else, so if you've found it elsewhere, I'd appreciate it if you'd contact me from the site above.